JP2012079336A - Print controller, printer, printing system, and recording medium for print control - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To graphically and plainly display a load state in real time at each time point of each printer in a system.SOLUTION: A print server displays a schedule view like a selected figure. In the schedule view, each printing job is expressed by a rectangle having length corresponding to a printing time and a color (or a pattern) corresponding to a state of the job, and is arranged in order for each assigned printer to be displayed. A relative size of a load of each printer can be grasped intuitively by the length of a job graph, and an absolute amount of the load of each printer converted to the printing time can also be grasped intuitively by a time scale displayed at the same time. In addition to the above, a total amount of the job that is not assigned to the printer yet, details on the job under processing and the job under selection, or a state of each printer, and the like are also displayed at the same time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer control apparatus that displays a load state of at least one printer connected via a network, a printer control method, and a computer-readable recording medium that records a program that causes a computer to execute the method.

  Services called “copying service”, “printing service”, etc., which are entrusted by customers (mainly companies), print specified documents in the specified number of copies, and bind and deliver them using specified methods. Has existed in the past.

  A request for printing is sent from a customer to a supplier who provides the above service, a document recorded on a paper medium or an electronic medium (FD, MO, CD-ROM, etc.), the number of copies printed, the bookbinding method, the delivery date, etc. This is done by mailing a print instruction document that describes (this is called “new submission”). Alternatively, when requesting printing again for a document that has been requested to be printed before, the document stored on the supplier side may be designated by telephone and the number of copies may be instructed (this) Is called "repeat trafficking").

  For each request received from an unspecified number of customers, the vendor side considers the number of copies printed, the delivery date, or the limitations of human resources and material resources on the vendor side, and based solely on the intuition and experience of the person in charge, The processing order and processing time are determined. In accordance with this schedule, the specified original is copied by a copier (for paper submission) or printed by a printer connected to a personal computer (for electronic submission). Confirm and collate and deliver to customer.

  On the other hand, a system that automatically accepts print requests from customers online via the Internet, etc., and automatically performs scheduling and printout using a print server and multiple printers connected to it. It has become.

  For example, a customer accesses a Web page provided by a vendor from his / her personal computer, fills in a required form such as the number of copies in a print request form (job ticket), and transmits the data together with data of a document requesting printing. Thus, it is possible to place an order for printing the document.

  The trader who has received the order selects a printer that can complete the job already assigned among the various printers connected to the server via LAN. Then, a new print job is added to the end of the print queue.

  However, if it is a job with a strict delivery date and cannot wait for completion of another job, it may be exceptionally interrupted in the middle of the queue. A large job can be divided into several child jobs and processed by multiple printers (parallel printing), jobs can be distributed so that the load on each printer is equal (average printing), or the cost can be minimized. More efficient job scheduling methods such as job distribution (optimized printing) have been put into practical use.

  However, in the above prior art, the total amount of load on the entire system, such as how many jobs are submitted to the entire system and how many of those jobs are assigned to which printers are not assigned. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the load distribution status to each printer.

  FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print job list window displayed on the above-described conventional print server. Since the time required for processing each job is only roughly determined from the file size and the number of copies, in addition to (or instead of) these, an item of printing time calculated by some calculation formula is provided. You can also. However, this also clearly indicates the print time of each job, and the total print time required to process all the jobs allocated by each printer, or all the jobs that the entire system has been processed. The total printing time required for the process can only be obtained by manual calculation.

  In addition, when a job is processed by the assigned printer, there is no other way than to guess the total printing time of jobs scheduled before that time. Therefore, the work of checking whether each job is in time for the deadline becomes complicated. Also, in connection with the unknown job processing time, it is difficult to understand the total amount of jobs processed within a certain period, such as one day, or the total amount of jobs for each printer.

  In order to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, the present invention provides a printer control apparatus and printer capable of displaying the load state at each point of each printer in the system graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner in real time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable recording medium on which a control method and a program for causing a computer to execute the method are recorded.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a printer control apparatus according to claim 1 is a printer control apparatus that displays a load state of at least one printer connected via a network. An assigning means for assigning to any one of the printers, a calculating means for calculating a time required for the printer assigned by the assigning means to process the print job, and a time proportional to the time calculated by the calculating means. The predetermined shape corresponding to each printer, and the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer by the assigning unit and not yet completed. Display arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal or vertical direction A display unit that, characterized by comprising a.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of jobs in individual printers is expressed in the form of a job graph including all jobs accumulated in the printer.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printer control apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the display means selects a printer belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer. In order to display in a list, the printer is associated with individual printers belonging to the same group, and the predetermined unit corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer by the assigning unit and not yet completed. It is characterized in that the shapes are arranged and displayed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of individual printers belonging to the same group is expressed in the form of a job graph including all jobs accumulated in the printer.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer control device according to the first or second aspect, the display means updates the display content every time a predetermined time elapses. Features.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the latest job accumulation status in each printer is always reflected in the job graph.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control apparatus according to the first aspect, the display unit calculates the print job by the calculation unit. The predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time is displayed, and the color or pattern of the predetermined shape is displayed differently depending on the state of the corresponding print job.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the state of each job in the job graph is expressed by a corresponding color or pattern of a predetermined shape.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the display means is a print job divided from the same print job. Is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculating means, and the same character, graphic, icon, or the like including a symbol or the like is included in or near the predetermined shape. The picture or the same color is arranged and displayed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the same character is arranged on the corresponding predetermined shape in each job after being divided and distributed by the parallel printing function.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising a time scale in which an elapsed time from the current date and time is arranged. Time scale display means for displaying in a direction parallel to a predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the display means is provided.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the amount of each job accumulated in each printer and the total amount thereof are expressed as absolute amounts converted into printing time.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the printer control device according to the sixth aspect of the invention, any one of the time scales in a direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed by the time scale display means. And a guide bar display means for displaying at least one straight line passing through any given shape displayed by arranging the elapsed time and the display means.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the guide bar that can be used for various purposes such as averaging the load state between the printers is displayed.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the guide bar display means moves the guide bar to a fraction of the elapsed time every time a predetermined time elapses. Only in the direction of the starting point of the time scale.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, the guide bar moves backward on the scale by the elapsed time.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the printer is associated with each printer and is being processed by the printer. In-process job information display means for displaying information on the print job is provided.

  According to the ninth aspect of the invention, detailed information of the job being processed by each printer is displayed together with the accumulation status of the job in each printer.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the document name, the user name, the memo, the job ID, the progress status, and the output of the print job whose information is being processed. It is at least one of the forms.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, in addition to the job accumulation status in each printer, detailed information on the job being processed in each printer, specifically, the document name, user name, and memo of the job. At least one of job ID, progress status, and output form is displayed.

  Further, in the printer control device according to the invention described in claim 11, in the invention described in claim 9 or claim 10, the in-process job information display means associates the information with the printer and displays the information. Displaying in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape arranged and displayed by means.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the job accumulation status in a certain printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer are displayed side by side.

  A printer control device according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the printer control device according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, further comprising a predetermined shape displayed by being arranged by the display means. Printer status display means for displaying an icon indicating the stop of the printer in which the predetermined shape is displayed in association with the print job when the print job corresponding to the first one is stopped. Features.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is indicated by an icon that the stop of the printer is not a trouble but is caused by the stopped job.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control device according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects of the present invention, the assignment to the printer is still not performed by the assigning unit. A second calculation unit that calculates a time required to process a print job that has not been performed; and the print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the second calculation unit. In addition, the predetermined shape is arranged at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and is displayed in a display area different from the display area of the predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the display means. And a display means.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of jobs not yet assigned to the printer is expressed in the form of a job graph including all unassigned jobs.

  A printer control apparatus according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the printer control apparatus according to the thirteenth aspect, further comprising: a total number of print jobs that have not yet been assigned to any one of the printers by the assigning unit; All unallocated job information display means for displaying the total number of printed sheets is provided.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the total number of unallocated jobs and the total number of printed sheets are clearly indicated by numerical values together with the job graph.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, the total unassigned job information display unit displays the total number and the total number of printed sheets by the second display unit. The display is performed in a display area adjacent to a display area having a predetermined shape arranged and displayed.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of unallocated jobs, the total number and the total number of printed sheets are displayed side by side.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control device according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, the assignment unit may still not assign to any printer. The present invention is characterized by comprising a selected job information display means for displaying information on a selected print job that has not been performed.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, detailed information on the selected job among the unassigned jobs is displayed together with the job graph.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control device according to the sixteenth aspect, the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of a selected print job. Features.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the job graph, detailed information of the selected job among the unassigned jobs, specifically, at least one of the document name, user name, and memo is displayed. The

  Further, in the printer control apparatus according to the invention described in claim 18, in the invention described in claim 16 or claim 17, the selected job information display means arranges the information by the second display means. The display area is displayed in a display area adjacent to the display area having a predetermined shape.

  According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of unassigned jobs and the detailed information of the selected job are displayed side by side.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printer control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, further comprising a designating unit for designating an interrupt position of the selected print job. And interrupt position display means for displaying an interrupt position pointer between two predetermined shapes displayed in the vicinity of the interrupt position designated by the designation means.

  According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the interrupt position pointer clearly indicates which job the selected job interrupts.

  A printer control method according to a twentieth aspect of the invention is a printer control method for displaying a load state of at least one printer connected by a network, and an assigning step of assigning a print job to any one of the printers; A calculation step for calculating a time required for the printer assigned in the assignment step to process the print job; and the print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step. In addition, the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all the print jobs assigned to the printer in the assignment step and not yet completed is arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction in association with individual printers. And a display step for displaying.

  According to the twentieth aspect of the invention, the accumulation status of jobs in each printer is expressed in the form of a job graph including all jobs accumulated in the printer.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the printer control method according to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention is the method according to the twentieth aspect, wherein each display belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer in the display step. Corresponding to a printer, the predetermined shapes corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer in the assignment step and not yet completed are arranged and displayed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. It is characterized by that.

  According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the storage status of individual printers belonging to the same group is expressed in the form of a job graph including all jobs stored in the printer.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method according to the twenty-second or twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the content displayed in the display step is updated every time a certain time elapses. A re-displaying step is included.

  According to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention, the latest job accumulation status in each printer is always reflected in the job graph.

  A printer control method according to a twenty-third aspect of the invention is the invention according to any one of the twenty-second to twenty-second aspects, wherein the print job is calculated in the calculation step in the display step. The predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time is displayed, and the color or pattern of the predetermined shape is displayed differently depending on the state of the corresponding print job.

  According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the status of each job in the job graph is expressed by a corresponding color or pattern of a predetermined shape.

  According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method according to any one of the twenty-second to twenty-third aspects, the print job divided from the same print job in the display step. Is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step, and the same character, graphic, icon, or the like including a symbol or the like is included in or near the predetermined shape. The picture or the same color is arranged and displayed.

  According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the same characters are arranged on a corresponding predetermined shape in each job after being divided and distributed by the parallel printing function.

  A printer control method according to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to any one of the twenty-fourth to twenty-fourth aspects, further comprising a time scale in which an elapsed time from the current date and time is arranged. A time scale display step of displaying in a direction parallel to the predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the display step is included.

  According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the amount of each job stored in each printer and the total amount thereof are expressed as absolute amounts converted into printing time.

  According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method according to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, any one of the time scales in a direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed in the time scale display step. And a guide bar display step of displaying at least one straight line passing through any of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed in the display step.

  According to the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, the guide bar that can be used for various purposes such as averaging the load state between the printers is displayed.

  According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method according to the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, the guide bar is moved on the time scale by the elapsed time each time a predetermined time elapses. A guide bar re-displaying process for moving in the direction of the starting point is included.

  According to the twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, the guide bar moves backward on the scale by the elapsed time.

  According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a printer control method according to any one of the twentieth to twenty-seventh aspects, wherein the printer is associated with each printer and is being processed by the printer. And a processing job information display step for displaying information on the print job.

  According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the invention, detailed information of the job being processed in each printer is displayed together with the accumulation status of the job in each printer.

  A printer control method according to a twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is the printer control method according to the twenty-eighth aspect of the invention, wherein the information includes a document name, a user name, a memo, a job ID, a progress status, and an output of the print job being processed. It is at least one of the forms.

  According to the twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the job accumulation status in each printer, detailed information on the job being processed in each printer, specifically, the document name, user name, and memo of the job. At least one of job ID, progress status, and output form is displayed.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to the twenty-eighth or thirty-ninth aspect, wherein the information is associated with the printer and displayed in the in-process job information display step. The display is performed in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the process.

  According to the thirty-third aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of a job in a certain printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer are displayed side by side.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-first aspect of the invention is the printer control method according to any one of the twentieth to thirty-third aspects, further comprising a predetermined shape displayed by being arranged in the display step. A printer status display step for displaying an icon indicating the stop of the printer in which the predetermined shape is displayed in association with the print job when the print job corresponding to the first one is stopped. Features.

  According to the invention of claim 31, it is clearly indicated by the icon that the stop of the printer is not a trouble but is caused by the stopped job.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-second aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to any one of the twenty-first to thirty-first aspects, further comprising: A second calculation step for calculating a time required to process a print job that has not been performed; and displaying the print job in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the second calculation step In addition, the predetermined shape is arranged at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and is displayed in a display area different from the display area of the predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the display step. And a display step.

  According to the thirty-second aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of jobs not yet assigned to the printer is expressed in the form of a job graph including all unassigned jobs.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to the thirty-second aspect, further comprising: a total number of print jobs that have not yet been assigned to any one of the printers in the assignment step; It is characterized by including an all unassigned job information display step for displaying the total number of printed sheets.

  According to the thirty-third aspect of the present invention, the total number of unallocated jobs and the total number of printed sheets are clearly indicated by numerical values together with the job graph.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to the thirty-third aspect, wherein the total number and the total number of printed sheets are displayed in the second display step in the all unallocated job information display step. The display is performed in a display area adjacent to a display area having a predetermined shape arranged and displayed.

  According to the thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of unallocated jobs, the total number and the total number of printed sheets are displayed side by side.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to any one of the twenty-fourth to thirty-fourth aspects, wherein the assignment to any one of the printers is not yet performed in the assignment step. It includes a selected job information display step for displaying information of a selected print job that has not been performed.

  According to the thirty-fifth aspect of the invention, detailed information on the selected job among the unassigned jobs is displayed together with the job graph.

  A printer control method according to a thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to the thirty-fifth aspect, wherein the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of a selected print job. Features.

  According to the thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the job graph, detailed information of the selected job among the unassigned jobs, specifically, at least one of the document name, user name, and memo is displayed. The

  A printer control method according to a thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention is the printer control method according to the thirty-fifth or thirty-sixth aspect, wherein the information is arranged in the second display step in the selected job information display step. The display area is displayed in a display area adjacent to the display area having a predetermined shape.

  According to the thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention, the accumulation status of unassigned jobs and the detailed information of the selected job are displayed side by side.

  According to a thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method according to the thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention, the designation step of designating the interrupt position of the print job being selected is further provided. And an interrupt position display step of displaying an interrupt position pointer between two predetermined shapes displayed in the vicinity of the interrupt position specified in the specifying step.

  According to the thirty-eighth aspect, the interrupt position pointer clearly indicates which job the selected job interrupts.

  A recording medium according to the invention of claim 39 records a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 20 to 38, so that the program is read by the computer. Accordingly, the method described in any one of claims 20 to 38 can be executed by a computer.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the printer control apparatus that displays the load state of at least one printer connected via a network, the allocating unit that allocates a print job to any one of the printers; A calculation unit for calculating a time required for the printer allocated by the allocation unit to process the print job; and the print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculation unit. In addition, the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer by the assigning unit and not yet completed is arranged at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction in association with individual printers. Display means for displaying the The printer control device is capable of displaying the job storage status in the form of a job graph consisting of all the jobs stored in the printer and displaying the load status of each printer graphically and easily. The effect that is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the display means displays a list of printers belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer. In order to do so, the printer is associated with individual printers belonging to the same group, and the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer by the assigning unit and not yet completed is horizontally set. Since the display is arranged in a certain direction in the direction or the vertical direction, the storage status of each printer belonging to the same group is expressed in the form of a job graph consisting of all the jobs stored in the printer. , The load status of each printer in the group can be displayed graphically and easily An effect that the printer controller is obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the display means updates the display content every time a predetermined time elapses. The latest job accumulation status is always reflected in the job graph, so that it is possible to obtain a printer control device that can display the load status of each printer at each point in time graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner. There is an effect.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the display unit performs the print job at the time calculated by the calculation unit. Since the predetermined shape having a proportional length is displayed, and the color or pattern of the predetermined shape is displayed differently depending on the state of the corresponding print job, the state of each job in the job graph corresponds to the predetermined predetermined shape. It is expressed by the color or pattern of the shape, and as a result, it is possible to obtain a printer control device that can display the status of each job stored in each printer graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner in real time.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, the display unit displays the print job divided from the same print job as the print job. The same picture or display including the same character, figure, icon, or the like including a symbol or the like in or near the predetermined shape while being displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculation means Since the same color is arranged and displayed, each job after being divided and distributed by the parallel printing function is arranged with the same character on the corresponding predetermined shape, and thus processed by a plurality of printers. Thus, there is an effect that a printer control apparatus capable of displaying the relation between a plurality of jobs in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, a time scale in which an elapsed time from the current date and time is further arranged is the display means. Time scale display means for displaying in a direction parallel to the predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the printer, so that the amount of individual jobs accumulated in each printer and the total amount thereof are absolute values converted into printing time Thus, there is an effect that a printer control device capable of displaying the load state of each printer in terms of printing time and displaying it in an easy-to-understand manner can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 7, in the invention described in claim 6, any one of the time scales in a direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed by the time scale display means. Since there is provided a guide bar display means for displaying time and at least one straight line passing through any of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed by the display means, various applications such as averaging of load conditions between printers A guide bar that can be used is displayed, and this guide bar provides an effect of obtaining a printer control device that can easily perform the averaging of the load state between printers.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 8, in the invention described in claim 7, the guide bar display means moves the guide bar by the time corresponding to the elapsed time each time a predetermined time elapses. Since it moves in the direction of the starting point of the scale, the guide bar moves backward on the scale by the elapsed time, and this guide bar provides a printer control device that can easily grasp the remaining time until the target is achieved. There is an effect.

  According to a ninth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, a print job being processed by the printer in association with each printer. In-process job information display means for displaying the information of the job, detailed information on the job being processed in each printer is displayed together with the job accumulation status in each printer. In addition to displaying the load status graphically in an easy-to-understand manner, it is possible to obtain a printer control device that can display in a clear manner which job is currently being processed.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, in the invention described in claim 9, the information includes at least one of a document name, a user name, a memo, a job ID, a progress status, and an output form of a print job being processed. Since it is one, detailed information on the job being processed in each printer, together with the job accumulation status in each printer, specifically the document name, user name, memo, job ID, progress status of the job And at least one of the output forms is displayed, and this makes it possible to display the load status of each printer graphically in an easy-to-understand manner, and to display which job is currently being processed in an easy-to-understand manner There exists an effect that an apparatus is obtained.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the ninth or tenth aspect, the processing job information display means associates the information with the printer and arranges the information by the display means. Displayed in the display area adjacent to the display area of the predetermined shape displayed, the job accumulation status in a printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer are displayed side by side. Thus, it is possible to obtain a printer control apparatus that can display the job accumulation status in the printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer in one place.

  According to the invention of claim 12, in the invention of any one of claims 1 to 11, the top of the predetermined shapes displayed by being arranged by the display means is further provided. Printer status display means for displaying an icon indicating the stop of the printer in which the predetermined shape is displayed in association with the predetermined shape when the status of the print job corresponding to the printer is stopped. This is not a problem, but is clearly indicated by an icon that is caused by a job that is stopped. This provides an effect that a printer control device that can display the cause of the printer stop in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects of the present invention, the assignment unit has not yet been assigned to any printer. Second calculation means for calculating a time required to process a non-print job, and displaying the print job in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the second calculation means; Second display means for arranging the predetermined shape in a horizontal or vertical direction at a constant interval and displaying the display in a display area different from the display area of the predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the display means; Therefore, the accumulation status of jobs that have not yet been assigned to the printer is expressed in the form of a job graph consisting of all unassigned jobs. Printer control device capable of a total amount of jobs that are not assigned to the printer to clearly display graphically an effect that can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 14, in the invention of claim 13, further, the total number of print jobs that have not yet been assigned to any of the printers by the assigning means and the total number of print jobs. Since there is a means for displaying all unassigned job information that displays the number of copies, the total number of unassigned jobs and the total number of prints are clearly indicated by numerical values along with the job graph, so that the total amount of jobs not yet assigned to the printer Can be displayed in a graphical manner in an easy-to-understand manner, and a printer control apparatus that can also display a strict numerical value based on the total number and the total number of printed sheets is obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 15, in the invention described in claim 14, the all unassigned job information display means arranges the total number and the total number of printed sheets by the second display means. Since it is displayed in the display area adjacent to the displayed area of the specified shape, the storage status of unassigned jobs, the total number and the total number of prints are displayed next to each other. In addition, it is possible to obtain a printer control apparatus that can display the total number of printed sheets in one place.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, the assignment unit has not yet been assigned to any printer. Since there is a selected job information display means that displays information on the selected print jobs that are not selected, detailed information on the selected jobs among the unassigned jobs is displayed along with the job graph. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control apparatus capable of displaying the total amount of jobs not yet assigned to the printer graphically in an easy-to-understand manner and easily displaying which job is currently selected.

  According to the invention of claim 17, in the invention of claim 16, the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of the selected print job. In addition, detailed information on the selected job among the unassigned jobs, specifically, at least one of the document name, user name, and memo is displayed. This allows you to display the total amount of jobs that have not yet been assigned to the printer. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control apparatus that can display in a graphical manner in an easy-to-understand manner and can easily display which job is currently selected.

  According to the invention described in claim 18, in the invention described in claim 16 or claim 17, the selected job information display means displays the information arranged by the second display means. Displayed in the display area adjacent to the display area of the specified shape, the storage status of the unassigned job and the detailed information of the selected job are displayed next to each other. As a result, it is possible to obtain a printer control apparatus that can display the detailed information of the selected job in one place.

  According to the invention described in claim 19, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 18, the specifying means for specifying the interrupt position of the selected print job; Interrupt position display means for displaying an interrupt position pointer between two predetermined shapes displayed in the vicinity of the interrupt position designated by the designation means. Whether or not to interrupt the job is clearly indicated by the interrupt position pointer, thereby providing an effect of obtaining a printer control device capable of displaying the interrupt position of the selected job in an easy-to-understand manner.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the printer control method for displaying a load state of at least one printer connected via a network, the assignment step of assigning a print job to any printer, and the assignment step A calculation step of calculating a time required for the assigned printer to process the print job; and displaying the print job in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step. The predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer in the assignment step and not yet completed is arranged and displayed at regular intervals in the horizontal or vertical direction. Display process, so that the accumulation status of jobs in each printer It is expressed in the form of a job graph of all the jobs stored in the printer, thereby, an effect that the printer control method capable of displaying an easy-to-understand load state of each printer graphically is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 21, in the invention of claim 20, in the display step, it corresponds to each printer belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer. In addition, the predetermined shapes corresponding to each of all print jobs that have been assigned to the printer in the assignment step and have not been completed are arranged and displayed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. The storage status of each printer belonging to the group is expressed in the form of a job graph consisting of all jobs stored in the printer, thereby displaying the load status of each printer in the group graphically and easily. The printer control method that can be used is obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 22, in the invention described in claim 20 or claim 21, the content displayed in the display step is updated every time a certain time elapses. Since the process is included, the latest job accumulation status in each printer is always reflected in the job graph, thereby displaying the load status of each printer at each point in time graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner. It is possible to obtain a printer control method capable of performing the above.

  According to a twenty-third aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the twenty-second to twenty-second aspects, the print job is calculated at the time calculated in the calculating step in the display step. Since the predetermined shape having a proportional length is displayed, and the color or pattern of the predetermined shape is displayed differently depending on the state of the corresponding print job, the state of each job in the job graph corresponds to the predetermined predetermined shape. It is expressed by the color or pattern of the shape, and this brings about an effect of obtaining a printer control method capable of displaying the status of each job accumulated in each printer graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner in real time.

  According to the invention of claim 24, in the invention of any one of claims 20 to 23, in the display step, the print job divided from the same print job is Display with a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step, and the same picture including the same character, figure, icon, etc. including a symbol or the like in or near the predetermined shape Since the same color is arranged and displayed, each job after being divided and distributed by the parallel printing function is arranged with the same character on the corresponding predetermined shape, and thus processed by a plurality of printers. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control method capable of displaying the relation between a plurality of jobs in an easy-to-understand manner.

  According to the invention of claim 25, in the invention of any one of claims 20 to 24, a time scale in which an elapsed time from the current date and time is further arranged is the display step. The time scale display process for displaying in a direction parallel to the predetermined shape displayed in the array is included, so that the amount of individual jobs accumulated in each printer and the total amount thereof are absolute values converted to printing time. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control method that can display the load state of each printer in terms of printing time and display it in an easy-to-understand manner.

  According to the invention of claim 26, in the invention of claim 25, any one of the time scales in a direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed in the time scale display step. Since it includes a guide bar display step for displaying at least one straight line passing through any predetermined shape displayed in time and arranged in the display step, various applications such as averaging load states between printers A guide bar that can be used is displayed, and this guide bar provides an effect that a printer control method capable of easily averaging load states between printers can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 27, in the invention of claim 26, the guide bar is further moved in the direction of the starting point of the time scale by an amount corresponding to the elapsed time each time a predetermined time elapses. Since the guide bar re-displaying process is included, the guide bar moves backward on the scale by the elapsed time, and this guide bar makes it possible to easily grasp the remaining time until the target is achieved. The effect that is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 28, in the invention of any one of claims 20 to 27, further, a print job being processed by the printer in association with each printer. In-process job information display process for displaying the information of each printer, the detailed information of the job being processed in each printer is displayed along with the job accumulation status in each printer. There is an effect that a printer control method capable of displaying the load state graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner and displaying which job is currently processed in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 29, in the invention of claim 28, the information includes at least one of a document name, a user name, a memo, a job ID, a progress status, and an output form of a print job being processed. Since it is one, detailed information on the job being processed in each printer, together with the job accumulation status in each printer, specifically the document name, user name, memo, job ID, progress status of the job And at least one of the output forms is displayed, and this makes it possible to display the load status of each printer graphically in an easy-to-understand manner, and to display which job is currently being processed in an easy-to-understand manner There is an effect that a method is obtained.

  According to a thirty-third aspect of the invention, in the thirty-eighth or thirty-ninth aspect of the invention, in the processing job information display step, the information is associated with the printer and arranged in the display step. Displayed in the display area adjacent to the display area of the predetermined shape displayed, the job accumulation status in a printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer are displayed side by side. Thus, it is possible to obtain a printer control method capable of displaying the job accumulation status in the printer and the detailed information of the job being processed by the printer in one place.

  According to the invention of claim 31, in the invention of any one of claims 20 to 30, the top of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed in the display step When the status of the print job corresponding to that of the printer is stopped, the printer status display step for displaying an icon indicating that the predetermined shape is displayed in association with the printer is displayed. This is not a trouble, but is clearly indicated by an icon that is caused by the job being stopped, and this provides an effect that a printer control method capable of displaying the cause of the printer stop in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained.

  According to a thirty-second aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the twentieth to thirty-first aspects, the assignment to any one of the printers is still performed in the assignment step. A second calculation step of calculating a time required to process a non-print job, and displaying the print job in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the second calculation step; A second display step of arranging the predetermined shape in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction at a constant interval and displaying in a display region different from the display region of the predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the display step; , So the accumulation status of jobs that have not yet been assigned to the printer is represented in the form of a job graph consisting of all unassigned jobs. The printer control method capable of displaying an easy-to-understand total unassigned job graphically an effect that can be obtained.

  According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, in the thirty-second aspect of the present invention, the total number of print jobs that have not yet been assigned to any one of the printers in the allocating step and the total prints thereof. Since the total unallocated job information display process that displays the number of pages is included, the total number of unallocated jobs and the total number of prints are clearly indicated by numerical values together with the job graph, so that the total number of jobs not yet allocated to the printer Can be displayed graphically and in an easy-to-understand manner, and a printer control method capable of displaying a strict numerical value based on the total number and the total number of printed sheets is obtained.

  According to a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the thirty-third aspect, the total number and the total number of printed sheets are arranged in the second display step in the all unallocated job information display step. Since it is displayed in the display area adjacent to the displayed area of the specified shape, the storage status of unassigned jobs, the total number and the total number of prints are displayed next to each other. In addition, it is possible to obtain a printer control method capable of displaying the total number of printed sheets in one place.

  According to the invention as set forth in claim 35, in the invention as set forth in any one of claims 20 to 34, assignment to any one of the printers is still performed by the assigning step. Since it includes a selected job information display step that displays information on the selected print job that is not selected, detailed information on the selected job among unassigned jobs is displayed along with the job graph. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control method capable of displaying the total amount of jobs not yet assigned to the printer graphically in an easy-to-understand manner and easily displaying which job is currently selected.

  According to the invention of claim 36, in the invention of claim 35, since the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of the selected print job, In addition, detailed information on the selected job among the unassigned jobs, specifically, at least one of the document name, user name, and memo is displayed. This allows you to display the total amount of jobs that have not yet been assigned to the printer. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a printer control method that can be displayed in a graphical manner in an easy-to-understand manner and that can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner indicating which job is currently selected.

  According to the invention of claim 37, in the invention of claim 35 or claim 36, the information is arranged and displayed in the second display step in the selected job information display step. Displayed in the display area adjacent to the display area of the specified shape, the storage status of the unassigned job and the detailed information of the selected job are displayed next to each other. As a result, it is possible to obtain a printer control method that can display the detailed information of the selected job in one place.

  According to the invention of claim 38, in the invention of any one of claims 20 to 37, further, a designating step of designating an interrupt position of a print job being selected; And an interrupt position display step for displaying an interrupt position pointer between two predetermined shapes displayed in the nearest vicinity of the interrupt position specified in the specified process. Whether or not to interrupt the job is clearly indicated by the interrupt position pointer, thereby providing an effect that a printer control method capable of displaying the interrupt position of the selected job in an easy-to-understand manner is obtained. According to the invention described in claim 39, a program for causing a computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 20 to 38 is recorded, so that the program is read by the computer. As a result, a recording medium capable of executing the method described in any one of claims 20 to 38 by a computer can be obtained.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration of a printing system including a printer control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the hardware constitutions of the print server 105 by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows functionally the structure of the print server 105 by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the item of the print job table 303a by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the item of the printing schedule table 303b by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the printer table 303c by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printer setting dialog by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printer setting dialog by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printer setting dialog by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printer allocation dialog by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printer allocation dialog by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the main view by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the schedule view by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the schedule view by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence of the color or pattern of the rectangle on the schedule view by this Embodiment of this invention, and the state of a job. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of switching operation of the printer group by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence of the printer status icon and printer status by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows a screen state (part) when a printer status icon changes from "READY" to "STOP" in this embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the interruption position pointer by this Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the schedule view display process of the print server 105 by this Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the print job list window displayed in a prior art.

  Exemplary embodiments of a printer control device, a printer control method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
(System configuration of printing system)
First, the configuration of the entire printing system including the printer control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration of a printing system including a printer control apparatus according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a user client, which is a computer used by a customer to entrust a printing job to a business. By starting a Web browser from this computer and accessing a print request Web page on the WWW server 104 described later, it is possible to transmit a print target document and a job ticket in which the print conditions are entered.

  In FIG. 1, the printing system includes a reception client 102, a management client 103, a WWW server 104, a print server 105, a document management server 106, and a plurality of printers 107 described below. These computers and printers are connected by a LAN.

  102 is a reception client, and a person in charge of a supplier who receives a request by telephone or mail from the customer inputs a document to be printed or a job ticket on behalf of a customer who does not have a facility such as a computer or a network. It is a computer used to do. Functionally the same as the user client 101.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a management client, which is a computer used by a person in charge on the merchant side in order to manage a printing job requested by a customer. By accessing a print management Web page on the WWW server 104 from a Web browser, a document to be printed and a job ticket can be registered / searched / deleted / managed.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes a WWW server, which is a computer for providing three types of Web pages, a Web page for print request, a Web page for print management, and a Web page for document management server, and respective Web applications. When the WWW server 104 receives a new print request from the user client 101 or the reception client 102 via the Web page, the WWW server 104 transfers the request to the print server 105 described later.

  A print server 105 controls a printer 107 (to be described later) to process a print job input from the user client 101 or the reception client 102. Further, as described later, the job accumulation status and progress status of each printer, the operating status of each printer, and the like are displayed on the screen in real time and graphically.

  A document management server 106 is a computer for storing and managing print target documents and job tickets. In response to the acquisition request from the print server 105, the document management server 106 searches for and transmits the held document and job ticket.

  Note that the reception client 102, the management client 103, the WWW server 104, the print server 105, and the document management server 106 are not necessarily separate computers. For example, one computer may have all the above functions. Good.

  A printer 107 creates a paper image from a document to be printed according to the control of the print server 105, and prints the imaged document on a predetermined sheet according to specified conditions.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the printer control apparatus (specifically, the print server 105) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the hardware configuration of the print server 105 according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, 201 indicates a CPU that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 202 indicates a ROM that stores basic input / output programs, and 203 indicates a RAM that is used as a work area of the CPU 201.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes an HDD (hard disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the HD (hard disk) 205 under the control of the CPU 201, and 205 denotes an HD that stores data written according to the control of the HDD 204. Yes. Reference numeral 206 denotes an FDD (floppy (registered trademark) disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the FD (floppy (registered trademark) disk) 207 according to the control of the CPU 201, and reference numeral 207 denotes writing according to the control of the FDD 206. Each FD is shown as an example of a removable storage medium that stores data.

  Reference numeral 208 denotes a cursor, menu, window, or display for displaying various data such as characters and images. Reference numeral 209 denotes a network NET such as a LAN via a network cable 210 such as a twisted pair line. Network boards that function as interfaces with are respectively shown.

  Reference numeral 211 denotes a keyboard having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, and various instructions. Reference numeral 212 denotes a mouse for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. ing. Reference numeral 213 denotes a CD-ROM which is a detachable recording medium, 214 denotes a CD-ROM drive for controlling reading of data to the CD-ROM 213, and 200 denotes a bus or cable for connecting the above-described units. ing.

  Next, a functional configuration of the printer control apparatus (print server 105) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram functionally showing the configuration of the print server 105 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, only the minimum functional parts necessary for explaining the present invention are shown, and the other parts are not shown.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a Web interface unit that controls communication with the WWW server 104, including a print request, that is, a print job registration request transferred from the user client 101 or the like via the WWW server 104. Receive various requests.

  In addition to registering print jobs, the received request includes details confirmation and status confirmation of already registered print jobs, list display of print jobs registered in the past, and so on. Determine which request it is. If the input request is registration of a print job, the document to be printed and the job ticket are sent to the document management server 106 via the document management server interface unit 302 described later and to the printer allocation unit 307 described later ( When the printer assignment at the time of input is selected in the dialog shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 302 denotes a document management server interface unit that controls communication with the document management server 106, and transmits a print target document and job ticket registration request input from the Web interface unit 301 to the document management server 106. Alternatively, an acquisition request for an already registered document or job ticket is transmitted, and the document or job ticket is received.

  A database management unit 303 receives a request from a printer interface unit 304, a print time calculation unit 306, a printer allocation unit 307, and the like, which will be described later, and holds a print job table 303a, a print schedule table 303b, and a printer table 303c. Write to.

  The print job table 303a is a table for holding details of the contents of a print job input from the user client 101 or the like. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of items in the print job table 303a. In this way, various print conditions such as the number of copies (“NUM” in the figure) and the number of print pages (“OPAGE”) are registered in the print job table 303a in association with the job ID.

  Further, the print schedule table 303b is a table for holding a printer to be processed for each job registered in the print job table 303a, a current state, and the like. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of items in the print schedule table 303b. As described above, the print schedule table 303b associates the job ID with the printer to be processed ("PRNT" in the figure), the current state ("KFLG"), the print time ("TIME"), and the like. Is registered.

  The printer table 303c is a table for holding all the printers 107 managed by the print server 105, the group to which the printer belongs, the scheduling method for each group, the properties of each printer in the group, the current status, and the like. It is. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an example of the printer table 303c. In the figure, “*” indicates a group selected by the input unit 305 as will be described later, and the job status of each printer in the group is displayed together in a schedule view described later.

  Among the items of the printer table 303c shown in FIG. 6, the contents of the “status” item are rewritten as needed by notification from the printer interface unit 304 as will be described later. The contents of the items other than the above are set by the dialogs shown in FIGS.

  When the add button 701 is pressed in the dialog shown in FIG. 7, the dialog shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. For example, an arbitrary group name such as “PrinterB” is input. Further, when a desired printer is selected from the printers that can be added and the add button 801 is pressed, the selected printer is added to the printer managed by the “Printer B” group. Then, when the next button 802 is pressed, the dialog shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and the scheduling method of the added group is set.

  In the “operation upon reception” item of the dialog shown in FIG. 9, the assignment of a new job to the printer is (a) displayed at the same time as the new job is input, and a dialog shown in FIG. (B) Any schedule that is automatically performed by a printer assignment unit 307 (to be described later) at the same time when a new job is input, or (c) is not performed at the time of input, and is manually performed by an operator as needed in a main view or a schedule view to be described later. Select whether to adopt the method. Here, it is assumed that “Printer B” group and “Printer A” group are also selected as shown in FIG.

  In the “parallel printing” item of the dialog shown in FIG. 9, whether the job is divided and distributed to a plurality of printers by default in the dialog shown in FIG. 10, which will be described later, when the number of copies of the job exceeds the threshold. , And the above threshold for doing so. When the completion button 901 is pressed, the setting contents in the dialogs of FIGS. 8 and 9 are written into the printer table 303c by the database management unit 303.

  A printer interface unit 304 controls communication with the printer 107. Whenever a completion of a job is notified from any printer, the printer interface unit 304 requests the database management unit 303 to assign it to the printer from the print schedule table 303b. If the next job is found, the details of the job held in the print job table 303a are returned.

  Then, the name of the document to be printed (or information that can identify the document such as an ID) is extracted from the received job details, and then the data of the document is acquired via the document management server interface unit 302. Then, necessary items such as print target document data and the number of copies to be printed are transmitted to the printer 107 specified in the print schedule table 303b to process the job.

  Further, the printer interface unit 304 receives the state transmitted from each printer at a constant interval. Then, the database management unit 303 is requested to rewrite the “status” item of the printer table 303c to a new status for the printer whose status has changed. Also, the status of each job is determined from the status of each printer, and the database management unit 303 is requested to update the status of each job held in the print schedule table 303b.

  Reference numeral 305 denotes an input unit that inputs various instructions such as a job or printer selection instruction, a printer group switching instruction, a printer assignment instruction, and a job interruption instruction displayed in a schedule view described later. The input unit 305 corresponds to “designating means” in the claims, and a part of the processing to be performed corresponds to the “designating step” in the claims.

  Reference numeral 306 denotes a print time calculation unit. When a request is received from a printer assignment unit 307, which will be described later, a time that is estimated to be required to process each input individual job, that is, a print time, Using a predetermined calculation formula, for example, the printing speed of the printer to which the job is assigned, the printing time (min) = 60 (min) × number of copies × number of printed pages / printing speed of the printer (ppm (prints per minute)). .

  When calculating the printing time of a job not assigned to a printer, the average value of the printing speeds of all the managed printers is used as the printing speed of the printer.

  The print time notified from the print time calculation unit 306 to the printer assignment unit 307 is written in the “print time” item of the print schedule table 303 b by the database management unit 303 that has received a request from the printer assignment unit 307. However, the printing time calculation unit 306 requests the database management unit 303 to read out the printing time of the job being printed from the printing schedule table 303b and recalculates the value every time a certain time elapses.

  In this case, the calculation formula is, for example, printing time (min) = {60 (min) × number of copies × number of printed pages / printing speed of printer (cpm)} − {60 (min) × number of work in progress (= already printed) Completed sheets) / printing speed of printer (cpm)}. Then, the recalculated printing time is requested to the database management unit 303 to be written back to the printing schedule table 303b.

  As is clear from the above description, the print time calculated and recalculated by the print time calculation unit 306 and held in the print schedule table 303b is strictly estimated to be longer than this time to process the job. It is the remaining time, and for a job being printed, it decreases with the progress of the job and becomes zero when the job is completed.

  It should be noted that the printing time calculation unit 306 is referred to as “calculation means” and “second calculation means” in the claims, and the processing to be performed is the “calculation step” and “second calculation step” in the claims. , Respectively.

  Reference numeral 307 denotes a printer assignment unit. When (a) is set in the “operation upon reception” item of the dialog shown in FIG. 9 as described above, a new job is input from the Web interface unit 301. At the same time, a dialog as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. In this dialog, the printer to which the new job is assigned and the number of copies to be assigned to each printer are set, and when the next button 1001 is pressed, a dialog as shown in FIG. 11 is further displayed.

  When the priority of the job is set in this dialog and the completion button 1101 is pressed, a job ID (serial number) is first assigned to the new job. At this time, when the job is divided and distributed to a plurality of printers in the dialog shown in FIG. 10, that is, when parallel printing is instructed, a job ID is assigned to the parent job before the division, and after the division Each child job is assigned a job ID obtained by adding a serial number unique to the child job to the ID of the parent job.

  Further, the printer allocation unit 307 requests the print time calculation unit 306 to calculate the print time of each job. The printing time and job ID, the contents set in the dialogs of FIGS. 10 and 11, and the job ticket received from the Web interface unit 301 are output to the database management unit 303.

  The database management unit 303 extracts necessary items from these pieces of input information and writes them in the respective items of the print job table 303a and the print schedule table 303b. In the print job table 303a, a record is created in units requested by a customer, that is, in parent jobs, and in the print schedule table 303b, records are created in units that are actually processed by a printer, that is, in child jobs.

  When the cancel button 1002 of the dialog shown in FIG. 10 or the cancel button 1102 of the dialog shown in FIG. 11 is pressed, the printer assigning unit 307 only receives the job ID and the print time, and the job ticket received from the Web interface unit 301. Is output to the database management unit 303. Therefore, for example, the “PRNT” item of the print schedule table 303b is left blank.

  As described above, at least a job ID is written in the print job table 303a and the print schedule table 303b, but a job in which the printer is in an undecided state is hereinafter referred to as a “printer unallocated” or simply “unallocated” job. Call.

  The printer allocating unit 307 corresponds to “allocation means” in the claims, and the processing performed by the printer allocation unit 307 corresponds to the “allocation step” in each claim.

  A main view display unit 308 reads necessary items from each table of the database management unit 303 and displays a main view as shown in FIG. In the window shown in the figure, the interior is largely divided into three parts, and all printers managed by this print server are displayed in a tree shape for each group in the area 1201 on the left side.

  The pre-completion job scheduled for the printer selected here or for all the printers in the selected group is displayed in the upper right area 1202, and the job already completed in the printer is displayed in the lower right area. A list is displayed in each area 1203.

  This window is basically similar to the job list window according to the prior art shown in FIG. For this reason, it may be difficult to know how much load is applied to which printer in the group and when a certain job is completed by the assigned printer. Therefore, by pressing a schedule view icon 1204 on the main view, a schedule view in which the above is displayed in an easy-to-understand manner can be displayed instead.

  A schedule view display unit 309 includes a job graph display unit 309a, a time scale display unit 309b, a guide bar display unit 309c, a processing job information display unit 309d, a printer status display unit 309e, and all unassigned items. The configuration includes a job information display unit 309f, a selected job information display unit 309g, and an interrupt position display unit 309h.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the structure of the schedule view displayed by the schedule view display unit 309. The window is divided into an assigned job display area 1301 and an unassigned job display area 1302, and time scale display areas 1303 and 1304 are provided for each of them.

  The assigned job display area 1301 is further divided into blocks 1301a to 1301d for each printer. In the following, as shown in the figure, a case where the window is divided horizontally for each printer will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the window may be divided vertically. Each block includes a job graph display area 1305, a job information display area 1306 being processed, and a printer status display area 1307.

  The unassigned job display area 1302 is composed of one block, and the block is composed of a job graph display area 1305, an all unassigned job information display area 1308, and a selected job information display area 1309.

  Each job graph display area 1305 is drawn by the job graph display unit 309a, and the job graph display unit 309a performs "display means" and "second display means" in each claim as well as the processing to be performed. These correspond to the “display process” and “second display process” in the claims, respectively.

  In addition, the time scale display areas 1303 and 1304 are drawn by the time scale display unit 309b, and the time scale display unit 309b performs "time scale display means" in each claim and the processing to be performed in each claim. This corresponds to the “time scale display process”.

  Further, although not shown in FIG. 13, a guide bar 1410 described later in FIG. 14 is drawn by a guide bar display unit 309c, and this guide bar display unit 309c is used as a “guide bar display unit” in each claim, The processing to be performed corresponds to the “guide bar display step” and the “guide bar redisplay step” described in each claim.

  The in-process job information display area 1306 is drawn by the in-process job information display unit 309d, and the in-process job information display unit 309d performs processing performed by the “in-process job information display unit” described in each claim. Corresponds to the “in-process job information display step” in each claim.

  Further, the printer status display area 1307 is drawn by the printer status display unit 309e, and the printer status display unit 309e performs "printer status display means" in each claim and the processing to be performed in each claim is " This corresponds to the “printer status display process”.

  The all unassigned job information display area 1308 is drawn by the all unassigned job information display section 309f, and this all unassigned job information display section 309f is displayed in the “all unassigned job information display means” in each claim. The processing to be performed corresponds to the “all unassigned job information display step” described in each claim.

  The selected job information display area 1309 is drawn by the selected job information display unit 309g, and the selected job information display unit 309g performs the processing performed by the “selected job information display unit” in each claim. Corresponds to the “selected job information display step” in each claim.

  Further, although not shown in FIG. 13, an interrupt position pointer 1901 described later in FIG. 19 is drawn by the interrupt position display unit 309h, and this interrupt position display unit 309h is referred to as “interrupt position display means” in each claim. Further, the processing to be performed corresponds to the “interrupt position display step” described in each claim.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a schedule view displayed by the schedule view display unit 309. First, in each job graph display area 1405 of the assigned job display area 1401, a job that has been assigned to the printer and has not been completed has a length proportional to the printing time. (For example, a rectangle, hereinafter simply referred to as a “rectangle”), and displayed in order. Note that a gap of 1 dot of the same color as the background color is provided between each job so that the boundary can be easily understood.

  In the following, a band-shaped (bar-shaped) rectangle formed by arranging the rectangles of each job assigned to the same printer at intervals of 1 dot is referred to as a “job graph”. As a result of being proportional to the printing time of each job, the length of each job graph is proportional to the total processing time of the job accumulated in the printer, that is, the load of each printer. Therefore, it is possible to intuitively grasp the magnitude of the load on each printer based on the length of the job graph.

  When a new job is submitted, when a printer to be processed is determined or changed for an existing job, or when there is a change in the status of any job or printer, the printing time of the job being printed In summary, such as when recalculated along with the progress, when any writing or rewriting is performed on any table held in the database management unit 303, the job graph display unit 309a displays Each job graph is redisplayed (refreshed) with reference to the above tables.

  As described above, the printing time of the job being printed is recalculated as the job progresses and gradually decreases. Therefore, the length of the rectangle corresponding to the job is also shortened each time it is displayed again. Since the job being printed is always displayed at the top of the job graph, that is, at the starting point of the time scale described later, if the length of the leading rectangle is shortened, the subsequent rectangles are shortened accordingly. More intuitively, the job graph of each printer sequentially moves to the top, in this case, to the left side as time passes, and beyond the starting point, it is outside the screen. Therefore, it is possible to intuitively grasp the job progress status of each printer by moving the job graph.

  Note that the color or pattern of each rectangle in the job graph represents the status of the job corresponding to the rectangle, and is updated to reflect the new status of each job when redisplayed. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between a rectangular color or pattern and a job state.

  In addition, characters such as “1” and “2” displayed in the upper right corner of the rectangle are child jobs divided from a parent job having the job indicated by the rectangle, in other words, the job is subjected to parallel printing. It shows that it is the target. Since a common character is added to each child job divided from the same parent job, it is easy to understand which printer processes a job that is printed in parallel by a plurality of printers.

  Although the character is shown in the rectangle, the present invention is not limited to this, and the character may be displayed outside the rectangle so as to indicate the rectangle. In the present embodiment, the same number is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same character may be used, or the same figure or icon may be used. Good. Further, by pointing one of the divided jobs with an icon or the like, the other divided job may be indicated by changing the display form.

  In the assigned job display area 1401, the job accumulation status is simultaneously displayed for a plurality of printers in the selected group, here, “Printer A1” to “Printer A4” in the “Printer A” group. Is done.

  To see the job accumulation status in other groups, a printer group switching instruction to be displayed is input from the input unit 305. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, a desired group is clicked with the mouse 212 from the pull-down list 1413 at the top of the window. When the database management unit 303 that has received a request from the input unit 305 switches the selection to another group in the printer table 303c, each unit of the schedule view display unit 309 replaces the group that has been displayed so far. For each printer in the newly selected group, the job accumulation status, detailed information on the job being processed, and the like are displayed.

  In the schedule view shown in FIG. 14, time scales are displayed in time scale display areas 1403 and 1404, respectively. In this time scale, an elapsed time from the current date and time is arranged, and the unit is “minutes”.

  Even if there is no time scale, the relative magnitude of the load on each printer can be determined by the length of the job graph. I do n’t know. From the display of the time scale, for example, if the end of the job graph of a certain printer is positioned “after 120 minutes” on the scale, it can be seen that the remaining 120 minutes of jobs are accumulated in the printer.

  Also, for example, a rectangle whose end point is “300 minutes later” on the scale indicates a job that is scheduled to be completed 300 minutes later (1 hour later). Then, if there is a job that must be completed by 17:00 of the end of the day, that is, if the end of the rectangle representing the job is closer to the starting point than after 300 minutes on the scale, It is possible to easily determine whether or not the job is processed by the deadline.

  In the schedule view shown in FIG. 14, a guide bar 1410 that passes through a certain point on the scale and crosses the job graph of each printer is displayed in a direction orthogonal thereto. Each straight line is interrupted, but this is based on a design point of view. In principle, each straight line is a single straight line.

  When “guide bar display” is selected from the “display” menu at the top of the window, one guide bar 1410 is displayed. Since a new guide bar 1410 is displayed each time “guide bar display” is executed, a desired number of guide bars 1410 can be set in the window. These guide bars 1410 can be moved with the mouse 212 to a desired position on the scale.

  The guide bar 1410 can be used for various purposes. For example, when a job graph ending on the left side and a job graph ending on the right side are mixed, the jobs are evenly distributed to the printers. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the load level of each printer by reassigning a job of a printer with a large load to a printer with a small load.

  Further, the guide bar 1410 can be used to check whether there is no variation in the processing timing of each job that is printed in parallel by a plurality of printers, for example. Of the child jobs divided from the same parent job, some are on the left side of the guide bar 1410 and some are on the right side of the guide bar 1410. I can't do it. Therefore, one of the jobs is reassigned so that the processing time of each child job is almost the same.

  Further, the guide bar 1410 serves as a guideline for grasping how much overtime work occurs, for example. Assuming that there are two more hours until the end time, if the guide bar 1410 is put together 120 minutes after the scale, the job that protrudes on the right side is a job that becomes an overtime job. In this connection, for example, it can be used to check whether a job with a deadline is completed by the deadline.

  Further, the guide bar 1410 is sequentially moved in the direction of the starting point on the scale by the elapsed time from the setting time, and is erased when the starting point is reached. Alternatively, for example, if it is set at a position 120 minutes after on the scale, it may be said that it is erased 120 minutes after the setting. Therefore, for example, if the guide bar 1410 is set at the end of the job decided to be processed so far, for example, the remaining time until the goal is achieved (the goal is achieved in another 30 minutes) depending on the position on the scale that changes every moment. , Etc.).

  The block of each printer displays job information in progress for displaying detailed information of the job being processed by each printer, specifically the document name, user name, memo, job ID, progress status, and output form. An area 1406 is provided. In the figure, an area for displaying a document name, a user name, and a memo and an area for displaying a job ID, a progress status, and an output form are separated, but this balances with an unassigned job display area 1402 described later. This is due to design reasons, and may be displayed together without being divided.

  Here, the progress status is specifically indicated by “in-process number of sheets” / “total number of printed sheets”. The in-process number is the number of sheets that have already been printed, and the total number of printed sheets is the number of copies × the number of printed pages.

  The output form is whether the job is processed in a batch by the printer (batch printing) or divided into a plurality of jobs and processed in parallel by a plurality of printers (parallel). (Printing), or what is assigned to another printer is reassigned to this printer due to malfunction of the printer (substitute printing).

  Each printer block is provided with a printer status display area 1407 indicating the status of each printer, and the current printer status is displayed by a predetermined icon. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between each icon and the state of the printer.

  Explanation of the meaning of each state is omitted, but only “STOP” will be supplemented. In particular, the “STOP” icon is displayed when the operation of the printer is stopped by the operator from the operation panel of the printer or the print server, in addition to the time when the job designated to be stopped arrives. This is different from giving a stop attribute to a job and giving a stop instruction directly to a printer.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing (part of) the screen state when the printer state changes from “READY” to “STOP”. The stopped job 1801 moves in the direction of the starting point on the scale as time elapses, and when the tip of the job 1801 coincides with the starting point, the printer status icon changes from “READY” in the upper diagram to “STOP” in the lower diagram. Is updated. When the leading edge coincides with the starting point, that is, when the processing time of the job comes.

  Note that the job being processed here includes a job in which an error has occurred during printing as well as a job being printed, and a job that has been stopped because an instruction to stop is given when the printing time has come. More intuitively, it may be said that the job is positioned at the top of the job graph of each printer.

  In FIG. 14, the job information display area 1406 (part of) and the printer status display area 1407 of “Printer A1” are surrounded by a dark blue two-dot frame 1411, and this printer is currently selected. (The “selected printer” is different from the above-mentioned “selected group”). The selected printer can be instructed to stop, resume, etc. from the icon at the top of the window.

  Further, jobs that have not been assigned to any printer are displayed in the job graph display area 1405 in the unassigned job display area 1402 in, for example, the order of input. As with assigned jobs, the length of the rectangle indicates the print time calculated for the job, the color or pattern of the rectangle indicates the current state of the job (specifically, the printer is not assigned), and The length of the job graph indicates the total time required for processing all unassigned jobs.

  An unassigned job display area 1402 includes an all unassigned job information display area 1408 for displaying the total number of unassigned jobs and the total number of printed sheets, the document name of one of the selected unassigned jobs, A selected job information display area 1409 for displaying a user name and a memo (comment) is provided.

  In order to assign an unassigned job to any printer, a job selection instruction and an instruction to assign the job to a printer are input from the input unit 305. Specifically, the mouse 212 is first clicked on the job to be assigned to the printer. The job selected in this way is highlighted by a dark blue one-dot frame 1412.

  Next, “Printer assignment” is selected and executed from the pull-down menu at the top of the window. In this way, when printer assignment is executed from the menu, the printer assignment unit 307 that has received an instruction from the input unit 305, in principle, selects the currently selected job with the least load, that is, to the job. Add to the end of the print queue for the printer that can start the fastest.

  However, if there is a clear need to interrupt the job before this job, not the printer that can start processing the fastest, drag and drop the clicked job as it is to the desired job of the desired printer. You can interrupt them.

  As described above, the boundary between jobs is clarified by a gap of 1 dot. However, in order to clearly indicate the boundary at which the job is actually inserted when dragging and dropping the job, in principle, An interrupt position pointer 1901 as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed in the gap closest to the mouse cursor. These pointers move as the mouse cursor moves.

  Each job is given a priority in advance, and interruption can be performed only before a job having the same or lower priority as the job to be interrupted. For this reason, even if the gap is closest to the mouse cursor, any of the jobs behind it has a high priority, and when interrupting a job with a low priority is prohibited, the gap is positioned at the interrupt position. The pointer 1901 is not displayed. In this case, an interruptable boundary closest to the mouse cursor is selected from the interruptable boundaries, and an interrupt position pointer 1901 is displayed at that position.

  When there is a job interruption due to drag and drop, the printer allocation unit 307 that has received the notification from the input unit 305 first requests the printing time calculation unit 306 to use the printing speed of the interruption destination printer. Recalculate the print time of the selected job. Then, a request is made to the database management unit 303 to cause the printer to process the job to be written in the print schedule table 303b as the interrupt destination printer and the print time as the print time.

  Web interface unit 301, document management server interface unit 302, database management unit 303, printer interface unit 304, input unit 305, print time calculation unit 306, printer allocation unit 307, main view display unit 308, and schedule view display unit 309 implements the function of each unit by the CPU 201 and the like executing instruction processing in accordance with instructions described in a program recorded on a recording medium such as the ROM 202, RAM 203 or HD 205, and FD 207, respectively.

  Next, the procedure of the schedule view display process of the printer control apparatus (print server 105) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a procedure of schedule view display processing of the print server 105 according to the embodiment of the present invention. When the schedule view icon 1204 is pressed on the main view shown in FIG. 12, processing according to this flowchart is started.

  In step S2001, the job graph display unit 309a of the schedule view display unit 309 requests the database management unit 303 to list all jobs scheduled to be completed after the current date and time among the printers in the selected group. Search.

  In step S2002, first, the length of a rectangle representing each job is calculated from the print time of each job held in the print schedule table 303b. For example, when 1 minute on the scale is 4 dots and the print time of the job is 120 minutes, 4 dots × 120 minutes−1 dot for the gap = 479 dots. By using such a calculation formula, it is possible to avoid the problem that when the screen is enlarged, the gap of the job is enlarged and the appearance is deteriorated.

  Further, a rectangular color or pattern representing each job is determined from the state of each job held in the print schedule table 303b. Also, referring to the job ID, if there are child jobs divided from the same parent job, the same characters are assigned to those child jobs. Then, a rectangular image representing each job is created from the length, color or pattern, and characters to be added.

  Further, in step S2003, the image of each job created in step S2002 is connected at an interval of 1 dot for each assigned printer to create a job graph image for each printer.

  In step S2004, the time scale display unit 309b of the schedule view display unit 309 reads out a time scale image held in advance from a storage unit (not shown).

  In step S2005, the guide bar display unit 309c of the schedule view display unit 309 determines whether or not the guide bar 1410 is set from a table (not shown) held therein, and if the guide bar 1410 is set, the above table is displayed. The setting date and time and the setting position on the scale are read out. Then, a new display position on the scale is calculated based on the elapsed time from the set date and time to the current date and time.

  For example, “guide bar display” is selected from the “display” menu, and the guide bar 1410 displayed at an arbitrary position is moved to a position after 60 minutes on the scale at 11:00, and the current date and time is If it is 11:10, the elapsed time of 10 minutes from the set date is subtracted from 60 minutes after the set position, and a new display position is calculated as 50 minutes later.

  In step S2006, the processing job information display unit 309d of the schedule view display unit 309 requests the database management unit 303 to send the document name, user name, memo, job ID, and print of the job being processed by each printer. The number of copies, the number of print pages, and the output form are read from the print job table 303a. Further, the total number of prints of each job being processed is calculated by multiplying the read number of print copies by the number of print pages.

  In step S2007, the printer status display unit 309e of the schedule view display unit 309 requests the database management unit 303 to read the status of each printer in the selected group from the printer table 303c. Then, an icon image corresponding to each read state is read from a storage unit (not shown).

  In step S2008, the job graph display unit 309a of the schedule view display unit 309 requests the database management unit 303 to search for all unassigned jobs from the print schedule table 303b. In step S2009, the length, color, or pattern of the rectangle representing each job is determined from the printing time and state in the print schedule table 303b, and the image is created.

  Further, in step S2010, the order of the rectangles created in step S2009 is determined according to the input date and time of each job held in the print job table 303a, and the rectangles are joined at an interval of 1 dot in this order. Create an image of the job graph of the assigned job.

  In step S2011, the all unassigned job information display unit 309f of the schedule view display unit 309 counts the total number of unassigned jobs searched in step S2008 and requests the database management unit 303 to send each job. Are read from the print job table 303a. Then, the total number of prints of unassigned jobs is calculated by accumulating the number of prints of each job (= number of copies × number of print pages).

  In step S2012, the selected job information display unit 309g of the schedule view display unit 309 requests the database management unit 303 to request the document name and user name of the job if any of the unassigned jobs is selected. And the memo are read from the print job table 303a.

  In step S2013, each of the above units displays the image created in each of the above steps, the read character information, the calculated numerical value, and the like in a schedule view image prepared in advance and displayed on the screen. Thereafter, the processing according to this flowchart is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the load of each printer is graphically displayed by a job graph, it is possible to intuitively grasp whether or not the load is appropriately distributed among the printers. it can. In addition, since the scale is also displayed, it is possible to grasp not only the relative amount of the load of each printer but also the absolute amount (the absolute amount converted into the printing time).

  In addition, each rectangle in the job graph represents the print time of the job by its length, and the job status by its color or pattern, so what size and what state of the job is to which printer It is possible to intuitively understand the order in which they are entered. In addition, since it is easy to know when a job is processed depending on the scale, it becomes easy to manage the deadlines of individual jobs.

  In addition, the total amount of jobs for each printer and the total number of unassigned jobs at the current time, the status of each job and each printer at the current time, and details of the job currently being processed and the job being selected are displayed in real time. It is possible to understand at a glance the current and future operation status of the entire system.

  In the printer control method described in the above embodiment, the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as HD, FD, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, and IC card in addition to the ROM. This is realized by reading from the medium and executing it. This program can be distributed as a transmission medium or through a network such as the Internet via the recording medium.

  As described above, the computer-readable recording medium recording the printer control device, the printer control method, and the program for causing the computer to execute the method according to the present invention indicates the load state of at least one printer connected by the network. The present invention is useful for a printer control device for displaying, a printer control method, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

101 User client 102 Reception client 103 Management client 104 WWW server 105 Print server 106 Document management server 107 Printer 200 Bus or cable 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 HDD
205 HD
206 FDD
207 FD
208 Display 209 Network board 210 Network cable 211 Keyboard 212 Mouse 213 CD-ROM
214 CD-ROM drive 301 Web interface unit 302 Document management server interface unit 303 Database management unit 303a Print job table 303b Print schedule table 303c Printer table 304 Printer interface unit 305 Input unit 306 Print time calculation unit 307 Printer allocation unit 308 Main view Display unit 309 Schedule view display unit 309a Job graph display unit 309b Time scale display unit 309c Guide bar display unit 309d In-process job information display unit 309e Printer status display unit 309f All unassigned job information display unit 309g Selected job information display unit 309h Interrupt position display

  The present invention relates to an invention for controlling assignment of print jobs to a plurality of printing apparatuses connected by a network.

  An object of the present invention is to display the load state of each printing apparatus at each time point in an easy-to-understand manner in order to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a print control apparatus that controls assignment of print jobs to a plurality of printing apparatuses connected by a network, an area corresponding to each of the plurality of printing apparatuses is displayed, and each of the areas is displayed. Area display means for displaying a predetermined shape indicating a print job assigned to a corresponding printing apparatus in the order of processing of the print job, a movement receiving means for receiving movement of the predetermined shape between the respective areas, When a movement of a predetermined shape between areas is received by the movement receiving means, a redisplay means for redisplaying the arrangement of the predetermined shapes in each area, and printing corresponding to the area where the predetermined shape has been moved Reassignment means for assigning a print job indicated by the predetermined shape to the apparatus. It is a device.

  The invention according to claim 2 displays an unallocated area for displaying a predetermined shape indicating an unallocated print job that is not allocated to a specific printing apparatus, and inputs the unallocated print job to the predetermined shape. 2. An unallocated area display means for arranging and displaying in order, and a shape determining means for determining a predetermined shape indicating the unallocated print job based on processing contents of the unallocated print job. The print control apparatus according to claim 1.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the shape determining means determines a predetermined shape indicating the unassigned print job based on processing contents of the unassigned print job and an average processing capability of the plurality of printing apparatuses. The printing control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing control apparatus is a printing control apparatus.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that prints print data transmitted from the print control apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system comprising the print control apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects and the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium for print control, characterized in that a program for realizing the respective means according to any one of the first to third aspects by a computer is recorded. is there.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display an easy-to-understand display of a load state at each time point of each printing apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a print control device that can display the load status at each time of each printing device that displays the load status of at least one printing device connected by a network in an easy-to-understand manner, This is useful for a printing apparatus, a printing system, and a print control storage medium.

Claims (39)

In a printer control device that displays a load status of at least one printer connected by a network,
An assigning means for assigning a print job to one of the printers;
Calculating means for calculating a time required for the printer assigned by the assigning means to process the print job;
The print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculation means, and is associated with each printer, assigned to the printer by the assignment means, and has not yet been completed. Display means for arranging and displaying the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs in a horizontal or vertical direction at a constant interval;
A printer control apparatus comprising:   In order to display a list of printers belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer, the display means associates the printers with individual printers belonging to the same group, and the assigning means The predetermined shape corresponding to each of all print jobs assigned to the printer by the printer and not yet completed is arranged and displayed at regular intervals in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. The printer control apparatus described in 1.   3. The printer control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit updates display contents every time a predetermined time elapses.   The display means displays the print job with a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculation means, and changes the color or pattern of the predetermined shape depending on the state of the corresponding print job. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the printer control device is displayed.   The display means displays a print job divided from the same print job in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated by the calculation means, and in or near the predetermined shape, 5. The printer control according to claim 1, wherein the same picture or the same color including the same character including a symbol or the like, a figure or an icon is arranged and displayed. apparatus.   The display device further comprises time scale display means for displaying a time scale in which an elapsed time from the current date and time is arranged in a direction parallel to a predetermined shape displayed by being arranged by the display means. The printer control device according to claim 1.   Furthermore, in the direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed by the time scale display means, at least one of the elapsed time of the time scale and any predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the display means is passed. 7. The printer control apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising guide bar display means for displaying a straight line of books.   8. The printer control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the guide bar display means moves the guide bar in the direction of the starting point of the time scale by an amount corresponding to the elapsed time each time a predetermined time elapses.   9. The in-process job information display means for displaying information on a print job being processed by the printer in association with each printer. The printer control apparatus described in 1.   The printer control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, a memo, a job ID, a progress status, and an output form of a print job being processed.   The in-process job information display means displays the information in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape displayed in association with the printer and displayed by the display means. The printer control apparatus according to claim 9 or 10.   Further, when the state of the print job corresponding to the first one of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed by the display means is stopped, the printer stopped corresponding to the predetermined shape is displayed. The printer control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printer status display unit that displays an icon indicating the status.   Further, a second calculation unit that calculates a time required to process a print job that has not yet been assigned to any printer by the allocation unit, and the second calculation unit calculates the print job. A predetermined shape that is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the given time, and that the predetermined shape is arranged at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and is arranged and displayed by the display means The printer control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second display unit configured to display in a display area different from the display area.   14. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a total unassigned job information display means for displaying a total number of print jobs that have not yet been assigned to any printer by the assigning means and a total number of print jobs. The printer control apparatus described in 1.   The all unassigned job information display means displays the total number and the total number of printed sheets in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape displayed by arranging by the second display means. The printer control device according to claim 14.   2. The selected job information display means for displaying information of a selected print job that has not yet been assigned to any printer by the assigning means. The printer control device according to claim 15.   The printer control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of a print job being selected.   The selected job information display means displays the information in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape arranged and displayed by the second display means. Item 18. The printer control device according to Item 17.   Furthermore, a designation means for designating an interrupt position of the print job being selected, and an interrupt position for displaying an interrupt position pointer between two predetermined shapes displayed in the vicinity of the interrupt position designated by the designation means 19. The printer control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit. In a printer control method for displaying a load state of at least one printer connected by a network,
Assigning a print job to one of the printers;
A calculation step of calculating a time required for the printer assigned in the assignment step to process the print job;
The print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step, and is associated with each printer, assigned to the printer in the assignment step, and not yet completed. A display step of displaying the predetermined shape corresponding to each of all the print jobs in a horizontal or vertical direction arranged at a constant interval;
A printer control method comprising:   All print jobs assigned to the printer in the assigning step and not yet completed in association with individual printers belonging to the same group among a plurality of groups classified in advance for each printer in the display step 21. The printer control method according to claim 20, wherein the predetermined shapes corresponding to each of the first and second shapes are arranged in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction at regular intervals.   The printer control method according to claim 20 or 21, further comprising a redisplay step of updating the content displayed in the display step every time a predetermined time elapses.   In the display step, the print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step, and the color or pattern of the predetermined shape is changed depending on the state of the corresponding print job. 23. The printer control method according to claim 20, wherein the printer control method is displayed.   In the display step, the print job divided from the same print job is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the time calculated in the calculation step, and in or near the predetermined shape, The printer control according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the same character or graphic including the symbol or the like, the same picture or the same color including the icon or the like is arranged and displayed. Method.   The time scale display step of displaying a time scale in which the elapsed time from the current date and time is arranged in a direction parallel to a predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the display step. The printer control method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.   Furthermore, in the direction perpendicular to the time scale displayed in the time scale display step, at least one of the elapsed time of the time scale and at least one of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed in the display step is passed. The printer control method according to claim 25, further comprising a guide bar display step of displaying a straight line of the book.   27. The printer according to claim 26, further comprising a guide bar re-displaying step of moving the guide bar toward the starting point of the time scale by the elapsed time every time a predetermined time elapses. Control method.   28. A job information display process during processing which displays information of a print job being processed by the printer in association with each printer. A printer control method according to claim 1.   29. The printer control method according to claim 28, wherein the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, a memo, a job ID, a progress status, and an output form of a print job being processed.   The said job information display step in the process is characterized in that the information is displayed in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape displayed in association with the printer and displayed in the display step. The printer control method according to claim 28 or 29.   Furthermore, when the state of the print job corresponding to the first one of the predetermined shapes arranged and displayed in the display step is stopped, the printer stopped corresponding to the predetermined shape is displayed. The printer control method according to any one of claims 20 to 30, further comprising a printer status display step of displaying an icon indicating   Further, a second calculation step for calculating a time required to process a print job that has not yet been assigned to any printer in the assignment step, and the print job is calculated in the second calculation step. The predetermined shape is displayed in a predetermined shape having a length proportional to the set time, and the predetermined shape is arranged in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction at regular intervals, and arranged and displayed in the display step. 32. The printer control method according to claim 20, further comprising a second display step of displaying in a display area different from the display area.   32. The information processing apparatus according to claim 32, further comprising a total unallocated job information display step for displaying a total number of print jobs that have not yet been allocated to any printer in the allocation step and a total number of printed jobs. A printer control method according to claim 1.   In the all unallocated job information display step, the total number and the total number of printed sheets are displayed in a display area adjacent to a display area of a predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the second display step. The printer control method according to claim 33.   21. The selected job information display step for displaying information of a selected print job that has not been assigned to any printer by the assigning step. The printer control method according to any one of claims 34.   36. The printer control method according to claim 35, wherein the information is at least one of a document name, a user name, and a memo of a selected print job.   36. The claim 35 or claim 35, wherein in the selected job information display step, the information is displayed in a display region adjacent to a display region of a predetermined shape arranged and displayed in the second display step. Item 37. The printer control method according to Item 36.   Further, an interrupt position for displaying an interrupt position pointer between a specified process for specifying the interrupt position of the selected print job and two predetermined shapes displayed in the vicinity of the interrupt position specified in the specified process. 38. The printer control method according to claim 20, further comprising a display step.   A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program that causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 20 to 38.

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