JP2019123214A - Image forming apparatus, method for controlling image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce output waiting at a user end by reducing printing processing time after the user performs a printing instruction in a retained printing.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 101 sorts retained PDL data on the basis of a communication protocol (S302, S311), and creates and stores image data by performing in advance rendering processing in an order thus sorted before a user inputs a printing instruction (FIG. 4). Then, if image data corresponding to the PDL data whose printing instruction is carried out is already stored upon receipt of the printing instruction from the user, the image forming apparatus 101 executes the printing processing of the PDL data by using the image data corresponding to the PDL data (FIG. 5).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to control of an image forming apparatus capable of printing after a print job has been once stored, and more particularly to control for shortening the rendering processing time when printing of the print job is performed.

  In recent years, with the spread of network environments, it has become common for a plurality of users to share and use a plurality of image forming apparatuses. Along with this, there is a growing demand for “storage printing” in which printing is performed after user authentication is performed by the image forming apparatus so that another user can not see it when outputting a highly confidential printed material.

According to Patent Document 1, a print job transmitted from a host computer is temporarily stored in an image forming apparatus having a server function, and the stored print job is printed by performing user authentication on the image forming apparatus. Technologies have been proposed.
In Patent Document 1, since the print job rendering process is started after user authentication, the user waits for the end of the print job rendering process. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for shortening the rendering processing time of a print job in "reserved printing". As a technique for shortening the rendering processing time of the print job in the retention printing, there is a prior rendering processing in which the rendering processing is performed in advance during the retention of the print job.

Patent No. 4033857

  As described above, according to Patent Document 1, the rendering process of the print job is performed after the print execution by the user without performing the advance rendering process, and therefore, depending on the print job, the output is awaited. In addition, even if the preceding rendering process is performed, when a plurality of print jobs are input, the order of the preceding rendering process is the first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, when the user issues a print instruction for a print job input later, there may be cases where the advance rendering process has not been performed yet. In this case, since the normal rendering process is started after the print instruction, the user is forced to wait for the output.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for shortening the print processing time after printing is instructed by the user and reducing the output waiting of the user in the reservation printing.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus for storing received print data and forming an image on a sheet based on the stored print data when a print instruction from a user is input, the image forming apparatus further comprising: To determine an order of prior processing for processing at least a part of pages of print data described in the current page description language to generate image data corresponding to the pages based on a communication protocol at the time of print data reception Means, and preceding processing means for performing preceding processing of print data described in the stored page description language in the order determined by the determination means before the print instruction is input, and the preceding process Storage means for storing the image data generated by the process in association with the print data, and a print instruction from the user for the stored print data In the case where the image data corresponding to the print data is stored in the storage unit, the print execution unit executes the print processing of the print data instructed for the print using the image data corresponding to the print data And.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the print processing time after being instructed to print by the user and to reduce the user's waiting for output in the reservation printing.

Configuration diagram of printing system having the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment Sequence diagram showing print processing of the first embodiment A diagram for explaining print job retention processing of the first embodiment Flowchart explaining preceding process of the first embodiment Flowchart for explaining print execution processing of the first embodiment A flow chart for explaining the addition processing of the preceding processing result of the first embodiment A diagram for explaining an example of a print job after addition of the preceding process result according to the first embodiment Flow chart for explaining the finishing rendering process of the first embodiment A diagram for explaining the finishing rendering process of the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing print processing of the third embodiment Flowchart for explaining print execution processing of the third embodiment A flowchart for explaining print job transmission processing of the third embodiment A flowchart for explaining the addition processing of the preceding processing result of the third embodiment The figure which explains the print job after the precedence processing result addition of 3rd execution form Flowchart for explaining the finishing rendering process of the third embodiment Diagram for explaining an example of UI displayed on the operation panel after user authentication A diagram for explaining a preceding process waiting table of the first embodiment A diagram for explaining an example of conversion of radio wave intensity and distance according to the first embodiment Flow chart for explaining the printing process of the second embodiment Flow chart for explaining communication protocol acquisition and distance estimation according to the first embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment
FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system having an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1A, reference numerals 101 to 103 denote the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 may be any of MFP (Multi Function Printer), SFP (Single Function Printer), and LBP (Laser Beam Printer). The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 may be printing apparatuses capable of holding and printing. Further, the printing method of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 may be any method. Further, although the system of FIG. 1 illustrates three image forming apparatuses as an example, any system having one or more arbitrary image forming apparatuses may be used.

  The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 are connected to a host computer (hereinafter, “PC”) 104 which issues various instructions via a LAN (Local Area Network) 105 such as Ethernet (registered trademark of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.). The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 are connected to a wireless connection terminal 141 which issues various instructions by wireless communication. The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 execute processing in accordance with the contents of the print instruction from the PC 104 or the wireless connection terminal 141. When a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected through the LAN 105 as in the configuration shown in FIG. 1A, the image forming apparatus can receive print jobs from other image forming apparatuses and can execute print execution processing. It is. This configuration will be described in the third embodiment.

  The image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 have the same configuration, and thus the configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described as a representative, and the descriptions of the configurations of the other image forming apparatuses 102 to 103 will be omitted. The configuration described below using the image forming apparatus 101 is the same for the image forming apparatuses 102 to 103.

  The image forming apparatus 101 includes a controller 110, a print mechanism 111, a card reader 112, an operation panel 113, and the like. The controller 110 includes a network I / F 120, a network I / F 142, a network I / F 143, a reader I / F 121, a panel I / F 122, a CPU 123, an HDD 124, a RAM 125, a ROM 126, a device I / F 127, an RIP circuit 128, and an image processing circuit 129. On a system bus 130.

The controller 110 controls the entire image forming apparatus 101 by executing a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 by the CPU 123.
The network I / F 120 is realized by, for example, a LAN card, and is connected to the LAN 105 to input and output information with an external apparatus (for example, the PC 104).
The network I / F 142, for example, is directly connected to the wireless connection terminal 141 at the time of Bluetooth (Bluetooth SIG registered trademark) connection to input and output information.
The network I / F 143, for example, is directly connected to the wireless connection terminal 141 at the time of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi Alliance registered trademark) connection to input and output information.

The reader I / F 121 is an interface unit to the card reader 112 that receives authentication information from the outside. The reader I / F 121 has a role of receiving authentication information input from the outside and transmitting it to the CPU 123, and a role of performing direct connection and input / output of information with the wireless connection terminal 141 by NFC (Near Field Communication) connection.
The card reader 112 has a function capable of reading information such as an ID card held by the user, and transmits, to the controller 110, user information read from the ID card and a print job received from the wireless connection terminal 141.

A panel I / F 122 is an interface unit to the operation panel 113 having a display screen capable of displaying various menus, print job information and the like, and outputs operation screen data to the operation panel 113. The panel I / F 122 also serves to transmit information input by the operator from the operation panel 113 to the CPU 123.
The operation panel 113 has a touch panel display, a hard key, and the like. The operation panel 113 has a function of receiving operation screen data from the controller 110, displaying the received screen on a touch panel display, and receiving an operation instruction from a user and notifying the controller 110.

  The CPU 123 is a central processing unit for controlling the entire image forming apparatus 101. The HDD 124 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, and stores system software for various processing, input print jobs, image data, and the like. A RAM 125 is a system work memory for the CPU 123 to operate, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing input print jobs and image data. The ROM 126 is a boot ROM, which stores a boot program of the system. The CPU 123 realizes various controls by reading out a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as needed and executing it.

The device I / F 127 connects the print mechanism 111 and the controller 110 and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. The RIP circuit 128 is a raster image processor, which analyzes intermediate data (display list) and develops it into an image. An image processing circuit 129 performs processing such as correction, resolution conversion, and the like according to the print mechanism 111 on image data generated by analyzing a print job.
The print mechanism 111 executes printing in accordance with an instruction of the controller 110. That is, the print mechanism 111 forms an image on a sheet (recording paper or the like) based on print data.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the controller 110 that controls the operations of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103.
The controller 110 uses software as an authentication unit 131, a setting unit 132, a bibliographic management unit 133, a print control unit 134, a job analysis unit 135, a preceding processing unit 136, a retention control unit 137, a print execution unit 138, and a PDL analysis unit 139. The intermediate data generation unit 140 is realized. That is, these units 131 to 140 are functional units that are realized by the CPU 123 reading out programs stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as necessary. The details will be described below.

  The authentication unit 131 receives authentication information from the reader I / F 121 (or the operation panel 113) through the system bus 130, and notifies the retention control unit 137. The setting unit 132 controls input / output from the panel I / F 122 to the operation panel 113 through the system bus 130.

  The print control unit 134 acquires information on a print instruction and a print job input through the network I / F 120, and instructs the retention control unit 137 and the print execution unit 138 to process the print job. Also, based on the information sent from each network I / F (120, 142, 143) and reader I / F 121, the print control unit 134 determines the communication protocol when the information is received, and receives the information. It has a role of adding protocol type information and radio wave state information at the time of reception to the information.

  The retention control unit 137 analyzes the print job received from the print control unit 134, manages the print job, controls the preceding process, and instructs the print execution unit 138 to print. The job analysis unit 135 analyzes the print job received by the retention control unit 137. The bibliographic management unit 133 controls and manages the print job and the information on the print job received by the retention control unit 137. The advance processing unit 136 performs a rendering process of the print job according to the analysis result of the print job received by the retention control unit 137 by the job analysis unit 135. That is, in the advance rendering process, the print job is rendered by software.

  The print execution unit 138 controls the PDL analysis unit 139, the intermediate data generation unit 140, the RIP circuit 128, and the image processing circuit 129 with respect to the print job received from the print control unit 134 and the retention control unit 137 to obtain an image. Generate. Furthermore, the print execution unit 138 outputs the generated image to the print mechanism 111 through the device I / F 127 to execute print processing.

  The PDL analysis unit 139 performs PDL analysis of the print job received from the print execution unit 138. PDL is an abbreviation of Page Description Language, and indicates a page description language. The intermediate data generation unit 140 generates intermediate data based on the information analyzed by the PDL analysis unit 139.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a sequence when the printing system having the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment receives a print job (storage) from the PC 104 and prints it by the image forming apparatus 101. In the figure, "S" is attached to each step. The processing executed by the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. 2 is realized by the CPU 123 of the image forming apparatus 101 reading out a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as necessary and executing it. Further, the processing executed by the PC 104 in FIG. 2 is realized by the CPU (not shown) of the PC 104 reading out a program stored in the HDD or the like to the RAM as needed and executing it.

  When the user logs in to the PC 104 (S201) and operates the PC 104 to request printing of data from an arbitrary application (S202), the PC 104 first acquires user information (S203). Then, the PC 104 adds the user information acquired in S203 to the print job to generate a print job (retention) (S204), and transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 101 (S205).

  When receiving the print job, the image forming apparatus 101 stores the print job in the HDD 124 (S206). Then, the image forming apparatus 101 extracts user information attached to the print job, creates bibliographic information (S207), stores (registers) bibliographic information in the HDD 124, and prints job information in the preceding process waiting table. Is added (S208). When the image forming apparatus 101 finishes storing the bibliographic information and adding to the preceding process waiting table, the image forming apparatus 101 sorts the preceding process waiting table (S209). Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 101 starts the preceding process from the print job described at the top of the preceding process waiting table (S210), and sequentially saves the result of the preceding process in the HDD 124 (S211).

  When the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 101 (S212), the image forming apparatus 101 acquires the user information of the user (S213), and the print job list of the user is displayed on the operation panel 113 based on the bibliographic information of the user. It displays (S214).

  Further, when receiving the print instruction from the user (S215), the image forming apparatus 101 adds the result of the preceding process stored in S211 to the print job (S216). Details of the addition of the result of the pre-processing to the print job will be described later. Further, the image forming apparatus 101 uses the result of the preceding process of the print job to which the result of the preceding process is added to perform the rendering process of the finish (S217), and performs printing (S218).

  Although the print processing sequence has been described using an example in which the image forming apparatus 101 receives a print job from the PC 104 in FIG. 2, the same applies to a configuration in which a print job is received from the wireless connection terminal 141.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining print job retention processing executed by the controller 110 included in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment by software (138 to 140 and the like).
FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating an example of print job storage processing executed by software (138 to 140, etc.) by the controller 110 of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a view for explaining an example of the configuration of a print job received by the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 3C is a view for explaining an example of the print job list of the user stored in the HDD 124 by the controller 110. In the processes shown in FIG. 3A and later-described FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 8 and 20, the CPU 123 reads a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 into the RAM 125 as necessary. It is realized by executing.

  In step S301, the print control unit 134 receives a print job transmitted from, for example, the PC 104 through the network I / F 120. The print job has, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 3B, and has header information including various setting information at the beginning of data, and thereafter includes data of each page (PDL data). “P1”, “Line1”, “Text1”, “Rect1”, “Image1”, “Rect2” and the like in the information of each page are examples of drawing commands for configuring the page. A print job transmitted directly from the wireless connection terminal 141 or the like via a Wi-Fi connection is received through the network I / F 142. Also, the print job directly transmitted by the Bluetooth connection is received through the network I / F 143. Print jobs sent directly via an NFC connection are received through the card reader 112.

  In step S302, the print control unit 134 determines the type of communication protocol at the time of print data reception and measures the radio wave intensity at the time of reception, and obtains an approximate distance from the transmission source according to, for example, the distance conversion table shown in FIG. If the measurement of the radio wave intensity fails, a value indicating that measurement can not be made, for example, a value such as “65535” that can not be considered as a transmission position is set as the approximate distance. A series of these processes will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, in step S303, the print control unit 134 adds the information on the print job received in step S301 to the print queue table, and advances the process to step S304. The print queue table has, for example, the same structure as the preceding process queue table shown in FIG.

  In step S304, the print control unit 134 determines whether the print job received in step S301 is a "retention job" or a "job to be printed as it is". The method for determining whether or not the job is a "retention job" is, for example, whether a parameter stored in the image forming apparatus indicates a retention, or analyzing information embedded in a print job header. Although it shall carry out by a method, since it is well-known, details are omitted. If it is determined in S304 that the “job to be printed as it is” (S304: No), the print control unit 134 proceeds to S305.

  In step S305, the print control unit 134 instructs the print execution unit 138 to perform print processing in order from the print job described at the top of the print queue table. The print execution unit 138 controls the PDL analysis unit 139 and the intermediate data generation unit 140 to analyze the print job and generate intermediate data, and causes the RIP circuit 128 to render the generated intermediate data to process the image data. Generate

  Next, in step S306, the print execution unit 138 corrects the image data generated in step S305 in the image processing circuit 129, transfers the image data to the print mechanism 111 through the device I / F 127, and executes printing. End the process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S304 that the job is a "retention job" (Yes in S304), the print control unit 134 proceeds to S307.

  In step S307, the print control unit 134 instructs the retention control unit 137 to process the print job. The retention control unit 137 acquires user information included in the print job. In the example of FIG. 3B, the user information is indicated by "user name: user A". Note that even if this user information is not included in the header information of the print job, the user information may be separately sent from the PC 104 of the transmission source. The user information may be any information that can identify a user who has performed printing, such as a user name and a user ID.

  Next, in step S308, the retention control unit 137 instructs the job analysis unit 135 to analyze the print job. The job analysis unit 135 acquires print setting information and information such as a document name (including, for example, the number of pages) included in the print job. The print setting information includes, for example, information indicating whether single-sided printing or double-sided printing, information indicating whether to print in color or monochrome, information on the sheet size to be output, and the like. FIG. 3B is an example, and print data without a part of print setting information may be used, and at that time, it may be set as an initial setting value possessed by the HDD 124 or the ROM 126, or may be set by the user at the time of printing. It may be

  Next, in step S309, the storage control unit 137 estimates the approximate distance between the user information acquired in step S307, the print setting information acquired in step S308, the information such as the document name, and the communication protocol acquired in step S302. Associate with Then, the retention control unit 137 creates bibliographic information corresponding to the user information, where the associated information is one record (for example, FIG. 3C). The storage destination included in the file information includes information for specifying the image forming apparatus that is executing the process.

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing an example of bibliographic information for each user according to the present embodiment.
Here, bibliographic information of the user A is illustrated. The bibliographic information in the present embodiment includes, for example, job ID, file information, print setting information, number of pages, communication protocol, approximate distance, preceding process information, and the like. A unique value is set for each job in the job ID. The unit of the approximate distance is, for example, meters. The preceding process information also includes information indicating "not yet" / "finished" of the preceding process, information such as a storage location of the preceding process result (here, a file path). As described above, the bibliographic information stores the image data generated by the preceding process in association with the print data.

  Next, in step S310, the retention control unit 137 instructs the bibliographic management unit 133 to register the bibliographic information created in step S309. In response to this instruction, the bibliographic information management unit 133 stores (registers) the bibliographic information created in the step S309 in the HDD 124. Further, the retention control unit 137 registers a part of the bibliographic information in the preceding process waiting table as shown in FIG. At this time, the information registered in the preceding process waiting table includes a job ID 1701, a submission time 1702 (date and time of submission), a communication protocol 1703, and an approximate distance 1704 (in meters). A new job is registered at the end of the preprocess waiting table. Then, the retention control unit 137 stores the print job in the HDD 124 as a print job corresponding to one record added this time.

  Next, in S311, the retention control unit 137 sorts the preceding process waiting table, and ends the process of this flowchart. The sorting procedure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4B described later.

Now, with reference to FIG. 20, the process of obtaining the communication protocol and estimating the distance (S302 in FIG. 3) will be described.
FIG. 20 shows an example of processing (S302 in FIG. 3) of obtaining a communication protocol and estimating the distance performed by the software (the print control unit 134 etc.) by the controller 110 included in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart shown.

In step S2001, the print control unit 134 determines whether the print job is received by the card reader 112 (the print job received in step S301 is received by the card reader 112). If it is determined that the print job is received by the card reader 112 (in the case of Yes in S2001), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2002.
In step S2002, the print control unit 134 associates that the communication protocol at the time of reception is “NFC” with the received print job information. Further, in step S2003, the print control unit 134 associates “1” as the distance of NFC communication with the information of the received print job, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S2001 that the card reader 112 has not received a print job (No in S2001), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2004.

In step S2004, the print control unit 134 determines whether the print job is received through the network I / F 142 (the print job received in step S301 is received through the network I / F 142). If it is determined that the print job has been received by the network I / F 142 (in the case of Yes in S2004), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2005.
In step S2005, the print control unit 134 associates the fact that the communication protocol at the time of reception is "Bluetooth" with the received print job information. Further, in step S2006, the print control unit 134 obtains an approximate distance from the radio wave strength of Bluetooth communication measured by the network I / F 142 and the distance conversion table shown in FIG. 18 and associates it with the received print job information. finish.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S2004 that the print job is not received by the network I / F 142 (No in S2004), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2007.

In step S2007, the print control unit 134 determines whether the print job is received through the network I / F 143 (the print job received in step S301 is received through the network I / F 143). If it is determined that the print job has been received by the network I / F 143 (in the case of Yes in S2007), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2008.
In step S2008, the print control unit 134 associates that the communication protocol at the time of reception is “Wi-Fi” with the received information on the print job. Further, in step S2009, the print control unit 134 obtains an approximate distance from the field strength of the Wi-Fi communication measured by the network I / F 143 and the distance conversion table shown in FIG. 18 and associates it with the received print job information. End the process.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S2007 that the print job is not received by the network I / F 143 (No in S2007), the print control unit 134 advances the process to S2010.
In step S2010, the print control unit 134 regards the print job received in step S301 as having been received by the network I / F 120, and associates that the communication protocol is wired connection with the received print job information. Further, in step S2011, the print control unit 134 associates “65535” as the communication distance for wired connection with the information on the received print job, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

Hereinafter, the print execution process will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of print execution processing executed by software (131, 132, 138, etc.) by the controller 110 provided in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment.

  In step S501, when the ID card held by the user is held by the card reader 112, the authentication unit 131 receives user information read from the ID card by the card reader 112 through the reader I / F 121, and performs authentication processing. Although an example in which user information is read from an ID card held by the user has been described here, even if a method of performing user authentication by inputting user information and a password from the operation panel 113 or the like or using a known authentication method such as biometric authentication Good. If the authentication process is successful, the authentication unit 131 notifies the setting unit 132 of the user information.

  In step S502, the setting unit 132 receives bibliographic information corresponding to the same user information as the user information acquired in step S501 from the bibliographic information management unit 133, generates a print job list based on the bibliographic information, and performs panel I / F 122. To the operation panel 113. Here, the information displayed on the operation panel 113 is, for example, as shown in 1601 of FIG. 16, and the print job list is displayed as an example of 1602 of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of a user interface (UI) displayed on the operation panel 113 after user authentication.
The user can select a desired print job from the print job list 1602 and press the print start button 1603 to issue a print instruction of the selected print job. Also, the user can select a desired print job from the print job list 1602 and press the print setting button 1604 to change the print setting of the selected print job. The logout button 1605 is for logging out.

  Next, in step S503, the setting unit 132 determines whether a print execution instruction has been issued for the print job displayed in the print job list 1602 from the user. For example, when the user selects a print job from the print job list 1602 and presses the print start button 1603, the setting unit 132 determines that a print execution instruction has been issued. Further, for example, when the user presses the logout button 1605 or the time-out occurs without pressing the print start button 1603, the setting unit 132 determines that there is no print execution instruction.

When it is determined that the print execution instruction has not been issued (No in step S503), the setting unit 132 ends the processing of this flowchart.
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a print execution instruction (in the case of Yes in S503), the setting unit 132 advances the process to S504.

In step S504, the setting unit 132 notifies the retention control unit 137 that the print execution instruction has been issued. The retention control unit 137 determines whether the print job instructed to perform printing has been preprocessed. This determination is made with reference to the bibliographic information, based on the information of "preceding process: completed" added to the preceding process information of the bibliographic information when Yes in S407 of the preceding process shown in FIG. 4 described later.
If it is determined in S504 that the print job has been preprocessed (if Yes in S504), the retention control unit 137 advances the process to S505.

  In step S505, the retention control unit 137 performs processing of adding information on the result of the preceding processing to PDL data, and generates a print job. Details of the addition process of the preceding process result are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 described later. After S505, the retention control unit 137 instructs the print execution unit 138 to print a print job. In response to the instruction, the print execution unit 138 executes the process of S508 described later.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S504 that the print job has not been preprocessed (No in S504), the storage control unit 137 advances the process to S506.
In step S506, the retention control unit 137 determines whether the print job instructed to perform printing is in advance processing. This determination may be made by referring to the bibliographic information in the same manner as in the above-described S504, and it may be determined whether or not the pre-processing is in progress, or the pre-rendering associated with the bibliography information in S404 of pre-processing shown in FIG. It may be determined whether or not processed image data exists.

If it is determined in S506 that the print job instructed to be printed is in the pre-process (if Yes in S506), the storage control unit 137 advances the process to S507.
In step S507, the retention control unit 137 suspends the preceding process for the print job being subjected to the preceding process. Information on the interruption of the preceding process is notified to the preceding process unit 136, and is used to determine whether there is a print instruction described in S405 of the preceding process shown in FIG. 4 described later. After step S507, the retention control unit 137 generates the preceding process result generated by the time the preceding process is interrupted and stored in the HDD 124 (associated with the corresponding bibliographical information in step S404 of the preceding process shown in FIG. Image data) is acquired as preceding process information, and added to the print job in step S505.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S506 that the print job instructed to be printed is not in the pre-process (S506: No), the retention control unit 137 instructs the print execution unit 138 to print the print job. In response to the instruction, the print execution unit 138 executes the process of S508.

  In step S508, the print execution unit 138 performs a finish rendering process. The finishing rendering process is the same process as the rendering process of S305 in FIG. 3 when the information of the preceding process result is not added to the print job. The details of the rendering process of finishing when the information of the preceding process result is added to the print job will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, in step S509, the print execution unit 138 executes printing. The execution of printing by the printing execution unit 138 is the same processing as S306 in FIG. After S509, the print execution unit 138 ends the processing of this flowchart.

Hereinafter, the addition process (S505 in FIG. 5) of the preceding process result will be described using FIG. 6 and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the addition processing (S505 in FIG. 5) of the preceding processing result executed by the software (retention control unit 137) by the controller 110 included in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 of the first embodiment. .
FIG. 7 is a view for explaining an example of the preceding process result added to the PDL data by the adding process of the preceding process result according to the first embodiment.

  In step S601, the storage control unit 137 adds identifier information such as 701 in FIG. 7 to the preceding process result (empty at this point) as the start of the process of adding the preceding process result to the PDL data. The identifier information is information indicating that the preceding process result is attached, and may be a character string, a numerical value, or any information that can be identified inside the controller.

  Next, in step S602, the retention control unit 137 adds, to the result of the preceding process, preceding process information such as 702 in FIG. 7 subsequently to the information on the identifier added in step S601. The pre-processing information includes the data size of the entire pre-processing result, the total number of paces of the target print job, page information that has been pre-processed, and the like. In addition, for information that can not be understood until after the processing described later, such as the data size of the entire preceding processing result and index information pointing to the information of the preceding processing result, only the area for storing the information is secured. The information is updated (updated in S605 described later). The configuration shown in 702 of FIG. 7 is an example, and any configuration may be used as long as the information necessary to analyze the information of the result of the preceding process is obtained.

  Next, in step S603, the retention control unit 137 adds information on the result of the preceding process as shown in 703 in FIG. 7 to the result of the preceding process subsequent to the preceding process information added in step S602. Here, the information indicating the number of pages of the preceding process result, the one indicating the format, and the one indicating the information of the preceding process result are added as one set. In the example shown by 703, the information of the set with respect to the 1st page is added first, and the format of a prior | preceding process result is made into the "file path | pass." When the format is "file path", the retention control unit 137 sets the file path information (information specifying the storage location of the preceding process result) of the HDD 124 in which the preceding process result is stored, to the information of the preceding process result. Add as.

  In step S604, the retention control unit 137 determines whether information on all pages already processed has been added. Then, if it is determined that the information on all pages already subjected to the pre-processing has not been added (in the case of No in S604), the storage control unit 137 returns the process to S603 and shifts to the process of the next page.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the information of all pages subjected to the pre-processing has been added (in the case of Yes in S604), the retention control unit 137 advances the process to S605.
In step S605, the retention control unit 137 updates the preceding process information generated in step S602. Information after completion of processing is overwritten and updated in an area secured in advance, such as the data size of the entire preceding process result and index information indicating information of the preceding process result.

  Next, in step S606, the retention control unit 137 adds PDL data such as 704 in FIG. 7 following the preceding process results (701, 702, and 703 in FIG. 7) created in the above-described steps S601 to S605. In this embodiment, as shown at 704 in FIG. 7, PDL data is added in its original state without processing. By this step S606, a print job in which the pre-processing result and the PDL data are combined as shown in FIG. 7 is generated. After S606, the retention control unit 137 ends the processing of this flowchart.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the format is "file path" and the file path information of the HDD 124 in which the preceding process result is stored is added to the PDL data as the information of the preceding process result. This makes it possible to reduce unnecessary memory copying of image data and save memory resources. However, the format may be “image”, and the retention control unit 137 may add image data (image data) that is the result of the preceding process itself to PDL data as information of the result of the preceding process.

The finishing rendering process (S508 in FIG. 5) will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining an example of a rendering process (S508 in FIG. 5) of finishing performed by software (138 to 140 etc.) by the controller 110 provided in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a view for explaining an example of the software module configuration of the print execution unit 138, the PDL analysis unit 139, and the intermediate data generation unit 140.

  In step S801, the print execution unit 138 analyzes the print job received from the print control unit 134 or the retention control unit 137, and determines whether it is a print job for which the preceding process has been performed. When the identifier information (701 in FIG. 7) does not exist in the print job, the print execution unit 138 determines that the print job is not a print job for which the preceding process has not been performed (judged in S801 as No). Proceed to The process after S808 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the identifier information (701 in FIG. 7) exists in the print job, the print execution unit 138 determines that the print job is the print job for which the preceding process has been performed (judged in S801 as Yes). Proceed to

  In step S802, the print execution unit 138 determines whether the analysis target page to be analyzed is the page on which the preceding process has been performed. If the analysis target page does not exist in the preceding process information (702 in FIG. 7) of the print job, the print execution unit 138 determines that the page is not the page on which the preceding process has been performed (No in S802), and the process proceeds to S808. Advance.

  On the other hand, when the analysis target page is present in the preceding process information (702 in FIG. 7) of the print job, the print execution unit 138 determines that the page has been subjected to the preceding process (Yes in S802). And the process proceeds to S803. In the case of the print job illustrated in FIG. 7, since pages 1 to 10 exist in the preceding process information (702), the print execution unit 138 determines that pages 1 to 10 are pages subjected to the preceding process. .

Hereinafter, the processing of S803 to S805 will be described with reference to FIG.
In step S <b> 803, the print execution unit 138 notifies the PDL analysis unit 139 of “skip” page analysis. The PDL analysis unit 139 that has received the notification of the page analysis skip skips the analysis process of the target page, does not send any notification to the intermediate data generation unit 140, and prepares for the next page analysis process. The print execution unit 138 notifies the PDL analysis unit 139 of “skip” of page analysis in order to improve the performance of print processing. As shown in FIG. 9B, when the print execution unit 138 notifies the PDL analysis unit 139 of “start” without notifying “skip”, the PDL analysis unit 139 causes the preceding processing unit 136 to perform preceding processing. The analysis process performed in step (c) is repeatedly performed, and the performance of the printing process decreases.

  Next, in step S804, the print execution unit 138 notifies the intermediate data generation unit 140 of information (703 in FIG. 7) as a result of the preceding process of the analysis target page. In the example of the print job illustrated in FIG. 7, when the analysis target page of the print execution unit 138 is page 1, the print execution unit 138 determines the result of the preceding process stored in the file path “/ xx / yy / image1” (page 1 The intermediate data generation unit 140 is notified of the RIP image of

As described above, the print execution unit 138 notifies the intermediate data generation unit 140 of the result of the preceding process without passing through the PDL analysis unit 139, which has two merits.
The first merit is that the processing speed can be improved by reducing the number of processing steps.
The second advantage is that the development cost of software modules can be reduced.
Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9C, the print execution unit 138 internally includes a PDL determination unit 1381, and controls a plurality of PDL analysis units (139a, 139b, 139c). For example, the PDL analysis unit 139a is a PDL analysis unit that analyzes LIPS (Canon registered trademark: LBP Image Processing System). The PDL analysis unit 139 b is a PDL analysis unit that analyzes PS (Adobe company registered trademark: PostScript). The PDL analysis unit 139 c is a PDL analysis unit that analyzes XPS (Microsoft Corporation registered trademark: XML Paper Specification).

  If page analysis is not skipped, the print execution unit 138 determines the PDL included in the print job by the PDL determination unit 1381. If LIPS, the PDL analysis unit 139a, if PS, the PDL analysis unit 139b, if XPS, the PDL analysis unit 139c Make the necessary notifications to

  When the print execution unit 138 notifies the PDL analysis unit (139a, 139b, 139c) of the result of the preceding process, each PDL analysis unit (139a, 139b, 139c) further notifies the intermediate data generation unit 140 of the notification. Is required. When this correspondence is implemented, the processing speed is reduced because the number of processing steps is increased. In addition, if the plurality of PDL analysis units (139a, 139b, 139c) implement this correspondence, the development cost of the software module will increase. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, by configuring the print execution unit 138 to directly notify the intermediate data generation unit 140 of the result of the preceding process, it is possible to obtain effects of processing speed improvement and development cost suppression. Note that the PDL analysis unit 139 may be realized by hardware, in which case the contribution to the development cost by this configuration is further increased.

Hereinafter, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.
In step S805, the intermediate data generation unit 140 generates intermediate data from the result of the preceding process notified from the print execution unit 138 in step S804. That is, the intermediate data generation unit 140 acquires the image data of the corresponding page from the file path which is the result of the preceding process, and generates the intermediate data using the image data. In S803 to S805, the PDL analysis unit 139 analyzes the PDL data as in S808 to S810, which will be described later, and the intermediate data generation unit 140 generates intermediate data based on the analysis result as compared with the case where the intermediate data is generated. Time can be significantly reduced.

  Next, in step S806, the print execution unit 138 controls the RIP circuit 128 to render the generated intermediate data. When the pre-processing is performed, the page is converted into one image by the pre-processing, so the finish rendering processing time can be significantly reduced.

  Next, in step S807, the print execution unit 138 determines whether analysis of all pages of the print job has ended. Then, if it is determined that analysis of all pages is not completed yet (S807: No), the print execution unit 138 returns the process to S801, and shifts to the print execution process of the next page. On the other hand, if it is determined that the analysis of all the pages has been completed (in the case of Yes in S807), the print execution unit 138 ends the processing of this flowchart.

Next, processing (S808 to S810) when it is determined in S802 that the analysis target page is a page not subjected to the preceding process will be described with reference to FIG. 9B.
In step S808, the print execution unit 138 notifies the PDL analysis unit 139 of the start of analysis of the analysis target page.
Next, in step S809, the PDL analysis unit 139 analyzes PDL data of the analysis target page, and notifies the intermediate data generation unit 140 of the analysis result.
Next, in step S810, the intermediate data generation unit 140 generates intermediate data from the analysis result of the PDL analysis unit 139. The processing after generation of the intermediate data is the same as the case where it is determined that the analysis target page is the page subjected to the preceding processing, and the processing of this flowchart ends after the processing of S806 and S807. The same applies to the case where it is determined in S801 that the print job is a print job for which the preceding process has not been performed.

The preceding process (S210 in FIG. 2) will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4A is a flow chart for explaining an example of the preceding process executed by the software (such as 135 and 136) by the controller 110 provided in the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the first embodiment. The preceding process of FIG. 4A is a process executed after the print job is held in the HDD 124 by the print job holding process of FIG. 3.

In step S401, the job analysis unit 135 confirms whether there is a print job in the preceding process waiting table as illustrated in FIG. If it is determined that there is no print job (S401: No), the job analysis unit 135 checks again if there is a print job in the preceding process waiting table. At this time, an optional waiting time may be inserted before confirming the job again.
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a print job (Yes in S401), the job analysis unit 135 advances the process to S402.

In step S402, the advance processing unit 136 reads out from the HDD 124 the print job corresponding to the print job ID at the top of the advance processing waiting table.
Next, in step S403, the preceding processing unit 136 performs rendering processing on the first page on which the rendering processing of the print job extracted in step S402 is not performed, and generates image data. When the processing for one page is completed, the advance processing unit 136 advances the processing to S404.

  In S404, the preceding processing unit 136 stores the image data generated in S403 in the HDD 124. The generated image data is stored in association with bibliographic information (in particular, pre-processing information) associated with the print job being pre-processed.

  Next, in step S405, the advance processing unit 136 determines whether a cancellation request for the advance rendering has been issued. If it is determined that the request for canceling the preceding rendering has been issued (Yes in S405), the preceding processing unit 136 returns the process to S401. That is, when a print instruction is issued during the preceding process, the preceding process unit 136 cancels the preceding process of the page being subjected to the preceding process. Thereby, the image data generated before canceling is used as the result of the pre-processing.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S405 that the request for canceling the preceding rendering is not issued (No in S405), the preceding processing unit 136 advances the process to S406.
In S406, the preceding processing unit 136 determines whether a print instruction has been issued. For example, if “disruption information” is notified in the preceding process of S507 in FIG. 5, it is determined that a print instruction has been issued. If it is determined in S406 that the print instruction has not been issued (No in S406), the advance processing unit 136 advances the process to S407.

  In step S407, the pre-processing unit 136 determines whether all pages of the print job have been pre-rendered. If it is determined that there is a page prior to the pre-rendering process still in the print job (S407: No), the pre-processing unit 136 returns the process to S403.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S407 that all pages of the print job have been pre-rendered (in the case of Yes in S407), the pre-processing unit 136 determines that bibliographic information related to the print job (in particular, pre-processing information). Is added to the preprocessed information, and the process proceeds to S408.

  Further, if it is determined in S406 that the print instruction has been issued (Yes in S406), the preceding processing unit 136 advances the process to S408.

  In step S408, the preceding processing unit 136 deletes the print job information at the top of the preceding process waiting table, and returns the process to step S401.

  In FIG. 4B, after the print job is held in the HDD 124 and print job information is added to the preceding process waiting table, which is a waiting table for the preceding rendering process, in the print job holding process of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing when sorting of the preceding process waiting table is performed in S311 of FIG.

  In S409, the retention control unit 137 sorts the preceding process waiting table as shown in FIG. 17 in the descending order of the priority of the communication protocol described in the communication protocol 1703. The priority of the communication protocol is determined according to the standard of the communication distance of the communication protocol shown in FIG. 4 (C). In the present embodiment, since the pre-rendering processing is performed with priority given to print jobs received with a communication protocol having a short communicable distance, the priority order is as shown in FIG. Direct connection, direct connection via Bluetooth, direct connection via Wi-Fi, etc. are registered in advance in the image forming apparatus in this order. Then, as a result of the sorting, as shown in FIG. 17 (B) to FIG. 17 (C), the preceding process waiting table is rearranged in the descending order of the priority of the communication protocol.

  In S410, the storage control unit 137 sorts the preceding process waiting table in the ascending order of the approximate distance according to the radio wave intensity at the time of reception, in the same group in the communication protocol at the time of reception. In FIG. 17C, since the estimated distance 1704 is smaller than the job ID: 1, the job of job ID: 4 is preceded by the order of approximate distances within the same communication protocol as shown in FIG. 17D. The waiting table changes order. That is, the retention control unit 137 sorts the print jobs in the preceding process waiting table in descending order of priority of communication protocol at the time of print data reception and in order of short distance estimated from radio wave intensity at the time of communication.

  In step S411, the retention control unit 137 compares the print job currently being rendered in advance with the leading job of the preceding process waiting table sorted in the above steps S409 and S410. "Job ID" or the like may be used for job comparison here.

  If it is determined in S411 that the job being rendered prior is the same as the first job of the preceding process waiting table (Yes in S411), the storage control unit 137 ends the process of this flowchart.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S411 that the job being rendered prior is different from the head job of the preceding process waiting table (No in S411), the process proceeds to S412.
In step S412, the retention control unit 137 issues a cancellation request for the preceding rendering process to the preceding process unit 136, and ends the process of this flowchart.

  For example, in the preceding process waiting table as shown in FIG. 17A, when the job ID: 4 is added when the job ID: 1 is under the preceding rendering, it becomes as shown in FIG. 17B. Then, the preceding process waiting table is as shown in FIG. 17C by the sorting process of S409. Further, the preceding process waiting table becomes as shown in FIG. 17D by the sorting process of S410. Then, in S411, since the job (job ID: 1) in the preceding rendering and the head job (job ID: 4) of the preceding process waiting table are different, a cancel request for the preceding rendering process of the job ID: 1 is issued in S412. Be done. As a result, the print job of the user at a position closer to the image forming apparatus 101, that is, the print job having a high possibility that the print instruction can be issued earlier can be preferentially preceded.

  As described above, the order in which the image forming apparatus 101 performs the preliminary rendering is the order in which the priority of the communication protocol at the time of print job reception is high, and the order in which the distance from the print job transmission source is short. To optimize. As a result, it is possible to preferentially precede the print job of the user who is at a position closer to the image forming apparatus 101. Further, the image forming apparatus 101 adds the information of the stored rendering processing result to the print job when the print instruction from the user is issued for the print job being held. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 101 executes rendering processing using information of the rendering processing result added to the print job at the time of printing execution. With this configuration, it is possible to realize the pre-processing of the print job held in the image forming apparatus 101. Since the user closer to the image forming apparatus 101 is more likely to issue a print instruction sooner than the user farther away, the print job is subjected to the pre-rendering processing in the order of closeness to the user. Output latency can be shortened.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is an embodiment in which, in addition to the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, the print queue table is rearranged in the case of not performing the reservation printing. The description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and the parts different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of print job storage processing executed by software (133 to 140, etc.) of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 according to the second embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 19 is realized by the CPU 123 reading out a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as needed and executing it.

  Since S301 to S303 are as described in FIG. 3, the description will be omitted. If the print control unit 134 determines in S304 that the received print job is “a job to print as it is” (No in S304), the process proceeds to S1901.

In step S1901, the print control unit 134 sorts the print queue table in the descending order of the communication protocol priority. The sorting procedure at this time is the same as S409 of FIG. 4 (B).
Next, in step S1902, the print control unit 134 sorts the print waiting table in the ascending order of the approximate distance in the same group of communication protocols. The sorting procedure at this time is the same as S410 of FIG. 4 (B). After the process of S1902, the print control unit 134 proceeds with the process to S305. The processes after S305 are the same as described in FIG.

  Further, the process when it is determined that the job is a "retention job" in S304 (in the case of Yes in S304) is the same as the process of S306 to S311 in FIG.

  In the first embodiment described above, in the flowchart of FIG. 4B, if the print job being processed in advance and the print job at the head of the advance processing wait table are different as a result of sorting in the advance processing wait table, the advance processing is performed. The cancellation of was done. However, in the second embodiment, as a result of sorting of the print queue table, even if the print processing job is different from the print job at the top of the print queue table, the print job is not replaced. In this way, it is possible to prevent printing failure and waste of resources such as paper and ink by stopping printing halfway.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, printing is started from a print job of a user who is closer to the image forming apparatus 101, that is, a user who immediately obtains an output result even if the job is not a retention job. Thus, the output waiting time of the user can be shortened.

Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment, after the image forming apparatus 101 has a server function and the image forming apparatus 101 receives a print job from the PC 104 or the wireless connection terminal 141, the user executes printing on the image forming apparatus 102 (or 103). An embodiment to instruct is described. Hereinafter, the description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted, and points different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a sequence when the printing system having the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103 of the third embodiment receives a print job from the PC 104 and prints it by the image forming apparatus 101. In the figure, "S" is attached to each step. Note that the processing executed by the image forming apparatus 101, 102 or 103 in FIG. 10 is executed by reading out the program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as needed by the CPU 123 of the image forming apparatus 101, 102 or 103. Is realized by Further, the processing executed by the PC 104 in FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU (not shown) of the PC 104 reading out a program stored in the HDD or the like to the RAM as needed and executing it.

First, the processes of S1001 to S1010 are the same as the processes of S201 to S210 in FIG. 2 and are processes for retaining the print job in the image forming apparatus 101, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.
Further, although the processes of the image forming apparatuses 102 and 103 after S1010 will be described using the image forming apparatus 102, the same applies to the case where the image forming apparatus 103 is used.

  When the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 102 (S1011), the image forming apparatus 102 acquires user information of the user (S1012), and acquires a bibliographical information list of the corresponding user from the image forming apparatus 101 which is a server machine. Make a request (S1013). When receiving the acquisition request for the bibliographic information list, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits the bibliographic information list of the corresponding user to the image forming apparatus 102 (S1014). When the image forming apparatus 102 receives the bibliographic information list from the image forming apparatus 101, the image forming apparatus 102 displays a print job list of the user on the operation panel 113 based on the bibliographic information list (S1015).

Furthermore, when the image forming apparatus 102 receives a print instruction from the user (S1016), the image forming apparatus 102 sends a request for acquiring a print job corresponding to the print instruction to the image forming apparatus 101 (S1017).
In response to the acquisition request, the image forming apparatus 101 adds the result of the preceding process stored in S1010 to the print job (S1018). Further, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits the processed print job to which the preceding process result is added to the image forming apparatus 102 (S1019).
When the image forming apparatus 102 receives the print job to which the preceding process result has been added, it uses the preceding process result of the print job to perform a finishing rendering process (S1020), and performs printing (S1021).

The print execution processing of the third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of print execution processing of the third embodiment executed by the software (131, 132, 133, 138, etc.) of the image forming apparatuses 102 to 103 of the third embodiment. . The processing shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 15 described later is realized by the CPU 123 of the image forming apparatuses 102 to 103 reading out a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as needed and executing it.

First, S1101 is the same processing as S501 in FIG.
Next, in S1102, the bibliographic information management unit 133 acquires bibliographic information corresponding to the user information acquired in S1101 by making a request to the image forming apparatus having the server function (the image forming apparatus 101 in the present embodiment).

  In step S1103, the setting unit 132 generates a print job list based on the bibliographic information acquired in step S1102, and displays the print job list on the operation panel 113 through the panel I / F 122. The information displayed on the operation panel 113 is, for example, the information shown in 1601 of FIG. 16, and the print job list is displayed as an example of 1602 of FIG.

  In step S1104, the setting unit 132 determines whether a print execution instruction has been issued for the print job displayed in the print job list 1602 from the user, as in step S503 in FIG. When it is determined that the print execution instruction has not been issued (No in S1104), the setting unit 132 ends the processing of this flowchart. On the other hand, if it is determined that a print execution instruction has been issued (Yes in S1104), the setting unit 132 advances the process to S1105.

  In step S1105, the setting unit 132 notifies the bibliographic management unit 133 that the print execution instruction has been issued. The bibliographic management unit 133 requests and acquires a target print job for which printing has been instructed by the user in step S1104 from the image forming apparatus having the server function. Further, the bibliographic management unit 133 instructs the print execution unit 138 to print the print job. In response to the instruction, the print execution unit 138 executes the process of S1106. The finish rendering process is the same process as S305 in FIG. 3 when the information of the preceding process result is not added to the print job. The details of the rendering process of finishing when the information of the preceding process result is added to the print job will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Note that S1107 is the same processing as S306 in FIG. After S1107, the print execution unit 138 ends the processing of this flowchart.

Hereinafter, print job transmission processing according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of print job transmission processing executed by the software (for example, 133 and 137) by the controller 110 provided in the image forming apparatus 101 having the server function according to the third embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 described later is realized by the CPU 123 of the image forming apparatus 101 having the server function reading out a program stored in the ROM 126 or the HDD 124 to the RAM 125 as needed and executing it.

  In step S1201, when the bibliographic management unit 133 receives a print job acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 102 or 103 through the network I / F 120, the bibliographic management unit 133 notifies the retention control unit 137 of the acquisition request.

  In step S1202, the storage control unit 137 determines whether the print job requested to be acquired has been preprocessed. This determination is made by referring to the bibliographic information and acquiring the preprocessed information added in S404 of FIG. If it is determined that the print job has been preprocessed (in the case of Yes in S1202), the retention control unit 137 advances the process to S1203.

  In step S <b> 1203, the retention control unit 137 performs a process of adding the information of the result of the preceding process to the PDL data, and generates a print job. Details of the addition process of the preceding process result will be described later (FIG. 13). Further, the retention control unit 137 passes the processed print job to which the preceding process result is added to the bibliographic management unit 133. At S1204. The bibliographic management unit 133 transmits the processed print job to which the preceding process result has been added to the image forming apparatus of the request source, and ends the process of this flowchart.

If it is determined in S1202 that the print job has not been preprocessed (No in S1202), the storage control unit 137 advances the process to S1205.
In step S1205, the retention control unit 137 determines whether the print job requested to be acquired is in advance processing. This determination may be made by referring to bibliographic information in the same manner as in the above S1202, and it may be determined whether or not the preceding processing is in progress, or the image data of the preceding rendering processing associated with the bibliographic information in S404 of FIG. It may be judged whether or not it exists.

If it is determined in S1205 that the print job requested to be acquired is in the pre-processing (Yes in S1205), the storage control unit 137 advances the processing to S1206.
In step S1206, the retention control unit 137 interrupts the preceding process for the print job being subjected to the preceding process. Information on the interruption of the preceding process is notified to the preceding process unit 136, and is used to determine whether there is a print execution instruction described in S406 of FIG. After the above-described S1206, the retention control unit 137 acquires the result of the preceding process (image data associated with the bibliographic information corresponding to the corresponding bibliographic information in S404 of FIG. 4) stored in the HDD 124 when the preceding process is interrupted. In step S1203, the print job is added. Further, the retention control unit 137 passes the processed print job to which the preceding process result is added to the bibliographic management unit 133. At S1204. The bibliographic management unit 133 transmits the processed print job to which the preceding process result has been added to the image forming apparatus of the request source, and ends the process of this flowchart.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S1205 that the print job requested to be acquired is not under the pre-processing (No in S1205), the retention control unit 137 passes the original print job to the bibliographic management unit 133. At S1207. The bibliographic management unit 133 transmits the original print job to the image forming apparatus of the request source, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for explaining an example of an addition process (S1203 of FIG. 12) of the preceding process result executed by the retention control unit 137 of the controller 110 of the image forming apparatus 101 having the server function of the third embodiment. .
FIG. 14 is a view for explaining an example of the pre-processing result added to the PDL data by the addition processing of the pre-processing result of the third embodiment.

In step S1301, the retention control unit 137 adds identifier information as indicated by 1401 in FIG. 14 as the start of the process of adding the preceding process result to the PDL data. Basic processing contents such as identifier information are the same as S601 in FIG.
Next, in S1302, the retention control unit 137 adds preceding process information such as 1402 in FIG. 14 following the identifier information added in S1301. Basic processing contents such as preceding process information are the same as S602 in FIG.

  Next, in step S1303, the retention control unit 137 determines which image forming apparatus is the output destination of the target print job. In the case of the example described with reference to FIG. 12, since the process is a process in response to a print job acquisition request from an external image forming apparatus, it can be determined as another image forming apparatus. Further, in the case of the example described in the first embodiment, it is determined that the print job is output by the image forming apparatus that has stored the print job (that is, it is not another image forming apparatus).

If it is determined in S1303 that the print job output location is another image forming apparatus (Yes in S1303), the retention control unit 137 advances the process to S1304.
In step S1304, the retention control unit 137 adds information on the result of the preceding process such as 1403 in FIG. 14 following the preceding process information added in step S1302. Here, the information indicating the number of pages of the preceding process result, the one indicating the format, and the one indicating the information of the preceding process result are added as one set. In the example shown in 1403, the information of the set for the first page is added first, and the format of the pre-processing result is "image". When the format is “image”, the retention control unit 137 reads image data (image data) from the HDD 124 in which the preceding processing result is stored, and adds it as information on the preceding processing result.

Next, in S1305, the retention control unit 137 determines whether or not the information of all pages already processed is added. Then, if it is determined that the information of all the pages already subjected to the pre-processing has not been added (No in S1305), the storage control unit 137 returns the process to S1304 and shifts to the process of the next page.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the information of all pages subjected to the pre-processing has been added (in the case of Yes in S1305), the storage control unit 137 advances the processing to S1308.

If it is determined in S1303 that the print job output location is not another image forming apparatus (No in S1303), the retention control unit 137 advances the process to S1306.
Steps S1306 and S1307 are the same processes as steps S603 and S604 in FIG. 6, and the file path storing the print job in the image forming apparatus is added as information of the preceding process result, and the process proceeds to S1308.
Further, since S1308 and S1309 are the same processes as S605 and S606 in FIG. 6, the description will be omitted.

  In FIG. 13, the configuration has been described in which the output destination is determined in S1303 and the image data or the file path is added according to the output destination. However, the image data may be always added in S1304 and S1305 without performing the determination in S1303.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart for explaining an example of a rendering process (S1106 in FIG. 11) of finishing performed by software (138 to 140) by the controller 110 of the image forming apparatuses 102 to 103 according to the third embodiment.
First, S1501 and S1502 are the same processes as S801 and S802 in FIG. Further, since S1503 is also the same process as S803 in FIG.

In step S1504, the print execution unit 138 notifies the intermediate data generation unit 140 of the information of the preceding process result of the analysis target page as shown by 1403 in FIG.
In the example of the print job shown in FIG. 14, when the analysis target page of the print execution unit 138 is page 1, the print execution unit 138 processes the image data (RIP image of page 1) added as a result of the preceding process to the print job. The intermediate data generation unit 140 is notified.

  In addition, since S1505, S1506, and S1507 are processes similar to S805, S806, and S807 in FIG. 8, respectively, the description will be omitted. Furthermore, since S1508, S1509, and S1510 are processes similar to S808, S809, and S810 in FIG. 8, respectively, the description will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to realize advance processing of a print job stored in the image forming apparatus 101 having a server function. Then, when the image forming apparatus 101 receives a print job acquisition request after a print instruction from the user, it is determined whether the output destination is another image forming apparatus or the image forming apparatus 101, and the preceding process result is It is possible to switch the method of adding information. All other information is transmitted to other image forming apparatuses by including the entity of the image in the result of the pre-processing. On the other hand, in the printing of the image forming apparatus 101 itself, it is possible to efficiently refer to the result of the preceding process by transmitting only the file path and referring to it at the time of finishing rendering. Further, in either case, the information on the result of the preceding process can be referred to at the time of the rendering process of the finish, so that the waiting time of the user after printing can be shortened.

  As described above, in each of the above-described embodiments, the order of the preceding rendering process performed by the image forming apparatus during retention of a print job is controlled based on the communication protocol at the time of job reception and the approximate distance to the transmission source. Specifically, the image forming apparatus sorts the order of the prior rendering process while retaining based on the communication protocol at the time of receiving the job and the approximate distance to the transmission source, and performs the prior rendering process in the sorted order. Then, when there is a print instruction from the user for the reserved print job, the information of the rendering process result is added to the print job, and the image forming apparatus uses the information of the rendering process result added to the print job at the time of printing Do. With such a configuration, the rendering process can be performed in advance in the order in which the possibility of the print instruction being given is high, and the rendering process time when printing is performed can be shortened. As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment performs the rendering process at the time of printing execution by using the result at the time of printing execution, in which the result of performing the rendering process earlier in the descending order of the possibility that the print instruction is given earlier. It features. As a result, it is possible to shorten the print processing time after the user gives a print instruction in the reservation printing, and to reduce the user's waiting for output. In particular, it is possible to shorten the output waiting of a user who is likely to obtain a print result quickly, that is, a user who is close to the image forming apparatus.

  In the third embodiment described above, the image forming apparatus 101 having the server function performs the preceding process and the addition of the preceding process result. However, the function of the image forming apparatus 101 is performed by the print server (print server). It may be a configuration to be realized.

In addition, the structure of the various data mentioned above and its content are not limited to this, According to a use or the objective, you may be comprised by various structure or content.
Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention can be embodied as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus comprising a single device.
Further, all configurations obtained by combining the above-described embodiments are also included in the present invention.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. Can also be realized. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.
Further, the present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus comprising a single device.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the respective embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, which are excluded from the scope of the present invention is not. That is, all configurations obtained by combining the above-described embodiments and their modifications are also included in the present invention.

101, 102, 103 Image Forming Apparatus
110 controller
133 Bibliographic Management Department
134 Print control unit
135 Job Analysis Unit
136 Preceding unit
137 Holding control unit

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus that stores received print data and forms an image on a sheet based on the stored print data when a print instruction from a user is input,
Based on the communication protocol at the time of receiving the print data, the order of the pre-processing for processing at least a part of the page of the print data described in the stored page description language and generating the image data corresponding to the page Decision means to decide,
Prior processing means for performing prior processing of print data described in the stored page description language in the order determined by the determination means before the print instruction is input;
Storage means for storing image data generated by the preceding process in association with the print data;
When a print instruction from the user for the stored print data is received, if the image data corresponding to the print data is stored in the storage unit, the print processing of the print data instructed for the print is performed. A print execution unit that executes using image data corresponding to the print data;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the order of the pre-processing in the descending order of the priority of the communication protocol at the time of print data reception and in the order of the short distance estimated from the radio wave intensity at the time of communication. Image forming device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the priority of the communication protocol is based on a standard of a communicable distance of the communication protocol. It has transmission means for transmitting print data to the other device in response to a request from the other device,
When the image data corresponding to the print data to be transmitted to another apparatus is stored in the storage unit, the transmission unit adds the image data corresponding to the print data to the print data and transmits the image data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A control method of an image forming apparatus, which stores received print data and forms an image on a sheet based on the stored print data when a print instruction from a user is input.
Based on the communication protocol at the time of receiving the print data, the order of the pre-processing for processing at least a part of the page of the print data described in the stored page description language and generating the image data corresponding to the page A decision step to decide
An advance processing step of performing advance processing of print data described in the stored page description language in the order determined in the determination step before the print instruction is input;
Storing the image data generated by the preceding process in the storage unit in association with the print data;
When a print instruction from the user for the stored print data is received, if the image data corresponding to the print data is stored in the storage unit, the print processing of the print data instructed for the print is performed. A print execution step executed using image data corresponding to the print data;
And a control method of an image forming apparatus.   A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 5.

Images