JP2762959B2 - Printer control method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer control system for performing print output by a printer in response to a print request from a plurality of clients connected to a network, and in particular, to adjust the output order according to the amount of printing. It relates to a printer control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a network in which terminal devices such as a workstation, a personal computer, and peripheral devices thereof are connected by a communication line, a printer connected to the network may be shared by a plurality of terminal devices (clients). As a conventional printer control method in such a case, a print output is generally performed in the order in which the printer receives a print request from a client.

[0003] Further, even when a plurality of printers are connected to a network and a client designates a printer to print out or distributes a print request to each printer by a predetermined method, the print request is not sent to each printer. Printout is performed in the same order in which the printouts are received. As a technique for distributing print requests to a plurality of printers, there is a technique described in JP-A-59-87539, "Printing Device Management System". The publication discloses a configuration in which a printing device management mechanism that manages the operations of a plurality of printers includes means for grouping the plurality of printers and selecting an optimum printing device according to the selection order and output amount of the printing devices. Have been described.

However, when printing is always performed in the order in which print requests are received as described above, information other than the order in which print requests are received, such as the data amount of output data and the degree of importance, is not considered at all. Absent. Therefore, when a plurality of print requests are overlapped, the print output of other data cannot be executed until all data output by the previously received print request is completed, regardless of the data amount or content of the output data. There was an inconvenience.

Conventionally, in order to avoid the above-mentioned inconvenience, means for designating the output order when print requests from a plurality of clients are overlapped has been proposed. As this type of technology, there is a technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-123953, "A method of sharing peripheral devices". The gazette discloses a configuration in which, when a peripheral device is used, the urgency of the use is set, and the peripheral device is provided with a means for giving priority to a device with a higher urgency added to the use request and giving priority to use. Have been described.

[0006]

As described above, according to the conventional printer control method in a network, when print output is performed in the order in which print requests are received, the print control is performed until the print output by the previously received print request is completed. The printout cannot be executed in response to the received print request. For this reason, when a print request to print out a large amount of data is received from a predetermined client and then a print request to print out a small amount of data is received from another client, etc., printing of the previously received large amount of data is performed. Until the output is completed, it is necessary to wait for the printout of a small amount of data received later, which is disadvantageous in that the efficiency is low.

Further, even when the urgency is added to the print request and the execution order of the print output is determined according to the urgency,
A procedure is required for the user to determine and add the urgency of the data to be printed out, which is troublesome.

Further, when a high urgency level is added to a print request from each client, the printout is executed in the order in which the print requests are received, and the efficiency cannot be sufficiently improved. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer control method which solves the above-mentioned conventional disadvantages and automatically adjusts the output order according to the amount of output data.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a method in which a server to which a printer is connected and a plurality of clients are connected via a network, and the operation of the printer is performed in response to a print request from the client. In the printer control method, the server is configured to divide a print job sent from a client into a predetermined size, a print job dividing unit, and a storage unit that stores the print job in a spool file.
Print job management means for registering and managing print jobs stored in the spool file, and printer control for sequentially reading print jobs from the spool file with reference to management information of the printer management means and controlling the operation of the printer Means, and the print job management means registers the print jobs divided by the print job dividing means as a plurality of print jobs, and the print jobs sent from the same client are continuously registered. In this case, the print job transmitted from a different client is determined as the print job to be executed next, skipping the print job subsequent to the execution of the first print job among the continuous print jobs.

In another aspect, the print job management means skips a continuous print job sent from the same client as the print job being printed and next executes a print job sent from a different client. Storage means for storing print information relating to the print job being printed as print information relating to the succeeding skipped print job when the print job is determined to be a print job, wherein the printer control means executes the print job executed in the storage means When print information related to the printer is stored, the print information is read and the setting of the printer is controlled.

In another aspect, the print job management means deletes the registration of a print job whose execution has been completed.

[0013] In another aspect, when the print job management means executes a print job having only a print job sent from the same client at the back, the print job registered first is executed next. The print job is determined.

[0014]

According to the present invention, the print job dividing means divides a print job into predetermined print capacity sizes, and the print job management means divides the divided print job into a plurality of print jobs. If print jobs from the same client are managed consecutively and print jobs other than the first print job are executed consecutively, execution of print jobs from different clients is prioritized. Can be controlled.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the printer control system of the present embodiment employs a server computer 2 connected to a network.
0 (hereinafter, referred to as a server 20). A printer 30 is connected to the server 20. Also,
The network includes a plurality of client computers 10
(Hereinafter, referred to as a client 10).
Although only one printer 30 is connected to the server 20 in the figure, a plurality of printers 30 may be connected. In the following, for simplicity, a description will be given assuming that only one printer 30 is connected to the server 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the server 20 includes a print capacity inspection unit 21 for inspecting the number of pages to be printed according to a print request.
A print job dividing unit 22 that divides a print job according to a requested print amount, a spool file 24 that stores information about print processing, a spooler setting unit 23 that generates a spool file 24, and a spool file 24. A print information storage unit 26 for storing print information to be managed and a print control unit 25 for controlling the operation of the printer 30 are provided.

The print capacity inspection unit 21 is realized by a program-controlled CPU and a memory such as a RAM. The print capacity inspection unit 21 receives a print request packet sent from a client and checks the requested print amount. The print capacity inspection unit 21 includes:
The print capacity (number of pages, etc.) is set and stored in advance. Then, information on the number of print pages included in the print request packet from the client is detected and compared with the set print capacity. When the requested number of print pages is larger than the set print capacity, a print request packet is sent to the print job dividing unit 22, and when the requested number of print pages is equal to or less than the set print capacity, the print request packet is sent. The packet is sent to the spooler setting unit 24.

The print job dividing unit 22 is realized by a CPU controlled by a program, receives a packet from the print capacity inspecting unit 21, and mechanically divides a print job for each print capacity set by the print capacity inspecting unit 21. I do. Then, the divided print jobs are sent to the spooler setting unit 24.

The spooler setting unit 23 is realized by a program-controlled CPU and a memory such as a RAM, and stores a management table 231 for printer control based on a print job from the print capacity inspection unit 21 or the print job division unit 22. Generate. The management table 231 registers, for each print job, the client name of the client that has transmitted the print job, and also includes the job status indicating the progress of the printing process and the presence or absence of various information such as printer settings at the time of printing. And print information indicating the following as setting items. Examples of the management table 231 are shown in FIGS. After generating the management table 231, the spooler setting unit 23 stores the print job in the spool file 24. The generated management table 231 is sequentially updated according to the progress of the print job execution state.

The spool file 24 is realized by a storage device such as a magnetic disk device, temporarily stores an input print job, and outputs a sequentially stored print job according to the progress of the printing process.

The print information storage unit 25 is realized by a memory such as a RAM, and stores information such as printer settings such as paper size and font and values of pages to be printed as print information for each print job. The stored print information is managed by the management table 231.

The printer control unit 26 is realized by a program-controlled CPU, operates the printer 30 in accordance with the management table 231 of the spooler setting unit 23 and the print job of the spool file 24, and executes printout of print data. I do. The printer control unit 26 executes the print jobs in the order registered in the spool file 24 in principle, but when print jobs from the same client are consecutive, print jobs from different clients are preferentially executed. .

That is, when there is a print job divided by the print job dividing unit 22, the divided print job is not executed continuously, but after one of the divided print jobs is executed, The print job registered from the other client after the print job is registered is executed first. After sequentially executing different print jobs of the client in this manner, the remaining one of the print jobs is executed again. When the print job is divided into three or more, this operation is repeated.

The clients to be compared are the client of the print job being printed and the client of the print job registered thereafter. Therefore, when a print job from a different client is registered after a print job from a predetermined client, and a print job from the predetermined client is registered next, a print job from the predetermined client is registered. Never skip a print job.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3 and FIGS. 4 and 5. When the print request processing is executed by the client 10 on the network, the print job is transmitted to the server 20 in the form of a packet. The packet includes print data and various information such as a client name and the number of print pages.
When the server 20 receives the print job (step 2
01) First, the print capacity inspection unit 21 detects the number of print pages of the print data from the print job and compares it with a preset print capacity (steps 202 and 2).
03).

If the number of print pages detected from the print job is smaller than the print capacity set in the print capacity inspection unit 21, the print job is sent to the spooler setting unit 2.
Sent to 3. Then, the client name is registered in the management table 231 by the spooler setting unit 23, and job status and print information are set (step 2).
04). Here, initially, the job status is set to “pending”, and the print information is set to indicate that no print information is stored. Thereafter, the print job is stored in the spool file 24 by the spooler setting unit 23 (Step 205).

When the number of print pages detected from the print job is larger than the print capacity set in the print capacity inspection unit 21, the print job is sent to the print job division unit 22. Then, the print job is divided for each print capacity set in the print capacity inspection unit 21 (step 206). Each of the divided print jobs is sent to the spooler setting unit 23, registered in the management table 231 (step 204), and stored in the spool file 24 (step 205).

FIG. 4 shows an example of the management table 231 created as described above. The figure shows the client "xx
This shows a state in which a print job is input from three persons of “x”, “yyy”, and “zzz” and registered in the management table 231. In the figure, the order of registration is “xxx”, “yy”
y "and" zzz ". The execution of the print job is the one registered earlier (the one registered at the top of the figure)
It is performed in order from. The print job from the client “xxx” and the client “zzz” is divided into two by the print job dividing unit 22 and registered. As shown in the figure, the job status of the first print job of the client “xxx” to be executed first is set to “in printing” because there is no need to wait for the start of execution.

Next, when the print job is spooled in the spool file 24, the printer control unit 26
A print job is executed at a predetermined timing, and the printer 30 prints out print data. Then, the spooler setting unit 23 determines a print job to be executed next and updates the management table 231.
The operation at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

When the printing process is started in accordance with the first print job (step 301), the spooler setting unit 23 first prints the print job whose job status is "printing" in the spool file 24 at the end of the print job. It is determined whether the job is a job (step 30).
2). If the print job is not the last registered print job, the client name of the print job is compared with the client name of the next registered print job (step 303). If the client names of both print jobs are the same, a search is made for the next registered print job (steps 304 and 30).
5) The client name is compared with the client name of the print job being printed (step 303).

The client name comparison is repeated, and if a print job having a client name different from the client name of the print job being printed is detected, the print job is determined as the next print job to be executed (step 306). Then, after the print output of the print job being printed is completed, the job status of the print job to be executed next is changed from hold to printing (step 30).
7, 308).

The registration of the print job for which printing has been completed is deleted from the management table 231.
(Step 309). Here, immediately after the print job being printed, the same print job is registered by the client, and if the client skips this and selects a print job of a different client as a print job to be executed next, the spooler setting unit 23 The print information of the print job for which printing is completed is stored in the print information storage unit 25, and the print information item of the skipped print job in the management table 231 is set to "present" (steps 310 and 311).

The first print job of the client “xxx” is executed from the state of FIG.
FIG. 5 shows a state in which the management table 231 has been updated by No.
Shown in Here, since the second print job of the client “xxx” is registered immediately after the first print job of the client “xxx”, the print job of the client “yyy” is skipped and executed next. Determined for the print job. Then, the first print job of the client “xxx” is deleted. Further, since the second print job of the client “xxx” has been skipped, the print information item is set to “present”.

The printer controller 26 refers to the management table 231 updated as described above, reads a print job to be executed next (a print job whose hold has been released) from the spool file 24, and sets the printer 30. Then, print output is executed (step 312).

The above process is repeated while the print job is registered in the spool file 24 (step 313). The print jobs of different clients are sequentially executed, and when the print job registered at the end of the spool file 24 is executed, the print job registered at the beginning of the spool file 24,
That is, the first print job among the skipped print jobs is determined as the print job to be executed next (steps 302 and 314).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments. For example, in this embodiment, printout is performed according to print jobs from different clients for each predetermined print capacity, so that printed documents can be easily distinguished from each other in trays individually set for each client. The output documents may be sorted.

Further, even in the case of a document exceeding the set print capacity, it is desirable to output the document continuously in an emergency, so that in such a case, the print job from the same client is skipped. Means may be provided so as not to exceed. As such a means, a means such as adding a flag indicating urgency to a print job and checking the presence or absence of the flag when searching for a print job to be executed next can be adopted.

When a plurality of print jobs are successively transferred from the same client, the management table 2
A print job having the same client name is continuously registered in the print job 31. However, by adding a flag or the like at the time of transfer of the print job, it can be distinguished from a case where a single print job is divided. The print job can be prevented from being skipped, and print information can be prevented from being stored.

[0040]

As described above, according to the printer control method of the present invention, a print job is divided for each predetermined print capacity, and the divided print jobs are managed as a plurality of print jobs. However, when print jobs from the same client are consecutive, output data is controlled by controlling the printer so that execution of print jobs other than the first print job is skipped and execution of print jobs from different clients is prioritized. The order of output can be automatically adjusted according to the amount of.

Therefore, even if a print request to print out a large amount of data is received from a predetermined client and then a print request to print out a small amount of data is received from another client, the previously received large amount of data is received. It is possible to print out a small amount of data received later without waiting for the printout of data to be completed, thereby improving printing efficiency.

Further, every time the execution of one print job is completed, a print job from a different client is searched and executed, so that the clients of the executed print job are not biased to one client. For this reason, the printout is performed by the print request of all the clients without requiring a long waiting time. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a special procedure such as adding an urgency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 client 20 server 21 print capacity inspection unit 22 print job division unit 23 spooler setting unit 24 spool file 25 print information storage unit 26 printer control unit 30 printer

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printer control method for connecting a server to which a printer is connected and a plurality of clients via a network and controlling the operation of the printer in response to a print request from the client. Print job dividing means for dividing the print job into a predetermined size, storage means for storing the print job in a spool file, and a print job for registering and managing the print job stored in the spool file Management means; and printer control means for sequentially reading print jobs from the spool file with reference to the management information of the printer management means and controlling the operation of the printer, wherein the print job management means comprises: Divided by Job jobs are registered as a plurality of print jobs, and when print jobs sent from the same client are successively registered, the print job succeeding the first print job among the continuous print jobs is skipped. A printer control method for determining a print job sent from a different client as a print job to be executed next. 2. The print job management means according to claim 1, wherein the print job transmitted from the same client as the print job being printed is skipped and the print job transmitted from a different client is determined as the next print job to be executed. A storage unit for storing print information relating to the print job being printed as print information relating to a subsequent skipped print job, wherein the printer control unit stores print information relating to a print job to be executed in the storage unit. 2. The printer control method according to claim 1, wherein when the printing is performed, the print information is read to control settings of the printer. 3. The printer control method according to claim 1, wherein the print job management unit deletes the registration of the print job whose execution has been completed. 4. When the print job management means executes a print job having only a print job sent from the same client at the end, the print job management means determines the first registered print job as the next print job to be executed. The printer control method according to claim 3, wherein: