JP3059502B2 - Information processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of printers and a method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a printer device which is wirelessly connected to a host computer and can input print data from the host computer and perform printing. When printing is performed using such a printer, the operator of the host computer searches for a printer in which desired paper or a paper name is set in advance, and outputs a print command to the printer. I had to.

[0003]

Therefore, the operator has to know which printer the paper to be printed is set in, that is, whether the paper size and the paper name match. This is a very troublesome operation, especially when a plurality of printer devices are connected, and is not satisfactory in terms of use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example. When an information processing apparatus executes a print job, the information processing apparatus recognizes in advance which printer is equipped with a recording medium of the type related to the print job. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and a method capable of finding a printer equipped with a recording medium of a type suitable for the print job without any trouble.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement.
That is, the information processing device is connected to the first printer device and the second printer device, and transmits a command to the first printer device or the second printer device to be equipped with the printer device. Acquiring means for acquiring the type of recording medium being performed, determining means for determining whether or not the type of recording medium acquired by the acquiring means and the type of recording medium relating to the print job match; When the determination unit determines that the type of the recording medium provided in the first printer device obtained by the unit does not match the type of the recording medium related to the print job, the second printer device Control means for controlling the acquisition means so as to acquire the type of the recording medium mounted on the second printer device by transmitting the command to the second printer device. To. In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of printers, a storage unit for storing identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of printers, and a storage unit for storing the identification information stored in the storage unit. An acquisition unit that sends a command to the printer device to be executed to acquire the type of recording medium provided in the printer device, and that the type of recording medium acquired by the acquisition unit and the type of recording medium related to the print job are A determination unit that determines whether or not they match, and a printer device in which identification information is stored in the storage unit when the determination unit determines that they do not match,
Control means for transmitting the command to a printer other than the printer to which the command has been transmitted by the acquisition means and controlling the acquisition means so as to acquire the type of recording medium provided in the printer. It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing method according to the present invention includes the following steps. That is, an information processing method in an information processing device connected to a first printer device and a second printer device, wherein a command is transmitted to the first printer device or the second printer device, and An obtaining step of obtaining the type of the recording medium provided in the printer device; and a determining step of determining whether or not the type of the recording medium obtained in the obtaining step matches the type of the recording medium related to the print job. And if it is determined in the determination step that the type of recording medium provided in the first printer device acquired in the acquiring step does not match the type of recording medium related to the print job, A control step of transmitting the command to the second printer device and controlling to acquire the type of the recording medium provided in the second printer device. In order to achieve the above object, an information processing method of the present invention includes the following steps. That is, an information processing method in an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of printer apparatuses, wherein a storing step of storing identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of printer apparatuses in a memory; An acquisition step of transmitting a command to a printer device corresponding to the identification information to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the printer device, and a recording medium type and a print job acquired in the acquisition step. A determining step of determining whether or not the type of the recording medium matches; and if the determining step determines that the types do not match, the printer device stores identification information in the memory. The command is transmitted to a printer other than the printer to which the command has been transmitted, and the type of recording medium mounted on the printer is acquired. Characterized by a control step of sea urchin control.

[0007]

In the above arrangement, a command is transmitted to the first printer or the second printer to obtain the type of the recording medium mounted on the printer, and the obtained type of the recording medium is obtained. It is determined whether the type of the recording medium related to the print job matches the type of the recording medium related to the print job, and it is determined that the type of the recording medium related to the print job does not match the type of the recording medium related to the print job. Then, the second
The second printer device transmits a command to the second printer device to acquire the type of recording medium provided in the second printer device. Further, according to the configuration of the present invention, identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of printers is stored, a command is transmitted to the printer corresponding to the stored identification information, and the printer is equipped with the printer. The type of the recording medium is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the acquired type of the recording medium matches the type of the recording medium related to the print job. If it is determined that they do not match, the command is transmitted to a printer other than the printer to which the command is transmitted, the recording medium being provided with the identification information. Works to get the type of

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. <Explanation of System Configuration (FIG. 1)> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration in which a printer of this embodiment is used. FIG. 1A shows a plurality of (n) units in one host computer.
Indicates that the printers are wirelessly connected,
FIG. 1B shows a state in which a plurality (n) of printer devices are connected to a plurality (m) of host computers. In addition, there may be a case where the host computer and the printer correspond one-to-one, but this is not particularly described here. As described above, both the host computer and the printer device include the communication units that can transmit and receive wirelessly, and can communicate with each other via these communication units.

<Description of Host Computer (FIG. 2)>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the host computer of this embodiment. 201 is a CPU that controls the entire host computer, 202 is a ROM that stores the OS and various data of the CPU 201, and 203 is a work area of the CPU 201. A communication control program 211 for controlling communication with the printer, an output control program 212 for controlling output to the printer, an output job control table 213, and a printer management table 21.
4 etc. are stored.

Reference numeral 204 denotes a communication control unit which controls wireless transmission and reception with the printer device, and is controlled by a communication control program 211. Reference numeral 207 denotes a magnetic disk drive, which outputs output data arranged in an output format,
The above-described various programs and data loaded and executed on the AM 2111 are stored. A CRT display 205 displays an error status, various messages to the operator, and the like. Reference numeral 206 denotes a keyboard, which is operated by an operator and receives instructions such as output instructions. <Description of Printer (FIG. 3)> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the wireless printer in this embodiment.

Reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire printer apparatus; 302, a ROM for storing the OS and various data of the CPU 301; and 303, a RAM for temporarily storing the programs and various data of the CPU 301.
In the RAM 303, a communication control program 311 for controlling communication with the host computer, a data analysis and development program 312 for analyzing input data to develop an image, and a print control program 313 for performing print control are currently set. A paper name table 314 storing paper names is provided.

Reference numeral 304 denotes a communication control unit which is controlled by a communication control program 311 and controls communication with a host computer. Reference numeral 305 denotes an input unit, 306 denotes an output expansion memory, and 307 denotes a data output unit.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the output job control table 213 of the host computer. Printer IDs (P001 to P00X) and paper names are stored in correspondence with the job names.

FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the printer management table 214. The printer ID and the status of the printer corresponding to the printer ID (information indicating that the printer is in a busy state (BUSY) or not occupied (FREE)) Is stored.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data format of a message transmitted from the host computer to the printer.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data format of a response message from the printer device to the host computer.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 61 denotes a printer ID for specifying a destination printer, 62 denotes a command given from the host computer to the printer, 63 denotes a host ID for specifying the source host computer, and 64 denotes a host computer. This is data to be transmitted to the printer device.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 71 denotes a host ID for specifying a destination host computer; 72, a printer ID for specifying a source printer; 73, a response from the printer to the host computer; This is additional information to be added to the information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the paper name table 314 of the printer. Here, the paper decks (DECK001 to DECK002) and the corresponding paper names (A4HRED to A4HWHITE) are stored.

Next, referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the processing flow of the host computer and the printer in this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing for transmission from the host computer to the printer. First, in step S1, when the operator issues an output instruction to the printer from the keyboard 206, the flow advances to step S2, and the output control program 212 executes output job control. The output job name and the paper name are registered in the table 213. Next, the process proceeds to step S3, where the printer management table 214 (see FIG. 5) is checked to find a printer in the FREE (unused) state. A message is created and transmitted to the printer by the communication control program 211 (step S4). At this time, a command meaning a print request is set in the command 62.

In step S5, a response from the printer is awaited. If there is no response from the printer after a certain period of time, the process proceeds to step S13, and the printer status in the printer management table 214 is set to Not Re.
ady (unusable) is set. Next, in step S14, the next printer is selected, and a print request command is transmitted in the same manner as the above-described operation.

In step S5, if there is a response from the printer, the flow proceeds to step S6, and the content of the response message is examined. If the response is negative, the flow proceeds to step S15.
BUSY is set in the printer management table 214. In step S16, it is checked whether all the printers that can transmit are busy. If so, an error is displayed, the process returns to step S1, and the process is restarted from the beginning. If all the printers are not busy, step S17
To select the next printer and perform the same processing as described above.

In step S6, if the response message from the printer is an affirmative response, the process proceeds to step S7, where the paper name set in the additional information 74 (see FIG. 7) of the response message and the corresponding value in the output job control table 213. Compare with the paper name of the job, and if they match, step S
In step S8, the printer ID of the printer is set in the output job control table 213. However, if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S13, where the next printer is selected and a print request is transmitted.

In step S9, it is determined whether there is print data to be transmitted. If there is no print data, the flow advances to step S11 to transmit a print end command to the printer, and the status of the printer management table 214 corresponding to the printer is made ready. . On the other hand, if there is printer data in step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, where the print data is transmitted to the printer and print processing is performed.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The printing process in the printer will be described.

First, in step S21, the process waits for a command from the host computer. When a command is received, the process proceeds to step S22 to check whether the printer ID included in the command matches its own printer ID. If this ID is different from the own device ID, the process returns to step S21 without responding. If the IDs match, the process proceeds to step S23 to check the command 64 included in the message from the host computer. If the command is a print request, the process proceeds to step S24. If not, the process proceeds to step S27 to check whether the data is print data. If it is neither a print request nor print data, the flow advances to step S28 to perform a process corresponding to the command.

If the print data is received in step S27, the flow advances to step S29 to check whether an error such as a paper jam or paper empty has occurred. If not, the flow advances to step S30 to receive from the host computer. Print the print data. If an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step S25, where the host ID in the command is
Then, the process returns to step S21 in response to an error response to the host computer specified in step S21.

If a print request command is received in step S23, the process proceeds to step S24, and it is checked whether a print request can be accepted. If the command has not been accepted, the process proceeds to step 25, and a negative response is returned to the host computer that has output the command.

On the other hand, if the print command can be accepted in step S24, the process proceeds to step S26, and an acknowledgment is returned to the host computer by a message of the format shown in FIG. At this time, the host ID 71 matches the host ID 63 included in the command from the host computer,
The printer ID 72 is the printer ID of the own device. Also,
The response content 73 is data indicating an acknowledgment and the message additional information 74 is set with the paper name currently set in the printer with reference to the paper name table 314.

In this embodiment, if the host computer sends a print request to all printers registered in the printer management table 214 and finds no suitable printer as a result, it retries many times. However, a call may be made by an operator.

If there is a printer on which the corresponding paper name is set, but in the BUSY state, that is, if the printer is being used by another host computer, the output job is transferred to the magnetic disk device 207 of the host computer or the printer side. Spooled on a magnetic disk device, etc., and when the printer status changes to the FREE status,
You may make it print.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a system environment in which a host computer and a wireless printer can be connected in a one-to-many or many-to-many manner, when the operator outputs a job to a printer, which printer It is not necessary to recognize whether a sheet with a name that matches the data is set, and printing can be performed by a printer device on which a desired sheet is set simply by instructing output processing.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if it is not necessary to know in advance which printer device is equipped with a recording medium of a type related to a print job, a type suitable for the print job can be obtained. There is an effect that a printer device equipped with the recording medium can be found.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a connection state between a host computer and a printer in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a host computer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the wireless printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of an output job control table of the host computer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a printer management table of the host computer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data format example of a message transmitted from the host computer to the printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data format example of a response message from the printer to the host computer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a paper name table in the printer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a data output process from the host computer to the printer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing in the printer device of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 201, 301 CPU 202, 302 ROM 203, 303 RAM 206 Keyboard 211, 311 Communication control program 212 Output control program 213 Output job control table 214 Printer management table 312 Data analysis development program 313 Print control program 314 Paper name table

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Claims (20)

(57) [Claims] An information processing device connected to a first printer device and a second printer device, wherein a command is transmitted to the first printer device or the second printer device, and a command is transmitted to the first printer device or the second printer device. Acquiring means for acquiring the type of recording medium provided in the apparatus; determining means for determining whether or not the type of recording medium acquired by the acquiring means and the type of recording medium for the print job match If the determination unit determines that the type of the recording medium provided in the first printer device acquired by the acquisition unit does not match the type of the recording medium related to the print job, Control means for transmitting the command to the printer device and controlling the acquisition device so as to acquire the type of the recording medium provided in the second printer device. The information processing apparatus characterized by. 2. When the determination unit determines that the type of recording medium provided in the printer apparatus acquired by the acquisition unit matches the type of recording medium related to the print job, the control unit determines The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print data is transmitted to the printer device. 3. When the type of recording medium provided in the first printer device is not obtained by the obtaining device, the control device transmits the command to the second printer device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit is controlled to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the second printer. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing identification information corresponding to each of said first printer device and said second printer device.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 5. The storage unit stores information on the status of each of the first printer device and the second printer device, and the control unit changes the status of the second printer device to a printable status. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in some cases, the command is transmitted to control the acquisition unit to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the second printer. . 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second information processing apparatuses are configured to perform
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is wirelessly connected to the printer device. 7. An information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of printers, wherein said storage means stores identification information corresponding to each of said plurality of printers, and said identification information stored in said storage means. An acquisition unit that transmits a command to the printer device corresponding to the information, and acquires a type of a recording medium equipped with the printer device; and Determining means for determining whether or not the type matches; and if the determining means determines that they do not match, a printer device in which identification information is stored in the storage means, Is transmitted to a printer device other than the printer device to which the printer device has been transmitted to acquire the type of recording medium mounted on the printer device. The information processing apparatus characterized by having a control means for controlling the acquisition unit. 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the determination unit determines that the print medium matches, the control unit transmits the print data to the printer device from which the type of the recording medium is obtained by the obtaining unit. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 9. When the acquisition unit does not acquire the type of the recording medium provided in the printer, the control unit transmits the command to the printer other than the printer to which the command is transmitted by the acquisition unit. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the acquisition unit is controlled so as to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the printer by transmitting a command. 10. The storage device stores information on the status of each of the plurality of printer devices. The control device is a printer device other than the printer device to which the command has been transmitted by the acquisition device. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the command is transmitted to a printer in a printable status, and the obtaining unit is controlled so as to obtain a type of a recording medium provided in the printer. The information processing device according to claim 1. 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information processing apparatus is wirelessly connected to the plurality of printer apparatuses. 12. An information processing method in an information processing device connected to a first printer device and a second printer device, wherein a command is transmitted to the first printer device or the second printer device. Acquiring the type of the recording medium provided in the printer device, and determining whether the type of the recording medium acquired in the acquiring step matches the type of the recording medium related to the print job. Determining that the type of the recording medium provided in the first printer device acquired in the acquiring step does not match the type of the recording medium related to the print job. A control step of transmitting the command to the second printer device and controlling to acquire the type of the recording medium provided in the second printer device. Information processing method according to claim. 13. When the determination step determines that the type of recording medium provided in the printer device acquired in the acquiring step matches the type of recording medium related to the print job, the control step includes: The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the print data is transmitted to the printer device. 14. When the type of the recording medium provided in the first printer device is not obtained in the obtaining step, the command is transmitted to the second printer device in the control step. 14. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein control is performed to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the second printer device. 15. The first printer device and the second printer device.
15. The information processing method according to claim 12, further comprising a storage step of storing identification information corresponding to each of the printer devices. 16. The storage step stores information relating to the status of each of the first printer device and the second printer device, and the control process changes the status of the second printer device to a printable status. 16. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the command is transmitted to acquire the type of the recording medium provided in the second printer.
An information processing method according to claim 1. 17. An information processing method in an information processing apparatus connected to a plurality of printers, wherein: a storage step of storing identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of printers in a memory; An acquisition step of transmitting a command to a printer corresponding to the stored identification information to acquire the type of recording medium provided in the printer, and the type and printing of the recording medium acquired in the acquisition step A determining step of determining whether or not the type of the recording medium relating to the job matches; and if it is determined that the types do not match in the determining step, the printer device stores identification information in the memory,
A control step of transmitting the command to a printer other than the printer to which the command was transmitted in the obtaining step, and controlling to obtain the type of a recording medium equipped in the printer, Characteristic information processing method. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, if it is determined in the determining step that the print data matches, the control step transmits print data to the printer device from which the type of the recording medium has been obtained in the obtaining step. The information processing method described. 19. When the type of the recording medium provided in the printer device is not obtained in the obtaining step, the control step includes transmitting the command to the printer device other than the printer device to which the command was transmitted in the obtaining step. 18. A control method for transmitting a command to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the printer device.
Or the information processing method according to 18. 20. The printer according to claim 19, wherein the storing includes storing information relating to a status of each of the plurality of printers, and the controlling includes a printer other than the printer to which the command is transmitted in the obtaining. 20. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the command is transmitted to a printer device in a printable status, and control is performed so as to acquire a type of a recording medium provided in the printer device. The information processing method described.