JP3215225B2 - Printer server system and control method thereof - 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 server system in which a plurality of client users can share a printer function on a network, and a control method thereof .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, documents and images created and converted on a computer are output to a printer on a network to which the computer is connected, so that a plurality of client users can share the printer. ing.

[0003]

[0006] However, a file server with spooling, the printer server system constituted by two printers server for outputting the data, a large capacity such as a color raster image It is very difficult to efficiently manage and print out a plurality of images. That is, the file
Large capacity by providing a server and print server
Image data can be queued while large-capacity image data can be queued.
Network to transfer data to the file server
Output image data on the
Image on the network again to transfer to the data server
Because it will output data, how many times on the network
Will also flow large amounts of data, for example,
If you want to print quickly,
There was a problem that it was delayed.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose
Client terminals, pudding from client terminals
Queue request and image data related to the print request.
Server with queuing table for queuing
And a printer that controls the output of image data to the printer.
Printer server that is configured to connect to
The system requires printing from the client terminal.
Printer server system that can process requests efficiently.
An object of the present invention is to provide a stem and a control method thereof.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a printer server system according to the present invention has the same network.
Multiple client terminals and client terminals
Print request and image data related to the print request
To file servers and printers that queue data
Printer server that controls the output of image data
A printer server system having a configuration according to
Print requests and image data from client terminals
A first transfer means for transferring to the file server;
The print request and the image data transferred by the transfer
Second transfer from file server to print server
Transmission means, print requests and images from client terminals.
Image data to the file server by the first transfer means
Control to transfer to the print server without transferring
And control means for performing the operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an
On top of multiple client terminals,
The print request and the image data related to the print request are queued.
Image data to a file server and printer
Print server that controls the output of data
Control method of the printer server system
Print requests and image data from client terminals.
Transfer step for transferring data to a file server
The print request transferred in the first transfer step, and
Transfer image data from file server to printer server
A second transfer step for sending, and
Print request and image data in the first transfer step
Printer server without transferring to the file server.
Controlling the transfer to the bar.
This is also achieved by the control method of the server system.

[0007]

With the above arrangement, even a large image data size such as a color image can be efficiently managed on the server and printed out.

[0008]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer server system according to the present embodiment has a digital color image reading unit (hereinafter, referred to as a color scanner) (100) on its upper part and a digital color image as described later. A digital color copier (1000) composed of a digital color image printing unit (hereinafter referred to as a color printer) (300) for printing and outputting, a scanner / printer server (200) connected to a network (1), A file server (500) supporting a file system on the network (1), and a plurality of client computers (4) operated by a plurality of client users.
00).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital color copying machine (1000) having a scanner / printer function and constituting a system according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, in the scanner (100) section, a scanner controller (101) is the center of control, and performs the following control.

That is, an exposure system controller (103)
The original (not shown) on the platen (105) is
Each of the colors B is separated into colors by a close-contact CCD line sensor and converted into a point-sequential analog image signal. This analog image signal is converted into an 8-bit digital image signal for each color by an A / D converter, and each of RGB colors indicating luminance is output as a line-sequential signal.

The digital image signal is supplied to an image processing unit (10
In 2), the luminance levels of R, G, and B are converted into levels corresponding to the toner amounts of the four colors C, M, Y, and Bk indicating the density. At the same time, the image processing unit (102)
And performs various image processing such as synthesis, scaling, and movement.

In the printer (300) section, the scanner (1)
The digital image signals of C, M, Y, and Bk sent from the section (00) are converted into lighting signals for a semiconductor laser section (not shown), and the laser is controlled by a laser drive section (310). The laser lighting signal is output as a signal having a pulse width corresponding to the level of the digital image signal.

Here, in the printer section (300), the laser lighting level is 256 levels (corresponding to 8 bits). In accordance with the digital image signal to be output, the color image is limited for each color of CMYK, and is sequentially exposed and developed on the photosensitive drum (315) in the digital dot format by the developing unit (314). The printer unit (300) transfers a plurality of images onto recording paper in the transfer unit (316), and finally fixes in the fixing unit (322) via the separation unit (320) and the conveyance unit (321). This is an electrophotographic laser beam printer.

The scanner (100) and the printer (300) can control the printer (300) by the scanner (100) and function as a digital color copying machine.

When functioning as a digital color copying machine, an original image is set on an original platen (105) of a scanner (100), and a copy start key (not shown) is pressed. Image reading, image processing, and exposure at the printer (300) unit,
An image is formed through a process of development, transfer and fixing, and is output as a color copy.

FIG. 3 shows a client computer (40) connected to the network of the system according to the present embodiment.
It is a figure which shows the structure of 0). As shown in the figure, a client computer (400) includes a network controller (420) for controlling a protocol on a network between a scanner / printer server (200) and a file server (500), and a client computer (400). A CPU (405) for central control, a hard disk (451) for temporary registration of image data, and recording of various data, a hard disk controller (450) for controlling the hard disk (451), a main memory (460), and an instruction input of an operator color. Mouse (431), keyboard (441), color display (412) for layout, editing, and menu display, display memory (411), display controller (410), and image display on display memory (411). Made in the image editing controller to perform an out-editing (413).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the scanner / printer server (200) constituting the system according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG.
A main controller (210) for controlling the entire printer server (200), a network controller (220) for controlling protocol processing on a network, analysis of packets extracted by the protocol, separation of image data, etc., and control as a server. And a network server controller (221) for performing the following. Further, based on the separated image data / command data, it is divided into a raster image storage unit (700) for storing / managing color multi-value raster image data and its position / attribute information and performing layout and the like.

Interfaces include a digital color interface controller (790) for exchanging image data and commands with the digital color copying machine (1000), a mouse (244) for inputting instructions from a server administrator, and a keyboard. (245), a color display (242) for layout / editing / menu display, a display memory (241), and
It comprises a display controller (240).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a file server (500) constituting the system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the file server (500) includes a network controller (520) for controlling protocol processing on a network, analysis of contents of packets extracted by the protocol, separation of image data, and the like. File server main controller (510) for controlling the hard disk, and a hard disk controller (5) for controlling a single hard disk or a plurality of hard disks.
30), a hard disk (531) connected to it,
A queue management controller (55) for managing / controlling queuing file data registered on the hard disk
0), queue table data (551) as a table for the management information, a mouse (544) for inputting an instruction from a file server administrator, and a keyboard (5).
45), color display for menu display (5
42), a display memory (541), and a display controller (540).

FIG. 6 shows the scanner / printer server (2)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a raster image storage unit (700) in (00).

A raster image storage unit (700) shown in FIG.
Is a raster image conversion unit (8) that converts raster image data into an output type of a printer, mainly on an image main controller (710) that controls the entire raster image data.
00), raster image data is stored in a raster image memory (7
60), and has a memory management controller (720) for managing efficiently, and its management table (770).

An image editing controller (73) for performing enlargement / reduction / deformation editing on already registered image data or when registering an image in a memory.
0), a layout controller (750) for performing layout editing in real time when outputting to a printer unit.

When outputting image data in the memory,
The image data is transferred to the printer unit (300) via the digital interface controller (790) to obtain a print image.

Main raster (201) of the raster image storage unit (700) and the scanner / printer server (200)
The image data and the command are based on a specific format, and are connected to the image controller (710) and the scanner / processor via the bus controller (740).
Main controller (21) of the linter server (200)
0) interact with each other. And
The raster image storage unit (700) can manage image data in two memory management modes, a file management mode and a page mode.

The file management mode is a function of storing / managing a plurality of image data. The stored image data is stored in a plurality of image data registered in accordance with a command from the main controller (210) of the scanner / printer server. The image data is laid out and output to the printer unit (300) via the digital interface controller (790). Thus, a print image can be obtained.

At this time, the plurality of image data are managed by dividing the raster image memory (760) into a plurality of pieces as image files, and the start address on the memory, the length of the image data, the attribute of the image data, The position information and the like of the layout output of the image data are registered in the position / attribute information table (770), and are managed by the memory management controller (720).

An image editing controller (730) that performs image conversion of the registered image data when actually outputting the image data, and enlarges / reduces / outputs the image data when outputting the layout.
The position and size are designated by the layout controller (750) for performing deformation editing, and are output to the printer unit (300) via the color digital interface controller (790). Therefore, since the original image data is always stored in the memory, it is possible to change the layout output.

In the page mode, which is another memory management mode, the raster image memory (760) is treated as one sheet of paper, and the memory is width (WIDTH) / height (H).
EIGHT), and when laying out a plurality of image data on a memory, the image editing controller (730) performs enlargement / reduction / deformation and image conversion on the color of the image data, and specifies the designated memory. Fits in the layout position above.

In this way, the position and size specified by the layout controller (750) are output to the printer unit (300) via the color digital interface controller (790).

The client computer (400), the file server (500), and the scanner / printer server (200) in the present embodiment communicate with each other on the network, so that a data sequence called a packet as shown in FIG. Are used as one block to exchange packets with each other.

The structure of a packet is such that the destination network address is set at the beginning, the source network address is set next, the actual packet data follows the frame size information of the packet, and finally the reliability of data transfer is set. An error check such as a CRC called a tailor is added to improve the performance. This packet data part (100
02), arbitrary data can be inserted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a header (10003) and a data block (10100) are used.
Is separated into

As shown in FIG. 7, the packet data part (1
0002), a header code (10019) indicating the header information is inserted at the beginning, and a function code section (10020) indicating what function the packet data has, , A continuous packet ID (10030) indicating the serial number when one data is composed of the packets, and a total packet ID (1003) indicating the total number of packets.
1) and a data length (100) indicating the data length of the data block portion (10100) into which the actual data enters.
32).

The function code section (1002
0) is a function ID (10021) indicating a scanner / printer server type, a job type ID (10022) indicating a job type for the server,
Then, the job ID (10
023).

As shown in FIG. 8, the data block part (10100) of the packet data part (10002) has the job type ID (1) of the function code part of the header part.
0022) Depending on the contents, the command block (1000
5), a status block (10006), an image data block (10007), and an image information block (10008).

Hereinafter, a printing operation procedure of the scanner / printer server system having the above configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart. <Layout processing on client computer> FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure such as a layout process on a client computer in the system according to the present embodiment.

In step S1 of FIG. 9, the client computer (400) executes DTP (Desk Top Publish).
ing) is loaded from the hard disk (451) onto the main memory (460), and step S2
Then, the DTP software is executed by the CPU (405). Here, the user uses a mouse (431) or a keyboard (441) to convert a document image and various image data (illustrations formed by vectors, multi-valued images such as natural images captured by a scanner or the like). It is laid out and directly performed while checking on the display (412) (step S3).

When a multi-valued natural image is laid out on a document image, the image can be cropped by adding a mask process using a binary bit map image.

Then, the image editing controller (413) registers the processing procedure / multi-valued image data / binary bitmap mask image of an arbitrary document image created in the meantime on the main memory (460) as needed ( Step S4
S5) When the format of one page is completed, the hard disk controller (450) is controlled and registered as a format of one page on the hard disk (451) (steps S6 and S7). A series of editing / layout operations are performed on all pages to be created (step S8). <Generation of Raster Image> During the above processing, the document image developed on the display memory (411) is displayed on the display (412).
Based on various information of the laid out document image on the hard disk (451), the document or image created by the layout is converted into a multi-valued raster image by the device driver software in the ROM (406) (step S9). ). At this time, the width and height of the image data and the type of the image data (RGB, CMYK, bitmap,
8 Palette), position information at the time of layout output, and color correction information are registered on the hard disk together with image data as command data (step S10).

The multi-valued raster image thus converted includes vector-based information such as characters and illustrations, data of a multi-valued raster image such as a laid-out natural image, mask commands for mask processing, and mask data of the mask data. It is created by device driver software based on the binary bitmap mask image data. <Status Request for Print Queue> The status request processing for the print queue will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Here, the client computer (400) sends a file server (5) to the network controller (420).
00) with the network controller (520).

The network controller (420) sets the destination address of the packet base (10001) based on the network address of the file server registered in the client computer in advance, and sets the function ID in the function ID of the header part. I for a color printer uniquely determined as an ID for identifying
D is set to indicate that the execution mode is color printing. The job ID is set to 0 because the job has not yet been determined, and the job type ID is set to the ID of a uniquely determined command that indicates a command data block.

The data block at this time sets a print queue status request command for obtaining the current print queue status information on the file server side. As a parameter of the command for the print queue status request, the type of image data to be registered (RGB, CMYK, bitmap, 8Pal) based on the command data previously registered on the hard disk
ette) and the size of the width and height of the image data are set as parameters (step S11).

The client computer (400)
This packet data is transferred to the file server (500) via the network controller (420). On the file server side, the file server main controller (510) separates the content of the packet into a header portion and a data block portion, analyzes that the content of the data block portion is a command, and performs processing according to the command. Do.

Since the request from the client side is a command for a print queue status request of the file server, the file server main controller (51)
0) is the designated function ID (10021)
A request is made to the queue management controller as to whether or not there is queue information of the printer corresponding to (step S12). <Referring to queuing table> As shown in FIG. 18, the configuration of the queue table data (551) is such that a plurality of scanner / printer servers are included in the queuing entry table for each scanner / printer server . The queuing table is managed, and a plurality of print / scanner jobs requested by the client are registered in each queuing table.

The queue management controller (550) refers to the contents of the queuing table registered in the queuing entry table, checks the queue type in each queuing table, and specifies the designated function ID (10021). Look for something equivalent to). Then, if it exists, the entire status information is created from the queuing table data. When there are a plurality of targets, the whole status information for a plurality of targets is created.

The data of the overall status information includes a registration queue ID (10209) which is a queue corresponding to the designated function ID (10021), a server ID / network ID (10301) of the printer server to be targeted by the queue, and Registerable capacity of queuing file data allocated to the queue table (1
0313), the total number of queues currently registered (10306), the maximum number of queues that can be registered (1031)
2) The client priority level (10314) of each registered queue, the network ID (10315) of the client that has registered the job, and an error code.

The data of the overall status information is set in the data block portion of the packet data, and the job type ID in the header is set to the status block ID, and is returned to the client computer which issued the status request.

At this time, the type of image data (RGB,
CMYK, bitmap, 8 Palette) and the width of the image data and the size of the actually required image data are calculated from the size of the image data, and the registrable capacity of the queuing file data allocated to the queue table (1031)
Compare with the value of 3).

If the required capacity of image data cannot be secured, an error code indicating insufficient capacity is set. The maximum number of queues that can be registered (10312)
Is the total number of queues currently registered (1030
If the value matches 6), no more jobs can be registered, and an error code indicating that the queue is insufficient is set.

If the target queue information does not exist, an error code indicating that a uniquely determined target printer cannot be found is set in the data block portion of the packet data, and the client computer that issues the status request Return to. <Checking the queuing table> The client computer divides / analyzes the contents of the packet data returned from the file server in the same manner as the above-described file server, and obtains the registration queue ID corresponding to the currently valid scanner / printer server. (Step S13).

At this time, the error code is checked, and if an error code of insufficient capacity or an error code of insufficient queue allocation is set, the priority level of the queue (10307) currently being executed is determined from the data of the overall status information. 10314) is compared with the value of the priority level preset on the client computer (step S15).

The priority level is a value for registering a queue with the file server or determining the order of execution when printing is performed. The client priority table (the priority table (262) for the file server, the client priority table (56) for the scanner / printer server) is assigned to the file server and the scanner / printer server.
2)).

If the priority level of the client is lower than that of the queue currently being executed, the device driver of the client displays a warning message to the user that the job cannot be executed (step S151), and is set in advance. After the elapse of the predetermined time, the above-described operation is repeated, and the process waits for a free space on the file server (step S152). <Registration of Job in Queuing Table> The process of registering a job in the queuing table in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

If the job can be registered in the queuing table without any error code, the device driver on the client computer executes the packet-based (10001) file processing in the same procedure as that for issuing the overall status request command described above. A destination address of the server is set, and an ID for a color printer which is uniquely determined as an ID for identifying a function is set in a function ID of a header portion, thereby clearly indicating that the execution mode is a color printer. Note that the job ID is set to 0 since the job has not been determined yet, and a uniquely determined command ID indicating a command data block is set as the job type ID.

At this time, the data block section sets a job registration command for registering a new print job in the print queue on the file server side.
The parameter of the determined registration queue ID is set in the command portion, and this packet is issued to the file server in the same manner as described above (step S30). <Issuing a new job ID of the file server> On the file server side, the file server main controller (510) separates the contents of the packet into a header part and a data block part, as described above. The command is analyzed, and processing is performed according to the job registration command.

The file server main controller (510) sends the queue management controller (550) the registration queue I specified in the job registration command.
A new job is registered in the queuing table of the printer corresponding to D, and a job ID at that time is newly issued. At this time, the job ID is set in the status block of the packet to be returned as a status, and the packet is returned to the client computer in the above-described procedure.

Thereafter, scan / print processing within the network is performed using the job ID as an identification key (step S31). <Client print job registration / image data transfer> The client device driver determines the job ID from the status packet returned from the file server.
Get. Then, the rasterized image data registered on the hard disk (451) and the command data containing the layout information are read, and the packet-based job ID is set to the same value as that obtained and the job type is set. The command type is set as the ID.

At this time, the data block portion sets a print execution command, and in the command portion, the position information parameter of the layout to be printed, the color balance information, the print information such as the number of prints, and the image size (width) of the image data. , Height), type of image data (RG
B, CMYK, Bitmap, 8-bit Palett
e) Parameters such as image data transfer units (line-sequential, plane-sequential, dot-sequential) are set (step S32).

The number of image data blocks to be sent as a whole after the command block is calculated from the image data size and the image type, and the total number of packets (including the command packet) is added to the total packet ID of the header. set. And these packets
By the above procedure, from the client computer,
The data is continuously transferred to the file server (step S33).

In the continuous transfer of packets, as shown in FIG. 16, some command packets are transferred first, followed by the image data packets. The command, the image data, and the job type ID in the header at the time of transfer are set to the respective types, and the job ID is registered in the queue. Consecutive packet ID of the header part in order from the packet from the head
Are transmitted in order from 0 to the total packet ID-1 (step S34). <File server queue registration> On the file server side, the command packet /
Receives the image data packet and specifies the job ID
Is checked whether it exists, and if it exists, it is sequentially registered on the hard disk in the file server as a queuing file (step S3).
5).

Then, the ID of the queuing file registered on the hard disk in the file server is registered in the queue of the job ID obtained from the command packet. The job ID and the queuing file ID are
One set is managed in the queuing table. In addition, command packets registered on the hard disk
The image data packet is one file data,
It is managed on the file server as shown in FIG. 17 (step S36). <Scanner / Printer Server Queue Check> Next, a queue check process of the scanner / printer server will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

The main controller (210) of the scanner / printer server (200) connected to the network (1) reads the main memory (260) at regular intervals registered in the ROM (250) on the server. Network ID of the file server registered in
The file server (500) is accessed on the basis of (step S37). <Server queue status request command> Scanner /
The printer server (200) sets an ID for a color printer uniquely determined as an ID for identifying a function in the function ID of the header portion based on the packet base described above, and the execution mode is color printing. To state clearly. Then, a server queue status request command is set in the data block (step S38).

This command is a command for obtaining the information of the queuing table for the scanner / printer server among all the information of the current queue state on the file server side. Note that the scanner / printer server ID and network ID that are uniquely determined are set as parameters. The scanner / printer server (200) converts the packet data into
Transfer to the file server (500) via the network controller (220).

On the file server side, the file server main controller (510) similarly separates the contents of the packet into a header section and a data block section, analyzes that the contents of the data block section are commands, and analyzes the command. Performs processing according to the command. Since the request from the scanner / printer server is a request for all information in the queue corresponding to the scanner / printer server ID, the file server main controller (510)
Requests the queue management controller (550) whether or not there is queue information of the printer corresponding to the specified scanner / printer server ID (step S39). <Request for Command Read> By the above processing, the scanner / printer server can obtain the information of the queuing table assigned to itself. Then, a newly registered job is found from the information in the queuing table, and a command packet for reading the file information is issued to the file server based on the newly registered queuing job file ID. (Step S40).

The command read is a process of extracting and reading only the command packet portion from the file information. <Extraction of Print Command> The file server requests the file information of the designated queuing job file ID from the command packet issued in step S41 to the hard disk controller (530) of the file server (500), The corresponding file information (packet data from the client registered as a file) is read from the hard disk (531). Then, only the command packet portion is extracted from the file information and transferred to the scanner / printer server (200) as packet data (step S42). The file server main controller (510) performs this extraction processing. <Set of print information of the print server> The scanner / printer server (200) prints the position information parameter of the layout to be printed, the color balance information, the print information such as the number of prints, and the image from the command packet obtained by this command read. Data image size (width, height), image data type (RGB, CM
Parameters such as YK, Bitmap, 8-bit Palette), and the transfer unit of image data (line-sequential, plane-sequential, dot-sequential) are obtained. <Image File ID Request> The main controller (210) of the scanner / printer server (200) operates in the above-described file management mode so that the image main controller (71) of the raster image storage unit (700) operates.
0) is set up via the bus controller (740). Accordingly, the image main controller (710) initializes the memory management controller (720) to manage the raster image memory in the file management mode. Then, in order to register the queued image data in the raster image memory (760), the memory management controller (720) sends an arbitrary file ID of the image data to be registered.
Is set. The memory management controller (720)
This is used as an image file ID for management / identification (step S43).

In the following step S44, the print information / image attribute parameters of the queuing image data obtained from the file server are stored in the position information table (77).
Set to 0). <Transfer of image data to scanner / printer server>
Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
Processing such as transfer of image data to the printer server will be described.

The main controller (210) issues a command packet to the file server as described above to read the queued image data. This command packet is an image data read command, which extracts only the image data packet portion from the file information of the previously obtained queuing file on the file server, and sends it to the scanner / printer server (200) side as packet data. Transferred (step S
45). <Registration of Image Data in Raster Image Memory> On the scanner / printer server (200) side, the image data obtained by the transfer is transferred as a series of image data packets by the continuous packet ID (step S46). As soon as a packet is obtained from the network controller (220), the image data is stored in the raster image memory (76) of the raster image data storage unit (700).
0) (step S47).

At the time of registration, the image data is managed by dividing the raster image memory (760) into a plurality of image files, and the start address and the image data length in the memory, the attribute of the image data, the image data The position information and the like of the layout output are registered in the position / attribute information table (770) corresponding to the above-mentioned image file ID, and the image data transferred from the file server is stored in the raster image memory (76) based on the information.
0) (step S48). <Layout Output of Image Data> After the registration of all image data packets is completed, the main controller (210) sets the number of prints and layout information of the position / attribute information table in the layout controller (750) when outputting the layout. (Step S49), the layout controller (750) performs enlargement / reduction / deformation editing to the designated position and size (Step S50). Then, the raster image data is transferred via the color digital interface controller (790) and output to the printer unit (300) to print the image requested by the client (step S51). <Status information setting such as output / completed> In this way, the status executed by the scanner / printer server can be notified to the queue management controller of the file server and monitored at any time.

The command packet for setting the status information on the scanner / printer server side on the file server side is issued as a status set command. The status set command is used to set the job ID of the current print output execution queue, the current number of output sheets,
This command sets an output end flag in the corresponding queuing table (step S52).

Here, only the flow of this status will be described.

First, when the command parameters are registered in the raster image storage unit by command reading, the status set command executes the execution queue (1030) of the corresponding queuing table on the file server side.
7), the job ID to be executed is set, the job status (10309) is set to data transfer, and the total number of prints is set to the print total (10310).
Further, the number of printed sheets is set to one.

When the raster image storage unit (700) starts printing out, the main controller (210) of the scanner / printer server (200) sends the job status of the job data in the corresponding queuing table of the file server. During printing.

At the time when printing is started, the main controller (210) inquires the status of printing to the raster image storage unit (700) at regular intervals, and thereby, the current number of printed sheets and errors such as out of paper are detected. The status is confirmed, and the information is set by the status set command to the number of printed prints obtained from the raster image storage unit (700) in the print completed (10311) parameter in the queuing table on the file server side. I do. <Monitoring of Client Status Information> The client computer (400) issues a print execution packet, and after issuing all the command packets and the image data packets, monitors the status of the queuing table on the file server side.

C of the client computer (400)
The PU (405) is connected to the network controller (42).
0), a command packet of the job status request command is issued. This command packet returns the job information of the queuing table of the job ID specified as a parameter to the client side, so that the current job information can be monitored.

The job information is monitored by the CPU (405) of the client computer (400) based on the status information obtained from the file server. The scanner / printer server ID of the target digital color copier and the queuing table are displayed on the display controller (410).

Each ID can be displayed in comparison with a unique name managed on the file server / client computer.
Server identification is easier to see.

The displayed queuing table of the file server can display the total number of sheets in the queuing table, the current execution process of the scanner / printer server , the number of printed sheets, and the error status. Then, the information is obtained from the file server side by the packet of the job status request command. Further, the client side can know from the monitor function whether the job status is print completion. <Direct Access to Scanner / Printer Server > Before registering a queue, which is an important process in this embodiment, obtain the overall status information of the file server (500) described above and check its error code. In the following, a description will be given of a process in a case where an error code of insufficient capacity and an error code of insufficient queue allocation have been set and the priority level of the client is higher than that of the queue currently being executed. <Interrupt to Scanner / Printer Server > The client computer (400) determines the network ID (10301) of the target scanner / printer server from the overall status information of the packet data returned from the file server (500) in FIG. From the queuing table (10300) shown in FIG.
The client computer sets an interrupt request command in the packet-based data block for the scanner / printer server (200), and transfers it in the above-described procedure.

As described above, the value of the job priority level registered in advance on the hard disk of the client computer is set as the parameter of the interrupt request command (step S16 in FIG. 10).

The client computer has a scanner /
The interrupt request command is sent to the printer server at regular intervals, and if there is no connection answer repeatedly for a certain number of times (step S171), the device driver
A warning message indicating that the job cannot be executed is displayed to the user (step S172), and after a predetermined period of time, the operation of issuing the overall status request command to the file server side is repeated as described above. Wait for a free space above.

During this time, the scanner / printer server executes the procedure of receiving the image data of the currently executing job from the file server and sequentially registering it in the raster image data section as described above. (221) indicates that a print request from another client is sent to the scanner / printer at regular intervals.
It is checked whether it has been sent directly to the server (step S18). <Check of interrupt request> Here, the scanner / printer server (200), which has received the packet of the interrupt request command from the client side, first determines the priority level of the interrupt request from the client priority level table and the current execution level. The priority of the middle client job is compared (step S19).

When it is determined in step S20 of FIG. 14 that the priority of the currently executing job is high , an error code indicating that the priority of the job is low is set on a packet basis, and status information is sent to the client side as status information. It is returned (step S25). On the client side,
Since the status information from the scanner / printer server (200) is an error, error processing is performed as described above (steps S26 and S27).

On the other hand, if the priority of the interrupt request job is higher, a uniquely determined interrupt job ID is set in the status packet and returned to the client. <Issuance of a job interruption command> The scanner / printer server (200) interrupts the job currently being executed by the file server ((50
For 0), a job interruption command is issued. The parameter of the job interruption command includes the job ID of the target job (step S21). <Reset job> The file server (500) detects the target queue table from the job ID obtained from the command packet, and executes a uniquely determined interrupt (interrupt) on the queue status. The value is changed to a value having a medium meaning (step S22). Thus, the client that has executed this job can know from the queue status (10304) that the execution job has been interrupted by the monitoring method described above. <Direct Registration / Image Data Transfer to Scanner / Printer Server > The device driver of the client computer (400) checks whether an interrupt has been recognized from the status packet returned from the scanner / printer server (200). Then, when the interruption is made, the client computer (4) is executed based on the interruption job ID set in the status packet.
00), the rasterized image data registered on the hard disk (451) and command data containing the layout information are read, and the packet-based (1
0001), the same value as that obtained by the status is set for the job ID (10023), and the command type is set as the job type ID (10022). At this time, the data block (10100) sets a print execution command (step S23).

In the command section (10005), print information such as position information parameters of the layout to be printed, color balance information, the number of prints, image size (width, height) of image data, and image data type (R
GB, CMYK, Bitmap, 8-bit Palett
e) Set parameters such as image data transfer units (line-sequential, plane-sequential, dot-sequential).

At this time, similarly to the procedure described above, the number of packets of the entire image data block after the command block is determined by the total packet ID of the header (10020).
Set to (10031). These packets are sequentially transferred to the scanner / printer server (200), similarly to the packet transfer described above. <Image Registration of Scanner / Printer Server> FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process of the scanner / printer server in the embodiment. As shown in the figure, the scanner / printer server (200) requests a file ID for registering new image data from the memory management controller (step S60), and converts the print information into position information corresponding to the designated image file. Register in the table (step S61).

The command packet (10005) and the image data packet (10007) from the client computer (400) are transferred to the file server (50).
Similarly to the procedure from 0), the scanner / printer server (200) converts the image data obtained by the transfer as a series of image data by a continuous packet ID into a raster image in the raster image data storage unit (700). Register in the memory (760) (Steps S62, S62)
´).

The subsequent processing is the same as the processing shown in FIG. 10, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
A file server or pudding that the net is connected on the work
When sharing a data server by a plurality of clients, without using the spool function of the file server, that to perform the interrupt access to the print server directly output request exceeding the registration space on the file server Can be efficiently separated by a plurality of clients, and image data management and print output of image data on a server become easy.

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

[0092]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Print request from client terminal and print request
Image data related to the request via a file server.
In addition to transferring to the linter server, the client terminal
To a print server without going through a file server
By providing a configuration for sending
Print request and image data
Thus, efficient processing can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a digital color copying machine (1000) constituting a system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a client computer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a scanner / print server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a file server according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a raster image storage unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network packet unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data block unit of a network packet according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a print operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a print operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a print operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation procedure in the system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a continuous network packet according to the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a queuing file according to the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a queuing entry table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a queuing table according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Network 200 Scanner / Printer Server 400 Client Computer 500 File Server 1000 Digital Color Copier

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-108370 (JP, A) JP-A-5-19986 (JP, A) JP-A-5-11948 (JP, A) Computer & Network LAN Vol. No.4 Ohm Co., Ltd. “Answering Users' Questions NetWare Consultation Office 2nd Printer Edition” p. 38-p. 42 (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/38 H04N 1/00 107

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of client terminals, print requests from the client terminals, and
Controls output of image data to a file server that queues image data related to a lint request and a printer.
That the printer server system to adopt a configuration in which a print server is connected, a first transfer means for transferring the print request and the image data from the client terminal to the file server, the first transfer means at the transferred printed Request and image
Transfer data from the file server to the printer server
Transfer means for transferring the print request and image data from the client terminal.
The file server by the first transfer means.
Transfer to the printer server without transferring to
And control means for controlling the printer server system. 2. A determining means for determining a priority of a queue process currently being executed by the printer server and a process of processing a new print request from the client terminal. Means for outputting an interrupt request to the printer server when it is determined that the priority of the new print request is higher than the queue processing currently being executed, the control means comprising: Accessible by the interrupt request
The new print to the printer server
Request and image data relating to the print request.
2. The printer server system according to claim 1, wherein the printer server system controls the printer server. 3. The printer server system according to claim 1, wherein the image data and the print request are managed by a unique identification code having a meaning on the file server. 4. The printer server according to claim 1, further comprising means for managing position information of a laid-out image for one page based on a print request queued in the printer server. 2. The printer server system according to 1. 5. The printer server system according to claim 4, wherein said printer server further comprises means for generating an image of said image data based on said position information. 6. The printer server according to claim 1, wherein the image data is color raster image data, monochrome binary bitmap raster image data, or monochrome grayscale raster image data. system. 7. A plurality of client terminals , print requests from client terminals , and
File that queues image data related to the lint request
Control the output of image data to
A method of controlling a print server system to adopt a configuration in which the printer server that is connected, a first transfer step <br/> flop for transferring the print request and the image data from the client terminal to the file server, the The print request transferred in the first transfer step;
Image data is transferred from the file server to the printer server.
And a print request and image data from the client terminal.
The file server by the first transfer step.
Transfer to the print server without transferring to the printer server.
Controlling the printer server system.