JP4196835B2 - Information acquisition processing program, computer, and information acquisition processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides an information acquisition processing program for causing a computer to execute an information acquisition process in which a computer acquires image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from an image forming apparatus connected to the computer, The present invention relates to an information acquisition processing system including a computer that executes information acquisition processing, and a computer that executes the information acquisition processing and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique is known in which a computer acquires image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from an image forming apparatus connected to the computer (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

In the system described in Patent Document 1, a computer acquires image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from an image forming apparatus connected to the computer, and further acquires the acquired information. Is provided to the management computer via the network, and the management computer that has received this information comprehensively manages information related to the image forming apparatuses connected to the computers on the network.
JP 2000-293324 A

  By the way, in the technique as described in the above-mentioned patent document 1, as a technique used when a computer acquires information from an image forming apparatus, it is described from the computer side to the image forming apparatus side in a printer job language (PJL). There is known a technique in which a received command (hereinafter also referred to as a PJL command) is given and information returned from the image forming apparatus side is read back on the computer side. PJL is a command language that enables various functions of an image forming apparatus to be controlled, and is a well-known language that was developed by Hewlett-Packard and later adopted by other companies. When such a PJL command is given to the image forming apparatus, the PJL command is normally output to the image forming apparatus via a print spooler.

  Here, the process of outputting such a PJL command to the image forming apparatus via the print spooler is normally performed in the background. If there are no other print jobs in the print spooler queue, the PJL command is normally processed in a very short time and disappears from the print spooler queue. For this reason, many users are not aware that such PJL command output processing is being performed.

  However, when a PJL command is output to the image forming apparatus via the print spooler, a print job to be processed before that is accumulated in the queue of the print spooler or due to an error on the image forming apparatus side (for example, out of paper) If the print spooler cannot output to the image forming apparatus, the PJL command remains in the print spooler queue indefinitely.

  Therefore, for a user who does not know the reason why the PJL command remaining in the queue is generated, an unfamiliar print job is queued and can be left as it is or should be deleted. There were cases where it was difficult to respond. In recent years, there are many users who are aware of computer viruses, so if a print job that you don't recognize is queued, the user may think that it is a print job caused by a computer virus. There was also the risk of annoying extra worries.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and its purpose is to output a command for requesting provision of image forming apparatus information to the image forming apparatus side via a print spooler. the command is to make it contains plain job does not remain in the queue of the print spooler over a long period of time.

The characteristic configuration employed in the present invention will be described below.
The information acquisition processing program of the present invention is
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” In the system "are provided, the image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a process in which the computer is acquired from the image forming apparatus, a program for causing the computer to execute,
As a procedure executed by the computer,
A state determination procedure for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
In the state determination procedure, when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. An information request procedure not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
An information acquisition procedure for acquiring, from the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus information that is returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler .

When the computer executes the above steps according to the information acquisition processing program, the computer first determines whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler. To do. In this determination, when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than the predetermined number , the computer sends a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide image forming apparatus information to the print spooler. give. Therefore, unlike commands that give a command to the print spooler even if the number of jobs stored in the queue exceeds the predetermined number, the command given to the print spooler is immediately output to the image forming apparatus. It is, jobs disappear from the queue. After that, the computer can acquire a desired image forming apparatus information by receiving a response to the transmitted command.

Therefore, according to the information acquisition processing program with such a procedure, because the remembrance of a maintenance job for the user is not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding user There is no risk of extra worry.

Note that the information acquisition processing program described above preferably has the following characteristics.
First, in the state determination procedure, the predetermined number is preferably 0.
The information requesting procedure sets all other jobs to the PAUSE status when the status determining procedure determines that the output data is not ready for the print spooler to immediately output to the image forming apparatus. Therefore, it is preferable that a procedure for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided as the output data to the print spooler. With this configuration, even when the number of jobs is not less than the predetermined number, the PJL command can be preferentially output from the print spooler.
In addition, the information request procedure determines that the lowest priority is given to all other jobs when the status determination procedure determines that the output data is not ready to be output to the image forming apparatus immediately by the print spooler. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is given to the print spooler as the output data, and the job including the command has the highest priority. It may be a procedure for setting. With this configuration, even when the number of jobs is not less than the predetermined number, the PJL command can be preferentially output from the print spooler.
Further, the image forming apparatus information may include information on the degree of use of replacement parts of the image forming apparatus.

  If it is an information acquisition processing program having a procedure for acquiring such image forming apparatus information, information on the degree of use of replacement parts of the image forming apparatus can be acquired. can do.

Further, the image forming apparatus information may include information related to the degree of consumption of the consumables of the image forming apparatus.
If it is an information acquisition processing program having a procedure for acquiring such image forming apparatus information, it is possible to acquire information on the degree of consumption of consumables of the image forming apparatus. Can be judged.

The image forming apparatus information may include information regarding the number of occurrences of abnormality in the image forming apparatus.
If it is an information acquisition processing program having a procedure for acquiring such image forming apparatus information, information on the number of occurrences of an abnormality in the image forming apparatus can be acquired. And determine the need for repair.

The information acquisition processing program of the present invention is
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” And “the OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler” , the computer stores the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side. A program for causing the computer to execute processing acquired from
As a procedure executed by the computer,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition procedure,
A period determination procedure for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition procedure;
An information requesting procedure for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
When the first period determined in the period determining procedure has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler in the information requesting procedure, the print spooler completed outputting the command to the image forming apparatus. Output completion determination procedure for determining whether or not
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition procedure;
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command instructions for commanding to the print spooler It is characterized by including.

When the computer executes each of the above procedures according to the information acquisition processing program , the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. The second period to be acquired is acquired from the OS in advance. Then, a first period that is shorter than the second period is determined.
Then , a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide image forming apparatus information is given to the print spooler. It is determined from the given commands, when said first period of time, print spooler whether complete output to the image forming apparatus command. In determining this, if it is determined to be complete the output, the computer, by receiving a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information. On the other hand, if it is determined not to have completed the output, the computer to delete distearate job includes a command from the queue, instructs the print spooler. Therefore, unlike what is not removed from the queue distearate job also contains commands after the first period of time, After a lapse of the first period, not output to the image forming apparatus command has been completed even without, the job is deleted from the queue.

Therefore, according to the information acquisition processing program having such a procedure, after a lapse of at least a first period, so familiar to sustain job for the user is not a situation in which queued , There is no fear that the user will be troubled to deal with or cause the user to worry excessively.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not complete, the job is deleted from the queue. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

Note that the information acquisition processing program described above preferably has the following characteristics.
First, in the information acquisition processing program of the present invention, before the article job, if it is granted the job ID assigned by the print spooler, the output completion determining step, when the first period has elapsed , based on the job ID given to included distearate job of the command, detection be distearate job detection procedure whether determination pair Zoji job remains in the queue with the job ID when, in the di job detection procedure, when it is detected that no remaining the determination pair Zoji job, and the print spooler is complete output to the image forming apparatus of the command determines Including a procedure.

With such output completion determination procedure information acquisition processing program with the computer, when the first period of time, whether or not the determination pair Zoji job based on the job ID is left in the queue and it detects the, compared to such job the stored determined versus Zoji job based on the contents of the data as to detect whether or not there remains in the queue for example, the determination pair Zoji job is It can be detected more easily whether or not it remains in the queue.

  In addition, the information acquisition processing program of the present invention includes a re-execution control procedure for performing control so that the information request procedure is re-executed in order to give the command to the print spooler again after executing the deletion command procedure. It may be.

  If the information acquisition processing program has such a re-execution control procedure, the computer can give the same command to the print spooler again even when the command is deleted from the queue. Therefore, if the data output from the print spooler side to the image forming apparatus side is temporarily disabled, even if the command given to the print spooler in that situation is to be deleted from the queue, In this situation, when it becomes possible to output data from the print spooler side to the image forming apparatus side, the desired image forming apparatus information can be acquired.

  In this case, the information acquisition processing program of the present invention further executes the re-execution when the procedure from the information request procedure to the delete command procedure is repeatedly executed a plurality of times as a result of the control by the re-execution control procedure. An error notification procedure for canceling control by the control procedure and notifying that an error has occurred may be included.

  In the case of an information acquisition processing program having such an error notification procedure, an error occurred after the computer repeatedly executed a command deletion from the queue and a command re-input to the queue multiple times. Is notified. Therefore, the more announcing that an error has occurred without attempting to re-enter the command into the queue, the user will not bother the user, and the user will simply enter the queue without notifying that the error has occurred. Unlike repetitive input of the command, it is possible to inform the user at an appropriate timing that the state of the image forming apparatus and other conditions are necessary.

Furthermore, the information acquisition processing program of the present invention includes:
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” ”And“ OS that manages the input / output I / F and the print spooler ” , the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the computer. A program for causing the computer to execute processing to be acquired,
As a procedure executed by the computer,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition procedure,
A period determination procedure for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition procedure;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, each of the plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is processed one by one, the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. Have multiple command processing control procedures to control,
Further, during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control procedure,
An information request procedure for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
When the first period determined in the period determining procedure has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler in the information requesting procedure, the print spooler completed outputting the command to the image forming apparatus. Output completion determination procedure for determining whether or not
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition procedure;
The output completion determination procedure includes an interruption control procedure for interrupting the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control procedure when it is determined that the output has not been completed.

When the computer executes each of the above procedures according to the information acquisition processing program , the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. The second period to be acquired is acquired from the OS in advance. Then, a first period that is shorter than the second period is determined.
A plurality of commands are processed one by one, and the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. During this repetitive processing, the computer gives one command to be processed to the print spooler. It is determined from the given commands, when said first period of time, print spooler whether complete output to the image forming apparatus command. In determining this, if it is determined to be complete the output, the computer, by receiving a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the output has not been completed, the computer interrupts the repeated processing. For this reason, in the situation where the first period elapses for one command, even if an unprocessed command remains, the repeated processing is interrupted.

Therefore, according to the information acquisition processing program having such a procedure, the processing is not continued repeatedly after at least the first period has elapsed, so the same number of processes as a plurality of commands are unconditionally performed. repetition unlike would, under-power is impossible status from the print spooler side to the image forming apparatus side, never become hoarding multiple jobs in the queue. Therefore, it does not recognize more than one job for the user because not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, there is no possibility to extra concern to the user.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not completed, the repetitive processing by the multiple command processing control procedure is interrupted. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

Note that the information acquisition processing program described above preferably has the following characteristics.
First, in the output completion determining step, if it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job from the queue contains a single command that is the said processed, the printing Control to re-execute the information request procedure to give the print spooler a new command to be processed after executing the delete command procedure to be issued to the spooler and the delete command procedure When the re-execution control procedure and the procedure from the information request procedure to the delete command procedure are repeatedly executed a plurality of times, the control by the re-execution control procedure is stopped and an error has occurred. An error notification procedure, and an instruction input procedure for allowing the user to input whether or not to interrupt this process when an error is notified by the error notification procedure. Seen, the interruption control procedure, a user at said instruction input step is when you enter an instruction to interrupt the process, may is the procedure for interrupting the repetition processing by said plurality command processing control procedure.

  In such an information acquisition processing program, when the computer determines that the print spooler has not finished outputting the command to the image forming apparatus during the above-described repetitive processing, the computer interrupts the repetitive processing. Perform the following steps:

That is, first, the computer, to delete distearate job includes a command from the queue, instructs the print spooler. If the command is deleted from the queue, the same command is given to the print spooler again. When the command deletion from the queue and the re-input of the command to the queue are repeatedly executed a plurality of times, the fact that an error has occurred is notified. And when an error is notified, the user is made to input whether or not to interrupt this process. Then, when the user inputs an instruction to interrupt the process, the process is repeatedly interrupted.

Thus, unlike what is not removed from the queue distearate job also contains commands after the first period of time, After a lapse of the first period, not output to the image forming apparatus command has been completed even if there is no, because the job is deleted from the queue, not to a situation where such jobs are forever placed in the queue. Further, even if the job is deleted, since the same command will be given again print spooler, when it becomes a print spooler side to a situation in which the data output is possible for the image forming apparatus side, intended Image forming apparatus information can be acquired. In addition, after deleting a command from the queue and re-entering the command to the queue repeatedly, it is notified that an error has occurred, so the status of the image forming apparatus and other checks are required. Can be communicated to the user at an appropriate time. In addition, when an error is notified, the user inputs whether or not to interrupt the process, and when the user inputs an instruction to interrupt the process, the repeated process is interrupted. Unlike the process that forcibly interrupts the process, it is possible to interrupt the process repeatedly after confirming the user's will.

  In addition, in this case, the instruction input procedure is also a procedure for allowing the user to input whether or not to continue the process. Further, in the instruction input procedure, the user inputs an instruction to continue the process. In such a case, the processing for one command that is the processing target is finished, the command that is the processing target by the multiple command processing control procedure is changed, and the command after the change is changed by the multiple command processing control procedure. There may be provided a restart control procedure for performing control so as to execute each procedure in the repeated processing.

  With such an information acquisition processing program, when an error is notified, the user can select to continue this processing in addition to interrupting this processing, and the user will continue this processing. When the command is input, the processing for one command to be processed is finished, the command to be processed is changed to another unprocessed command, and each procedure in the repeated processing is performed for the changed command. Execute.

  Therefore, without interrupting processing for all unprocessed commands at the time of error occurrence, only processing target commands at the time of error occurrence are stopped, and depending on the user's judgment, for other unprocessed commands, Processing can continue.

Next, the computer of the present invention
An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in a queue" and "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler" are provided and managed on the image forming apparatus side. The A computer that executes a process of acquiring the image forming apparatus information from the image forming apparatus,
State determination means for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
When the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. Information requesting means not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
And an information acquisition unit that acquires from the image forming apparatus the image forming apparatus information that is returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler .

In this computer, the state determination unit determines whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when output data is given to the print spooler. Here, when the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than the predetermined number , the information request unit requests the image forming apparatus to provide image forming apparatus information. To the print spooler. Therefore, unlike commands that give a command to the print spooler even if the number of jobs stored in the queue exceeds the predetermined number, the command given to the print spooler is immediately output to the image forming apparatus. It is, jobs disappear from the queue. After that, the information acquisition unit can acquire a desired image forming apparatus information by receiving a response to the transmitted command.

Therefore, according to the computer, it looks familiar to sustain jobs for the user because not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, there is no risk to the extra worry to the user .

The computer of the present invention
An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in queue", "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler", and "The input / output I / F and the print spooler" tube OS "as management is provided an image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a computer that executes a process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
An information requesting means for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
In the output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command means for commanding to the print spooler It is characterized by having.

In this computer, the period acquisition means determines the second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. Obtain from the OS in advance. Then, in the period determination decision, a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition unit is determined.
The information requesting unit gives a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler. The output completion determination means determines from giving commands, when said first period of time, whether the print spooler is completed the output to the image forming apparatus command. In here, output completion determining means, when it is determined to be complete the output, the information acquisition unit, that receives a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information . On the other hand, output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, deletion instruction means, to delete distearate job includes a command from the queue, it instructs the print spooler. Therefore, unlike what is not removed from the queue distearate job also contains commands after the first period of time, After a lapse of the first period, not output to the image forming apparatus command has been completed even without, the job is deleted from the queue.

Therefore, according to the computer, after a lapse of at least a first period, so familiar to sustain jobs for the user is not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble to the corresponding, There is no risk of annoying users.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not complete, the job is deleted from the queue. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

The computer of the present invention
An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in queue", "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler", and "The input / output I / F and the print spooler" tube OS "as management is provided an image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a computer that executes a process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, each of the plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is processed one by one, the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. A plurality of command processing control means for controlling
Furthermore, as a means that functions during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control means,
Information requesting means for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
The output completion determining means comprises interruption control means for interrupting repeated processing by the plurality of command processing control means when it is determined that the output has not been completed.

In this computer, the period acquisition means determines the second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. Obtain from the OS in advance. Then, in the period determination decision, a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition unit is determined.
Then, the multiple command processing control means repeats the same number of processes as the number of commands, targeting multiple commands one by one. During this repetitive processing, the information requesting means gives one command to be processed to the print spooler. The output completion determination means determines from giving commands, when said first period of time, whether the print spooler is completed the output to the image forming apparatus command. In here, output completion determining means, when it is determined to be complete the output, the information acquisition unit, that receives a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information . On the other hand, when the output completion determination means determines that the output has not been completed, the interruption control means interrupts the repeated processing. For this reason, in the situation where the first period elapses for one command, even if an unprocessed command remains, the repeated processing is interrupted.

Therefore, according to this computer, since at least the first period elapses, the process is not repeated further, and unlike the case where the same number of processes as a plurality of commands are unconditionally repeated, printing is performed. under-output is impossible status from the spooler side to the image forming apparatus side, never become hoarding multiple jobs in the queue. Therefore, it does not recognize more than one job for the user because not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, there is no possibility to extra concern to the user.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not completed, the repetitive processing by the multiple command processing control procedure is interrupted. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

Next, the information acquisition processing system of the present invention includes:
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” "Is provided, the computer, the image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a system configured to perform the process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
The computer
State determination means for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
When the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. Information requesting means not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
And an information acquisition unit that acquires from the image forming apparatus the image forming apparatus information that is returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler .

In this information acquisition processing system, the computer includes the above-described units , and among these units , the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is the predetermined number when output data is given to the print spooler. It is determined whether or not: Here, when the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than the predetermined number , the information request unit requests the image forming apparatus to provide image forming apparatus information. To the print spooler. Therefore, unlike commands that give a command to the print spooler even if the number of jobs stored in the queue exceeds the predetermined number, the command given to the print spooler is immediately output to the image forming apparatus. It is, jobs disappear from the queue. After that, the information acquisition unit can acquire a desired image forming apparatus information by receiving a response to the transmitted command.

Therefore, according to this information acquisition processing system, so familiar to sustain jobs for the user is not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, make an extra worry to the user There is no fear.

The information acquisition processing system of the present invention is
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. ”,“ Means for displaying information about jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler ”, and“ printing having a function of outputting print data and output by the function ” Means for performing print output to the image forming apparatus via the print spooler by inputting data to the print spooler and an OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler are provided. And the computer is configured to execute processing for acquiring image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from the image forming apparatus,
The computer
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
An information requesting means for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
In the output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command means for commanding to the print spooler It is characterized by having.

In this information acquisition processing system, the computer includes the above-described units, and among these units , the period acquisition unit enters when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. A second period during which the output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired in advance from the OS. Then, in the period determination decision, a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition unit is determined.
The information requesting unit gives a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler. The output completion determination means determines from giving commands, when said first period of time, whether the print spooler is completed the output to the image forming apparatus command. In here, output completion determining means, when it is determined to be complete the output, the information acquisition unit, that receives a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information . On the other hand, output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, deletion instruction means, to delete distearate job includes a command from the queue, it instructs the print spooler. Therefore, unlike what is not removed from the queue distearate job also contains commands after the first period of time, After a lapse of the first period, not output to the image forming apparatus command has been completed even without, the job is deleted from the queue.

Therefore, according to this information acquisition processing system, after a lapse of at least a first period, so familiar to sustain job for the user is not a situation that is queued, the corresponding the user There is no danger or annoying users.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not complete, the job is deleted from the queue. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

The information acquisition processing system of the present invention is
A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” And “OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler” are provided, and the computer acquires the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from the image forming apparatus. A system configured to perform processing to
The computer
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, each of the plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is processed one by one, the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. A plurality of command processing control means for controlling
Furthermore, as a means that functions during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control means,
Information requesting means for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
The output completion determining means comprises interruption control means for interrupting repeated processing by the plurality of command processing control means when it is determined that the output has not been completed.

In this information acquisition processing system, the computer includes the above-described units, and among these units , the period acquisition unit enters when the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F. A second period during which the output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired in advance from the OS. Then, in the period determination decision, a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition unit is determined.
Then, the multiple command processing control means repeats the same number of processes as the number of commands, targeting multiple commands one by one. During this repetitive processing, the information requesting means gives one command to be processed to the print spooler. The output completion determination means determines from giving commands, when said first period of time, whether the print spooler is completed the output to the image forming apparatus command. In here, output completion determining means, when it is determined to be complete the output, the information acquisition unit, that receives a response to the transmitted command, it is possible to obtain a desired image forming apparatus information . On the other hand, when the output completion determination means determines that the output has not been completed, the interruption control means interrupts the repeated processing. For this reason, in the situation where the first period elapses for one command, even if an unprocessed command remains, the repeated processing is interrupted.

Therefore, according to this information acquisition processing system, after at least the first period has elapsed, the processing is not continued further, so the same number of processing as a plurality of commands is unconditionally repeated. Unlike under-output is impossible status from the print spooler side to the image forming apparatus side, it never becomes hoarding multiple jobs in the queue. Therefore, it does not recognize more than one job for the user because not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, there is no possibility to extra concern to the user.
In addition, the first period elapses before the second period in which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, and if the first period elapses, the command is sent to the image forming apparatus. Even if the output is not completed, the repetitive processing by the multiple command processing control procedure is interrupted. Therefore, even in a computer configured to output an error message or the like when the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout, the input / output I / F does not enter a communication timeout state. Since it is possible to prevent such an error message from being output, there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with it or cause the user to worry excessively.

According to the described above, the present invention described above, a command for requesting the provision of image forming apparatus information, when outputting to the image forming apparatus via the print spooler, command including plain job for a long time Over the print spooler queue. Therefore, it does not recognize more than one job for the user because not a situation that has been placed in the queue, the user or trouble in the corresponding, there is no possibility to extra concern to the user.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a network system in which a plurality of personal computers are connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network).

  An information acquisition processing system exemplified as an embodiment of the present invention is configured as a system that operates on a personal computer 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... And a printer 3 connected to the personal computer 1, 1 ′, 1 ″. .., 3 ′, 3 ″..., And 3, 3 ′, 3 ″.

  In the present embodiment, the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... Send printer information acquired from the printers 3, 3 ′, 3 ″, etc. to the personal computer 2 in response to a request from the personal computer 2. To provide. The personal computer 2 acquires printer information provided from the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ″, and the printers 3, 3 ′,... Connected to the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ″,. 3 "... Printer information is managed.

  In the following description, the personal computer 2 that manages printer information is referred to as a management PC 2, and personal computers 1, 1 ', 1 ",... Managed by the management PC 2 are referred to as managed PCs 1, 1', 1",.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the managed PC 1 includes a control unit 101 mainly composed of a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, and the like, and an I / F unit 102 for connecting the control unit 101 and various devices. A main body unit 11, an input unit 12 such as a keyboard and a pointing device, a display unit 13 such as a display, and an auxiliary storage unit 14 such as a hard disk.

  Windows (registered trademark) is installed in the main body 11 as an OS (Operating System), and functions commonly used by applications such as a printer I / F function unit 121, a LAN I / F function unit 122, and a print spooler 123. Is composed of software modules implemented as part of the OS. In addition, the OS also provides input / output functions such as keyboard input and screen output, and functions such as hard disk and memory management. As long as an equivalent function can be realized, the managed PC 1 may be mounted with another OS (for example, Linux (registered trademark), MacOS (registered trademark), etc.), but in the following description, The description will be continued on the assumption that the managed PC 1 has various functions provided by Windows (registered trademark).

  The I / F unit 102 of the main unit 11 includes a LAN I / F 114 such as a LAN card, USB (Universal Serial Bus), in addition to the I / F with the input unit 12, the display unit 13, and the auxiliary storage unit 14 described above. A printer I / F 115 such as a port or a parallel port is provided. The managed PC 1 is connected to the LAN via a LAN cable connected to the LAN I / F 114, and is connected via a printer cable connected to the printer I / F 115. The management PC 1 and the printer 3 are connected.

  The managed PC 1 is installed with software for realizing a function of acquiring printer information from the printer 3 connected to the managed PC 1 and providing the printer information to the management PC 2. This software is installed on the CPU 111. Is configured to function as the printer information acquisition unit 124.

The managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″,... Are configured in the same manner as the managed PC 1 and have the same functions as the managed PC 1. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.
The management PC 2 is basically configured in the same manner as the managed PC 1 and includes a main body unit 21, an input unit 22, a display unit 23, an auxiliary storage unit 24, and the like. The main body unit 21 includes Windows as an OS. (Registered trademark) is installed. As long as the management PC 2 can realize an equivalent function, another OS (for example, Linux (registered trademark), MacOS (registered trademark), etc.) may be mounted. However, in the following description, the management PC 2 The description will be continued on the assumption that various functions provided by Windows (registered trademark) are provided.

  This management PC 2 requests the computers on the network such as the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... To provide information regarding the printers 3, 3 ′, 3 ″. In response to the request, software for realizing a function of collectively managing printer information provided from other computers is installed.

  The printers 3, 3 ', 3 "... are managed printers to be managed by the management PC 2. These printers 3, 3', 3" ... are all compatible with a printer job language (PJL). It is a thing.

  Next, processing of the printer information acquisition unit 124 executed in the managed PC 1 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This process is started when the managed PC 1 is activated. This process is executed in the same way on the managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″..., But the description will be continued here taking the process executed on the managed PC 1 as an example.

  When this process is started, the managed PC 1 first creates a list of local printers (S101). In this process, all the printers connected to the managed PC 1 (in this embodiment, the printer 3) are registered in the list. Subsequently, a printer is extracted from the list created in the process of S101 (S103), and a processing thread corresponding to the extracted printer is created (S105). The processes in S103 and S105 are repeated a number of times corresponding to the total number of printers registered in the list (S107: NO). As a result, in addition to this processing, processing in the same number of processing threads as the total number of printers is executed in parallel. In the case of this embodiment, since only one printer 3 is connected to the managed PC 1, one processing thread is newly created in the processing of S105. In the newly created processing thread, consumables such as printer information (for example, information on the degree of use of replacement parts, such as drum replacement timing, toner or ink remaining amount, recording paper remaining amount, etc.) from the target printer of each processing thread. Auxiliary storage unit which is a database (hereinafter abbreviated as DB) by acquiring information on the degree of consumption of paper, information on the number of occurrences of abnormalities such as the number of paper jams, and other information managed and updated on the printer 3 side 14 is recorded in the result file 133 in FIG. 14, and details of the processing will be described later.

  When the same number of processing threads as the total number of printers are created (S107: YES), the setting time is read from the setting file 134, the time until the setting time is calculated (S109), and the time calculated in the processing of S109. Is set in the timer (S111). The setting file 134 is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14, and the setting time arbitrarily set by the administrator is recorded in the setting file 134. This timer generates a timer event when the time calculated in the process of S109 elapses after the process of S111.

  Subsequently, the managed PC 1 waits for the occurrence of a related event (S113). If the generated event is a printer addition event (S115: YES), the printer is added to the list (S117), and the added printer is added. A corresponding processing thread is created (S119). The printer addition event is an event that occurs when, for example, a known plug-and-play function is used to detect whether the printer is turned on or a cable is inserted. Since the occurrence of this printer addition event indicates that a newly available printer has been added, the processing thread corresponding to the target printer is created by the process of S119, and thus equivalent to the processing thread created in the process of S105. Add a processing thread to perform the process. When the process of S119 is completed, the process returns to S113.

  On the other hand, if the event that has occurred is not a printer addition event as a result of the determination in S115 (S115: NO), if the event that has occurred is a timer event (S121: YES), read / DB processing 2 is executed. (S123). The timer event generated here is due to the processing of S109 and S111 described above. In the reading / DB conversion process 2 in S123, a process of acquiring the status from all the printers connected to the managed PC 1 and recording it in the database (DB) is performed. Details of the process will be described later. Then, the timer is set to 24 hours (S125), and after 24 hours, a timer event occurs again, and the process returns to S113.

  As a result of the determination in S121, if the event that has occurred is not a timer event (S121: NO), the process ends if the event that has occurred is an end instruction event (S127: YES). The end instruction event is an event that occurs when the user performs a predetermined end operation using the input unit 12. On the other hand, if it is not an end instruction event (S127: NO), the process returns to the process of S113 and again waits for the occurrence of a related event. That is, when the managed PC 1 is in an operating state, this process does not end unless the user performs an end operation, and this process continues to be executed as a resident process on the managed PC 1.

  Next, processing of processing threads (hereinafter referred to as thread processing) created in the processes of S105 and S119 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, the same number of thread processes as the total number of printers connected to the managed PC 1 are executed in parallel, and each of the plurality of thread processes is a thread process corresponding to one printer.

  When this thread processing is started, the managed PC 1 waits for the occurrence of a printer-related event (S201). If the generated event is a printer deletion event (S203: YES), the printer is deleted from the list (S205), This thread process ends. The printer deletion event is an event that occurs when the printer power OFF or cable disconnection is detected. Since the occurrence of this printer deletion event indicates that the printer that has been available so far has been deleted, an unnecessary processing thread corresponding to the target printer is terminated by the processing of S205.

  On the other hand, if the generated event is not a printer deletion event in the process of S203 (S203: NO), if the generated event is a print end event (S207: YES), the printer corresponding to this thread process is output. Are listed (S209). Specifically, the information (print job information) related to the print job queued in the queue 131 at the time of processing in S209 is acquired by the printer information acquisition unit 124 from the print spooler 123 (see FIG. 2) and listed. Is done. The queue 131 is an aggregate in which print jobs requested for one printer are stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14 (or RAM 113) and are managed in order by the OS. Then, the number of jobs is counted with reference to the listed print job information (S211), and it is checked whether the number of jobs is equal to or less than a set value N (S213).

  In the present embodiment, the setting value N is set to 0, and it is checked whether or not the number of jobs is 0 in the processing of S213. The specific procedure for checking whether or not the number of jobs is 0 is most basically just to check whether or not the number of print job information listed in step S209 is zero. However, in the case of this embodiment, the print job information listed in the process of S209 includes an item called job status. When transmission of output data is completed in one print job, the job status is set to “Sent already”. Is set, and then the print job information itself is erased at a predetermined timing managed on the OS side. Therefore, even if there is only one print job information listed in the process of S209, if the information “sent” is set in the job status in the print job information, the corresponding job already exists. It can be regarded as not. Therefore, in the processing of S213 in the present embodiment, the job status in the print job information is “Send” even when the number of print job information listed is 0, as well as when the number of print job information is 1. If it is “completed”, it is determined that the number of jobs is zero.

  In the process of S213, when the number of jobs is equal to or less than the set value N (S213: YES), the read / DB conversion process 1 is executed (S215). The reading / DB conversion processing 1 in S215 is the processing shown in detail in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the reading / DB conversion processing 1 is started, the managed PC 1 first starts exclusive control for the printer targeted by this processing (S301). Here, the exclusive control is for preventing the processing for the same printer from being performed simultaneously from another thread or another process. If processing for the printer has already been performed, the exclusive control fails and an error is returned, so this processing is terminated as it is. That is, the subsequent processing is executed only when exclusive control for the target printer can be performed. If the exclusive control is successful, the target printer is opened (S303).

  Subsequently, a command is extracted from the command file 132 (S305). The command file 132 is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14, and the command file 132 includes a plurality of commands (for example, for checking the remaining amount of toner or ink) described in the printer job language (PJL). Command, a command for checking the remaining recording paper, a command for checking the drum replacement time, etc.) are recorded. In the process of S305, one command is extracted from the plurality of commands.

Then, processing for transmitting the command to the target printer is executed (S307). The details of the transmission processing in S307 are as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
When the transmission process 1 is started, the managed PC 1 first acquires the first transmission timeout time T1 (S351). The first transmission timeout time T1 is a time used as a transmission error determination criterion in the printer I / F function unit 121 of the OS, and is set to about 60 seconds, for example. The first transmission timeout time T1 is a time that can be arbitrarily changed by the administrator of the managed PC 1, but is also referred to when an application other than this system uses the printer I / F function unit 121. In many cases, it is not possible to set a time that is convenient only for this system.

  Subsequently, the managed PC 1 calculates the second transmission timeout time T2 based on the first transmission timeout time T1 (S353). The second transmission timeout time T2 is different from the first transmission timeout time T1 described above, and is a time that only the present system refers to in the processing described later. The printer 3 side after the print spooler 123 receives the PJL command. Considering the standard time required to finish output, the time that would normally be sufficient to complete the output. In the case of the present embodiment, if the first transmission timeout time T1 is 10 seconds or longer, the second transmission timeout time T2 is 10 seconds shorter than the first transmission timeout time T1 (T2 = T1-10 (seconds)). ) Is calculated. If the first transmission timeout time T1 is 10 seconds or less, the second transmission timeout time T2 is calculated as a time that is one second shorter than the first transmission timeout time T1 (T2 = T1-1 (seconds)). The

  Then, the managed PC 1 acquires the status of the transmission port (S355). The specific processing of the processing of S355 differs depending on the type of the transmission port. For example, when the transmission port is a parallel port, the status indicating that transmission is possible / impossible is acquired based on the BUSY signal. In this case, a status indicating that transmission is possible / impossible is acquired based on FLT and SLCT of 1284 status.

  After acquiring the status of the transmission port, the managed PC 1 checks whether or not transmission is possible (S357). If the transmission is not possible (S357: NO), the managed PC 1 outputs data to the print spooler 123 (S359). That is, the PJL command extracted in the process of S305 is used as output data, and this output data is output to the print spooler 123. As a result, the print spooler 123 side receives the PJL command and stores the received PJL command in the queue 131 as a print job. At this time, a job ID managed by the print spooler is assigned to the print job.

  The print spooler 123 normally determines the processing order for the print jobs stored in the queue 131 with reference to the order of input to the queue 131 and the priority set for each print job, and the print job is determined according to the processing order. Process. With this process, output data included in each print job is output to the printer via the designated transmission port (printer I / F 115). When there are a plurality of print jobs stored in the queue 131, the process for the print job with the later processing order is not started until the process for the print job with the earlier process order is completed. .

  However, in the present embodiment, when the number of jobs is 0 or less in the process of S213 described above, the process proceeds to S359. Therefore, the print spooler 123 stores the print stored in the queue 131 in accordance with the process of S359. It is very likely that a job is processed with the highest priority. In addition, since the status of the transmission port is acquired in the processes of S355 to S357 and the process proceeds to the process of S359 only when transmission is not possible, the print spooler 123 cannot start transmission due to the state of the transmission port. Is unlikely. Accordingly, in many cases, the PJL command passed to the print spooler 123 in the process of S359 is immediately output to the printer 3 side via the transmission port.

  Now, after finishing the process of S359, the managed PC 1 checks whether or not the data output from the print spooler 123 is completed (S361). Specifically, the job IDs of all print jobs stored in the queue 131 are acquired from the print spooler 123, and the print spooler 123 stores the print ID stored in the queue 131 by the process of S359 in the acquired job IDs. It is checked whether the job ID assigned to the job remains. Here, the managed PC 1 determines that the data output has been completed if the job ID does not remain, and determines that the data output has not been completed if the job ID remains.

  If the data output has been completed (S361: YES), the transmission is successful and the transmission process shown in FIG. 6 is completed. Even if the data output has not been completed (S361: NO), if the elapsed time since the execution of the process of S359 has not reached the second transmission timeout time T2 (S363: NO), the process of S361 Return to. As a result, the processes of S361 to S363 are repeated. If the print spooler 123 completes the data output during the execution of the repeated process (S361: YES), the transmission is successful, and the transmission process shown in FIG. Will finish.

  On the other hand, when the print spooler 123 does not complete the data output while the processes of S361 to S363 are repeated (S361: NO), the elapsed time after executing the process of S359 reaches the second transmission timeout time T2. Then (S363: NO), the managed PC 1 cancels the data output from the print spooler 123 (S365). Specifically, the print job stored in the queue 131 by the print spooler 123 in accordance with the process of S359 is displayed. Command the print spooler 123 to delete it from the queue 131. Further, if necessary, the print port is also instructed to cancel the print job.

  As described above, when the print job is canceled when the second transmission timeout time T2 is reached, even if the print job cannot be processed for some reason, the print job is processed before the first transmission timeout time T1 elapses. Canceled. Therefore, an error message that will be output from the transmission port side (printer I / F function unit 121) when the first transmission timeout time T1 elapses without being transmitted cannot be output. That is, the processing of S363 to S365 avoids the error message (error dialog) that the OS is supposed to output as a standard from being output to the display unit 13 in advance. So that users who do n’t know they ’re in the background are n’t overwhelmed.

  Note that the process involving the transition to the process of S365 is configured to retry up to 10 times. Specifically, if the number of retries is less than 10 (S367: YES), the process proceeds to S355. Return. As a result, the print job having the same content as the print job that has been deleted in the process of S365 is stored in the queue 131 again by executing the process of S359 again. If the print spooler 123 completes data output for this print job (S361: YES), the transmission is successful and the transmission process shown in FIG. 6 is completed. On the other hand, when the number of retries reaches 10 (S367: NO), an error message (error dialog) is displayed for the first time and the user is prompted to input an instruction (S369).

  Here, the user can alternatively select “skip”, “cancel”, or “retry” by operating the input unit 12. When the user selects “Skip” or “Cancel”, transmission fails and the transmission process shown in FIG. 6 ends. On the other hand, if the user selects “Retry”, the process returns to S355. As a result, the print job having the same content as the print job that has been deleted in the process of S365 is stored in the queue 131 again by executing the process of S359 again. If the print spooler 123 completes data output for this print job (S361: YES), the transmission is successful and the transmission process shown in FIG. 6 is completed.

  The processes of S359 to S367 described above are processes when it is determined that transmission is not possible in the process of S355. In addition, it may be determined that transmission is not possible in the process of S355. (S357: YES). In this case, retry is performed up to 60 times. Specifically, when the number of retries is less than 60 (S381: YES), the process waits for 10 seconds (S383), and returns to the process of S355. . Therefore, the status of the transmission port is checked up to 60 times every 10 seconds, and if transmission is possible in this repetitive processing, the processing proceeds to the processing after S359 described above. Become. On the other hand, when the number of retries reaches 60 (S381: NO), the process proceeds to S369. In addition, since the process after the process of S369 becomes a process as demonstrated previously, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the processing of S351 to S383 described above is completed, the processing result may be a transmission success, a transmission failure (skip instruction by the user), or a transmission failure (cancellation instruction by the user). In either case, the process of S307 shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the managed PC 1 checks whether or not the transmission is successful (S308), and if the transmission is successful (S308: YES), receives information (printer information) transmitted from the target printer (S309). ). The process of S309 is a process of reading back printer information returned from the printer side on the managed PC 1, but a more specific processing method differs depending on the target printer. For example, when the target printer is connected via a parallel port, the printer information acquisition unit 124 first checks whether there is information returned to the managed PC 1 side through the printer I / F function unit 121 of the OS, If information exists, the information is received. When the target printer is connected via a USB port, the printer information acquisition unit 124 first receives information through the printer I / F function unit 121 of the OS, and the amount of information is 0. In such a case, the information reception is repeated again. However, in any case, since some data is finally received, it is checked whether or not the data is valid data (S311). If the data is not valid data (S311: NO), the process of S309 is performed again. If it is valid data (S311: YES), the printer information received from the printer is written in the DB (result file 133) (S313). As a result of the process of S313, the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14 records response information corresponding to the request for one command requested to the target printer by the process of S307. become.

  These processes of S305 to S313 are repeatedly executed until the end of all commands (S315: NO). In this iterative process, in the process of S305, a plurality of commands recorded in the command file 132 are extracted in order. When all of the plurality of commands are processed (sent to the printer side), all commands are finished (S315: YES). As a result, response information corresponding to requests for all commands requested to the target printer is recorded in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14. Thereafter, the exclusive control of the target printer is ended (S317), the target printer is closed (S319), and this process is ended.

  On the other hand, in the process of S308, if the transmission is not successful (S308: NO), error information indicating a transmission failure is written in the DB (result file) (S331). Here, the command to which error information is to be written is one PJL command extracted in the process of S305.

  Then, when the process has been shifted to transmission failure (skip) in the process of S371 described above, it is determined to be skip in the process of S333 (S333: skip), and the process proceeds to S315. As a result, the processing of S305 to S313 is repeated until the end of all commands (S315: NO). In other words, only the command with an error is skipped and the process proceeds to the next command.

  Further, if the process has been shifted to transmission failure (cancel) in the process of S371 described above, it is determined that the process is canceled in the process of S333 (S333: cancel), and the process proceeds to S317. As a result, the exclusive control of the target printer is ended (S317), the target printer is closed (S319), and this processing is ended. In other words, the processing for all commands after the command in error is stopped.

  When the processes of S301 to S319 described above are completed, the process of S215 (read / DB conversion process 1) illustrated in FIG. 4 is completed, and thereafter, the process returns to the process of S201. If the number of jobs counted in the process of S211 exceeds the set value N (S213: NO), the process of S215 is not executed and the process returns to S201 as it is.

  Therefore, in the thread processing described above, when there is a printer that can be used, the processing is started after the processing thread corresponding to the printer is created, and the processing is terminated when the printer deletion event occurs. Become. Then, every time a print end event occurs between the start and end of the process, the number of print jobs is checked. If the number of print jobs is equal to or less than the set value N, printer information is obtained from the target printer. Is written in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14.

  If the number of print jobs is checked each time a print end event occurs in this way, it is more difficult to overlook the timing when the number of print jobs takes the set value N or less than when the number of print jobs is checked regardless of the occurrence of the print end event. This increases the chance of acquiring printer information from the target printer. In the case of the present embodiment, since the setting value N = 0, only when the number of print jobs becomes 0, the printer information is acquired from the target printer by the process of S215. For this reason, it takes no time to acquire printer information from the target printer because a print job that takes time to complete the printing process is queued first.

  By the way, the information recording to the DB (result file 133) by the thread processing is performed only when the number of print jobs becomes 0 as described above. Therefore, theoretically, print jobs are generated continuously. In such an environment, the number of print jobs does not easily become zero, and as a result, it may happen that information is not recorded in the DB (result file 133) only by the thread processing. However, in this system, in addition to this thread processing, the processing of S109 to S111 and S121 to S125 is also executed, so that when the preset installation time is reached, the DB (result file 133) Information recording is to be implemented.

  More specifically, as described above, in the present system, a timer event is generated when the set time arrives by the processes of S109 and S111. If a timer event occurs, the process of S123 ( Reading / DB conversion processing 2) is executed. More specifically, the process of S123 is as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the reading / DB conversion process 2 is started, the managed PC 1 first extracts a printer from the list (S401), counts print jobs having the extracted printer as an output destination (S403), and whether the number of jobs is 0 or not. Is checked (S405). The processes in S403 and S405 may be performed by a method equivalent to the processes in S211 and S213 described above.

  If the number of jobs is not 0 as a result of the determination in S405 (S405: NO), read / DB conversion process 1 is executed (S407), and then the process proceeds to S409, while the number of jobs is 0. If there is (S405: YES), the process proceeds to S409 without executing the read / DB conversion process 1 of S407.

  Since the reading / DB conversion processing 1 in S407 is the same processing as the processing in S215 described above (specifically, the processing in S301 to S319), detailed description thereof is omitted here, but as in the processing in S215. The printer information is acquired from the target printer, and the printer information is written in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14. As described above, the reading / DB conversion process 1 is executed when the number of jobs is not 0, because information is recorded in the DB (result file 133) by this process even in an environment where the number of print jobs is not 0. It is. On the other hand, when the number of jobs is 0, reading / DB conversion processing 1 is not executed because information recording by the thread processing described above should be performed when the number of jobs becomes 0. This is because it is considered that there is no change in the state of the target printer thereafter.

  Since the reading / DB conversion processing 1 is executed in a state where there is a print job, when a PJL command is transmitted, the print job generated along with the print job is the print job previously stored in the queue 131. Appended to the end of Therefore, the subsequent readback data is not returned until all the print jobs previously accumulated in the queue 131 are completed.

  If the process for all the printers on the list is not completed when the process proceeds to S409 (S409: NO), the process returns to S401. As a result, the processing of S401 to S409 is repeated the same number of times as the total number of printers connected to the managed PC 1, and then the processing for all the printers on the list is completed (S409: YES), so this processing is terminated. .

  As described above, in the managed PC 1, when the print end event occurs, if the number of print jobs is equal to or less than N (0 in this embodiment), the process of S215 is executed, and the target printer quickly On the other hand, every time the set time arrives, even if the number of print jobs does not become N or less (0 in this embodiment), the process of S407 is executed and the target printer is surely connected to the printer. Information is acquired.

Next, processing executed in the management PC 2 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This process is started when the management PC 2 is activated.
When this processing is started, the management PC 2 first executes data processing (S601). This data processing is processing for using on the management PC 2 side the printer information acquired by the managed PC 1 from the printer 3 and recorded in the DB by the processing in the managed PC 1 described above. It becomes processing as shown in.

  In this process, first, the management PC 2 extracts managed PCs (S701). In the process of S701, one managed PC to be processed is extracted from the plurality of managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... Here, it is assumed that the managed PC 1 has been extracted. Subsequently, the management PC 2 reads a file from the managed PC over the network (S703), and the file read here is received from the printer in the process of S313 by the managed PC 1 described above. This file is a DB (result file 133) in which the printer information is written, and this file has an attribute that allows reading from other PCs over the network on the managed PC 1 side. When there is a request from the management PC 2, the printer information read from the DB of the auxiliary storage unit 14 is provided to the management PC 2. It is configured to be able.

  Subsequently, in order to convert the printer information included in the read file into a format suitable for management on the management PC 2 side, or to make a form suitable for display and printing on the management PC 2 side, Data processing is performed on the printer information (S705). More specifically, processing for adding information managed on the management PC 2 side (for example, log information such as the start time of this processing and file access time), on / off of bits in the data of read processing, and numerical codes A process of converting the information indicated by the item into visible information such as a symbol, an image, or a message is performed. Next, it is determined whether or not the above processing has been performed for all managed PCs (S707), and if there are other managed PCs (for example, managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″...) That have not performed the above processing remaining (S707). : NO), the process returns to S701, and the same process is performed for other managed PCs.

  When the above processing is performed for all managed PCs (S707: YES), the information processed by the processing of S705 is output to a file in the auxiliary storage unit 24 or displayed on the display unit 23. (S709). Through the processing of S709, the printer information of the printer 3 can be displayed on the management PC 2 side. Further, a file in the auxiliary storage unit 24 can be referred to later. Therefore, the user is responsible for information on the usage level of replacement parts such as the drum replacement time, information on the consumption level of consumables such as the remaining amount of toner or ink and recording paper, and the number of occurrences of abnormalities such as paper jams. Information and other various information managed and updated on the printer side can be obtained. Based on this information, the user can determine the necessity of replacement parts, consumable parts replacement timing, maintenance, and repair by only operating the management PC 2 without going through each printer. is there. As a preferred modification of this process, by comparing information such as the degree of wear with a preset threshold value, it is automatically determined whether or not a process such as replacement is necessary, and is deemed necessary. It is also possible to perform a process for notifying that effect.

The display on the display unit 23 can be terminated when the user performs a predetermined operation using the input unit 22, thereby terminating the present process.
When the processing of S701 to S709 is finished in this way, the processing of S601 in FIG. 8 is finished, and subsequently the management PC 2 reads the investigation setting time from the setting file (S603), and the investigation setting time comes next. The time until is calculated and the calculated time is set in the timer (S605). The setting file is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 24, and the setting time of investigation set by the administrator is recorded in the setting file. The timer generates a timer event when the time calculated in the process of S605 has elapsed after the process of S605.

  Subsequently, the management PC 2 waits for the occurrence of a related event (S607). If the generated event is a timer event (S609: YES), the timer is set to 24 hours (S611), and the timer event is again 24 hours later. The data processing is executed (S613). This data processing is the same as the processing in S601 described above, and the processing is as shown in detail in the flowchart of FIG. 9, but since this processing has already been described, description thereof is omitted here.

  If the event that has occurred is not a timer event as a result of the determination in S609 (S609: NO), the user performs a predetermined operation using the input unit 22 to manually start the data processing. If the instruction is issued (S615: YES), the data processing is also executed in this case (S613).

  Furthermore, when the result of determination in S615 is that the user has not manually activated (S615: NO), or when the data processing in S613 has been completed, if the event that has occurred is an end instruction event (S617: YES), this process ends. The end instruction event is an event that occurs when the user performs a predetermined end operation using the input unit 22. On the other hand, if it is not an end instruction event (S617: NO), the process returns to the process of S607 and again waits for the occurrence of a related event. That is, when the management PC 2 is in an operating state, this process will not be completed unless the user performs a termination operation, and this process will continue to be executed as a resident process on the management PC 2.

  In the present embodiment, the survey setting time set by the process of S605 is about 10 minutes later than the time set in the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... By the process of S111 described above. When such a time is set on the management PC 2 side, a timer event occurs on the management PC 2 side after about 10 minutes after a timer event occurs on the managed PC 1, 1 ′, 1 ″. It can be expected that there is a high possibility that the printer information is updated to the latest state on the managed PC 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... When the setting is made so that timer events occur almost simultaneously on the "... side and the management PC 2 side, or the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1" ... side on the management PC 2 side When the management PC 2 side reads the file on the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1 "... side, the file on the managed PC 1, 1', 1" ... side is updated. In this case, there is a high possibility that the printer information acquired on the management PC 2 side is not necessarily the latest state, but if configured as in this embodiment, the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, After the file on the 1 "... side is updated, the file on the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1" ... side is read from the management PC 2 side, so the printer information acquired on the management PC 2 side is in the latest state. The possibility is high.

  As described above, in the information acquisition processing system, the managed PC 1 firstly states that “when output data is given to the print spooler 123, the output data can be immediately output to the printer 3 by the print spooler 123. It is determined by the process of S355-S357. In this determination, if it is determined that “the print spooler 123 is ready to output the output data to the image forming apparatus”, the managed PC 1 executes the process of S359 to the printer 3. A PJL command for requesting provision of printer information is given to the print spooler 123. Therefore, the command given to the print spooler 123 is immediately output to the printer 3, unlike the case where the print spooler cannot output the output data to the printer, but the PJL command is given to the print spooler. The print job disappears from the queue 131. After that, the managed PC 1 can receive the response to the transmitted PJL command and acquire the desired printer information by executing the processes of S309 to S311.

  Further, the managed PC 1 acquires the number of print jobs stored in the queue 131 by executing the processes of S209 to S213, and executes the process of S215 when the number of jobs is 0. The fact that the number of print jobs stored in the queue 131 is 0 is also a condition for determining whether to give a PJL command to the print spooler 123. That is, the PJL command is not given to the print spooler 123 even when another print job is already stored in the queue 131, and the command given to the print spooler 123 is immediately sent to the printer 3 And the print job disappears from the queue 131.

  Therefore, according to such an information acquisition processing system, a print job that is not familiar to the user is not put in the queue 131, so that the user is troubled to deal with it or an unnecessary worry for the user. There is no fear.

  Further, in this information acquisition processing system, the managed PC 1 passes the second transmission timeout time T2 (the first period referred to in the present invention) after giving the PJL command to the print spooler 123 by the processing of S361 to S363. When the print spooler 123 has completed outputting the PJL command to the printer 3. In this determination, if it is determined that the output has been completed, the managed PC 1 executes the processes of S309 to S311 so as to receive a response to the transmitted PJL command and acquire the desired printer information. Can do. On the other hand, if it is determined that the output has not been completed, the managed PC 1 instructs the print spooler 123 to delete the print job including the PJL command from the queue 131 by executing the process of S365. To do. Therefore, unlike the case where the print job including the PJL command is not deleted from the queue 131 even after the second transmission timeout time T2 elapses, the PJL command is output to the printer 3 when the second transmission timeout time T2 elapses. Even if the process is not completed, the print job is deleted from the queue 131.

  Therefore, according to this information acquisition processing system, since at least the second transmission timeout time T2 has elapsed, a print job that is not familiar to the user is not queued. There is no danger or annoying users.

  Also, the second transmission timeout time T2 is shorter than the first transmission timeout time T1 (second period in the present invention) at which the transmission port detects a communication timeout. The managed PC 1 configured to output an error message or the like when the port detects a communication timeout can prevent such an error message or the like from being output. There is no risk of annoying users.

  Even when the processing of S365 is executed, the management PC 1 is configured to return to the processing of S355 up to 10 times. Therefore, even if the managed PC 1 deletes the PJL command from the queue 131, the same command is printed again. It can be given to the spooler 123. Accordingly, if the data output from the print spooler 123 side to the printer 3 side cannot be temporarily performed, it is assumed that the PJL command given to the print spooler 123 is to be deleted from the queue 131 under the situation. However, when there is a change in the situation after that, and when it is possible to output data from the print spooler 123 side to the printer 3 side, the desired printer information can be acquired.

  In addition, the managed PC 1 repeatedly executes the deletion of the PJL command (including the print job) from the queue 131 and the re-input of the PJL command (including the print job) to the queue 131 after 10 times. If there is, the process proceeds to S369 to notify that an error has occurred. Therefore, the more announcing that an error has occurred without attempting to re-enter the PJL command into the queue 131 does not bother the user, and without merely notifying that the error has occurred, Unlike repeatedly repeating the PJL command input to the queue 131, it is possible to inform the user at an appropriate timing that the status of the printer 3 and other conditions are necessary.

  Furthermore, in this information acquisition processing system, the managed PC 1 repeats the same number of processes as the number of commands, with a plurality of commands being processed one by one by the processes of S305 to S315. In this repetitive process, the managed PC 1 gives one PJL command to be processed to the print spooler 123 by the process of S359. Then, by executing the processing of S361 to S363, whether or not the print spooler 123 has completed outputting the PJL command to the printer 3 when the first transmission timeout time T1 has elapsed since the PJL command was given. Determine whether. In this determination, if it is determined that the output has been completed, the managed PC 1 can execute the processes of S309 to S311 to receive a response to the transmitted command and acquire the desired printer information. it can. On the other hand, if it is determined that the output has not been completed, the managed PC 1 can proceed to the processing of S317 through the processing of S308, S331, and S333, and in this case, the repeated processing is interrupted. Therefore, in the situation where the first transmission timeout time T1 elapses for one command, even if an unprocessed PJL command remains after that, according to the user's instruction, the repetitive processing is interrupted. The

  Therefore, since at least the first transmission timeout time T1 has elapsed and the user performs a cancel operation in the process of S369, the process will not continue further, so the same number of processes as a plurality of PJL commands are unconditional. Unlike the case where the print spooler 123 is repeatedly executed, a plurality of print jobs are not accumulated in the queue 131 in a situation where output from the print spooler 123 side to the printer 3 side is impossible. Therefore, there is no situation in which a plurality of print jobs that are not familiar to the user are placed in the queue 131, so that there is no possibility that the user will be troubled to deal with or cause the user to worry excessively.

  Further, in the process of S369, the user can instruct skip (continuation in the present invention), and in this case, by shifting from the process of S333 to the process of S315, one PJL to be processed is processed. After finishing the processing for the command and returning to the processing of S305, the PJL command to be processed is changed, and control is performed so that each procedure in the repeated processing of S305 to S315 is executed for the changed PJL command. Therefore, the user can select not only the interruption of the process but also the continuation of the process.

  Therefore, even if processing for all unprocessed PJL commands at the time of error occurrence is not interrupted, only processing target PJL commands at the time of error occurrence are stopped, and other unprocessed PJL commands depending on the judgment of the user The process can be continued.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said specific one Embodiment, In addition, it can implement with a various form.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the single-function printer 3 corresponding to the PJL command is illustrated as an example of the image forming apparatus. However, as long as the image forming apparatus is compatible with the PJL command, the specific configuration of the image forming apparatus is limited. Not. For example, in addition to a printer function, a multifunction device having a facsimile function, a copy function, an image scanner function, and the like is also known that is compatible with a PJL command. In the image forming apparatus.

  In the above embodiment, the PJL command is exemplified as an example of the command. However, if the same command and image forming apparatus information can be exchanged between the computer and the image forming apparatus, the command conforms to the PJL. There is no need.

  In the above embodiment, the managed PC 1 provides the printer information acquired from the printer 3 to the management PC 2 side, and the management PC 2 side manages the printer information collected from all the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″. However, the configuration of the present invention can also be adopted when the managed PC 1 itself manages the printer information acquired from the printer 3 in the managed PC 1.

  In the above embodiment, the number of print jobs stored in the queue 131 is acquired, and when the number of jobs is 0, the process of S215 is executed. However, when the number of jobs is not 0, The process of S215 may be executed after another print job is set in the PAUSE state. Alternatively, the lowest priority may be set for other print jobs, the PJL command may be input, the highest priority may be set for the PJL command, and the process of S215 may be executed. With this configuration, even when the number of jobs is not 0, the PJL command can be preferentially output from the print spooler.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the hardware illustrated in the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of managed PC. It is a flowchart of the main process in a managed PC. 6 is a flowchart of thread processing in a managed PC. It is a flowchart of the reading / DB conversion processing 1 in the managed PC. It is a flowchart of the transmission process in a managed PC. It is a flowchart of the reading / DB conversion processing 2 in the managed PC. It is a flowchart of the main process in management PC. It is a flowchart of the data processing in management PC.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 1 ', 1 "... managed PC (personal computer), 2 ... management PC (personal computer), 3, 3', 3" ... printer, 11, 21 ... main body, 12, 22 ... input unit, 13, 23 ... display unit, 14, 24 ... auxiliary storage unit, 101 ... control unit, 102 ... I / F unit, 111 ... CPU, 112... ROM, 113... RAM, 121... Printer I / F function unit, 122... LAN I / F function unit, 123. , 131... Queue, 132... Command file, 133... Result file (database), 134.

Claims (20)

A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” In the system "are provided, the image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a process in which the computer is acquired from the image forming apparatus, a program for causing the computer to execute,
As a procedure executed by the computer,
A state determination procedure for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
In the state determination procedure, when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. An information request procedure not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
An information acquisition procedure comprising: an information acquisition procedure for acquiring, from the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus information that is returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler. program.   In the state determination procedure, the predetermined number or less is 0.
  The information acquisition processing program according to claim 1.   In the state determination procedure, when it is determined in the state determination step that the output data is not in a state in which the print spooler can immediately output to the image forming apparatus, all other jobs are set in a PAUSE state. A procedure for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided as the output data to the print spooler.
  The information acquisition processing program according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.   The information request procedure assigns the lowest priority to all other jobs when the status determination procedure determines that the output data is not ready to be immediately output to the image forming apparatus by the print spooler. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is given to the print spooler as the output data, and the highest priority is set for the job including the command. The procedure is to
  The information acquisition processing program according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. The information acquisition processing program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the image forming apparatus information includes information on a degree of use of a replacement part of the image forming apparatus. The information acquisition processing program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the image forming apparatus information includes information related to a degree of consumption of consumables of the image forming apparatus. The information acquisition processing program according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the image forming apparatus information includes information on the number of occurrences of abnormality in the image forming apparatus. A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” And “the OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler” , the computer stores the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side. A program for causing the computer to execute processing acquired from
As a procedure executed by the computer,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition procedure,
A period determination procedure for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition procedure;
An information requesting procedure for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
When the first period determined in the period determining procedure has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler in the information requesting procedure, the print spooler completed outputting the command to the image forming apparatus. Output completion determination procedure for determining whether or not
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition procedure;
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command instructions for commanding to the print spooler Including an information acquisition processing program. The front pheasant job, the job ID assigned by the print spooler has been granted,
The output completion determination procedure includes:
When said first period of time, whether based on the job ID given against included distearate job of the command, determining pairs Zoji job having the job ID is left in the queue and distearate job detection procedure to detect whether,
In the di job detection procedure, when it is detected that the determined pair Zoji job does not remain, the procedure determines that the have completed the output to the image forming apparatus the print spooler said command The information acquisition processing program according to claim 8 , comprising: After executing the delete command procedure, the order to give back to the print spooler command, claim 8 or claim characterized in that it comprises a re-execution control step of controlling to re-execute the information request procedure 9 Information acquisition processing program described in 1. As a result of the control by the re-execution control procedure, when the procedure from the information request procedure to the delete command procedure is repeatedly executed a plurality of times, the control by the re-execution control procedure is stopped and an error has occurred. The information acquisition processing program according to claim 10, further comprising: an error notification procedure for reporting A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” ”And“ OS that manages the input / output I / F and the print spooler ” , the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the computer. A program for causing the computer to execute processing to be acquired,
As a procedure executed by the computer,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition procedure,
A period determination procedure for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition procedure;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, each of the plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is processed one by one, the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. Have multiple command processing control procedures to control,
Further, during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control procedure,
An information request procedure for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
When the first period determined in the period determining procedure has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler in the information requesting procedure, the print spooler completed outputting the command to the image forming apparatus. Output completion determination procedure for determining whether or not
In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition procedure;
An information acquisition processing program comprising: an interruption control procedure for interrupting repeated processing according to the multiple command processing control procedure when it is determined in the output completion determination procedure that the output has not been completed. In the output completion determination procedure, when it is determined not to have completed the output, a single command includes distearate job that is the said processed to remove from the queue, the print spooler Delete command procedure to command
A re-execution control procedure for performing control so that the information request procedure is re-executed in order to newly give the print spooler one command to be processed after executing the deletion command procedure;
When the procedure from the information request procedure to the deletion command procedure is repeatedly executed a plurality of times, the error notification procedure for notifying that an error has occurred by stopping control by the re-execution control procedure;
An instruction input procedure for allowing the user to input whether or not to interrupt this process when an error is notified by the error notification procedure;
The interrupt control procedure is a procedure for interrupting a repetitive process according to the multiple command process control procedure when a user inputs an instruction to interrupt the process in the instruction input procedure. 12. The information acquisition processing program according to 12. The instruction input procedure is also a procedure for allowing the user to input whether or not to continue the process,
Further, when the user inputs an instruction to continue the processing in the instruction input procedure, the processing for one command that is the processing target is finished, and the processing target by the multiple command processing control procedure is 14. A restart control procedure is provided for controlling a command to be changed and controlling each command in the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control procedure to be executed with respect to the command after the change. Information acquisition processing program. An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in a queue" and "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler" are provided and managed on the image forming apparatus side. The A computer that executes a process of acquiring the image forming apparatus information from the image forming apparatus,
State determination means for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
When the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. Information requesting means not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
An information acquisition unit that acquires from the image forming apparatus the image forming apparatus information that is returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler. . An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in queue", "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler", and "The input / output I / F and the print spooler" tube OS "as management is provided an image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a computer that executes a process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
An information requesting means for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
In the output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command means for commanding to the print spooler A computer comprising: An input / output I / F, and an image forming apparatus is connected via the input / output I / F. Further, “regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus, output data to the image forming apparatus with temporary storage queued as distearate job contains the output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the output data contained in the di job in the queue output in put the order into the image forming apparatus, when the completion of the output, the print spooler "to delete the job included output data having been subjected to the output from the queue," the print spooler said "Means for displaying information about jobs stored in queue", "Means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler", and "The input / output I / F and the print spooler" tube OS "as management is provided an image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a computer that executes a process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, one by one for a plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information, the same number of processes as the number of commands is repeated. A plurality of command processing control means for controlling
Furthermore, as a means that functions during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control means,
Information requesting means for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
A computer comprising: an interruption control means for interrupting the repetitive processing by the plurality of command processing control means when the output completion judging means judges that the output has not been completed. A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” "Is provided, the computer, the image forming apparatus information managed by the image forming apparatus, a system configured to perform the process of acquiring from the image forming apparatus,
The computer
State determination means for determining whether or not the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number when the output data is given to the print spooler;
When the state determination unit determines that the number of jobs stored in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is provided. A command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information when it is determined that the number of jobs stored in the queue is not less than a predetermined number while being given to the print spooler as output data. Information requesting means not to be given to the print spooler as the output data ;
Information acquisition means for acquiring, from the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus information to be returned to the computer from the image forming apparatus that has received the command output by the print spooler. Acquisition processing system. A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. ”,“ Means for displaying information about jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler ”, and“ printing having a function of outputting print data and output by the function ” Means for performing print output to the image forming apparatus via the print spooler by inputting data to the print spooler and an OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler are provided. And the computer is configured to execute processing for acquiring image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from the image forming apparatus,
The computer
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
An information requesting means for giving a command for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
In the output completion determining means, when it is determined not to have completed the output, to delete distearate job includes the commands from the queue, and delete command means for commanding to the print spooler An information acquisition processing system comprising: A computer having an input / output I / F ; and an image forming apparatus connected to the computer via the input / output I / F. The computer includes: “the image regardless of the state of the image forming apparatus” the output data to the forming apparatus, as well as temporarily store it in a queue as distearate job includes output data, and sequentially processes the stored job in the queue, the the di job A print spooler that outputs the output data included in the queue to the image forming apparatus in the order in which the output data is included, and deletes the job including the output data that has been output from the queue when the output ends. , “Means for displaying information relating to jobs stored in the queue by the print spooler”, and “means for outputting print data to the image forming apparatus to the print spooler” And “OS for managing the input / output I / F and the print spooler” are provided, and the computer acquires the image forming apparatus information managed on the image forming apparatus side from the image forming apparatus. A system configured to perform processing to
The computer
When the output data cannot be output to the image forming apparatus via the input / output I / F, a second period during which the input / output I / F detects a communication timeout is acquired from the OS in advance. A period acquisition means to perform,
A period determination decision for determining a first period that is shorter than the second period acquired by the period acquisition means;
In order to process all of the plurality of commands, each of the plurality of commands for requesting the image forming apparatus to provide the image forming apparatus information is processed one by one, the same number of processes as the number of commands are repeated. A plurality of command processing control means for controlling
Furthermore, as a means that functions during the repeated processing by the multiple command processing control means,
Information requesting means for giving one command to be processed to the print spooler as the output data;
The print spooler completes outputting the command to the image forming apparatus when a first period determined by the period determining unit has elapsed since the command was given to the print spooler by the information requesting unit. Output completion determining means for determining whether or not
When the output completion determining unit determines that the output has been completed, the image forming apparatus information returned from the image forming apparatus to the computer in response to a request by the command is acquired from the image forming apparatus. Information acquisition means;
An information acquisition processing system comprising: an interruption control unit that interrupts the repetitive processing by the plurality of command processing control units when the output completion determination unit determines that the output has not been completed.

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