JP6512902B2 - Image processing apparatus, control method thereof and control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a control program.

  In an image forming apparatus typified by a printer or the like, only print job rasterization may be performed so that print data may be spooled in large quantities before printing so that supply of print data is not stopped. However, since the time required for rasterization varies depending on the content of the print job, rasterization may not be completed before the start of printing if rasterization is performed in the order of input. If all rasterization to be completed before printing has not been completed, the subsequent printing efficiency is significantly reduced. On the other hand, Patent Document 1 calculates required deployment remaining time and required print remaining time from print job data and its related information, and based on these, the order of deployment of the accepted print job and the print job being deployed. A method of setting has been proposed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in order to speed up rasterization itself, a drawing instruction of a print job is divided into a plurality of processing processes (stages) such as PDL analysis processing and rasterization processing, and the divided processing is pipelined. A method has been proposed.

JP 2012-6195 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-28012

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-112118, a development time is estimated from a reception time of a print job, data type, size, and number of printed sheets, and an order is determined to process the smallest development time among the estimated development times. However, internal processing in rasterization processing is not described, and processing efficiency can not be improved when division into a plurality of processing processes is performed. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 analyzes the PDL to specify the processing load of each process related to drawing, and determines the configuration of pipeline processing based on the specified processing load, thereby providing an optimal pipe for each print job. It can do line processing. However, there is also a need to efficiently rasterize the entire large number of jobs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the case of rasterizing a large number of jobs before printing, an image processing apparatus that performs pipeline processing in which drawing processing is divided into a plurality of processing stages more efficiently, It aims at providing the control method and program.

  In order to solve the above problems, a processing apparatus according to the present invention is a processing apparatus for executing a plurality of processing processes on print job data by a rasterizing unit capable of executing different processing processes in parallel. A plurality of print job data based on the job setting specified by the receiving unit for receiving the plurality of print job data, the first specifying unit for specifying the job setting of the print job data, and the first specifying unit; Rasterizing processing of a plurality of print job data received by the receiving unit on the basis of a second specifying unit for specifying a processing process having a high load among processing processes and the processing process having a high load specified by the second specifying unit Determining means for determining the order of the plurality of processing processes in the order determined by the determining means in the rasterizing unit. And a control means for executing.

  According to the present invention, rasterization processing can be performed more efficiently.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the software configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing a processing form realized by the rasterizing unit according to the first embodiment; 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the rasterizing unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the processing status of the rasterizing unit according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows job unit arbitration. It is a figure which shows the difference of the load in each process stage by a job setting. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a job analysis result according to the first embodiment. 5 is a view showing an example of a display unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of management table information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing a processing situation by job unit arbitration according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing page-based arbitration processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing a processing situation by page unit arbitration according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of rule setting according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of composition of an image processing device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the relative arrangement of components described in this embodiment, the device shape and the like are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these.

(Embodiment 1)
In the present embodiment, an image forming apparatus including an image processing apparatus will be described as an example of the image processing apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as the image forming apparatus 100, a printer having a printing function will be described as an example. The printer may be, for example, a single function printer having only a printing function, or may be, for example, a multifunction printer having a plurality of functions such as a printing function, a fax function, and a scanner function. Further, the image forming apparatus is not limited to a printer, and may be, for example, a multifunction machine having a combination of a printing function and other functions, or a manufacturing apparatus for forming an image or pattern on a recording sheet.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an operation unit 104, a communication unit 105, a recording unit 106, and a display unit 107. Note that these are connected to one another via a system bus.

  The CPU 101 controls the RAM 103, the communication unit 105, the recording unit 106, the operation unit 104, and the display unit 107 in accordance with the programs stored in the ROM 102.

  The ROM 102 stores various control programs executed by the CPU 101 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the printing apparatus 100. For example, a program for executing recording (printing) processing of the printing apparatus 100 is stored.

  The RAM 103 is used as a work area of the CPU 101, is used as a temporary storage area of various reception data, and stores various setting data. Print job data sent from the external apparatus 110 is temporarily stored in the RAM 103.

  A communication unit 105 controls communication between the external apparatus and the printing apparatus 100.

  The operation unit 104 includes various buttons such as a power button and a reset button, and is used when the user operates the printing apparatus 100. The display unit 107 is, for example, a liquid crystal display of a touch panel, and displays the state of the printing apparatus 100 and various settings. The user can also input various settings via the display unit 107. The display unit 107 receives an operation instruction and displays the apparatus state. In the present embodiment, at least a part of the operation unit 104 and the display unit 107 are configured by a touch panel and are integrated.

  The image processing unit 108 executes image processing on the received print job data to generate image data.

  The recording unit (printing unit) 106 has a printer engine unit described later. The recording unit 106 forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data.

  The image forming apparatus 100 can be connected to the external apparatus 110 via a network or the like, and receives, for example, a print job including print job data from the external apparatus 110.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a control configuration of the image processing unit in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The image processing unit of the image forming apparatus 100 includes a job control unit 202 that receives and controls a print job input from the external device 110, and a rasterization unit 203 that generates an image for printing.

  The configuration of the image processing unit included in the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15A, the job control unit 202 and the rasterizing unit 203 are independent of each other, and the job control unit 202 is connected to the display unit 107 and the printer engine unit 105 via the system bus. Shall be The present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 15B, the rasterizing unit 203 is incorporated in the job control unit 202, and the job control unit 202 displays via the system bus The unit 107 and the printer engine unit 105 may be connected. Further, in the present embodiment, the image processing unit is provided in the image forming apparatus, but as shown in FIG. 15C, only the job control unit 202 and the rasterizing unit 203 may be used. For example, in the image processing apparatus, the external apparatus 110, the display unit 107, and the printer engine unit 105 may be separated.

  The job control unit 202 includes a print job receiving unit 206, a spooler unit 207 that holds a job, a spooler management unit 208 that manages the job, and a communication unit 213 that communicates with the rasterizing unit 203. The job control unit 202 further includes a job analysis unit 209, a job arbitration range determination unit 210, a job processing load estimation unit 211, and a job arbitration unit 212 in order to perform efficient rasterization processing.

  The print job reception unit 206 receives the print job input from the external apparatus 110 and stores the print job in the spooler unit 207.

  The spooler unit 207 stores the received print job and rasterized data generated by the rasterizing unit 203. In addition, load management information in which print job contents and processing stage loads are associated with each other is stored as a load management table. The load management table is used to estimate the load of each processing stage, the details of which will be described later. Further, the spooler unit 207 stores arbitration management information for determining the processing order of print jobs as an arbitration management table. The arbitration management table manages an optimum arbitration method for each load category and is used to determine the processing order of print jobs, the details of which will be described later.

  The spooler management unit 208 manages whether the print job stored in the spooler unit 207 is to be rasterized immediately or held in a non-rasterized state. Furthermore, the spooler management unit 208 manages the amount of unrasterized print jobs stored in the spooler unit 207 and whether the amount of unrasterized print jobs has reached a threshold.

  The job analysis unit 209 analyzes the received print job, and acquires the type and size of job data such as PDF and JPEG, and the processing content performed by the rasterization unit 203. When the unrasterized print job monitored by the spooler management unit 208 reaches a threshold, the job arbitration range determination unit 210 determines a range for determining the job processing order.

  The job processing load estimation unit 211 estimates each processing stage load for each print job based on the analysis result of the job analysis unit 209 and the information of the load management table stored in the spooler unit 207. Here, that the load is high indicates that the processing time in the rasterizing unit 203 is long. The load type is categorized for each job according to the setting contents of each print job and the information of the load management table. The job arbitration unit 212 determines the processing order of the print job based on the load type for each job categorized by the job processing load estimation unit 211 and the information on the arbitration management table stored in the spooler unit 207. The processing order of print jobs is performed on the range determined by the job arbitration range determination unit 210.

  The rasterizing unit 203 communicates with the job control unit 202, an image correction unit 217 that performs correction processing, an RIP unit 218 that generates image data for printing, and an image adapted to print job settings. It has a rotation / imposition part 219 that performs data shaping. Different processors (CPUs) 215 are assigned to the communication unit 216, the image correction unit 217, the RIP unit 218, and the rotation / imposition unit 219, respectively. The image correction unit 217 performs, for example, correction such as red-eye correction. The rasterization unit 203 receives a print job via the communication unit 216, divides image processing to be performed on each print job data into a plurality of processing processes, and sequentially performs these processes. Thus, bitmap data is generated from the print job data. In the present embodiment, the rasterizing unit 203 divides image processing to be performed on print job data into image correction processing, RIP processing, and rotation / imposition processing. Here, the rasterizing unit 203 pipelines the plurality of divided processing processes. The pipeline processing in the rasterizing unit 203 is a processing method in which non-overlapping processing processes are executed simultaneously (in parallel), and pages to be processed in each processing process are pages different from each other. Specifically, the third page in the image correction process, the second page in the RIP process, and the first page in the rotation / imposition process are processed in parallel. Note that different processing processes can not be performed on the same page (for example, image correction processing for the first page and RIP processing for the first page can not be performed simultaneously).

  A processing form that can be executed by the rasterizing unit 203 shown in FIG. 1 will be described using FIG. 3. Here, when drawing processing (image processing) of image data is divided into three stages of processing 1, processing 2, and processing 3, the flow of processing for each of sequential processing and pipeline processing will be described.

  FIG. 3A shows sequential processing. In sequential processing, processing is performed on the second page and the third page after all processing on the first page is completed. FIG. 3 (b) shows pipeline processing. After the process 1 of the first page is completed, when the process 2 of the first page starts, the process 1 of the second page is processed in parallel. Similarly, after the processing 1 of the second page is completed, the processing 1 of the third page is processed. Note that pipeline processing requires a plurality of processors because each process operates as a separate process. In the present embodiment, the rasterizing unit 203 can perform sequential processing, but performs pipeline processing for speeding up.

  A process performed by the rasterizing unit 203 will be described by using a specific example with reference to FIG. Here, the case where three print jobs 500 shown in FIG. 5A are input will be described. The print job 500 illustrated in FIG. 5A is job A, job B, and job C, respectively. Job A and job B are print jobs for performing image correction, and job C is a print job for which image correction is not performed. An example of the configuration of the rasterizing unit 203 is shown in FIG. The rasterizing unit 203 divides the drawing processing into a plurality of processing stages and executes the drawing processing. Specifically, five processings are performed: reception processing, image correction processing, RIP processing, rotation / imposition processing, and transmission processing. The communication unit 216 performs the reception process 501 and the transmission process 505. The image correction process 502 is performed by the image correction unit 217, the RIP process 503 is performed by the RIP unit 218, and the rotation and imposition process 504 is performed by the rotation and imposition unit 219. Buffers 506 are provided before and after each processing unit, and data to be processed by the next processing unit are stored. Each processing unit transfers data to be processed via the buffer 506. The buffer 506 has a data structure (queue) in which data processing is started in order from the stored one. Here, the area in the buffer 506 will be described using the buffer 506 provided after the reception process 501 and before the image correction process 502. Of the buffer 506, the area closest to the image correction process 502 is the head area, the area closest to the reception process 501 is the tail area, and the areas other than the head area and the tail area are intermediate areas. The head area stores data immediately before being processed by the image correction process 502 which is the next processing unit, and the tail area stores data immediately after being processed by the reception process 501. Each processing unit acquires data to be processed from the top area of the buffer 506, stores the data in the end area of the buffer 506 after processing. The buffer 506 is an output buffer for one processing unit and an input buffer for the next processing unit. For example, a buffer 506 provided after the reception process 501 (communication unit 216) and before the image correction process 502 (image correction unit 217) is an output buffer for outputting processed data processed in the reception process 501, It is also an input buffer for storing data to be input to the image correction processing 502.

  Here, the flow of processing of the rasterizing unit 203 for the print job input from the job control unit 202 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The rasterizing unit 203 receives the print job input from the job control unit 202 via the communication unit 216 (S401), and confirms the setting of the job. Specifically, it is determined whether the setting of the job is that the image correction is ON, that is, whether the setting is to perform the image correction (S402).

  When the image correction is ON, that is, when the image data included in the print job is set to be corrected (Yes in S402), the image correction is performed according to the setting of the received print job (S403). After completion of the image correction, the RIP unit 218 performs RIP processing (S404).

  If the image correction is not ON, that is, if the image data is not required to be corrected (S402: No), the RIP unit 218 performs the RIP process (S404).

  The rotation / imposition unit 219 performs rotation / imposition processing on the data generated after the RIP processing based on the setting of the print job (S405). That is, the rotation / imposition unit 219 performs rotation / imposition processing so as to conform to the content set in the print job (S405). Thus, print data is generated.

  The generated data is transmitted to the job control unit 202 via the communication unit 216 (S406).

  FIG. 5C shows the transition of the processing status when the print job 500 shown in FIG. 5A is processed by the rasterizing unit 203. The rasterization unit 203 is pipelined, and the order of execution of the processing stages is fixed. A processor is assigned to each of the processing units (image correction unit 217, RIP unit 218, rotation / imposition unit 219) of the rasterization unit 203. Depending on the number of processors, the same processing stage can not be executed in parallel, so if processing to be performed is performed for another job or page, processing standby state 507 occurs until the processing is completed. For example, when the image correction process 502 for page 1 of job A starts, the image correction process 502 can not be operated in parallel on the first page or the second page of job B. Therefore, the first page of job B is in the processing standby state until the image correction process of the first page of job A is completed. On the other hand, job C is a job for which image correction is not performed, and since the RIP unit 218 is not operating, the RIP process 503 for the first page of job C can be started. Therefore, the RIP unit 218 performs the RIP process 503 on the first page of the job C. The RIP process of the second page of job C is registered before the image correction process of job A is completed, and the RIP process of the second page of job C is performed after the first page of job C. Thereafter, when the RIP process for the second page of job C is completed, the RIP unit 218 starts the RIP process for the first page of job A.

  Print jobs to the rasterize unit 203 are input in the order of the first page of job A, the first page and second page of job B, and the first page and second page of job C. However, the RIP process is processed as the first page and the second page of job C, and the first page and the second page of job A and job B.

  Here, an example of the flow of the image processing according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The CPU 101 loads a program stored in the ROM 102 into the RAM 103 and executes the program to execute the flowchart shown in FIG. When a print job is input from the external apparatus 110, the print job reception unit 206 receives the input print job (S601). The received print job is stored in the spooler unit 207.

  For the print job stored in the spooler unit 207, it is determined whether the spooler management unit 208 starts rasterization processing (S602). Although the details will be described later, when the predetermined start condition is satisfied, it is determined that the rasterization process is to be started.

  If it is determined that the rasterization process is to be started (No in S602), the print data is input to the rasterization unit 203 and rasterized (S612).

  When it is determined that the rasterization process is not started (Yes in S602), it is determined whether there is a sufficient print job in the spooler unit 207 (S603). Specifically, it is determined whether the amount of print jobs spooled in the spooler unit 207 (hereinafter, also referred to as a spool amount) is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. In the present embodiment, the spool amount is the number of print jobs spooled by the spooler unit 207, and the threshold value is 100. However, the spool amount and the threshold are not limited to this. For example, the spool amount may be determined by the data size of the print job.

  If it is determined that the spooler unit 207 does not have a sufficient print job, that is, if the spool amount is less than the threshold (No in S603), it is determined whether to start rasterization according to the setting value input from the user interface unit 107. (S604). Specifically, when it is determined that rasterization is to be started (Yes in S604), rasterization processing is executed (S612). On the other hand, when it is determined that the rasterization is not started (No in S604), the process returns to S603.

  If it is determined that there is a sufficient print job in the spooler unit 207, that is, if the spool amount is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes in S603), the print analysis unit 209 analyzes the spooled print job (S605).

  Further, based on the spool amount of the print job spooled in the spooler unit 207, the range for the submission order to be input to the rasterize unit 203 among the print jobs spooled in the spooler unit 207 in the job arbitration range determination unit 210 Are determined (S606). In the present embodiment, the arbitration range is determined to be 50 jobs in accordance with the setting value input from the user interface unit 204, and job arbitration is performed for the 50 spooled jobs by the spooler unit 207 from the top by 50 jobs. If the number of jobs spooled in the spooler unit 207 is equal to or less than the setting value of the arbitration range, job arbitration is performed on all the jobs spooled in the spooler unit 207. The arbitration range may be a predetermined number of jobs, or may be a job of a range input to the spooler unit 207 within a predetermined time.

  The job analysis in step S605 may be performed immediately after the print job is received, or analysis may be performed after the arbitration range is determined, and the job analysis in step S605 and the determination in step S606 may be performed in parallel. It may be executed.

  Based on the job analysis result, it is determined whether the job settings are all the same for print jobs within the range defined by the job arbitration range determination unit 210 (S607). Here, the setting of the job used for the determination includes the type of job to be processed (for example, the type of format such as JPEG and PDF), the presence or absence of image correction processing such as red eye correction and skin care correction, layout (for example, 1 in 1, 2 in 1 Etc., and output sheet sizes such as A3 and A4.

  If the job settings such as the type and layout of the processing target job are all the same for the jobs within the arbitration range (Yes in S607), the order of submission to the rasterizing unit 203 is not changed (S611). That is, the order of submission to the rasterization unit 203 is the same as the order of submission to the spooler unit 207. Thus, the rasterizing unit 203 performs processing in the order of being input to the spooler unit 207 (S612).

  If the job settings are not all the same for the jobs in the arbitration range, that is, if the job settings differ (No in S607), the job processing load estimation unit 211 sets the processing load of each job for each job. Is estimated (S608). The processing load of each job is estimated using load management table information stored in the spooler unit 207 and the analysis result analyzed in step S605. In other words, the load category of each job is identified based on the load management table information stored in the spooler unit 207 and the analysis result analyzed in S605. The details of the load category will be described later.

  After setting the load, it is determined whether all print jobs within the arbitration target range are categorized into the same load type (S609).

  If all load categories of the print job become the same category (Yes in S609), the arbitration of the order of submission is not performed, that is, the order of submission to the rasterization unit 203 is not changed (S611). That is, the order of submission to the rasterization unit 203 is the same as the order of submission to the spooler unit 207. Thus, the rasterization unit 203 performs rasterization processing in the order of input (S612).

  When the load category of the print job is different (No in S609), the job arbitration is performed using the load category set in the job arbitration unit 212, and the processing order is determined (S610). In the present embodiment, the rasterizing unit 203 processes the print job data in the order of being input, in other words, determines the order in which the print job data is input. The job arbitration is performed using the arbitration management table stored in the spooler unit 207. Although the details will be described later, job arbitration is performed based on the load category arbitration method set in the arbitration management table. After completion of job arbitration, print data of the print job is input to the rasterize unit 203 in the order determined by job arbitration, and the rasterize unit 203 starts rasterization processing in the order of input (S612). That is, the rasterization unit 203 executes processing in the processing order determined by job arbitration.

  The relationship between each processing stage load and the setting of the load type of the print job in the rasterizing unit 203 will be described with reference to FIG. The rasterization process is performed in the order of reception, image correction, RIP, rotation / imposition, and transmission as described with reference to FIG. 4, and whether to execute only image correction can be set in the job.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the difference in processing load when the image correction is ON and when the image correction is OFF. The job 700 for performing the image correction has a processing load greater than that of the job 701 for which the image correction is not performed because the image correction processing stage 702 is provided.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a difference depending on the type of print job format. The PDF job 704 has a processing load on the RIP processing stage 705 greater than that of the JPEG job 703.

  FIG. 7C is a diagram showing the difference depending on the final output layout of print data. The 1-in-1 print job 705 is laid out so that one image can be confirmed with one sheet, as with an image 707. The 2-in-2 print job 706 has left and right separate data laid out like an image 708 so that one sheet of image can be confirmed in a spread state after saddle-stitch binding. The 2 in 2 print job 706 requires two sheets of image data, so the load on the RIP stage 709 and the rotary imposition processing stage 710 is larger than in the 1 in 1 print job 705. Further, even if the output layout is the same 1 in 1, when the final output sheet size is different, for example, in A3 and A4, the load of the RIP 709 and the rotation surface attaching process 710 is larger in A3.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the analysis result of the print job analyzed by the job analysis unit 209. The job analysis unit 209 analyzes the print job spooled by the job analysis unit 209, and obtains an analysis result 800 for each print job. As shown in FIG. 7, the setting of the job affects the load of each processing stage. The job analysis unit 209 acquires, as an analysis result 800, information that affects the load. Specifically, for example, various job setting information such as job ID 801 for job management, job type 802, output size 802, presence / absence of image correction execution 804, output layout 805 and the like are acquired. In the present embodiment, the job setting information included in the print job data is analyzed to obtain an analysis result 800. This makes it possible to speed up job analysis. Note that the method of analyzing the job setting of the print job is not limited to this, and the drawing command included in the rasterization target may be analyzed in more detail.

  FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a display screen displayed on the user interface unit 107. As shown in FIG. The flow of processing shown in FIG. 7 is determined according to the contents set by the user interface unit 107.

  The display screen shown in FIG. 9 is a screen on which setting of processing conditions of the image processing unit and status confirmation of the image processing unit can be performed. For example, in the display screen of the user interface unit 107, the user sets the image processing unit. It is displayed by selecting etc.

  The display screen sets a setting unit 901 for setting whether to store in the rasterization unit, a setting unit 902 for setting analysis start conditions, a setting unit 903 for setting arbitration setting conditions, and a setting unit 904 for setting waiting conditions. And a setting unit 905 for setting an arbitration range. The display screen includes a setting unit 906 for setting arbitration start conditions, a setting unit 907 for setting arbitration mode, a setting unit 907 for setting updating of management table information, a spooler monitor 909, and a job status monitor 910. And.

  The setting unit 901 can set whether to store the received job in the spooler unit 207 in the RIP standby state or to immediately rasterize the received job. If the ON check box is selected in the setting unit 901 illustrated in FIG. 9, the received job is stored in the spooler unit 207 in the RIP standby state. On the other hand, when the OFF check box is selected in the setting unit 901 illustrated in FIG. 9, the received job is stored in the spooler unit 207 in the RIP standby state.

  The setting unit 902 can set an analysis start timing of the received job by the job analysis unit 209. In the setting unit 902 shown in FIG. 9, when the check box of job reception is selected as the analysis start condition, the job analysis unit 209 starts analysis at the timing when the job is received. In the setting unit 902 shown in FIG. 9, when the check box of arbitration start is selected as the analysis start condition, the job analysis unit 209 starts analysis at the timing when the arbitration is started.

  The setting unit 903 can set an arbitration setting condition. Arbitration is performed so that the rasterization process is completed in the shortest time when the shortest solution check box is selected, and the optimal rasterization process is performed according to the load type when the optimum solution check box is selected. Reconcile to When the optimal rasterization process is selected, arbitration is performed based on the arbitration management table. Here, “the rasterization process is the shortest” means, for example, that the total processing time of a plurality of print job data becomes short.

  The setting unit 904 can set whether to handle as a RIP standby state job. Specifically, for the job selected by the setting unit 904, it can be set so as not to wait for RIP. When the check box of the interrupt job is selected, the interrupt job does not wait for RIP, and when the check box of the reprint job is selected, the reprint job does not wait for RIP. When the “always” check box is selected, all print jobs are immediately subjected to rasterization processing without waiting for RIP. That is, in the case of FIG. 9, when an interrupt job or a reprint job is input, those jobs start rasterization immediately.

  The setting unit 906 can set conditions for starting job arbitration. The condition set by the setting unit 906 is used to determine whether the spool amount of the print job spooled by the spooler management unit 208 is equal to or greater than a threshold. In the setting unit 906, when the check box of the RIP standby job is selected, the arbitration is started when the number of print jobs spooled by the spooler unit 207 becomes equal to or more than the number of RIPs set by the pull-down menu. In the present embodiment, the arbitration is started when the number of jobs spooled by the spooler unit 207 reaches 100 or more. Note that since the threshold value is set to 100 in the present embodiment, for example, when the number of jobs spooled by the spooler unit 207 is 10, arbitration is not started, and the number of jobs spooled is 100 or more. If you want to start arbitration. Although the threshold is set here, depending on the available spooling capacity, arbitration is started before the threshold is reached. For example, the case where the arbitration start condition is the number of jobs and the threshold is 100 will be described. When the spooler free space reaches 0 when 30 jobs are spooled, the threshold 100 can not be reached, and arbitration is started. At this time, the user determines whether the threshold of the number of jobs of the arbitration start condition is maintained at 100 or the started value. Also, the start condition may be changed automatically. On the other hand, when the check box of the elapsed time is selected, the arbitration is started when the elapsed time since spooling by the spooler unit 207 is equal to or more than the elapsed time set by the pull-down menu.

  The spooler monitor 909 displays the information managed by the spooler management unit 208. Here, the spooler utilization rate, the number of jobs for which rasterization (RIP) has been completed, and the number of jobs waiting for rasterization (RIP) are displayed.

  The setting unit 905 can set the arbitration range, and the arbitration range determining unit 210 of the job determines the arbitration range according to the arbitration range set by the setting unit 905. In other words, the job arbitration range determination unit 210 acquires the setting of the setting unit 905, and determines the job arbitration range based on the acquired setting. When the check box for the number of jobs is selected, the number of jobs set by the pull-down menu is taken as the arbitration range. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, arbitration is performed in units of 50 jobs. When the check box of the job setting is selected, the job of the job setting set by the pull-down menu is set as the arbitration range. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the arbitration range is determined by the layout setting. When the check box of the total processing time is selected, an arbitration range is set until a job whose total of the RIP processing time of each job is the total processing time set by the pull-down menu.

  The setting unit 907 can set a unit for performing the arbitration. If the No Arbitration check box is selected, no arbitration is performed. When the job-based check box is selected, arbitration is performed on a job-by-job basis, and when page-based check boxes are selected, arbitration is performed on a page-based basis.

  The setting unit 908 can perform update setting of the management table. Specifically, it is possible to set whether to update each of the load management table and the arbitration management table stored in the spooler unit 207 according to the process of progress of rasterization processing. The table for which the check box is selected is updated as the rasterization process proceeds.

  The job status monitor displays the setting and processing status of the print job input to the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 9, the job ID of each job, analysis information, processing status, and arbitration status are displayed. As analysis information, the type of each job, the output size of each job, whether or not to perform image correction, and the output layout of each job are displayed. The processing status includes “printed”, “during RIP”, “rIP complete”, “rIP standby” and the like. Arbitration statuses include "arbitrated", "arbitrated", and "arbitrated".

  FIG. 10 shows an example of management information stored in the spooler unit 207. The management information stored in the spooler unit 207 includes a management table generated in advance before the start of print job processing and management information generated after the start of print job processing.

  FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of management information generated in advance before the start of print job processing. In the present embodiment, the management information generated in advance is the load categorization table 1000, the stage processing load table 1001, and the arbitration management table 1002.

  The load categorization table 1000 manages processing load types (hereinafter also referred to as load categories) classified based on job settings such as job types and job sizes. The load category is information for classifying a processing stage having a high processing load, which is a rate limiting factor in the rasterizing unit 203. In the present embodiment, the processing stage of the rasterizing unit 203 which can be a rate-limiting factor is any of image correction, RIP, and rotational surface attachment. As shown in FIG. 7, the processing stage that becomes the rate-limiting factor in each processing stage is specified by the type of print job, the size of the print job, the presence or absence of image correction processing such as red eye correction and skin softening, and the output layout The load categories are classified. The load categorization table 1000 is referred to when the processing load estimation unit 211 of the job sets the load classification for each print job. The load categorization table 1000 may use a table generated in advance before the start of the process, or may use a table updated by learning the process result information. In the present embodiment, among the processing stages, one for which the image correction processing is the rate-limiting factor is Type-A, and one for which the RIP processing and the rotational imposition processing are the rate-limiting factor depending on the output size is Type-B. Further, it is assumed that the layout in which the RIP process and the rotational imposition process become the rate limiting factor is Type-C, and the format in which the RIP process is the rate limiting factor is Type-D.

  The stage processing load table 1001 manages the processing time of each processing stage estimated based on the information of the load category.

  The arbitration management table 1002 manages optimum processing for print jobs with load categories. That is, it manages the arbitration order in which the processing efficiency of each print job is the highest. Although there are a plurality of arbitration orders that can be set for each print job, in the present embodiment, the arbitration order in which the processing stages regarded as the speed-limiting factors overlap for each load category that is processed at the highest speed and is the arbitration target is more Set Here, the arbitration management table 1002 manages information of print jobs within the arbitration range. The arbitration management table 1002 is referred to by the job arbitration unit 212.

  FIG. 10B is a diagram showing management information created after the start of print job processing. As management information created after the process is started, job analysis results 1003, 1004, and 1005 for each print job and a load estimation result 1006 can be mentioned. Job analysis results 1003, 1004, and 1005 are generated by the job analysis unit 209, and a load estimation result 1006 is generated by the job processing load estimation unit 211. The job analysis results 1003, 1004, and 1005 are extracted and generated from print job setting information attached (added) to the print job body. The information extracted here is information used for estimation of processing load such as job type, presence or absence of image correction, and side stitching / saddle stitching.

  The load estimation result 1006 is information classified into load categories for each job based on the job analysis result generated for each job and the load categorization table 1000. That is, the load estimation result 1006 is information in which the print job is associated with the load category. For example, Job 11 corresponds to the first line of the load categorization table because the job type is JPEG, the size is 4 × 6, the image correction is ON, and the layout is 1 in 1. Therefore, Job 11 is identified as having a load category of Type-A, and is stored as a load estimation result. Similarly, for Job12 and Job13, the load category is specified from the load categorization table based on the job setting.

  Rule setting in the arbitration management table 1002 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a flow of processing for setting each arbitration order in the arbitration management table 1002. The CPU 101 loads the program stored in the ROM 102 into the RAM 103 and executes the program to execute the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 14B is a diagram showing an example of visualizing the processing status used when determining the arbitration order according to the flow of processing shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, rule setting in the case where the load category of each print job is Type-A, Type-C, and Type-D will be described. Each print job is one page at a time.

  Candidates for the print job processing order are identified according to the load category (S1401). In the present embodiment, there are six types of processing order candidates: ACD, ADC, CAD, CDA, DAC, and DCA. The candidates for the processing order vary depending on the type of load category of the print job for which the arbitration order rule setting is performed.

  Next, it is determined whether there are a plurality of processing order candidates (S1402). Since there are six types of processing order candidates, it is determined that a plurality of processing order candidates exist (Yes in S1402), and the processing time of each processing stage in the rasterizing unit 203 is specified for each processing order candidate (S1403). FIG. 14B is a schematic view of the processing time of each processing order candidate. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the prediction of the process transition when the first print job is Type A, the second print job is Type C, and the third print job is Type D. Reference numeral 1408 denotes the prediction of the processing transition of each processing stage when processing is performed in the order of ACD. 1409 is the ADC processing order, 1410 is the CAD processing order, 1411 is the CDA processing order, 1412 is the DAC processing order, and 1413 is the processing order of each processing stage in the DCA processing order. It is a prediction of

  Among the processing order candidates shown in FIG. 14B, the processing order that completes the process in the shortest time is set as a rule candidate (S1404). In the case of FIG. 14B, it is determined that there are two, 1410 and 1411, and two processing orders of CAD and CDA become rule candidates set in the arbitration management table.

  It is determined whether there are a plurality of processing order candidates that become rules (S1405). If there is one rule candidate set (No in S1405), the processing order becomes an arbitration rule set in the arbitration management table (S1407), and the processing ends.

  If there are two or more rule candidates (Yes in S1405), one processing order is selected for the rule candidates based on a predetermined selection criterion (S1406). In the present embodiment, a process order candidate is selected which has the longest time in which the process stages considered as rate-limiting factors overlap for each load category. The resource usage rate can be improved by parallel processing of processing stages that become rate-limiting factors in each job. Of the processing stages in the load category Type-A, the image correction process is the rate-limiting factor, the Type-C is the RIP process and the rotational imposition process is the rate-limiting factor, and the Type-D is the RIP process is the rate-limiting factor . Therefore, as the selection criteria in the present embodiment, a processing order in which the Type-A image correction processing, Type-C RIP processing or rotational imposition processing, and Type-D RIP processing overlap for a longer time is selected. It will be done. As shown in 1414 for both 1410 and 1411, there are portions where three different processes overlap. Here, the RIP process of Type-A and the image correction process of Type-D are not rate-limiting factors for each load category. Therefore, 1411, that is, the processing order of CDA is selected as a rule. The selection criterion is not limited to this, and, for example, one having a small gap between the processing stages may be selected. The rule (processing order) selected in S1406 is set in the arbitration management table (S1407).

  By the above-described method, when the combination of loads is ACD, it is determined that the processing order is CDA.

  Here, the print job arbitration method according to the present embodiment will be described by taking a specific example. FIG. 11 shows an example of job arbitration according to the present embodiment. A case where the print job 1101, the print job 1102, and the print job 1103 are sequentially input to the spooler unit 207 will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that print jobs are processed in job units, one page at a time, in order from the top page. That is, after processing is sequentially performed from the first page of the first job to the final page, processing of the first page of the second job is performed. The processing load classification for each job conforms to the load categorization table 1104, and the processing order of print jobs within the arbitration range conforms to the rules set in the arbitration management table 1105. It is assumed that the print jobs (print jobs 1101, 1102, 1103), the load categorization table 1104, and the arbitration management table 1105 have been stored in the spooler unit 207. Further, the arbitration range is three jobs of print jobs 1101, 1102, and 1103.

  FIG. 11A is an image diagram of an image based on each print job. As shown in FIG. 11A, each print job (print jobs 1101, 1102, and 110) is configured of two pages, and the print job 1101 has an output size different from that of the print jobs 1102 and 1103.

  FIG. 11B shows the load categorization table 1104 and the arbitration management table 1105 used in the present embodiment, the job analysis result 1006 of the print job 1101, the load estimation result 1108, and the processing order 1109 of print jobs before and after arbitration. Show.

  When the arbitration is started, the CPU 101 causes the job analysis unit 209 to analyze setting information of the print job 1101 and stores the analysis result 1106 in the spooler unit 207. The analysis result 1106 describes the job type, the total number of pages of the job, the output setting, the correction setting, and the like. The same analysis is performed on the print jobs 1102 and 1103.

  Next, the CPU 101 causes the job processing load estimation unit 211 to acquire an analysis result 1106, and generates a load estimation result. Load estimation is to perform processing load classification based on the load categorization table 1104 and the analysis result 1106. In the present embodiment, the processing load is classified by the job type, the size, the correction setting, and the layout setting. The reference information 1107 necessary to classify the processing load is acquired from the analysis result 1106 and collated with the load categorization table 1104. The reference information 1107 matches the first row of the load categorization table 1104. Therefore, the print job 1101 is determined to have a load category of Type-A. Similarly, the load category is determined for the print jobs 1102 and 1103, and a load estimation result 1108 in which the print job and the determination result are associated is generated in the spooler unit 207.

  Thereafter, the CPU 101 causes the job arbitration unit 212 to determine the arbitration order based on the load estimation result 1108 and the arbitration management table 1105. The job arbitration unit 212 refers to the arbitration management table 1105 to determine in what order the combination of load categories present in the load estimation result 1108 is arbitrated. The load category present in the load estimation result 1108 is ACD, and the combination of loads matches the second row of the arbitration management table 1105. In accordance with the rules of the arbitration management table 1105, it is decided to process in the order of the load categories CDA. That is, arbitration is performed to process in the order of the print jobs 1102, 1103, and 1101.

  FIG. 11C shows the prediction of the processing transition of each processing stage in the rasterizing unit 203 when job arbitration is not performed, and the prediction of the processing transition of each processing stage in the rasterizing unit 203 when job arbitration is performed. FIG. When job arbitration is not performed, the order of submission of print jobs to the spooler unit 207, that is, the first and second pages of the print job 1101, the first and second pages of the print job 1102, and the one of the print job 1103 Rasterization is performed in the order of the page and the second page. On the other hand, when job arbitration is performed, rasterization is performed in the order of the first page and the second page of the print job 1102, the first page and the second page of the print job 1103, the first page of the print job 1101, and the second page. It is processed. As a result, compared with the process transition 1110 when the job arbitration is not performed, the time required for the rasterization process is shortened by performing the job arbitration, and the processing efficiency is improved. Furthermore, processing stages 1112 that become rate-limiting factors in each job are processed in parallel, and the resource usage rate is also improved.

  As described above, the drawing process is divided into a plurality of processing stages, and in the pipelined rasterization process capable of parallel processing respectively, the load on each processing stage is estimated and job arbitration is performed to perform efficient rasterization process. Can be implemented. Specifically, the order is determined such that the total processing time of the plurality of print job data is short.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the print job is arbitrated so that the processing stages with the highest processing load are processed in parallel, the resource use efficiency is improved.

  Further, since the execution time of rasterization processing of a plurality of print job data can be shortened, power saving and maintenance efficiency can be improved.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, job arbitration is performed on a job basis, whereas in this embodiment, job arbitration is performed on a page basis.

  An example of the flow of processing according to the present embodiment will be described in detail using FIG. The CPU 101 loads the program stored in the ROM 102 into the RAM 103 and executes the program to execute the flowchart shown in FIG.

  S1201 to S1209 are the same as S601 to 609 in FIG. If all the settings of the jobs within the arbitration range are the same (Yes in S1207), the process advances to S1216 to start rasterization processing without performing arbitration of the submission order (without changing the submission order) (S1217).

  If the load category of the print job load type is different (No in S1209), the job arbitration unit 212 acquires the total number of pages for each load category for the print job within the arbitration range (S1210). It is determined whether the total number of pages of each acquired load category is the same (S1211). Although it is determined here whether the number of pages is the same, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined whether variation in load category can be tolerated. Specifically, it may be determined whether the difference in the number of pages is within a predetermined range.

  If the total number of pages in each load category is the same (Yes in S1211), the processing page order is arbitrated using the load categorization table set in the job arbitration unit 212 (S1215), and rasterization processing is started (1217) .

  When the total number of pages of each load category is different (No in S1211), first, the total number of pages of the acquired print job data to be processed is compared. Then, arbitrate the processing page order for each print job data to be processed by a predetermined number of pages, specifically, by the same number of pages as the minimum number of pages in the print job data to be processed (S1212). Next, for the remaining pages for which arbitration has not been performed, it is determined whether the processing page contents are analyzed and the load category is to be reset (S1213). The determination of resetting of the load category for the unarbitrated page follows the setting on the display screen displayed on the user interface unit 107. When resetting is not performed (No in S1213), the arbitration management table is referred to the load category of the unarbitrated page to arbitrate the processing page order (S1215). When resetting the unarbitrated page (Yes in S1213), the load category is reset in page units (S1214). The resetting of the load category may be performed by analyzing the page in detail, or may be performed based on a simple analysis such as the data size or the number of images. After resetting, the number of pages for each load category is compared again (S1211), and the processing page order is arbitrated.

  The job arbitration according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 will be described using a specific example with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13A is an explanatory diagram of the case where the number of pages included in each job is the same. The job processing load estimation unit 211 generates the load estimation result information 1301. The load estimation result information 1301 includes a job ID, a load category, and the total number of pages of each job. It is possible to identify from the load estimation result information 1301 that the load category is 3 types and 5 pages each. In the process shown in FIG. 12, in the case shown in FIG. 13A, the load categories have the same number of pages (Yes in S1211), so pages in the range shown in 1302, ie, all pages of each print job data Perform job arbitration. Since the combination of load categories is ABC, according to the arbitration management table information, arbitration is performed to process in the order of CBA. That is, arbitration is performed such that processing is performed in the order of the first page of the job 22, the first page of the job 21, and the first page of the job 20. When comparing the process transition 1303 of each processing stage when processing a job without executing job arbitration with the process transition 1304 of each processing stage when job arbitration is performed, the job arbitration is performed. It can be seen that the processing time is shortened.

  FIG. 13B is an explanatory diagram when the number of pages included in each job is different. The load estimation result information 1305 generates a job processing load estimation unit 211. It is possible to identify from the load estimation result information 1305 that the load categories are three types and the total number of pages is different. In the process shown in FIG. 12, in the case shown in FIG. 13B, each load category has a different number of pages (No in S1211), so the minimum number of pages (3 pages of job ID 025) in the print job to be processed Job arbitration is performed (S1212). That is, job arbitration is performed for the range shown in 1306. Thus, the order is determined up to the third page of each print job. Specifically, processing is performed in the order of the first page of the job 25, the first page of the job 24, and the first page of the job 23. Next, it is determined whether or not to reset the load category for the unarbitrated page 1307 (S1213). In this embodiment, the load category is not reset for the unarbitrated page 1307. The unarbitrated page 1307 is processed in the order of the fourth page of the job 24, the fourth page of the job 23, and the fifth page by arbitration. If the processing transition 1308 of each processing stage when processing a job without performing job arbitration is compared with the processing transition 1304 of each processing stage when performing job arbitration, job arbitration is performed. It can be seen that the processing time is shortened.

  In the present embodiment, the start of job processing is, for example, after the completion of arbitration of the unarbitrated page 1307, but is not limited to this. For example, when the arbitration of the unarbitrated page 1307 can be completed by the completion of the processing of the arbitration target page 1306, the processing of the arbitration completed page may be started.

  As described above, by estimating the load of each processing stage and performing job arbitration on a page basis, more efficient rasterization processing can be performed. When the number of pages is large, rasterization processing can be executed more efficiently than when arbitration is performed on a job basis. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the processing stage with the highest processing load is arbitrated in parallel processing, resource use efficiency is improved.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the image processing unit can determine the combination of loads, but the result of the arbitration management table may be acquired from another processing unit or an external device.

  In the embodiment described above, the job processing is performed in the image processing unit of the image processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the processing performed by the job arbitration range determining unit 210 and the job arbitration unit 212 may be performed by another processing unit or another external device such as a PC.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, in order to determine the load category, the type of job, the presence or absence of execution of correction, and the layout are determined as job settings, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the load category may be determined based on one or two settings of the type of job, the presence or absence of correction execution, and the layout, or the load category may be determined in consideration of other settings. .

  The embodiment described above is also realized by performing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program. Processing. Also, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed by interlocking a plurality of computers. Moreover, it is not necessary to realize all of the above-described processes by software, and some or all of the processes may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC. Also, the CPU is not limited to the one performing all the processing with one CPU, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while appropriately coordinating.

100 image forming apparatus 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
202 job control unit 203 rasterization unit

Claims (15)

A processing apparatus for executing a plurality of processing processes on print job data by a rasterizing unit capable of executing different processing processes in parallel,
Receiving means for receiving a plurality of print job data;
A first identifying unit for identifying job settings of print job data, and a processing process having a high load among a plurality of processing processes in each print job data based on the job settings identified by the first identifying unit 2 Identifying means,
A determination unit that determines an order of rasterization processing of a plurality of print job data received by the reception unit based on the processing process with high load specified by the second specification unit;
Control means for causing the rasterization unit to execute the plurality of processing processes in the order determined by the determination means;
Processing equipment characterized by having.   2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the order of rasterization processing in the rasterizing unit such that processing processes with high load in each print job data are processed in parallel.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the order such that the total processing time of the plurality of print job data becomes short based on the processing process with high load specified by the second specifying unit. Or the processing apparatus as described in 2. The printing apparatus further comprises setting means for setting a range for determining the order among the print job data received by the receiving means,
The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit determines the order of the print job data in the range set by the setting unit.   The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first identification unit identifies based on setting information added to the print job data.   The determination unit is characterized in that, when the processing process with high load specified by the second specification unit is the same for a plurality of print job data, the order received by the reception unit is the order of rasterization processing. The processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-5.   The control means causes the plurality of print job data received by the reception means to be input to the rasterizing unit in the order determined by the determination means, and causes the plurality of processing processes to be executed in the order determined by the determination means. The processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that:   The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job setting includes at least one of an output size, presence or absence of image correction, and an output layout. It further comprises the rasterization unit,
The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rasterizing unit generates bitmap data from print job data by executing the plurality of processing processes.   The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the determination unit determines the order in page units or job units.   When the print job data having a predetermined amount or more is spooled in the spooler unit which spools the print job data received by the receiving unit, the determining unit takes an order different from the order received by the receiving unit. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the order is determined.   12. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a spooler unit that spools the print job data received by the receiving unit.   The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: a printing unit that prints an image based on data obtained by processing by the rasterizing unit. A processing method for executing a plurality of processing processes on print job data by a rasterizing unit capable of executing different processing processes in parallel,
A receiving step of receiving a plurality of print job data;
A first identification step of identifying job settings of print job data;
A second identification step of identifying a processing process with a high load among a plurality of processing processes in each print job data based on the job setting identified by the first identification step;
A determining step of determining an order of rasterization processing of a plurality of print job data received in the receiving step based on the processing process with high load specified in the second specifying step;
An execution step of causing the rasterization unit to execute the plurality of processing processes in the order determined in the determination step;
Processing method characterized by having. Program for causing a computer to function as each means of the processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 1 3.

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