JP6545144B2 - Image processing apparatus for obtaining predicted value of time required for printing, image processing method and program thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for obtaining a predicted value of the time required to print a print job.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a printing apparatus which obtains a predicted value of the time (printing time) required for printing a print job in the order in which the print job is received.

JP 2007-193808 A

  If the print job includes a huge number of drawing commands, it takes much time to calculate the predicted value of the print time for the print job (prediction process). When the printing apparatus receives a print job including such a huge number of drawing commands, a computing resource (for example, hardware resources such as a CPU and a memory) is occupied by the prediction process of one print job. Therefore, when execution of another process such as print process of a print job is instructed during execution of such prediction process, the computational resources available for the other process are limited.

  Alternatively, if the printing apparatus receives a print job including an enormous number of drawing commands and the printing apparatus subsequently receives another print job, the following may occur. It takes too much time to predict the print job received earlier, and the prediction process for the print job received later can not be started.

  The printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not disclose means for solving the above-mentioned inconvenience because the printing apparatus continues to perform the prediction process until the prediction value of the printing time of one print job is obtained.

  An object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the disadvantages due to the above circumstances.

The image processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: receiving means for receiving a print job; and predicting the time required to print the first print job for the received first print job and second print job received Before the predetermined time has passed, after a predicted value of the time required to print the first print job is determined, a prediction process is performed to obtain a predicted value of the time required to print the second print job, After the time required for the prediction process of the time required for printing the first print job has passed a predetermined time, the process for predicting the time required for printing the second print job is the printing of the first print job The prediction means to be executed before the prediction of the time required for the job is obtained, the identification information of the received first and second print jobs, and the predicted values for the print job are displayed in association with each other Possible And display means for displaying identification information of the first print job and the second print job even before the prediction process for the first print job is completed. And an image processing apparatus characterized in that

  It solves the inconvenience of taking too much time for the prediction process for the print job.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the image processing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining print job prediction processing. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing transitions of a print job list and a processing queue. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow of prediction processing for a print job according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen displaying predicted times of print jobs. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a processing flow of prediction processing for a print job according to the third embodiment.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 as an example of the image processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 100, a printer engine 110, and an operation panel 112. The controller 100 generally controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The printer engine 110 prints an image on a sheet such as paper based on the image data transmitted from the controller 100. Operation panel 112 displays an image based on the image data transmitted from controller 100. The printer engine 110 may be an electrophotographic type, an inkjet type, or any other type, as long as it has a mechanism capable of printing an image on a sheet. The operation panel 112 is a general display such as a liquid crystal display, and may be a touch screen capable of detecting a touch operation by a user.

  Each hardware resource will be described using FIG.

  The controller 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 102, a random access memory (RAM) 103, a network interface (I / F) 104, a read only memory (ROM) 106, a hard disk drive (HDD) 107, and a raster image processor (RIP). ) 108, device I / F 109, and operation panel I / F 111 as hardware resources.

  The ROM 106 stores a computer program for realizing the software configuration shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2. The CPU 102 executes the computer program on the RAM 103 to realize the software configuration. A CPU 102 that executes an operation in accordance with the computer program centrally controls the operation of each unit.

  The network I / F 104 is connected to the network N1 and receives page description language (PDL) data from an external apparatus such as a host PC (Personal Computer) via the network N1. The network I / F 104 stores the received PDL data as a print job in the HDD 107. These processes correspond to the reception unit 200 receiving PDL data from an external apparatus and storing the data in the storage unit 201 as a print job.

  Note that the interpretation unit 202 and the DL generation unit (intermediate data generation unit) 203 implemented by the CPU 102 and the RAM 103 that operate according to a program generate intermediate data called DL (Display List) by processing the stored print job. Do. That is, the interpretation unit 202 interprets one or more drawing commands included in PDL data as a print job, and passes the interpretation result to the DL generation unit 203. Then, the DL generation unit 203 generates a DL from the interpretation result received from the interpretation unit 202, and delivers the generated DL to a bit map generation unit 204 described later. This transfer is equivalent to the CPU 102 functioning as the DL generation unit 203 generating a DL on the RAM 103 and transferring the DL on the RAM 103 to the RIP 108.

  The RIP 108 rasterizes the received DL to generate image data (bitmap image) in a page bitmap format. Then, the RIP 108 transmits the generated image data to the printer engine 110 via the device I / F 109. This processing corresponds to processing in which the bitmap generation unit 204 generates bitmap image data from the DL received from the DL generation unit 203 and transmits the image data to the printer engine 110.

  The CPU 102 and the RAM 103 operating according to the program function as the prediction processing unit 205 in FIG. The prediction processing unit 205 performs prediction processing before the printing of the print job described above.

  Specifically, the prediction processing unit 205 performs prediction processing on a print job before printing stored in the storage unit 201 and for which the prediction processing has not been performed yet. In particular, the prediction processing unit 205 acquires print jobs for which prediction processing has not been performed from the storage unit 201 and adds the acquired print jobs to the processing queue 207, and prediction processing on print jobs in the order of addition to the processing queue 207. And a processing unit 208 that executes each print job. The processing queue 207 is realized as a FIFO (First In First Out) queue, and stores print jobs to be subjected to the prediction processing. Then, the prediction processing unit 205 stores, in the storage unit 201, information indicating the predicted time of the print job obtained when the prediction processing is completed, in association with the corresponding print job stored in the storage unit 201. The detailed method of a prediction process is later mentioned using FIG.

  The CPU 102 operating according to the program and the operation panel I / F 111 controlled by the CPU 102 function as the predicted time display unit 209 in FIG. 2. The predicted time display unit 209 includes information (for example, a job name) indicating a print job stored in the storage unit 201 and information (for example, the number of seconds) indicating a predicted time stored in association with the print job. The image data to be displayed on the operation panel 112 is generated based on Then, the predicted time display unit 209 transmits the image data to the operation panel 112 via the operation panel I / F 111 and causes the operation panel 112 to display an image in which the print job and the predicted time are associated.

  The above is the description of the hardware and software configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. An aspect in which the image forming apparatus 1 having such a configuration executes prediction processing for a print job will be described below. Characteristically, it is detected that the time required for the prediction process for a certain print job exceeds the threshold time (time-out time), and the prediction process for that print job is canceled (cancelled) for the subsequent print job. The prediction process is to be started.

  First, a method for the prediction processing unit 205 to calculate the predicted time of a print job will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the flow of processing of a print job, and the contents of the processing are as described above. That is, the process of the print job can be divided into four processes (PDL interpretation, DL generation, bitmap generation, and printing). The prediction processing unit 205 obtains a predicted value (prediction time) of the time required for each of the roughly classified processing. First, among the print jobs stored in the processing queue 207 by the acquisition unit 206, the processing unit 208 starts prediction processing for the top print job of the processing queue 207. Specifically, the processing unit 208 actually interprets each drawing command of the PDL data of the target print job, and sets the actual time taken for the interpretation as the prediction time T1. At this time, the processing unit 208 holds each interpretation result.

  Next, the processing unit 208 obtains the prediction time T2 of the DL generation processing based on the held interpretation result. For example, let the thing which multiplied the coefficient the sum of the number of interpretation results be prediction time T2.

  Next, the processing unit 208 obtains the prediction time T3 of the bitmap generation processing based on the held interpretation result. For example, the processing unit 208 obtains a value (value 1) obtained by multiplying the number of overlapping objects when objects (for example, figures, bitmap images, and the like) corresponding to the respective interpretation results overlap each other by a coefficient. The processing unit 208 also obtains a value (value 2) obtained by multiplying the number of pixels forming the image when the object is a bitmap image by another coefficient. Then, the processing unit 208 obtains the sum of the value 1 and the value 2. A count value corresponding to the performance of the RIP 108 is multiplied by the total value to obtain a prediction time T3.

  Then, based on the number of sheets printed by the print job and the coefficient of the engine speed of the printer engine 110, the processing unit 208 obtains the predicted time T4 of the printing process. The engine speed factor is, for example, the time taken to print one sheet. For example, the prediction time T4 is obtained by multiplying the number of sheets to be printed by the engine speed coefficient.

  Then, the processing unit 208 obtains a total value of the prediction times T1 to T4 as a final prediction time.

  The above is the description of the prediction processing of the present embodiment, but the method is not limited to the above prediction processing as long as it is a method of obtaining a prediction time, and other known methods may be used.

  Next, the list of print jobs (print job list) stored in the storage unit 201 and the state of the processing queue 207 for the print job list in the prediction processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4A shows a list of print jobs stored in the storage unit 201 in the order received by the receiving unit 200, and among the print jobs stored in the storage unit 201, printing for which prediction processing has not been performed yet The processing queue 207 to which the job has been added is shown on the right. The print job list includes the following four items in one record. The print job reception order, the print job identifier (for example, print job name), the predicted time of the print job (or information indicating the print job), and the flag indicating whether the print job prediction process has been canceled. The "N / A (Not Available)" of the predicted time indicates that the final predicted time of the print job is not determined. The cancel flag “FALSE” indicates that the prediction process of the print job has not been canceled at all, conversely “TRUE” indicates that the prediction process of the print job has been canceled at least once. .

  The print job list in FIG. 4A indicates that print jobs A, B, and C have just been received. That is, jobs A, B, and C are sequentially received, and it is indicated that the predicted time of each print job has not yet been determined, and that the prediction processing has not been canceled even once. That is, each print job has not been predicted yet. Therefore, the acquiring unit 206 refers to the print job list, and processes, in the order of reception, print jobs whose item of “estimated time” is “N / A” indicating that the estimated time is not yet determined. Add to The state after the addition is shown on the right of FIG. 4 (a). First, the processing unit 208 starts prediction processing for the print job A at the top of the processing queue 207.

  FIG. 4B shows a state after the prediction processing of the print job A is completed within a threshold time (for example, 180 seconds). The record of the print job A in the print job list includes the predicted time “20 seconds” obtained by the prediction process, and the process queue 207 shows that the print job A for which the prediction process has been completed is deleted. In this state, the processing unit 208 starts prediction processing for the print job B at the top of the processing queue 207. Then, since the number of drawing instructions included in the print job B is huge, it is assumed that the time required for the prediction process for the print job B exceeds the threshold time. In this case, the processing unit 208 cancels the prediction process for the print job B, and sets the cancel flag of the record of the print job B in the print job list to TRUE. Then, the processing unit 208 deletes the print job B from the top of the processing queue 207. The print job list and the processing queue 207 obtained as a result of this processing are shown in FIG.

  In the state shown in FIG. 4C, the processing unit 208 performs prediction processing on the print job C at the top of the processing queue 207. As a result, the processing unit 208 obtains the predicted time of the print job C, sets it in the record of the print job C in the print job list, and deletes the print job C from the processing queue 207. The results are shown in FIG. 4 (d).

  As described above, by canceling (timeout) the prediction process for the print job B that is taking too long, the prediction process can be performed on another print job C that follows. In addition, even if there is no other print job to be subjected to prediction processing subsequently, the resource (computing capacity) of the CPU 102 consumed in the prediction processing for the print job B is different from the processing (for example, printing processing of another print job) Can be turned.

  A processing flow for realizing this series of processing is shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is executed by the prediction processing unit 205.

  In step S501, the acquiring unit 206 adds the newly received and stored print job among the print jobs stored in the storage unit 201 with reference to the print job list to the processing queue 207. Specifically, the acquisition unit 206 confirms the item of “estimated time” and the item of “cancel flag” of each record of the print job list, and the item of “estimated time” is “N / A” and “canceled flag” Find the print job of the record in which the item of "" indicates "FALSE". Then, the acquisition unit 206 adds each found print job to the processing queue 207 in the order of reception of the print job list. This corresponds to the situation of FIG. 4 (a).

  In step S502, the processing unit 208 starts prediction processing for the top print job of the processing queue 207.

  In step S503, the processing unit 208 determines whether the prediction process for the current print job is completed. If completed, the process advances to step S504; otherwise, the process advances to step S505. The determination process of step S503 is performed, for example, at every timing of processing a predetermined number of drawing instructions included in the print job. In another example, the determination process of step S503 may be performed at timings set in advance at preset time intervals, and is not limited to the above-described timings.

  In step S504, the processing unit 208 sets the estimated time obtained by the estimation process in the item of "estimated time" of the record of the current print job in the print job list. Then, the processing unit 208 deletes the print job from the top of the processing queue 207. Then, the process returns to step S501. This corresponds to the situation of FIG. 4 (b).

  On the other hand, in step S505, the processing unit 208 determines whether the time required for the prediction process for the current print job (the time taken so far) has exceeded a threshold time (for example, 180 seconds). If it exceeds, the process proceeds to step S506, and if not, the process returns to S503.

  In step S 506, the processing unit 208 cancels (cancels) the prediction processing for the current print job, and deletes the print job from the processing queue 207. At this time, the processing unit 208 sets “TRUE” in the item “cancel flag” of the record of the current print job in the print job list. Then, the process returns to step S501. By the above processing, for a print job that takes too much time for prediction processing, the prediction processing is timed out, and if there is a subsequent print job, it is possible to start prediction processing for the subsequent print job. This corresponds to the situation of FIG. 4 (c).

  The predicted time of each print job obtained by the above processing flow is displayed on the operation panel 112 on the screen as shown in FIG. Specifically, the predicted time display unit 209 receives, from the user, an instruction to display the predicted time of each job via the operation panel 112. The predicted time display unit 209 generates image data based on the information of each print job included in the print job list in response to the reception of the user instruction. In particular, the predicted time display unit 209 generates image data based on the print job name, which is the identifier of the print job, and information on the predicted time of the print job. Then, the predicted time display unit 209 transmits the generated image data to the operation panel 112, and controls the operation panel 112 so that the screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed based on the image data. The format of the generated image data is not limited to a specific one. What is important is to display on the operation panel 112 information that allows the user to understand which print job is the estimated time. For example, in the image to be displayed, the print job name and the predicted time may correspond to one record.

  As another example of the display by the predicted time display unit 209, the following may be considered. For example, in addition to the information on the print job name which is the identifier of the print job and the information on the predicted time of the print job, the predicted time display unit 209 also receives information on the cancel flag in response to the reception of the user instruction. Acquire from the print job list. Then, the predicted time display unit 209 confirms whether or not the predicted time is obtained for each print job, and if the predicted time is already obtained, generates image data in which the predicted time is associated with the print job name. . At this time, when it is confirmed that the information of the predicted time is “N / A”, the predicted time display unit 209 further confirms the item “cancel flag” of the print job. If the item “cancel flag” is “TRUE”, the predicted time is not obtained because the print job has timed out, so the predicted time display unit 209 associates the print job name with “N / A”. Generate the image data that has been created. Otherwise, if the item “cancel flag” is “FALSE”, it means that the prediction process for the print job has not been performed yet, so the predicted time display unit 209 displays the print job name and “during prediction”. The image data corresponding to the display is generated. Finally, the predicted time display unit 209 causes the operation panel 112 to display a screen of the predicted time by transmitting the generated image data to the operation panel 112 as described above.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, with respect to a print job for which it takes too long to predict print time, prediction processing is canceled, and a situation is created in which prediction processing can be started for the subsequent print job. This makes it possible to obtain as many predicted times of print jobs as possible in a short time, but it is convenient if it is possible to restart the prediction process for print jobs for which the prediction process has been canceled before. One method for meeting this requirement is that the processing unit 208 adds a print job for which prediction processing was previously canceled to the processing queue 207 only in a situation where there is no print job for which prediction processing has not been performed even once. Do. Specifically, in the process of step S501 in FIG. 5, the processing unit 208 further performs the following process in addition to the process described above. If the predicted time is set for all the records in which the “cancel flag” is “FALSE” in the print job list, one of the print jobs of the records in which the “cancel flag” is “TRUE” is added to the processing queue 207 Do. The added print job is, for example, the print job with the earliest reception order.

  Furthermore, the determination in step S505 is changed as follows. If the time required for the prediction process for the print job exceeds the threshold time and the "cancel flag" of the print job record is "FALSE", the process proceeds to step S506, otherwise the process Is returned to S503.

  By changing the flow chart of FIG. 5 in this manner, it is possible to make the prediction process run again and complete the print job for which the prediction process has timed out before.

(Example 3)
In the second embodiment, when the prediction process is started again for the print job canceled earlier, the prediction process of another print job can not be started until its completion. In this embodiment, when a new print job is received while performing re-prediction processing, control is performed to give priority to prediction processing for the print job. This control is executed by monitoring the cancel flag of the print job and sorting the print job in the processing queue 207.

  In the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7, the prediction process for the new print job is given priority over the prediction process for the print job for which the prediction process has been canceled before, but the prediction process for the print job for which the prediction process has been canceled previously Allow for re-execution of

  In step S701, the acquisition unit 206 performs the same process as step S501 in FIG.

  In step S702, it is determined whether there is a print job for which prediction processing has not been performed yet. That is, the processing unit 208 determines whether a print job whose “cancel flag” in the print job list is set to “FALSE” is included in the processing queue 207. If such a print job is included in the processing queue 207, the process proceeds to step S703, otherwise the process proceeds to step S705. Here, the reason why the process proceeds to step S 705 is to execute the prediction process again for the print job for which the prediction process has been canceled before.

  In steps S703 and S704, processing is performed to sort such print jobs at the top of the processing queue in order to preferentially execute prediction processing on print jobs for which prediction processing has not been performed yet. .

  Specifically, in step S703, the processing unit 208 determines whether the print job at the top of the processing queue 207 is a print job for which prediction processing has been performed previously. This determination process is performed by determining whether the “cancel flag” of the top print job of the processing queue 207 is “TRUE”. If the “cancel flag” is “TRUE”, the prediction process has been executed before for the print job, so the processing unit 208 transfers the print job to the end of the processing queue 207 in step S704. Otherwise, there is a print job for which prediction processing has not been performed at the top of the processing queue 207, so the process advances to step S705 to perform prediction processing on the print job.

  In steps S705, S706, S707, and S708, the processing unit 208 performs the same processing as steps S502, S503, S504, and S505 in FIG.

  Here, when a timeout of the prediction process occurs in step S 708, the processing unit 208 checks the process for confirming whether a print job for which the prediction process has not been executed is newly received, as in steps S 709 and S 710. To do. Specifically, in step S709, the processing unit 208 performs the same processing as step S701. Then, in step S 710, the processing unit 208 determines whether there is a print job for which the prediction process has not been performed yet in the processing queue 207. The processing content is the same as step S702. If there is no print job not yet subjected to prediction processing in the processing queue 207, the processing proceeds to step S711. If not (that is, if there is a print job for which prediction processing has not been performed yet in the processing queue 207), the processing proceeds to step S712.

  In step S711, the processing unit 208 increases the threshold time used in the prediction process for the current print job by a predetermined time. By this, the processing unit 208 continues the prediction process. The threshold time thus increased is used when the current print job is deleted from the processing queue 207 at step S 707 or when the current print job is transferred to the end of the processing queue 207 at step S 712. , Is returned to the initial threshold time. The control method for causing the prediction process to continue is not limited to this. For example, the time required for the prediction process may be reset to "zero (0)".

  In step S 712, the processing unit 208 cancels the prediction process for the current print job, and sets “TRUE” to “cancel flag” of the record of the current print job in the print job list. Then, the processing unit 208 transfers the current print job after the last print job of the processing queue 207. That is, the purpose of the series of processes in steps S709, S710, and S712 is to prioritize the prediction process for the print job when a new print job is received during the prediction process of the current print job. Canceling the current print job prediction process. Then, by transferring the current print job to the end of the processing queue 207, it is possible to start the prediction processing again.

  By following the above-described flow, it is possible to preferentially execute prediction processing on print jobs for which prediction processing has not been performed yet, and it is again a print job for which prediction processing has been canceled before. The start of can be guaranteed. This makes it possible to present predicted times of many print jobs to the user as soon as possible, and presents predicted times of all print jobs to the user.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. Can also be realized. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

Claims (7)

Receiving means for receiving the first print job and the second print job ;
Regarding the first print job for which the reception has been completed and the second print job , before the time required for the process of predicting the time required to print the first print job elapses before the predetermined time elapses, after the predicted value of the time required for printing is Motoma', no line in order prediction processing for obtaining the predicted value of the time required to print the second print job, the prediction processing time required for printing of the first print job After the predetermined time has passed, the order of the process of predicting the time required to print the second print job is changed to obtain the prediction of the time required to print the first print job. Forecasting means to be executed first ,
Display means capable of displaying the received identification information of the first and second print jobs and the predicted value for the print job in association with each other;
Have
The display means, the image, wherein the first regardless of before and after the prediction processing for the print job is finished, it can display those said first print job and the identification information of the second print job Processing unit. When the predicted value is obtained by the prediction process for the print job, the display means corresponds to the predicted information in addition to the identification information of the first print job already displayed. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, which can be displayed. The display means is
The identification information of each of the plurality of print jobs received by the receiving unit can be displayed as a list,
Wherein before said prediction processing for the first print job of a plurality of print jobs each of the identification information are displayed in a list is completed also, of among the plurality of print jobs, the by the prediction process The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification information and the predicted value can be displayed in association with each other for the second print job for which the predicted value has been obtained. Said predicting means, before the prediction process for a first print job received by the receiving unit is completed, the identification information of the first print job, not the prediction processing for the print job is completed The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information indicating that there is no information can be displayed in association with each other. The prediction unit, when the prediction processing for the print job received by said receiving means has ended without completing the identification information of those said first print job, the prediction for those said first print job 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein information different from the information indicating that processing has not ended can be displayed in association with each other. Has a means to accept the operation from the user,
The display unit associates the identification information of the print job received by the reception unit with the predicted value for the print job based on the reception unit receiving a predetermined operation from the user. is viewable, and the first even before the prediction process is completed for the print job, according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in that it is capable of displaying identification information of those said first print job The image processing apparatus according to any one of the above. A control method of the image processing apparatus,
A receiving step of receiving the first print job and the second print job;
Regarding the first print job for which the reception has been completed and the second print job, before the time required for the process of predicting the time required to print the first print job elapses before the predetermined time elapses, After the predicted value of the time required for printing is obtained, the prediction process for obtaining the predicted value of the time required for printing the second print job is sequentially performed to calculate the time required for printing the first print job. After the predetermined time has passed, the order of the process of predicting the time required to print the second print job is changed, and the prediction of the time required to print the first print job can be obtained earlier Forecasting process to be performed on
Displaying the identification information of the received first and second print jobs and the predicted value for the print job on the display unit in association with each other;
Have
The image processing is characterized in that the display step can display identification information of the first print job and the second print job regardless of before and after the end of the prediction process for the first print job. Device control method.

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