JPH04276819A - Information processor and its processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable an information processor to process data without disusing input data in order to change a priority order by managing a processing priority order using a management table. CONSTITUTION:The present information processor is equipped with a data receiving section 3 for receiving the whole data relating to process output data sent from a host computer 100 in a lump and for storing received data in an input data memory 4 and a large capacity memory device 5, a processing priority managing section 6 for discriminating and managing time of processing priority of data, when completing the reception of the input data and for processing this managed data in accordance with the processing priority for the data, and a processing priority inquiry section 11 and processing priority change section 12 for arbitrarily inquiring and changing the processing priority in accordance with an instruction from the host computer 100, and so on, whereby since processing priority for input data to be processed can be arbitrarily changed based on an external instruction, designated data can be processed in a changed priority without disusing input data.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method capable of managing processing priorities of a plurality of data.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In an output device such as a printer, which is one of the conventional information processing devices of this type, input data is processed in accordance with the processing priority at the time of input. Therefore, especially in output devices with large-capacity storage devices, input data from the host is received for multiple processes at once, so when it is necessary to process specific data that has already been input with higher priority, the priority order is set. Even if the user wishes to change the priority order, the user has no choice but to do so.In the worst case, the user will have to discard all input data and then re-input the process with a higher priority, which will affect the operability of the output device. The problem was the poor quality of the equipment.

0003

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to propose an information processing apparatus and a method thereof, which are capable of changing processing priorities without discarding inputted data.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned problems of the present invention are to provide a priority management means for managing processing priorities of a plurality of data, and a priority management means for changing the processing priorities managed by the priority management means. This is achieved by an information processing apparatus characterized by comprising a changing means and a processing means for processing the data according to a newly set processing priority. Preferably, the data processing apparatus further includes priority order inquiry means for inquiring the processing priority order of the data.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to store a plurality of input data in correspondence with processing priorities, to change the processing priorities of the stored data, and to newly set the steps. This is achieved by an information processing method characterized by comprising the step of processing the data according to the processing priority order.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and is an example in which the present invention is used in an output device. In FIG. 1, 100 is a host computer that outputs print data consisting of images and codes, print commands, etc., and 200 is an output device of this embodiment.

The output device 200 of this embodiment has the following configuration. That is, in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 1, for example, as shown in a flowchart shown in FIG. A data receiving section 3 that receives all data related to processing at once and stores it in an input data memory 4 and a mass storage device 5, an input data memory 4 that temporarily stores this received data, and a large capacity that permanently stores this received data. a capacity storage device 5; and a processing priority management unit 6 that determines/manages the processing priority of input data when the reception of the input data is completed, and processes the managed data according to the priority. , a priority order inquiring unit 11 that arbitrarily inquires about the priority order based on instructions from the host computer 100; a priority order changing unit 12 that arbitrarily changes the priority order based on instructions from the host computer 100; A pattern development section 7 develops input data to be printed into a pattern to be printed, a pattern development memory 8 temporarily stores the developed pattern, and reads out the stored pattern in accordance with the output format of the printer. It includes a pattern output section 9 that outputs to a printer section 10, and a printer section 10 that forms a permanent visible image on recording paper according to the pattern data from the pattern output section 9.

[0008] In the main body 200 having the above configuration, each part except the printer part 10 can be realized by a one-chip microprocessor. By implementing it using a microprocessor, it is possible to achieve high reliability and a simple configuration.

The print control of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained below with reference to the control flowchart of FIG. 2 and the input/output data format of FIG. 3. Here, among the data formats shown in Figure 3, the data types of data sent from the host to the output device include new registration of data, change of processing priority, inquiry instruction, etc. There is a processing priority response sent. After the data type, a processing priority is added, excluding an identification name for specifying processing data and an inquiry instruction.

In this embodiment, the host computer 100
When input data is received, the process shown in FIG. 2 is executed. First, when power is supplied to the apparatus, it is checked in step S1 whether or not input data exists in the input data memory 4. Here, when input data exists,
Proceeding to step S2, it is checked whether the input is a processing priority inquiry instruction. If it is not an inquiry instruction, step S
Proceed to step 3 to check whether the input is a priority order change instruction. Here, if it is not a change instruction, the process advances to step S4, and it is checked whether a plurality of processing data exist in one input data. If there are multiple pieces of processing data, step S5
Then, the multiple processing data is decomposed into processing units. Here, one processing unit of data may be considered as a series of data printed under the same conditions, or may be considered as data on a page basis.

In step S6, each piece of data is registered in the mass storage device 5 in the order of processing. Then, the process proceeds to step S7, where the processing priority order in the format shown by the input data ■ in FIG. Set in the ranking management table. and,
Return to step S1.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that a plurality of processing data does not exist, the process proceeds to step S8 and the input data is registered in the mass storage device 5. Next, proceed to step S9,
The processing priority is extracted from the registered data and set in the processing priority management table along with the identification name. and,
Return to step S1. For example, when the input data ■ in FIG. 3 is input, the identification name A is set in the processing priority management table as shown in the first row of FIG. 4.

If the input in step S3 is an instruction to change the processing priority, the process proceeds to step S10, where the identification name and processing priority are extracted from the input data, as shown by input data ■ in FIG. 3, and the processing priority is changed. Change the processing priority of the corresponding data in the management table to the priority taken from the input data. After this process, step S1
Return to In the example of input data ■ in FIG. 3, the priority of the data with identification name B in the second row of the processing priority management table is changed from low to high.

When the input data is a processing priority inquiry instruction in step S2, the process proceeds to step S11, where the identification name is extracted from the input data as shown by the input data ■ in FIG. 3, and is stored in the processing priority management table. Obtain the processing priority of the corresponding data. Next, the process proceeds to step S12, where the processing priority of this data is incorporated into output data (2) as shown in FIG. 3, and transmitted to the host computer. Then, the process returns to step S1. For example, when the input data ■ in FIG. 3 is input, the identification name C in the third row in FIG.
The processing priority of "medium" is read out and output in the format of output data ■.

If the input data does not exist in step S1, the process advances to step S13 and searches the process priority management table to find a process with a high priority. Next, the process advances to step S14 to check whether the corresponding data exists. If the data exists, the process advances to step S15 and the corresponding data is obtained from the mass storage device 5. Then, step S16
Then, data processing such as expanding the character dot output pattern into the pattern expansion memory 8 is performed. Then, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if the corresponding data does not exist in step S14, the process directly returns to step S1.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the processing priority order of data stored in the mass storage device can be arbitrarily changed based on the user's instructions, and the desired priority order can be set without canceling the input data. It is possible to process data in rankings.

[0017]

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, the inquiry and change of the priority order are performed as independent processes, but a procedure may be adopted in which the order of priority can be changed based on the response to the inquiry, for example. In this case, the inquiry section 11 and the change section 12 may be considered as one priority order inquiry and change section 13 shown in FIG. Further, in the above embodiment, the output device was explained as an example, but it is also possible to apply this to a personal computer device. Moreover, the present invention may be applied to a system made up of a plurality of devices, or to a device made up of one device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to cases where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or device.

[0018]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, since the processing priority of input data to be processed stored in a large-capacity storage device can be changed arbitrarily based on instructions from the outside, the input data is not discarded. It becomes possible to execute with the changed priority order. Therefore, the operability of the information processing device can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of input/output data formats.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a processing priority management table.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Priority management means for managing processing priorities of a plurality of data; priority changing means for changing processing priorities managed by the priority management means; and newly set processing priorities. An information processing device comprising processing means for processing the data according to the following. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising priority order inquiry means for inquiring the processing priority order of the data. 3. A step of storing a plurality of input data in correspondence with processing priorities, a step of changing the processing priority of the stored data, and a step of storing a plurality of input data in correspondence with the processing priority, and a step of storing the input data in correspondence with the processing priority. and processing the data.