JPH0532017A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To upgrade the working efficiency of a terminal device by an operator by allowing a mail amount of print work to undergo a printing process in spite of a request for its printing process, if a large amount of print work is in the process of printing data. CONSTITUTION:An unoccupied area retrieval part 37 retrieves an unoccupied area in a buffer for printing 32. A request for printing processing part 31 receives a request for interruption sent from terminal devices 11a to 11c, notifies another terminal device which alreadys engages in a printing process of printing suspension, and issues a request for interruption of printing. In addition, the part 31 issues a command for ending the request for printing by interruption when the printing process terminates and notifies the terminal device which suspends data printing of process resumption. A printing data control part 3 allows an unoccupied area retrieval part 37 to determine whether there is an adequate unoccupied area for storing data from a terminal device which requests for interruption, then allocates an unoccupied area 33 as an area for printing by interruption and executes data printing. Further, the part 3 allows the resumption of printing data from a terminal device which is subjected to printing suspension upon a command for ending a request for printing by interruption.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in data printing by a printer device in a data processing system, data printing is first performed by a terminal device that has performed data printing first among a plurality of connected terminal devices. After the end, data printing is performed in the order of print requests such that data printing is performed in response to a print request from another terminal device.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional printer device, while one terminal device is performing a printing process using the printer device, another terminal device makes a data print request to the printer device. Even if the amount of print data from the previous terminal device is large, even if the amount of data to be printed later is small, the previous print will continue until the previous print processing is completed. There is a drawback that the work efficiency of the user of the terminal device is lowered because the user has to wait a long time until the end.

An object of the present invention is to improve the work efficiency of a user of a terminal device by processing a small amount of print requested later after printing a large amount of print during processing. To provide a printer device.

[0005]

A printer device according to the present invention includes a print request processing unit that receives print requests from a plurality of connected terminal devices, and a print device that stores data from the terminal device that has made a print request. Area buffer means and a print data management means for managing data printing based on a print request from the terminal device, and a free area searching means for searching for a free area in the print buffer. The print request processing means receives an interrupt request transmitted from a first terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, and a second terminal of the plurality of terminal devices that is being executed at this time. A process of notifying the second terminal device of interruption of printing due to a print request from the device, and an interrupt print request to the print data management means And a process of instructing the print data management unit to end the interrupt print request and a process of notifying the second terminal device of the restart of printing when the print by the interrupt request is completed. Then, the print data management means searches the empty area search means based on the instruction of the interrupt print request to see if there is a sufficient empty area for storing the data from the first terminal device. So as to report the result to the print request processing means, and when there is a sufficient empty area, allocate the empty area as an interrupt printing area and print the data from the first terminal device. The printing unit is controlled to control the printing unit to resume printing of the interrupted data from the second terminal device based on the instruction to end the interrupt print request. To have.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer device of the present invention.

The printer device of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 stores a print request processing unit 31 that receives print requests from a plurality of connected terminal devices 11a to 11c, and data from the terminal device that has made a print request. A print buffer 32, a print data management unit 35 that manages data printing based on a print request from the terminal devices 11a to 11c, a free area search unit 37 that searches for a free area in the print buffer 32, and data. A data print unit 36 for printing a print request data in the print buffer 32 and a data read unit 34 for instructing the data print unit 36 to print the print request data.
It consists of

Next, the operation will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation in the print request processing unit 31 of FIG. In addition, FIG.
8 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation in the print data management unit 35 of FIG.

In FIG. 1, the print request is the terminal device 11a.
1 to 11c, in the printer device 2 of FIG.
The print request processing unit 31 stores the print data sent from the terminal device 11a in the print buffer area 32, and the print data reading unit 34 reads the print data in the print buffer area 32 and sends it to the data printing unit 36. Data printing is instructed to execute print processing of print data.

Now, for example, based on a normal data print request from the terminal device 11a, the data print unit 36
It is assumed that the interrupt data printing is newly performed from the terminal device 11b during the data printing process by.

The print request processing unit 31 accepts the interrupt data print request sent from the terminal device 11b (step 41), notifies the terminal device 11a of interruption of the normal print processing of the print request data (step 42), and prints. The data management unit 35 is instructed to make an interrupt print request (step 4).
3).

On the other hand, when the terminal device 11a receives the notification of interruption of the normal printing process of the print request data, it suspends the transmission of the printing request data until it receives another notification of the resumption of the normal printing process.

Further, when the print data management unit 35 receives the instruction of the interrupt print request, it issues a search instruction to the free area search unit 37 to check whether or not the free area is sufficient (step 51). Upon receiving the search instruction, the free area search unit 37 checks how many free areas are in the print buffer area 32 (step 52) and reports the result to the print data management unit 35.

At this time, when the print data management section 35 receives a report from the free area search section 37 that the free area is not sufficient, the print data management section 35 repeats the search instruction again. Data printing continues during this period, and the available area increases. When the print data management unit 35 receives a report from the free space search unit 37 that there is a sufficient free space, the print data management unit 35 allocates the free space 33 as a buffer area for interrupt printing (step 53) and sends it to the print data reading unit 34. Notify that the print data read area will be changed (step 5).
4).

Further, the print request processing unit 31 includes the terminal device 1
A free area 33 in which the print request data and print request format from 1b are allocated as a buffer area for interrupt printing.
(Step 44).

When the print data reading unit 34 is notified of the change of the print data reading area by the print data managing unit 35, if the data being printed is in the middle of a page in the data printing unit 36, the page is read. Waits for the end of printing, reads the interrupt print request data stored in the empty area 33 according to the interrupt print request format stored in the empty area 33 allocated as the buffer area for interrupt printing, and prints the print data. Instruct the section 36.

On the other hand, the print request processing section 31 includes the terminal device 1
When the acceptance of the interrupt print request data from 1b is completed, the completion of the interrupt print request is detected and the fact is notified to the print data management unit 35 (step 4).
5). Then, the print data reading unit 34 displays the empty area 3
When the interrupt print data read from 3 is completed, the completion of the interrupt data print request is detected. The print data reading unit 34 that has detected the end of the interrupt data print request notifies the print data management unit 35 of the end of the interrupt data print request.

When the print data management unit 35 is notified of the end of the interrupt print request and the end of the interrupt data print request, the free area 3 allocated for the interrupt print.
3 is released (step 55). Next, at the same time as notifying the print data reading unit 34 that the area before the interrupt printing is used as the print data reading area is reassigned,
The print data management unit 35 notifies the print request processing unit 31 of the end of the interrupt print processing (step 56).

Upon receiving the notification, the print request processing unit 31 accepts the end of the print request (step 45), and the terminal device 11a.
Then, the interrupt printing is finished and an instruction to restart the temporarily interrupted printing is notified (step 46). The print data reading unit 34 instructs the data printing unit 36 to print the print request data also stored in the print buffer area 32 according to the print request format of the terminal device 11a stored in the print buffer area 32. Return to normal print processing.

As described above, even if one terminal device connected to the printer device is printing a large amount of data using the printer device, another terminal device is required to print a small amount of data. When there is an interruption from, by temporarily interrupting the printing process of the previous terminal device,
It is possible to reduce the work stagnation due to the occurrence of “waiting for printing” and improve the work efficiency of the user of the terminal device.

[0023]

As described above, in the printer device of the present invention, even if one terminal device connected to the printer device is printing a large amount of data using the printer device, a small amount of data is printed. When there is an interrupt from another terminal device to print the above data, the printing process of the previous terminal device is temporarily interrupted to reduce the stagnation of work due to the occurrence of “print waiting”, This has the effect that the working efficiency of the user of the device can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a printer device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation in a print request processing unit of FIG.

3 is a flow chart showing an example of an operation in a print data management unit of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Printer devices 11a to 11c Terminal device 31 Print request processing unit 32 Printing buffer area 33 Free area 34 Print data reading unit 35 Print data management unit 36 Data printing unit 37 Free area searching unit

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A print request processing unit that receives a print request from a plurality of connected terminal devices, a print buffer that stores data from the terminal device that has made a print request, and In a printer device including a print data management unit that manages data printing based on a print request from a terminal device, an empty area search unit that searches for an empty area in the print buffer is provided. Request processing means receives an interrupt request transmitted from a first terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices,
The second of the plurality of terminal devices that has been performed at this time
The process of notifying the second terminal device of the interruption of printing due to the print request from the terminal device and the process of instructing the interrupt print request to the print data management means are executed, and the printing due to the interrupt request is performed. When the printing is completed, a process of instructing the print data managing unit to end the interrupt printing request and a process of notifying the second terminal device of the restart of printing are executed, and the print data managing unit executes the interrupt printing. Based on the request instruction, the empty area search means is requested to search whether or not there is an empty area sufficient to store the data from the first terminal device, and the result is sent to the print request processing means. If there is a sufficient vacant area, the vacant area is assigned as an interrupt printing area and the first
The printing unit is controlled to print the data from the terminal device, and the printing unit is restarted to restart the interrupted printing of the data from the second terminal device based on the instruction to end the interrupt print request. A printer device, which is configured to control.