JPH06253066A - Multi-application arbitration device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To preferentially execute a printing request from an optional application program. CONSTITUTION:The respective application programs of a printer application part 2, a FAX application part 3 and an AI copy application part 4 are parallelly processed by a system control part 5 and the printing requests are respectively received from the plural parallelly processed application programs. Printing is successively performed by a plotter 6 based on the received plural printing requests, also the priority order of the printing is set for the respective application program and the respective printing requests are processed corresponding to the priority order set for the respective application programs.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-application mediation device for mediating print requests from a plurality of application programs in equipment such as laser printers and digital copying machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices such as laser printers and digital copying machines, which can simultaneously process a plurality of application programs in parallel, have become widespread. Further, an online printer of a system in which a laser printer or a digital copying machine is connected to a host computer online to process a plurality of print requests from the host computer is also widely used.

In such a device or system, a plurality of application programs are simultaneously processed in parallel, and a printing process based on a printing request from each application program is processed based on a predetermined rule. To this end, a multi-application arbitration device that performs processing adjustment for surely executing a plurality of print requests from each application program is connected or provided.

In a conventional multi-application arbitration device, when print requests from a plurality of application programs are received, the received print requests are accumulated in a queue in a first-come-first-served basis, and the print requests initially accumulated in the queue. Since then, a first-in first-out memory (FIFO) system has been adopted in which printing processing is sequentially executed according to first-come-first-served basis.

[0005]

However, although it is the simplest to process a plurality of print requests in the FIFO format as in the conventional multi-application arbitration apparatus described above, many print requests are queued. There are the following inconveniences when the print job is stored and waiting for printing.

For example, if the facsimile data is received while the print processing of the print requests stored in the queue is being executed, and if the facsimile data receiving buffer becomes full before all the print requests of the queue are completed, then Sometimes, it became impossible to receive the facsimile data of.

Therefore, in the case where the buffer memory for receiving the facsimile data becomes full, the print data accumulated in the buffer memory is printed with the highest priority in order to enable subsequent data reception. There was a problem that I could not do it.

Further, while the print processing is being executed based on the print requests accumulated in the queue like the online printer, for example, even if the print data is received from the host computer, the print request in the queue is not issued. I have to wait until it finishes processing. Then, the host computer side may have timed out the print data and interrupted the transmission of the subsequent print data.

Therefore, there is a problem in that all the print data from the application program cannot be received due to the time-out because the print request is kept waiting, and the print processing by the print data cannot be reliably executed.

Furthermore, since print requests from a plurality of application programs are processed on a first-come-first-served basis, the print requests cannot be processed according to the degree of urgency, so there is a problem that the processing efficiency of print requests from a plurality of application programs is poor. It was

Furthermore, since the print requests are processed on a first-come-first-served basis, when the print requests from the respective application programs are accumulated in the queue, the sheets printed and output for each application program are not collected. Therefore, for example, there is a problem in that the paper as the print result received by facsimile and the paper as the print result output by the printer are mixed and it takes time to sort them.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to make it possible to preferentially execute a print request from an arbitrary application program. Another object is to enable efficient processing of print requests from a plurality of application programs. Furthermore, it is another object of the present invention to reduce the work of sorting the papers of the print results by the print requests from a plurality of application programs.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises means for processing a plurality of application programs in parallel, and means for receiving a print request from each of a plurality of application programs processed in parallel by the means. In the multi-application arbitration device including a printing unit that sequentially prints based on a plurality of print requests received by the unit, a unit that sets a printing priority for each application program is provided.

When a print request is received from any of the application programs, the print request waiting application program is notified of a print wait request, and the priority order is given from the application program receiving the print wait notification. It is advisable to provide a means for changing and setting the value higher than the previous time and issuing a print request again.

Further, it is preferable to provide means for setting the degree of changing the priority. Further, it is preferable to provide a means for repeating the process of changing the priority order from the application program which received the notification of waiting for printing to a higher priority than the last time and issuing the print request again until printing becomes possible.

Further, it is preferable to provide means for holding the priority when the print becomes possible and setting the held priority when issuing a new print request to issue the print request. Further, means for setting the upper limit value of the printing priority for each of the application programs, and when a print request is made with a priority order exceeding the upper limit value set by the means, the priority order is corrected to the upper limit value. Means should be provided.

Further, it is preferable to provide means for counting the number of prints by the print request from each application program, and means for increasing the priority of the print request from the application program having a large number of prints counted by the means. .

Furthermore, when a new print request is issued from a means for storing the type of the application program that executed the latest printing and an application program of the same type stored in the means, another type of application It is advisable to provide means for processing the print request from the program with priority. Further, it is preferable to provide a means for displaying which application program is currently executing the printing process according to the printing request.

[0019]

The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to the present invention processes a plurality of application programs in parallel, receives print requests from the plurality of parallel-processed application programs, and sequentially prints based on the received plurality of print requests. Since the priority of printing is set for each application program while performing the printing, each print request can be processed according to the priority set for each application program.

When a print request is received from any of the application programs, the print request is notified to the application program of the print request source, and the priority order from the application program receiving the print wait notification is set to the previous priority. If the print request is issued again with a higher change setting, the print request from the urgent application program can be preferentially executed.

Further, by setting the degree of changing the priority, the number of times of re-outputting the print request from each application program can be appropriately suppressed. Also, if the priority setting is set higher than the previous time from the application program that received the print waiting notification and the process of issuing the print request again is repeated until printing becomes possible, the print request from the application program that needs an emergency It can be executed as soon as possible.

Further, if the priority when the print becomes possible is held and the held priority is set when the new print request is issued and the print request is issued, the print request is output again. You can quickly set the priority when you do.

Also, an upper limit value of the priority order of printing is set for each application program, and when a print request is made with a priority order exceeding the set upper limit value, the priority order is corrected to the upper limit value. This can prevent an application program having a low priority from setting an unreasonably high priority.

Further, if the number of times of printing by the printing request from each application program is counted and the priority is given to the printing request from the application program with the counted number of printing times, the frequently used application The print request from the program can be preferentially executed.

Furthermore, the type of the application program that executed the latest printing is stored, and when a new print request is issued from the same type of application program that is stored, printing from another type of application program is performed. If the processing is prioritized over the request, print requests from the same type of application program can be executed continuously as much as possible.

Further, by displaying which application program is currently executing the print processing according to the print request, which application program the print request corresponds to is the printed paper. Can be confirmed immediately.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a multi-application arbitration device which is an embodiment of the present invention. This multi-application arbitration device comprises an input unit 1, a printer application unit 2, a fax (FAX) application unit 3, an artificial intelligence (AI) copy application unit 4, a system control unit 5, a plotter unit 6, and a display unit 7.

The multi-application arbitration apparatus processes each application program of the printer application section 2, the FAX application section 3 and the AI copy application section 4 in parallel, and sets a predetermined priority in accordance with a print request from each application program. The printing process is performed by the plotter unit 6 based on the above.

The input unit 1 is a key input device provided with various input keys such as characters, numbers and symbols, and is used for inputting various operation information as well as the printer application unit 2,
The function of setting and inputting the priority order of the FAX application unit 3 and the AI copy application unit 4 is performed.

Printer application section 2, FAX application section 3 and AI copy application section 4
And the system control unit 5 includes a CPU, a ROM, and an R
It is realized by a microcomputer composed of AM.

The printer application unit 2 stores a printer application program, outputs a print request of the printer to the system control unit 5, sets a printing priority, and notifies the system control unit 5 of print waiting. When it receives a request, it performs the functions of a means for changing and setting the priority higher than the previous time and issuing a print request again, and a means for setting the degree of changing the priority.

Furthermore, when a notification of waiting for printing is received from the system control unit 5, the priority is changed to a higher priority than the previous one, and a process of issuing a print request again is repeated until print storage, and printing is enabled. When the new print request is issued, the priority order is retained, and the retained priority order is set to issue the print request.

The FAX application unit 3 stores a FAX application program, outputs a facsimile print request to the system control unit 5, sets a printing priority, and notifies the system control unit 5 of print waiting. When it receives a request, it performs the functions of a means for changing and setting the priority higher than the previous time and issuing a print request again, and a means for setting the degree of changing the priority.

Further, when the notification of waiting for printing is received from the system control unit 5, the priority is changed to a higher priority than the last time, and a process for issuing a print request again is repeated until print storage is completed, and printing is enabled. When the new print request is issued, the priority order is retained, and the retained priority order is set to issue the print request.

The AI copy application section 4 stores an AI copy application program, outputs a print request for AI copy to the system control section 5, and sets means for setting a printing priority and printing from the system control section 5. It fulfills the functions of a unit for issuing a print request again by changing the priority to a higher priority than the previous one when a waiting notification is received, and a unit for setting the degree of changing the priority.

Further, when a notification of waiting for printing is received from the system control unit 5, the priority is changed to a higher priority than the last time and a process of issuing a print request again is repeated until print storage is completed, and printing is enabled. When the new print request is issued, the priority order is retained, and the retained priority order is set to issue the print request.

The system control unit 5 is also a CPU, RO
A microcomputer including M and RAM is built in, and a process of adjusting print requests from the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3, and the AI copy application unit 4 based on the priority order is performed.

That is, the application programs of the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3, and the AI copy application unit 4 are processed in parallel, print requests are respectively received from the plurality of application programs that are processed in parallel, and the print requests are received. Printing is sequentially performed by the plotter 6 based on a plurality of printing requests.

Further, the printer application unit 2 and F
A means for setting a print priority for each application program of the AX application section 3 and the AI copy application section 4, and an application program of a print request source when a print request is received from any of the application programs while waiting for printing. To wait for printing, a means to set the upper limit of the printing priority for each application program, and a priority when the print request is made with a priority exceeding the set upper limit. It fulfills each function of the means for correcting the value.

Further, means for counting the number of times of printing according to the printing request from each application program of the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3 and the AI copy application unit 4, and an application program from which the counted number of printing times is large It also fulfills each function of a means for increasing the priority of a print request.

Furthermore, the means for storing the type of the application program that has executed the latest printing, and the application program of the same type as the stored application program, when a new print request is issued, is sent from another type of application program. Of the print request, and a function of displaying which application program is currently executing the print processing according to the print request.

The plotter unit 6 is a dot type, ink jet type, or laser type printing machine, and performs printing by a printer, facsimile printing, and AI copying under the control of printing by the system control unit 5. The display unit 7 is a display such as a CRT or LCD, and displays various work instructions and messages, and which application program is currently executing the print processing according to the print request.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional arrangement of the system control section 5 shown in FIG. The system control unit 5 includes an application interface (I / F) circuit unit 10, an input information determination circuit unit 11, a print queue unit 12, a print queue control circuit unit 13, a priority order upper limit buffer unit 14, and a print count storage buffer. Part 15,
Each function of the priority information storage buffer unit 16, the previous print application type storage buffer unit 17, the print circuit unit 19, and the print application name display circuit unit 20 is provided.

The application I / F circuit section 10 is
It receives a print request from each application program of the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3, and the AI copy application unit 4, and performs a control process of transmitting a notification of waiting for printing, a change in priority order, and the like.

The input information discrimination circuit section 11 includes a printer application section 2, a FAX application section 3 and an AI received by the application I / F circuit section 10.
The input information from the copy application unit 4 is determined. The print queue unit 12 is the printer application unit 2
The print requests from the application programs of the FAX application unit 3 and the AI copy application unit 4 are accumulated.

The print queue control circuit unit 13 follows the instruction from the priority order determination circuit unit 18, and the print queue unit 12
The print requests stored in the printer are read and sent to the priority order determination circuit unit 18. The priority order upper limit buffer unit 14 stores the upper limit value of the printing priority order for each application program of the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3, and the AI copy application unit 4.

The print count storage buffer unit 15 includes a printer application unit 2, a FAX application unit 3, and an A
The number of prints by the print request for each application program of the I-copy application unit 4 is stored. The priority order information storage buffer unit 16 stores each priority order information from the printer application unit 2, the FAX application unit 3, and the AI copy application unit 4.

The previous print application type storage buffer unit 17 stores the type of the application program that has performed the printing process. The print circuit unit 19 performs a control process for causing the plotter 6 to print the print data output from the priority order determination circuit unit 18. The print application name display circuit unit 20 displays the application program name being printed, which is output from the priority order determination circuit unit 18.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional arrangement of the printer application unit 2 shown in FIG. The printer application unit 2 includes an input data discrimination circuit unit 2
1, priority level change storage buffer unit 22, latest priority level information storage buffer unit 23, priority level storage buffer unit 2
4, printable priority information storage buffer unit 25, priority control circuit unit 26, printer print request control circuit unit 2
7 and interface to system control unit (I
/ F) Each function of the circuit unit 28 is provided.

The input data discrimination circuit unit 21 discriminates the input data from the input unit 1 and sends it to the priority control circuit unit 26. The priority change storage buffer unit 22 stores information on the degree of changing the print priority of the printer application program. The latest priority information storage buffer unit 23 stores the latest priority.

The priority storage buffer unit 24 stores the priority. Printable priority information storage buffer unit 25
Stores the priority when printing is possible. The priority control circuit unit 26 prioritizes the priority change degree storage buffer unit 22, the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, the priority storage buffer unit 24, and the printable priority information storage buffer unit 25 based on the respective contents. The order is changed and the print request is sent to the printer print request control circuit unit 27.

The printer print request control circuit unit 27 is a system control unit interface (I / F) circuit unit 2.
A print request by the printer application program is output to the system control unit 5 via 8.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional arrangement of the FAX application section 3 shown in FIG. This fax
The application unit 3 includes an input data discrimination circuit unit 31,
Priority change degree storage buffer unit 32, latest priority information storage buffer unit 33, priority storage buffer unit 34, printable priority information storage buffer unit 35, priority control circuit unit 36, FAX print request control circuit unit 37 , And system control unit interface (I / F) circuit unit 38.

The input data discriminating circuit section 31 discriminates the input data from the input section 1 and sends it to the priority control circuit section 36. The priority change storage buffer unit 32 stores information on the degree of changing the print priority of the FAX application program. The latest priority order information storage buffer unit 33 stores the latest priority order.

The priority storage buffer unit 34 stores the priority. Printable priority information storage buffer unit 35
Stores the priority when printing is possible. The priority control circuit unit 36 prioritizes based on the contents of the priority change storage buffer unit 32, the latest priority information storage buffer unit 33, the priority storage buffer unit 34, and the printable priority information storage buffer unit 35. The order is changed and the print request is sent to the FAX print request control circuit unit 37.

The FAX print request control circuit section 37 includes a system control section interface (I / F) circuit section 38.
A print request by the FAX application program is output to the system control unit 5 via the.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional arrangement of the AI copy application section 4 shown in FIG. This A
The I-copy application unit 4 includes an input data discrimination circuit unit 41, a priority change degree storage buffer unit 42, a latest priority information storage buffer unit 43, a priority storage buffer unit 44, a printable priority information storage buffer unit 45, Each function of the priority control circuit unit 46, the AI copy print request control circuit unit 47, and the system control unit interface (I / F) circuit unit 48 is provided.

The input data discrimination circuit unit 41 discriminates the input data from the input unit 1 and sends it to the priority control circuit unit 46. The priority change storage buffer unit 42 stores information about the degree of change in the print priority of the AI copy application program. The latest priority order information storage buffer unit 43 stores the latest priority order.

The priority storage buffer unit 44 stores the priority. Printable priority information storage buffer unit 45
Stores the priority when printing is possible. The priority control circuit unit 46 prioritizes based on the contents of the priority change degree storage buffer unit 42, the latest priority information storage buffer unit 43, the priority storage buffer unit 44, and the printable priority information storage buffer unit 45. The order is changed and the print request is sent to the AI copy print request control circuit unit 47.

The AI copy print request control circuit unit 47 outputs a print request by the AI copy application program to the system control unit 5 via the system control unit interface (I / F) circuit unit 48.

Next, referring to the flow chart shown in FIG. 6, the priority control processing in each application section 2.3.4 will be described. First, the processing of the printer application unit 2 will be described. 1 in step 1
It is judged whether it is the page or not, and if it is the first page, step 2
In step 4, the priority value is fetched from the priority storage buffer unit 24, the priority value is written in the highest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and a print request from the printer is issued.

Thereafter, in step 5, it is determined whether or not the printer is capable of printing, and if printing is possible, the process proceeds to step 13 and the priority order 1 used this time is written in the printable priority order information storage buffer unit 25, and the process of step 1 is executed. Return to. If the printer cannot print in step 5, step 6
It is determined whether or not the priority order is to be raised. If it is not raised, an acknowledgment is given in step 14, and the priority order used this time is written in the printable priority order information storage buffer section 25 in step 13 and step 1 is executed. Return to processing.

Furthermore, if the priority order is raised in step 6, the priority order change degree storage buffer section 2 is executed in steps 7 to 9.
4, the priority change value is fetched, the latest priority value is stored in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and the sum of the priority change value and the latest priority value is written in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23. Then, the process returns to step 4.

On the other hand, if it is not the first page in step 1, the process proceeds to step 10 to determine whether or not there is print data, and if there is, printable priority information storage buffer unit 25 in steps 11 and 12. From the printer, the priority value when the previous printing was possible is taken out, the priority value when the previous printing is possible is written in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and the process proceeds to step 4. If there is no print data in step 10, this process ends.

Next, the processing of the FAX application section 3 will be described. In step 1, it is determined whether or not it is the first page. If it is the first page, in steps 2 to 4, the priority value is fetched from the priority storage buffer section 24, and the priority value is stored in the highest priority information storage buffer section 23. writing,
Send a fax print request.

After that, in step 5, it is judged whether or not the FAX can be printed. If the FAX is printable, the process proceeds to step 13 to write the priority order 1 used this time to the printable priority information storage buffer unit 25, and the process of step 1 Return to. Also,
If the FAX cannot be printed in step 5, it is determined in step 6 whether or not the priority order is raised.
In step 4, the notification of the approval is given, and in step 13, the priority order used this time is written in the printable priority order information storage buffer unit 25, and the process returns to step 1.

Further, if the priority is increased in step 6, the priority change storage buffer unit 2 is executed in steps 7 to 9.
4, the priority change value is fetched, the latest priority value is stored in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and the sum of the priority change value and the latest priority value is written in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23. Then, the process returns to step 4.

On the other hand, if it is not the first page in step 1, the process proceeds to step 10 to determine whether or not there is print data, and if there is, printable priority information storage buffer unit 25 in steps 11 and 12. From the FAX, the priority value when the previous printing was possible was taken out, and the priority value when the previous printing was possible is stored in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 2
Write in 3 and go to step 4. And step 1
If the print data is 0 and there is no print data, this process ends.

Next, the processing of the AI copy application section 4 will be described. In step 1, it is determined whether or not it is the first page. If it is the first page, in steps 2 to 4, the priority value is fetched from the priority storage buffer section 24, and the priority value is stored in the highest priority information storage buffer section 23. Write and issue a print request for AI copy.

Then, in step 5, it is judged whether or not the AI copy is printable. If the AI copy is printable, the process proceeds to step 13 to write the priority order 1 used this time to the printable priority order information storage buffer unit 25, and then to the step 1 Return to processing. If the AI copy cannot be printed in step 5, it is determined in step 6 whether or not to increase the priority order. If not, in step 14, notification of the approval is given, and in step 13, the printable priority order information is stored. The priority order 1 used this time is written in the buffer unit 25, and the process returns to step 1.

Further, if the priority order is raised in step 6, the priority level change storage buffer unit 2 is operated in steps 7 to 9.
4, the priority change value is fetched, the latest priority value is stored in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and the sum of the priority change value and the latest priority value is written in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23. Then, the process returns to step 4.

On the other hand, if it is not the first page in step 1, the process proceeds to step 10, and it is determined whether or not there is print data. If there is, printable priority information storage buffer unit 25 in steps 11 and 12. Then, the priority value of the AI copy when it was previously printable is taken out, the priority value when it was previously printable is written in the latest priority information storage buffer unit 23, and the process proceeds to step 4. If there is no print data in step 10, this process ends.

Next, the priority control processing of the system control unit 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, in steps 20 and 21, the desired priority order in the print request from each application program is checked, and the upper limit value of the priority order of the print target application program is fetched from the priority order upper limit buffer unit 14.

Thereafter, in step 22, it is judged whether or not the desired priority value is larger than the upper limit value of the priority order. If larger, the desired priority value is replaced with the upper limit value in step 23, and the process proceeds to step 24 to obtain the desired priority value. If the rank value is less than or equal to the upper limit value, the process directly proceeds to step 24.

In step 24, the type and priority of the application program of the print request stored in the print queue part are checked, and in step 25 it is judged whether the print queue part is empty. If it is empty, the process proceeds to step 26. At step 27, the type and priority of the application program are written at the top of the print queue portion, and at step 27 the print target application program is notified that printing is possible.

Then, in steps 28 to 31, the type of the application program is written in the previous print application type storage buffer unit 17, "1" is added to the print count of the print target application program in the print count storage buffer unit 15, and the application is added. The type of program is displayed, printing is performed according to the print request of the application program, and the process returns to step 20.

On the other hand, if the print queue portion is not empty in step 25, the process proceeds to step 32 in FIG. 8 to determine whether or not there is a lower priority among other types of application programs. When it is before the other-type application program having the lower priority, it is determined whether or not it is located at the head of the print queue portion.

After the subroutine processing of step 34 is executed, it is determined in step 35 whether or not there is a high priority application program of other type, and if there is, the print addition is notified in step 36 and the understanding is given in step 37. If it is understood, it is inserted in step 38 before the other type application program having the lower priority, and the process returns to step 20. If the user does not agree with step 37, the process directly returns to step 20.

Further, if there is no other type of application program having a higher priority in step 35, the process proceeds to step 42 to notify the application program to be printed that printing is possible, and in step 38, the order of priority of the other type application program. Insert before the lower one and return to step 20.

On the other hand, if there is no other application program with a lower priority in step 32, the process proceeds to step 39, print addition is notified, and it is judged in step 40 whether or not it is understood. If it is understood, in step 41, the type and priority of the application program are written at the end of the print queue section, and step 20
Return to.

If it is not understood in step 40, the process directly returns to step 20. Further, if it is located at the head of the print queue section when it is before the other priority application program having the lower priority in step 33, the process returns to step 26.

Next, the subroutine processing of step 34 in FIG. 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, step 5
If it is not changed, the process proceeds to step 54. If it is changed, the number of prints of each application program is fetched from the number-of-prints storage buffer unit 15 at step 51, and the priority is changed. At 52, it is determined whether or not the print request of the application program having a lower print count than the print target application program is ahead of the print queue portion.

According to this judgment, if it is not in the front, the process proceeds to step 55, and if it is in the front, it is inserted before the print request of the application program having a small number of prints in step 53, and the priority of the other type application program is high in step 54. Judge whether or not there is still something,
If not, the process returns as it is, and if there is, the process proceeds to step 55.

At step 55, it is judged whether or not the prioritized processing of the same type application program is to be carried out, and if not carried out, the processing is returned as it is, and if carried out, it is carried out at step 56.
At step 57, the type of the previously printed application program is fetched from the previously printed application type storage buffer section, and at step 57 it is judged whether or not the previous and current application programs are the same.

Then, in step 57, if the previous and current application programs are not the same, the process directly returns, and if they are the same, in step 58, the process is inserted before the print request of the heterogeneous application program and the process returns.

Next, according to the flowchart of FIG.
The processing at the time of printing in the system control unit 5 will be described. In this processing, in steps 60 and 61, the type and priority information of the application program is extracted from the head of the print queue section, and the type of the application program is written in the previous print application type storage buffer section.

Thereafter, in steps 62 to 64, "1" is added to the print count of the print target application program in the print count storage buffer section, the type of the application program is displayed, and printing is performed according to the print request of the application program. Go and end.

Next, a specific processing example in this multi-application mediation device will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a format of the priority order information storage buffer unit 16 of the system control unit. In the priority order information storage buffer section 16, the application type name of each application section and each priority order information are stored in association with each other.

For example, in this case, the printing priority of the printer application section is "2", the printing priority of the FAX application section is "3", and the printing priority of the AI copy application section is "1". Has been done.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the priority order upper limit buffer unit 14 of the system control unit. The priority upper limit buffer unit 14 stores the application type name of each application unit and the upper limit for each priority in association with each other.

For example, in this case, the upper limit of the printing priority of the printer application section is "7", and the upper limit of the printing priority of the FAX application section is "1".
0 ”, and the upper limit value of the printing priority of the AI copy application unit is“ 7 ”.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the print count storage buffer unit 15 of the system control unit. The print count storage buffer unit 15 stores the application type name of each application unit and the print count (print execution count) corresponding to each print request in association with each other.

For example, in this case, the number of prints of the printer application section is "120", the number of prints of the FAX application section is "200", and the number of prints of the AI copy application section is "20". .

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a control condition setting screen for a print request in this multi-application mediation device. From this control condition setting screen, whether to select the automatic priority change process, whether to set the upper limit of the priority, whether to set the priority process according to the number of prints, and the priority process by the same type application program Select whether to set or not.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a print priority setting screen for each application section. On this priority setting screen, the printing priority of each application unit of the printer, FAX, and AI copy is arbitrarily set and input.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an upper limit value setting screen for printing priority for each application section. The printer, FA and
The upper limit value of the printing priority of each application unit of X and AI copy is arbitrarily set and input.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the printer priority change degree setting screen for the printer application section.
Set and input the degree of change to the priority order of print requests of the printer application section.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a FAX priority change degree setting screen for the FAX application section.
Set and input the degree of change to the priority order of the print request of the X application section.

FIG. 19 is a view showing an example of the AI copy priority change degree setting screen for the AI copy application section. This AI copy priority change degree setting screen changes the priority order of the print request of the AI copy application section. Enter the degree.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the previous print application type storage buffer section of the system control section. The previous print application type storage buffer section stores information indicating the type of the application section that executed the previous print. For example, in this case, "FAX" is stored.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the print queue section of the system control section. The print request output from each application unit and its priority are stored in the print queue unit. For example, in this case 1.
FAX, priority "3" and 2. Printer, priority "2" and 3. Printer, priority "2" and 4. AI
The copy and priority "1" are stored.

22 to 24 are diagrams showing an example in which the print request order of the data in the print queue section is changed according to the priority order. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the print request stored first, and FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a case where a new print request is added according to its priority order, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram when the order is changed after the priority order is further changed.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the priority change storage buffer section of the printer application section. In this case, the degree of change “2” is stored. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the latest priority order information storage buffer section of the printer application section. In this case, the latest priority "2" is stored. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the printable priority information storage buffer unit of the printer application unit. In this case, the priority "2" when printing is possible is stored.

Next, a specific processing example in this multi-application mediation device will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 27. First, by using the priority setting screen shown in FIG. 15, a default value of the printing priority of each application unit 2, 3 and 4 is set, and the default value as the setting result is formatted as shown in FIG. To store in the priority order information storage buffer section. In this case, the priority levels of the application units 2, 3 and 4 are “2”, “3” and “1”, respectively, and normally the priority level of the print request is determined by this default value.

Next, when a print request is issued from each of the application sections 2, 3 and 4, it is stored in the print queue section in the format as shown in FIG. In this case, print requests for FAX, printer, printer, and AI copy and respective priorities are stored in order from the top. Normally, the print processing is executed in order from the top print request accumulated in this print queue unit. Subsequent print requests are sequentially moved up in order each time the previous print request is completed. That is, in FIG.
When the FAX has finished executing, 2. Printer, 3. Printer, 4. The AI copies are shifted one by one to the left, and 1. Printer, 2. Printer, 3. It becomes an AI copy.

Then, a case will be described in which the printer application unit 2 issues a print request of priority 2 when the print request in the print queue unit shown in FIG.

First, the priority determining circuit 18 of the system controller causes the priority upper limit buffer 1
Check the upper limit value stored in 4. For example, if the upper limit value is the data content in the priority order upper limit buffer shown in FIG. 12, the upper limit value “7” of the print request of the printer application unit 2 is compared with the desired priority order “2”, and the priority order Since the rank is smaller than the upper limit, it will be adopted as it is. It should be noted that this upper limit value is set by the work on the condition value setting screen of the priority order shown in FIG.

Further, the priority of the print request of the printer application section 2 is compared with the priority "1" of the print request desired by the AI copy application section 4 in the print queue section 12 shown in FIG. The print request from the printer application unit 2 is prioritized over the print request from the AI copy application unit 4, and the print request from the printer application unit 2 comes second in the print order, as shown in the data contents in the print queue unit 12 shown in FIG. Insert a print request.

Next, the priority order determination circuit section 18 examines the data content of the print number storage buffer section 15. For example, if it is the data content in the print number storage buffer shown in FIG. Print request of the printer application unit 2 is used (issued) more frequently than the print request from the printer application unit 2,
The print queue unit 1 shown in FIG.
Leave the data contents of 2.

Further, the priority order determination circuit section 18 examines the previous print application type storage buffer section 17, and if the data contents in the previous print application type storage buffer shown in FIG. Since the print request is from the FAX application unit 3, the order of the print requests from the print queue unit 12 is kept as the data content of the print queue unit 12 shown in FIG.

Then, the system control unit 5 notifies the printer application unit 2 of printing addition. When the printer application unit 2 receives the notification, it normally issues a notification of approval and performs the printing process described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

However, the printer application section 2
However, for example, if you need to print one sheet urgently,
Priority control circuit unit 2 of printer application unit 2
6, the priority level change storage buffer unit 22 is checked, and if the data contents in the priority level change storage buffer shown in FIG. Is added to the priority order “2”, and the priority order is set to “4” again.

Then, the printer print request control circuit 27 makes a print request again. It should be noted that the degree of change in the printing priority for each of the application units 2, 3 and 4 is shown in FIG.
It is set by the work on each priority change degree setting screen shown in FIG.

Next, when the system control section 5 receives the print request from the printer application section 2 again, it checks the desired priority order, and this time, the desired priority order is "4". Therefore, the printing shown in FIG. The data contents in the queue are changed, and the print request from the printer application unit 2 is inserted into the first print order. After that, the system control unit 5 notifies the printer application unit 2 that printing is possible.

When the printer application unit 2 receives the print enable notification from the system control unit 5, the printer application unit 2 writes the desired priority order "4" of this time in the printable priority order information storage buffer unit 25. When further print requests are generated successively, the print request is issued with the desired priority “4” stored in the printable priority information storage buffer unit 25.

When the print processing of the print request is executed by the printer application unit 2 in this way, the data content in the previous print application type storage buffer of the system control unit 5 is changed to the printer, and the print count storage buffer unit is changed. The number of times of printing of the printer application unit 2 of 15 is changed. For example, in the case of the data contents in the print count storage buffer shown in FIG. 13, the print count “120” (sheets) of the printer application unit 2 is set to “12”.
Change to 1 ”(sheets).

The above example is the processing based on the setting contents of the control condition setting screen shown in FIG. 14, and the processing of the priority order of the print request is based on the contents set by the work on the control condition setting screen. To be executed.

Next, the effects of the multi-application mediation device of this embodiment will be listed. (1) By setting the priority order of print requests for each of a plurality of application programs, for example, a print request having a high degree of urgency, such as FAX, is output with priority over a print request by another application program. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate troubles during reception.

(2) Normally, in an application program having a low degree of urgency, for example, even when it is desired to output the print data urgently temporarily such as when the buffer for accumulating the print data from the host computer becomes full, the output can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the print data from being discarded or the host to time out.

(3) When a print request is issued with a higher priority than the previous one, the number of times the print request is reissued can be reduced as much as possible, so that the process for emergency output can be performed quickly. . (4) When a print request is issued with a higher priority than the previous one, the process is repeated until printing becomes possible, so that the process for urgent output can be reliably performed.

(5) When a plurality of sheets are printed from the same type of application program, the processing is promptly performed even when the second and subsequent sheets are printed, and the print job is not issued with a higher priority than the previous time. be able to. (6) By setting an upper limit value of the priority order of print requests for each of a plurality of application programs, it is possible to prevent an application program having a low priority from normally setting an unreasonably high priority and monopolizing print processing. You can

(7) By counting the number of prints (the number of sheets) for each of a plurality of application programs, the frequency of use of each application by the user can be estimated, and print requests from applications with high frequency of use are processed with priority. The frequency of processing for issuing a print request by setting the priority higher than that of the previous time can be suppressed as much as possible, and wasteful processing time at the time of a print request can be omitted.

(8) By processing print requests from the same kind of application programs as continuously as possible, it is possible to prevent the output results of the plurality of application programs from being mixed with each other as much as possible. Sorting work can be reduced.

(9) By displaying the print request from which application program to the user during the print processing, the paper sorting work of the print result of the user is reduced, and the output paper of another user is mistaken. It is possible to prevent troubles that are taken away.

[0125]

As described above, according to the multi-application arbitration device of the present invention, a plurality of application programs are processed in parallel, print requests are respectively received from the plurality of application programs processed in parallel, and the print requests are received. In addition to sequentially printing based on a plurality of print requests, the print priority is set for each application program, so that each print request can be processed according to the priority set for each application program. .

If a print request is received from one of the application programs, the print request source application program is notified of the print wait, and the application program receiving the print wait notification sets the priority order to the previous value. If the print request is issued again with a higher change setting, the print request from the urgent application program can be preferentially executed.

Further, by setting the degree of changing the priority, the number of times of re-outputting the print request from each application program can be appropriately suppressed. Also, if the priority setting is set higher than the previous time from the application program that received the print waiting notification and the process of issuing the print request again is repeated until printing becomes possible, the print request from the application program that needs an emergency It can be executed as soon as possible.

Further, if the priority order when the print becomes possible is held and the held priority order is set when a new print request is issued and the print request is issued, the print request is output again. You can quickly set the priority when you do.

Further, an upper limit value of the priority order of printing is set for each application program, and when a print request is made with a priority order exceeding the set upper limit value, the priority order is corrected to the upper limit value. This can prevent an application program having a low priority from setting an unreasonably high priority.

Further, by counting the number of times of printing by the printing request from each application program and setting the priority of the printing request from the application program with the large number of times of printing to be high, the frequently used applications The print request from the program can be preferentially executed.

Furthermore, the type of the application program that executed the latest printing is stored, and when a new print request is issued from the stored application program of the same type, printing from another type of application program is performed. If the processing is prioritized over the request, print requests from the same type of application program can be executed continuously as much as possible.

By displaying which application program is currently executing the print processing according to the print request, which application program the print request corresponds to is the printed paper. Can be confirmed immediately.

That is, the print request from any application program can be preferentially executed. Further, it is possible to efficiently process print requests from a plurality of application programs. Further, it is possible to reduce the work of sorting the papers of the print results by the print requests from the plurality of application programs.

Therefore, for example, when facsimile data is received while the print processing of the print requests stored in the queue is being executed, the facsimile data receiving buffer becomes full before the print requests of the queue are all completed. And the facsimile data can be reliably received.

Further, even when the print processing is executed based on the print requests accumulated in the queue like the online printer, the print request of the queue is finished even if the print data is received from the host computer. The host computer does not have to wait until, and the transmission of print data is not interrupted by the time-out process on the host computer side.

Furthermore, since print requests from a plurality of application programs can be processed according to the degree of urgency, the processing efficiency of print requests from a plurality of application programs is improved. Furthermore, even if the print requests from each application program are accumulated in the queue in a disjointed manner (alternately), the print requests can be made continuous for each application program so that the printed output sheets are collected. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a multi-application mediation device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a system control unit 5 in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a printer application unit 2 of FIG.

4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a FAX application unit 3 of FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an AI copy application unit 4 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing priority order control processing in each application unit 2.3.4.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a priority control process of the system control unit 5.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the subsequent processing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the subsequent processing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a printing process in the system control unit 5.

11 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a priority order information storage buffer section 16 of the system control section 5. FIG.

12 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a priority order upper limit buffer unit 14 of the system control unit 5. FIG.

13 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a print count storage buffer unit 15 of the system control unit 5. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a print request control condition setting screen in the multi-application mediation device.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a print priority setting screen for each of the application units 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an upper limit value setting screen for printing priority for each application unit 2, 3, 4;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a printer priority change degree setting screen for the printer application unit 2;

FIG. 18: FAX for FAX application unit 3
It is a figure which shows an example of a priority change degree setting screen.

FIG. 19 A for AI copy application unit 4
It is a figure which shows an example of an I copy priority change degree setting screen.

20 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a previous print application type storage buffer unit 17 of the system control unit 5. FIG.

FIG. 21 is a print queue unit 1 of the system control unit 5.
It is a figure which shows the example of data storage of No. 2.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example in which the print request order of the data in the print queue unit 12 is changed according to the priority order.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the print request order of the data in the print queue unit 12 is changed according to the priority order.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a case in which the print request order of the data in the print queue unit 12 is changed according to the priority order.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a priority level change storage buffer unit 22 of the printer application unit 2.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a latest priority information storage buffer unit 23 of the printer application unit 2.

27 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the printable priority information storage buffer unit 25 of the printer application unit 2. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 input section 2 printer application section 3 fax (FAX) application section 4 artificial intelligence (AI) copy application section 5 system control section 6 plotter section 7 display section 10 application interface (I / F) circuit section 11 input information discrimination circuit section 12 print queue unit 13 print queue control circuit unit 14 priority upper limit buffer unit 15 print count storage buffer unit 16 priority information storage buffer unit 17 previous print application type storage buffer unit 18 priority determination circuit unit 19 print circuit unit 20 printing Application name display circuit unit 21, 31, 41 Input data discrimination circuit unit 22, 32, 42 Priority change degree storage buffer unit 23, 33, 43 Latest priority information storage buffer unit 24, 34, 44 Priority storage buffer 25, 35, 45 Printable priority information storage buffer section 26, 36, 46 Priority control circuit section 27, 37, 47 Printer print request control circuit section 28, 38, 48 Interface to system control section (I / F) ) Circuit part

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A means for processing a plurality of application programs in parallel, a means for receiving a print request from each of a plurality of application programs processed in parallel by the means, and sequential printing based on the plurality of print requests received by the means. A multi-application arbitration device comprising: a printing unit that performs the above-mentioned. A multi-application arbitration device, further comprising: a unit that sets a printing priority for each of the application programs. 2. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: when a print request is received from any one of the application programs, the print request waiting application is notified to the application program as a print request source. A multi-application arbitration apparatus, further comprising: a means for changing and setting a higher priority than an application program that has received a print waiting notification and issuing a print request again. 3. The multi-application arbitration device according to claim 2, further comprising means for setting a degree of changing the priority. 4. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is possible to print a process of issuing a print request again by changing the priority order from the application program that received the print waiting notification to a higher priority than the previous time. A multi-application arbitration device, which is provided with a means for repeating up to. 5. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the priority order when printing is enabled is held, and when the new print request is issued, the held priority order is set and printing is performed. A multi-application arbitration device comprising means for issuing a request. 6. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting an upper limit of printing priority for each of the application programs, and an upper limit set by the means. A multi-application arbitration device, comprising: a means for correcting the priority to an upper limit value when a print request is made with a priority exceeding the value. 7. The multi-application arbitration device according to claim 1, further comprising means for counting the number of times of printing by a print request from each application program, and the number of times of printing counted by the means. A multi-application arbitration device, which is provided with a means for increasing the priority of a print request from an application program having a large number of applications. 8. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for storing the type of the application program that executed the latest printing, and the same type as that stored in the means. When a new print request is issued from the application program, the multi-application arbitration device is provided with means for processing the print request from another type of application program with priority. 9. The multi-application arbitration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying which application program is currently executing print processing according to a print request. Characterizing multi-application arbitration device.