JPH0713716A - Job display control system for shared printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the convenience to dsiplay the job information on a screen through a shared printer and to eliminate the need for printing out the job information for energy saving by providing a job information transmitting part on a print server to transmit the job information to a printer and a job information display part which displays the job information on the printer. CONSTITUTION:The print request given to a shared printer 5 from a work station 2 of a LAN 1 is sent to the printer 5 via a print server 4. The server 4 writes a display command for display control of an operation panel 51 of the printer 5 into a printer language that controls the printer 5. At the same time, the server 4 puts the job information under print into a command for each division of jobs. Receiving the command, the printer 5 separates the job information through a job information display part 52 and displays the characters of the job information given from the server 4 on a screen 51b of the panel 51.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a local area network (LAN: Local Area Network).
In k), etc., one printer and a plurality of workstations (terminals) are connected to be involved in a shared printer system in which the printer is shared. In particular, the processing status of each print job requested from each terminal is displayed on the printer side. The present invention relates to a job display control system for a shared printer that is suitable for confirmation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for efficient use of printers, for example, pages 2658 to 2673 of "Electronic Information and Communication Handbook" edited by The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (1988, Ohm Co., Ltd.). The LAN described in 1. is used. A printer that is commonly used by connecting to the LAN processes print jobs via the print server. The job information indicating the processing status of the print job can be confirmed on the screen display on the print server side, but the printer side must print out the job information on the header page or the footer page. As a result, when checking the job information on the printer side, waste of paper occurs.

[0003]

The problem to be solved is that in the conventional technique, the shared printer on the LAN cannot display the job information on the screen for confirmation. An object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art, improve convenience by displaying job information on the shared printer side, and eliminate the need to print out job information using a header page or a footer page, thus eliminating waste of paper. To provide a job display control system for a shared printer, which enables energy saving of the system by preventing its use.

[0004]

To achieve the above object, a job display control system for a shared printer according to the present invention is (1) a job display control system for a printer shared by a plurality of terminals via a print server. The print server includes a job information transmitting unit that transmits job information such as the identification number of the job and the terminal name of the job request source to the printer every time a print job is made to the printer requested by the terminal. Is characterized in that each is provided with a job information display section for displaying the job information sent from the print server. (2) In the job display control system for a shared printer described in (1) above, the printer stores the job information in
With the print result information showing the processing result of this job,
Based on the job information storage unit that stores the ring buffer structure and a predetermined key press, from this job information storage unit,
It is characterized by comprising a job history display section for reading out corresponding job information and print result information and displaying them through the job information display section. (3) In the job display control system for a shared printer as described in (1) or (2) above, the print server is configured such that the print server has processing progress status information of a print job in process and a print job in standby. The job execution status information transmitting unit that reads out the job information of the job information at a predetermined timing and transmits the job execution status information transmitting unit to the printer via the job information transmitting unit, It is characterized by further comprising a job remaining information display section for displaying job information of a print job in a standby state via the job information display section at a predetermined timing.

[0005]

In the present invention, the shared printer has an operation panel for instructing printer setting change and status display, and the print server writes a command for display control of this operation panel to the printer language, for example. In addition, the job information currently being printed is inserted into this command for each job delimiter. And
The shared printer displays characters of the job information from the print server on the operation panel, so that the user can confirm the processing status of the job on the operation panel of the printer. Also,
The shared printer also stores the job information and the result of whether or not there is a print error in the storage unit of the ring buffer structure. When the user presses the predetermined “call key” provided on the operation panel, Data such as stored job information and print results are displayed in response to key operations. As a result, the user can sequentially recall past data by key operation.
In addition, the print server is
The job information is inserted at a certain fixed time or at an appropriate interval such as a certain amount of data and displayed on the operation panel of the shared printer. This allows the user to specify the name of the next job on the operation panel,
You can know the number of remaining jobs.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a configuration related to the present invention of a job display control system for a shared printer of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a LAN, 2 and 3 are workstations as terminals, 4 is a print server, and 5 is a shared printer. Each time the print server 4 performs a print job for the shared printer 5 requested by the workstations 2 and 3, a server main control unit 40 that controls the overall operation of the print server,
A job information transmission unit 41 according to the present invention that transmits job information such as the identification number of the job and the name of the workstation requesting the job to the shared printer 5, and the processing progress status information of the print job being processed and the waiting status. The job execution status information transmission unit 42 according to the present invention which reads out the job information of the print job at a predetermined timing and transmits it to the shared printer 5 via the job information transmission unit 41.

The shared printer 5 also has a printer main controller 50 for controlling the overall printing operation, an operation panel 51 for inputting a printer setting change instruction and a status display, and job information sent from the print server 4. A job information display section 52 for performing display control on the operation panel 51, a job information storage section 53 for storing the job information together with print result information indicating the processing result of this job in a ring buffer structure, and the operation panel 51. The corresponding job information and print result information are read from the job information storage unit 53 based on the pressing of a predetermined key of the upper keyboard 51a, and the screen 51 of the operation panel 51 is displayed via the job information display unit 52.
The job history display section 54 to be displayed on the screen b, the process progress status information sent from the print server 4 at a predetermined timing, the job information of the waiting print job, and the like are displayed at a predetermined timing in the job information display section 52. And a job remaining information display section 55 to be displayed.

A print request from the workstation 2 on the LAN 1 to the shared printer 5 is sent by the print server 4.
And is sent to the shared printer 5. The print server 4 uses, for example, a printer language for controlling the shared printer 5 and an operation panel 51 of the shared printer 5.
The display command for display control is written, and the job information currently being printed is inserted into this command for each job delimiter. Upon receiving this command, the shared printer 5 separates the display data (job information) by the job information display section 52, and the screen 5 of the operation panel 51 is displayed.
The character display of the job information from the print server 4 is performed on 1b.

In this example, the following sequence is a display command. ESC (1BH) + D (41H) + "character string" + CR
(0DH) + “character string” + CR (0DH) + ... + N
UL (00H) (if it spans multiple lines, delimit with “CR (0DH)”) The print server 4 inserts such a display command and current print job information into the print data for each job delimiter, The shared printer 5 displays this data on the screen 51b of the operation panel 51. The print server 4 also sends the following items as job information to the shared printer 5. (A) Job ID (number) (b) User name of registered job (c) Print date and time (d) Other information such as printer language type, number of prints, number of copies, usage fee, and paper size can be displayed . In this example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is displayed on the screen 51b of the operation panel 51.
e) is used, and the display size is 4 rows × 20 columns. Then, the following data is sent from the print server 4, and ESC + D + “Job: 001” + CR + “User: Kobayashi” + NUL On the screen 51b of the operation panel 51, “Job: 001” is 2 in the first line. "User: Kobayashi" is displayed on the line.

The operation according to the present invention of the job display control system for the shared printer of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first specific example of the operation of the print server in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. This example shows the print output processing operation of the print server 4 in FIG. 1, and if there is a print job (step 201), the job information transmitting unit 41 registers the job ID and job to be displayed on its own display. The job information such as the user name and print date and time is taken out from the storage unit of the apparatus itself (step 202), inserted into the display command, and sent to the shared printer 5 in FIG. 1 (step 203). Then, the data of the print request is read from the storage unit of its own device (step 204), and the data shown in FIG.
To the shared printer 5 (step 205).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. This example shows the processing operation of the print output and the display output of the shared printer 5 in FIG. 1, and if there is a display command in the data being received (step 301) (step 302), the job information display section 52 is displayed. To separate the display data from the received data (step 30
3) Display on the screen of the operation panel (step 304). If there is no display command in the data received in step 302, the received data is printed out (step 305).

Next, the processing operation according to the present invention using the job information storage unit 53 and the keyboard 51b of the operation panel 51 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. If the data being received (step 401) has a display command (step 402), the job information display unit 52 separates the display data from the received data (step 403), and the job information storage unit 53 in FIG. It is stored in (indicated as memory in the figure) (step 40
4) Display on the screen of the operation panel (step 405). If there is no display command in the data received in step 402, the received data is printed out (step 406).

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a third specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. This example shows a process based on the operation of the keyboard 51a of the operation panel 51 of the shared printer 5 of FIG. 1, and if there is a key input (step 501),
It is determined whether or not this key is for display calling (step 502), and if it is another key, other corresponding processing is performed (step 503). If the input is a display call key, the job history display unit 54 of FIG.
Thus, the display data (job information) stored in the job information storage unit 53 of FIG. 1 in step 404 of FIG. 4 is displayed via the job information display unit 52. That is, if the key input is an instruction to display the job information of the previous page (step 504), the previous page is read and displayed (step 505), and the key is input to instruct the display of the previous page. If not, the job information on the next page is read and displayed (step 506). As described above, in this example, the stored display data is read out by the keyboard (call key) and displayed again. When the memory (job information storage unit 53 in FIG. 1) becomes full, the oldest data is deleted. Further, by reprocessing the contents of the job on the shared printer side, it is possible to display the paper usage amount for each user, for example.

Next, the operation of displaying the job information in more detail will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second specific example of the operation of the print server in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. If there is a print job (step 60)
1) The job ID such as the job ID displayed on its own display, the name of the user who registered the job, and the print date and time is retrieved from the storage unit of the own device (step 60).
2), the job information transmission unit 41 of FIG. 1 inserts it into the display command and sends it to the shared printer 5 of FIG. 1 (step 603). Then, the job execution state information transmission unit 42 of FIG. 1 reads the print request data for one block from the storage unit of the apparatus (step 604), and the job execution state information transmission unit 41 of FIG. It is sent to the shared printer 5 (step 605). If the data to be transmitted remains (step 606), it is confirmed whether or not a predetermined time has passed (step 607). If it has elapsed, the processing from step 602 is repeated, and if it has not elapsed, the processing from step 604 is repeated. In this way, the print server 4 of FIG. 1 inserts the job information into the print data at appropriate intervals by the job execution status information transmission unit 42 of FIG. 1, and the shared printer 5 of FIG.
Send to. In FIG. 1, when the print data in which such job information is inserted is received, the shared printer 5
Is displayed on the screen 51b of the operation panel 51 via the job information display section 52 by the job remaining information display section 55.
Display on top. The job information displayed at regular time intervals includes information other than the current job, such as the next job details,
There are the number of remaining jobs, the amount of remaining job data (bytes), and the like.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the job display control system for the shared printer of this embodiment, the job information can be displayed on the screen of the operation panel of the shared printer. This allows the user to easily check the job being executed by the printer without printing out on paper.
There is no need to search for separator pages such as header pages and footer pages among many printed out stacks. Also, the user is printing on the screen of the operation panel, or
It is possible to confirm whether printing has been completed, and further, what the next job is, the number of remaining jobs, and the amount of remaining data. This allows the shared printer to check the waiting time of a job requested by the shared printer, even when the shared printer has picked up paper and has not yet printed. You no longer have to go to see a workstation. In this way, since the print time can be predicted (by a person who sees this), the waiting time can be effectively used.

Further, it is possible to confirm whether or not there is an error in the print "completed" data. Further, conventionally, it is not known who printed, and when an error occurs (paper out, jam), the shared printer is in an error state. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the user can see at a glance which job is being executed by looking at the display while standing in front of the shared printer. You can contact the user who puts in and take prompt action.
Further, by storing each job information, it is possible to analyze the stack of past jobs, and obtain statistical information such as the amount of paper used for each user, for example.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the job information can be displayed on the screen of the shared printer on the LAN side for confirmation.
The convenience can be improved, the printout of the job information by the header page or the footer page is not required, the wasteful use of the paper can be prevented, and the energy saving of the shared printer system can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a configuration related to the present invention of a job display control system for a shared printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first specific example of the operation of the print server in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a third specific example of the operation of the shared printer in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second specific example of the operation of the print server in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 LAN 2, 3 workstations 4 print server 5 shared printer 40 server main control unit 41 job information transmission unit 42 job execution status information transmission unit 50 printer main control unit 51 operation panel 51a keyboard 51b screen 52 job information display unit 53 job information Storage unit 54 Job history display unit 55 Job remaining information display unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A job display control system for a printer shared by a plurality of terminals via a print server, wherein the print server sends a job to the printer every time a print job is requested from the terminal. The job information transmitting means for transmitting the job information such as the identification number of the
A job display control system for a shared printer, wherein each of the printers is provided with a job information display unit for displaying the job information sent from the print server. 2. The job display control system for a shared printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer stores the job information in a ring buffer structure together with print result information indicating a processing result of the job. And a job history display means for reading corresponding job information and print result information from the job information storage means based on pressing of a predetermined key and displaying the read job information and print result information via the job information display means. Job display control system for shared printers. 3. The job display control system for a shared printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the print server includes processing progress status information of a print job in process and a print job in standby. Process information sent from the print server to the printer at a predetermined timing by the job execution status information sending unit that reads out the job information of the job information at a predetermined timing and sends the job execution status information sending unit to the printer via the job information sending unit. Job display control of a shared printer, characterized by further comprising job remaining information display means for displaying progress status information and job information of a print job in standby via the job information display means at the predetermined timing. system.