JPH07200209A - Method for managing state of printer device and network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select an optimum printer device by transferring the present state and the load state of the printer device to a request destination. CONSTITUTION:The printer information transmission part 20 of the printer device 14 is set to start when the transmission of printer information is requested from a work station 12 on LAN 10. A printer state transmission means transfers a printer state management table generated by the printer state management means of a print file reception part 22 and a print file output part 24 to the work station 12 requesting it. Namely, the present operation state and load state of the printer device 14, which are stored in the printer device 14, are read to all or a specified printer device 14 on the network 10 from the work station 12, and they are transferred to the work station 12 being the request destination.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device status management method and network system in which a network system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices is configured.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printer output management system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices, a host computer is interposed, and this host computer controls the distribution of outputs to the plurality of printer devices. It is being appreciated. Further, in such a network system, the printer device status management means located in the host computer manages the usage status of the entire printer device in the network system by the printer device management table, and the printer device status display means is operated from the workstation. In response to the printer device status display request, the printer device management table is referred to and displayed on the display of the workstation to which the printer device status is requested.
(See Japanese Patent No. 97581).

That is, the host computer collectively manages the states of a plurality of printer devices, and when the workstation requests the printer device state, data is received from the host computer each time. is there. As a result, the state of the printer device can be quickly grasped.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the output amount of each printer is managed by the host computer, in the environment of a network system (for example, a local area network) where the host computer does not intervene. , The configuration is not applicable.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, only the current state of the printer is managed in a table, and the operating state in the future, that is, the capacity (load state) of the print waiting file cannot be grasped. .

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention considers the above facts, and in a network system without a host computer, present status (used or unused) and load status (capacity of print waiting file) of all printer devices under network management. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a printer device status management method and a network system capable of rapidly transferring (1) and (2) to a request destination.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer device status management method in a network system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices and a host computer does not intervene. From a specific workstation to all or specific printer devices on the network, in response to a status transmission request for the printer device, the current operating status and load status of the printer device stored in the printer device are read out. , And is transferred to the requested workstation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices and a host computer does not intervene. Storage means for storing the printer status indicating the status and the printer load status indicating the load status applied to the printer device; and management means provided in the printer device for updating and managing the contents of the storage means according to the operating status of the printer. A printer device status inquiring unit that is provided in the workstation and that requests all printer devices or a specific printer device on the network to send out the printer operating status and load status of the printer device; , The printer device is inquired by the printer device inquiry means. When there is a request to send out the operating state and the load state, the data on each table stored in the storage means is read out, and the data sending means for sending out the data to the requested work station, The printer device status output means is provided in the workstation and displays or prints the data of the operating condition and the load condition of the printer device received by the transmission of the data transmission device.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the plurality of printer devices individually recognize the operating state (used / unused state) and the load state. A request for sending the status of the printer device can be issued from a specific workstation. This request may be for all or specific printer devices.

In response to a request, the printer device reads the operating condition and load condition of the printer device stored in the printer device and transfers it to the requested workstation. As a result, the workstation can grasp the status of the printer device and easily select the optimum printer device for the file to be printed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the printer device status inquiry means requests all printer devices or a specific printer device on the network to send the printer device status.

In response to this request, the data sending means reads the data stored in the storage means, for example, on each table, and sends it to the workstation of the request destination. The tabulated data is sequentially updated by the management means and is always stored as the latest data.

In the workstation which has received the transmission, the printer device status output means displays or prints out the printer device status data.

By visually observing this display or printout, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the inquired printer device is compatible with the next print file. It is possible to select a device or the nearest printer device even if it takes some time.

[0015]

1 shows a local area network (hereinafter referred to as LAN) 10 according to this embodiment. This LAN 10 includes a plurality of workstations 12.
And a plurality of printer devices 14 are connected to each other, and the plurality of workstations 12 share the plurality of printer devices 14.

The workstation 12 is a print request processing unit 1 which is activated when an instruction to print a print file is given.
6, a printer status display section 18 for displaying the status of the designated printer device, and a command / menu analysis section 19 for analyzing an instruction from the user.

On the other hand, the printer device 14 includes a printer information sending section 20 which is activated when the workstation 12 requests transmission of printer information, and a printing which is activated when a print file is transferred from the workstation 12. File reception unit 22 and print file output unit 24
It consists of and.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer status display section 18 comprises a printer status inquiry means 18A and a printer status display means 18B. The printer status inquiry means 18A is a preset printer device. Requesting transmission of printer information individually to all printer devices defined in the network address table 52 or to a specific printer device 14 specified by a status display command, and acquiring the obtained information to the printer status / print load status. The data is saved in the storage table 54.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printer device network address table 52 is provided with printer device names, network addresses, and installation locations as items.
It is defined in detail for each printer device 14.

After the evacuation, the printer device status display means is activated to convert the information in the printer status / print load status storage table 54 into a display format and display it on the display 12A of the workstation 12. The display 12A is displayed in a table format as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, for example.

FIG. 4 shows details of the printer information sending unit 20 on the printer device 14.

Printer information sending unit 2 of printer device 14
0 is activated when the workstation 12 on the LAN 10 requests the printer information to be sent out. The printer status sending means 20A includes a print file receiving unit 22 and a print file output unit shown in FIG. 24
The printer status management table 32 (see FIG. 5) created by the printer status management means 28, 30 is transferred to the requested workstation 12.

Further, the print load information sending means 20B has a print load status management table 34 (FIG. 6) created by the printer status management means 28 and 30 of the print file receiving section 22 and the print file output section 24 shown in FIG. reference)
Are forwarded to the requested workstation 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the printer status management table 32, one field has a flag area 32A indicating whether the printer device 14 is in use, an area 32B indicating the name of a document being printed, and the number of pages of the document. Is divided into four areas, that is, an area 32C indicating the client name and an area 32D indicating the client name, so that the current state of the printer device 14 can be recognized.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the print load state management table 34, one field is the printer device 1 concerned.
4 is divided into two areas, an area 34A showing the number of documents waiting to be printed and an area 34B showing the total number of pages,
The print load state of each printer device can be recognized. In order to obtain the above fields, the print load status management table 34 is a table showing each document name counted as the number of documents waiting to be printed, a page number of each document showing a breakdown of the total number of pages, and a requester name. 34D is provided.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the printing of the print file F is instructed on the workstation 12, the print request processing section 16 is activated and designated by the print file transfer means 16A of the print request processing section 16. The designated print file F is read and the print data is transferred to the designated printer device 14.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the print file reception unit 22 and the print file output unit 24 on the printer device 14.

The print file acceptance unit 2 of the printer device 14
2 is activated when a print file is transferred from each workstation 12 on the LAN 10. That is,
The print file receiving unit 38 is the workstation 12
The print file transferred from is received, and the received print file is temporarily stored in the spool file 42 by the print file spool means 40.

The print file spool means 40 is also provided.
In the printer status management means 28 connected to the printer status management table 32, the printer status management table 32 is updated (a flag indicating that the printer is in use) is updated, and information on the print file requested to be printed is printed in the print load status management table 34 (document Name,
Register the number of pages, requester name). By this registration,
The number of documents waiting to be printed and the total number of pages in the print load state management table 34 are updated (added).

On the other hand, the print file output unit 24 sends the print file to the spool file 4 by the print file reception unit 22.
The print file input means 46 reads the first print file stored in the spool file 42 (FIF).
O), the read print file is output to the printer device 14 by the print file output means 48.

After the print file output means 48 outputs the data to the printer device 14, the printer status management means 30 updates the relevant information (the name of the document being printed, the number of pages, and the requester name) in the printer status management table 32 ( delete. By this deletion, the number of documents waiting to be printed and the total number of pages in the print load state management table 34 are updated (subtracted). When printing of all the documents is completed, the flag of the printer status management table 32 is set to indicate that it is unused.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 100, the variables I and J are set to 1, and then in step 102, the printer device name P _I of the status inquiry destination of the printer device 14 is inquired.
Enter. In the next step 104, when there are a plurality of inquiries, the fact is input by key operation or the fact that the input of the printer device name is completed is input by key operation or the like.

If a positive determination is made in step 104, that is, if it is determined that there is a next input, the routine proceeds to step 106, the variable I is incremented (I ← I + 1), the routine returns to step 102, and the above steps are repeated.

If it is determined in step 104 that all the inputs have been completed, the process proceeds to step 108 to send out printer information of the printer device name P _J (that is, the oldest input order). Start the unit 20.

At the next step 110, the operating status and load status of the printer device 14 are read from the printer status management table 32 and the printing load status management table 34, and then at step 112 the read data is requested to the requested workstation. Send to 12.

The workstation 12 stores the received data in the printer status / print load status storage table 54.
Is temporarily stored (step 114) and the process proceeds to step 116.

In step 116, it is determined whether the variable J has become equal to the variable I. That is, since the variable I corresponds to the number of times the printer device name is input in step 102, it is determined whether this number of times of input has been reached.

If a negative determination is made at step 116, the routine proceeds to step 118, the variable J is incremented, the routine returns to step 108, and the above steps are repeated.

On the other hand, if the affirmative determination is made in step 116, the process proceeds to step 120 to activate the printer device status display means 18B, then the variable J is set to 1 in step 122 and the process proceeds to step 124.

At step 124, the data display form is
For example, it is selected by a key operation. The display form includes
There are “collective display”, “individual display”, and “end”. When there is a key input indicating the end, this routine ends.

Next, if there is a key input indicating "collective display" in step 124, the process proceeds to step 126 and the printer status / print load status storage table 54 is entered.
Read all data stored in, then step 1
At 28, this data is displayed on the display 12A of the workstation 12. This display is an enumerated and tabular display of the selected printer devices 14, as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if there is a key input indicating "individual display" in step 124, the process proceeds to step 130 and the printer device name P _J (at this time, the variable J is set to 1). The data is read from the printer status / print load status storage table 54, and then the process proceeds to step 132 to display the data of the printer device name P _J on the display 12A of the workstation 12. This display is displayed for each printer device 14, as shown in FIG.

When the display control is completed in step 132, the process proceeds to step 134, and the feeding mode is selected by, for example, key operation. The feeding mode includes “next page”, “previous page”, and “reset”. When there is a key input indicating “reset”, the process proceeds to step 122, and is returned when starting the printer device status display means. be able to.

Next, if there is a key input indicating "next page" in step 134, the process proceeds to step 136 and J
Is incremented (J ← J + 1), then step 1
At 38, it is judged whether or not this variable J exceeds the variable I. This cannot exceed the number of times the printer device name has been input in step 102, so this step 13
When the affirmative determination is made in step 8, the process returns to step 122 (equivalent to reset). On the other hand, if the determination in step 138 is negative, the printer device name P _J exists, so the process proceeds to step 130 and this printer device name P _J is entered.
The data of _J is read, and display control is executed in step 132.

On the other hand, if there is a key input indicating "previous page" in step 134, the process proceeds to step 140 and J
Is decremented (J ← J-1), then step 14
In 2, it is judged whether or not this variable J has become 0. This is because when the variable J is 1, there can be no printer device name earlier than that, so if the determination in step 142 is affirmative, the process returns to step 122 (equivalent to reset). On the other hand, if the determination in step 142 is negative, the printer device name P _J exists, so the process proceeds to step 130, the data of the printer device name P _J is read, and the display control is executed in step 132.

Thus, the specific workstation 1
2, it is possible to inquire about the current operating status and load status of one or a plurality of printer devices 14, and in response to this inquiry, each printer device 14 transmits data to the requested workstation 12. Therefore, even if a host computer does not exist, any printer device 1 can be freely installed from each workstation 12.
The state of 4 can be grasped. As a result, the printer device 1 that is most suitable for the print file to be printed from now on
4 can be selected quickly. It should be noted that the optimum printer device 14 is the printer device 14 that finishes printing the fastest, or the printer device 14 that is in a printable state and is closest to the printer device 14.
Etc.

The present invention is effective not only when selecting the printer device 14, but also when judging the status of each printer device 14.

[0048]

As described above, the printer device status management method and network system according to the present invention, in a network system without a host computer, present status of all printer devices under network management (in use, not It is possible to quickly transfer (in use) and load status (size of file waiting to be printed) to the request destination,
As a result, there is an excellent effect that the optimum printer device can be selected when a print request is made from the workstation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a LAN according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer status display unit.

FIG. 3 is a format diagram of a printer device network address table.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print request processing unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer information sending unit.

FIG. 6 is a format diagram of a printer status management table.

FIG. 7 is a format diagram of a print load status management table.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing configurations of a print file reception unit and a print file output unit.

FIG. 9 is a form diagram showing an example (batch display) of a status display of the printer device.

FIG. 10 is a form diagram showing an example (individual display) of a status display of the printer device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control flow from inquiring about and displaying the status of the printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 LAN (local area network) 12 workstation 14 printer device 18A printer device status inquiry means 18B printer device status display means 20A printer status sending means (data sending means) 20B printing load information sending means (data sending means) 28, 30 printer Status management means (management means) 32 Printer status management table (storage means) 34 Printing load status management table (storage means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for managing the status of a printer device in a network system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices and a host computer does not intervene, and all or specific printers on a network from a particular workstation. In response to a request for sending the status of the printer device to the device, the present operating condition and load condition of the printer device stored in the printer device are read and transferred to the workstation of the request destination. State management method for a printer device. 2. A network system in which a plurality of workstations share a plurality of printer devices, and a host computer does not intervene, wherein the printer device is provided in the printer device and indicates a current operating state of the printer device and the printer. A storage unit that stores a printer load state indicating a load state applied to the apparatus, a management unit that is provided in the printer device, and that updates and manages the contents of the storage unit according to the operating state of the printer, and the workstation. A printer device status inquiry means for requesting all printer devices or a specific printer device on the network to send out the printer operating status and load status of the printer device, and the printer device inquiry means provided in the printer device. Operating status and load of printer And a data sending means for reading the data on each table stored in the storage means and sending the data to the requested work station, when the request is sent. A printer device status output device for displaying or printing the printer device status data received by the sending of the data sending device.