JPH0764743A - Scanner/printer server system and its interrupt print control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently distribute output requests from client computers which exceed the registration capability on a file server. CONSTITUTION:A main controller 210 discriminates the presence/absence of a direct print interrupt request from each client compute 400, and a network controller 220 refers to set priority information to compare the access priority in the command from the client computer 400 requesting the interrupt and that, which is requested to be outputted from the file server, with each other in accordance with the discrimination result, and switching between the output request from the file server 500 and that from the client computer 400 which requests direct print is controlled based on the comparison result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scanner / printer server system and a method of interrupt print control thereof in which a plurality of client users can supply printer functions on a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system has been proposed in which documents and images created and converted on a plurality of computers can be output to a printer on a network to which they are connected and shared by a plurality of client users. Has been done.

[0003]

However, in a system including two file servers having a spool function for document / image data created and converted on a plurality of computers, and a print server for outputting the data. , It is very difficult to efficiently manage and print a large number of large images such as color raster images.

Further, even if these image data are centrally managed on the file server, there is a problem with the spool capacity of the managing server side, and print requests exceeding the maximum spool capacity of the file server cannot be realized. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and compares the interrupt request from the client computer with the output priority of the file server requesting the job execution to interrupt the client. By directly accepting requests, when a printer on the network prints color raster image data with a large amount of image data, it can withstand requests from multiple client users even if the file server capacity is exceeded. It is an object of the present invention to provide a scanner / printer server system and an interrupt printing method thereof.

[0006]

A first scanner / printer server system according to the present invention includes a scanner unit for executing a scanner function and a printer unit for executing a print function process. Controlling a print server, a plurality of client computers capable of setting the access order to the scanner / printer, queuing raster image data and a predetermined command input from each client computer, and communicating with the print server. An interrupt judgment means for judging whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer is communicably connected to a predetermined network with a file server that transfers the queued raster image data and commands. And the access priority in the command from the client computer for which an interrupt request has been made and the access priority requested for output from the file server are compared with reference to the set priority information, and based on the comparison result The print server is provided with interrupt control means for controlling switching between the output request request from the file server and the output request from the client computer requesting the direct print.

In the second scanner / printer server system according to the present invention, the file server has a management table for registering and managing the raster image data output from each client computer and the status of a predetermined command. is there.

In the third scanner / printer server system according to the present invention, the print server is configured to take in the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network. It is a thing.

In the fourth scanner / printer server system according to the present invention, the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and fetches them. It has an image storage means for storing raster image data.

In the fifth scanner / printer server system according to the present invention, the print server takes in the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network and takes them in. A layout means is provided for allocating and editing the raster image data based on the queuing print information.

In a sixth scanner / printer server system according to the present invention, the printer server is configured to manage a plurality of scanners / printers and a plurality of printers based on identification information for uniquely identifying them.

A seventh scanner / printer server system according to the present invention is characterized in that the scanner / printer or the printer can output any one of a color raster image, a monochrome binary image and a monochrome grayscale raster image. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1.

An eighth interrupt / printer server system interrupt print control method according to the present invention requests a network print processing request from a scanner / printer having a scanner unit for executing a scanner function and a printer unit for executing a print function process. A print server to control,
A plurality of client computers capable of setting the access order to the scanner / printer, and queued raster image data and predetermined commands input from each client computer, and communicating with the print server to queue the raster image data. In the interrupt print control method of the scanner / printer server system in which a file server that transfers commands and a file server that transfers commands are connected to a predetermined network so that they can communicate with each other, the presence or absence of a direct print interrupt request from each client computer is determined, and based on the determination result, Do not refer to the priority information that has been set for the access priority in the command from the client computer for which an interrupt has been requested and the access priority requested for output from the file server. And al comparison, controls the switching of the output request from the client computer to output demand request and direct print request from the file server based on the comparison result.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the judging means judges whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer, and the interrupt control means makes an access in the command from the client computer for which an interrupt request is made according to the judgment result. A client computer that compares the priority and the access priority requested to be output from the file server with reference to the set priority information, and makes an output request request from the file server and a direct print request based on the comparison result. The output request switching from the server is controlled, so that depending on the situation, interrupt access to the print server can be realized directly on the network without using the spool function on the file server side, and output requests that exceed the registered capacity on the file server. Multiple cry It is possible to distribute efficiently to cement.

In the second aspect of the invention, the raster image data output from each client computer and the state of a predetermined command are registered and managed in the management table of the file server, so that the job request from each client computer can be accurately identified. It becomes possible to grasp.

In the third invention, the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, so that the request from the scanner / printer side is received. Accordingly, it is possible to surely grasp whether a new job is registered on the file server.

In the fourth invention, the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and the raster image data fetched in the image storage means. Since the original image data is stored, it is possible to hold the original raster image data and process and output various edited images on the scanner / printer side.

In the fifth invention, the layout means on the print server side fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and the fetched raster image data. Is edited based on the queuing print information, it is possible to process and output various edited images on the scanner / printer side while laying out various edited images.

In the sixth invention, the printer server manages the plurality of scanners / printers and the plurality of printers based on the identification information for uniquely identifying the plurality of printers / printers. Therefore, the configurations of the scanners / printers and printers on the system are changed. However, the relative system environment can be updated only by adding or correcting the identification information only for the changed scanner / printer or printer.

In the seventh invention, the scanner / printer or printer outputs any one of a color raster image, a monochrome binary image, and a monochrome grayscale raster image. Therefore, the color raster image, the monochrome binary image,
Even if the situation in which the allocation on the file server is exceeded depending on the amount of each data of the monochrome grayscale raster image occurs, it is possible to directly output by selecting the scanner / printer or the printer and interrupting.

In the eighth invention, it is judged whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer, and according to the judgment result, the access priority in the command from the client computer for which the interrupt request is made and the output request from the file server. The access priority level that has been set with reference to the set priority level information, and based on the result of the comparison, switching between the output request request from the file server and the output request from the client computer requesting the direct print is controlled. Therefore, depending on the situation, interrupt access to the print server can be realized directly on the network without using the spool function on the file server side, and output requests exceeding the registered capacity on the file server can be efficiently distributed to multiple clients. It becomes possible.

[0022]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the arrangement of a scanner / printer server system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in this figure, the system of the present embodiment has a digital color image reading unit (hereinafter, simply referred to as a color scanner) 100 on an upper portion, and a digital color image printing unit (hereinafter, referred to as a color color image printing unit) for printing out a digital color image. , A color copying machine 300), a scanner / printer server (scanner / print server) 200 connected on the network 1, and a file server 500 supporting a file system on the network 1. ,
It is composed of computers 400 of a plurality of client users.

FIG. 2 shows the digital copying machine 1 shown in FIG.
3 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of H.000. The configuration and operation will be described below.

In the color scanner 100, the scanner controller 101 is at the center of control and performs the following control.

The original on the platen is divided into R, G, and B colors,
The exposure system controller 103 performs color separation by the contact CCD line sensor and converts it into a dot-sequential analog image signal. This analog image signal is converted into an 8-bit digital image signal for each color by the A / D converter, and the RG which is the brightness is converted.
Each color B is output as a line-sequential signal. This image signal (digital) is processed by the image processing unit 102 to generate an RGB signal.
The brightness level of B is converted into the levels corresponding to the toner amounts of four colors of C, M, Y, and K (corresponding to yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K), which are densities.
At the same time, color correction calculation is performed in the image processing unit 102, and various kinds of image processing such as composition, scaling, and movement are performed.

In the color printer 300, each digital image signal of yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K sent from the color scanner 100 is converted into a lighting signal of a semiconductor laser unit, and a laser drive unit 310.
The laser is controlled by, and the lighting signal of the laser is output as a pulse width corresponding to the level of the digital image signal. The lighting level of the laser is 256 levels (corresponding to 8 bits). In accordance with the digital image signal to be output, the color image is limited for each CMYK color, and when each photosensitive drum 315 is sequentially exposed in a digital dot format, the charging unit 313 is controlled by the surface potential control unit 312. Photosensitive drum 31 uniformly charged
5, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the dot corresponding to the blinking of the laser is formed, visualized as a toner image by the developing unit 314, and a toner image of each color is formed on the recording paper attracted to the transfer drum 319 by the transfer unit 316. When the four color images have been transferred, the separator 320 separates the transfer drum 3
The recording paper adsorbed on 19 is separated, and the conveying unit 321
Is sent to the fixing unit 322, and is thermally fixed in the fixing unit 322.
The sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 324. A polygon mirror scanner drive unit 311 rotates a polygon mirror (not shown) at a constant speed at an instructed speed. A printer controller 301 communicates with the scanner controller 101 to receive print data and collectively controls driving of the image forming unit 302 and the paper feeding / discharging unit 303. Known CPU, ROM, RAM And the like. A paper cassette 323 feeds recording paper to the transfer drum 319 according to an instruction from the paper feed control unit 318.

The color scanner 100 and the color printer 300 shown in FIG. 2 can also function as a color digital copying machine 1000 by controlling the color printer 300 by the controller of the color scanner 100. . Then, the digital copying machine 100
When functioning as 0, the original image is set on the original plate of the color scanner 100, the copy start key is pressed, the image is read from the color scanner 100 according to the process described above, the image processing is performed, and the color printer 300 is operated. An image is formed through the processes of exposure, development, transfer, and fixing, and is output as a color copy. In addition, 104 is an interface controller and 317 is a drum cleaning unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the client computer 400 shown in FIG. The configuration and operation will be described below.

The host computer 400 is a scanner /
A network controller 420 for controlling protocols on the network of the printer server (printer server) 200 and the file server 500, and a CPU 40 for central control of a client computer.
5, a hard disk (HD) 451 for temporarily registering image data and storing various data, a hard disk (HD) controller 450 for controlling the same, a main memory 46
0, a pointing device (mouse) 431, a keyboard 441, and a color display 412, a display memory 411, a display memory 411, a display controller 410, and an image on the display memory 411 for layout / editing / menu display as means for inputting instructions from the operator. Image editing controller 4 for layout and editing
It consists of 13. A ROM 406 is a CPU
A control program executed by 405 is stored. Four
An input controller (keyboard / mouse controller) 30 controls key input from the pointing device 431 and the keyboard 441.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the detailed arrangement of the scanner / printer server 200 shown in FIG. The configuration and operation will be described below.

As shown in this figure, the main controller 210, the network controller 220 that controls the protocol processing on the network 1, the content of the packet extracted by the protocol, the separation of the image data, and the like as a server control A network server controller 221, which stores and manages color multi-valued raster image data and its position / attribute information based on the separated image data / command data, and performs layout and the like. ing.

As an interface, a color digital interface controller 7 for exchanging image data and commands with the digital color copying machine 1000.
90, a pointing device 244 as a command input means from the server administrator, a keyboard 245, and a color display 24 for displaying a layout / edit menu
2. A display memory 241 and a display controller 240 are also provided. A hard disk (HD) 231 controls writing / reading of a raster image file or the like via the hard disk controller 230. A ROM 261 stores a control program executed by the main controller 210. A client priority table 262 stores information about the client computer 400. Note that 243 is a keyboard / mouse controller and 260 is a main memory.

In the first aspect of the scanner / printer server system configured as described above, the determination means determines whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer 400, and the interrupt control means responds to the determination result. The access priority in the command from the client computer 400 for which an interrupt has been requested and the access priority requested for output from the file server are compared with reference to the set priority information, and based on the comparison result, File server 50
Since the output request request from the 0 and the output request from the client computer 400 requesting the direct print are controlled, depending on the situation, the printer server 20 directly without using the spool function of the file server 500 side.
It is possible to realize interrupt access to 0 on the network and to efficiently distribute output requests exceeding the registered capacity on the file server 500 to a plurality of clients.

In the second invention, since the raster image data output from each client computer 400 and the state of a predetermined command are registered and managed in the management table (the table 562 described later) of the file server 500, It is possible to accurately grasp the job request from each client computer 400.

In the third invention, the printer server 200 takes in the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server 500 via the network 1, so that the scanner / printer side It is possible to reliably grasp whether or not a new job is registered on the file server 500 in response to the request.

In the fourth invention, the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table of the file server 500 via the network, and the raster image fetched in the image storage means. Since the data is stored, it is possible to hold the original raster image data and process and output various edited images on the scanner / printer side.

In the fifth aspect of the invention, the layout means (image editing controller 730 and layout controller 750 to be described later) on the print server 200 side causes the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server 500. And the raster image data thus captured are allocated and edited based on the queuing print information, it is possible to process and output various edited images while laying out various edited images. Become.

In the sixth invention, the printer server manages the plurality of scanners / printers and the plurality of printers on the basis of the identification information for uniquely identifying the plurality of printers. Therefore, the configurations of the scanners / printers and the printers on the system are changed. However, the relative system environment can be updated only by adding or correcting the identification information only for the changed scanner / printer or printer.

In the seventh invention, the scanner / printer or printer outputs any one of a color raster image, a monochrome binary image, and a monochrome grayscale raster image. Therefore, the color raster image, the monochrome binary image,
Even if the situation in which the allocation on the file server is exceeded depending on the amount of each data of the monochrome grayscale raster image occurs, it is possible to directly output by selecting the scanner / printer or the printer and interrupting.

As described above, the system according to the present embodiment queues print raster image data and print commands created based on the above information obtained by creating and laying out color documents and images. In the system (see FIG. 1) in which there is at least two file servers each having a means for performing printing, a print server having means for controlling the printing means of the copying machine, and a client computer for requesting print output, It has a means for holding the information for determining the output priority of the queued image data, first holds the output request from the first client computer on the file server, and then outputs it from the second client computer. Upon request, the above scanner / print server will When the result is notified to the client computer 400 by the means for judging whether there is no queue registration capacity on the file server to meet the request of the client computer or there is no print image data capacity, The second client stops the print request to the file server, and switches the print request directly to the scanner / print server, and the scanner / print server determines the output priority level of the first client and the first client. A means for comparing the output priority levels of the clients, a means for switching the output to the higher priority level of the first output request and the second client's output request by the comparison, and the raster image And a means for forming and outputting an image by a copying machine Although it is characterized in that, the system configuration is not limited to this embodiment, ISDN
The present invention can also be applied to a system via a public line network such as.

Also, the client computer 400
Need not be configured with the same OS, but different OS (DOS system, UNIX) via various routers.
System, MAC system) The present invention can be applied even if a computer is connected.

Further, the scanner / printer may be composed of a color digital copying apparatus which executes an electrophotographic process, or may be composed of a color digital copying apparatus such as an ink jet.

In the scanner / printer, the raster image data that can be output is communicated with the file server 50.
Although it is received from 0, compressed data (color image data in JEPEG format) may be transferred and expanded by a scanner / printer to be expanded into a scanner / printer capable of outputting, thereby significantly increasing the transfer time. It can be shortened.

FIG. 5 shows the file server 5 shown in FIG.
12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of No. 00. FIG. The configuration and operation will be described below.

As shown in this figure, a network controller 520 for roughly controlling protocol processing on the network 1 and control of the file server 500 as a whole such as analysis of packet contents extracted by the protocol and separation of image data are performed. And a hard disk (HD) controller 530 for controlling a single hard disk (HD) 531-1 to 531-3 or the like.

As an instruction input means from the file server administrator, it comprises a pointing device 544, a keyboard 545, a color display 542 for displaying a menu, a display memory 541, and a display controller 540. In addition, 561 is RO
M stores a control program executed by the file server main controller 510. Reference numeral 562 denotes a client priority table, which is the client computer 40.
Information about 0 is stored. A queue management controller 550 controls reading / writing of the queue table data 551. In addition, 543 is a keyboard /
The mouse controller 560 is a main memory.

FIG. 6 shows the raster image storage unit 7 shown in FIG.
12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of No. 00. FIG. The configuration and operation will be described below.

As shown in this figure, the raster image storage unit 7
Reference numeral 00 denotes a memory management controller 720 that efficiently arranges and manages color raster image data in a raster image memory 760 centering on an image main controller 710 that controls the entire raster image data, and its position / attribute as a management table. The information table 770 and the image editing controller 730 that performs image conversion and enlargement / reduction / deformation editing relating to colors when registering images in the already registered image data or memory, and layout editing when outputting to the printer unit in real time. The layout controller 750 and the like which are used in FIG.

When outputting the image data on the memory, the color digital interface controller 7 is used.
Image data can be transferred to the color printer unit 300 via 90 to obtain a color printer image.

Image data and commands between the raster image storage unit 700 and the main bus of the scanner / print server 200 are based on a specific format, and the image main controller 710 and the scanner / print server 200 are connected via the bus controller 740. Print server 200
It is configured to interact with the main controller of.

The raster image storage unit 700 can manage image data in two modes: a file management mode and a page mode.

The first file management mode is a function of storing / managing a plurality of image data, and the stored image data is stored in a plurality of registered images by an instruction from the main controller 210 of the scanner / printer server. Data can be laid out and output to the color printer 300 via the color digital interface controller 790 to obtain a color print image.

At this time, the plurality of image data are managed as image files by dividing the raster image 760 into a plurality of parts, and the start address on the memory and the image data length, the attribute of the image data, the image, and the like. Position information and the like of the layout output of the data are registered in the position / attribute information table 770, which is stored in the memory management controller 72.
0 will be in control.

Then, when the layout is actually output, when the layout is output with the image editing controller 730 that performs the image conversion regarding the color of the registered image data,
The position and size are designated by the layout controller 750 that performs reduction / deformation editing, and are output to the color printer 300 via the color digital interface controller 790.

Therefore, since the original image data is always on the memory, it is possible to change the layout output.

In the page mode which is another memory management mode, the raster image memory 760 is treated as one sheet, and the memory width (WIDTH) / height (H
(IGHT), and multiple image data are
When laid out on the memory, the image editing controller 730 performs enlargement / reduction / transformation and image conversion regarding the color of the image data, and fits it in the specified layout position on the memory.

In this way, the layout controller 750
The position and size are designated by, and the data is output to the color printer 300 via the color digital interface controller 790.

Client computer 400, file server 500, scanner / print server 200
Since communication is performed on each of the networks, a block of a data string called a packet as shown in FIG. 7 is used to exchange packets with each other.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the network packet section in the scanner / printer server system of the present invention.

As shown in this figure, the packet structure (packet base 10001) is set such that the network address of the transmission destination (counterpart) is set at the beginning and then the network address of the transmission source (sender). The actual packet data (packet data portion 10002) follows the information such as the frame size of the packet, and finally a CRC called a tailor in order to improve the reliability of data transfer.
Error checking such as is attached.

The packet data section 10002 is composed of a header section 10003, a data block section 10004, etc., and the header section 10003 has a header code 100.
19, function code part 10020, continuous packet ID 10030, total packet ID 10031,
The data length 10032 is included, and the function code part 10020 has a function ID 100
21, job type ID 10022, job ID 100
It is composed of 23 and the like.

As described above, in the header section 10003 of the packet data section 1002, as shown in FIG. 7, first, a header code indicating that it is header information is inserted at the beginning, and then what function this packet data has. Function code part 10020 indicating whether or not a continuous No. when forming one data by a plurality of packets. , A continuous packet ID 10030, a total packet ID 10031 indicating the total number of packets, and a data length 10032 indicating the data length of the data block section 10004 in which the actual data is stored. The function code section 10020 has a function ID 10021 indicating the type of the scanner / printer server and a job type ID 10 indicating the type of job for the server.
022, job ID 100 that identifies the job to be executed
23.

FIG. 8 shows the data block unit 1 shown in FIG.
It is a figure explaining the detailed data structure of 0004.

As shown in this figure, the data block unit 1
0004 is a command block 10005, a status block 10006, an image data block 10007,
The image information block 10008 and the like are included.

As described above, the packet data portion 10002
The data block part 10004 of the
Job type I of the function code part 10020 of
Depending on the contents of D10022, the command block 1000
5, a status block 10006, an image data block 10007, and an image information block 10008.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 9 and FIG.
The data structures of the queuing entry table 10200 and the queuing table 10300 stored in the queue table data 551 shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows the queuing entry table 1 stored in the queue table data 551 shown in FIG.
It is a figure explaining the data structure of 0200, and FIG.
10 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a queuing table of queuing entry table 10200 shown in FIG. 9. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the queuing entry table 10200 has the queue entry table ID 1
0207, queue type 10202, total number of queues 10208, queuing table 10209, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 10, the queuing table 10300 includes a server ID 10301, a maximum number of registered queues 10312, a queuing file remaining capacity 10313, a device type 10302, a queue type 10303, a queue status 10304, a total queue 10306, It is composed of an execution queue 10307, job data 10320, and the like.

The job data 10320 includes a job ID 10308 and a queuing file ID 1030.
5, job status 10309, print total 1
0310, number of printed sheets 10311, client network ID 10315, priority level 10314, and the like.

As described above, the structure of the queue table data is managed by managing the queuing table 10300 for each scanner / print server in the queuing entry table 10200 so as to support a plurality of scanner / print servers. A plurality of print / scan jobs requested by the client are registered in each queuing table.

The queue management controller 55 shown in FIG.
0 refers to the contents of the queuing table 10300 registered in the queuing entry table 10200, checks the queue type in each queuing table 10300, and specifies the specified function ID.
The one corresponding to 10021 is searched. As a result, if it exists, its queuing table 10300
Create overall status information from the data in.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there are a plurality of objects, a plurality of pieces of overall status information are created.

The data of the overall status information is the queue corresponding to the specified function ID 10021.
Registration queue ID 10209, the server ID / network ID 10301 of the target print server, the registerable capacity 10313 of the queuing file data assigned to the queue table, the total number of queues 10306 currently registered, the maximum number of queues that can be registered. 10312, a client priority level 10314 for each registered queue, a network ID 10315 of the client that registered the job, an error code, and the like.

The print processing operation in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. [Layout Process on Client Computer] FIGS. 11 to 14 are flowcharts showing an example of a print process procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention. In addition, STEP1, STEP2 ...
Indicates each step. [Layout Process on Client Computer] On the client computer 400, DTP (disk top publishing) software is loaded from the hard disk (HD) 451 onto the main memory 460 (STEP 1), and the CPU 405 executes the DTP software. Is executed (STEP 2). Next, the user operates the pointing device 431 and the keyboard 441.
Lay out a document image and various image data (illustration formed by vector / multivalued image such as natural image captured by a scanner) by using (STEP3),
Direct confirmation is performed on the display 412.

When a multivalued natural image is laid out on a document image, it is also possible to add a mask process to the image for cropping with a binary bitmap image.

The processing procedure / multi-valued image data / binary bit map image, etc. of an arbitrary document image created during that period is
The image editing controller 413 is registered in the main memory 460 at any time (STEP 4, 5), and when the appearance of one page is completed, the hard disk (HD) controller 45
By controlling 0, it is determined whether or not the layout is completed as the appearance of one page on the hard disk (HD) 451 (STEP6). If NO, the process returns to step STEP3, and if YES, one page on the hard disk (HD). Register appearance information (STEP 7). Next, it is determined whether or not the series of editing / layout operations have been completed for all pages (STEP 8). If NO, the process returns to step STEP 3, and if YES, raster image generation processing is executed. [Raster Image Generation] During the above processing, the document image developed on the display memory 411 based on each step processing is displayed on the display 412, and laid out on the hard disk (HD) when finally completed. ROM based on various information of document image
The device driver software therein converts / registers a document or image created by layout into a multivalued raster image (STEP 9). At that time, the width and height of the image data and the type of the image data (RGB, CMYK, b
Itmap, 8Palette), position information for layout output, and color correction information are converted / registered as command data on the hard disk (HD) together with image data (STEP 10).

The multivalued raster image converted in this manner is used for vector information such as characters and illustrations, the data of the laid-out multivalued raster image such as a natural image, a mask command for mask processing, and its mask. It is created by the device driver software based on the binary bit map image data of the data.

The status request processing for the print queue will be described below with reference to FIG. [Status Request for Print Queue] Here, the client computer 400 communicates with the network controller 420 and the network controller 520 of the file server 500.

Therefore, based on the network address 453 of the file server registered in advance in the client computer, the network controller 420
Sets the destination address of the packet base 10001 (see FIG. 7), sets the function ID 10021 of the header section 10003 to the ID for the color printer that is uniquely determined as the ID for identifying the function, and the execution mode is color. Specify that it is a print. Since the job ID (job ID 10023) has not been decided yet, "0" is set and the job type ID 10
As 022, the ID of a command that is uniquely determined and indicates a data block of the command is set.

At this time, the data block unit 10004 is
Set the print queue status request command to get the current print queue status information on the file server side. As a parameter of the command of this print queue status request, based on the command data previously registered on the hard disk (HD), the type of image data to be registered (RGB, CMYK, bitm).
ap, 8Palette) and the width and height sizes of the image data are set as parameters (STEP 1
1).

Next, the client computer 400
Transfers the packet data to the file server 500 via the network controller 420.
On the file server side, the file server main controller 500 displays the contents of the packet in the header section 10
003 and the data block unit 10004 are separated, the content of the data block unit 10004 is analyzed as a command, and processing according to the command is performed.

Since the request from the client side is the command of the print queue status request of the file server, the file server main controller 500
Requests the queue management controller whether or not there is queue information of the printer with the specified function ID 10021 (STEP 12).

The data of the entire status information is set in the data block portion of the packet data, and the job type ID in the header is set to the ID of the status block,
Send back to the client computer that issued the status request.

At this time, the type of image data (RGB, C
MYK, bitmap, 8Palette) and the size of the width and height of the image data of the image data is calculated and compared with the value of the registerable capacity 10313 of the queuing file data assigned to the queue table. . At this time, if the required image data capacity cannot be secured, a capacity shortage error code is set.

The maximum number of queues that can be registered 10312
If is equal to the total number of queues 10306 currently registered, no more jobs can be registered, and an error code indicating insufficient queue allocation is set.

If the target queue information does not exist, a uniquely determined target printer is not found and an error code is set in the data block portion of the packet data and returned to the client computer 400 that issued the status request. . The check processing of the queuing table will be described below. [Checking Queuing Table] Next, the client computer 400 divides / analyzes the contents of the packet data returned from the file server in the same manner as the above-mentioned file server (STEP 13), and registers as a currently valid scanner / print server. Cue I
Get D.

Next, it is determined whether or not the queue / registered capacity is full (STEP 14), and if NO, the processing shifts to the processing shown in FIG. 14, and if YES, the error code is checked at this time and the error code of insufficient capacity is detected. ， When the error code of insufficient queue allocation is set, the currently executing queue 10307 is determined from the data of the overall status information.
The value of the priority level 10314 is compared with the value of the priority level preset in the client computer 400, and it is determined whether the priority level of the client is higher than the priority level of the job currently being executed (STEP 15). . This priority level is a value for deciding the order of execution when performing queue registration or printing for the file server, and assigns a priority of 1 to 10 to each client computer. Are registered as tables 562 and 262 on the file server and scanner / printer server sides.

If the priority level on the client side is lower than the currently executed queue in the determination of STEP15, the device driver on the client side displays a warning message to the user that the job cannot be executed (STE).
P151), after repeating the above-mentioned operation after a preset time, wait until a space is available on the file server (STEP152), and then step STEP.
Return to 11.

On the other hand, when it is determined in STEP 15 that the priority level on the client side is higher than that of the queue currently being executed. That is, before registering a queue, the above-mentioned overall status information on the file server 500 side is obtained, the error code is checked, and if the error code of insufficient capacity and the error code of insufficient queue allocation are set, the scanner is used thereafter. / Performs interrupt processing to the print server. [Interruption to Scanner / Print Server] When the above determination is made, the client computer 400
Indicates the target scanner / target from the overall status information of the packet data returned from the file server 500.
The network ID 10301 of the print server is fetched from the queuing table 10300. The client computer is the scanner / print server 200.
On the other hand, an interrupt request command is set in the packet-based data block section and transferred in the procedure described above.

As the parameter of this interrupt request command, the value of the job priority level 452 registered in advance on the hard disk (HD) of the client computer is set as described above (STEP 1
6).

Next, the client computer sends an interrupt request command to the scanner / print server at regular intervals and repeats a certain number of times to see if there is no connection response, that is, if the scanner / printer server is in the BUSY state. Determine if there is (STE
P17). If YES in this determination, it is determined whether or not the connection request has exceeded the retry count (STEP 17
1), if NO, return to step STEP16, YES
If so, the device driver displays a warning message to the user that the job cannot be executed (STEP 172), and after a certain period of time has elapsed (STEP 173), step STEP1.
It returns to 1 and repeats the operation of issuing the overall status request command to the file server side, and waits until there is space on the file server.

On the other hand, NO in the determination in step STEP17.
In case of, connect to the scanner / printer server (ST
EP18), while the scanner / printer server receives the image data of the job currently being executed from the file server and sequentially registers it in the raster image data section, as described above, at regular intervals. The network server controller 221 checks whether a print request from another client is directly sent to the scanner / print server, and checks an interrupt request. [Check of Interrupt Request] Here, the scanner / print server 200 having received the packet of the interrupt request command from the previous client side, firstly, from the client priority level table 262, the priority level at which the interrupt request is made and the current execution. The priority order of the client job is compared (STEP 19).

Then, the processing shifts to the procedure shown in FIG. 13, and it is judged whether or not the priority of the job currently being executed is high (STEP 20). If NO, the error code indicating that the priority of the job is low is packet-based. Set to
It is returned to the client side as status information. Next, on the client side, since the status information from the scanner / print server 200 indicates an error, the error processing is performed as described above (STEP2
01-203), and returns to step STEP11.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step STEP20 that the priority of the interrupt request job is higher, a uniquely determined job ID for interrupt is set in the status packet, and as described above, Send it back to the client side. [Issue Job Interruption Command] Then, the scanner / print server 200 issues a job interruption command to the file server 500 in order to interrupt the job currently being executed (STEP 21). The parameter of this job suspension command includes the job ID of the target job.

Then, the job reset process is started. [Job Reset] The file server 500 detects the target queue table from the job ID obtained from this command packet, and sets the queue status to a uniquely determined value during execution of the interrupt interrupt. Change (STEP 22). As a result, the client side executing this job finds from the queue status 10304 that the execution job is interrupted by the above-described monitoring method. The direct registration / image data transfer processing for the scanner / printer server will be described below. [Direct Registration / Image Data Transfer to Scanner / Printer Server] Next, the device driver of the client computer 400 determines from the status packet returned from the scanner / printer server 200
It is determined whether or not the interrupt is accepted. If the interrupt is successful, the client computer 40 is determined based on the interrupt job ID set in the status packet.
The rasterized image data registered on the 0 hard disk (HD) 451 and the command data containing the layout information are read, and the packet base 10
The job ID 10023 of 001 is set to the same value as that obtained according to the status, and the job type ID 10
The command type is set as 022.

The data block section 10100 at this time is
A print execution command is set (STEP 23), and in the command part 10005, parameters of the positional information of the layout to be printed, color balance information, print information such as the number of prints, image size of image data (width, width,
Height), image data type (RGB, CMYK, bi
parameters such as tmap, 8Palette), image data transfer unit (line sequential, area sequential, dot sequential). At this time, similarly to the procedure described above, the number of packets of the entire image data block after the command block is set in the total packet ID 10031 of the header 10020. These packets are sequentially transferred to the scanner / printer server 200 side similarly to the packet transfer described above, and the contents of the command packet are checked (STEP
24) and then the scanner / printer server 200
Are these command packets 1005 / image data packets 1000 from the client computer 400.
7, the image data obtained by the transfer on the scanner / printer server 200 side is converted into a series of image data by the continuous packet ID as a series of image data from the file server 500 in the raster image data storage unit 700.
In order to register the image data in the raster image memory 760, a file ID for new image data registration is requested from the memory management controller (STEP 60), and print information such as layout is registered in the position information table corresponding to the designated image file (STEP 61). .

Then, the designated image data portion is divided and transferred to the scanner / print server in a plurality of packets (STEP 62). Then, the divided image data is registered in the raster image memory, and it is determined whether or not all the image packets have been transferred (STEP 63). If NO, the process returns to STEP 62. If YES, the scanner / printer server determines the layout information and the number of printed sheets. Are set in the layout controller (STEP 64), and the raster image of the designated image file ID is enlarged / reduced / transformed (STEP 65). Then, the printer of the digital color copying machine prints out (STEP 66). Then, write the number of prints / error information during printing to the job status of the file server (STEP6
7) The client computer checks the job status of the scanner / printer server to determine whether printing is completed (STEP 68). If NO, the process returns to STEP 65, and if YES, the interrupted job of the file server is executed (STEP 69). ), The contents of the queue table on the file server are checked (STEP 70), and the process returns to STEP 11.

As described above, according to the interrupt print control method of the scanner / printer server system, the presence / absence of a direct print interrupt request from each client computer 400 is determined, and the interrupt request is sent from the client computer 400 requested by the determination result. The access priority in the command and the access priority requested to be output from the file server 500 are compared with reference to the set priority information, and an output request request from the file server 500 is made based on the comparison result. Client computer 40 for direct print request
Since switching of output requests from 0 is controlled, depending on the situation, interrupt access to the print server can be realized directly on the network 1 without using the spool function on the file server side, and the registered capacity on the file server 500 can be increased. It is possible to efficiently distribute the output request exceeding the number to a plurality of clients.

The structure of the continuous network packet and the structure of the queuing file will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the queuing file managed by the file server 500 shown in FIG.

As shown in this figure, the queuing file 10200 has a header portion and a data block portion 1010.
4, a next header part, and a data block part corresponding to the next header, and the queuing header part is
Header code 10203, function code section 10
104, total header 10231, status section 10
240, data block portion data length 10232, etc., and a queuing function code portion 1010.
4 is a function ID, a job type 10222,
It is composed of a job ID 10223.

The data block section 10104 includes a command block 10105 and a status block 101.
06, an image data block 10107, an image information block 10108 and the like.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the packet structure at the time of continuous packet transfer from the client computer 400 shown in FIG. 1 to the file server 500.

As shown in this figure, during continuous packet transfer, the data part of the packet base 10001 is the packet data part 10001-2 to 10001-4.
Composed of.

A case where a job is registered in the queuing table 10300 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

17 to 19 show a scanner / device according to the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing an example of a system processing procedure in the printer server system.

In addition, STEP30 and STEP3 in the figure
1, ... indicates each step.

If there is no error code and the job can be registered in the queuing table, the device driver on the client computer 400 uses the same procedure as the above-mentioned issuance of the overall status request command, and the device server of the packet-based 10001 file server. The destination address is set, the ID for the color printer, which is uniquely determined as an ID for identifying the function, is set in the function ID of the header section, and it is clearly indicated that the execution mode is the color printer. The job ID is set to "0" because the job has not been confirmed yet, and the job type I
As D, the ID of a command that is uniquely determined and indicates a data block of the command is set.

At this time, the data block section sets a job registration command for registering a new print job in the print queue on the file server side, and also sets the parameter of the determined registration queue ID in the command section. This packet is issued to the file server (STEP 30). Then, the process proceeds to the new job ID issuing process of the file server. [Issue new job ID of file server] First, on the file server 500 side, the file server main controller 510 separates the contents of the packet into the header part and the data block part as described above, and the contents of the data block part are It analyzes that it is a command and performs processing according to the job registration command. The file server main controller 510 is the queue management controller 5
For 50, a new job is registered in the queuing table of the printer corresponding to the designated registration queue ID in the job registration command, and the job ID at that time is newly issued. At that time, as the status, the job ID is set in the status block of the packet to be returned, and the packet is returned to the client computer by the procedure described above. After that, scan / print processing is performed in the network using the job ID as an identification keyboard.

The print job registration / image data transfer of the client is performed by rasterizing the image data registered on the hard disk (HD) which obtains the job ID from the status packet returned from the file server 500 and its layout. The command data containing the information is read, the packet-based job ID is set to the same value as that obtained, and the command type is set as the job type ID. At this time, the print execution command is set in the data block section, and the position information parameter of the layout to be printed, color balance information, print information such as the number of prints, image size (width, height) of the image data is set in the command section. ), The type of image data (RGB, CMYK, bitmap, 8Pal
image, transfer unit of image data (line sequential, frame sequential,
Set parameters such as dot sequence (STEP 31,
32). At this time, the number of packets to be sent in the entire image data block after the command block is calculated from the image data size and the image type, and the total number of packets (including command packets) is calculated in the header total. Set to packet ID. These packets are sent to the client computer 40 by the procedure described above.
Continuous transfer (division transfer) from 0 to the file server (STEP 33).

In the continuous transfer of packets in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, some command packets are transferred first, and then a packet of image data is transferred. The command type, the image data, and the job type ID in the header at the time of transfer are set to the respective types, and the job IDs are those registered in the queue. The continuous packet IDs of the header part are sequentially sent from "0" to the total packet ID-1 in order from the packet from the beginning, and are repeatedly sent (STEP 34).

On the file server 500 side, the command packet / image data packet is received from the client computer 400 described above, and the designated job I
It is checked whether D exists, and if it exists, it is sequentially registered in the hard disk (HD) in the file server as a queuing file (STEP3
5). Then, the queuing file 1020 registered in the hard disk (HD) in the file server in the queue of the job ID obtained from this command packet.
Register an ID of 0. The job ID and the queuing file ID are managed as one set in the queuing table.

The command packet / image data packet registered on the hard disk (HD) is managed as one file data on the file server 500 as shown in FIG. 15 (STEP 36).

Subsequently, after the processing shown in FIG. 18 is performed, the main controller 210 of the scanner / printer server 200 connected to the network 1 is set at a constant time registered in the ROM 206 on the server.
The file server 50 is based on the network ID of the file server registered in the main memory 260.
Access the 0 side (STEP 37).

Next, the scanner / printer server 20
For 0, an ID for a color printer, which is uniquely determined as an ID for identifying a function, is set in the function ID of the header portion based on the packet base described above, and it is clearly indicated that the execution mode is color printing. Then, the server queue status request command is set in the data block section (STEP 38).

In the present embodiment, the status request command is a command for obtaining the information of the queuing table from the scanner / printer server among all the information of the queue state on the file server side, and the parameter As a uniquely determined scanner /
Set the printer server ID and network ID.

The scanner / printer server 200 sends this packet data to the network controller 220.
To the file server 500 via. At this time, on the file server side, the file server main controller 510 similarly separates the contents of the packet into a header part and a data block part, analyzes that the contents of the data block part is a command, and follows the command. Perform processing. Since the request from the scanner / printer server side is a request for all the information of the queue corresponding to the ID of the scanner / printer server, the file server main controller 510 uses the queue information of the printer corresponding to the ID of the specified scanner / printer server. The queue management controller 550 is requested whether or not there is any (STEP 39).

Thus, the scanner / printer server can obtain the information of the queuing table assigned to itself. From the information in the queuing table, it is determined whether or not a newly registered job is found (STEP 40). If NO, step S
Returning to TEP 37, a command packet for command reading of the file information is issued to the file server 500 based on the newly registered queuing job file ID. The command read in this embodiment is a process of extracting and reading only the command packet portion from the file information.

On the other hand, if the determination in step STEP40 is YES.
If it is determined to be S, the file server 500 side requests the file information of the specified queuing job file ID from the issued command packet to the hard disk (HD) controller 530 of the file server 500 side (STEP 41). ), And file information corresponding to it (the packet data from the client is registered as a file) in the hard disk (HD) 53.
1 is read out, and only the command packet portion is extracted from the file information and transferred as packet data to the scanner / printer server 200 (STEP 4
2). The extraction processing is performed by the file server main controller 510.

Next, the scanner / printer server 20
0 indicates the position information parameter of the layout to be printed, the color balance information, the print information such as the number of prints, the image size (width, height) of the image data, the image data of the image data obtained from the command read. Type (RGB, CMYK, bitmap, 8P
parameters such as image data transfer unit (line sequential, area sequential, dot sequential).

Next, the scanner / printer server 20
The main controller 210 of 0 sets up the image controller 710 of the raster image storage unit 700 via the bus controller 740 so as to operate in the file management mode described above.

As a result, the image controller initializes the memory management controller in order to manage the raster image memory in the file management mode, and sets the queued image data to the raster image memory 76.
In order to register 0, the arbitrary file ID of the image data at the time of registration is set in the memory management controller. The memory management controller uses this as an image file ID for management / identification (STEP 4
3).

The print information / image attribute parameter of the cueing image data obtained from the file server 500 is set in the position / attribute information table 770 (STEP 44).

Subsequently, the processing shifts to the procedure shown in FIG. 19, and the main controller 210 issues a command packet to the file server as described above in order to read the image data which is queued next. This command packet is an image data reader command, and only the image data packet portion is extracted from the previously obtained keyboarding file information on the file server, and packetized as the scanner / printer server 200.
To the side (STEP 45).

Next, the scanner / printer server 20
On the side of 0, the image data obtained by the transfer is transferred as a series of image data packets by the continuous packet ID (STEP 46). Therefore, as soon as the packets are obtained from the network controller 220, the image data is stored as raster image data. It is registered in the raster image memory 760 of the unit 700 (STEP 47).

At the time of registration, the image data is managed as an image file by dividing the raster image memory 760 into a plurality of parts, and the start address on the memory and the image data length, the attribute of the image data, and the image data are stored. The image file I in which the position information of the layout output of
Register in the position / attribute information table 770 corresponding to D,
The image data transferred from the file server is registered in the raster image memory 760 based on the information (STEP 48).

When the registration of all the image data packets is completed in this way, the main controller 210 determines the position / position.
The layout controller 75 is used to output the number of copies of the attribute information table and layout information.
The value is set to 0 (STEP 49), and the layout controller performs enlarging / reducing / transforming editing to the designated position and size (STEP 50). Then, the raster image data can be transferred via the color digital interface controller 790 and output to the color printer unit 300 to print the image requested by the client (STEP 51).

In this way, the status executed by the scanner / printer server can be notified to the queue management controller of the file server at any time and can be monitored.

Then, the command packet for setting the status information on the scanner / printer server side to the file server side issues a status set command (STEP 52). In this embodiment, the status command is the job ID of the current print output execution queue.
Is a command for setting the setting, the current number of output sheets, and the output end flag in the corresponding queuing table.

Next, by status information monitoring described later, it is determined whether the job status in the queuing table of the file server is print end (STEP 53). If NO, the process returns to step STEP 50, and if YES, the process ends.

Hereinafter, when a command parameter is registered in the raster image storage unit by command read in this embodiment, a job to be executed in the execution queue 10307 of the corresponding queuing table on the file server side by this status set command. ID, set the job status 10309 to data transfer,
Total number of prints Total print 10310
In addition, the number of printed sheets is set to "1".

Then, when the raster image storage unit 700 starts the print output, the main controller 210 of the scanner / printer server 200 sets the job status of the job data of the corresponding queuing table of the file server to print execution. .

At the time when printing is started, the main controller 210 inquires of the raster image storage unit 700 about the printing status at regular intervals, thereby checking the current number of printed sheets and the error status such as no paper. Then, the information is set by the status set command to the print executed number 10311 in the queuing table on the file server side, and the print executed number obtained from the raster image storage unit 700 is set.

The status information monitor processing operation by the client computer 400 will be described below.

After issuing the print execution packet and issuing all the command packets and the image data packets, the client computer 400 monitors the status of the queuing table on the file server side. CPU 405 of client computer 400
Issues a command packet of a job status request command via the network controller 420. This command packet returns the job information of the queuing table of the job ID specified as a parameter to the client side, which makes it possible to monitor the information of the current job.

The job monitoring in this embodiment is performed by the CPU 40 of the client computer 400.
5 is a job ID of the data printed out based on the status information obtained from the file server 500, a file server ID of the registration destination, and a scanner / printer server ID of the digital color copying machine to be printed.
And displaying the queuing table on the display controller 410.

Each ID can be displayed in contrast with a unique name managed on the file server / client computer, which makes it easy to identify the server. Also,
In the displayed queuing table of the file server, the total number of queuing tables, the current execution process of the scanner / print server, the number of printed sheets, and the error status can be displayed. Get information.

The client side can also judge whether the job status is print completion by the monitor function.

[0141]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention
According to the invention, the determination means determines whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer,
According to the judgment result, the interrupt control means compares the access priority in the command from the client computer for which an interrupt request is made with the access priority requested for output from the file server with reference to the set priority information. Then, the switching of the output request request from the file server and the output request from the client computer requesting the direct print is controlled based on the comparison result. Therefore, depending on the situation, the direct print server does not use the spool function on the file server side. It is possible to realize interrupt access to the network and to efficiently distribute output requests exceeding the registered capacity on the file server to multiple clients.

According to the second invention, since the raster image data output from each client computer and the state of a predetermined command are registered and managed in the management table of the file server, a job request is issued from each client computer. It can be grasped accurately.

According to the third invention, since the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, the request from the scanner / printer side can be obtained. Depending on the, it can be surely grasped whether a new job is registered on the file server.

According to the fourth invention, the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and the raster image fetched in the image storage means. Since the data is stored, the original raster image data can be held and various edited images can be processed and output on the scanner / printer side.

According to the fifth invention, the layout means on the print server side fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and the fetched raster image. Since data is allocated and edited based on the queuing print information, various edited images can be processed and output on the scanner / printer side while laying out various edited images.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the printer server manages the plurality of scanners / printers and the plurality of printers based on the identification information for uniquely identifying them. Therefore, the configurations of the scanners / printers and printers on the system are changed. Even then, the relative system environment can be updated only by adding or correcting the identification information only for the changed scanner / printer or printer.

According to the seventh invention, the scanner / printer or the printer outputs any one of the color raster image, the monochrome binary image, and the monochrome grayscale raster image. Therefore, the color raster image, the monochrome binary image, and the monochrome image. Even if the situation exceeds the allocation on the file server according to the amount of each data of the grayscale raster image, it is possible to directly output by selecting the scanner / printer or the printer and interrupting.

According to the eighth invention, the presence / absence of a direct print interrupt request from each client computer is judged, and the access priority in the command from the client computer requested to interrupt and the output request from the file server are judged from the judgment result. The access priority that has been set is compared with reference to the set priority information, and switching of the output request request from the file server and the output request from the client computer requesting the direct print is controlled based on the comparison result. Therefore, depending on the situation, interrupt access to the print server can be realized directly on the network without using the spool function on the file server side, and output requests that exceed the registered capacity on the file server can be efficiently distributed to multiple clients. Door can be.

Therefore, the output request from each client computer exceeding the registered capacity on the file server can be efficiently distributed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a scanner / printer server system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the digital copying machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a scanner / printer server shown in FIG.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the file server shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a raster image storage unit illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of a network packet unit in the scanner / printer server system of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a detailed data structure of a data block unit shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a queuing entry table stored in the queue table data shown in FIG.

10 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a queuing table of the queuing entry table shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a print processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a print processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a print processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a print processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

15 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a queuing file managed by the file server shown in FIG.

16 is a diagram illustrating a packet structure at the time of continuous packet transfer from the client computer shown in FIG. 1 to a file server.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a system processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a system processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a system processing procedure in the scanner / printer server system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Network 200 Scanner / Printer Server 220 Network Controller 400 Client Computer 500 File Server 1000 Digital Color Copier

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A print server for controlling a network print processing request of a scanner / printer comprising a scanner section for executing a scanner function and a printer section for executing a print function process, and an access order for the scanner / printer can be set. A plurality of client computers and a file server that queues raster image data and predetermined commands input from each client computer and communicates with the print server to transfer the queued raster image data and commands are predetermined. Of the command from the client computer that is requesting the interrupt. Client that makes a request for output and a direct print request from the file server based on the comparison result by comparing the access priority and the access priority requested by the file server with reference to the set priority information. A scanner / printer server system, wherein the print server is provided with interrupt control means for controlling switching of output requests from a computer. 2. A scanner / printer server according to claim 1, wherein the file server has a management table for registering and managing raster image data output from each client computer and the status of a predetermined command. system. 3. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1, wherein the print server fetches the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network. 4. The print server has an image storage means for taking in the queuing print information and raster image data registered in a management table in the file server via a network and storing the taken raster image data. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1, wherein 5. The print server takes in the queuing print information and the raster image data registered in the management table in the file server via the network, and based on the queuing print information, the taken raster image data. 2. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1, further comprising layout means for performing layout editing. 6. The printer server comprises a plurality of scanners /
2. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1, wherein the printer and the plurality of printers are managed based on identification information for uniquely identifying the printer. 7. A scanner / printer or printer is
2. The scanner / printer server system according to claim 1, wherein any one of a color raster image, a monochrome binary image, and a monochrome grayscale raster image can be output. 8. A print server for controlling a network print processing request of a scanner / printer, comprising a scanner section for executing a scanner function and a printer section for executing a print function process, and an access order for the scanner / printer can be set. A plurality of client computers and a file server that queues raster image data and predetermined commands input from each client computer and communicates with the print server to transfer the queued raster image data and commands are predetermined. In the interrupt print control method of the scanner / printer server system communicatively connected to the network, it is judged whether or not there is a direct print interrupt request from each client computer, and the judgment result is used. The access priority in the command from the client computer for which an interrupt request has been made and the access priority requested to be output from the file server are compared with reference to the set priority information, and the file is based on the comparison result. An interrupt print control method for a scanner / printer server system, characterized by controlling switching between an output request request from a server and an output request from a client computer requesting a direct print.