JPH08292843A - Print processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a reception process which is requested during a reception wait from being made to wait unnecessarily and evade the decrease in throughput by setting the wait time to a shorter time when a print control instruction is received. CONSTITUTION: The print processor 11 is equipped with a recording part 12 as a printer part and a print control part 13 which supplies an image to the recording part 12, and can receive print data including plotting instruction data and print control instruction divisionally from plural information processors. When the print data are received, it is judged whether or not the print data include the print control instruction. When the plotting instruction data are received here, it is estimated that the print control instruction are sent right after them, so the wait time is left as it is a usual time T1. When it is judged that the received print data include the print control instruction, there is the possibility that the print control instruction corresponds to the end of the print data, so the wait time T1 is set to the shorter time T2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print processing device,
More specifically, print data including drawing instruction data including at least one of characters, images, and graphics can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices. When executing a job for the transmitted print data, if the next print data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1, the print data from the one information processing device is received. The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus that finishes the execution of a job for the above and executes a job for new print data from the information processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, print data including drawing instruction data such as characters and images is received from an information processing device such as a host computer connected through a network such as a LAN, and the received print data is transferred to a predetermined paper. A print processing device (printer) that prints on a paper is used (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3)
-22128, and JP-A-2-16625). Further, it receives user-defined data such as form data, logo data, pattern (character font) data created in an information processing device such as a host computer, and registers the received user-defined data in a predetermined user-defined data memory. Print processing devices are also known. In the user-defined data registered here, the corresponding form, logo, etc. are read during printing processing and printed on a predetermined paper.

By the way, in the above-mentioned print processing apparatus, in order to detect the end of the reception of the print data from the information processing apparatus, the reception of the print data is stopped and then the reception waiting state is entered, which is set in advance. When the next print data is not received even after the waiting time elapses, it is determined that the reception of the print data from the information processing device is completed.

[0004]

However, in the middle of waiting for the reception, print data is transmitted from an information processing apparatus different from the information processing apparatus for which the reception is waiting (when the reception of the print data is requested. ), The print processing device cannot receive the print data from another information processing device, and is unconditionally waited until the above waiting time elapses. Therefore, the other reception processing requested in the middle of the reception waiting as described above is delayed more than necessary, and the throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus is lowered.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides a print processing apparatus capable of avoiding waiting for other requested receiving processing in the middle of waiting for receiving more than necessary and avoiding reduction of throughput. The purpose is to do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides drawing instruction data including at least one of a character, an image and graphics, and the drawing instruction data. Print data including a print control command for controlling the output of the drawing instruction data that is subsequently arranged can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices, and transmitted from one information processing device. In executing the job for the print data, the job for the print data from the one information processing device when the next print data is not received between the reception time and the predetermined waiting time T1. Is a print processing device that executes a job for new print data from the information processing device, and the received print data is the print control command. A first determination means for determining whether including, when the indicia shaped data by the first determining means is determined to contain the printing control command, the waiting time T
A first setting means for setting 1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, print data including drawing instruction data including at least one of characters, images and graphics can be divided and received from each of a plurality of information processing devices. Yes, when executing the job for the print data transmitted from one information processing device, if the next print data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1 elapses,
A print processing device that terminates execution of a job for print data from the one information processing device and executes a job for new print data from the information processing device, when the drawing instruction data is received. , Drawing instruction data storage means for storing the drawing instruction data, data output means for outputting the drawing instruction data stored by the drawing instruction data storage means at a predetermined timing, and output of the drawing instruction data by the data output means And a waiting time T1 shorter than the waiting time T1 when it is judged by the second judging means that the output of the drawing instruction data is completed. T
And a second setting unit for setting to 2.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, user-defined data including at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, macro data, and external character data, and an instruction to start registration of the user-defined data. Registration data including a registration start command and a registration end command arranged following the user-defined data and instructing the end of registration of the user-defined data can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices. When executing the job for the registration data transmitted from the one information processing device, if the next registration data is not received during the period from the reception time to the elapse of the predetermined waiting time T1, The execution of the job for the registration data from the information processing device is ended, and the job for the new registration data from the information processing device is executed. A print processing device for determining whether or not the received registration data includes the registration end command, and the registration data including the registration end command by the third judgment unit. When it is determined that the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1, a third setting unit is provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, user-defined data including at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, macro data, and external character data, and an instruction to start registration of the user-defined data. Registration data including a registration start command and a registration end command arranged following the user-defined data and instructing the end of registration of the user-defined data can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices. When executing the job for the registration data transmitted from the one information processing device, if the next registration data is not received during the period from the reception time to the elapse of the predetermined waiting time T1, The execution of the job for the registration data from the information processing device is ended, and the job for the new registration data from the information processing device is executed. A print processing device for storing the user-defined data when the user-defined data is received, and the user-defined data storage means when the registration start command is received. Data registration means for starting registration of the user-defined data stored by, and registering the user-defined data by the data registration means until the registration end command is received. A fourth judging means for judging whether or not the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1 when the fourth judging means judges that the registration of the user-defined data is completed. And a fourth setting unit.

[0010]

According to the print processing apparatus of the present invention, the print data including the drawing instruction data and the print control command can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses.

When the print processing device receives the print data transmitted from the one information processing device, the first judging means
It is determined whether the print data includes a print control command.

The print data includes drawing instruction data and a print control command for controlling the output of the drawing instruction data. Of these, the print control command follows the corresponding drawing instruction data. Are arranged. Therefore, when the drawing instruction data is received, it is estimated that the print control command corresponding to the drawing instruction data will be transmitted from the information processing apparatus immediately after that, so the waiting time should be kept at the normal time T1. Is. On the other hand, when the first determining means determines that the received print data includes the print control command, the print control command may correspond to the end of the print data. The setting means can set the waiting time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.

As described above, when the print control command is received, the waiting time T1 is set to the time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.
By setting to, it is possible to further shorten the total waiting time in the job for print data. As a result, the job for the new print data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that the job for the new print data is prevented from waiting unnecessarily for execution, and the processing in the print processing apparatus is performed. It is possible to avoid a decrease in overall throughput.

In the print processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the print data including the drawing instruction data can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses.

Here, when the drawing instruction data is received from one information processing device, the drawing instruction data storage means stores the received drawing instruction data. After that, for example, the timing at which a print control command for controlling the output of the stored drawing instruction data is received, the timing at which drawing instruction data of a predetermined data amount or more is stored in the drawing instruction data storage unit, or the like. Then, the data output means is
The drawing instruction data stored by the drawing instruction data storage means is output.

Here, the output by the data output means is to write the drawing instruction data into a predetermined page buffer, record the written drawing instruction data from the page buffer onto a predetermined recording sheet, and perform the predetermined recording. Includes paper ejection.

Then, the second judging means judges whether or not the output of the drawing instruction data by the data outputting means is completed. Here, when it is determined that the output of the drawing instruction data is completed, it can be considered that the job is in the end state or the separation state with respect to the print data including the drawing instruction data. Can change the waiting time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.

In this way, when the output of the drawing instruction data is completed, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1 to further shorten the total waiting time in the job for the print data. You can As a result, the job for the new print data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that the job for the new print data is prevented from waiting unnecessarily for execution, and the processing in the print processing apparatus is performed. It is possible to avoid a decrease in overall throughput.

In the print processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, the registration data including the user-defined data, the registration start command, and the registration end command can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses. it can.

When the print processing device receives the registration data transmitted from the one information processing device, the third judgment means
It is determined whether the registration data includes a registration end command.

By the way, the registration end command is arranged subsequent to the user-defined data and further arranged after the corresponding registration start command. Therefore, the registration end command may be placed at the end of the registration data.

Therefore, when the third judgment means judges that the registration data includes the registration end command, the registration end command may correspond to the end of the registration data. Therefore, the third setting The means can set the waiting time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.

As described above, when the registration end command is received, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1, so that the total waiting time in the job for the registration data can be further shortened. it can.
As a result, the job for the new registration data from the information processing device is started to be executed earlier,
It is possible to avoid waiting for execution of a job for new registration data more than necessary, and avoid a decrease in throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus.

In the print processing apparatus according to the present invention, the registration data including the user-defined data, the registration start command and the registration end command can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses. it can.

Here, when the user-defined data is received from the one information processing device, the user-defined data storage means stores the received user-defined data, and when the registration start command is received. The data registration means starts registration of the user-defined data stored by the user-defined data storage means. After that, the data registration means registers the user-defined data stored in the user-defined data storage means until the registration end command is received.

Then, the fourth judging means judges whether or not the registration of the user-defined data by the data registration means is completed. Here, when it is determined that the registration of the user-defined data is completed, it can be considered that the job is in the end state or the separation state with respect to the registration data including the user-defined data. Can set the waiting time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.

As described above, when the registration of the user-defined data is completed, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1, so that the total waiting time of the job for the registration data is further shortened. You can As a result, the job for the new registration data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that it is possible to avoid waiting for the job for the new registration data to be unnecessarily waited for and execute the process in the print processing apparatus. It is possible to avoid a decrease in overall throughput.

[0028]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the print processing apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a print processing device 11 as a print processing device of the present invention. Print processing device 11
Is a recording unit 12 as a printer unit that exclusively records an image, and a print control unit 1 that supplies an image to the recording unit 12.
3, and a predetermined alternating current is supplied to these from a power source unit 14 connected to a commercial power source (not shown). In addition, on the front surface of the main body of the print processing apparatus 11, a keyboard for an operator to input a command and the like, a display for visually confirming the processing status, and a small speaker for emitting a sound such as an alarm sound are configured. The operation panel 15 is disposed, and the operation panel 15 is connected to the print control unit 13. The display of the operation panel 15 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD).
Can be used.

The print processing device 11 includes an L (not shown).
Network interface terminals 16 and 1 connected to a communication network such as an AN (Local Area Network)
7, 18 are provided, and these network interface terminals (hereinafter referred to as ports) 16, 17, 1 are provided.
It is possible to input print data to be printed and user-defined data such as forms and character patterns from a plurality of information processing devices such as host computers and workstations connected to the network via each of ing.

The print data includes drawing instruction data including at least one of a character, an image, and graphics, and a page output instruction arranged subsequent to the drawing instruction data and instructing the output of the drawing instruction data. , Is included. The user-defined data includes at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, and macro data, and is arranged subsequent to the user-defined data to instruct registration of the user-defined data. Registration control data including a user-defined data registration command. The page output command corresponds to the print control command of the present invention.

By the way, there are many types of the above information processing devices, and the control data transmitted by them are not necessarily unified. For example, even if the control data transmitted by one information processing device is designed to finely specify the size of the paper to be printed, the size of characters, etc., the control data of another information processing device may specify such detailed designations. It may not be possible. Therefore, in this print processing device 11,
The operator can input necessary instruction information 19 regarding recording from the operation panel 15, and the instruction information 19 can be transmitted to the print control unit 13.
When the print control unit 13 normally receives the instruction information 19,
The response information 21 for notifying that the instruction information 19 has been normally received is returned to the operation panel 15. As a result, a message indicating that the instruction information 19 has been normally transmitted to the print control unit 13 is displayed on the operation panel 15, and the operator can confirm that the input of the instruction information 19 has been normally completed.

Even when the size of the paper to be printed, the size of characters, etc. are specified by the information processing device by the control data, the operator changes / adds the contents specified by the control data from the operation panel 15. By doing so, it is also possible to create the instruction information 19. Also,
It is possible to give priority to the content designated by the control data from the information processing apparatus side, and it is also possible to give priority to the person who gives an instruction later in time.

The recording unit 12 is composed of, for example, a laser printer, exchanges various signals with the print control unit 13 to perform recording work, and ejects the recording paper 23 on which one side or both sides are recorded. It is like this. In addition, the recording unit 12 includes, for example, how the recording paper is stored in a cassette tray (not shown) equipped in the recording unit 12, and whether a fixing unit (not shown) has reached a fixing temperature. Status signal 2 indicating various status
4 is transmitted to the print control unit 13. In addition, the recording unit 12
A synchronization pulse 25 for synchronizing the image transfer with the print control unit 13 is also transmitted to the print control unit 13. On the other hand, the print control unit 13 sends various operation command signals 26 and an image signal 27 representing image data to be recorded to the recording unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print control unit 13 includes a CPU 31 that performs a central function of various controls in the print processing apparatus 11. The CPU 31 has various circuits to be described later via a system bus 32. Mutually connected to the device. Of these, the panel interface (I / F)
The circuit 33 is a circuit for interfacing with the operation panel 15 shown in FIG. 1, and when the operator operates the keyboard of the operation panel 15, the panel interface circuit 33 outputs an instruction signal corresponding to the key operation. It will be transferred on the system bus 32. Further, instruction information for displaying predetermined information on the display of the operation panel 15 is transferred to the panel interface circuit 33 via the system bus 32, and the panel interface circuit 33 instructs the operation panel 15 to display the predetermined information. Is output.

Machine interface (I / F) circuit 3
4, 35, and 36 are the ports 16 and 1 shown in FIG. 1, respectively.
7 and 18 and has a function of interfacing with an information processing device such as the above-mentioned host computer or workstation. This machine interface circuit 3
4, 35 and 36 have a circuit configuration for receiving print data input from a host computer based on the RS232C standard or Centronics standard, for example.

Non-volatile memory device (NVM: Non-Volatile)
A memory) 37 is a storage device backed up by a battery (not shown) and can retain the stored data even when the power supply of the print processing device 11 itself is turned off. The program memory 39 is a memory in which various programs for controlling the print processing device 11 are stored.

The RAM 38 is a working memory, and in the form of allocating the storage area of the RAM 38, the input buffers 38B, 38C and 38D for temporarily storing the received print data and registration data, and the image data to be output. And a page buffer 38A for expanding the. The input buffers 38B, 38C, 38D
Are machine interface circuits 34, 35, 3 respectively.
6 and is used as a storage area for temporarily storing print data and registration data received via these machine interface circuits.

Further, the RAM 38 stores various flags (a job start request flag "Job_St", which will be described later) used in the process for the print data or the registration data received by each port.
art_Request_ * "etc.) storage areas 38E, 38F,
38G (see FIG. 3), 38H, 38J, 38K (see FIG. 10)
(See) is secured.

Recording interface (I / F) circuit 43
Converts the image data expanded in the page memory 38A into an image signal 27 indicating the image data and transmits the image signal 27 to the recording unit 12 shown in FIG. The recording section interface circuit 43 is an interface circuit for the print control section 13 to transmit and receive the various other signals 24 to 26 shown in FIG. 1 to and from the recording section 12. The bitmap controller 44 is connected to both the page memory 38A and the recording interface circuit 43, and these page memory 38A and the recording interface circuit 4 are connected.
The control relating to the transfer of the image data to and from No. 3 is performed.

A hard disk 48 is connected to the system bus 32 as a large-capacity non-volatile storage device, and a part of the storage area of the hard disk 48 is a user-defined data file 48A for storing the above-mentioned user-defined data. Is secured as.

Next, as an operation of the first embodiment, a print processing of print data for receiving print data from an external information processing device and outputting the print data will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the print processing of print data is performed by the host computer 5 as an external information processing device.
Receive interrupt processing for receiving print data from ports 0 and 52 via ports 16 and 17, respectively, and setting a print data output processing (job) request by detecting a state in which the received print data should be output. It is composed of a job request monitoring process, a timeout monitoring process for monitoring a timeout in receiving print data, and a print data expanding process for expanding the received print data in a page buffer and outputting it.

Hereinafter, the print processing for the received specific print data will be described in order. It should be noted that print data (hereinafter referred to as divided print data) configured by dividing print data into predetermined data amount units is sequentially transmitted from external information processing devices such as the host computers 50 and 52. To do. Further, the print data includes drawing instruction data including at least one of a character, an image, and graphics, and a page output command arranged subsequent to the drawing instruction data and instructing output of the drawing instruction data. Therefore, each of the above-mentioned divided print data is
It is assumed that it is composed of either drawing instruction data or a page output command.

First, when the first divided print data is received, the CPU 31 interrupts the reception interrupt processing shown in FIG. 4 for the divided print data.

In step 102, the received divided print data is stored in the corresponding input buffer as follows. That is, the divided print data received from the host computer 50 via the port 16 shown in FIG. 3 is input to the input buffer 38B, and the divided print data received from the host computer 52 via the port 17 is input buffer 38C.
Are stored in each. The divided print data received through the port 18 (see FIG. 1) is stored in the input buffer 38D (see FIG. 2).

At the next step 104, it is determined whether the received divided print data is a page output command.

By the way, the print data before the division of the divided print data includes the drawing instruction data and the page output instruction for instructing the output of the drawing instruction data as described above, and the page output instruction corresponds to the corresponding drawing. It is placed after the instruction data.

Therefore, when the received divided print data is not the page output command but the drawing instruction data, it is estimated that the page output command for this is received immediately. Therefore, the divided print data is received. The wait time should be left as usual. On the other hand, if the received divided print data is a page output command,
Since the page output command may correspond to the end portion of the print data, it is possible to change the reception waiting time of the divided print data to a time shorter than the normal waiting time.

Therefore, if the divided print data is a page output command in step 104, the process proceeds to step 108, and the page flag "Page_ *" corresponding to the port that received the divided print data is reset. In addition, * is 1-3
, The port 16 corresponds to “1”, the port 17 corresponds to “2”, and the port 18 corresponds to “3”.
This also applies to the following *.

On the other hand, if the divided print data is not the page output command but the drawing instruction data in step 104, the process proceeds to step 106, and the page flag "Page_ *" corresponding to the port that received the divided print data is set.

The page flag "Page_ *" is
This is a flag that serves as a judgment criterion when setting the reception waiting time in the timeout monitoring process described later, and when the divided print data is a page output command, the page flag “Page_ *” is reset in step 108,
In the timeout monitoring process described below, the reception waiting time is set shorter than the normal reception waiting time. Details will be described later.

Then, in the next step 110, the job timer counter "Timer--
Reset "Count_ *" and return. The job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" is used as a counter when measuring the reception waiting time in the timeout monitoring process described later.

The reception interrupt process is executed each time the divided print data transmitted one after another is received. As a result, the received divided print data is successively stored in the input buffer 38x (x: any of B, C, D) corresponding to the received port. For this x, port 16 is "B" and port 17 is "C".
, And port 18 corresponds to "D".

By the way, when the drawing instruction data is received as the division print data, the page flag "Page_ *"
Is set and a page output command is received, the page flag "Page_ *" is reset and the process is returned.

Next, the job request monitoring process shown in FIG. 5 will be described. This job request monitoring process
It is executed by interrupting at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 100 milliseconds) by a timer incorporated in U31. Also,
This job request monitoring process is executed for each of the three ports, and is executed for one port at a temporary point. The port that is the target when processing is executed is called the target port.

In step 122, the job start request flag "Job_Start_Request_ *" indicating that the start of the output process (hereinafter referred to as a job) of the print data received at the target port is requested is set. Is determined. Job start request flag “Job_Star
If "t_Request_ *" is set, the process directly returns and the job whose execution is requested is set as the "execution job" in the print data expansion processing described later.

On the other hand, if the job start request flag "Job_Start_Request_ *" is not set in step 122, the process proceeds to step 124 and the job end request flag "Job__" indicating that the end of the job is requested.
It is determined whether "End_Request_ *" is set. Job end request flag "Job_End_Request_ *
If "" is set, the process directly returns.

On the other hand, if the job end request flag "Job_End_Request_ *" is not set in step 124, the process proceeds to step 126 and the execution job number "Job_Execut" indicating the port number corresponding to the job being executed.
e_No "is the number of the target port.
When the execution job number “Job_Execute_No” is the number of the target port, the process directly returns.

On the other hand, when the executed job number "Job_Execute_No" is not the number of the target port in step 126, the process proceeds to step 128 and it is determined whether or not the print data is stored in the input buffer corresponding to the target port. . If print data is not stored in the input buffer corresponding to the target port, it is not necessary to perform print processing, and the process returns.

On the other hand, if print data is stored in the input buffer corresponding to the target port in step 128, the job start / end is requested even though the print data is stored in the input buffer. Since the job of the target port is not being executed, the job should be requested to start. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 130, where the above-mentioned job start request flag “Job_Start_Request_ *” is set, and
A countable flag "Coun" indicating that the reception waiting time can be measured in the timeout monitoring process described later.
t_Enable_ * ”is set.

By the above job request monitoring process, if print data is stored in the input buffer but the job start / end is not requested and the job of the target port is not being executed, A job start request flag "Job_Start_Request_" to request the start
* "Is set, and the countable flag" Count
_Enable_ * "will be set.

Immediately after receiving the first divided print data, the divided print data is stored in the input buffer 38x by the reception interrupt process (see FIG. 4), and the job start request flag "Job_Start_Request_
* ", The job end request flag" Job_End_Request_ "
* ”And the execution job number“ Job_Execute_No ”have been reset, so steps 122, 124,
After being denied at 126 and affirmative at step 128, the process proceeds to step 130. By executing the above step 130, the page flag “Page_ *”, the job start request flag “Job_Start_Request_ *”, and the count enable flag “Count_Enable_ *” are set together with the reception interrupt processing described above. The job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" is reset and the job timer returns.

Next, the timeout monitoring process shown in FIG. 6 will be described. Note that this timeout monitoring process
A timer built in the CPU 31 interrupts at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 1 second) and is executed. It should be noted that this timeout monitoring process is executed for each of the three ports and for one port (target port) at a temporary point.

In step 142, it is determined whether or not the count enable flag "Count_Enable_ *" is set. If the count enable flag "Count_Enable_ *" is not set, the process returns. If the count enable flag "Count_Enable_ *" is set, at step 144 the job timer counter "Timer"
_Count_ * "is incremented by" 1 ".

At the next step 146, the page flag "Pa
It is determined whether "ge_ *" has been reset (is "0"). The page flag "Page_ *" is reset when the divided print data is a page output command in the reception interrupt processing (see FIG. 4) described above (step 10).
8) It is set when the divided print data is not the page output command but the drawing instruction data (step 10).
6).

When the page flag "Page_ *" is reset, that is, when the received divided print data is a page output command, the reception waiting time should be set shorter than the normal waiting time for the reason described above. Because you can
Proceeding to step 148, it is determined whether or not the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 by using the waiting time T2 set to be smaller than the normal waiting time T1.

On the other hand, when the page flag “Page_ *” is set, that is, when the received divided print data is not the page output command but the drawing instruction data, the normal waiting time is set as the reception waiting time for the reason described above. Since the time should be set, the process proceeds to step 150 and the normal waiting time T1 is used to set the job timer counter "Timer_Co
unt_ * "exceeds the waiting time T1.

If the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T2 in step 148, or if the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T1 in step 150. , The reception time-out has not yet occurred, so the process returns.

On the other hand, if the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 in step 148, the process proceeds to step 154 described later. Also,
In step 150, the job timer counter “Timer_Co
If “unt_ *” exceeds the waiting time T1, the page flag “Page_ *” is reset in step 152, and then the process proceeds to step 154.

In step 154, in order to end the output process of the print data to the target port, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the target port, and the job end request flag "Job_End_Re".
quest_ * ”is set. In step 154, the count enable flag “Count_Enable_ *” is reset in preparation for the next print data output process.

Immediately after receiving the first divided print data, as described above, the count enable flag "Co
Since "unt_Enable_ *" is set, it is affirmed in step 142, and the job timer counter "Timer_
Count_ * "has been reset, so step 14
In 4, the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *"
Is set to "1". In addition, the page flag “Page_
Since "*" has been set, it is denied in step 146, and the process proceeds to step 150 to monitor the timeout by the normal waiting time T1.

Next, the print data expansion processing shown in FIG. 7 will be described. This print data expansion processing is performed by the print processing device 11
Is repeatedly executed by the CPU 31 after the start of the operation.

At step 162, the execution job number "Jo
b_Execute_No "is" None "(that is, there is no job being executed). If the execution job number “Job _Execute _No” is not “None”, the process proceeds to step 170 described below, and the execution job number “Job _
If "Execute_No" is "None", step 1
Proceed to 64.

At step 164, it is determined whether or not any of the job start request flags "Job_Start_Request_ *" is set ("1"). If none of the job start request flags “Job_Start_Request_ *” is set, there is no job start request, and the process returns to step 162. On the other hand, in step 164, the job start request flag “Job_Start_Request_ *”
If any of the above is set, the process proceeds to step 166, and the job of the port to which the job start request flag “Job_Start_Request_ *” is set is determined as the job to be executed. In the next step 168, the number of the port (target port) corresponding to the job to be executed determined in step 166 is set to the execution job number “Job_Exec
ute_No ”and reset the job start request flag“ Job_Start_Request_ * ”.

In the next step 170, the print data is fetched from the input buffer 38x in which the print data of the job being executed (or to be executed) is stored, and in the next step 172, the fetched print data is the drawing instruction data. Or not. If the print data is drawing instruction data, the drawing instruction data is expanded in the page buffer 38A in step 174, and then the process returns to step 162.

On the other hand, if the print data is not the drawing instruction data in step 172, the process proceeds to step 176, and it is determined whether the fetched print data is a page output command. If the print data is a page output command, the drawing instruction data expanded in the page buffer 38A is output in step 182. That is, the print data expanded in the page buffer 38A is transferred from the print control unit 13 to the recording unit 12.
And is recorded on the recording paper 23 by the recording unit 12. Then, the recording paper 23 on which the print data is recorded
Is output from the recording unit 12. Then, the process returns to step 162.

On the other hand, if the print data is not the page output command in step 176, the print data is the job end command stored in the input buffer 38x in step 154 after the time-out in the timeout monitoring process (FIG. 6) described above. Can be considered to be. In this case, similarly to step 182, the drawing instruction data expanded in the page buffer 38A in step 178 is output. As a result, the page buffer 3
The drawing instruction data does not remain in 8A.

Then, in the next step 180, the execution job number "Job_Execute_No" is set to "None" (reset) to indicate that the job being executed is completed, and the job end request flag "Job" is set. _End _
Request_ * "is reset, and then the process returns to step 162.

Here, the execution job number “Job_Execute
When _No "is reset, the job execution request for the print data received by the other port is accepted.

That is, after a time-out occurs in the time-out monitoring process (FIG. 6), the job end command is input to the input buffer 38.
stored in x. Then, in the print data expansion process,
The job end command is fetched (step 170),
The execution job number "Job_Execute_No" is reset (step 180). At this point, the job execution request for the print data received by the other port is accepted. Therefore, by promptly determining the timeout, it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the print data received at the other port.

Immediately after receiving the first divided print data, the execution job number "Job_
"Execute_No" is reset to "None" and the job start request flag is "Job_Start_Request".
Since “_ *” is set, steps 162 and 16 are executed.
If the answer is YES in step 4, the process proceeds to step 166, and the job for outputting the received divided print data group is determined as the job to be executed. Then, in step 168, the port number (here, "1") corresponding to the job to be executed is the execution job number "Job_Execute_N".
is stored in "o" and the job start request flag is "Job_Start".
_Request_ * "will be reset. Further, in step 170, the print data of the job (drawing instruction data in this case) is fetched from the input buffer 38x, and is expanded in the page buffer 38A in step 174.

By the above-described four processes of FIGS. 4 to 7, the divided print data (here, the drawing instruction data) received first is temporarily stored in the input buffer 38x and then expanded in the page buffer 38A. Will be. Similarly, the divided print data (drawing instruction data in this case) received subsequently is also once input buffer 38x.
And stored in the page buffer 38A.

After that, when the divided print data including the page output command is received, the affirmative determination is made in step 104 of the reception interrupt processing in FIG. 4, and the corresponding page flag "Page_ *" is reset in the next step 108. . here,
Since the page flag “Page_ *” is reset, it becomes affirmative in step 146 of the timeout monitoring process in FIG. 6, and in the next step 148, based on the waiting time T2 smaller than the normal waiting time T1,
A time-out judgment will be made.

As a result, the entire timeout waiting time in the print data reception process can be made shorter than in the conventional case where the timeout is determined using the normal waiting time T1 in any case. . Therefore, it is possible to more quickly determine the time-out, and it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the print data received at another port. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for another job received at a port other than the target port in the middle of waiting for reception more than necessary, and to avoid a decrease in throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the print processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the print processing apparatus in the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the print processing apparatus in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. However, the same parts as those of the operation of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. It should be noted that the overall flow of the print processing of the print data in the second embodiment is the same as the overall flow of the print processing in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3), and regarding the job request monitoring process (see FIG. 5). Also, since it is the same as the processing in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

First, the reception interrupt process executed every time the divided print data is received in the second embodiment will be described. In step 102 shown in FIG. 8, the received divided print data is stored in the corresponding input buffer as follows. That is, the divided print data received from the host computer 50 via the port 16 shown in FIG. 3 is input to the input buffer 38B, and the divided print data received from the host computer 52 via the port 17 is input buffer 38C.
Are stored in each. Further, the divided print data received via the port 18 (see FIG. 1) is stored in the input buffer 38D (see FIG. 2), respectively.

At the next step 110, the job timer counter "Timer_Count_" corresponding to the received port is displayed.
* "Is reset and it returns.

Next, the timeout monitoring process is shown in FIG.
It will be described using 0. Note that steps 142 and 144 are the same as the timeout monitoring process (see FIG. 6) in the above-described first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

In step 144, the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" is incremented by "1", and in step 145, the execution job number "Job_Exec" is incremented.
It is determined whether or not "ute_No" is set to the target port number.

Here, the execution job number “Job_Execute
When "_No" is set to the target port number, the process proceeds to step 146, and it is determined whether the page flag "Page_ *" is reset ("0"). The page flag “Page_ *” is reset when the divided print data is a page output command in the reception interrupt process (see FIG. 4) described above (step 108), and the divided print data is not a page output command but a drawing instruction. It is set if it is data (step 106).

When the page flag "Page_ *" is reset, that is, when the received divided print data is a page output command, the reception waiting time should be set shorter than the normal waiting time for the reason described above. Because you can
Proceeding to step 148, it is determined whether or not the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 by using the waiting time T2 set to be smaller than the normal waiting time T1.

On the other hand, when the page flag “Page_ *” is set, that is, when the received divided print data is not the page output command but the drawing instruction data, the normal waiting time is set as the reception waiting time for the reason described above. Since the time should be set, the process proceeds to step 150 and the normal waiting time T1 is used to set the job timer counter "Timer_Co
unt_ * "exceeds the waiting time T1.

When the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T2 in step 148, or when the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T1 in step 150. , The reception time-out has not yet occurred, so the process returns.

On the other hand, when the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 in step 148, the process proceeds to step 154 described later. Also,
In step 150, the job timer counter “Timer_Co
If “unt_ *” exceeds the waiting time T1, the page flag “Page_ *” is reset in step 152, and then the process proceeds to step 154.

In step 154, in order to end the output process of the print data to the target port, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the target port, and the job end request flag "Job_End_Re".
quest_ * ”is set. In step 154, the count enable flag “Count_Enable_ *” is reset in preparation for the next print data output process.

By the way, in step 145, if the execution job number "Job_Execute_No" is not set to the target port number, that is, if it is set to another port number, the process proceeds to step 156 to wait for the normal waiting. Using the time T1, the job timer counter "Timer_Co
unt_ * "exceeds the waiting time T1.

If the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T1 in this step 156, the reception time-out has not yet occurred, and the process returns, while the job timer counter "Timer_Co_".
If "unt_ *" exceeds the waiting time T1, the process proceeds to step 158, and similarly to step 154, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the target port, and the job end request flag "Job_End". _Re
quest _ * "and countable flag" Count
_Enable_ * "is reset.

Next, the print data expansion process will be described with reference to FIG. Steps 162 to 170 are the same as the print data expansion processing of the first embodiment. Next Step 1
At 72, it is determined whether the print data fetched from the input buffer at step 170 is drawing instruction data. If the fetched print data is drawing instruction data, the flow advances to step 174 to expand the drawing instruction data in the page buffer 38A. And next step 1
The page flag "Page_ *" is set at 75, and then the process returns to step 162.

On the other hand, if the print data fetched in step 172 is not the drawing instruction data, step 176
Then, it is determined whether or not the print data is a page output command.

If the fetched print data is a page output command, the flow advances to step 182 to output the print data that has been expanded in the page buffer 38A until then. That is, the print data expanded in the page buffer 38A is output from the print control unit 13 to the recording unit 12, and is further recorded on the recording paper 23 by the recording unit 12. And
The recording paper 23 on which the print data is recorded is output from the recording unit 12.

At the next step 192, the page flag "Page_ *" is reset to indicate that the unprinted divided print data is not stored.
Return to 2.

On the other hand, if the print data is not the page output command in step 176, the print data is the job end command stored in the input buffer 38x in step 154 after the time-out in the timeout monitoring process (FIG. 10) described above. Can be considered to be. In this case, to end the job, the process proceeds to step 178, and the print data that has been expanded in the page buffer 38A until then is output. That is, the print data expanded in the page buffer 38A is output from the print control unit 13 to the recording unit 12, and is further recorded on the recording paper 23 by the recording unit 12. And
The recording paper 23 on which the print data is recorded is output from the recording unit 12.

At the next step 186, the page flag "Page_ *" is reset to indicate that the unprinted divided print data is not stored, and the next step 188 is performed.
Then, in order to indicate that the job being executed has ended, the execution job number “Job_Execute_No” is set to “None” and the job end request flag “Job_End_Requ” is set.
est_ * "is reset. And then step 1
Return to 62.

In the second embodiment, immediately after the drawing instruction data is expanded in the page buffer 38A in step 174 of the print data expansion process of FIG. 9, the page flag "Page_ *" is set.
Is set, and the page flag "Page_ *" is reset immediately after the data in the page buffer 38A is output in steps 178 and 182 of the same process.

That is, the page flag "Page_ *" is set when the divided print data to be output is stored in the page buffer 38A, and the data stored in the page buffer 38A is output. When the divided print data to be output is not stored, the reset state is set.

By executing the timeout monitoring process of FIG. 10 described above, the page buffer 38A
When divided print data to be output to is stored,
If it is determined in step 150 that the time-out is based on the normal waiting time T1, the data output is completed, and the divided print data to be output is not stored, step 1
At 48, the time-out is determined by the waiting time T2 which is shorter than the normal waiting time T1.

That is, when the output of the data of the page buffer 38A is completed and the divided print data to be output is not stored, it can be considered that the divided print data reception process is in the end state or the break state. Therefore, the waiting time in the time-out determination can be changed to the waiting time T2 which is smaller than the normal waiting time T1 as described above.

As a result, the entire timeout waiting time in the print data receiving process can be made shorter than in the conventional case where the timeout is determined using the normal waiting time T1 in any case. . Therefore, it is possible to more quickly determine the time-out, and it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the print data received at another port. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for another job received at a port other than the target port in the middle of waiting for reception more than necessary, and to avoid a decrease in throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus.

In the first embodiment described above, when a page output command is received, and when print data to be output is output in the second embodiment, the waiting time in the timeout monitoring process is The example in which the waiting time T2 is set to be smaller than the waiting time T1 is shown. Therefore,
By combining the above two conditions, the waiting time in the timeout monitoring process is smaller than the normal waiting time T1 when either the page output command is received or the print data to be output is output. The waiting time T2 may be set.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the print processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the print processing device in the third embodiment is the same as the configuration of the print processing device in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, as the operation of the third embodiment, the registration processing of the registration data received from the external information processing apparatus in the print processing apparatus 11 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the registration process of the registration data is received by the reception interrupt process of receiving the registration data from the host computers 50 and 52 as external information processing devices via the ports 16 and 17, respectively. Job registration monitoring process to detect the registration data registration status and set a registration process (job) request for the registration data, and a timeout monitoring process to monitor the registration data reception timeout. Registration data expansion processing for registering user-defined data of the registered data in the user-defined data file 48A.

The registration processing for the received specific registration data will be described below in order. It should be noted that registration data (hereinafter referred to as divided registration data) configured by dividing the registration data into predetermined data amount units is sequentially transmitted from external information processing devices such as the host computers 50 and 52. To do. Further, the registration data includes a registration start command for instructing the start of registration, user definition data including at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, and macro data, and a user-defined data corresponding to the registration start command. And a registration end command for instructing the end of registration of the user-defined data, and each of the above-mentioned divided registration data is
It is composed of any one of a registration start command, user-defined data, and a registration end command.

The same parts as those of the operation of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Since the job request monitoring process (see FIG. 5) is the same as the process in the first embodiment, its explanation is omitted.

First, when the first divisional registration data corresponding to the registration data (that is, a registration start command) is received, the CPU 31 executes the reception interruption processing shown in FIG. 12 for the divisional registration data.

In step 202, the received divided registration data is stored in the corresponding input buffer. In the next step 204, it is determined whether the received divided registration data is a registration start command. When the divided registration data is the registration start command, the process proceeds to step 210, and the registration flag “Form_ *” is set to indicate that the user-defined data to be registered remains (or is being registered).

On the other hand, if the divided registration data is not the registration start command in step 204, the flow advances to step 206 to determine whether the divided registration data is the registration end command.
Then, only when the divided registration data is a registration end command, the process proceeds to step 208, and the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset.

By the way, as described above, the registration data before the division of the division registration data is configured such that the registration start command, the user-defined data, and the registration end command are arranged in this order. Therefore, the end of the registration data corresponds not to the end of the registration start command or the user-defined data, but to the end of the registration end command.

Therefore, when the received divisional registration data is the registration end command, the registration end command may correspond to the end portion of the registration data. It can be changed to a time shorter than the waiting time.

Therefore, if the divided registration data is a registration end command, the registration flag "Form_ *
Is reset, the reception waiting time is set to be shorter than the normal reception waiting time in the timeout monitoring process described later. Details will be described later.

By the way, in the next step 212, the job timer counter "Timer
_Count _ * "is reset and the process returns.

The reception interrupt process is executed every time the divided registration data transmitted one after another is received. As a result, the received divided registration data is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the received port one after another.

When the registration start command is received as the registration data, the registration flag "Form_ *" is set, and when the registration end command is received, the registration flag "Form_ *" is reset. It will be returned in each state.

Next, the job request monitoring process shown in FIG. 5 will be described. In this job request monitoring process, the first
Similar to the job request monitoring process in the embodiment, even though the registration data is stored in the input buffer, the start and end of the registration process (job) are not requested and the job of the target port is not being executed. If the job start request flag is "Job_Start",
_Request_ * "is set, and the count enable flag" Count_Enable_ * "is set.

Immediately after the first division registration data is received, the division registration data is stored in the input buffer 38x by the reception interrupt process (see FIG. 12), and the job start request flag "Job_Start_Request" is received.
_ * ”, Job end request flag“ Job _End _Request
Since “_ *” and the execution job number “Job_Execute_No” are in the reset state, steps 122 and 12 are executed.
After being denied in Steps 4 and 126 and affirmative in Step 128, the procedure proceeds to Step 130. Then, by executing the step 130, the registration flag “Form_ *”, the job start request flag “Job_Start_Request_ *”, and the count enable flag “Count_Enable_ *” are set together with the reception interrupt processing described above. The job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" is reset and the job timer returns.

Next, the timeout monitoring process shown in FIG. 13 will be described. This timeout monitoring process is shown in FIG.
The process is almost the same as the time-out monitoring process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, in step 145 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether or not the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset, and when the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset, that is, when the registration end command is received. , Step 148
Waiting time T2 which is smaller than the normal waiting time T1
The timeout determination process is performed based on the. on the other hand,
If the registration flag “Form_ *” is set in step 145, that is, if the registration start command is received or user-defined data is received thereafter, the process proceeds to step 150 and the normal waiting time is reached. The timeout determination process is performed based on T1.

Next, the registration data expansion processing shown in FIG. 14 will be described. This registration data expansion processing is performed by the first processing shown in FIG.
Print data expansion processing in the embodiment and step 171
Since only the subsequent steps are different, the different steps 171 and subsequent steps will be described.

After the registration data of the job being executed (or executed) in step 170 is fetched from the input buffer 38x, in the next steps 171, 177 and 181, the type of the fetched registration data is determined.

By the way, the registration data is stored in the input buffer 38x in the order of the registration start command, the user definition data, the registration end command, and the job end command. Of these, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x in step 154, which is executed when a timeout occurs in the timeout monitoring process of FIG.

Therefore, when the registration start command is first fetched, the affirmative decision is made in step 177, and the step 17
9 and sets the registration start flag "Data_Store".

Next, when the user-defined data is fetched, the result of all steps 171, 177, and 181 is negative, and the process proceeds to step 185, and the registration start flag "Data_St
Check "ore". Registration start flag “Data_Store
Is set in the above step 179,
If the result in step 185 is affirmative, the flow advances to step 187 to set the user-defined data in the user-defined data file 48A.
Register (memorize) in. Thereafter, the user-defined data that is taken in is also sequentially registered in the user-defined data file 48A.

Next, when the registration end command is fetched, the affirmative answer is obtained in step 181, the process proceeds to step 183, and the registration start flag "Data_Store" is reset.

Further, when the job times out and the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x and the job end command is fetched, the affirmative determination is made in step 171 and the job end command remains in the page buffer 38A in step 173. Print data is forcibly output. Then, in the next step 175, the registration start flag “Data_Store
, The execution job number “Job_Execute_No”, and the job end request flag “Job_End_Request_ *” are reset.

Here, the execution job number “Job_Execute
When _No "is reset, the job execution request for the print data received by the other port is accepted.

That is, after the timeout has occurred in the timeout monitoring process of FIG.
stored in x. Then, in the registration data expansion process,
The job end command is fetched (step 170),
The execution job number "Job_Execute_No" is reset (step 175). At this point, the job execution request for the print data received by the other port is accepted. Therefore, by promptly determining the timeout, it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the print data received at the other port.

On the other hand, in the timeout monitoring process of FIG. 13 described above, when the registration end command is received in the registration data, the waiting time T2 smaller than the normal waiting time T1 is received.
Based on the above, the timeout determination process is performed.

As a result, the entire timeout waiting time in the registration data receiving process can be made shorter than in the conventional case where the timeout is determined using the normal waiting time T1 in any case. . Therefore, it is possible to more quickly determine the time-out, and it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the registration data received at another port. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for another job received at a port other than the target port in the middle of waiting for reception more than necessary, and to avoid a decrease in throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus.

When the print data is received immediately before the registration data, the received print data is the data received before the registration start command, and therefore the step 18 is executed.
Since it is denied at 5, it is expanded to the page buffer 38A at step 189. This print data will be output by the print control data received later, or will be forcedly output in step 173 and will not remain in the page buffer 38A.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the print processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Since the configuration of the print processing device in the fourth embodiment is the same as the configuration of the print processing device in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described. However, the same parts as those of the operation of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Note that the overall flow of registration data registration processing in the fourth embodiment is similar to the overall flow of registration processing in the third embodiment (see FIG. 11), and the job request monitoring processing is also performed in the first embodiment. The processing is the same as that in the example (see FIG. 5), and the reception interrupt processing is the same as the processing (see FIG. 8) in the second embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

First, the registration data expansion processing shown in FIG. 15 will be described. In this registration data expansion processing, the processing after step 171 is added / changed to the registration data expansion processing in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14, so that part will be described.

If the data fetched in step 170 is a job end command, the data in the page buffer is output in step 173, and then in step 174, registration is started to indicate that the job being executed has ended. Flag "Data_Store", execution job number "Job_Execut
e _No ", job end request flag" Job _End _Reques
t _ * ”and reset the registration flag“ Fo
rm_ * "is also reset.

If the data fetched in step 170 is a registration start command, in step 191 the registration flag "Form_ *" is set in addition to the registration start flag "Data_Store".

If the data fetched in step 170 is a registration end command, in step 193 the registration flag "Form_ *" is reset in addition to the reset of the registration start flag "Data_Store".

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, when the registration start command is fetched in the registration data expansion processing of FIG.
The registration flag "Form_ *" is set (step 19
1) Then, the registration flag “Form_ *” remains set until it is reset when the job end instruction or the registration end instruction is fetched (steps 174 and 193). That is, the registration flag “Form_ *” is set only during registration of registration data, and indicates that registration is in progress.

Next, the timeout monitoring process will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described using 6. Note that steps 142 and 144 are the same as the timeout monitoring process (see FIG. 6) in the above-described first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

In step 144, the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" is incremented by "1", and in step 145, the execution job number "Job_Exec" is incremented.
It is determined whether or not "ute_No" is set to the target port number.

Here, the execution job number “Job_Execute
If “_No” is set to the target port number, the process proceeds to step 147, and it is determined whether the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset (“0”).

When the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset, that is, when the job end command or the registration end command is fetched, it can be assumed that the registration data registration process has ended or a break has occurred. , The reception waiting time can be set shorter than the normal waiting time. Therefore,
Proceeding to step 148, it is determined whether or not the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 by using the waiting time T2 set to be smaller than the normal waiting time T1.

On the other hand, when the registration flag “Form_ *” is set, that is, when the registration data is being registered, the normal waiting time should be set as the reception waiting time, so the routine proceeds to step 150, Using the normal waiting time T1, it is determined whether or not the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" has exceeded the waiting time T1.

If the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T2 in step 148, or if the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T1 in step 150. , The reception time-out has not yet occurred, so the process returns.

On the other hand, when the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" exceeds the waiting time T2 in step 148, the process proceeds to step 154 described later. Also,
In step 150, the job timer counter “Timer_Co
If “unt_ *” exceeds the waiting time T1, the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset in step 151, and then the process proceeds to step 154.

In step 154, in order to end the registration processing of the registration data for the target port, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the target port, and the job end request flag "Job_End_Re
quest_ * ”is set. In step 154, the count enable flag “Count_Enable_ *” is reset in preparation for the registration process of the next registration data.

By the way, in step 145, if the execution job number "Job_Execute_No" is not set to the target port number, that is, if it is set to another port number, the process proceeds to step 156 and waits normally. Using the time T1, the job timer counter "Timer_Co
unt_ * "exceeds the waiting time T1.

When the job timer counter "Timer_Count_ *" does not exceed the waiting time T1 in this step 156, the reception time-out has not yet occurred, and therefore the process returns, while the job timer counter "Timer_Co_".
If "unt_ *" exceeds the waiting time T1, the process proceeds to step 158, and similarly to step 154, the job end command is stored in the input buffer 38x corresponding to the target port, and the job end request flag "Job_End". _Re
quest _ * "and countable flag" Count
_Enable_ * "is reset.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, when the registration flag "Form_ *" is set, that is, the registration data is being registered, the normal waiting time is set as the reception waiting time. However, when the job end instruction or the registration end instruction is fetched from the input buffer 38x (when the registration flag “Form_ *” is reset), it can be assumed that it is the end of the registration processing of the registration data or the break. Therefore, the reception waiting time is set shorter than the normal waiting time.

As a result, the entire timeout waiting time in the registration data reception process can be made shorter than in the conventional case where the timeout is determined using the normal waiting time T1 in any case. . Therefore, it is possible to more quickly determine the time-out, and it is possible to more quickly accept the job execution request for the registration data received at another port. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for another job received at a port other than the target port in the middle of waiting for reception more than necessary, and to avoid a decrease in throughput of the entire processing in the print processing apparatus.

When the registration control data is received in the third embodiment and when the registration of the registration data is completed in the fourth embodiment, the waiting time in the timeout monitoring process is set to the normal waiting time. An example in which the waiting time T2 that is shorter than the time T1 is set has been shown. Therefore, when the registration control data is received or the registration of the registration data is completed, the waiting time in the timeout monitoring process is smaller than the normal waiting time T1 by combining the above two conditions. The waiting time T2 may be set.

[0161]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the print control command is received, the waiting time T1 is set to the waiting time T1.
By setting the time T2 shorter than 1, the total waiting time in the job for print data can be further shortened. As a result, the job for the new print data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that the job for the new print data is prevented from waiting unnecessarily for execution, and the processing in the print processing apparatus is performed. It is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in the overall throughput.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the output of the drawing instruction data is completed, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1.
The total waiting time in the job for print data can be further shortened. As a result, the job for the new print data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that the job for the new print data is prevented from waiting unnecessarily for execution, and the processing in the print processing apparatus is performed. It is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in the overall throughput.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the registration end command is received, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1, so that the total of the jobs in the registration data can be calculated. The waiting time can be shortened. As a result, the job for the new registration data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that it is possible to avoid waiting for the job for the new registration data to be unnecessarily waited for and execute the process in the print processing apparatus. It is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in the overall throughput.

According to the invention described in claim 4, when the registration of the user-defined data is completed, the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1, so that the total of the jobs for the registration data is calculated. The waiting time can be shortened. As a result, the job for the new registration data from the information processing apparatus is started to be executed earlier, so that it is possible to avoid waiting for the job for the new registration data to be unnecessarily waited for and execute the process in the print processing apparatus. It is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to avoid a decrease in the overall throughput.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print processing device according to first to fourth embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a print control unit of the first to fourth embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overall flow of print processing of print data in the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a control routine of reception interrupt processing in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a control routine of job request monitoring processing in the first to fourth embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control routine of timeout monitoring processing in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a main routine of print data expansion processing in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a control routine for reception interrupt processing in the second and fourth embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a main routine of print data expansion processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a control routine of timeout monitoring processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an overall flow of registration processing of registration data in the third and fourth embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control routine of reception interrupt processing in the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control routine of timeout monitoring processing in the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a registration data expansion process in the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a main routine of registration data expansion processing in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a control routine of timeout monitoring processing in the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 print processing device 13 print control unit 31 CPU 38 RAM 38A page buffer 38B, 38C, 38D input buffer 48 hard disk 48A user-defined data file 50, 52 host computer (information processing device)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A drawing instruction data including at least one of a character, an image and a graphic, and a print control command arranged following the drawing instruction data for controlling the output of the drawing instruction data. It is possible to divide the print data including the received data from each of the plurality of information processing devices,
When executing the job for the print data transmitted from the one information processing device, if the next print data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1 elapses, the information of the one A print processing device that terminates execution of a job for print data from a processing device and executes a job for new print data from the information processing device, wherein the received print data includes the print control command. And a first judgment means for judging whether or not the print data includes the print control command, and the waiting time T1 is set to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1. And a first setting unit for performing the print processing apparatus. 2. Printing data including drawing instruction data including at least one of characters, images and graphics can be divided and received from each of a plurality of information processing devices. When executing a job for the transmitted print data, if the next print data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1, the print data from the one information processing device is received. Is a print processing device for ending the execution of the job for the new print data from the information processing device and storing the drawing instruction data when the drawing instruction data is received. Data storage means, data output means for outputting the drawing instruction data stored by the drawing instruction data storage means at a predetermined timing, Second judgment means for judging whether or not the output of the drawing instruction data by the writing data output means is completed; and when the second judgment means judges that the output of the drawing instruction data is completed, the waiting A second setting means for setting the time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1; 3. User-defined data including at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, macro data, and external character data, a registration start command for instructing to start registration of the user-defined data, and the user definition. Registration data including a registration end command arranged subsequent to the data and instructing the end of registration of the user-defined data can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices, and transmitted from one information processing device. When executing the job for the registered data that has been registered, if the next registration data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1 elapses, the registration data from the one information processing device is processed. A print processing device that terminates execution of a job and executes a job for new registration data from the information processing device, Third judgment means for judging whether or not the received registration data includes the registration end command; and when the third judgment means judges that the registration data includes the registration end command, Waiting time T1
And a third setting means for setting a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1. 4. User-defined data including at least one of form data, logo data, pattern data, macro data, and external character data, a registration start command for instructing to start registration of the user-defined data, and the user definition. Registration data including a registration end command arranged subsequent to the data and instructing the end of registration of the user-defined data can be divided and received from each of the plurality of information processing devices, and transmitted from one information processing device. When executing the job for the registered data that has been registered, if the next registration data is not received from the time of each reception until the predetermined waiting time T1 elapses, the registration data from the one information processing device is processed. A print processing device that terminates execution of a job and executes a job for new registration data from the information processing device, When the user-defined data is received, the user-defined data storage means for storing the user-defined data, and when the registration start command is received, the user-defined data stored by the user-defined data storage means A data registration unit that starts registration and registers the user-defined data until the registration end command is received, and a fourth step of determining whether or not the registration of the user-defined data by the data registration unit is completed. Determining means and fourth setting means for setting the waiting time T1 to a time T2 shorter than the waiting time T1 when the fourth judging means judges that the registration of the user-defined data is completed. A print processing device having.