JPH11232060A - Print job managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a person, who performs a little printing, from being waited by a person who performs mass printing. SOLUTION: A computer establishes the connection of TCP to a print system 107 through a protocol control part 102 of a network interface controller 100, data from the computer on a network 200 are recognized as a print job by a print application part 103 through a network interface part 101 and the protocol control part 102, and the data of this print job are preserved in the queue of job for preferential printing and a queue for ordinary printing by a print job managing part 106. Then, it is determined which print job is to be actually printed by a printer system 107, and the data of the determined print job are acquired from print application parts 103-105 and printed by the printer system 107.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print job management system having a function of determining a print execution order based on a print size and an attribute when a print job transferred from a computer on a network is executed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for manually printing print information from a document creation apparatus connected to a network by a printer is disclosed.
Conventionally, various types have been developed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
No. 157927 discloses an identification number assigned to a plurality of network clients, priorities are assigned to the identification numbers in advance, and when a print request is issued from a network client to one printing apparatus, the identification numbers are assigned. It is described that the priority order is fixedly determined with respect to, and printing is performed in the determined order.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 05-134995 proposes to distribute the load of processing for analyzing a page description language in order to process one print job faster. In the case of this publication, the order in which a plurality of rasterizing processes included in one job are executed according to the data size to be developed is rearranged, and the order of the queue is rearranged in the unit of rasterizing process in a print job. The reference value of the rearrangement is the data size to be rasterized. further,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-175614 discloses that if a print job file is the same as that set in the printer, the print job file is prioritized for the printing process, and the print job file is given a priority. It is disclosed that the printing efficiency is improved by using the above method.

On the other hand, a plurality of clients send print requests having different print job sizes to a network interface controller (hereinafter, referred to as an NIC) connected to a local area network, and the NIC controls the print system in the order of arrival of the print requests. It is known to execute printing. That is, the NI of the printer connected to the local area network
C drives the printers in the order requested by the client to perform printing and executes printing.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a print request arrival order and a transfer order of a print job to a print data analysis unit according to a conventional print job management method. As shown in FIG. 5, data 2 of print job A, data 3 of print job B, print data C4, data 5 of print job D, that is,
When a print request from a client arrives at the NIC 1 through a network (not shown) in the order indicated by the arrow Y1, the NIC 1 receives the print request in this order, passes it to the print data analysis unit in the received order, and sends the print request to the print system 6.
And print it.

That is, the data 2 of the print job A is stored in the queue 2A for the print data A and the data 3 of the print job B is stored in the queue 3A for the print data B in the same order as the arrival order of the print requests of the client. Then, the data 4 of the print data C is stored in the queue 4A for the print data C, and the data 5 of the print job D is stored in the queue 5A for the print data D. I have.
In this case, the data size of the print job is data 3 of print job B, data 2 of print job A, data 5 of print job D, and data 4 of print data C.
In that order. Naturally, it takes a long time to execute printing when the data size of the print job is large.

[0007]

According to the method of managing print jobs by the NIC in such a conventional print job management method, if print processing is performed in the order of arrival of print requests as shown in FIG. From the same printing system 6
If a client print request is made using
A client that has issued a print request later has to wait until the printing of the data of the print job for which the print request has been issued earlier ends. Therefore, in particular, when the data size of a print job to which a print request has been issued earlier is large, the client that has issued a print request with a smaller data size of the print job later has a print request to which the print request has been issued earlier. In some cases, a long waiting time is unavoidable until the execution processing of a print job having a large job data size is completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. Even in a situation where a print request having a large data size of a print job is first issued and the print system is occupied for a long time, A client issuing a small print request later does not have to wait for a long time for a small amount of print, and a client who prints for a long time does not bother other clients using the same printing system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print job management method that can use a system and can improve the efficiency of a printing operation.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a print job management method according to the present invention is connected to a network and a print system, and the size and attributes of a print job sent from a computer on the network are provided. And a network interface controller that determines the print execution order by determining the print execution order.

According to the present invention, the size and attribute of the data of the print job transmitted from the computer on the network are determined by the network interface controller, and the data size and the attribute are determined according to the data size and the attribute instead of the arrival order of the print requests. To determine the printing execution priority and execute printing.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a print job management system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a module configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention. NIC in FIG.
100 is connected to a local area network 200 as a network and a printer system 107,
It has a function of receiving print data from a client (not shown) connected to the local area network 200, transferring the print data to the print system 107, and performing printing.

A network interface unit 101 in the NIC 100 is connected to a local area network 200 and controls transmission and reception of physical data with another computer via the local area network 200. The network interface unit 101 is connected to the protocol control unit 102, captures print data transmitted from the client via the local area network 200 via the network interface unit 101, and transmits / receives data on the local area network 200. , And a session is established with each client on the local area network 200 to realize reliable communication.

A protocol control unit 102 and a plurality of print application units 103, 104, 105 are connected, and these print application units 103, 104,
105 controls a protocol for printing on the local area network 200. A plurality of print application units 103, 104, and 105 (three are shown in FIG. 1)
Shown are print systems 107 with different 3
Assuming that it supports one printing protocol.

These print application units 103,
By 104 and 105, the print data that has passed through the network interface unit 101 and the protocol control unit 102 is recognized as print job data. The print job data is transmitted from the print application units 103, 104, 105 to the print job management unit 10.
6. Print job management unit 1
Reference numeral 06 creates a print job data queue, manages the print job data, and determines which print job data is actually printed by the print system 107.

When the data of the print job to be printed is determined, the print job management unit 107 acquires the data of the determined print job from the print application units 103, 104, and 105 and transfers the data to the print system 107. I have to. The print system 107 performs print execution processing by inputting print job data.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the print job management unit 1 of the NIC 100 shown in FIG.
12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for determining the priority of print processing of a print job according to the present invention. The network interface unit 101 controls transmission and reception with other computers via the local area network 200, and the protocol control unit 102 performs protocol control of data transmission and reception on the local area network 200, and (Client) has established a session and has established communication reliability.

In this state, when a new print request is issued from a client on the local area network 200, the print job data is input to the print application units 103, 104, 105 via the network interface unit 101 and the protocol control unit 102. Here, the print job data is recognized as print job data. First, the print job management unit 106 determines whether a new print request has been issued from a client on the local area network 200 or not. It is checked whether there is a print request from the print application units 103, 104 and 105 (step 401). As a result of this check, if it is determined that a print request has been issued (step 402), the print job management unit 106 prints the job information of the print job recognized as a print job by the print application units 103, 104, and 105. It is acquired from the application units 103, 104, and 105 (step 403).

The acquired job information includes communication information with the source client, data size of the print job, and binary data or text data.
Next, the print job management unit 106 determines whether to link the acquired job information of the new print job to the priority print queue or the normal print queue (step 404). Conditions for connecting to the priority print queue include the following conditions.

(1). The data size of the new print job is small. A small criterion for print job data is a fixed value (50
0K bytes) is determined in the printing system 107 and is smaller than that. Alternatively, a certain percentage (10%) of the size of the print job
(0% or less). The fixed values and the ratio values of the sizes can be changed by operating the panel or by control data.

(2). It must be print data of text data. Print data of text data is easier to analyze for printing than print data of binary data, and the load on the print system is smaller. Therefore, it is generally much easier for a printing system to interrupt text data than to interrupt and print binary data in the middle of a print job. Here, the text data refers to data that includes only control data that specifies characters and simple attributes thereof. On the other hand, binary data refers to data including control data of various functions that can be realized in a print system such as an image, a macro function, and reduction.

The print job data that does not satisfy the above conditions is connected to the end of the normal print job queue to store the job information of the new print job (step 4).
05). On the other hand, for the print job satisfying the above conditions, the job information of the new print job is stored at the head of the priority print job queue (step 406). The job currently being printed (hereinafter referred to as a current print job) is a normal print job, and the print system 107 interrupts printing (interrupts execution of a certain print job, executes another print job, and ends the job). Then, it is checked whether or not it is possible to return to the original print job and continue printing from the state before the interruption (step 407).

If interrupt printing is possible, the current print job is switched to a priority print job (step 408). FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a case in which interrupt printing by the print system 107 is possible. NIC 100 from area network 200
, The print job A 111 is stored in the normal print job queue 121.

Here, the case where the data size is sequentially reduced in the order of the data 112 of the print job B, the data 111 of the print job A, the data 114 of the print job D, and the print data C113 is shown. The order in which these data are input to the NIC 100 is as shown in FIG.
Data 111 of print job A, data 1 of print job B
12, print data C113, print job D data 11
4, the data 111 of the print job A is stored in the queue of the print data A, and the data 112 of the print job B is stored in the queue 122 of the print data B. These are the queues of the normal print job. is there.

Print data C11 having a small data size
3. The data 114 of the print job D is changed to NIC1
00, the print data 113 is stored in the print data C queue 123 and the print data D queue 124 as a priority print job queue in the order of smaller data size. In this case, The print data C queue 123 and the print data D queue 124 prior to the print job A data 111 stored in the print data A queue 121 are preferentially printed on the print system 107 in this order. I have.

That is, when printing is performed in the printing system 107, printing is performed in ascending order of data size. In the example of FIG. 2, the print data C113-the data 114 of the print job D-the data 111 of the print job A
-Printing is performed in the order of the data 112 of the print job B. In this case, the print job A data 111
Is printed, if the connected printing system 107 has a function of interrupting and printing another print job during the execution of the printing process,
The print data C113, the data 114 of the print job D, and the data 111 of the print job A have a function of printing during the printing execution process.

The processing for the new print job is completed as described above, and the data of the next current print job is transferred from the print job management unit 106 to the printer system 107 for a certain period of time (step 409). At this time, the picture of the print job
If the other print job has been completed (step 410), the next print job is taken out from the priority print job queue and made the current print job. If there is no priority print job, the print job is taken out of the normal print job queue (step 411).

The extracted print job data is transferred to the print system 107 by the print job management unit 106 and printed. Thereafter, after a certain period of time, the print job management unit 106 determines whether there is a new print request from the outputs of the print applications 103, 104, and 105.

Next, the LPD protocol (TCP / I
The communication control relationship between the personal computer 300 as a computer and the NIC 100 will be described with reference to the time chart of P). The time chart of FIG. 4 is a communication time chart of one of the printing protocols widely used in the network, the IPD protocol. In FIG. 4, the NIC 10 shown in FIG.
Print application unit 103 of module configuration diagram 0
Will be described as a module for controlling the PID protocol.

First, the personal computer 300 having a job to be printed establishes a TCP (transmission control protocol) connection to the printing system 107 (501). this is,
This is mainly realized by the protocol control unit 102 in FIG. Next, the personal computer 300 stores a command file (daemon command and subcommand).
Is transmitted, and the data of the print job is transmitted (502).
The daemon command sent first notifies the print system that there is a job to be printed and the name of the file to be used for printing.

The print system 107 can determine whether the data to be sent is text data or binary data based on the filter name. Next, a subcommand is transmitted. Thereby, the size of the print data can be known. These data are acquired by the print application unit 103 using the TCP connection.
No. 3 notifies the print job management unit 106 that there is a new print job.

The print job management unit 106 connects the new job to one of the priority print queue and the normal print queue, judging from the data. Next, a print job is selected according to the flowchart of FIG.
Print job data is received from the print application units 103, 104, and 105 that manage the selected print job. The print application units 103, 104, 1
05 starts receiving print job data from the personal computer 300 and outputs the data to the print job management unit 106 (503).

The print application units 103, 104,
When the reception of all the data of the print job from the personal computer 300 is completed, the connection 105 is disconnected (504). The print application units 103, 104, and 105 that manage the jobs waiting for printing connected to the print job queue control the protocol so that they do not receive print job data from the personal computer 300. I do.

As described above, in the first embodiment, priority is given to the order of actual printing according to the data size of the print job for which the client print request is made, so that priority can be given in ascending order of the data size (when the print job is The NIC 100 (determined in the order of the queue) determines the print job. Therefore, if the data size changes, the print execution of the other client job is delayed depending on the data size even for the print job of the same client. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it gets faster. That is, flexibility can be provided in the order of printing. Therefore, the entire system including the pudding, the system 107, and the print requesting client functions efficiently, and by applying this second method to the office printing system, the printing operation in the office can be performed. Efficiency will be improved.

[0034]

As described above, according to the print job management method of the present invention, N
When the print job sent to the IC is executed, the NIC determines the data size and attributes of the print job, and determines the print execution order so that the print job with the smaller data size of the print job is executed preferentially. Thus, a situation in which a large amount of print data jobs occupy the print system for a long time and a later small amount of print data jobs wait for a long time is eliminated.
Along with this, people who want to print a small amount will not have to wait for a long time for people who print a large amount, and people who print for a long time will use it without bothering others who use the same printer it can. Therefore, the efficiency of printing work in the office is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a print job management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the print priority is changed to a normal print job and a priority print job according to the data size of the print job, and printing is performed by the print job management method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a print job sorting procedure by a print job management method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows N in the print job management system according to the present invention.
6 is a time chart of TCP / IP communication for explaining a process of determining the size and attribute of print job data in an IC.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which data of a print job by an NIC in a conventional print job management method is printed in the order of arrival of a print request regardless of the data size.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 network interface controller (NIC) 101 network interface unit 102 protocol control unit 103-105
Print application unit 106 Print job management unit 107 Print system 111 Print job A data 112 Print job B data 11
3 ... print data C, 114 ... print job D
, 121... Print data A queue, 122.
.., Print data B queue, 123 print data C queue, 124 print data D queue, 200 local area network, 300 personal computer.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 30, 1999

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

Wherein said printing system, the print job management method according to claim 1, wherein the determining an attribute of whether the text data or binary data from the data of a print job transferred from the computer.

Wherein the print application unit, the print job management method according to claim 1, wherein a number corresponding to the number of the printing system supports different printing protocols.

4. A print job transferred from the computer, typically for printing larger than the size of a certain data
Connect to the job queue, if it is small, the priority print job
2. The print job management method according to claim 1, wherein the print job is managed by connecting to a queue .

5. The size of the data of a print job transferred from the computer, the print job management method according to claim 1, wherein a is less than 100% of the size of the print job has led to queue before .

Wherein said print application unit, printing of claim 1, wherein the not receive print data from said computer by controlling all completes the reception protocol of the data of the print job from the computer Job management method.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

2. Description of the Related Art Various devices have been conventionally developed for printing print information by a printer from a document creation device connected to a network. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H02-1
In Japanese Patent No. 5792, an identification number is assigned to a plurality of network clients, priorities are assigned to the identification numbers in advance, and when a printing request is issued from a network client to one printing apparatus, the identification numbers are assigned. It is described that the priority order is fixedly determined and printing is executed in the determined order.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a print job management system according to the present invention comprises a computer connected to a network, and print data transferred from the computer via the network. A print system, a network interface unit that controls transmission and reception of physical data with the computer via the network, and establishes a session with the computer by controlling a protocol for data transmission and reception on the network. A protocol control unit, a print application unit for confirming as a print job from data transferred from the computer via the network, the network interface unit, and the print job recognized by the print application unit. Print job management for creating a queue of job information including attribute information of print data including communication information with a transmission source and data size of the print job, and determining which print job is actually preferentially printed by the print system. And a unit.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to the present invention, the print data transferred from the computer via the network is taken into the protocol control unit via the network interface unit, and the protocol control unit transmits and receives the data transmission protocol on the network. Controls and establishes a session with the computer.When a new print request is issued from the computer, the print job data is input to the print application unit via the network interface unit and the protocol control unit, and the print job data is recognized. When the print job management unit determines that a print request has been issued to the print application unit, the print job management unit determines whether the print job recognized by the print application unit as a print job is transmitted to the transmission source. Communication information and print job A job information queue including data size and print data attribute information is created to determine which print job is to be preferentially printed by the printing system. Even when a request is issued and the print system is occupied for a long time, a client that issues a small amount of print request later does not have to wait for a long time for a small amount of print and prints for a long time. Can use this printing system without bothering other clients using the same printing system, and can improve the efficiency of the printing operation.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a print job management system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a module configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention. NIC in FIG.
100 is connected to a local area network 200 as a network and a print system 107,
It has a function of receiving print data from a client (not shown) connected to the local area network 200, transferring the print data to the print system 107, and performing printing.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

When the print job data to be printed is determined, the print job management unit 106 acquires the determined print job data from the print application units 103, 104, and 105 and transfers the data to the print system 107. I have to. The print system 107 performs print execution processing by inputting print job data.

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0024

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Print data C11 having a small data size
3. The data 114 of the print job D is changed to NIC1
00, the print data C113 is stored in the print data C113 queue 123 and the print data D queue 124 as a priority print job queue in the order of smaller data size. In this case,
Prior to the print job A data 111 stored in the print data A queue 121, the print data C queue 1
23 shows a state in which the print data D is preferentially printed on the print system 107 in the order of the queue 124 of the print data D.

[Procedure amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0026

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The processing for the new print job is completed as described above, and the data of the next current print job is transferred from the print job management unit 106 to the print system 107 for a certain period of time. At this time, when the print job data is completed (step 104), the next print job is taken out from the priority print job queue and is set as the current print job. If there is no priority print job, the print job is taken out of the normal print job queue (step 411).

[Procedure amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0031

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The print job management unit 106 connects the new job to either the priority print queue or the normal print queue, judging from the data. Then, FIG.
Select a print job according to the flowchart in
Print job data is received from the print application units 103, 104, and 105 that manage the selected print job. The print application units 103, 104, 1
05 starts receiving print job data from the personal computer 300 and outputs the data to the print job management unit 106 (503).

[Procedure amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0033

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

As described above, according to the first embodiment, printing can be preferentially performed in ascending order of data size according to the size of data of a print job requested by a client (printing). The job 100 is determined by the NIC 100. Therefore, if the data size changes, the print job of the same client is executed by another client job according to the data size. Sometimes it gets slower, sometimes it gets faster. That is, flexibility can be provided in the order of printing. Therefore, the entire system including the print system 107 and the client that has issued the print request functions efficiently, and by applying the method of the present invention to the printing system in the office, the efficiency of the printing operation in the office is reduced. Will be improved.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus, comprising: a network interface controller connected to a network and a printing system, the network interface controller determining a size and an attribute of a print job sent from a computer on the network and determining a printing execution order. Job management method. 2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the network interface controller controls transmission and reception of physical data to and from the predetermined computer via the network. A protocol control unit for establishing a TCP connection to the printer, a print application unit for recognizing a print job from data transferred from the computer via the network, and a print control unit for recognizing the print job recognized by the print application unit. A print job management unit that creates a queue of job information including communication information with the transmission source and attribute information of the print data to determine which print job is actually preferentially printed by the print system. Special features Print job management method of claim 1, wherein. 3. The print job management method according to claim 2, wherein the print system determines an attribute of text data or binary data from print job data transferred from the computer. 4. The print job management system according to claim 2, wherein said print application unit has a number corresponding to a number of said print systems supporting different print protocols. 5. The print job management method according to claim 2, wherein the size of the data of the print job transferred from the computer is equal to or smaller than a fixed data size determined in the printing system. 6. The print job according to claim 2, wherein the size of the data of the print job transferred from the computer is 100% or less of the size of the print job connected to the queue of the preliminary normal print job. Print job management method. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the print application unit does not receive print data from the computer by controlling a protocol when receiving all the data of the print job from the computer. Job management method.