WO2001037075A1 - Systeme d'imprimante, procede de commande d'imprimante et support d'enregistrement - Google Patents
Systeme d'imprimante, procede de commande d'imprimante et support d'enregistrement Download PDFInfo
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- WO2001037075A1 WO2001037075A1 PCT/JP2000/008106 JP0008106W WO0137075A1 WO 2001037075 A1 WO2001037075 A1 WO 2001037075A1 JP 0008106 W JP0008106 W JP 0008106W WO 0137075 A1 WO0137075 A1 WO 0137075A1
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- Prior art keywords
- printing
- job
- print job
- printer
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1202—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
- G06F3/1211—Improving printing performance
- G06F3/1212—Improving printing performance achieving reduced delay between job submission and print start
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1202—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
- G06F3/1203—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
- G06F3/1207—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management resulting in the user being informed about print result after a job submission
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1223—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to use a particular technique
- G06F3/1237—Print job management
- G06F3/1259—Print job monitoring, e.g. job status
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1223—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to use a particular technique
- G06F3/1237—Print job management
- G06F3/126—Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
- G06F3/1261—Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device by using alternate printing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1278—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to adopt a particular infrastructure
- G06F3/1285—Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
Definitions
- Print system Print system, print control method, and recording medium
- the present invention relates to a printing system in which a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer, and at least one information processing apparatus that generates a printing job are interconnected, and a printing system for the printing system.
- the present invention relates to a print control method and a recording medium related to the above. Background art
- each printer is provided with a built-in or external print server, thereby enabling connection between each printer and the network via the print server. is there.
- the print server is provided with a spool function to enable processing of print jobs from a plurality of client personal computers.
- the print server prints each print job by sequentially outputting the stored print jobs to the printer by the spool function.
- the first printing system of the present invention is:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is processed by the information processing.
- a print system that sends the print job from the printing mechanism to the buffer of any of the print devices and prints the print job by a spool function of the print device.
- Specific device detecting means for detecting a printing device to be replaced with another printing device for a printing job stored in the buffer from within a predetermined group of printing devices;
- At least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing device detected by the specific device detecting means is transferred to another printing device within the predetermined collection of printing devices.
- the gist is to provide.
- a print job stored in the buffer can be transferred to another print device within a predetermined group of print devices among the plurality of print devices.
- the print device to be replaced is detected by the specific device detection means, and at least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the detected print device is transferred to the job transfer means. Thereby, the print device is moved to the buffer of another print device within the range of the collection of the print devices.
- the specific device detecting means includes a buffer for each printing device within a predetermined group of printing devices among the plurality of printing devices.
- a first information acquisition unit for acquiring first information indicating a status of the print job, and a degree of congestion of the print job based on the first information acquired from the second information acquisition unit. Means for detecting a printing device in a large state and setting the printing device as the printing device to be replaced.
- the printing job may be in a state where the degree of congestion of the printing job is small based on the first information obtained from the first information obtaining unit.
- Detecting means for detecting the printing apparatus from within the predetermined group of printing apparatuses; and the job moving means, wherein the destination of the printing job is detected by the detecting means. Can be configured.
- the print job can be moved to a printing apparatus in a state where the degree of congestion of the printing job is small, so that printing can be performed effectively by using the empty printing apparatus. Can be completed quickly.
- the specific device detecting unit obtains second information indicating a state of the printing mechanism within a range of the predetermined group of printing devices. Means, and the second information obtained from the second information obtaining means. Based on the information, the printing mechanism may detect a printing apparatus in an error state, and may include means for setting the printing apparatus as the printing apparatus to be replaced.
- the printing apparatus when the printing mechanism in the printing apparatus that has received the printing job enters an error state, the printing apparatus is detected by the specific device detecting unit, and the detected printing apparatus is detected. At least one print job stored in the provided buffer is moved to the buffer of another printing device by the job moving means.
- the error state of the printing mechanism is a state such as a failure of the printing mechanism, a paper jam, or a paper shortage.
- the printing device in which the printing mechanism is not in an error state based on the second information obtained from the second information obtaining means.
- each print job generated by the information processing apparatus is accompanied by first marker data which determines in advance whether or not the print job can be moved by the job moving means.
- the job moving unit is configured to determine, based on the first marker data, a print job determined to be unmovable.
- a movement prohibiting means for prohibiting the movement of the user.
- each print job generated in the information processing apparatus is accompanied by second marker data which predetermines a priority of printing by the spool function. May include means for determining selection of the print job to be moved based on the content of the second marker data.
- a print job with a high print priority can be preferentially moved to another print device.
- the information processing apparatus which is the source of the print job to be re-moved by the job moving unit is notified of the printing apparatus to which the print job is to be moved.
- a configuration including a job movement notification unit can be adopted.
- the operator can know from which printing apparatus printing is performed when the print job is moved, which is convenient.
- the second printing system of the present invention is:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is stored in the information processing apparatus.
- a print system comprising a plurality of groups of devices for sending a print job from the printing mechanism from a processing device to the buffer of any of the print devices and printing the print job by the spool function of the print device.
- Specific device detecting means for detecting a print device to be replaced with another print device for a print job stored in the buffer, from within a set of the device group;
- the at least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing device detected by the specific device detecting means is converted into two or more sets of the device including at least a device group including the printing device.
- a job moving means for moving to a buffer of another printing device within the group
- the gist is to provide.
- a print job stored in the buffer should be replaced with another printing device within an arbitrary one of the plurality of device groups.
- a printing device is detected by the specific device detecting means, and at least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the detected printing device is provided with the printing device by the job moving means. It is moved to a buffer of another printing device within the range of two or more sets of devices including at least the device group.
- a print job stored in the buffer of the printing device within the range of one set of devices may be replaced by another device included in the own set of devices or another device group as necessary. Automatically transferred to the printing device. Therefore, when printing of a print job is delayed in a predetermined printer, printing can be performed by searching for an empty printing device from a wide range beyond its own device group. This has the effect that it can be completed more reliably and quickly.
- the specific device detecting unit transmits first information indicating a status of a print job in the buffer for each printing device within the range of the one device group. Detecting a printing apparatus in a state where the degree of congestion of the print job is large, based on first information obtaining means to be obtained and the first information obtained from the first information obtaining means; Means for setting the apparatus as the printing apparatus to be replaced.
- print jobs from many information processing devices are transferred to one printing device.
- concentration it is determined that the print job is heavily congested in the printing apparatus, and the print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing apparatus is sent to another printing apparatus. Therefore, even when a print job is concentrated on one printing apparatus, printing can be performed from another available printing apparatus, and printing can be completed quickly.
- a target device group defining unit that defines a plurality of groups of devices that can be moved by the job moving unit; Means for acquiring the first information within a range of a set of apparatus groups, and a printing apparatus in which the degree of congestion of the print job is small based on the first information acquired from the means.
- Detecting means for detecting the print job from within the range of the specified plurality of device groups, and the job moving means sets the destination of the print job to the printing apparatus detected by the detecting means.
- the print job can be moved to a printing apparatus in a state where the degree of congestion of the printing job is small, so that printing can be performed effectively by using the empty printing apparatus. Can be completed quickly.
- the specific device detection unit is configured to obtain second information indicating a state of the printing mechanism for each printer device within a range of the one device group. Based on the second information obtained from the second information obtaining means, the printing mechanism detects a printing apparatus in an error state, and sets the printing apparatus as the printing apparatus to be replaced. Means.
- the printing apparatus when the printing mechanism in the printing apparatus that has received the printing job enters an error state, the printing apparatus is detected by the specific device detecting unit, and the detected printing apparatus is detected. Less stored in the provided buffer At least one print job is moved to the buffer of another printing device by the job moving means.
- the error state of the printing mechanism is a state such as a failure of the printing mechanism, a paper jam, or a paper shortage.
- a target device group defining unit that defines a plurality of groups of devices that can be moved by the job moving unit;
- the job moving unit may be configured to determine the destination of the print job to the printing device detected by the detection unit.
- a target device group defining unit that defines a plurality of device groups that can be a destination by the job moving unit, and the job is defined by each of the defined plurality of device groups.
- Detecting means for detecting a candidate printing device at the destination by the moving means, and counting the candidate printing devices of each group of devices detected by the detecting means, and storing the counting result as total data It may be configured to include a counting means, and a determination means for determining one printing device for instructing the job moving means based on the counting data.
- each of the plurality of sets of device groups that can be In step (1) one candidate printing device that can be moved is detected, the candidate printers in each group of devices are counted, and the printing device to which the job is moved is determined based on the result of the counting. . Therefore, the destination of the job transfer can be easily determined.
- each of the plurality of device groups defined by the target device group defining device includes the aggregation device, and a candidate print of each set of device groups detected by the detection device is provided.
- the aggregation data is unified by the plurality of device groups. It can be
- the destination of the job transfer can be reliably determined from all of the plurality of device groups that can be the destination of the job transfer.
- the tallying unit is provided separately from the plurality of device groups defined by the target device group defining unit, and is implemented by a computer device connected to each of the device groups by communication. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which
- the printing apparatus includes: a receiving unit that receives a print job from outside; and a print job received by the receiving unit passes through the job moving unit.
- a configuration may be provided that includes an identification unit that identifies whether or not the packet has been sent, and a process switching unit that switches a process to be performed based on an identification result by the identification unit.
- a print job is sent from the outside to the printing apparatus.
- the process to be executed is switched. Therefore, it is possible to perform different processing on the source of the print job.
- the printing apparatus further includes an authentication unit that authenticates a transmission source of the print job, and the process switching unit performs execution of the authentication unit. It is possible to adopt a configuration including means for switching execution.
- a print job sent from another printing apparatus does not authenticate the transmission source, and a job sent directly from the information processing apparatus can be authenticated.
- a print job sent from another printing device can be omitted assuming that authentication has already been performed when sent to another printer.
- the first print control method of the present invention includes:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is stored in the information processing apparatus.
- a print control method used in a print system that sends a print job from the printing mechanism to a buffer of any of the printing apparatuses from a processing apparatus and prints the print job from the printing mechanism by a spool function of the printing apparatus. So,
- step (b) transmitting at least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing apparatus detected in the step (a) to the predetermined printing apparatus; Moving to a buffer of another printing device within the range of the gathering.
- a second print control method according to the present invention includes:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is stored in the information processing apparatus.
- a print system comprising a plurality of sets of apparatuses for sending a print job from the printing mechanism by sending a print job from the printing mechanism by a spool function of the print apparatus by sending the print job from the processing apparatus to the buffer of the arbitrary print apparatus.
- At least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing device detected in the step (a) is converted into at least two or more sets including at least a device group including the printing device. Moving to a buffer of another printing device within the range of the device group;
- the gist is to provide.
- the first print control method and the second print control method having the above configuration have the same functions and effects as the first print system and the second print system of the invention, respectively. If the printing of a print job is delayed by the printer of this type, printing can be completed quickly.
- the first recording medium of the present invention is:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is stored in the information processing apparatus. From the processing device to the buffer of any of the printing devices, and the spooling function of the printing device A computer-readable recording medium recording a program used in a printing system for printing a print job from the printing mechanism,
- At least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing device detected by the function (a) is transferred to another printing device within the predetermined collection of printing devices.
- the main point is that a program for realizing this on a computer has been recorded.
- the second recording medium of the present invention includes:
- a plurality of printing apparatuses each including a printing mechanism and a spool buffer corresponding to the printing mechanism are interconnected with at least one information processing apparatus that generates a print job, and the print job is stored in the information processing apparatus.
- a print system comprising a plurality of sets of apparatuses for sending a print job from the printing mechanism by sending a print job from the printing mechanism by a spool function of the print apparatus by sending the print job from the processing apparatus to the buffer of the arbitrary print apparatus.
- a computer-readable recording medium recording a computer program to be used
- At least one print job stored in the buffer provided in the printing device detected by the function (a) is used by at least two or more sets including at least a device group including the printing device. A function of moving to a buffer of another printing device within the range of the device group;
- the first recording medium and the second recording medium having the above configuration also have the same operation and effects as the first printing system and the second printing system of the present invention. If printing of a print job is delayed, printing can be completed quickly.
- the present invention includes other aspects as described below.
- the first aspect is an aspect as a computer program having the same function as that of the recording medium of the present invention.
- the second mode is a mode as a data signal embodied in a carrier wave by including the computer program.
- a third aspect is an aspect as a program supply device that supplies a computer program via a communication path.
- the above-described method and system are realized by placing a computer program on a server or the like on a network, downloading a necessary program to a computer via a communication path, and executing the program. Can be. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
- FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal hardware configuration of the printers 50 to 70 and the print load distribution device 80.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the processing realized by the printer control circuit 53 and the print load distribution device 80 of each of the printers 50, 60, 70.
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a spool print processing routine executed by the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53.
- FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the print job PJ and the flags FG1 and FG2 added thereto.
- Figure 6 shows the job transmission / reception processing executed by the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53.
- 7 is a flowchart showing a routine and a print load distribution processing routine executed by the CPU 80a of the print load distribution apparatus 80.
- FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which the second embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- FIG. 8 shows the processing realized by the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B provided in the computer systems 500A and 550B, respectively. , 6 ⁇ 0 B.
- FIG. 8 shows the processing realized by the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B provided in the computer systems 500A and 550B, respectively. , 6 ⁇ 0 B.
- FIG. 8 shows the processing realized by the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B provided in the computer systems 500A and 550B, respectively. , 6 ⁇ 0 B.
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an empty printer determination / monitoring routine executed by the CPUs of the print load distribution apparatuses 580A and 580B.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a communication control routine executed by the CPU of the print load distribution device 58OA (58OB).
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of the job movement determination process which is different from the first embodiment.
- FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification of the second embodiment.
- FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which the third embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a reception enable / disable control routine executed by the CPU of the printer control circuit 9553.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- a computer system 10 to which this embodiment is applied includes a plurality (three in the range shown in FIG. 1) of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as client computers) that generate print jobs. 20), 30, 40, and pudding Printers 50, 60, 70, which print multiple print jobs (three in the range shown in Figure 1), and a print load distribution device 80, which distributes the printing load of each printer 50-70.
- client computers personal computers
- a print load distribution device 80 which distributes the printing load of each printer 50-70.
- LAN local area network
- the computer network 90 can be replaced with various networks such as the Internet, an intranet, and a wide area network (WAN) instead of a LAN.
- a print job is a set of data representing one printed matter, and is composed of image data, control data, and the like.
- This print job also includes sender information that specifies the client personal computer that is the source of the print job.
- the caller information may specify the client personal computer in this way, but may alternatively use a user account name for obtaining permission to use the network.
- one user may be using multiple client PCs at the same time.In such a case, it is sufficient to specify the user without specifying the client PC.
- the print job can include the user account name as the sender information.
- the client PCs 20 to 40 are well-known personal computers having a CRT display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like as peripheral devices.
- the printers 50 to 70 substantially have a computer function, and are so-called laser printers which form an image by irradiating a drum with a laser beam, develop the image with a toner, and transfer the image to paper. These printers 50 to 70 have a spool function and constitute a printing apparatus of the present invention. As the printers 50 to 70, various printers such as an ink jet printer and a thermal transfer printer can be applied.
- the print load distribution device 80 also substantially has a computer function.
- FIG. 2 shows the internal hardware configuration of the printers 50 to 70 and the print load distribution device 80. It is a block diagram showing composition.
- the printers 50 to 70 include a printing mechanism 51 and a printer control circuit 53.
- the printer control circuit 53 includes a ROM 53 b, a RAM 53 c, an input / output interface 53 d and a network control circuit 53 interconnected by a bus centering on a CPU 53 a as a central processing unit.
- the ROM 53b is a read-only memory that stores various built-in computer programs and the like.
- the RAM 53C is a readable / writable memory for storing various data and the like, and a spool buffer 55 is formed in the RAM 53c.
- the input / output interface 53d is an interface for outputting control data for controlling printing to the printing mechanism 51.
- the network control circuit 53 e is connected to the computer network 90.
- the print load distribution device 80 includes a ROM 80b, a RAM 80c, an input / output interface 80d, and a network control circuit 80e that are mutually connected by a bus around a CPU 80a as a central processing unit.
- the ROM 8 Ob is a read-only memory for storing various built-in computer programs and the like.
- the RAM 80c is a readable / writable memory for storing various data and the like.
- the input / output interface is an interface for inputting and outputting data to and from a peripheral device (not shown).
- the network control circuit 80e is connected to the computer network 90. Since the hardware configurations of the client PCs 20 to 40 are well-known, detailed description is omitted here.
- a print job is transferred from the client personal computers 20, 30, and 40 to the printer control circuit 5 of any of the printers 50, 60, and 70 via the computer network 90.
- the print job is sent to the printer 50 (60, 70), and the print job is sent from the client PCs 20, 30, 40 to one printer 50 (60, 70) in a concentrated manner. If the print job is too crowded, The print load distribution device 80 performs a process of moving the once sent print job to the printer control circuit 53 of another free printer 60, 70 (50). The state of such processing will be described in detail below.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a state of processing realized by the print control circuit 53 and the print load distribution device 80 of each of the printers 50, 60, and 70.
- the destination of the print job is sent.
- the print job is received by the job receiving unit 101 provided in the printer control circuit 53 of the printer 50 of the first embodiment.
- the print job received by the job receiving unit # 01 is temporarily stored in the spool buffer 55 (5).
- the spool function is realized by the job control unit 103, and the job control unit 103
- the printer control circuit 53 further includes a job status monitoring unit 104 and a printer status monitoring unit 105.
- the job state monitoring unit 104 monitors the degree of congestion of print jobs in the buffer 55 based on information sent from the job control unit 103.
- the printer state monitoring unit 105 monitors the operation state of the printing mechanism 5 based on the information sent from the printing mechanism 5.
- the monitoring results obtained by the job status monitoring unit 104 and the printer status monitoring unit 105 in each printer 50, 60, 70 are sent to the print load distribution device 80 ( ⁇ , 4).
- the print load distribution device 80 is connected to each of the printers 50,
- the monitoring result of the job status received from 60, 70 is stored to monitor the congestion of print jobs in each buffer 55, and the printer status monitoring unit 112 controls each printer.
- the printer status monitoring results received from 50, 60, and 70 are stored, and the operation status of each printing mechanism 51 is monitored. Note that here, For three printers 50, 60, and 70 among a plurality of printers connected to the computer network 90, the print load distribution device 80 monitors the printer status and the job status.
- a printer name for identifying a printer to be monitored is previously stored in the group information storage unit 113 provided in the print load distribution apparatus 80 (this embodiment).
- the printer names of the three printers 50, 60, and 70 are stored.
- the printer status and the job status of the desired printer can be obtained. Is configured to perform monitoring.
- the printer name may be any information as long as it can identify the printer.
- the printer name may be replaced with a network address, an IP address, or the like.
- the print load distribution apparatus 80 reads the name of the printer to be monitored from the group information storage unit 113, and sends a request signal to transmit the monitoring information to the printer with that printer name.
- the printer receives the request signal and receives the monitoring information transmitted from the job status monitoring unit 104 and the printer status monitoring unit 105 of each printer.
- the print load distribution device 80 then moves the job based on the monitoring results from the job status monitoring unit 111 and the printer status monitoring unit 112 by the job movement determination unit 114 (6, 7).
- a process is performed to determine the printer that needs to be replaced (that is, the printer that needs to replace the print job in the buffer 55 with another printer) and the printer to which the printer should move.
- a printer with a high degree of congestion of print jobs is selected from the monitoring results of the job status monitoring unit 111, and the printing mechanism 51 is determined to be in error by the monitoring results of the printer status monitoring unit 112. Select a printer that is in one state (including a paper jam, out of paper, as well as a failure), and determine that job transfer is required for these selected printers.
- the printers 50, 60, 70 stored in the group information storage unit 113 are used.
- One of the printers in which the degree of congestion of print jobs is estimated to be small within the range of the group of printers is determined as the destination printer.
- a print job in which the degree of congestion of print jobs is large refers to a printer in which the ratio of the total amount of print job storage to the total capacity of the buffer 55 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value C1.
- a printer with a low degree of job congestion refers to a printer in which the ratio of the total print job storage capacity to the total capacity of the buffer 55 is equal to or less than a predetermined value C2.
- the predetermined value C1 is a value larger than the predetermined value C2. Note that both can have the same value.
- the print load distribution device 80 issues a command to move the print job to the printer which needs the job movement by the job movement command unit 115.
- This announcement is sent to the job control unit 103 provided in the printer control circuit 53 of the printer (the printer 50 in the illustrated example) determined that the job movement is necessary (8).
- the job movement command section 1 15 of the printing load distribution apparatus 80 also notifies the job movement transmission section 1 ⁇ 6 of the printing load distribution apparatus 80 itself of the printer name of the printer indicating the destination. Yes (9).
- the job control unit ⁇ 03 of the printer 50 which has received the job movement command from the job movement command unit 115, stores the job in the buffer 55 in consideration of the priority assigned to the print job in advance.
- a print job to be used for movement is determined from a plurality of print jobs, and the print job is sent from the buffer 55 to the job movement transmission section 106 of the printer control circuit 53 ( ⁇ 10; In this specification, a symbol that encloses 10 or more numbers in Fig. 3 with ⁇ is indicated by a character string in which the numbers are arranged in ⁇ ).
- the job movement transmitting unit 106 transmits the print job to the job movement receiving unit 117 of the print load distribution device 80 (# 11).
- the print job received by the job movement receiving unit 117 is sent to the job movement transmitting unit 116 (# 12).
- the job move transmission section 1 1 6 As described above, since the notification of the destination printer name has been received from the job movement command unit 115, the job movement receiving unit is directed to the destination printer (the printer 60 in the illustrated example). The print job sent from 1 17 is sent ( ⁇ 1 3).
- the job movement notification unit 118 receives a notification of the destination printer name from the job movement command unit 115 ( ⁇ 14), and sends the transmission job included in the print job from the job movement reception unit 117. The user information and the name of the printed matter represented by the print job have been notified ( ⁇ 15).
- the job movement notifying unit 118 notifies the client personal computer, which is the source of the print job to be moved, of the name of the printed matter and the name of the printer to which the print job is to be moved. 16).
- the destination of the print job can be notified to the client personal computer that issued the print job, so that the operator can know which printer performs the print job. Easy to use.
- the printer 60 that has received the print job from the job movement transmitting unit 116 receives the print job by the job receiving unit 107, and then buffers the print job. ( ⁇ 17).
- one print job is transferred from the printer 50 with a high degree of congestion (or a printer with the printing mechanism 51 in an error state) to the printer 60 with a low degree of congestion. That is, the print job is printed from the printer 60 without being crowded.
- the job movement notification unit 118 notifies the client personal computer that is the source of the print job of the destination of the job movement.
- the job movement command section 115 transmits the destination together with the job movement command to the printer that is the storage location (source) of the print job. Then, the printer sends a message to the client PC that issued the print job. Thus, the destination of the print job may be notified.
- Each unit 103 to 107 provided in each printer control circuit 53 shown in FIG. 3 is actually a combination of a computer program and a computer program stored in the ROM 53 b in the hardware configuration of FIG. 2 in advance. And various processes executed by the CPU 53a in accordance with the above. Also, the buffers in the job status monitoring unit 111 and the printer status monitoring unit 112 provided in the print load distribution device 80 shown in FIG. 3 and the group information storage unit 113 actually correspond to FIG. Each of the units 11 1, 11 4 to 11 18 provided in the print load distribution device 80 shown in FIG. 3 is actually realized by the RAM 80 c in the hardware configuration of FIG. This is realized by a computer program stored in the ROM 80b in advance in the hardware configuration and various processes executed by the CPU 80a in accordance with the computer program.
- the computer programs executed by the printer control circuit 53 and the print load distribution device 80 are stored in the ROM 53b and the ROM 80b in advance, but may be read by an external computer instead. It is stored in advance on a possible recording medium, downloaded from these recording media via the input / output interfaces 53d, 80d, and transferred to the RAM 53c, 80c. Is also good.
- This type of recording medium includes a floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, magneto-optical disk, and IC card.
- these combination programs download program data provided via the computer network 90 from a specific server connected to the computer network 90 and transfer the program data to the RAM 53c, 80c. It can also be obtained by:
- the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53 performs spool printing A spool print processing routine and a job transmission / reception processing routine for transmitting / receiving a print job to / from the print load distribution device 80 are executed.
- the CPU 80a of the print load distribution device 80 executes a print load distribution processing routine for distributing the print load.
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a spool print processing routine executed by the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53. This processing routine is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.
- the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53 first determines whether or not a print job is sent from the client personal computers 20, 30, and 40 connected to the computer network 90. Is determined (step S200).
- each print job PJ sent from the client personal computers 20, 30, and 40 has priority identification data FG1 and load distribution target determination flag FG2 added thereto. I have.
- the priority identification data FG 1 indicates the priority of printing.
- the load distribution target determination flag FG2 indicates whether or not the job can be moved for distributing the print load, and is indicated by a numerical value of “1” or “0”.
- step S200 when it is determined that a print job to which these flags FG1 and FG2 are added has been sent, the CPU 53a transmits the print job (hereinafter, the print job has the flag (The explanation is continued assuming that FG 1 and FG 2 are set respectively.) (Step S 210), and the print job is stored in the spool buffer 55 prepared in the RAM 53 c. (Step S220). Thereafter, one print job having the earlier storage order is extracted from the print jobs stored in the buffer 55, and this print job is output to the printing mechanism 51 (step S230). As a result, the print mechanism 51 stores it in buffer 55. The received print jobs are printed in the order of storage.
- step S230 is executed when a print job is stored in the buffer 55, and is not executed when there is no print job in the buffer 55. Also, the processing of step S220 and step S230 are described in this order for convenience in the description of the flowchart, but in reality, both processings are executed in parallel, thereby realizing the spool function. Have been. After that, the process returns to "return" and the execution of this processing routine is temporarily terminated. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S200, the process proceeds to step S230 without executing the processes in steps S210 and S220, and printing of the print job is performed. I do.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a job transmission / reception processing routine executed by the CPU 53 a of the print control circuit 53 and a print load distribution processing routine executed by the CPU 80 a of the print load distribution device 80. It is. Both processes are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.
- the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53 first prints the print data stored in the spool buffer 55 prepared in the RAM 53c.
- the job amount is detected (step S300), and based on the detection result, a job state monitoring process for determining the degree of print job congestion in the buffer 55 is executed (step S310). 0).
- the number of print jobs in step S300 may be detected by specifically detecting the total number of unprocessed print jobs in the buffer 55. It is also possible to take into account the number of pages of the printed matter shown in the above. Also, by dividing the amount of the print job detected in step S300 by the average output processing capability of the printer, the load of the printer in view of the output processing capability of the printer is obtained. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the degree of congestion of print jobs is determined according to the load amount.
- the CPU 53a inputs various information indicating the operation state of the printing mechanism 51 from the printing mechanism 51 (step S320), and determines what kind of current printing mechanism 51 is based on the various information.
- a printer state monitoring process is performed to determine whether the printer is in an operation state, that is, whether it is operating normally, or is in an error state such as a failure, a paper jam, or an out of paper (step S330).
- step S340 the CPU 53a determines whether or not a request signal for requesting monitoring information has been sent from the print load distribution device 80 (step S340).
- This request signal is transmitted in the first step S400 of the print load distribution processing routine executed by the CPU 80a of the print load distribution device 80.
- the destination of the request signal is determined from the printer name of the printer to be monitored, which is stored in a predetermined area (corresponding to the group information storage unit 113) in the RAM 80c in advance. ing.
- step S340 If it is determined in step S340 that the request signal has not been sent, the process returns to "Return” and the execution of this processing routine is temporarily terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S340 that the request signal has been sent, the result of the determination in the job status monitoring process in step S310 (hereinafter, referred to as job status monitoring information) and step S330.
- job status monitoring information the result of the determination in the job status monitoring process in step S310 (hereinafter, referred to as job status monitoring information) and step S330.
- the result determined in the printer status monitoring process (hereinafter, printer status monitoring information) is transmitted to the print load distribution device 80 via the network control circuit 53e (step S350).
- the CPU 80a of the print load distribution apparatus 80 transmits a request signal for requesting monitoring information in step S400, and then transmits the request signal.
- a process for receiving the job status monitoring information and the printer status monitoring information sent from the printers 50, 60, and 70 is performed (step S410).
- the CPU 80a stores the received monitoring information of each printer in the RAM 80c in order (step S420).
- the CPU 80a performs a job movement determination process for finding a printer that needs to move a job and a printer to which the job needs to be moved, based on the job state monitoring information and the printer state monitoring information stored in the RAM 80c ( Step S430).
- a printer with a high degree of congestion of print jobs is selected from the job status monitoring information, and a printer in which the printing mechanism 51 is in an error state is selected from the printer status monitoring information.
- both printers (a printer with a high degree of congestion and a printer in an error state) need to be moved to substitute a print job for another printer.
- one of the printers whose print job congestion t is estimated to be small is determined as the destination printer.
- the CPU 80a performs a process of transmitting a command to move the print job to the printer determined to require the job movement (step S440).
- the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53 determines whether or not the job transfer command transmitted from the print load distribution device 80 in step S440 is received from the print load distribution device 80 after executing step S350. (Step S360). If it is determined that the job movement command has not been received, the process returns to "Return” and the execution of this processing routine is temporarily terminated. If it is determined in step S340 that there is no request signal, the process returns to "return” and the execution of this processing routine is temporarily terminated.
- Step S370 a process of selecting a print job to be transferred from a plurality of print jobs stored in the spool buffer 55 is performed.
- this selection reads all the print jobs in the buffer 55 in order, and first determines whether the load balancing target determination flag FG2 attached to the print job has a value of 1. From this, it is determined whether or not the print job can be the target of job movement for print load distribution.
- the priority indicated by the priority identification data FG 1 is checked, and the highest priority among the print jobs targeted for the job movement is determined. Select the one with the larger. If a plurality of print jobs were selected as having the highest priority, the print job moved to the buffer 55 whose storage order was slow. Note that the plurality of print jobs can be directly moved in consideration of the data capacity of the print job.
- the CPU 53a transmits the print job selected as the object to be moved to the print load distribution device 80 (step S380).
- the CPU 80a of the print load distribution apparatus 80 transmits a job movement command in step S440, and then executes step S380 from the printer receiving the request signal.
- the print job sent by the execution of the above is received (step S450).
- the CPU 80a identifies the client personal computer which is the source of the print job from the sender information included in the received print job (step S460).
- the CPU 80a compares the name of the printed matter represented by the print job received in step S450 with the printer name for identifying the destination printer determined in step S430, in step S450.
- the message is transmitted to the client PC of the issuing source specified in step 450 (step S470).
- the CPU 80a sends the print job received in step S450 to the destination printer determined in step S430 (step S480).
- the printer that has received the print job from the print load distribution apparatus 80 receives the print job by the above-described spool print processing routine (step S210) and stores it in the buffer 55. (Step S220). Thereafter, the print job is output to the printing mechanism to perform printout (step S2). 30).
- the CPU 53a of the printer control circuit 53 executes the processing of step S380 in the job transmission / reception processing routine, exits to "Return", and temporarily ends the execution of this processing routine. Further, in the print load distribution processing routine, the CPU 80a of the print load distribution apparatus 80 executes Step S480 in the print load distribution processing routine, and then returns to "Return” to temporarily terminate the execution of this processing routine.
- a predetermined range of a group of three printers 50, 60, 70 among a plurality of printers connected by the computer Therefore, if print jobs are concentrated on one printer (for example, printer 50), at least one print job stored in the spool buffer 55 of that printer (50) will be replaced by the three printers. Is transferred to the buffer 55 of another printer (60, 70) among the printers 50, 60, 70 of the above. Therefore, even when a print job is concentrated on one printer, printing can be performed from another available printer, and the printing can be completed quickly.
- a printer in an error state such as out of paper has been detected
- a configuration in which only one of them is detected may be used instead.
- the completion time of the printing is reserved in advance in the use of the printer, if it is determined from the status of the print job in the buffer that the completion time is not likely to be reached, the other printer described above is used. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that determines that there is a need to substitute
- a printer in which the state of the print job in the buffer has a small degree of congestion is detected as a destination printer, but instead, the degree of congestion is small, and
- the printer can be configured to detect a printer that is not in an error state such as a failure, a paper jam, or an out of paper. Further, it is possible to detect only a printer that is not in the error state as a destination printer.
- FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which the second embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- this computer system 500 is composed of a first computer system 500 A, a second computer system 500 B, and both computer systems 500 A and 500 OB. And a computer network 600 for interconnecting the two.
- the first computer system 500A has almost the same configuration as the computer system 10 of the first embodiment, and has a plurality of (three in the range shown in FIG. 7) clients for generating print jobs.
- Personal computer 520 A, 530 A, 540 A, and multiple printers for printing print jobs (three in the range shown in Fig. 7) 55 OA, 560 A, 57 0A and a print load distribution device 580A that distributes the printing load of each printer 550A to 570A are connected to each other via a computer network 590A.
- It has a configuration.
- Second computer system 500 B Also has almost the same configuration as the computer system 10 of the first embodiment, and includes client PCs 52B, 530B, 540B and printers 550B, 560B, 5500B. The configuration is such that 70 B and a print load balancing device 580 B are connected to each other via a computer network 590 B.
- the computer network 600 is constructed by LAN. Note that various networks such as the Internet, intranet, and wide area network (WAN) can be used instead of LAN.
- the first computer system 500A and the second computer system 500B have different levels, for example, the first floor and the second floor, or have different buildings, such as a head office and a branch. In general, they are installed far apart from each other. Note that the two computer systems 500 A and 500 B do not necessarily have to be widely separated from each other, but may be installed in close proximity if the range that the network covers is clearly defined. You may.
- the print job is transferred to any one of the client computers 52O5A, 5300A, 5A within the own range.
- a process of sending the data from 40 A to any one of the printers 550 A, 560 A, and 570 A via the computer network 590 A is performed. If the degree of congestion of the print jobs of the destination printer becomes large or if the destination printer fails, the print load distribution device 58 OA will use the print load distribution device to Printers 550 A, 56 OA, 570 A, as well as other ranges, i.e., printers 550 B, 560 B, 570 in the second computer system 500 B. Detects a vacant printer including 0B and moves the print job once sent to that printer.
- the second computer system 500B can send print jobs to its own Performs processing to send from any one of the client PCs 520 B, 530 B, 540 B within the range to any one of the printers 550 B, 560 B, 570 B, and prints the print job of the destination printer If the degree of congestion of the printers becomes large or if the destination printer fails, the print load distribution device 580B causes the first and second computer systems 500B, 500B The printers 550 B to 570 B and 560 B to 570 B of all the printers are detected as free printers, and the print job sent once is moved to that printer.
- FIG. 8 shows the processing realized by the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B provided in each of the computer systems 500A and 500B, by the printers 550A to 570A and 550B to 570B.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the printer control circuits 61OA and 61OB in association with each other.
- the printer control circuits 61OA and 61OB in the figure realize the same processing as the printer control circuit 53 of the first embodiment.
- the print load distribution devices 58 OA and 580 B are different from the print load distribution device 80 of the first embodiment in that the job status monitoring unit 61 1, the printer status monitoring unit 6 12, and the group information storage unit 6 13 , A job movement judging unit 6 14, a job movement command unit 6 15, a job movement transmitting unit 6 16, a job movement receiving unit 6 17, and a job movement notifying unit 6 18.
- the difference between the two is that the print load distribution devices 58 O A and 580 B further include a free printer determination unit 650, a free printer monitoring unit 651, and a communication control unit 652.
- processing based on signals indicated by 1, 4 to 9, ⁇ 11 to ⁇ 12, and ⁇ 14 to ⁇ 16 in the figure is performed by the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above. Is realized.
- the processes based on these signals are the same as the processes realized in the first embodiment, and are assigned the same numbers as in the first embodiment.
- the printing load distribution device 58 OA further has a configuration different from that of the above-described first embodiment. Accordingly, the following processing that is not realized by the print load distribution device 80 of the first embodiment is realized.
- the print load distribution device 580 OA receives the monitoring results from the job status monitoring unit ⁇ 1 and the printer status monitoring unit 612 by the idle printer determination unit 650, respectively ( ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ a, O b; FIG.
- the symbols enclosing the alphabetic characters a to e in (8) are indicated by a character string in which the alphabetic characters are arranged in (2).
- the printer 550 included in the computer system 500A of the own device Printers from among A, 560A and 570A, in which the degree of congestion of print jobs is small, and the printing mechanism 620A is not in an error state (hereinafter referred to as an empty printer).
- an empty printer refers to a printer with only a small degree of congestion, but here, a printer with a low degree of congestion and no error is referred to as an empty printer. Select one of the printers.
- this selection to one may be an arbitrary empty printer, or may be an empty printer determined based on predetermined conditions such as, for example, the one determined earlier.
- the empty printer determining unit 650 notifies the empty printer monitoring unit 651 of the printer name for identifying the selected empty printer ( ⁇ c). If there is no empty print, data indicating this (for example, “no free”) is notified.
- the vacant printer monitoring unit 651 is provided with the number of computer systems included in the computer system 500 (in this embodiment, two computer systems, a first computer system 500A and a second computer system 500B). ) Has a table tb I having the fields fd 1 and fd 2, where the first field d 1 is in the first combination system 500 A and the second field fd 2 is in the second field. Computer system 500 B respectively.
- the vacant printer monitoring unit 651 stores the printer name sent from the vacant printer determination unit 650 in the field fd1 corresponding to its own computer system 500A.
- the empty printer monitoring unit 651 is sent from the empty printer determination unit 650. It sends the printer name and the ID for identifying the computer system 500A to which it belongs to the communication control unit 652 ( ⁇ d).
- the communication control unit 652 sets the printer name and ID between the communication control unit 652 provided in the print load distribution device 580B of the second computer system 500B. Delete the empty printer information ( ⁇ e).
- the printer name is written in the field fd 1 corresponding to the computer system 500 A determined by the above.
- the printer monitoring unit 661 of the second computer system 500B has the printer name sent from the empty printer determination unit 650 of the second computer system 500B, which is a human body.
- the free printer information in which the ID for identifying the computer system 500B to which it belongs belongs is sent to the first computer system 500A via the communication control unit 652 ( ⁇ e).
- the first computer system 500 The empty printer monitoring section 651, which is provided on the A side, receives the empty printer information via the communication control section 652, and receives the empty printer information determined by the ID number. Write the pudding name in the field fd2 corresponding to 500B.
- the free printer information of the printers managed by the respective computer systems 500A and 500B is exchanged between all the computer systems 500A and 500OB defined by the table tbI.
- each of the tables tbI stored in the free printer monitoring unit 651 of the printing load distribution apparatus 580A, 580B of each of the computer systems 500A, 500B is stored.
- the contents should be the same as the latest free printer information contained in each computer system 500A and 500B, without any difference between each combination system 500A and 500B.
- the empty printer monitoring unit 651 determines the contents of the table tb I by the job movement determination unit 61. Notify 4.
- the job movement determination unit 6 14 is the same as the job movement determination unit 1 14 described in the first embodiment in the method of determining the processing of the printer that requires the job movement.
- the method for determining the printer is different.
- the destination printer is determined from within the range of one computer system 10.
- a notification is received from the idle printer monitoring unit 651.
- the destination printer is selected from within the range of both computer systems 500A and 500B (the range of the computer system specified as a field in the empty printer monitor 651). Has been established. That is, from the contents of the template tbI, it is checked whether there is a free printer with a low degree of congestion and no error within the range of both computer systems 500A and 500B.
- the printer is determined as a destination. If an empty printer exists in both computer systems 500A and 500B, the empty printer in its own computer system 500A is preferentially determined. This is because a printer in its own computer system 500A is excellent in the retrievability of printed matter because it is close in distance to the client personal computer 502A that issued the print job.
- the print load distribution device 580 OA then moves the printer name that identifies the printer that needs to be moved by the job mover determiner 6 14 and the printer name that identifies the printer that indicates the move destination. Notify HQ 6 1-5.
- the job transfer command unit 615 executes the same processing as in the first embodiment.
- the job movement transmission unit 6 16 transmits the empty printer as the transfer destination (in the case of the contents of the table tb I illustrated in FIG. 8, the second printer included in the second computer
- the print job transmitted from the job movement receiving section 617 is transmitted to the printer 560B) (# 99).
- one print job may have a high degree of congestion (or the printing mechanism 620 A is in an error state).
- the print job is moved to the empty printer 560B within the range including the computer system 500A and the other computer system 500B, and the print job is printed without congestion from the printer 560B.
- Each part different from the first embodiment provided in the print load distribution device 58 OA, 580 B shown in FIG. 8, that is, the empty printer determination unit 650, the empty printer monitoring unit 651, and the communication control unit 652 are actually This is realized by a computer program stored in advance in a ROM provided in hardware in the print load distribution devices 58 OA and 580 B, and various processes executed by the CPU according to the computer program. As in the first embodiment, the same units 6 11 to 6 18 provided in the print load distribution devices 580 A and 580 B shown in FIG. It is realized by a stored computer program and various processes executed by the CPU according to the computer program.
- Each of the computer programs executed by the print load distribution device 58 OA and 580 B is stored in the ROM in advance.
- an external computer-readable recording medium is used. May be stored in advance, downloaded from these recording media via an input / output interface, and transferred to the RAM.
- these computer programs download program data provided via the computer networks 590A and 590B from specific servers connected to the computer networks 590A and 590B, and transfer them to the RAM. By doing so, it can also be obtained.
- the processing routine specific to the second embodiment among the various processing routines described in the computer program will be described below.
- the empty printer determination / monitoring routine corresponding to the empty printer determination unit 650 and the empty printer monitoring unit 651 is executed, and the communication control unit 652 A corresponding communication control routine is executed.
- Figure 9 shows the empty This is a flowchart showing a linter determination / monitoring routine. This processing routine is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.
- the CPU of the print load distribution device 580A starts processing, it first performs the same steps S400, S410, and S420 in the first embodiment. 700, S710, and S720 are executed. Next, the CPU executes its own computer system 500 A (500 B) based on the job status monitoring information and the printer status monitoring information stored in the RAM of the print load distribution device 580 A in step S 720. ), The degree of congestion of the print jobs is small, and the printing mechanism 62 OA is in an error state, among the printers 550 A, 560 A, 570 A (550 B, 560 B, 570 B). An empty printer that does not exist is determined, and one of the obtained empty printers is selected (step S730). As described above, the selection of one of these may be an arbitrary empty printer, or may be an empty printer determined according to predetermined conditions.
- step S730 determines whether the selection of one empty printer in step S730 has been correctly performed or an error has occurred without selecting one empty printer (step S740). If the printer is selected correctly, the printer name for identifying the selected empty printer is stored as instruction data (step S750). On the other hand, in step S730, no empty printer is selected. At this time, the fact that there is no space is stored as instruction data (step S760). Next, the instruction data obtained in step S750 or S760 is written in the field fd1 (fd2) corresponding to the own computer system 500A (500B) (step S770). This field fd 1 (fd 2) is provided in the aforementioned table tb I prepared in the RAM.
- step S780 a process of storing empty printer information in which "2" is set in the RAM as transmission data is performed.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a communication control routine executed by the CPU of the print load distribution device 58 OA (580 B). This processing routine is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.
- step S800 determines whether or not there is transmission data stored in step S780 of the empty printer determination / monitoring routine. If it is determined that there is transmission data, the transmission data (empty printer information) is read from the RAM and transmitted to the other computer system 580B (580A) (step S8). Ten). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S800 that there is no data for transmission, the process of step S810 is not performed.
- step S820 the CPU determines whether or not free printer information has been sent from the other computer system 580B (58OA) (step S820).
- the vacant printer information is received (step S830), and the instruction data included in the vacant printer information is set in a field fd2 (fd2) determined from the ID also included in the vacant printer information.
- Write to 1) Step S830).
- This field f d2 (f d1) is provided in a table t b I stored in R AM of its own print load distribution device 580 A (580 B).
- step S830 the process exits to "Return" and ends this processing routine once.
- FIG. In the second embodiment, in addition to the above processing routine, FIG. It executes almost the same processing routine as the print load distribution processing routine and job transmission / reception processing routine shown above.
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the content of the job movement determination process that is different from the first embodiment.
- a print job requiring a job transfer is determined by the same method as in the first embodiment (step S430).
- a process for determining the destination printer is performed based on the table tbI stored in the RAM (step S432). That is, from the contents of the table tbI, it is checked whether or not there is an empty printer in the range of both computer systems 500A and 500B that the degree of congestion is small and there is no error. If there is a printer, the printer is determined as the destination. If a free printer is present in both computer systems 500A and 500B, a free printer in its own computer system 500A is determined preferentially.
- a group of three printers 550 A, 560 A, and 570 A included in the first computer system 500 A is formed. If print jobs are concentrated on one printer (for example, printer 55OA) within the range, at least one print job stored in the spool buffer of the printer 55OA will be transferred to the first printer. The data is transferred to the buffer of another printer 560B in a range including the first computer system 500A and the other second computer system 500B. Therefore, even when print jobs are concentrated on a single printer, printing can be performed by searching for an empty printer from a wide area beyond its own computer system, and printing can be performed more reliably. Can be completed quickly It has the effect of being able to.
- a printer in which the print job in the buffer is heavily congested is a printer that needs to replace the print job in the buffer with another printer, and the printer has a failure or paper jam.
- a printer in an error state such as out of paper has been detected
- a configuration may be adopted in which only one of them is detected instead.
- the printer is sent to the other printer. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that determines that there is a need for a replacement.
- FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the following modified example.
- the empty printer monitoring unit 651 is provided in each of the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B included in each of the computer systems 500A and 500B.
- a vacant printer monitoring unit 861 which is provided separately from the computer systems 850A and 86OB, is provided on a management computer 860.
- the management computer 860 includes, in addition to the empty printer monitoring section 861, an empty printer information transmitting section 862 and an empty printer information receiving section 863 for transmitting and receiving empty printer information.
- the printing load distribution devices 851A and 851B provided in each of the computer systems 850A and 860B in this modification are the printing load distribution devices 580A and 5A of the second embodiment. Compared with 80B, it is different in that it does not have an empty printer monitoring unit 651 and communication control unit 652, and the other units 611 to 618, 650 are provided similarly. ing. In the drawing, only the job movement determination unit 614 and the empty printer determination unit 6500 (the same numbers as in the second embodiment) are shown.
- the print load distribution devices 580A and 580B are provided with a management computer 860 and a free printer information transmitting / receiving unit 852 for transmitting and receiving free printer information.
- the free printer information in each of the computer systems 850A and 860B obtained by each of the print load distribution devices 851A and 851B is stored in the management computer. Since it is possible to perform the batch management using 860, it is possible to more reliably determine the destination of the job transfer.
- the first computer system 500A and the second computer system 500B are composed of two groups of devices. Instead, three or more groups are used. It can also be composed of a number of device groups. According to this configuration, it is possible to search for an empty printer in a wider range of the hierarchal layer, and thus it is possible to more reliably determine the destination of the job transfer.
- the configuration may be such that the above-mentioned management computer manages the devices collectively, but furthermore, a space is provided between the own computer system and the adjacent second computer system. If a printer is searched and no free printer is found, the search area for free space can be expanded in order, such as searching for a third computer system next to it.
- FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system to which the third embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- the computer system 900 is almost the same as the computer system 10 of the first embodiment. (The same parts are given the same numbers), and the differences are as follows.
- the job receiving unit 101 includes client personal computers 20 and 30. , 40, the account attribute information is received.
- the account authentication determination unit 981 performs a process of authenticating and determining the account based on the account attribute information.
- This authentication determination process is performed based on whether or not the printers 950, 960, and 970 have registered an account corresponding to an account list prepared in advance. It is determined whether or not the user has the authority to print from the printers 950, 960, and 970 provided in the printer. If it is determined that the user does not have the authority, the reception prohibiting unit 982 prohibits the job receiving unit 101 from receiving the print job corresponding to the account.
- the account list is registered in an account management device not shown in the figure, and the account authentication determination unit 981 inquires of the account management device for account registration or receives the account list as necessary. Authentication determination process.
- the above-described account authentication processing is not performed on a print job transferred from another printer received by the job movement receiving unit 107.
- the job receiving unit 101 and the job moving receiving unit 107 are actually port numbers for distinguishing logical network channels included in a packet structure of a signal sent from the network. Are divided into two receiving sections.
- the account authentication determination unit 981 and the reception prohibition unit 982 are executed by the CPU according to a computer program stored in advance in a ROM provided in hardware in the printer control circuit 953 and the computer program. each This is realized by seed processing.
- This computer program is stored in the ROM in advance, but instead of this, as in the first embodiment, the computer program is stored in advance on an external computer-readable recording medium, and the input / output interface is used. Alternatively, it may be obtained by downloading from these recording media via a source and transferring it to RAM. Also, these computer programs can be obtained by downloading program data provided via a computer network from a specific server connected to the computer network and transferring the program data to RAM. Can also.
- FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a reception availability control routine. As shown in the figure, when the CPU of the printer control circuit 953 starts processing, first, a print job sent from the outside is sent from the client personal computers 20, 30, 40. A process is performed to determine whether the data has been transferred from another printer (step S990).
- step S991 If it is determined that the print job is not a print job from the client PCs 20, 30, 40, the print job reception is executed as it is (step S991), and then the “return” is performed. And exit this processing routine once. On the other hand, if it is determined that the print job has been transferred from another printer, the following processing is executed.
- the CPU of the printer control circuit 953 fetches account attribute information input when a print job is received (step S992), and performs a process of authenticating and determining an account based on the account attribute information. (Step S 993). As described above, this authentication determination process is performed by the printers 950, 960, 977. 0 has the right to print from the printers 950, 960, 970 provided in this computer system 900, based on whether there is an account registered in the account list prepared in advance. Is determined. In step S 994, it is determined which is the determination result, and when it is determined that the user has the authority, the print job following the account attribute information is received (step S 995). This processing routine is temporarily terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S 994 that the user does not have the right, the processing routine is temporarily terminated without receiving the print job.
- the print job when a print job is sent from an external device to the printers 950, 960, and 970, the print job is transmitted to the client personal computer. Whether or not to perform the account authentication discrimination process is switched according to whether it is sent directly from 20, 30, or 40 or from another printer. For this reason, a print job transferred from another print device is assumed to have already been authenticated when sent to another printer, and the authentication procedure is omitted. Therefore, the time spent for authentication can be omitted, which leads to an increase in the speed of distributed printing.
- the fixed port number is malicious. There is a possibility that the data sent cannot be sorted out and is processed as a print job. In order to prevent this, the port numbers can be changed dynamically between the job movement receiving unit 107 and the job movement transmitting unit 116 in synchronization with each other.
- the job receiving unit 101 for receiving a print job from a client personal computer and the job transfer receiving unit 107 for receiving a print job transferred from another printer are shown in FIG. Although it was configured separately as shown in 13 Alternatively, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which both are used as one receiving unit and whether the transmission source is a client personal computer or another printer is determined from the attribute information of the job sent together with the print job. .
- the result of the determination is that the sender is a client personal computer, the authentication of the account is determined, and if the user is not authorized, the print job is received. The configuration is prohibited. With this configuration, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.
- the third embodiment has a configuration in which the functions of an account authentication determining unit 981 and a reception prohibiting unit 982 are added to the first embodiment.
- a configuration in which the functions of an account authentication determination unit 981 and a reception prohibition unit 982 are added can also be adopted.
- a printer in which a printing mechanism 51 and a printer control circuit 53 having a spool buffer 55 are built in a single housing is described.
- a printing apparatus may be configured by a printer as a printing mechanism and a print server having a spool buffer separate from the printer.
- the present invention includes various printing apparatuses such as a printer, a facsimile apparatus, a copying machine, and a word processor capable of performing printing, and various information processing apparatuses represented by various computers that generate print jobs. Applicable to printing systems.
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2001539101A JP3744423B2 (ja) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-16 | プリントシステムおよびプリント制御方法並びに記録媒体 |
US09/889,295 US7180626B1 (en) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-16 | Printer system, printer control method, and recording medium |
EP00976309A EP1146417A4 (en) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-16 | PRINTER SYSTEM, PRINTER CONTROL METHOD AND RECORDING MEDIUM |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP11-325199 | 1999-11-16 | ||
JP32519999 | 1999-11-16 |
Publications (1)
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WO2001037075A1 true WO2001037075A1 (fr) | 2001-05-25 |
Family
ID=18174136
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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PCT/JP2000/008106 WO2001037075A1 (fr) | 1999-11-16 | 2000-11-16 | Systeme d'imprimante, procede de commande d'imprimante et support d'enregistrement |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US7180626B1 (ja) |
EP (1) | EP1146417A4 (ja) |
JP (1) | JP3744423B2 (ja) |
WO (1) | WO2001037075A1 (ja) |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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EP1146417A1 (en) | 2001-10-17 |
JP3744423B2 (ja) | 2006-02-08 |
US7180626B1 (en) | 2007-02-20 |
EP1146417A4 (en) | 2003-06-18 |
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