JP2002297350A - Printing system, its control method and its control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an efficient printing system capable of rapidly and outputting an image and reducing power consumption by allowing a user to perform a printing prediction and allowing a server to select an optimum image output device. SOLUTION: The printing system, in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices and a control means are interconnected via a network, is provided with a job predicting means (S1) for reporting a job prediction to the control means data obtaining means (S2 and S3) for obtaining data concerning the job by analysis of job data, output device selecting means (S4-S12) for selecting one image output device which is the issuing destination of the job request from the plurality of image output devices in response to data obtained by the data obtaining means and a job requesting means (S14) for requesting the job which is predicted to the image output device selected by the output device selecting means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing system having an image input device and at least one image output device, and a method and a program for controlling the printing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, network technology has advanced, and it has become possible to output desired information and data through various means. However, as the demand for the network advances in such an environment, the amount of data to be processed also increases, and further convenience is required.

[0003] From such a viewpoint, a conventional printing system in which an image input device and a plurality of image output devices are connected via a network executes a printing operation as described below to improve printing efficiency.

(1) After the user issues a print instruction, the print server on which the printer management software is running is in a sleep state (a state in which warm-up has not been completed), a printer in which no trouble has occurred,
Alternatively, a printer holding a small number of jobs is appropriately selected from a plurality of printers on the network.

(2) When the user selects a printer, the printer management software determines whether or not the printer is in a sleep state.
Whether a trouble has occurred or the printer status such as the number of held jobs is displayed, and the user appropriately selects from a plurality of printers on the network based on the information.

(3) After a print request, a print server running printer management software analyzes print data or a job file and selects a color printer or a monochrome printer.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-186847 discloses an image processing system in which a plurality of copiers are used in a linked state, and a printing operation is performed by an empty copier, thereby improving print efficiency. ing.

[0008]

The above-described conventional printing system and image processing system have both achieved a predetermined effect in terms of print efficiency, but analyze the printer status and print data after a print request. Therefore, there is a problem that the time from the print instruction to the end of printing is delayed by the time required for the analysis because the printer is selected, and there is still room for improving the printing efficiency.

Further, in some cases, it is necessary to return the printer from the sleep state to the standby state before a print request is made, and there is a problem that the power consumption of the printer on the network increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and a user executes a job by giving a print advance notice in advance and selecting the most suitable image output apparatus by a server. (Paper jams and the like) and obstacles (other jobs and the like) that may occur when performing the job, image output can be performed quickly and smoothly, and efficient power saving is achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system, a control method thereof, and a control program thereof.

[0011]

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and control means are connected via a network. In the printing system,
A job notification unit for notifying a job notification to the control unit; a data acquisition unit for acquiring data on the job by analyzing the job data; and a job from the plurality of image output devices according to the data acquired by the data acquisition unit. Output device selecting means for selecting one image output device to which the request is issued, and job requesting means for requesting a job notified to the image output device selected by the output device selecting device. And

In the invention according to a second aspect of the present invention, the selection of the destination by the output device selecting means is performed a plurality of times before the requesting of the preliminary job by the job request means, and the issuing destination is updated a plurality of times. It is characterized by doing.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is provided with a notice effective time setting means for setting an notice effective time, and before the request of the notice job by the job request means, the set time of the notice effective time setting means is set. In the case of overrun, the job notice by the job notice means is invalidated.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the data acquisition means acquires management information of the plurality of image output devices.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the management information includes specification data or status data of the plurality of image output devices.

Further, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a printing system in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and a control means are connected via a network, wherein a job notice is sent to the control means. To obtain data about the job by analyzing the job data,
Selecting one image output device that is the destination of the job request from the plurality of image output devices according to the acquired data, and requesting the notified job to the selected image output device;
It is characterized by doing so.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the selection of the issuing destination is executed a plurality of times before the request of the notice job, and the issuing destination is updated a plurality of times.

Further, according to the present invention, a notice effective time is set, and if a set notice effective time is exceeded before a request for a notice job, the job notice is invalidated. It is characterized by the following.

The present invention according to a ninth aspect is a program for controlling a printing system in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and control means are connected via a network. The control unit notifies the control unit of a job notice, causes the control unit to analyze job data and acquire data on the job, and is a destination of a job request from a plurality of image output devices according to the acquired data. One image output device is selected by the control means, and job data notified in advance is transmitted to the selected image output device in response to a job request from the image input means.

Further, the invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that the control means is made to execute a plurality of selections of the issuing destination a plurality of times before the request of the advance notice job, and the issuing destination is updated a plurality of times. .

Further, the invention according to the eleventh aspect is characterized in that if the set notice valid time is exceeded before the request of the notice job, the control means invalidates the job notice. And

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a printing system S according to the present invention, in which a PC (personal computer) 2 as an image input unit is connected to a controller 6 as a control unit via a network 4.
And a plurality of copying machines 8, 10, 12 as image output devices
It is connected to the. The states of all the copying machines 8, 10, and 12 on the network 4 are monitored by the controller 6, and when a user inputs a job through the PC 2,
The contents are controlled by the controller 6 as follows.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control process of printer management software for executing selection control of an image output device based on the present invention. This flowchart shows a system in which application software and printer management software are started in multitasking on the client PC 2.
In C2, the application software is running and the server PC (controller in FIG. 1)
6 also applies to the system in which the printer management software is running.

First, in step S1, a print job is notified in advance. The notice of the print job is to declare to the server that the user has an intention to execute the job within a certain period from now, and does not particularly transmit data at this time. The print job notice is executed after the client PC 2 determines whether or not there is a user input from the printer management software.

In the next step S2, a print attribute data acquisition request obtained by analyzing the print data is issued, and the print attribute data is acquired.

There are two methods for obtaining print attribute data.

The first method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-34510.
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 0, this method uses detection in a color record attached to an EMF file. In printer management software, E created by Windows GDI
A color record of the MF data is acquired, and it is determined whether the color is a color. It should be noted that the EMF file itself may be obtained, and the color or monochrome may be determined.

In the second method, while an application is being developed on the client PC 2, it is detected whether or not there is a color description command in the application data. For example, the application is browser software, the data is in HTML format, and the printer management software / printer driver is
If HTTP is provided as a protocol stack, printer management software / printer driver
Since it is possible to interpret whether or not there is a color description command (color character input command, color pattern description command) from the file description in the HTML format, it is possible to determine whether the print data is color or monochrome. If the file description in HTML format includes a link file acquisition instruction and the extension of the link file is Jpeg, GIF, TIFF, or the like, the file is an image file. In that case, the color can be determined.

In step S3, printer specification data (whether a color printer or a monochrome printer) and printer status data (standby mode /
(Sleep mode / number of reserved jobs). As a confirmation method, a request to acquire printer management information is issued as a broadcast packet to a plurality of printers connected to the LAN, and the management information is acquired from the printer of the reply source.

In step S4, it is determined whether the application data is color or monochrome based on the print attribute data obtained in step S2. If the application data is in color, in step S5, the LAN
It is determined whether or not a color printer exists among a plurality of connected printers. If there is a color printer, the process proceeds to step S6, and the color printers are listed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the application data is monochrome, or if it is determined in step S5 that there is no color printer among the plurality of LAN-connected printers, the process proceeds to step S7. , List monochrome printers.

Next, in step S8, step S
The printer status data obtained in step S3 is checked from among the printers listed in step S6 or step S7, and it is determined whether the printer is in the standby mode. If there is a printer in the standby mode, the process proceeds to step S9, and the printers whose number of reserved jobs is less than a predetermined number N (for example, N = 2) are extracted.
In step S11, the extracted printer is set as a print instruction issuing destination. When there are a plurality of printer candidates, the priority order of the printer candidates is determined in consideration of the type of the document of the notice job, and the printer having the highest priority and not in the sleep mode is set as a print instruction issuing destination. I do.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S8 that there is no printer in the standby mode, or in step S9, the number of reserved jobs is equal to the predetermined number N.
If it is determined that there is no printer less than the printers, the process proceeds to step S10, and the same determination is performed for all the listed printers (the determinations in steps S8 and S9), and then the process proceeds to step S11. Step S
In step 10, if there is no printer that satisfies the conditions even if all the listed printers are checked, in step S12, a default printer is set as a print instruction issuing destination.

Next, in step S13, it is determined whether or not the user has issued an instruction to print application data via the client PC2. If there is a print instruction, the process proceeds to step S14, and step S11 is performed.
Issues a print request to the printer set in step, and sends print data. On the other hand, if there is no print instruction, step S
The process proceeds to 15 to determine whether the user has canceled the notice of the print instruction on the client PC 2 (whether the notice has been canceled with the printer management software or the application software has been closed).

If it is determined in step S15 that the notice has not been canceled, it is determined in step S16 whether or not the notice effective time has passed after the notice was given. If the notice effective time has not passed, the process returns to step S2, and the printer that satisfies the condition is updated a plurality of times as the destination of the print instruction. The notice effective time is measured, for example, by counting up from a job notice using a timer.

If it is determined in step S15 that the notice has been canceled, or if it is determined in step S16 that the notice effective time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S17 to invalidate the notice. The reason for disabling the notice when the notice effective time is reached is:
For example, when the user leaves the client PC 2 unattended, or when it takes time to edit the application data and a print instruction is not issued, data processing of the client PC 2 by the printer management software is omitted.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to set an optimum destination of a print instruction immediately before a print instruction in response to a change in document editing content in the application data and a change in status information of a printer connected to the LAN.

In the above configuration, the printer management software may be automatically started with the start of the application software as a trigger, and the print instruction may be notified in step S1.

[0038]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(1) Since print data is analyzed before a print request and one of a color printer and a monochrome printer on the network is appropriately selected, the print request is analyzed for a time required for analysis as compared with the conventional system. From the end of printing to the end of printing, and image output can be performed quickly and smoothly.

(2) Since the printer in the sleep state is not activated before the print request or the printer in the sleep state is selected in advance, the printer is returned from the sleep state to the standby state before the print request. There is no need, and the power consumption of the printer on the network does not increase.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a printing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control process of printer management software for executing printer selection control based on the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Personal computer 4 Network 6 Controller 8, 10, 12 Copy machine

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hideaki Mizuno 2-3-113 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Kenichi Takahashi Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 2-3-1-3 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP04 AR01 HH11 HJ08 HK11 HK19 HP00 HQ03 2C087 AB05 AB08 BD01 2C187 AE11 5B021 AA19 BB01 CC05 EE04 LG07 5C062 AA05 AC04 AE15 AF14

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A printing system in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and a control unit are connected via a network, a job notification unit for notifying a job notification to the control unit, and a job by analyzing job data. Data acquisition means for acquiring data relating to the data acquisition means, and an output device selection means for selecting one image output device to which a job request is issued from the plurality of image output devices according to the data acquired by the data acquisition device; A job requesting unit for requesting a job notified in advance to the image output device selected by the output device selecting unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output device selecting means executes the selection of the issue destination a plurality of times before requesting the advance notice job by the job request means, and updates the issue destination a plurality of times. Printing system. 3. An advance notice effective time setting means for setting an advance notice effective time is provided, and when the time set by the advance notice effective time setting means is exceeded before a notice job is requested by the job request means, the job advance notice is provided. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the job notice by means is invalidated. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said data acquisition means acquires management information of said plurality of image output devices.
A printing system according to any one of the preceding claims. 5. The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the management information includes specification data or status data of the plurality of image output devices. 6. A method for controlling a printing system in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and control means are connected via a network, wherein a notice of a job is notified to the control means, and the job data is analyzed. Acquires data related to a job, selects one image output device to which a job request is issued from a plurality of image output devices according to the acquired data, and requests the selected image output device for a previously announced job. A method of controlling a printing system. 7. The control method according to claim 6, wherein the selection of the issuing destination is performed a plurality of times before the request of the notice job, and the issuing destination is updated a plurality of times. 8. The control according to claim 6, wherein a notice effective time is set, and the job notice is invalidated when the set notice effective time is exceeded before the request of the notice job. Method. 9. A program for controlling a printing system in which an image input device, a plurality of image output devices, and a control unit are connected via a network, wherein the control unit transmits a job notice from the image input device. And causes the control means to analyze the job data to obtain data relating to the job, and, in accordance with the obtained data, sets one image output device to which a job request is issued from a plurality of image output devices to the control means. And transmitting, in response to a job request from the image input unit, the job data notified in advance to the selected image output device. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein before the request for the advance notice job, the control unit is caused to execute the selection of the issuing destination a plurality of times, and the issuing destination is updated a plurality of times. 11. The job control device according to claim 9, wherein the control means invalidates the job notice when the set notice effective time has elapsed before the request of the notice job.
The program according to 0.