JPH10100514A - Network printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To change the paper or the font, it is necessary to change the emulation setting of the apparatus related to printing each time. A print output host device outputs print conditions including a format of print data being handled and a paper size to be output to all network printer devices. Print condition determination unit 1 of each network printer device 1
20 determines whether or not printing is possible according to the printing conditions sent via the network communication unit 11. When determining that printing is possible, the transmission requesting unit 121 transmits a transmission request via the network communication unit 11. The host device 2 that has received the request sends the print data to the network printer device 1 that is the source of the transmission request received first.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network printer device which forms a network with a host device or the like and prints on a recording sheet in accordance with print data sent thereto, and more particularly to an efficient printing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A network with a host device is formed,
A network printer device that prints on recording paper according to the transmitted print data is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-1018.
No. 00 and JP-A-8-115184. A network printer device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-101800 discloses a network in which a plurality of printer devices in which emulation settings with a host device such as a font type to be used, a print data format, and a paper size to be used have been performed in advance. Connected. Also, a plurality of printer devices are grouped as one group by communication means of each printer device that exchanges information between the printer devices. Then, in response to a request from the host device, the communication means of one of the printer devices in the group inquires whether or not another printer device is performing a printing operation, and information as to whether or not each printer device in the group is performing a printing operation. To the host device. The host device shortens the printing process of the printer device by making a recording output request in accordance with the priority assigned to each printer device of the group based on the transmitted information.

The network printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-115184 and the like forms a network with a plurality of printers together with a plurality of server computers and client computers, and the server computers are sent from the client computers. The storage of print data and the status monitoring of each printer are performed, and upon request from a client computer, information indicating the storage status of the print data and the status of each printer is sent out.
The client computer displays the storage status of the print data and the status of the printer device on the display unit according to the transmitted information. The operator checks the display and selects a printer device that is not crowded and is operating in a good condition. Then, the client computer outputs a print request instructing the selected printer device to send the stored print data to the server computer in advance and print the stored print data, and the selected printer device prints, thereby shortening the printing process of the printer device. Is being planned.

[0004]

In the above-described network printer, it is required that the emulation settings such as the font type, print data format, and paper size to be used match between the devices connected to the network. Since the operation is performed on the premise, for example, when the paper is changed or the font is changed, the emulation setting of the printing apparatus must be changed each time, which is very troublesome.

Further, a server computer is used to monitor the status of each printer, the monitoring result is displayed on a client computer, and the operator is allowed to select a printer device which is not crowded and is operating in good condition. However, the processing time required for monitoring and the like increases in proportion to the number of printer devices connected to the network, and as a result, the overall processing time may be delayed. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a disadvantage, and a network printer capable of shortening a printing process by always performing printing by an optimum printer device without setting emulation and monitoring the state of the device. It is intended to obtain a device.

[0007]

A network printer according to the present invention includes a network communication unit, a network control unit, a queue table, a printer controller, and a printer engine, and the network communication unit transmits to a transmission path constituting a network. The network control unit has a print condition determination unit and a transmission request unit, and the print condition determination unit is sent from the host device via the network communication unit. Determines whether printing is possible according to the printing conditions including the format and paper size of the printed data, and the transmission request unit requests the transmission of print data when the printing condition determination unit determines that printing is possible. Is sent to the host device that sent the printing condition via the network communication unit, and the queue table is sent to the transmission requesting unit. By sending a transmission request, the print data sent from the host device via the network communication unit is sequentially stored, and the printer controller selects the print data from the queue table in accordance with the order in which the print data is stored, and sends it to the printer engine. The printer engine prints based on the selected print data.

The network control unit has a print condition determining unit, a transmission request unit and a transmission request delay unit, and the transmission request unit transmits print data when the print condition determination unit determines that printing is possible. Is transmitted to the transmission request delay unit, and the transmission request delay unit delays the transmitted transmission request according to a delay time determined in advance according to the processing capacity, and then transmits the printing condition to the host device that has transmitted the printing condition. It is good to send out via a network communication part.

The network control unit has a printing condition determining unit, a transmission requesting unit, a delay time calculating unit, and a transmission request delaying unit, and the delay time calculating unit is configured to operate according to the amount of print data stored in the queue table. Through the network communication unit, the transmission request delay unit calculates the delay time, delays the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to the delay time calculated by the delay time calculation unit, and then sends the printing condition to the host device that has sent the printing condition. And send it out.

Further, the network control unit has a print condition determination unit, a transmission request unit, a delay time calculation unit and a transmission request delay unit, and the delay time calculation unit processes the print data amount stored in the queue table in advance. The transmission request delay unit calculates the delay time by multiplying the time determined according to the capability, and the transmission request delay unit delays the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to the delay time calculated by the delay time calculation unit, and then sets the printing condition. It is desirable to send the information to the host device via the network communication unit.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a network printer according to the present invention, a network is constructed by connecting a plurality of network printers together with a plurality of host devices via a transmission line, and each network printer communicates with a network. Unit, a network control unit, a queue table, a printer controller, and a printer engine. The network communication unit controls, for example, transmission timing for avoiding collision of various data on a transmission path constituting the network, and controls capturing of various data. The network control unit has a print condition determination unit and a transmission request unit. The print condition determination unit is a print condition transmitted from the host device via the network communication unit, for example, the format of print data, paper size, and printing. It is determined whether printing is possible according to the data amount. When the print condition determination unit determines that printing is possible, the transmission request unit transmits a transmission request to the host device that has transmitted the print conditions via the network communication unit. The queue table sequentially stores print data transmitted from the host device and received via the network communication unit by transmitting a transmission request by the transmission request unit. The printer controller selects print data according to the order in which the print data is stored, and sends the selected print data to the printer engine. The printer engine prints on recording paper based on the transmitted print data.

In a state in which a network is constituted by a plurality of network printers and a plurality of host devices as described above, the host device that performs print output is, for example, the format of the print data handled by itself, the paper size to be output, and The printing conditions constituted by the data amount and the like are output to all network printers constituting the network. The printing condition determining unit of each network printer determines whether or not printing is possible according to the printing conditions sent via the network communication unit. The transmission request unit sends a transmission request via the network communication unit when the printing condition determination unit determines that printing is possible. Here, the host device that has sent the printing conditions sends the printing data to the network printer device that is the source of the transmission request received first. In this way, only the network printer device that can respond to the printing conditions of the host device sends a transmission request to the host device and receives the print data, so that emulation settings can be changed and the status of each network printer device can be monitored. This makes it possible to automatically perform printing on an optimum network printer device without performing the above operation.

In the above description, printing is performed by a network printer capable of responding to the printing conditions of the host device. However, printing can be performed by a network printer capable of responding to the printing conditions and having a high processing capability.

In this case, a transmission request delay section is provided in addition to the print condition determination section and the transmission request section in the network control section of each network printer, and the transmission request section transmits when the print condition determination section determines that printing is possible. The request is sent to the transmission request delay unit. The transmission request delay unit delays the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to a predetermined delay time according to the print processing capability of the printer engine or the like, and then transmits the transmission request via the network communication unit. . Here, the host device that has transmitted the printing conditions transmits the print data to the network printer device having the fastest print processing capability in accordance with the transmission request received first. In this way, the transmission request to be sent to the host device is delayed according to the time according to its own processing capability, so that the print processing capability is high without changing the emulation setting and monitoring the status of each network printer device. Printing can be performed by a network printer device.

The above corresponds to the printing conditions of the host device,
Although the printout is performed by a network printer having a high processing capability, the printout can be performed by a network printer having a small amount of print data stored in a queue table that corresponds to the print condition.

In this case, the network control unit of each network printer is provided with a delay time calculation unit and a transmission request delay unit in addition to the print condition determination unit and the transmission request unit, and the delay time calculation unit is stored in the queue table. The transmission request delay unit calculates the delay time according to the print data amount, delays the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to the calculated delay time, and then transmits the transmission request via the network communication unit. In this way, the transmission request sent to the host device is delayed according to the already stored print data amount, so that the amount of print data can be reduced without changing emulation settings or monitoring the status of each network printer device. Printing can be performed by the fewest network printer devices.

The above corresponds to the printing conditions of the host device,
The printout is performed by the network printer device having the smallest print data amount already stored, but the printout can be performed by the network printer device having the shortest waiting time until the printout.

In this case, the delay time calculation unit of each network printer calculates the delay time by multiplying the print data amount stored in the queue table by a time determined according to the processing capacity. The transmission request delay unit delays the transmission of the transmission request transmitted from the transmission request unit according to the calculated delay time, and then transmits the transmission request via the network communication unit. here,
The host device that has sent the printing conditions sends the print data to the network printer device having the shortest print output waiting time in accordance with the transmission request received first. In this way, the transmission request sent to the host device is delayed according to the value obtained by multiplying the amount of print data already stored by the time determined according to the processing capacity. Without monitoring the status of the printer device, the printout can be performed by the network printer device having the shortest waiting time until the printout is performed.

[0019]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a plurality of network printers 1 to 1n form a network together with a plurality of host devices 2 to 2n via a transmission path 3. Each of the network printers 1 to 1n includes a network communication unit 11, a network control unit 12, and a queue table 1.
3, printer controller 14 and printer engine 1
And 5. The network communication unit 11 controls transmission timing for avoiding collision of various data on the transmission path 3 forming the network, and confirms a destination identification ID from the transmission path 3 to identify its own station. When it matches the ID, various data is taken in. The network control unit 12 includes a print condition determination unit 120 and a transmission request unit 12
1 and the printing condition determination unit 120
Then, it is determined whether or not printing is possible according to the printing conditions transmitted from the n. via the network communication unit 11, for example, the sender ID, the print data ID, the format of the print data, the paper size, and the print data amount. When the print condition determination unit 120 determines that printing is possible, the transmission request unit 121 transmits a transmission request in which the identification ID of the own station is added to the transmission source ID and the print data ID of the print conditions via the network communication unit 11. . The queue table 13 sequentially stores print data transmitted from the host devices 2 to 2n and transmitted via the network communication unit 11 by transmitting a transmission request by the transmission request unit 121. The printer controller 14 selects print data according to the order in which the print data is stored, and sends the selected print data to the printer engine 15. The printer engine 15 prints on recording paper based on the sent print data.

The operation of the network printers 1 to 1n configured as described above will be described with reference to the operation transition diagram of FIG.

A host device 2 for printing and outputting as shown in FIG.
For example, the network forms a print condition including the format of print data handled by the user, the paper size to be output, the amount of print data, the print data ID for identifying print data, and the transmission source ID of the own station. The data is output to all the network printers 1 to 1n (step S1). The printing condition determination unit 120 of each of the network printers 1 to 1n determines whether or not printing is possible according to the printing conditions transmitted via the network communication unit 11 (step S2). Here, for example, when the print condition determination unit 120 of the network printer device 1 determines that printing is possible, the transmission request unit 121 of the network printer device 1 sets the identification ID of its own station to the transmission source identification ID and print data ID of the print conditions. The added transmission request is sent out via the network communication unit 11 (step S3).
Then, the host device 2 which has transmitted the printing conditions checks the transmission source identification ID and the printing data ID of the transmission request received first, and sends the printing data corresponding to the printing data ID to the transmission source network printer device 1. Is transmitted (step S4).

In this manner, only the network printer device 1 that can respond to the printing conditions from the host device 2 sends a transmission request to the host device 2 and receives the print data. Without monitoring the status of each of the network printers 1 to 1n, the optimum network printer 1 is automatically and optimally monitored.
Can be printed.

In the above description, the operation when printing by the network printer device 1 capable of responding to the printing conditions of the host device 2 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 12, a print condition determination unit 120 and a transmission request unit 1
By providing a transmission request delay unit 122 for delaying the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit 121 according to a predetermined delay time in accordance with the print processing capability of the printer engine 15 and the like in addition to the transmission request delay unit 122, Printing can be performed by the network printers 1 to 1n which correspond to the printing conditions of the host devices 2 to 2n and have a high processing capability.

In this case, as shown in the operation transition diagram of FIG. 4, when the transmission condition determination unit 120 determines that printing is possible, the transmission requesting unit 121 identifies its own station in the transmission source identification ID and the printing data ID of the printing conditions. The transmission request to which the ID has been added is transmitted to the transmission request delay unit 122 (step S21). The transmission request delay unit 122 delays the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit 121 according to a predetermined delay time according to the print processing capability of the printer engine 15 or the like (step S22). Communication unit 1
A transmission request is sent out via the communication device 1 (step S23). Here, the host device 2 that has transmitted the printing conditions checks the transmission source identification ID and the print data ID of the transmission request received first, and prints the print data ID corresponding to the print data ID to the network printer device 1 of the transmission source. The data is transmitted (step S24).

In this way, the transmission request sent to the host device 2 is delayed according to the time according to its own processing capacity, so that the emulation setting can be changed and the status of each of the network printers 1 to 1n can be monitored. And printing can be performed by the network printer device 1 having a high print processing capability.

In the above description, the operation when printing is performed by the network printer 1 which can respond to the printing conditions of the host device 2 and has a high processing capability has been described. As shown in FIG. In addition to the print condition determination unit 120 and the transmission request unit 121, the queue table 13
And a transmission request delay unit 122 for delaying the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit 121 in accordance with the calculated delay time. As a result, printing can be performed by the network printers 1 to 1n corresponding to the printing conditions of each of the host devices 2 to 2n and having a small amount of print data stored in the queue table 13.

In this case, as shown in the operation transition diagram of FIG. 6, when the transmission condition determination unit 120 determines that printing is possible, the transmission requesting unit 121 identifies its own station in the transmission source identification ID and the printing data ID of the printing conditions. The transmission request to which the ID has been added is transmitted to the transmission request delay unit 122 (step S31). The delay time calculation unit 123 calculates a delay time according to the amount of print data stored in the queue table 13 (Step S32).
The transmission request delay unit 122 delays the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit 121 according to the calculated delay time (step S33), and then transmits the transmission request via the network communication unit 11 (step S34). . Here, the host device 2 which has sent the printing conditions sends the printing data to the network printer device 1 having the smallest amount of printing data already stored in accordance with the transmission request received first (step S35).

In this manner, the transmission request sent to the host device 2 is delayed according to the amount of print data already stored, so that the print data can be printed without changing the emulation setting or monitoring the status of each network printer device. Network printer device 1 with the smallest amount of
Can be printed.

In the above description, the operation when printing and outputting by the network printer device 1 which can correspond to the printing conditions of the host device 2 and has the smallest print data amount has been described. The delay time calculating section 123 multiplies the print data amount stored in the queue table 13 by a time determined according to the processing capacity to calculate the delay time, so that the waiting time until printing is the shortest. The printout can be performed by the network printer device 1.

In this case, as shown in the operation transition diagram of FIG. 6, when the transmission condition determining unit 120 determines that printing is possible, the transmission requesting unit 121 identifies its own station in the transmission source identification ID and the printing data ID of the printing conditions. The transmission request to which the ID has been added is transmitted to the transmission request delay unit 122 (step S31). The delay time calculation unit 123 calculates a delay time by multiplying the print data amount stored in the queue table 13 by a time determined according to the processing capacity (step S32). Transmission request delay unit 122
Delays the transmission of the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit 121 according to the calculated delay time (step S3).
3) Send a transmission request via the network communication unit 11 (step S34). Here, the host device 2 which has transmitted the printing conditions transmits the print data to the network printer device 1 having the shortest print output waiting time in accordance with the transmission request received first (step S35).

In this manner, the transmission request sent to the host device 2 is delayed according to the delay time obtained by multiplying the already stored print data amount by the time determined according to the processing capability. The printout can be performed by the network printer 1 having the shortest waiting time until the printout without changing the settings or monitoring the status of each of the network printers 1 to 1n.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, only a network printer capable of responding to printing conditions from a host device sends a transmission request to the host device and receives print data. It is possible to automatically perform printing with an optimal network printer device without changing the settings of the printer or monitoring the status of each network printer device.

Since the transmission request sent to the host device is delayed according to the time according to its own processing capability, the print processing capability can be reduced without changing the emulation setting and monitoring the status of each network printer device. Printing can be performed by a high-speed network printer, and printing processing can be shortened.

Since the transmission request sent to the host device is delayed according to the already stored print data amount, the print data amount can be reduced without changing the emulation setting and monitoring the status of each network printer device. Printing can be performed by the smallest network printer device, and the printing process can be shortened.

Further, the transmission request to be sent to the host device is delayed according to the delay time obtained by multiplying the already stored print data amount by the time determined according to the processing capacity. Without monitoring the status of each network printer device, printing can be performed by the network printer device having the shortest waiting time until printing and output, and the printing process can be further shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation transition diagram showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation transition diagram showing an operation of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third and a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation transition diagram showing operations of the third and fourth embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 to 1n network printer device 11 network communication unit 12 network control unit 120 print condition determination unit 121 transmission request unit 122 transmission request delay unit 123 delay time calculation unit 13 queue table 14 printer controller 15 printer engine 2 to 2n host device 3 transmission path

Claims (4)

[Claims] An information processing apparatus includes a network communication unit, a network control unit, a queue table, a printer controller, and a printer engine. The network communication unit transmits various data to a transmission path constituting a network or transmits various data from the transmission path. The network control unit has a printing condition determining unit and a transmission requesting unit, and the printing condition determining unit is configured to perform printing according to a printing condition including a format and a paper size of print data transmitted from the host device via the network communication unit. The print request determination section determines whether or not printing is possible. If the print condition determination section determines that printing is possible, a transmission request for requesting transmission of print data is transmitted to the host device that has transmitted the print condition by the network communication section. And the queue table is transmitted from the host device to the network by transmitting the transmission request in the transmission request unit. The print data sent via the communication unit is sequentially stored, the printer controller selects the print data from the queue table in accordance with the order in which the print data is stored, and sends the print data to the printer engine. A network printer device characterized by performing printing. 2. The network control section includes a print condition determining section, a transmission request section, and a transmission request delay section. The transmission request section transmits print data when the print condition determination section determines that printing is possible. Is transmitted to the transmission request delay unit, and the transmission request delay unit delays the transmitted transmission request according to a delay time determined in advance according to the processing capacity, and then transmits the printing condition to the host device that has transmitted the printing condition. 2. The network printer according to claim 1, wherein the network printer is transmitted via a network communication unit. 3. The network control unit includes a printing condition determining unit, a transmission requesting unit, a delay time calculating unit, and a transmission request delaying unit, and the delay time calculating unit is configured to change a print data amount stored in a queue table. Through the network communication unit, the transmission request delay unit calculates the delay time, delays the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to the delay time calculated by the delay time calculation unit, and then sends the printing condition to the host device that has sent the printing condition. 2. The network printer device according to claim 1, wherein the network printer device transmits the data. 4. The network control unit includes a print condition determination unit, a transmission request unit, a delay time calculation unit, and a transmission request delay unit, and the delay time calculation unit processes the print data amount stored in the queue table in advance. The transmission request delay unit calculates the delay time by multiplying the time determined according to the capability, and the transmission request delay unit delays the transmission request sent from the transmission request unit according to the delay time calculated by the delay time calculation unit, and then sets the printing condition. 2. The network printer according to claim 1, wherein the network printer is transmitted to the host device via the network communication unit.