JP2012061627A - Image forming apparatus, control method of image forming apparatus, control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

When an image forming output whose execution has been suspended is resumed, a sheet output by the resumed print job is prevented from being mixed with an output sheet related to another series of jobs.
An image forming apparatus that executes image forming output according to a print job, stores a plurality of print jobs as a job group according to the reception status of the print job, and describes the contents of the print job and the state of the apparatus Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the image formation output can be completed, and if it cannot be completed, the print job is stored as a hold job, and is stored as a hold job when the state of the apparatus is changed. It is determined whether the image formation output can be completed for the print job, and if it can be completed, the job group of the print job related to the image formation output being executed is confirmed, and the image of the print job included in the job group The image forming output is executed after all the forming outputs are completed.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus control method, a control program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to control of image forming output to be executed continuously.

  In recent years, there has been a tendency to digitize information, and image processing apparatuses such as printers and facsimiles used for outputting digitized information and scanners used for digitizing documents have become indispensable devices. Such an image processing apparatus is often configured as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that can be used as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copier by providing an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. .

  Among such image processing apparatuses, in an image forming apparatus used for outputting an electronic document, when a print job is input, the apparatus may stop due to a corresponding output sheet being out of paper or the like. is there. In such a case, even if a job that can be output immediately is input, such as another print job and the corresponding output paper is different from the paper that is out of paper, the device stops. Therefore, there was a problem that the output was not executed.

  As a method for dealing with such problems, a plurality of modules that generate image information for input to a print engine based on a print job are installed, and the generated image information and paper size and other conditions are stored in a storage medium. Another method has been proposed in which images under conditions that can be output are sequentially output according to priority (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when output is not possible due to running out of paper as described above, the output of the image is suspended and an output of the next priority image is attempted. For this reason, when the output of one print job is impossible, the problem that the image formation output about the job which can be output immediately is not performed can be solved.

  On the other hand, in a printing protocol such as LPR (Line Printer Daemon protocol), it is possible to specify a plurality of files when instructing the image forming apparatus to execute image forming output. In this case, a print job for each of the plurality of files is transmitted to the image forming apparatus through one session.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, when an output of an image whose output has been suspended becomes possible by improving the conditions of the apparatus, such as when a paper that has been cut is replenished, the image is suspended. The output that was being recorded is resumed immediately. Therefore, when the image forming output for another print job is being executed at that time, and the next job is waiting, the held output is between the job being executed and the next job. Will interrupt.

  In such a case, when the job being executed and the job that has been waiting are a series of jobs as input by one session as described above, the user can output the jobs. Naturally, the paper is considered to be output continuously. However, in practice, the output paper by the resumed output is mixed in the middle.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. When the image forming output whose execution has been suspended is resumed, the paper output by the resumed print job is changed to another series. An object is to prevent the output paper relating to the job from being confused.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that executes image formation output in response to a received print job. The image forming apparatus receives a print job via a network, and A print job receiving unit that stores a plurality of print jobs in a storage medium as a job group according to the reception status, and an image forming output for the print job based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus. It is determined whether or not the job can be completed. If the job cannot be completed, the job hold determination unit that stores the print job as a hold job in a storage medium, and the status of the image forming apparatus is changed. It is determined whether or not the image formation output can be completed for the print job stored as the hold job. If the print job can be completed, the hold job is restarted. A job resumption determining unit that stores the job as a waiting job in a storage medium, and checks a job group of a print job related to the image forming output being executed when the job waiting to be restarted is stored, and printing related to the image forming output being executed When the job is a part of a job group including a plurality of print jobs, the job restart for executing the image formation output for the job waiting for resumption after completion of the image formation output of the print jobs included in the job group is completed. And a processing unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for an image forming apparatus that executes image forming output in accordance with a received print job. The image forming apparatus receives a print job via a network, and receives the print job. A plurality of print jobs are stored in a storage medium as a job group in accordance with the print job, and whether or not the image formation output for the print job can be completed based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus If it is determined that the print job is not completed, the print job is stored in a storage medium as a hold job. If the state of the image forming apparatus is changed, the print job stored as the hold job is output as an image. If the job can be completed, the pending job is stored in the storage medium as a job waiting for resumption, and the job waiting for resumption is stored. When the job is stored, the job group of the print job related to the image forming output being executed is confirmed, and the print job related to the image forming output being executed is a part of a job group including a plurality of print jobs. Is characterized in that after all the image formation output of the print jobs included in the job group is completed, the image formation output for the job waiting for resumption is executed.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control program for an image forming apparatus that executes image forming output in accordance with a received print job. The control program receives a print job via a network and receives the print job. Depending on the situation, a plurality of print jobs can be stored in a storage medium as a job group, and the image formation output for the print job can be completed based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus. A step of storing the print job as a hold job in a storage medium when the job cannot be completed, and a print stored as the hold job when the state of the image forming apparatus is changed. It is determined whether or not the image formation output can be completed for the job. The job group of the print job related to the image forming output being executed when the job waiting for resumption is stored, and the print job related to the image forming output being executed is a plurality of print jobs. If the image forming apparatus is a part of a job group including a job, the image forming apparatus executes a step of executing image forming output for the job waiting for restart after completion of image forming output of the print job included in the job group. It is made to perform.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention is a recording medium, wherein the control program for the image forming apparatus is recorded in a format readable by the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, when the image forming output whose execution has been suspended is resumed, the sheet output by the resumed print job can be mixed with the output sheet relating to another series of jobs.

1 is a diagram illustrating an operation mode of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a plurality of print jobs included in one session according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the job group ID attached | subjected to the some print job which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information of the printing conditions which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the job list display screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the job group queue which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus as a network printer that operates while connected to a network will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation mode of a network printer according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to this embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 1 that is a printing apparatus and a plurality of client terminals 2a and 2b (hereinafter collectively referred to as client terminals) via a network line such as Ethernet (registered trademark). 2) is connected and operated.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a multifunction machine that can be used as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copying machine by including an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. The client terminal 2 is an information processing terminal operated by a user, and a printer driver program for using the image forming apparatus 1 is installed.

  Next, the hardware configuration of information processing terminals such as the image forming apparatus 1 and the client terminal 2 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an engine for realizing a scanner, a printer, and the like in addition to the hardware configuration shown in FIG. In the following description, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described as an example, but the same applies to the client terminal 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a configuration similar to that of a general server or PC. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 40, and an I / F 50. 80 is connected. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation unit and controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 1. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 and various hardware and networks. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 70 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input information to the image forming apparatus 1.

  In such a hardware configuration, a program stored in a storage medium such as the ROM 30, the HDD 40, or an optical disk (not shown) is read into the RAM 20, and the CPU 10 performs calculations according to these programs, thereby configuring a software control unit. The A functional block for realizing the functions of the image forming apparatus 1 and the client terminal 2 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured in this way and hardware.

  Next, the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 100, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 101, a scanner unit 102, a paper discharge tray 103, a display panel 104, and a paper feed table. 105, a print engine 106, a paper discharge tray 107, and a network I / F 108.

  The controller 100 includes a main control unit 110, an engine control unit 120, an image processing unit 130, an operation display control unit 140, and an input / output control unit 150. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as a multifunction machine having a scanner unit 102 and a print engine 106. In FIG. 3, the electrical connection is indicated by a solid arrow, and the flow of a sheet or a document bundle is indicated by a broken arrow.

  The display panel 104 is an output interface that visually displays the state of the image forming apparatus 1, and as a touch panel, when the user directly operates the image forming apparatus 1 or inputs information to the image forming apparatus 1. It is also an input interface (operation unit). The display panel 104 is realized by the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 shown in FIG.

  The network I / F 108 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 1 to communicate with other devices such as the client terminal 2 and the workflow server 3 via the network, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) or a USB interface is used. The network I / F 108 is realized by the I / F 50 shown in FIG.

  The controller 100 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, a program stored in a nonvolatile storage medium such as the ROM 30 and the nonvolatile memory and the HDD 40 and the optical disk is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as a memory) such as the RAM 20 and operates according to the control of the CPU 10. The controller 100 is configured by a software control unit configured by and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 100 functions as a control unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1.

  The main control unit 110 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 100, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 100. The engine control unit 120 serves as a driving unit that controls or drives the print engine 106, the scanner unit 102, and the like. The image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on image information to be printed out under the control of the main control unit 110. The drawing information is information for drawing an image to be formed in the image forming operation by the print engine 106 as an image forming unit. The image processing unit 130 processes image data input from the scanner unit 102 to generate image data. The image data is information stored in the storage area of the image forming apparatus 1 as a result of the scanner operation.

  The operation display control unit 140 displays information on the display panel 104 or notifies the main control unit 110 of information input via the display panel 104. The input / output control unit 150 inputs information input via the network I / F 108 to the main control unit 110. The main control unit 110 controls the input / output control unit 150 to access the client terminal 2 via the network I / F 108 and the network.

  Further, when the input / output control unit 150 according to the present embodiment receives a print job, the input / output control unit 150 recognizes the print job received during one session, that is, from the connection to the disconnection of the print protocol as a series of jobs. A common identifier is attached. In subsequent processing, by confirming this identifier, it can be recognized that a plurality of jobs are a series of jobs input in one session. The function of the input / output control unit 150 is one of the gist according to the present embodiment.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a printer, first, the input / output control unit 150 receives a print job via the network I / F 108. The input / output control unit 150 transfers the received print job to the main control unit 110. When receiving the print job, the main control unit 110 controls the image processing unit 130 to generate drawing information based on document information or image information included in the print job.

  When the image processing unit 130 generates the drawing information, the image processing unit 130 stores the generated drawing information in the HDD 40, a non-illustrated nonvolatile memory, or the like. The engine control unit 120 reads out the stored drawing information and inputs it to the print engine 106 to cause the sheet to be conveyed from the sheet feeding table 105 to form an image. As a specific aspect of the print engine 106, an image forming mechanism using an ink jet method, an image forming mechanism using an electrophotographic method, or the like can be used. A document on which image formation has been performed by the print engine 106 is discharged to a discharge tray 107.

  Further, when the image forming apparatus 1 operates as a copying machine, the image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on imaging information received by the engine control unit 120 from the scanner unit 102 or image information generated by the image processing unit 130. To do. Based on the drawing information, the engine control unit 120 drives the print engine 106 as in the case of the printer operation. When the information format of the drawing information and the imaging information is the same, the imaging information can be used as the drawing information as it is.

  In such an image forming apparatus 1, as described above, the identifier generation process by the input / output control unit 150 and the image formation output start determination process by the main control unit 110 are one of the gist according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. When receiving the print job via the network I / F 105, the input / output control unit 150 generates the same identifier for the print job received in one session as shown in FIG. 4 (S401). Then, the input / output control unit 150 inputs a print job with the generated identifier as a job group ID to the main control unit 110.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the concept of a print job included in one session. As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, a case is assumed in which a plurality of print jobs are included between the time when a session based on a print protocol is established and the time when the session is disconnected. As shown in FIG. 5, “Document 1.txt”, “Photo 1.jpg”,... In this embodiment, printing is performed for each document file or image file that is the source of the image to be output. A job is generated. In this manner, the input / output control unit 150 assigns the same job group ID to a plurality of print jobs received by one session as shown in FIG. That is, the processing of S401 by the input / output control unit 150 is a process of storing the print job assigned with the job group ID in a storage area for passing to the main control unit 110, and the input / output control unit 150 receives the print job. It functions as a part. The storage area for transferring the print job to the main control unit 110 is generally an area secured on the RAM 20.

  The main control unit 110 that has acquired the print job from the input / output control unit 150 generates print condition information based on the information included in the print job (S402). An example of the printing condition information is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the print condition information includes “output sheet number” in the print job, information on the print job “color / monochrome”, “paper size” of the print job, and “paper type” of the print job. "Is included.

  Further, the main control unit 110 acquires apparatus state information of the image forming apparatus 1 from the engine control unit 120 (S403). The apparatus status information of the image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to the printing condition information shown in FIG. 7 and includes an item capable of determining whether or not a print job having the printing conditions shown in FIG. 7 can be completed. Information. For example, the information corresponding to “number of output sheets”, “paper size”, and “paper type” shown in FIG. 7 is information on the remaining paper number for each paper size and paper type. Further, information corresponding to “color / monochrome” shown in FIG. 7 is information on the ink of each color, the remaining amount of toner, and the state of the drum. In addition, the apparatus status information includes information for determining whether the image forming output can be completed, such as whether the cover of the paper tray is not opened or whether the apparatus housing is not opened. Can be used similarly.

  Upon acquiring these pieces of information, the main control unit 110 determines whether or not it is possible to complete the image formation output related to the print job that generated the printing conditions in S402 (S404). When it is determined that the image formation output can be completed (S404 / NO), the main control unit 110 controls the image processing unit 130 and the engine control unit 120 to execute the image formation output as described above. (S411), the process ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the image forming output cannot be completed (S404 / YES), the main control unit 110 stores the print job as a hold job queue in a storage medium such as the HDD 40 (S405). . That is, in the processing of S402 to S405, the main control unit 110 functions as a job hold determination unit. Thereafter, the main control unit 110 stands by until the state of the apparatus is changed due to paper replenishment or toner bottle replacement (S406 / NO). During this time, when a new print job is input, the processing from S401 is similarly executed.

  At this time, if the print job is different, the print condition may be different, and it may be determined that the output is possible in S404. In such a case, the process proceeds to S411, and image formation output is executed. By such processing, when the print job input earlier is a print condition that cannot be completed and the print job input later is a print condition that can be completed, the print job input earlier Since the output is not executed, the problem that the print job inputted later is not executed even though it can be completed is solved.

  After that, when the state of the apparatus is changed by paper supply or toner bottle replacement (S406 / YES), the main control unit 110 acquires the pending job queue stored in S411 (S407), and the same as S404. Then, it is determined whether or not the image formation output relating to the pending job queue can be completed (S408).

  As a result of the determination in S408, if it is determined that the output is still impossible (S408 / YES), the main control unit 110 starts from S407 until the determination for all the stored job queues is completed. This process is repeated (S409 / NO). When the determination for all the stored job queues stored is completed (S409 / YES), the main control unit 110 then determines whether there are any jobs stored as the held job queue ( S410). If it remains as a result of the determination in S410 (S420 / NO), the main control unit 110 repeats the process from S407, and if it does not remain (S410 / YES), the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S408 that output is possible due to a change in the state of the image forming apparatus 1 (S408 / NO), the main control unit 110 performs a pending job, which is processing according to the gist of the present embodiment. Execute the restart process. The processing from S412 is the pending job resumption processing. First, the main control unit 110 re-stores the held job queue determined to be output as a restart waiting queue (S412). As a result, execution of image formation output related to the pending job queue is reserved. That is, in the processes of S406 to S408 and S412, the main control unit 110 functions as a job restart determination unit.

  When the main control unit 110 determines that output is possible in S408 and starts the processing after S412, the main control unit 110 repeatedly executes the processing from S407 in parallel with the processing after S412. As a result, among the stored pending job queues, those that can be output are stored one after another as a waiting queue for resumption.

  Next, the main control unit 110 acquires the job group ID of the print job related to the image forming output currently being executed (S413). The group ID is information generated in S401 and attached to the print job. Further, the main control unit 110 refers to the print job group ID stored in the queue as the print job to be executed next, and checks whether the job group ID is the same as that acquired in S413 (S414).

  For example, if it is determined in S414 that the job being output is “print job 1” shown in FIG. 6, the next print job to be executed is “print job 2”, and the job group ID is any Is also "0003". In this case, the main control unit 110 determines that the job group IDs are the same in S414.

  If the job group IDs are the same as a result of the confirmation in S414 (S414 / YES), if the image formation output of the print job related to the resumption queue is immediately executed, an interrupt will occur in the middle of a series of print jobs. The output paper is mixed. As a result, the user who is the sender of a series of print jobs takes the output sheets discharged to the discharge tray 107 without noticing that the output sheets of the resumed print job are mixed. It is possible. In order to avoid such a situation, the main control unit 110 waits until the print job being executed ends (S415 / NO), and when the job being executed ends (S415 / YES), the processing from S413 is performed. repeat.

  As a result of the confirmation in S414, if the group IDs are different (S414 / NO), when the image forming output of the print job related to the restart waiting queue is immediately executed, the output sheets are print jobs having different group IDs. Between the output sheets. In this case, the output sheets are not mixed as described above. Accordingly, the main control unit 110 reads the resumption queue stored in S412 (S416), and controls the image processing unit 130 and the engine control unit 120 so that the image forming output is executed after the currently executing print job. (S417). In other words, the main control unit 110 causes the print job stored in the resumption queue to be executed before the next job to be executed. That is, in the processing of S413 to S417, the main control unit 110 functions as a job resumption processing unit.

  The main control unit 110 repeats the processing from S416 until all print jobs stored as the resumption queue are completed (S418 / NO), and when the output for all the resumption queues is completed (S418 / YES), The process proceeds to S409. Note that if the image forming output for another print job is not being executed in S413, or if there is no next print job in S414, the process proceeds to S416. With such processing, the resumption processing of the suspended job in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is completed.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, first, the main control unit 110 executes only jobs that can be completely completed by the processing of S403 and S404 in FIG. Jobs that cannot be completed completely, such as when there are not enough sheets, are stored in the pending job queue. Thereby, it is possible to avoid a situation in which printing is interrupted in the middle and the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped.

  Then, when there is a change in the apparatus state such as paper replenishment and the output of the job stored as the hold job queue is possible (S408 / YES), the main control unit 110 executes the job being executed. Execute the output for the pending job queue by interrupting next. At this time, the main control unit 110 compares the job group ID of the print job being executed with the job group ID of the next print job queue reserved for execution. See off. Due to such processing, a hold job is interrupted and executed in the middle of a series of a plurality of print jobs having the same job group ID, and the output sheets of the series of print jobs and the output sheets of the hold job are mixed. Can be avoided.

  As described above, when the image forming output whose execution has been suspended is automatically resumed by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the paper output by the resumed print job is another series. Can be prevented from being confused with the output paper relating to this job.

  In the above embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the case where the same job group ID is assigned to a plurality of print jobs received in one session has been described as an example. However, in addition to a case where a plurality of different files are collectively designated and transmitted as a print job, the user may transmit a plurality of files as a print job in order. In such a case, each print job is not transmitted by one session as shown in FIG. 5, but is transmitted by a different session.

  Even if the print jobs are transmitted in different sessions as described above, the print jobs are preferably processed as a series of print jobs as described above if the print jobs are transmitted continuously by the user. For this reason, in the process of S401, the input / output control unit 150 determines that a plurality of print jobs are received by one session, and in addition, a series of print jobs due to other factors. Is preferably determined.

  As a method for determining that a plurality of print jobs are a series of print jobs, in addition to the above-described session information, the timing interval at which the input / output control unit 150 receives the print job, the network address of the transmission source, and the like are used. be able to. For example, the time interval from when a print job is received by one session until the print job is received by another session is within a predetermined threshold, and the transmission source of the print job is the same IP address or host name In such a case, there is a high possibility that the print job has been continuously transmitted by the same user.

  Therefore, even when a plurality of print jobs are received by different sessions, the input / output control unit 150 has a reception time interval that is within a predetermined threshold and the transmission source network address is the same. Can be determined as a series of print jobs, and the same job group ID can be assigned. Thereby, even for print jobs transmitted by different sessions, the same job group ID is given as a series of jobs, and the above effects can be further expanded.

  Further, it is preferable that the status of the pending job queue in the image forming apparatus 1 can be confirmed by the user. For this reason, the operation display control unit 140 acquires information on a print job, a pending job queue, and a waiting queue for resumption stored in a storage medium such as the HDD 40, generates display information to be displayed as a list, and generates the display panel 104. Includes the function to be displayed. FIG. 8 shows an example of a job list display screen displayed on the display panel 104.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the job list display screen, “ID”, “user”, and “document name” information is displayed as information for identifying each print job. The information indicating the state of is displayed in association with the information. As information indicating the job status, a status corresponding to the determination result in S404 and S408 of FIG. 4 is displayed, such as “printing”, “waiting for resumption”, and “pending”.

  In addition, the client terminal 2 transmits a command requesting information for displaying a screen as shown in FIG. 8 (hereinafter referred to as display information) to the image forming apparatus 1 in accordance with a user operation. The image forming apparatus 1 may transmit the display information to the request source in response to the command. In this case, the main control unit 110 controls the input / output control unit 150 according to the command and transmits display information to the request source.

  In addition, when it is determined in S404 in FIG. 4 that output is impossible, it is preferable to notify the user who is the transmission source of the print job that the print job is suspended without being executed immediately. In this case, in step S405, the main control unit 110 stores the hold job queue and controls the input / output control unit 150 so that the print job transmission source stored as the hold job queue is as shown in FIG. Information for displaying the screen may be transmitted, or information for notifying only that the print job is suspended may be transmitted.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the same job group ID is assigned to a series of print jobs, that is, a plurality of print jobs determined to be job groups, and the job group ID is referred to. Thus, the case where it is determined whether or not it is a series of print jobs in the subsequent processing has been described as an example. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which it is determined whether or not a series of print jobs according to another aspect. In addition, about the structure which attaches | subjects the code | symbol similar to Embodiment 1, it shall show the same or an equivalent part, and abbreviate | omits detailed description.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and processing when the input / output control unit 150 determines that the print job is a series of print jobs and subsequent processing by the main control unit 110. The processing is different from that of the first embodiment. With reference to FIG. 9, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  When receiving the print job via the network I / F 105, the input / output control unit 150 according to the present embodiment stores the print job received in one session in the same job group queue as illustrated in FIG. (S901). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a management mode of the job group queue in the present embodiment, and is a diagram showing job group queue management information stored in the controller 100. As described above, the controller 100 is configured by the CPU 10 performing calculations according to the program loaded in the RAM 20, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a part of the storage area in the RAM 20.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the controller 100 according to the present embodiment, management information is stored separately for each of a plurality of job group queues. As shown in FIG. 10, the management information of each job group queue includes print jobs included in the job group between a header that is an identifier indicating the start of data and a footer that is an identifier indicating the end of data. This is information in a format including the job ID. In step S901, the input / output control unit 150 stores a print job received in one session in the same job group queue as illustrated in FIG.

  In other words, in this embodiment, the input / output control unit 150 provides a storage area on the RAM 20 that stores received print jobs with a range surrounded by a header and a footer as shown in FIG. A plurality of print jobs received by the above are stored in the same range. In the example of FIG. 10, what is included in the job group queue is a job ID for identifying each job, and information on the print job itself is stored separately. In addition, information on the print job itself may be included in the job group queue.

  For S902 to S912, processing is executed in the same manner as S402 to S412 in FIG. When the pending job queue is stored in the resumption queue, the main control unit 110 prints the job that is currently executing the image formation output and the print stored in the queue so that the next image formation output is executed. It is confirmed whether or not the job is included in the same job group queue (S913). If the job is included in a different job group queue (S913 / NO), the restart waiting queue is set in the same manner as S416 in FIG. After reading (S915), the image processing unit 130 and the engine control unit 120 are controlled so that the image forming output is executed after the currently executing print job (S916).

  On the other hand, if the result of the confirmation in S913 is that they are included in the same job group (S913 / YES), the main control unit 110 waits until the job group queue containing the job being executed becomes empty (S914). / NO), when the job group queue becomes empty (S914 / YES), the process proceeds to S915.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of print jobs determined to be a series of jobs are stored in the same job group queue instead of being managed by the job group ID. Manage by. That is, in this embodiment, an area surrounded by a header and footer is provided in a storage area for storing print jobs, and a plurality of print jobs determined to be a series of jobs are surrounded by the same header and footer. By storing in the range of the storage area, a plurality of print jobs are expressed as a series of jobs. Also by such an aspect, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first embodiment, the case where it is determined whether or not the output of one print job can be completed in the processes of S403 and S404 has been described as an example. In this case, the determination in S404 is performed separately for print jobs included in the same job group. As a result, when print jobs with different print conditions are included in the same job group, some jobs may be executed and other jobs may be put on hold. As a result of some jobs being held, the order of output sheets may change, or output sheets relating to jobs included in other job groups may enter in the middle. In the present embodiment, a method for avoiding such a situation will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing operations from the time when a print job is received until the pending job queue is stored, among the operations of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. When processing similar to the processing of S401 to S404 in FIG. 4 is executed (S1101 to S1104) and it is determined that output is not possible for one print job (S1104 / YES), the main control unit 110 It is confirmed whether the print job is a single print job or a part of a job group including a plurality of print jobs (S1105). Here, a single print job (hereinafter referred to as a single job) includes a print job of a job group including only one print job.

  If the result of the confirmation in S1105 is a single job (S1105 / YES), the main control unit 110 stores the print job as a pending job queue (S1106). On the other hand, if the print job determined to be unusable is a part of a job group including a plurality of print jobs (S1105 / NO), the output is possible (S1104 / NO), as in the case of output. As described above, the image processing unit 130 and the engine control unit 120 are controlled to execute image formation output (S1107). The processing after S1106 is executed in the same manner as S406 in FIG. 4 or S906 in FIG.

  In this way, in the example of FIG. 11, it is determined that the output cannot be completed based on the determination result of S1104, and should be stored as a held job in principle, if it is a print job included in the job group. , Cancel the hold process, and forcibly execute the output. As a result of such processing, the print job executed after proceeding to S1107 via S1105 is necessarily interrupted due to factors such as out of paper, out of toner, or the like that are determined to be impossible to complete output in S1104. It will be. However, at least a situation in which a series of print jobs included in the same job group is divided and executed can be avoided.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when the same problem is solved by a mode different from FIG. After the same processing (S1201 to S1203) as the processing of S401 to S403 in FIG. 4, the main control unit 110 is a job group in which the print job received in S1201 is a single print job or a plurality of print jobs. Is confirmed (S1204). As a result of the confirmation in S1204, if the job is a single job, it is determined whether or not the job can be output (S1205), and depending on the determination result, storage as a pending job queue (S1206) or output is executed (S1205). S1208).

  On the other hand, as a result of the confirmation in S1204, if the job group includes a plurality of print jobs (S1204 / NO), the main control unit 110 completes output for all the print jobs included in the job group. It is determined whether or not it is possible (S1207). If it is determined in step S1207 that output for all print jobs can be completed (S1207 / YES), the main control unit 110 executes output (S1208).

  On the other hand, if there is a job that cannot be completed in any one of the print jobs included in the job group (S1207 / NO), the main control unit 110 assigns all the print jobs included in the job group to the pending job queue. (S1209). Thereafter, the same processing as S406 in FIG. 4 or S906 in FIG. 9 is executed.

  As a result of such processing, when a plurality of jobs input as a series of jobs are executed, the status of the device is limited to the case where output for all jobs can be completed. A situation in which a plurality of input jobs are divided and output can be avoided. In order to achieve the above effect appropriately, in the example of FIG. 12, when the determination of whether output is possible or not is executed in accordance with the change of the apparatus condition as in S408 of FIG. 4 or S908 of FIG. 9, the main control unit 110 As in step S1207, it is necessary to determine whether or not output for all print jobs included in the job group can be completed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Client terminal 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
40 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
70 Operation unit 80 Bus 100 Controller 101 ADF
102 Scanner unit 103 Paper discharge tray 104 Display panel 105 Paper feed table 106 Print engine 107 Paper discharge tray 108 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Main control part 120 Engine control part 130 Image processing part 140 Operation display control part 150 Input / output control part 200 Controller 201 Display control part 202 Application 203 Virtual printer driver 204 Printer driver 210 Network I / F

JP 2010-027041 A JP 2001-075762 A

Claims (13)

An image forming apparatus that executes image forming output according to a received print job,
A print job receiving unit that receives a print job via a network and stores a plurality of print jobs in a storage medium as a job group according to the reception status of the print job;
Based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus, it is determined whether or not the image forming output for the print job can be completed. A job hold determination unit that stores the data in the storage medium as
When the state of the image forming apparatus is changed, it is determined whether or not the image forming output can be completed for the print job stored as the hold job. A job resumption determining unit for storing the job in a storage medium;
When the job waiting for resumption is stored, the job group of the print job related to the current image formation output is confirmed, and the print job related to the current image formation output is a part of the job group including a plurality of print jobs. In some cases, the image forming apparatus includes: a job resumption processing unit that executes image formation and output for the job waiting for resumption after completion of image formation and output of print jobs included in the job group.   The job resumption processing unit includes a first print job related to an image formation output being executed when the job waiting for resumption is stored, and a second print job scheduled to be executed next. It is determined whether or not the jobs are included in the same job group, and when the jobs are included in different job groups, the image formation output for the job waiting for restart is executed before the second print job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print job receiving unit stores a plurality of print jobs received in the same session as a job group in a storage medium.   3. The print job receiving unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of print jobs received continuously from the same transmission source at intervals within a predetermined period are stored in a storage medium as a job group. The image forming apparatus described. The print job receiving unit stores the plurality of print jobs as a job group in a storage medium by attaching the same group identification information to each of the plurality of print jobs.
The job resumption processing unit is configured to form an image for the job waiting for resumption when the group identification information attached to the first print job is different from the group identification information attached to the second print job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output is executed before the second print job. The print job receiving unit stores a plurality of print jobs as job groups in a storage medium by storing a plurality of print jobs or job identification information for identifying the print jobs within the same range in the storage area of the storage medium. Remember,
The job restart processing unit is configured to restart the job when the first print job or job identification information and the second print job or job identification information are stored in different ranges in the storage area of the storage medium. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming output for the waiting job is executed before the second print job. 6.   The job hold determination unit cancels the storage as the hold job and outputs the image formation output when the print job determined to be unable to complete the image formation output is included in a job group including a plurality of print jobs. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is executed.   The job hold determination unit determines that all print jobs included in the job group are held jobs when the print job determined that the image formation output cannot be completed is included in a job group including a plurality of print jobs. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus stores the data as a storage medium.   The job resumption determining unit determines whether image formation output can be completed for all print jobs included in the same job group among the print jobs stored as the hold job, and determines all the print jobs. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when all the print jobs can be completed, all the print jobs are stored in a storage medium as jobs waiting to be resumed.   10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hold notification unit that notifies a transmission source of the print job stored as the hold job that the print job is stored as the hold job. The image forming apparatus described. An image forming apparatus control method for executing image formation output in response to a received print job,
A print job is received via a network, and a plurality of print jobs are stored in a storage medium as a job group according to the reception status of the print job,
Based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus, it is determined whether or not the image forming output for the print job can be completed. As a storage medium,
When the state of the image forming apparatus is changed, it is determined whether or not the image forming output can be completed for the print job stored as the hold job. Store it in a storage medium as a job,
When the job waiting for resumption is stored, the job group of the print job related to the current image formation output is confirmed, and the print job related to the current image formation output is a part of the job group including a plurality of print jobs. In some cases, the image forming apparatus performs the image forming output for the job waiting for resumption after all the image forming outputs of the print jobs included in the job group are completed. A control program for an image forming apparatus that executes image forming output in response to a received print job,
Receiving a print job via a network, and storing a plurality of print jobs in a storage medium as a job group according to the reception status of the print job;
Based on the contents of the received print job and the state of the image forming apparatus, it is determined whether or not the image forming output for the print job can be completed. Storing in a storage medium as
When the state of the image forming apparatus is changed, it is determined whether or not the image forming output can be completed for the print job stored as the hold job. Storing in a storage medium as a job;
When the job waiting for resumption is stored, the job group of the print job related to the current image formation output is confirmed, and the print job related to the current image formation output is a part of the job group including a plurality of print jobs. In some cases, the image forming apparatus causes the image forming apparatus to execute an image forming output for the job waiting for resumption after all image forming outputs of the print jobs included in the job group are completed. Device control program.   13. A recording medium in which the control program for an image forming apparatus according to claim 12 is recorded in a format readable by the image forming apparatus.

Images