JPH07175603A - Print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute high-level print processing without changing a program on the side of a client machine in the print processing system for printing out a document by issuing a print request from the client machine to a print server. CONSTITUTION:When a job reception part 33 receives the print request from the client machine, the attribute designated by the print request is interpreted, a header information part describing the designated attribute is added to a print job and delivered to a job control part 37. At the job control part 37, the header information part added to the delivered job is extracted, the attribute described there is interpreted and according to the designated attribute, print processing is excuted by a job processing part 38.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print processing system, and more particularly to a distributed processing system in which processing functions are distributed and arranged on a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a distributed processing system in which processing functions such as client machines and print servers are distributed on a network, for example, by issuing a print job to a print server from a client machine side such as a host computer or a workstation, You can get a printout of the document. At this time, enlarge /
For advanced processing such as reduction, 2-up (printing two pages of an original on one sheet of paper), stapling, binding, etc., the client machine side specifies attributes (hereinafter referred to as attributes) for each processing. It can be executed by For example, OSI
In the protocols such as the DPA protocol, the area for specifying these rich attributes is defined, and the attributes related to the advanced processing can be easily specified.

[0003]

However, in the general protocol supported by the conventional printer, only basic attributes such as the number of copies and the paper size can be specified, so that the above-mentioned advanced functions cannot be used. , The protocol must be extended to increase the attributes the printer can support. However, when the protocol was extended, the program on the client machine side that had been used up to that point could not handle it, so the program itself had to be changed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a print processing system capable of executing advanced functions provided by a printer without changing a program or the like.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, in the print processing system according to the present invention, a print request generating unit for generating a print request is provided with a header information section describing an attribute related to the processing content. Header information section adding means for adding the header information section to the print processing execution section on the side that executes the print processing, and the header information section extracting section for extracting the header information section added to the received print request; Attribute interpreting means for interpreting the attribute described in the header information section extracted by the extracting means is provided, and when the header information section is added to the received print request, the attribute described in the header information section is provided. The printing process of the document is executed according to.

The print request may be, for example, a print job issuing mail sent from the client machine to the print server, or a print job generated by the client machine and sent to the print server. In either case, the print request is added with the header information section describing the attributes specified by the client.

[0007]

The header information section adding means of the print request generating section adds the header information section describing the attribute designated by the client to the print request. This print request is passed to the print processing execution unit. When the header information section is added to the print request passed from the print request generation section, the header information section extraction means of the print processing execution section extracts this and passes it to the attribute interpretation means. The attribute interpreting means interprets the attributes described in the header information section, and treats the rest as the document to be printed. The print processing execution unit executes the print processing of the document according to the designated attribute.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the print processing system according to the present invention is applied to an electronic mail system will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the electronic mail system in this embodiment. This system is provided with a workstation 11 (1 to 1) having an e-mail sending / receiving function.
n) and the print server 12 that executes the print processing.
(Hereinafter, also referred to as a server), and each device is connected to the network 10.

The workstation 11 receives a print instruction from a client via a user interface. The client can issue a print job at the server by adding a header information section in which attributes relating to print processing are described in text to a document to be printed and sending it as a print job issue mail to the server. Also, by sending an e-mail inquiring about the attributes of a print job that has already been issued or an e-mail inquiring about the capabilities of the printer, it is possible to obtain a response to these inquiries from the server.

A description example of the print job issuing mail is shown in FIG.
Shown in. In FIG. 3, the first line ″ ## Attribute Desc
ription ″ indicates the beginning of the header information section, ″ # # end
The line "" indicates the end of the header information section. Each attribute in the header information section has an Attribute-Type: Value.
, Value, and so on. Attribute
-Type (eg job-name) indicates the type of the attribute and what it is for. Value indicates the value of the attribute and is expressed in a different format according to each attribute type. For example, a character string is entered for job-name, and integers such as 1, 2, 3, ... Are entered for copy-count. If the attribute has multiple values, specify those values separated by commas. In the example of FIG. 3, the job name is “PatentDocument”, the number of copies is 1, the paper size is A4, 2-up (two page images are arranged on one sheet), double-sided printing is performed, and finally stapled and bound. An attribute that means to make a hole for is specified. The document that follows is data in PostScript (trademark) format.

Further, when using a mail protocol capable of sending a plurality of message bodies,
Put the header information text in the first message,
It is also possible to issue prints of a plurality of documents as one print job. FIG. 4 shows a description example of the print job issuing mail in this case. In the example of FIG. 4, a line “## Document” represents a document delimiter, and print attributes of the following documents are sequentially specified. Note that until the first document delimiter line (## Document) appears, attributes related to the entire job are specified, and this applies to all documents. The operator of the client machine creates these header information parts using a mail editor or the like, and sends them to the server together with the document by an electronic mail application. Alternatively, a graphical user interface as shown in FIG. 5 may be prepared, a header information part may be created by this tool, and it may be sent to a server by e-mail together with a document. In FIG. 5, the icon 22 of the window 21 represents the file of the document to be printed,
The icon 23 represents a printer or print server that executes print processing. When the client puts a cursor (not shown) on the file icon 22 and clicks the mouse button, and then puts the cursor on the desired printer icon 23 and clicks the mouse button, a window for confirming attributes is displayed. 24 is opened, and the attributes specified in the print job issue mail can be confirmed before the print job is transferred.

The print server 12 has a virtual user's mailbox (not shown) as a print system, and the client sends mail to this virtual user's mailbox to (1) issue a print job, (2) Query print job attributes,
(3) The printer capability can be inquired. The functional modules of the print server 12 are shown in FIG.

The mail receiver 31 is connected to the network 30 and receives a mail in the virtual user mailbox set in the print server 12. The received mail is passed to the mail command analysis unit 32.

The mail command analysis unit 32 looks at the subject of the mail (Subject), determines whether the mail is a print job issuance mail, an attribute inquiry mail, or a printer capability inquiry mail, and determines the contents of the mail. According to the request, the job acceptance unit 33, the attribute processing unit 34, and the header information template management unit 35 are assigned.

The job acceptance unit 33 extracts attributes from the header information section in the print job issuance mail, creates a print job having these attributes, assigns an appropriate job identifier to this, and controls the job. Hand it over to section 37. Also, in order to notify the client that the job has been accepted, a print job acceptance mail is created and passed to the mail sending unit 36.

The attribute processing unit 34 reads out the target job identifier and the required attribute type from the attribute inquiry mail, and inquires the job control unit 37 about the attribute of the job. Then, an attribute reply mail is created according to the result, and this is sent to the mail sending unit 36.

The header information template management unit 35 takes out the template of the header information unit held by the print server 12 as a template file, creates a template reply mail based on this template, and sends this to the mail transmission unit 36. Pass to.

The mail sending unit 36 is connected to the network 30 and sends the mail delivered from each of the above units to the intended client.

When the print job created by the job accepting unit 33 is delivered, the job control unit 37 executes the print instruction attached to the job, so that the job processing unit 38 corresponding to the instruction is executed until all the instructions are completed. Scheduling such as passing a job to and requesting processing is repeated. Since a plurality of jobs stay in the server at the same time, spooling / queue management is executed in the job control unit 37.

The job processing section 38 is a section for processing one or a plurality of print instructions, and has n job processing sections 38 arranged therein. The job processing unit (1) is a format converter having a function of converting a document format into another format, and the job processing unit (2) is an image processing function of a copying machine such as reduction / enlargement / rotation, and a noise removal function. The image processor and job processing unit (n) is a notifier that notifies the user who issued the print instruction that the job processing is completed. In addition to this, the job processing unit includes a decomposer (not shown) having a function of expanding a document into image information. The image data that has undergone the necessary processing in the job processing unit 38 is passed to the designated job output unit 39 and printed out.

The job output unit 39 is provided corresponding to one or a plurality of printer devices, and is also connected to a network interface (not shown). There are n job output units 39, and the job output units (1),
(2) outputs a job, that is, prints on an output medium, and the job output unit (n) executes redirection. Printing on the output medium means actually printing out on paper. An output unit for executing this exists corresponding to a printer device (not shown) controlled by the server. Further, the redirection means transferring the job to another server when the server cannot process the job.

Next, the operation when the client uses the electronic mail function to (1) issue a print job, (2) inquire a print job attribute, and (3) inquire a printer capability will be described.

(1) Issuing a print job The client can issue a print job at the server by sending a mail (print job issuance mail) with a header information section describing attributes to a document to be printed. it can. That is, the server that received the print job issuance mail is
Interpret the specified attributes from the text in the header information section, create a print job with these attributes, and assign an appropriate job identifier. Then, the client is notified of an email indicating that the print job has been received. FIG. 6 shows an example of the mail sent back to the client by the server that received the print job in the mail of FIG. In the mail shown in FIG. 6, information about the time when the job is received and the assigned job identifier (jobID) together with a copy of the specified header information section
It is included.

(2) Inquiry about attributes of print job The client sends a mail inquiring about attributes of already issued print jobs. In this email,
The job identifier notified from the server in (1) and the attribute name whose value is to be inquired are described. The server that receives this mail searches the information of the specified job and returns the value of the specified attribute by mail. FIG. 7 shows a description example of the attribute inquiry mail. In this mail, the job identifier returned by the print job reception mail in FIG. 6 is designated as the subject, and the names of the attributes to be inquired are listed in the mail body. You can also query the values of all attributes by not writing anything in the body. FIG. 8 shows a description example of a mail that the server returns to the client for this mail.

(3) Inquiry about printer capability When the client wants to know the capability of the printer that executes print processing, the client sends a mail inquiring about the printer capability. The server that accepts this e-mail fetches the text template of the header information section used in (1) issuance of the print job and returns it to the client by e-mail. This template describes all the values that can be specified as attributes. When the client issues a print job in (1), the print job mail is created by editing this template. FIG. 9 shows a description example of the printer capability inquiry mail. The server learns from the subject of the mail (Subject) that the client needs the template of the header information section, and returns a template reply mail as shown in FIG. 10 to the client. In this mail, the values that can be specified for each attribute are shown separated by "/". The client selects a desired value from these specifiable values and edits this mail text to create a print job issuing mail as shown in FIG. Also, FIG.
The template indicated by 0 also includes attributes related to the job status (job identifier, status, issued time, etc.). These attributes cannot be included in the print job issuing mail, but can be specified in the attribute inquiry mail described later.

Next, the processing procedure of the print server 12 when the mail is received from the client will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the mail receiving section 31 receives the mail (step 101), the mail command analyzing section 32
It is determined what the request for the mail is, and the mail is delivered to the module corresponding to the request (step 102).

If the mail request is a print job issuance in step 102, the mail is delivered to the job receiving unit 33. The job reception unit 33 interprets the attributes specified in the header information part of the delivered mail, creates a print job having these attributes (step 103), and assigns a job identifier (step 10).
4). Subsequently, a print job reception mail is created, the client is notified by mail (step 105), and the job is passed to the job control unit 37. The job control unit 37 registers the passed jobs (step 106), sequentially takes out the jobs, analyzes the contents of the jobs, and activates each job processing unit 38 to instruct if a format change or image processing is required. The executed processing is executed (step 107 to step 110). When the necessary processing is executed, the job control unit 37 selects the designated job output unit 39 (step 111), and if it is a directly connected printer (step 112 “Y”), the printer is selected. Boot up
Print processing is executed (step 113). Also,
If the designated job output unit 39 is not a directly connected printer (step 112 "N"), the redirector is activated to transfer the job at this time to another server that can process the job (step 114).

When the processing is completed, the job control unit 37
When the notification of the processing result is instructed from the client (step 115 "Y"), the notifier is activated and the client who has requested the printing process "ends the printing process" or "transfers to another server". The processing result of is notified (step 116).

If the mail request is an attribute inquiry in step 102, the mail is passed to the attribute processing section 34. The attribute processing unit 34 acquires the job identifier and attribute type described in the mail, creates an attribute reply mail, and sends it by mail (steps 117 and 118).

In step 102, if the mail request is a printer capability inquiry, the mail is passed to the header information section template management section 35. The header information section template management section 35 acquires the header information template held by the server, creates a template reply mail,
It is sent by mail (steps 119 and 120).

In the electronic mail system described above, the print job is issued in accordance with the print job issue mail sent from the client. However, the print job to which the header information section is added is received from the client, and the server side It is also possible to interpret the attributes specified in the header information part of the print job and perform the printing process according to these attributes.

In this case, the job acceptance unit always monitors the job sent by the network or a similar synchronization mechanism, and when the job is sent, normalizes it and passes it to the job control unit. Normalization refers to unifying jobs sent in various formats into job formats defined by this server. When the job reception unit normalizes the job, it checks the header of the document, and if the header information section is added to this (when there is an identification symbol indicating the existence of the header information section), the header information section Extract the text, interpret the attributes specified in it, and normalize the job with these attributes. Also, when the header information section does not exist (when there is no identification symbol indicating the existence of the header information section)
Normalizes the job according to the normal printing process expected by the protocol. The normalized job is composed of one or more originals corresponding to one or more pages, print instructions valid for all of them, and print instructions valid only for a specific original. . The job control unit, to which the job normalized by the job receiving unit has been passed, proceeds to step 107 in FIG.
~ The processing of step 116 is executed.

It is also possible to issue a print job using the file transfer function. In this case, a printer directory capable of storing the document is set on the server side, the document is transferred to this printer directory, and then the file of the header information section is sent to print the document. It is possible. In this case, it is not necessary for the document to follow the header information section, and printing of multiple documents can be handled as one job.

[0036]

As described above, in the print processing system according to the present invention, the header information part describing the attribute is added to the print request, and when the header information part is added to the print request to be processed, , Interpret the attribute described in the header information section,
Since the print process is executed according to the attribute specified there, the client can use the communication function of the existing protocol to execute the advanced function provided by the printer without changing the program. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing functional modules of a print server.

[Fig. 2] Overall configuration diagram of the electronic mail system

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a description example of a print job issue mail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a description example of a print job issue mail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a user interface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a description example of a print job reception email.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a description example of an attribute inquiry mail.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a description example of an attribute reply mail.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a description example of a printer capability inquiry mail.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a description example of a template reply mail.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the print server.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Workstation (client machine), 1
2 ... Print server, 31 ... Mail receiving section, 32 ... Mail command analyzing section, 33 ... Job receiving section, 34 ... Attribute processing section, 35 ... Header information template management section, 36 ... Mail sending section, 37 ... Job control section, 38 ...
Job processing unit, 39 ... Job output unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A print processing system including a print request generation unit that generates a print request and a print processing execution unit that executes print processing according to the generated print request, wherein the print request generation unit A header information part adding means for adding a header information part describing an attribute relating to processing contents, wherein the print processing execution part is a header information part extracting means for extracting the header information part added to the print request to be processed, An attribute interpreting means for interpreting the attribute described in the extracted header information section, and when the header information section is added to the print request to be processed, the attribute described in the header information section Printing characterized by performing a printing process according to Processing system.