JP2002041267A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which is able to efficiently transfer print data to a printer which is available to print without having means to judge the type of a language for page description (PDL) which is not supported by the printer. SOLUTION: In the case that the received print data can not be recognize by an analyzing part 22 (in the case that it is not described in PDL supported by the printer) or in the case that the printer is judged unavailable to print (such as out of toner, out of paper and undergoing volume printing can be considered), a transfer address determination part 25 adequately determines a transfer address based on a preset shortlist on the transfer addresses. Thus, for example, efficient transfer can be done without having the means to judge the PDL which is not supported the printer and so on.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printer for forming and outputting an image based on print data received via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, networking in offices has progressed, and various office equipment such as personal computers, printers, facsimile machines, scanners, and the like have been used while being connected to a network. Among them, especially for frequently used printers, a plurality of printers are connected on one network, and an appropriate one is selected and output according to, for example, a page description language to be used or a degree of congestion of each printer. In general, a usage form of performing the operation is as follows. However, for example, when the number of printers on a network increases, it is extremely difficult for a user to grasp the page description language supported by each printer and to select an appropriate printer according to print data. It is efficient. Therefore, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-179899, when print data described in a page description language that is not supported by its own device is received, other print data described on a network that supports the page description language is received. 2. Description of the Related Art There has been proposed a printer device which transfers the data to a printer and prints the data. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-102263, when print data in a page description language that is not supported by its own device is received, it is transferred to another printer on the network and
A printer device has been proposed in which transfer history data is attached so that transfer is not performed more than once to the same printer when transferring.

[0003]

However, in the printer device proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-179899, even if the page description language is not supported by the printer itself, the page description language is not supported. It was necessary to provide a means for determining whether or not there was. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
In the printer apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 102263/102, although it is not necessary to provide a means for determining the language of a page description language that is not supported by the printer itself, it is not necessary to provide a means for determining the type of print data to be transferred. It does not know whether the page description language is supported by the destination printer, so even if you finally arrive at a printable printer, the transfer path will eventually be wasteful. was there. In particular, when there is no printer capable of printing the print data on the network, the print data is sequentially transferred to the printers on the network, and there is no printer capable of printing for the first time when the print data is transferred to the last printer. It becomes clear. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a means for determining what kind of language a page description language that is not supported by its own machine is. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer device capable of efficiently transferring print data to a printable printer.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a printer for forming and outputting an image based on print data received via a network. Transfer destination candidate list storage means for storing, as a transfer destination candidate list, a list of other printer devices on the network capable of alternative printing in the event that printing cannot be performed by the machine, and allowing the received print data to be printed by the machine itself Determining means for determining whether or not printing by the own device is impossible by the determining means;
Transfer destination determining means for determining a transfer destination of the print data based on the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, and the print data for the transfer destination determined by the transfer destination determination means And a transfer unit for transferring the image data. With such a configuration, efficient transfer can be performed without, for example, providing a means for determining which PDL is not supported by an unsupported PDL that cannot be decoded by itself.

[0005] Further, by setting priorities to a plurality of printers listed in the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, a more effective transfer destination can be set, and overall transfer efficiency can be reduced. It is possible to increase. Further, if the priorities of the transfer destination candidate lists of the respective printers are set so as to distribute the transfer destinations, it is possible to avoid a problem that the processing is concentrated on a specific printer. Further, if the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means is provided for each cause when printing cannot be performed by the own device, an appropriate alternative printer device according to the cause can be selected. And transfer efficiency can be further improved. Specifically, a first transfer destination candidate list in which printer devices supporting the same page description language as the own device are listed as the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, At least two types of second transfer destination candidate lists that list printer devices that support a page description language different from the printer are provided, and the determination means determines that the received print data cannot be decrypted and cannot be printed. In this case, the transfer destination determination means determines the transfer destination based on the second transfer destination candidate list, and the determination means determines that the received print data can be decoded but cannot be printed for other reasons. In such a case, the transfer destination determining means determines the transfer destination based on the first transfer destination candidate list, so that when printing is not possible, It is possible to cause it to determine the appropriate destination in either undecipherable or not the print data.

The transfer means transfers the print data with the transfer destination candidate list used for determining the transfer destination attached thereto, and further transfers the print data transferred from another printer. In this case, the transfer destination is obtained by ANDing the transfer destination candidate list received from the other printer device together with the print data and the transfer destination candidate list of the own device used to determine the transfer destination. If the transfer destination is determined based on the transfer destination candidate list, and the transfer destination candidate list is attached to the print data and then transferred, it is possible to prevent waste such as repeatedly transferring to the same transfer destination. Further, the transfer efficiency can be improved. In this case, when there is no longer a candidate for an alternative printer device in the transfer destination candidate list obtained by the logical product, a notification to that effect is sent to the host device that has output the print data. It is possible to confirm on the host terminal side that no possible printer device exists on the network.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments and examples are mere examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

First, the configuration of a printer Z1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer device Z1 includes a user I / F 1, a control unit 2, a storage unit 3, a printer engine 4, and a network I / F 5, and a personal computer (P).
C) or a user terminal 51 such as a workstation (WS)
And the other printer device Z1 together with the network 50. The user I / F 1 includes various buttons for the user to perform various settings and the like, and display means for outputting various information such as the status of the printer to the user. The network I / F 5 is a network 50
And an interface between the control unit 2.
The storage unit 3 is configured by a storage medium such as a RAM and a hard disk. The printer engine 4 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on a predetermined image signal. As an image forming method, any method such as an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method, and an electrophotographic method may be used.

The control unit 2 includes a receiving unit 21 and an analyzing unit 2
2, a drawing unit 23, a frame buffer 24, a transfer destination determination unit 25, and a transfer unit 26. The receiving unit 21
Receives print data sent from the user terminal 51 via the network 50 and the network I / F 5, and stores the print data in the storage unit 3 (print data 31). If the received print data has been transferred from another printer, the transfer destination candidate list L2 (details will be described later) attached to the print data is sent to the transfer destination determination unit 25. Output. The analysis unit 22 (an example of a determination unit) analyzes the print data 31 stored in the storage unit 3 by the reception unit 21. As a result, the print data can be recognized (that is, the page description language (hereinafter, PDL) supported by the print data).
If the printer is in a printable state, the print data 31 is converted into intermediate code data 32 and stored in the storage unit 3.
Output to Intermediate code data 32 in the storage unit 3
Are output to the frame buffer 24 in frame units by the drawing unit 23 and are printed by the printer engine 4. On the other hand, when the analysis unit 22 cannot recognize the received print data (that is, when the print data is not described in the PDL supported by the own device), or when the own device cannot print. (For example, the toner is out of paper, the paper is out, or a large amount of paper is being printed), a transfer request of the print data is issued to the transfer destination determining unit 25.

A transfer destination candidate list L1 is stored in advance in the transfer destination determining unit 25 (corresponding to a transfer destination candidate list storage unit and a transfer destination determination unit). The transfer destination candidate list L1 indicates that the other printer devices connected to the network 50 are “supporting a PDL different from the own device” (corresponding to the second transfer destination candidate list) and “own device”. (Corresponding to the first transfer destination candidate list), which are classified according to the priority of transfer. FIG. 3 shows N printers connected to the same network as shown in FIG. 2 (PDLa, PDLb, etc. in each printer in FIG. 2 indicate PDLs supported by the printer). It is an example of a transfer destination candidate list respectively mounted. In the example of FIG. 3, in the transfer destination candidate list of the printer 1, the printers 2, 3, 4,... Are registered in the priority order as “supporting a PDL different from the own device”.
Printers 3,..., And Printer N are registered in the order of their priority as “supporting the same PDL as their own device”. By setting the priorities, more effective transfer destinations can be set for each printer device, and the transfer efficiency can be improved as a whole. Further, by distributing the transfer destinations, it is possible to avoid a problem that processing is concentrated on a specific printer device.

If the print data received by the receiving unit 21 is directly transmitted from the user terminal device 51, the transfer destination determining unit 25 determines whether the print data cannot be printed by its own device. , The transfer destination candidate list L1
Is used to determine the transfer destination. That is, if the print data is not described in the PDL supported by the own device, the “PD different from the own device” in the transfer destination candidate list L1 is used.
The printer device at the top is determined from the list of "devices supporting L" as the transfer destination, and is output to the transfer unit 26 together with the transfer destination candidate list L1. The transfer unit 26 attaches the transfer destination candidate list L1 to the print data that could not be printed by itself, and transfers the print data to the transfer destination. On the other hand, if the print data received by the receiving unit 21 has been transferred from another printer device, a transfer destination candidate list should be attached to the print data. Therefore, when determining the transfer destination, the transfer destination determining unit 25
Instead of using only the transfer destination candidate list L1 of the own device,
A new transfer destination candidate list L3 obtained by ANDing the transfer destination candidate list L1 of the own device and the transfer destination candidate list L2 received together with the print data is used. As a result, it is possible to prevent waste such as repeatedly transferring to the same transfer destination. In this case, when the print data is transferred, the newly generated transfer destination candidate list L3 is attached instead of the transfer destination candidate list L1.

An example of the printing procedure of the printer Z1 having the above-described configuration will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when print data is sent from the user terminal 51 or another printer device on the network 50, the receiving unit 21 receives it (S1) and stores it in the storage unit 3 (S2). If the received print data has been transferred from another printer device (it can be determined based on whether or not the transfer destination candidate list is attached), the transfer destination candidate list is transferred to the transfer destination candidate list L2. Is output to the transfer destination determining unit 25 (S3 → S4). Subsequently, the analyzing unit 22 performs the receiving unit 2
1 analyzes the print data 31 stored in the storage unit 3 (S5). As a result, if the print data is described in the PDL supported by its own device and the recognition is successful, It is determined whether or not the own device is in a printable state at the present time (S6 → S7). If it is determined that the own device is ready for printing,
The analysis unit 22 converts the print data 31 into intermediate code data 32, and outputs the intermediate code data 32 to the frame buffer 24 in frame units by the drawing unit 23 (S8). Based on this, the print processing is performed by the printer engine 4 (S8). S9). On the other hand, if the recognition of the print data has failed in step S6,
If it is determined in step 7 that the own device is in a print-disabled state, the following transfer process is performed without performing the drawing and printing processes in steps S8 and S9.

First, the transfer destination determining unit 25 selects any one of “a device supporting a PDL different from the own device” and “a device supporting the same PDL as the own device” in the transfer destination candidate list L1. Is done. Here, step S6
In the case where the recognition of the print data fails, the PDL describing the print data is different from the one supported by the own device. Is selected (S12). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the print data has been successfully recognized, but it is determined in step S7 that the own device is in a state in which printing cannot be performed, the PD describing the print data is determined.
Since L is the same as that supported by the own device, a list of “supporting the same PDL as the own device” in the transfer destination candidate list L1 is selected (S11). If the received print data is transferred from another printer, a logical product (AND) of the transfer destination candidate list L2 attached to the print data and the transfer destination candidate list L1 is obtained. To generate a new transfer destination candidate list L3 (S13 → S14). Then, a transfer destination candidate list L1 (when the print data is transmitted directly from the user terminal device 51) or a transfer destination candidate list L3 (when the print data is transmitted from another printer device) ) Is determined as the transfer destination, and is output to the transfer unit 26 together with the transfer destination candidate list L1 or L3. Transfer unit 26
Is the transfer destination candidate list L1 or L
3 is attached and transferred to the transfer destination (S15).

The same processing as described above is performed in the transfer destination printer. Such processing is repeated, and when a printer capable of printing is reached, the printing processing is performed there.
If a printer capable of printing is not found even if the printer is transferred to the last destination in the list of destination candidates attached to the print data, the information to that effect is output first. It is transmitted to the user terminal 51 that has performed. This makes it possible for the user terminal to confirm that the requested printing has not been performed.

As described above, according to the printer apparatus Z1 according to the present embodiment, the transfer destination candidate list when printing cannot be performed by the printer itself is set in advance.
For example, which PDL is unsupported and cannot be decoded
Without having a means to determine whether it corresponds to DL,
It is possible to perform efficient transfer. Further, since the priority order is set for a plurality of printer devices listed in the transfer destination candidate list, a more effective transfer destination can be set, and the transfer efficiency can be improved as a whole.
Further, if the priorities of the transfer destination candidate lists of the respective printers are set so as to distribute the transfer destinations, it is possible to avoid a problem that the processing is concentrated on a specific printer. If the PDL of the print data cannot be recognized, the "supports a PDL different from the own device". If the print data cannot be printed by the own device for any other reason, "the same as the own device" is used. Since a plurality of transfer destination candidate lists are set for each of the causes for which printing cannot be performed, as in "Support for PDL", it is possible to select an appropriate alternative printer device according to the cause, and to further transfer Efficiency can be increased.

Further, when the print data is transferred to another printer, the print data is transferred with the transfer destination candidate list used for determining the transfer destination attached thereto and transferred from the other printer. To transfer the received print data to another printer device, the transfer destination candidate list L2 received from the other printer device together with the print data, and the transfer destination candidate list of the own device used to determine the transfer destination. The transfer destination is determined based on the transfer destination candidate list L3 obtained by the logical product of the list L1 and the transfer destination candidate list L3 is attached to the print data and transferred. Waste can be prevented. Further, when there are no more alternative printer devices in the transfer destination candidate list, the user terminal that has output the print data is notified to that effect. It is possible to confirm with.

(Modification) In the above example, the transfer destination candidate list L1 set in advance for each printer device includes "a device supporting a PDL different from the own device" and "a P
DL support ", but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of “supporting the same PDL as the own device” may be set, and the plurality of candidate lists may be used in detail according to the cause of the inability to print on the own device. The same applies to "the device which supports a PDL different from the own device". The transfer destination candidate list L1 preset for each printer needs to be updated each time a new printer is added or removed on the network. Therefore, in order to efficiently update the transfer destination candidate list L1, the network 50
A server device for updating the transfer destination candidate list L1 of each printer device is provided above. If there is any change in the printer device on the network, the server device collectively transfers the transfer candidate list L1 of each printer device. It is desirable to update it.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a printer for forming and outputting an image based on print data received via a network, the received print data cannot be printed by itself. Transfer destination candidate list storage means for storing, as a transfer destination candidate list, a list of other printer devices on the network capable of alternative printing, and determining whether or not the received print data can be printed by itself. A determining unit that determines a transfer destination of the print data based on the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage unit when the determination unit determines that printing on the own device is not possible; A printer device comprising: transfer destination determining means; and transfer means for transferring the print data to the transfer destination determined by the transfer destination determining means. Because it is constituted by, for example, without providing a means or the like for determining whether unsupported PDL that can not be deciphered by the own apparatus corresponds to any PDL, it is possible to perform efficient transfer.

Further, if priorities are set for a plurality of printers listed in the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, a more effective transfer destination can be set, and the transfer efficiency as a whole can be reduced. It is possible to increase. Further, if the priorities of the transfer destination candidate lists of the respective printers are set so as to distribute the transfer destinations, it is possible to avoid a problem that the processing is concentrated on a specific printer. Further, if the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means is provided for each cause when printing cannot be performed by the own device, an appropriate alternative printer device according to the cause can be selected. And transfer efficiency can be further improved. Specifically, a first transfer destination candidate list in which printer devices supporting the same page description language as the own device are listed as the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, At least two types of second transfer destination candidate lists that list printer devices that support a page description language different from the printer are provided, and the determination means determines that the received print data cannot be decrypted and cannot be printed. In this case, the transfer destination determination means determines the transfer destination based on the second transfer destination candidate list, and the determination means determines that the received print data can be decoded but cannot be printed for other reasons. In such a case, the transfer destination determining means determines the transfer destination based on the first transfer destination candidate list, so that when printing is not possible, It is possible to cause it to determine the appropriate destination in either undecipherable or not the print data.

Further, the transfer means transfers the print data with the transfer destination candidate list used for determining the transfer destination attached thereto, and further transfers the print data transferred from another printer. In this case, the transfer destination is obtained by ANDing the transfer destination candidate list received from the other printer device together with the print data and the transfer destination candidate list of the own device used to determine the transfer destination. If the transfer destination is determined based on the transfer destination candidate list, and the transfer destination candidate list is attached to the print data and then transferred, it is possible to prevent waste such as repeatedly transferring to the same transfer destination. Further, the transfer efficiency can be improved. In this case, when there is no longer a candidate for an alternative printer device in the transfer destination candidate list obtained by the logical product, a notification to that effect is sent to the host device that has output the print data. It is possible to confirm on the host terminal side that no possible printer device exists on the network.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a printer apparatus Z1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration in which a plurality of printer apparatuses Z1 are connected.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a transfer destination candidate list L1 mounted on each printer device Z1 shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the printer device Z1.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 22: analysis unit (an example of a judgment unit) 25: transfer destination determination unit (corresponding to a transfer destination candidate list storage unit and a transfer destination determination unit) 26: transfer unit (corresponding to a transfer unit) L1: transfer destination candidate list

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printer device which forms and outputs an image based on print data received via a network, and which can perform alternative printing when the received print data cannot be printed by its own device. Transfer destination candidate list storage means for storing a list of other printer devices as a transfer destination candidate list; determining means for determining whether the received print data can be printed by the own device; If it is determined that printing with
Transfer destination determining means for determining a transfer destination of the print data based on the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, and the print data for the transfer destination determined by the transfer destination determination means And a transfer means for transferring the image data. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein priorities are set to a plurality of printer devices included in the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means. 3. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means is provided for each of the causes when printing cannot be performed by itself. 4. A transfer destination candidate list stored in the transfer destination candidate list storage means, a first transfer destination candidate list in which printer devices supporting the same page description language as the own device are listed, And at least two types of second transfer destination candidate lists that list printers that support a page description language different from the printer.
If the determining means determines that the received print data cannot be printed because it cannot be decoded, the transfer destination determining means determines a transfer destination based on the second transfer destination candidate list, and determines the transfer destination. And means for determining the transfer destination based on the first transfer destination candidate list if the means determines that the received print data can be decrypted but cannot be printed for other reasons. The printer device according to the above. 5. The transfer means transfers the print data with the transfer destination candidate list used for determining the transfer destination attached thereto, and further prints the print data transferred from another printer device. In this case, the transfer destination is obtained by ANDing the transfer destination candidate list received from the other printer device together with the print data and the transfer destination candidate list of the own device used to determine the transfer destination. The transfer destination is determined based on the transfer destination candidate list.
5. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer destination candidate list is attached to print data and transferred. 6. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein when the candidate of the substitute printer device is no longer in the transfer destination candidate list obtained by the logical product, the host device which has output the print data is notified of the fact. .