JP2002108596A - Printing sheet exchange supporting device for printing device and method for the same and computer readable recording medium with printing sheet exchange supporting program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the efficiency of the printing sheet exchanging work of an operator when printing requests for various printing sheets arrive at random from multiple users. SOLUTION: When a queue sort instruction is issued from a manager for unprocessed printing requests for various sheets from users U1-Uk received at random through an Internet 1, which order a paper feeding cassette 9 should be exchanged in so that the printing sheet exchanging work can be the most efficiently performed is automatically calculated, and the manager is informed of the optimal paper feeding cassette exchanging procedure (exchange recommended paper feeding cassette information).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing paper exchange support device for a printing apparatus, a printing paper exchange assistance method, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a printing paper exchange assistance program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of the Internet, a print service on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as "Internet print service") has appeared. This Internet printing service receives a print request from a large number of users via the Internet, and performs a specific printing (for example, a normal printing paper) on a specified type of printing paper from various printing papers of various materials and sizes. It is a service that performs poster printing, bookbinding printing, photo printing, etc. in addition to printing on the top.

In this service, when a print request is received from a user, the operator of the printing apparatus operates for each print request.
It is checked whether or not a specified type of printing paper is set in the printing apparatus, and if not, the printing paper must be replaced manually. This is because, in general, the number of types of print paper that can be printed is larger than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously mounted. In addition,
When replacing the print paper, if the paper cassette is removable and all types of print paper are stored in advance in the paper cassette for each type, simply replace the paper cassette. It can be done simply by exchanging.

[0004]

However, in the above-described Internet printing service, there is no problem when there is a continuous print request for the same type of printing paper. In an environment in which print requests for printing paper arrive at random, the operator must frequently perform complicated printing paper replacement work (for example, paper cassette replacement work) in some cases. The replacement operation tends to be inefficient, and it took a long time to complete the printing process as a whole.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-29647 discloses a technique for managing a print job for each print sheet to improve printing efficiency. Conventionally, efficient printing is performed by sorting, and there has been no means for improving the efficiency of printing paper (reducing the number of replacements) as a means for improving printing efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to allow an operator to change printing paper when a printing request for various printing papers arrives at random from many users. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing paper exchange support device of a printing apparatus, a printing paper exchange assistance method, and a computer-readable recording medium that records a printing paper exchange assistance program, which can improve efficiency.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) The number of types of print paper that can be printed is larger than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and is specified based on a print request transmitted from a plurality of user terminals through a network. Paper exchange support device of a printing apparatus for performing printing on print paper of a different type, a receiving unit for receiving a print request, a storage unit for storing a queue of received print requests, and a print request in a waiting state A printing paper priority calculating means for calculating the priority of the printing paper for each type of printing paper, and a printing paper replacement procedure for minimizing the number of printing paper replacements based on the calculated printing paper priority. A printing paper exchange support apparatus for a printing apparatus, comprising: a printing paper exchange procedure calculating means for calculating.

(2) A printing paper exchange support apparatus for a printing apparatus according to the above (1), further comprising a notifying means for notifying an operator of the printing apparatus of the calculated printing paper exchange procedure.

(3) The printing paper exchange support device of the printing device according to (1), wherein the network includes the Internet.

(4) The printing paper priority calculating means calculates the printing paper priority for each type of printing paper based on the number of waiting print requests, the use frequency, and the estimated printing time. A printing paper exchange support device for a printing device according to the above (1).

(5) The printing paper priority calculating means determines the printing paper priority for each type of printing paper based on the number of waiting printing requests, the use frequency, the estimated printing time, and the priority of the printing request. The printing paper exchange support device of the printing device according to (1), wherein the calculation is performed.

(6) When the maximum waiting time exceeds a predetermined allowable time, the printing paper priority calculating means prints on each type of printing paper in consideration of priority change information when the allowable time is exceeded. The printing paper exchange support device of the printing device according to the above (4) or (5), wherein the paper priority is calculated.

(7) The number of types of print paper that can be printed is larger than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and is specified based on print requests transmitted from a plurality of user terminals through a network. A print device replacement support method for a printing apparatus that performs printing on a print sheet of a type that includes a step of receiving a print request, a step of adding the received print request to a queue, and a print request in a waiting state. Calculating a priority of the printing paper for each type of printing paper; and calculating a printing paper replacement procedure for minimizing the number of times of replacement of the printing paper based on the calculated printing paper priority. A printing paper exchange support method for a printing apparatus, comprising:

(8) The number of types of print paper that can be printed is greater than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and is specified based on print requests transmitted from a plurality of user terminals through a network. A computer-readable recording medium storing a printing paper exchange support program of a printing apparatus that performs printing on printing paper of a different type, wherein the printing paper exchange assistance program receives a print request, Adding the request to the queue, calculating the priority of the print paper for each type of print paper for the waiting print request, and changing the number of print papers based on the calculated print paper priority. Calculating a replacement procedure of the printing paper to minimize the number of printing papers.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an Internet print service system equipped with a printing paper exchange support device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The Internet print service system shown in FIG. 1 is roughly divided into the Internet 1 and a designated type of printing paper (hereinafter simply referred to as “paper”) based on a printing request connected to the Internet 1 and received through the Internet 1. A printing device 3 for performing printing, a terminal 5 for an administrator (operator) connected to the printing device 3 for operating and managing the printing device 3, and a group of user terminals 7 connected to the Internet 1. Having. This Internet printing service system is, for example, a membership system, and only users U1 to Uk registered in advance
Using the user ID and the password, the user can access the printing device 3 via the Internet 1 and transmit a print request (print job) from the terminal 7 of the user. The data structure of the print request transmitted from the user terminal 7 will be described later.

The printing device 3 is capable of printing on m types of paper P1 to Pm, and has n paper cassettes 9 (for example, C1 to Cn sequentially from the top) detachably mounted simultaneously. The number of printable paper types (m) is greater than the number (n) of paper feed cassettes 9 that can be mounted simultaneously (m> m).
n). The printing device 3 includes k users U1 to U who are members.
k are connected to the respective terminals 7 through the Internet 1.

The printing device 3 has a CPU as shown in FIG.
11, a ROM 13 for storing programs, a RAM 15 for temporarily storing data, a hard disk 17 for storing data, a printer engine 19 for outputting image data on paper in accordance with print information, and for connecting the printing apparatus 3 to the Internet 1. , An interface 23 for connecting the printing apparatus 3 to the administrator terminal 5, a bus 25 for exchanging signals between the above-described units, and mounted paper cassettes C1 to Cn. The specified type of paper is supplied to the printer engine 19 from a paper feed cassette 9 storing the type of paper by a paper feed mechanism (not shown). Further, in this embodiment, all types of paper are stored in the vicinity of the printing device 3 in a state of being stored in the paper feeding cassette 9 for each type in advance, and the specified type of paper is stored in the printing device 3. If the sheet is not set, the designated type of sheet is set in the printing apparatus 3 by appropriately replacing the sheet cassette 9 by the administrator. That is, in the present embodiment, the exchange of the printing paper is performed by exchanging the paper feed cassette.

As shown in FIG. 1, the administrator terminal 5 has an operation section 27 for performing various inputs to the printing apparatus 3 and a display section 29 for performing various displays relating to the printing apparatus 3. The operation unit 27 and the display unit 29 do not need to be formed separately, and may be formed integrally as in a touch panel display, for example.

In the present embodiment, with respect to the printing paper exchange operation (ie, the operation of exchanging the paper cassette), the printing apparatus 3 exchanges the paper cassette 9 in any order for an unprocessed print job. Is automatically calculated, in other words, the optimum paper cassette replacement procedure for minimizing the number of replacements of the paper cassette 9 is automatically calculated and notified to the administrator. It has a function to do. For this reason,
As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 11 includes a system timer 31 that counts the date and time, a paper priority calculation unit 33 that calculates a paper priority described later for each type of paper, and an optimum value based on the calculated paper priority. And a cassette replacement procedure calculation unit 35 for calculating a suitable paper cassette replacement procedure. Here, the sheet priority is a value indicating the priority of the type of sheet, and is calculated by a predetermined calculation formula described later.

The CPU 11 has, in addition to the above arithmetic functions,
In addition to controlling each unit of the printing apparatus 3, the printer engine 19 converts image data included in the received print job into bitmap data that can be printed by the printer engine 19 (rasterize), and performs various layout processes as necessary. It also has a function to perform.

As shown in FIG. 3, the RAM 15 temporarily stores print requests sent from the terminals 7 of the users U1 to Uk via the Internet 1 once in a predetermined format, and a print queue 37. Paper P1 to Pm for storing print requests for the same type of paper obtained by sorting the print requests in the print waiting state stored in the printer in order of paper type.
Print queue, paper P2 Print queue, ..., paper P
m print queue), a print priority table 41 for storing information on print priority, and a paper priority table 43 for storing information on paper priority. The print queue 37 receives a new print request or
It is updated each time a print process for one print request is completed. The print requests in the print waiting state stored in the print queue 37 are sorted according to the type of paper in accordance with an instruction from the administrator, and transferred to the print queue 39 for the corresponding paper P1 to Pm. Thereby, the sheet P1
.About.Pm The contents of another print queue 39 are updated. The specific contents of the print priority table 41 and the sheet priority table 43 will be described later.

In this embodiment, the print priority table 41 and the paper priority table 43 are stored in the RAM 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to provide a ROM of a type that allows rewriting of

The hard disk 17 has an image data section 45 for storing image data, as shown in FIG.
The image data (print contents) included in the print request sent from the terminal 7 of each of the users U1 to Uk is temporarily stored in the image data section 45.

In the present embodiment, the program is stored in the ROM 13. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Part or all of the program can be stored in the hard disk 17.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a print request transmitted from the user terminal 7. As shown in FIG. Each user U
The print requests from 1 to Uk are roughly divided into a header section 47 and a data section 49 as shown in FIG. Header part 4
7 includes a service type defined in a print priority table described later, a paper type selected by the user,
The date and time when the print request was transmitted and the print information set by the user are stored. The print information includes, in addition to the number of print copies, various types of information on print modes that can be supported by the printing apparatus 3. The data section 49 stores image data as print contents. When the print request having the above structure is received by the printing device 3, the data request
Is stored in the image data section 4 in the hard disk 17.
5, and various information of the header section 47 are stored in the print queue 37 in the RAM 15 together with the image data storage position information (address in the hard disk 17).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the print priority table 41. In the present embodiment, the print priority table 41 is defined as shown in FIG. 6, and includes four service types T1 to T corresponding to print service charges.
The printing priority is set in advance for each item. As the fee increases, the value indicating the print priority increases. The print priority table 41 is stored in the RAM 1 as described above.
5 is stored. Regarding the method of selecting a service type, for example, the contents of the print priority table 41 are provided to the users U1 to Uk who are members when the user himself accesses the printing apparatus 3, and the user
The service type is selected at the time of printing request by looking at the contents. The selected service type is added to the header section 47 of the print request (see FIG. 5) and sent to the printing device 3.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the sheet priority table 43. In the present embodiment, the paper priority table 43 is defined as shown in FIG. 7, and includes 11 items for each paper type (here, five types of P1 to P5), ie, Number, maximum wait time,
Maximum wait time, priority change information when time exceeds,
Each item includes the number of times of use, the frequency of use, paper exchange load information, printing speed, estimated printing time, additional information, and paper priority. In some cases, it is not necessary to use all of the items listed here, and any items may not be used.

Here, the meaning of each item is as follows.

The number of jobs waiting to be printed is determined by the print queue 37.
Is the number of print requests for the paper type stored in the. This value is counted by a counter (not shown) for each of the sheets P1 to Pm (count value).

The maximum wait time is the wait time of the print request having the longest wait time among the print requests for the paper type stored in the print queue 37.
This value is obtained, for example, by subtracting the transmission date and time of the print request having the oldest transmission date and time from the current date and time indicated by the system timer 31 among the print requests for the paper type stored in the print queue 37 to obtain a difference time. (Calculated value).

The maximum wait time is the maximum time during which a print wait state is allowed for the paper type. This value is set in advance by the administrator (set value).

The priority change information when the permissible time is exceeded is changed when the maximum waiting time for the paper type exceeds the maximum permissible waiting time corresponding to the paper type (specifically, the paper priority is changed to a higher value. ). This value is also set in advance by the administrator (set value).

The number of times of use is the total number of print requests for the paper type received from the past reference time to the present.
This value is, for example, the total number of print requests (actual use times) for the paper type for which print processing has been completed from the past reference time to the present, and the print request for the paper type currently stored in the print queue 37. It is obtained by adding up the number (the number of jobs waiting to be printed) (calculated value).

The use frequency is a value (calculated value) representing the ratio of the number of times of use of the paper type to the total number of times of use of all paper types in percentage (%).

The sheet exchange load information is an average time required for the operation of exchanging the paper of the type, that is, the operation of exchanging the corresponding sheet cassette. This value is set in advance by the administrator (set value).

The printing speed is an average printing time per sheet of the type. This value is also set in advance by the administrator (set value).

The estimated printing time is an estimated time required to process all print requests for the paper type stored in the print queue 37. This value is obtained, for example, by multiplying the total number of prints based on all print requests for the paper type stored in the print queue 37 and the printing speed of the paper type (calculated value).

The additional information is any information (set or calculated information) necessary for calculating the paper priority, and can have a plurality of pieces. In the example shown in FIG. 7, no additional information exists.

The sheet priority is a value indicating the priority of the type of sheet, and is calculated by a predetermined calculation formula described later (calculated value). Here, the higher the value of the paper priority, the higher the priority of the paper of that type.

Next, the control operation of the printing apparatus 3 will be described with reference to the control flowcharts shown in FIGS. Here, the control flowchart shown in FIG. 8 shows a processing procedure when a print request is received from the user terminal 7 via the Internet 1, and the control flowchart shown in FIG. 10 shows a processing procedure when a sort instruction is received, and the control flowchart shown in FIG. 10 shows a processing procedure when a print execution instruction for each type of paper is received from the administrator terminal 5. The control flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 are stored as control programs in the ROM 13 and are executed by the CPU 11.

First, the control operation of the printing apparatus 3 when receiving a print request will be described with reference to the control flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S100, it is determined whether a print request from any user terminal 7 has been received through the Internet interface 21. If the result of this determination is that a print request has been received from the user (S
100: YES), the process proceeds to step S110, and if a print request from the user has not been received (S100: N)
O) Wait until a print request is received.

In step S110, step S100
The print request received by the print queue 3 in the RAM 15
7, the processing procedure shown in FIG. 8 ends. More specifically, the image data of the data section 49 of the print request is stored in the image data section 45 of the hard disk 17, and the various information of the header section 47 of the print request is stored in the image data storage position information (in the hard disk 17). address)
At the same time, they are sequentially stored in the print queue 37 in the RAM 15.

The administrator can always display the status of the printing apparatus 3 on the display unit 29 of the terminal 5 by operating the operation unit 27 of the terminal 5. For example, the administrator operates the predetermined key operation to change the status of the currently available paper feed cassettes C1 to Cn and the current print queue 3.
7 can be displayed simultaneously on the screen, and the contents of the print priority table 41 and the paper priority table 43 can be displayed. Further, the administrator sorts the print requests stored in the print queue 37 for each type of paper by a predetermined key operation (as a result, the content of the corresponding print queue 39 for each paper is updated), The number and list can be displayed.

Next, the control operation of the printing apparatus 3 when receiving the queue sort instruction will be described with reference to the control flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S200, it is determined whether or not a queue sort instruction has been received from the manager terminal 5 through the interface 23. If the result of this determination is that a queue sort instruction has been received from the administrator (S20
0: YES), the process proceeds to step S210, and if no queue sort instruction has been received from the administrator (S200:
NO), and wait until a queue sort instruction is received.

In step S210, a paper priority is calculated for each type of paper based on the print priority table 41 and the paper priority table 43. In this calculation process, among the eleven items of the sheet priority table 43, the number of print waiting jobs, the maximum waiting time, the number of uses, the use frequency,
Calculations are performed for the six items of the estimated printing time and the paper priority. Then, the contents of the sheet priority table 43 are updated based on the calculation result. In calculating the last sheet priority, the priority of each print request (print priority) is also taken into consideration, so the print priority table 41 is referred to based on the service type information included in the print request. Then, the total of the print priorities (total print priorities) corresponding to all the print requests in the print waiting state for the paper type is also calculated.

The calculation formula of each item is as follows, for example. Here, an arbitrary type of paper is set to Px (x =
1, 2,..., M).

Px number of print waiting jobs = counter value for paper Px (number of print requests in print waiting state) Px maximum waiting time = (current date and time) − (transmission date and time of print requests in print waiting state for paper Px (The transmission date and time of the oldest print request) Px use frequency = Px actual use frequency + Px print waiting job number Px use frequency = Px use frequency / (P1 to Pm total use frequency) × 100 Px estimated print time = Px print speed × ( Px paper priority = α + β + γ (where γ is added only when the condition of Px maximum waiting time> Px maximum waiting allowable time is satisfied) Here, α = (Px number of print waiting jobs × d1) + (Px usage frequency ×
d2) + (Px estimated printing time × d3) β = total printing priority × d4 γ = (priority change information when Px permissible time is exceeded) × d5 where d1 to d5 are arbitrary coefficients which can be set in the system It is.

Then, in step S220, what kind of paper is assigned to the paper feed cassettes C1 to Cn currently mounted in the printing apparatus 3, in other words,
Information on which type of paper is currently set in the printing apparatus 3 (hereinafter referred to as “cassette allocation paper information”) is acquired. Here, as described above, since the type of paper stored in each paper feed cassette is determined,
By identifying the paper feed cassette by an appropriate means, it is possible to obtain information on paper allocated to the cassette.
The number of types of paper that can be simultaneously set in the printing apparatus 3 (that is, the number of paper cassettes 9 that can be simultaneously mounted in the printing apparatus 3) is hereinafter referred to as “maximum number of paper sets”.
Call. Here, when the maximum number of paper sets is three (n
= 3) as an example.

Then, in step S230, based on the Px (x = 1, 2,..., M) paper priority calculated in step S210 and the cassette-allocated paper information obtained in step S220, paper replacement, that is, paper feeding is performed. Determine whether the cassette needs to be replaced. Specifically, first, the sheet priority is assigned to each sheet Px in the order of higher sheet priority. Then, for each paper type from the top paper type having the highest paper priority order to the paper type having the paper priority order equal to the maximum number of paper sets, the current cassette allocation paper information is sequentially referred to. At the same time, it is checked whether or not the type of paper is currently set in the printing device 3. If the type of paper is not set, the paper needs to be set in the printing device 3, that is, it is necessary to replace the paper. Is determined to be present. An example of the content of the sheet replacement determination process is as shown in FIG.

In step S240, it is determined whether or not the paper needs to be replaced by confirming the contents of the determination result in step S230. As a result of this determination, if the paper needs to be replaced (S240: YES), the process proceeds to step S250, and if it is not necessary (S24).
0: NO), and immediately terminates the processing procedure shown in FIG.

In step S250, step S230
For the paper type determined to require the paper replacement in the paper replacement determination process, a notification that the paper should be replaced is transmitted to the administrator terminal 5. More specifically, for a paper type determined to require paper replacement, the type of paper can be used by the printing device 3.
The information of the paper cassette storing the paper of the type is transmitted to the administrator terminal 5 through the interface 23 as the recommended paper cassette information for replacement. Preferably, at this time, the recommended paper feed cassette information includes not only the paper feed cassette to be mounted on the printing apparatus 3 but also the printing apparatus 3.
The information about the paper cassette to be taken out from the printer is also included.
The paper cassette to be taken out of the printing apparatus 3 at the time of paper exchange is, for example, a paper cassette that stores the paper type having the lowest paper priority order among the paper types currently allocated.

Thereafter, the administrator terminal 5 having received the recommended replacement sheet cassette information displays the recommended replacement sheet cassette information (the combination of the sheet cassette to be mounted and the sheet cassette to be removed) on the display unit 29. Display and notify the administrator of the recommended paper cassette to be replaced. In accordance with the contents of this notification, the administrator replaces the paper feed cassette, that is, replaces the paper.

In the present embodiment, step S22
Although the paper priority calculation process of 0 is performed when the queue sort instruction is received, the present invention is not limited to this.
It may be performed when a print request is received. In this case, step S
The paper priority calculation process corresponding to 220 is performed after the process of step S110 shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the administrator can instruct the execution of printing for each type of paper in order to make the paper replacement work (paper feed cassette replacement work) based on the notification meaningful. This allows the administrator to perform printing collectively for each type of paper.

Next, the control operation of the printing apparatus 3 when receiving a print execution instruction for each type of paper will be described with reference to the control flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S300, it is determined whether or not a print execution instruction for each type of paper has been received from the manager terminal 5 through the interface 23. If the result of this determination is that a print execution instruction for each type of paper has been received from the administrator (S300: YES), the flow proceeds to step S310.
If a print execution instruction for each type of paper has not been received from the administrator (S300: NO), the process waits until a print execution instruction for each type of paper is received.

In step S310, the print queue 3
7 are sorted using the paper type Px (x = 1, 2,..., M) designated in the print execution instruction received in step S300 as a key, and the corresponding print requests are stored in the print standby state. The contents of the Px print queue 39 are updated.

Then, in a step S320, the paper Px print queue 39 updated in the step S310 is accessed.

Then, in a step S330, it is determined whether or not there is a print request (a print waiting job) in the print waiting state in the paper Px print queue 39 accessed in the step S320. As a result of this determination, if there is a print waiting job (S330: YES), the process proceeds to step S340, and if there is no print waiting job (S330: NO),
The processing procedure illustrated in FIG. 10 ends.

In step S340, the first print request among the print waiting print requests stored in the paper Px print queue 39 is selected, and the image data corresponding to the selected print request is stored in the image data in the hard disk 17. After reading from the unit 45 and performing processing (rasterizing, layout processing, etc.), the printer engine 19 prints according to the print information.

As a result, the administrator can efficiently schedule the paper cassette exchange (paper exchange) in accordance with the notification of the recommended paper cassette exchange from the printing apparatus 3 and increase the efficiency of the entire printing service. be able to.

Hereinafter, a procedure for replacing a sheet by a method corresponding to the present embodiment will be described in detail, in comparison with a case where the sheet is replaced by a conventional method.

Here, three sheet cassettes C1 to C3
Can be loaded at the same time, and five types of paper P1
To P5, the papers P1, P2, P3 are currently stored in the paper cassettes C1, C2, C3.
, Respectively, and six users U1 to U
It is assumed that each of the printers 6 designates an arbitrary paper type (specification is, for example, as shown in FIG. 12) and issues a print request.

First, according to the conventional sheet exchange method, since the sheets are exchanged for each user in order, eight sheet cassette exchanges are required as shown in the sheet exchange procedure of FIG.

On the other hand, if the paper is replaced under the same conditions by the method corresponding to the present embodiment, for example, FIG.
Through the processes shown in FIGS. 3 to 18, all print requests can be processed only by two sheet cassette exchanges as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, each process will be specifically described in order.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the contents of the paper priority table 41 immediately after receiving the print request from the users U1 to U6 and instructing the first queue sort (step in FIG. 9). Processing result of S210). Before the print requests from the users U1 to U6 are received, no print requests are stored in the print queue 37 and each of the paper P1 to P5 print queues 39. The values of the coefficients d1 to d5 are
0, d2 = 1, d3 = 0.1, d4 = 0, d5 = 1.

FIG. 14 shows the contents of the paper exchange determination processing immediately after the first queue sort instruction is issued based on the result (paper priority) shown in FIG. 13 (processing contents of step S230 in FIG. 9). ). In this case, since the sheets P1, P2, and P3 are assigned to the available three sheet cassettes C1 to C3 in order from the one having the highest sheet priority, the sheet exchange (sheet cassette exchange) is performed. No need. Therefore, the administrator issues a print execution instruction for each of the sheets P1, P2, and P3 without performing the sheet replacement work.

FIG. 15 shows the contents of the sheet priority table 41 immediately after the second queue sort instruction is issued after the printing process for the sheets P1, P2, P3 is completed (step S210 in FIG. 9). Processing result).

FIG. 16 shows the contents of the paper exchange determination processing immediately after the second queue sort instruction is issued based on the result (paper priority) shown in FIG. 15 (the processing contents of step S230 in FIG. 9). ). In this case, the top three paper types with the highest paper priority are P1, P2, and P4, but since the paper P4 is not currently assigned, the paper cassette for the paper P3 at the lower position C3 is taken out and the paper P4 is removed. The administrator is notified that the paper cassette should be replaced with the paper cassette (see step S250 in FIG. 9). In response to this notification, the administrator replaces the paper cassette C3 at the lower position with a paper cassette for the paper P4 as a first paper replacement operation, and then issues a print execution instruction for the paper P4.

FIG. 17 shows the contents of the sheet priority table 41 immediately after the third queue sort instruction is issued after the printing process for the sheet P4 is completed (the processing result of step S210 in FIG. 9).

FIG. 18 shows the contents of the paper exchange determination process immediately after the third cue sort instruction is issued based on the result (paper priority) shown in FIG. 17 (the processing content of step S230 in FIG. 9). ). In this case, the top three paper types with the highest paper priority are P1, P2, and P5, but since the paper P5 is not currently assigned, the paper cassette for the paper P4 at the lower position C3 is taken out and the paper P5 is removed. The administrator is notified that the paper cassette should be replaced with the paper cassette (see step S250 in FIG. 9). In response to this notification, the administrator replaces the paper cassette C3 at the lower position with the paper cassette for the paper P5 as a second paper replacement operation, and then issues a print execution instruction for the paper P5.

FIG. 19 summarizes the above results, and shows the procedure of paper exchange when paper exchange is performed by a method corresponding to the present embodiment. As described above, according to the method according to the present embodiment, only two paper cassette exchanges are required, and the number of paper exchanges by the administrator is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional paper exchange method. Therefore, the load of the paper replacement work of the administrator is reduced, and the printing process can be completed in the shortest time as a whole.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is most efficient to replace the paper cassette 9 in any order in response to an unprocessed print request for various types of paper received from the user via the Internet 1 at random. Is automatically calculated and the administrator is notified of the optimal paper cassette replacement procedure (recommended paper cassette information to be replaced), so that the number of times the paper cassette 9 needs to be replaced is minimized, and The efficiency of the replacement work can be improved. As a result, the load on the administrator for the replacement work can be reduced, and the print processing can be completed in the shortest time as a whole.

When the computer is used as described above, the operation of the printing apparatus 3 is performed according to the above-described processing procedure (FIG. 8 to FIG. 8).
A predetermined program describing (see FIG. 10)
The predetermined program is executed by a computer-readable recording medium (for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-RO).
M, etc.). in this case,
The program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to the hard disk 17 and stored. In addition, the predetermined program may be provided, for example, as application software that executes the above-described processing independently, or may be incorporated in the software of the printing apparatus 3 as a function of the printing apparatus 3.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the print request is received through the Internet 1 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention is also applicable to a case where another arbitrary network form such as described above is used.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case in which the paper exchange is performed by exchanging the paper feed cassette has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the paper The present invention is also applicable to a case where the paper exchange is performed by exchanging the paper itself stored in the cassette.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Calculates the priority of printing paper for each type of printing paper in response to print requests for printing various types of printing paper from multiple users received at random through the network, and minimizes the number of times printing paper is replaced Since the procedure for changing the printing paper is calculated, the number of times of changing the printing paper is minimized,
The efficiency of the printing paper exchange operation by the operator can be improved, and the printing process can be completed in the shortest time as a whole.

Further, when notifying the operator of the optimum printing paper replacement procedure, the operator can engage in other work while waiting for the notification, thereby being freed from complicated printing paper replacement work. The burden on the operator can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an Internet print service system equipped with a printing paper exchange support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a CPU illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a RAM shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a hard disk shown in FIG. 1;

5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a print request transmitted from the user terminal shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a print priority table shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a sheet priority table shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a control flowchart for describing a control operation of the printing apparatus when a print request is received according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a control flowchart for explaining a control operation of the printing apparatus when receiving a queue sort instruction according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a control flowchart for illustrating a control operation of the printing apparatus when receiving a print execution instruction for each type of paper according to the present embodiment.

11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of a sheet replacement determination process illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a procedure of paper replacement by a conventional method.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of a sheet priority table immediately after a first queue sort instruction is issued after a print request from a user is received by a method according to the present embodiment.

14 is a diagram illustrating the content of a paper replacement determination process immediately after a first cue sort instruction is performed based on the result (paper priority) illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows the contents of the sheet priority table immediately after the second queue sort instruction is issued after the printing process for sheets P1, P2, and P3 is completed based on the result (paper replacement determination result) shown in FIG. FIG.

16 is a diagram illustrating the content of a paper replacement determination process immediately after a second cue sort instruction is performed based on the result (paper priority) illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the contents of the sheet priority table 41 immediately after the third cue sort instruction is issued after the printing process on the sheet P4 is completed based on the result (paper replacement determination result) shown in FIG. is there.

18 is a diagram illustrating the content of a paper replacement determination process immediately after a third cue sort instruction is performed based on the result (paper priority) illustrated in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a procedure of paper replacement when paper replacement is performed by a method corresponding to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internet 3 Printer 5 Administrator Terminal 7 User Terminal 9 Paper Cassette 11 CPU 13 ROM 15 RAM 17 Hard Disk 19 Printer Engine 21 Internet Interface 23 Interface 33 Priority Calculation Unit 35 Cassette Replacement Procedure Calculation Unit 37 Print Queue 39 Print queue for each type of paper 41 Print priority table 43 Paper priority table

Continuation of the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 BB10 BB15 HH03 HJ03 HK07 HK14 HK19 HK23 HN05 HN15 5B021 AA01 BB04 CC04 CC05 EE01 KK02 5B089 GA21 JA35 LB12

Claims (8)

[Claims] The number of types of print paper that can be printed is greater than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and is specified based on a print request transmitted from a plurality of user terminals via a network. A printing paper exchange support device of a printing device that performs printing on a type of printing paper, a receiving unit that receives a print request, a storage unit that stores a queue of received print requests, and a print request in a waiting state. , A printing paper priority calculation unit that calculates the priority of printing paper for each type of printing paper, and a printing paper replacement procedure that minimizes the number of printing paper replacements based on the calculated printing paper priority And a printing paper replacement procedure calculating means. 2. The printing paper exchange support apparatus for a printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying an operator of the printing apparatus of the calculated printing paper exchange procedure. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network includes the Internet. 4. The printing paper priority calculating means calculates printing paper priority for each type of printing paper based on the number of waiting print requests, the use frequency, and the estimated printing time. A printing paper exchange support device for the printing device according to claim 1. 5. The printing paper priority calculation unit calculates printing paper priority for each type of printing paper based on the number of waiting printing requests, usage frequency, estimated printing time, and priority of printing requests. 2. The printing paper exchange support device for a printing device according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The printing paper priority calculating means, when the maximum waiting time exceeds a predetermined allowable time, further taking into account the priority change information when the allowable time is exceeded, the printing paper priority for each type of printing paper. The printing paper exchange support device for a printing device according to claim 4, wherein the priority is calculated. 7. The number of types of print paper that can be printed is larger than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and the number of print papers specified on the basis of print requests transmitted from a plurality of user terminals via a network. A printing paper exchange support method for a printing apparatus that performs printing on a type of printing paper, comprising: receiving a print request; adding the received print request to a queue; and printing the print request in a waiting state. Calculating the priority of the printing paper for each type of paper, and calculating a printing paper replacement procedure that minimizes the number of times of replacement of the printing paper based on the calculated printing paper priority. A printing paper exchange support method for a printing apparatus, comprising: 8. The number of types of print paper that can be printed is larger than the number of paper cassettes that can be simultaneously loaded, and the number of print papers specified based on print requests transmitted from a plurality of user terminals via a network. A computer-readable recording medium storing a printing paper exchange support program of a printing apparatus that performs printing on various types of printing paper, the printing paper exchange assistance program receiving a print request, To the queue, calculating the priority of the print paper for each type of print paper for the print request in the waiting state, and, based on the calculated print paper priority, reducing the number of times the print paper is replaced. Calculating a replacement procedure for the printing paper to be minimized.