JP2003303068A - Image output system, image output method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image output technique which permits high speed printout when many people share an image output device using network connections. <P>SOLUTION: An image output method which, with a client device capable of generating print data in a plurality of operation modes to generate print data in any of the modes, sends the generated print data to a printer and outputs an image according to the print data, the method being constituted such that during the printout, the client device makes an inquiry about the operating state of the printer at first, if busy information is received, the device generates each page data from a first page in a low data mode, and if ready information is sent back from the printer, the device generates data of a page in generation without modification in the low data mode and generates data of the next page and afterward in a command mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image output technique in which a plurality of client devices output images using a common image output device, and more particularly, the client device generates print data in any of a plurality of operation modes. However, the present invention relates to an image output technique capable of sending the print data to an image output device and outputting an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with respect to print output (image output), a method has been proposed in which speed-up is realized by devising a page data generation method. Specifically, P
The DL (page description language) is provided with a plurality of operation modes, and the method of generating page data is changed for each operation mode. The operation mode can be roughly classified into a command mode and a raw data mode. In this command mode, data forming a page is composed of a plurality of drawing commands, for example, rectangles, circles, Bezier curves, etc., and is generally installed in most PDLs. On the other hand, the raw data mode is a process that is usually performed on the printer (image output device) side, for example,
Color conversion, scaling processing, raster operation (rasterization processing), etc. are performed on the client device, and only the result is sent to the printer side as raw data (rasterized data). Generally, both modes have the following characteristics. Command mode Raw data mode -------------------------------------------------- Load amount Low High Load amount on the printer side High Low Low ------------------------- Since the data transfer speed between the client device and the printer is relatively low and the CPU processing speed of the client device is also low, many PDL processing systems are equipped with only the command mode. However, recently, the speed of the CPU of the client device has been remarkably increased, and high-speed networks have become popular, and the problem of the amount of generated data is disappearing. Therefore, it is necessary to equip the client device with both modes. The method of selectively using the method is becoming common. However, in the past, it was difficult to improve the overall output time by properly using both modes. This is because when the print data for all pages is generated in the command mode, the processing on the client device side ends early, but there is a problem that the load on the printer side becomes heavy. Conversely, when print data for all pages is generated in the low data mode. Then, there is a problem that the processing time on the client device side is long. Therefore, in the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-314425, in order to solve this problem, the capability ratio between the CPU on the client device side and the CPU on the printer side is appropriately set between the client device and the printer. We tried to distribute the load.

[0003]

However, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-314425 mentioned above is effective in a printer or the like which is connected to a client device on a one-to-one basis. Therefore, there is a problem that a printer shared by a large number of people cannot necessarily perform load distribution well. Specifically, this is the case when the printer is already processing a job of another client device and is in a busy state. further,
In this case, the end time of the job being processed is generally unpredictable, so even if the load is simply distributed by the CPU power ratio or the job required time, the expected effect cannot be obtained. In addition, laser printers often enter a sleep state (also called a power saving mode or a power saving mode). In this case, the recovery time to the ready state becomes a problem, so the CPU power is simply Even if you try to balance the load by ratio, it does not go as you expected. An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem of the conventional technique, and specifically, enables high-speed printing output when a large number of people share an image output device (printer) by network connection. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image output technology for

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the invention of claim 1, a client device capable of generating print data of a plurality of operation modes,
In an image output system including an image output device that outputs an image according to the print data generated by the client device, and a communication unit that communicatively connects the client device and the image output device, the client device includes: In addition, when the print data is generated, the operating state of the image output device is detected, and the operation mode is determined according to the detected operating state information. According to the second aspect of the invention, the client device capable of generating print data in a plurality of operation modes generates the print data in any one of the operation modes,
The generated print data is sent to the image output device, and in the image output device, in the image output method of outputting an image according to the print data, the client device detects the operating state of the image output device at the time of print data generation, It is characterized in that the operation mode is determined according to the detected operating state information. According to a third aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the operating state information includes busy state information indicating whether the image output device is busy. In addition, claim 4
In the invention described in claim 2 or 3, the invention is characterized in that the operating state information includes information indicating whether or not the image output device is in the sleep state.

According to the invention of claim 5, claim 2
In the invention described above, possible operation modes include a command mode in which print data is composed of a drawing command group, a band data mode in which print data is rasterized band data, and page data in which print data is rasterized page data. It is characterized in that it is configured to include at least one or more of the modes. The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2 or 5, the operation mode is changed in page or band units. Further, in the invention according to claim 7, the client device generates print data in any one of the plurality of operation modes, sends the generated print data to the image output device, and receives the print data. In an image output method in which an output device outputs an image according to the print data, when print data is generated in the client device, print data is first generated in the first operation mode, and the print data is transmitted to the image output device. Next, the print data is generated in the second operation mode and transmitted to the image output device. Further, the print data according to the first operation mode and the second operation mode are generated on the image output device. It is characterized in that the print data is integrated and output. Also,
In the invention described in claim 8, in the invention described in claim 7, the first operation mode is a command mode in which the print data is composed of a drawing command group, and the second operation mode is the print data in It is characterized in that the band data mode is rasterized band data or the page data mode is rasterized page data. In the invention according to claim 9,
In the invention according to claim 7 or claim 8, the unit of each print data at the time of integration is a page or a band. The invention described in claim 10 is characterized in that the program executed on the information processing device is programmed according to the image output method according to any one of claims 2 to 9. Further, the invention according to claim 11 is characterized in that the program according to claim 10 is stored in a storage medium storing the program.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image output system showing a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the image output system according to the present embodiment includes:
The printer 1, which is an image output device, and each client device 2 are connected via the network 3, which is the described communication means. Each client device 2 includes a printer driver, which is a program for performing control corresponding to the printer 1 used, a network communication program, a print job management program, and the like (see FIG. 1), and these programs are always operated. In the following description, it is assumed that the printer 1 is a color printer (monochrome is also acceptable) and the number of output pages is four. Figure 4
The configuration of the printer 1 of this embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the printer 1 includes an information processing unit (CPU, etc.) 11 for controlling information processing and overall operation, a RAM for storing print data and various programs, a hard disk device, a PDL processing system, and an initial system. An information storage unit 12 including a ROM for storing setting values, an I / O controller 13 including a network interface for performing communication processing, a display / input device unit (display / operation panel, switches, etc.) 14, a recording paper A print engine 15 for printing (printing), a paper feed / discharge unit 16 for feeding and discharging recording paper, and an engine controller 17 for controlling the print engine 15 and the paper feed / discharge unit 16 are provided. It should be noted that, in FIG. 4, a frame with a dotted line means that it is outside the printer 1. The status notification from the printer 1 to the client device 2 is performed via the network interface.

The operation timings of the printer 1 and the client device 2 during printing will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 2 and 3, the horizontal direction means the time axis, of which the time axis of the client device means the time of generation of print job data such as print data generation, and for printers, the print job data is transmitted via the network. It means the time to process the print job data and output the image after it is received. Further, since the network transfer time of print job data is sufficiently smaller than the generation and processing of print job data, the description is omitted. First, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram in the case of using the conventional printing method, and it is assumed that the printer 1 is in a busy state at the time when the client device 2 starts generating print job data. However, since the client device 2 directly generates (creates) the print job data in the command mode, the printer 1
After receiving the print job data, takes a long time to process the output of each page. The page data received by the printer is sequentially subjected to processing such as layout adjustment, color conversion, scaling processing, rasterization processing, object superposition, etc., as in a general printer, and the processed data is stored in a buffer memory. After storing at least one page of data in the buffer memory, the data is transferred to the engine controller and printing is executed. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the operation state is confirmed from the client device 2 to the printer 1 via the network before printing. As shown in FIG. 3, since the printer 1 is busy in this example,
The printer 1 once sends the busy information to the client device 2
The client device 2 is notified of the ready status again when the status returns to the ready status. As a result, the client device 2 that receives the busy information first generates each page data from the first page in the raw data mode.
In the illustrated example, the ready information is returned from the printer 1 in the middle of the third page, so the data of the third page is created in the raw data mode as it is, and the page data is created in the normal command mode from the data of the fourth page. To do. In addition,
In the above description, the switching between the raw data mode and the command mode may be performed not only in page units but also in band units in which one page is divided into a plurality of areas. That is, as the operation mode, for example, the page data mode and the band data mode can be used for the raw data mode in which the print data is the rasterized raw data.

Thus, according to this embodiment, even when the printer 1 is busy, the client device uses the low data mode to precede the process which is burdened by the CPU of the client device. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the total time from the generation of print job data in the client apparatus 2 to the output of the printed matter (see FIGS. 2 and 3). In the image output method of this embodiment, the longer the busy time,
The larger the total number of pages and the more complicated the image information included, the more effective the operation. Also, in the above,
The busy state includes not only the case of processing a print job input from another client apparatus 2, but also the process of processing a job self-input by the printer itself. For example,
These include self-checks, toner replenishment jobs for laser printers, and color correction jobs (also called auto color correction). These self-submission jobs are also submitted when the printer power is turned on.
It is also automatically input when a predetermined time has elapsed or when printing for a predetermined number of pages has been performed. Further, in the configuration in which the switching between the raw data mode and the command mode is performed in page units, the overhead associated with the mode switching is
It is extremely small for both the printer side receiving the job data, and the man-hours for modifying the printer driver on the client device to realize the image output method of this embodiment are also very small. Further, similarly to the above description, even when the operating state of the printer 1 is in the sleep state (in the power saving mode), the total time until the output of the printed matter is obtained can be shortened. That is, the printer 1
Is sleeping, until
The client device 2 generates print data in the raw data mode.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The system configuration of this embodiment and the hardware configuration of the printer 1 are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. FIG. 5 shows a processing flow in the printer 1 of this embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows operation timings of the printer 1 and the client device 2. In FIG. 6, the horizontal direction means the time axis, of which the client device means the print job data generation time, and the printer receives the print job data via the network and then prints the print job data. It means the time to process and output an image. Note that the network transfer time of print job data is sufficiently smaller than the generation / processing of print job data, so the description is omitted. In this embodiment, first, the client device 2 generates print data for all pages in the command mode, and the printer 1
Send to. Next, the client device 2 regenerates the print data of one page or a plurality of pages in the raw data mode and sends it to the printer 1. At that time, the page data is not necessarily created in the raw data mode from the first page. Do not recreate. This is because it can be expected that the output of the first page has already been completed on the printer side. For example, in the example shown in FIG.
The page data is recreated in the raw data mode only for the third and fourth pages, which are the latter half of all pages. The content of each page data (print job data) is divided into a data body and a header part. In the data body, the data is described independently for each page regardless of the operation mode. In the header section, the client name, client OS, driver name / version, job management ID
Etc. are embedded.

Here, if the processing capacity of the CPU on the printer side and the processing capacity of the CPU on the client device side are substantially the same, the print job data is regenerated later in the low data mode on the client device. There is no point in doing it. However, the processing capability of the CPU of a recent client device is much higher than that of the CPU on the printer side. Even if the print job data is regenerated again in the low data mode later, in many cases, especially when a lot of color bitmap data is included, the completion of the job data generation is more complete than the completion of print output on the printer side. early. In the example of FIG. 6, when the data creation of the fourth page in the raw data mode on the client device is completed, the print output of the third page is not yet completed on the printer. That is, on the client device,
The redundant data generation method of generating print job data in different modes can speed up the entire printing process. By generating and transferring print job data in the command mode first, the idle time of the CPU on the printer side can be shortened,
By integrating print job data generated later in the low data mode on the printer, the total print processing time can be shortened.

The printer 1 sequentially processes the received page data, such as layout adjustment, color conversion, scaling processing, rasterization processing, and object superposition, in the same manner as a general printer. After the data is stored in the buffer memory and at least one page of data is stored in the buffer, the data is transferred to the engine controller 17 and printing is executed. This cycle is repeated for each page to perform printing. At the time when the print job data sent in the low data mode, which is sent later, is started to be received, as described above, in most cases, it is input first. The output of the job in the specified command mode is not completed for all pages. Therefore, the two print job data are integrated inside the printer.
Specifically, for each page break, the presence / absence of other print job data is checked, and the job ID (identification code)
A check is performed, and if the IDs of both parties match, the jobs are integrated. Integration is performed from the next page (4 in the example of FIG. 6).
The data of the (page) is generated by printing using the data in the print job data in the low data mode sent later. Further, since the page data corresponding to the page which has already been printed out at this point is unnecessary, it is discarded on the printer. In the example of FIG. 6, on the client device, the data of the fourth page created in the command mode and the data of the third page created in the raw data mode are discarded without processing on the printer. If print output of all pages is completed at the time when the print job data in the low data mode sent to the printer 1 later is received, the print job data in the low data mode will be displayed on the printer in the same manner. Discarded without printing.

The processing flow will be described below with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the client device 2 first sends the command mode print job data and then the raw data mode print job data as jobs of the same ID. Is received as another job. In the printer 1, when the print job data of the first job (this is JOB1) is received, the information processing section 11 sets the value n of the page counter provided in a predetermined area of the RAM to 1 (S1),
Output processing for the first page of JOB1 is performed (S2). Then, when this output process ends, the value of n is incremented by 1 (S
3). Then, the information processing unit 11 determines that another job (JOB2
It is determined whether or not there is an interrupt (S4). If there is no JOB2 interrupt (No in S4), J
Repeat from step S2 for the next page of OB1. On the other hand, if there is a JOB2 interrupt during the first page or the second and subsequent pages (Y in S4).
es), it is determined whether or not the IDs of JOB1 and JOB2 match (S5). If they do not match (N in S5,
o) Since there is no need for integration, if the output processing of JOB1 is not completed up to the last page (No in S6), repeat from step S2, and if completed (Yes in S6).
s), JOB1 end processing is performed (S7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the IDs of JOB1 and JOB2 are the same (S
5) Yes), it is determined whether the output processing of all pages for JOB1 is completed (S8), and if it is completed (Yes in S8), JOB1 and JOB2 are determined.
End processing is performed (S9). On the other hand, if it is determined that the output process of JOB1 is not completed (No in S8), the process of integrating JOB1 and JOB2 is performed as described above (S10), and JOB2 is determined according to the value of the page counter. The output processing for the nth page is performed (S1
1). Then, if the output processing of the page is completed, the value of n is incremented by 1 (S12), it is determined whether the output of JOB2 is completed for all pages (S13), and if it is not completed (No in S13). ), And repeats from step S11 for the next page. If the output processing for all pages is completed (Yes in S13), JOB1 and JOB are output.
The ending process of B2 is performed (S14). Thus, according to this embodiment, the print data in the low data mode generated in the client device 2 is used as the print data for the latter part of the page without any state detection between the client device 2 and the printer 1. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the total time from the generation of print job data in the client device 2 to the output of the printed matter. The printing method according to this embodiment works more effectively as the number of pages increases and the included image information becomes more complicated. Further, since the state detection is not performed between the client device 2 and the printer 1, the number of man-hours for modifying the printer driver on the client device is small, and it can be realized very easily. Further, in the above description, the printer 1 is a color printer, but it can be expanded to a monochrome printer. Further, the switching between the raw data mode and the command mode may be performed not only in page units but also in band units. Also,
A printer in which a program for a printer and a program for a client device, which are programmed according to the image output method as described above, are stored in removable storage media, and the storage media cannot perform image output according to the present invention. According to the present invention using the information processing device by mounting it on the information processing device and the client information processing device for use, or by transferring such a program to such information processing device via a network. It is also possible to output an image.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention,
According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the client device generates print data, the generated print data is sent to the image output device, and the image output device outputs the image according to the print data, the print data generation is performed. At this time, the operating state of the image output device is detected by the client device, and the operation mode is determined according to the detected operating state information. Therefore, for example, if the image output device is in a busy state, the client device It is possible to select an operation mode that reduces the load on the client and the load on the client device. Therefore, when a large number of people share the image output device through a network connection, appropriate load sharing according to the situation is possible. As a result, high-speed printing (print) output becomes possible. In the invention according to claim 3, in the invention according to claim 2, since the operating state information includes busy state information indicating whether or not the image output device is busy, if the image output device is in the busy state. The client device can select an operation mode in which the load on the image output device is light and the load on the client device is heavy. Therefore, when a plurality of people share the image output device by network connection, It is possible to appropriately share the load according to the result, and as a result,
High-speed print output becomes possible. Further, in the invention according to claim 4, in the invention according to claim 2 or claim 3, since the operation state information includes information indicating whether or not the image output device is in the sleep state, the image output device is in the sleep state. In this case, the client device can select an operation mode in which the load on the image output device is light and the load on the client device is heavy, and therefore high-speed print output is possible. In the invention according to claim 5,
In the invention according to claim 2, the possible operation modes are a command mode in which print data is composed of a drawing command group, a band data mode in which print data is rasterized band data, and print data in rasterized page data. Since at least one of the page data modes is included, for example, the command mode is used to reduce the load on the client device,
The load on the image output device can be reduced by using the band data mode or the page data mode.

In the invention according to claim 6, the invention according to claim 2
Alternatively, in the invention of claim 5, the operation mode can be changed in page or band units. Therefore, for example, when the busy state of the image output device is released, the operation mode is relatively quickly changed from the low data mode to the command mode. It becomes possible to operate according to the situation, such as switching to. Further, in the invention described in claim 7, when the print data is generated in the client device, the print data is first generated in the first operation mode, the print data is transmitted to the image output device, and then the second operation is performed. The print data is generated according to the mode and transmitted to the image output device, and the print data according to the first operation mode and the print data according to the second operation mode are integrated and output on the image output device. Therefore, for example, by setting the first operation mode to the command mode and the second operation mode to the low data mode, both can share the load even if the client device does not detect the operating state of the image output device. Print jobs can be performed, and therefore high-speed print output is possible. According to the invention of claim 8, claim 7
In the described invention, the first operation mode is a command mode in which print data is composed of a drawing command group, and the second operation mode is a band data mode in which print data is band data that has been rasterized, Alternatively, since the page data mode is the rasterized page data, both can share the load and perform one print job even if the client device does not detect the operating state of the image output device. Print output is possible. Further, in the invention described in claim 9, in the invention described in claim 7 or 8, the unit of each print data at the time of integration is a page or a band.
When the image output device receives the print data in the light load mode, it can relatively quickly switch to the print output using the print data, and therefore the print output can be speeded up accordingly. In addition, claim 10
In the described invention, since the program programmed according to the image output method according to any one of claims 2 to 9 can be executed on the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus can be used to execute the program. The effect of the invention according to any one of claims 9 can be obtained. Further, in the invention described in claim 11, since the program for the image output device and the program for the client device according to claim 10 can be stored in the respective removable storage media, the respective storage media have been used so far. By mounting the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 9 on an information processing apparatus for an image output apparatus and a client information processing apparatus that cannot output an image,
Using the information processing device, the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 2 to 9 can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image output system showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an image output method showing an example of a conventional technique.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an image output method showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram of a printer showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow chart of an image output method showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an image output method showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 printer 2 Client device 3 network 11 Information Processing Department 12 Information storage 13 I / O controller 17 Engine controller

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A client device capable of generating print data in a plurality of operation modes, an image output device for outputting an image in accordance with the print data generated by the client device, the client device and the image output device. In the image output system, the client device detects an operating state of the image output device at the time of generating print data, and the operation is performed according to the detected operating state information. An image output system having a configuration for determining a mode. 2. A client device capable of generating print data in a plurality of operation modes, generates print data in any one of the operation modes, sends the generated print data to an image output device, and outputs the image output device. In the apparatus, in the image output method of outputting an image according to the generated print data, the client device detects an operating state of the image output device at the time of generating print data, and the client device detects the operating state according to the detected operating state information. An image output method characterized by determining an operation mode. 3. The image output method according to claim 2, wherein
An image output method, wherein the operating state information includes busy state information indicating whether or not the image output device is busy. 4. The image output method according to claim 2, wherein the operating state information includes information indicating whether the image output device is in a sleep state. 5. The image output method according to claim 2, wherein
Possible operation modes include at least a command mode in which print data is composed of drawing commands, a band data mode in which print data is rasterized band data, and a page data mode in which print data is rasterized page data. An image output method comprising one or more. 6. The image output method according to claim 2, wherein the operation mode is changed in page or band units. 7. An image output device in which a client device generates print data in any one of a plurality of operation modes, sends the generated print data to an image output device, and receives the generated print data. In the image output method for outputting an image according to the generated print data, when generating print data in the client device, first, print data is generated in the first operation mode, and the print data is transmitted to the image output device. And then
Print data is generated in the second operation mode and transmitted to the image output device, and further, print data according to the first operation mode and printing according to the second operation mode on the image output device. An image output method characterized by integrating and outputting data. 8. The image output method according to claim 7,
The first operation mode is a command mode in which print data is composed of a drawing command group, and the second operation mode is a band data mode in which print data is rasterized band data, or rasterized An image output method characterized by being in a page data mode which is page data of. 9. The image output method according to claim 7, wherein the unit of each print data at the time of integration is a page or a band. 10. A program executed on an information processing device, which is programmed according to the image output method according to any one of claims 2 to 9. 11. A storage medium storing a program, wherein the program according to claim 10 is stored.