JP2015075822A - Print control system, print control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically distribute a print job and to rightly translate intermediate data into a printer language even in the case where a special font is used.SOLUTION: A client computer produces image data from document data included in a print request, extracts print setting information and information about the client computer from a print request, produces intermediate data therefrom and transmits the intermediate data to a server component. A server computer receives the intermediate data, collates the intermediate data with one or more setting conditions, determines a printer that becomes an output destination, distributes received image data to output waiting data accumulation means corresponding to the printer that becomes the output destination in accordance with the determined output destination, and translates the distributed image data into a language that the printer can interpret within the output waiting data accumulation means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control system for automatically distributing a print job to each output destination, a print control method, and a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

  As a technique for performing printing using a printer on a network, a technique called point-and-print is known. This technique is capable of performing printing using a printer driver installed on a print server connected to a network even if a printer driver is not installed on a client computer that instructs printing.

  Point-and-print has two methods of use: a method called client-side rendering and a method called server-side rendering. The former method is a method in which conversion to a printer language is performed on the client computer side when printed data is output to an actual printer by paper. The latter method is a method in which the conversion to the printer language is performed on the print server side. Here, the printer language is a language for describing an image to be output to a printer and instructing the printer.

  In server-side rendering, a client computer instructing printing creates intermediate data (for example, an extended metafile) and sends it to a print server. The print server uses a printer language based on font information included in the intermediate data. Convert to

  As a technique using this server-side rendering, a system and a method for automatically distributing a print job to an output destination printer based on a specific rule using a printer on a network have been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

  However, in the above technique using server-side rendering, there is a problem that when special fonts included in the intermediate data are not mounted on the print server, the intermediate data cannot be correctly converted into a printer language.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is a print control system that receives a print request output from an application execution unit in response to a print instruction from a client computer, selects a printing device connected to a network, and executes printing. The print control system includes a server computer and a client computer,
The server computer
Image data for each page is generated from document data included in the print request received from the application execution means, print setting information and information about the client computer are extracted from the print request, and image data, print setting information, and information about the client computer are extracted. Intermediate data generating means for generating intermediate data composed of: and intermediate data transmitting means for transmitting the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generating means to the client computer,
The client computer
Intermediate data receiving means for receiving intermediate data transmitted from the intermediate data transmitting means, at least one preset setting condition including at least one piece of information relating to the printing apparatus, print setting information, and client computer; The intermediate data received by the intermediate data receiving means according to the output destination determined by the output destination determining means and the output destination determined by the output destination determining means by collating with the intermediate data received by the data receiving means Distributing means for distributing the image data to the output waiting data storage means corresponding to the printing apparatus as the output destination, and converting the image data distributed by the distributing means into a language interpretable by the printing apparatus in the output waiting data storage means A printing control system is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the conversion is performed on the client side, even if the special font included in the intermediate data is not mounted on the server, the intermediate data can be correctly converted into the printer language.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network system including a client computer and a server as a print control system of the present embodiment. The figure which illustrated the hardware constitutions of the client computer shown in FIG. The functional block diagram of the existing printing control system. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a print control system that performs conventional server-side rendering. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the print control system of the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of print control executed by the print control system shown in FIG. 5. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by a virtual printer driver. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for monitoring the job processing status of a print job.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network system including a client computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a client) and a server computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a server) as a print control system of the present embodiment. This network system includes four clients 10 to 13, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 14, laser printers 15 to 17, and a server 18. These devices are connected to each other via a network 19 and can communicate with each other. The MFP 14 and the laser printers 15 to 17 used as printing apparatuses are connected to a network 19 as remote printers.

  The number of clients 10 to 13 is four here, but may be one, two or three, or five or more. The MFP 14 is not limited to one, but may be two or more. Further, the laser printers 15 to 17 may be one or two, or four or more. Also, other printing printers such as an ink jet printer may be used. However, in order to perform automatic distribution, it is desirable to have a plurality of remote printers.

  The clients 10 to 13 are desktop PCs, notebook PCs, tablet PCs, etc., and are arranged in an office or the like, and each is used by each user. The clients 10 to 13 have an OS that controls the clients 10 to 13 and an application having a function of creating document data and requesting print processing. Here, the clients 10 to 13 implement an application that also has a function of creating document data, but the application that has the function of creating document data may be implemented in an application server that is provided separately. In this case, the clients 10 to 13 have only a function for requesting print processing. Therefore, the clients 10 to 13 can issue a service request as a so-called thin client, cause the application server to execute document data creation processing, receive a processing result, and request print output.

  The MFP 14 has a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a fax function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a data distribution function, and includes a plotter, a scanner, a communication I / F, and the like as hardware in order to realize the functions. Yes. As the plotter, an electrophotographic plotter similar to the laser printers 15 to 17 can be used. The MFP 14 and the laser printers 15 to 17 are equipped with a network interface (NIC), receive a print command converted into a printer language interpretable by these devices via the network 19, and print based on the print command. Execute.

  The server 18 is a PC, workstation, or the like similar to the clients 10 to 13, receives a print request from the clients 10 to 13, executes a predetermined process such as a drawing process, and functions as a print server as a remote printer Manage. Here, the server 18 has a print server function, but a print server may be provided separately.

  The network 19 can include an Ethernet (registered trademark) such as 1000Base-TX, an optical network, and a wireless network of a standard such as IEEE 802.11. The network 19 can perform mutual communication by frame communication or packet communication based on the TCP / IP protocol. The network 19 may be configured to include a wide area network such as the Internet under a secure environment such as a LAN or a VAN (Virtual Private Network).

  The print control system realizes the function when the clients 10 to 13 establish a connection with the server 18 by the point-and-print function. The connection between them can be established by RPC connection or SMB connection according to the connected device. RPC, that is, remote procedure call, is a protocol for calling and executing a program by another device connected to the network, and RPC connection is a connection using the protocol. The SMB, that is, the server message block is a protocol for realizing file sharing and printer sharing, and the SMB connection is performed using the protocol.

  The clients 10 to 13 can establish a connection by transmitting a request message or the like to the server 18 and returning a response from the server 18. In addition, the clients 10 to 13 establish a connection by, for example, specifying and executing a file name, and using a Net View command that lists computers included in the same working group or the same domain. You can also. The clients 10 to 13 and the server 18 can communicate with each other using an appropriate remote connection protocol such as RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol).

  Each user uses the clients 10 to 13 used by the user, and creates a document using an application installed therein. When each user wants to print the created document, the user activates the application and performs print settings, and the application generates a print request including the set print setting information and the document data of the created document. The print request includes information on a user registered as a user who uses the clients 10 to 13 and device information on the clients 10 to 13 as information on the client computer. Information regarding this client computer will be described below as system information.

  Here, as the print setting information, for example, paper type, paper size, paper orientation, number of sheets, presence / absence of color printing, presence / absence of double-sided printing, presence / absence of consolidated printing, number of rows, number of columns, font type, Examples include font size. Examples of system information include a user name, a device name, an IP address, and a MAC (Media Access Control) address.

  The application is executed by a CPU included in the clients 10 to 13 to function as an application execution unit. The application execution unit creates the print request and outputs the print request. The print request is output when the clients 10 to 13 receive a print instruction from the user and the application receives the print instruction from the clients 10 to 13.

  The print control system receives a print request, performs a drawing process, generates image data of an intermediate image, extracts print setting information and system information from the print request, and generates intermediate data composed of them . In addition, the print control system uses this intermediate data to determine a remote printer as an output destination, and a print functioning as output waiting data storage means for temporarily storing data for output to the determined remote printer. Distribute print jobs to the queue. The print queue converts the determined remote printer into a printer language that can be interpreted, generates a print command, and outputs the print command to the remote printer.

  The print control system identifies a remote printer to be monitored based on the output destination information, communicates with the remote printer, and monitors the job processing status of the remote printer. Then, the print control system displays information on the output destination, error information when an error occurs, information indicating that printing has ended, and the like on a display device included in the clients 10 to 13.

  As a result, print jobs can be automatically distributed, and the job processing status of print jobs can be monitored.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the clients 10 to 13. All of the clients 10 to 13 can adopt the same hardware configuration. For this reason, only the client 10 will be described here.

  The client 10 includes a CPU 20, ROM 21, RAM 22, HDD 23, communication I / F 24, external device I / F 25, external memory I / F 26, display device 27, and input device 28 as hardware. These pieces of hardware are connected to each other via a bus 29 so that data can be exchanged.

  The CPU 20 controls the entire client 10. The CPU 20 executes various programs stored in the ROM 21 and the HDD 23 and performs predetermined processing. The ROM 21 stores a boot program that performs processing from when the power is turned on until the OS is started, and a program such as a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) that controls the HDD 23, the external memory I / F 26, and the like. The HDD 23 stores an OS, a printer driver, various applications, various data, and the like. The RAM 22 is used as a work area when the CPU 20 executes the above program and performs various controls.

  The communication I / F 24 is connected to the network 19 and enables the client 10 to communicate with the other clients 11 to 13, the MFP 14, the laser printers 15 to 17, and the server 18. The communication I / F 24 may include a transceiver, and may be configured to perform wireless communication through a wireless LAN connection such as Wi-Fi.

  The external device I / F 25 connects an external device having a connection standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) or IEEE1394, and inputs / outputs data and the like. The external memory I / F 26 is connected to an external memory such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or SD card, and inputs / outputs data between the HDD 23 and the external memory. The display device 27 is a display that displays various data on a display screen, and the input device 28 is a device that receives various inputs by the user performing various input operations. As the input device 28, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, or the like can be used. The display device 27 and the input device 28 may be separate devices such as a display and a keyboard, but a device having both functions such as a touch panel may be used.

  The MFP 14, the laser printers 15 to 17, and the server 18 can also be configured to include these hardware. However, the MFP 14 further includes a plotter and a scanner in addition to these hardware, and the laser printers 15 to 17 further include a plotter in addition to these hardware. The server 18 may or may not include the external device I / F 25, the external memory I / F 26, the display device 27, and the input device 28.

  Before describing the functions of the print control system of the present embodiment and the details of the processing realized by the functions, the functional configuration of an existing print control system that performs automatic distribution will be briefly described. An existing print control system that performs automatic distribution has four functions such as a virtual printer driver, a distribution function, an output destination determination function, and a print job monitoring function, and a program for realizing these functions operates on the OS. To do. In addition to this program, the print control system includes an application that outputs a print request, a print queue, and a printer driver that operates inside the application. This program can also be a public application on the Terminal Service that is implemented on an application server or the like and used from the thin client as a thin client. The printer driver converts the printer language into a printer language that can be interpreted by a remote printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer), and outputs it to the printer as a print command.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an existing print control system that performs automatic distribution. The print control system includes, for example, a client, and includes an application execution unit 30, a virtual printer driver 31, an intermediate data storage unit 32, a distribution unit 33, an output destination determination unit 34, and a print job monitoring unit 35 as functional units. . The print control system also includes one or more print queues 36 each including a printer driver corresponding to the output destination printer 37. As shown in FIG. 3, since the printer 19 is connected to the network 19 as the three printers 37 that can be used, three print queues A to C corresponding to them are provided. Yes. Here, although it demonstrates as each function part, these function as each means.

  The application execution unit 30 is realized by the CPU executing an application on the OS, and may be mounted on the client or may be mounted on another device such as an application server. The application execution unit 30 generates document data to be printed, and outputs a print request including document data, print setting information, and system information in order to print the document data. Here, the document data is used, but other data may be used.

  The virtual printer driver 31 functions as a virtual printer driver unit, accepts a print request from the application execution unit 30 while performing the same operation as a normal printer driver, and prints a document to be printed from the print request as an intermediate image in units of pages. Image data is generated. Here, the operation similar to that of a normal printer driver is a drawing process, that is, a process of generating image data of an intermediate image for each page from the document to be printed.

  The virtual printer driver 31 extracts, from the print request, system setting information including the document name of the document, print setting information including various print settings, and information of a user operating the print control system. Then, the virtual printer driver 31 generates intermediate data composed of the generated image data, the extracted print setting information, and system information. The virtual printer driver 31 accumulates the generated intermediate data in the intermediate data accumulation unit 32 and notifies the distribution unit 33 of the accumulation.

  Upon receiving the notification, the distribution unit 33 acquires the intermediate data accumulated from the intermediate data storage unit 32, calls the output destination determination unit 34 to determine the output destination, and passes the acquired intermediate data. The output destination determination unit 34 compares the print setting information and system information constituting the intermediate data with preset setting conditions, determines an output destination that matches the setting conditions, and returns information on the output destination. . An example of the setting condition set in advance includes a condition that printing instructed by the user name “Taro” is output from the printer A.

  The output destination determination unit 34 receives the call, determines the output destination based on the passed intermediate data, and then returns information on the print queue 36 corresponding to the output destination printer 37 to the distribution unit 33. In the above example, information such as an address for specifying the print queue A corresponding to the printer A is returned.

  The distribution unit 33 outputs the image data of the intermediate image constituting the intermediate data output by the virtual printer driver 31 with respect to the information of the print queue 36 returned by the output destination determination unit 34 as a print job. The distribution unit 33 acquires information about the printer 37 from the print queue 36 and causes the print job monitoring unit 35 to monitor the job processing status of the print job of the printer 37. The print job monitoring unit 35 monitors whether an error has occurred in the printer 37 while the printer 37 is executing the print job output by the distribution unit 33. When the print job monitoring unit 35 detects that an error has occurred in the printer 37, the print job monitoring unit 35 notifies the display device 27 that the error has occurred and displays it on the screen.

  In the print queue 36, the printer driver operating inside the print queue 36 converts the printer language into a printer language that can be interpreted by the corresponding printer 37, and outputs it to the printer 37 as a print command. The printer 37 executes printing based on the print command received from the print queue 36.

  In printing using the point-and-print function, the processing by the virtual printer drive unit is different from the processing by the virtual printer driver 31 of the printing control system shown in FIG. 3, and therefore the system shown in FIG. I can not use it. Therefore, in order to be able to use this function, it is divided into two components as shown in FIG. 4, and each component is mounted on a client and a server, respectively. With reference to FIG. 4, functional blocks of the client and server and their processing will be briefly described.

  The system shown in FIG. 4 is a system that performs server-side rendering, in which drawing processing by a printer driver is executed by the server, and conversion to a printer language is also executed by the server. For this reason, the virtual printer driver 31, the intermediate data storage unit 32, and the print queue 36 that perform drawing processing need to be mounted on the server. The distribution unit 33 and the output destination determination unit 34 can also be mounted on the server. However, if the print job monitoring unit 35 is not mounted on the client, the user cannot monitor the printer 37 using the client. .

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, the client implements only the application execution unit 30 and the print job monitoring unit 35 that are used by the user to create a print request among the functional units shown in FIG. Implement. The print job monitoring unit 35 starts monitoring a print job in response to an instruction from the distribution unit 33. For this purpose, a function for receiving the instruction and a function for determining which printer to monitor are separately required. become. Therefore, the client further includes a distribution destination information receiving unit 38 for receiving the instruction and a print job monitoring control unit 39 for determining which printer 37 is to be monitored. Accordingly, it is possible to correctly receive the output destination information and monitor the printer 37 for the drawing process and the distribution process on the server.

  In addition to the application execution unit 30 and the print job monitoring unit 35, the client includes one or more print job monitoring control units 39 corresponding to the distribution destination information receiving unit 38 and one or more printers 37. The client also includes a virtual printer driver 40 that transfers a print request to the virtual printer driver 31 mounted on the server. The virtual printer driver 40 receives the print request output from the application execution unit 30 and is activated by the OS to start print processing. The virtual printer driver 40 activates the function units when the distribution destination information receiving unit 38 and the print job monitoring control unit 39 are not activated. The virtual printer driver 40 does not perform drawing processing.

  The virtual printer driver 31 installed in the server receives a print request from the virtual printer driver 40 installed in the client. The virtual printer driver 31 generates image data of an intermediate image for each page from document data included in the print request. Further, the virtual printer driver 31 extracts system information including the print setting information including the document name of the document and various print settings and the information of the user operating the client from the print request. Then, the virtual printer driver 31 generates intermediate data composed of the generated image data, the extracted print setting information, and system information. The virtual printer driver 31 accumulates the generated intermediate data in the intermediate data accumulation unit 32 and notifies the distribution unit 33 of the accumulation.

  The server further includes a distribution control unit 41 and receives a distribution instruction from the virtual printer driver 31. The distribution control unit 41 receives the instruction, acquires information on the output destination of the intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit 32 by the virtual printer driver 31, and activates the distribution unit 33. In addition, the distribution control unit 41 calls the output destination determination unit 34 in order to acquire output destination information. The distribution control unit 41 notifies the activated distribution unit 33 of the output destination information and the storage location of the intermediate data in the intermediate data storage unit 32.

  The output destination determination unit 34 compares the print setting information and system information stored in the intermediate data storage unit 32 with preset setting conditions, determines an output destination that matches the conditions, and outputs the output destination information. Is returned to the distribution control unit 41. The distribution unit 33 acquires output destination information from the distribution control unit 41, acquires intermediate data from the intermediate data storage unit 32 based on the storage location information, and outputs the image data of the intermediate image as a print job to the output destination printer. 37 to the print queue 36 corresponding to 37. Further, the distribution unit 33 acquires the information of the printer 37 from the print queue 36, and uses the system information included in the intermediate data, for example, the device name, IP address, and MAC address, to transfer the information of the printer 37 to the distribution destination. It transmits to the information receiving part 38.

  When receiving the information on the printer 37 from the distribution unit 33, the distribution destination information receiving unit 38 passes the information on the printer 37 to the print job monitoring control unit 39. The print job monitoring control unit 39 passes information of the printer 37 to the print job monitoring unit 35 and monitors the printer 37 that is the output destination. The print job monitoring unit 35 communicates with the printer 37 and acquires information regarding the current state of the printer 37, that is, the job processing status. If any error occurs during printing, the print job monitoring unit 35 acquires error information as the job processing status from the printer 37 and displays the error information on the screen of the display device. When the printing is completed without causing an error, the print job monitoring unit 35 receives a notification that the printing has been completed from the printer 37, and that the printing has been completed on the screen and the output of the printer 37. Display information.

  In the print queue 36, the printer driver operating inside the print queue 36 converts the printer language into a printer language that can be interpreted by the corresponding printer 37, and outputs it to the printer 37 as a print command. The printer 37 executes printing based on the print command output from the print queue 36.

  The existing print control system has been described so far. The server-side rendering system shown in FIG. 4 performs drawing processing on the server and converts it into a printer language. If a special font that is not installed on the server is used, it cannot be converted correctly, and characters Haunting will occur. Therefore, if the system performs client side rendering instead of server side rendering, such a problem can be solved. This is because even if a document is created using a special font on the client, conversion to the printer language is also performed on the same client.

  However, in client-side rendering, when a job ID created by the client is transmitted to the print server, the job ID is changed, and the job processing status of the print job cannot be monitored from the client. In addition, in order to perform drawing processing at the client, the print processor module developed independently must be copied to the client. However, in order to obtain compatibility and reliability with the OS mounted on the client, it is necessary to perform an authentication test called logo authentication. If authentication cannot be obtained, drawing processing cannot be performed.

  Then, if the drawing process is performed by the server and the conversion to the printer language and the monitoring of the job processing status of the print job can be executed by the client, such a problem does not occur.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a print control system configured such that only the drawing process is performed by the server 18 and the other processes are performed by the clients 10 to 13. Thereby, said problem can be solved. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the print control system of the present embodiment. This print control system will also be described as including the client 10 and the server 18. The print control system may be configured by the client 11 and the server 18, the client 12 and the server 18, the client 13 and the server 18, or may be configured by two or more clients and the server 18.

  The client 10 includes an application execution unit 60, a virtual printer driver 61, an intermediate data reception unit 62, an intermediate data storage unit 63, an allocation control unit 64, an output destination determination unit 65, an allocation destination information reception unit 66, and a print job monitoring control unit 67. It has. The client 10 also includes a print job monitoring unit 68 for monitoring each of the printers A to C of the printer 80 that is an output destination, a distribution unit 69 corresponding to each printer 80, and a print queue 70.

  The server 18 includes a virtual printer driver 50 as an intermediate data generation unit, an intermediate data storage unit 51, and an intermediate data transmission unit 52. These functional units are realized by a CPU executing a program installed in each device, a storage device such as a RAM or an HDD, a communication I / F, or the like. Each of these functional units functions as each means as described above.

  The application execution unit 60 included in the client 10 outputs a print request including document data to be printed, print setting information, and system information. When the application execution unit 60 outputs a print request, the OS activates the virtual printer driver 61, and the virtual printer driver 61 does not activate the distribution control unit 64, the distribution destination information reception unit 66, and the print job monitoring control unit 67. If so, activate those functional units. Thereafter, the virtual printer driver 61 sends an instruction for executing the distribution process to the distribution control unit 64. Then, the virtual printer driver 61 activates the intermediate data receiving unit 62, and the intermediate data receiving unit 62 receives the intermediate data transmitted from the server 18. The intermediate data receiving unit 62 causes the intermediate data storage unit 63 to store the intermediate data received from the server 18.

  The virtual printer driver 50 included in the server 18 communicates with the virtual printer driver 61 included in the client 10 and receives a print request from the virtual printer driver 61. The virtual printer driver 50 generates intermediate image data from the print request, extracts print setting information and system information, generates intermediate data from the data and information, and stores the intermediate data in the intermediate data storage unit 51. Accumulate. The intermediate data transmission unit 52 appropriately checks whether or not the intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit 51 exists. If the intermediate data exists, the intermediate data transmission unit 52 acquires the intermediate data and sends it to the intermediate data reception unit 62 included in the client 10. Send the acquired intermediate data.

  The distribution control unit 64 receives an instruction from the virtual printer driver 61, activates the output destination determination unit 65, acquires the intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit 63, and passes the intermediate data to the output destination determination unit 65. . The output destination determination unit 65 collates one or more preset setting conditions with the print setting information and system information constituting the acquired intermediate data, determines an output destination that matches the conditions, and outputs the output destination. Is returned to the distribution control unit 64. The setting conditions are conditions as exemplified above, and include the printer 80 that is a printing apparatus and at least one piece of information of print setting information and system information.

  The distribution control unit 64 activates the distribution unit 69 and notifies the distribution unit 69 of the output destination information and the storage location of the image data of the intermediate image. The distribution unit 69 acquires image data based on the notified storage location, and outputs the image data as a print job to the print queue 70 corresponding to the output destination printer 80 based on the output destination information. The information of the output destination printer 80 is acquired from 70. Then, the distribution unit 69 sends the acquired printer information to the distribution destination information reception unit 66.

  The distribution destination information receiving unit 66 receives information about the printer 80 from the distribution unit 69 and passes it to the print job monitoring control unit 67. The print job monitoring control unit 67 passes information about the printer 80 to the print job monitoring unit 68 and monitors the printer 80 that is the output destination. The print job monitoring unit 68 communicates with the printer 80 using information of the printer 80, and acquires information regarding the current state of the printer 80, that is, job processing status.

  If any error occurs during printing, the print job monitoring unit 68 acquires error information from the printer 80, displays the acquired error information on the screen of the display device 27, and notifies the user. When the printing is completed without causing an error, the print job monitoring unit 68 receives a notification that the printing is finished from the printer, and prints on the screen of the display device 27 that the printing is finished. 80 information is displayed. Such information can be displayed as a message, warning, or the like in a dialog displayed on the screen.

  In the print queue 70, the printer driver serving as conversion means operating inside the print queue 70 converts the printer language into a printer language that can be interpreted by the corresponding printer 80, and outputs the print command to the printer 80. The printer 80 executes printing based on the print command received from the print queue 70.

  Since the server 18 and the client 10 are connected via a network, depending on the communication situation, the print request may be received and the corresponding intermediate data may not be returned immediately. Then, if the next print request is output before the intermediate data is returned, it is determined that the next print request and the intermediate data correspond to each other, resulting in a different print result.

  In order to avoid this, the print control system includes a determination unit that determines the communication state of the network, and a compression unit that compresses the intermediate data generated by the virtual printer driver 50 according to the determination result of the determination unit. Furthermore, it can be provided. These functional units can be included in the server 18. Accordingly, the client 10 can include a decompressing unit that decompresses the compressed intermediate data and restores the original intermediate data. Even when the communication state of the network is not good, the intermediate data can be compressed and transmitted with a reduced size, so that the intermediate data can be returned immediately.

  The communication state of the network can be determined from the time until a response is obtained by sending a packet to a communication target node using software called ping, for example. Since this is an example, it can be determined using other methods.

  The compression of the intermediate data can be performed by applying a predetermined compression algorithm. Here, the compression is a process of reducing the data capacity while maintaining the substantial property of the data. This compression must be lossless compression because when intermediate data is transmitted to the client 10, it must be decompressed and restored to the original data. The compression algorithm may be any algorithm known so far, and for example, ZIP, LHA, LZH, etc. can be used. The decompression of the compressed data can be performed using a decompression program (also called a decompression program).

  Depending on the communication state of the network, the above compression alone may not be sufficient. In this case, the intermediate data can be divided into a plurality of parts, and the divided data can be transmitted one by one, or the divided data can be further compressed and the compressed data can be transmitted. For this reason, the print control system can further include a dividing unit in which the server 18 divides the intermediate data generated by the virtual printer driver 50 into a plurality of data and outputs the divided data. In addition, the client 10 can include a combining unit that combines a plurality of data and restores the original intermediate data. This combination can be performed using a combination program.

  The dividing unit can divide the intermediate data into an arbitrary number or an arbitrary size. The dividing unit outputs the divided data to the compression unit, the compression unit generates a plurality of compressed data, and the intermediate data transmission unit 52 can transmit it to the client 10. In the client 10, the intermediate data receiving unit 62 receives a plurality of compressed data, the decompressing unit decompresses the plurality of compressed data and restores the original plurality of data, and the combining unit combines the plurality of data. Thus, the original intermediate data can be restored.

  The print control executed by the print control system will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The user opens and activates an application icon on the client 10 used by the user by, for example, double-clicking. Thereby, the application execution part 60 starts. The user uses the input device 28 to input characters and create a document. In addition, the user opens a document that has already been created and makes corrections. Thereafter, the user requests a print setting screen, and the application execution unit 60 receives the request and displays the print setting screen. The user makes print settings such as paper size selection, and presses a print start button to instruct printing. Upon receiving this instruction, the print control system starts processing from step 600.

  In step 605, when the virtual printer driver 61 is not activated, the application execution unit 60 instructs the OS installed in the client 10 to activate the virtual printer driver 61. Then, the application execution unit 60 outputs a print request including the document data of the document opened on the screen, the print setting information, and the system information registered in the client 10 to the virtual printer driver 61. At this time, when the virtual printer driver 50 of the server 18 is not activated, the OS installed in the server 18 is instructed to activate the virtual printer driver 50. In step 610, the virtual printer driver 61 transfers the print request output from the application execution unit 60 to the virtual printer driver 50 of the server 18.

  In step 615, the virtual printer driver 50 generates intermediate data from the print request. The virtual printer driver 50 causes the intermediate data storage unit 51 to store the generated intermediate data. Here, the virtual printer driver 50 is activated when the intermediate data transmission unit 52 is not activated. In step 620, the intermediate data transmission unit 52 confirms the presence or absence of intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit 51, acquires the intermediate data when the intermediate data is stored, and sends the intermediate data to the client 10. Send.

  In step 625, the intermediate data receiving unit 62 of the client 10 receives the intermediate data transmitted by the intermediate data transmitting unit 52. Then, the intermediate data receiving unit 62 causes the intermediate data storage unit 63 to store the received intermediate data. In step 630, the distribution control unit 64 confirms the presence or absence of intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit 63, and acquires the intermediate data when the intermediate data is stored. The distribution control unit 64 is activated when the output destination determination unit 65 is not activated in order to determine the output destination. Then, the distribution control unit 64 passes the acquired intermediate data to the output destination determination unit 65.

  In step 635, the output destination determination unit 65 print setting information and system information constituting the intermediate data acquired from the distribution control unit 64, and one or more preset setting conditions held by the output destination determination unit 65. And determine the output destination that matches the condition. For example, if printing A instructed by the user A is output from the printer B as a setting condition, and the user A is included in the system information constituting the intermediate data, the setting condition is met. Printer B is determined as the output destination.

  In step 640, the output destination determination unit 65 returns information on the determined output destination to the distribution control unit 64. In step 645, the distribution control unit 64 activates the distribution unit 69 when it is not activated, and notifies the distribution unit 69 of the output destination information and the storage location of the intermediate data.

  In step 650, the distribution unit 69 distributes the print job to the print queue 70 corresponding to the output destination, and outputs the image data constituting the intermediate data as a print job. In step 655, the printer driver operating in the print queue 70 functions as a conversion unit, converts the image data into a printer language that can be interpreted by the output destination printer 80, and outputs it to the printer 80 as a print command. In step 660, the printer 80 receives the print command, executes printing based on the print command, and prints on paper or the like, and then proceeds to step 665 to end this processing.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the virtual printer driver 61 provided in the client 10. The virtual printer driver 61 is activated by the OS installed in the client 10, and starts processing from step 700 by the activation. The virtual printer driver 61 performs a process of transferring the print request output from the application execution unit 60 to the virtual printer driver 50 provided in the server 18 as one process. The virtual printer driver 61 executes the following steps in parallel with the processing.

  In step 705, it is determined whether the print job monitoring control unit 67 is activated. If not activated, the process proceeds to step 710 to activate the print job monitoring controller 67. If it has already been started, the process proceeds directly to step 715. In step 715, it is determined whether the distribution destination information receiving unit 66 is activated. If not activated, the process proceeds to step 720, where the distribution destination information receiving unit 66 is activated. If it has already been activated, the process proceeds directly to step 725.

  In step 725, it is determined whether the distribution control unit 64 is activated. If not activated, the process proceeds to step 730 to activate the distribution control unit 64. If it has already been started, the process proceeds directly to step 735. In step 735, it is determined whether the intermediate data receiving unit 62 is activated. If not activated, the process proceeds to step 740, where the intermediate data receiving unit 62 is activated. If it has already been activated, the process proceeds directly to step 745 and the process by the virtual printer driver 61 is terminated.

  Each function can be provided as, for example, a program module, and it can be determined whether each functional unit is activated based on whether the module is executed. Here, the print job monitoring control unit 67, the distribution destination information receiving unit 66, the distribution control unit 64, and the intermediate data receiving unit 62 are determined in this order. However, the order is not limited to this order. Also good.

  In addition to realizing the automatic distribution shown in FIG. 6, the print control system can also monitor the job status of a print job. This monitoring process will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In response to the fact that the distribution control unit 64 has output the intermediate data to the distribution unit 69 in step 645 shown in FIG.

  In step 805, the distribution unit 69 acquires information of the output destination printer 80 from the corresponding print queue 70. Examples of the information about the printer 80 include a printer name, an IP address, and a MAC address. Then, the distribution unit 69 sends the acquired printer information to the distribution destination information reception unit 66.

  In step 810, the distribution destination information receiving unit 66 passes the printer 80 information received from the distribution unit 69 to the print job monitoring control unit 67. In step 815, the print job monitoring control unit 67 activates the print job monitoring unit 68 and passes the received information on the printer 80 to the print job monitoring unit 68.

  In step 820, the print job monitoring unit 68 appropriately accesses the printer 80 using the information of the printer 80, acquires information related to the status of the printer 80, and monitors the job processing status of the print job of the printer 80. If any error occurs during printing, the print job monitoring unit 68 acquires error information from the printer 80, displays the acquired error information on the screen of the display device 27, and notifies the user. When the printing is completed without causing an error, the print job monitoring unit 68 receives a notification that the printing is completed from the printer 80, and outputs on the screen of the display device 27 that the printing is completed. Information on the printer 80 is displayed. In this way, when error information or printing completion is displayed on the screen, the process proceeds to step 825, and this process is terminated.

  The server 18 is configured to perform only the rendering process and transmit the resulting intermediate data to the client 10, and the client 10 is configured to perform automatic distribution and conversion into the printer language. The garbled font can be avoided. Thereby, the problem which arises by server side rendering can be solved. In addition, since the drawing process is performed by the server 18, it is not necessary to copy the originally developed print processor module, and since the client 10 directly monitors, the problem caused by the client side rendering can be solved.

  The print control system can also perform ON / OFF control by a user interface or the like so that it is possible to switch whether or not to use a function for executing processing for avoiding garbled characters as described above. For example, the user can use the function by using the input device 28 included in the client 10 and checking a check box provided corresponding to the function to turn it ON. Since this is an example, other setting methods can be employed. When the function is OFF, only normal printing processing can be executed without performing automatic distribution. When the function is OFF, the present invention is not limited to this as long as it does not have a function of executing processing for avoiding garbled characters. The program to be executed is switched, and the print control system is switched to FIG. The function configuration shown in FIG. 4 may be used so that automatic distribution can be executed.

  In order to realize the above-described ON / OFF control, the print control system can further include a setting reception unit that receives a setting for using the function of the print control system as a function unit. In response to the setting accepting unit accepting the setting, each function unit described above can be activated or function as each function unit to execute each process described above.

  The print control system of the present invention and the print control method executed by the system have been described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Absent. Therefore, other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be changed within a range that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited in any aspect, the present invention It is included in the range. Therefore, the present invention can also provide a program for causing a computer to execute the print control method described above, a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10-13 ... Client, 14 ... MFP, 15-17 ... Laser printer, 18 ... Server, 19 ... Network, 20 ... CPU, 21 ... ROM, 22 ... RAM, 23 ... HDD, 24 ... Communication I / F, 25 ... External device I / F, 26 ... External memory I / F, 27 ... Display device 27, 28 ... Input device, 29 ... Bus, 30 ... Application execution unit, 31 ... Virtual printer driver, 32 ... Intermediate data storage unit, 33 ... Distribution unit 34... Output destination determination unit 35... Print job monitoring unit 36... Print queue 37. Printer 38 38 distribution destination information reception unit 39 print job monitoring control unit 40 virtual printer driver 41. Distribution control unit 50... Virtual printer driver 51. Intermediate data storage unit 52. Intermediate data transmission unit 60. Application execution unit 6 ... Virtual printer driver, 62 ... Intermediate data receiving unit, 63 ... Intermediate data storage unit, 64 ... Distribution control unit, 65 ... Output destination determination unit, 66 ... Distribution destination information reception unit, 67 ... Print job monitoring control unit, 68 ... Print job monitoring unit 69... Sorting unit 70... Print queue 80.

JP 2012-194621 A

Claims (11)

A print control system that receives a print request output from an application execution unit in response to a print instruction from a client computer, selects a printing device connected to a network, and executes printing. The print control system includes a server Comprising a computer and a client computer,
The server computer
Generating image data of each page from document data included in the print request received from the application execution unit, extracting print setting information and information about the client computer from the print request, and outputting the image data and the print setting; Intermediate data generating means for generating intermediate data composed of information and information about the client computer;
Intermediate data transmission means for transmitting the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generation means to the client computer,
The client computer is
Intermediate data receiving means for receiving the intermediate data transmitted from the intermediate data transmitting means;
One or more preset setting conditions including at least one piece of information regarding a printing apparatus, print setting information, and information about the client computer, and the intermediate data received by the intermediate data receiving means are collated and output Output destination determining means for determining a destination printing device;
A distribution unit that distributes the image data received by the intermediate data receiving unit to an output waiting data storage unit corresponding to a printing apparatus that is an output destination according to the output destination determined by the output destination determination unit;
A printing control system comprising: conversion means for converting the image data sorted by the sorting means into a language interpretable by the printing device in the output waiting data storage means. The client computer is
By receiving the information of the printing device as the output destination acquired from the distribution unit, and monitoring the job processing status of the printing device by accessing the printing device using the information of the printing device, and by monitoring The print control system according to claim 1, further comprising print job monitoring means for displaying the obtained information on a screen of a display device provided in the client computer. The server computer further includes determination means for determining a communication state of the network, and compression means for compressing the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generation means and outputting the compressed data as compressed data to the intermediate data transmission means. ,
The print control system according to claim 2, wherein the client computer further includes decompression means for decompressing the compressed data received by the intermediate data reception means and restoring the original intermediate data. The server computer further includes a dividing unit that divides the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generating unit into a plurality of data, and outputs the divided data to the compression unit,
The print control system according to claim 3, wherein the client computer further includes a combining unit that combines a plurality of data expanded by the expansion unit and restores the original intermediate data.   The print control system according to claim 1, wherein the client computer includes the application execution unit.   The apparatus further comprises setting accepting means for accepting settings for using the functions of the print control system, and in response to the setting accepting means accepting the settings, the intermediate data generating means, the intermediate data transmitting means, and the intermediate data The print control system according to claim 1, wherein a reception unit, the output destination determination unit, the distribution unit, and the conversion unit are activated. A print control method executed by a print control system that receives a print request from an application execution unit in response to a print instruction from a client computer, selects a printing device connected to a network, and executes printing. The print control system includes a server computer and the client computer,
The server computer is
Generating image data of each page from document data included in the print request received from the application execution unit, extracting print setting information and information about the client computer from the print request, and outputting the image data and the print setting; Generating intermediate data comprising information and information relating to the client computer;
Transmitting the generated intermediate data to the client computer;
The client computer is
Receiving the intermediate data transmitted from the server computer;
Collating the received intermediate data with one or more preset setting conditions including at least one information of a printing apparatus, print setting information, and information about the client computer held by the client computer; Determining a printing device as an output destination;
Allocating the image data received in the receiving step to output waiting data storage means corresponding to the printing apparatus serving as the output destination according to the output destination determined in the determining step;
And a step of converting the image data sorted in the sorting step into a language interpretable by the printing apparatus in the output waiting data storage means. The client computer further comprises:
Receive the information of the printing device as the output destination, monitor the job processing status of the printing device by accessing the printing device using the information of the printing device, and obtain the information obtained by monitoring, The print control method according to claim 7, wherein a step of displaying on a screen of a display device provided in the client computer is executed. The server computer further executes a step of determining a communication state of the network and a step of compressing the intermediate data generated in the step of generating the intermediate data and outputting as compressed data,
The print control method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the client computer further executes a step of decompressing the compressed data received in the step of receiving the intermediate data and restoring the original intermediate data. The server computer further executes a step of dividing the intermediate data generated in the step of generating the intermediate data into a plurality of data and outputting the divided data.
The print control method according to claim 9, wherein the client computer further executes a step of combining the plurality of data decompressed in the restoration step and restoring the original intermediate data. The program for making a computer perform the printing control method of any one of Claims 7-10.