JP2008207539A - Print processing apparatus and print processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable another user to efficiently use a print processing apparatus, by automatically canceling stop so as to allow another user to efficiently use a print processing apparatus, even if a user intentionally stops printing processing and leaves it as it is. <P>SOLUTION: When the user presses down a printing stop/restart key in an operating section (S201), the print processing apparatus is shifted to the stopped state of the printing processing, and an equipment information management section starts timing (S202). When the printing stop/restart key is not pressed down again (S203), in other words, when the stopped state of the printing processing is left as it is, the equipment information management section refers to the set time stored in a memory device (S204) and carries out determination by comparing the counted elapsed time of the stopped state of the printing processing with the set time (S205). When it is determined that the elapsed time exceeds the set time (S205: YES), the equipment information management section gives a restart notification to a print control section, and restarts the printing processing (S206). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus and a print processing method that automatically cancels a print processing stop state after a predetermined time has elapsed when a user intentionally stops the print processing. .

In recent years, a network configuration in which a print processing apparatus such as one printer is shared by a plurality of host apparatuses such as PCs (personal computers) has become widespread.
When a plurality of print jobs are transmitted from a plurality of host devices to the printer in such a network configuration, the printer executes the plurality of transmitted print jobs in the order of arrival.

  In this configuration, an error occurs when the paper corresponding to the print job being executed runs out, or when a paper of a size different from the paper corresponding to the print job is loaded in the paper cassette specified by the user, If the error is not resolved, the print job remains stopped.

  As a solution to this problem, when the error described above occurs and the error is not resolved within a predetermined time, the next printable print job that is automatically and forcibly waited is given priority. As a printing system that can be executed, for example, a printing system described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  However, the printing system described in Patent Document 1 does not consider any instruction for restarting the printing process after the error has been eliminated, so that the instruction to resume the printing process is not issued after the error has been eliminated. In this case, all the subsequent print jobs including the print job whose printing is stopped remain in the waiting state, and the problem remains.

Therefore, as a countermeasure in such a case, when there is no instruction to restart the printing process for a predetermined time after the error is resolved, the image data stored in the image memory is cleared, that is, a print job that is stopped due to an error occurrence. There has also been proposed an image forming apparatus in which a subsequent print job can be executed by canceling (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228688).
In this way, it can be said that even in the conventional printer system, a countermeasure for processing the print job after the error is eliminated is taken.

However, when the print processing is intentionally stopped, the above countermeasure cannot be applied. That is, for example, when the user wants to print only one page, when the user accidentally sets print all pages and sends the print job, the user may cancel the print job halfway. In order to cancel a print job, for example, a print processing stop command is transmitted from the host device to intentionally stop the print processing, and then a command to cancel the print job is transmitted. In this case, once the print process is intentionally stopped, it is necessary to send a stop release command again to release the print process stop thereafter, and the print process is stopped unless the user sends the command. Will remain. Therefore, a print job in a waiting state is not executed, and the same problem as when an error has occurred is left as it is.
JP 2000-62292 A JP 2002-262003 A

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem. The purpose of the present invention is to automatically perform a print process after a predetermined time even when the user intentionally stops the print process and leaves it. By releasing the suspension, the printer can be used efficiently by other users. Another object is to allow the user to freely set the predetermined time so that the printing process is not resumed at a timing unexpected by the user.

The invention of claim 1 is a print processing apparatus that can be connected to a host apparatus, has an input means, and performs a print process based on information transmitted from the host apparatus, the host apparatus or the input means A means for stopping the printing process based on the operation of the above, a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the stop of the printing process, and when the time measured by the time measuring means exceeds a preset set time, the printing And a means for canceling the suspension of the processing.
The invention of claim 2 is a print processing apparatus that can be connected to a host apparatus, has an input means, and performs a printing process based on information transmitted from the host apparatus, the host apparatus or the input means Means for stopping the printing process based on the operation of the above, a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the stop of the printing process, and when the time counted by the time measuring means exceeds a preset set time, the host And a notification means for notifying the apparatus that the printing process is in a stopped state.
A third aspect of the present invention is the print processing apparatus according to the second aspect, further comprising setting means for setting a notification destination for notifying the host device that the print processing is in a stopped state. The destination is the host device of the administrator of the print processing apparatus and / or the sender of the print job whose printing is stopped.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, means for inputting an arbitrary time as the set time, and means for setting the input arbitrary time as the set time; It is characterized by having.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the print processing is stopped, until the stop of the print processing is canceled or until the notification means performs notification. It has a means for displaying or notifying the remaining time.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is the print processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, further comprising means for setting a time length for displaying or notifying the remaining time.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising means for stopping a drawing process based on an operation of the host device or the input means.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, both the printing process and the drawing process are stopped or only the printing process is stopped based on an operation of the host device or the input unit. It has a selection means for selecting whether or not to perform.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the seventh or eighth aspect, when the printing process or the drawing process is stopped, a process for changing a printing condition or a drawing condition of a waiting print job is performed. It has the means.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is a print processing method for executing a print job received from a host device and performing a print process, the step of stopping the print process based on a user instruction, And a step of counting the elapsed time and a step of automatically canceling the stop of the printing process when the measured time exceeds a predetermined time set in advance.
The invention of claim 11 is a print processing method for executing a print job by executing a print job received from a host device, the step of stopping the print processing based on a user instruction, and from the stop of the print processing A step of measuring an elapsed time, and a step of notifying the host device that the printing process is in a stopped state when the measured time exceeds a predetermined time set in advance. And
A twelfth aspect of the invention is the print processing method according to the eleventh aspect, further comprising a setting step of setting a notification destination for notifying the host apparatus that the print processing is in a stopped state. The destination is the host device of the administrator of the print processing apparatus and / or the sender of the print job whose printing is stopped.
A thirteenth aspect of the invention is the printing processing method according to any one of the tenth to twelfth aspects, the step of inputting an arbitrary time as the set time, and the step of setting the input arbitrary time as the set time. It is characterized by having.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing method according to any one of the tenth to thirteenth aspects, when the print processing is stopped, until the stop of the print processing is canceled or until the notification means performs notification. It has the process of displaying or notifying remaining time.
A fifteenth aspect of the invention is the print processing method according to the fourteenth aspect, further comprising a step of setting a time length for displaying or notifying the remaining time.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing method according to any one of the tenth to fifteenth aspects, the method includes a step of stopping the drawing process based on a user instruction.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the printing processing method according to the sixteenth aspect, the step of selecting whether to stop both the printing processing and the drawing processing or only the printing based on a user instruction. It is characterized by having.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing method according to the sixteenth or seventeenth aspect, when the print process or the drawing process is stopped, a process for changing a print condition or a drawing condition of a waiting print job is performed. It has the process.

  According to the present invention, even if the print process is intentionally stopped and left by the user, the print process stop state is canceled after a predetermined time has elapsed, and therefore the print delay due to the stop of the print process. And the printer can be used efficiently by other users. Further, since the predetermined time can be freely set by the user, not only does the printing process in the stopped state not start when unexpected, but also the printing process can be released from the stopped state in an optimum time. .

Hereinafter, a printing processing apparatus and a printing processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a print processing apparatus and a host computer according to the present embodiment.
The print processing apparatus 1 includes a communication control unit 10, a device information management unit 11, a print control unit 12, an image formation control unit 13, a user interface (I / F) control unit 14, a network interface (I / F) 15, and a storage device. 16, a print drawing unit 17, and an operation unit 18.
The device information management unit 11 includes a controller (control unit) that transmits a command (command) to each control unit, such as transmitting a print processing stop command to the print control unit 12.

The communication control unit 10 is a notification unit that receives a command from the device information management unit 11 and notifies the host device of a message according to the command. The message notification is performed using a protocol such as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).
The print control unit 12 controls to print in the order of arrival of the print jobs, and controls the print drawing unit 17 in response to a print processing stop command and a stop release command from the device information management unit 11.
The user I / F control unit 14 is a setting unit that controls the information input to the operation unit 18 to be stored in the storage device 16, and the information is input to the operation unit 18 according to a command from the device information management unit 11. Control the display.

The network I / F 15 connects the print processing apparatus 1 to the network so that data can be transmitted to and received from the host apparatus 60.
The storage device 16 is a storage unit such as an NV-RAM (Non Volatile RAM), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or an HDD (Hard Disc Drive).
The operation unit 18 is an input unit for a user to input settings and the like, and includes a display unit (display panel) for displaying messages and information for the user.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the operation unit 18.
The operation unit 18 includes a plurality of keys, that is, a print stop / resume key 51, a menu key 52, a job reset key 53, a return key 54, a scroll key 55, an OK key 56, and a display panel 57.
The print stop / restart key 51 is a key for inputting the stop and restart of the printing process, and is pressed when the printing process is movable (referred to as “pressing” or “pressing” in this case, which is collectively referred to as key operation). In this case, the user interface control unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 is notified, and the print control unit 12 controls the print drawing unit 17 to stop the printing process. When the key 51 is pressed when the printing process is stopped, the printing process is canceled (movable).
The print stop / restart key 51 is provided with an LED (light emitting diode), and when the printing process is in a stopped state, the user interface control unit 14 controls the operation unit 18 to stop the printing process. In order to show that, the LED is lit in yellow, for example.

The menu key 52 is a key for displaying a menu screen. When the menu key 52 is pressed, the menu screen is displayed, and various setting screens are displayed from the menu screen.
The job reset key 53 is a key for resetting a print job. When the print process is in a stopped state, the job reset key 53 can be pressed to reset the stopped print job.
The return key 54 and the OK key 56 are keys for canceling and determining an item selected on the menu screen. For example, the menu key has a hierarchical structure displayed by the menu key 52 and is displayed on the menu screen. The user presses the OK key 56 to determine one of the plurality of selection items, and presses the return key 54 to cancel the selected selection item.
The scroll key 55 is a key for scrolling the screen on the screen when selecting a plurality of selection items on the menu screen or the like.
The display panel 57 is a display means for displaying that the printing process is movable and stopped, and a menu screen.

  The print processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration automatically cancels the stop and receives a print job when the stop state continues for a predetermined time even when the print processing is intentionally stopped. Can resume the printing process.

Next, a configuration for stopping and canceling the print processing in the print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18. With reference to FIG. 3, stop and release of the print processing of the print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be schematically described.
FIG. 3A shows a state in which the print processing in the print processing apparatus 1 is in a movable (stop release) state and there is no print job.
The display panel 57 displays that “printing is possible” indicating that the printing process is in a movable (cancel stop) state. When a print job is transmitted to the print processing apparatus 1 in this state, the printing process is started. .

FIG. 3B shows the print processing when the print processing apparatus 1 is in a state where the print processing is possible (stop release state), and when the print job is input, that is, when the display of FIG. A state in which a print job is input to the apparatus 1 is shown.
The display panel 57 of the operation unit 18 displays “printing in progress” indicating that the print processing apparatus 1 is printing, and the document name of the print job being printed (meeting minutes.txt in the figure). And the print paper size (A4 (plain paper) in the figure) is displayed. When the execution of this print job is completed, the display returns to the display on the display panel 57 in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C shows a display on the display panel 57 when the printing process is stopped and there is no print job. That is, when the print processing apparatus 1 is in the state shown in FIG. 3A: “printing is possible”, the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed.
In this case, “printing is stopped” is displayed on the display panel 57 and the printing process is in a stopped state. When the printing stop / resume key 51 is pressed again in this state, the display on the display panel 57 in FIG. 3A is displayed. : Return to “Can print”.

FIG. 3D shows the display panel 57 when a print job is input to the print processing apparatus 1 in which the print processing is stopped. That is, the print processing apparatus 1 is displayed on the display panel 57 in FIG. 3C: a state in which a print job is input when “printing is stopped”, or the display on the display panel 57 in FIG. In this case, the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed when “In progress”.
In this case, the display panel 57 displays that “printing is stopped” and that the printing process is stopped, and the document name of the print job whose printing is stopped (meeting minutes. (A4 (plain paper) in the figure) is displayed.
When the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed, the display on the display panel 57 in FIG. 3B returns to “printing in progress” and the printing process is resumed. When the job reset key 53 is pressed to reset the print job, FIG. Return to the middle panel display “Printing stopped”.

The display on the display panel 57 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D is displayed when the device information management unit 11 notifies the user interface control unit 14 and the user interface control unit 14 controls the operation unit 18.
In the above description, the print stop / restart is switched by pressing the print stop / restart key 51. However, for example, it may be performed from one item of the menu screen or from a host device connected via a network. You can do this with

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram for stopping and canceling the printing process.
The device information management unit 11 of the print processing apparatus 1 includes a controller control unit 100 that transmits an instruction (command) to each control unit, and the controller control unit 100 stores a print condition that has been set / changed. A condition data storage unit 102, a drawing condition data storage unit 103 for storing the set / changed drawing conditions are provided, the printer engine 101 for performing the printing process, the print stop / resume key 51 shown in FIG. 1, the network interface 15 is communicably connected.

In this embodiment, when the controller control unit 100 detects that the print stop / restart key 51 is pressed in the movable state (the state shown in FIG. 3A or 3B), the printer controller 100 moves to the printer stop state. When a new print request is not issued to the engine 101 and there is a print request that has already been issued to the printer engine 101, it is confirmed that all issued print requests have been completed, and then the print suspended state ( 3C and 3D).
However, the controller control unit 100 does not issue a new print request to the printer engine 101 and continues the print data reception and the drawing process without stopping. At this time, the drawing process is terminated in the print stopped state. The job waits for a print request to be issued to the printer engine.
When the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again to cancel the print stop state, the controller control unit 100 issues a print request to the printer engine 101 when there is a print job waiting to be issued. To resume printing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing when the print processing apparatus 1 shifts to the print stop state.
When the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed on the operation unit 18 (S101), the print processing apparatus 1 starts shifting to the print stop state (S102). At the same time, the controller control unit 100 stops a new print request to the printer engine 101 (S103), and the print job that has finished the drawing process enters a waiting state.
Here, it is determined whether or not all print requests that have already been issued to the printer engine 101 have been completed, that is, whether or not printing has been executed (S104). When it is confirmed that all print requests have been completed (S104, YES), print processing is performed. The apparatus 1 completes the transition to the print stop state (S105).
When the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again (S106, YES), the print job that has been in the waiting state is executed, a new print request is issued to the printer engine 101 (S107), and the printing process is resumed (S107). S108).

  As described above, even when the print processing apparatus 1 shifts to the print stop state, the data reception from the host apparatus 60 and the drawing process of the received data are stopped while the print request to the printer engine 101 is stopped. Therefore, when the printing is resumed from the printing stopped state, the printing process can be performed immediately and the printing efficiency can be improved.

The print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can automatically cancel the stop when the stop state continues for a predetermined time, and can restart the print processing when a print job is received. That is, the time (elapsed time) that has elapsed since the printing process stopped is compared with the time (set time) set in advance by default, and when the elapsed time exceeds the set time, the stop automatically occurs. To release.
The set time can be changed by the user using the operation unit 18 or the like as will be described later, and the changed set time is stored in the storage device 16.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the automatic stop cancellation process of the print processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. In this flowchart, the printing process starts from a state in which a print job is received in a movable (cancel stop) state.
First, in order to intentionally stop the execution of a print job, the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed on the operation unit 18 (S201), and the printing process is switched from a movable (stop release) state to a stop state. At the same time, the device information management unit 11 starts timing (S202), and determines again whether the print stop / resume key 51 has been pressed (S203).
When the print stop / restart key 51 is pressed again in step S203 (S203, YES), the stop is released and the printing process is restarted (S206). However, when there is no waiting print job, the printing process is not resumed, but only the suspension is canceled.

If the printing stop / resume key 51 is not pressed again (S203, NO), the device information management unit 11 refers to the set time stored in the storage device 16 (S204). When the set time referred to is compared with the elapsed time being measured and it is determined that the elapsed time has exceeded the set time (YES in S205), the device information management unit 11 sends a print restart notification to the print control unit 12. The stop is released and the print control unit 12 resumes the printing process (S206).
When it is determined that the elapsed time does not exceed the set time (S205, NO), the process returns to step S203, and the processes of steps S203 to S205 are repeated.

With the above processing flow, even when the printing process is left in a stopped state, the suspension is automatically canceled, and when the print job is transmitted to the print processing apparatus 1, the printing process can be resumed. The delay in printing due to the stoppage of the printer can be minimized.
Note that the device information management unit 11 executes all the determination processes in the flowchart.

When the print processing stop state continues for a predetermined time, the print processing device 1 notifies the user (host device) that the print processing is stopped instead of automatically releasing the stop and restarting the print processing. You can also.
Further, the user can select whether to notify the administrator of the print processing apparatus 1 determined in advance or the owner of the print job (print job transmission source), and further notify the user. As a method, notification by E-mail (electronic mail) or notification using SNMP can be selected.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a notification method selection menu displayed on the display panel 57.
As shown in the figure, the notification method selection menu has a tree structure. First, when “Stop state notification setting” of the menu is selected on the menu screen, “Notification destination selection” and “Notification method selection” are set. Can do.
The “notification destination selection” item includes “notify the administrator” to notify the administrator of the print processing apparatus 1 and “notify the job owner” to notify the owner of the print job in the waiting state.
In addition, in the “notify job owner” item, as a subordinate item, the first print job in the waiting print job, that is, the owner of the print job to be executed next when the print stop is released is displayed. There is a “first job” to be notified, and “all jobs” to be notified to the owners of all the print jobs in the waiting state.
The user can select one or both of “notify manager” and “notify job owner”.

On the other hand, in the “notification method selection” item, “E-mail transmission” for notifying by e-mail using an e-mail address owned by each user that the printing process is stopped is connected to the network. Using the IP (Internet Protocol) address of each host device, it is possible to select “notification to host device” to be notified using SNMP.
When the user selects each item described above, the selected content is stored in the RAM of the storage device 16. The notification is performed by the communication control unit 10.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the notification operation process of the print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In this flowchart, the printing process starts from a movable (stop release) state.
Since the processing from step S301 to step S306 is the same as the processing from step S201 to step S206 shown in FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted and the processing from step S307 will be described.
In the process of step S305, the set time referred to is compared with the elapsed time that is being measured, and when the elapsed time exceeds the set time (S305, YES), the device information management unit 11 stores it in the RAM of the storage device 16. With reference to the saved content selected in the selection menu shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the notification destination is “notify administrator” (S307), and the notification destination is “notify administrator”. If it is determined (S307, YES), the administrator information (e-mail address or IP address) of the administrator stored in advance in the RAM is acquired and set as the notification destination (S308).

Next, it is determined whether or not the notification method is “e-mail transmission”, and when “e-mail transmission” is selected (S309, YES), e-mail transmission is performed using the e-mail address that is the administrator information. To notify the message (S310).
When the notification method is not “e-mail transmission”, that is, when “notification to host device” is selected (S309, NO), printing processing can be moved to the host device via the network using the IP address. A notification to the effect that the state is (cancel stop) is sent (S311).

On the other hand, in the process of step S307, when the notification destination is not an administrator, that is, “notify to job owner” is selected (S307, NO), the subordinate notification destination is “first job”. It is determined whether or not (S312).
When the notification destination is set to “first job” (S312: YES), an attempt is made to acquire owner information (e-mail address or IP address) of the sender of the first job (S313). Here, the acquisition of the owner information is read from the transmission source information included in the print job.
If the owner information of the first job could not be acquired (S313, NO), the administrator information stored in the RAM in advance is acquired and set as the notification destination (S308), and notification is performed with the processing flow already described. (S309 to S311).
When the owner information of the sender of the first job can be acquired (S313, YES), the acquired owner information is set as a notification destination and notified (S314).

In the process of step S312, when the notification destination is not the “first job”, that is, when the notification destination is “all jobs” (S312: NO), first, the print processing apparatus 1 enters a waiting state. The current print job is referred to (S315), and an attempt is made to acquire owner information of the referred print job.
When the owner information of the referred print job cannot be acquired (S316, NO), the administrator information stored in the RAM in advance is acquired and set as the notification destination (S319), and the owner information of the referenced print job is acquired. Is obtained (S316, YES), the owner information of the referred print job is set as the notification destination (S317).
When the notification destination is set, it is determined whether or not the search has been completed for all the print jobs in the waiting state (S318). If the search has not been completed (S318, NO), the process returns to step S315 to wait. This process is performed for all remaining print jobs until the processes in steps S315 to S319 are completed. When the search of all print jobs is completed (S318, YES), notification is performed in the processing flow already described to the set notification destination (S309 to S311).

By the processing described above, when a predetermined time elapses, that is, when the elapsed time exceeds a set time, the user is notified that the print processing is in a stopped state. it can.
Accordingly, for example, the user can know that the printing process is in a stopped state, and can avoid leaving the stopped state.

  Further, the print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment changes the print processing stop state to an error state similar to, for example, a paper jam or no toner when the stop state has elapsed for a predetermined time. It is also possible to notify the host device that sent the job as an error using SNMP.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing error notification operation processing of the print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
Since the processing of step S401 to step S406 is the same as the processing of step S201 to step S206 shown in FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted, and the processing from step S405 will be described.
In the process of step S405, the elapsed time of the stop state of the printing process timed by the time measuring means is compared with the set time stored in the storage device 16, and when the elapsed time exceeds the set time (S405, YES) The device information management unit 11 changes the status of the print processing apparatus 1 to an error (S407). When the status is changed to the error status, the communication control unit 10 notifies the host device that has transmitted the print job as an error status of the print processing stop status (S408).
However, when the print job is not in a waiting state, an error state is displayed on the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18.

  With the above processing, it is possible to easily notify that the print processing is in a stopped state without using the notification destination setting by the notification operation similar to the notification of an error such as a paper jam or no toner.

Next, a method for setting the above-described set time will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18 for setting the set time. FIG. 10A shows a menu screen for setting, and FIG. 10B shows an input screen for inputting the set time. Yes.
When the menu key 52 is pressed on the operation unit 18, a menu screen is displayed on the display panel 57, and among the displayed items, the system setting is selected and the OK key 56 is pressed.
As shown in FIG. 10A, the display panel 57 displays a “pause / automatic restart” item and a “pause / automatic restart time” item. In this display state, the “pause / automatic restart time” item is selected. In addition, the item name of the selected item is displayed in white.

Here, when the OK key 56 is pressed, an input screen for automatic restart time (set time) is displayed on the display panel 57. The automatic restart time can be set between 0 seconds and 100 seconds, and by pressing the up / down key of the scroll key 55, a numerical value of 0-100 can be selected.
In the illustrated example, 15 (seconds) is selected. When the OK key 56 is pressed here, the user interface control unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 is notified, and the device information management unit 11 is input to the storage device 16. Save the set time.
The setting time may be set in advance before the printing process is performed, or may be set after the printing stop / resume key 51 is pressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the print processing apparatus 1 enters the print stop state, the remaining time until the print stop state is automatically canceled on the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18, that is, the remaining time until the printing restarts. The time can be displayed. The remaining time until the resumption of printing is the difference between the set time and the elapsed time from the stop of the printing process timed by the device information management unit 11 shown in FIG. The remaining time is displayed as a countdown numerical value on the display panel 18.
In addition, it is set from the operation unit 18 or the host device 60 connected to the print processing apparatus 1 over the network when to display the remaining time until the resumption of printing, that is, the remaining number of seconds before the countdown display. Can do. Here, this time is referred to as a countdown time.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18 that counts down the remaining time until the print stop state is automatically canceled, and FIG. 11A is a display example in which the remaining time is numerically displayed. FIG. 11B shows a display example in which the remaining time is displayed as a bar.
As shown in FIG. 11A, the display panel 57 displays the remaining time until the resumption of printing as a numerical value. In the illustrated example, the remaining time is 30 seconds, and the remaining time displayed here is counted down to 29 seconds, 28 seconds, and 27 seconds as described above.
As another display example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the remaining time until resumption of printing may be displayed as a countdown bar. In the example shown in the figure, the black portion of the bar represents the remaining time, which is approximately 45 seconds.

As displayed on the display panel 57 shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, printing can be resumed by pressing the print stop / resume key 51 even while the remaining time is being counted down. it can.
Further, the remaining time until the resumption of printing may be notified to the user not by an image but by sound.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the countdown display process and the automatic stop release process of the print processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. Similar to the processing flow shown in FIG. 6, this flowchart starts from a state in which the print processing apparatus 1 has received a print job in a movable (cancel stop) state.
First, in order to stop execution of a print job, the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed on the operation unit 18 (S501), and the print processing apparatus 1 is shifted to a print stop state. At the same time, the device information management unit 11 starts timing (S502), and determines again whether the print stop / resume key 51 has been pressed (S503). When the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again (S503, YES), the printing process is resumed (S508).

If the print stop / resume key 51 is not pressed again in step S503 (S503), the device information management unit 11 refers to the set time and countdown time stored in the storage device 16 (S504).
The time obtained by subtracting the elapsed time from the set time, that is, the remaining time until printing restarts is compared with the countdown time (S505), and when the remaining time until printing restarts does not reach the countdown time. (S505, NO), the process returns to step S503.
When the remaining time until printing resumes reaches the countdown time (S505, YES), the countdown display of the remaining time until printing resumes is started on the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18, and the remaining time is displayed to the user. Notification is performed (S506).

Next, the elapsed time is compared with the set time, and when the elapsed time has not reached the set time, the process returns to step S503.
When the elapsed time reaches the set time (S507, YES), the printing stop state is canceled and printing is resumed (S508).

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the predetermined time until the stop is released can be freely set, so that not only there is no possibility that the printing process is unexpectedly restarted when the user does not expect, but it is also optimal for the convenience of the user. Since the time can be set, the usability of the print processing apparatus 1 is improved. Further, since the remaining time until the resumption of printing can be displayed in a countdown manner on the display panel 57, the user can easily grasp the timing of the resumption of printing.
Note that the predetermined time until notification to the user described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 can be set in the same manner, and the remaining time until the notification is performed can be similarly displayed in a countdown manner.

By the way, when a print job is input from the host device 60 connected via the network shown in FIG. 1, the print processing apparatus 1 includes, for example, character intervals and line intervals included in the print job. In accordance with the drawing conditions and the printing conditions such as double-sided printing and stapling designation, for example, the drawing process is performed and then the printing process is performed to complete the print job.
In the print processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, in the print stop state, the print process and the drawing process can be changed by stopping the print process and the drawing process.

  FIGS. 13 and 14 show examples of display on the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18 for changing the printing condition or drawing condition of the waiting print job in the print stopped state, and FIGS. 13A and 14A show the waiting print job. 13B and 14B show display examples in which a print job setting change screen is displayed.

In the job list display screen shown in FIG. 13A, the job name (job-1, job-2, job-3, job-4) of the print job in the print stop state and the job status (waiting for printing, drawing waiting) are displayed. It is displayed.
When each job is selected in this display state, the item name is displayed in white. In the example shown in the figure, “Job-2”, which is in the “Waiting for printing” state, is selected.

Next, when the OK key 56 is pressed, the display on the display panel 57 transitions to the print condition change screen for the selected job. As shown in FIG. 13B, “double-sided printing” is set to “Yes”, “staple” is set to “No”, and “punch” is set to “No” as printing conditions on the display panel 57.
On this display screen, the setting of “Yes” or “No” for each print condition can be changed.

Also, in the display screen shown in FIG. 14A, when “job-3” in the “drawing waiting” state is selected and the OK key 56 is pressed, the display on the display panel 57 is a drawing condition change screen for “job-3”. Transition to.
As shown in FIG. 14B, “font size”, “character spacing”, and “line spacing” are displayed on the display panel 57 as drawing conditions, and “10 points” and “3 mm (millimeters)”, respectively. , “5 mm” is set.
Thus, in the display panel 57, the setting of each drawing condition can be changed as in FIG. 13B.

The print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can change the print condition and drawing condition setting of a print job that is in a waiting state in the print stop state. It is not necessary to cancel the print job once and change the setting when changing the setting, and the efficiency of the printing process can be improved.
The “job status” shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 14A only needs to be distinguishable between the print wait state and the drawing wait state on display, and may be displayed, for example, with symbols or numbers. Also, the printing conditions are not limited to those shown in FIG. 13B. For example, the binding direction of the printed paper, the staple binding position, the paper size, the paper feed tray, and the like can be changed. The drawing conditions include the font type and the like. Can change.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the printing condition changing process and the drawing condition changing process shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.
First, when the print stop / restart key 51 is pressed (S601), the print processing apparatus 1 shifts to a print stop state according to the processing flow shown in FIG. 5 (see S102 to S105) (S602).
After shifting to the print stop state, it is determined whether or not there is a print job waiting for processing (waiting for printing and waiting for drawing) in the print processing apparatus 1 (S603), and if there is no print job waiting for processing (S603, NO). Then, the selection of the print job is finished (S606, YES). If the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again (S607, YES), the printing process is resumed (S608).

  If there is a print job waiting to be processed in step S603 (S603, YES), as shown in FIGS. 13A and 14A, a list of print jobs waiting to be processed is displayed on the display panel 57 of the operation unit 18 (S604). . If the user does not select the print job displayed on the display panel 57 (S605, NO), it is confirmed whether or not the selection of the print job is finished (S606). If not, the process of step S603, that is, The process returns to the confirmation of the job waiting for processing (S606, NO). If the selection of the print job is completed (S606, YES), when the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again (S607, YES), the printing process is resumed without performing the printing condition and drawing condition changing process (S608). ).

In step S605, when the user selects a print job displayed on the display panel 57 (S605, YES), whether or not the selected print job has been drawn, that is, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 14A. It is determined whether the “job status” is “waiting for printing” (S609).
When drawing processing of the print job selected by the user has been completed, that is, when the status of the selected print job is “waiting for printing” (S609, YES), the changeable printing conditions shown in FIG. 13B are displayed. (S610). If the printing condition is changed in this display state (S611, YES), the printing condition stored in the printing condition data storage unit 102 is changed (S612), and the changed printing condition is stored in the printing condition data. Stored in the unit 102.

In step S609, when the drawing process of the print job selected by the user has not been completed, that is, when the state of the selected print job is “waiting for drawing” (S609, NO), the changeable drawing shown in FIG. 14B is performed. The conditions are displayed (S613). If the drawing condition is changed in this display state (S614, YES), the drawing condition stored in the drawing condition data storage unit 103 is changed (S615), and the changed drawing condition is shown in FIG. And stored in the drawing condition data storage unit 103.
In step S612 or step S615, when the print condition change process or the drawing condition change process is executed (S612 or S615), it is confirmed whether or not the print job selection is to be ended (S606). The process returns to the confirmation of the job waiting for processing (S606, NO). If the selection of the print job is completed (S606, YES), if the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed again (S607, YES), the printing process is resumed (S608).

  In step S607, the printing process is restarted by pressing the print stop / restart key 51 again. Here, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, even if the print stop / restart key 51 is not pressed. When the elapsed time after the print stop state exceeds the set time stored in the storage device 16, the printing process is automatically restarted.

The print processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a function of stopping only the print processing (here, the stop function 1) as shown in the processing flow of FIG. 5 when the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed. ) And a function for stopping the drawing process and the printing process (herein referred to as stop function 2) as in the processing flow shown in FIG. 15, and selecting these stop function 1 or stop function 2, It can be set in the print processing apparatus 1.
That is, in the print processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, after the print stop / restart key 51 shown in FIG. 2 is pressed, either the stop function 1 or 2 is selected, and only the print processing is stopped accordingly. The printer shifts to a print stop state or a print stop state in which drawing processing is stopped in addition to print processing.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process for shifting to the print stop state according to the stop function 1 or 2.
First, when the printing stop / resume key 51 is pressed on the operation unit 18 (S701), the function to be stopped, that is, the printer engine (stop function 1) and the printer engine and the drawing process (stop function 2) are displayed on the display panel 57 (see FIG. S702).
When the user selects the stop function 1 on the display panel 57 (S703, stop function 1), the print processing apparatus 1 stops the printer engine 101 (S706), and steps S602 to S605 shown in the flowchart of FIG. The processing of steps S609 to S612 (these processings are collectively referred to as “processing in the stop function 1”) is executed (S707).
When the user selects the stop function 2 on the display panel 57 (S703, stop function 2), the print processing apparatus 1 stops the printer engine 101 and the drawing process (S704), and steps S602 to S602 shown in the flowchart of FIG. Steps S605 and S609 to S615 (which are collectively referred to as “processing in the stop function 2” here) are executed (S705).

  In step S702, the function to stop is displayed and selected on the display panel 57 as means for selecting either the stop function 1 or 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed. The stop function 1 or 2 is selected according to the number of times the print stop / resume key 51 is pressed, such as selecting the stop function 1 when the number of times is 1, and selecting the stop function 2 when the number of times the key is pressed is 2. May be.

  According to the above processing flow, since it is possible to select from the stop function 1 for stopping only the print processing and the stop function 2 for stopping the print processing and the drawing processing, it is possible to shift to the print stop state desired by the user, Usability of the print processing apparatus 1 can be improved.

  As described above, since it is possible to change the setting of the print condition or the like for the job in the waiting state while the printing is stopped, the setting error recovery or setting change of the print data transmitted from the host device such as the host device 60 is performed. be able to.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a print processing apparatus and a host computer. It is a front view which shows an operation part. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the display panel of an operation part. It is a functional block diagram for performing stop and cancellation of print processing. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of transfer to a printing stop state. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic stop cancellation process of the print processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection menu of the notification method displayed on a display panel. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating notification operation processing of the print processing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an error notification operation process of the print processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the display panel of the operation part which sets setting time. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the display panel of the operation part which counts down the remaining time until a printing stop state is cancelled | released automatically. It is a flowchart which shows the countdown display process and automatic stop cancellation | release process of a printing processing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a display panel that changes the printing conditions of a print job in a waiting state. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a display panel that changes drawing conditions of a waiting print job. It is a flowchart which shows a printing condition change process and a drawing condition change process. It is a flowchart which shows the process which transfers to a printing stop state according to the stop function 1 or 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Print processing apparatus, 10 ... Communication control part, 11 ... Equipment information management part, 12 ... Print control part, 13 ... Image latching control part, 14 ... User I / F control unit, 15 ... network I / F unit, 16 ... storage unit, 17 ... print drawing unit, 18 ... operation unit, 51 ... print stop / resume key, 52 ... Menu key 53 ... Job reset key 54 ... Return key 55 ... Cursor key 56 ... OK key 57 ... Display panel 60 ... Host device 100 ... Controller control unit, 101... Printer engine, 102... Printing condition data storage unit, 103.

Claims (18)

A print processing apparatus that can be connected to a host apparatus, has an input means, and performs a printing process based on information transmitted from the host apparatus,
A means for stopping the printing process based on an operation of the host device or the input means; a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time since the stop of the printing process; and a preset time set by the time measured by the time measuring means And a means for canceling the stop of the print processing when the print processing is exceeded. A print processing apparatus that can be connected to a host apparatus, has an input means, and performs a printing process based on information transmitted from the host apparatus,
A means for stopping the printing process based on an operation of the host device or the input means; a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time since the stop of the printing process; and a preset time set by the time measured by the time measuring means And a notifying means for notifying the host device that the printing process is in a stopped state when the value exceeds the limit. The print processing apparatus according to claim 2,
A setting unit configured to set a notification destination for notifying the host device that print processing is in a stopped state, and the notification destination is an administrator of the print processing device and / or transmission of a print job in which printing is stopped Print processing apparatus, characterized in that the print processing apparatus is a user's host device. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A print processing apparatus comprising: means for inputting an arbitrary time as the set time; and means for setting the input arbitrary time as the set time. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A print processing apparatus comprising: means for displaying or notifying a remaining time until the stop of the printing process is canceled or when the notifying means gives a notification when the printing process is stopped. The print processing apparatus according to claim 5,
A print processing apparatus comprising: means for setting a time length for displaying or notifying the remaining time. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A print processing apparatus comprising: means for stopping drawing processing based on an operation of the host device or the input means. The print processing apparatus according to claim 7,
A print processing apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects whether to stop both the printing process and the drawing process or only the printing process based on an operation of the host device or the input unit. The print processing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
A print processing apparatus comprising: means for performing a process of changing a printing condition or a drawing condition of a waiting print job when the printing process or the drawing process is stopped. A print processing method for performing print processing by executing a print job received from a host device,
A step of stopping the printing process based on a user's instruction, a step of counting an elapsed time from the stop of the printing process, and automatically when the measured time exceeds a predetermined time And a step of canceling the stop of the printing process. A print processing method for performing print processing by executing a print job received from a host device,
A step of stopping the printing process based on a user instruction, a step of counting an elapsed time from the stop of the printing process, and a time when the counted time exceeds a predetermined time, to the host device And a step of notifying that the printing process is in a stopped state. The print processing method according to claim 11,
A setting step for setting a notification destination for notifying the host device that print processing is in a stopped state, and the notification destination is an administrator of the print processing device and / or transmission of a print job in which printing is stopped Print processing method, characterized in that the print processing method is a user's host device. The print processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
A print processing method comprising: inputting an arbitrary time as the set time; and setting the input arbitrary time as a set time. The print processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
A print processing method comprising a step of displaying or notifying a remaining time until the stop of the print processing is canceled or until the notification means performs notification when the print processing is stopped. The print processing method according to claim 14, wherein
A print processing method comprising a step of setting a time length for displaying or notifying the remaining time. The printing processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 15,
A printing processing method comprising a step of stopping drawing processing based on a user instruction. The print processing method according to claim 16, wherein
A printing processing method comprising a step of selecting whether to stop both the printing processing and the drawing processing or only printing based on a user instruction. The print processing method according to claim 16 or 17,
A print processing method comprising a step of performing a process of changing a print condition or a drawing condition of a waiting print job when the printing process or the drawing process is stopped.

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