JP6206056B2 - Processing program, processing apparatus, and processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing program, a processing apparatus, and a processing method, and more particularly, to a processing program, a processing apparatus, and a processing method that control processing related to printing.

  When a service is provided by a cloud server or a local server, when a large number of users use the service, requests (referred to as requesting the server to use the service) are concentrated and a large amount of processing (service The operation of the server for providing the service is referred to as processing). In order to cope with such a situation, various methods for efficiently executing processing have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below is an image processing method in which image processing is performed by a processor, inquires about the number of processors that can bear image processing, determines the properties of the image to be processed, and determines the determined image. An image processing method is disclosed in which each process to be shared by the plurality of processors is determined based on the characteristics of the processor and the number of inquired processors.

  In Patent Document 2 below, from a software component assigned to each thread in a multi-thread environment having one or more CPU (Central Processing Unit) allocation units for each process in one or more software execution environments, other software components When the execution request information is issued, the software component combination control device refers to the common reference information indicating the arrangement of the software components, combines the software components, and controls the execution. The inter-thread component combining means for determining the location of the destination software component based on the request information and the common reference information and transmitting the execution request information in a procedure based on the location, and combining and executing the soft component between the two processes When controlling, for each process, the location of the destination software component is determined based on the received execution request information and the common reference information, and based on the location Procedures software component binding controller and a interprocess component coupling means for transmitting the execution request information is disclosed in.

JP 2000-2936740 A JP-A-10-133888

  As described above, in a server that provides a service, a large amount of processing may occur temporarily when requests concentrate. In such a case, the processing for each request is executed in parallel. Has been. However, if the processing is executed each time a request is input, the processing is executed as many times as the number of requests, which increases the processing load on the server and the resources (memory and HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) are insufficient. As a result, it becomes impossible to respond to the request at the expected speed, and it becomes impossible to provide the service comfortably.

  As a measure for avoiding such an increase in processing load and a shortage of resources, a method of distributing a processing load by providing a plurality of servers that execute processing can be considered. However, if a plurality of servers are provided, a large cost is required for the preparation and maintenance of the server equipment.

  Further, as another measure for avoiding an increase in processing load and a shortage of resources, a method of integrating a plurality of processes can be considered. For example, when performing a plurality of processes corresponding to each request, the total processing amount can be reduced by integrating the common processes among the plurality of processes corresponding to each request. Increase in load and resource shortage can be reduced.

  In particular, when processing a request related to printing using a printing device such as a printer or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) (for example, a request for generating an image reflecting print settings for each page, such as a print job), first, the print job Since common processing such as analyzing each page of the system is performed, integrating this common processing reduces the processing amount of multiple requests and reduces the processing load and resource shortage of devices that process print jobs. can do.

  Here, regarding the integration of processes, a method of integrating overlapping portions (common processes) of a plurality of processes before starting the processes for a plurality of requests is known. However, in the field of printing, new requests are entered one after another, and each request needs to be executed quickly, so if you wait until multiple requests are entered before integrating the processing, There arises a problem that processing for the requested request is delayed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a main object thereof is to provide a processing program, a processing apparatus, and a processing method capable of efficiently executing processing for a plurality of requests related to printing. It is in.

One aspect of the present invention is a processing program that operates in a processing device that processes a request relating to printing, and is being processed when a second request is input to the processing device during the processing of the first request. Alternatively, the first step for determining whether or not the processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to the page to be processed, and when it is determined in the first step that the processing in units of pages can be integrated, Of the pages scheduled to be processed for the request, the processing of the page that can be integrated is executed as the processing of the first request, and the processing of the page that cannot be integrated is executed as a second step of processing as the processing of the second request , in the first step, when the integrated processing in units of pages, and if the difference exceeds the allowable range to which the delay is predetermined processing of the first request, you determined not possible integration processing in the page unit And wherein the door.

One aspect of the present invention is a processing device connected to a device that transmits a request regarding printing via a communication network, and a communication I / F unit that receives the request, and a control that processes the received request The control unit determines whether processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to a page being processed or scheduled to be processed when a second request is input during processing of the first request. When the determination unit and the determination unit determine that the processing can be integrated in units of pages, the processing of the page that can be integrated among the pages scheduled to be processed in the second request is the first request. And a process execution unit that executes a process for a page that cannot be integrated as a process for the second request, and the determination unit integrates the process in units of pages. The processing delay of If exceeding the range, it characterized that you determined to not be integrated in the process in the page unit.

One aspect of the present invention is a processing method in a processing device connected to a device that transmits a request for printing via a communication network, where a second request is input during processing of the first request. In addition, when it is determined that the processing can be integrated in units of pages for the page being processed or scheduled to be processed, and the processing in units of pages is determined to be integrated in the first step. In the second step, processing of pages that can be integrated among the pages scheduled to be processed of the second request is executed as processing of the first request, and processing of pages that cannot be integrated is executed as processing of the second request. If, then the execution, wherein in the first step, when the integrated processing in units of pages, and if the difference exceeds the allowable range to which the delay is predetermined processing of the first request, integration processing in the page unit Characterized in that it determines that it can not.

  According to the processing program, processing apparatus, and processing method of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently execute processing for a plurality of requests related to printing.

  The reason is that a processing program that operates on a processing device that processes a request related to printing, such as a server or a printing device, is processing or scheduled to process when a second request is input during processing of the first request. It is determined whether or not processing can be integrated in units of pages, and if processing in units of pages is possible, processing of pages that can be integrated out of pages scheduled for processing of the second request is the first. This is because the process of the page that cannot be integrated is executed as the second request process.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the user terminal which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the web server which concerns on one Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process performed with respect to the request regarding the printing which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process which should be integrated. It is a figure which shows an example of the process which should not be integrated. It is a figure which shows the comparison (when a several request | requirement page is the same, and output designation | designated differs) of the processing method of the past and this invention. It is a figure which shows the comparison (when the page of a several request | requirement partially overlaps, and output designation is the same) of the processing method of the past and this invention. It is a figure which shows the comparison (when the files of a some request | requirement differ, a page overlaps partially, and output specification is the same) of the processing method of the past and this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of the Web server based on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement (integration operation | movement of a process) of the Web server which concerns on one Example of this invention.

  In a configuration in which a server and a plurality of clients are connected so as to communicate with each other, processing requests are sent from the plurality of clients to the server. The server performs processing in response to the received request. At that time, if a large amount of processing occurs temporarily due to concentration of requests, the processing load on the server increases and resources are insufficient. To solve this problem, there is a method of providing a plurality of servers and distributing the processing load. However, this method requires costs for preparation and maintenance of server equipment. As another method, there is a method of integrating a plurality of processes, and a method of integrating overlapping portions (common processes) of a plurality of processes for each request before starting the processes for the plurality of requests is known. .

  For example, a print request consists of multiple processes, and the first several processes must be executed in order, and the last few processes are divided into multiple processes, and output varies depending on the process. There is a feature that results. Therefore, by integrating the first several processes, it is possible to reduce the total processing amount of a plurality of requests and reduce the processing load of the apparatus that processes the requests related to printing.

  However, in the field of printing, new requests are sent one after another, and each request needs to be executed quickly, so if you wait for multiple requests to be entered before integrating the processing, There was a problem that execution of processing would be delayed. From such a background, there is a need for a proposal of a method for efficiently integrating processes included in a request when another request is input during execution of the process for the request.

  Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, when another request (second request) is input during the processing of the previous request (first request), the page is being processed or is scheduled to be processed. It is determined whether processing can be integrated in units (whether the same page is in the process of the first request or the page scheduled for processing and the page scheduled for processing of the second request). When integration is possible (when there is the same page, or when there is the same page and the delay of processing of the previous request is within an allowable range), processing of the page that can be integrated (same page) is processed by the previous request. The processing of the page that cannot be integrated (the page that is not identical) is executed as the processing of another request.

  For example, when request A is input, one or more processes (referred to as process group A) are executed to respond to request A. When a request B is newly input during execution of the processing group A, if all of one or a plurality of processes (referred to as processing group B) for the request B can be integrated into the processing group A, the request Without executing the processing group B for B, the processing content of the processing group A for the request A is changed to processing that satisfies both the requests A and B, and the execution of the processing group A is continued.

  However, as a result of determining the state of the processing group A (processing contents and progress) and the deterioration of the responsiveness of the processing group A when processing is integrated (delay of the processing group A), all of the processing group B with respect to the request B If it cannot be integrated, the process for the request B is executed only for the part that cannot be integrated into the processing group A. By doing so, even when requests are input intensively at a time, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the apparatus and the resource shortage without impairing the comfort to the user.

  As an application example of the above control, a print preview service at the server is assumed. The preview process consists of a group of processes such as an initialization process, an analysis process, an analysis information notification, a thumbnail generation process, and a preview generation process, and the output is one or more of the analysis information, thumbnail image, and preview image. In order to obtain the output, it is necessary to perform initialization processing and analysis processing.

  Therefore, in view of the characteristics of the service related to printing, when request B is input during execution of initialization processing or analysis processing of a request A, the processing group for request B is integrated into the processing group for request A. If possible, processing load (processing time) by performing initialization processing and analysis processing of request B by changing the setting contents of the processing group for request A so as to correspond to the processing group for request B as well. Reduction and resource (memory usage) can be saved.

  On the other hand, if a request B is input during an initialization process or an analysis process of a request A, the process may not be integrated even if the process group for the request B can be integrated into the process group for the request A. is there. For example, when the output of the request A is analysis information and the output of the request B is a preview image, the request B initialization processing is performed when the request B preview generation processing is integrated into the processing contents of the processing group of the request A Although it is possible to reduce the processing load (processing time) for the analysis processing and save resources (memory usage), the request A response is greatly delayed in order to perform the preview generation processing of the request B. As a result, the comfort of the user who has input the request A is impaired. Therefore, when determining whether or not processing can be integrated, it is also determined whether the processing delay for the previous request is within a predetermined allowable range. If the processing delay is within the allowable range, the processing is integrated. To do.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, a processing program, a processing apparatus, and a processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are block diagrams illustrating configurations of a user terminal, a Web server, and a printing apparatus, respectively. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing performed in response to a request for printing according to the present embodiment. FIGS. 6 and 7 are examples of processing that should be integrated and examples of processing that should not be integrated, respectively. FIG. 8 to 10 are diagrams for comparing the processing method of the present invention with that of the present invention, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are flowcharts showing the operation of the Web server of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment includes one or a plurality of user terminals 10 that make a request related to printing, and a processing device that processes a request regarding printing (referred to as a Web server 20 in the present exemplary embodiment). If necessary, it is composed of one or a plurality of printing apparatuses 30 that execute printing. These are connected to each other by a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) defined by standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Token Ring, and FDDI (Fiber-Distributed Data Interface). Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail.

[User terminal]
The user terminal 10 is a computer device such as a personal computer, a portable terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone, and the control unit 11, the storage unit 12, the communication I / F unit 13, and the display as illustrated in FIG. The unit 14 and the operation unit 15 are configured.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), which are connected via a bus. The CPU performs overall control of the user terminal 10 by reading a program from the ROM or the storage unit 12, developing it in the RAM, and executing it.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the control unit 11 includes an OS (Operating System), an application unit 11 a that operates a document creation application on the OS, and the printing apparatus 30 that stores document data created by the application. A driver unit that generates a request for printing (in this embodiment, a print job) by converting it into a language that can be interpreted by the user (PDL (Page Description Language) such as PCL (Printer Control Language) or PS (Post Script)). It also functions as 11b.

  The storage unit 12 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an SD (Secure Digital) card, and the like, and relates to a program for controlling the respective units by the CPU, document data, and processing functions of the own device. Stores information etc.

  The communication I / F unit 13 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, and the like, establishes a connection with the Web server 20 connected via the network, and transmits a request and results of processing for the request (for example, (Analysis information, thumbnail image, preview image) data is received.

  The display unit 14 is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and includes a screen for creating a document, a screen for setting document printing conditions, a screen for displaying analysis information, thumbnail images, and preview images received from the Web server 20. Is displayed. The operation unit 15 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel integrated with the display unit 14, and the like, and enables operations such as document creation and print condition setting.

[Web server]
The Web server 20 is a computer device, and as shown in FIG. 3A, includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication I / F unit 23, and a display unit 24 and an operation unit 25 as necessary. Is done.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU and a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, which are connected via a bus. The CPU reads out the program from the ROM and the storage unit 22, develops it in the RAM, and executes it, thereby performing overall control of the Web server 20 and executing processing in response to a request from the user terminal 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the control unit 21 analyzes a request when another request is input during processing of the previous request for printing, and a page being processed or scheduled to be processed (in other words, When the determination unit 21a determines whether or not the processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to a page other than the processed page), and another determination is made when the determination unit 21a determines that the processing in units of pages can be integrated. Among the pages scheduled to be processed, the processing of the page that can be integrated is executed as the processing of the previous request, and the processing of the page that cannot be integrated also functions as the processing execution unit 21b that executes the processing of another request. When executing the process, the process execution unit 21b transmits the analysis result as analysis information to the user terminal 10, generates a preview image in which the print setting is reflected on the image of each page, or reduces the image of each page. The generated thumbnail image is generated, and if necessary, a print image to be printed by the printing apparatus 30 is generated.

  The storage unit 22 is configured by an HDD or the like, and includes a program for the CPU to control each unit, a request received from the user terminal 10, analysis information data, preview image and thumbnail image data, and details and execution of processing for each request. A management list for managing the status, information related to the processing function of the own device, and the like are stored.

  The communication I / F unit 23 includes a NIC, a modem, and the like, establishes a connection with the user terminal 10 and the printing apparatus 30 connected via the network, receives a request from the user terminal 10, and sends the request to the user terminal 10. Analysis data, preview image, thumbnail image data, and transmission of print image data to the printing apparatus as necessary.

  The display unit 24 is configured with an LCD or the like, and displays various screens necessary for controlling the Web server 20. The operation unit 25 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and enables various operations necessary for controlling the Web server 20.

[Printer]
The printing apparatus 30 is an image forming apparatus such as a printer or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), and as shown in FIG. 4, a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication I / F unit 33, a display unit 34, and an operation unit 35. And a printing unit 36 and the like.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU and a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and these are connected via a bus. The CPU performs overall control of the printing apparatus 30 by reading out the program from the ROM and the storage unit 32, developing the program in the RAM, and executing the program.

  The storage unit 32 is configured by an HDD or the like, and stores a program for the CPU to control each unit, print image data, information on processing functions of the own apparatus, and the like.

  The communication I / F unit 33 includes a NIC, a modem, and the like, establishes a connection with the Web server 20 connected via the network, and receives print image data and the like from the Web server 20.

  The display unit 34 is configured by an LCD or the like, and displays various screens related to printing. The operation unit 35 includes a hard key, a touch panel integrated with the display unit 34, and the like, and enables various operations related to printing.

  The printing unit 36 includes elements necessary for image formation using an image forming process such as an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method, that is, a charging device, a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a transfer roller, a transfer belt, and a fixing device. Etc. Specifically, the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device is irradiated with light corresponding to the print data from the exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image, and the charged toner is attached and developed by the developing device. The toner image is transferred to a paper medium via a primary transfer roller and a secondary transfer belt, and is fixed by a fixing device.

  In the above description, since the rasterization process is performed when the Web server 20 generates a thumbnail image for preview display, the printing apparatus 30 is not provided with a determination unit or a process execution unit. Alternatively, a processing execution unit may be provided so that the printing apparatus 30 itself generates a print image.

  Hereinafter, the preview process in the printing system having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the preview processing performed by the Web server 20 includes initialization processing, analysis processing, analysis information notification processing, thumbnail generation processing, preview generation processing, and the like. The initialization process is, for example, a process for securing an area for performing an analysis process on a memory. The analysis process is, for example, a process of analyzing a print job, extracting an object from each page of a document and converting it into an intermediate language, or extracting print setting information. The analysis information notification process is a process for notifying the user terminal 10 of an analysis result in the analysis process, for example. The thumbnail generation process is, for example, a process of generating a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the image of each page of the document. The preview generation process is a process for generating a preview image that simulates the state when the print settings are reflected on the image of each page of the document, for example. In FIG. 5, the size of the frame surrounding each process is changed to express the amount of time required for each process. That is, the time required for analysis information notification processing, thumbnail generation processing, and preview generation processing is in the order of analysis information notification processing <thumbnail generation processing <preview generation processing.

  In this preview process, the output is one of analysis information, thumbnail images, preview images, or a plurality of preview images. To obtain the output, initialization processing and analysis processing must be performed. Can be integrated. When the preview process is started after a plurality of requests are input at the time of this process integration, the initialization process and the analysis process may be integrated. However, the second request is received during the preview process for the first request. If input, the preview process of the first request may be greatly delayed due to the integration of the processes, so it is necessary to determine whether or not the delay is within an allowable range.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a request A for instructing the processing of the first to third pages of the document as well as the request A for instructing the processing of the first to third pages of the document. Assume that the notification process is performed, and the process B is a structure that performs a thumbnail generation process after the analysis process. Assume that request B is input during the initialization process of request A or the analysis process of page 1. In this case, even if the processing of the request B is integrated into the processing of the request A, the influence on the responsiveness of the request A is small (the thumbnail generation processing of the request B does not take so much time), so it is determined that the processing should be integrated. . Then, the setting content of the process corresponding to the request A is changed so as to also correspond to the request B (the thumbnail generation process of the request B is executed after the analysis information notification process of each page), thereby initializing the request B Analysis processing can be omitted, and processing load (processing time) can be reduced and resources (memory usage) can be saved.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the process B is configured to perform a preview generation process after the analysis process, and the request B is input during the initialization process of the request A and the analysis process of the page 1. In this case, the processing load can be reduced and resources can be reduced by integrating the processes. However, the preview generation process takes more time than the thumbnail generation process. By integrating the processing, the response of the request A is greatly delayed, and the comfort of the user of the request A is impaired.

  In this way, whether or not to integrate the processes can be determined according to the contents of the process for each request. Specifically, in the preview process, there are five types of requests shown in Tables 1 and 2, request 1 is a request to output analysis information, request 2 is a request to output a thumbnail image, and request 3 is a request to output a preview image. Request 4 is a request to output analysis information and a thumbnail image, and Request 5 is a request to output analysis information and a preview image.

  Requests 1, 2, and 4 in Tables 1 and 2 can improve processing efficiency while suppressing processing delay for the previous request if the processing file and page specification match (if the processing target page is duplicated). Can be improved. In addition, if the processing files and the page designations match the requests 3 and 5, the processing efficiency can be improved while suppressing the processing delay for the previous request within the allowable range. On the other hand, the requests 1, 2, 4 and 3 and 5 match the processing file and page designation, but the preview image has a large memory usage and processing load, so the processing delay for one of the requests is within an allowable range. The processing efficiency cannot be improved.

  For example, when 10 requests as shown in Tables 3 and 4 are input at the same time, processing is performed with the four internal IDs in Table 5 inside the preview process. That is, requests 1 to 5 have a page designation of “1,2,3”, requests 6 to 10 have a page designation of “3,4,5”, and page 3 is duplicated. The processing is divided into processing of 2,3,3 ”and processing of“ 4,5 ”, and each processing is divided into processing of the thumbnail image and processing of the preview image. In this way, it is processed as four requests internally, but by returning the output so that it can respond to each of the ten requests, it does not affect the outside, internally processing load and resource usage The amount can be reduced.

  In the following, the three cases will be described by comparing the conventional method that does not perform processing integration with the method of the present invention that performs processing integration.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8A, there is a request A for which there is no image output designation for the first to third pages of the file A and there is analysis information designation, and an image output designation for the first to third pages of the file A. Processing when request B is input during analysis processing of page 2 of request A for two requests B of request B for which no analysis information is specified by thumbnails will be described.

  In this case, in the conventional method shown in FIG. 8B, since the processing is not integrated, the analysis information for the initialization process, the analysis processes of pages 1 to 3, and the analysis processes of pages 1 to 3 is performed for the request A. In parallel with these processes, an initialization process, an analysis process for pages 1 to 3, and a thumbnail generation process for the analysis processes for pages 1 to 3 are performed in parallel with these processes.

  On the other hand, in the method of the present invention shown in FIG. 8C, when the request B is input, it is determined whether the processing of the request B can be integrated with the processing of the request A. In this case, there is common processing that can be integrated, and the thumbnail generation processing does not take much time. Therefore, it is determined that integration is possible, the output image designation of request A is changed from “none” to “thumbnail”, and processing of request A is performed. Continue. Since processing of page 1 of request A has been completed, thumbnail generation processing of page 1 cannot be performed by request A. Therefore, only the initialization process, the page 1 analysis process, and the page 1 thumbnail generation process are performed for the request B. The result of the analysis process for page 1 of request A is stored, and the thumbnail generation process for page 1 of request B is not performed using the stored result. In this example, the analysis processing of pages 2 and 3 can be made common, so that the processing efficiency can be improved and the thumbnails of pages 2 and 3 in request B can be achieved without delaying the processing of request A so much. The generation process can be completed quickly.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, the request A for which there is no image output designation for the first to third pages of the file A but the analysis information designation, and the image output designation for the third to fifth pages of the file A The processing when request B is input during the analysis processing of page 2 of request A for two requests B of request B with no analysis information designation will be described. That is, in this example, both requests A and B are requests for analysis information, but the request page designation is different.

  In this case, in the conventional method shown in FIG. 9B, since the processing is not integrated, analysis information for the request A, initialization processing, analysis processing of pages 1 to 3, and analysis processing of pages 1 to 3 is performed. In parallel with these processes, an initialization process, an analysis process for pages 3 to 5 and an analysis information notification process for the analysis processes for pages 3 to 5 are performed in parallel with these processes.

  On the other hand, in the method of the present invention shown in FIG. 9C, when the request B is input, it is determined whether the processing of the request B can be integrated with the processing of the request A. In this case, there is a common process that can be integrated, and the analysis information notification process has a short time. Therefore, it is determined that integration is possible, and the page designation of request A is changed from “1, 2, 3” to “1, 2, 3, 3”. To continue processing of request A. Since the request A does not process the pages 4 and 5, only the initialization process, the analysis processes of the pages 4 and 5 and the analysis information notification process of the pages 4 and 5 are performed for the request B. In this example, the analysis process for page 3 can be shared, so that the efficiency of the process can be improved, and the analysis information notification process for page 3 in request B can be performed without almost delaying the process of request A. Can be completed quickly.

  8 and 9 described the case where the target of the request is the same file. However, if the same page is included in each file even if the files are different, the processing for the page is shared. There are cases where it is possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), request A for which there is no image output designation and analysis information designation for pages 1 to 3 of file A, and page 3 for file B (the same page as page 3 for file A) ), And the processing when the request B is input during the analysis processing of the page 2 of the request A for two requests B of the request B for which there is no image output specification for the pages 10 and 11 and the analysis information is specified. To do. Note that serial numbers are assigned to pages so that it can be determined whether or not the same page exists in different files.

  In this case, in the conventional method shown in FIG. 10B, the processing is not integrated. Therefore, as in FIG. Analysis information notification processes for the analysis processes 1 to 3 are performed. In parallel with these processes, an initialization process, an analysis process for pages 3, 10, and 11, and an analysis process for pages 3, 10, and 11 are performed for request B. An analysis information notification process for the analysis process is performed.

  On the other hand, in the method of the present invention shown in FIG. 10C, when the request B is input, it is determined whether the processing of the request B can be integrated with the processing of the request A. In this case, there is a common process that can be integrated with page 3, and the analysis information notification process has a short time. Therefore, it is determined that integration is possible and the page designation of request A is changed from “1, 2, 3” to “1, Change to "2, 3, 3" and continue processing request A. Since request A does not process pages 10 and 11 of file B, only initialization processing, analysis processing of pages 10 and 11 of file B, and analysis information notification processing of pages 10 and 11 are performed for request B. Also in this example, as in FIG. 9C, the analysis processing of page 3 can be made common, so that the processing efficiency can be improved and the request B is hardly delayed. The analysis information notification process for page 3 can be completed quickly.

  Next, processing of the Web server 20 according to the present embodiment will be described. The CPU performs each process in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12 by expanding and executing the processing program stored in the ROM in the RAM.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 21 determines whether there is an input of a new request (S101). If no new request has been input, the process returns to S101. When a new request is input, the control unit 21 performs processing integration (S102). This step will be described later. Then, after integrating the processes, the control unit 21 determines whether there are any unintegrated processes remaining in the new request (S103). When all the processes are integrated, the process returns to S101 and waits for input of a new request. On the other hand, when there is a process that is not integrated, the control unit 21 sets a process that is not integrated with respect to the new request (S105), returns to S101, and waits for the input of the new request.

  FIG. 12 shows details of the integration operation of the processing of S102 of FIG. First, the control unit 21 confirms a request that is being processed, and registers the request in the management list (S201). Next, the control unit 21 deletes the new request and the request whose page designation does not overlap from the management list (S202).

  Next, the control unit 21 checks the output image designation of the new request (S203). When the output image designation is “none” or “thumbnail image”, the control unit 21 deletes a request whose output image designation is not “none” or “thumbnail image” from the management list (S204). On the other hand, when the output image designation is “preview image”, the control unit 21 deletes the request whose output image designation is not “preview image” from the management list (S205).

  Next, the control unit 21 refers to the management list, identifies the request having the largest overlap between the new request and the page designation, and designates the processing of the new request to be integrated into the request (S207). Then, the process integrated with the request executing the process is deleted from the processes for the new request (S208).

  As described above, in this embodiment, when another request is input during the execution of the process for the previous request, it is determined whether there is a process that can be integrated on a page basis for the page being processed or scheduled to be processed. If there is processing that can be integrated and the processing delay for the previous request is within an allowable range, the page that can be integrated is executed in the processing for the previous request, and the page that cannot be integrated is executed in the processing for another request. Therefore, processing load and resource shortage can be reduced.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the configuration and control of the Web server 20 can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a request for generating a preview image or a thumbnail image has been described as an example of a request related to printing. However, in response to an arbitrary request instructing an arbitrary process based on an analysis result for each page, The control of the invention can be applied as well.

  In the above embodiment, the Web server is configured to process a request related to printing. However, the present invention is applicable to a case where a printer controller, a RIP (Raster Image Processing) controller, a printing apparatus, or the like processes a request related to printing. The same control can be applied as well.

  The present invention can be used for a processing program that controls processing related to printing, a recording medium that records the processing program, a server that provides services related to printing, and a processing method in the server.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 User terminal 11 Control part 11a Application part 11b Driver part 12 Storage part 13 Communication I / F part 14 Display part 15 Operation part 20 Web server 21 Control part 21a Judgment part 21b Processing execution part 22 Storage part 23 Communication I / F part 24 Display unit 25 Operation unit 30 Printing device 31 Control unit 32 Storage unit 33 Communication I / F unit 34 Display unit 35 Operation unit 36 Printing unit

Claims (18)

A processing program that runs on a processing device that processes a request for printing,
In the processing device,
A first step of determining whether processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to a page being processed or scheduled to be processed when a second request is input during processing of the first request;
If it is determined in the first step that processing can be integrated in units of pages, processing of pages that can be integrated out of pages scheduled for processing of the second request is executed as processing of the first request. Then, the processing of the page that cannot be integrated causes the second step to be executed as the processing of the second request ,
In the first step, when the integrated processing in units of pages, and if the difference exceeds the allowable range to which the delay is predetermined processing of the first request, you determined not possible integration processing in the page unit ,
A processing program characterized by that. In the first step, when there is no same page in the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed in the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed in the second request, the integration of the processing in units of pages is performed. Judge that you can't
The processing program according to claim 1, wherein: In the first step, when there is the same page in the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed in the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed in the second request, the processing is integrated in units of pages Judging that it is possible,
In the second step, among the pages scheduled to be processed for the second request, the processing for the same page is executed as the processing for the first request.
The processing program according to claim 1, wherein: The processing of the first request and the second request includes, for each page, analysis processing for analyzing the page, and generation processing for generating information based on the analysis result of the page,
In the second step, the analysis process is made common between the first request and the second request for the pages that can be integrated.
The processing program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The generation process includes a preview generation process for generating a preview image reflecting print settings on the page based on the analysis result of the page, and a thumbnail generation process for generating a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the image of the page. ,
In the second step, when the generation process of the second request is the thumbnail generation process, the thumbnail generation process is added to the process of the first request.
The processing program according to claim 4 , wherein: In the first step, when the generation process of the second request is the preview generation process, it is determined that the processes cannot be integrated in units of pages.
The processing program according to claim 5, wherein:   A processing device connected to a device for sending a request for printing via a communication network,
  A communication I / F unit that receives the request;
  A control unit for processing the received request,
  The controller is
  A determination unit that determines whether or not processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to a page being processed or scheduled to be processed when a second request is input during processing of the first request;
  When the determination unit determines that the processing can be integrated in units of pages, the processing of the page that can be integrated among the pages scheduled to be processed in the second request is executed as the processing of the first request, The processing of the page that cannot be integrated includes a processing execution unit that executes the processing of the second request,
  The determination unit determines that the processing in units of pages cannot be integrated if the processing delay of the first request exceeds a predetermined allowable range when the processing is integrated in units of pages.
  The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The determination unit cannot integrate the processing in units of pages when the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed for the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed for the second request do not have the same page. To judge,
The processing apparatus according to claim 7 . The determination unit can integrate the processing in units of pages when the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed for the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed for the second request are the same page. And
The process execution unit executes the process of the same page as the process of the first request among the pages scheduled to be processed of the second request.
The processing apparatus according to claim 7 . The processing of the first request and the second request includes, for each page, analysis processing for analyzing the page, and generation processing for generating information based on the analysis result of the page,
The process execution unit makes the analysis process common to the first request and the second request for the pages that can be integrated.
The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The generation process includes a preview generation process for generating a preview image reflecting print settings on the page based on the analysis result of the page, and a thumbnail generation process for generating a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the image of the page. ,
The process execution unit adds the thumbnail generation process to the process of the first request when the generation process of the second request is the thumbnail generation process.
The processing apparatus according to claim 10 . The determination unit determines that the processing in units of pages cannot be integrated when the generation processing of the second request is the preview generation processing;
The processing apparatus according to claim 11 .   A processing method in a processing device connected to a device that transmits a request for printing via a communication network,
  A first step of determining whether processing can be integrated in units of pages with respect to a page being processed or scheduled to be processed when a second request is input during processing of the first request;
  If it is determined in the first step that processing can be integrated in units of pages, processing of pages that can be integrated out of pages scheduled for processing of the second request is executed as processing of the first request. And a process of a page that cannot be integrated executes a second step executed as a process of the second request,
  In the first step, when the processing delay of the first request exceeds the predetermined allowable range when the processing is integrated in units of pages, it is determined that the processing in units of pages cannot be integrated.
  A processing method characterized by the above.   In the first step, when there is no same page in the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed in the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed in the second request, the integration of the processing in units of pages is performed. Judge that you can not,
  The processing method according to claim 13. In the first step, when there is the same page in the page that is being processed or scheduled to be processed in the first request and the page that is scheduled to be processed in the second request, the processing is integrated in units of pages Judging that it is possible,
In the second step, among the pages scheduled to be processed for the second request, the processing for the same page is executed as the processing for the first request.
The processing method according to claim 13 . The processing of the first request and the second request includes, for each page, analysis processing for analyzing the page, and generation processing for generating information based on the analysis result of the page,
In the second step, the analysis process is made common between the first request and the second request for the pages that can be integrated.
The processing method according to claim 13, wherein the processing method is one of the following. The generation process includes a preview generation process for generating a preview image reflecting print settings on the page based on the analysis result of the page, and a thumbnail generation process for generating a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the image of the page. ,
In the second step, when the generation process of the second request is the thumbnail generation process, the thumbnail generation process is added to the process of the first request.
The processing method according to claim 16 . In the first step, when the generation process of the second request is the preview generation process, it is determined that the processes cannot be integrated in units of pages.
The processing method according to claim 17 .

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