JP6805872B2 - Distributed print control program, distributed print control device and distributed print control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a distributed print control program, a distributed print control device, and a distributed print control method, and particularly uses a distributed print control program and a plurality of image forming devices that operate in devices in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices. The present invention relates to a distributed printing control device and a distributed printing control method for controlling the distributed printing.

In recent years, in offices and the like having a plurality of image forming devices, distributed printing in which print jobs are assigned to a plurality of image forming devices and printed is used in order to efficiently process a large number of printing jobs.

As a technique related to this distributed printing, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, in a print management device capable of connecting to a plurality of image forming devices and an information processing device via a network, information from the information processing device is transmitted to the plurality of images. A print job distribution means that allocates print jobs to the forming apparatus according to a predetermined ratio, a distributed job transmitting means that transmits the distributed printing jobs distributed by the print job distribution means to each image forming apparatus, and the distributed printing job. When a notification is received that the distributed printing job of at least one image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatus is interrupted under a predetermined condition after the printing of is started, the image forming apparatus receives a notification that the distributed printing job is interrupted. Of the distributed job control means that transmits a print stop command and the distributed print job that is interrupted by the image forming device that has transmitted the stop command, an unprinted distributed printing job is allocated to an image forming device other than the image forming device. A configuration including a job redistribution means and a redistribution job transmission means for transmitting a print job allocated by the job redistribution means to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus that transmitted the stop command is disclosed. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-53641

A distributed printing system that divides a single print job into multiple image forming devices on a page-by-page basis and sends it has the advantage of being able to print in large quantities at once by performing printing processing in parallel, but one during printing. However, if the image forming apparatus interrupts the printing process, there is a problem that the entire printing job cannot be completed.

To solve this problem, Patent Document 1 sets a pair of an image forming device that prints in ascending order by face-down and an image forming device that prints in descending order by face-up from among the image forming devices that perform distributed printing. When the distributed printing job of one image forming apparatus is interrupted, the unprinted distributed printing job is allocated to the other image forming apparatus. However, in Patent Document 1, when setting a pair of face-down / face-up image forming apparatus, the reliability and printing speed of the image forming apparatus are not taken into consideration, so that there is a risk of printing interruption and a risk of deterioration of printing performance. It is not possible to perform distributed printing in consideration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a main object thereof is to reduce the risk of printing interruption and deterioration of printing performance when a plurality of image forming apparatus are made to perform distributed printing based on a printing job. It is an object of the present invention to provide a distributed print control program, a distributed print control device, and a distributed print control method capable of reducing a risk and efficiently processing a print job.

One aspect of the present invention is a distributed printing control program that operates in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices that distribute and process print jobs and a distributed printing control device that controls the plurality of image forming devices. The distributed print control device has a status acquisition process for acquiring status information including the number of interruptions from each of the plurality of image forming devices, and a pair for determining a pair of the image forming devices based on the status information. Includes determination processing, print job reception processing for receiving the print job, division processing for dividing the print job into image data of the number of pages corresponding to each pair or division job, status information, and information on the pair. Based on the management information, print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices is created, and printing data is created by associating the printing instruction information with the image data or the division job for each image forming device. The print instruction process to be performed, the print data transmission process for transmitting the corresponding print data to each of the image forming devices, is executed, and in the pair determination process, the plurality of image formations are formed based on the number of interruptions. The devices are classified into a first group and a second group, and a pair is determined by combining image forming devices sequentially selected from each of the first group and the second group, and in the print instruction processing, each pair is determined. The printing data is created so that one image forming apparatus prints each page in ascending order face-down, and each page is printed face-up in descending order on the other image forming apparatus of each pair. It is characterized by creating data for printing.

One aspect of the present invention is a distributed printing control device that is connected to a plurality of image forming devices and instructs the plurality of image forming devices to perform distributed printing based on a print job, from each of the plurality of image forming devices. , A status acquisition unit that acquires status information including the number of interruptions, a pair determination unit that determines a pair of the image forming apparatus based on the status information, and management information including the status information and the pair information. Based on the device management unit, the print job receiving unit that receives the print job, the division unit that divides the print job into image data or division jobs of the number of pages corresponding to the pair, and the management information. A print instruction unit that creates print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices, and creates print data by associating the print instruction information with the image data or the division job for each image forming device. Each of the image forming devices is provided with a printing data transmitting unit for transmitting the corresponding printing data, and the pair determining unit sets the plurality of image forming devices based on the number of interruptions. It is classified into 1 group and 2nd group, and a pair is determined by combining image forming devices sequentially selected from each of the 1st group and the 2nd group, and the print instruction unit is one of the respective pairs. The image forming apparatus creates the printing data for printing each page in ascending order face-down, and the other image forming apparatus for each of the pairs prints the pages face-up in descending order. It is characterized by creating.

One aspect of the present invention is a distributed printing control method in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices that distribute and process printing jobs and a distributed printing control device that controls the plurality of image forming devices. , A status acquisition process for acquiring status information including the number of interruptions from each of the plurality of image forming devices, a pair determination process for determining a pair of the image forming devices based on the status information, and the printing job. Based on the print job reception process to be received, the division process of dividing the print job into image data of the number of pages corresponding to each pair or the division job, and the management information including the status information and the pair information. , A print instruction process that creates print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices, and creates print data by associating the print instruction information with the image data or the division job for each image forming device. , A print data transmission process for transmitting the corresponding print data to each of the image forming devices is executed, and in the pair determination process, the plurality of image forming devices are subjected to the first number of interruptions. It is classified into 1 group and 2nd group, and a pair is determined by combining image forming devices sequentially selected from each of the 1st group and the 2nd group, and in the printing instruction processing, one of the respective pairs is determined. The image forming apparatus creates the printing data for printing each page in ascending order face-down, and the other image forming apparatus for each of the pairs prints the pages face-up in descending order. It is characterized by creating.

According to the distributed print control program, the distributed print control device, and the distributed print control method of the present invention, there is a risk of printing interruption and a risk of deterioration of printing performance when a plurality of image forming devices are made to execute distributed printing based on a print job. Can be reduced and print jobs can be processed efficiently.

The reason is that a device that controls a plurality of image forming devices that distribute and process print jobs (a distributed printing control program that operates in the device) acquires status information including the number of interruptions from the plurality of image forming devices. A plurality of image forming devices are classified into a first group and a second group based on the number of interruptions, a pair is determined by combining image forming devices sequentially selected from each group, and when a print job is received, a print job is performed. Is divided into image data or division jobs of the number of pages corresponding to each image forming apparatus, and printing data for printing each page face-down in ascending order is transmitted to one of each pair, and each to the other of each pair. This is because the print data for printing the pages face-up in descending order is transmitted.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the distributed printing system which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows another example of the distributed printing system which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the client terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic operation of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process (initial setting process) of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process (image forming apparatus pair determination process) of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process (print process) of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 4 units) of the reliability evaluation of each image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 4 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 4 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6) of the reliability evaluation of each image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 6 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (in the case of 5 units) of the pair determination based on the reliability which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process (print process) of the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the distributed printing system which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows another example of the distributed printing system which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus which functions as the distributed printing control apparatus which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining a problem in distributed printing.

As shown in the background technology, a distributed printing system that divides a single print job into multiple image forming devices on a page-by-page basis and sends them can print in large quantities at once by performing printing in parallel. If even one of them interrupts the printing process, there is a problem that the entire printing job cannot be completed. For example, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), in a configuration in which four image forming devices (image forming devices A to D) are connected to a distributed printing control device instructing distributed printing, FIG. 20 (b) shows. As shown, when a jam occurs in the image forming apparatus B, the page to be distributed-printed cannot be printed by the image forming apparatus B, so that the printing job cannot be completed.

In response to this problem, in Patent Document 1, a pair of an image forming device that prints in ascending order by face-down and an image forming device that prints in descending order by face-up is set, and a distributed printing job of one image forming device is performed. When interrupted, unprinted distributed print jobs are allocated to other image forming devices, but when setting the pair of image forming devices, the reliability and printing speed of the image forming devices are not taken into consideration. Therefore, the printing of both image forming devices may be interrupted, or the slow printing speed image forming device may have to print a large number of pages. As a result, there arises a problem that distributed printing cannot be executed in consideration of the risk of printing interruption and the risk of deterioration of printing performance.

Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of image forming devices connected to the distributed printing system are set as a pair, one of the paired image forming devices prints face down in ascending order, and the other image forming device. By printing face-up in descending order, even if one image forming apparatus is interrupted, the other image forming apparatus can continuously print the portion that could not be interrupted and printed. At that time, a plurality of image forming devices are classified into a first group and a second group based on the number of interruptions due to jam, out of paper, out of toner, etc. (number of interruptions per unit print) (set based on the number of interruptions). (Classified into groups with relatively high reliability and groups with relatively low reliability), and image forming devices are sequentially selected from each group (images that are a combination with small variations in reliability and printing speed). By creating a pair by selecting a forming device), the risk of printing interruption and the risk of deterioration of printing performance are reduced. When the number of a plurality of image forming devices is an odd number, the image forming device having the highest reliability (the least number of interruptions) is set as a single unit and distributed between the single image forming device and the paired image forming device. Instruct printing.

In order to explain one embodiment of the present invention in more detail, see FIGS. 1 to 15 for a distributed print control program, a distributed print control device, and a distributed print control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. I will explain. 1 and 2 are schematic views showing the configuration of the distributed printing system of this embodiment, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are block diagrams showing the configurations of a client terminal, a distributed printing control device, and an image forming device, respectively. is there. Further, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic operation of the distributed printing control device of this embodiment, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing processing of the distributed printing control device of this embodiment. Further, FIGS. 10 to 15 are diagrams for explaining a pair determination method based on the reliability.

As shown in FIG. 1, the distributed printing system 10 of this embodiment includes a client terminal 20, a distributed printing control device 30, and a plurality of image forming devices 40 (here, image forming devices 40a to 40d) that distribute and process print jobs. ) Etc. These are connected via a communication network 50 such as LAN (Local Area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network) defined by standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), Token Ring, and FDDI (Fiber-Distributed Data Interface). .. Although four image forming devices 40 are illustrated as the plurality of image forming devices 40 in FIG. 1, the number of the image forming devices 40 may be two or more, and may be an even number, and FIG. 2 shows. As shown, an odd number of units (here, image forming devices 40a to 40c) may be used. Hereinafter, each device will be described.

[Client terminal]
The client terminal 20 is a computer device such as a personal computer, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet, and transmits a print job to the distributed print control device 30. As shown in FIG. 3A, the client terminal 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 25, a network I / F unit 26, a display unit 27, an operation unit 28, and the like.

The control unit 21 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22 and a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, and the CPU 22 stores a control program stored in the ROM 23 and the storage unit 25. The operation of the entire client terminal 20 is controlled by expanding and executing the RAM 24. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the control unit 21 (CPU 22) executes an OS (Operating System) 21a, a document creation application 21b, a printer driver 21c, and the like.

OS21a is Windows (registered trademark), Mac OS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), etc., and enables the document creation application 21b and the printer driver 21c to operate on the client terminal 20.

The document creation application 21b is software that performs text creation, table calculation, image processing, etc., reads the printer driver 21c at the time of printing instruction, and transfers the manuscript data created by the document creation application 21b to the printer driver 21c.

The printer driver 21c is a print job (PJL (Printer Job Language), PS (PostScript), PCL (Printer Control Language), etc. in a language in which the distributed print control device 30 can interpret the manuscript data created by the document creation application 21b. It is converted into PDL (Page Description Language) data or PDF (Portable Document Format) data described in a page description language. Print setting information (for example, a print ticket of JDF (Job Definition Format)) set on the print setting screen of the printer driver 21c is added to this print job.

The storage unit 25 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like, and is a program for the CPU 22 to control each unit, information on the processing function of the own device, and manuscript data created by the document creation application 21b. , The print job created by the printer driver 21c is stored.

The network I / F unit 26 is composed of a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, or the like, connects the client terminal 20 to the communication network 50, and transmits a print job to the distributed print control device 30.

The display unit 27 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (electroluminescence) display device, and the like, and displays a manuscript creation screen of the document creation application 21b, a print setting screen of the printer driver 21c, and the like.

The operation unit 28 is composed of a mouse, a keyboard, and the like, and enables operations such as creating a document using the document creation application 21b and setting printing conditions using the printer driver 21c.

In the above, the printer driver 21c is configured to generate a print job, but the document creation application 21b can create manuscript data of PDF, XPS (XML Paper Specification), and OOXML (Office Open XML) that can be directly printed. In this case, the manuscript data created by the document creation application 21b may be transmitted as a print job without going through the printer driver 21c.

[Distributed print control device]
The distributed print control device 30 is a server or the like that controls a plurality of image forming devices 40. As shown in FIG. 4A, the distributed print control device 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 35, a network I / F unit 36, an image generation unit 37, and a display unit and an operation unit, if necessary. It is composed. Further, the distributed printing control device 30 sets and manages a plurality of image forming devices 40 as a group of image forming devices in advance, and instructs distributed printing.

The control unit 31 is composed of a CPU 32 and a memory such as a ROM 33 or a RAM 34. The CPU 32 expands a control program stored in the ROM 33 or the storage unit 35 into the RAM 34 and executes the operation of the entire distributed print control device 30. To control. As shown in FIG. 4B, the control unit 31 includes a print job receiving unit 31a, a status acquisition unit 31b, a pair determination unit 31c, a device management unit 31d, a division unit 31e, a print instruction unit 31f, and print data transmission. It functions as a part 31 g or the like.

The print job receiving unit 31a receives a print job from the client terminal 20 via the network I / F unit 36.

The status acquisition unit 31b interrupts printing in the past due to jam, paper shortage, toner out, etc. from a plurality of image forming devices 40 via the network I / F unit 36 (number of interruptions per unit print, hereinafter simply referred to as simply. It receives status information such as the number of interruptions) and the printing speed, and notifies the device management unit 31d. The status information may be transmitted by each image forming apparatus 40 in response to a request from the distributed print control apparatus 30, or the status acquisition unit 31b acquires the status information from the MIB (Management Information Base) information. It may be configured to be used.

The pair determination unit 31c acquires status information from the device management unit 31d, and the image forming apparatus 40 having a small number of interruptions per unit printing is unlikely to interrupt printing in the middle of distributed printing (high reliability). From, the reliability is set based on the number of interruptions. Then, based on the set reliability, the plurality of image forming devices 40 are classified into a group having a relatively high reliability and a group having a relatively low reliability, and the image forming device 40 is sequentially selected from each group. (Select the image forming apparatus 40 which is a combination in which the variation in reliability and the variation in printing speed are small) to determine the pair, and notify the device management unit 31d of the pair information. At that time, the pair determination unit 31c determines whether the number of image forming devices 40 connected to the communication network 50 is an even number or an odd number based on the status information, and the number of image forming devices 40 is an odd number. In this case, the image forming apparatus 40 having the least number of interruptions is set as a single unit. Further, even if the image forming apparatus 40 having the smallest number of interruptions (highest reliability) is operated alone when the number of interruptions exceeds a preset threshold value (reliability does not exceed a preset threshold value). Since the printing process may be interrupted, the image forming apparatus 40 having the largest number of interruptions (lowest reliability) is excluded from the distributed printing target.

The device management unit 31d prints to each pair (or each image forming device 40 of each pair) based on the status information notified from the status acquisition unit 31b and the pair information notified from the pair determination unit 31c. The job division ratio is set, and the division ratio information is notified to the division unit 31e. Then, the storage unit 35 stores image forming device information such as printing speed, destination, and number of interruptions, split ratio information of print jobs, pair information, face-up / face-down, and management information such as print page order such as ascending / descending order. Save and manage in.

The division unit 31e uses the image data for each page generated by the image generation unit 37 based on the print job division ratio information notified from the device management unit 31d to be used for each pair (or each image of each pair). It is divided into an image data group having a number of pages corresponding to the forming device 40). Then, the divided image data group is stored in the storage unit 35 or the like, and the page information of each image data group and the storage destination information in the storage unit 35 are notified to the print instruction unit 31f.

The print instruction unit 31f is based on the management information managed by the device management unit 31d, and the print instruction information corresponding to each image forming apparatus 40 (destination of the image forming apparatus 40, face-up / face-down, ascending / descending order, etc.) (Information that defines the printing conditions) is created, and the created print instruction information is associated with the image data group stored in the storage unit 35 to create print data for each image forming apparatus 40. For example, when printing a 100-page print job on four image forming devices 40 in a distributed manner, when pair 1 prints 1 to 60 pages and pair 2 prints 61 to 100 pages, one of pair 1 is printed. In the image forming apparatus 40 of the above, print data instructing printing of a predetermined number of pages is created in ascending order from the first page in face-down, and in descending order from the 60th page in the other image forming apparatus 40 of pair 1. Create print data instructing printing (60 pages-predetermined number of pages). Further, print data for instructing printing of a predetermined number of pages in ascending order from the 61st page is created in one image forming apparatus 40 of pair 2 face-down, and 100 pages are created in the other image forming apparatus 40 of pair 2. Create print data that instructs printing in descending order (40 pages-predetermined number of pages) face-up from the eyes. At that time, each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair was associated with the image data of the number of pages assigned to the image forming apparatus 40 and the print instruction information instructing the printing of the pages of the number of pages. The print data may be created, or the image data of the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming apparatus 40 and the printing instruction information for instructing the printing of the pages of the number of pages assigned to the image forming apparatus 40. You may create print data associated with.

The print data transmission unit 31g transmits the corresponding print data to each image forming apparatus 40 via the network I / F unit 36. Further, in the print data transmission unit 31g, when the printing process of one of the image forming devices 40 forming the pair is interrupted, one of the image forming devices 40 is referred to the other image forming device 40 forming the pair. Send print data for pages that cannot be printed. At that time, for each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair, the image data of the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming apparatus 40 and the number of pages assigned to the image forming apparatus 40 When the print data associated with the print instruction information for instructing printing is transmitted, the print instruction information for instructing printing of a page that cannot be printed by one of the image forming devices 40 may be transmitted.

The print job receiving unit 31a, the status acquisition unit 31b, the pair determination unit 31c, the device management unit 31d, the division unit 31e, the print instruction unit 31f, and the print data transmission unit 31g may be configured as hardware. , The control unit 31 is configured as a distributed print control program that functions as a print job reception unit 31a, a status acquisition unit 31b, a pair determination unit 31c, a device management unit 31d, a division unit 31e, a print instruction unit 31f, and a print data transmission unit 31g. Then, the CPU 32 may execute the distributed print control program.

The storage unit 35 is composed of an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores a program for the CPU 32 to control each unit, a print job received from the client terminal 20, management information managed by the device management unit 31d, and the like. Further, the storage unit 35 functions as a divided image storage unit, and stores the divided image data group and the like by the division unit 31e.

The network I / F unit 36 is composed of a NIC, a modem, or the like, connects the distributed print control device 30 to the communication network 50, receives a print job from the client terminal 20, and receives status information from the image forming device 40. Or, print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 40.

The image generation unit 37 functions as a RIP (Raster Image Processor), translates a print job received from the client terminal 20 to generate intermediate data, renders the data, and generates image data in a bitmap format (this series). This process is called RIP process).

[Image forming device]
The image forming apparatus 40 is an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripherals) or the like, and executes a printing process based on printing data received from the distributed printing control apparatus 30. It is assumed that the plurality of image forming devices 40 included in the distributed printing system 10 print at a constant printing speed (the printing speed does not change during printing). Further, the plurality of image forming devices 40 included in the distributed printing system 10 can be managed in groups, and the image forming devices 40 belonging to the same group can be the target of the distributed printing control of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 40 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 45, a network I / F unit 46, a display operation unit 47, an image processing unit 48, a print processing unit 49, and the like.

The control unit 41 is composed of a CPU 42 and a memory such as a ROM 43 or a RAM 44. The CPU 42 expands a control program stored in the ROM 43 or the storage unit 45 into the RAM 44 and executes the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 40. Control.

The storage unit 45 is composed of an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores a program for the CPU 42 to control each unit, information on a processing function of the own device, and the like. Further, the storage unit 45 includes a device queue, and stores an image data group included in the print data received from the distributed print control device 30 in the device queue according to the instruction of the control unit 41. This device queue holds image data in a first-in, first-out list structure, and is processed by the image processing unit 48 and the print processing unit 49 in order from the print data stored earlier.

The network I / F unit 46 is composed of a NIC, a modem, or the like, connects the image forming apparatus 40 to the communication network 50, receives print data from the distributed print control device 30, and provides status information to the distributed print control device 30. Or send.

The display operation unit 47 is a touch panel or the like provided with a pressure-sensitive operation unit (touch sensor) in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid pattern on the display unit, displays various screens related to printing processing, and performs various operations related to printing. to enable.

The image processing unit 48 performs screen processing, gradation correction, density balance adjustment, thinning, halftone dot processing, etc. on the image data group included in the print data as necessary, and the image after the image processing. The data is output to the print processing unit 49.

The print processing unit 49 executes the print process based on the image data. The printing processing unit 49 includes an exposure unit that irradiates and exposes laser light based on image data, a photoconductor drum, a developing unit, a charging unit, a photoconductor cleaning unit, and a primary transfer roller, and each color of CMYK. An image forming portion that forms a toner image of the above, an intermediate belt that is rotated by a roller and functions as an intermediate transfer body that conveys the toner image formed by the image forming portion to paper, and a toner image formed on the intermediate belt. With a secondary transfer roller that transfers to paper, a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred to paper, and a transport unit such as a paper feed roller, a resist roller, a loop roller, a reversing roller, and a paper discharge roller that transport paper. It is composed.

It should be noted that FIGS. 1 to 5 are examples of the distributed printing system 10 of this embodiment, and the configuration and control of each device can be appropriately changed as long as the distributed printing control of this embodiment can be implemented. For example, in FIG. 4, the distributed print control device 30 is provided with the image generation unit 37, but the division unit 31e of the control unit 31 is provided with a function (RIP) as an image generation unit, and the division unit 31e is provided for each page from the print job. The image data of the above may be generated, in which case the image generation unit 37 can be omitted.

Next, the schematic operation of the distributed printing control device 30 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.

The status acquisition unit 31b receives the status information from the external image forming apparatus 40 and notifies the apparatus management unit 31d. Further, the pair determination unit 31c acquires status information from the device management unit 31d, determines a pair of the image forming apparatus 40 based on the acquired status information (interruption count and printing speed), and causes the device management unit 31d to perform pair information. Notify. Then, the device management unit 31d sets the division ratio of the print job based on the status information and the pair information, notifies the division ratio information to the division unit 31e, and images such as the print speed, the destination, and the number of interruptions. It manages management information such as forming device information, print job division ratio information, pair information, face-up / face-down, and print page order such as ascending or descending order.

After that, the print job receiving unit 31a receives a print job from the external client terminal 20, and the image generation unit 37 analyzes the received print job and generates image data for each page. Then, the division unit 31e forms each pair (or each image of each pair) of the image data for each page generated by the image generation unit 37 based on the division ratio information notified from the device management unit 31d. It is divided into image data groups having the number of pages corresponding to the device 40), and the divided image data groups are saved in a storage unit 35 (divided image storage unit) or the like, and page information and save destination information of the image data groups are stored in a print instruction unit. Notify 31f. The print instruction unit 31f creates print instruction information corresponding to each image forming apparatus 40 based on the above-mentioned management information, and the created print instruction information and image data stored in the storage unit 35 (divided image storage unit). The print data is created in association with the group and transmitted to the print data transmission unit 31 g, and the print data transmission unit 31 g transmits the print data to each image forming apparatus 40.

Hereinafter, specific processing of the distributed printing control device 30 of this embodiment will be described. The CPU 32 expands the distributed print control program stored in the ROM 33 or the storage unit 35 into the RAM 34 and executes it to execute the processing of each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 to 9.

First, the initial setting process will be described with reference to FIG. 7. When the distributed print control device 30 starts to start, the control unit 31 (status acquisition unit 31b) detects the image forming device 40 connected to the communication network 50 (S101), and outputs the status information of each image forming device 40. Acquire (S102). The acquired status information is notified to the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d), and the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d) determines the number of image forming devices, the printing speed, the destination, the number of interruptions, etc. included in the status information. to manage. The number of interruptions is counted in the image forming apparatus 40, and when the printing operation is interrupted due to an error such as jam, out of paper, or out of toner, 1 is added to the counter held by each image forming apparatus 40, and the result is the status. It is reflected in the information. Errors that are not related to printing interruption are not counted.

Next, the control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) acquires status information from the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d), and based on the status information, the number of image forming devices 40 connected to the communication network 50 is increased. It is determined whether it is an even number or an odd number (S103), and if it is an odd number, the image forming apparatus 40 having the least number of interruptions is set as a single unit (S104). At that time, even if the image forming apparatus 40 has the smallest number of interruptions, if the number of interruptions exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the image forming apparatus 40 having the largest number of interruptions is excluded from the distributed printing target, if necessary.

Next, the control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) determines a pair for an even number of image forming devices 40, excluding the image forming apparatus 40 set as a single unit in S104 (S105). Details of this step will be described later. The determined pair information is notified to the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d) and managed by the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d).

Next, the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d) prints on each pair (or each image forming device 40 of each pair) based on the printing speed of each image forming device 40 included in the status information. The job division ratio is set, and the set print job division ratio information is notified to the control unit 31 (division unit 31e) (S106). For example, the printing speeds of the four image forming devices 40 are set to V1, V2, V3, and V4, respectively, the image forming devices 40 having the printing speeds V1 and V2 are paired, and the printing speeds are V3 and V4. When 40 is used as the other pair, the division ratio of one pair is set to (V1 + V2) / (V1 + V2 + V3 + V4), and the division ratio of the other pair is set to (V3 + V4) / (V1 + V2 + V3 + V4). When setting the division ratio for each image forming apparatus 40, the division ratio for the image forming apparatus 40 having a printing speed of V1 is set as V1 / (V1 + V2 + V3 + V4).

Next, the control unit 31 (device management unit 31d) determines face-up / face-down settings and page order (ascending order, descending order) for each image forming device 40 based on the pair information determined in S105. Then, the control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f) is notified (S107).

Next, the image forming apparatus pair determination process of S105 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) arranges the image forming devices 40 in ascending order of the number of interruptions, and sets a confidence score for each image forming device 40 (S201). As a method of setting the reliability score, for example, when the number of image forming devices 40 is n, the reliability score of the image forming apparatus 40 having the largest number of interruptions is set to "1", and the reliability score is increased as the number of interruptions decreases. The confidence score of the image forming apparatus 40 which is increased and the number of interruptions is the smallest is set to "n".

Next, the control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) arranges the upper half of the image forming apparatus 40 arranged in ascending order of the number of interruptions with a relatively small number of interruptions (the reliability score is relatively large, that is, the reliability is high). The lower half is set to the group with a relatively large number of interruptions (relatively low confidence score, that is, the reliability is relatively low) (S202), and the reliability is relatively high. The image forming apparatus 40 is extracted one by one from the high group and the relatively low group, and a pair is created by all combinations (S203). The reason why the image forming apparatus 40 of both pairs is extracted one by one from the group having a relatively high reliability and the group having a relatively low reliability is to reduce the risk of interrupting the printing process.

Next, the control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) calculates the difference between the total confidence score and the printing speed between the pairs for all the pairs of combinations (S204), and the total confidence score and the printing speed between the pairs. The standard deviation of each of the differences is calculated (S205). Next, the control unit 31 (pair determination unit 31c) extracts the minimum value of the standard deviation of the total of the confidence scores, and confirms whether or not there are a plurality of combinations in which the standard deviation is the minimum value (S206). When there are a plurality of combinations (Yes in S206), the pair is determined according to the combination having the smallest standard deviation of the difference in printing speed from the plurality of combinations (S207), and when there is one combination (No in S206). , The pair is determined according to the combination (S208).

The above-mentioned image forming apparatus pair determination process will be described with reference to specific examples. 10 to 12 are examples in which a pair is determined for four image forming devices 40. As shown in FIG. 10, four image forming devices 40 are arranged in ascending order of the number of interruptions, and a confidence score (4, 3, 2, 1 in descending order) is set for each image forming device 40. Then, as shown in FIG. 11A, the upper half (see hatching of coarse dots) is divided into groups with a relatively small number of interruptions (relatively high reliability) (here, reliabilitys 1 and 2 are 2). The lower half (see hatching of fine dots) is classified into groups with a relatively large number of interruptions (relatively low reliability) (here, two units with reliability of 3 and 4), and each group The image forming apparatus 40 is extracted one by one from the above, and a pair is created with all the combinations.

For example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 11B, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 1 and 4 is determined to be pair 1, and the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 2 and 3 is determined to be pair 2. Alternatively, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 11B, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 1 and 3 is determined to be pair 1, and the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 2 and 4 is determined to be pair 2. In this way, the combination when two pairs are created from the four image forming devices 40 is a group having a relatively low reliability with respect to one of the image forming devices 40 having a relatively high reliability. The reliability is relatively low with respect to the combination ( ₂ C ₁ ) of selecting one from the two image forming devices 40 of the above and the other image forming device 40 of the group having a relatively high reliability. There are two ways of multiplying the combination ( ₁ C ₁ ) that selects the remaining one in the group.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, for each pair of the two combinations, the total confidence score and the difference in printing speed between the pairs (denoted as the speed difference) are calculated, and the total confidence score is calculated. Calculate the standard deviation of each difference in printing speed between pairs. In the case of the combination in the upper part of FIG. 12, the standard deviation of the total confidence score is "0.0", the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "0.0", and in the case of the combination in the lower part of FIG. 12, the reliability. The standard deviation of the total score is "1.0", and the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "20.0".

Then, the minimum value of the standard deviation of the total confidence score is extracted (here, "0.0"), and it is confirmed whether or not there are a plurality of combinations in which the standard deviation is the minimum value. Here, since there is one combination in which the standard deviation of the total confidence scores is the minimum value, the pair is determined according to the combination in the upper part of FIG.

13 and 14 are examples in which a pair is determined for six image forming devices 40. As shown in FIG. 13, six image forming devices 40 are arranged in ascending order of the number of interruptions, and reliability scores (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in descending order) are set for each image forming device 40. To do. Then, the upper half (see hatching of coarse dots) is divided into groups with relatively few interruptions (relatively high reliability) (here, 3 units with reliabilitys 1 to 3), and the lower half (hatching of fine dots). (See) is set to a group with a relatively large number of interruptions (relatively low reliability) (here, three units with a reliability of 4 to 6), and one image forming apparatus 40 is extracted from each group. , Create a pair with all combinations.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 1 and 6 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 2 and 5 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 4 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14B, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 1 and 6 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 2 and 4 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 5 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14C, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 1 and 5 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 2 and 6 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 4 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14 (d), the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 1 and 5 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 2 and 4 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 6 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14E, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 1 and 4 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having reliabilitys 2 and 5 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 6 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14 (f), the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 1 and 4 is determined to be pair 1, the image forming apparatus having the reliabilitys 2 and 6 is determined to be pair 2, and the reliability is 3. And 5 image forming devices are determined to be pair 3. As described above, the combination in the case of creating three pairs from the six image forming devices 40 has a relative reliability with respect to the first image forming device 40 in the group having a relatively high reliability. a low combination of selecting one from among the three image forming apparatuses of the group 40 _{(3 C 1),} the second image forming apparatus 40 in the reliability is relatively high group, trust A combination ( ₂ C ₁ ) in which _one is selected from the remaining two image forming devices 40 in the relatively low degree group, and a third image forming device in the relatively high reliability group. There are 6 combinations obtained by multiplying 40 by a combination ( ₁ C ₁ ) for selecting the remaining one of the group having a relatively low reliability.

Next, for each pair of the six combinations shown in FIG. 14, the total confidence score and the difference in printing speed between the pairs are calculated, and the standard deviation of the total confidence score and the difference in printing speed between the pairs is calculated. calculate. In the case of the combination of FIG. 14 (a), the standard deviation of the total confidence score is "0.0", the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "16.3", and in the case of the combination of FIG. 14 (b), The standard deviation of the total confidence score is "0.8", the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "16.3", and in the case of the combination shown in FIG. 14 (c), the standard deviation of the total confidence score is "0. 8 ”, the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is“ 0.0 ”, in the case of the combination shown in FIG. 14 (d), the standard deviation of the total confidence score is“ 1.4 ”, and the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is“ 1.4 ”. In the case of the combination of "16.3" and FIG. 14 (e), the standard deviation of the total confidence score is "1.6", the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "16.3", and FIG. 14 (f). In the case of the combination of, the standard deviation of the total confidence score is "1.4", and the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is "0.0".

Then, the minimum value of the standard deviation of the total confidence score is extracted (here, "0.0"), and it is confirmed whether or not there are a plurality of combinations in which the standard deviation is the minimum value. Here, since there is one combination in which the standard deviation of the total confidence score is the minimum value, the pair is set according to the combination shown in FIG. 14A. When there are a plurality of combinations in which the standard deviation of the total confidence score is the minimum value, the combination having the smallest standard deviation of the difference in printing speed may be selected from the plurality of combinations. If the standard deviation of the printing speed difference is larger than the preset threshold in the combination that minimizes the standard deviation of the total confidence score, select the combination based on the standard deviation of the printing speed difference. It is also possible to do. In that case, the minimum value of the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is extracted (here, "0.0"), and it is confirmed whether or not there are multiple combinations in which the standard deviation is the minimum value. In the example of FIG. 14, since there are a plurality of combinations in which the standard deviation of the difference in printing speed is the minimum value (combination 3 in FIG. 14C and combination 6 in FIG. 14F), among the plurality of combinations, It is also possible to select the combination with the smallest standard deviation of the total confidence score (combination 3 in FIG. 14C) and determine the pair according to the combination.

In addition, in FIGS. 10 to 14, the case where the number of image forming apparatus 40 performing distributed printing is an even number has been described, but as shown in FIG. 15A, when the number of image forming apparatus 40 is an odd number, The image forming apparatus 40 having the least number of interruptions (highest reliability) is set as a single unit, and as shown in FIG. 15B, with respect to the remaining image forming apparatus 40 excluding the single image forming apparatus 40. The pair may be determined using the same method as described above.

The distributed printing process after determining the pair in this way will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 31 (print job receiving unit 31a) receives a print job from the external client terminal 20 (S301). The received print job is transmitted to the image generation unit 37, and the image generation unit 37 analyzes the print job and generates image data for each page (S302).

The image data for each page generated by the image generation unit 37 is transmitted to the control unit 31 (division unit 31e), and the control unit 31 (division unit 31e) is based on the division ratio information notified in S106 of FIG. The image data for each page is divided into image data groups having the number of pages corresponding to each pair (or each image forming device 40 of each pair) (S303), and the storage unit 35 (divided image storage unit). Save to (S304). At that time, the page information of the image data group and the storage destination information in the divided image storage unit are notified from the control unit 31 (division unit 31e) to the control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f). For example, when the number of pages of the print job is 100 and the ratio information of the division for each pair of the four image forming devices 40 is 30% or 70%, the image data group is divided into 30 pages or 70 pages. To do. Alternatively, when the ratio information of the division of each pair to the image forming apparatus 40 is 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, the image data group is divided into 10 pages, 20 pages, 30 pages, and 40 pages. To do.

The control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f) creates print data to be transmitted to each image forming apparatus 40 based on the information notified in S107 of FIG. 7 (S305). Specifically, print instruction information (information for setting the print page order such as the destination of the image forming device 40, face-up / face-down, ascending / descending order) corresponding to each image forming apparatus 40 is created and created. Print data is created by associating the printed instruction information with the image data group saved in the divided image storage unit. For example, one of the paired image forming apparatus 40 prints the assigned pages face-down in ascending order, and the other creates print data so that the assigned pages are printed face-up in descending order. At this time, in order to notify the user which image forming devices 40 are paired with each other, print data may be created so that the pair information is printed on the first page.

The print data is transmitted from the control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f) to the control unit 31 (print data transmission unit 31 g), and the control unit 31 (print data transmission unit 31 g) sends to each image forming device 40. The corresponding print data is transmitted (S306). At that time, the image data included in the print data may be transmitted for each page, or the image data for the number of divided pages may be transmitted collectively. Further, when the printing process of one of the image forming devices 40 forming the pair is interrupted, the control unit 31 (printing data transmitting unit 31g) is one with respect to the other image forming device 40 forming the pair. The image forming apparatus 40 transmits print data for pages that cannot be printed.

When the number of image forming devices 40 for performing distributed printing is an odd number, in S305 and S306, the single image forming device 40 and each pair of image forming devices 40 are instructed to perform distributed printing, and the single image is displayed. The forming device 40 prints the assigned pages face down in ascending order or face up in descending order, one of the paired image forming devices 40 prints the assigned pages face down in ascending order, and the other prints the assigned pages. You can create and send print data so that you can print face-up in descending order.

As described above, status information including the number of interruptions (or the number of interruptions and the printing speed) is received from the plurality of image forming devices 40, and the plurality of image forming devices 40 are grouped in the first group and the second group based on the number of interruptions. It is classified into (a group with a relatively high reliability and a group with a relatively low reliability set based on the number of interruptions), and a pair is determined by combining image forming devices sequentially selected from each group. Together with, the ratio of the print job division to each pair (or each image forming apparatus 40 of each pair) is set, and when the print job is received, the image data for each page generated from the print job is set for the set division. The risk of printing interruption can be reduced by dividing each page according to the ratio, printing each page face-down in ascending order on one side of each pair, and printing each page face-up in descending order on the other side of each pair. it can. Further, when the image forming apparatus is selected from each group, the risk of deterioration of printing performance can be reduced by considering the printing speed.

Next, the distributed print control program, the distributed print control device, and the distributed print control method according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the distributed printing control device.

In the first embodiment described above, the image generation unit 37 of the distributed print control device 30 performs RIP processing and transmits image data to each image forming device 40, but the printing job itself is divided and the image forming device 40 is used. It may be transmitted to and RIP processing may be performed by each image forming apparatus.

In that case, the basic configuration of the distributed printing system is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the image generation unit 37 can be omitted from the distributed printing control device 30. Further, the division unit 31e of the distributed print control device 30 performs a plurality of print jobs received by the print job reception unit 31a with a predetermined number of pages based on the print job division ratio information notified from the device management unit 31d. It is divided into divided jobs, the divided jobs are saved in the storage unit 35 and the like, and the page information of each divided job and the storage destination information in the storage unit 35 are notified to the print instruction unit 31f. The split job may be instructed to print a predetermined number of pages, and its file format and structure are not particularly limited, and the file format and structure need not be the same as those of the print job.

Further, the print instruction unit 31f of the distributed print control device 30 creates print instruction information corresponding to each image forming apparatus 40 based on the management information managed by the device management unit 31d, and stores the created print instruction information and storage. The print data for each image forming apparatus 40 is created in association with the division job saved in the part 35. At that time, as in the first embodiment, each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair is subjected to a division job of the number of pages assigned to the image forming apparatus 40 and printing of the number of pages. You may create print data associated with the print instruction information to be instructed, or divide the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming device 40 and the number of pages assigned to the image forming device 40. You may create print data associated with the print instruction information that instructs the page to be printed.

Further, the print data transmission unit 31g of the distributed print control device 30 transmits the print data created by the print instruction unit 31f to the corresponding other image forming device 40 via the network I / F unit 36. Further, in the print data transmission unit 31g, when the printing process of one of the image forming devices 40 forming the pair is interrupted, one of the image forming devices 40 is referred to the other image forming device 40 forming the pair. Send print data for pages that cannot be printed. At that time, as in the first embodiment, for each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair, a division job of the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming apparatus 40 and the image forming apparatus 40 thereof. When printing data associated with print instruction information for instructing printing of the number of pages assigned to is transmitted, one of the image forming devices 40 outputs print instruction information for instructing printing of pages that cannot be printed. Just send it.

Further, the image processing unit 48 of the image forming apparatus 40 functions as a RIP, translates the division job received from the distributed print control apparatus 30, generates intermediate data, renders the data, and generates image data in bitmap format. To do. Then, if necessary, the image data is subjected to screen processing, gradation correction, density balance adjustment, fine line processing, halftone dot processing, and the like, and the image data after the image processing is output to the print processing unit 49.

Hereinafter, specific processing of the distributed printing control device 30 having the above configuration will be described. The CPU 32 executes the processing of each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16 by expanding and executing the distributed print control program stored in the ROM 33 or the storage unit 35 in the RAM 34.

The control unit 31 (print job receiving unit 31a) receives a print job from the external client terminal 20 (S401). The received print job is transmitted to the control unit 31 (division unit 31e), and the control unit 31 (division unit 31e) prints each image of the print job based on the division ratio information notified in S106 of FIG. The job is divided into division jobs having the number of pages corresponding to the forming device (S402), and the jobs are stored in the storage unit 35 (divided image storage unit) (S403). At that time, the page information and the save destination information of each division job are notified from the control unit 31 (division unit 31e) to the control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f).

The control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f) creates print data to be transmitted to each image forming apparatus 40 based on the information notified in S107 of FIG. 7 (S404). Specifically, print instruction information (information for setting the print page order such as the destination of the image forming device 40, face-up / face-down, ascending / descending order) corresponding to each image forming apparatus 40 is created and created. The print instruction information is associated with the divided job stored in the storage unit 35 to create print data. For example, one of the paired image forming apparatus 40 prints the assigned pages face-down in ascending order, and the other creates print data so that the assigned pages are printed face-up in descending order.

The print data is transmitted from the control unit 31 (print instruction unit 31f) to the control unit 31 (print data transmission unit 31 g), and the control unit 31 (print data transmission unit 31 g) sends to each image forming device 40. The corresponding print data is transmitted (S405). Further, when the printing process of one of the image forming devices 40 forming the pair is interrupted, the control unit 31 (printing data transmitting unit 31g) is one with respect to the other image forming device 40 forming the pair. The image forming apparatus 40 transmits print data for pages that cannot be printed.

In this way, even when the print job is divided by the distributed print control device 30 and the divided job is output to each image forming device 40 set in advance to execute the printing process, there is a risk of printing interruption and printing. The risk of performance degradation can be reduced.

As in the first embodiment, when the number of image forming devices 40 for performing distributed printing is an odd number, in S404 and S405, for the single image forming device 40 and the image forming device 40 of each pair. Instructing distributed printing, the single image forming apparatus 40 prints the assigned pages face down in ascending order or face up in descending order, and one of the paired image forming apparatus 40 prints the assigned pages face down in ascending order. Print, and the other may create and send print data so that the assigned pages are printed face-up in descending order.

Further, in the above, the print job itself is divided and the divided job is transmitted to each image forming apparatus 40, but the print job and the print setting information are transmitted to each image forming apparatus 40 without dividing the print job. It may be configured to be used.

Next, the distributed print control program, the distributed print control device, and the distributed print control method according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 19. 17 and 18 are schematic views showing the configuration of the distributed printing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus functioning as the distributed printing control device of this embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the distributed printing control device 30 is arranged in the distributed printing system 10, but when any of the image forming devices 40 can control the distributed printing (functions as the distributed printing control device 30). In the case of making the distributed printing system 10 function as the client terminal 20 and a plurality of image forming devices 40 (here, the image forming device 40a and the other image forming devices 40b to function as the distributed printing control device 30), as shown in FIG. 40d), and the distributed printing control device 30 can be omitted. Although four image forming devices 40 are illustrated as the plurality of image forming devices 40 in FIG. 17, the number of the image forming devices 40 may be two or more, and may be an even number, and FIG. 18 shows. As shown, an odd number of units (here, an image forming apparatus 40a and other image forming apparatus 40b, 40c that function as the distributed printing control device 30) may be used.

In the case of this configuration, the image forming apparatus 40a functioning as the distributed printing control apparatus 30 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 45, a network I / F unit 46, a display operation unit 47, and an image, as shown in FIG. 19A. It is composed of a processing unit 48, a print processing unit 49, and the like. The image processing unit 48 functions as a RIP, translates a divided job received from the client terminal 20, generates intermediate data, renders the bitmap, and performs bitmapping. Generate image data in the format.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19B, the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40a includes a print job receiving unit 41a, a status acquisition unit 41b, a pair determination unit 41c, an apparatus management unit 41d, a division unit 41e, and a print instruction unit. It functions as 41f, a print data transmission unit 41g, and the like.

The print job receiving unit 41a receives a print job from the client terminal 20 via the network I / F unit 46.

The status acquisition unit 41b receives status information such as the number of interruptions and the printing speed from the other image forming apparatus 40 via the network I / F unit 46, and notifies the apparatus management unit 41d. The status information may be transmitted by another image forming apparatus 40 in response to a request from the image forming apparatus 40 functioning as a distributed print control device, or the status acquisition unit 41b may transmit the status information from the MIB information. It may be configured to acquire.

The pair determination unit 41c acquires status information from the device management unit 41d, sets the reliability based on the number of interruptions, and trusts a plurality of image forming devices 40 (including its own device) based on the set reliability. The image forming apparatus 40 is sequentially selected from each group by classifying into a group having a relatively high degree and a group having a relatively low reliability (an image forming apparatus having a combination in which the variation in reliability and the variation in printing speed are small). 40 is selected) to determine the pair, and the pair information is notified to the device management unit 41d. At that time, the pair determination unit 41c determines whether the number of image forming devices 40 connected to the communication network 50 is an even number or an odd number based on the status information, and the number of image forming devices 40 is an odd number. In this case, the image forming apparatus 40 having the least number of interruptions is set as a single unit. Further, even in the image forming apparatus 40 having the smallest number of interruptions (highest reliability), if the number of interruptions exceeds a preset threshold value (the reliability does not exceed a preset threshold value), the number of interruptions is the largest (the highest reliability). The image forming apparatus 40 (which has the lowest reliability) is excluded from the distributed printing target.

The device management unit 41d acquires status information such as the number of interruptions of the own device and the printing speed, and the status information of the own device and the status information of another image forming device 40 notified from the status acquisition unit 41b and the pair determination unit 41c. Based on the pair information notified from the above, the division ratio of the print job for each pair (or each image forming apparatus 40 of each pair) is set, and the division ratio information is notified to the division unit 41e. Then, the storage unit 45 stores image forming device information such as printing speed, destination, and number of interruptions, division ratio information of print jobs, pair information, face-up / face-down, and management information such as print page order such as ascending / descending order. Save and manage in.

The division unit 41e converts the image data for each page created by the image processing unit 48 based on the print job division ratio information notified from the device management unit 41d into each pair (or each image of each pair). It is divided into an image data group having a number of pages corresponding to the forming device 40). Then, the divided image data is stored in the storage unit 45 or the like, and the page information of each image data and the storage destination information in the storage unit 45 are notified to the print instruction unit 41f.

The print instruction unit 41f is based on the management information managed by the device management unit 41d, and has print instruction information (destination of the image forming device 40, face-up / face-down, ascending / descending order, etc.) corresponding to each image forming device 40. (Information that defines the printing conditions) is created, and the created print instruction information is associated with the image data stored in the storage unit 45 to create print data for each image forming apparatus 40. At that time, as in the first embodiment, each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair is printed with the image data of the number of pages assigned to the image forming apparatus 40 and the pages of the number of pages. You may create print data associated with the print instruction information to be instructed, or you may create image data of the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming device 40 and the number of pages assigned to the image forming device 40. You may create print data associated with the print instruction information that instructs the page to be printed.

The print data transmission unit 41g transmits the print data created by the print instruction unit 41f to the corresponding other image forming apparatus 40 via the network I / F unit 46. Further, in the print data transmission unit 41g, when the printing process of one of the image forming devices 40 forming the pair is interrupted, one of the image forming devices 40 is referred to the other image forming device 40 forming the pair. Send print data for pages that cannot be printed. At that time, as in the first embodiment, for each image forming apparatus 40 constituting each pair, the image data of the number of pages assigned to the pair including the image forming apparatus 40 and the image forming apparatus 40 thereof. When the print data associated with the print instruction information for instructing the printing of the number of pages assigned to is transmitted, one of the image forming apparatus 40 outputs the print instruction information for instructing the printing of the pages that cannot be printed. Just send it.

The print job receiving unit 41a, the status acquisition unit 41b, the pair determination unit 41c, the device management unit 41d, the division unit 41e, the print instruction unit 41f, and the print data transmission unit 41g may be configured as hardware. , The control unit 41 is configured as a distributed print control program that functions as a print job reception unit 41a, a status acquisition unit 41b, a pair determination unit 41c, a device management unit 41d, a division unit 41e, a print instruction unit 41f, and a print data transmission unit 41g. Then, the CPU 42 may execute the distributed print control program.

As described above, by making any one of the plurality of image forming devices 40 function as the distributed printing control device, the risk of printing interruption and the risk of deterioration of printing performance can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and its configuration and control can be appropriately changed as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated.

For example, in the above embodiment, the pair is determined by combining two image forming devices 40, but the distributed printing control of the present invention is similarly applied to the case where three or more image forming devices 40 are combined. be able to. For example, in the case of a set of three, the first image forming apparatus 40 prints face down in ascending order, the second image forming apparatus 40 prints face up in descending order, and the third image forming apparatus 40 may be printed face-down in ascending order or face-up in descending order.

The present invention relates to a distributed printing control program that operates in a device in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices, a recording medium that records the distributed printing control program, and a dispersion that controls distributed printing using a plurality of image forming devices. It can be used for print control devices and distributed print control methods.

10 Distributed printing system 20 Client terminal 21 Control unit 21a OS
21b Document creation application 21c Printer driver 22 CPU
23 ROM
24 RAM
25 Storage unit 26 Network I / F unit 27 Display unit 28 Operation unit 30 Distributed print control unit 31 Control unit 31a Print job reception unit 31b Status acquisition unit 31c Pair determination unit 31d Device management unit 31e Division unit 31f Print instruction unit 31g For printing Data transmitter 32 CPU
33 ROM
34 RAM
35 Storage unit 36 Network I / F unit 37 Image generation unit 40, 40a to 40d Image formation unit 41 Control unit 41a Print job reception unit 41b Status acquisition unit 41c Pair determination unit 41d Device management unit 41e Division unit 41f Print instruction unit 41g Printing Data transmitter 42 CPU
43 ROM
44 RAM
45 Storage unit 46 Network I / F unit 47 Display operation unit 48 Image processing unit 49 Print processing unit 50 Communication network

Claims (20)

A distributed printing control program that operates in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices that distribute and process print jobs and a distributed printing control device that controls the plurality of image forming devices.
In the distributed printing control device,
A status acquisition process for acquiring status information including the number of interruptions from each of the plurality of image forming devices.
A pair determination process for determining a pair of image forming devices based on the status information,
Print job reception process for receiving the print job,
A division process that divides the print job into image data or a division job having the number of pages corresponding to each pair.
Based on the status information and the management information including the pair information, print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices is created, and the printing instruction information and the image data or the division are created for each image forming device. Print instruction processing, which creates print data by associating with a job
Each of the image forming apparatus is made to execute a print data transmission process for transmitting the corresponding print data.
In the pair determination process, the plurality of image forming devices are classified into a first group and a second group based on the number of interruptions, and an image forming device sequentially selected from each of the first group and the second group. To determine a pair by combining
In the print instruction process, the print data for printing each page face-down in ascending order is created on one image forming apparatus of each pair, and each page is printed on the other image forming apparatus of each pair. Create the print data, which prints face-up in descending order.
A distributed print control program characterized by this. In the pair determination process, the reliability of each of the image forming devices is set based on the number of interruptions, and the plurality of image forming devices are combined with the first group having a relatively high reliability and the reliability. Is classified into the second group, which is relatively low.
The distributed printing control program according to claim 1. The status information includes printing speed.
In the pair determination process, an image forming apparatus constituting the pair is selected from each of the first group and the second group based on the printing speed.
In the division process, the number of pages corresponding to each pair is set based on the division ratio set according to the printing speed.
The distributed printing control program according to claim 1 or 2. When the number of the plurality of image forming devices is an odd number,
In the pair determination process, the image forming apparatus having the least number of interruptions is set as a single image forming apparatus.
In the division process, the number of pages corresponding to the single image forming apparatus and each pair is set based on the division ratio set according to the printing speed.
The distributed printing control program according to claim 3. In the pair determination process, when the number of interruptions of the image forming apparatus having the smallest number of interruptions exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the image forming apparatus having the largest number of interruptions is excluded from the distributed printing target.
The distributed printing control program according to claim 4. Wherein the print data transmission process, if the print processing of one image forming apparatus constituting the pair is interrupted, with respect to other image forming apparatuses constituting the pair, the one of the image forming apparatus can not print Send page print data,
The distributed printing control program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the distributed printing control program is characterized. The distributed print control device is included in any one of the plurality of image forming devices.
The distributed printing control program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the distributed printing control program is characterized. A distributed printing control device that is connected to a plurality of image forming devices and instructs the plurality of image forming devices to perform distributed printing based on a print job.
A status acquisition unit that acquires status information including the number of interruptions from each of the plurality of image forming devices.
A pair determination unit that determines a pair of the image forming apparatus based on the status information,
A device management unit that manages management information including the status information and the pair information, and
A print job receiver that receives the print job,
A division unit that divides the print job into image data or a division job having a number of pages corresponding to each pair.
Based on the management information, print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices is created, and printing data is generated by associating the printing instruction information with the image data or the division job for each image forming device. The print instruction unit to be created and
Each of the image forming apparatus is provided with a print data transmission unit for transmitting the corresponding print data.
The pair determination unit classifies the plurality of image forming devices into a first group and a second group based on the number of interruptions, and sequentially selects an image forming device from each of the first group and the second group. To determine a pair by combining
The print instruction unit creates the print data for printing each page face-down in ascending order on one image forming apparatus of each of the pairs, and each page on the other image forming apparatus of each of the pairs. Create the print data, which prints face-up in descending order.
A distributed printing control device characterized by this. The pair determination unit sets the reliability of each of the image forming devices based on the number of interruptions, and the plurality of image forming devices are combined with the first group having a relatively high reliability and the reliability. Is classified into the second group, which is relatively low.
The distributed printing control device according to claim 8. The status information includes printing speed.
The pair determination unit selects an image forming apparatus that constitutes the pair from each of the first group and the second group based on the printing speed.
The device management unit sets the division ratio for each pair based on the printing speed.
The division unit sets the number of pages corresponding to each of the pairs based on the division ratio.
The distributed printing control device according to claim 8 or 9. When the number of the plurality of image forming devices is an odd number,
The pair determination unit sets the image forming apparatus having the least number of interruptions as a single image forming apparatus.
The device management unit sets the division ratio for the single image forming device and each pair based on the printing speed.
The division unit sets the number of pages corresponding to the single image forming apparatus and each pair based on the division ratio.
The distributed printing control device according to claim 10. When the number of interruptions of the image forming apparatus having the smallest number of interruptions exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the pair determining unit excludes the image forming apparatus having the largest number of interruptions from the distributed printing target.
The distributed printing control device according to claim 11. The print data transmission unit, if the print processing of one image forming apparatus constituting the pair is interrupted, with respect to other image forming apparatuses constituting the pair, the one of the image forming apparatus can not print Send page print data,
The distributed printing control device according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the distributed printing control device is characterized. A distributed printing control method in a distributed printing system including a plurality of image forming devices that distribute and process print jobs and a distributed printing control device that controls the plurality of image forming devices.
A status acquisition process for acquiring status information including the number of interruptions from each of the plurality of image forming devices, and
A pair determination process for determining a pair of the image forming apparatus based on the status information, and
The print job reception process for receiving the print job and
A division process for dividing the print job into image data or a division job having the number of pages corresponding to each pair, and
Based on the status information and the management information including the pair information, print instruction information corresponding to each of the image forming devices is created, and the printing instruction information and the image data or the division are created for each image forming device. Print instruction processing that creates print data by associating with a job,
A print data transmission process for transmitting the corresponding print data to each of the image forming devices is executed.
In the pair determination process, the plurality of image forming devices are classified into a first group and a second group based on the number of interruptions, and an image forming device sequentially selected from each of the first group and the second group. To determine a pair by combining
In the print instruction process, the print data for printing each page face-down in ascending order is created on one image forming apparatus of each pair, and each page is printed on the other image forming apparatus of each pair. Create the print data, which prints face-up in descending order.
A distributed printing control method characterized by this. In the pair determination process, the reliability of each of the image forming devices is set based on the number of interruptions, and the plurality of image forming devices are combined with the first group having a relatively high reliability and the reliability. Is classified into the second group, which is relatively low.
The distributed printing control method according to claim 14. The status information includes printing speed.
In the pair determination process, an image forming apparatus constituting the pair is selected from each of the first group and the second group based on the printing speed.
In the division process, the number of pages corresponding to each pair is set based on the division ratio set according to the printing speed.
The distributed printing control method according to claim 14 or 15. When the number of the plurality of image forming devices is an odd number,
In the pair determination process, the image forming apparatus having the least number of interruptions is set as a single image forming apparatus.
In the division process, the number of pages corresponding to the single image forming apparatus and each pair is set based on the division ratio set according to the printing speed.
16. The distributed printing control method according to claim 16. In the pair determination process, when the number of interruptions of the image forming apparatus having the smallest number of interruptions exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the image forming apparatus having the largest number of interruptions is excluded from the distributed printing target.
The distributed printing control method according to claim 17. Wherein the print data transmission process, if the print processing of one image forming apparatus constituting the pair is interrupted, with respect to other image forming apparatuses constituting the pair, the one of the image forming apparatus can not print Send page print data,
The distributed printing control method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the distributed printing control method is characterized. The distributed print control device is included in any one of the plurality of image forming devices.
The distributed printing method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the distributed printing method is characterized.

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