Printer, data processing apparatus, data transmitting...

Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C358S001160, C358S001170

Reexamination Certificate

active

06804022

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a print control method according to which a data transmitting apparatus transmits print data and any one of a plurality of printing means prints out the transmitted print data, a printer, a data processing apparatus, a data transmitting apparatus and a print control apparatus which implement the method, a printing system which uses these apparatuses, and a recording medium in which a program for realizing the above is recorded.
BACKGROUND ART
Currently in a popular use is a system in which a plurality of clients and one server are connected to a network such as a LAN so as to share one printer. In such a system, since other print requests can not be accepted during processing of one print request transmitted to a printer from a client through the server, a print request must be made once again after the processing completes. Since this requires the server which temporarily holds print requests from the clients to monitor a processing status of the printer, there is a problem that a load upon the server increases.
In order to solve the problem, the applicant of the present patent application has proposed the following method in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-36472 (1996). That is, logical printers which are a plurality of virtual printers that are operable independently of each other are set within one printer which physically exists, so that it is possible to process print requests from a plurality of clients in parallel, and therefore, one printer can be used as a plurality of printers. It is possible to accept a plurality of print requests at the same time as the print requests are managed as print queue, which not only reduces a load upon the server but also enhances a throughput of a system as a whole. The applicant of the present patent application refers to such a printer that a plurality of virtual printers are set in an actual printer, as a “virtual system printer”.
However, with conventional methods, when a designated logical printer is in the process of printing, it is necessary to queue to the end of print queue for the designated logical printer so as to wait for printing, or it is necessary to judge operating statuses of logical printers which can accept a print request, select an unoccupied logical printer and make a print request once again to the selected logical printer. Hence, there is a problem that a waiting time is uneconomical if printing is to be waited, and that manually executing complicated processing is troublesome if a print request needs be made once again.
Particularly when a re-designated logical printer has a different (communication) protocol from an initially designated logical printer, it is necessary not only to designate the logical printer once again but to convert the protocol as well, which is a problem that the conversion takes a further time than where the protocols are the same.
In addition, since print requests are received from the plurality of clients, during printing for a print request from one client which takes time, even if other clients issue print requests, those print requests must wait a long time until actual printing takes place. This therefore is a problem that there is an uneconomical waiting time even when a print request is directed to an available logical printer and a total throughput accordingly decreases.
Further, since connection lines connecting LAN lines and printers have a slower data transmission rate than LAN lines, the connection lines serve as an obstacle against a data transmission rate for data which are transmitted from the server to the printers through the LAN lines and the connection lines. Hence, there is a problem that when print requests build up, slow data transmission occupies the LAN lines which are faster and an overall throughput accordingly drops. In this case, the overall throughput decreases when a particular printer is crowded with printing even despite a buffer apparatus which is disposed between the LAN lines and the printers and temporarily stores print requests. Still further, a similar problem arises also when a data transmission volume from the server to the printers exceeds a processing speed of the printers to receive data.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a print control method with which it is possible to make a print request for print data created by a data transmitting apparatus, designating a logical printer (virtual printer) which is to execute printing, and when the designated logical printer is in the process of printing, automatically switch the print request to other logical printer than the designated logical printer so that an uneconomical time to wait for printing is reduced and a job of making a print request again is omitted, to provide a printer, a data processing apparatus, a data transmitting apparatus and a print control apparatus which implement the method, to provide a printing system which uses these apparatuses, and to provide a recording medium in which a program for performing print control is recorded.
Other object of the present invention is to provide a print control method with which it is possible to automatically perform protocol conversion if a logical printer which was switched over to has a different protocol from an initially designated logical printer, so as to omit protocol conversion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a print control apparatus which temporality stores print requests, selects a printer which can efficiently execute printing, and makes a print request to the printer without using through a LAN line, so as to prevent an overall throughput from decreasing.
Still further, the present invention aims at providing a print control method with which it is possible to automatically change a print request directed to a certain logical printer of a printer into a print request directed to other printer, so as to shorten a print waiting time and therefore prevent an overall throughput from decreasing.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A printer according to a first invention is a printer comprising a plurality of virtual printing means, which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data supplied from outside, and processing print data by printing means corresponding to communication setting which is used when the print data is supplied, characterized by comprising: judging means for judging whether printing means corresponding to communication setting of supplied print data is operating or not; and controlling means for, when the judging means judges that the printing means is operating, controlling any one of remaining printing means which is not operating to process the print data.
According to the first invention, the control is that whether a plurality of virtual printers (logical printers) provided in a physical printer are operating or not is judged in addition to judging the physical printer, and when a printer designated by print data transmitted from outside is operating (printing), a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, whereby a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit, for an operator, a job of requesting for printing once again.
A data processing apparatus according to a third invention is a data processing apparatus for transmitting print data supplied from outside to physical printing means or any one of a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not; means for judging whether the printing means are operating or not based on the table; and means for, when it is judged

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