Print processing system and print processing program

Abstract

To efficiently transmit a print job to a plurality of printing devices as compared to a case of simultaneously transmitting a plurality of print jobs, taking into account only the upper limit number of sessions per printing device for simultaneously receiving print jobs relating to each of the plurality of printing devices.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11. The CPU 11 performs: acquiring a first session number representing the upper limit of the number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting a print job to a plurality of printing devices, a second session number representing the upper limit of the number of sessions for each printing device for simultaneously receiving the print job on each of the plurality of printing devices, and a third session number representing the number of sessions for each printing device for simultaneously receiving the print job on each of the plurality of printing devices; selecting the print job from the plurality of print jobs for which transmission preparation has been completed based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number; and transmitting the selected print job to any one of the plurality of printing devices.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print processing system and a print processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes an information processing terminal that speeds up print processing while reducing the load on the server by changing the number of sessions based on the status of the printer. This information processing terminal has a receiving means for receiving image data from the server in a first number of sessions and an acquiring means for acquiring the status of the printer. This receiving means changes the number of sessions from the first number of sessions to a second number of sessions based on the status of the printer and receives image data from the server in the second number of sessions, and this information processing terminal further has a transmitting means for converting the image data into print data and transmitting the print data to the printer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-033765 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a print processing system in which an information processing device transmits print jobs to each of a plurality of printing devices and processes the print jobs. In this type of system, an upper limit is set for the number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices that simultaneously receive print jobs, and the print jobs are transmitted in the order in which preparation for transmission is completed within the range of the upper limit on the receiving side.

[0005] However, the upper limit of the number of sessions in which an information processing device simultaneously transmits print jobs to multiple printing devices, i.e., the upper limit of the number of transmissions, is not taken into consideration. For example, if there are too many transmission sessions, the transmission or reception of a print job may fail due to communication load or the like, and the print job may not be transmitted efficiently to the printing device.

[0006] The present disclosure aims to provide a printing processing system and a printing processing program that can efficiently send print jobs to a printing device, compared to sending multiple print jobs simultaneously by considering only the upper limit number of sessions for each printing device that receives print jobs simultaneously from each of multiple printing devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a printing processing system according to a first aspect includes a processor, which obtains a first session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously sending print jobs to multiple printing devices, obtains a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each printing device for simultaneously receiving print jobs from each of the multiple printing devices, and obtains a third session number representing the number of sessions for each printing device with which each of the multiple printing devices is communicating print jobs, selects a print job from among multiple print jobs that are ready to be sent based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number, and sends the selected print job to one of the multiple printing devices.

[0008] In addition, in a second aspect of the printing processing system, in the printing processing system of the first aspect, the processor obtains an estimated print completion time, which is the estimated time it will take for printing of a print job waiting to be printed to be completed for each of the multiple printing devices, and preferentially sends the print job to the printing device with the shortest estimated print completion time among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number.

[0009] A third aspect of the print processing system is the print processing system of the second aspect, wherein the processor updates the estimated print completion time for each of the plurality of printing devices in response to an increase or decrease in the third number of sessions.

[0010] A fourth aspect of the print processing system is the print processing system of the third aspect, wherein the total number of third sessions of each of the plurality of printing devices is equal to or less than the first number of sessions.

[0011] A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a print processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the processor selects the first print job, which is a job having the smallest data size.

[0012] In addition, a sixth aspect of the printing processing system is the printing processing system of the fifth aspect, in which each of the multiple print jobs is pre-assigned to one of the multiple printing devices, and the processor obtains an estimated print completion time, which is the estimated time it will take for printing of a print job waiting to be printed to be completed for each of the multiple printing devices, and transmits the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the print jobs associated with the printing device with the shortest estimated print completion time, to the associated printing device.

[0013] In addition, a printing processing system according to a seventh aspect is the printing processing system according to the sixth aspect, in which the processor obtains the estimated print completion time of the printing device associated with the first print job, obtains the estimated print completion time when printing the first print job on the associated printing device, adds the estimated print completion time of the first print job to the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device, and updates the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device.

[0014] In addition, the printing processing system of the eighth aspect is the printing processing system of the seventh aspect, in which the processor obtains the estimated print completion time for each of the multiple printing devices after updating the estimated print completion time, and sends the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the associated print jobs, to the printing device having the shortest estimated print completion time among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number.

[0015] In addition, a printing processing system according to a 9th aspect is a printing processing system according to the 8th aspect, in which, when there is no printing job associated with the printing device having the shortest expected printing completion time, the processor transmits the first printing job which is associated with another printing device and has the smallest data size.

[0016] In addition, a printing processing system according to a tenth aspect is the printing processing system according to the first aspect, in which the processor detects the status of each of the multiple printing devices, and excludes printing devices whose status indicates an error from the targets for sending print jobs.

[0017] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a printing processing program of an eleventh aspect causes a computer to execute a process of obtaining a first session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously sending print jobs to multiple printing devices, obtaining a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each printing device for simultaneously receiving print jobs from each of the multiple printing devices, obtaining a third session number representing the number of sessions for each printing device with which each of the multiple printing devices is communicating print jobs, selecting a print job from among multiple print jobs that are ready to be sent based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number, and sending the selected print job to any one of the multiple printing devices. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the first and eleventh aspects, the effect is that print jobs can be sent to printing devices efficiently, compared to a case where multiple print jobs are sent simultaneously by considering only the upper limit number of sessions for each printing device that receives print jobs simultaneously from each of multiple printing devices.

[0019] According to the second aspect, it is possible to transmit a print job to a printing device having the shortest expected print completion time.

[0020] According to the third aspect, there is an advantage that the estimated print completion time can be updated in response to an increase or decrease in the number of third sessions.

[0021] According to the fourth aspect, there is an effect that print jobs can be efficiently transmitted to a printing device by taking into consideration the relationship between the third session number and the first session number.

[0022] According to the fifth aspect, there is an advantage that the print job can be transmitted to the printing device more efficiently than in the case where the print job with the largest data size is selected.

[0023] According to the sixth aspect, an effect is obtained in that the print job can be sent to the printing device more efficiently than in a case where the print job with the largest data size is sent to the printing device with the longest expected print completion time.

[0024] According to the seventh aspect, there is an effect that the print job can be transmitted to the printing device more efficiently than when the expected print completion time is fixed.

[0025] According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to efficiently send a print job to a printing device, compared to sending the print job with the largest data size to the printing device with the longest expected print completion time after updating the expected print completion time.

[0026] According to the ninth aspect, even if there is no print job associated with a printing device having the shortest expected print completion time, it is possible to efficiently transmit the print job to the printing device.

[0027] According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to advantageously exclude printing devices whose status indicates an error from those to which data is sent. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a print processing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a print processing system according to a comparative example. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 13]1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 14] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 15] 1 is a diagram illustrating a print process performed by a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of a device information registration process by a print processing program according to the embodiment. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of a print completion estimated time calculation process by a print processing program according to the embodiment. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a print job transmission process by a print processing program according to the embodiment. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a print job transmission process by a print processing program according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, an example of a mode for implementing the technology of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components and processes that perform the same operation, action, and function may be given the same reference numerals throughout all the drawings, and duplicated descriptions may be omitted as appropriate. Each drawing is merely shown in a schematic manner to allow a sufficient understanding of the technology of the present disclosure. Therefore, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to only the illustrated examples. In addition, in this embodiment, descriptions of configurations that are not directly related to the technology of the present disclosure or well-known configurations may be omitted.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print processing system 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 1, a print processing system 100 according to this embodiment includes an information processing device 10 and multiple printing devices 30A to 30C. In the example of Fig. 1, three printing devices are shown, but the number is arbitrary. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C, these printing devices 30A to 30C will be collectively referred to as printing device 30.

[0032] The information processing device 10 is a computer device that receives a print job from a higher-level device (not shown) and selectively transmits the received print job to one of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C. The information processing device 10 is connected to each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C via a network N, instructs each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C to execute printing, and manages the printing status of each. The information processing device 10 can transmit print jobs to the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C simultaneously, and can also transmit multiple print jobs to one printing device simultaneously. The network N may be the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like. There are no restrictions on the connection form of the network N, and it may be any of wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless.

[0033] A print job includes, for example, PDF (Portable Document Format: registered trademark) data, which is an example of print data, and JDF (Job Definition Format: registered trademark) data, which is an example of a job ticket. JDF is an industry standard document format designed to share information between the various production processes of printed matter for integrated process management of prepress, press, and postpress, or is a specification for a data exchange format between models. Print instructions are written in this JDF.

[0034] Each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C is a device that executes a function related to printing according to a print instruction from the information processing device 10. Each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C has a print function that prints on a recording medium such as paper according to print data represented by a print job.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing device 10 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface (I / O) 14, a memory unit 15, a display unit 16, an operation unit 17, and a communication unit 18.

[0037] The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the I / O 14 are connected to each other via a bus. The I / O 14 is connected to various functional units including a storage unit 15, a display unit 16, an operation unit 17, and a communication unit 18. These functional units are capable of communicating with the CPU 11 via the I / O 14.

[0038] The control unit is configured with the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the I / O 14. The control unit may be configured as a sub-control unit that controls part of the operation of the information processing device 10, or may be configured as part of the main control unit that controls the entire operation of the information processing device 10. For example, an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) or an IC chip set is used for part or all of the blocks of the control unit. An individual circuit may be used for each of the blocks, or a circuit in which some or all of the blocks are integrated may be used. The blocks may be provided integrally with each other, or some of the blocks may be provided separately. Also, a part of each of the blocks may be provided separately. The integration of the control unit is not limited to an LSI, and a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor may be used.

[0039] For example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. are used as the storage unit 15. A print processing program 15A for executing the print processing according to the present embodiment is stored in the storage unit 15. Note that this print processing program 15A may be stored in the ROM 12.

[0040] The print processing program 15A may be pre-installed in the information processing device 10, for example. The print processing program 15A may be realized by storing it in a non-volatile storage medium or distributing it via the network N and appropriately installing it in the information processing device 10. Note that examples of non-volatile storage media include a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a magneto-optical disk, a HDD, a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), a flash memory, a memory card, and the like.

[0041] The display unit 16 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 16 may be integrally provided with a touch panel. The operation unit 17 is provided with operation input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 16 and the operation unit 17 receive various instructions from a user of the information processing device 10. The display unit 16 displays various information such as the results of processing executed in response to instructions received from the user and notifications regarding the processing.

[0042] The communication unit 18 is connected to a network N, such as the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN, for example, and is capable of communicating with each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C via the network N.

[0043] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the printing device 30 according to this embodiment.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 3, the printing device 30 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an I / O 34, a memory unit 35, a display unit 36, an operation unit 37, a document reading unit 38, an image forming unit 39, and a communication unit 40.

[0045] The CPU 31, the ROM 32, the RAM 33, and the I / O 34 are connected to each other via a bus. The I / O 34 is connected to various functional units including a storage unit 35, a display unit 36, an operation unit 37, a document reading unit 38, an image forming unit 39, and a communication unit 40. These functional units are capable of communicating with the CPU 31 via the I / O 34.

[0046] A control unit is configured with the CPU 31, the ROM 32, the RAM 33, and the I / O 34. The control unit may be configured as a sub-control unit that controls part of the operation of the printing device 30, or may be configured as a part of a main control unit that controls the overall operation of the printing device 30.

[0047] For example, a HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, etc. are used as the storage unit 35. A control program for controlling the print process is stored in the storage unit 35. Note that this control program may be stored in the ROM 32.

[0048] The display unit 36 ​​may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display. The display unit 36 ​​may be integrally provided with a touch panel. The operation unit 37 is provided with various operation keys, for example, a numeric keypad, a start key, etc. The display unit 36 ​​and the operation unit 37, as an operation panel, receive instructions from a user of the printing device 30 regarding various image processing functions and settings. These various instructions include, for example, an instruction to start reading a document, an instruction to start copying a document, an instruction to print a print job stored in the printing device 30, etc. The display unit 36 ​​displays various information such as the results of processing executed in response to instructions received from the user, and notifications regarding the processing.

[0049] The document reading unit 38 takes in documents placed on a paper feed tray of an automatic document feeder (not shown) provided on the top of the printing device 30, one by one, and optically reads the taken-in documents to obtain image data. Alternatively, the document reading unit 38 optically reads a document placed on a document tray such as a platen glass to obtain image data.

[0050] The image forming unit 39 forms an image on a sheet of paper, which is an example of a recording medium, based on image data obtained by reading the document reading unit 38 or image data obtained by a print instruction from the information processing device 10. Note that, although an electrophotographic method will be described below as an example of a method for forming an image, other methods such as an inkjet method may also be adopted.

[0051] When the image forming method is an electrophotographic method, the image forming unit 39 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device. The charging device applies a voltage to the photosensitive drum to charge the surface of the photosensitive drum. The exposure device forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum by exposing the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device to light according to image data. The developing device forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum by developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum with toner. The transfer device transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum to paper. The fixing device fixes the toner image transferred to the paper by applying heat and pressure.

[0052] The communication unit 40 is a communication interface for connecting to a network N such as the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN, and enables communication with the information processing device 10 via the network N.

[0053] Incidentally, in this type of print processing system 200, as shown in FIG. 4, a maximum number of sessions (receiving sessions) may be set for each of the multiple printing devices 220A to 220C that simultaneously receive print jobs, and print jobs may be transmitted in the order in which transmission preparation is completed within this maximum number on the receiving side.

[0054] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print processing system 200 according to a comparative example.

[0055] 4, the print processing system 200 according to the comparative example includes an information processing device 210 and multiple printing devices 220A to 220C. The information processing device 210 sets the upper limit number of receiving sessions to "2" and transmits print jobs to each of the multiple printing devices 220A to 220C in the order in which they are prepared for transmission within this upper limit number "2".

[0056] 4, print jobs A1, A2, . . . , C1, and C2 to be sent are stored in the transmission queue of information processing device 210 in the order in which they are prepared for transmission. Print jobs A1 to A3 are associated with printing device 220A, print jobs B1 to B3 are associated with printing device 220B, and print jobs C1 and C2 are associated with printing device 220C.

[0057] The information processing device 210 transmits print jobs A1 and A2 to the printing device 220A, transmits print jobs B1 and B2 to the printing device 220B, and transmits print job C1 to the printing device 220C. At this time, the upper limit number of sessions (transmission sessions) in which the information processing device 210 transmits print jobs simultaneously to the multiple printing devices 220A to 220C, that is, the upper limit number on the transmission side, is not taken into consideration. For example, if there are too many transmission sessions, the transmission or reception of print jobs may fail due to communication load or the like, and the print jobs may not be transmitted efficiently to the printing devices.

[0058] Therefore, the print processing system 100 according to this embodiment selects a print job from among a plurality of print jobs that have been prepared for transmission based on the first session count, the second session count, and the third session count described below, and transmits the selected print job to one of the plurality of printing devices 30A to 30C. Note that a "session" refers to a specific connection between devices that enables communication between the information processing device 10 and the printing device 30, and one print job is processed by one session setting.

[0059] Specifically, the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment writes the print processing program 15A stored in the storage unit 15 to the RAM 13 and executes it, thereby functioning as each unit shown in Fig. 5. The CPU 11 is an example of a processor.

[0060] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10 according to this embodiment functions as an acquisition unit 11A, a reception unit 11B, a data analysis unit 11C, and a transmission unit 11D.

[0062] The storage unit 15 stores a print management database (print management DB) 151. In the print management DB 151, device information on each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C and job information on print jobs are registered.

[0063] The acquisition unit 11A acquires the status of each of the printing devices 30A to 30C, the total number of pages of print jobs waiting to be printed, the paper size, and the PPM (Page Per Minute) value as device information from each of the printing devices 30A to 30C, and registers them in the print management DB 151. The acquisition unit 11A also acquires the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number. The first session number represents the upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to the printing devices 30A to 30C, and corresponds to the upper limit number of transmission sessions. The second session number represents the upper limit number of sessions for each of the printing devices 30A to 30C for simultaneously receiving print jobs, and corresponds to the upper limit number of reception sessions. The third session number represents the number of sessions for each of the printing devices 30A to 30C with which each of the printing devices 30A to 30C is communicating print jobs. The first session number and the second session number are, for example, registered in advance in the print management DB 151. The third session number is a variable specified by the number of sessions (i.e., the number of print jobs) during communication for each printing device.

[0064] The receiving unit 11B receives a print job from a higher-level device (not shown). This print job includes, for example, PDF data and JDF data. The receiving unit 11B obtains the number of pages and data size from the PDF data, and obtains the number of copies to be printed, the print paper size, and information on the associated printing device (such as an identification number) from the JDF data.

[0065] The data analysis unit 11C selects a print job from among the multiple print jobs that have been received by the receiving unit 11B and are ready to be sent, based on the first session count, the second session count, and the third session count acquired by the acquiring unit 11A. In other words, the data analysis unit 11C identifies which print job is to be sent to which printing device 30, and notifies the sending unit 11D.

[0066] The transmission unit 11D transmits the print job selected by the data analysis unit 11C to one of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C. That is, the transmission unit 11D sets a session to the printing device 30 specified by the data analysis unit 11C and transmits the specified print job. The transmission unit 11D also manages the number of sending sessions and the number of receiving sessions.

[0067] Furthermore, the transmission unit 11D may detect the status of each of the multiple printing devices 30A-30C, and exclude printing devices whose detected status indicates an error from targets for sending print jobs. In other words, if the status of a printing device 30 indicates an error and it is not in a state where printing can be performed immediately, it is preferable not to set the printing device as a target for setting up a session.

[0068] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the print processing by the print processing system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0069] 6, a first session number and a second session number are set in the print processing system 100, and the information processing device 10 selectively transmits print jobs to each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C within the range of each other's resources. In this embodiment, the first session number is set to "5" and the second session number is set to "2."

[0070] Specifically, the data analysis unit 11C selects, for example, a first print job which is the job with the smallest data size among the multiple print jobs. The data analysis unit 11C also derives an expected print completion time for each of the multiple printing devices 30A-30C. The expected print completion time is the expected time for printing of a print job waiting to be printed to be completed. The expected print completion time is calculated using the following formula (1). The expected print completion time may be derived by the information processing device 10, or may be derived by each of the multiple printing devices 30A-30C.

[0071] Estimated time to complete printing = total number of pages printed / PPM value of printing device (1) Total number of printed pages = Number of PDF pages x Number of copies printed

[0072] However, if the printing paper is A4 or smaller, the PPM value of the printing device is left as is, and if the printing paper is larger than A4, the PPM value of the printing device is halved. For example, the expected time to complete printing when printing 30 copies of a 200-page A4-size PDF document on a printing device with a PPM value of "100" can be calculated using the above formula (1) as follows:

[0073] 200 (pages) x 30 (copies) / 100 (PPM value) = 60 (minutes)

[0074] The sending unit 11D preferentially sends a print job (for example, a first print job) to the printing device 30 with the shortest expected print completion time among the printing devices 30 for which the third session count is less than the second session count.

[0075] Here, the data analysis unit 11C updates the expected print completion time for each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C in accordance with an increase or decrease in the number of third sessions, provided that the total number of third sessions for each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C is equal to or less than the number of first sessions.

[0076] Next, a specific example of the print processing by the print processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0077] 7 to 15 are diagrams for explaining the print processing by the print processing system 100 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the number of first sessions is set to "5" and the number of second sessions is set to "2." The initial value of the number of third sessions of each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C is set to "0."

[0078] As shown in FIG. 7, the transmission queue of the information processing device 10 stores print jobs A1, A2, . . . , C1, and C2 to be transmitted in the order in which they are prepared for transmission. The print jobs A1 to A3 are associated with the printing device 30A, the print jobs B1 to B3 are associated with the printing device 30B, and the print jobs C1 and C2 are associated with the printing device 30C. The data size of the print job A1 is "1 GB" and the expected print completion time is "30 minutes". The data size of the print job A2 is "1 GB" and the expected print completion time is "30 minutes". The data size of the print job A3 is "1 MB" and the expected print completion time is "5 minutes". The data size of the print job B1 is "1 GB" and the expected print completion time is "30 minutes". The data size of the print job B2 is "1 GB" and the expected print completion time is "30 minutes". The data size of the print job B3 is "1 MB" and the expected print completion time is "5 minutes". The data size of print job C1 is "1 GB" and the expected print completion time is "30 minutes". The data size of print job C2 is "1 MB" and the expected print completion time is "5 minutes". The expected print completion time of each of these print jobs is calculated using the above formula (1).

[0079] The data analysis unit 11C derives the expected print completion time for each of the multiple printers 30A to 30C using the above-mentioned formula (1). In the example of Fig. 7, the expected print completion time for the print job stored in the print queue of the printer 30A is "20 minutes". Similarly, the expected print completion time for the printer 30B is "10 minutes", and the expected print completion time for the printer 30C is "7 minutes".

[0080] In order to transmit print jobs more efficiently, it is desirable to transmit print jobs with the smallest data size first. In (S1) of Fig. 8, the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job C2) with the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print jobs C1 and C2) associated with the print device (here, print device 30C) with the shortest expected print completion time to the associated print device (here, print device 30C). The transmitted print job C2 is deleted from the transmission queue.

[0081] The data analysis unit 11C acquires the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C, which is "7 minutes", acquires the estimated print completion time of "5 minutes" when printing the print job C2 by the printing device 30C, and adds the estimated print completion time of the printing job C2, which is "5 minutes", to the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C, thereby updating the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C. In the example of FIG. 8, the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C is updated to "12 minutes" by adding "7 minutes" + "5 minutes". The estimated print completion times after the update are "20 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "10 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "12 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session count of the printing device 30C becomes "1".

[0082] 9 (S2), the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job B3) having the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print jobs B1, B2, B3) associated with the print device (here, print device 30B) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update to the associated print device (here, print device 30B). The transmitted print job B3 is deleted from the transmission queue.

[0083] The data analysis unit 11C acquires the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30B, which is "10 minutes", acquires the estimated print completion time of "5 minutes" when printing the print job B3 by the printing device 30B, and adds the estimated print completion time of the printing job B3, which is "5 minutes", to the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30B, and updates the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30B. In the example of FIG. 9, the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30B is updated to "15 minutes" by adding "10 minutes" + "5 minutes". The estimated print completion times after the update are "20 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "15 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "12 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30B becomes "1".

[0084] 10 (S3), the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job C1) having the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print job C1) associated with the print device (here, print device 30C) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update to the associated print device (here, print device 30C). The transmitted print job C1 is deleted from the transmission queue.

[0085] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "12 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30C, acquires "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time when printing the print job C1 by the printing device 30C, and adds "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the print job C1 to "12 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30C, and updates the expected print completion time of the printing device 30C. In the example of FIG. 10, the expected print completion time of the printing device 30C is updated to "42 minutes" which is "12 minutes" + "30 minutes". The expected print completion times after the update are "20 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "15 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "42 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30C becomes "2". In other words, since the number of receiving sessions of the printing device 30C becomes the second session number (upper limit number), the printing device 30C cannot receive any more print jobs.

[0086] Next, in (S4) of Fig. 11, the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job B1) having the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print jobs B1 and B2) associated with the print device (here, print device 30B) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update to the associated print device (here, print device 30B). Note that the transmitted print job B1 is deleted from the transmission queue. Also, since print jobs B1 and B2 have the same data size, print job B2 may be selected, but here it is assumed that the jobs are selected in the order in which they are prepared for transmission.

[0087] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "15 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30B, acquires "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time when printing the print job B1 by the printing device 30B, and adds "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing job B1 to "15 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30B, and updates the expected print completion time of the printing device 30B. In the example of FIG. 11, the expected print completion time of the printing device 30B is updated to "45 minutes" which is "15 minutes" + "30 minutes". The expected print completion times after the update are "20 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "45 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "42 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30B becomes "2". In other words, since the number of receiving sessions of the printing device 30B becomes the second session number (upper limit number), the printing device 30B cannot receive any more print jobs.

[0088] 12 (S5), the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job A3) having the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print jobs A1, A2, A3) associated with the print device (here, print device 30A) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update to the associated print device (here, print device 30A). The transmitted print job A3 is deleted from the transmission queue.

[0089] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "20 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A, acquires "5 minutes" which is the expected print completion time when printing the print job A3 by the printing device 30A, and adds "5 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing job A3 to "20 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A, and updates the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A. In the example of FIG. 12, the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A is updated to "25 minutes" by adding "20 minutes" + "5 minutes". The expected print completion times after the update are "25 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "45 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "42 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30A becomes "1". Here, the number of transmission sessions for the printing devices 30A to 30C is "5", that is, the first session number (upper limit number), so that no more transmission sessions can be set from the information processing device 10. In this case, the process waits until the first transmission session, that is, the transmission session of print job C2, ends.

[0090] Next, in (S6) of FIG. 13, the transmission session of print job C2 ends, and the number of transmission sessions becomes "4." The transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job A1), which has the smallest data size among the print jobs (here, print jobs A1 and A2) associated with the print device (here, print device 30A) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update, to the associated print device (here, print device 30A). Note that the transmitted print job A1 is deleted from the transmission queue. Also, since print jobs A1 and A2 have the same data size, print job A2 may be selected, but here it is assumed that the jobs are selected in the order in which they are prepared for transmission.

[0091] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "25 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A, acquires "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time when printing the print job A1 by the printing device 30A, and adds "30 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing job A1 to "25 minutes" which is the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A, and updates the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A. In the example of FIG. 13, the expected print completion time of the printing device 30A is updated to "55 minutes" which is "25 minutes" + "30 minutes". The expected print completion times after the update are "55 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "45 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "42 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30A becomes "2". In other words, since the number of receiving sessions of the printing device 30A becomes the second session number (upper limit number), the printing device 30A cannot receive any more print jobs. Furthermore, since the number of transmission sessions for the printing devices 30A to 30C is "5", that is, the first session number (upper limit number), no more transmission sessions can be set from the information processing device 10. In this case, the process waits until the second transmission session, that is, the transmission session of print job B3, ends.

[0092] Here, if there is no print job associated with the printing device 30 with the shortest expected print completion time, a first print job associated with another printing device 30 and with the smallest data size may be transmitted. In (S7) of FIG. 14, the transmission session of print job B3 ends, and the number of transmission sessions becomes "4". For example, the transmission unit 11D transmits the first print job (here, print job A2) with the smallest data size among the print jobs to be transmitted (here, print jobs A2, B2) to the printing device (here, print device 30C) with the shortest expected print completion time after the update. However, the printing device 30C has the same performance as the printing device 30A or the printing device 30B, and is capable of handling the print processing of the print job A2 or the print job B2. Since the print job A2 is associated with the printing device 30A, the print job A2 may be transmitted to the printing device 30A after waiting until the third session number of the printing device 30A becomes "1". The transmitted print job A2 is deleted from the transmission queue. In addition, since print job A2 and print job B2 have the same data size, print job B2 may be selected, but in this example, the print jobs are selected in the order in which the transmission preparation is completed. When print job B2 is selected, print job B2 may be sent to printing device 30B.

[0093] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "42 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C, acquires "30 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time when printing the print job A2 by the printing device 30C, adds "30 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time of the print job A2 to "42 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30C, and updates the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30A. In the example of FIG. 14, the estimated print completion time of the printing device 30A is updated to "72 minutes" which is "42 minutes" + "30 minutes". The estimated print completion times after the update are "55 minutes" for the printing device 30A, "45 minutes" for the printing device 30B, and "72 minutes" for the printing device 30C. In addition, the third session number of the printing device 30C becomes "2". In other words, since the number of receiving sessions of the printing device 30C becomes the second session number (upper limit number), the printing device 30C cannot receive any more print jobs. Furthermore, since the number of transmission sessions for the printing devices 30A to 30C is "5", that is, the first session number (upper limit number), no more transmission sessions can be set from the information processing device 10. In this case, the process waits until the third transmission session, that is, the transmission session of print job C1, ends.

[0094] 15 (S8), the transmission session of print job C1 ends, and the number of transmission sessions becomes "4." The transmission unit 11D transmits the print job to be transmitted (here, print job B2) to the printing device with the shortest expected print completion time after the update (here, printing device 30B). The transmitted print job B2 is deleted from the transmission queue.

[0095] The data analysis unit 11C acquires "45 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time for printing device 30B, acquires "30 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time when printing print job B2 by printing device 30B, and adds "30 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time for print job B2 to "45 minutes" which is the estimated print completion time for printing device 30B, thereby updating the estimated print completion time for printing device 30B. In the example of FIG. 15, the estimated print completion time for printing device 30B is updated to "75 minutes" which is "45 minutes" + "30 minutes". The estimated print completion times after the update are "55 minutes" for printing device 30A, "75 minutes" for printing device 30B, and "72 minutes" for printing device 30C.

[0096] Next, the operation of the print processing system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0097] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the device information registration process by the print processing program 15A according to this embodiment.

[0098] First, the print processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10, and the following steps are executed.

[0099] 16, in step S101, the CPU 11 acquires device information from the printing device 30. As described above, the device information is information including, for example, its own status, the total number of pages of print jobs waiting to be printed, the paper size, and the PPM value.

[0100] In step S102, the CPU 11 registers in the print management DB 151 the device information acquired in step S101.

[0101] In step S103, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the device information of all the printing devices 30 has been registered in the print management DB 151. If it is determined that the information has not been registered (if the determination is negative), the CPU 11 returns to step S101 and repeats the process. If it is determined that the information has been registered (if the determination is positive), the CPU 11 ends the device information registration process.

[0102] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the print completion estimated time calculation process by the print processing program 15A according to this embodiment.

[0103] First, the print processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10, and the following steps are executed.

[0104] In step S111 in FIG. 17, the CPU 11 receives a print job from a higher-level device (not shown), and stores the received print job in a transmission queue.

[0105] In step S112, CPU 11 acquires print job information from the print job stored in the transmission queue. This print job includes, for example, PDF data and JDF data as print job information. The number of pages and data size are acquired from the PDF data, and the number of copies to be printed, the print paper size, and information on the associated printing device (such as the identification number) are acquired from the JDF data.

[0106] In step S 113 , the CPU 11 acquires device information about the printing device 30 from the print management DB 151 .

[0107] In step S114, the CPU 11 calculates the expected print completion time of the print job stored in the transmission queue, for example, using the above-mentioned formula (1).

[0108] In step S115, the CPU 11 calculates the expected print completion time of the waiting jobs for printing for each of the printing apparatuses 30A to 30C, for example, using the above-mentioned formula (1).

[0109] In step S116, the CPU 11 registers the estimated print completion time calculated in steps S114 and S115 in the print management DB 151, and ends a series of the estimated print completion time calculation process.

[0110] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a print job transmission process by the print processing program 15A according to this embodiment.

[0111] First, the print processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10, and the following steps are executed.

[0112] 18, the CPU 11 acquires the first session number from the print management DB 151. The first session number indicates the upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C, and corresponds to the upper limit number of transmission sessions.

[0113] In step S122, the CPU 11 acquires the second session number from the print management DB 151. The second session number indicates the upper limit number of sessions for each of the multiple print devices 30A to 30C that simultaneously receive print jobs, and corresponds to the upper limit number of receiving sessions.

[0114] In step S123, the CPU 11 acquires the third session number. The third session number indicates the number of sessions for each of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C in which printing jobs are being communicated. The third session number is a variable specified by the number of sessions (i.e., the number of print jobs) in communication for each printing device.

[0115] In step S124, the CPU 11 selects a print job from among the multiple print jobs that have been received from a higher-level device (not shown) and are ready for transmission, based on the first session count, the second session count, and the third session count acquired in steps S121 to S123. That is, the CPU 11 specifies which print job is to be transmitted to which printing device 30, as shown in Figs. 7 to 15 above, for example.

[0116] In step S125, the CPU 11 transmits the print job selected in step S124 to one of the multiple printing devices 30A to 30C. That is, as an example, the CPU 11 sets a session to the identified printing device 30, transmits the identified print job, and ends the series of print job transmission processes, as shown in Figs. 7 to 15 described above.

[0117] 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of print job transmission processing by the print processing program 15A according to the present embodiment, which is a flowchart for explaining the flowchart of FIG.

[0118] First, the print processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10, and the following steps are executed.

[0119] 19, the CPU 11 sets the number of print jobs to be sent stored in the sending queue (m=M, M-1, . . . , 0) to the maximum number "M" as shown in, for example, the above-mentioned Fig. 7. The first session number and the second session number are registered in the printing management DB 151.

[0120] In step S132, the CPU 11 determines whether the number of transmission sessions is the upper limit (=the first number of sessions). If it is determined that the number of transmission sessions is not the upper limit (if the determination is negative), the process proceeds to step S133, and if it is determined that the number of transmission sessions is the upper limit (if the determination is positive), the process proceeds to step S143.

[0121] In step S133, the CPU 11 sets n (n=1, 2, . . ., N: N≦number of registered printers) to "1" to indicate the order of shortest expected print completion times for the multiple printers 30. As an example, the expected print completion times are derived for each of the multiple printers 30A-30C and registered in the print management DB 151, as shown in FIG. 7 above.

[0122] In step S134, the CPU 11 identifies the printing device 30 with the nth (n=1) shortest expected print completion time. As an example, the printing device 30C shown in FIG.

[0123] In step S135, the CPU 11 determines whether or not there is a print job to be sent to the printing device 30 identified in step S134. If it is determined that there is no print job to be sent (if the determination is negative), the process proceeds to step S136, and if it is determined that there is a print job to be sent (if the determination is positive), the process proceeds to step S137.

[0124] In step S136, the CPU 11 increments n by 1, and returns to step S133 to repeat the process.

[0125] On the other hand, in step S137, the CPU 11 selects the print job with the smallest data size from among the print jobs associated with the printing device 30 identified in step S134. As an example, the CPU 11 selects the print job C2 shown in FIG.

[0126] In step S138, the CPU 11 determines whether the number of receiving sessions is the upper limit (= the second number of sessions). If it is determined that the number of receiving sessions is not the upper limit (if the determination is negative), the process proceeds to step S139, and if it is determined that the number of receiving sessions is the upper limit (if the determination is positive), the process proceeds to step S136.

[0127] In step S139, the CPU 11 sets a session to the printing device 30 identified in step S134. As an example, a session is set to the printing device 30C shown in FIG.

[0128] In step S140, the CPU 11 transmits a print job to the printing device 30 with which the session was set in step S139. As an example, the print job C2 shown in Fig. 8 described above is transmitted to the printing device 30C.

[0129] In step S141, CPU 11 updates the status of the print job sent in step S140, excludes it from the transmission target, i.e., deletes it from the transmission queue, and returns to step S131 to repeat the process. In step S131, the number of print jobs to be sent (m=M, M-1, . . . , 0) is set to "M-1", and the process is repeated.

[0130] In step S142, CPU 11 repeats the processes of steps S131 to S141 until the number of print jobs to be sent (m = M, M-1, ..., 0) becomes "0", and when the number of print jobs to be sent becomes "0", proceeds to step S143.

[0131] In step S143, the CPU 11 waits for a job transmission time interval, which is the interval between transmission times of the print jobs, and then returns to step S131 to repeat the process.

[0132] As described above, according to this embodiment, by taking into consideration the upper limit number of sending sessions in addition to the upper limit number of receiving sessions, it is possible to efficiently send print jobs to a printing device.

[0133] In each of the above embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, including general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0134] In addition, the operations of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by one processor, but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0135] The above describes an example of a print processing system according to an embodiment. The embodiment may be in the form of a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of each unit of the print processing system. The embodiment may be in the form of a non-transitory storage medium that stores the program and is readable by a computer.

[0136] Furthermore, the configuration of the print processing system described in the above embodiment is merely an example, and may be changed according to circumstances without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0137] Furthermore, the processing flow of the program described in the above embodiment is also one example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0138] In the above embodiment, the processing according to the embodiment is realized by a software configuration using a computer by executing a program, but the present invention is not limited to this. The embodiment may be realized by, for example, a hardware configuration or a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration.

[0139] The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above embodiment.

[0140] (Additional Note) (((1))) A processor is provided. The processor, Obtain a first session number that indicates an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to multiple printing devices; obtain a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices that simultaneously receives print jobs; acquiring a third session number representing the number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices in which the printing job is being communicated; selecting a print job from among a plurality of print jobs that have been prepared for transmission based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number; transmitting the selected print job to one of the plurality of printing devices; Print processing system. (((2))) the processor acquires an expected print completion time, which is an expected time for printing of a print job waiting to be printed, for each of the plurality of printing devices; transmitting the print job preferentially to the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number; The printing processing system according to (((1))). (((3))) the processor updates the expected print completion time for each of the plurality of printing devices in response to an increase or decrease in the third number of sessions. The printing processing system according to (((2))). (((4))) a total number of the third sessions of each of the plurality of printing devices is equal to or less than the first number of sessions; The printing processing system according to (((3))). (((5))) the processor selects a first print job, which is a job with the smallest data size; The print processing system according to any one of ((1))) to (((4))). (((6))) Each of the plurality of print jobs is previously associated with one of the plurality of printing devices; the processor acquires an expected print completion time, which is an expected time for printing of a print job waiting to be printed, for each of the plurality of printing devices; transmitting the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the print jobs associated with the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time, to the associated printing device; The printing processing system according to (((5))). (((7))) The processor acquires the estimated print completion time of the printing device associated with the first print job; obtaining an estimated time for completing printing when the first print job is printed by the associated printing device; adding the estimated print completion time of the first print job to the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device, thereby updating the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device; The printing processing system according to (((6))). (((8))) the processor acquires the estimated print completion time for each of the plurality of printing devices after updating the estimated print completion time; transmitting the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the associated print jobs, to a printing device having the shortest expected time to complete printing among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number; The printing processing system according to (((7))). (((9))) when there is no print job associated with the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time, the processor transmits the first print job, which is associated with another printing device and has the smallest data size. The printing processing system according to (((8))). (((10))) the processor detects a status of each of the plurality of printing devices, and excludes a printing device whose status indicates an error from targets for sending a print job; The print processing system according to any one of ((1))) to (((9))). (((11))) Obtain a first session number that indicates an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to multiple printing devices; obtain a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices that simultaneously receives print jobs; acquiring a third session number representing the number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices in which the printing job is being communicated; selecting a print job from among a plurality of print jobs that have been prepared for transmission based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number; A process of transmitting the selected print job to any one of the plurality of printing devices, A printing processing program to be executed by a computer.

[0141] According to (((1))) and (((11))), it is possible to efficiently send print jobs to printing devices, compared to a case where multiple print jobs are sent simultaneously by taking into consideration only the upper limit number of sessions for each printing device that receives print jobs simultaneously from each of multiple printing devices. According to (((2))), it is possible to transmit a print job to a printing device that has the shortest expected time to complete printing. According to (((3))), there is an advantage that the estimated print completion time can be updated in response to an increase or decrease in the number of third sessions. According to (((4))), it is possible to take into account the relationship between the third session number and the first session number, and to efficiently transmit the print job to the printing device. According to (((5))), it is possible to efficiently transmit print jobs to a printing device, as compared to the case where the print job with the largest data size is selected. According to (((6))), it is possible to efficiently send a print job to a printing device, compared to sending a print job with the largest data size to a printing device with the longest expected time to complete printing. According to (((7))), there is an advantage that the print job can be sent to the printing device more efficiently than when the expected print completion time is fixed. According to (((8))), it is possible to efficiently send a print job to a printing device, compared to sending the print job with the largest data size to the printing device with the longest expected print completion time after updating the expected print completion time. According to (((9))), even if there is no print job associated with the printing device with the shortest expected print completion time, it is possible to efficiently send the print job to the printing device. According to (((10))), it is possible to exclude printing devices whose status indicates an error from the targets of transmission. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 10. Information processing device 11, 31 CPU 11A Acquisition Department 11B Receiving section 11C Data Analysis Section 11D Transmitter 12, 32 ROM 13, 33 RAM 14, 34 I / O 15, 35 Storage section 15A Print processing program 16, 36 display section 17, 37 Operation section 18, 40 Communications Department 38 Document reading section 39 Image forming section 30, 30A~30C printing device 100 Printing processing system 151 Print management DB

Claims

1. A processor is provided. The processor, obtain a first session number that indicates an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to a plurality of printing devices; obtain a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices that simultaneously receives print jobs; acquiring a third session number representing the number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices in communication for a print job; selecting a print job from among a plurality of print jobs that have been prepared for transmission based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number; transmitting the selected print job to one of the plurality of printing devices; Print processing system.

2. the processor acquires an expected print completion time, which is an expected time for printing of a print job waiting to be printed, for each of the plurality of printing devices; transmitting the print job preferentially to the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number; The print processing system according to claim 1 .

3. the processor updates the expected print completion time for each of the plurality of printing devices in response to an increase or decrease in the third number of sessions. The print processing system according to claim 2 .

4. a total number of the third sessions of each of the plurality of printing devices is equal to or less than the first number of sessions; The print processing system according to claim 3 .

5. The processor selects a first print job, which is the job with the smallest data size. The print processing system according to claim 1 .

6. Each of the plurality of print jobs is previously associated with one of the plurality of printing devices; the processor acquires an expected print completion time, which is an expected time for printing of a print job waiting to be printed, for each of the plurality of printing devices; transmitting the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the print jobs associated with the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time, to the associated printing device; The print processing system according to claim 5 .

7. The processor acquires the estimated print completion time of the printing device associated with the first print job; obtaining an estimated time for completing printing when the first print job is printed by the associated printing device; adding the estimated print completion time of the first print job to the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device, thereby updating the estimated print completion time of the associated printing device; The print processing system according to claim 6 .

8. the processor acquires the estimated print completion time for each of the plurality of printing devices after updating the estimated print completion time; transmitting the first print job, which has the smallest data size among the associated print jobs, to a printing device having the shortest expected print completion time among the printing devices for which the third session number is less than the second session number; The print processing system according to claim 7 .

9. when there is no print job associated with the printing device having the shortest expected print completion time, the processor transmits the first print job, which is associated with another printing device and has the smallest data size. The print processing system according to claim 8 .

10. the processor detects a status of each of the plurality of printing devices, and excludes a printing device whose status indicates an error from targets for sending a print job; The print processing system according to claim 1 .

11. obtain a first session number that indicates an upper limit number of sessions for simultaneously transmitting print jobs to a plurality of printing devices; obtain a second session number representing an upper limit number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices that simultaneously receives print jobs; acquiring a third session number representing the number of sessions for each of the plurality of printing devices in communication for a print job; selecting a print job from among a plurality of print jobs that have been prepared for transmission based on the first session number, the second session number, and the third session number; A process of transmitting the selected print job to any one of the plurality of printing devices, A printing processing program to be executed by a computer.

Images