Control device, control method and program

JP2025042251APending Publication Date: 2025-03-27CANON KK
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023149146
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-09-14
Publication Date
2025-03-27

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

【0008】 本発明では、印刷中の印刷ジョブをキャンセルされた場合に、後加工機での処理に影響を与えることなく損紙を低減することができる。

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Abstract

To reduce waste sheets without influencing a process in a post-processing machine, when a printing job being printed is cancelled.SOLUTION: When a job cancellation is requested, a printing job being printed is identified, and a page on which printing stop is scheduled that is a subsequent page on which printing can be stopped is identified after printing is instructed to stop. A printing job managing part determines whether a printing job being printed on the page on which printing stop is scheduled should be cancelled or not. When a page to be printed on which printing is scheduled succeeding the page on which printing stop is scheduled exists other than a job information page, in the printing job being printed that is to be cancelled on the page on which printing stop is scheduled, a job information correcting part deletes the page on which printing is performed that is scheduled to be printed after the page on which printing stop is scheduled. When a portion of the page on which printing is performed that is to be cancelled is deleted, the job information correcting part corrects job information prepared before printing and regenerates a job information page matching an actual printed result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control technique for a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a printing device that prints on a recording medium that is supplied in a roll state from paper feed to paper discharge. In order to commercialize the print results, a post-processing machine must perform processes such as cutting, hollowing, and removing waste after printing. Therefore, in order to efficiently perform post-processing, information about the printed matter included in the roll, such as the print length of each page and the print length of the entire job, and job information about printed matter that is no longer needed due to job cancellation or reprinting, is printed.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, job information for identifying normal paper that has been printed normally and job information for identifying waste paper that has occurred during printing are printed. In this way, in Patent Document 1, the post-processing machine reads each job information and processes it, making it possible to perform appropriate processing even if a print job that was scheduled to be printed is canceled. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2008-191215 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in Patent Document 1, when a print job being printed is canceled, the entire print job is treated as non-reusable waste paper, which causes a problem of generating a large amount of waste paper.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to reduce paper waste when a print job being printed is canceled without affecting processing in a post-processing machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a control device that causes a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium to print multiple print jobs, and includes a management means that causes the printing device to print, for each of the multiple print jobs, pages to be printed in the print job and job information including information about the pages to be printed, an acceptance means that accepts a cancellation request for at least one of the multiple print jobs, and a correction means that corrects the job information, wherein the management means deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request has been accepted, and the correction means corrects the job information of the print job from which some of the pages to be printed have been deleted. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, when a print job being printed is canceled, it is possible to reduce paper waste without affecting the processing in the post-processing machine. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] Overall configuration of a printing system including an image forming apparatus [Diagram 2] Block diagram of a controller in an image forming apparatus [Diagram 3] A software block diagram showing the functional configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] An example of a job list in the first embodiment [Diagram 5] An example of device information in the first embodiment [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart for explaining the entire printing process in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process for canceling a print job according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a job information page in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] A diagram explaining the legend for specific examples of printing status [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a printing status for explaining a print job cancellation process in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a printing status for explaining a print job cancellation process in the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a printing status for explaining a print job cancellation process in the first embodiment. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart for explaining a process for canceling a print job according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] A flowchart for explaining a printing continuation determination process in the second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a stop determination in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including an image forming apparatus 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 101 is an inkjet printer that forms a record P' by ejecting ink onto a recording medium P from a printing unit 103. The recording medium P is supplied to the image forming apparatus 101 by a paper feed unit 102, and after the image forming apparatus 101 forms a record P', the record P' is collected by a paper discharge unit 105. The recording medium P passes on a conveying path by a roller 106. The image forming apparatus 101 inspects the image acquired by a print image acquisition unit 104 for the record. Note that "recording" includes not only the formation of meaningful information such as characters and figures, but also the formation of images, patterns, patterns, etc. on a recording medium, regardless of whether they are meaningful or not. It also includes the processing of the medium, and does not matter whether they are manifested so that humans can visually perceive them. In this embodiment, a roll of paper is assumed as the "recording medium", but it may also be cloth, plastic film, etc. other than paper as long as it is in a roll. There are no particular limitations on the components of the ink, but in this embodiment, it is assumed that ink containing a pigment as a coloring material, water, and a resin is used.

[0011] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration functioning as a controller of the image forming apparatus 101. The image forming apparatus 101 has a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a storage device 204, a general-purpose interface (I / F) 205, an operation unit 206, a job control unit 207, and an engine control unit 208, which are connected via a main bus 209. A host device 210 is connected to the image forming apparatus 101 via the general-purpose I / F 205. The CPU 201 is a processor that comprehensively controls each unit in the image forming apparatus 101. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, a work area, etc. of the CPU 201. The ROM 203 stores a group of programs executed by the CPU 201. The storage device 204 stores applications executed by the CPU 201, job information used for printing, image data, etc. The general-purpose I / F 205 is a USB, a LAN, etc., and job data can be input via the host device 210. An operation unit 206 can display the current status and settings on a touch input compatible liquid crystal display or the like to present various information to the user, and can also accept user input such as an instruction to resume printing. A job control unit 207 performs control related to print processing such as analyzing print jobs and determining the print order. An engine control unit 208 performs control over the printing unit 103. A host device 210 prepares image data and the like required for a print job to be processed by the image forming apparatus 101.

[0012] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration for realizing the functions of the job control unit 207 in the image forming apparatus 101. The job control unit 207 has a print job analysis unit 301, a print job management unit 302, a print control unit 303, an apparatus information management unit 304, a print status monitoring unit 305, and a job information correction unit 306. The job control unit 207 also communicates with a user interface 307 on the operation unit 206 and a print engine 308 of the engine control unit 208 via a main bus 209. The user interface 307 displays management information of the print job management unit 302, and notifies the print job management unit 302 of user input such as job cancellation and printing stop. The print engine 308 executes and stops printing upon receiving an instruction from the print control unit 303.

[0013] A print job analysis unit 301 receives a print job submitted from the host device 210, analyzes the received print job, and acquires job information such as the number of copies to be printed and information on the printing paper.

[0014] The print job management unit 302 manages the job information acquired by the print job analysis unit 301, determines the print order, and instructs the print control unit 303 to start printing. When the print order is determined, information for managing the relationship between the print page and the print job is added to each print page, and the information is managed as print page information. The job information and print page information managed by the print job management unit 302 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0015] The print control unit 303 sets a print speed for the print engine 308, and causes printing to be performed according to the print order determined by the print job management unit 302. The print control unit 303 also notifies the print status monitoring unit 305 of a print completion notification from the print engine 308.

[0016] The device information management unit 304 manages the status of the image forming device 101, such as the paper and ink that have been installed. The device information management unit 304 also holds the time from when the print engine 308 starts ejecting ink after a print start instruction is given, and the time from when the print engine 308 stops ejecting ink after a print stop instruction is given.

[0017] The print status monitoring unit 305 communicates with the print control unit 303 and monitors the status of each page in each print job, such as the print progress. The print status monitoring unit 305 acquires and stores the page currently being printed as print position information. When a cancellation request is received, the print status monitoring unit 305 estimates the pages to be printed up to the nearest page at which ink ejection can be stopped as pages to be stopped, and stores this as planned stop position information.

[0018] In response to an instruction from the print job management unit 302, the job information correction unit 306 corrects the job information of the designated print job.

[0019] A user interface 307 displays job information managed by the print job management unit 302 and information from the job control unit 207 when a print error occurs, etc. The user interface 307 also accepts user input such as canceling a print job, starting printing, or stopping printing, and notifies the print job management unit 302 of the input.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the print job management unit 302 in this embodiment.

[0021] FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining an example of job information. The job list 401 is a list showing information about each print job, which is generated based on the analysis result of the print job analysis unit 301 and the print progress status acquired by the print status monitoring unit 305. The job list 401 is displayed on the user interface 307. The job ID 402 is a job identifier issued by the print job analysis unit 301 for each print job every time a print job is input to the job control unit 207. The total number of pages 403 is information indicating the total number of prints for each print job, and is the product of the number of pages and the number of copies printed for each print job. The output color 404 is information indicating the ink color used during printing, such as CMYK. The paper ID 405 is an identifier for identifying the paper used during printing, and is information about the paper, such as the paper width and the paper type. The total number of pages 403, the output color 404, and the paper ID 405 are all information acquired by analyzing the input print job. The processing status 406 is information indicating the processing status of each print job acquired by the print status monitoring unit 305, and indicates a status such as "RIPping", "waiting to print", or "printing" according to the processing status of each print job.

[0022] FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining an example of print page information. The print page list 407 is a list generated when the print job management unit 302 determines the print order. Only print jobs to be printed are registered in the print page list 407. The page ID 408 is a page identifier assigned to the page to be printed for each job ID 402. The page type 409 is information for identifying whether the page is a page instructed to be printed by the input print job or a page for printing job information for post-processing. The print page ID 410 is an identifier of the print page to be printed, and includes a unique value that does not have the same value in the print page list 407, for example, the cumulative number of pages in the print page list 407. In this embodiment, the print page ID 410 is a character string generated based on the information of the job ID 402, the page ID 408, and the page type 409. The print processing status 411 is information indicating the processing status of each print page acquired by the print status monitoring unit 305, and indicates one of the states of "waiting to print", "printing", and "printed". "Printing" refers to printing in progress, and only one print page at a time can be "printing" among the print pages registered in the print page list 407. "Printed" indicates a state in which printing has been completed, and "waiting to print" indicates a state in which printing is scheduled. Note that as the print processing status 411 is updated, the processing status 406 on the job list 401 is also updated.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing management information of the device information management unit 304 in this embodiment. Setting information including paper information usable by the image forming device 101 is managed as a resource list 501. The resource list 501 holds a paper ID 502, a paper width 503, and a paper type 504. It also holds a print speed 505 and usable ink colors 506 for each paper. Furthermore, paper already installed in the image forming device 101 is managed as a usage status 507. When the amount of paper used for printing by the image forming device 101 increases, a new paper ID is added to the resource list 501. In this embodiment, the paper ID is registered via the user interface 307. The paper ID 502 corresponds to the paper ID 405 of each job registered in the job list 401. The paper width 503 and the paper type 504 are registered paper information. The print speed 505 and the usable ink colors 506 are information indicating the print speed and the ink colors that can be output when printing the paper, and are used to control the print engine 308. Furthermore, the usage status 507 indicates whether the paper has been installed in the image forming apparatus 101, i.e., whether the paper can be used for printing. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 is assumed to have only one type of paper installed as roll paper P, and only the installed paper is in use. The usage status 507 is automatically updated whenever the paper is replaced.

[0024] The print process and the print job cancellation process in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a flowchart for explaining the print process in this embodiment. The print process starts when data is input to the job control unit 207.

[0025] In S601, the print job analysis unit 301 receives a print job and assigns a unique job ID 402 to the received print job.

[0026] In S602 , the print job analysis unit 301 analyzes the received print job and registers the analysis result in the job list 401 .

[0027] In S603, the print job management unit 302 performs image processing based on the analysis result and prepares print data for printing. In this embodiment, print data related to job information is also generated at the same time as the print data is prepared. The print data of the job information will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0028] In S604, after the print data is prepared, the print job management unit 302 determines the print order thereof and instructs the print control unit 303 to start printing.

[0029] In S605, the print job management unit 302 performs a process of canceling the print job in response to a cancellation request notified from the user interface 307 after printing has started.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the print job cancellation process (S605) in this embodiment.

[0031] In S701, the print job management unit 302 checks whether or not there is a job cancellation request from the user interface 307. If a job cancellation is notified from the user interface 307 (Yes), the print job management unit 302 proceeds to S702 and changes the processing status 406 of the print job to be canceled on the job list 401 to "Canceling." If there is no cancellation request from the user interface 307 (No), the print job management unit 302 ends the print job cancellation process since there is no need to stop printing.

[0032] In S702, the print job management unit 302 identifies a print job that is "printing" from the print status of the print status monitoring unit 305, based on the job list 401 or the print page list 407. Specifically, the print page ID 410 that is "printing" in the print processing status 411 is acquired, and the job ID 402 is identified by analyzing the print page ID 410. In this embodiment, the print status monitoring unit 305 holds the page that is being printed as print position information, and updates it successively according to the print status.

[0033] In S703, the printing status monitoring unit 305 identifies a planned stop page, which is the nearest page that can be stopped after the printing stop instruction is issued. The planned stop page can be derived, for example, by adding the number of pages printed during the printing stop processing that are printed from when the printing stop instruction is issued until printing actually stops to the cumulative number of pages being printed. The number of pages printed during the printing stop processing can be calculated based on the value of the printing speed 505 in the resource list 501 and the time until printing stops stored in the device information management unit 304. The printing status monitoring unit 305 calculates the planned stop page and stores the planned stop page as planned stop position information.

[0034] In S704, the print job management unit 302 determines whether the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is to be canceled, based on the print page list 407 and the scheduled stop position information held by the print status monitoring unit 305. If the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is to be canceled (Yes), the process proceeds to S705, and if not (No), the process proceeds to S709.

[0035] In S705, the print job management unit 302 determines whether the pages to be printed after the scheduled stop page in the print job to be canceled are only job information pages. If only the job information page is scheduled to be printed after the scheduled stop page (Yes), there is no need to stop printing, so the print job cancellation process ends. If pages other than the job information page are scheduled to be printed after the scheduled stop page (No), the process proceeds to S706.

[0036] In S706, the job information correction unit 306 deletes all pages to be printed that are scheduled to be printed after the page to be stopped in the print job to be canceled.

[0037] In S707, if some of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled are deleted, the job information correction unit 306 corrects the job information prepared in advance before printing, regenerates a job information page that matches the actual print result, and proceeds to S710.

[0038] Here, a case where it is determined in S704 that the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is not to be canceled will be described.

[0039] In S708, the print job management unit 302 determines whether the print job being printed on the scheduled page to be stopped is placed before the print job to be canceled in the print order. If the print job being printed on the scheduled page to be stopped is placed before the print job to be canceled in the print order, the process proceeds to S709. On the other hand, if the print job being printed on the scheduled page to be stopped is placed after the print job to be canceled in the print order, the process ends the print job cancellation process without issuing a print stop instruction.

[0040] In S709, since all pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled have not been printed, not even one page has been printed, the print job management unit 302 deletes the entire print job to be canceled, and the process proceeds to S710.

[0041] In S710, since the print job to be canceled has been changed in response to the cancellation request, in this embodiment, the print job management unit 302 issues a print stop instruction to the print engine 308. Note that the print stop instruction is not essential, and a configuration in which S710 is omitted may be used.

[0042] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a job information page in this embodiment. Job information page 801 is an example of a job that has ended normally, and job information page 802 is an example of a job that has ended canceled and the print information has been corrected. Job information pages 801 and 802 include page information 803 and print information 804, and the post-processing machine performs processes such as cutting, hollowing, and waste removal based on the print information 804. Page information 803 is set based on the corresponding print job on job list 401, and print information 804 is set based on the actual print result.

[0043] The print job cancellation process (S605) shown in FIG. 7 will be specifically described using FIGS. 9 to 12. FIG. 9 is a diagram explaining a legend in a specific example of the printing status. The page to be printed is placed on roll paper 901, and is transported in direction 902. As shown in page 903, a page with a solid border indicates a page that is "printing" or "printed", and as shown in page 904, a page with a dashed border indicates a page that is "waiting to be printed". The print processing status 411 is set as follows: the page to the left of the print head (positive side of direction 902) is "printed", the page directly below the print head is "printing", and the page to the right of the print head (negative side of direction 902) is "waiting to be printed".

[0044] A print stop distance 905 indicates the distance to be printed until the print engine 308 receives a print stop instruction from the print job management unit 302 in S705 and stops ejecting ink. At this time, the pages included in the print stop distance 905 are calculated as the number of pages to be printed during the print stop process. Also, a cancellation request from the user interface 307 is indicated by 906, and a page directly below the print head such as page 907 is set as the page being printed, and a page that is the print stop distance 905 away from the print head such as page 908 is set as the page to be stopped.

[0045] 9 to 12, the print target pages of three print jobs with job IDs "0001", "0002", and "0003" in the job list 401 are arranged, and 20 pages of printing are executed for each. Also, it is assumed that a cancellation request has been made for the print job with job ID "0002". Note that in the concrete example shown below, it is assumed that three pages of print pages are generated in the print stop distance 905.

[0046] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the cancellation process of a print job in the case where the print job being printed at the time of the cancellation request is the cancellation target and the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is the cancellation target. FIG. 10(a) is a diagram showing the printing status at the time of the print stop determination process. In the example shown in FIG. 10(a), the currently printed page 1001 is the second page of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0002" to be canceled. The scheduled stop page 1002 is the fifth page of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0002". Therefore, the print target pages to be printed after the scheduled stop page in the print job to be canceled are the sixth page to the twenty-first page including the job information page 1103, and the data of these 16 pages is deleted (S706). Here, only five pages of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0002" are printed, so the print result does not match the job information in the contents of the job information page 1103 prepared before printing. Therefore, the existing job information for the print job with job ID “0002” is corrected, and a job information page 1104 is regenerated that matches the print results indicating that pages 1 through 5 have been printed (S707), and printing is stopped (S710).

[0047] FIG. 10B is a diagram showing the printing status when printing is resumed after a printing stop instruction is issued in the printing stop determination process. Immediately after printing is stopped, of the pages to be printed in the print job with job ID "0002", only the job information page is an unprinted page. When printing is resumed after printing is stopped, the job information page 1104 in the print job with job ID "0002" is printed first, and then the pages to be printed in the print job with job ID "0003" are printed sequentially from page 1. By reading the corrected job information page 1104, the post-processing machine is able to determine that the print job with job ID "0002" is to be canceled and to discard the five pages printed by the print job with job ID "0002".

[0048] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the print stop determination process when the print job being printed is not the cancellation target and the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is the cancellation target. FIG. 11(a) is a diagram showing the printing status at the time of the print stop determination process. The currently printed page 1101 is the last page of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0001" that is not the cancellation target. The scheduled stop page 1102, which is the number of pages printed after the currently printed page during the print stop process, is the third page of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0002". In this specific example, since the currently printed page 1001 is the last page of the job ID "0001", the job information is corrected (S704) and a print stop instruction is issued (S705). At this time, the scheduled stop page 1102 is the third page of the print target pages in the print job with the job ID "0002" that is the cancellation target. Therefore, the pages to be printed after the page to be stopped in the print job to be canceled are pages 4 through 21, including the job information page, and data for these 18 pages is deleted (S706).As in the specific example shown in Fig. 11(a), in order to match the print result with the job information, the existing job information of the print job with job ID "0002" is corrected and the job information page 1203 is regenerated.

[0049] 11B is a diagram showing the printing status when printing is resumed after a printing stop instruction is issued in the printing stop determination process. Immediately after printing is stopped, of the pages to be printed in the print job with job ID "0002", only the job information page remains unprinted. Therefore, when printing is resumed after stopping printing, as in FIG. 11B, first the job information page 1104 in the print job with job ID "0002" is printed, and then the pages to be printed in the print job with job ID "0003" are printed in order starting from page 1.

[0050] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the print stop determination process when the print job being printed at the time of the cancellation request is not the cancellation target, and the print job being printed at the scheduled stop page is not the cancellation target. FIG. 12(a) is a diagram showing the printing status at the time of the print stop determination process. The currently printed page 1201 is the third page of the print target pages in the print job with job ID "0001", and the scheduled stop page 1202 is also the print target page in the print job with job ID "0001", and is the print target page of the print job that is not the cancellation target. Therefore, in this specific example, not even one page of the print target pages in the print job with job ID "0002" to be canceled is printed until printing is stopped, and the print job itself can be deleted, and the print stop instruction is issued by deleting the print job with job ID "0002". FIG. 12(b) is a diagram showing a state in which the entire print job with job ID "0002" is deleted, and the print job with job ID "0003" is printed following the print job with job ID "0001".

[0051] As a result, even if unnecessary pages are not printed in response to a cancellation request and the subsequent print job is brought forward, the post-processing machine can appropriately process the pages, reducing the amount of blank pages wasted. In addition, since it is possible to output job information that directly indicates the print result and there is no need to process multiple pieces of job information in the post-processing machine, the processing of the post-processing machine can be simplified. In addition, by controlling the print stop instruction according to the printing status, unnecessary print stop instructions can be suppressed when a print job cancellation request is made.

[0052] (Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, when the entire print job to be canceled is deleted, the system determines whether to issue a print stop instruction after that depending on the preparation status of the print job to be advanced and printed in place of the print job to be canceled. Specifically, the system determines whether to issue a print stop instruction based on the printing grace period from the time of receiving the cancellation request until the time of starting printing of the print job to be advanced and the print preparation time required to prepare the print job to be advanced. This makes it possible to reduce print stop due to the cancellation of a print job without causing paper waste due to missing data of the print job.

[0053] 13 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating the process of canceling a print job in this embodiment.

[0054] The system configuration in this embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in Fig. 3. The print job cancellation process is also the same as that in the first embodiment except for S1301 and S1302. Therefore, the print continuation determination process (S1301, S1302), which is different from the first embodiment, will be described here.

[0055] In S1301, when the print job to be canceled is deleted in its entirety, the print job management unit 302 determines whether or not to continue printing. FIG 14 shows details of the print continuation determination process.

[0056] In S1401, the print job management unit 302 acquires the print preparation time, which is the time required to prepare the print data of the print job immediately following the print job to be canceled. Here, the print preparation time refers to the time required for the print engine 308 to expand the print data so that ink can be ejected immediately when the paper comes directly under the print head. The print preparation time may vary depending on the size of the print data, but here it is assumed that the print preparation time is equal to the print time for one page.

[0057] In S1402, the print job management unit 302 calculates the number of pages to be printed before the advance printing from the page being printed to the final page to be printed in the print job immediately before the print job to be canceled.

[0058] In S1403, the print job management unit 302 calculates a print grace period based on the number of pages to be printed calculated in S1402 and the printing speed of those pages.

[0059] In S1404, if the print preparation time is less than the print grace time (Yes in S1404), the print job management unit 302 determines that the print data of the subsequent print job will be prepared in time and proceeds to S1405. On the other hand, if the print preparation time is longer than the print grace time (No in S1404), it determines that the print data of the print job to be printed ahead of schedule will not be prepared in time and proceeds to S1406.

[0060] In S1405, the print job management unit 302 determines not to stop printing but to continue printing.

[0061] In S1406, the print job management unit 302 determines to stop printing before printing the print job to be brought forward. At this time, all print jobs that precede the print job to be canceled in the printing order are printed before the printing is stopped.

[0062] The print stop determination process shown in FIG. 14 will be described using the specific example shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15(a) is a diagram showing a specific example of the print status when the print grace period is shorter than the print preparation period (No in S1404). The print stop distance 1501 and the cancellation instruction 1502 are the same as the specific example shown in FIG. 10. A currently printing page 1503 and a scheduled stop page 1504 are pages to be printed in the same print job, and the scheduled stop page is the last page to be printed in the print page of job ID "0001". Therefore, the entire print job of job ID "0002" to be canceled is deleted, and the number of pages from the currently printing page 1503 to the scheduled stop page 1504 becomes the number of pages to be printed before the advance printing.

[0063] At this time, the number of pages to be printed before the advance printing is three pages, and the printing margin time is the printing time for four pages. The first page 1505 to be advanced and printed is a page to be printed in a print job (job ID "0003") other than the print job (job ID "0001") of the page 1503 being printed. Therefore, in order to print the page 1505, it is necessary to prepare the print job of the job ID "0003". In this embodiment, the print preparation time is set to the printing time for four pages. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 15(a), there is insufficient preparation time to print the first page 1505 of the print job of the job ID "0003" immediately after the last page 1504 of the print job of the job ID "0001". Therefore, if printing is continued as it is, a blank page will be generated between the last page 1504 of the print job of the job ID "0001" and the first page 1505 of the print job of the job ID "0003". Therefore, if the print preparation time for the print job with job ID "0003" is insufficient, it is determined that printing will be stopped when the print job with job ID "0001" is completed (S1406). After printing is resumed, printing will be resumed from the first page 1505 of the print job with job ID "0003".

[0064] FIG. 15B is a specific example showing the printing status when the print margin time is equal to or greater than the print preparation time (Yes in S1404). A currently printing page 1506 and a scheduled stop page 1507 are pages to be printed in the same print job. Since this is the final page 1508 of the pages to be printed in the print job with job ID "0001", the number of pages to be printed before the advance printing is four pages, and the print margin time is the printing time for four pages. Since the print preparation time is the printing time for five pages, in the example shown in FIG. 15B, a print margin time equal to the print preparation time can be secured. Therefore, a print stop instruction is not issued, and the pages following the first page 1509 of the print job with job ID "0003" are printed consecutively to the final page 1508 of the print job with job ID "0001".

[0065] As a result, it becomes possible to appropriately determine whether or not a printing stop instruction is necessary depending on whether the print data for the next job can be prepared within the printing grace period of the job being processed from the page to be stopped, thereby reducing paper waste while preventing unnecessary printing stops.

[0066] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the print stop distance and the number of pages printed during the print stop process are calculated using information about the image forming apparatus 101. However, any information may be used as information for the apparatus information management unit 304 as setting information related to the entire image forming apparatus 101. Depending on the number of pages of a print job, all print jobs to be canceled may also be printed. When all print jobs to be canceled have been printed, an information page for discarding the jobs to be canceled may be printed following the job information page. Furthermore, the print engine may be instructed to rewind the paper to a specified position based on the previous print result, and printing may be resumed after rewinding the paper so that the print result after the print restart is continuous with the previous print result when printing is resumed. (Other Examples) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions. The present disclosure includes the following configurations and methods. [Configuration 1] A control device that causes a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium to print a plurality of print jobs, a management means for causing the printing device to print, for each of the plurality of print jobs, pages to be printed in the print job and job information including information about the pages to be printed; a receiving unit for receiving a cancellation request for at least one of the plurality of print jobs; a correction means for correcting the job information; An acquisition means for acquiring a printing status from the printing device; Equipped with The management unit deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled, for which the cancellation request has been accepted, based on the printing status at the time when the acceptance unit accepted the cancellation request; the correction means corrects the job information of the print job from which a part of the pages to be printed has been deleted; A control device comprising: [Configuration 2] the management means also deletes the job information when all of the pages to be printed are deleted. 2. The control device according to configuration 1, [Configuration 3] the management means advances a print job that is scheduled to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted, and causes the printing device to print the print job. 3. The control device according to configuration 1 or 2. [Configuration 4] The printer further includes an acquisition unit for acquiring a printing status from the printing device. the management means deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled based on the printing status at the time when the cancellation request was accepted by the acceptance means. 4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for controlling a vehicle. [Configuration 5] the management means, based on the printing status at the time the cancellation request is accepted by the acceptance means, specifies a page to be printed after the nearest page that can be stopped when the cancellation request is accepted by the acceptance means, and deletes pages to be printed after the specified page from among pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request is accepted. 5. The control device according to configuration 4. [Configuration 6] when the page to be printed is deleted in the print job to be canceled, the management unit stops printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted. 6. The control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 5. [Configuration 7] the management means, when a part of the pages to be printed is deleted in the print job to be canceled, or when all of the pages to be printed are deleted in the print job to be canceled and the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted cannot be printed consecutively to the print job to be printed before the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted, stops printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted. 7. The control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6. [Configuration 8] the management means deletes all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled, and when a print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted can be printed consecutively to a print job to be printed before the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted, does not stop printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted. 8. The control device according to configuration 7, [Configuration 9] the management means, when the cancellation request is accepted by the accepting means, in a case where a grace period from the page being printed to the first page of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted is equal to or longer than a preparation period required for print preparation of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted, does not stop printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted. 9. The control device according to configuration 8, [Configuration 10] The management unit analyzes the plurality of print jobs to obtain the job information of each print job, the job information includes information indicating the number of pages to be printed in the corresponding print job; 10. The control device according to claim 1 , [Configuration 11] 1. A control method for causing a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium to print a plurality of print jobs, comprising: a management step of causing the printing device to print, for each of the plurality of print jobs, pages to be printed in the print job and job information including information about the pages to be printed; a receiving step of receiving a cancellation request for at least one of the plurality of print jobs; a correction step of correcting the job information; Equipped with The management step deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request has been received, the correcting step corrects the job information of the print job from which a part of the pages to be printed has been deleted; A control method comprising: [Configuration 12] A program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to any one of configurations 1 to 9.

Claims

1. A control device that causes a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium to print a plurality of print jobs, a management means for causing the printing device to print, for each of the plurality of print jobs, pages to be printed in the print job and job information including information about the pages to be printed; a receiving unit for receiving a cancellation request for at least one of the plurality of print jobs; a correction means for correcting the job information; Equipped with The management unit deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request has been received, the correction means corrects the job information of the print job from which a part of the pages to be printed has been deleted; A control device comprising:

2. the management means also deletes the job information when all of the pages to be printed are deleted. The control device according to claim 1 .

3. the management means advances the print job that is scheduled to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted, and causes the printing device to print the print job. The control device according to claim 1 .

4. The printer further includes an acquisition unit for acquiring a printing status from the printing device. the management means deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled based on the printing status at the time when the cancellation request was accepted by the acceptance means. The control device according to claim 1 .

5. the management means, based on the printing status at the time the cancellation request is accepted by the acceptance means, specifies a page to be printed after the nearest page that can be stopped when the cancellation request is accepted by the acceptance means, and deletes pages to be printed after the specified page from among pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request is accepted.

5. The control device according to claim 4.

6. when the page to be printed is deleted in the print job to be canceled, the management means stops printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted. The control device according to claim 1 .

7. the management means, when a part of the pages to be printed is deleted in the print job to be canceled, or when all of the pages to be printed are deleted in the print job to be canceled and the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted cannot be printed consecutively to the print job to be printed before the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted, stops printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted. The control device according to claim 1 .

8. the management means deletes all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled, and when a print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted can be printed consecutively to a print job to be printed before the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted, does not stop printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the pages to be printed have been deleted. The control device according to claim 7 .

9. the management means, when the cancellation request is accepted by the accepting means, in a case where a grace period from the page being printed to the first page of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted is equal to or longer than a preparation period required for print preparation of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted, does not stop printing of the print job to be printed after the print job from which the page to be printed has been deleted. The control device according to claim 8 .

10. The management unit analyzes the plurality of print jobs to obtain the job information of each print job, the job information includes information indicating the number of pages to be printed in the corresponding print job; 10. The control device according to claim 1 ,

11. 1. A control method for causing a printing device that prints on a roll-shaped recording medium to print a plurality of print jobs, comprising: a management step of causing the printing device to print, for each of the plurality of print jobs, pages to be printed in the print job and job information including information about the pages to be printed; a receiving step of receiving a cancellation request for at least one of the plurality of print jobs; a correction step of correcting the job information; Equipped with The management step deletes some or all of the pages to be printed in the print job to be canceled for which the cancellation request has been received, the correcting step corrects the job information of the print job from which a part of the pages to be printed has been deleted; A control method comprising:

12. A program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Printing system, image forming apparatus and apparatus for post processing and program

    JP2008191215A