Patent AU-2012203636-B2 (AU)
Title: Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
Inventor: OHKAWA KAZUHIRO
IPC: G03G15/01
Filed: 2012-06-21
Granted: 2013-08-29
Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes plural page description language processing units (20A, 20B) and a job management unit (10). Each of the plural page description language processing units (20A, 20B) corresponds to one of different page description languages. The job management unit (10) performs management to select one of the plural page description language processing units (20A, 20B), the selected page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) serving as a currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B), and to cause only the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) to process a print job. Each of the plural page description language processing units (20A, 20B) includes a raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) and a raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B). The raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) interprets a print job described in one of the page description languages corresponding to the page description language processing unit, and creates a raster image. The raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) transfers the raster image created by the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) to a printer so that the raster image is printed by the printer. The job management unit (10) includes a first queue (12), a second queue (14), a reception-time adding unit, an image-creation-time adding unit, a first instruction unit, a second instruction unit, a third instruction unit, a controller, and a job-being-processed list memory (16). The first queue (12) serves as a queue for a print job for which a raster image has not been created. The second queue (14) serves as a queue for a print job for which a raster image has been created. Upon receiving a printing execution instruction including a print job and specification information specifying one of the plural page description language processing units (20A, 20B) that is to process the print job, the reception-time adding unit adds the print job to an end of the first queue (12) in association with the specification information and instructs the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) of the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information to start processing if a raster image of the print job has not been created, and adds the print job to an end of the second queue (14) in association with the specification information and instructs the raster image transferring unit (24a, 24B) of the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information to start processing if the raster image of the print job has been created. Upon a raster image of a print job being created by the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B), the image-creation-time adding unit adds the print job to the second queue (14) and instructs the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 208) to start processing. If both the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information associated with a print job at the top of the first queue (12) and the page description language processing unit (20A, 208) specified by the specification information associated with a print job at the top of the second queue (14) do not match the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) in a state where both the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) and the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) are not processing a print job, the first instruction unit selects the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information associated with the print job at the top of the first queue (12) or the second queue (14), the selected page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) serving as a new currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 208), and instructs the new currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) to start processing. If the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information associated with the print job at the top of the first queue (12) matches the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) in a state where both the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) and the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) are not processing a print job, the second instruction unit selects the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information, the selected page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) continuing to serve as the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B), and instructs the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) to start processing. If the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information associated with the print job at the top of the second queue (14) matches the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) in a state where both the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) and the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) are not processing a print job, the third instruction unit selects the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information, the selected page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) continuing to serve as the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B), and instructs the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) to start processing. The controller performs control of examining the specification information associated with the print job at the top of the first queue (12) every time the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) finishes processing a print job, causing the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) to process the print job at the top of the first queue (12) if the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information matches a current currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B), examining the specification information associated with the print job at the top of the second queue (14) every time the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) finishes processing a print job, and causing the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) to process the print job at the top of the second queue (14) if the page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) specified by the specification information matches a current currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B). The job being-processed list memory (16) stores a list of one or more print jobs that are being processed by the raster image creating unit (22A, 22B) or the raster image transferring unit (24A, 24B) of the currently processing page description language processing unit (20A, 20B) and that have not yet been printed by the printer (30). The image-creation time adding unit adds the print job to the second queue (14) by inserting the print job between a first print job that is not stored in the job-being-processed list memory (16) with respect to the print job at the top of the second queue (14), and a print job immediately before the first print job. 10 RASTER IMAGE CREATING -_22A JOB MANAGEMENTr MODULE RASTER IMAGE 24A TRANSFERRING 12-- RIP QUEUE PRINTER UNIT 26A 30 14-- PRINT QUEUE 20B PRINTER JOB-BEING- RIP 16-- PROCESSED 22B LIST RASTER IMAGE CURRENTLY UNIT 18, PROCESSING RASTER IMAGE INFORMATION TRANSFERRING -- 24B UNIT MONITORING 26B JOB1 JOB2 JOB3 (RIP-A) (RIP-A) (RIP-B)