Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shinichiro Maekawa

Satoshi Nagata

Akihiro Nakamura

Junichi Kimizuka

Shigeru Ueda

Yutaka Tokura

Yoichi Toyokura

Satoshi Egawa

Atsushi Matsumoto

Yukihiko Shimizu

Noriyuki Kobayashi

Takeshi Namikata

Hirohiko Tashiro

Yushi Matsukubo

Masamichi Akashi

Hideki Sakai

Masataka Yasuda

Takashi Kawana

Kaoru Seto

Yoji Kaneko

Soya Endo

Masaki Unishi

Hitoshi Machino

Akira Nakaya

Nobuyoshi Kakigi

Koichiro Akimoto

Toru Kosaka

Nobuyasu Itoh

Hiromi Kimura

Yuichi Higuchi

Joji Oki

Manabu Sakakibara

Yasuko Amano

Masami Kurimoto

In a computer system including a job scheduler which divides an input job and determines a client apparatus to assign the divided job, and a task manager which transmits the divided job to the client apparatus determined by the job scheduler, the job scheduler assigns the same job to a plurality of client apparatuses when the number of client apparatuses is larger than the number of divided jobs, and when the job is finished in one of the plurality of client apparatuses assigned the same job, execution of the job in the remaining client apparatuses is canceled so that the time until all jobs are finished is shortened.

Divided job scheduler

Even when a CPU gains higher performance and a distributed computing environment is being put in place, it is not easy to follow the speed of hardware image processing implemented by dedicated hardware. Hence, jobs of filter processing having a heavy operation load and low distributability are selectively and intensively input to a small number of resources having performance as high as possible. On the other hand, since the color conversion processing and gamma processing have high distributability, even when jobs are input to many resources having low performance, an improvement of the processing speed can be expected. Therefor, color conversion processing and gamma processing distribute jobs to many resources.

Information processing apparatus and its control method

In a network print system in which a printer and at least one client are connected to each other through a network, and at least a part of a job for the printer can be subjected to load distributed processing by grid computing, wherein when a printer driver of the printer is installed on any one of the at least one client, the system is adapted to build a grid computing network. In this arrangement, it is easily to build the grid computing network in which the printer job is subjected to load distributed processing.

Print system, print method, information processing apparatus and method of controlling the information processing apparatus

An image processor is capable of transferring an input job. The image processor receives input of jobs, displays a list of the jobs received, selects a job to be output to another image processor from the displayed list, and transfers the selected job to that another image processor.

Image processor and image processing method

When the distributed load system of grid computing is applied to printers, multi-functional peripheral equipments, and the like connected to a computer network, if a device which inputs a job received from the client is executing processing, the distributed processing requires much time, and the user of the client cannot obtain the print result soon. Hence, when a print job is input, the processing time upon executing distributed processing of data processes in the print job by computer devices connected to the computer network is estimated. Based on the estimation result, the print job or jobs divided from the print job are transmitted to the computer devices connected to the computer network.

An output control apparatus controls an output unit to output an image based on output data. The output unit provides a condition change signal indicating a predetermined condition change thereof. The apparatus includes detection means for detecting the condition change signal provided by the output unit, and transmission means for transmitting information on the predetermined condition change to an external apparatus in response to the detection means detecting the condition change signal.

Output control apparatus, output control method and memory medium storing program readable by computer

If an optional paper feeding deck or furnisher, or paper stacker, is connected to an image forming apparatus (such as a printer), such optional devices are to be controlled by connecting the paper conveyance control apparatus to control those options. Such an image forming apparatus has a video controller to convert the printer language sent from a high-order device such as a host computer, into a bit map data and a printer engine to print the bit map data. Such a paper conveyance control apparatus, being electrically connected to the video controller, has a memory to be shared with the video controller. The video controller writes the job schedule in the shared memory. The paper conveyance control apparatus controls the optional device according to the written job schedule.

Apparatus to control optional paper conveyance device and image processing apparatus using the same

A scheduler develops a band in which a development processing time is longer than an image formation process speed so that a band development process can always be performed during a continuous image formation. To form images at a high throughput, a CPU analyzes print data from a plurality of pages, and a band development schedule is optimized when an image is formed on the basis of a band unit basis on the basis of the developing processing time which is previously predicted for the plurality of pages.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method having band development scheduler for a plurality of pages

If an optional paper feeding deck or furnisher, or paper stacker, is connected to an image forming apparatus (such as a printer), such optional devices are to be controlled by connecting the paper conveyance control apparatus to control those options. Such an image forming apparatus has a video controller to convert the printer language sent from a high-order device such as a host computer, into bit map data and a printer engine to print the bit map data. Such a paper conveyance control apparatus, being electrically connected to the video controller, has a memory to be shared with the video controller. The video controller writes the job schedule in the shared memory. The paper conveyance control apparatus controls the optional device according to the written job schedule.

An image forming apparatus which forms images onto a plurality of pages has prediction unit which predicts a development processing time to develop a band of intermediate data based on print data to a bit map image and a controller which switches from a first mode to form one page or second mode to form images of a plurality of pages depending on the prediction information calculated by the prediction device. Thus the throughput can be increased by controlling the print data and a band development schedule.

Image forming apparatus having prediction of development time and mode change

A printing apparatus includes an image forming unit which has an image carrier for holding an image, operates in a first image forming mode to form an image for a single page on the image carrier and in a second image forming mode to form images for a plurality of pages on the image carrier, and performs image formation in one of the first image forming mode and the second image forming mode. The printing apparatus includes a receiving unit for receiving printing data from an external device, a unit for analyzing the printing data to obtain image data and image forming condition information in units of page, and a control unit for selecting one of the first image forming mode and the second image forming mode depending on the image forming condition information, thereby rendering the image formation to be performed in the selected mode. A control method for the printing apparatus and a computer-readable storage medium storing a control program for the printing apparatus are also provided.

Printing apparatus, control method for the same, and computer-readable storage medium storing printing-apparatus control program

When a status change of a printer engine occurs, a status change signal is output to an image data output apparatus. In response to input of the status change signal, the image data output apparatus inquires or confirms the printer engine what kind of status change occurs so that processing to compensate for the status change will be subject to image data to be output to the printer engine.

Image processing apparatus and method, print control apparatus and

In a printer apparatus having an automatic paper feed selection function for automatically selecting one of a plurality of paper feed means in which a paper of a designated size is loaded, an operator is permitted to set a desired priority. When there are a plurality of paper feed means in which the paper of the designated size are loaded, the paper feed means of a higher priority is selected to cause the selected paper feed means to feed the paper for printing. The priority may be set to groups each comprising a plurality of paper feed means. When there are a plurality of paper feed means in one group in which the paper of the designated size are loaded, the paper is fed from predetermined paper feed means. When no paper is loaded in a paper feed cassette of the paper feed means from which the paper is to be fed, one of a plurality of operation modes relating to a timing to inform it may be selected by the operator.

Printer capable of designating the type of recording medium in a medium

A printing apparatus is provided with a main body including a video controller, having video signal generation device for generating a video signal from image information based on a recording command from an external apparatus and control device, and with a supervisory controller including optional unit control device for controlling at least an optional unit connectable to the main body. The video controller includes a process time informing device for informing the supervisory controller of an image development process time, and the supervisory controller includes a paper transport time memory for storing the paper transport time from the optional paper feed source to the entrance of the printing apparatus, a comparator for comparing the process time informed by the process time informing device with the paper transport time stored in the paper transport time memory, and a paper feed source changing device for changing the paper feed source in case the comparator identifies that the process time is shorter. The supervisory controller effects change of the order of process, determination of the paper feed unit, continuation of the printing process in case of paper jamming. There is provided a printing apparatus for printing text data received from an external apparatus, including paper feed units and paper ejecting units provided as standard components and paper feed units and paper ejecting units connectable as optional units, wherein an optimum combination is selected among the usable ones among the above-mentioned paper feed and ejecting units.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Shinichiro Maekawa