JP2001228986A - Device and method for outputting image and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for printing easily and quickly contents on a network. SOLUTION: In an image output system including the image output device and an external device, the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to the information on a network to the image output device and then the image output device acquires the information on the network according to the pointer and outputs the information. In an image output system including an image output device and an external storage medium, the image output device reads pointer corresponding to the information on the network out of the external storage medium, acquires the information on the network according to the pointer and then outputs the information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a technique for outputting contents on a network to an image output device such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable devices having an Internet access function have become widespread. In such portable devices, display panels are very small and images are unclear. Therefore, instead of displaying the WEB document in the HTML format on the display panel, it is output once to a printer and read.

[0003] In recent years, color printers have become extremely fast, and the number of on-demand printing forms that do not have inventory has been increasing, and the target is not limited to a specific news source, but can be any content. In such on-demand printing, if a user orders and requests necessary contents, printing can be performed immediately.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-134125 (Canon) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-222323 (Cannon) disclose conventional techniques for printing contents on a network.
A technology is disclosed in which the URL of a Web server to be printed is registered on the printer side, the content is automatically read at a certain time, and the content is printed.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, when a WEB document is directly output from a portable device, unlike a notebook PC or the like, the C of the portable device is different.
Since the PU is weak, the printing process takes a very long time. In addition, since the shared printer at the destination is not generally unified in the specification of the page description language (PDL),
Even connecting to mobile devices is not easy.

[0006] In the case of the above-mentioned on-demand printing, the time and labor required for delivery to the user poses a problem.
When the output center is used, the printer itself is fast, but the printed matter must be put on the existing distribution route, and it takes time to deliver it to the hand. On the other hand, when printing with a public terminal, you can receive the printed matter on the spot,
Generally, the operation tends to be very complicated. Further, in this case, since an unspecified number of users use the service, it is difficult to restrict users who can print. In the case of paid content, the settlement means and its method also become a problem.

Further, the techniques disclosed in JP-A-11-134125 (Canon) and JP-A-10-222323 (Canon) cannot solve the above problem.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide an apparatus for easily and quickly printing contents on a network.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention can be configured as follows.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output system having an image output device and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the image output device. Acquires information on the network based on the pointer and outputs the information.

According to the present invention, image output can be performed by transmitting a pointer to an image output device without an external device such as a portable device directly outputting information, so that image output can be performed easily and quickly. It can be carried out.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output device,
An image output system having a server and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to a server, and the server acquires information on the network based on the pointer, and outputs the information to an image. To the device, and the image output device outputs the information.

According to the present invention, since the server receives the pointer, no special image output device is required. Also,
Since the server can accumulate information on the network, a large amount of information can be output at high speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium, and reads the pointer. And acquires information on the network based on the information and outputs the information.

According to the present invention, since the image output device reads the pointer recorded on the external storage medium and acquires and outputs necessary information, regardless of the size of the information capacity,
It is possible to extract information as needed. As the external storage medium, for example, a smart card can be used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer and authentication information corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium. The authentication information is transmitted to the authentication server to perform user authentication. If the authentication is successful, information on the network is acquired based on the pointer, and the information is output.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above functions and effects,
Since the information is acquired after the user is authenticated with the authentication information, the operational effect of improving the security is achieved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer and charging information corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium. When the balance included in the billing information is equal to or more than the charge of the information, the information is acquired based on the pointer and output.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above functions and effects,
It becomes possible to provide a settlement means for pay information.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for receiving a pointer corresponding to the information on the network from an external device; Means for acquiring information and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the first aspect are exerted.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server connected to an image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for receiving a pointer corresponding to the information on the network from an external device; Means for acquiring information on a network based on the information and transmitting the information to an image output device. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the second aspect are exerted.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is an image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; Means for acquiring information and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the third aspect are exerted.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer and authentication information corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; It has means for transmitting to the authentication server, and means for acquiring information on the network based on the pointer when the authentication is successful, and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the fourth aspect are exerted.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network and charging information from an external storage medium; Means for acquiring and outputting the information based on the pointer when the included balance is equal to or more than the fee for the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the fifth aspect can be obtained.

According to the present invention, there is provided a server connected to an image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; Means for acquiring information on a network based on the information and transmitting the information to an image output device. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of claim 3 can be obtained, and the information can be stored in the server and then transmitted to the image output device, so that a large amount of information can be output at high speed. Becomes possible.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the image output device. Steps and
The image output device acquires information on the network based on the pointer, and outputs the information.
According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the first aspect are exerted.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system including an image output device, a server, and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the server. A step of obtaining information on the network by the server based on the pointer, transmitting the information to the image output device, and a step of outputting the information by the image output device. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the second aspect are exerted.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system having an image output device, a server, and an external device, wherein the server has a hierarchical menu for information on a network, Specifying information in the hierarchical menu from the device and transmitting a request to output the information to the server; and obtaining information on the network based on the specification by the server and transmitting the information to the image output device. And outputting the information by the image output device. According to the present invention, since information can be selected and output by following a hierarchical menu from an external device, it is possible to easily output necessary information even from a portable device having a small screen, for example. Become.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the step of mounting the external storage medium on the image output device includes the steps of: Reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from the external storage medium; acquiring information on the network based on the pointer; and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the third aspect are exerted.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the step of mounting the external storage medium on the image output device includes the steps of: Reading a pointer and authentication information corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium; transmitting the authentication information to an authentication server to perform user authentication; Acquiring the above information and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the fourth aspect are exerted.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the step of mounting the external storage medium on the image output device includes the steps of: Reading a pointer and billing information corresponding to information on the network from the external storage medium; and obtaining and outputting the information based on the pointer when the balance included in the billing information is equal to or more than the charge of the information. And According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the fifth aspect can be obtained.

An invention according to claim 18 is a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network, wherein a pointer corresponding to the information on the network is stored in an external device. And a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for receiving information from the network and a procedure for acquiring information on the network based on the pointer and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the first and second aspects are achieved.

[0033] The invention according to claim 19 is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network is recorded, and corresponds to information on the network from an external storage medium. A computer-readable recording medium that records a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for reading a pointer and a procedure for acquiring information on a network based on the pointer and outputting the information. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the third aspect are exerted.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network, the program corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium. A step of reading the pointer and the authentication information, a step of transmitting the authentication information to the authentication server, and a step of acquiring the information on the network based on the pointer when the authentication is successful, and outputting the information to the computer. This is a computer-readable recording medium on which a program to be executed is recorded. According to the present invention, substantially the same operation and effect as those of the fourth aspect are exerted.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network is recorded. A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for reading the pointer and the billing information and a procedure for acquiring and outputting the information based on the pointer when the balance included in the billing information is equal to or more than the fee for the information are recorded. It is a computer-readable recording medium. According to the present invention, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the fifth aspect can be obtained.

[0036]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 1 has a portable device 3 and a printer 5, both of which are configured to exchange data via an infrared port (IR port). Here, the portable device refers to all devices that are small enough to be portable and have a function of exchanging data with external devices. More specifically, for example, it includes a PDA, a notebook PC, and the like, and may be a mobile phone, a pager, or the like.

The printer 5 is connected to a network 7,
Connect to the Internet 9 via the network 7 and
b server 11 can be accessed. Further, Web server 1
1 can be output. The mobile device 3 can access the Internet wirelessly. The configurations of the mobile device 3 and the printer 5 will be described later.

Next, an outline of the operation at the time of printing will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When finding the address (URL) that requires printing, the portable device 3 sends the address to the printer 5 via IR (step S1), and makes a print request. The printer 5 accesses the Web server 11 via the network 7 and the Internet 9, reads out information corresponding to the address (step S2), and performs processing similar to the printing procedure in a normal printer (layout adjustment, rasterization processing, color conversion). Etc.), and outputs the contents (step S3). The address is information for specifying the location of the content on the network, and the information is referred to as a pointer in this specification.

Here, the communication protocol used for communication between the portable device 3 and the printer 5 is not particularly limited, and any communication protocol can be used. In this embodiment, for example, a unique serial communication protocol is used. M
Use IPP. FIG. 3 shows a part of the basic commands of MIPP. As shown in FIG. 3, each command includes an ID indicating a communication sequence as an argument. The START command includes an argument indicating the MIPP protocol version, and the SEND command includes, in addition to the address, the number of expressions (TYPE) indicating the data type indicated by the address.

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing a typical communication example using the above-mentioned communication protocol MIPP.
Here, the case where the address to the HTML data is exchanged without error is shown. First, the client side (portable device) requests communication start by a START command (steps S11 and S12). Next, the client side uses a hypertext (type Typ)
e = ht), the address to the sentence is sent by the SEND command (steps S13 and S14), and finally the end is sent to E
Declare by ND command (steps S15, S1
6). OK (ACK), N on server side (printer)
G. Respond using retransmission (AGAIN).

Data to be transmitted to the printer includes
In addition to the address, there are also paper and printing direction, but there is a possibility that an option that the printer does not have may be specified. For paper, etc., use the printer default (for example, A4). Preferably. Since the amount of information (the number of bytes) of these data is very small, it does not burden the portable device and the transmission time is short.

Next, the internal configuration of the printer 5 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

The printer 5 includes a storage unit 13 for storing data, an information processing unit 15 (CPU and the like) for controlling information processing and overall operation, and an information storage unit 17 (processing system for various PDLs, R containing necessary control program
RA for OM / flash memory and work memory
M, etc.), a print engine 19 for performing printing,
Paper discharge unit 21, engine controller 23, IR port 25, I / O controller 27 (including I / F of network, parallel, USB, etc.), display / input device unit 2
9 (display / operation panel switches, etc.), acquired HTM
An HTML data processing unit 31 for processing L data and a communication protocol processing unit 33 for processing a communication protocol are provided. The printer 5 can be connected to a network, a mobile phone, and various external devices.

The printer according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of I / Fs such as a network I / F and a USB port, like the conventional printer, so that a plurality of various devices can be simultaneously connected. In addition, PDL that is not HTML (for example, Ad
It also has multiple processing systems such as obScript's PostScript). For this reason, like the conventional printer, PDL automatic switching,
The input I / F is configured to be automatically switched.

The printer according to the present invention includes a communication protocol processing unit 33 for processing a protocol used when exchanging addresses via IR and an HTTP protocol, etc.
H for converting received HTML data into page data
The difference from the conventional printer is that it has a TML data processing unit 31.

Next, the operation of the system at the time of printing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and the block diagram of FIG. FIG. 6 shows an operation when the document is HTML data.

First, the printer 5 receives an address from the portable device 3 (Step S21). At that time, the printer 5
Receives an address using the IR port 25 and the communication protocol processing unit 33 in the above-described procedure. Next, the printer 5 requests the document at the address from the Web server 11 using the received address (step S2).
2) Receive data from the Web server 11 via the network (step S23). Also in this case, the communication protocol processing unit 33 is used.

Here, if the data type of the document is ps, processing is performed in the same sequence as that of printing via a conventional network, that is, in the order of reception → PDL interpretation → data generation → output.

If the data is HTML, the HTML data processing unit 31 interprets the contents after first receiving the entity of the HTML data (step S2).
4). Usually, a plurality of objects such as GIF images are embedded in addition to the characters, and these objects are next received via the network (steps S25 and S2).
6, S27). After receiving all the objects, layout adjustment and the like are performed (step S28), and conversion to PDL understandable by the printer 5 (PS code conversion in the above example).
Is performed (step S29), and stored in the information storage unit 17 (step S30). After the conversion into the PDL is once performed in this way, the output is performed in the same sequence as that of the conventional print (step S31).

In HTML, since the standard is frequently revised, HT
The ML data processing unit 31 is not configured with dedicated hardware,
It can be implemented on a printer as software (firmware). With such a configuration, it is also possible to provide the user with firmware information and firmware rewriting means after the product is shipped, and to make the firmware compatible with the latest standard later.

The communication protocol processing unit 33 and the HTML
The data processing unit 31 can be installed outside the main body as an option (separate device) without being provided inside the printer main body, and can be connected to the printer via USB. Especially I
In order to equip the R port, an opening must be provided in front of the printer and the housing design must be changed. However, the communication protocol processing unit 33, the HTML data processing unit 31, and the IR port are integrated and installed outside the main unit. By doing so, the device according to the present invention can be configured more easily.

In the above description, the output of the HTML data has been described as being once converted into PDL and then output. However, in order to increase the output speed, the HTML data is converted directly into a form that the print engine 19 can understand. It is also possible to output it. If you do this,
It is also possible to improve the output speed.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the portable device 3 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the portable device 3 includes a battery 35, a display panel 37, an input device 39 such as a keypad and a pointing device, a data reading device 41 such as a memory card slot, a communication port 43 (a serial port other than the IR port). Etc.), CPU45, RAM4
7. It has a ROM 49 (including a flash memory or the like). The ROM 49 stores an OS (Operating System), various applications (including a program for exchanging addresses), and the like. Mobile device 3
Is as follows.

When the power of the portable device 3 is turned on, an initial screen (visual shell) for booting the OS and managing various applications is started from the ROM 49, and waits for a user input or an interrupt from the communication port. Thereafter, when the user finds a content to be printed by accessing a Web server or the like via the communication port 43, the user transmits the address to the printer 7 via the communication port 43. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the point that the print server 53 is provided outside the printer is as follows.
This is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The print server 53 is a computer, and its internal configuration is shown in FIG. Print server 53
Has a display 55, an input device 57 such as a keyboard and a pointing device, a reading device 59 for reading programs and data, and an arithmetic processing device 61. The arithmetic processing unit 61 includes a CPU 6 capable of executing various commands.
3, a RAM 65, a ROM 67 (including a flash memory or the like), a DISK 69 (which means a fixed disk here) as a large-capacity storage device, and an NIC 71 (network interface card) for communicating with devices on a network. Have. The print server 53 further includes an IR for exchanging information with the external portable device 3.
A port 73 is provided so that data can be transmitted and received using a predetermined protocol. The IR port 73 is
Although it is configured to be directly connected to the internal bus, it is also possible to make it independent from the print server main body as an option and connect both of them by a USB port or the like. The software configuration and the like will be described after the description of the operation.

Here, at least the print server 53
Need to be connected to the network, but the printer 51 does not necessarily have to be connected to the network. For example, the two may be connected by a serial interface or the like.

When a web document printing request is received from an external portable device, the printer 51 receives the data from the print server 53 and executes printing instead of directly receiving the data. As described above, since the request issued to the print server 53 is received from the printer 51, it is preferable that the two are installed close to each other.

Next, an outline of the operation at the time of printing will be described with reference to FIG.
Description will be made using 0 and 11.

When finding the address (URL) that requires printing, the portable device 3 transmits the address to the print server 53 via IR (step S41), and makes a print request. The print server 53 accesses the Web server 11 via the network 7 and the Internet 9 (step S42), reads out the document data corresponding to the address (step S43 in FIG. 11),
If necessary, the document data is subjected to PDL conversion or the like, and the document data is transferred to the printer 51 (step S43 in FIG. 11). The printer 51 performs the same processing (layout adjustment, rasterization processing, color conversion, etc.) as the printing procedure in a normal printer, and outputs the contents (step S45 in FIG. 11).

Here, if the data type received by the print server 53 is PS, the document data (PS) is stored in the printer 51 while the document data is stored (spooled) in the print server 53 in the same manner as in the conventional printing via a network. Format) as it is.

Here, the communication protocol used for communication between the portable device 3 and the print server 53 is not particularly limited, and any communication protocol can be used. In the present embodiment, the first embodiment is used as an example. The MIPP described in the example is used. 3 and 4 for MIPP.
As described above.

The data to be transmitted to the print server 53 includes, in addition to the address, paper and printing direction. However, there is a possibility that an option not possessed by the printer 51 may be specified. It is preferable to use the default (for example, A4) of the printer 51. These data correspond to the amount of information (Byt)
e) is negligible, so that no burden is imposed on the portable device, and the transmission time is short.

Next, the operation of the system when the received data is HTML will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the print server 53 has the IR port 7
The address is received from the portable device 3 via the communication device 3 (step S51). Next, the print server 53 requests the document at the address from the web server 11 using the received address (step S52), and the web server 11
From the network via the network (step S
53).

Next, after the entity of the HTML data is received, the HTML data is interpreted (step S5).
4). Usually, a plurality of objects such as GIF images are embedded in the HTML data in addition to the characters. Therefore, the transfer requests for the objects which are the components of the text are sequentially sent (step S55), and each object is received via the network. (Steps S56 and S57).
After all the objects are received, layout adjustment and the like are performed (step S58), conversion to PDL that can be understood by the printer 5 (PS code conversion in the above example) is performed (step S59), and stored in a RAM or the like (step S6).
0). Then, the print server 53 transmits data to the printer 51 (step S61). After that, output is performed in the same sequence as in the conventional printing.

With this configuration, the printer 51
The printing system of the present invention can be realized without requiring any special modification or additional function addition on the side.

FIG. 13 shows a printer 5 according to the second embodiment.
1 is a block diagram. The difference from the printer 5 shown in FIG. 5 is that the printer 51 does not have an IR port, an HTML data processing unit, and a communication protocol processing unit.

The hardware configuration of the print server 53 has been described with reference to FIG.
3 will be described.

The DISK 69 stores an OS (operating system), applications, and the like.
The document data (document) read using the address is also temporarily stored on the DISK. In the first embodiment, the parts corresponding to the HTML data processing unit 31 and the communication protocol processing unit 33 shown in FIG.
It is stored as a program code on the OM 67 or the DISK 69.

Here, the OS (operating system)
The type need not be specific. Communication-related processing such as transmission and reception of addresses, reading of document data using addresses, and management of PDL data such as transfer to a printer and deletion of printed data can be performed in the background. For example, the processing program may be executed as "daemon" for UNIX and "service" for WINDOWS-NT. Other processes (such as PDL processes) are executed by calling corresponding programs as needed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the software configuration of the print server 53. As shown in the figure, the print server 53 is loaded with an IR communication processing program, a Web communication processing program, and a Web data layout program (layout engine). In addition to these, a general print server has functions such as a print job queue management, a program such as a printer driver, and a program for processing the TCP / IP protocol (not shown).

In the flowchart of FIG. 12, the data reception in step S51 is performed by the IR communication processing program, and the data transmission and reception processing in steps S52 to S56 is performed by the Web communication processing program. For the html processing in steps S58 to S59, a Web data layout program (layout engine) is used.

The above program is stored in the disk 69 on the print server 53 in advance, or
The functions can be realized by storing the data in various storage media such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, and a memory card, reading the data with the data reading device 59, and executing the data. Alternatively, it is also possible to store the program in another server (not shown) on the network, download the program via the network when the print server is started, and execute the program.

The portable device 3 according to the second embodiment has the first
A device similar to the portable device described in the embodiment can be used. The configuration is as shown in FIG.

In the above description, the data to be printed has been described assuming the html format. However, the implementation of the present invention is not necessarily limited to this example.

For example, the entity of the data is PostScript.
pt, and the address is expressed in a directory format in MS-WINDOWS (example: \\ doc-srv5 \ prt \ mee
ting1.ps), embed this in the body of the email, etc.
It may be transmitted by the P protocol.

Further, the data to be printed is not limited to the html format. For example, when mainly exchanging only image data, tiff is adopted as a data format, and an address to this data is set to ftp or Jet of HP.
It is also possible to exchange with Send or the like.

Further, the portable device transmits an address that requires printing to the print server. However, if the address itself for the necessary information is not known, a certain search function on the print server is implemented by software. And
It can also be provided to users of mobile devices.

In this case, for example, a print menu accessible from the portable device is prepared in advance on the print server, and the portable device accesses the print server without first transmitting the address to the print server. Is performed, the necessary information is designated by following a prepared hierarchical menu, and a print request is executed. Since it only follows the hierarchical menu, it can be easily operated even with a portable device having a small screen.

The "previously prepared hierarchical menu" is a list of linked destinations which have been classified into categories in advance. For example, hierarchical lists such as news->domestic->sports-> J-League This is a list of link destinations that have been classified into categories. The print server has a list of links to the information classified in this way. If such information is held in the print server, it is not necessary to input a keyword in the portable device, and it is possible to find target information by relatively simple key operations such as a cross key and a return key. In addition, even if the user does not know the address itself, the portable device can issue an instruction to print necessary information. Also, the print server can cache necessary information (read ahead), so that the output can be speeded up. (Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system 75 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 75
It has an IC card 77 (smart card 77) and a printer 79 having a card slot for the smart card 77. The printer 79 is connected to the network 81 and can read the content from the document content server 83 containing the content and print it. Smart card 77
Stores a pointer to content and the like. As described above, the pointer is information for specifying the location of the content on the network. The network referred to here may be not only wired but also wireless.
Communication protocols can be used in any protocol, including TCP / IP. Also, it is not always necessary to use a dedicated line connection, and a connection via the Internet may be used.

Next, an outline of the operation at the time of printing will be described with reference to FIG.
6 will be described. In the description of this embodiment, it is assumed that only one pointer is stored in the smart card 77, and only one copy is printed. Similarly,
It is assumed that the format of the document (content itself) on the document content server 83 and the format of the document exchanged with the printer 79 are both formats that can be directly understood by the printer (for example, PostScript by Adobe). The same applies to the fourth and fifth embodiments.

When the user wants to perform printing, the user first instructs a print request by inserting the smart card 77 into the slot of the corresponding printer 79 (step S71).
The printer 79 detects the connection of the smart card 77 and displays a print start message on the display panel of the printer to ask the user for confirmation (not shown). If the user approves the print execution, the content pointer is read from the smart card 77 and the
Then, the information corresponding to the designated pointer is read out via 1 (step S72). Specifically, for example, ftp is used as the transfer procedure, and “ftp.ri” is used as the pointer, for example.
coh.co.jp/docs/11/newsll.ps ”(TXT format) or the like may be stored.

Thereafter, the same processing (layout adjustment, color conversion, rasterizing processing, etc.) as the printing procedure in a normal printer is performed, and the contents are output (step S73).

Note that regarding smart cards, ISO-781
6, detailed description is omitted because standards such as ISO-14443 already exist. The pointer information to the document content server 83 may be stored in either the ROM area of the smart card or the rewritable area.

With this configuration, the user can save the trouble of inputting the pointer to the server one by one.
You can easily get the latest prints. Also,
Since the smart card has only the pointer information to the server holding the content, the amount of stored data is very small, and the present invention can be implemented regardless of the size of the content.

In the above description, the pointer is only 1
Although only one copy is stored and only one copy is printed, it is needless to say that more copies may be stored. For example, a plurality of pointers to the server may be stored, and a list of printing destinations may be displayed on the display panel of the printer at the time of printing so that the user can select which one to print (not shown).

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the third printer 79 of the present invention. The printer includes, in addition to a card slot 85 for a smart card, a file transfer processing unit 89 for performing communication processing, a storage unit 91 for storing data, and an information processing unit 93 (CPU or the like) for controlling information processing and overall operation. ), Information storage unit 95 (R for storing various PDL processing systems and control programs necessary for the printing process)
RA for OM / flash memory and work memory
M, etc.), a print engine 97 for performing printing,
Paper ejection unit 99, engine controller 101, I / O controller 103 (network, parallel, USB
, Etc.), display / input device unit 105 (display / input
Operation panel switches, etc.). (The devices in the dotted frame in the figure mean that they are outside the printer 79). At least a PS is provided as a PDL, but a plurality of PDLs may be simultaneously mounted.

The information once fetched via the network is stored in the information storage unit 95, and the same processing (PDL processing, layout adjustment, scaling, color conversion, rasterization processing) as the normal printing procedure (from a personal computer or the like) is performed. Etc.) and output the contents.

The printer 79 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is a network I
Since a plurality of I / Fs such as a / F and a USB port are provided, a plurality of various devices can be simultaneously connected. For this reason,
Automatic switching of PDL, input I
/ F can be automatically switched.

A major difference between the printer 79 according to the present invention and the conventional network printer is that means for detecting insertion of a card and reading out a pointer via a force slot is provided;
A means for receiving content with a content server via a pointer is provided. The former means corresponds to a part integrated with the smart card slot in FIG. 17 in the printer 79, and the latter means
The file transfer processing unit 89 corresponds.

The file transfer processing section 89 in FIG. 17 is not constituted by dedicated hardware, but is implemented by software (firmware).
Alternatively, it can be implemented in the information storage unit 95.
With such a configuration, it is also possible to provide the user with firmware information and firmware rewriting means after the product is shipped, and to comply with the latest standard or another protocol later.

Further, the smart card slot 85 and the file transfer processing section 89 are not provided in the printer body,
As an option (separate device), the printer of the present invention can be installed outside the main body and connected to a printer via a USB to configure the printer of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printing system 75 in the third embodiment. The printer 79 detects the connection of the smart card 77, determines whether or not to start printing based on whether or not the user has approved the printing (step S81). If approved, reads the content pointer from the smart card 77. Then, the document is requested from the document content server 83 using the information of the pointer (step S82) (step S8).
3). Examples of the contents of the pointer are as described above. Next, a document is received from the document content server 83. After that, it is confirmed whether or not the reception was successful (step S
85) If not normal, request retransmission. The processing of steps S83 to S85 is executed by the file transfer processing unit 89.

If the document can be received normally, the printer 79
Performs the same processing (layout adjustment, color conversion, rasterization processing, etc.) as the printing procedure in a normal printer, and outputs the contents (step S86).

In the above description, the PS format is assumed as data to be printed, and ftp is assumed as a means for exchanging contents.
It is not necessarily limited to this example. For example, the data entity may be in RPDL format, which is Ricoh's PDL, and a directory format in MS-WINDOWS may be used as the pointer. For example, \\ doc-srv5 \ prt \ meetin
g1.RPD) can be used as a pointer. (Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system 107 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment differs from the third embodiment in FIG. 15 in that an account server 110 for performing user authentication and settlement is provided.

The operation at the time of printing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The smart card according to the present embodiment stores authentication information and billing information in addition to the pointer.

When the user wants to perform printing, he first instructs a print request by inserting a smart card into a slot of a corresponding printer. On the printer side, the connection of the smart card is detected, and a print start message is displayed on the display panel to ask the user for confirmation (step S9).
0). When the user approves the execution of printing, the user does not directly receive data from the document content server 83, but performs user authentication first.

In the user authentication, the authentication information stored in the smart card is transmitted to the account server 110 (step S91), and the account server 110 determines whether or not the smart card is valid. The result is transmitted to the printer 79 (step S92).
If valid, the content pointer is read from the smart card, and a charge is sent to the document content server corresponding to the designated pointer via the network (step S93). If it can be used for a fee (when the content fee is lower than the available balance in the smart card), the information is read from the document content server (step S94), and printing is performed (step S95). After printing, the content fee is deducted, the latest balance is transmitted to the account server 110, and the balance is also recorded on the server side, and at the same time, the balance is also recorded on the smart card (step S9
6). This prevents the balance in the card from being falsified at the same time.

The printing procedure after reading the information from the document content server is the same processing (layout adjustment, color conversion, rasterization processing, etc.) as the printing procedure in a normal printer. With this configuration, the system of the present invention can be realized even when the content is charged. In this case, a smart card in which usage fee information is recorded is sold, and the user purchases the information after purchasing the card. It is possible to print the latest information when you want and make a payment simultaneously with the card itself. In addition, even when it is desired to restrict the access of the user, it can be realized by using the authentication information.

In the above description, it is assumed that only one pointer is stored, and only one copy is printed. However, it is needless to say that the number may be more. For example, a plurality of pointers to the document content server may be stored, and a list of printing destinations may be displayed on the display panel of the printer at the time of printing, so that the user can select which one to print (see FIG. Zu).

The present invention is also applicable to a case where it is desired to restrict the access of the user according to the contents of the content, that is, when printing highly confidential information which is difficult to be printed / obtained by an unspecified number of users. This can be realized by the system described above. In this case, it is also possible to transmit encrypted authentication information or encrypted content information to increase the security. Furthermore, it is also possible to set password information in the smart card so that the user can enter a password when the smart card is first inserted into the printer, and reject use if the password does not match the password in the smart card. is there. These techniques can be used to further increase confidentiality.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a printer 79 according to the fourth embodiment.

The difference from the printer in the third embodiment described with reference to FIG. 17 is that the printer in the fourth embodiment has an account information processing unit. The authentication information encrypted by the account information processing unit. -Decoding of content information, reading / rewriting of usage fee information in the card, inquiry to the account server, etc. are performed.

As in the third embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, for example, the entity of the data is RPDL format, which is Ricoh's PDL, and MS-WIND is used as the pointer.
The directory format in OWS may be used. For example, \\ doc-srv5 \ prt \ meeting1.RPD) can be used as a pointer. (Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system 112 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 112 includes a printer 114 and the print server 11.
6 is connected via a network 81, and the print server 116 can access a document content server 83 connected to the network 81.

The print server 116 has a card slot for a smart card. The smart card stores, for example, a pointer to a server storing the content. The printer 114 receives the data via the network and can print. The network 8
1 may be not only wired but also wireless. As the communication protocol, any protocol that uses TCP / IP can be used. Also, it is not always necessary to use a dedicated line connection, and a connection via the Internet may be used.

The outline of the operation will be described with reference to FIG. The user points the smart card to the print server 116 (step S101), approves the printing, requests the content indicated by the pointer from the document content server 83, and acquires the content (step S10).
2). The print server 116 transmits the acquired content to the printer 114 (step S103), and the printer 114 performs printing (step S104).

FIG. 24 shows the configuration of the print server 116. The print server 116 is a computer,
The configuration is almost the same as the configuration described with reference to FIG. 9 in the second embodiment. However, in FIG. 24, an I / O controller 118 for exchanging information with a peripheral device is used.
(Equipped with USB, SCSI port, etc.).
Further, a smart card slot 120 for exchanging information with the smart card is provided, and data can be transmitted to and received from the card. In FIG. 24, the smart card slot has an internal bus connection,
From the computer through the above device driver,
It is configured to be recognized as a part of a storage device group such as FDD and DISK.

Note that the card slot in the figure is independent of the print server 116 main body, and both are connected by a UBS port or the like, so that the print server 11 according to the present invention can be used.
6 may be adopted.

In FIGS. 22 and 23, at least the print server 116 needs to be connected to the network, but the printer 114 does not necessarily have to be connected to the network. For example, the two may be directly connected by a serial interface or the like.

A general printer as shown in FIG. 13 can be used as the printer 114 in the fifth embodiment.

Next, the operation of the printing system 112 according to the fifth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the user wants to perform printing, he inserts the smart card into the card slot of the print server 116 first. On the print server side, the connection of the smart card is detected, a message to start printing is displayed to the user, and the user is asked for confirmation (step S111). If the user approves the print execution, the content pointer is read from the smart card (step S11).
2) Request data corresponding to the designated pointer from the document content server 83 via the network (step S113) and read it (step S114). When reading is not performed normally (step S11)
5) Returning to step S113, if normal, the read data is sent to the printer 114 (step S116) to perform printing (step S11).
7).

With this configuration, the user can save the trouble of inputting the pointer to the server one by one.
You can easily get the latest prints. Also,
Since the smart card has only pointer information to the document content server holding the content, the content can be printed regardless of the size of the content.

In the above description, the pointer is only 1
Although only one copy is stored and only one copy is printed, it is needless to say that more copies may be stored. For example, a plurality of pointers to the server are stored, and a list of printing destinations is displayed on the display panel of the printer when printing,
You may be comprised so that a user may choose which to print.

Next, a description will be given of a software configuration and the like for executing the above processing. As shown in FIG.
The print server has a file transfer program and a pointer reading program. Step S11 in FIG.
2 is executed by the pointer reading program shown in FIG.
Is transmitted and received by the file transfer program shown in FIG. The data transmission in step S116 may use a spooler and a print driver provided in the print server 116.

The DISK in FIG. 24 stores an OS (operating system), applications, a device driver for a printer, a queue management program for print jobs, and the like. The contents read out using the pointer are also temporarily stored in the DISK. Stored above. Where O
The type of S does not need to be specific.

Communication-related processing such as reading of contents using a pointer, and management of print jobs such as transfer to a printer and deletion of printed data can be read at OS startup and performed in the background. For example, for UNIX, "daemon", WINDOWS-
In the case of NT, the processing program may be executed as a “service”. Other processing (PDL processing, etc.)
Is executed by calling the corresponding program as needed.

The above programs are stored in advance in a disk on the print server or in various storage media such as a floppy disk, CD-ROM, and memory card, and read by a data reading device. The function can be realized by executing. Alternatively, store the program on another server on the network,
It is also possible to download and execute via a network when the print server is activated.

Also in the fifth embodiment, for example, the data entity may be in the RPDL format, which is Ricoh's PDL, and the directory format in MS-WINDOWS may be used as the pointer. For example, \\ doc-srv5 \ prt \
meeting1.RPD) can be used as a pointer.

The present invention is applicable not only to printers but also to image output apparatuses in general, and is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified and applied within the scope of the claims. .

[0124]

According to the present invention, an image can be output by transmitting a pointer such as an address of a content to a printer or a print server without directly outputting the content by a portable device or the like. Image output can be performed quickly.

The printer or print server reads a pointer recorded on an external storage medium such as a smart card, and acquires and outputs necessary information. Can be taken out. Further, by providing the external storage medium with the authentication information, the information can be obtained after the user is authenticated, and the security is improved. Further, by providing the external storage medium with the billing information, it is possible to provide a settlement means for the pay information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation outline of the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of a basic command of MIPP.

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing a typical communication example using MIPP.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a portable device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a print server according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing an outline of an operation of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an operation of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of a print server according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for describing an outline of an operation of a printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for describing an outline of the operation of a printing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print server according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 50, 75, 107, 112 Printing system 3 Portable device 5, 51, 79, 114 Printer 7, 81 Network 9 Internet 11 Web server 13, 91 Storage unit 15, 93 Information processing unit 17, 95 Information storage unit 19, 97 print engine 21, 99 supply / discharge unit 23, 101 engine controller 25, 73 IR port 27, 103 I / O controller 29, 105 display / input device unit 31 HTML data processing unit 33 communication protocol processing unit 35 battery 37 display Panels 39, 57 Input device 41, 59 Data reading device 43 Communication port 45, 63 CPU 47, 65 RAM 49, 67 ROM 53, 116 Print server 55 Display 61 Arithmetic processing unit 69 DISK 71 NIC 77 Smart car 83 document content server 89 file transfer processing unit 118 I / O controller 120 smart card slot

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 HN15 HQ17 HX10 2C087 BA14 5B021 AA01 BB04 CC05 5B089 GA11 GA25 HA10 JB22 KA02 LB12 9A001 BB04 BB06 CC05 DD15 HH23 JJ25 JJ27 KK42

Claims (21)

[Claims] An image output system having an image output device and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the image output device, and the image output device transmits a pointer on the network based on the pointer. An image output system which acquires the information of (1) and outputs the information. 2. An image output system having an image output device, a server, and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the server, and the server outputs information on the network based on the pointer. And transmitting the information to an image output device, and the image output device outputs the information. 3. An image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium, and reads information on the network based on the pointer. An image output system for acquiring and outputting the information. 4. An image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer and authentication information corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium, and stores the authentication information in an authentication server. And performing user authentication by transmitting the information to a network based on the pointer and outputting the information when authentication is successful. 5. An image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, wherein the image output device reads a pointer and charging information corresponding to information on a network from the external storage medium, and is included in the charging information. An image output system for acquiring and outputting the information based on the pointer when the balance is equal to or more than the fee for the information. 6. An image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for receiving a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external device; acquiring information on the network based on the pointer; Output means for outputting an image. 7. A server connected to an image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for receiving a pointer corresponding to the information on the network from an external device; Means for acquiring the information and transmitting the information to the image output device. 8. An image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; acquiring information on the network based on the pointer; Output means for outputting an image. 9. An image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer and authentication information corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; means for transmitting the authentication information to an authentication server; Means for acquiring information on the network based on the pointer when authentication is successful, and outputting the information. 10. An image output apparatus for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to the information on the network and charging information from an external storage medium; Means for acquiring and outputting the information based on the pointer when the charge is higher than the fee. 11. A server connected to an image output device for outputting information on a network, comprising: means for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; Means for acquiring the information and transmitting the information to the image output device. 12. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the image output device; Acquiring information on the network based on the pointer and outputting the information. 13. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device, a server, and an external device, wherein the external device transmits a pointer corresponding to information on a network to the server; An image output method, comprising: acquiring information on a network based on the information and transmitting the information to an image output device; and outputting the information to the image output device. 14. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device, a server, and an external device, wherein the server has a hierarchical menu for information on a network, and the external device has a hierarchical menu in the hierarchical menu. Specifying information and transmitting an output request for the information to a server; the server acquiring information on a network based on the specification and transmitting the information to an image output device; Outputting an image. 15. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, the method comprising: mounting the external storage medium on the image output device; An image output method, comprising: reading a pointer corresponding to the information; and obtaining information on a network based on the pointer, and outputting the information. 16. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, the method comprising: mounting the external storage medium on the image output device; Reading a pointer and authentication information corresponding to the information of the following; transmitting the authentication information to an authentication server to perform user authentication; acquiring the information on the network based on the pointer when the authentication is successful; Outputting the information. 17. An image output method in an image output system having an image output device and an external storage medium, the method comprising: mounting the external storage medium on the image output device; Reading a pointer and charging information corresponding to the information, and obtaining and outputting the information based on the pointer when the balance included in the charging information is equal to or more than the charge of the information. Characteristic image output method. 18. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network, the method comprising: receiving a pointer corresponding to information on a network from an external device; A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of acquiring information on a network based on a pointer and outputting the information. 19. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network, comprising: reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network from an external storage medium; A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of acquiring information on a network based on a pointer and outputting the information. 20. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network is recorded, wherein a procedure for reading a pointer and authentication information corresponding to the information on the network from an external storage medium. A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of transmitting the authentication information to an authentication server, and a procedure of acquiring information on a network based on the pointer when the authentication is successful, and outputting the information. A readable recording medium. 21. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to execute a process of outputting information on a network is recorded, and a procedure for reading a pointer corresponding to information on the network and charging information from an external storage medium And a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for acquiring and outputting the information based on the pointer when the balance included in the billing information is equal to or more than the fee of the information.