JP2007328319A - Image forming apparatus, control method thereof, image forming system, control method thereof, information processing apparatus, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a function for accepting a designation of paper types used for an image forming apparatus in an external information processing apparatus at a low process load and a low development load, even if a user can change a setting of the paper types in the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In a printer 20, a paper type name and paper type information are stored in a custom paper type table so as to correspond to a paper type ID. The paper type name and the paper type information corresponding to the paper type ID are inputted and accepted. The accepted paper type name and paper type information are registered with the custom paper type table. If information on the paper type registered with a PC 10 is requested to be transmitted from the PC 10 (S21), the PC 10 transmits the information on the paper type name stored in the custom paper type table (S22-S25). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of handling a plurality of paper types (materials are not necessarily limited to paper), an image forming system including such an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus, and a paper from the image forming apparatus described above. Information processing apparatus for acquiring various types of information, control method for image forming apparatus and image forming system, program for causing computer to function as image forming apparatus or information processing apparatus, and recording storing such program It relates to the medium.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that can handle a plurality of paper types and performs control such as changing fixing conditions according to the thickness and material of a sheet on which an image is formed. In such an image forming apparatus, it has also been proposed that a user can newly register a paper type in addition to a paper type preset at the time of shipment.
Such an image forming apparatus is described in Patent Document 1, for example.
JP 2002-29120 A

Conventionally, when an information processing apparatus such as a PC (personal computer) receives a designation of image formation contents and an instruction to execute image formation from a user, the image forming apparatus that executes image formation can handle a plurality of paper types. If there is, the setting of the paper type used for image formation is also accepted as part of the image formation content. In this case, the information processing apparatus manages the paper type information in association with the ID, and transmits the ID corresponding to the paper type selected by the user to the image forming apparatus to specify the paper type. It was broken.
Even in this case, if the paper type is fixed, the correspondence relationship between the ID and the paper type information may be stored in the PC first so as to be included in the printer driver program or the like. There is not much burden on management.

However, if the user can change the paper type setting, the paper type information may be changed at any time by an instruction from another information processing apparatus or a direct operation to the image forming apparatus. . Therefore, when the information processing apparatus appropriately accepts the selection, it is necessary to always use the latest information on the paper types that can be used in the image forming apparatus.
On the other hand, there is also a desire to reduce as much as possible the processing load required when the information processing apparatus acquires information on paper types that can be used in the image forming apparatus and the development load for providing such functions.

  The present invention has been made to meet such a demand, and even when the user can change the paper type setting in the image forming apparatus, the paper to be used by the image forming apparatus in the external information processing apparatus. The purpose is to make it possible to realize a function that accepts the designation of a species with a low processing load and a low development load.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention stores a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information that indicates the content of the paper type in association with the ID. A storage unit, an input receiving unit that receives input of a paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID, and a paper type registration that registers the paper type name and paper type information received by the input receiving unit in the storage unit And a transmission means for transmitting information on the paper type name stored in the storage means to the external device when the external device requests transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in the storage device. Are provided.

In such an image forming apparatus, when the paper type name is received as information specifying the paper type from the external device, the paper type name is converted into a corresponding ID, and the image forming apparatus's ID is converted based on the ID. Control means for performing control may be provided.
Alternatively, when the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image formation request received from the external device, the ID or paper type information stored in the storage unit is associated with the paper type name. Means for performing image formation may be provided.

In each of the image forming apparatuses, the paper type name may be handled as text data.
Furthermore, the paper type name registered in the storage unit by the paper type registration unit may be used for display indicating the paper type in the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus, when the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the storage unit stores the ID corresponding to the paper type name. In accordance with correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the stored ID, paper type name, and paper type information, the above-mentioned correspondence is made in a state where the image formation job requested to be stored is designated by the obtained ID. Based on the above-described correspondence information stored in association with the image forming job when requested to execute the image forming job stored in the job storage means and the job storage means stored in association with the information The job execution operator that acquires the paper type information corresponding to the ID used to specify the paper type in the image forming job, and forms an image related to the image forming job using the information. The may be provided.

  Further, when the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, the job storage unit is associated with the correspondence information stored in the storage unit and the image forming job to be executed. A comparison means for comparing the correspondence information stored in the job storage means with the job storage means in association with the image forming job to be executed when the comparison result by the comparison means does not match. The paper type information corresponding to the ID used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job may be acquired based on the correspondence information stored in the image forming job.

In the image forming apparatus, when the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the storage unit stores the ID corresponding to the paper type name. In accordance with correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the stored ID, paper type name, and paper type information, the above-mentioned correspondence is made in a state where the image formation job requested to be stored is designated by the obtained ID. A job storage unit that stores information in association with information, a job execution unit that forms an image related to the image formation job when requested to execute the image formation job stored in the job storage unit, and the job When execution of the image forming job stored in the storage unit is requested, the job information is stored in association with the correspondence information stored in the storage unit and the image forming job to be executed. Comparing means for comparing the correspondence information stored in the storage means, if the result of the comparison by the comparing means does not coincide, may be provided with interruption means for interrupting the image formation by the job execution means.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a notification means for notifying the user when the result of the comparison by the comparison means does not match.

When the comparison result by the comparison unit does not match, the paper type is specified again using the correspondence information stored in the storage unit, or the job is associated with the image forming job to be executed. Means for accepting selection of whether to use the correspondence information stored in the storage means or cancel execution of the job, and means for accepting the designation of the paper type when the designation of re-specifying the paper type is made When the job execution means is selected other than canceling, the paper corresponding to the ID used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job to be executed is selected based on the selected correspondence information. The seed information may be acquired, and the information may be used to form an image related to the image forming job.
Further, the comparison means may be a means for comparing the correspondence information only for the ID used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job requested to be executed.

  Further, in the above image forming apparatus, when the external apparatus requests the accumulation of the image forming job, the ID and the paper type name stored in the storage unit when the image forming job according to the request is accumulated. And based on the correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship with the paper type information, based on the ID acquired by the means and the means for acquiring the ID corresponding to the paper type name used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job The means for grasping the ID of the paper type specified in the stored image forming job, and the paper type indicated by the ID grasped by the means, the paper type name and paper type information stored in the storage means There may be provided means for prohibiting the change.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus. Storage means for storing a paper type name that is the name of the paper type to be indicated and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type; input receiving means for receiving input of the paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID; The paper type registration unit that registers the paper type name and paper type information received by the input receiving unit in the storage unit, and the information processing apparatus requested transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in itself. In this case, the information processing apparatus is provided with transmission means for transmitting the information of the paper type name stored in the storage means, and the information processing apparatus is registered in the image forming apparatus with respect to the image forming apparatus. Information indicating the type of paper Means for requesting the transmission, is provided with a display control means for displaying on the display means the information of the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus.

  In such an image forming system, the information processing apparatus receives from the image forming apparatus a paper type selection receiving unit that receives a selection of a paper type to be designated for the image forming apparatus, and the paper type selection receiving unit. Means for transmitting the paper type name as information for designating the paper type to the image forming apparatus when the selection of the paper type indicated by the paper type name is received; When the paper type name is received as information specifying the paper type from the apparatus, it is preferable to provide a control unit that converts the paper type name into a corresponding ID and controls the image forming apparatus based on the ID.

  Alternatively, the information processing apparatus accepts selection of a paper type to be used when the image forming apparatus performs image formation, and paper received by the paper type selection acceptance means from the image forming apparatus. When the selection of the paper type indicated by the type name is accepted, the image forming apparatus is provided with means for designating the paper type by the paper type name when transmitting an image formation request to the image forming apparatus. When the paper type name is specified as the paper type in the image formation request received from the information processing apparatus, the image is stored using the ID or paper type information stored in the storage unit in association with the paper type name. Means for forming may be provided.

In each of the image forming systems described above, the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus may handle the paper type name as text data.
Furthermore, the image forming apparatus may use the paper type name registered in the storage unit by the paper type registration unit for display indicating the paper type.

  In the image forming system, the information processing apparatus includes a paper type selection receiving unit that receives a selection of a paper type to be used when the image forming apparatus performs image formation, and the paper type selection receiving unit includes the paper type selection receiving unit. Means for designating the paper type by the paper type name when the image forming job storage request is transmitted to the image forming apparatus when selection of the paper type indicated by the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus is received. When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the ID corresponding to the paper type name is stored in the storage unit. Is stored in accordance with the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the ID stored in the ID, the paper type name, and the paper type information, and the image forming job requested to be stored is specified in the state where the paper type is specified by the obtained ID. Job storage means for storing the information in association with the response information, and when the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage means is requested, the correspondence information stored in association with the image formation job On the basis of this, there may be provided a job execution means for acquiring paper type information corresponding to the ID used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job and performing image formation related to the image forming job using the information. .

The information processing apparatus according to the present invention also has means for requesting the image forming apparatus to transmit information indicating the paper type registered in the image forming apparatus, and transmits the information from the image forming apparatus in response to the request. Receiving means for receiving the received paper type information, and determining whether or not the paper type information received by the receiving means is the information on the paper type stored by itself. Provided with paper type display means for extracting the paper type name from the received paper type information and displaying it on the display means as the paper type name related to the received information when it is determined that the information is not related to the paper type It is.
In such an information processing apparatus, when the paper type display means has a predetermined symbol attached to the paper type information received by the receiving means, the information relates to the paper type stored by itself. It may be a means to judge that it is not.

  The image forming apparatus control method according to the present invention further includes a storage unit that stores a paper type name indicating the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type in association with the ID. An input receiving procedure for receiving input of a paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID and a paper type name and paper type information received in the input receiving procedure in the storage unit. When the type registration procedure and transmission of the information indicating the paper type registered in itself are requested from the external device, the information on the paper type name stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the external device. The transmission procedure is executed.

  The image forming system control method according to the present invention further includes a storage unit that stores a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information that indicates the content of the paper type in association with the ID. A method of controlling an image forming system comprising an image forming apparatus having an information processing apparatus and an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus stores a paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID. Input acceptance procedure for accepting input, paper type registration procedure for registering the ID, paper type name and paper type information accepted in the input acceptance procedure in the storage means, and paper registered in itself from the information processing apparatus A transmission procedure for transmitting information on the paper type name stored in the storage unit when the transmission of the information indicating the type is requested, and causing the information processing apparatus to perform the image formation. Its image shape against the device A procedure for requesting transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in the apparatus and a display control procedure for displaying information on the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus on the display means are executed. .

  In addition, the program of the present invention stores a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information that indicates the content of the paper type in association with the ID of the computer that controls the image forming apparatus. Storage means, input accepting means for accepting input of paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID, and ID, paper type name and paper type information accepted by the input accepting means are registered in the storage means. When the paper type registration unit and the external device request transmission indicating information indicating the paper type registered in itself, the external device stores the paper type name information stored in the storage unit. It is a program for making it function as a transmission means to transmit.

  In such a program, when the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored by the external device, the computer stores the ID corresponding to the paper type name in the storage unit. Is stored in accordance with the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the ID stored in the ID, the paper type name, and the paper type information, and the image forming job requested to be stored is specified in the state where the paper type is specified by the obtained ID. Job storage means for storing the information in association with the corresponding information, and when the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage means is requested, the corresponding information stored in association with the image forming job Based on this, the paper type information corresponding to the ID used for specifying the paper type in the image forming job is acquired, and the image formation related to the image forming job is performed using the information. Further it may include a program for functioning as a power sale job execution means.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for requesting a computer to transmit information indicating a paper type registered in an image forming apparatus to the image forming apparatus, and the image forming in response to the request. Receiving means for receiving the paper type information transmitted from the apparatus, and determining whether or not the paper type information received by the receiving means is the paper type information stored in itself Functions as a paper type display means for extracting the paper type name from the received paper type information and displaying it on the display means as the paper type name associated with the received information It is a program to make it.

  The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which any of the above programs is recorded.

According to the image forming apparatus, the image forming system, the information processing apparatus, the image forming apparatus control method, or the image forming system control method of the present invention as described above, the user can change the paper type setting in the image forming apparatus. Even in this case, the function of accepting designation of the paper type used by the image forming apparatus in the external information processing apparatus can be realized with a low processing load and a low development load.
Moreover, according to the program of this invention, a computer can be functioned as an image forming apparatus or an information processing apparatus, and the above effects can be obtained.
According to the recording medium of the present invention, the above effect can be obtained by causing a computer not storing the above program to read and execute the program.

[First Embodiment: FIGS. 1 to 22]
Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a print system which is a first embodiment of the image processing system of the present invention.
As shown in this figure, this print system 1 is configured by connecting PCs 10a to 10e (hereinafter, the symbol “10” is used as a generic name) and a printer 20 via a LAN (local area network) 40. .

In the print system 1, a PC (personal computer) 10 is a first embodiment of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention. By allowing the CPU to execute a printer driver program, a print instruction from a user is received and A print command according to the instruction is transmitted to the printer 20. The printer 20 is a first embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and performs printing in accordance with a print command received from the PC 10.
The PC 10 may be a known computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, HDD (hard disk drive), etc. as hardware.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the printer 20 shown in FIG.
As shown in this figure, the printer 20 includes a CPU 21, ROM 22, RAM 23, NVRAM (nonvolatile memory) 24, panel I / F (interface) 25, communication I / F 27, and engine I / F 28, which are a system bus 30. Connected by. Further, the operation panel 26 is connected to the panel I / F 25, and the engine unit 29 is connected to the engine I / F 28, respectively.

Of these, the CPU 21 is a control means for controlling the entire printer 20, and implements various functions by executing various programs recorded in the ROM 22 and the NVRAM 24.
The ROM 22 is a non-volatile storage unit, and stores programs to be executed by the CPU 21, fixed parameters, and the like. The ROM 22 may be configured as a rewritable storage means so that these data can be updated.

The RAM 23 is a storage means for storing temporarily used data or used as a work memory for the CPU 21.
The NVRAM 24 is a rewritable nonvolatile storage unit that stores various data such as a program executed by the CPU 21 and parameter values that need to be retained even after the power of the apparatus is turned off. Various tables described later may be stored in the NVRAM 24.

  The panel I / F 25 is an I / F for connecting the operation panel 26 to the system bus 30 and enabling data exchange with the CPU 21. The CPU 21 passes data indicating display contents to the operation panel 26 or receives data indicating operation contents from the display panel 26 via the panel I / F 25.

  The operation panel 26 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED), and an operation unit including various keys, buttons, and a touch panel stacked on the LCD. The display unit displays an operation state of the printer 20, setting contents, a message, a GUI (graphical user interface) for receiving an operation, and the like. The operation unit displays a user operation instruction and a setting instruction for the printer 20. Etc. are accepted.

The communication I / F 27 is an interface for connecting the printer 20 to the LAN 40 to enable communication with an external device such as the PC 10. For example, the communication I / F 27 may be a network interface for performing Ethernet (registered trademark) communication. Can do.
The engine I / F 28 is an I / F for connecting the engine unit 29 to the system bus 30 and enabling data exchange with the CPU 21.

  The engine unit 29 is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet by electrophotography. The paper can be fed from a paper tray or manually fed. Further, the target for forming an image is not limited to paper, but may be any sheet such as an OHP (overhead projector) sheet.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a configuration of control functions provided in the printer 20.
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 20 has a control unit 31 having various control functions. The control function is realized by the CPU 21 executing a required control program.
Of the control units 31, the communication control unit 32 has a function of controlling communication with an external device such as the PC 10 through the communication I / F 27. This communication includes an operation of receiving a print command which is an image formation request from an external device and transmitting information on a paper type name described later to the external device.

The UI (user interface) control unit 33 has a function of controlling the operation of the operation panel 26 to display the operation state and setting contents of the printer 20, a message to the user, and accepting an operation from the user. Have.
The device information management unit 34 has a function of managing various types of information that is set in the printer 20 and used for operations, including information on custom paper types described later.
The job management unit 35 has a function of managing the execution order of jobs related to print commands received from external devices.
The print control unit 36 has a function of controlling the operation of the engine unit 29 to execute printing according to the print command.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a configuration of control functions provided in the PC 10. In this figure, the configuration of the part related to the control of the printer 20 is shown.
In the PC 10, a function shown as the printer driver 11 in FIG. 4 is realized by the CPU executing a printer driver program for controlling the printer 20. This function includes the functions of the communication control unit 12, the display control unit 13, the operation reception unit 14, and the print data creation unit 15. The functions of these units are realized by appropriately using various hardware provided in the PC 10 and driver programs for controlling the hardware.

  The communication control unit 12 has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from the printer 20. As the data to be transmitted to the printer 20 by the communication control unit 12, various commands such as the above-described print command and a command for requesting transmission of setting contents made in the printer 20 can be considered. Further, as data received from the printer 20, a print execution result, setting contents in the printer 20, and the like received as a response to these commands can be considered.

The display control unit 13 has a function of causing the display 16 to display a GUI for receiving an instruction regarding the contents of printing to be executed by the printer 20 from the user. Further, the contents of this GUI, for example, the setting items to be accepted and the options thereof can be determined according to the information received from the printer 20. Text data used for display of a custom paper type, which will be described later, can also be passed to the print data creation unit 15 to be described in the print command.
The operation reception unit 14 has a function of receiving an operation performed by the operation unit 17 such as a mouse or a keyboard with respect to the GUI displayed by the display control unit 13. Further, the GUI display content can be changed according to the operation content, or the print data creation unit 15 can be instructed to create print data.

  The print data creation unit 15 generates a print command indicating the contents of an image to be printed by the printer 20 and the setting contents to be performed by the printer 20 when printing is instructed by the user, and performs communication control. The unit 12 has a function of transmitting to the printer 20. Note that data specifying the type and size of paper to be used for printing by the printer 20 can also be described in the print command.

  In the printing system 1 as described above, a characteristic part is how to handle information indicating the type of paper used by the printer 20 for printing, more specifically, how to handle information indicating a custom paper type defined by the user. Is. Therefore, hereinafter, the operations of the PC 10 and the printer 20 will be described focusing on this point.

In the printer 20, as a definition of the type of paper used for printing, a default paper type set by default in the apparatus and a custom paper type uniquely set by the user can be used.
For each paper type, a print control parameter suitable for the paper type is prepared, and the operation of the engine unit 29 is controlled by using the print control parameter suitable for the paper type to be used during printing. Appropriate printing can be performed regardless of the type of paper used.

First, FIG. 5 shows an example of a default paper type table for registering information on the default paper type.
As shown in this figure, the paper type ID, material, thickness, and printing control parameter information are registered in the default paper type table.
Among these, the paper type ID is an ID for managing the paper type, and is assigned in a common data format between the default paper type and the custom paper type. The printer 20 basically grasps the paper type from the paper type ID.

The print control parameter is a print control parameter such as a fixing temperature and a paper conveyance speed used for controlling the engine unit 29 when printing on a paper of a predetermined paper type indicated by the paper type ID.
The material and thickness are paper type information indicating the material and thickness of the sheet in the paper type indicated by the paper type ID. However, these pieces of information are not necessarily information necessary for using only the default paper type, but are information used for searching for print control parameters corresponding to the paper type when using a custom paper type. .

  In addition, there is a paper type in which the thickness is not set, and in this case, the thickness is also expressed by the setting content of the material. Further, the setting content of the material item does not necessarily correspond to the paper material itself. That is, for example, “letterhead” is a setting content indicating a paper on which a logo, an address, and the like are printed in advance, but the material of the paper is the same as that of plain paper, and a logo, an address, etc. are printed in advance. It may be different from plain paper only in terms of whether or not it is present. Of course, the “letter head” may indicate a paper for letter creation and made of a material different from that of plain paper.

  In the printer 20, the default paper type table as described above is provided so that the print control unit 36 can access it. In addition, the paper type ID, material, and thickness are stored from the time of manufacture of the apparatus, while the print control parameters may be updated according to the deterioration of the apparatus or part replacement. .

Next, FIG. 6 shows an example of a custom paper type table for registering custom paper type information.
As shown in this figure, the paper type ID, paper type name, material, and thickness information are registered in the custom paper type table.
Among these, the paper type ID is an ID for managing the paper type having a common data format for the default paper type and the custom paper type as described above.
The paper type name is information indicating the name of the paper type indicated by the paper type ID. This name is set by the user, is registered as a character string in the custom paper type table, and is used for displaying on the GUI that the paper type is the custom paper type on the PC 10 or the printer 20. To do.

  The material and thickness are paper type information indicating the material and thickness of the sheet in the custom paper type indicated by the paper type ID. In the printer 20, the material and thickness of the custom paper type are selected and determined from combinations prepared as the material and thickness of the default paper type. The print control parameters for printing on custom paper types are obtained by using the default paper type table and searching for print control parameters corresponding to the material and thickness registered in the custom paper type table. I have to.

Therefore, it can be said that the custom paper type in the printer 20 can give another name to the paper type registered as the default paper type. For example, when using custom paper types, for example, when paper with a predetermined format is placed in the tray, the name of the format such as “Invoice” or “Invoice” is displayed as the paper type of the paper, and the tray is opened. It is conceivable to make it possible to grasp the format of the paper even if it is not, or to automatically select the tray containing the paper of that format by specifying the format.
In the printer 20, the default paper type table as described above is provided so that the device information management unit 34 can access it.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example of a custom paper type setting screen which is a GUI for setting a custom paper type.
When setting a custom paper type for the printer 20, the user can perform a setting operation by displaying a custom paper type setting screen 50 as shown in FIG. 7 on the operation panel 26.
This screen is a screen for editing the content of a custom paper type corresponding to one paper type ID. Then, the ID display unit 51 displays which paper type ID of the custom paper type with which the paper type ID is currently displayed is a screen for editing. The “custom paper type 1 setting” shown in the figure is a display indicating that the screen is for editing the custom paper type with the paper type ID 1. When the paper type ID is n, the “custom paper type 1” is displayed. n setting ".

  The paper type name display unit 52 is a display unit that displays the paper type name set for the current custom paper type. The contents can be edited by pressing the name change button 53 to display the software keyboard 60 as shown in FIG. 8 and operating the software keyboard 60.

  The material setting button 54 and the thickness setting button 55 are buttons for setting the material and thickness of the custom paper type, respectively. These buttons are provided so that one of a combination of material and thickness described in the default paper type table can be selected. Note that the thickness options may be changed according to the material. Here, the thickness can be selected only when the material is “plain paper”.

The previous candidate button 56 and the next candidate button 57 are buttons for changing the paper type ID to be edited in the reverse direction and the forward direction.
The cancel button 58 is a button for discarding the edited content on the custom paper type setting screen 50 and returning to the original screen, and the OK button 59 is for reflecting the edited content on the custom paper type setting screen 50 in the custom paper type table. This is a button for returning to the original screen.

Next, FIG. 9 shows an operation sequence of each part of the printer 20 when the custom paper type setting is changed in accordance with a user instruction.
In this operation sequence, when the UI control unit 33 detects a display instruction of the custom paper type setting screen 50 from the user, the UI control unit 33 requests the device information management unit 34 to set the custom paper type (S11). Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 extracts necessary information from the custom paper type table shown in FIG. 6 and returns it to the UI control unit 33 (S12). The UI control unit 33 operates using this information. The custom paper report setting screen 50 is displayed on the panel 26 (S13).

On the other hand, on the custom paper type setting screen 50, the operation panel 26 receives input of the paper type name, material and thickness of the custom paper type for each paper type ID as described above (S14), and controls the input contents by UI control. It passes to the part 33 (S15).
When the UI control unit 33 detects that the OK button 59 is pressed on the custom paper type setting screen 50 (S16), the paper type name, material, and thickness of each paper type ID input so far are determined. The information is passed to the device information management unit 34 (S17).

Then, the device information management unit 34 sets such information in the custom paper type table and updates the contents of the custom paper type table (S18). Also, the UI control unit 33 instructs the operation panel 26 to return the display screen to the screen before the custom paper type setting screen 50 (S19).
In the printer 20, when each unit performs the above-described operation, the user can receive an instruction for setting the custom paper type from the user on the custom paper type setting screen 50, and register the content in the custom paper type table. .

  In the above process, the processes of steps S14 and S15 are the process of the input reception procedure. In this process, the operation panel 26 and the CPU 21 function as input reception means. Further, the processing of steps S17 and S18 is processing of the paper type registration procedure. In this processing, the CPU 21 functions as a paper type registration unit.

  Although an example of registering a custom paper type by operating from the operation panel 26 of the printer has been described here, a screen for accepting a custom paper type setting by passing the contents of the custom paper type table to an external PC 10 or the like. If the contents of the settings made there are received and passed to the device information management unit 34 and registered in the custom paper type table, the contents of the custom paper type of the printer 20 from the browser of the external device, the dedicated client, etc. Can also be made editable.

Next, the usage of the information in the custom paper type table set as described above will be described with some examples.
The information on the custom paper type table is first used when displaying a screen for accepting a print instruction using the printer 20 on the PC 10.

FIG. 10 shows an example of this screen.
When the user instructs printing in an application such as a word processor, spreadsheet, and document viewer, the PC 10 selects the printer 20 as a printer to be used for printing, and instructs the display of a screen for performing settings related to the functions of the printer 20. A print setting screen 70 as shown in FIG.

  In the print setting screen 70, the function tab 71 can be used to roughly specify the function classification to be set. Here, a display example when the basic function is selected is shown. In this state, a paper size setting unit 72, a paper direction setting unit 73, a number setting unit 74, a paper feed tray setting unit 75, and a paper type setting unit are shown. According to 76, it is possible to set the paper size, paper orientation, number of copies, paper feed tray, and paper type used for printing.

For example, the paper type setting unit 76 can select the paper type used for printing from the pull-down menu 77. In the pull-down menu 77, options displayed by the scroll bar 78 can be scrolled. A cursor 79 indicates the currently selected paper type.
The OK button 81 is a button for reflecting the edited content on the print setting screen 70 in the custom paper type table and returning to the original screen. The cancel button 82 discards the edited content on the print setting screen 70 and returns to the original screen. A button for returning to the screen.

  In the print setting screen 70 as described above, among the contents to be displayed as options on each setting unit, for example, among the options to be displayed on the pull-down menu in the paper size setting unit 72, paper feed tray setting unit 75, and paper type setting unit 76, the printer As for the options prepared as defaults at 20, the data can be stored in the PC 10 as a part of the printer driver program. This is because the printer driver is prepared according to the model of the printer 20 in the first place.

  For this reason, the default options can be displayed using only the data stored on the PC 10 side without the PC 10 acquiring any information from the printer 20. The PC 10 does not need to store the ID used by the printer 20. For each option, the character string data for display and the fact that the option has been selected are transmitted to the printer 20. Only the data that should be stored should be stored.

  However, data that can be arbitrarily set in the printer 20 such as a custom paper type cannot be stored in the PC 10 in advance. Therefore, in the print system 1, when the PC 10 displays the print setting screen 70 or when an operation for selecting the printer 20 as a printer for executing printing is received, the printer 20 is accessed to select a custom paper type. The paper type name data is acquired and the custom paper type options are displayed in the pull-down menu of the paper type setting unit 76 using the data.

FIG. 11 shows an operation sequence of each part of the PC 10 and the printer 20 when acquiring the data of the paper type name of the custom paper type.
In this operation sequence, when displaying the print setting screen 70, the communication control unit 12 of the PC 10 transmits a custom paper type name acquisition request to the printer 20, and the paper of the custom paper type registered in the printer 20. The transmission of the species name is requested (S21). On the printer 20 side, the communication control unit 32 accepts this request and passes it to the device information management unit 34 (S22).

  Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 refers to the custom paper type table, acquires the text of the paper type name of the custom paper type to be displayed on the PC 10 (S23), and transmits the text to the communication control unit 32. (S24). The communication control unit 32 transmits the text of the paper type name to the PC 10 as a response to the custom paper type name acquisition request (S25).

  On the other hand, in the PC 10, when the communication control unit 12 receives the text of the paper type name from the PC 10, it passes it to the display control unit 13 (S26). Then, the display control unit 13 stores this text, and can be used as data for displaying custom paper type options when the pull-down menu 77 is displayed in the paper type setting unit 76 of the print setting screen 70. To.

In the print system 1, as described above, when the printer 20 is requested to transmit information indicating a custom paper type from an external device such as the PC 10, the information on the paper type name stored in the custom paper type table is displayed. I am trying to send it. Accordingly, the PC 10 can always acquire the latest custom paper type information set in the printer 20 when displaying the print setting screen 70 and present the user with paper type options corresponding to the contents. . Further, the PC 10 does not need to know the correspondence between the paper type ID and the paper type name. Further, there is no problem even if the printer 20 centrally manages information on custom paper types that do not know when they will be changed.
In the above processing, the processing of steps S22 to S25 is the processing of the transmission procedure. In this processing, the communication I / F 27 and the CPU 21 function as a transmission unit.

  When the pull-down menu 77 is actually displayed, the PC 10 may display the text of the paper type name received from the printer 20 as a paper type option. Since the printer 20 stores the paper type name of the custom paper type as text data, it can be read out and sent to the PC 10 as it is for display on the PC 10 side. Further, as will be described later, this text is also used as data to be transmitted in order to inform the printer 20 that a custom paper type has been selected as a paper type to be used for printing. . At this time, it is not necessary for the PC 10 to know which paper type ID the paper type name corresponds to.

The information on the custom paper type table is used for displaying tray information on the operation panel 26 in the printer 20 in addition to such applications.
FIG. 12 shows an example of this screen.
When the user instructs display of the print job management screen, the printer 20 causes the operation panel 26 to display a print job management screen 90 as shown in FIG. This screen is a screen for referring to a print job received from the PC 10 or the like and stored in the printer 20 or instructing execution or cancellation thereof. In order to print a document that requires confidentiality, it is possible to instruct the execution of the job on the print job management screen 90 by setting on the transmission side, and to prevent the printing from being executed unless a password is input.

In the print job management screen 90, the paper feed tray used for printing can be manually selected. A tray selection unit 91 is an operation unit for this purpose, and displays a tray selection button 92 corresponding to each paper feed tray provided in the printer 20.
In addition, each tray selection button 92 displays a tray number and information on sheets in the tray as captions. The display indicated by reference numeral 93 is the tray number, the display indicated by reference numeral 94 is the paper size, and the display indicated by reference numeral 95 is the paper type.
The printer 20 refers to the information of the custom paper type table when displaying the custom paper type as the paper type.

FIG. 13 shows an operation sequence of each part of the printer 20 when displaying the custom paper type.
In this operation sequence, when the UI control unit 33 detects a display instruction for the print job management screen 90 from the user, the UI control unit 33 uses the device information management unit 34 to display each tray selection button 92. The paper type ID set for the tray is requested (S31). Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 refers to the tray table, acquires information on the paper type ID set for each paper feed tray (S32), and notifies the UI control unit 33 of the information (S32). S33).

Here, an example of a tray table is shown in FIG.
As shown in this figure, the tray table is a table for registering the paper type ID indicating the paper type of paper to be fed from the tray and the size of the paper for each tray provided in the printer 20. These data can be arbitrarily set by the user, and the paper type ID can be set without distinction between the default paper type and the custom paper type.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 13, when the UI control unit 33 acquires the paper type ID from the device information management unit 34 in step S33, the paper type display table for the paper type ID of the default paper type among the paper type IDs. The display character string corresponding to the paper type ID is acquired from the image data (S34), and the display character string is transferred to the operation panel 26 (S35).

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a paper type display table, which is a table in which a paper type ID and a character string used by the UI control unit 33 for displaying the paper type are recorded in association with each other for a predetermined paper type. Since this content is not normally changed, it may be stored in the ROM 22.

On the other hand, for the paper type ID of the custom paper type, the device information management unit 34 is requested for information on the paper type name corresponding to the paper type ID (S36). Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 refers to the custom paper type table, acquires the paper type name corresponding to the passed paper type ID (S37), and controls the paper type name by UI control. This is notified to the unit 33 (S38). The UI control unit 33 passes the paper type name to the operation panel 26 as a display character string (S39).
The operation panel 26 uses the display character string passed from the UI control unit 33 as indicated by reference numeral 95 in FIG. 12 regardless of whether the paper type of each tray is the default paper type or the custom paper type. The correct paper type is displayed (S40).

Here, FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of processing for realizing the operation of the UI control unit 33 shown in FIG. 13 executed by the CPU 21 of the printer 20.
The CPU 21 functioning as the UI control unit 33 starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16 when displaying the print job management screen 90 on the operation panel 26.
First, in step S101, the device information management unit 34 is requested for the paper type ID set for each paper feed tray, and in step S102, the paper type ID is acquired. In step S103, the first paper type ID is set as a processing target, and in step S104, the paper type display table shown in FIG.

Thereafter, it is determined whether there is a paper type ID that matches the paper type display table as a result of the search in step S105. If there is, it is determined that the paper type ID to be processed is the ID of the default paper type, the process proceeds to step S106, and the display character string corresponding to the paper type ID to be processed is acquired from the paper type display table. In step S107, the display character string is transferred to the operation panel 26.
In step S111, it is determined whether or not there is a next paper type ID. If there is, the process returns to step S104 as the next paper type ID and processing target in step S112, and the process is repeated.

  If there is no matching paper type ID in step S105, it is determined that the paper type ID to be processed is a custom paper type ID, and the process proceeds to step S108, where the paper type name corresponding to the paper type ID to be processed is set. Request to the device information management unit 34. In step S109, the paper type name notified from the device information management unit 34 is acquired in response to the request, and in step S110, the paper type name is transferred to the operation panel 26 as a display character string. Then, it progresses to step S111 and performs a subsequent process.

  In the printer 20, the paper type name is registered in the custom paper type table in association with the paper type ID, and the paper type name is used for displaying the custom paper type. Accordingly, the printer 20 manages the paper type information based on the paper type ID, but is set at the time of display even when the paper type name corresponding to the paper type ID is changed by the above processing. Display according to the paper type name can be performed.

The information on the custom paper type table is used as information for designating the type of paper used for printing when the PC 10 requests the printer 20 to perform printing in addition to such applications. Next, this application will be described.
First, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 show an operation sequence of each part of the PC 10 and the printer 20 when printing is requested from the PC 10 to the printer 20 and executed mainly on handling of information regarding the paper type. FIG. 17 shows an operation when the paper type used for printing is a custom paper type, and FIG. 18 shows an operation when the paper type used for printing is a default paper type.

In the operation sequence shown in FIG. 17, when the operation reception unit 14 of the PC 10 detects a print execution instruction, the print data creation unit 15 instructs the printer (in this case, the printer 20) that performs the print contents and the execution thereof. The communication control unit 12 transmits the print command to the printer 20 (S51).
This print command is generated according to the settings made on the print setting screen 70 shown in FIG. 10, and includes information for designating the paper type to be used for printing. Although not described in detail here, information on the use of functions provided in the printer 20 such as the number of copies to be printed, designation of double-sided / single-sided printing, presence / absence of punching or stapling processing, and designation of a tray, tray designation, etc. Including.

Here, FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of processing in which data specifying a paper type is described in the print command among the processing executed when the CPU of the PC 10 generates the print command.
As can be seen from this flowchart, if the default paper type is set as the paper type to be used for printing, the PC 10 describes the paper type text indicating the paper type in the print command as data specifying the paper type (S111). , S112). The paper type text used here is stored in the PC 10 as a part of the printer driver program.
On the other hand, when a custom paper type has been set as the paper type to be used for printing, the paper type name used for displaying the paper type, that is, the paper type name of the custom paper type received from the printer 20 is changed to the paper type. It is described in the print command as designated data (S113).

  Returning to the description of FIG. 17, on the printer 20 side, the communication control unit 32 receives the print command transmitted from the PC 10, and passes it to the job management unit 35 (S52). The job management unit 35 analyzes the data specifying the paper type in the print command and determines that the specified paper type is a custom paper type (S53). At the same time, the data specifying the paper type is used. Is the paper type name of the custom paper type.

Therefore, the paper type name is passed to the device information management unit 34 and a corresponding paper type ID is requested (S54). Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 refers to the custom paper type table, acquires a paper type ID corresponding to the passed paper type name (S55), and manages the paper type ID as a job management. It returns to the part 35 (S56).
When the job management unit 35 determines that the printing related to the received print command can be executed, the job management unit 35 passes the print command to the print control unit 36 to execute the printing. However, at this time, the paper type used for printing is designated by the paper type ID acquired in step S56 (S57).

  The print control unit 36 controls the engine unit 29 according to the content specified by the print command to execute the printing operation. When the paper type ID is a custom paper type, the print control unit 36 searches the default paper type table as it is. Also, the print control parameter to be used for control cannot be acquired. Accordingly, the paper type ID is passed to the device information management unit 34 to request the corresponding paper type information (material and thickness) (S58).

Upon receiving this request, the device information management unit 34 refers to the custom paper type table, acquires the material and thickness corresponding to the passed paper type ID (S59), and outputs them to the print control unit 36. (S60). If the default paper type table is searched using these pieces of information, print control parameters to be used for control can be acquired.
The print control unit 36 uses the material type and thickness information acquired in step S60 in addition to the paper type ID acquired in step S57, and controls the engine unit 29 to execute printing according to the print command.

Also in the operation sequence shown in FIG. 18, the operation until the print command is passed to the job management unit 35 (up to S72) is almost the same as the case of FIG. However, in this case, the job management unit 35 analyzes the data specifying the paper type in the print command and determines that the specified paper type is the default paper type (S73). As a result, it is understood that the data specifying the paper type is paper type text.
Therefore, the paper type ID corresponding to the paper type text, that is, the paper type ID indicating the paper type used for printing is acquired from the text conversion table (S74).

  FIG. 20 shows an example of a text conversion table. This table records the correspondence between the paper type text described in the print command by the printer driver 11 and the paper type ID used by the printer 20 for paper type management. It is a table. Note that only the paper type text corresponding to the default paper type is prepared, and the paper type text is not prepared corresponding to the custom paper type. Therefore, since the contents of the text conversion table are not normally changed, this table may be stored in the ROM 22.

Returning to the description of FIG. 18, when the job management unit 35 determines that the printing related to the received print command may be executed, the job management unit 35 passes the print command to the print control unit 36 to execute the printing. At this time, however, the paper type used for printing is designated by the paper type ID acquired in step S74 (S75).
Then, the print control unit 36 controls the engine unit 29 in accordance with the content specified by the print command, and executes a printing operation (S76). Here, if the default paper type table is searched based on the paper type ID, the print control parameters to be used for the control can be acquired, so that the material and thickness information is not necessary.

Next, FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the CPU 21 of the printer 20 for realizing the operation of the job management unit 35 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In this figure, only processing relating to handling of paper types is shown.
When the CPU 21 functioning as the job management unit 35 receives a print command from the communication control unit 32, the CPU 21 starts processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
First, data specifying the paper type in the print command received in step S121 is read, and in step S122, the text conversion table shown in FIG. 20 is searched with the read data.

  Thereafter, in step S123, it is determined whether or not there is a paper type text that matches the paper type display table as a result of the search. If there is, it can be determined that the paper type specified by the print command is the default paper type, and therefore the process proceeds to step S124, and the paper type ID corresponding to the data read in step S121 is acquired from the text conversion table. In step S127, the paper type ID is transferred to the print control unit 36 at an appropriate timing together with the print command as the paper type ID indicating the paper type used for the print command, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if there is no matching paper type text in step S123, it can be determined that the paper type specified by the print command is a custom paper type, so that the process proceeds to step S125 and the data read in step S121 is used as the paper type name. The information is transferred to the information management unit 34 and a corresponding paper type ID is requested. In step S126, the paper type name notified from the device information management unit 34 is acquired in response to the request, and the process proceeds to step S127. In step S127, the paper type ID acquired in step S126 is used as the paper type ID passed to the print control unit 36.

Next, FIG. 22 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the CPU 21 of the printer 20 for realizing the operation of the print control unit 36 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18.
When receiving the print command and the paper type ID from the job management unit 35, the CPU 21 functioning as the print control unit 36 executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22 as part of the print control operation according to the print command. .
In this process, first, in step S131, the default paper type table is searched with the received paper type ID. Then, in step S132, it is determined whether or not there is a paper type ID that matches the default paper type table as a result of the search. If there is, a printing parameter corresponding to the paper type ID is acquired from the default paper type table in step S133, and step S137. Then, the print parameter is set in the engine unit 29.

  If there is no matching paper type ID in step S132, it is determined that the paper type ID received from the job management unit 35 is the paper type ID of the custom paper type, and in step S134, the paper type ID is set to the device type. The information is transferred to the information management unit 34, and information on the material and thickness corresponding to the information management unit 34 is requested. In step S135, information on the material and thickness notified from the device information management unit 34 is acquired in response to the request. Thereafter, the default paper type table is searched in step S136, and printing parameters corresponding to the material and thickness acquired in step S135 are acquired. In step S137, the print parameter is set in the engine unit 29.

  In any case, after step S137, the process proceeds to step S138, and it is determined whether or not automatic tray selection is set for the print job. If it is set, in step S139, the tray table shown in FIG. 14 is searched based on the paper type ID received from the job management unit 35 and the paper size specified in the print job, and the paper feed tray to be used is determined. To do. If there is no paper feed tray that completely satisfies the paper type and size conditions, an error is notified to the job management unit 35 (in this case, the error notification is finally sent to the PC 10 that sent the print command). Transmission), and the next best paper feed tray can be selected.

If the automatic selection is not made in step S138, the process proceeds to step S140, and the paper feed tray specified by the print command or the paper feed tray selected on the printer 20 side is selected.
In either case, the setting necessary for causing the engine unit 29 to execute printing is performed and printing related to the print command is executed. However, illustration of the processing of that portion is omitted.

  As described above, in the printing system 1, when the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the print command, the printer 20 selects the tray using the paper type ID and paper type information corresponding to the paper type name. And print parameters are set and printing is executed. Therefore, in the printing system 1, the PC 10 describes the paper type name acquired from the printer 20 in order to display the custom paper type as an option on the GUI in the print command. It is possible to specify the use of a custom paper type. For this reason, the PC 10 does not need to know the paper type ID of the custom paper type, and management of information about the custom paper type only needs to be performed by the printer 20, so that information about the custom paper type can be easily managed. Can do.

  In addition, since the print system 1 manages the paper type using the paper type ID in the print system 1 including the contents described in the other specific examples, it is low using an existing platform that uses the paper type ID. A function to set a custom paper type with the development load can be realized. Further, by managing the paper type using the numerical paper type ID instead of the text paper type name inside the printer 20, the processing load is suppressed and the processing speed is increased, and the memory consumption capacity is also reduced. Can do.

As described above, the usage of the information in the custom paper type table has been described with specific examples, but the usage is not limited to these.
The paper type name of the custom paper type can be used for displaying an arbitrary screen in the PC 10 and the printer 20. Further, it can be used for designating a paper type when an arbitrary operation is instructed from the PC 10 to the printer 20. When the printer 20 receives a paper type name from the PC 10 as information specifying the paper type, the printer 20 converts the paper type name into a corresponding paper type ID and controls its own operation based on the ID. As in the case of printing, even if the PC 10 does not know the paper type ID of the custom paper type, the custom paper type can be designated for the printer 20.

  For example, when the paper type of the paper loaded on the printer 20 is set by instructing the paper type of the paper placed on the tray from the PC 10, the PC 10 acquires the paper type name of the custom paper type from the printer 20 and selects the paper type. Is displayed, the paper type name is transmitted to the printer 20, the paper type to be set in the paper feed tray is specified, and the printer 20 converts the paper type name into a paper type ID and registers it in the tray table. is there.

[Modification of First Embodiment: FIGS. 23 to 26]
Next, various modifications that can be applied to the above-described first embodiment will be described.
First, in the above-described embodiment, the paper type information acquired from the printer 20 when the PC 10 displays the print setting screen 70 is only the paper type name of the custom paper type, and the default paper type is the PC 10 side. All information stored in was displayed. However, for the default paper type, information indicating what should be displayed as a paper type option may be acquired from the printer 20 and displayed according to the information.

  In this case, in response to a request from the PC 10, the printer 20 transmits information indicating a paper type to be displayed as an option on the PC 10, regardless of whether the paper type is a custom paper type or a default paper type. However, for the custom paper type, the paper type name is transmitted in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, but for the default paper type, the paper type text corresponding to the paper type ID is used using the text conversion table shown in FIG. Send.

On the other hand, when receiving information indicating the paper type to be displayed as an option on the paper type setting unit 76 from the printer 20, the PC 10 executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In this process, first, in step S141, data indicating the first paper type displayed on the paper type setting unit 76 is set as a processing target. In step S142, the text conversion table is searched with the data to be processed.

  FIG. 24 shows an example of a text conversion table used by the PC 10 here. This table shows a paper type text received from the printer 20 and a display character string used for displaying the paper type related to the paper type text. It is the table recorded correspondingly. In this table, paper type text and display character string information are registered for all the default paper types prepared in the printer 20 and stored in the PC 10 as part of the printer driver program.

Returning to the description of FIG. 23, in step S143, it is determined whether or not there is a paper type text that matches the data to be processed in the text conversion table. If there is, the process proceeds to step S144 to display the data corresponding to the data to be processed. Get string from text conversion table. In step S145, the character string for display is set as a character string used for displaying the paper type, and in step S146, the fact that the paper type is the default paper type is stored.
Thereafter, in step S149, it is determined whether or not there is data indicating the next paper type. If there is, in step S150, the data is returned to step S142, and the process is repeated.

  On the other hand, if there is no matching paper type text in step S143, it can be determined that the paper type indicated by the data to be processed is a custom paper type that is not stored by itself, so that the data to be processed is determined in step S147. Is stored as a character string to be used for display, and the fact that the paper type is a custom paper type is stored in step S148. Then, it progresses to step S149 and performs subsequent processing.

By performing such processing, it becomes possible to perform processing such that only the paper types that can be used in the printer 20 can be selected by the PC 10, and the degree of freedom of processing is improved.
Here, an example has been described in which the PC 10 identifies the default paper type and the custom paper type depending on whether or not the information indicating the paper type received from the printer 20 is registered in the text conversion table. It is conceivable to use other methods.

  As another example, for example, when the paper type name of a custom paper type is transmitted to the PC 10 in the printer 20, a predetermined symbol such as “+” is added to the paper type name, and identification is performed using this as a mark. It is possible. When the paper type name is “custom 1”, the data transmitted from the printer 20 to the PC 10 is “+ custom 1”. Of course, the symbol is not limited to “+”, and the additional position is not limited to the top.

In this case, the processing shown in FIG. 25 may be executed on the CPU of the PC 10 instead of the processing shown in FIG.
This process is substantially the same as the process shown in FIG. 23, but instead of the processes in steps S142 and S143, it is determined in step S151 whether or not a predetermined symbol is included in the data to be processed. If it is not included, it is determined that the data to be processed indicates the default paper type, and the process proceeds to step S144. If it is included, the data to be processed indicates the custom paper type. Determination is made and the process proceeds to step S147 ′.

In step S147 ′, a predetermined symbol used for identification is removed from the data to be processed, and then set as a character string used for displaying the paper type.
In this way, the default paper type and the custom paper type can be clearly distinguished, so that even if the paper type name happens to coincide with the paper type text, these can be identified.

Such symbol identification can also be performed when data specifying a paper type is transmitted from the PC 10 to the printer 20. In this case, the CPU 21 of the printer 20 may execute the process shown in FIG. 26 instead of the process shown in FIG.
This process differs from the process of steps S122 and S123 of FIG. 21 only in that the process of step S161 is executed and the process of step S125 ′ is executed instead of the process of step S125. The relationship between the process shown in FIG. 23 and the process shown in FIG. 25 is the same.

In addition to the above-described modifications, it is possible to deal with the default paper type by using the paper type ID as it is instead of the paper type text.
When displaying the default paper type, it is also possible to prepare different display character strings according to the language in association with the same paper type text and paper type ID. Even in this case, since the custom paper type is set by the user, it is considered that the paper type name is determined in a language that the user can understand. Therefore, even if the paper type name text is always displayed as it is, There seems to be no problem.

  Also, for custom paper types, the print control parameter corresponding to the paper type ID may be set directly. In this case, the print control unit can acquire the print control parameter using the paper type ID as a key, and the print control parameter corresponds to the paper type information. By performing in the same manner as in, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained. In this case, it is not necessary to prepare the material and thickness settings for the default paper type.

[Second Embodiment: FIGS. 27 to 32]
Next, a second embodiment of the image processing system of the present invention will be described. This image processing system stores a print job in a printer, and provides a function for executing printing related to the job when an instruction to execute the stored job is given. The content is suitable for use. The image processing system according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in this point. Therefore, the difference will be mainly described, and the parts common to the first embodiment are the same. A sign is used.

First, FIG. 27 shows a hardware configuration of a printer included in the second embodiment of the image processing system.
The image forming system of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment in that a PC and a printer are connected. However, as shown in FIG. 27, the printer 20 'constituting the system is provided with an HDD 201, and the print job can be stored here, which is different from the printer 20 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 28 shows the configuration of the control function of the printer 20 '.
As shown in this figure, the printer 20 ′ controls the operation of the HDD 201 in addition to the functions provided in the printer 20, stores print job data here, and sends a print job instructed to be executed from here. It has a job storage unit 37 for reading.

  Note that a print job is an example of an image forming job, and includes at least data indicating the contents of an image to be printed and information on the paper type of the paper used when the image is printed. The paper type can be specified for each page of the image. Also, the print job can include information regarding the use of functions provided in the printer 20 such as the number of copies to be printed and designation of duplex / single-sided printing, as in the case of the print command described in the first embodiment. The contents of the image may be data in a format that can be used for printing immediately by developing a bitmap of the print contents specified by the printer language or the like.

  In addition, when a print job storage command for requesting storage of a print job is transmitted from an external device such as the PC 10 to the printer 20 ′, the print job is stored in the HDD 201 in accordance with the command. is there. An instruction to store a print job can also be given from the operation panel 26.

Here, FIG. 29 shows an operation sequence of each part of the PC 10 and the printer 20 ′ when a print job is requested from the PC 10 and stored in the printer 20 ′, centering on handling of information regarding the paper type. FIG. 29 shows the operation when the paper type used for printing is a custom paper type.
In the operation sequence shown in FIG. 29, when the operation reception unit 14 of the PC 10 detects a print job accumulation execution instruction, the print data creation unit 15 prints on a printer (here, the printer 20 ') that accumulates the print job. A print job accumulation command for instructing accumulation of a print job related to the contents and the printing is generated, and the communication control unit 12 transmits the print command to the printer 20 (S201).

  This print job accumulation command is generated in substantially the same manner as the print command in accordance with settings made on a setting screen that is substantially similar to the print setting screen 70 shown in FIG. Then, as described with reference to FIG. 19 in the first embodiment, the PC 10 accepts selection of a paper type to be used for printing, and if a predetermined paper type is selected as the paper type, the PC type is selected. The paper type text to be indicated is described in the print command as data specifying the paper type, and when the custom paper type is selected as the paper type to be used for printing, the paper type of the custom paper type received from the printer 20 ' The name is described in the print command as data specifying the paper type.

  On the other hand, on the printer 20 'side, the communication control unit 32 receives the print job accumulation command transmitted from the PC 10, and passes it to the job management unit 35 (S202). Then, the job management unit 35 analyzes the data specifying the paper type in the print command and determines that the specified paper type is a custom paper type (S203). At the same time, the data specifying the paper type is used. Is the paper type name of the custom paper type, the paper type ID corresponding to the paper type name is acquired from the device information management unit 34 as in the case of steps S54 to S56 in FIG. S206).

Then, the paper type designation in the print job requested to be stored is rewritten using the acquired paper type ID (S207). In addition, the job management unit 35 requests the device information management unit 34 so that the contents of the custom paper type table at the time of print job accumulation request (when the paper type name is converted into the paper type ID) can be referred to later. The custom paper type table is acquired (S208, S209).
Thereafter, the job management unit 35 passes the print job storage command in which the paper type is specified by the paper type ID and the custom paper type table acquired in step S209 to the job storage unit 37 (S211), and the job storage unit 37 receives the print job. After performing necessary processing such as bitmap expansion of the contents to be printed, the print job requested to be stored is stored in the HDD 201.

  With the above processing, when the printer 20 'is requested to store a print job from the PC 10, and the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the print job, the ID corresponding to the paper type name is displayed in the custom paper type table. The image forming job can be stored in association with the custom paper type table in a state where the paper type is designated by the obtained ID. In this process, the job management unit 35, the job storage unit 37, and the HDD 201 function as a job storage unit.

The processing when the paper type specified in the print job is the default paper type is omitted from the drawing, but the text conversion table as shown in FIG. 20 is used as in the case of steps S73 and S74 in FIG. The paper type ID corresponding to the paper type text can be acquired. Therefore, in step S207 in FIG. 29, the paper type designation may be described by this paper type ID.
If the paper type is specified for each page, the processing in steps S203 to S207 is performed for each page, and the paper type is specified by the paper type ID for each page. Good. If the default paper type is designated for all pages, the custom paper type table need not be acquired and stored.

Next, FIG. 30 shows an operation sequence of each unit when the printer 20 'is requested to execute printing related to the accumulated print job, focusing on handling of information regarding the paper type. This figure shows the operation when the paper type used for printing related to the print job to be executed is a custom paper type.
When requesting the printer 20 'to execute the printing related to the accumulated print job, the request source apparatus transmits a print job execution command specifying the print job to be executed. This command reaches the job management unit 35 via the communication control unit 32 when transmitted from an external device, and via the UI control unit 33 when based on an instruction from the operation panel 26 (S221). .

  Upon receiving this command, the job management unit 35 requests the job storage unit 37 for data of the print job instructed to be executed (S222). Upon receiving this request, the job storage unit 37 obtains the requested print job data from the HDD 201 and the stored custom paper type table that is the custom paper type table stored in step S211 of FIG. 29 together with the data. Then, it is returned to the job management unit 35 (S223). Then, when the job management unit 235 acquires these data, the job management unit 235 generates a print command for requesting the print control unit 36 to perform printing related to the acquired print job (S224). This print command has the same format as the print command passed to the print control unit 36 in step S57 in FIG. 17 or step S75 in FIG.

  Further, after step S224, the job management unit 35 requests the device information management unit 34 for a custom paper type table in order to save the current custom paper type table (S225). In response to this request, the device information management unit 34 returns the custom paper type table data (S226), and the job management unit 35 stores the received custom paper type table (S227).

Thereafter, the job management unit 35 passes the stored custom paper type table received in step S223 to the device information management unit 34 to request setting of the table (S228), and the device information management unit 34 responds to this request. Setting is performed (S229), and a response indicating completion of setting is returned (S230).
Subsequent printing operations in steps S231 to S235 are the same as the operations described in steps S57 to S61 in FIG. 17 in the first embodiment. However, the custom paper type table referred to in step S233 is the custom paper type table for storage set in step S229. Although not shown in FIG. 17, when the printing is completed, the print control unit 36 notifies the job management unit 35 to that effect (S236).

  Upon receiving the notification, the job management unit 35 restores the original custom paper type table stored in step S227 to restore the original custom paper type table of the device information management unit 34 to the device information management unit 34. To set the table (S237). The device information management unit 34 performs setting according to this request (S238), and returns a setting completion response (S239).

  With the above processing, when execution of a print job stored in the printer 20 'is requested, the paper type in the print job to be executed is based on the custom paper type table stored in association with the print job. It is possible to acquire paper type information corresponding to the ID used for designating and to print using the information. In this process, the job management unit 35, the print control unit 36, and the engine unit 29 function as job execution means.

  Note that the processing when the paper type specified in the print job is the default paper type is not shown, but as with step S76 in FIG. 18, the custom paper type table is not referred to and is necessary for printing. Parameters can be acquired (see FIG. 22). When the paper type is specified for each page, the processing in FIG. 22 is performed for each page, and appropriate for each page depending on whether the paper type is a custom paper type or a default paper type. It is only necessary to set an appropriate print parameter and determine a paper feed tray.

Incidentally, the printer 20 ′ can also perform printing in accordance with a print command from the PC 10 as in the case of the first embodiment. In this case, as described in the first embodiment, the printer 20 'performs the operation shown in FIG. 17 or 18 in accordance with the print command.
In both the case of printing according to the print command and the case of printing according to the accumulated print job, the job management unit 35 passes the print command to the print control unit 36 to instruct execution of printing. It is the same. Therefore, in the printer 20 ′, the processes of the job management unit 35 after step S57 in FIG. 17, step S75 in FIG. 18, and step S225 in FIG. 30 are shared as follows.

First, FIG. 31 shows a flowchart of this part of processing by the job management unit 35.
In the printer 20 ′, the CPU 21 functioning as the job management unit 35 passes a print command to the print control unit 36, that is, when performing the above-described steps S 57 and below, S 75 and below, or S 225 and below. The process shown in the flowchart is started.

  First, in step S301, it is determined whether or not the printing to be executed is printing related to execution of the accumulated job. If YES, in steps S302 and S303, processing corresponding to steps S225 to S230 in FIG. 30 is performed, and the current custom paper type table is copied and saved, and the custom paper type table referred to at the time of printing is displayed. Replace with custom paper type table when storing jobs.

In step S304, as in step S127 of FIG. 21, a print command including a paper type ID for designating the paper type is passed to the print control unit, and printing related to the print command is executed.
Thereafter, the process waits until printing is completed in step S305, and when printing is completed, processing corresponding to steps S237 to S239 in FIG. 30 is performed in step S306, the custom paper type table is restored, and the process is terminated.

If NO in step S301, that is, if printing is in accordance with a print command from the PC, the process proceeds to step S307, and the print command is passed to the print control unit 36 as in step S304. Printing related to the print command is executed. In step S308, the process waits until the printing is completed. After the printing is completed, the process ends.
By performing the above processing, the contents of the custom paper type table referred to when the print control unit 36 performs printing, the contents at the time of job accumulation in the case of printing related to the execution of the accumulated job, and the printing from the PC. In the case of printing related to a command, it is possible to switch the contents at the time of execution of printing. Even when this switching is performed, the processing executed by the print control unit 36 may be the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 22, and the print control unit 36 stores received print commands. It is not necessary to recognize whether it is related to execution of a completed job or a print command from a PC.

Next, the effect of the second embodiment as described above will be described.
FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining this.
The first embodiment can realize a function of setting a custom paper type with a low development load by using the existing platform using the paper type ID by managing the paper type using the paper type ID by the printer 20 ′. Mentioned in the description. However, this requires referencing the custom paper type table when printing is performed. Therefore, when a job that has already been accumulated and there is a time difference between when the job is stored (when specified) and when it is executed, when it is stored and when it is executed During the time, as shown in FIG. 32, the contents of the custom paper type table may have been changed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 32A, if the “custom 2” paper type is designated at the time of job storage instruction, the job is stored as a print job using the paper type with the paper type ID “2”. However, when referring to the custom paper type table at that time when the job is executed, the contents are changed, and the paper type with the paper type ID “2” is “contract”. Printing is executed using control parameters according to the material and thickness. That is, printing is performed using a paper type parameter different from the paper type designated by the user at the time of accumulation. This is not a problem when printing is performed immediately in response to a command, but it is a problem when there is a time difference between job accumulation and execution.

However, as in the second embodiment described above, the custom paper type table at the time of job storage is stored in association with the print job, and the custom paper type table stored at the time of printing is referred to. If the information on the material and thickness corresponding to the paper type ID is acquired, even if the contents of the custom paper type table are changed as shown in FIG. Printing can be performed using control parameters according to the type of material and heat.
Such a function is particularly suitable when a user uses a paper feed unit for setting and feeding a desired paper during printing, such as a manual feed tray.

[Modifications of Second Embodiment: FIGS. 33 to 39]
Next, various modifications that can be applied to the above-described second embodiment will be described.
First, a function equivalent to that of the second embodiment described above holds the custom paper type table at the time of storage acquired from the job storage unit 37 by the job management unit 35 during job execution without setting it in the device information management unit 34. Alternatively, this can be realized by changing the reference destination of the custom paper type table on the print control unit 36 side.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of processing executed by the job management unit 35 in place of the processing shown in FIG. 31 when adopting this configuration, and FIG. 34 is executed by the print control unit 36 instead of the processing shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the process to perform.
In this case, in the printer 20 ′, the CPU 21 functioning as the job management unit 35 starts the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 33 when passing a print command to the print control unit 36.

  First, in step S311, it is determined whether the print to be executed is a print related to the execution of the accumulated job. If YES, the current custom paper type table use flag is cleared in step S312, and then a print command including a paper type ID for designating the paper type is passed to the print control unit in step S313, and the print command is sent to the print command. Such printing is executed.

Thereafter, in step S314, the process waits until printing is completed. When printing is completed, the current custom paper type table use flag is set in step S315, and the process ends.
If NO in step S311, the print command is passed to the print control unit without dropping the current custom paper type table use flag.

On the other hand, when receiving the print command and the paper type ID from the job management unit 35, the CPU 21 functioning as the print control unit 36 performs the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 34 as part of the print control operation according to the print command. Execute.
This process is the same as that shown in FIG. 22 with respect to the parts assigned the same step numbers as in FIG. 22, and only the processes in steps S321 to S323 are different from those shown in FIG.

  In the process shown in FIG. 34, if NO in step S132, that is, if it is determined that the paper type ID received from the job management unit 35 is the paper type ID of the custom paper type, the process proceeds to step S321, and the current custom paper type. It is determined whether or not the table use flag is set. If it is set, the processing of steps S134 and S135 is performed to obtain the material and thickness corresponding to the paper type by referring to the custom paper type table of the device information management unit 34. Do. The current custom paper type table use flag is normally set, and this processing is performed in the case of printing according to the print command from the PC 10.

  On the other hand, if the flag is not set in step S321, the process proceeds to step S322, the paper type ID received together with the print command from the job management unit 35 is passed to the job management unit 35, and the customizing at storage stored in the job management unit 35 is performed. The material and thickness corresponding to the paper type ID based on the paper type table are requested. In step S323, the material and thickness returned by the job management unit 35 are acquired in response to the request, and the process proceeds to step S136 and subsequent steps.

  With the above processing as well, the contents of the custom paper type table referred to when the print control unit 36 performs printing are changed to the contents at the time of job accumulation and the print command from the PC in the case of printing related to execution of accumulated jobs. In the case of such printing, it is possible to switch the contents at the time of execution of printing.

  As another modification, even when printing related to execution of an accumulated job is performed, if the custom paper type table matches at the time of job accumulation and execution, the custom paper type table at the time of execution is displayed. It is also possible to refer to the custom paper type table at the time of storage only when there is a mismatch and reference is made. In the second embodiment, when performing printing related to execution of an accumulated job, the custom paper type table at the time of job accumulation is always referred to. However, if the contents are the same as those at the time of execution, This is because it is not necessary to switch the table to be referred to.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of processing executed by the job management unit 35 in place of the processing shown in FIG. 31 when this configuration is adopted.
This process is obtained by adding steps SX and SY to the process shown in FIG. That is, if it is determined in step S301 that the print to be executed is related to the execution of the accumulated job, the current custom paper type table and the custom paper type table at the time of job accumulation are compared in step SX. . This comparison can be performed using the storage custom paper type table acquired in step S223 in FIG. 30 and the current custom paper type table acquired from the device information management unit 34 as in steps S224 and S225. .

In step SY, it is determined whether or not there is a mismatch. If there is no mismatch, the print command is issued in step S307 as in the case of printing according to the print command from the PC 10 without saving or replacing the custom paper type table. It is passed to the print control unit 36. Other parts are the same as those shown in FIG.
In this process, in step SX, the job management unit 35 functions as a comparison unit.
By executing such processing, the custom paper type table is not saved, changed, and restored until useless, and the printing speed can be improved.

Note that the comparison in step SX need not be performed for the entire custom paper type table, but only the portion of the paper type ID used for specifying the paper type in the print job to be executed in the custom paper type table. Just do it.
In order to realize this operation, for example, a table indicating which custom paper type ID paper type is used for specifying the paper type as shown in FIG. 36 is stored in association with the print job. In the process of step SX, it is conceivable to select items to be compared with reference to this table.

  In addition to the above, if there is a mismatch in step SY, printing may be temporarily interrupted and the user notified of the mismatch. It is also conceivable that the subsequent operation can be selected.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of processing executed by the job management unit 35 in place of the processing shown in FIG. 31 when this configuration is adopted.
This process is obtained by adding steps SA to SE to the process shown in FIG. That is, if it is determined in step SY that there is a discrepancy between the current custom paper type table and the custom paper type table at the time of job accumulation, printing is interrupted and selection of subsequent operations is accepted in step SA. This reception may be performed by displaying an appropriate GUI at the issuer of the print job execution command. In addition, for example, there are three options: canceling printing, printing using a custom paper type table at the time of job accumulation, and reselecting paper types according to the custom paper type table at the time of execution.

In step SB, it is determined which operation has been selected. If the paper type has been selected again, the process proceeds to step SC to accept a new paper type selection. In this reception, the default paper type and the custom paper type defined in the custom paper type table at the time of reception are selected. Of these, the one set in the tray table may be used.
When the selection is made, the process proceeds to step SD, the paper type designation of the print command is changed in accordance with the selection made, the process proceeds to step S307, and the print command is passed to the print control unit 36. In this case, since it is considered that the paper type is substantially specified in accordance with the custom paper type table at the time of job execution, it is not necessary to switch the custom paper type table to be referred to at the time of printing.

If it is canceled in step SB, the process proceeds to step SE to stop printing, and the process ends. If the table is used at the time of storage in step SB, the process proceeds to step S302, and the print control unit 36 is caused to perform printing according to the custom paper type table at the time of storage, as in the case of FIGS. .
In the above processing, in step SA, the job management unit 35 functions as an interruption unit.

  And according to the above process, when there is a possibility that a wrinkle may occur in the paper type designation, printing can be temporarily interrupted, so that it is possible to prevent printing that does not follow the user's will. Further, in order to notify the user to that effect, the user can recognize the change of the custom paper type table and can instruct the processing according to the changed state. As this instruction, paper type reselection is provided, so that the user can select a paper type according to the latest setting in the printer 20 'and execute the job in a desired state. Since the table can be used during storage, printing can be easily continued if there is no particular problem with changing the custom paper type table.

  Another method for suppressing the adverse effect of the custom paper type table change from job accumulation to execution is to know the paper type ID used to specify the paper type in the accumulated job. For the paper type ID, it can be considered that the change of the custom paper type table is prohibited.

FIG. 38 shows an example of a table for grasping the paper type ID used for specifying the paper type in the accumulated job, which is used when this configuration is adopted.
When the job management unit 35 stores jobs in the job storage unit 37 (for example, after step S210 in FIG. 29), each job is specified in the table as shown in FIG. Register whether or not the custom paper type ID is used, and delete the data related to the job from the table after completion of the printing for the accumulated job (for example, after step S236 in FIG. 30) It is good to do.

  In the table of FIG. 38, for each paper type ID, “1” is registered if it is used to specify the paper type in the job, and “0” is registered if it is not used. Each time the operation is performed, the logical sum of all the jobs is obtained for each paper type ID, so that the paper type ID used for specifying the paper type in at least one of the accumulated jobs is grasped. Can do.

FIG. 39 shows a flowchart of processing according to a custom paper type table change instruction when this configuration is adopted. This process is executed by the CPU 21 functioning as the device information management unit 34 in step S18 of FIG.
By this process, when the change of the custom paper type table is requested, the device information management unit 34 refers to the table of FIG. 38 in step S331, and the custom paper type to be changed is stored. It is determined whether the job is used for specifying the paper type. If it is used, in step S332, the contents of the table are not changed, and the change request source is notified that the change is impossible, and the process is notified. In this case, it may be displayed on the operation panel 26 or the like. If not, the contents of the custom paper type table are changed according to the request in step S333, and the process is terminated.

  If the above processing is performed and the change of the custom paper type table is prohibited for the paper type ID used for specifying the paper type in the accumulated job, the custom paper type table at the time of job accumulation is prohibited. To prevent problems caused by changing the contents of a custom paper type table from the time it is stored to the time it is executed, even if the custom paper type table that is referenced during job execution is not switched Can do.

This is the end of the description of the embodiment and its modification, but the present invention has been described in the above-described embodiment and modification regarding the configuration of the apparatus and system, specific processing contents, data format and contents, and the like. Of course, it is not limited to.
In the present invention, the image forming apparatus is not limited to a printer, and can be configured as an arbitrary apparatus that forms an image on a sheet, such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a digital multi-function peripheral having these functions. The image forming method may also be other methods such as an ink jet method instead of the electrophotographic method, and the contents of the print parameters to be prepared differ depending on the image forming method.
Of course, the information processing apparatus is not limited to a PC. Further, communication between the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus can be performed using any communication path regardless of wired or wireless.
In addition, the configurations and modifications of the embodiments described above can be applied in appropriate combinations within a consistent range.

Further, the program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as the above-described data processing apparatus, and the above-described effects can be obtained by causing the computer to execute such a program.
Such a program may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM or HDD provided in the computer from the beginning, but a non-volatile recording such as a CD-ROM or flexible disk, SRAM, EEPROM, memory card or the like as a recording medium. It can also be recorded on a medium (memory) and provided. Each procedure described above can be executed by installing a program recorded in the memory in a computer and causing the CPU to execute the program, or causing the CPU to read and execute the program from the memory.
Furthermore, it is also possible to download and execute an external device that is connected to a network and includes a recording medium that records the program, or an external device that stores the program in the storage unit.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus, the image forming system, the information processing apparatus, the control method for the image forming apparatus, the control method for the image forming system, the program, or the recording medium according to the present invention, Even when the paper type setting can be changed, the function of accepting designation of the paper type to be used by the image forming apparatus in the external information processing apparatus can be realized with a low processing load and a low development load.
Therefore, by applying the present invention, a highly convenient image forming apparatus can be easily provided.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a print system that is a first embodiment of an image processing system according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of control functions provided in the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the control function with which PC shown in FIG. 1 is provided. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a default paper type table that is provided in the printer illustrated in FIG. 1 and registers information on default paper types.

It is a figure which shows the example of the custom paper type table which similarly registers the information of a custom paper type. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a custom paper type setting screen that is a GUI for setting a custom paper type in the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the example of the software keyboard displayed on the printer shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation sequence of each unit of the printer illustrated in FIG. 1 when changing a custom paper type setting according to a user instruction. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen that receives a print instruction using a printer in the PC illustrated in FIG. 1.

It is a figure which shows the operation | movement sequence of each part of PC and the printer shown in FIG. 1 at the time of the data acquisition of the paper type name of a custom paper type. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job management screen displayed on the printer illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation sequence of each unit of the printer when displaying a custom paper type on the screen illustrated in FIG. 12. It is a figure which shows the example of the tray table used by the process shown in FIG. It is a figure which similarly shows the example of a paper type display table.

14 is a flowchart of processing for realizing the operation of the UI control unit shown in FIG. 13 executed by the CPU of the printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of each unit of the PC and the printer when printing is requested from the PC illustrated in FIG. 1 and executed by the printer. It is a figure which shows the other example. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process which describes the data which designates a paper type to a print command among the processes which CPU of PC shown in FIG. 1 performs at the time of the production | generation of a print command. It is a figure which shows the example of the text conversion table used by the operation | movement shown in FIG.

19 is a flowchart of processing for realizing the operation of the job management unit shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, which is executed by the CPU of the printer shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart of processing for realizing the operation of the print control unit. 9 is a flowchart of processing executed when a CPU of a PC receives information indicating a paper type to be displayed as an option on a paper type setting unit from a printer in a modification of the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the text conversion table used by the process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the process shown in FIG.

It is a flowchart which shows another example of the process shown in FIG. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the hardware constitutions of the printer in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram corresponding to FIG. 3, showing the configuration of control functions similarly provided in the printer. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of each unit of a PC and a printer when a print job is requested from the PC and accumulated in the second embodiment. Similarly, it is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of each unit of the PC and the printer when a print job is requested from the PC and a print job is executed.

10 is a flowchart of processing executed by a printer CPU in order to realize a function that causes a job management unit to cause a print control unit to perform printing in the second embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 32 is a flowchart of processing executed by the printer CPU in place of the processing shown in FIG. 31 in a modification of the second embodiment. 23 is a flowchart of processing executed instead of the processing shown in FIG. 22 in order to realize the function of the print control unit. FIG. 32 is a flowchart of processing executed by the printer CPU in place of the processing shown in FIG. 31 in another modification of the second embodiment.

It is a figure which shows the example of the table which shows which paper type of which custom paper type ID is used for designation | designated of a paper type. FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a process executed by the printer CPU in place of the process shown in FIG. 31 in still another modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table for grasping a paper type ID used for designating a paper type in an accumulated job. 12 is a flowchart of processing executed by a printer CPU in response to a custom paper type table change instruction in still another modification of the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10: PC, 11: printer driver, 12: communication control unit, 13: display control unit,
14: Operation reception unit, 15: Print data creation unit, 16: Display, 17: Operation unit,
20, 20 ': printer, 21: CPU, 22: ROM, 23: RAM,
24: NVRAM, 25: Panel I / F, 26: Operation panel, 27: Communication I / F,
28: Engine I / F, 29: Engine part, 30: System bus, 31: Control part,
32: Communication control unit, 33: UI control unit, 34: Device information management unit, 35: Job management unit,
36: Print control unit, 37: Job storage unit, 50: Custom paper type setting screen,
70: Print setting screen, 90: Print job management screen, 201: HDD

Claims (26)

Storage means for storing a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type in association with the ID;
Input accepting means for accepting input of the paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID;
A paper type registration unit that registers the paper type name and paper type information received by the input receiving unit in the storage unit;
When an external device requests transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in itself, the external device is provided with a transmission unit that transmits information on the paper type name stored in the storage unit. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
When the paper type name is received as information specifying the paper type from the external device, a control unit is provided that converts the paper type name into a corresponding ID and controls the image forming apparatus based on the ID. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image formation request received from the external device, image formation is performed using the ID or paper type information stored in the storage unit in association with the paper type name. An image forming apparatus provided with means for performing the above. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the paper type name is handled as text data. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the paper type name registered in the storage means by the paper type registration unit is used for display indicating the paper type in the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the ID corresponding to the paper type name and the ID stored in the storage unit and the paper type name And storing the image forming job requested to be stored in association with the correspondence information in a state in which the paper type is designated by the obtained ID. Means,
When the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, it is used to specify the paper type in the image forming job based on the correspondence information stored in association with the image forming job. An image forming apparatus comprising job execution means for acquiring paper type information corresponding to the ID and executing image formation relating to the image forming job using the information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6,
When the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, the correspondence information stored in the storage unit is stored in the job storage unit in association with the image forming job to be executed. Provided with a comparison means for comparing the corresponding correspondence information,
When the job execution unit does not match the comparison result by the comparison unit, the job execution unit is configured to use the paper information in the image formation job based on the correspondence information stored in the job storage unit in association with the image formation job to be executed. An image forming apparatus, which is means for acquiring paper type information corresponding to an ID used for specifying a type. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the ID corresponding to the paper type name and the ID stored in the storage unit and the paper type name And storing the image forming job requested to be stored in association with the correspondence information in a state in which the paper type is designated by the obtained ID. Means,
Job execution means for forming an image related to the image forming job when requested to execute the image forming job stored in the job storage means;
When the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, the correspondence information stored in the storage unit is stored in the job storage unit in association with the image forming job to be executed. A comparison means for comparing the corresponding correspondence information,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an interruption unit configured to interrupt image formation by the job execution unit when the comparison result by the comparison unit does not match. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a notification means for notifying a user when the comparison result by the comparison means does not match. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
When the comparison result by the comparison unit does not match, the paper storage unit is used to specify the paper type again using the correspondence information stored in the storage unit, or the job storage unit is associated with the image forming job to be executed. Means for accepting selection of whether to use the correspondence information stored in or whether to cancel the job execution,
And a means for accepting the specification of the paper type when the specification of the paper type is selected again.
The job execution unit acquires paper type information corresponding to an ID used for specifying a paper type in an image forming job to be executed based on the selected correspondence information when a selection other than cancellation is made. And an image forming apparatus that forms an image related to the image forming job using the information. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison means is a means for comparing correspondence information only for an ID used for designating a paper type in an image forming job requested to be executed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
When storage of an image forming job is requested from the external device, when storing the image forming job according to the request, the correspondence relationship between the ID stored in the storage unit, the paper type name, and the paper type information is displayed. Means for acquiring an ID corresponding to a paper type name used for designating a paper type in the image forming job based on the corresponding information shown;
Means for grasping the ID of the paper type designated in the accumulated image forming job based on the ID acquired by the means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a means for prohibiting a change of the paper type name and paper type information stored in the storage unit for the paper type indicated by the ID grasped by the unit. An image forming system comprising an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus,
In the image forming apparatus,
Storage means for storing a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type in association with the ID;
Input accepting means for accepting input of the paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID;
A paper type registration unit that registers the paper type name and paper type information received by the input receiving unit in the storage unit;
Transmitting means for transmitting information on the paper type name stored in the storage means to the information processing apparatus when the information processing apparatus requests transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in the information processing apparatus; Provided,
In the information processing apparatus,
Means for requesting the image forming apparatus to transmit information indicating a paper type registered in the image forming apparatus;
An image forming system comprising: display control means for displaying information on the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus on a display means. The image forming system according to claim 13,
In the information processing apparatus,
A paper type selection accepting unit for accepting selection of a paper type to be designated for the image forming apparatus;
When the paper type selection accepting unit accepts selection of the paper type indicated by the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus, the paper type name is transmitted to the image forming apparatus as information specifying the paper type. Means,
When the image type apparatus receives the paper type name as information for designating the paper type from the information processing apparatus, the paper type name is converted into a corresponding ID, and the image forming apparatus is controlled based on the ID. An image forming system provided with a control means for performing the above. The image forming system according to claim 13,
In the information processing apparatus,
A paper type selection receiving means for receiving selection of a paper type to be used when the image forming apparatus performs image formation;
When the paper type selection accepting unit accepts selection of the paper type indicated by the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus, when the image forming request is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, the paper type is selected as the paper type. Means to specify by name,
In the image forming apparatus,
If the paper type name is specified as the paper type in the image formation request received from the information processing apparatus, an image is stored using the ID or paper type information stored in the storage unit in association with the paper type name. An image forming system comprising means for forming. The image forming system according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
An image forming system, wherein the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus handle the paper type name as text data. The image forming system according to any one of claims 13 to 16,
An image forming system in which the image forming apparatus uses a paper type name registered in the storage unit by the paper type registering unit for display indicating a paper type. The image forming system according to claim 13,
In the information processing apparatus,
A paper type selection receiving means for receiving selection of a paper type to be used when the image forming apparatus performs image formation;
When the paper type selection accepting unit accepts the selection of the paper type indicated by the paper type name received from the image forming apparatus, the paper type is selected when transmitting the image forming job accumulation request to the image forming apparatus. Means to specify by the paper type name,
In the image forming apparatus,
When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the ID corresponding to the paper type name and the ID stored in the storage unit and the paper type name And storing the image forming job requested to be stored in association with the correspondence information in a state in which the paper type is designated by the obtained ID. Means,
When the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, it is used to specify the paper type in the image forming job based on the correspondence information stored in association with the image forming job. An image forming system comprising job execution means for obtaining paper type information corresponding to the ID and executing image formation relating to the image forming job using the information. Means for requesting the image forming apparatus to transmit information indicating the paper type registered in the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving information on the paper type transmitted from the image forming apparatus in response to the request;
It is determined whether the paper type information received by the receiving means is information on the paper type stored by itself, and if it is determined that the information is not related to the paper type stored by itself An information processing apparatus, comprising: a paper type display unit that extracts a paper type name from the paper type information and causes the display unit to display the paper type name related to the received information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19,
The paper type display means is means for determining that, when a predetermined symbol is added to the paper type information received by the receiving means, the information is not related to the paper type stored in the paper type display means. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. In association with the ID, an image forming apparatus having a storage unit that stores a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information that indicates the content of the paper type.
An input reception procedure for receiving input of a paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID;
A paper type registration procedure for registering the paper type name and paper type information received in the input reception procedure in the storage unit;
A transmission procedure for transmitting information on the paper type name stored in the storage means to the external device when the external device requests transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in the external device. And a control method for the image forming apparatus. Corresponding to the ID, an image forming apparatus having a storage unit that stores a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type, and can communicate with the image forming apparatus A method for controlling an image forming system including a simple information processing apparatus,
In the image forming apparatus,
An input reception procedure for receiving input of a paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID;
A paper type registration procedure for registering the ID, paper type name, and paper type information received in the input reception procedure in the storage unit;
A transmission procedure for transmitting information on the paper type name stored in the storage means to the information processing apparatus when the information processing apparatus requests transmission of information indicating the paper type registered in the information processing apparatus; Let it run
In the information processing apparatus,
A procedure for requesting the image forming apparatus to transmit information indicating a paper type registered in the image forming apparatus;
A control method for an image forming system, comprising: executing a display control procedure for causing a display unit to display information on a paper type name received from the image forming apparatus. A computer for controlling the image forming apparatus;
Storage means for storing a paper type name that is the name of the paper type indicated by the ID and paper type information indicating the content of the paper type in association with the ID;
Input accepting means for accepting input of the paper type name and paper type information corresponding to the ID;
A paper type registration means for registering the ID, paper type name and paper type information received by the input receiving means in the storage means;
Functions as a transmission means for transmitting information indicating the paper type name stored in the storage means to the external device when the external device requests transmission indicating information indicating the paper type registered in the external device. Program to let you. The program according to claim 23, wherein
The computer,
When the paper type is specified by the paper type name in the image forming job requested to be stored from the external device, the ID corresponding to the paper type name and the ID stored in the storage unit and the paper type name And storing the image forming job requested to be stored in association with the correspondence information in a state in which the paper type is designated by the obtained ID. Means,
When the execution of the image forming job stored in the job storage unit is requested, it is used to specify the paper type in the image forming job based on the correspondence information stored in association with the image forming job. A program further comprising: a program for obtaining paper type information corresponding to the ID that has been recorded and causing the information to function as job execution means for performing image formation relating to the image forming job using the information. Computer
Means for requesting the image forming apparatus to transmit information indicating the paper type registered in the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving information on the paper type transmitted from the image forming apparatus in response to the request;
It is determined whether the paper type information received by the receiving means is information on the paper type stored by itself, and if it is determined that the information is not related to the paper type stored by itself A program for causing a display unit to function as a paper type display unit that extracts a paper type name from the paper type information and displays it on the display unit as a paper type name related to the received information.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to any one of claims 23 to 25 is recorded.

Images