JP2008199151A - Image forming apparatus and method for controlling printing of web page - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply print out a Web page for printing in an image forming apparatus having a browser function. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus having the browser function is provided with a page data acquisition part 105 for accessing a Web page specified by a user and acquiring data of the Web page, a printing page presence/no presence decision part 107 for deciding whether a link to a Web page for printing is included in the acquired Web page or not on the basis of the data of the acquired Web page, and a printer part 12 for printing out the Web page on the basis of the data of the Web page. Wherein, when the inclusion of the link in the Web page is decided, the page data acquisition part 105 is made to acquire the data of the Web page for printing to be a link destination, and when printing execution is instructed by the user, the printer part 12 is controlled so as to print out the printing Web page on the basis of the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a browser function and a Web page printing control method in the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, a browser function has been installed in an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals). This is to meet the user's need to print the contents of a Web page without using a computer terminal such as a personal computer.

  The operation unit of the image forming apparatus is usually provided with an input unit such as a numeric keypad and a display unit for confirming input contents. The touch panel may also serve as an input unit and a display unit. The user inputs the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the Web page using the input unit, checks the content of the Web page on the display unit, and executes printing. This makes it possible to print a web page without using a computer terminal.

  However, browsing web pages may be more inconvenient than using a computer terminal in terms of the size of the display unit and the operability of the input unit. Therefore, as a device for simplifying the printing of the Web page, a method as in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

According to Patent Document 1, the printer is provided with an address input means for inputting a homepage address and a link number input means for inputting the number of links, and based on the input address and the number of links, a link is made from the address. Web pages for the number of links are printed. If image data is included in the link destination, the image data is not printed, thereby improving the processing speed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-16354

  By the way, when printing a Web page, the content of the part of the paper that does not fit in the paper may be cut off. Therefore, the creator of a web page often provides a print button or the like in the page so that the print web page can be displayed from there.

  When attempting to print such a Web page for printing using the image forming apparatus as described above, the user first accesses the target Web page, scrolls within the Web page, and the like for printing. Search for a button, select that button, move (jump) to the linked web page for printing, confirm the web page for printing, and execute printing. It is very troublesome for the user to perform such an operation using the input unit and the display unit of the image forming apparatus.

  When the conventional method of Patent Document 1 as described above is used, a Web page linked from the Web page specified by the user is printed. Therefore, when printing a print Web page linked from the specified Web page, the original specified Web page is printed together with the print Web page. If the specified Web page includes a link to a Web page other than the print page, the Web page up to the link destination is also printed. In other words, even if printing is executed for the purpose of a Web page for printing, even another Web page that is not the target is printed. Therefore, in the method of Patent Document 1, printing takes time and paper is wasted.

  In view of such problems, the present invention provides a simpler and more efficient printing of a web page when printing a web page by an image forming apparatus having a browser function than when a web page for printing is provided. The purpose is to be able to print.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a browser function, which accesses a Web page designated by a user and acquires data of the Web page; Based on the Web page data acquired by the Web page data acquisition means, the determination means for determining whether or not the link to the Web page for printing is included in the Web page, and the acquired Web page data And when the determination unit determines that the link is included in the Web page, the Web page data acquisition is performed when a user issues a print execution instruction. Means to acquire the data of the linked web page for printing, and based on the acquired data for the printing Controlling said printing means to print a Web page, and having a print control means.

  Preferably, the printer includes a print instruction reception unit that receives a print execution instruction from a user, and when the determination unit determines that the link is included in a Web page, by emphasizing the print instruction reception unit, Inform the user that the link is included.

  Preferably, the determination unit performs the determination based on whether or not a predetermined word is included in the Web page data.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a browser function, accesses a Web page specified by a user, acquires data related to the Web page, and links from the Web page. Web page data acquisition means for acquiring data related to a Web page that can be accessed by following, and data related to each Web page acquired by the Web page data acquisition means, to each Web page, to the Web page for printing Based on the data related to the Web page acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit and the determination unit that determines whether the link is included, a list of titles indicating the Web page is generated, and the list is displayed on the display unit List display control means to be displayed and Web page printing If a title indicating a printing unit to be performed and a Web page determined to include a link to a Web page for printing is selected on the display unit by the user, printing of the selected Web page is performed And a print control unit that controls the printing unit to print the web page for printing based on the acquired data. It is characterized by.

  Preferably, the web page data acquisition unit prints data regarding a web page that can be accessed by linking from the web page when the user designates a web page, and printing the web page data. Web page data is not acquired.

  Preferably, for the Web page determined to include a link to the Web page for printing, the list display control means knows that the title indicating the Web page includes the link. Thus, the display means is highlighted.

  Preferably, the data relating to the Web page is data necessary for displaying a title indicating the Web page and determining whether or not a link to the Web page for printing is included.

  Preferably, the Web page data acquisition unit acquires a Web page that can be accessed by linking from a Web page specified by the user from Web pages belonging to the same Web site as the specified Web page.

  Preferably, the determination unit performs the determination based on whether or not a predetermined word is included in the data relating to the Web page.

  A Web page is a group of data in units displayed at a time on a Web browser for documents or images published on the Internet or an intranet using a WWW (World Wide Web) system. A web page is usually published by bringing together a plurality of related items. In general, a group of such Web pages is called a Web site.

  According to the present invention, when a web page for printing is provided in printing of a web page by an image forming apparatus having a browser function, it can be printed more easily and efficiently than in the past.

[First Example]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an operation panel 13, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for Web printing.

  An image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that integrates various functions such as copying, scanner, fax, network printing, document server, and file transfer. Sometimes called a multi-function peripheral or MFP (Multi Function Peripherals).

  The image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a communication network NT configured by the Internet or an intranet, and can directly access a Web page on the Internet and print the Web page. Hereinafter, such a function may be referred to as “Web printing”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes hardware such as a control processing unit 10, a scanner unit 11, a printer unit 12, and an operation panel 13.

  The scanner unit 11 is an apparatus for optically reading a photograph, a character, a picture, a chart, or the like drawn on a sheet of a document to generate and output image data.

  The printer unit 12 is a device that prints an image on a sheet based on image data obtained by the scanner unit 11 or Web page data transmitted via the network interface 10f.

  The operation panel 13 is an input device (interface) for the user to make various settings to the image forming apparatus 1 and give commands such as printing. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 13 is provided with touch panels TP1 and TP2, a start button BS, and various function selection buttons BT.

  The touch panels TP1 and TP2 are display devices that display Web pages accessed by the image forming apparatus 1, setting contents input by the user, and the like, and also serve as input devices depending on functions of the touch panel.

  The touch panel TP2 can display input means such as a keyboard, and the user can input a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the Web page or the like accordingly. In the present embodiment, the accessed web page is displayed on the touch panel TP1. Hereinafter, the touch panels TP1 and TP2 may be collectively referred to as “touch panel TP”.

  The start button BS is a button for the user to give instructions for executing various functions such as printing or scanning.

  The function selection button BT is a button for the user to select a function to be used from among “FAX”, “Copy”, “Scan”, and “Web printing”. When the function selection button BT is pressed, a screen for setting a function corresponding to the button is displayed on the touch panel TP1 or TP2. For example, when “Web printing” is selected, in this embodiment, a Web print setting screen GM1 as shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the touch panel TP2.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the Web print setting screen GM1 includes a text box TX1, an OK button BK, a print setting button BP, a keyboard KB, and the like. Here, with reference to FIG. 3, a user operation procedure when setting the Web printing will be described.

  First, the user inputs the URL (address) of the target Web page using the keyboard KB. The input URL is displayed in the text box TX1. When the user presses an OK button BK, the image forming apparatus 1 accesses the Internet based on the input URL, and acquires Web page data. Then, the Web page is displayed on the touch panel TP1.

  When the user presses the print setting button BP on the Web print setting screen GM1, a Web print setting screen GM2 for setting the number of copies and the paper size is displayed.

  The Web print setting screen GM2 includes text boxes TX2, TX3, a numeric keypad KT, and the like. The user uses the numeric keypad KT to input the number of copies, the paper size, and the like in input areas such as text boxes TX2 and TX3. When the user presses the start button BS on the operation panel 13, a web page is printed based on the set contents.

  The control processing unit 10 is a control unit for the entire image forming apparatus 1. The CPU 10a, RAM 10b, ROM 10c, hard disk 10d, control circuit 10e, network interface 10f, and the like are included.

  The network interface 10f is an interface for communicating with other devices. As a communication interface, a network interface card (NIC), a modem, or a network control unit (NCU) is used. The image forming apparatus 1 acquires Web page data from the communication network NT via the network interface 10f.

  The CPU 10a performs overall control of the image processing apparatus 1, such as detection of input from the user or control of display on the operation panel 13. In addition, various processing is performed on the image data, such as conversion of the format of the image data read by the scanner unit 11 or color correction.

  The control circuit 10e is a circuit for controlling devices such as the hard disk 10d, the operation panel 13, the scanner unit 11, the printer unit 12, and the network interface 10f.

  The hard disk 10d stores image data read by the scanner unit 11 or Web page data acquired from the communication network NT. The hard disk 10d stores a program and data for realizing processing of each unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 9 described later. These programs and data are read into the RAM 10b as necessary, and the programs are executed by the CPU 10a. Some or all of these programs or data may be stored in the ROM 10c. In addition, some or all of the functions of these units may be realized by software, or may be realized by hardware such as the control circuit 10e.

  4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Web page displayed on the touch panel TP1, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of HTML of the Web page.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a page data storage unit 101, a determination result storage unit 102, a setting data storage unit 103, a URL reception unit 104, a page data acquisition unit 105, a page display processing unit 106, a printing page. It includes a presence / absence determination unit 107, a print page presence notification processing unit 108, a setting data reception unit 109, a print instruction reception unit 110, a print command processing unit 111, and the like.

    The page data storage unit 101 stores the Web page data and URL acquired by the image forming apparatus 1 from the Internet. Hereinafter, data of a web page may be referred to as “page data DP”.

  The determination result storage unit 102 stores the determination result in the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 described later. The setting data storage unit 103 stores data (setting data) indicating conditions such as the number of copies to be printed and the paper size set by the user using the touch panel TP2.

  When browsing the Web page, when the user inputs a URL using the touch panel TP2 and presses an OK button BK, the input URL is sent from the operation panel 13 to the control processing unit 10.

  The URL receiving unit 104 receives a URL sent from the operation panel 13 to the control processing unit 10.

  The page data acquisition unit 105 performs processing for acquiring page data DP based on the URL. This process is performed as follows, for example.

  First, the URL received by the URL reception processing unit is received. Based on the URL, a server that manages the Web page is accessed. The page data DP of the Web page corresponding to the URL is requested to the server. The page data DP transmitted from the server is received and stored in the page data storage unit 101.

  The page data DP includes HTML and image data for displaying the contents of the Web page on the touch panel TP.

  The page display processing unit 106 sends the page data DP acquired by the page data acquisition unit 105 to the operation panel 13, and instructs the operation panel 13 to display a web page on the touch panel TP1 based on the page data DP. The operation panel 13 displays a web page on the touch panel TP1 in accordance with the command. Thereby, for example, a Web page as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

  By the way, a web page for printing for appropriately printing the contents of the web page may be separately prepared for the web page. This is because, when a Web page is printed as it is, the contents of the edge of the paper that cannot fit in the paper may be cut off. Such a web page includes a link to a web page for printing. When trying to print the contents of a Web page, the user normally accesses the Web page for printing once from the link and prints the Web page for printing.

  Hereinafter, a web page for printing may be referred to as a “printing page”. On the other hand, Web pages other than print pages may be described as “display pages”.

  The link is data indicating the location of another document or image embedded in the document. Sometimes called "hyperlink".

  The link is displayed as a button or a character string such as “LJ1” and “LJ2” in FIG. When these buttons or character strings are selected, it is possible to jump to the link destination associated therewith. That is, access is made to the Web page of the URL associated with them, and the Web page is displayed.

  The print page presence / absence determination unit 107 determines whether there is a print page in the accessed Web page. This determination is performed as follows.

  First, the page data DP acquired by the page data acquisition unit 105 is received, and the HTML contained therein is acquired. From the HTML, for example, a character string representing a word or expression related to printing such as “print”, “display page for printing”, “print”, or “Print” is retrieved. For example, in the case of HTML as shown in FIG. 6, the character string “print” or “display print page” in the line L1 is detected. If the character string to be searched is not found, it is determined that there is no print page in the Web page. If a character string to be searched is found, it is determined that there is a print page.

  If it is determined that there is a print page, the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 further performs the following processing.

  First, the determination result is stored in the determination result storage unit 102. Further, the URL is analyzed to acquire the URL associated with the found character string to be searched, that is, the URL of the linked print page, and stores it in the page data storage unit 101.

  In this case, for example, a line in which a character string to be searched is found is analyzed, and a URL described after a predetermined HTML tag (HTML tag) such as “a href” is acquired. In the example of FIG. 6, “http: //www.coupon.printmap.html” in the row L1 is thereby acquired.

  In the above determination, one line (or one command sentence) including a combination of a character string indicating a predetermined word or expression such as “print” and a predetermined HTML tag is searched, and such a line is searched. If a page is found, it may be determined that there is a page for printing. Specifically, for example, a search is performed on a combination of a character string “print” and an HTML tag “a href”. In the case of the HTML in FIG. 6, the line L1 is detected thereby, and it is determined that there is a print page.

  When it is determined that there is a print page in the Web page, the print page presence notification processing unit 108 performs a process for notifying the user of this as follows.

  First, the determination result of the print page data determination unit 107 is received. If the determination result indicates that there is a print page, a signal instructing lighting of the start button BS is sent to the operation panel 13. The operation panel 13 lights the start button BS based on the signal.

  When the start button BS is lit and emphasized, the user can know that there is a print page in the Web page designated by the user. Thereafter, the user confirms the Web page displayed on the touch panel TP1, and performs print settings using the Web print setting screen GM2 as shown in FIG. Then, the start button BS is pressed to instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to print. Then, setting data indicating the set contents and a print instruction signal are sent from the operation panel 13 to the control processing unit 10.

  The setting data receiving unit 109 receives setting data from the operation panel 13 and stores it in the setting data storage unit 103.

  The print instruction receiving unit 110 receives a print instruction signal from the operation panel 13 and sends it to the print command processing unit 111.

  When receiving a print instruction signal, the print command processing unit 111 starts processing for instructing the printer unit 12 to print a Web page. This process is performed as follows.

  First, the result of determination by the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 is acquired from the determination result storage unit 102. If the determination result indicates that there is a print page, the URL of the print page stored in the process of the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 is further acquired from the page data storage unit 101. Then, the URL is sent to the page data acquisition unit 105 and an instruction is given to acquire the page data DP of the print page based on the URL. The page data acquisition unit 105 acquires the page data DP of the printing page based on the URL and returns it to the print command processing unit 111. Hereinafter, the page data DP of the print page may be described as “print page data DN” in particular. On the other hand, the page data DP of the display page may be described as “display page data DW”.

  When the determination result indicates that there is no page for printing, the page data DW for display, that is, the page data DP of the Web page displayed on the touch panel TP1 is acquired from the page data storage unit 101.

  Further, the setting data stored in the setting data storage unit 103 is acquired. Using the setting data and the already acquired print page data DN or display page data DW, the contents shown in the print page data DN or display page data DW are changed based on the conditions indicated in the set data. Print data for printing is generated and sent to the printer unit 12. Upon receiving the print data, the printer unit 12 prints the web page based on the print data.

  In the above processing, the print page data DN is acquired when the user instructs printing, that is, immediately before printing, instead of when displaying a Web page. As a result, it is possible to speed up the display process by reducing the amount of communication when displaying the Web page. Therefore, the user can browse the web page comfortably.

  The print page data DN may be acquired at a timing when the user specifies a URL. In this case, each unit performs processing as follows.

  First, the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 sends the URL of the print page acquired when it is determined that there is a print page to the page data acquisition unit 105 and instructs acquisition of the print page data DN. The page data acquisition unit 105 acquires the page data DN for printing based on the URL and stores it in the page data storage unit 101.

  When there is a print instruction from the user, the print command processing unit 111 first obtains the determination result by the print page presence / absence determination unit 107 from the determination result storage unit 102. If it is determined that there is a page for printing, the page data DN for printing is acquired from the page data storage unit 101. If the determination result indicates that there is no print page, display page data DW is acquired from the page data storage unit 101.

  Further, setting data is acquired from the setting data storage unit 103. Using the setting data and the already acquired print page data DN or display page data DW, print data is generated and sent to the printer unit 12.

  In the above example, the case where the printing process is started when the start button BS is pressed is shown. Alternatively, printing may be executed when the URL is confirmed without waiting for an explicit print instruction from the user. In that case, the following configuration is used.

  When the user inputs a URL using the touch panel TP2 and presses the browse button BE to confirm it, the URL is sent from the operation panel 13 to the URL receiving unit 104, and a print instruction signal is sent to the print instruction receiving unit 110. To be sent. Thereby, the print command processing unit 111 starts processing for instructing the printer unit 12 to print at the timing when the user specifies the URL.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the user designates the Web page by directly entering the URL on the touch panel TP1 is shown, but the web page may be designated by another method. For example, it may be specified by selecting a link in the Web page displayed on the touch panel TP1. In that case, the URL receiving unit 104 receives a URL corresponding to the selected link.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus 1 when a Web page is designated by the user, and FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus 1 when a printing instruction is given by the user. It is a flowchart for.

  When the user inputs the URL using the touch panel TP2 and presses the OK button BK (Yes in # 101), the image forming apparatus 1 accesses the Web page of the URL (# 102). That is, it requests the page data DP of the Web page from the server indicated by the URL. If the page data DP cannot be acquired because the server is down (No in # 103), a message indicating that the web page access has failed is displayed on the touch panel TP1 (# 104).

  If the page data DP can be acquired (Yes in # 103), the Web page is displayed on the touch panel TP1 based on the page data DP (# 105).

  A link to a print page is obtained by searching a predetermined word (word or expression) or a line including a combination of a predetermined word and a predetermined HTML tag from HTML included in the acquired page data DP. It is determined whether it is included (# 106), and the determination result is stored. If it is determined that the link is included (Yes in # 106), the start button BS is turned on (# 107). If it is determined that the link is not included (No in # 106), the process is terminated as it is.

  When the Web page is displayed on the touch panel TP1, the user confirms the content and sets printing. Further, the start button BS is pressed to instruct the image forming apparatus 1 to print.

  In FIG. 8, when there is a print instruction from the user (Yes in # 111), the determination result in step # 106 in FIG. 7 is first referred to. If it is determined that the link is not included (No in # 112), printing is performed based on the printing conditions set in advance by the user using the page data DP acquired in Step # 102 of FIG. Print data to be executed is generated (# 113). Based on the print data, the web page displayed on the touch panel TP1 is printed (# 119).

  If it is determined that the link is included (Yes in # 112), the URL associated with the link is acquired from the page data DP acquired in Step # 102 of FIG. 7 (# 114). . The print page data DN is requested to the server indicated by the acquired URL (# 115).

  If the print page data DN cannot be acquired (No in # 116), a message indicating that the access to the print page has failed is displayed on the touch panel TP1 (# 117). In this case, printing may be performed based on the page data DP acquired in step # 102 of FIG. 7 automatically or in accordance with an instruction from the user.

  When the access is successful (Yes in # 116), print data for executing printing is generated based on the printing conditions set in advance by the user using the acquired print page data DN (# 118). . Then, a print page is printed based on the print data (# 119).

  Further, when the user gives a print instruction, it is determined that the link to the print page is included in the determination of step # 106 in FIG. 7 instead of acquiring the print page data DN. You may make it acquire at the time.

  In that case, when it is determined in step # 106 that the link is included, the URL associated with the link is acquired from the page data DP acquired in step # 102. Then, it requests the print page data DN from the server indicated by the acquired URL, and acquires the print page data DN. When the user issues a print instruction (Yes in # 111), the processes in and after step # 116 are performed without performing the processes in steps # 114 and 115.

  In this embodiment, the user is informed that there is a page for printing by turning on and emphasizing the start button BS, but it may be notified by other methods. For example, the start button BS may blink. The user may be notified by sound or voice. Alternatively, a button for printing a print page may be displayed on the touch panel TP1 or PT2.

  When displaying a button for printing a print page, the print page is printed when the button is pressed, and the original display page is displayed when the start button BS is pressed. May be printed.

  Further, when a URL is specified by the user, the printing process may be started using the URL as an instruction to execute printing. In that case, after the processing of step # 107 in FIG. 7, the processing after step # 112 in FIG. 8 is performed without waiting for a printing instruction from the user. In this case, the process of step # 107 may be skipped.

  In addition, when there is a print page on the designated web page, the print page is not printed unconditionally, but the print page is printed or the original display page is printed at the time of printing. May be selected.

  According to this embodiment, if there is a print page on the Web page designated by the user, the page data DP of the print page is automatically acquired. When printing about the Web page is instructed, the printing page is printed based on the page data DP.

As a result, the user can print the printing page with a simple operation of designating the Web page and pressing the start button BS.
[Second Example]
9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in the second embodiment, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the page list table TLW, and FIG. 11 is generated based on the page list table TLW in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a page list.

  In the second embodiment, when the user designates a URL, the title of the Web page of the URL and a list of Web page titles that can be linked from the Web page are displayed on the touch panel TP1, and the user When one of the titles is selected and a print execution instruction is given, the web page with that title is printed. Hereinafter, this list may be referred to as a “page list”.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the control processing unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, a table storage unit 121, a linked page acquisition command unit 123, and a list display processing unit 124 are added.

  Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment may be referred to as “image forming apparatus 1B”, and the control processing unit 10 may be referred to as “control processing unit 10B”. Here, processing of each unit of the control processing unit 10B will be described. Note that the processing of the setting data storage unit 103, the URL receiving unit 104, and the setting data receiving unit 109 is as already described in FIG.

  In FIG. 9, the table storage unit 121 stores the page list table TLW shown in FIG.

  The page list table TLW is a table for storing a Web page with a URL specified by the user using the touch panel TP and attributes of the Web page that can be linked from there. One record is stored for each Web page.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the page list table TLW includes “number”, “title”, “URL”, “link source”, “print page presence / absence”, “print page URL”, and “page data”. And other fields are included.

  “Number” is an identification number of a Web page in the page list table TLW. Hereinafter, this number may be referred to as “in-table number”. The number in the table of the Web page designated by the user, that is, the Web page (first page) corresponding to the head of the link is set to “1”.

  “Title” and “URL” are the title and URL of the Web page, respectively. In this embodiment, when a link is included in a certain web page, a character string corresponding to the link is used as the title of the linked web page.

  The “character string corresponding to the link” is a character string described in a predetermined HTML tag such as “a”, “a href”, and “/ a” related to the link. For example, in the case of the row L2 shown in FIG. 6, “Menu” is the character string. Such a character string can be extracted by analyzing HTML. Hereinafter, such a character string may be referred to as a “link name”. Note that the title of the first page is “Top”.

  “Link source” indicates the number in the table of the Web page of the link source that included the link to the Web page. Since there is no link source on the first page, “0” is fixedly stored.

  “Print page presence / absence” indicates the presence / absence of a print page for the Web page. When “0” is indicated in this field, it means that there is no print page in the Web page. When “1” is indicated, it means that there is a page for printing.

  “Print page URL” is the URL of the print page of the Web page. In this field, when the Web page includes a print page, the URL is indicated. “Page data” stores the page data DP of the Web page.

  The page data acquisition unit 122 performs a process for acquiring the page data DP of the Web page of the URL received from the URL reception unit 104 or the link destination acquisition command unit 123.

  The linked page acquisition command unit 123 performs processing for causing the page data acquisition unit 122 to acquire the page data DP of the Web page linked from the Web page of the page data DP acquired by the page data acquisition unit 122. This process is performed as follows.

  First, the page data DP acquired by the page data acquisition unit 122 is acquired. The HTML included in the acquired page data DP is acquired. The HTML is analyzed to determine whether or not a link is included in the page data DP. In this case, for example, predetermined HTML tags such as “a”, “a href”, and “/ a” are searched, and if found, a link is determined to be included. In that case, the URL described in the HTML tag, that is, the URL associated with the link is acquired as the URL of the link destination.

  When a link is included, it is determined whether the link is a link to a display page or a print page. In this case, for example, it is checked whether or not a character string related to “printing” or “printing” is included in one line or one command sentence including the searched HTML tag. If it is included, the link is determined as a link to a print page, and if it is not included, it is determined as a link to a display page.

  If the first page includes a plurality of links, this determination processing is performed for all of them. If no link is included, the process is terminated, and the termination is notified to the list display processing unit 124.

  When it is determined that the link is included and the link is not a link to the print page, that is, when it is determined that the link to the display page is included, the page data acquisition unit 122 acquires the link. The URL of the link destination is notified and the acquisition of the page data DP of the URL is instructed. That is, the acquisition of link destination display page data DW is instructed.

  Then, the page data acquisition 122 acquires the display page data DW based on the URL and returns it to the link destination page acquisition command unit 123.

  When the display page data DW is received from the page data acquisition unit 122, the link destination page acquisition command unit 123 includes a link to the display page in the display page data DW, as in the case of the first page. It is determined whether or not.

  If it is determined that a link to the display page is included, the page data acquisition unit 122 is instructed to acquire the display page data DW of the link destination display page.

  By repeating such processing, display page data DW of all display pages that can be accessed by linking from the first page is acquired.

  Note that if all Web pages that can be accessed by linking are acquired, the number thereof may be enormous. Therefore, for example, only Web pages included in the same Web site, that is, Web pages existing under the first page (lower hierarchy) may be acquired. Note that in this embodiment, the Web site means a group of Web pages that are open to the public. In general, Web pages included in the same Web site are often managed in the same Web server. Therefore, in this case, for example, the linked page acquisition command unit 123 checks whether the linked web page is managed by the same web server as the linked web page based on the URL, and the same If it is determined that the web page is managed by the web server, the linked web page is regarded as the same web site as the linked web page, and the page data obtaining unit 122 obtains it.

  Alternatively, the number of Web pages to be acquired may be set in advance by the user, and Web pages within the set number may be acquired. In this case, the user inputs the number using, for example, the touch panel TP2. Then, the setting data receiving unit 109 receives the number of data and stores it in the setting data storage unit 103. The link destination data acquisition command unit 123 causes the page data acquisition unit 122 to acquire the page data DP so that the number is equal to or less than the number indicated in the data.

  When the acquisition of the page data DP is completed for all the Web pages to be acquired, the list display processing unit 124 is notified that the processing is completed.

  The linked page acquisition command unit 123 performs a process of registering a record for each Web page in the page list table TLW in parallel with the above process. This process is performed as follows, for example.

  When it is determined that the link to the display page is included in the page data DP, a record for the display page at the link destination is added. At this time, values are stored in the fields of “number”, “title”, “URL”, and “link source”. In the “number” field, the next number of the previous record (record on one line) is stored. The “title” field stores the link name of the included link. The URL associated with the included link is stored in the “URL” field. In the “link source” field, the number in the table of the link source web page of the display page is stored.

  Thereafter, as described above, the link destination page acquisition command unit 123 causes the page data acquisition unit 122 to acquire the page data for display DW of the link destination and receives it.

  Then, the linked page acquisition command unit 123, based on the display page data DW, “print page presence”, “print page URL”, and “page data” of the record of the display page added earlier. Store the value in the field.

  That is, when it is determined that the page data DP does not include a link to the print page, “0” is stored in the “print page presence / absence” field. When it is determined that a link to the print page is included, “1” is stored in the “print page presence / absence” field, and the print destination of the link destination is stored in the “print page URL” field. Stores the URL of the page. Further, the acquired page data DP is stored in the “page data” field.

  Such processing is repeated for all the page data DP acquired by linking from the first page, and a page list table TLW as shown in FIG. 10 is completed.

  The list display processing unit 124 performs processing for displaying a page list as shown in FIG. 11 on the touch panel TP1 based on the contents of the page list table TLW.

  In FIG. 11, a page list of titles of Web pages that can be accessed by a link from the first page (Top) is shown in a tree format so that the dependency relationship (hierarchical relationship) between Web pages can be understood. Web pages with print pages are underlined in the title so that the user can recognize them, such as “A lunch”, “B lunch”, “Osaka store”, and “Tokyo store” in FIG. Is highlighted and displayed.

  Note that the title may be emphasized by another method such as changing the color of the title character or making the character bold.

  When performing processing for displaying such a page list, the list display processing unit 124 first refers to the number in the table indicated in the “link source” field of the page list table TLW, and is represented thereby. Data for displaying the title page list is generated based on the dependency relationship between the Web pages. Further, based on the value indicated in the “print page presence / absence” field, the title of the Web page on which the print page is located is underlined. Then, the data is sent to the operation panel 13 to instruct display of the page list. As a result, a page list as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the touch panel TP1. Although an example of a tree-type page list is shown here, a page list in another format such as a table format may be displayed.

  When the user selects a title from the displayed page list and presses the start button BS, position data (position data) on the touch panel TP1 of the title and a print instruction signal are sent from the operation panel 13 to the print instruction receiving unit 125. Sent.

  The print instruction receiving unit 125 receives them from the operation panel and sends them to the print command processing unit 126.

  The print command processing unit 126 performs processing for instructing the printer unit 12 to print the Web page of the title selected by the user. This process is performed as follows.

  First, the title selected from the position data received from the print instruction receiving unit 125 is specified. Based on the title, the corresponding record in the Web page list table TLW is searched. If “1” is indicated in the “print page presence / absence” field of the record, that is, if there is a print page in the Web page, the URL indicated in the “print page URL” field is acquired. The URL is sent to the page data acquisition unit 122. The page data acquisition unit 122 acquires the page data DP based on the URL by the method already described. The print command processing unit 126 acquires the page data DP (print page data DN) from the page data acquisition unit 122.

  When “0” is indicated in the “print page presence / absence” field, the page data DP (display page data DW) stored in the “page data” field is acquired.

  Further, print data is generated using the acquired page data DP and setting data stored in the setting data storage unit 103, and is sent to the printer unit 12.

  12 is a diagram showing another example of the page list table TLW, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a page list generated based on the page list table TLW in FIG.

  In the above example, the case where the print page data DN is acquired after the user issues a print execution instruction is shown. This may be acquired prior to an instruction to execute printing. For example, it is acquired at the timing when the first page is designated by the user. In this case, the page list table TLW2 shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the table storage unit 121 instead of the page list table TLW shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the page list table TLW2 includes fields such as “number”, “title”, “URL”, “link source”, “type”, “print page presence / absence”, and “page data”.

“Type” indicates whether the Web page of the record is a display page or a print page. If the value shown in this field is “0”, it means that the Web page is a display page. “1” means a page for printing.
The fields of “number”, “title”, “URL”, “link source”, “print page presence / absence”, and “page data” are as described above with reference to FIG.

  Each unit such as the page data acquisition unit 122, the link destination acquisition command unit 123, and the list display processing unit 124 performs processing as follows using the page list table TLW2.

  The linked page acquisition command unit 123 registers a record in the page list table TLW2 as follows.

  When it is determined that the page data DP includes a link to another web page, a record for the linked web page is added. At this time, values are stored in the fields of “number”, “title”, “URL”, “link source”, and “type”. The “number” field stores the next number of the previous record. The “title” field stores the link name of the included link. The URL associated with the included link is stored in the “URL” field. In the “link source” field, the in-table number of the link source Web page of the Web page is stored. The “type” field stores a value indicating whether the Web page is a print page or a display page. That is, “1” is stored when it is determined that the included link is a link to a display page. If it is determined that the link is to a print page, “0” is stored.

  Thereafter, as described above, the link destination page acquisition command unit 123 causes the page data acquisition unit 122 to acquire the page data for display DW of the link destination and receives it.

  Based on the page data DP, values are stored in the “print page presence / absence” and “page data” fields. This is the same as the case of the page list table TLW in FIG.

  Such processing is repeated for all the page data DP acquired by linking from the first page, and the page list table TLW is completed as shown in FIG.

  When there is a print instruction from the user, the print command processing unit 126 searches the page list table TLW2 for the record of the title selected by the user, and refers to the “print page presence / absence” field of the record. When “0” is indicated there, the page data DP (display page data DW) stored in the “page data” field is acquired.

  When “1” is indicated, a record of a print page for the Web page is searched from the page list table TLW2. In this case, a record in which the value of the “type” field is “1” and the value of the “link source” field is the number in the table of the Web page is searched. The page data DP (print page data DN) stored in the “page data” field of the retrieved print page record is acquired.

  Further, print data is generated using the acquired page data DP and setting data stored in the setting data storage unit 103, and is sent to the printer unit 12.

  In this example, a page list as shown in FIG. 11 is generated, but a page list as shown in FIG. 13 may be generated.

  In the example of FIG. 13, the titles of the pages for printing (“A lunch photo”, “B lunch photo”, “Osaka store map”, and “Tokyo store map”) are displayed in the list. Also, the title of the print page is highlighted and displayed in an underlined state so that the user can recognize that it is for the print page. Emphasis may be made by other methods such as using a different character color from other titles or changing the character to bold.

  This page list is generated based on, for example, the page list table TLW2 in FIG. When generating the page list, the title to be emphasized is specified based on the value of the “type” field of the page list table TLW2.

  In this embodiment, the page data DP is stored in the page list table TLW or TLW2. However, the page data DP may be stored in another area such as the page data storage unit 101 shown in FIG. In that case, the page data DP is stored in association with the table number indicated in the corresponding record so that the correspondence with the record is known.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus 1B when a Web page is designated by the user, and FIG. 15 is the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus 1B when a printing instruction is given by the user. It is a flowchart for demonstrating.

  When the user inputs a URL using touch panel TP2 and presses OK button BK (Yes in # 201), image forming apparatus 1B links from page data DP of the corresponding Web page and the Web page based on the URL. As a result, the page data DP of the Web page that can be accessed is acquired (# 202). Here, the print page data DN is not acquired.

  In this process, for example, only Web pages within a predetermined range such as the same Web site are acquired. Alternatively, the page data DP is acquired within the number specified in advance by the user.

  At this time, the link name of the link included in the Web page is saved as the title of the Web page of the link destination. Further, the acquired page data DP is temporarily stored in a storage area such as a memory in association with the corresponding title. Also, save the dependency information between Web pages.

  One of the saved page data DP is read (# 203). It is determined by analyzing the HTML included in the page data DP whether the read page data DP includes a link to the print page (# 205).

  If it is determined that the link to the print page is included (Yes in # 205), the URL of the link print page associated with the link is acquired, and the URL and the determination result Are stored in association with the page data DP to be determined (# 206).

  If it is determined that the link to the print page is not included (No in # 205), the result of the determination is stored in association with the page data DP to be determined, and the next page data DP is read (# 203).

  Steps # 203 to # 206 are repeated until all the page data DP acquired in step # 202 are completed (No in # 204). When all the processes are completed (Yes in # 204), a title page list is generated based on the title saved in Step # 202 (# 207) and displayed on the touch panel TP1 (# 208). Thereby, for example, a page list as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.

  In FIG. 15, when the user selects the title of the Web page to be printed from the displayed page list and presses the start button BS (Yes in # 221), the image forming apparatus 1B first selects the Web of the selected title. It is checked whether there is a print page on the page (# 222). This check is performed with reference to the determination result stored in step # 206.

  If there is no print page (No in # 222), the page data DP of the display page stored in Step # 202 of FIG. 14 is read (# 224). Print data for printing based on printing conditions set in advance by the user is generated using the read page data DP (# 228), and printing is executed based on the print data (# 229).

  If there is a print page (Yes in # 222), the URL (URL of the print page) stored in association with the page data DP of the selected Web page is read (# 223).

  The print page is accessed based on the read URL (# 225). If the access has failed (No in # 226), a message indicating that the access has failed is displayed on the touch panel TP1 (# 227), and the process ends.

  If the access is successful (Yes in # 226), the page data DN for printing is acquired, and print data for printing is generated based on the printing conditions set by the user (# 228). . Then, printing is executed based on the print data (# 229).

  In this embodiment, the case where the page data DP of the printing page is acquired when the user issues a print execution instruction is shown. However, the print data may be acquired prior to the print execution instruction. . In this case, for example, processing is performed as follows.

  In the process of step # 202 in FIG. 14, the page data DP (print page data DN) of the print page is also acquired.

  Furthermore, if it is determined in step # 222 in FIG. 15 that the Web page of the selected title has a print page (Yes in # 222), the print page data acquired in the process of step # 202. Read DN. Then, print data is generated using the print page data DN (# 228), and printing is executed (# 229).

  In the process of step # 202, it is determined whether or not a link is included as the page data DP, and only data (minimum data) necessary to acquire the link name is acquired, and the image Other data such as data may not be acquired. For example, only the HTML data of the Web page is acquired.

  In this case, after the user issues a print execution instruction, the remaining data necessary for printing the Web page, such as image data, may be acquired based on the HTML. Then, print data is generated using HTML and the acquired remaining data (# 228), and printing is performed (# 229).

  It is also possible to combine the present embodiment and the first embodiment. In this case, for example, a button (hereinafter, referred to as “list display button”) for the user to instruct display of the page list is provided on the operation panel 13, and the image forming apparatus 1 is configured as follows. Let the process be as follows.

  When the user specifies a URL, the Web page of the URL is displayed on the touch panel TP1. If the user presses the start button BS at this point, the web page is printed according to the procedure described in the first embodiment.

  When the list display button is pressed instead of the start button BS, a page list having the Web page designated by the user as the first page is displayed on the touch panel TP1 in the procedure described in the second embodiment. When the user selects a title from the page list and presses the start button BS, printing is performed on the Web page with the selected title.

  The list display button may be displayed on the touch panel TP1 or TP2. In this case, the list display button may be displayed on the touch panel TP1 or TP2 when acquisition of the page data DP of the Web page to be displayed in the page list is successful.

  In the present embodiment, the link name of the link to the Web page is used as the title of the Web page. However, a predetermined word shown in the HTML of the Web page may be used. For example, the HTML is analyzed and the word shown in the HTML tag portion of “title” is used.

  According to this embodiment, a list of Web page titles that can be accessed by linking from a Web page specified by the user is displayed. In the list, the title of the Web page with the print page is highlighted. When one of the displayed titles is selected and the start button BS is pressed, the web page of the title is printed. When there is a print page in the Web page, the page data DP of the print page is automatically acquired, and the print page is printed.

  Thus, the user can print the target Web page without performing a troublesome operation of sequentially accessing the target Web page from the first page. In addition, since the presence / absence of a print page can be confirmed at a glance, the print page can be easily printed.

  In this embodiment, the printing process is started when the start button BS is pressed, but other methods may be used. For example, a button for executing printing may be displayed on the touch panel TP1 or TP2, and when the button is pressed, processing for printing may be started using the button as an instruction for executing printing. In the second embodiment, when a title from the page list is selected, the print processing may be started using the title as a print execution instruction.

  In addition, the configuration and function of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1, the configuration of each table, the content indicated by each data, the content or order of processing, and the like can be appropriately changed in accordance with the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of an operation panel. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a web printing setting screen. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the web page displayed on the touch panel. It is a figure which shows the example of HTML. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus when a Web page is designated by a user. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus when a user instructs printing. It is a figure which shows the example of a functional structure of the image forming apparatus in 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a page list table. It is a figure which shows the example of the page list produced | generated based on the page list table of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of a page list table. It is a figure which shows the example of the page list produced | generated based on the page list table of FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus when a Web page is designated by a user. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus when a user instructs printing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 12 Printer part (printing means)
104 URL reception part (reception means)
105 Page data acquisition unit (Web page data acquisition means)
107 Print page presence / absence determination unit (determination means, print control means)
109 Setting data receiving unit (value receiving means)
111 Print command processing unit (print control means)
123 Link destination page acquisition command unit (determination means, print control means)
124 List display processing unit (list display control means)
BS start button (printing instruction means)
PD page data (data)
TP touch panel (display means)

Claims (15)

An image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Accepting means for accepting the address entered by the user;
Web page data acquisition means for accessing the Web page at the address received by the reception means and acquiring data of the Web page;
A determination unit that determines whether or not a link to a print Web page is included in the Web page based on the Web page data acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit;
Printing means for printing the Web page based on the acquired Web page data;
When the determination unit determines that the link is included in the Web page, the Web page data for the link destination is stored in the Web page data acquisition unit without waiting for a print instruction from the user. A printing control unit that controls the printing unit to print the web page for printing based on the acquired data;
An image forming apparatus comprising: An image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Web page data acquisition means for accessing a Web page designated by the user and acquiring data of the Web page;
A determination unit that determines whether or not a link to a print Web page is included in the Web page based on the Web page data acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit;
Printing means for printing the Web page based on the acquired Web page data;
When the determination unit determines that the link is included in the Web page, the Web page data acquisition unit acquires the Web page data for printing at the link destination, and the user issues a print execution instruction. A printing control unit for controlling the printing unit to print the printing web page based on the acquired data,
An image forming apparatus comprising: An image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Web page data acquisition means for accessing a Web page designated by the user and acquiring data of the Web page;
A determination unit that determines whether or not a link to a print Web page is included in the Web page based on the Web page data acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit;
Printing means for printing the Web page based on the acquired Web page data;
When the determination unit determines that the link is included in the Web page, the Web page data acquisition unit acquires the data of the Web page for printing when the user instructs printing. Print control means for controlling the printing means to print the print web page based on the acquired data;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A print instruction means for inputting a print execution instruction by the user;
When the determination unit determines that the link is included in the Web page, the print instruction unit is emphasized to notify the user that the link is included.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The determination unit performs determination based on whether or not a predetermined word is included in the data of the web page.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Web page data acquisition means for accessing a Web page designated by the user, acquiring data related to the Web page, and acquiring data related to the Web page accessible by linking from the Web page;
Determining means for determining whether or not each Web page includes a link to a Web page for printing based on data relating to each Web page acquired by the Web page data acquiring means;
A list display control unit that generates a list of titles indicating Web pages based on the data related to the Web page acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit, and displays the list on the display unit;
Printing means for printing web pages;
When a title indicating a web page that is determined to include a link to a print web page is selected by the user on the display unit, the print web page of the selected web page is displayed. Print control means for causing the web page data obtaining means to obtain data and controlling the printing means to print the printing web page based on the obtained data;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The web page data acquisition means, when acquiring data related to the web page when the user designates the web page and data related to the web page that can be accessed by linking from the web page, Do not get page data,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. An image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Web page data acquisition means for accessing a Web page designated by the user, acquiring data related to the Web page, and acquiring data related to the Web page accessible by linking from the Web page;
Determining means for determining whether or not each Web page includes a link to a Web page for printing based on data relating to each Web page acquired by the Web page data acquiring means;
A list display control unit that generates a list of titles indicating Web pages based on the data related to the Web page acquired by the Web page data acquisition unit, and displays the list on the display unit;
Printing means for printing web pages;
For a web page that is determined to include a link to a print web page, the web page data obtaining unit obtains data of the print web page at the link destination in advance, and the print web page When a title indicating a Web page determined to include a link to a page is selected by the user on the display unit, the Web page for printing is printed based on the data acquired in advance. Printing control means for controlling the printing means,
An image forming apparatus comprising: For the Web page determined to include a link to a print Web page, the list display control unit displays a title indicating the Web page so that the link is included. Highlight on the display means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. The data related to the Web page is data necessary for displaying a title indicating the Web page and determining whether or not a link to the Web page for printing is included.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. For a web page that can be accessed by linking from a web page designated by the user, the web page has value accepting means for accepting a value from the user that can determine the number of web pages that can be accessed.
The Web page data acquisition unit acquires data on the accessible Web page based on the value received by the value reception unit.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. The Web page data acquisition unit acquires a Web page that can be accessed by linking from a Web page specified by a user from Web pages belonging to the same Web site as the specified Web page.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. The determination means performs determination based on whether or not a predetermined word is included in the data relating to the web page.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A web page printing control method in an image forming apparatus having a browser function,
Receiving instructions from the user;
Accessing a web page designated by the user and obtaining data of the web page;
Determining whether the web page includes a link to a print web page based on the acquired web page data;
For the web page determined to include the link, the step of obtaining the print web page data of the link destination and printing the print web page based on the obtained data; ,
By executing the above, after accessing the web page designated by the user, the web page for printing is printed with one instruction input.
A Web page printing control method characterized by the above. A web page printing control method in an image forming apparatus having a browser function,
An acquisition step of accessing a web page designated by the user, obtaining data relating to the web page, and obtaining data relating to the web page accessible by linking from the web page;
A determination step of determining whether or not each Web page includes a link to a Web page for printing based on the acquired data regarding each Web page;
A display step of generating a list of titles indicating the Web page based on the acquired data about the Web page, and displaying the list on a display unit;
The web page related to the title selected by the user is printed on the display means, and in this case, for the web page that is determined to include a link to the web page for printing, Web page data is acquired, and the Web page for printing is printed based on the acquired data.
A Web page printing control method characterized by the above.

Images