JP2010092327A - Image forming apparatus and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique that easily confirms attribute information of shared files and of printing the shared files having various formats by on demand printing function. <P>SOLUTION: When a shared file 51 is newly stored in a shared folder 50, a PC 2 informs a network multi-functional device 1 of an update message 41 indicating the change in a state of the shared folder 50. The network multi-functional device 1 updates shared list information 40 being list information of shared files, on the basis of the update message 41. The network multi-functional device 1 displays the shared list information 40 in response to a user's indication. When on-demand printing of the share file 51 is indicated, the network multi-functional device 1 instructs the PC 2 to generate PDL data for printing for use in printing of the share file 51. The network multi-functional device 1 uses the PDL data for printing which a printer driver 22 has generated from the shared file 51, to execute print processing of the shared file 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that prints a shared file shared on a network, and a terminal device that manages the shared file.

  In recent years, network multifunction devices having a copy function, a facsimile communication function, a printer function, and the like have been widely used in offices. In addition, the network multifunction peripheral has a network function that uses a shared folder created in a PC (Personal Computer) connected to a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The network multifunction peripheral can store the image data created by the scanner in a shared folder using a network function. The network multifunction peripheral can acquire a shared file stored in a shared folder based on a user instruction and print the acquired shared file (hereinafter referred to as “on-demand printing”).

JP 2008-22281 A

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that allows a user of a multifunction machine to easily access a shared folder. In Patent Document 1, a PC in which a shared folder is created transmits icon data including shortcut information in which a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the shared folder is set and image data for the icon to the multifunction device. The multi-function peripheral stores the received icon data, and displays icon image data on the display panel. The user of the multifunction device can access the shared folder simply by selecting the image data for the icon.

  However, the user may select image data for icons and display a list of shared files stored in the shared folder. In this case, the multi-function device needs to acquire attribute information of each shared file by accessing the PC using an SMB (Server Message Block) protocol or the like. For this reason, the MFP according to Patent Document 1 has a problem that it takes time to display a list of shared files.

  Further, there is a problem that files that can be printed by the network multifunction peripheral using the on-demand printing function are limited to files of a specific format such as PDF (Portable Document Format).

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of easily confirming attribute information of a shared file and printing files of various formats by an on-demand printing function.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an image forming apparatus, and holds shared file list information stored in a shared folder created in a terminal device capable of communicating via a network. A shared list update unit that updates update information indicating a change in the storage status when the storage status of the shared file in the shared folder changes, and updates the list information based on the acquired update information And a printing unit that executes a printing process of the designated shared file when an instruction to print the designated shared file designated based on the list information is given.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when printing of the designated shared file is instructed, the conversion data for printing obtained by converting the designated shared file based on a page description language A printing data requesting unit that requests the terminal device to create a printing raster data generating unit that generates printing raster data from the printing conversion data received from the terminal device, and the printing unit includes: The printing raster data is printed based on an output instruction of the designated file.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when the display of the designated shared file is instructed, the designated shared file is converted based on a page description language. A display data request unit that requests the terminal device to create display conversion data; a display raster data generation unit that generates display raster data from the display conversion data received from the terminal device; And a display unit for displaying raster data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage device that stores a shared file that is shared with a printing apparatus that is communicable via a network, and a conversion of the shared file received from the printing apparatus. A data conversion unit that creates conversion data obtained by converting the shared file based on a page description language in response to a request, and a transmission unit that transmits the conversion data to the printing apparatus.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the fourth aspect, when the conversion request includes use specifying information for specifying a use of the converted data, the data conversion unit includes the use specifying information. Specific conversion data is generated, and the transmission unit adds a command corresponding to the application specific information and transmits the specific conversion data to the printing apparatus.

  When the storage status of the shared file in the shared folder changes, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention acquires update information according to the change in the storage status, and updates the list information based on the acquired update information. Accordingly, the user of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can check the available shared file using the list information without accessing the terminal device.

  In addition, when printing of a shared file is instructed, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention acquires conversion data created based on the page description language from the storage location of the shared file, and uses the conversion data. Execute the shared file printing process. As a result, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can perform on-demand printing of shared files in various formats.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention displays the raster data created from the converted data on the display unit when the display of the shared file is instructed. Accordingly, the user of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can check the contents of the shared file in various formats without using the terminal device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system including a configuration of a network multifunction peripheral 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network system shown in FIG. 1 includes a network multifunction device 1, a PC 2, and a LAN 3. The network multifunction device 1 and the PC 2 are connected via a LAN 3.

  The network multifunction device 1 is a multi-function device having a copy function, a printer function, a facsimile function, and the like. The PC 2 stores shared files 51 and 52 shared with the network multifunction device 1. The LAN 3 is provided with a router (not shown) for connecting to the Internet or another LAN.

  First, the configuration of the network multifunction device 1 will be described. The network multifunction device 1 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a touch panel display 13, a scanner unit 14, a facsimile unit 15, a printer unit 16, a storage unit 17, and a LAN interface 18.

  The control unit 11 performs overall control of the network multifunction device 1. The control unit 11 includes a shared list information management unit 111, a PDL (Page Description Language) data request unit 112, and a rasterization unit 113.

  The shared list information management unit 111 manages the shared list information 40 that is shared between the network MFP 1 and the PC 2 and is list information of shared files stored in the PC 2. The PDL data request unit 112 transmits PDL data in which the shared file 51 is described based on PDL based on operation information input from the operation unit 12 and the touch panel display 13 (hereinafter referred to as “main body operation unit”). Request to PC2. The rasterizing unit 113 creates raster data from the PDL data received from the PC 2.

  The operation unit 12 is a hardware key used for inputting various instructions to the network MFP 1. The touch panel display 13 displays information related to the network multifunction peripheral 1 and various operation menus. The user can operate the network multifunction peripheral 1 using the main body operation unit.

  The scanner unit 14 reads a document based on operation information input from the main body operation unit, and creates image data. The facsimile unit 15 performs facsimile communication using a public line network (not shown).

  The printer unit 16 prints the facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 15, the image data created by the scanner unit 14 based on the copy instruction, and the raster data created by the rasterizing unit 113 on printing paper. That is, the printer unit 16 operates as an output unit of the facsimile function, the copy function, and the printer function of the network multifunction device 1.

  The storage unit 17 is configured by a storage device such as a flash memory, and stores the shared list information 40 and the like.

  The LAN interface 18 transmits / receives data to / from the PC 2 connected via the LAN 3 using a protocol such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol).

  Next, the configuration of the PC 2 will be described. The PC 2 includes a shared folder management unit 21, a printer driver 22, and a storage unit 23.

  The shared folder management unit 21 manages the shared folder 50 created in the storage unit 23 and transmits an update message 41 corresponding to a change in the storage state of the shared file to the network multifunction device 1. The printer driver 22 creates PDL data from the shared file 51 in response to an instruction from the network multifunction device 1. The storage unit 23 is configured by a hard disk device or the like, and a shared folder 50 that can be used by the network multifunction peripheral 1 is created. Shared files 51 and 52 are stored in the shared folder 50.

  The operation in the network system having the above-described configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of the network multifunction peripheral 1 and the PC 2 and a flow of data transmitted and received between the network multifunction peripheral 1 and the PC 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the processing in the network system shown in FIG. 1 includes three processes: shared list information update processing, thumbnail display processing, and on-demand printing processing. These three processes do not need to be executed in the order shown in FIG. 2, but are executed independently. The processing shown in FIG. 2 uses shared list information 40 held by the network multifunction device 1.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the sharing list information 40. As shown in FIG. 3, shared file attribute information 401, 402,... Created for each shared file is registered in the shared list information 40. The shared file attribute information 401 and 402 corresponds to the shared files 51 and 52. For example, in the shared file attribute information 401, “clientA” is set as the device name, and “¥¥ clientA ¥ temp” is set as the address. Therefore, it can be seen that the shared file 51 is stored in the shared folder 50 called “temp” of the PC 2 (client A). From the shared file attribute information 401, it can be seen that the file name of the shared file 51 is “data.doc”. In the shared file attribute information 401, 402,..., Other attribute information such as update date / time, file size, and format of each shared file may be recorded.

  Next, shared list information update processing will be described. As an initial state, it is assumed that the shared file 51 is not stored in the shared folder 50 and the shared list attribute information 401 is not registered in the shared list information 40.

  First, when the shared file 51 is newly stored in the shared folder 50 of the PC 2, the state of the shared folder 50 changes. For example, a user of the PC 2 creates a document file using document editing software installed on the PC 2. The user of the PC 2 designates the file name “data.doc” and saves the created document file in the shared folder 50 as the shared file 51.

  The shared folder management unit 21 periodically checks the status of the shared folder 50 and detects the shared file 51 newly stored in the shared folder 50 (step S11). The shared folder management unit 21 creates an update message 41 indicating that the shared file 51 is newly stored in the shared folder 50 (step S12). The update message 41 is transmitted from the PC 2 to the network multifunction device 1 (step S13).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the update message 41. The update message 41 is described in XML (Extensible Markup Language). The update message 41 is updated with shared folder update information 411, additional file information 412, and deleted file information 413. In FIG. 4, displays other than the NOTIFY tag for notifying the state change of the shared folder 50 are omitted.

  The shared folder update information 411 is information for specifying the shared folder whose state has changed, and the address of the shared folder 50 in which the shared file 51 is newly stored is set. In the additional file information 412, the file name “data.doc” of the shared file 51 is set as a shared file newly added to the shared folder 50. In the deleted file information 413, the name of the shared file deleted from the shared folder 50 is set. Since the shared file has not been deleted from the shared folder 50, the deleted file information 413 is blank.

  In the network multifunction device 1, when receiving the update message 41, the share list information management unit 111 updates the share list information 40 based on the received update message 41 (step S14). The shared list information management unit 111 newly registers the shared file attribute information 401 corresponding to the shared file 51 in the shared list information 40 based on the shared folder update information 411 and the additional file information 412. Thereby, the shared list information update process ends.

  When the file name is set in the deleted file information 413 of the update message 41, the share list information management unit 111 sets the shared file attribute information corresponding to the file name set in the deleted file information 413 as the share list information. Delete from 40.

  As described above, the network MFP 1 updates the shared list information 40 using the update message 41 transmitted by the PC 2 in response to the change in the state of the shared folder 50. As a result, the network multifunction peripheral 1 can virtually manage the shared file stored in the shared folder 50 of the PC 2 in synchronization with the PC 2.

  When the user of the network multifunction device 1 operates the main body operation unit to instruct to display a list of shared files stored in the shared folder 50, the shared list information management unit 111 displays the shared list information 40 on the touch panel display 13. To do. Therefore, the network multifunction peripheral 1 can display the list of shared files in a very short time compared to the case where the attribute information of each shared file is acquired from the PC 2 and the list of shared files is displayed.

  Next, the thumbnail display process will be described.

  The thumbnail display process is a process for displaying a thumbnail (reduced image data) of a shared file designated based on the share list information 40 on the touch panel display 13. By displaying the thumbnail of the shared file on the touch panel display 13, the user can confirm the content of the shared file before instructing on-demand printing.

  The user of the network MFP 1 operates the main body operation unit to display the shared list information 40 on the touch panel display 13 and selects the shared file attribute information 401. An instruction to display a thumbnail of the shared file 51 corresponding to the shared file attribute information 401 is input (step S21). The PDL data request unit 112 creates a display PDL data request message 42 for requesting transmission of the display PDL data 432 used to create the thumbnail of the shared file 51, and transmits it to the PC 2 (step S22).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the display PDL data request message 42. In FIG. 5, displays other than the VIEW tag that requests transmission of the display PDL data 432 are omitted. In the shared folder designation information 421, an address “¥¥ clientA ¥ temp” of the shared folder 50 storing the shared file 51 instructed to display thumbnails is set. In the thumbnail target information 422, the file name “data.doc” of the shared file 51 is set.

  In the PC 2, the printer driver 22 creates display PDL data 432 from the shared file 51 based on the display PDL data request message 42 (step S23). The printer driver 22 determines to create the display job 43 because the VIEW tag is set in the display PDL data request message 42. The printer driver 22 creates display PDL data 432 from the shared file 51 acquired based on the shared folder designation information 421 and the thumbnail target information 422. In the display PDL data 432, setting information for setting the size of the display raster data 44 created from the display PDL data 432 to a size that can be displayed on the touch panel display 13 is described.

  The printer driver 22 creates a display job 43 including PJL (Printer Job Language) data 431 and display PDL data 432, and transmits the display job 43 to the network MFP 1 (step S24). The network MFP 1 generates display raster data 44 based on the received display job 43, and displays the display raster data 44 as a thumbnail of the shared file 51 (step S25).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the display job 43. At the end of the PJL data 431 of the display job 43, “VIEW” (response command 433) indicating that it is a response to the display PDL data request message 42 is set in the comment field of the PJL data 431.

  Details of the thumbnail display processing (step S25) based on the display job 43 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when the network multifunction peripheral 1 receives a job (display job 43 or print job 46) from the PC 2. Note that the network multifunction device 1 does not recognize whether the received data is a display job 43 or a print job 46 described later when a job is received from the PC 2.

  The control unit 11 confirms whether the response command 433 is set for the received job (step S401). Since the received job is the display job 43, the control unit 11 can detect the response command 433 from the display job 43 (Yes in step S401). Therefore, the control unit 11 determines that the received job is the display job 43, and determines the output destination of processing based on the display job 43 to the touch panel display 13 (step S402).

  Note that the processing when the response command cannot be detected from the received job (No in step S401) will be described later.

  The rasterizing unit 113 creates display raster data 44 corresponding to the shared file 51 from the display PDL data 432 included in the display job 43 (step S403). The control unit 11 displays the display raster data 44 on the touch panel display 13 (step S404), and ends a series of processes related to thumbnail display.

  As described above, when the thumbnail display of the shared file 51 is instructed, the network multifunction peripheral 1 acquires the display PDL data 432 used for creating the thumbnail to be displayed on the touch panel display 13 from the PC 2. The network MFP 1 displays the display raster data 44 created from the display PDL data 432 as a thumbnail on the touch panel display. Thereby, the user of the network multifunction peripheral 1 can check the contents of the shared file in various formats without using the PC 2.

  Next, on-demand printing processing will be described.

  The on-demand printing process is a process in which the user operates the main body operation unit to select a shared file, and the selected shared file is printed by the printer unit 16.

  The user of the network MFP 1 operates the main body operation unit to display the shared list information 40 on the touch panel display 13 and selects the shared file attribute information 401. On-demand printing of the shared file 51 corresponding to the shared file attribute information 401 is instructed (step S31). The PDL data request unit 112 creates a print PDL data request message 45 for requesting transmission of print PDL data used for printing the shared file 51, and transmits it to the PC 2 (step S32).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the print PDL data request message 45. In FIG. 8, displays other than the PRINT tag for requesting transmission of print PDL data are omitted. In the shared folder designation information 451, the address “¥¥ clientA ¥ temp” of the shared folder 50 that stores the shared file 51 instructed to be printed on demand is set. In the print target information 452, the file name “data.doc” of the shared file 51 is set.

  In the PC 2, the printer driver 22 creates print PDL data from the shared file 51 based on the print PDL data request message 45 (step S23). Since the PRINT tag is set in the print PDL data request message 45, the printer driver 22 determines to create the print job 46. The printer driver 22 creates PDL data for printing from the shared file 51 acquired based on the shared folder designation information 451 and the print target information 452. Setting information corresponding to the size of the printing paper is described in the PDL data for printing.

  The printer driver 22 creates a print job 46 including PJL data and print PDL data, and transmits the print job 46 to the network multifunction peripheral 1 (step S34). Print setting information corresponding to on-demand printing held in advance by the printer driver 22 is added to the PJL data attached to the print job 46. Also, the printer driver 22 may describe a comment “@PJL COMMENT OnDemandPrint” indicating that it is a response to the print PDL data request message 45 in the PJL data attached to the print job 46.

  The network multifunction device 1 executes print processing based on the received print job 46 (step S35). The process shown in step S35 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  Since the response command 433 cannot be detected from the received job (No in step S401), the control unit 11 determines that the received job is the print job 46. When “@PJL COMMENT OnDemandPrint” is set in the received job, the control unit 11 can confirm that the received job is a response to the print PDL data request message 45. The control unit 11 determines the output destination of processing based on the print job 46 to the printer unit 16 (step S405).

  The rasterizing unit 113 creates print raster data 47 corresponding to the shared file 51 from the print PDL data included in the print job 46 (step S407). The printer unit 16 prints the print raster data 47 and outputs a print document corresponding to the shared file 51. Thereby, a series of processes related to the on-demand printing process is completed.

  As described above, when the on-demand printing of the shared file 51 is instructed, the network multifunction peripheral 1 instructs the PC 2 to create printing PDL data corresponding to the shared file 51. Then, the network multifunction device 1 performs the printing process of the shared file 51 using the printing PDL data received from the PC 2. As a result, the network MFP 1 can output shared files of various formats by on-demand printing.

  As described above, the network MFP 1 updates the shared list information 40 based on the update message 41 indicating that the shared file storage status in the shared folder 50 has changed. Accordingly, the network multifunction peripheral 1 can virtually manage the shared file stored in the shared folder 50 using the share list information 40.

  When the thumbnail display of the shared file 51 is instructed, the network multifunction peripheral 1 displays the display raster data 44 created using the display PDL data 432 transmitted from the PC 2. As a result, the user of the network multifunction peripheral 1 can check the contents of the shared file regardless of the format of the shared file.

  When the on-demand printing of the shared file 51 is instructed, the network multifunction peripheral 1 executes the printing process of the shared file 51 using the print PDL data transmitted from the PC 2. Accordingly, the network multifunction peripheral 1 can execute on-demand printing without depending on the format of the shared file.

  In the present embodiment, the network multifunction peripheral 1 has described an example in which the PC 2 is requested to create PDL data when displaying a thumbnail of a shared file and on-demand printing of the shared file. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the network multifunction device 1 may request the PC 2 to create PDL data corresponding to the shared file when the facsimile transmission of the shared file is instructed. The network multifunction device 1 creates raster data from PDL data corresponding to the shared file, and transmits the raster data by facsimile. As a result, the network multifunction peripheral 1 can transmit shared files of various formats by facsimile.

1 is a configuration diagram of a network system including a configuration of a network multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process of a network multifunction device and PC. It is a figure which shows share list information. It is a figure which shows an update message. It is a figure which shows the PDL data request message for a display. It is a figure which shows a display job. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a job reception process. It is a figure which shows the PDL data request message for printing.

Explanation of symbols

1 Network MFP 2 PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Control part 12 Operation part 13 Touch panel display 14 Scanner part 15 Fax part 16 Printer part 21 Shared folder management part 22 Printer driver 111 Shared list information management part 112 PDL data request part 113 Rasterization part

Claims (5)

A shared list holding unit for holding list information of shared files stored in a shared folder created in a terminal device capable of communicating via a network;
When the storage status of the shared file in the shared folder changes, the update information indicating the change of the storage status is acquired, and the shared list update unit that updates the list information based on the acquired update information
When printing of the designated shared file designated based on the list information is instructed, a printing unit that executes printing processing of the designated shared file;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
A printing data requesting unit for requesting the terminal device to create print conversion data obtained by converting the designated shared file based on a page description language when printing of the designated shared file is instructed;
A printing raster data generating unit that generates printing raster data from the printing conversion data received from the terminal device;
With
The image forming apparatus, wherein the printing unit prints the printing raster data based on an output instruction of the designated file. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
When the display of the designated shared file is instructed, a display data requesting unit that requests the terminal device to create display conversion data obtained by converting the designated shared file based on a page description language;
A display raster data generation unit that generates display raster data from the display conversion data received from the terminal device;
A display unit for displaying the display raster data;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A storage unit for storing a shared file shared with a printing apparatus capable of communicating via a network;
A data conversion unit that creates conversion data obtained by converting the shared file based on a page description language in response to the conversion request of the shared file received from the printing apparatus;
A transmission unit for transmitting the conversion data to the printing apparatus;
A terminal device comprising: The terminal device according to claim 4,
The data conversion unit creates specific conversion data corresponding to the use specifying information when use specifying information specifying the use of the conversion data is included in the conversion request,
The transmission device adds a command corresponding to the application specifying information and transmits the specific conversion data to the printing apparatus.

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