JP2021184234A - Printing system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for enhancing the safety of print data in a printing system having a server device connected to printers and client devices.SOLUTION: A server 3 of a printing system 100 is provided with a shared folder 45 in which folders for respective users are provided, and user privileges indicating access propriety are set in respective folders. Printers 5 to 6 are set with user privileges to access the folders in the shared folder 45. Client PCs 1 and 2 transmit print data to the server 3 while associating it with user's identification information. The server 3 causes a custom port monitor 42 or a printer driver 43 installed in the server 3 to store the print data in the user's folder. In response to log-in accepted, the printers 5 to 6 access the folder of each logged-in user of the server 3 to acquire print data and print the images based on the acquired print data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The technical fields disclosed herein relate to printing systems and programs having server devices connected to printers and client devices.

Conventionally, in a system having a server device connected to a printer and a client device, the server device receives print data transmitted from the client device and stores it in a memory, and the printer receives print data transmitted from the server device. Is known to receive and print.

As a document disclosing the above-mentioned configuration, for example, there is Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 is a network print system including a print server. When print data is received from a terminal device, the print server stores the received print data in a folder for each user and is further accessed by a printer. In this case, the configuration for transmitting the print data to the requesting printer is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-24550

Many print data are highly confidential, and high security is required. Therefore, it is desirable to restrict access to the print data storage location so that the print data stored in the server device is not unnecessarily accessed. On the other hand, it is desired that the storage location can be accessed from the printer. Patent Document 1 does not describe the safety of the storage location of print data, and there is room for improvement.

The present specification discloses a technique for enhancing the safety of print data in a printing system having a server device connected to a printer and a client device.

The printing system made for the purpose of solving this problem is a printing system including a printer, a server device connected to the printer, and a client device connected to the server device, and the memory of the server device is a user. A folder is provided for each, and the folder is a shared folder that can be accessed from devices other than the server device. The user authority indicating accessability is set in the folder, and the server device has the user authority. Is installed with a special program, the special program is set with user authority to access the folder, the printer is set with user authority to access the folder, and the client device is printed. When the print data based on the image is transmitted to the server device, the user's identification information is associated with the print data, and the server device receives the print data from the client device, the special program Stores the received print data in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the received print data, the printer accepts the input of the user identification information, and the server device. Among the features, the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the input identification information is accessed, the print data is acquired from the accessed folder, and the image based on the acquired print data is printed. There is.

According to the printing system disclosed in the present specification, since the user authority indicating whether or not to access the shared folder of the server device in which the print data is stored is set, the third to the print data stored in the server device is set. Unnecessary access by people can be suppressed. Therefore, the safety of the print data can be enhanced. On the other hand, since the user authority to access the shared folder is set in the special program, the print data can be stored in the server device. In addition, since the user authority to access the shared folder is set for the printer, print data can be acquired from the server device.

A control method for realizing the functions of the system, a computer program, an information processing device for executing the program, and a storage medium readable by a computer for storing the program are also new and useful.

According to the technique disclosed in the present specification, a technique for enhancing the safety of print data is realized in a printing system having a server device connected to a printer and a client device.

It is a block diagram which shows the electric structure of the printing system of this embodiment. In the first embodiment, it is a sequence diagram which shows the outline of the 1st procedure which stores the print data in a shared folder. It is a sequence diagram which shows the outline of the 2nd procedure which performs printing based on the stored print data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the screen which accepts the selection of a file. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the file storage process of 1st form. In the second embodiment, it is a sequence diagram which shows the outline of the 1st procedure which stores the print data in a shared folder. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the file storage process of 2nd form.

Hereinafter, the printing system according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This embodiment is a printing system for causing a printer to perform printing using a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC").

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 100 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of client PCs 1 and 2, a server 3, and a plurality of printers 5 and 6. The client PCs 1 and 2 are an example of a client device, and the server 3 is an example of a server device. The client PCs 1 and 2 and the server 3 are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other. Further, the server 3 and the printers 5 to 6 are communicably connected to each other. The client PCs 1 and 2 and the printers 5 and 6 may or may not be able to communicate with each other.

The client PC 1 and the client PC 2 of the present embodiment are similar devices that perform similar operations and processes. Hereinafter, the client PC 1 will be described as a representative. Further, the printer 5 and the printer 6 of this embodiment are devices of the same model and are similar devices that perform the same operations and processes. Hereinafter, the printer 5 will be described as a representative.

The client PC 1 of the present embodiment is a device having at least a function of receiving a printing instruction by a user operation and a communication function. As shown in FIG. 1, the client PC 1 includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The client PC 1 includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. The controller 10 in FIG. 1 and the controllers of other devices described later are a general term for hardware and software used for controlling the client PC 1 and the like, and are a single unit that actually exists in the client PC 1 and the like. It does not necessarily represent hardware.

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the program read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operation. The memory 12 includes various programs such as a startup program for starting the client PC 1, various application programs for using the printers 5 to 6 (hereinafter referred to as "applications"), image data, document data, and the like. It is a storage area where various data are stored. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed.

An example of the memory of each device such as the memory 12 is not limited to the ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built in the device, and may be a storage medium that can be read and written by the CPU 11. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitional medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transitory medium also includes recording media such as a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM. The non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electric signal that carries a program downloaded from a server on the Internet is a signal medium that can be read by a computer, which is a kind of medium that can be read by a computer, but is a storage that can be read by a non-transitory computer. Not included in the medium.

The user IF 13 includes hardware for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware for accepting operations by the user. The user IF 13 may be a touch panel having both a display function and an operation acceptance function, or may be a set of a display having a display function and a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, etc. having an operation acceptance function. ..

The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as a server 3. Communication The communication standard of the communication IF14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and the like. The communication mode of the communication IF 14 may be wired or wireless.

As shown in FIG. 1, the memory 12 of the client PC 1 contains various programs including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as “OS”) 21, a print application 22, a printer driver 23, and a print queue 24. And various data are stored. OS21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark).

The print application 22 is, for example, an application for creating or editing document data or image data, and is an application for receiving a print instruction by a user. The printer driver 23 is a program that generates print data for causing the printers 5 to 6 to execute printing. The print queue 24 is an area allocated to the printer driver 23, and receives print data generated by the printer driver 23.

The print queue 24 of this embodiment is associated with a shared printer corresponding to the printers 5 to 6 by the function of the OS 21. The print data passed to the print queue 24 is transmitted to the server 3 by the OS 21 via the communication IF 14. The shared printer is a print queue 44 that is open to the network by the function of the OS 41 of the server 3 described later. In the following examples, the printer associated with the print queue published on the network may be referred to as a "shared printer" for convenience.

The server 3 of the present embodiment is a device having at least a function of storing print data and a communication function. As shown in FIG. 1, the server 3 includes a controller 30 including a CPU 31 and a memory 32. The CPU 31 is an example of a computer. The server 3 includes a user IF 33 and a communication IF 34, which are electrically connected to the controller 30. Each electrical configuration included in the server 3 is the same as that described for the client PC 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the memory 32 of the server 3 contains various programs and various data including an OS 41, a custom port monitor 42, a printer driver 43, a print queue 44, and a shared folder 45. It is remembered. OS41 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark).

The custom port monitor 42 is a port monitor customized for operating the printing system 100 of the present embodiment. The printer driver 43 is a program similar to the printer driver 23 of the client PC 1. The print queue 44 is a print queue assigned to the printer driver 43. In this embodiment, the print data transmitted from the client PCs 1 and 2 is passed to the print queue 44, and the print data passed to the print queue 44 is further received by the custom port monitor 42. The shared folder 45 is a folder that is open to the network by the function of the OS 41. The shared folder 45 is a folder that can be accessed from an external device other than the server 3, such as client PCs 1 and 2 and printers 5 and 6. The shared folder 45 is set with user authority indicating whether or not it can be accessed. The custom port monitor 42 is an example of a special program.

The printer 5 of this embodiment is a device shared by users of the printing system 100, and is a device having at least a function of printing an image based on print data and a communication function. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 5 includes a controller 50 including a CPU 51, a memory 52, and the like. The printer 5 includes a user IF 53, a communication IF 54, and an image forming engine 55, which are electrically connected to the controller 50. The memory 52 of the printer 5 stores various programs and various data including the shared print program 61 and the user information 62.

Next, an outline of a procedure for causing a shared printer such as a printer 5 to perform printing using the client PC 1 will be described with reference to a sequence diagram. Hereinafter, the first procedure for instructing printing on the client PC 1 and the second procedure for executing printing on the printer 5 will be described in order.

First, the outline of the first procedure will be described with reference to FIG. In the first procedure, the user logs in to the client PC 1 and instructs printing by the print application 22 or the like (A01). The user can instruct printing by designating the print queue registered in the OS 21 via the print application 22 or the like. FIG. 2 shows a case where the user's instruction is a secure print instruction in which the print queue 24 is specified. Secure printing is a printing method that enhances the safety of print data by requesting the input of the PIN set in the print instruction by the printer that has received the print execution instruction.

The print application 22 activates the printer driver 23 corresponding to the print queue 24 based on the received print instruction, and passes a print command to the printer driver 23 (A02). The print instruction includes image data indicating an image to be printed and parameters related to printing.

The printer driver 23 generates print data for printing on the printer 5 based on the received print command (A03). Since the print instruction is set to secure printing, the printer driver 23 causes the user IF 13 to display an input screen for accepting the PIN input (A04). The PIN is composed of, for example, a 4-digit number string. The PIN is an example of authentication information. The user determines the PIN to be associated with this print data, and inputs the PIN via the user IF13 (A05). The PIN input may be accepted before the print instruction is accepted.

The printer driver 23 adds a user ID indicating a user logged in to the client PC 1 and an input PIN to the print data generated by A03 (A06). The user ID is, for example, a user name, an account name, and an employee number, and is an example of identification information that identifies an individual user. The printer driver 23 may acquire a user ID by inquiring about the OS 21. The printer driver 23 passes the print data to which the user ID and the PIN are added to the print queue 24. Further, the OS 21 of the client PC 1 transmits the print data passed to the print queue 24 to the server 3 by designating the print queue 44 associated with the print queue 24 (A07).

When the server 3 receives the print data specified by the print queue 44 from the client PC 1, the server 3 activates the custom port monitor 42 corresponding to the print queue 44 and passes the print data to the custom port monitor 42 (A09). The print queue 44 passes the print data to the printer driver 43, the printer driver 43 processes the print data, the processed print data is passed to the print queue 44, and the print queue 44 passes the print data to the custom port monitor 42. , Is also acceptable. Further, the printer driver 43 may be configured to pass the processed print data to the custom port monitor 42. The custom port monitor 42 may be started and resident at the time of starting the server 3, for example.

The custom port monitor 42 acquires a user ID attached to the acquired print data (A11). The custom port monitor 42 identifies a folder corresponding to the user indicated by the acquired user ID, and stores the acquired print data in the identified folder (A12). At this time, the custom port monitor 42 may change its own user authority (details will be described later). The folder corresponding to the user is, for example, a folder in which the user name is included in the folder name, and is provided for each user in the shared folder 45 of the server 3. As a result, the print data transmitted from the client PC 1 is stored in the folder corresponding to the user instructed to print.

User privileges indicating accessability are set in each user's folder. A user with administrator privileges can access all folders and files in the shared folder 45. Users other than the administrator can access only folders that can be accessed with their own user privileges. The administrator of the server 3 may set the user authority so that the user other than the administrator can access only the folder containing the user name of the user, for example. Further, a user who is not permitted to use the printing system 100 cannot access any folder in the shared folder 45 because the user authority to access the shared folder 45 is not set.

Next, the outline of the second procedure will be described with reference to FIG. In the second procedure, the user inputs login information to the printer 5 and logs in to the printer 5 (B01). The printer 5 performs login authentication based on the input login information. The method of logging in to the printer 5 may be, for example, inputting a user ID and password to the user IF53, or inputting by reading an ID card, a fingerprint / palm print, or the like. The login information input to the printer 5 is an example of user identification information. The printer 5 may pass the login information to the server 3 or the authentication server and receive the authentication result.

The printer 5 uses, for example, the user information 62 stored in the memory 52 to determine whether or not the user of the input login information is a registered shared user. If the login authentication to the printer 5 is not successful, or if it is determined that the logged-in user is not a shared user, the printer 5 does not execute the shared printing process by the shared print program 61. If you are not a shared user, you may be able to execute processes other than shared printing.

If the login authentication is successful and it is determined that the user is a shared user, the printer 5 executes the shared printing process by the shared print program 61. The printer 5 acquires the user ID of the logged-in user based on the input login information (B02). The user ID may be included in the input login information. Further, the printer 5 acquires access information for accessing the folder corresponding to the acquired user ID in the shared folder 45 of the server 3, that is, the folder in which the user name of the logged-in user is included in the folder name.

The access information is stored in the user information 62 by, for example, the administrator of the printing system 100. The access information includes, for example, the path of the user's folder, the user ID and the password. The user ID and password may be information common to the login information for the printer 5. Further, the printer 5 may be set with administrator authority, and in that case, the CPU 51 may acquire the access information of the administrator. On the other hand, if the server 3 is accessed using the access information for each user, the folder of the user can be accessed and the access to the folder of another user can be suppressed, so that the safety of the print data is further enhanced.

Then, the printer 5 uses the acquired access information to access the user's folder in the shared folder 45 of the server 3 (B03). By including the user name in the folder name, the CPU 51 can easily determine the folder to be accessed.

The printer 5 acquires the file names of all the files stored in the accessed folder (B04). Then, the printer 5 displays the list of acquired file names on the user IF53 and accepts the user's selection (B05). As will be described later, the file name may include a user name indicating a user who has instructed printing and time information indicating the time when the server 3 has received the printing instruction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the file name list display includes, for example, a print button that accepts an instruction to print the selected file, and an end button that accepts an instruction to end shared printing. FIG. 4 shows an example of a file name in which numbers indicating the year, month, day, hour, and minute are added as time information after the file name given by the user (Image A, etc.). If there is no printable print data file in the folder corresponding to this user, the printer 5 may display a message indicating that there is no file and an end button for accepting an end instruction.

The user selects a file name to be printed from the list of displayed file names via the user IF53 (B06). The printer 5 acquires the print data corresponding to the selected file name from the shared folder 45 of the server 3 (B07). By acquiring only the selected print data, the load on the printer memory can be reduced.

The printer 5 determines whether or not the acquired print data is print data for secure printing, and if it is determined to be print data for secure printing, the printer 5 displays a screen for accepting PIN input and inputs the user. Accept (B08). When a secure print file is selected, PIN information is added to the print data. The user inputs the PIN set in the print data via the user IF53 (B09).

The printer 5 determines whether or not the PIN received by B09 and the PIN added to the print data acquired by B07 match (B10). By adding a PIN to the print data and performing verification by PIN in addition to login authentication, the security of the print data is further enhanced.

When the printer 5 determines that the PINs match ([match]), the printer 5 executes printing by the image forming engine 55 based on the print data (B11). When printing is completed, the printer 5 deletes the print data acquired from the server 3. The printer 5 may send an instruction to delete the print data of the server 3 to the server 3. If the selected file is not print data for secure printing, the printer 5 does not request the input of the PIN and executes printing without performing the processes of B08 to B10.

When the printer 5 determines that the PINs do not match, the printer 5 displays a message indicating that the PINs do not match and does not execute printing. The printer 5 may accept the re-input of the PIN or may accept the reselection of the file.

The printer 5 may accept selection of a plurality of files from the list of displayed file names. Then, when a plurality of files are selected, the printer 5 may execute the procedure of B07 to B11 in order for all the selected files.

Subsequently, the procedure of processing by the server 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart. In addition, each of the following processing and each processing step of the flowchart basically indicates the processing of the CPU 31 or the like according to the instruction described in the program. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "decision", "specification", "acquisition", "acceptance", and "control" in the following description are the processes of the CPU 31 and the like. Represents. The processing by the CPU 31 or the like also includes hardware control using the API of the OS of the server 3 or the like. In this specification, the operation of each program will be described by omitting the description of the OS. That is, in the following description, the description to the effect that "program B controls hardware C" may refer to "program B controls hardware C using the API of the OS". In addition, the processing of the CPU 31 or the like according to the instructions described in the program may be described in abbreviated terms. For example, it may be described as "performed by CPU 31". Further, the processing of the CPU 31 or the like according to the instruction described in the program may be described by a wording omitting the CPU, such as "program A performs".

Note that "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not require a request. That is, the process of receiving data without being requested by the CPU 31 or the like is also included in the concept of "the CPU 31 acquires the data". Further, the "data" in the present specification is represented by a computer-readable bit string. Data having the same substantial meaning and different formats are treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in the present specification. Further, "requesting" and "instructing" are concepts indicating that information indicating that a request is being made or information indicating that an instruction is being given is output to the other party. Further, the information indicating that the request is made or the information indicating the instruction is simply described as "request" or "instruction".

Further, the process of determining whether or not the information A indicates that the information A is the matter B by the CPU 31 or the like is conceptually described as "determining whether or not the information A is the matter B from the information A". Sometimes. The process of determining whether the information A indicates that it is the matter B or the matter C by the CPU 31 or the like is "determined from the information A whether it is the matter B or the matter C". It may be described conceptually as "to do".

Hereinafter, the procedure of the file storage process, which is the process of the custom port monitor 42 for realizing the operation of the first procedure described above, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed by the CPU 31 of the server 3 when the server 3 receives the print data specified by the print queue 44 from the client PC 1 or the like.

In the file storage process, the CPU 31 first acquires the print data received by the server 3 and passed to the print queue 44 (S101, A09 in FIG. 2). S101 is an example of the acquisition process. This print data is print data generated by the client PC 1 or the like and transmitted to the server 3 by A07 in FIG.

The CPU 31 acquires a user ID added to the acquired print data and a user name corresponding to the user ID (S102, A11 in FIG. 2). When the user ID added to the print data is not the user name, the CPU 31 acquires the user name based on, for example, the user information stored in the memory 32.

Then, is the CPU 31 a user who has been set with user authority to access the shared folder 45 based on the user ID, that is, a shared user who is a user of the printing system 100? It is determined whether or not (S103). The shared user is a user registered in the server 3 in advance by the administrator, and the shared user is set with user authority to access the shared folder 45.

When it is determined that the user is not a shared user (S103: NO), the CPU 31 notifies the administrator of the printing system 100 that access from a user other than the shared user has been accepted (S104), and stores the file. End the process. In this case, the CPU 31 may delete the print data acquired in S101 before the end.

When it is determined that the user is a shared user (S103: YES), the CPU 31 determines whether or not there is a folder in which the user name of the user is included in the folder name (S110). When it is determined that there is a folder (S110: YES), the CPU 31 determines whether or not writing to the folder is possible with the authority set in the custom port monitor 42 (S111).

When the custom port monitor 42 is started, the user authority of the started user is set. If the user of the received print data is not the user who started the custom port monitor 42, the custom port monitor 42 cannot write the print data to the user's folder as it is. If it is determined that the authority is not writable (S111: NO), the CPU 31 changes the authority of the custom port monitor 42 to the authority that allows writing to the folder (S112). S112 is an example of the setting process. The authority to write to the folder is, for example, an administrator authority and a user authority of a user of print data. The custom port monitor 42 can be set by changing its own user authority.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no folder whose user name is included in the folder name (S110: NO), the CPU 31 can create a folder in the shared folder 45 with the authority set in the custom port monitor 42. It is determined whether or not there is (S113). When it is determined that the authority for creating the folder is not possible (S113: NO), the CPU 31 changes the authority of the custom port monitor 42 to the authority for creating the folder (S114). The authority that can create a folder is, for example, an administrator authority. By creating a folder when there is no folder corresponding to the user name of the shared user, it is possible to avoid the situation where the print data cannot be stored in the folder. The custom port monitor 42 may be started with administrator privileges from the time of startup, and in this case, it is not necessary to determine S111 or S113 or change the user privileges in S112 or S114.

After S114, or when it is determined that the authority can create a folder (S113: YES), the CPU 31 determines and determines a folder name obtained by adding the user name acquired in S102 to the common folder name. Create a folder with the created folder name in the shared folder 45 (S115). S115 is an example of the creation process.

After S112, after S115, or when it is determined that the writable authority to the user's folder is set (S111: YES), the CPU 31 acquires the time information which is the information of the current date and time from the OS 41. (S116). The time information is information indicating the time when the file storage process is executed, and is, for example, information that is a combination of the current time, the date of the current day, and the current time.

Then, the CPU 31 changes the file name of the print data acquired in S101 to the name to which the information is added (S117). The information to be given is, for example, the user name acquired in S102, the time information acquired in S116, and the combination of the user name and the time information. For example, the CPU 31 adds a delimiter such as a hyphen, an underscore, and parentheses after the file name of the print data, and further adds a character string indicating the information to be given to obtain the changed file name. For example, if the file name is added with time information, even if a plurality of print data having the same file name are received by the same user, they can be stored separately. The user name and time information are examples of additional information.

Further, the CPU 31 stores the print data in the user's folder with the changed file name (S118, A12 in FIG. 2). S118 is an example of storage processing. After S118, the CPU 31 ends the file storage process.

As described above in detail, according to the printing system 100 of the first aspect, the print data transmitted from each client PC is stored in the shared folder 45 of the server 3. Since the user authority indicating accessability is set in the shared folder 45, unreasonable access to the print data stored in the server 3 by a third party is suppressed. On the other hand, the custom port monitor 42 and the printer 5 are set with user authority to access the shared folder 45. Therefore, the custom port monitor 42 can store print data in the shared folder 45. Further, the printer 5 can acquire print data from the shared folder 45 and print the print data.

Further, in this embodiment, since the printer is a shared printer via the shared folder 45 of the server 3, the printer can be used from a plurality of client PCs, and the plurality of printers can be used with the same usability. For example, the printing system 100 of this embodiment includes a printer 6 having the same model and the same configuration as the printer 5. That is, the printer 6 can execute the operation shown in FIG. 3 like the printer 5, and the print data that can be used for printing is also the same as that of the printer 5. Therefore, when instructing printing on the client PCs 1 and 2, the user does not need to distinguish between the printers 5 and 6, and the custom port monitor 42 can be used as the user of the shared folder 45 by simply designating the shared printer. Store print data in a folder. Then, by logging in to any of the printers 5 to 6, the user can print the print data on either printer in the same manner.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the custom port monitor 42 adds additional information to the print data file name and stores it in the first procedure, when the user selects the print data in the second procedure. , It is easy to distinguish print data. If a user name is given as additional information, it is easy to understand who the file is and it is easy for the user to distinguish the print data. If time information is added as additional information, it is possible to grasp when the print data is printed, so that the user can easily distinguish the print data.

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the print server is provided with a web server function, an authentication function for determining accessability, a search function for searching print data of a specified user, and a specified print. It is said that the safety of print data will be ensured by providing a transfer function for transmitting data and preventing the folder from being accessed directly from an external device such as a printer. However, in this case, there are many functions that must be prepared in the print server, and the load on the server side is high. In the configuration described in the present specification, it is not always necessary to provide those functions in the server 3, and the safety of print data can be ensured with a simple configuration.

Subsequently, the printing system according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This embodiment is a printing system 100 having the same configuration as the first embodiment, and as in the first embodiment, the first procedure for instructing printing by the client PCs 1 and 2 and the printers 5 to 6 It is a system that can execute the second step of executing printing. Also in the printing system 100 of this embodiment, the server 3 stores the print data based on the print instructions received by the client PCs 1 and 2 in the shared folder 45, and the printers 5 and 6 store the print data stored in the server 3. Is read and printed.

In the second embodiment, the server 3 generates print data based on the data received from the client PCs 1 and 2, and the printer driver 43 stores the print data in the folder corresponding to the user. In this respect, it is different from the server 3 of the first form, which stores print data by the custom port monitor 42. That is, in the second form, a part of the first procedure is different from the first form. Hereinafter, the same configurations and processes as those of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The server 3 of the second form does not execute the file storage process by the custom port monitor 42 as in the first form. Since the server 3 in the second form does not use the custom port monitor 42, in the second form, the custom port monitor 42 may not be present, and it is not necessary to install the custom port monitor 42 in the server 3. In the second embodiment, the printer driver 43 is an example of a special program. In the following, the description of the PIN attached to the print job in the first form will be omitted, but the PIN may be attached to the print job in the second form as well.

The first procedure of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the same procedure as in FIG. 2 is designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In the first procedure of this embodiment, the user logs in to the client PC 1 and instructs printing by the print application 22 or the like (A01). The user specifies, for example, the print queue 24 and instructs printing via the print application 22 or the like. The print application 22 passes a print command to the OS 21 based on the received print instruction (A02). The print instruction includes image data indicating an image to be printed and parameters related to printing.

The OS 21 generates intermediate data based on the received print instruction by, for example, GDI (C01). The intermediate data is data for which rendering has not been completed, and is not print data that can be used by the printer 5 for printing as it is. The intermediate data is intermediate data created in the process from the image data handled by the print application 22 to the generation of print data, such as PDL (abbreviation of Page Description Language) data. The OS 21 transmits the generated intermediate data to the server 3 (C02).

As a result, the OS 41 of the server 3 receives the intermediate data from the client PC 1. In the server 3, the printer driver 43 starts to generate print data based on the intermediate data received by the OS 41 (C03, C04). When generating print data, the printer driver 43 inquires of the OS 41 about the login information of the client PC 1 that has transmitted the intermediate data (C05). The login information includes user ID or user name information indicating a user who is logged in to the client PC 1. The printer driver 43 acquires user ID or user name information from the OS 41 (C06). The printer driver 43 renders the intermediate data to generate print data, and includes the user name information acquired from the OS 41 in the generated print data.

In this embodiment, since the data received by the server 3 is intermediate data and the rendering is not completed, at least rendering by the printer driver 43 is required. Therefore, the received intermediate data is passed to the printer driver 43. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the data received by the server 3 is the rendered print data, the rendering by the printer driver 43 is unnecessary, and the processing by the printer driver 43 is not always executed.

The printer driver 43 disguises itself as a system privilege (C07). When the printer driver 43 starts processing by receiving the intermediate data, the printer driver 43 operates with the authority possessed by the user ID of the intermediate data. The printer driver 43 of this embodiment disguises itself as a system authority by using the information provided in advance in the OS 41.

Further, the printer driver 43 specifies a folder corresponding to the user name acquired in C06, and stores the rendered print data generated in C04 in the specified folder (C08). After storing the print data, the printer driver 43 disguise the authority and restore the original authority (C09).

The user's folder is a folder provided for each user in the shared folder 45, as in the first form. The printer driver 43 can store print data in any folder under the shared folder 45 by disguising it as a system authority. Further, the printer driver 43 can create a folder when there is no folder corresponding to the user by disguising it as a system authority. As a result, the print data corresponding to the image for which the print instruction has been received by the client PC 1 is stored in the folder corresponding to the user who has instructed to print.

The print data generated by the printer driver 43 may be passed to the port monitor via the OS 41. In this embodiment, for example, when the printer driver 43 is installed, a NUL port is set as an output port for print data by the port monitor. That is, in this embodiment, the port monitor is set not to output the received data. Therefore, even if the print data is passed to the port monitor, the print data received by the port monitor is not output.

Also in the second mode, as in the first mode, the print data is stored in the folder corresponding to the user ID of the user instructed to print in the shared folder 45 of the server 3. Therefore, the printers 5 to 6 can acquire print data from the server 3 and print the print data as in the first mode. The second procedure in which the printers 5 to 6 acquire print data from the server 3 and print the data is the same as the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the procedure of the file storage process of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. The file storage process of this embodiment is a process by the printer driver 43 for realizing the operation of the first procedure of this embodiment. This file storage process is executed by the CPU 31 of the server 3 when the printer driver 43 acquires the intermediate data. The process of acquiring the intermediate data by the printer driver 43 is an example of the acquisition process. The file storage process of FIG. 7 is a process by a program different from the file storage process of the first form, but includes a process common to the file storage process of the first form. The same reference numerals are given to the processes common to those in FIG.

In the file storage process, the CPU 31 acquires the user name corresponding to the acquired intermediate data (S102, C06 in FIG. 6). Then, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the user instructed to print is a shared user for whom the user authority to access the shared folder 45 is set (S103).

When it is determined that the user is not a shared user (S103: NO), the CPU 31 notifies the administrator of the printing system 100 that access from a user other than the shared user has been accepted (S104), and stores the file. End the process. In this case, the CPU 31 may delete the received intermediate data before the end.

When it is determined that the user is a shared user (S103: YES), the CPU 31 renders the received intermediate data to generate print data (S201, C04 in FIG. 6). S201 is an example of the rendering process. Further, the CPU 31 uses the information of the OS 41 to disguise the system authority (S202, C07 in FIG. 6). S202 is an example of the setting process. This enables the CPU 31 to create a folder and write data to the shared folder 45.

The CPU 31 determines whether or not there is a folder in which the user name acquired in S102 is included in the folder name (S110). When it is determined that there is no folder (S110: NO), the CPU 31 determines a folder name by adding the user name acquired in S102 to the common folder name, and creates a folder with the determined folder name in the shared folder 45. (S115). S115 is an example of the creation process.

After S115, or when it is determined that there is a folder whose folder name includes the user name acquired in S102 (S110: YES), the CPU 31 acquires time information which is information on the current date and time from the OS 41 (S). S116). Then, the CPU 31 changes the file name of the print data generated in S201 to a file name in which time information is added to the file name of the acquired intermediate data (S117). As a result, the file name of the print data becomes, for example, a file name to which the time information is added, as shown in FIG. The information to be added may be a user name or a combination of the user name and the time information.

Further, the CPU 31 stores the print data in the user's folder with the changed file name (S118, C08 in FIG. 6). S118 is an example of storage processing. After storing the file, the CPU 31 restores the authority disguised in S202 (S203, C09 in FIG. 6), and ends the file storage process.

As described above in detail, even in the printing system 100 of the second embodiment, the print data based on the intermediate data transmitted from the client PCs 1 and 2 is stored in the shared folder 45 of the server 3. In this embodiment, the printer driver 43 executes various processes for storing print data. The printer driver 43 is a program provided by the vendors of the printers 5 to 6, and is easy to implement because it is less likely to be restricted by the OS 41 as compared with the first form in which the print data is stored by the custom port monitor 42. Is. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the load on the server 3 is small because the rendering can be performed by the printer drivers 23 of the client PCs 1 and 2.

It should be noted that each of the above embodiments is merely an example and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the techniques disclosed herein can, of course, be variously improved and modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the number of each device is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be any number. Further, the client PC is not limited to the PC, and may be, for example, a smartphone or a tablet computer.

Further, the printer may be any device having a printing function, and may be a multifunction device, a copier, a fax device, or the like. If the printer has a function other than the shared printing function, the printer may, for example, accept the selection of the function to be executed and execute the shared printing process when the shared printing instruction is received. In addition, the printer may limit the functions that can be executed depending on the logged-in user. For example, there may be a user who is permitted to use the printer or a user who is not permitted to share printing.

Further, in each form, the printer driver corresponding to the printers 5 to 6 is incorporated in both the client PCs 1 and 2 and the server 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the function of adding the user ID and PIN information to the print data may be provided only in the printer driver 23 of the client PCs 1 and 2 and may not be provided in the printer driver 43 of the server 3. Further, in the first embodiment, the function of generating print data that can be used by the printer based on the image to be printed may be provided in only one of them. For example, when the printer driver 43 of the server 3 has a function of generating print data, the client PCs 1 and 2 add a user ID and a PIN to a document file or an image file including an image to be printed and transmit the data to the server 3. do. If the data acquired from the print queue 44 is not print data that can be used for printing by the printer, the custom port monitor 42 of the server 3 passes the data to the printer driver 43 to generate print data. Just do it.

Further, in each form, the printer 5 and the printer 6 are the same model, but a printing system including printers of different models may be used. When the corresponding printer driver and print queue are different due to different models, the server 3 is provided with a shared folder corresponding to each printer, and the custom port monitor 42 or the printer driver 43 is a shared folder corresponding to the print queue. The print data may be stored in. Further, the printer driver corresponding to the printer used by the user may be installed on the client PC1 or the like. In addition, each printer may acquire print data from the shared folder corresponding to the printer.

Further, in each form, when printing is performed on printers 5 to 6, which are shared printers, all print data is stored in the shared folder 45 regardless of whether it is secure printing or not, but secure printing is stored. It may be only the print data of. In this case, the custom port monitor 42 or the printer driver 43 determines whether or not the acquired print data is print data for secure printing, and if it is secure printing, executes the file storage process described above, and secure printing must be performed. For example, the print data may be sent to the printer.

Further, since the shared folder 45 is used in each form, it is not necessary for the user who uses the client PC or the printer to log in to the server 3, but the system performs the login operation to store and acquire the print data. It can also be. In that case, the client PC or the printer may separately input the access information for logging in to the server 3, or may log in to the server 3 using the login information when the client PC or the printer is logged in. ..

Further, in each form, the user ID used in the client PCs 1 and 2, the user ID for accessing the server 3, and the user ID for logging in to the printers 5 and 6 are not particularly distinguished, but these are not particularly distinguished. Can be information that can identify the user, may be the same information, or may be different information and related to each other.

Further, in any flowchart disclosed in each form, a plurality of processes in any plurality of steps can be arbitrarily changed in the execution order or executed in parallel within a range in which there is no contradiction in the processing contents.

Further, the processing disclosed in each form may be executed by a single CPU, a plurality of CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the process disclosed in the embodiment can be realized in various aspects such as a recording medium or a method in which a program for executing the process is recorded.

1, 2 Client PC
3, server 5, 6 printer 31 CPU
100 printing system

Claims (19)

A printing system including a printer, a server device connected to the printer, and a client device connected to the server device.
In the memory of the server device,
A folder is provided for each user, and the folder is a shared folder that can be accessed from devices other than the server device, and the user authority indicating accessability is set in the folder.
A special program is installed on the server device.
The printer is set with user privileges to access the folder.
The client device is
Print data based on the image to be printed is transmitted to the server device, and the user's identification information is associated with the print data.
The server device is
When the print data is received from the client device, the special program stores the received print data in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the received print data.
The printer
It accepts the input of the user's identification information, accesses the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the input identification information among the server devices, acquires the print data from the accessed folder, and acquires the print. Print images based on data,
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 1,
The server device has
Port monitor is installed as the special program,
The server device is
When the print data is received from the client device, the port monitor acquires the received print data, and the port monitor corresponds to a user indicated by the identification information associated with the received print data. The received print data is stored in the folder.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 2,
The server device has
The printer driver corresponding to the printer is installed, the print queue is assigned to the printer driver, and the printer driver is assigned.
The server device is
When the print data specified by the print queue assigned to the printer driver is received from the client device, the port monitor acquires the print data passed to the print queue and receives the print data by the port monitor. The received print data is stored in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the print data.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 3,
A plurality of the client devices connected to the server device are provided.
In the server device, the print queue setting assigned to the printer driver is set in the shared printer.
The server device is
When the print data that specifies the print queue assigned to the printer driver is received from the plurality of client devices, the port monitor acquires each print data passed to the print queue, and the port monitor obtains the print data. Stores each of the received print data in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with each of the received print data.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 1,
The server device has
As the special program, the printer driver corresponding to the printer is installed.
The client device is
The print data, which is the intermediate data, is transmitted to the server device, and the print data is transmitted to the server device.
The server device is
When the print data to be intermediate data is received from the client device, the printer driver acquires the received print data, the printer driver renders the received print data, and the received print data is received. The printed data after rendering is stored in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The client device is
The input of the authentication information is accepted, and the received print data associated with the authentication information and the identification information is transmitted to the server device.
The printer
The input of the authentication information for the acquired print data is accepted, and when the received authentication information and the authentication information associated with the acquired print data match, an image based on the acquired print data is printed. do,
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The printer
The print data stored in the accessed folder is displayed in a list, the selection of the print data to be printed is accepted from the displayed list of print data, and the selected print data is acquired from the folder. , Print an image based on the acquired print data,
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
The server device is
When the special program does not have the user authority to write to the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the received print data, the user authority to write to the folder is given. After setting in the special program, the received print data is stored in the folder.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The printer stores access information for accessing the folder with user authority that can access the folder.
The printer
The access information is read, and the read access information is used to access the folder.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 9,
The server device is
From the client device, the print data associated with the identification information of the user logged in to the client device is received, and the special program is provided by the user indicated by the identification information associated with the received print data. The received print data is stored in the folder in which the accessible user authority is set.
A printing system characterized by that. In the printing system according to claim 9 or 10.
The printer stores the access information for each of the identification information of the user.
The printer
The access information corresponding to the input identification information is read out, and the read access information is used to access the folder.
A printing system characterized by that. A program installed on a server device that connects to a printer and client device.
To the computer of the server device
The acquisition process for acquiring the print data received by the server device is executed, and the print data is data associated with the user's identification information by the client device, and the computer is further subjected to the acquisition process.
A storage process for storing the print data acquired in the acquisition process is executed in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the print data acquired in the acquisition process, and the folder is set to the folder. The folder is provided for each user in the server device, and the folder is a shared folder that can be accessed from devices other than the server device. Further, the folder is set with user authority indicating accessability, and the user authority is set. The program can set the user authority to access the folder, and the folder is accessed by the printer to which the user authority to access the folder is set, and the print data stored in the folder is the print data. , And the printer prints an image based on the print data.
A program characterized by that. In the program according to claim 12,
In the acquisition process,
The print data received by the server device is acquired from the print queue, a printer driver corresponding to the printer installed in the server device is assigned to the print queue, and the print data is received by the server device. Later, the data passed to the print queue,
A program characterized by that. In the program according to claim 12 or 13.
To the computer
When the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the print data acquired in the acquisition process does not exist, the print data acquired in the acquisition process is displayed before the storage process is executed. To execute the creation process of creating the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the associated identification information.
A program characterized by that. In the program according to any one of claims 12 to 14.
To the computer
If the program does not have the user authority to write to the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the print data acquired in the acquisition process, the folder is prior to execution of the storage process. To execute the setting process to set the user authority to write to
A program characterized by that. In the program according to any one of claims 12 to 15.
In the storage process,
The file name of the print data acquired in the acquisition process is changed to a name in which additional information for distinguishing the print data is added to the file name, and the print data acquired in the acquisition process is stored in the folder. Remember,
A program characterized by that. In the program of claim 16,
In the storage process,
The file name of the print data acquired in the acquisition process is changed to a name in which the user name which is the additional information is added to the file name, and the print data acquired in the acquisition process is stored in the folder. However, the user name is information set for each user indicated by the identification information.
A program characterized by that. In the program of claim 16,
In the storage process,
The file name of the print data acquired in the acquisition process is changed to a name in which the time information which is the additional information is added to the file name, and the print data acquired in the acquisition process is stored in the folder. However, the time information is information indicating the time for executing the storage process.
A program characterized by that. In the program according to any one of claims 12 to 18.
In the acquisition process,
The print data, which is the intermediate data transmitted from the client device, is acquired, and the print data is acquired.
Further to the computer
A rendering process for rendering the print data, which is intermediate data acquired in the acquisition process, is executed.
In the storage process,
The print data after the rendering is performed in the rendering process is stored in the folder corresponding to the user indicated by the identification information associated with the print data acquired in the acquisition process.
A program characterized by that.

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