JP2000190600A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the confidentiality of a printed material and to reduce a waiting time from the instruction of print-out in terms of a printer. SOLUTION: When receiving print data having an identification signal added thereto from a terminal, the printing is started immediately and the printed material is temporally stacked in a printed material inner stack 13 which can not be seen from the outside. After that, when a user inputs an identification signal via an identification signal input means 10 provided in the printer, the input identification signal is compared with the received identification signal. When both of the two identification signals are in conformity with each other, the printer is changed to be in a condition that the printed material stacked in the stack 13 can be taken out from the outside of the printer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for performing print output control based on received print data and an identification signal, and more particularly, to a printer and a terminal for instructing print output when connected to a network. The present invention relates to a printer device which is suitably applied to a case where the printer device is arranged at a distance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many network systems, a plurality of terminals are connected to a printer via a network communication network, and the printer is operated based on individual instructions from the plurality of terminals. .

In such a case, one printer device is shared by a plurality of terminals, but many terminals are often arranged at positions distant from the printer device. Therefore, the printed recording medium (printed material) instructed to be output from the terminal provided at a position distant from the printer device is:
Until the user who instructed the output goes to the printer device, it is left on the paper output tray of the printer device, and there is a problem from the viewpoint of confidentiality.

Therefore, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-133124, when each terminal instructs the printer to print out, each terminal transmits an identification code together with print data to the printer. When receiving the print data and the received data including the identification code, the printer stores the received print data and the identification code corresponding to the print data in a storage device in the printer device, and is provided on the printer device. When a user inputs an identification code that matches any of the identification codes previously received via a numeric keypad or the like, print data corresponding to the matched identification code is printed out.

[0005]

However, in this prior art, when a user goes to a printer and enters a correct identification code via a numeric keypad or the like,
For the first time, print data corresponding to the input identification code is printed. The destination of the printed matter at the time of this printing is a discharge tray outside the apparatus, and when printing is performed, the printed matter is immediately conveyed to the discharge tray outside the apparatus.

For this reason, according to this conventional technique, when the confidentiality of the printed matter to be output is to be completely maintained, the user needs to wait for a period from when the printed matter starts to be output to the paper discharge tray to when the paper discharge is completely completed. However, it is necessary to wait in the vicinity of the printer device so as to prevent other people from seeing it, which is complicated. In particular, when the number of output sheets is large, when high-definition output is performed, or when a color image is output, the time from the start of printing to the end of printing is extremely long, forcing the user to useless waiting time. become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to enhance the confidentiality of a printed matter even when a printer is disposed at a position distant from a terminal for instructing print output. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer device that can reduce a waiting time after instructing a print output in a printer device even when a print job requiring a long printing time is instructed.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a printer apparatus receives print data to which an identification signal is added, and performs print output control based on the received data. Identification signal input means, a printed matter internal stack for temporarily storing the printed recording medium in the printer, and when print data and an identification signal are received, the print data and the identification signal are received in response to the reception. When an identification signal is input through first control means for performing printing of print data and storing the printed recording medium in the printed matter internal stack and the identification signal input means, the input identification signal is transmitted Compared with the previously received identification signal, and when these match, the printed recording medium stored in the printed matter inner stack can be taken out of the apparatus. So that comprises a second control means for.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the second control means conveys the printed recording medium stored in the printed material stack to the outside of the printer, or prints the printed material from outside the device. By moving the door that opens and closes from the closed state to the open state so as to enable removal, the printed recording medium stored in the printed matter internal stack can be removed from the outside of the apparatus.

In the first aspect of the present invention, when the printing of the received print data is completed, the first control means transmits a signal indicating that the printing is completed to a corresponding terminal. It is preferable to have the means in order to reduce the waiting time after the user goes to the printer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the printer receives the print data to which the identification signal is added from the terminal, the printer starts printing on the received print data. Then, the printer temporarily stacks the printed recording medium, which is the result of this printing, on a printed material internal stack that cannot be seen from the outside. After that, when the user goes to the place of the printer device and inputs the identification signal through the identification signal input means provided in the printer device,
The second control means compares the inputted identification signal with the previously received identification signal, and when these two identification signals match, the printed recording medium stored in the printed matter internal stack is copied to, for example, a printer. Convey to outside of the device,
Alternatively, the printed recording medium stored in the printed matter inner stack can be taken out of the apparatus by, for example, shifting the door disposed on the printed matter inner stack from the closed state to the open state.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
The printed recording medium instructed to be printed via the terminal will be stored in a temporary stack that cannot be seen from inside the device until the user goes to the printer device and inputs a correct identification signal. , Never be seen by others. That is, in the present invention, when a print instruction is issued to the printer device via the terminal, the printer device immediately starts printing in response to the instruction, and the printed recording medium is as described above. Until the user goes to the printer device and inputs the correct identification signal, it is not visible to others, so if the user has a large number of prints or performs high-definition printing, In such a case, there is no problem in terms of maintaining confidentiality even if the printer device has a sufficient time to retrieve the printed matter.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, if the user goes to the printer device after taking a print time, the printing is usually already completed when the user enters the printer. Thus, when the user inputs the identification signal, the printed matter can be immediately taken out of the apparatus. Therefore, according to the present invention, the waiting time after the final output is instructed by the printer device can be almost eliminated, and the user is not forced to uselessly wait as in the related art.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, print data to which a plurality of different terminals are connected via a network and are shared, and to which an identification signal transmitted from the terminal is added, is received via the network. Then, in a printer device that performs print output control based on the received data, an identification signal input unit that inputs an identification signal, and a plurality of printers that temporarily store a printed recording medium after printing inside the printer device. A print inner stack having an inner stack, storage means for storing storage locations of the print inner stack in the plurality of inner stacks for each identification signal, and when print data and an identification signal are received,
Printing the received print data in response to the reception, storing the printed recording medium in one of a plurality of internal stacks of the printed matter internal stack,
A first control unit that stores storage locations in the plurality of internal stacks where the printed recording media are stored in the storage unit in correspondence with the received identification signal, and via the identification signal input unit. When the identification signal is input, the input identification signal is compared with the identification signal stored in the storage means, and if a matching identification signal exists in the identification signal stored in the storage means, the storage means And second control means for using only the stored information to make it possible to take out only the printed recording medium stored in the internal stack corresponding to the matched identification signal from the outside of the apparatus.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the printer receives the print data to which the identification signal is added from the terminal, the printer starts printing on the received print data. In the printer device, the printed recording medium is stored in one of a plurality of internal stacks that are not visible from the outside, and the storage location in the plurality of internal stacks where the printed recording medium is stored is set in the printer device. It is stored in correspondence with the received identification signal. Thereafter, when the user goes to the place of the printer device and inputs the identification signal through the identification signal input means provided in the printer device, the second control means converts the input identification signal into the Comparing with the identification signal stored in the storage unit, if a matching identification signal is present in the identification signal stored in the storage unit, the internal information corresponding to the matched identification signal is stored using the storage information of the storage unit. Only the printed recording medium stored in the stack can be taken out of the apparatus.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the second control means conveys, for example, a printed recording medium stored in the printed matter internal stack to the outside of a printer, or prints a printed matter from outside the apparatus. By moving the door that opens and closes from the closed state to the open state so as to enable removal, the printed recording medium stored in the printed matter internal stack can be removed from the outside of the apparatus.

In the second aspect of the present invention, when the printing of the received print data is completed, the first control means transmits a signal indicating that the printing is completed to a corresponding terminal. It is preferable to have the means in order to reduce the waiting time after the user goes to the printer.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention,
The printed recording medium instructed to print via the terminal is stored in one of the temporary stacks inside the apparatus which is not visible from the outside until the user goes to the printer apparatus and inputs a correct identification signal. That means you won't see it. When the terminal issues a print instruction to the printer device, the printer device immediately starts printing in response to the instruction. According to this, when the user enters the printer, the printing is usually already completed, and when the user inputs the identification signal, the printed matter is immediately discharged from the apparatus, for example, and is immediately output from the outside of the apparatus. It is ready to be taken out. Thus, according to the present invention,
The waiting time after the final output is instructed by the printer device can be almost eliminated, and the user does not have to useless waiting time as in the related art.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the storage means stores the number of prints, the paper size, and flag information indicating whether or not a printed recording medium can be taken out of the apparatus. It is preferable that the management information is stored for each of the identification signals.

That is, if such management information is read from the printer device, various management information such as the number of prints, various costs for print output, and the usage rate for each size of recording paper are based on the read information. Can be easily summed up for each identification signal.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a network system to which a printer device according to the present invention is connected. In this case, one printer device 1, a microcomputer,
A plurality of terminals 2, 3,... Such as workstations are connected via a network communication network. When the terminals 2, 3,... Instruct the printer device 1 to perform printing, the terminals 2, 3,... Send an identification signal (identification code information) for identifying the print job to desired print data. Then, the print data to which the identification signal is added is transmitted to the printer device 1. The identification signal is the print data (print job)
The user may set an arbitrary code number every time, or a unique code number may be assigned to each individual or each terminal for easy management.

FIG. 1 conceptually and schematically shows the structure of the printer 1 relating to the conveyance of recording paper, and includes an identification signal input unit 10, a paper storage cassette unit 11, and a print recording unit 1.
2. Temporary stack unit 13 as a printed matter internal stack,
It has a stack position carry-in switching unit 14, a stack position carry-out switching unit 15, a sheet discharge conveyance unit 16, a discharge tray 17, a control device 18, and the like.

The identification signal input unit 10 is, for example, a numeric keypad, and is constituted by an operation key panel or a touch panel on which a number key, an alphabet key, and the like necessary for a user to input an identification signal are provided. It is used for inputting an identification signal when a printed recording medium (printed matter) is finally discharged out of the apparatus.

B5, A
A plurality of paper cassettes are arranged for loading a plurality of recording media of different sizes, such as 4, B4,. The print recording unit 12 includes, for example, an ink jet recording device,
The print data instructed to be printed on the paper conveyed from 1 is printed and recorded.

The temporary stacking section 13 has a plurality of stacking sections 13a to 13f for temporarily storing printed matter as a printing result printed by the print recording section 12. Since the temporary stack unit 13 is provided inside the printer device, the print results stacked in the stack units 13a to 13f are not visible from outside the printer device.

The stack position carry-in switching unit 14 includes a temporary stack unit that selectively conveys the printed matter printed by the print recording unit 12 to one of the plurality of stack units 13a to 13f of the temporary stack unit 13. 13 is controlled on the loading side.

The stack position unloading switching unit 15 selects one of the plurality of stack units 13a to 13f of the temporary stack unit 13 and transfers the printed material unloaded from the selected stack unit to the paper discharge transport unit 16. The switching control on the unloading side of the temporary stack unit 13 is executed.

The paper discharge / conveyance section 16 executes a paper conveyance operation for discharging the printed matter carried through the stack position carry-out switching section 15 to a paper discharge tray 17 outside the apparatus.

The control device 18 corresponds to the first and second control means described in the claims.
As shown in FIG. 1, a bus 20, a communication interface 21, a memory 22, a management information storage unit 23, an identification signal storage unit 24, and a control unit 25 are shown.

In FIG. 3, the communication interface 21
Performs interface matching of signals input via a network communication network. The memory 22 stores the RA
M, a flash memory, a hard disk, or any other storage device. The memory 22 stores, for example, print data received from a terminal for each identification signal.

The management information storage unit 23 stores each of the terminals 2, 3,
.. Are stored in the form of a table for each identification signal received from (i.e., for each print job). Since the management information is stored in the management information storage unit 23 for each print job, when a plurality of print jobs including the same identification signal are received, these are stored in different storage addresses.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the contents stored in the management information storage unit 23. The print stack position information (the temporary stack unit 1 in FIG. 1)
(Information indicating in which stacking position the printed matter of the print job is stacked in No. 3) ・ Number of printed sheets ・ Paper size of printed matter ・ Discharge completed flag (discharge from temporary stack unit 13 to discharge tray 17 is completed) Is stored for each identification signal of one print job received from each of the terminals 2, 3,....

As shown in FIG. 6, the identification signal storage unit 24 stores only the identification signals received from the terminals 2, 3,. That is, an identification signal comparison / collation process (comparing the identification signal received from each of the terminals 2, 3,... Via the network with the identification signal input via the identification signal input unit 10) is efficiently performed. Therefore, only the received identification signal is stored separately from other management information and print data.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 25 includes an I / O port 27 for executing input / output control of signals, a ROM 28 storing a required control program, a RAM operating as a work area, a CPU 30, and the like. It is configured to have.

The control unit 26 includes:-various controls relating to the entire printer device;-as shown in Fig. 5, control for storing various management information in the management information storage unit 24 of Fig. 3 for each identification signal;-each terminal The identification signal received via the network from 2, 3,... And the identification signal subsequently input via the identification signal input unit 10 are compared with each other. And the like to convey the printed matter corresponding to (1) to the paper discharge tray 17.

The operation of the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 shows an operation when a print instruction is issued in each terminal, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show an operation on the printer device 1 side.

When printing is performed by the printer device 1 on the terminal side, the user specifies required print data (step 100 in FIG. 7), and then adds an identification signal to the print data (step 110). ). At this time, the terminal
When two print jobs are performed, an operation guide requesting the user to input an identification signal is displayed. As described above, the identification signal may be set by the user with an arbitrary code number for each print data (print job), or assigned to each individual or each terminal for easy management. A unique code number may be input and added.

The identification signal input and set in this way is transmitted from each terminal to the printer 1 via the network together with the print data (step 120).

When the printer 1 receives the identification signal and the print data from each terminal via the communication interface 21 shown in FIG. 3 (step 200 in FIG. 8), the control unit 2
5 temporarily stores the received identification signal and print data in the memory 22 (step 210). The identification signal is also stored in the identification signal storage unit 24.

Further, when the control unit 25 receives the print data to which the identification signal is added from the terminal, the print recording unit 12 performs a print process on the received print data unless the print data is currently performed on another print job. Let it run immediately. If another print job such as a print operation in accordance with an instruction from another terminal is being performed, the print processing of the received print data is immediately executed by the print recording unit 12 as soon as the print operation is completed (step 220). ).

Here, when the identification signal is not added to the print data, the control unit 25 does not temporarily stack the output result printed by the print recording unit 12 in the temporary stacking unit 13 without temporarily stacking the output result. The sheet is transported and discharged (steps 230 and 240).

However, when the identification signal is added to the print data, the control unit 25 copies the printed matter printed by the print recording unit 12 into a plurality of stacks 13 of the temporary stack unit 13.
a to 13f, and temporarily stores the printed matter on this stack (step 25).
0).

Further, along with this, the control unit 25
In the manner as shown in (1), management information such as the printed material stack position, the number of printed sheets, the paper size, and the discharged flag information relating to the printing is stored in the management information storage unit 23 in association with the identification signal (step 260). . of course,
At this point, the paper ejection completed flag is off.

When the above processing is completed, the control unit 25
The completion of the printing is reported to the terminal that instructed the printing via the network (step 270).
The terminal that has received the report of the printing end notifies the user of the printing end by displaying the fact or the like.

Thereafter, when the user who has recognized the printing completion by such a report of the printing completion takes out the printed matter in the printer 1, the user operates the identification signal input unit 10 arranged on the printer 1 by the user. An identification signal is input through the interface. Of course, the identification signal input at this time is the same as the identification signal added when the user previously issued the print instruction via the terminal (step 300).

The control unit 25 converts the identification signal input via the identification signal input unit 10 into the discharged flag information for which the flag is not turned on, of the identification signals stored in the management information storage unit 23. (Step 320).

As a result of the comparison, when the input identification signal does not match any of the identification signals stored in the management information storage unit 23, the identification signal is displayed by indicating that it does not match. To the user, and requests the user to re-enter the correct identification signal (step 310). In addition,
If a matching identification signal is not input even after inputting the preset number of times, the print job is ended and the management information stored in the management information storage unit 23 is deleted.

If the result of the comparison at step 320 is that the input identification signal matches any one of the identification signals for which the discharge flag stored in the management information storage unit 23 is off, The control unit 23 is a management information storage unit 2
3 is read out of the printed matter stack position information stored corresponding to the matching identification signal, and the stack position unloading switching unit 15 is selectively driven based on this information, so that one of the temporary stack units 13 The stored printed material corresponding to the identification signal is unloaded, and the unprinted printed material is discharged to the discharge tray 17 via the discharge conveyance unit 16 (step 330).

Next, the control unit 25 searches the management information storage unit 23 to determine whether or not there is an undischarged print job to which an identification signal matching the identification signal is added. (Step 340), and if it exists, it is confirmed whether or not the next print job is also output to the user (step 350). Then, when an operation instruction to print out is given from the user, the printed matter corresponding to the current print job is carried out from the temporary stack unit 13 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 17 in the same manner as described above. In this way, the print result of the print job to which the identification signal corresponding to the identification signal is added is temporarily transferred from the temporary stacking unit 13 to the discharge tray 17 according to the user's request.
To be discharged.

When the above processing is completed, the control unit 25
This time, the paper discharge completion flag in the management information storage unit 23 relating to the print job having discharged the printed material to the discharge tray 17 is turned on, that is, the paper discharge state is set (step 360).

Even if the identification signals match, for a print job for which the user does not want the final output, the printed matter is left in the temporary stack unit 13 as it is, and the discharge completion flag in the management information storage unit 23 is turned off. Leave as is.

In the case of FIG. 9, if there are a plurality of undischarged print jobs having an identification signal that matches the input identification signal, whether or not to output the final output to the user for each job is determined. Is output to the paper output tray 17 only when it is instructed to perform the final output after the confirmation. However, without asking the user for confirmation, an undischarged signal having an identification signal that matches the input identification signal is output. The printed matter corresponding to the print job in the paper state may be continuously discharged from the temporary stack unit 13 to the discharge tray 17 continuously.

As described above, at the time of the comparison in step 320, in order to speed up the comparison process, the identification signal input via the identification signal input unit 10 is stored in the form of the identification signal alone. It may be compared with the stored data of the identification signal storage unit 24. However, the identification signal storage unit 2
4 needs to be only the identification signal corresponding to the print job in which the discharge completion flag is in the off state, and therefore corresponds to the print job in which the discharge completion flag is on. It is necessary to delete the discrimination signal from the discrimination signal storage unit 24 when the discharge flag is turned on.

As described above, in this embodiment, each terminal 2,
When the printer device 1 performs a print job,
An identification code signal is added to the print data, and a print signal including these signals is transmitted to the printer device 1. When receiving the print data to which the identification signal is added from the terminal, the printer device 1 immediately starts printing the received print data. Then, in the printer device 1, the printed material is transferred to a plurality of internal stacks 13 that are not visible from the outside.
a is stored in one of the internal stacks 13a to 13f, and the storage location where the printed matter is stored in the plurality of internal stacks 13a to 13f is stored in correspondence with the received identification signal. Thereafter, the user goes to the place of the printer device 1, and the identification signal input means 1 provided in the printer device 1.
When the identification signal is input via the control signal 0, the input identification signal is compared with the stored identification signal, and when a matching identification signal is present, the printed matter stored in one internal stack corresponding to the identification signal. Only the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 17 outside the apparatus so that the user can take out the printed matter from outside the apparatus.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the printed matter instructed to be printed via the terminals 2, 3,... Cannot be seen from the outside until the user goes to the printer device 1 and inputs a correct identification signal. Temporary stack 1 inside the device
It will be stored in one of 3a to 13f and will not be seen by others. When the terminals 2, 3,... Give a print instruction to the printer device 1, the printer device 1 starts printing immediately in response to this. If the user goes to the printer, the printing is usually already completed when the user enters the printer device, and when the user inputs the identification signal, the printed material is immediately sent to the output tray 17 outside the device. After being discharged, it can be immediately taken out of the apparatus. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the waiting time after the user instructs the final output with the printer device 1 can be almost eliminated, and the user is forced to useless waiting time as in the related art. Disappears.

In this embodiment, the management information storage unit 23 stores management information on consumables, such as the number of prints and the paper size, in one identification signal unit (print job unit). Therefore, if such management information is read from the printer device 1, various management information such as the number of prints, various costs for print output, and the usage rate for each recording paper size can be identified based on the read information. It is possible to easily sum up by signal. In particular, if the terminal, the individual, the department, etc. can be distinguished by the identification code signal, the above management information can be totaled for each terminal, individual, and department. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a printer device that can easily manage and count consumables and the like when used in a network system in which one printer device is shared by a plurality of terminals.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, doors 30, 31, which are automatically opened and closed, instead of the temporary stacking section 13 and the stack position unloading switching section 15 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 32 are provided. 3
The output paper storage boxes 40 to 42 are
If the doors 30 to 32 are not opened, the printed matter accommodated in them cannot be seen from the outside. Also in this case, the discharge tray 17 arranged outside the apparatus is used.
The selection switching operation of transporting the printed matter, which has been printed by the print recording unit 12, to any of the discharge paper storage boxes 40, 41, 42 and the discharge tray 17 is performed by a stack position carry-in switching unit. 14.

The other structures in this embodiment are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS.

Also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, on the terminal side, a print signal including desired print data and an identification signal is sent to the printer device 1 via the network for each print job to be printed by the printer device 1. Send.

The control unit 25 of the printer 1 (see FIG. 3)
When the print signal including the print data and the identification signal is received, the received identification signal and the print data are temporarily stored in the memory 22 of FIG.
As long as is empty, the printing of the received print job is immediately performed by the print recording unit 12, and the printing result is stored in a plurality of output paper storage boxes 40, 41, and 42.
To one of the Further, in the same manner as described above, the print stack position information (information indicating which of the three boxes the print result has been conveyed), the number of prints,
The management information such as the paper size is stored in the management information storage unit 23 in association with the identification signal.

Thereafter, it is assumed that the user comes to the printer 1 and inputs an identification signal via the identification signal input unit 10 in the same manner as described above (step 400 in FIG. 11).
The control unit 25 of the printer device 1 compares the input identification signal with the identification signal stored in the management information storage unit 23 (step 410), and the discharge flag is turned off in the stored content. If there is an identification signal that matches the input identification signal, the printed material stack position information stored in correspondence with the matching identification signal is read from the management information storage unit 23, and the discharged paper storage box corresponding to the read information is read. By changing the door from closed to open, the user can take out the printed matter stored in the selected discharge paper storage box from the outside (step 430). If the input identification signal does not match any of the identification signals stored in the management information storage unit 23, the user is notified by, for example, displaying that the identification signals do not match, as described above. Then, the user is requested to re-input a correct identification signal (step 420).

In this case, the printed matter inside can be taken out from the outside by opening the doors 30 to 32 of the discharge paper storage boxes 40 to 42. However, this door is also used as a paper discharge tray. Alternatively, the printed matter may be transported to the position of the door in the open state.

In each of the above embodiments, the distribution of the recorded paper to the plurality of stack portions 13a to 13f or the plurality of discharge paper storage boxes 40 to 42 is set in advance in accordance with the code content of the identification signal. You may. That is, in the case of FIG. 10, the identification codes aa to cc go to the box 40, the identification codes dd to ee go to the box 41,
The identification codes ff to nn are transferred to box 3 and the identification codes oo
To zz to the paper discharge tray 17 and so on. In this case, the correspondence between the identification code and each box to be distributed is as follows.
The setting may be made on the printer device 1 side, or may be made on the terminal 2, 3,... Side.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a plurality of identification signals capable of executing a print job are registered in advance, and when an identification signal other than the registered identification signal is transmitted from the terminal, the printer device 1 The system may not be able to perform printing.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, a card reader capable of reading an ID card in which an identification code is magnetically recorded is used as an identification signal input device for inputting an identification signal on the terminal side, and the printer device is used for the printer device. When sending a print instruction, the identification code read from the ID card is automatically added to the print data and transmitted to the printer device, eliminating the trouble of inputting the identification signal every time the terminal issues a print instruction. You may do so. Also, like this,
Identification signal input unit 1 for inputting an identification signal on the printer side
As 0, an identification code read from an ID card using a card reader may be used as an identification signal. As the identification signal, information unique to an individual, such as a voice or a fingerprint, may be used.

When a print instruction is given from the terminal to the printer, information indicating the name of the user is added to the printer in addition to the print data and the identification signal. May be stored in the management information storage unit 23 of the printer device 1 as management information.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a printer connected to a network. However, the present invention can be applied to a local printer not connected to a network. In other words, the present invention is also effective in a case where it takes a long time from when a print instruction is issued to when a print output is actually taken out even in a local printer.

In the above embodiment, the number of prints,
It is also effective in management if information indicating the usage of consumables such as paper size is recorded by a network host computer for each identification signal.

In the above embodiment, the printer 1
Although the recording method in the print recording section 12 is described as an ink jet recording method, the present invention can use any recording method such as another heat-sensitive method, a thermal transfer method, an electrostatic recording method, and an electrophotographic method. it can.

[0072]

As explained above, according to the present invention,
The printed recording medium instructed to be printed via the terminal will be stored in a temporary stack that cannot be seen from inside the device until the user goes to the printer device and inputs a correct identification signal. Since it is not seen by others, the confidentiality of the printer device itself can be enhanced. Further, according to the present invention, when the terminal issues a print instruction to the printer device, the printer device immediately starts printing in response to the instruction. If the user goes to retrieve the printed material, the printing is usually already completed when the user enters the printer device, whereby the user inputs an identification signal and instructs the printer device to give the final print output. Then, the printed matter can be immediately taken out of the apparatus. Therefore, according to the present invention, the waiting time after the final output is instructed by the printer device can be almost eliminated, and the user is not forced to useless waiting time as in the related art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view conceptually showing an internal configuration of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration to which a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a control unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing storage contents of a management information storage unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing storage contents of an identification signal storage unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example on the terminal side during a printing process according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example on the printer device side during a printing process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example on the printer device side during a printing process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view conceptually showing an internal configuration of a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example on the printer device side in a printing process in the embodiment of FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer device 2 Terminal 3 Terminal 10 Identification signal input unit 11 Paper storage cassette unit 12 Print recording unit 13 Temporary stack unit 14 Stack position carry-in switching unit 15 Stack position carry-out switching unit 16 Discharge transport unit 17 Discharge tray 18 Control device 21 Communication interface 22 memory 23 management information storage unit 24 identification information storage unit 25 control unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G06F 3/12 H04N 1/21 5C073 H04N 1/21 B41J 29/00 Z 9A001 (72) Inventor: Takashi Ishikawa Ota-ku, Tokyo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Taka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Tetsuya Emura 3-30 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo 2nd Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tetsuhiro Maeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 BB10 HJ04 HK11 HN04 HN06 HN18 HQ06 HQ17 2H027 DA32 DA33 ED22 EF09 EF12 EF13 EJ03 EJ09 EJ15 ZA07 2H072 FC12 3F054 AA01 AC05 BF23 BJ11 DA22 5B021 AA01 AA02 BB04 BB10 KK01 KK02 KK06 NN18 PP01 5C073 AA03 CC01 CD22 CE10 9A001 CC07 HKK34 JJ

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A printer device for receiving print data to which an identification signal is added and performing print output control based on the received data, an identification signal input means for inputting an identification signal, When print data and an identification signal are received, the print data received in response to the print data and the identification signal are received, and the print data received is printed. First stored in the printed matter inner stack
When an identification signal is input via the identification signal input means, the input identification signal is compared with the previously received identification signal. And a second control means for enabling the stored printed recording medium to be removed from the outside of the apparatus. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control unit conveys the printed recording medium stored in the stack inside the printed matter to the outside of the printer when the identification signals match. Printer device. 3. The printed matter internal stack has a door that opens and closes to enable removal of the printed matter from the outside of the apparatus. The second control means, when the identification signals match, opens the door. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is shifted from a closed state to an open state. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first control means includes means for transmitting a signal indicating that the printing has been completed to a corresponding terminal when the printing of the received print data is completed. Item 2. The printer according to Item 1. 5. A print data which is connected to a network and shared by a plurality of different terminals and to which an identification signal transmitted from the terminal is added is received via the network, and a print is performed based on the received data. In a printer device for performing output control, an identification signal input means for inputting an identification signal; a printed material internal stack having a plurality of internal stacks for temporarily storing a printed recording medium in the printer device; Storage means for storing storage locations in the plurality of internal stacks of the printed matter internal stack for each identification signal; and when print data and the identification signal are received, printing of the received print data is performed in response to the reception. And storing the printed recording medium in one of the plurality of internal stacks of the printed material internal stack, A first control unit that stores storage locations in the plurality of internal stacks where the printed recording media are stored in the storage unit in correspondence with the received identification signal, and via the identification signal input unit. When the identification signal is input, the input identification signal is compared with the identification signal stored in the storage means, and if a matching identification signal exists in the identification signal stored in the storage means, the storage means And second control means for using only the stored information to cause only the printed recording medium stored in the internal stack corresponding to the matched identification signal to be able to be taken out of the apparatus. A printer device characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the identification signals match, the second control means conveys the printed recording medium stored in the internal stack corresponding to the matching identification signals to outside the printer. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein 7. The printed material internal stack has a door for each internal stack that opens and closes to enable the printed material to be taken out of the apparatus, and the second control unit determines that the identification signals match. 6. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein the door of the internal stack corresponding to the matching identification signal is shifted from the closed state to the open state. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first control means has means for transmitting a signal indicating that the printing has been completed to a corresponding terminal when the printing of the received print data is completed. Item 6. The printer according to Item 5. 9. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein said storage means stores the number of printed sheets for each of said identification signals. 10. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein said storage means stores a paper size for each of said identification signals. 11. The printer according to claim 5, wherein the storage unit stores, for each of the identification signals, flag information indicating whether or not the printed recording medium can be taken out of the apparatus. apparatus.