JP2000293338A - Printer and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer and a printing system which make a printed matter outputted to a certain user to be acquired only by the user without being looked at by unspecified persons. SOLUTION: This printer is connected to plural computers through a network and also provided with plural bins outputting printed matters. In such a case, a dedicated bin is set for plural users. Then, a password is registered with the storing part 23 of the printer in each bin, and when each user designates a self-bin to the panel part 29 of the printer and also inputs a password for the bin, a printed matter corresponding to the bin is made to be outputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printer and a printing system which are connected to one or more computers and perform printing on a medium in response to a printing instruction from the computers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer connected to a plurality of host personal computers (hereinafter abbreviated as HOST) via a network has been used. This printer is shared by each user, and each user has their own HOS
T can instruct the printer to print. The printer that has received the print instruction performs printing on the paper, and then discharges the printed paper to the paper discharge tray.

As described above, among printers shared by a plurality of users, a multi-bin having a plurality of bins for discharging printed materials is provided so that printed materials of each user are not discharged to the same discharge tray. Some have units. When operating a printer with a multi-bin unit, an administrator who manages the network determines in advance which bin each user owns, and prints designated by each user are printed by the user. The printer is set so that is output to the bin owned by.
In addition, if each user receives only the printed matter output to his / her own bin, the printed matter of another user will not be erroneously brought back.

[0004]

As described above, in a printer shared by a plurality of users, each user is not always in the vicinity of the printer, and issues a print instruction from a place remote from the printer. Often. In such a case, the printed matter printed and discharged based on the print instruction of the user may be seen by unspecified people while the user goes to the printer to pick up the printed matter. Therefore, the user cannot use such a printer when printing information that he or she does not want others to see.

Further, when a printer having a multi-bin unit having a plurality of bins is used, there is a low possibility that another user mistakenly takes home a printed matter, but the printed matter is discharged to the bin. It is undeniable that unspecified people may be able to view this printed matter.

[0006] In order to prevent unspecified people from seeing the printed matter, for example, when each user transmits the print data from the HOST to the printer, a password is attached to the print data. Then, each user may directly input a password to a panel unit or the like of the printer to take out a desired printed matter from the printer. However, according to this method, each user not only needs to attach a password each time printing is performed, but also must remember all the passwords assigned to each print data. In addition, since the password flows along with the print data on the network, the password may be decrypted, which poses a security problem.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer and a printing system in which only the owner of each bin can take out the printed matter output to the bin and perform highly secure printing by a simple operation. Make it an issue.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A printer and a printing system according to the present invention employ the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.

That is, the printer according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a printing unit that prints data to be printed on a medium, an ejection mechanism that ejects the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, An input unit for accepting an input operation of a user, and one or more computers capable of transmitting print data having print target data and output destination information designating one or more bins from the plurality of bins. An interface unit for receiving print data from
A password corresponding to each of the bins is set, a storage unit for storing the print data received by the interface unit as storage data, and a user selects one of the bins via the input unit. When the user inputs a password corresponding to the bin and inputs a password corresponding to the bin, the storage data stored in the storage unit is selected from among the storage data whose output destination information specifies the bin selected by the user. A control unit that causes the printing unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, and causes the ejection mechanism to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user. And characterized in that:

[0010] With this configuration, the print target data in the print data sent to a certain bin is such that the user who owns the bin selects this bin for the input unit of the printer. Is input and the password of the bin is input, thereby printing and discharging.

The bin may be a physical bin for discharging an actual printed medium, or may be a virtual bin virtually realized in the storage unit.

The printing unit may execute printing by a laser printing method, but is not limited to this, and may execute printing by an inkjet method, a dot matrix method, or the like.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the interface unit includes at least one of a plurality of bins based on data to be printed, confidential information for specifying whether or not confidentiality of the data to be printed is designated. Connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data having output destination information designating a bin, receiving print data from the computer, and the storage unit stores the print data among the print data received by the interface unit. And storing the data designated as having confidential designation by the confidential information as storage data, and selecting, from the print data received by the interface unit, the data designated as having no confidential designation in the confidential information. Then, the printing unit prints the print target data of the selected print data on a medium, and sends the printed data to the ejection mechanism. The print data is output to the bin specified as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data, and the user inputs that the user selects one of the bins through the input unit, and the password corresponding to the bin is input. Is input, the storage data stored in the storage unit is selected from the output destination information that the bin selected by the user is specified, and selected for the printing unit The print target data in the stored data is printed on a medium, and the ejection mechanism is caused to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user.

With this configuration, the print target data designated as confidential to the confidential data in the print data is stored as storage data in the storage unit. This stored data is
The user who owns the bin specified as the output destination inputs the selection of this bin to the input unit of the printer and inputs the password of the bin, so that printing and discharging are performed. It should be noted that print target data not specified as confidential in the confidential data in the print data may be printed and discharged immediately, or may be stored and temporarily stored in the storage unit and then printed and discharged.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing data to be printed on a medium, an ejection mechanism for ejecting the medium printed by the printing section to one of a plurality of bins, Print data having an input unit for accepting an input operation, print target data, output destination information for specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and confidential information for specifying whether or not confidentiality is specified for each specified bin And an interface unit connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data and receiving print data from the computer, and a password corresponding to each of the bins is set, and the print data received by the interface unit is set. A storage unit for storing, as storage data, one designated as confidential for at least one bin by the confidential information, Of the print data received by the interface unit, the one in which at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is specified in the confidential data as having no confidential specification is selected. The print target data of the print data is printed on a medium, and the output mechanism specifies the output destination information of the selected print data as the output destination information and the confidential information indicates that no confidential information is specified. Output to the designated bin, and when the user inputs to select one of the bins via the input unit and inputs the password corresponding to the bin, the storage data stored in the storage unit Out of which the bin selected by the user is specified in the output destination information, and instructs the printing unit to print the data to be printed in the selected storage data. It is printed on the body, with respect to the discharge mechanism, and a control unit for outputting the printed medium in a bottle which is selected by the user, characterized in that it comprises.

With this configuration, the printing target data sent to one or more bins is specified for each bin as to whether or not confidentiality is specified. Print target data designated as confidential for at least one bin is stored as storage data in the storage unit. The stored data is printed and ejected when the user who owns the bin specified as the output destination inputs to the input section of the printer that the bin is to be selected and inputs the password of the bin. You. If the data to be printed sent to a certain bin is not designated as confidential, the print data may be printed and discharged immediately, or once stored in the storage unit and then printed and discharged. It may be that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing data to be printed on a medium, an ejection mechanism for ejecting the medium printed by the printing section to one of a plurality of bins, An input unit that accepts an input operation, and print data that includes print target data and print data having output destination information that specifies one or more bins from the plurality of bins.
An interface unit connected to more than one computer and receiving print data from the computers, lock information designating lock on or lock off of the bin for each bin, and a password corresponding to each bin are set. The print data received by the interface unit is stored as storage data in which at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is specified as lock-on in the lock information in the storage unit. A print unit that selects at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information from the print data received by the interface unit and that is specified as lock-off in the lock information in the storage unit; Print data for the selected print data on a medium, and The printed medium is output to the bin specified as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data, and is also specified as lock-off in the lock information in the storage unit, and the user can input the print medium through the input unit. Inputting the password to select one of the bins and inputting the password corresponding to the bin, the bin selected by the user is displayed in the output destination information of the stored data stored in the storage unit. The designated one is selected, the printing unit prints the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, and the user selects the printed medium for the ejection mechanism. And a control unit that outputs the bin to the selected bin.

With this configuration, the print target data sent to at least one locked bin is stored as storage data in the storage unit. The stored data is printed and ejected when the user who owns the bin specified as the output destination inputs to the input section of the printer that the bin is to be selected and inputs the password of the bin. You. The print target data sent to the unlocked bin may be printed and discharged immediately, or may be temporarily stored in the storage unit and then printed and discharged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing data to be printed on a medium, an ejection mechanism for ejecting the medium printed by the printing section to one of a plurality of bins, Sends an input unit that accepts an input operation, print data including print target data, confidential information specifying whether confidentiality is specified for the print target data, and output destination information specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins An interface unit that is connected to one or more possible computers and receives print data from the computer, lock information that specifies lock-on or lock-off of the bin for each bin, and A password is set, and the confidential information of the print data received by the interface unit indicates that confidentiality is specified. Or a storage unit for storing, as storage data, at least one of bins specified in the output destination information specified as lock-on in the lock information in the storage unit, and print data received by the interface unit And selecting at least one of the bins designated as confidential not specified in the confidential information and at least one of the bins designated in the output destination information as lock-off in the lock information in the storage unit. In response to this, the print target data of the selected print data is printed on a medium, and the output mechanism is designated as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data, and When the lock information in the storage unit is output to the bin designated as lock-off, and the user inputs that the user selects one of the bins via the input unit, When a password corresponding to the bin is input, a storage data whose bin is selected by the user is selected from among the stored data stored in the storage unit, and the printing is performed. A control unit for causing the unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, and causing the ejection mechanism to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user. It is characterized by having.

With such a configuration, the print target data specified as confidential to the confidential data in the print data or transmitted to at least one locked bin is stored as data in the storage unit. Is stored. The stored data is printed and ejected when the user who owns the bin specified as the output destination inputs to the input section of the printer that the bin is to be selected and inputs the password of the bin. You. It should be noted that the print target data sent to an unlocked bin that is not designated as confidential in the confidential data in the print data is immediately printed,
It may be ejected, or may be temporarily stored in the storage unit and then printed and ejected.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing data to be printed on a medium, an ejection mechanism for ejecting the medium printed by the printing section to one of a plurality of bins, Print data having an input unit for accepting an input operation, print target data, output destination information for specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and confidential information for specifying whether or not confidentiality is specified for each of the specified bins An interface unit connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data, receiving print data from the computer, lock information designating lock-on or lock-off of the bin for each bin, and A corresponding password has been set, and at least one bin of the print data received by the interface Whether it is confidential specified, or,
A storage unit that stores, as storage data, at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information that is specified as lock-on in the lock information in the storage unit, and the print data received by the interface unit includes At least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is selected from those whose confidential data is specified as confidential not specified and whose lock information is specified as lock-off stored in the storage unit. The print target data of the selected print data is printed on a medium, and the output mechanism is designated as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data, and The confidential information is output to a bin specified as “no confidential specification” and the lock information stored in the storage unit is specified as “lock-off”. Inputting the password to select one of the bins and inputting the password corresponding to the bin, the bin selected by the user is displayed in the output destination information of the stored data stored in the storage unit. Select the designated one, and cause the printing unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium,
A control unit for outputting the printed medium to the bin selected by the user with respect to the discharge mechanism.

With this configuration, the printing target data sent to one or more bins specifies whether or not confidentiality is specified for each bin. Print target data that has been confidentially specified for at least one bin or sent to at least one locked bin is stored as storage data in the storage unit. This stored data is stored by the user who owns the bin specified as the output destination,
Printing and discharging are performed by inputting the selection of this bin to the input unit of the printer and inputting the password of the bin. If the print target data sent to a certain bin is not designated as confidential and the bin is not locked, the print target data may be immediately printed and ejected. May be printed and then ejected.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system.
Alternatively, the printer according to claim 4 is connected to the printer via a network, generates print target data, and allows a user to select one or more bins to be an output destination. One or more computers capable of generating output destination information specifying a bin, generating print data including the print target data and output destination information, and transmitting the print data to the printer. And

The printing system according to the eighth aspect is the second aspect.
Alternatively, the printer according to claim 5 is connected to the printer via a network, generates data to be printed, and allows a user to select one or more bins as output destinations. Output destination information specifying a bin is generated, and confidential information is generated after allowing the user to select whether or not confidential designation of the print target data is included, and the print target data, output destination information, and confidential information are included. One or more computers capable of generating print data and transmitting the print data to the printer are provided.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system according to the third aspect.
Alternatively, the printer according to claim 6 is connected to the printer via a network, generates print target data, and allows a user to select one or more bins to be an output destination. Output destination information that specifies bins is generated, and a user selects whether or not confidentiality is specified for each of the bins specified as output destinations, and then generates confidential information. And one or more computers capable of generating print data including information and confidential information and transmitting the print data to the printer.

[0026]

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

<Hardware Configuration> The printing system 10 of the present embodiment has a plurality of host personal computers (hereinafter abbreviated as HOST) 11 and a printer 12. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a printing system 10, and as shown in FIG.
It is connected by a network 13.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the printer 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 12 includes a main control unit 20 and an input / output control unit 21. The input / output control unit 21 includes a main control unit 20, an HDD 22, and an EE.
It is connected to a PROM 23 and can write / read data to / from the HDD 22 and the EEPROM 23. The HDD 22 stores storage data described later, and the EEPROM 23 stores status information described later. These HDD 22 and EEPROM 23
Functions as a storage unit. Further, the main control unit 20 and the input / output control unit 21 function as control units, and can execute software described later.

The main control unit 20 has a CPU, a memory controller, an I / O control circuit, and the like (not shown).
It is connected to a DRAM 24 and a network interface (network I / F) 25 as an interface unit for a network. The network I / F 25 is connected to the input / output control unit 21 and to each HOST 11 via the network 13. Further, the main control unit 20 includes a print engine 2 as a printing unit that executes printing on a print medium (paper).
6. Paper feeder 2 for supplying paper to print engine 26
7 and a multi-bin unit 28 for discharging printed sheets. Further, the main control unit 20
Is connected to a panel unit 29 that displays information to the user and accepts an input operation of the user.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of the printer 12. As shown in FIG. The print engine 26 is stored in the main body 30. A plurality of paper feed trays 31 are arranged below the main body 30. The paper feeder 27 draws out the paper from the paper feed trays 31 and conveys the paper to the print engine 26 in the main body 30. . The print engine 26 has a laser beam scanning optical system (not shown), a drum, a toner supply unit, and the like, and prints the paper supplied by the paper supply device 27. The paper printed by the print engine 26 is transported by a transport system (not shown) to a multi-bin unit 28 as a discharge mechanism. Multi-bin unit 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a physical bin 2 which has a plurality of (ten in FIG. 3) physical bins 28a and prints a sheet of paper,
Discharge to 8a. The printed paper is discharged above each physical bin 28a.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the panel section 29. As shown in FIG. The panel unit (input unit) 29 includes a display unit 32 having an LCD or the like to display information, a cursor 33 for scrolling the display contents of the display unit 32, a numeric keypad for inputting numbers, and finalizing an input operation. Enter key 35
Having. The user performs an input operation by pressing the ten keys 34 or the enter key 35 after scrolling the display contents with the cursor keys 33 as appropriate while viewing the display contents of the display unit 32.

<Software Configuration> FIG. 5 is a software configuration diagram of the printing system 10. In FIG. 5, layer (A) below the one-dot chain line indicates hardware, while layers (B) to (D) indicate software. Of these, the (B) layer shows hardware-dependent software, the (C) layer shows software independent of a command (language), and the (D) layer shows software dependent on a command (language).

The HOST 11 includes a device driver 4
1, an operating system (not shown), application programs, and a tool program described later are installed in advance. The device driver 41 converts data created by an application program or a tool program into print data and sends the print data to the printer 12. As will be described later, the print data includes a job management command in addition to the actual print target data.

The sent print data is received by the interface manager 42 of the printer 12, and the job management command is analyzed by the job language interpreter 43, and is converted into storage data to be described later.
D22. At this time, the job language interpreter 43
Generates storage data with reference to status information on the status of the printer 12 managed by the status manager 44 as described later.

The stored data once stored is H
The data to be printed is read out by the DD data management unit 45 and converted into a print image by the page description language interpretation module 46. This print image is sent to the engine controller 49 via the printing manager 47 and the job control manager 48. The engine controller 49 includes the print engine 2
6. The control unit controls the sheet feeding device 27 and the multi-bin unit 28 to print a print image on a sheet, and outputs the printed sheet to a designated physical bin 28a as described later.

<Virtual Bin Function> Since the multi-bin unit 28 of the printer 12 has ten physical bins 28a, the administrator can determine a user for each physical bin 28a in advance. it can. As a result, each user can output his / her own printed matter to his / her own physical bin 28a. In addition, each user can send the printed matter to another user by causing the printed matter to be output to the physical bin 28a of another user.

However, if the number of physical bins 28a is 10, the number of users who can own the physical bins 28a is 10
It is limited to less than people. Therefore, in this embodiment,
A virtual bin, which is a virtual bin, is provided in the printer 12 so that each user can own a bin even when the number of users exceeds 10, and all users can own their own virtual bins. did. This allows each user to output his or her own printed matter to his or her virtual bin. In addition, each user can send a printed matter to the specific user by selecting the virtual bin of the specific user and outputting the printed matter to the virtual bin.

The virtual bin is virtually realized by converting print data transmitted by the user into stored data and storing the converted data in the HDD 22 of the printer 12. That is, the user who performs printing specifies the output destination virtual bin using the device driver 41 (a plurality of virtual bins can be specified). The device driver 41 converts the output destination information indicating the designated virtual bin number into a job management command format, attaches the job management command to print target data to be actually printed, and prints the print data. Is generated, and the print data is transmitted to the printer 12.

The transmitted print data is received by the interface manager 42 of the printer 12. Then, the job language interpreting unit 43 interprets the job management command in the print data, extracts a virtual bin number of an output destination, converts the virtual bin number into a format of an output destination flag described later,
The output destination flag is attached to the print target data to generate storage data, and the storage data is recorded in the HDD 22.

As described above, the data stored in the HDD 22 has the output destination flag.
Output destination information (a plurality of virtual bins can be specified) indicating a virtual bin is included. That is, although the regions corresponding to the respective virtual bins are not individually set in the HDD 22, the storage bins having the output destination flags are stored in the HDD 22, so that the virtual bins are virtually realized. -ing

As described above, each user can have his own virtual bin, but the actual printout must be made to the physical bin 28a. Therefore, an administrator who manages the network 13 needs to associate each virtual bin with one of the physical bins 28a in advance, as described later.

<Confidential Function> When sending print data to the above-described virtual bin, the user specifies that the print result is not immediately output to the physical bin 28a corresponding to the virtual bin. , Can instruct printing. This function is called a confidential function.

That is, a user who performs printing can specify confidentiality for each specified virtual bin when specifying the output destination virtual bin using the device driver 41.
The device driver 41 converts confidential information indicating the presence or absence of confidentiality designation for the virtual bin, together with the designated virtual bin number, into a job management command, and then converts the job management command into print target data to be actually printed. And print data is transmitted to the printer 12.

This print data is received by the interface manager 42 of the printer 12. And
The job language interpreting unit 43 interprets the job management command in the print data, converts the virtual bin number of the output destination into the format of the output destination flag, and determines whether or not confidentiality is specified for the virtual bin. Convert to format. Then, the job language interpreting unit 43 generates storage data by attaching the output destination flag and the confidential flag to the print target data, and causes the HDD 22 to record the storage data.

The virtual bin specified by the confidential flag of the stored data is in a state where the actual print output to the physical bin 28a corresponding to the virtual bin is prohibited. The print-prohibited data is printed out only when the user issues a later-described unsealed print instruction to the printer 12.

<Lock Function> The confidential function described above is a function that can be specified by a user who performs printing.
Has a function that can be set so that the user who owns each virtual bin prohibits the virtual bin from printing out to the physical bin 28a. This function is called the lock function.

That is, a user can lock his or her virtual bin by setting lock information in the printer 12 in advance as described later. Printing to the locked virtual bin is always prohibited from being output to the physical bin 28a regardless of whether or not the confidential designation is made. Actual print output to the physical bin 28a is executed only when the user issues a later-described unsealed print instruction to the printer 12.

<Setting on Administrator Side> In order to use the above-described functions, the administrator and the user must perform setting processing on the printer 12 in advance. First, the settings on the administrator side will be described. The administrator can activate the tool program installed in the HOST 11 for the administrator to perform the setting process. The setting process can also be performed by the panel unit 29 of the printer 12.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a setting screen displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the HOST 11 for the administrator. The administrator starts the tool program installed in the HOST 11 in advance, and displays a setting screen as shown in FIG. In this state, the administrator operates a keyboard and a mouse (not shown) of the HOST 11, and for each of the plurality of virtual bins, the name of the user who owns the virtual bin and the physical to be associated with the virtual bin The number of the bin 28a is
Enter each one. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the physical bin # 01 is in the virtual bin # 1, and the physical bin # 05 is in the virtual bin # 2.
However, virtual bin # 3 has physical bin # 02 and virtual bin # 4
Corresponds to the physical bin # 03. Information indicating the correspondence between these virtual bins and physical bins corresponds to bin correspondence information.

Here, the administrator can set a password for each virtual bin. In the following description, immediately after the printer 12 is installed, the administrator sets a temporary password for each virtual bin, and after the operation of the printer 12 starts, each user sets a temporary password for his / her virtual bin as described later. The explanation is to change the password to your password.

After completing the input on the setting screen, the administrator uses the input information (user name, password, and physical bin 28a number) as the setting information as the printer 12
Instruct the tool program to send to the tool program. The tool program is a device driver 4 of HOST11.
1 and the interface manager 42 of the printer 12 and the job language interpreter 43,
Is sent to the status manager 44.

That is, the tool program converts the setting information into the format of a predetermined job management command and transmits the job management command to the printer 12 via the device driver 41. This job management command is received by the interface manager 42 of the printer 12 and then decoded by the job language interpreter 43. That is, since the job management command here includes setting information indicating the name and password of the user corresponding to each virtual bin and the number of the physical bin 28a, the job language interpreting unit 43 Information can be extracted. Status manager 44
Writes the setting information extracted by the job language interpreting unit 43 in the EEPROM 23 as status information.

The status information in the EEPROM 23 includes, for each virtual bin, a user name, a password, and a corresponding physical bin 28a number.
As described later, lock information indicating the lock state of the virtual bin set by the user is stored. further,
This status information has an unprinted counter. The unprinted counter is set for each virtual bin, and stores a numerical value indicating the number of unprinted data stored in each virtual bin. Immediately after the introduction of the printer 12, all the unprinted counters corresponding to the respective virtual bins are all 0.
After the operation starts, each time data is output to the virtual bin, the numerical value is counted up, and each time data in the virtual bin is output to the physical bin 28a, the numerical value is counted down.

<Setting on User Side> Next, setting processing by the user will be described. Each user has an H for each user
The setting process can be performed by activating the tool program installed in the OST 11. The setting process can also be performed by the panel unit 29 of the printer 12.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a setting screen displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the HOST 11 for the user. The user starts a tool program installed in the HOST 11 in advance, and displays a setting screen as shown in FIG. Each row of this setting screen corresponds to each virtual bin. After displaying this setting screen, the user
By operating the keyboard and mouse of ST11, a password setting and a lock setting described later can be performed.

(Password Setting) First, the password setting will be described. Immediately after the operation of the printer 12 is started, a temporary password is assigned to each virtual bin. Therefore, the user notifies the virtual password corresponding to the virtual bin together with his virtual bin number from the administrator in advance. get. Then, the user displays the setting screen of FIG. 7 and inputs the temporary password in the password column 61 of the row indicating his / her virtual bin.

The tool program of HOST11 is HO
ST11 device driver 41 and printer 1
It communicates with the status manager 44 of the printer 12 via the second interface manager 42 and the job language interpreter 43, and transmits the virtual bin number and the temporary password to the status manager 44. The status manager 44 reads the password corresponding to the virtual bin number from the status information recorded in the EEPROM 23, and compares it with the temporary password sent from the HOST 11. Then, the status manager 44 notifies the tool program of the HOST 11 whether or not the two passwords match.

If the two passwords do not match, the tool program displays a message to that effect on the screen and requests the user to input the password again. If the two passwords match, the HOST 11 screen is shown in FIG. Switch to the password change screen. The user enters a new password and again enters the same password for confirmation. The tool program compares the input passwords, and if the passwords do not match, displays a message to that effect on the screen and prompts the user to input the password again. Send the password and the corresponding virtual bin number. The status manager 44 of the printer 12 rewrites the password corresponding to the virtual bin number in the status information in the EEPROM 23 with a new password.

(Lock Setting) Next, lock setting will be described. On the setting screen shown in FIG. 7, the user clicks on the lock button 62 that displays the locked state of the virtual bin corresponding to the virtual bin with the mouse to change the locked state of the virtual bin. Can be changed. In FIG. 7, the virtual bin number # 1 is unlocked, that is, lock-off, and the virtual bin numbers # 2, # 3, and # 4 are locked, that is, lock-on.

To lock off a locked virtual bin, the user first clicks the lock button 62 of his or her locked virtual bin. Then, the tool program displays the lock state change screen shown in FIG.
It is displayed on the screen of ST11, and requests the user to enter a password. Here, when the user enters the password,
The tool program checks whether the password input by communicating with the printer 12 matches the password registered in the printer 12. If the passwords do not match, the tool program requests the user to input the password again. If the passwords match, the tool program transmits the virtual bin number and the lock release request to the printer 12.

In response to this, the status manager 44 of the printer 12 changes the lock information indicating the lock state corresponding to the specified virtual bin number from the lock on to the lock off among the status information in the EEPROM 23.

In the above description, an example is given in which the lock-on virtual bin is locked off. However, it is also possible to lock on the lock-off virtual bin by the same procedure.

Note that the screen shown in FIG. 7 displays information indicating how many unprinted data items are present in each virtual bin, so that the user can determine the number of unprinted data items in his or her virtual bin. You can know. When the tool program displays the screen shown in FIG.
Of the EEPROM 23 via the status manager 44
This is displayed on the screen by acquiring the numerical value of the unprinted counter in the status information in the box.

<Print Instruction on HOST Side> After the above settings by the administrator and the user, the user can issue a print instruction to the printer 12 from the HOST 11 side. That is, when the user instructs the application program started in HOST 11 to print, the application program sends the print contents to the device driver 41. The device driver 41 is connected to the HOST 11
The driver screen is displayed on a display unit (not shown). The user makes various settings such as print range and paper selection on this driver screen, and further selects an output destination.

When this output destination selection is instructed, the device driver 41 instructs the HOST 11 to select an output destination (see FIG. 1).
0) is displayed. That is, the device driver 41
From the status manager 44 of the printer 12
The lock information indicating the lock state of each virtual bin is obtained from the status information recorded in the EPROM 23 and displayed as the lock button 62 on the output destination selection screen. The user can check the lock state of each virtual bin by using the lock button 62. In FIG. 10,
Virtual bin number # 1 is locked off and virtual bin number #
2, # 3 and # 4 are lock-on.

The output destination selection screen also displays a check box 63 for specifying an output destination and a confidential button 64 for specifying confidentiality. Immediately after the display, all the check boxes 63 are unchecked, and all the confidential buttons 64 are off.

Here, the user has entered the virtual bin numbers # 2 and #
4, a print instruction is given, and in particular, a confidential designation is made for the virtual bin number # 4. In this case, the user checks the check boxes 63 corresponding to the virtual bin numbers # 2 and # 4 by clicking with the mouse. Further, the user turns on confidential button 64 corresponding to virtual bin number # 4 by clicking with the mouse.

After the designation is completed, the user issues a print instruction to the device driver 41 after confirming the designated items. The device driver 41 converts information input on the output destination selection screen in FIG. 10 into a job management command. Then, the device driver 41
Incorporates this job management command into the print data and transmits the print data to the printer 12.

FIG. 11 shows an example of print data. The print data includes a job management command 71, attached information 72, and print target data 73. Job management command 71
"Outbin = 2; 4;" in the first row of the table indicates that the output destination virtual bin numbers are # 2 and # 4, and the second row "secret = 4;" Bin number #
4 indicates that confidential printing has been designated. The attached information includes information such as the name of the sender who has designated printing, the name of the data to be printed, and the sending date and time.

The device driver 41 transmits the print data including the job management command 71, the attached information 72, and the print target data 73 to the printer 12 as described above.

<Processing on Printer Side> (Processing of Print Data) The print data sent from the HOST 11 as described above is received by the printer 12. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to a print data processing flowchart shown in FIG. First, the interface manager 42 of the printer 12 receives print data (Sa1).

Next, the job language interpreting section 43 analyzes the job management command 71 of the received print data. Further, the job language interpreting unit 43 secures the output destination flag 75, the confidential flag 76, and the lock flag 77 as variables. FIG. 13 schematically shows the output destination flag 75, the confidential flag 76, and the lock flag 77. Note that each of the flags 75, 76, and 77 sets the number of virtual bins to n so that the states of all the virtual bins can be stored.
(N: positive integer), n bits (bi
t).

Then, the job language interpreting section 43 outputs “outbin” in the job management command 71 of the print data.
= 2; 4; ", the output destination flag 75 is set by setting the bits corresponding to the virtual bin numbers # 2 and # 4 specified here to 1 and setting the other bits to 0 (Sa2). .

Then, the job language interpreting section 43 outputs “secret =” in the job management command 71 of the print data.
4; ”, the virtual bin number # specified here
The bit corresponding to 4 is set to 1 and the other bits are set to 0.
The confidential flag 76 is set (Sa3).

Further, the job language interpreting section 43 reads out the lock information from the status information recorded in the EEPROM 23 via the status manager 44. Then, the bits corresponding to the locked virtual bin numbers # 2, # 3, and # 4 are set to 1 and the other bits are set to 0, and the lock flag 77 is set (Sa4).

Then, the job language interpreting section 43 adds the attached information 72 of the print data and the print target data 73 to the print data.
A storage data is generated by attaching an output destination flag 75, a confidential flag 76, and a lock flag 77. FIG. 14 shows an example of the stored data. The job language interpreting section 43 stores the storage data thus generated in the HDD 22 (Sa
5). When the stored data is processed (stored data processing) as described below, the print data processing ends.

In the above description, the print data sent from the HOST 11 is converted into storage data without expanding the print target data into a print image. The print data may be converted to stored data by the page description language interpretation module 46 in a state where the print target data is expanded into a print image.

Further, all the print data is converted into stored data and temporarily stored in the HDD 22. However, for virtual bins that are not designated as confidential and not locked, the virtual bins are determined based on the print data. May be directly output to the physical bin 28a corresponding to.

The above stored data processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the HDD data management unit 45 acquires the storage data stored in the HDD 22 (Sa6). Then, the HDD data management unit 45
Is, when the set number of virtual bins is n (n: a positive integer), the (integer) variable N indicating the virtual bin number is changed from 1 to n
The stored data is processed while incrementing one by one until the data is incremented. That is, the loop from Sa7 to Sa14 is processed a total of n times corresponding to each value of N, and then the process proceeds to Sa15. Hereinafter, this loop (Sa7 to Sa7)
The process 14) will be described for each step.

Sa7: The HDD data management unit 45 determines whether or not the bit indicating the N-th virtual bin in the storage data output destination flag 75 is 1, and if this bit is 1, the process proceeds to Sa8. If it is 0, the process proceeds to S
Proceed to a14.

Sa8: The HDD data management unit 45 determines whether or not the bit indicating the N-th virtual bin in the confidential flag 76 of the stored data is 1, and if this bit is 1, the process proceeds to Sa13. Advance, if 0, proceed to S
Proceed to a9.

Sa9: The HDD data management unit 45 determines whether the bit indicating the N-th virtual bin in the lock flag 77 of the stored data is 1, and if this bit is 1, the process proceeds to Sa13. If it is 0, the process proceeds to Sa10.

Sa10: Since neither the confidential flag 76 nor the lock flag 77 is set to 1 for the N-th virtual bin, the HDD data management unit 45 outputs the stored data to the physical bin 28a, and
By referring to the status information in M23, the physical bin 28a corresponding to the N-th virtual bin currently being processed
To identify.

Sa11: The page description language interpretation module 46 converts the print target data in the stored data into a print image. This print image is stored in a printing manager 47 and a job control manager 48.
Is passed to the engine controller 49 via The engine controller 49 causes the paper supply device 27 to supply paper to the print engine 26, and the print engine 2
6, after the print image is printed on the sheet, the multi-bin unit 28 is controlled so that the printed sheet is
The data is output to the physical bin 28a specified in a10.

Sa12: Physical bin 2 in Sa11
Since the output process to 8a has been performed, the HDD data management unit 45 sets the bit corresponding to the N-th virtual bin in the output destination flag 75 of the stored data to 0. Then, the process proceeds to Sa14.

Sa13: Since the confidentiality is specified for the N-th virtual bin currently being processed or the virtual bin is locked, the HDD data management unit 45 sends the status of the EEPROM 23 through the status manager 44. After incrementing the unprinted counter in the information by one, the process proceeds to Sa14.

Sa14: The HDD data management unit 45
After N is incremented by 1, the process returns to Sa7. However, if the value of N exceeds n here, the process leaves the loop and proceeds to Sa15.

By the loop of Sa7 to Sa14, the stored data is transferred to the physical bin 28a corresponding to the virtual bin only when neither the confidential specification nor the lock is performed for each virtual bin specified as the output destination. It is actually printed out.

The HDD data management unit 45 determines whether all the bits in the output destination flag 75 of the stored data are 0 (Sa15). The stored data is deleted from the HDD 22 (Sa16), and if at least one of the bits of the output destination flag 75 is 1, the stored data is stored without being deleted. Thus, the processing of the stored data is completed.

For example, each flag 75 of the stored data is
In the case shown in FIG. 3, the storage data is stored in the HDD 22 without being output to the physical bin 28a. That is, in the output destination flag 75, only the bits of the virtual bin numbers # 2 and # 4 are set to “1”. Therefore, in the above loop (Sa7 to Sa14), only when the value of N is 2 or 4, Is performed. If N = 2, the virtual bin number # 2 has not been designated as confidential, so the processing further proceeds to Sa9.
Here, since the virtual bin # 2 itself is locked, the physical bin 28 in Sa10 to Sa12 is
Output processing to a is not performed. If N = 4, the confidentiality designation has been made for this virtual bin number # 4, so that the output processing to the physical bin 28a is not performed.

(Unopened Printing Process) The stored data stored in the HDD 22 after the completion of the above-described stored data process can be physically stored only when the user who owns the virtual bin performs the unsealed printing process described below. Output to bin 28a. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the unsealed printing process. Hereinafter, each step will be described.

Sb1: The user can start the unsealed printing process by operating the panel unit 29 of the printer 12. Since there are a plurality of functions to operate and execute the panel unit 29, the user operates the cursor keys 33 while viewing the display unit 32 to display a desired function on the display unit 32 and then enter The key 35 is used to determine. The status manager 44 obtains information indicating the function specified by the user from the panel unit 29.

Sb2: The status manager 44
If the function specified by the user is unsealing printing, the process proceeds to Sb4 to start unsealing printing, but if the specified function is other than unsealing printing, the process proceeds to Sb3.

Sb3: Since a function other than the unsealed printing is specified, the status manager 44 executes the function and returns the processing to Sb1.

Sb4: Since unsealing printing is specified, the status manager 44 switches the screen of the display unit 32 on the panel unit 29, and allows the user to select his or her own virtual bin. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a screen example of the display unit 32. In FIG. 17, virtual bin number # 1 (Bin
= 1) is displayed. The user scrolls the screen of the display unit 32 using the cursor keys 33 of the panel unit 29 to display his or her virtual bin on the screen. Then, the user specifies his or her virtual bin by pressing the enter key 35. Status manager 4
4 acquires from the panel unit 29 the virtual bin number designated by the user.

Sb5: The status manager 44
Displaying the screen of FIG. 18 on the display unit 32 of the panel unit 29 allows the user to input a password. The user inputs a password using the numeric keypad 34. The status manager 44 acquires the password input by the user from the panel unit 29.

Sb6: The status manager 44
The password corresponding to the virtual bin number specified by the user is read out from the status information recorded in the EEPROM 23, and is compared with the password input by the user. The status manager 44 advances the process to Sb10 if the two passwords match, but branches the process to Sb7 if they do not match.

Sb7: Since the input password is incorrect, the status manager 44 displays the screen shown in FIG. 18 again on the display unit 32 of the panel unit 29, and prompts the user to input the password. The user uses the numeric keypad 34 to re-enter the password.

Sb8: The status manager 44
The password acquired from the EEPROM 23 is compared with the re-entered password. Status manager 4
No. 4 advances the process to Sb10 if the passwords match, but advances the process to Sb9 if they do not match.

Sb9: The status manager 44
After displaying on the display unit 32 of the panel unit 29 that an error has occurred due to an incorrect password, the process proceeds to S
Return to b1.

Sb10: Status manager 44
Acknowledges that the user who is currently operating the panel unit 29 is the owner of the virtual bin in response to the user inputting the correct password, and sets the variable V indicating the output destination secured in advance as the Enter the virtual bin number. Then,
After the actual printing process described below is executed, the unsealed printing process ends, and the process returns to Sb1.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the actual printing process. Each step in this drawing will be described below.

Sb11: The HDD data management unit 45
The storage data recorded in the HDD 22 is searched, and the storage data recorded first is read.

Sb12: The HDD data management unit 45
The output destination flag 75 of the stored data is extracted.

Sb13: The HDD data management unit 45
It is determined whether or not the bit indicating the virtual bin number stored in the output destination V is 1 in the output destination flag 75. If this bit is 1, the process proceeds to Sb14, but if it is 0, the process proceeds to Sb18.

Sb14: The HDD data management unit 45
The storage data is output to the physical bin 28a, and the physical bin 28a corresponding to the number is specified for the virtual bin stored in the output target V by referring to the status information in the EEPROM 23.

Sb15: The page description language interpretation module 46 converts the print target data 73 in the stored data into a print image. This print image is passed to the engine controller 49 via the printing manager 47 and the job control manager 48.
The engine controller 49 causes the paper supply device 27 to supply paper to the print engine 26, causes the print engine 26 to print the print image on the paper, and then controls the multi-bin unit 28 to print the printed paper. The data is output to the physical bin 28a specified in Sb14.

Sb16: Physical bin 2 in Sb15
Since the output processing to 8a has been performed, the HDD data management unit 45 rewrites the bit corresponding to the virtual bin number stored in the output target V in the storage data output destination flag 75 to 0.

Sb17: The HDD data management unit 45
Through the status manager 44, the EEPROM 23
Unprinted counter in status information recorded in
Then, the process proceeds to Sb18.

Sb18: The HDD data management unit 45
It is checked whether all bits of the output destination flag 75 are 0. If all bits are 0, the process proceeds to Sb19; if any bit is 1, the process proceeds to Sb19.
Proceed to b20.

Sb19: Since the storage data is completely printed on the designated output destination, the HDD data management unit 45 deletes the storage data from the HDD 22. Then, the process proceeds to Sb20.

Sb20: The HDD data management unit 45
The storage data stored next to the storage data processed in Sb12 to Sb19 is searched.

Sb21: If there is stored data that has not been processed yet, the HDD data management unit 45 returns the processing to Sb12. However, if the processing has been completed for all the stored data, the HDD To end.

As described above, the storage data designated as confidential or the storage data corresponding to the locked virtual bin can be opened and printed only by the user who owns the virtual bin.

In the printer 12 of this embodiment, since a password is set in advance for each virtual bin, H
When print data is sent from the OST 11 to the printer 12, it is not necessary to attach a password to the print data, and the confidential function works effectively only by specifying the confidentiality of the print data. Therefore, the password does not flow on the network 13 every time printing is performed. Further, each user can use the confidential function and the lock function only by remembering the single password set for his or her virtual bin, so that password management is simple.

[0116]

According to the printer and print system of the present invention configured as described above, a password is set for each bin, and a user who owns each bin inputs a password to the printer. Thus, the printed matter corresponding to the bin can be discharged. Therefore, only the user who owns each bin can take out the printed material that is not desired to be seen by unspecified people, and the confidentiality of the printer and the printing system is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a printing system.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an appearance of a printer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a panel unit.

FIG. 5 is a software configuration diagram of the printer.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen on the administrator side.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen on the user side.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a password change screen.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a lock state change screen.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an output destination selection screen of a device driver.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of print data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating print data processing.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of an output destination flag, a confidential flag, and a lock flag.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of stored data.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing stored data processing.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an opening printing process.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display unit screen on the panel unit.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display unit screen on the panel unit.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating actual printing processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printing system 11 host personal computer 12 printer 20 main control unit 21 input / output control unit 22 HDD 23 EEPROM 25 network interface 26 print engine 27 paper feeder 28 multi bin unit 28a bin 29 panel unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit for printing data to be printed on a medium, a discharging mechanism for discharging the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, and an input unit for receiving a user's input operation And an interface connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data having print target data and output destination information designating one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and receiving print data from the computer Unit, a password corresponding to each of the bins is set, and a storage unit that stores the print data received by the interface unit as storage data, and a user inputs one of the bins via the input unit. Is input and the password corresponding to the bin is input, the stored data in the storage unit is Select the one that is selected bin is designated by the user to force the destination information, to the printing unit,
A control unit for causing the print target data in the selected stored data to be printed on a medium and causing the ejection mechanism to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user. Printer. 2. The print data having print target data, confidential information for specifying whether confidentiality of the print target data is specified, and output destination information for specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins. Is connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data, receives print data from the computer, and the storage unit is designated as having confidential designation by its confidential information among the print data received by the interface unit. The control unit selects, from among the print data received by the interface unit, data designated as having no confidential designation in the confidential information, and the control unit selects the print data. The print target data of the print data is printed on a medium, and the output mechanism outputs the printed medium to the output destination information of the selected print data. Output to the bin designated as the destination, and when the user inputs to select one of the bins via the input unit and inputs the password corresponding to the bin, the data stored in the storage unit is stored. Select the storage data whose output destination information specifies the bin selected by the user, and cause the printing unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer outputs the printed medium to a bin selected by the user. 3. A printing unit for printing data to be printed on a medium, a discharging mechanism for discharging the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, and an input unit for receiving a user's input operation And one unit capable of transmitting print data having print target data, output destination information for specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and confidential information for specifying whether or not confidentiality is specified for each specified bin. An interface unit connected to the above computer and receiving print data from the computer, a password corresponding to each bin is set, and the confidential information of the print data received by the interface unit is A storage unit for storing, as storage data, data designated as confidential for at least one bin, and receiving by the interface unit Selected from the print data, at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is specified in the confidential data as having no confidential specification, and printing the selected print data to the printing unit The target data is printed on a medium, and the output mechanism is
The printed medium is output to the bin specified as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data, and the confidential information is output to the bin specified as “no confidential specification”. When the user inputs a password to select a bin and inputs a password corresponding to the bin, the bin selected by the user is specified in the output destination information of the stored data stored in the storage unit. Selected, and causes the printing unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, and sends the printed medium to the bin selected by the user for the ejection mechanism. And a control unit for outputting to the printer. 4. A printing unit for printing data to be printed on a medium, a discharging mechanism for discharging the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, and an input unit for receiving a user's input operation And an interface connected to one or more computers capable of transmitting print data having print target data and output destination information designating one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and receiving print data from the computer And a lock information designating lock-on or lock-off of the bin for each of the bins, and a password corresponding to each of the bins, and the print data received by the interface unit. At least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is stored in a state where the lock information in the storage unit is specified as lock-on. A storage unit for storing the print data received by the interface unit, wherein at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is specified as lock-off in the lock information in the storage unit; Causing the printing unit to print the print target data of the selected print data on a medium, and instructing the ejection mechanism to specify the printed medium as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data. Is output to the bin designated as lock-off in the lock information in the storage unit, and the user inputs through the input unit that the user selects one of the bins and inputs the password corresponding to the bin. In the case where the bin selected by the user is specified in the output destination information among the stored data stored in the storage unit, And a control unit that causes the ejection mechanism to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user, for causing the print target data in the selected storage data to be printed on a medium. Characterized printer. 5. A printing unit for printing data to be printed on a medium, a discharging mechanism for discharging the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, and an input unit for receiving a user's input operation And one or more units capable of transmitting print data having print target data, confidential information specifying whether confidentiality of the print target data is specified, and output destination information specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins. An interface unit that is connected to a computer and receives print data from the computer, lock information designating lock-on or lock-off of the bin for each bin, and a password corresponding to each bin are set. And whether the print data received by the interface unit is designated as confidential by the confidential information, or the output destination thereof. A storage unit that stores, as storage data, at least one of the bins specified in the information is specified as lock-on in the lock information in the storage unit; and, in the confidential information of the print data received by the interface unit, At least one of the bins designated as confidential designation and designated in the output destination information is selected as the lock information in the storage unit designated as lock-off, and the bin selected for the printing unit is selected. The print target data of the print data is printed on the medium, and the output mechanism is designated as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data and locked to the lock information in the storage unit. Output to the bin designated as OFF, and input that the user selects any bin via the input unit, and correspond to the bin. When a password is input, a bin in which the bin selected by the user is specified in the output destination information among the stored data stored in the storage unit is selected, and the bin is selected for the printing unit. And a control unit for causing the print mechanism to print the data to be printed in the stored data on a medium, and causing the ejection mechanism to output the printed medium to a bin selected by the user. 6. A printing unit for printing data to be printed on a medium, a discharging mechanism for discharging the medium printed by the printing unit to one of a plurality of bins, and an input unit for receiving a user's input operation And one unit capable of transmitting print data having print target data, output destination information for specifying one or more bins from the plurality of bins, and confidential information for specifying whether or not confidentiality is specified for each specified bin. An interface unit that is connected to the computer and receives print data from the computer, lock information that specifies lock-on or lock-off of the bin for each bin, and a password corresponding to each bin are set. Of the print data received by the interface unit, the confidential information indicates that at least one bin is designated as confidential. Or a storage unit that stores, as storage data, at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information that is specified as lock-on in the lock information in the storage unit, and print data received by the interface unit Out of at least one of the bins specified in the output destination information is selected in the confidential data and the lock information stored in the storage unit is specified as lock-off. Causing the printing unit to print the print target data of the selected print data on a medium, and instructing the ejection mechanism to specify the printed medium as the output destination in the output destination information of the selected print data. And the lock information stored in the storage unit is output to a bin designated as lock-off, and the user is notified of the previous operation. When the user inputs an input to select one of the bins via the input unit and inputs a password corresponding to the bin, the user selects the output destination information among the stored data stored in the storage unit by the user. The selected bin is designated, and the printing unit causes the printing unit to print the print target data in the selected storage data on a medium, and the discharging mechanism prints the printed medium on the medium. A printer comprising: a control unit for outputting to a bin selected by a user. 7. The printer according to claim 1 or 4, which is connected to the printer via a network, generates print target data, and outputs the print target data to a user.
After selecting one or more bins, output destination information specifying the output destination bin is generated, print data including the print target data and output destination information is generated, and the print data can be transmitted to the printer. A printing system comprising at least one computer. 8. A printer according to claim 2 or 5, which is connected to the printer via a network, generates print target data, and outputs the print target data to a user.
Generate output destination information specifying the output destination bin after selecting one or more bins, and generate confidential information after allowing the user to select whether or not to specify confidential designation of the print target data,
A printing system comprising: one or more computers capable of generating print data including the print target data, output destination information, and confidential information, and transmitting the print data to the printer. 9. A printer according to claim 3 or 6, wherein the printer is connected to the printer via a network, generates print target data, and outputs the print target data to a user.
Generate output destination information specifying the output destination bin after selecting one or more bins, and allow the user to select the presence or absence of confidential designation for each of the bins specified as output destinations. One or more computers capable of generating confidential information, generating print data including the print target data, output destination information, and confidential information, and transmitting the print data to the printer. Printing system.