JP2001270187A - Printer, control method therefor, computer program, and memory medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance work efficiency and to prevent wastage of resources when the data of a plurality of inputted pages are alloted to the same paper to be printed in a printer. SOLUTION: The printing data from a host computer 200 is inputted to the input part 18 of a printer 100 through an interface 21 and the inputted data is analyzed in a CPU 12 to be subjected to bit map development and the bit map data is printed on paper in a printing part 17. When a plurality of pages are alloted to one paper to be printed thereon, the number of logic pages to be alloted to one paper is judged from the use number of papers disignated in an operation part 112 and the number of papers based on the input data to perform printing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a laser beam printer or an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to a function of pasting a plurality of pages (N) onto one sheet of paper and printing (N-UP printing function). The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a control method thereof, a computer program, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing apparatus having an N-UP function, a user designates how many logical pages are printed in one physical page. For example, N =
When "4" is specified, 1 to 4 logical pages are printed on one physical page.

[0003] In addition, when preparing a plurality of copies of conference materials and the like, it is common to print using the copy number printing function of the apparatus. In such a case, resources such as paper and toner are used. In order to save money, the number of prints is reduced by using the N-UP function. In addition, the amount of paper mounted on the apparatus is automatically detected, and NU
It has also been proposed to perform P function printing automatically.

[0004]

However, in the conventional printing apparatus as described above, the user directly specifies the number of sheets, and the number of pages per sheet is adjusted so that the print job can be accommodated by the number of sheets. It was not possible to automatically determine whether to assign a logical page and print it, and therefore, there was a problem that work efficiency could not be improved and there was much waste of resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an improved printing apparatus capable of improving work efficiency and reducing waste of resources when performing N-UP function printing. The purpose is to provide a control method, a computer program, and a storage medium.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems A printing apparatus and a control method thereof, a computer program, and a storage medium according to the present invention are configured as follows.

(1) A storage unit for storing input print data, a printing unit for printing the print data, and a layout printing function for laying out and printing data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper, The number of logical pages to be assigned to one sheet is determined based on the number of sheets used at the time of printing and the number of sheets of input print data, and layout printing is performed.

(2) In the configuration of (1), an input unit for inputting print data from an external device via an interface, an analyzing unit for analyzing the input data, and developing the analyzed information into bitmap data. It has a development part.

(3) In the configuration of the above (1) or (2), there is provided a size designating means for designating a minimum size of a character to be used for layout printing. The number of logical pages to be assigned is now determined.

(4) In the configuration of the above (1) or (2), there is provided a size designating means for designating a minimum size of an image to be used for layout printing, and one sheet of paper is formed based on the designated minimum image size. The number of logical pages to be assigned is now determined.

(5) A storage unit for storing the input print data, a print unit for printing the print data, and a print having a layout print function for printing a plurality of pages of data on one sheet of paper. In the control method of the apparatus, layout printing is performed by determining how many logical pages are to be allocated to one sheet based on the number of sheets used at the time of printing and the number of sheets of input print data. .

(6) In the configuration of (5), print data is input from an external device via an interface,
The input data is analyzed, and the analyzed information is developed into bitmap data and printed.

(7) In the configuration of (5) or (6), how many logical pages are to be assigned to one sheet is determined based on the minimum character size specified at the time of printing.

(8) In the configuration of (5) or (6), how many logical pages are to be assigned to one sheet is determined based on the minimum image size specified at the time of printing.

(9) A computer program for generating print data to be sent to a printing apparatus, having a layout printing function of laying out a plurality of logical pages on a single sheet and printing the same. The number of logical pages to be printed is determined based on the number of logical pages to be printed and the number of logical pages to be printed.

(10) In the configuration of the above (9), a size designation function for designating a minimum size of a character used for layout printing is further provided. In the layout printing, a sheet is set based on the further specified minimum character size. The number of logical pages to be assigned to one sheet is determined.

(11) The configuration according to the above (9) or (10), further comprising a size designating function for designating a minimum size of an image to be used for layout printing, wherein the layout printing further comprises a designated minimum image size. Is used to determine how many logical pages are to be assigned to one sheet.

(12) A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program described in (9) to (11).

[0019]

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

[Embodiment 1] First, the configurations of a laser beam printer and an ink jet printer suitable for applying this embodiment will be described. The printer to which this embodiment is applied is not limited to the laser beam printer and the ink jet printer, and it goes without saying that a printer of another printing method may be used.

FIG. 1 shows a printing apparatus (output apparatus) according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a laser beam printer (LBP).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 150 denotes an LBP main body, which inputs and stores print information (character codes and the like), form information, macro instructions, and the like supplied from an externally connected host computer (not shown); It has means for creating a corresponding character pattern or form pattern according to the information and forming an image on a recording medium such as a recording medium, and is provided with a switch for operation and an LED display. It has a part 112.

A control unit 101 controls the entire LBP body 150 and analyzes character information and the like supplied from the host computer.
It mainly converts character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern and outputs the video signal to the laser driver 102.

The laser driver 102 includes the semiconductor laser 1
This circuit is for driving the laser beam 104 emitted from the semiconductor laser 103 in accordance with an input video signal. The laser light 104 is
The electrostatic drum 1 is swung right and left by the rotating polygon mirror 105.
06 is exposed by scanning. Thereby, the electrostatic drum 106
An electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed thereon. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 107 disposed around the electrostatic drum 106 and then transferred to a recording sheet.

A cut sheet is used as the recording paper. The cut sheet recording paper is stored in a paper cassette 108 mounted on the LBP main body 150, and is fed by a paper feed roller 109 and conveying rollers 110 and 111. And supplied to the electrostatic drum 106.

Although not shown, the LBP main body 150 has at least one or more extension interfaces. In addition to the built-in fonts, the optional font RO
M, a control ROM (e.g., emulation) having a different language system, and a large-capacity nonvolatile storage element can be connected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer control system in the printing apparatus having the above configuration. Here, the above-described laser beam printer will be described as an example.
Note that, as long as the functions of the present invention are executed, the present invention is applicable to a single device, a system including a plurality of devices, and a system in which processing is performed via a network such as a LAN. It goes without saying that the invention can be applied.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a host computer, which is an external device, in which figures, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets, etc.) are mixed based on a document processing program or the like stored in a program ROM of a ROM 3. The CPU 1 executes the document processing, and controls the devices connected to the system bus 4 as a whole.

Further, the program RO of the ROM 3 is used.
M stores a control program of the CPU 1 and the like, and a ROM
In the ROM 3 for fonts, font data and the like used in the above-described document processing are stored.
M stores various data used when performing the above-described document processing or the like.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a RAM, which functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 1. A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls a key input from a keyboard 9 or a pointing device (not shown). Reference numeral 6 denotes a CRT controller (CRTC), and a CRT display (CR
T) Control the display of 10.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a memory controller (MC) for accessing an external memory 11 such as a hard disk (HD) for storing a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, and editing files, and a floppy disk (FD). Control. Reference numeral 8 denotes a printer controller (PRTC) which is connected to the printer 100 having the function shown in FIG. 1 via a predetermined bidirectional interface 21 and executes communication control processing with the printer 100.

The CPU 1 executes, for example, a process of developing (rasterizing) the outline font in the display information RAM set on the RAM 2 to enable WYSIWYG on the CRT display 10. Also, C
The PU 1 opens various registered windows based on commands specified by a mouse cursor or the like (not shown) on the CRT display 10 and executes various data processing.

In the printer 100, a CPU 12 provided in the control unit 101 is a system bus 15 based on a control program or the like stored in a program ROM of the ROM 13 or a control program or the like stored in the external memory 14. , And controls image data as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 17 connected via a printing unit interface (I / F) 16. .

The program ROM of the ROM 13 also has a CPU 1 shown in the flow charts of FIGS.
2 are stored. The font ROM of the ROM 13 stores font data and the like used when generating the output information.
In the OM, information used on the host computer in the case of a printer having no external memory 14 such as a hard disk is stored.

The CPU 12 can perform communication processing with the host computer 200 via the input unit 18.
The information and the like in the printer can be notified to the host computer 200.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a RAM functioning as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 12, which is configured so that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM (not shown) connected to an additional port. Note that R
AM 19 includes an output information development area, an environment data storage area,
Used as a storage unit such as NVRAM.

The external memory 14 such as a hard disk (HD) and an IC card is a memory controller (MC).
20 controls access. The external memory 14
It is connected as an option and stores font data, emulation programs, form data, and the like.
The operation unit 112 includes an operation panel,
A switch for operation, an LED display, and the like are provided, and a unit for specifying the number of sheets and a sheet size, which will be described later, is configured.

The number of the external memory 14 is not limited to one, and at least one external memory may be provided. For example, in addition to the built-in font, an optional font card and a program for interpreting a printer control language of a different language system are stored. The configuration may be such that a plurality of external memories can be connected. Although not shown, an NVRAM may be provided to store the printer mode setting information from the operation unit 112.

In the printer control system configured as described above, when the CPU 12 of the printer 100 is performing data processing or waiting for data from the host computer 200, it initializes the printing environment in that state. When an event, for example, an initialization instruction occurs via the operation unit 112, the CPU 12 notifies the host computer 200 of the current environment via the input unit 18. For this reason, even if this initialization process is an unexpected event, the operator can easily return to the original printing environment.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main routine (normal printing process) of the processing procedure of the printer 100.

In step S1, data from the host computer 200, which is a higher-level device, is input by
The receiving process according to the program 13 in FIG. 3 is an analyzing process in which the received data is analyzed by the analyzing unit of the CPU 12 according to the program 13 in FIG.
3 is a developing process of developing the analyzed data by the developing unit of the CPU 12 according to the program 13 of FIG. 3, step S4.
Is a printing process for executing printing by transferring the developed data to the printing unit 17 via the printing unit interface 16 according to the program 13 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the above-described analysis processing.

First, in step S11, the above-mentioned N-UP
It is determined whether or not is specified. If not, the data is analyzed in step S14, and this process ends. If so, the process moves to step S12. In step S12, it is determined whether the N-UP is the conventional N-up designated N-UP or the N-UP designated according to the present invention. If N is specified, the process moves to step S15, and normal N-UP processing is performed. If the number of sheets is designated, the N determination processing (1) is performed in step S13, and then the data analysis processing is performed in step S14.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the N determination processing (1) in step S13.

In step S21, the number of received pages (J
OB logical page number) by the designated number of sheets,
The value obtained by rounding up the value is set to N, and the process exits.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the N of the N-UP process is automatically determined by designating the number of print sheets. If N is simply determined in this way, it may be impossible to read characters in the print result. Therefore, in the second embodiment, N is determined so that the character size does not become smaller than the minimum character size specified in advance by the user.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the data analysis processing of this embodiment.

First, in step S31, it is determined whether or not N-UP is specified. If not, step S3
The data analysis of No. 4 is performed, and this processing ends. If so, the process moves to step S32. In step S32, N
Judgment is made as to whether the UP is a conventional N-designated N-UP or a sheet count designated N-UP according to the present invention. If N is specified, the process moves to step S35, where normal N-UP processing is performed. If the number of sheets is designated, the N determination processing (2) is performed in step S33, and then the data analysis processing is performed in step S34.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the N determination processing (2) in step S33.

In step S41, the number of received pages is divided by the designated number of sheets, and a value obtained by rounding up the value is set to N. Next, in step S42, it is determined whether or not a minimum character size is specified. If there is no designation, in step S45, the N estimated in step S41 is set as the final N, and the process exits. If there is a designation, the process moves to step S43.

In step S43, the expected character size after the N-UP processing is compared with the designated minimum character size.
If the character size after N-UP processing is large or equal,
Proceeding to step S45, the N estimated in step S41
Is set as the final N, and the process exits. If smaller, the estimated N + 1 is set to the final N in step S44, and the process exits.

[Embodiment 3] In the above-described embodiment 1, the number N of N-UP processing is automatically determined by designating the number of print sheets. If N is simply determined in this way, it may be impossible to read characters in the print result. Therefore, in the third embodiment, N is determined so that the image size does not become smaller than the image size specified in advance by the user.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the data analysis processing of this embodiment.

First, in step S51, it is determined whether or not N-UP is specified. If not, step S5
The data analysis of No. 4 is performed, and this processing ends. If so, the process moves to step S52. In step S52, N
Judgment is made as to whether the UP is a conventional N-designated N-UP or a sheet count designated N-UP according to the present invention. If N is specified, the process moves to step S55, and normal N-UP processing is performed. If the number of sheets is designated, the N determination processing (3) is performed in step S53, and then the data analysis processing is performed in step S54.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the N determination processing (3) in step S53.

In step S61, the number of received pages is divided by the designated number of sheets, and the resulting value is rounded up to N. Next, in a step S62, it is determined whether or not a minimum image size is specified. If not specified,
In step S65, the N estimated in step S61 is used.
Is set as the final N, and the process exits. If specified,
Move to step S63.

In step S63, the image size expected after the N-UP processing is compared with the specified minimum image size. If the image size after the N-UP processing is large or equal, the process proceeds to step S65, where N estimated in step S61 is set as the final N, and the process exits. If smaller, the estimated N + 1 is set to the final N in step S64, and the process exits.

As described above, each embodiment of the present invention has been described.
Rather than a method of printing with a printing device and copying the same number of copies with a copier, an environment in which the number of copies is directly designated on the printing device and printed is increasing. In such an environment, N-UP printing, in which a plurality of pages are reduced and printed in one page, is being used in order to minimize the number of sheets of distributed material. Then, when performing N-UP printing, the user needs to specify in advance what the N of N-UP is based on the total number of pages, whether double-sided printing is required, and the like. However, this method runs out of paper during printing,
Or, there is a possibility that an unexpected result such as a printed character or image being too small to be discriminated may be caused.

Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the N of the N-UP is automatically determined by designating the number of pages of the paper prepared for printing the material, and furthermore, all the pages are printed on both sides. It is possible to determine whether or not characters can be discriminated and whether or not characters can be discriminated, and to perform processing to fit in the number of sheets specified by the user, thereby improving user work efficiency and wasting resources. Can be prevented.

As described above, the embodiments have been described in detail.
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus including a single device.

It should be noted that the present invention provides a software program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments (programs corresponding to each of the above-described or flowcharts in the present embodiment).
To a system or apparatus directly or remotely using an information transmission medium (storage medium, a wired signal via a line or a network, or a wireless signal of light or radio wave), and the computer of the system or the apparatus The present invention can also be applied to a case where the program is read from the transmission medium into the RAM and / or executed from the transmission medium or / and once the program is installed in a storage device such as a hard disk.

Therefore, in the present invention, the program code itself installed in the computer for implementing the functional processing described in the above embodiment by the computer also constitutes the present invention. In other words, the present invention also includes a computer program that realizes a function that satisfies the requirements described in the claims of the present invention. In addition,
The program may be in any form, such as an object code program that can be directly interpreted and executed by a processor, a program executed by an interpreter, and a program in a script data format that runs on an OS or an application.

The “storage medium” for supplying the program includes, for example, a magnetic storage medium (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, etc.), an optical disk (magneto-optical disk such as MO or PD, C
D-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVDROM, D
VD-RAM), a memory card, a paper tape, a ROM element, and the like.

As a method of supplying a program by a transmission signal, for example, using a browser of a client computer or an ftp client,
There is a case where a computer program that realizes the functions of the present invention is connected to an website or an ftp server, or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the website or the ftp server to a storage medium such as a hard disk.

When the program of the present invention is composed of a plurality of small program files, it can also be realized by downloading each small program file from a different Web site or ftp server. For example, when the present invention requires a small program (such as a dynamic link library or an overlay program) that operates in cooperation with the program in addition to the main program, the small program is downloaded from a server on the Internet. No problem. In this case, the small program is also one of the constituent elements of the present invention. Therefore, a server on a network that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention by computer is also included in the present invention. Included. Note that the small program also includes a program attached to an e-mail.

Further, according to the present invention, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and provided to users who meet predetermined conditions from a homepage or the like via the Internet. It is also possible to download the key information for decryption, use the key information, execute the encrypted program, and install the program on the computer.

Further, when the computer stores the RA in the storage medium,
By executing the program read out to M, in addition to realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment, an OS or a driver program running on a computer may include:
Even when one or all or some of the elements constituting the present invention are executed, if the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, the present invention is not required. included.

Furthermore, after the program read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board (card) inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program is executed according to the instructions of the program. In this case, a CPU or a controller provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit executes one of the elements constituting the present invention or a part or all of a part of all the elements. However, realizing the functions of the embodiments described above is included in the present invention.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a plurality of pages are reduced and printed in one page, processing for automatically fitting the number of sheets specified by the user can be performed, thereby improving work efficiency and reducing waste of resources. Is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a normal main routine of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an analysis process according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an N determination process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an analysis process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an N determination process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an analysis process according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an N determination process according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 RAM 3 ROM 11 external memory 12 CPU (analysis part, development part) 13 ROM 14 external memory 17 printing part 18 input part 19 RAM (storage part) 21 interface 100 printer (printing apparatus) 101 control unit 112 operation part ( Designating means) 150 LBP main body 200 Host computer (external device) 201 Control unit

Claims (12)

[Claims] A storage unit for storing the input print data, a print unit for printing the print data, and a layout print function for laying out and printing data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper; A printing apparatus for performing layout printing by determining how many logical pages are to be allocated to one sheet based on the number of sheets used at the time and the number of sheets of input print data. 2. An image forming apparatus comprising: an input unit for inputting print data from an external device via an interface; an analyzing unit for analyzing the input data; and a developing unit for developing the analyzed information into bitmap data. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A printing apparatus comprising: a size specification unit for specifying a minimum size of a character to be used for layout printing; determining how many logical pages are allocated to one sheet based on the specified minimum character size; 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The printing device according to the above. 4. A printing apparatus comprising: a size specifying unit for specifying a minimum size of an image to be used for layout printing, and determining how many logical pages are to be allocated to one sheet based on the specified minimum image size. Claim 1 characterized by the following:
Or the printing device according to 2. 5. A printing apparatus having a storage unit for storing inputted print data, a printing unit for printing the print data, and a layout printing function for laying out and printing data for a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper. The number of logical pages to be assigned to one sheet based on the number of sheets of paper specified at the time of printing and the number of sheets of input print data, and the layout printing is performed. A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising: 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein print data is input from an external device via an interface, the input data is analyzed, and the analyzed information is expanded into bitmap data and printed. 6. The method for controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 5. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the number of logical pages to be assigned to one sheet is determined based on the minimum character size specified at the time of printing.
The control method of the printing apparatus according to the above. 8. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of logical pages to be assigned to one sheet is determined based on the minimum image size specified at the time of printing. Control method. 9. A computer program for generating print data to be sent to a printing apparatus, comprising: a layout printing function for laying out logical pages of a plurality of pages on one sheet of paper and printing the same. A computer program for performing layout printing by determining how many logical pages are to be allocated to one sheet based on the number of used logical pages and the number of logical pages to be printed. 10. A layout designating function for designating a minimum size of a character to be used for layout printing, wherein the layout printing further includes the number of logical pages on one sheet based on the specified minimum character size. 10. The computer program according to claim 9, wherein it is determined whether or not to assign. 11. A layout designating function for designating a minimum size of an image to be used for layout printing, wherein the layout printing further includes the number of logical pages on one sheet based on the specified minimum image size. The computer program according to claim 9, wherein it is determined whether or not to assign. 12. A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 9.