JP2001331285A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow only a specific person to manage transmitted data, and to select whether transmitted data should be preserved or directly printed by directly printing data transmitted from a remote place through a network without using a host computer. SOLUTION: Print data are inputted from host 1 to a printer 18 or from the Internet through a network I/F 15. Whether or not the print data are the mail data of the Internet is judged. When the print data are the mail data, the print data are interpreted by a CPU 10 in the printer 18, and converted into printer language, and printed through an engine I/F 13 by a printer engine 14. When the print data are any data other than the mail data, the print data are printed as they are. Thus, it is not necessary to start a personal computer at each time of receiving the Internet mail, and it is possible to print the print data only by the printer 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing system, and more particularly, to a printing system in a general printing machine such as a laser printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a personal computer connected to a local area network (LAN) or the Internet downloads data transmitted from a partner on the network and temporarily stores the data on a hard disk (HDD) or the like. However, this data is processed by software to be displayed on a display or printed by a connected printer to confirm the data content.

In this type of printer, data processing must always be performed via a personal computer, and it is necessary to confirm whether or not desired data is displayed on a display. In order to obtain a printed material, it was necessary to start up the host computer and perform a series of processes each time.

Therefore, conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
An "Internet-compatible printer" described in JP-A-16354 or a "network-compatible printer and printing method" described in JP-A-10-214163 have been proposed.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional printing system, in the case of the above-mentioned publications, the printer itself actively accesses the Internet without the intervention of a host computer, thereby providing a desired printing system. Although data was taken in and printed, it was not possible to interpret the data sent via the network without going through the host computer and print it.

This means that, when data is transmitted from a remote place, even if the host computer is not running, it cannot be used to receive and print only with a printing system like a facsimile machine.

Further, in the conventional printing system, if the data sent from a remote site is printed as it is, if the data contents are not desired to be seen by anyone other than a specific person, the contents are leaked.

Further, in the conventional printing system, even if some of the data transmitted from remote locations are confidential and some are not, the former is stored without printing, and the latter is directly printed. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to perform the distinctive processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can print data transmitted from a remote place via a network directly without using a host computer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system that can manage only transmission data and can select whether to store transmission data or directly print.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data generating means for generating data, a control information generating means for generating control information of a printing apparatus, and External storage means for externally storing the control information and the like, and printing means for performing printing based on the control information, the printing means is connected to a network, a network interface for transmitting and receiving data, A data conversion unit for converting data into a printer language, wherein the data received from the network is directly interpreted by the printing means and printed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, data is generated by the data generation means, control information of the printing apparatus is generated by the control information generation means, and data and control information are externally stored by the external storage means. Printing is performed by the printing unit based on the control information. The printing unit is connected to a network via a network interface to send and receive data, and the data conversion unit converts the data into a printer language.For example, mail data sent via the Internet can be used. The data can be interpreted by the printing means as it is, and mail data can be printed directly without going through the host.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first aspect, the printing means is registered in an address registration unit for pre-registering a sender address of data, and in the address registration unit. When data is sent from the sender via the network, a password allocating unit that allocates a password, and a data storage unit that stores data to which a password is allocated by the password allocating unit, further comprising: The use of a password enables printing and retrieval of the data.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sender address of the data is registered in the address registration section of the printing means in advance, and the data registered in the address registration section is transmitted from the sender via the network. When a password is sent, the password is assigned by the password assignment unit, and the data to which the password is assigned is stored in the data storage unit. Can be done with

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first aspect, only when a sender address registered in advance or a predetermined subject is added to data received from the network. Direct printing is performed, and other data is stored as it is in the external storage means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a pre-registered sender address or data to which a specific subject is added is received from the network, direct printing is performed. Because it is stored in the external storage means as it is, for example, when directly sending mail received on the go to the printing means, simply add a pre-registered sender address or subject,
It is possible to determine whether to print directly or to save the data, and the security can be remotely operated.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment. Here, a laser printer is used as a printer, but the present invention can be implemented using various other printers.

The printing system shown in FIG.
Hard disk 2 and host interface (hereinafter I
/ F), 3, Program ROM 4, Font ROM
5, panel I / F 6, operation panel 7, hard disk 8, disk I / F 9, CPU 10, RAM 11, NV
-It is composed of a RAM 12, an engine I / F 13, a printer engine 14, a network I / F 15, a main power 16, a controller 17, a printer 18, and the like.

The host 1 is composed of a host computer or the like, and includes a data generating means for generating data and a printer 18.
Control information generating means for generating the control information of the control information. The hard disk 2 is connected to the host 1 and constitutes external storage means for externally storing data, control information, and the like generated by the host.

The printer 18 includes an operation panel 7 for performing various settings and operations, a hard disk 8 for storing data received from a network, a printer engine 14 for printing data on paper, and a main power supply for supplying power to the printer 18. 16 and a controller 17 for controlling these components and the like, and constitute printing means.

The controller 17 is a general term for a control mechanism for converting print data from the host 1 into video data and outputting the video data to the printer engine 14 in accordance with the control mode set at that time and the control code from the host 1. And the following modules.

The host I / F 3 is an interface for transmitting and receiving control signals and data from the host 1 to the printer 18 and status signals from the printer 18.
The program ROM 4 is a memory in which an operation program is written in advance.

The font ROM 5 is a memory that stores several types of typeface data used for printing. The panel I / F 6 is an interface for exchanging signals and data between the controller 17 and an operation panel 7 described later. The operation panel 7 is a switch unit that can change the status display of the printer 18, the mode, the printing conditions, and the like. The hard disk 8 is a memory for storing data received by the printer 18 alone via the network.

The disk I / F 9 is an interface for inputting and outputting data via the controller 17. C
The PU 10 executes data conversion processing and the like in accordance with the program contents stored in the program ROM 4, and constitutes a data conversion unit. RAM 11 is C
This is a work area of the PU 10 and is used as a buffer for receiving data from the host 1 or an image development area after data processing.

The NV-RAM 12 is a nonvolatile memory that can hold data regardless of whether the power is on or off. The engine I / F 13 is an interface for transmitting and receiving a video signal and a control signal from the controller 17 to the printer engine 14 and a status signal from the printer engine 14 to the controller 17.

The printer engine 14 includes the controller 1
The electrostatic image is formed on the photosensitive member based on the video signal from 7 and the control information, and the image is transferred to the transfer paper supplied from the paper supply unit to perform printing. The network I / F 15 is a LAN
(Local area network) or WWW
(World Wide Web) A connection process is performed with the Internet for accessing a homepage or the like on a server, and constitutes a network interface.

The printing system according to the present embodiment completes a page based on the control information from the printing data from the host 1 via the above-described module, and issues a printer start command to the printer engine 14 to perform printing. Is started.

A feature of the printing system according to the present embodiment is that when data from a network is received by the printer 18 alone, the CPU 10 of the printer 18 directly interprets the data so that printing can be performed without the intervention of the host 1. It is a point that was made.

The operation of each embodiment will be described below. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram embodying the flow of FIG. First, in step S1 in FIG. 2, print data for performing printing is input from the host 1 to the printer 18, or the network I
/ F15.

In step S2, it is determined whether the print data is Internet mail data. When print data is mail data (Fig. 3
(See FIG. 3A), the CPU 10 in the printer 18 interprets the data to perform a conversion process into a printer language (step S3: see FIG. 3B).

The mail data thus converted into the printer language is output to the printer engine 14 via the engine I / F 13 and data printing is performed (step S4: see FIG. 3C). Step S
The print data determined to be non-mail data in 2 is printed as it is (step S4).

As described above, according to the first embodiment, when an Internet mail is received, the printer 18 can interpret the mail without using the host 1 and print the mail directly. In addition, there is no need to send mail to another host. Therefore, when receiving an Internet mail, it is possible to use the Internet mail as if it were a facsimile without having to start up a personal computer.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment 2, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram which embodies the flow of FIG. First, in step S11 of FIG. 4, print data for performing printing is input from the host 1 to the printer 18, or from the Internet via the network I / F 15.

In step S12, it is determined whether the print data is Internet mail data. If the print data is mail data (Fig. 5
(See (a)), the process proceeds to step S13, and it is determined whether the sender of the mail data is a registered sender registered in advance. The registration of the sender address is performed in advance together with the setting of an arbitrary password, and the NV-RAM
12 and the like. Then, when the mail data is received, the CPU 10 checks the sender address of the mail data with the sender address registered in the NV-RAM 12 (see FIG. 5B), and matches with the registered sender address. If the mail data is the e-mail data, a preset password is added to the e-mail data and the e-mail data is stored in the hard disk 8 (step S14: see FIG. 5C).

If the print data is not mail data in step S12, or if it is determined in step S13
If the sender of the mail data is not registered in, no password is added to the mail data and the mail data is not saved on the hard disk.

As described above, in the second embodiment, by registering the sender with a password in advance at the printer to which the Internet mail is transmitted, when the registered sender sends the Internet mail, The data can be saved without being printed, and a printing function or a data fetching process cannot be performed without using a password, thereby providing a security function.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment 3, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram which embodies the flow of FIG. First, in step S21 in FIG. 6, print data for performing printing is input from the host 1 to the printer 18, or from the Internet via the network I / F 15.

In step S22, it is determined whether the print data is Internet mail data. When the print data is mail data (FIG. 7
(Refer to (a)), the process proceeds to step S23, and it is determined whether or not the mail data includes a subject (or a sender address) that has been registered in advance. The registration of the subject (sender address) is performed in advance in the printer 18 and stored in the NV-RAM 12 or the like.

When the mail data is received,
CPU 10 determines the subject of mail data and NV-RA
Check the subject registered in M12 (Fig. 7
(B)). If it is a registered subject, the process proceeds to step S24 to execute printing (FIG. 7C).
), If it is not a registered subject, step S
Then, the process proceeds to step S25, and the data is stored in the hard disk 2 (see FIG. 7D).

If the print data is not mail data in step S22, no print processing or storage processing is performed.

As described above, in the third embodiment, by registering a predetermined subject in the printer to which the Internet mail is transmitted, when the Internet mail is sent, the registered subject is not registered. Since it is possible to determine whether to print directly or to save data without printing just by determining whether or not the security is high, it is possible to easily operate security and convenience remotely. In the third embodiment, the registered subject is used. However, it is of course possible to use a registered sender address or the like so as to determine whether to directly print or save data.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an Internet mail sent from a remote place via the Internet can be directly printed without passing through a host computer, or the Internet mail can be managed using a password. It is possible to easily select whether to directly print or save the Internet mail remotely.

In the above embodiment, the printer 18
Although the description has been given of the case where is connected to the Internet, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to connect to another network and transmit and receive data other than Internet mail, and achieve the same advantageous effects as above. Obtainable.

[0043]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Data is generated by the data generation unit, control information of the printing apparatus is generated by the control information generation unit, data and control information are externally stored by the external storage unit, and printing is performed by the printing unit based on the control information. The printing means is connected to a network via a network interface to send and receive data, and the data conversion unit converts the data into a printer language, so that the mail data sent via the Internet can be used as it is. The data can be interpreted by the printing means, and mail data can be printed directly without going through the host.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sender address of the data is registered in the address registration section of the printing means in advance, and data is transmitted from the sender registered in the address registration section via the network. If a password is assigned, the password is assigned by the password assignment unit and the data to which the password is assigned is stored in the data storage unit. It can be carried out.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a pre-registered sender address or data to which a specific subject is added is received from the network, direct printing is performed. Since it is stored in the external storage means, when sending an e-mail received on the go directly to the printing means, simply attach the pre-registered sender address or subject and print directly or save the data Can be determined,
Security can be operated remotely.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram that embodies the flow of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram that embodies the flow of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram that embodies the flow of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Host 2 Hard Disk 3 Host I / F 4 Program ROM 5 Font ROM 6 Panel I / F 7 Operation Panel 8 Hard Disk 9 Disk I / F 10 CPU 11 RAM 12 NV-RAM 13 Engine I / F 14 Printer Engine 15 Network I / F F 16 Main power 17 Controller 18 Printer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A data generation unit for generating data, a control information generation unit for generating control information of a printing apparatus, an external storage unit for externally storing the data and the control information, and the like, based on the control information. A printing unit that performs printing, the printing unit includes a network interface that is connected to a network and transmits and receives data, and a data conversion unit that converts data into a printer language. Wherein the printing means directly interprets and prints. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit is configured to register a sender address of the data in advance, and that the data is transmitted from the sender registered in the address registration unit via the network. A password allocating unit for allocating a password, and a data storage unit for storing the data to which the password is allocated by the password allocating unit, and by using the password, the data can be printed or taken out. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. Direct printing is performed only when a sender address registered in advance or a predetermined subject is added to data received from the network, and when the data is other than the above, the external storage is performed. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system stores the data as it is.