JP2002044344A - Information processor and information processing image, and storage medium for storing printing program and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing unit that acquires print-out paper information in an image input output device via a network and reflects the information on a user interface of a printer driver. SOLUTION: The printer driver utilizes a device information acquisition module utilized by a utility managing a network device to acquire paper information and provides the user interface on which the information is reflected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for generating print data to be transmitted to an image output device for outputting image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, printers, facsimile machines, copiers, and multifunction peripherals having these functions exist as image output devices connected to a network. In recent years, a paper feed unit and a paper discharge unit (a sorter or a finisher) can be optionally attached to such an image output device, and information processing for generating print data to be transmitted to the image output device has been enabled. In the apparatus, items to be set in the print data are becoming complicated.

When a document printing instruction is issued using a printer driver installed in an information processing apparatus, a method of designating a paper feed tray of a printer device from a UI (user interface) of the printer driver is described as follows. How to specify that all the pages inside are fed from the same paper source, How to specify the first page, the last page, and the pages between them from different paper sources, the first page, the second page, and the last UI that allows the user to select a method for feeding a page and a page in between from different paper feed stages, and a method for feeding an OHP sheet and an intermediate sheet from different paper feed stages.
Printer drivers having the following characteristics have begun to be commercialized, and at the same time, image output apparatuses that perform a paper feed operation for switching a paper feed destination on a page basis in accordance with instructions given on the UI of the printer driver have been commercialized.

[0004] However, if the option of the image output apparatus is installed and the number of print setting items that can be used increases, the print setting becomes complicated and the load on the user may increase.

[0005] In addition, by specifying an option installed in the image processing apparatus, the UI of the printer driver can be specified.
There are printer drivers that switch automatically and only settable items are displayed.However, if there are multiple optional devices (paper feeder, paper discharger, etc.) that can be attached to one image output device, However, the user needs to know exactly what optional device is attached to the image output apparatus, and the user needs complicated knowledge. Therefore, under the control of the printer driver program installed in the information processing apparatus, the paper feed tray and finisher that can be mounted, the type of option, the paper size of each paper feed tray, the paper orientation, the remaining paper, the remaining toner, etc. There has been proposed a technique called "dynamic configuration" in which printer information is inquired to an image output device, and various information obtained from the image output device is displayed on a UI of a printer driver.

In a system in which an information processing apparatus serving as a host computer and a printer serving as an image output apparatus are locally connected via an interface such as a Centronics interface, printer information is relatively easily acquired by the host computer. It has become possible. However, in order for the information processing apparatus to acquire information on the image output apparatus via the network, a device management utility for managing devices on the network is required. Such a device management utility not only searches for devices connected to the network, but also uses SNMP (Simple Netwo
rk Management Protocol) and MIB information (Messag
It is possible to acquire information on each device by using a mechanism to acquire e Information Base).

[0007]

As described above, by using the dynamic configuration function of the printer driver, it is easy for the user to make various print settings of print data to be transmitted to the image output apparatus. However, when recording media of multiple media types are inserted in multiple paper feed trays, letting the user specify the paper source in the print settings means that the recording medium of any media type is inserted into that paper source. It is necessary for the user to know whether the operation has been performed, and it is necessary to reduce the load on the user. Therefore, if there is a mechanism that allows the user to specify the media type instead of specifying the paper feeding unit and feed the paper from an appropriate paper feeding unit and perform print processing, the load on the user can be reduced.

Here, dynamic configuration processing from a printer driver, which has been conventionally considered, is a technique for acquiring information from an image output apparatus locally connected via a bidirectional interface. Although it has not been considered that device information is acquired from an image output device, recently, a printer driver includes a module for acquiring MIB information of an image output device via a network using SNMP. As a result, it has become possible to directly communicate with a network device and acquire MIB information from the device.

However, in the MIB information, a portion that can be used for each vendor is called an extended MIB, and the items to be defined are limited. Therefore, as the information about the currently available recording medium that can be obtained, as described above,
It is about paper size, paper orientation, and paper remaining amount. Therefore, OHP, thick paper,
Media type information such as recycled paper and glossy paper cannot be acquired by the dynamic configuration function of the printer driver and displayed on the driver UI.

Therefore, an extended MI using a unique protocol is used.
In B, a device management utility for acquiring an undefined part from a device via a network and managing the device has been developed. However,
The network device management utility and the printer driver are independent software modules, and cannot mutually share the acquired device information. It is not a good idea because it increases the cost and increases the cost.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a device management utility for managing an image output device via a network, and a device information acquisition module for acquiring device information including media type information from the image output device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer driver that uses a printer driver and provides a user interface for print settings reflecting the device information acquired by the device information acquisition module.

The print data generated by the printer driver is described in a printer language such as Canon Inc.'s LIPS or Hewlett-Packard's PCL. Although the size and orientation are supported, the media type is about plain paper and thick paper. Therefore, as described above, the plurality of paper feed stages of the image output device
Conventionally, it is necessary to extend the printer language in order to insert a recording medium of a media type other than plain paper and cardboard and to specify more media types.

However, available media types differ depending on the model of the image output apparatus, and it is not desirable to extend the media type as a printer language.

A conventional print job generated by enclosing print data in the printer language in a control language called JL (Job Language) specifies one media type in one print job. Different media types could not be specified for each page.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus without expanding the printer language itself.
This is to generate print data specifying a plurality of media types.

[0016]

In order to achieve the first object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. An instruction input unit for inputting, from a user interface provided by a printer driver, an instruction for acquiring information of a paper type indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device, and an instruction input by the instruction input unit. Requesting means for requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network using a device information acquisition module used by a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device; Means for receiving paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request by the means via the device information acquisition module. Obtaining means for obtaining, the paper type information of the image output apparatus acquired by the acquisition unit, and has a reflecting means for reflecting on a user interface provided by the printer driver.

A paper type designating means for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver; and a paper type designated by the paper type designating means. And a job generating means for generating a print job based on print data to be printed by the image input / output device.

Further, the apparatus further comprises a paper feeding method designating means for designating a paper feeding method in the image input / output device by using a user interface provided by the printer driver, wherein the paper feeding method designating means is used based on a paper type. When a first paper supply specification mode as a paper supply method is specified, the paper type is specified by the paper type specification means.

Further, the image input / output apparatus further includes a paper feed place designating means for designating a paper feed place to be fed in the image input / output device by using a user interface provided by the printer driver. In a case where a second paper supply designation mode, which is a paper supply method based on a paper supply place of the image input / output device, is designated, a paper supply place is designated by the paper supply place designation means.

In order to achieve the first object, an information processing method according to the present invention is an information processing method for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. From a provided user interface, an instruction input step of inputting an instruction to obtain information of a paper type indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output apparatus, and based on the input instruction, the image input / output apparatus Requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network using a device information acquisition module used in a network device management utility to manage the image input / output device in response to the request; Obtaining the paper type information from the device information obtaining module via the device information obtaining module; The paper type of information input and output devices,
And a reflecting step of reflecting on a user interface provided by the printer driver.

In order to achieve the first object, a storage medium according to the present invention is a storage medium storing a print control program for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. The print control program includes a user interface providing module that provides a user interface for inputting an instruction to acquire paper type information indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device; and A request module for requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network using a device information acquisition module used in a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device; The paper type information from the image input / output device in response to the device information acquisition module An acquisition module to get through,
And a reflection module for reflecting the obtained paper type information of the image input / output device on a user interface provided by the printer driver.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. Requesting means for requesting the paper type information from the image input / output device via a network so as to be able to specify paper type information indicating the type of medium of the output device; and Obtaining means for obtaining information of a paper type from an image input / output device; paper type specifying means for specifying a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by a printer driver; A print data generating means for generating print data to be printed by the input / output device; and a paper type designated by the paper type designating means. An attribute packet generating unit that generates a job attribute packet that does not include print data; a print job that includes print data generated by the print data generating unit; and a job attribute packet that is generated by the attribute packet generating unit. And a job generating means for generating.

The print data does not include a command for designating a paper type.

[0024] The information processing apparatus may further include a reflection unit that reflects the information of the paper type of the image input / output device acquired by the acquisition unit on a user interface provided by the printer driver.

The job attribute packet includes information for designating a paper type for each page.

The print job generated by the job generating means is composed of a print data packet containing print data and a job attribute packet containing attribute information of the print job. Each packet indicates the type of the packet. It is composed of a packet header section and a data section indicating data relating to the type specified by the packet header section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. A requesting step of requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network so that paper type information indicating a medium type of the output device can be designated; An acquisition step of acquiring paper type information from an image input / output device; a paper type designation step of designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by a printer driver; A print data generating step of generating print data to be printed by the input / output device; and a paper type specified in the paper type specifying step. An attribute packet generating step of generating a job attribute packet that does not include print data; a print job including print data generated in the print data generating step; and a job attribute packet generated in the attribute packet generating step. And a job generation step.

In order to achieve the second object, a storage medium of the present invention is a storage medium storing a print control program for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network. A request module for requesting the image input / output device via the network for the paper type information so that the paper type information indicating the type of the medium of the image input / output device can be designated; An acquisition module for acquiring paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the request module, and a paper type providing a user interface for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device A designation module, a print data generation module that generates print data to be printed by the image input / output device, An attribute packet generation module that generates a job attribute packet that includes a paper type specified via a user interface provided by a paper type specification module and that does not include print data; and print data generated by the print data generation module. And a job generation module for generating a print job including the job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generation module.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system, comprising: an information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network; A printing system including an image input / output device that performs processing, and an instruction to input an instruction to acquire paper type information indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device from a user interface provided by a printer driver. An input unit and a device information acquisition module used by a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device based on an instruction input by the instruction input unit; Requesting means for requesting paper type information from the apparatus; and inputting the image in response to a request from the requesting means. A paper type information of the image input / output device obtained by the obtaining unit for obtaining the paper type information from the input device via the device information obtaining module, and a user provided by the printer driver. A reflection unit having reflection means for reflecting on the interface in the information processing apparatus, based on a paper type acquisition request received from the information processing apparatus, returning means for returning information on the paper type in the image input / output apparatus, Print processing means for performing a print process based on print data received from the information processing apparatus, in the image input / output apparatus.

In order to achieve the second object, a printing system according to the present invention comprises: an information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network; and a printing system based on the print data. A printing system including an image input / output device that performs processing, wherein a paper type is provided to the image input / output device via a network so that paper type information indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device can be designated. Requesting means for requesting type information, obtaining means for obtaining paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the requesting means, and image input / output using a user interface provided by a printer driver Paper type designating means for designating a paper type to be fed by the apparatus, and generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device. Print data generation means, an attribute packet generation means for generating a job attribute packet including a paper type specified by the paper type specification means and not including print data, print data generated by the print data generation means, A job generating unit for generating a print job including a job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generating unit, wherein the information processing apparatus includes: The image input / output device includes a return unit that returns information of a paper type in the image input / output device, and a print processing unit that performs print processing based on print data included in a print job received from the information processing device. It is.

[0031]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the relative arrangements, numerical values, and the like of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to them unless otherwise specified.

[System Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image input / output device 3 in the printing system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a reader unit 1 reads an image of a document and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to an image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 records an image corresponding to the image data from the image input / output control unit 3 on a recording sheet. The image input / output control unit 3 is connected to the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2, and includes a facsimile unit 4, a storage unit 5, a computer interface unit 7, and a RIP (Raster Image P).
(Processor) unit 8, operation unit 9, core unit 10 and the like.

The facsimile unit 4 expands the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the expanded image data to the core unit 10 and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 to compress the image data. , Compressed image data,
Send via phone line. The image data to be sent and received
The data can be temporarily stored in the hard disk 6 connected to the storage unit 5.

A hard disk 6 is connected to the storage unit 5. The storage unit 5 compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and stores the compressed image data together with an image data ID number for searching for the image data. Let it. The storage unit 5 searches the compressed image data stored in the hard disk 6 based on the code data transferred via the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses the decompressed image data, and decompresses the decompressed image data. The data is transferred to the core unit 10.

The computer interface unit 7 is a personal computer or a workstation (PC / W
S) An interface between 11 and the core unit 10;
It may be connected to the C / WS 11 by a one-to-one local interface or by a network. It is also possible to perform bidirectional communication with the PC / WS11, such as transmitting print job information managed by the core unit to the PC / WS11.

The types of paper feed trays and paper discharge devices (finisher) installed in the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2, paper information set for each paper feed tray, and the remaining amount of toner And the like can be transmitted from the reader unit 1 or the printer unit 2 to the core unit, and can be transmitted to a PC / WS (hereinafter, referred to as a host computer) through the computer interface unit 7. In this case, when an inquiry from the PC / WS 11 to acquire device information reaches the computer interface via a network or the like, the computer interface inquires information from the core, extracts the information from the core, and returns to the network again. Via PC / WS11
Will be sent to Here, inquiring information from the PC / WS 11 to the device and acquiring the information is called dynamic configuration.

The RIP unit 8 develops code data (PDL) representing an image transferred from the PC / WS11 into image data that can be recorded by the printer unit 2.

The operation unit 9 has a touch panel display and hard keys, and performs operation instructions and operation settings to the image input / output device, and settings of paper information and the like by a user interface.

Although the core unit 10 will be described later, the core unit 10 includes a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2, a facsimile unit 4,
Storage unit 5, computer interface unit 7, R
It controls the flow of data between the IP unit 8 and the operation unit 9.

Here, as described above, information distributed between the host computer 11 and the image input / output device 3 through two-way communication includes the type of paper feed tray and paper discharge device (finisher), and the like. This is device information (device information) such as paper information and toner remaining amount set for each paper feed stage. The paper information includes the paper size, paper orientation, and media type. The media type information is, for example, plain paper, glossy paper, thick paper, OHP, recycled paper, form paper, etc., and the media type (plain paper or thick paper) that can be detected by the printer unit 2 of the image input / output device 3 by itself. , Etc.), the media type (recycled paper, form paper) set by the instruction from the operation unit 9 is also included. As described above, the media type information to be delivered to the host computer differs depending on the type of the image input / output device and the type of the paper feed tray.
To absorb in L), it is inconvenient to expand the printer language and the ROM of the conventional device each time, which is inconvenient. By packetizing with a command and specifying the media type in the attribute information, it is possible to specify the media type according to the device without extending the printer language.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2. The document feeder 101 of the reader unit 1 feeds a document one by one onto the platen glass 102 in the leading order, and discharges the document on the platen glass 102 after the reading operation of the document is completed. When the document is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on, the movement of the scanner unit 104 is started, and the document is exposed and scanned. The reflected light from the original at this time is reflected by mirrors 105 and l.
The light is guided to a CCD image sensor (hereinafter referred to as a CCD) 109 by reference numerals 06, 107 and a lens 108. Thus, the scanned image of the document is read by the CCD 109. The image data output from the CCD 109 is transferred to the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 after performing predetermined processing.

The laser driver 22l of the printer unit 2 drives the laser emitting unit 201, and emits a laser beam corresponding to the image data output from the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 to the laser emitting unit 201. Let it.

The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 202, and a latent image corresponding to the laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 202. A developer is attached to the latent image portion of the photosensitive drum 202 by a developing device 203. Then, at a timing synchronized with the start of the laser beam irradiation, the recording paper is fed from one of the cassettes 204 and 205, is conveyed to the transfer unit 206, and the developer attached to the photosensitive drum 202 is transferred to the recording paper. I do.

The recording paper on which the developer is loaded is conveyed to the fixing unit 207, and the developer is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the fixing unit 207. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208. If double-sided printing is set, the recording paper is conveyed to the discharge roller 208, and then the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208 is reversed. The sheet is guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 by the flapper 209. The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 is supplied to the transfer unit 206 at the timing described above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the core unit 10.

The image data from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 122. The data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing, and compresses and decompresses image data, and internally has a page memory for a plurality of pages of image data equivalent to A4 / Letter size. The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 is temporarily stored in a page memory, compressed, and transferred to the storage unit 5 via the interface 120.

Code data (PDL) representing an image input via the computer interface unit 7
Is a data processing unit 121 via the interface 120
After being transferred to the RIP unit 8 and expanded to image data, the image data is transferred to the data processing unit 121, temporarily stored in the page memory, and then compressed and transferred to the storage unit 5. The data is transferred and managed by the image data ID number determined by the data processing unit 121.

The image data from the storage unit 5 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, decompressed and temporarily stored in the page memory, and then transferred to the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, and computer interface unit 7. Is done.

When the image data is stored in the storage unit 5, the image data is immediately notified to the image data management unit 125, and is managed in association with the image data ID number determined by the data processing unit 121. At the same time, print jobs stored on the hard disk are also managed in association with print job ID numbers.

After inputting various image data to the data processing unit 121 and temporarily storing the image data in the page memory, before transferring the image data to the storage unit 5, the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, computer Transfer to the interface unit 7 is also possible by switching the internal selector.

The CPU 123 performs such control according to a control program stored in the memory 124 and a control command transferred from the operation unit 9. Also,
The memory 124 is also used as a work area of the CPU 123.

As described above, the reading of the original image, the printing of the image, the transmission and reception of the image, the storage of the image, and the like are performed through the data processing unit 121 and the storage unit 5 centering on the core unit 10.
It is possible to perform processing combining functions such as input / output of data from a computer.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the information processing system according to the present invention.
Is required to perform a predetermined two-way communication, so that the host computer (information processing device)
11 is connected. In the present embodiment, an information processing system in which the image input / output device 3 and the information processing device 11 as a host computer are communicably connected via the network 21 has been described. Local interface (USB or I
The present invention can be similarly applied to an information processing system in which the information processing apparatus 11 and the image input / output apparatus 3 are connected by EEE1394 or the like.

The host computer 11 includes a keyboard 23 into which arbitrary predetermined data is input by an operator, a display unit (CRT) 24 for displaying the predetermined data, a boot program, various application programs,
An external storage device 25 such as a flexible disk or a hard disk storing font data, a user file, an edit file, and the like is provided. Reference numeral 26 denotes a main body of the information processing apparatus, and the main body may be referred to as an information processing apparatus.

The information control device 26 includes a keyboard controller (KBC) 27 for controlling key input data from the keyboard 23 and input data specified by a pointing device (not shown), and a CRT for controlling the CRT 24.
Disk controller (DKC) for controlling access between the controller (CRTC) 28 and the external storage device 25
29, a printer controller (PRTC) 30 for executing a communication control process with the laser beam printer 1, a RAM 31 having a function as a work area, a ROM 32 storing a predetermined print control program and the like, and a system bus 33. And a CPU 34 which is connected to each of the above-described components via the CPU and controls the entire information control device 26.

The external storage device 25 includes not only a hard disk built in or attached to the main body, but also FD, C
The storage medium may be a storage medium such as D, CD-R, CD-R / W, MO, DVD, optical disk, or magneto-optical disk. In this case, the DKC 29 corresponds to a drive that reads data from the storage medium. .

The ROM 32 is a font ROM in which font data and the like used during document processing are stored.
35, a program ROM 36 in which a predetermined document processing program and a print control program are stored, and a data ROM 37 in which various data used for performing the document processing are stored. The document processing program in which characters and tables (including spreadsheets and the like) are mixed is executed using the RAM 31 as a work area. That is, the CPU 34
The outline font is developed (rasterized) into the display data area provided in the CRT 24 and the CRT 24 is executed.
WYSIWYG: What You See I
s What You Get), and prints out the data displayed on the CRT 24 as it is. Also, the CPU 34
Various windows registered based on command data specified by a pointing device or the like are opened to execute various data processing.

Next, a description will be given of a dynamic configuration for acquiring the current device environment information from the image input / output device 3 in response to a request from the host computer 11.

As described above, the types of paper feed stages and paper discharge devices (finisher) mounted in the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2, the paper information and toner set in each paper feed stage Device information such as the remaining amount of the CPU 1 is transmitted from the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 to the CPU 1 via the I / F unit 122.
The data is sent to the 23 core unit and stored in the memory 124. Further, the media type information designated by the operation unit 9 is also stored in the memory 124. When a request to acquire device environment information is issued from the host computer 11 on the network through the computer interface unit 7, the request is sent to the CP via the I / F unit 120.
U123, and the CPU 123
The device environment information, which is the device information stored in No. 4, is acquired. This device environment information is transmitted to the computer interface unit 7 via the I / F unit 120 in the reverse order of the request instruction from the host.

Next, steps until the print processing apparatus having the function of synthesizing print data in the information processing apparatus 11 of the present embodiment operates will be described.

The present information processing apparatus uses the basic I / O shown in FIG.
The CPU 34 operates by executing the O program, the operating system (OS), and the print processing program. The basic I / O program is the information processing device 1
The operating system (OS) is written in an external storage device 25 such as a hard disk (HD) or a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) in the information processing device 11.

First, when the power of the information processing apparatus 11 is turned on, the information processing apparatus (P) is activated by an initial program loading (IPL) function in the basic I / O program.
An operating system (OS) stored in an external storage device 11 such as a hard disk (HD) or a floppy disk (FD) in the C / WS 11 is read into a RAM in the information processing device 11 and the OS is operated. .

Next, the operator operates the keyboard 23 and the pointing device in the information processing apparatus 11 to
When a command image or the like of a command menu displayed on the screen of the display unit 24 in the information processing apparatus 11 is selected and execution of an application is instructed, the hard disk (H
D) or an application stored in the external storage device 25 such as a floppy disk (FD) is read into the RAM 31, and the application operates.

Next, when printing is instructed by the operator in the same procedure as when the application is started, a hard disk (HD) or a floppy disk (FD)
The print processing program and the printer control command generation program (printer driver) having a function of synthesizing print data stored in the external storage device 25 such as
And the print processing system operates.

In the case of the present embodiment, the print processing program and related data are stored on a floppy disk (FD), and the structure of the recorded contents is shown in FIG.

The print processing program and related data stored in the floppy disk (FD) in the information processing device (PC / WS11) can be loaded into the information processing device through the disk controller in the information processing device 11. . When this floppy disk is set in the disk controller, the print processing program and related data are read out from the floppy disk (FD) under the control of the OS and the basic I / O program, and the information processing device (PC / WS) 11 is loaded into the RAM 31 and becomes operable.

FIG. 6 is a module configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus in the information processing apparatus 11 as a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is communicably connected via a network.

The application 201, graphic engine 202, printer driver 203, system spooler 204, dynamic configuration module (DC module), PDL generation module 60
6. The attribute packet addition module 607 and the network device management utility 608 exist, for example, as files stored in the external storage device 25 in the information processing apparatus 11, and are executed by the OS or a module using the module when executed. This is a program module loaded into the RAM 31 in the information processing apparatus 11 and executed by the CPU 34.

The application 601 and the printer driver 603, DC (Dynamic Config)
The module 605 and the network device management utility 608 can be supplied from a storage medium such as an FD or a CD-ROM as shown in FIG. 15, or can be supplied to a hard disk in the information processing apparatus 11 via a network. It has become. Application 6
When printing from 01 to the printer 2, output (drawing) is performed using the graphic engine 602.

An application 601 generates a desired document by a user's operation, and outputs the document as a drawing function to a graphic engine 602 which is a drawing means provided by the OS in accordance with a print instruction from the user. can do. Here, Windows
In the case of the OS (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States), the graphic engine 602 as a drawing means is a GDI
(Graphic Device Interface). The application 601 converts a document desired to be printed into a drawing function defined by the GDI of the OS.
An I function is output to a GDI (graphics engine) 602.

Upon receiving a print start instruction from the application, the graphic engine 602 stores the printer driver 203 prepared for each printing apparatus in the RAM 3.
1 and the output of the application 601 is set in the printer driver 203. Then, from the GDI function received from the application 201, the DDI (DeviceDr
iver Interface) function and convert it to the printer driver 6
The DDI function is output to 03.

The printer driver 603, based on the DDI function received from the graphic engine 602,
Control commands recognizable by the printer, for example, PDL (Pa
ge Description Language). The printer driver 603 generates print data based on the converted printer control command, and outputs the print data to the computer interface unit 7 via the system spooler 204 loaded by the OS.

The network device management utility 608 is a LAN (local area network) 2
1 is utility software for managing the devices connected to the device 1. The device software collects device information from each device on the network via a DC module 605 (also referred to as a device information acquisition module). By displaying information and the like on the display unit, the user can recognize the information. The network device management utility 608 can receive an instruction from a user and issue various control commands to devices on the network. The control commands issued by the network device management utility 608 include job control commands such as deleting, suspending, and changing the print order of a print job held in the network device, and changing the IP address of the network device and various other commands. There are device control commands for changing the settings.

When the DC module 605 receives an instruction to acquire device information from the network device management utility 608, the DC module 605 makes an inquiry to the computer interface unit 7 via a network or the like. When device information is sent from the computer interface unit 7 to the DC module 605, which is a device information acquisition module, via a network or the like, the information is returned to the network device management utility 608. The DC module 605 is a module used by the network device management utility 608, and the portion surrounded by the underline in FIG. 6 is installed at the same time as the network device management utility 608.

The printer driver 608 of the present invention is a DC module 6 which is a device information acquisition module included in the network device management utility 608.
05, the device information including the media type information is acquired from the image input / output device 3.
A DC control module (not shown) included in the printer driver 603 refers to registration information (registry information) in the information processing apparatus 11, recognizes a location where the DC module 605 is stored, and, if necessary, a DC module. 6
05, requesting the acquisition of device information, similarly to the request from the network device management utility 608. The DC module 605 includes the printer driver 60
3 (DC control module), the device information acquired from the image input / output device 3 via the network is not included in the network device management utility 608 but the printer driver 603 (specifically, included in the printer driver 603). (A DC activation module). The request for obtaining device information from the printer driver 603 to the DC module 605 is based on an instruction for obtaining device information and the printer port or IP
An instruction for directly specifying an address and a function name of the request source (the attribute packet generation module 60 of the printer driver 603)
7).

The printer driver 603 of the present invention
Is not only a PDL generation module 606 that generates a page description language from a DDI function as in the related art, but also an attribute packet generation module 60 that packetizes the generated page description language and generates print data to which attribute information is added.
7 is included. The printer driver 603 includes a UI module (not shown) that generates a user interface described later in FIGS. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 and provides the user interface information to the OS. Details of the attribute packet generation module 607 will be described later.

Next, the flowcharts of FIGS.
An operation method of the print processing system in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a user interface (UI) screen diagram, a data format diagram, and an output example.

This process is started in the above-mentioned operation step in a state where a program such as a printable application is operating.

In this embodiment, a button for obtaining device information is displayed on a printer driver UI provided by a printer driver (specifically, a UI module).
When the button is pressed, the printer driver 603
Starts the DC module 605 and requests acquisition of device information as described above. And the DC module is
The image input / output device, which is the device designated by the acquisition request, is inquired of information such as paper type information using a control packet. When the information is acquired via a network, the information is returned to the printer driver 603. Then, the printer driver 603 generates user interface information for displaying a list of paper types on the printer UI based on the information returned from the DC module 605,
Display on the display unit via the OS. Further, a UI for instructing a paper feeding method is displayed on the printer driver, and when the user selects a paper feeding method for printing, if the paper feeding method is based on the paper type, the paper type is selected from the list. Select and set various paper feeding methods. When the printing process of the document data is designated by the application, it is added to the information document data of the paper feeding method and the paper type, and the printing is executed by the predetermined paper feeding method.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of control of the information processing apparatus 11 in the print processing system of the present embodiment. The control described in this flowchart is started when a button for instructing acquisition of device information (device environment information) is pressed by a user operation while the property screen of the printer driver UI is open. You. The property screen of the printer driver UI can be changed from a screen for selecting an output destination printer when instructing printing from the application 601, and a printer icon can be changed from a printer setting folder provided by the OS. It is also possible to select and display the property screen.

First, in step S701 in FIG. 7, based on the acquisition request from the printer driver 603, the DC module 605 controls the image input / output device 3 via the network by requesting acquisition of device environment information through bidirectional communication. It issues a packet and acquires device environment information (especially, paper type) transmitted by the image input / output device 3 in response to the acquisition request. The DC module 605 passes the acquired device environment information to the printer driver 603.

Next, the process proceeds to step S 702, where the printer driver 603 generates user interface information for displaying a list of paper type information acquired by the DC module 605 in step S 701 on the printer driver UI, and transmits the generated information via the OS. To display on the display. Further, the printer driver 603 sets a paper feed option, a paper discharge option, and media information (paper size, paper orientation, media type) of the image input / output device based on the device environment information acquired by the DC module 605,
1 (or the external storage device 25) in the driver setting file (DLL file).

Next, in step S 703, the printer driver 603 provides a printer driver UI for the user to select a paper feeding method, and prompts the user to select a paper feeding method. The printer driver 603 provides a printer driver UI to the OS, and a user interface screen is displayed on the CRT 24 when the drawing means of the OS passes through a display driver or a CRTC.

Next, proceeding to step S704, the printer driver 603 recognizes the paper feed mode selected by the user, and uses DEVM as a print setting when generating print data.
Register with ODE. DEVMODE is a structure provided by the Windows OS, and includes a fixed area defined by the OS and an extended area that can be freely set by the printer driver. The printer driver 603 registers print settings for generating print data in the extended area.

In step S 705, the PDL generation module 606 of the printer driver 603 reads the DEVMODE when the printing is instructed from the application, and prints the print data (in accordance with the paper feeding method and the paper feeding mode specified by the DEVMODE). PDL). The attribute packet generation module 60 of the printer driver 603
7 generates a job packet to be described later based on the PDL generated by the PDL generation module 606, and generates a print job to be printed by the image input / output device 3. The generated print job is sent to a printer port (print server not shown) corresponding to the image input / output device 3 or
It is transmitted directly to the image input / output device 3.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the paper type information acquisition by the DC module described in step S701 in FIG. 7 will be specifically described.

FIG. 8 shows a sheet for displaying device information of a device in the printer driver UI. There are a wide variety of items that can be set by the printer driver, and each related item is divided into a plurality of sheets. The sheet for displaying the device information of the device is
The “Configuration” sheet, the sheet for setting the paper feed is a “Paper Source” sheet, and the sheet for setting the discharge is a “Finishing” sheet.

When the DC module 605 recognizes that the user has pressed the “Get Device Status” button shown in FIG. 13A, a process for acquiring device environment information including paper type information is performed. In addition, when the user presses this button, the DC module 605 displays a message dialog such as “successful acquisition of device environment information” or “failure of acquisition of device environment information” when acquiring device environment information in accordance with the situation. It can also be displayed.

The actual procedure for acquiring the device environment information is performed by a series of procedures for the printer driver 203, the DC module 205, the computer interface unit 7, and the like described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 6.

Also, “Form to Tray Assig” in FIG.
The “nment” (assignment of paper feeding method) button displays a UI of FIG. 9 described below.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, step S702 of FIG.
Will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a UI displayed by pressing the button (b) in FIG. 8 described above, and is a UI for displaying the paper type information acquired in step S701 or other device information. .

In the “Paper Type” combo box in FIG. 14C, a list of the acquired paper types is highlighted. That is, in this combo box, all the paper types scheduled in advance are displayed, and only the paper type obtained in the device information is highlighted, so that the current
A list of paper types set by the device is displayed. The example in the figure shows that two types of paper, Heavy paper and Color, are set on the device.

Furthermore, in this combo box, it is also possible to click and select each paper type in the combo box with a mouse or the like, for example, in consideration of the case where the acquisition of the device information has failed, and to reversely display the paper type.

In the drawing, other combo boxes and the like
In addition to the information on the paper type, the paper size and orientation of each paper feed stage that can feed paper are also displayed. Of course, such information is not only automatically reflected when the device information is acquired, but can also be set manually.

That is, the DC module 605 determines the printer driver 6 based on the paper information (including the paper size, paper orientation, and media type) included in the device environment information acquired from the image input / output device 3 via the network.
03 is displayed in the dialog box of FIG. Then, the media type of the currently selected paper feed unit (manual feed tray, each deck (cassette), side paper deck) is displayed in the media type box of (c). Media types include plain paper (Plain), heavy paper (Heavy paper), recycled paper (Recycled), and postcard (Let).
terhead), OHP (Transparency), form paper (Form
Paper: not shown) and color (Colo)
r), monochrome (Monochrome) color specification is also set.

Normally, in this combo box, only one paper type such as, for example, Plane can be highlighted as a default.

Further, the UI of FIG.
Although the device environment information acquired in step 05 is reflected, the user can manually change the information. In other words, when the user selects the display object of the cassette deck 1 and the display object is highlighted,
Specify the paper size from the pull-down menu, specify the media type from the above media types, and click OK.
By pressing the button, the paper information of the cassette deck 1 can be changed and set.

Next, referring to FIG. 10, the selection of the sheet feeding method in step S703 and the step S704 in FIG.
The method for selecting the paper type will be described.

FIG. 10 is a sheet for setting the paper feeding method and the like of the printer driver UI provided by the printer driver 603. (D) in the figure is a radio button for selecting a paper feeding method, which is “Paper Source” for directly specifying the paper source of the printer as the paper feeding destination, and feeding the paper by the paper type. "Paper Type" can be specified. The designation of the paper feeding method in step S703 can be realized by selecting this radio button.

FIG. 10E shows a list box for prompting the user to select a paper feed mode in step S704. As shown in the example of the UI (user interface) in FIG. 10, the paper feed mode includes “Same Paper for All Pages” that outputs all pages in a print document in the same paper feed tray or paper type. As will be described later, the first page, the last page, and the pages in between are output in different paper feed trays or paper types, respectively.
fferent for First, Others, and Last ”, and output the second page of the first page, the last page, and the pages in between using different paper sources or paper types.
t "," Transparency Interleaving "for outputting a combination of an OHP sheet and an intermediate sheet, and the like can be selected.

In FIG. 10 (f), the above-mentioned paper type information is obtained by pressing the radio button (d) for selecting the paper feeding method.
Paper Type ”is selected and the above-mentioned paper feeding mode is set to“
An example is shown in which a list of paper types that can be fed is displayed when “SamePaper for All Page” is selected. The paper types displayed in FIG. Only the paper type highlighted in c) is displayed.
That is, if the device information is obtained and the information is obtained normally, the paper type displayed in (f) indicates a list of paper types that can be currently set on the printer device and that can be fed. Becomes

In the example of FIG. 7, the paper feeding method is "Paper Ty".
pe ”and the paper feed mode is“ Same Paper for All Page ”. At this time, only one paper type of (f) can be selected, and all pages of the print document are selected. This indicates that printing is performed on one paper type.

Next, the structure of the job output in step S705 of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a print job according to the present embodiment. The print job header, the above-described paper feed method, paper feed mode, paper type information blocks, drawing data, It consists of each block at the end of the print job.

The contents of the transmitted job are analyzed in the printer, and the job can be printed in the specified paper feeding method and paper feeding mode.

The print job start block, paper feed method, paper feed mode, paper type information,
Each block of the end block of the print job is generated by the attribute packet generation module 607 of the printer driver 603, and the drawing data (PDL) is generated by the PDL generation module 606.

Each block is configured as shown in FIG. Each block has a packet header 1701
And a data portion 1702.

The packet header 1701 is a fixed area of 12 bytes, and the data part 1702 is an area whose size can be changed. The size of the data portion 1702 is determined by the packet header 1701.

In the figure, the operation code in the 0th to 1st bytes is an I-byte of 2 bytes indicating the function of the packet.
D is shown. The operation code can take the following values.

0x0201 Job start operation 0x0202 Job attribute setting operation 0x0204 PDL data transmission operation 0x0205 Job end operation 0x0301 Job control operation 0x090a Information acquisition operation Here, “0x” means a hexadecimal number. Figure 1
In the packet header 1701 of the block corresponding to No. 1 “header of print job”, the operation code takes the value of the job start operation “0201”. In the packet header 1701 of the block corresponding to “paper feeding method”, “paper feeding mode”, and “paper type information”, the operation code takes the value of the job attribute setting operation “0202”. In the packet header 1701 corresponding to “drawing data (PDL)”, the operation code is PDL
Takes the value of the data transmission operation "0204".
In the packet header 1701 of the block corresponding to “end of print job”, the operation code takes the value of the job end operation “0205”.

The job control operation is added to the packet header of the job control command transmitted from the information processing apparatus 11 to the printing apparatus 3 in job control, and the operation code takes the value of the job control operation "0301". . The job control operation is used when a print job received in the printing apparatus 3 is controlled such as deletion, suspension, and order change.

The information acquisition operation is a request command for acquiring device information issued to the printing device 3 by the DC (dynamic configuration) module 605 (device information acquisition unit of the present invention) of the information processing device 11. The operation code is the information acquisition operation “090”.
a ".

The block numbers in the second and third bytes are numbers used for associating requests and replies when the side that transmitted the job packet requests a reply. For example, when the information processing apparatus 11 serving as the host computer successively transmits the job packets having the block numbers = 1, 2, and 3 and the error packet having the block number = 2 is returned from the printing apparatus 3, the transmission side is the second. It is possible to specify that an error has occurred in the job packet sent to.

The parameter length of the fourth and fifth bytes is an area indicating the byte length of the data part after the twelfth byte.
It is possible to indicate up to 64K bytes. The parameter length differs depending on the attribute indicated by the packet header.

The sixth and seventh bytes are areas indicating various flags of the job packet, and indicate the following values, respectively.

Error flag: When this value is 1, it indicates that some error has occurred in the printing apparatus 3. This flag is added to a reply packet sent from the printing device 3 to the information processing device 11.

Notification flag: When this value is 1, it is not a response to the request packet from the information processing apparatus 11 which is the host computer, but the printing apparatus 3 notifying the information processing apparatus 11 that there is some notice item. Is shown.

Continuation flag: When this value is 1, it indicates that the remaining data is sent in the next job packet because all the data has not entered the data portion. The next job packet must set the same operation code as the previous packet.

Reply request: 1 is set when a reply packet is required from the information processing apparatus 11 as the host computer to the printing apparatus 3. If it is 0, no reply is returned if the request packet is processed normally. Printing device 1
If an error occurs in step 10, a reply packet in which the error flag is set to 1 is always transmitted regardless of whether the reply request is 0/1.

The user ID of the 8th to 9th bytes and 10-1
The first byte password is an area used for authentication when setting security restrictions on the operation that can be performed with the request packet.

The data (attribute parameters and PDL) corresponding to the operation code is stored in the twelfth and subsequent bytes. In the case of a job start operation and a job end operation, no data exists.

In the case of a job attribute setting operation, a job attribute ID and a job attribute value to be set are set in the data section. The job attribute ID indicates an attribute relating to a job or an identifier corresponding to an environment.
An ID corresponding to a job attribute defined by -10175 (DPA) (ISO: International Organization for Standardization) is assigned in advance.

The following are typical job attributes and job attributes related to information added in the present invention.

Job attribute ID 0x0101 Job name 0x0103 Job owner name 0x016a Job size 0x0a01 Paper feed method 0x0a03 Paper feed mode 0x0a05 Paper type information

The job attribute ID is "0a0
When the paper type information of “5” is designated, the job attribute value of the data section is a value corresponding to various media types (plain paper: “0”, thick paper “1”, glossy paper “2”, back paper "3", OHP "4", postcard "5", etc.).

In the case of the PDL data transmission operation, the data section contains PDL data. Since the data of one job packet is up to the maximum size that can be stored in the above parameter length, it can be stored up to 64 KB, and the data beyond that is divided into a plurality of PDL data transmission operations and transmitted. In this case, the continuation flag is set to 1.

In the case of an information acquisition operation generated by the DC module 605, a job attribute ID corresponding to information to be acquired from the image input / output device 3 is added. For example, if you want to get media type information,
It is “0a05” in the same manner as the above-described job attribute ID of the paper type information. The image input / output device 3 sets the operation code to the information acquisition operation (“090a”).
And the job attribute ID is the paper type information (“050
When the control packet a) is received from the information processing device 11, the media type information held by itself is returned to the DC module of the information processing device 11 as a control packet. The attribute value of the returned control packet includes the media type information set in the image input / output device 3.

Here, the attribute packet generation module 60
7 or a method of generating each block in the DC module 605 will be described. The attribute packet generation module 607 generates a job packet of a print job at the time of print processing, and the DC module 605 generates a control packet at the time of acquiring device information.

When the printer driver 603 is activated and the printing process is started, the attribute packet generation module 607
Is also activated. The attribute packet generation module
The setting file and the DEVMODE structure stored in the storage means (the RAM 31 or the external storage device 25) are read from the printer driver UI to recognize the print settings of the print job being processed. Here, the attribute packet generation module 607 specifies whether the paper feeding method selection method shown in FIG. 10 is the first mode in which “Paper Source” for directly specifying the paper feeding tray is selected, or specifies the media type. It is determined whether the mode is the second mode in which “Paper Type” is selected. If it is determined that the mode is the first mode, the attribute value in the data part of the paper feeding method block is “0”, the block of the paper type information is not generated, and the PDL generation module is generated in the PDL in the drawing data. In step 606, a command for designating the paper feed tray is inserted. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mode is the second mode, the attribute value in the data portion of the paper feeding method block is “1”, and the attribute packet generation module 607 determines
A block of paper type information is generated, and a value specifying the above-described media type is inserted as an attribute value. In the case of the second mode, the PDL generation module does not perform the PDL generation processing for designating the media type.

Next, with reference to FIG.
The control of the image input / output device 3 based on the data (acquisition request and print job) transmitted from will be described using each module configuration.

Reference numeral 1801 denotes an I / F driver unit.
It receives data input from the information processing apparatus 11 via the AN 21 and controls the information processing apparatus 11 via the LAN 21 so that the data is transferred to the main road. 180
2 receives the data from the I / F driver unit 1801, and determines whether the data is a print job or a control packet of an acquisition request by referring to the operation code of the packet of the received data. When it is determined that the input data is a print job, the logical channel control unit 1802 passes the data to the job preprocessor 1803, and when it is determined that the input data is a control packet, Then, the data is passed to the device information acquisition unit 1804.

The job preprocessor 1803 extracts only the job attribute packet of the print job, and extracts the job attribute packet indicating the attribute of the job from the device DB 180.
5 and the packet containing the remaining print data is passed to the reception buffer 1804. As described above, the job attributes can be extracted before the PDL is analyzed, and even if the PDL is not analyzed, what attributes the received print job has, and in this embodiment, which media type The user can recognize whether the specified sheet is designated.

Further, the device information acquisition section 1804 receives the job attribute packet and determines what the operation code is. If the operation code is an information acquisition operation, the device information stored in the device DB 1805 or the job preprocessor 1
Since the control packet is a control packet for acquiring the registered job attribute from the device information acquisition unit 803, the device information acquisition unit 1
804 determines the job attribute ID of the control packet,
Determine what information is needed. If the job attribute ID is “0a05”, it is a paper type information acquisition request, so the device information acquisition unit 1804
The media type information (paper type information) of the print job stored in 1805 is acquired and returned as a control packet to the information processing apparatus 11 via the logical channel control unit 1802.

Reference numeral 1806 denotes a PDL translator,
The print data spooled in the reception buffer 1804 is obtained, PDL analysis is performed, and the drawing unit 1807 sequentially prints the print data.

[Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment,
In the selection of the paper feed mode in FIG. 10 in the first embodiment, “Different for First, Others, and Last”,
That is, an example in which “print by specifying the first and last sheets” is selected will be described.

FIG. 12 is a sheet for setting the paper feeding method in the printer driver UI as in FIG. 10. In the second embodiment, the paper feeding method is “Paper Type” and the paper feeding mode is “Different for First, Others”. , and L
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example in a case where “ast” is selected.

The paper feed mode of this embodiment is a mode in which the first page, the last page, and the pages in between are output with different paper types, so that the paper type of the first page is "First". Set the paper type of the page to "Oth
er ", and the paper type of the last page can be selected from the list box displayed by" Last ". Each list box is selected in FIG. 9 as shown in the first embodiment. Only the selected paper types are listed and can be selected.

In this case, the attribute packet generation module 6
In step 07, the creation processing is performed so that the attribute values of the data part in the block of the paper type information shown in FIG. 11 include the respective paper types of Fisrt, Others, and Last.

[Third Embodiment] In the third embodiment,
In the paper feed mode selection of FIG. 10 in the first embodiment, “Different for First, Second, Others, and L
ast ", that is, an example in which" print by designating the first and second sheets and the last sheet "is described.

FIG. 13 shows a sheet for which the paper feeding method is set in the printer driver UI, similarly to FIG. 10, in which the paper feeding method is "Paper Type" and the paper feeding mode is "Different for First, Second" in the third embodiment. , Other
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example in a case where “s, and Last” is selected.

The paper feed mode of this embodiment is a mode in which the first page, the second page, the last page, and the pages in between are output with different paper types. Therefore, the paper type of the first page is set to “First”. "The paper type of the second page is" Second ", and the paper type of the intervening page is" Othe
r ", and the paper type of the last page can be selected from the list box displayed with" Last ". Each list box is selected in FIG. 9 as shown in the first embodiment. Only the selected paper types are listed and can be selected.

In this case, the attribute packet generation module 6
In step 07, the generation process is performed so that the first, second, other, and last paper types are listed in the attribute values of the data section in the paper type information block shown in FIG.

[Fourth Embodiment] In the fourth embodiment,
In the selection of the paper feed mode in FIG. 10 in the first embodiment, “Transparency Interleaving”, that is, “OH
An example will be described in the case where "paper is inserted between P films: printing of intermediate paper" is selected.

FIG. 14 shows a sheet for which the paper feeding method is set in the printer driver UI, as in FIG. 10, in which the paper feeding method "Paper Type" and the paper feeding mode "Transparency Interleaving" are selected in the third embodiment. It is a figure showing an example in the case of having done.

"Transparency Interleaving" is OH
This is a mode in which printing is performed by a combination of P and the intermediate sheet. In the paper feeding mode of the present embodiment, the paper type of the intermediate sheet can be selected from a list box displayed in “Interleaf Sheet”. ing. As shown in the first embodiment, the list box shown in FIG.
Only the paper type selected in is displayed in a list, and can be selected.

Also, “Print on Interleaf Sheet” in the figure
s "is a check box, and when this check box is checked, OH
This is a mode for printing the same image as P. When there is no check, a blank sheet is inserted without being printed on the intermediate sheet.

In this case, the attribute packet generation module 6
In step 07, the generation process is performed so that the attribute value in the block of the paper type information illustrated in FIG. 11 includes the paper type of the Interleaf Sheet. Further, the mode of whether or not to print on the intermediate sheet is configured by including the information in the paper feed mode.

An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of a system or apparatus storing the program code stored in the storage medium. It is also achieved by reading and executing the code.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a memory map when a flexible disk is used as an example of the external storage device 25 connected to the host computer 22. The memory map includes a volume information storage area, a directory information storage area, A print processing program execution file area (a program for implementing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7) and a print processing related data file storage area (print setting default data, initial values of print information, display resources, and the like) are stored. ).

Then, when the operator of the information processing apparatus 11
By operating 23 and instructing the installation of the contents stored in the external storage device 25, a desired control program and various data are loaded into the RAM 31 of the information control device 11 and can be executed by the CPU 34.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, DVD, and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the computer runs on the basis of the instructions of the program code.

An OS (Operating System) or the like performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
The case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the storage medium storing the print control program for generating the print data to be printed by the image input / output device (image input / output device 3) via the network (for example, FIG. An external storage device 15) such as an FD, the print control program includes a user interface for inputting an instruction to acquire paper type information (media type information) indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device. A user interface providing module (UI module in the printer driver 603) that provides (a in FIG. 8) and a network device management utility (network device management utility 608) that manages the image input / output device based on the input instruction. Device information acquisition module (DC module) A request module (a DC control module in the printer driver 603) for requesting the image input / output device for paper type information via a network using a network, and a paper type from the image input / output device in response to the request. (DC control module in the printer driver 603) that acquires the information of the image input / output device through the device information acquisition module (DC module). By using a print control program including a reflection module (a UI module in the printer driver 603) and a reflection module (FIG. 9) provided on a user interface provided by the printer driver UI based on the paper type information acquired by the dynamic configuration. Dynamically It is possible to specify the paper type.

Further, since the paper type of each paper feed tray set on the device matches the paper type specified on the driver UI, even if the printer device receives a print job from the driver, the paper type does not match. Does not occur, and the job can be printed without interruption.

In this embodiment, a storage medium storing a print control program for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, and indicates the type of the medium of the image input / output device. A request module (DC module 605) for requesting the paper type information from the image input / output device via a network so that the paper type information can be designated; An acquisition module (DC module) for acquiring paper type information from the apparatus; and a paper type designation module (U in the printer driver 603) for providing a user interface for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device.
I module) and a print data generation module (PDL) for generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device.
A generation module 606) and an attribute packet generation module (attribute packet generation module 607) that generates a job attribute packet including a paper type specified via a user interface provided by the paper type specification module and not including print data. And a print control program including a job generation module (printer driver 603) for generating a print job including print data generated by the print data generation module and a job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generation module. As a result, it is possible to generate a print job that dynamically switches the paper supply stages that can be supplied on the printer device side.

[0160]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A device management utility for managing an image output device via a network, wherein a device information acquisition module used to acquire device information including media type information from the image output device is used from a printer driver; It is possible to provide a printer driver that provides a user interface for print settings by reflecting the device information acquired in step (1).

Further, based on the paper type information acquired by the dynamic configuration, the user can use the printer driver UI.
Can dynamically specify the paper type.

Further, since the paper type of each paper feed tray set on the device matches the paper type specified on the driver UI, even if the printer device receives a print job from the driver, the paper type mismatch occurs. Does not occur, and the job can be printed without interruption.

Further, in the information processing apparatus, it is possible to generate print data specifying a plurality of media types without extending the printer language itself.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image input / output device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reader unit and a printer unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a core unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an information processing device (PC / WS) 11 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage medium in the information processing apparatus 11;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing various module configurations in the information processing apparatus 11;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process during a printing process in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a user interface screen for designating information necessary for print processing displayed in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a user interface screen for specifying information necessary for print processing displayed in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a user interface screen for designating information necessary for print processing displayed in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a print job generated by the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a user interface screen for designating information necessary for print processing displayed on the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a user interface screen for designating information necessary for print processing displayed on the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a user interface screen for designating information necessary for print processing displayed on the information processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing that a storage medium storing a control program of the present invention is supplied to the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a memory map in a storage medium storing the control program.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating each block of a print job generated by the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 18 is an image input / output device 3 included in the printing system.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining each processing block in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reader part 2 Printer part 3 Image input / output control part 4 Facsimile part 5 Storage part 7 Computer interface part 8 RIP part 9 Operation part 10 Core part 11 Computer equipment

Continuation of the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP04 AP07 HJ03 HL01 HL02 HN17 HQ20 2H027 EJ15 FA05 FA30 ZA07 5B021 AA01 AA05 AA19 BB04 CC02 CC05 KK02 5C062 AA02 AA05 AA14 AA20 AB21 AB23

Claims (29)

[Claims] An information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein the type of the medium of the image input / output device is determined from a user interface provided by a printer driver. Instruction input means for inputting an instruction to acquire information on a paper type to be indicated, and a device information acquisition module used in a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device based on the instruction input by the instruction input means Requesting means for requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network, and obtaining the device information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the requesting means. Acquisition means for acquiring through a module, and the image input / output device acquired by the acquisition means The information processing apparatus according to claim paper type information, in that it has a reflection means for reflecting on a user interface provided by the printer driver. 2. A paper type designating means for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, and a paper type designated by the paper type designating means. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a job generating unit configured to generate a print job based on print data to be printed by the image input / output device. 3. A paper feeding method designating means for designating a paper feeding method in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, wherein the paper feeding method designating means is based on a paper type. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the first paper supply specification mode as the paper supply method is specified, the paper type is specified by the paper type specification means. 4. A paper supply place designating means for designating a paper supply place to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, wherein the paper supply method designating means The paper supply location is designated by the paper supply location designation means when a second paper supply designation mode, which is a paper supply method based on a paper supply location of the image input / output device, is designated. 3. The information processing apparatus according to 3. 5. An information processing method for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein the type of the medium of the image input / output device is determined from a user interface provided by a printer driver. An instruction input step of inputting an instruction to acquire information on a paper type to be indicated, based on the input instruction, using a device information acquisition module used in a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device Requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network; and obtaining the paper type information from the image input / output device via the device information obtaining module in response to the request. And the obtained information on the paper type of the image input / output device is transmitted to the printer driver. An information processing method which comprises a reflecting step of reflecting on the user interface, the provided Ri. 6. A paper type designation step for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, and a paper type designated in the paper type designation step. 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: generating a print job based on print data to be printed by the image input / output device. 7. A paper supply method designating step of designating a paper supply method in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, wherein the paper supply method is specified based on a paper type. 7. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein, when a first paper supply specification mode as a paper method is specified, a paper type is specified in the paper type specification step. 8. A paper supply location designating step of designating a paper supply location to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by the printer driver, 8. A paper supply location is designated in the paper supply location designation step when a second paper supply designation mode, which is a paper supply method based on a paper supply location of the image input / output device, is designated. The information processing method described. 9. A storage medium storing a print control program for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein information of a paper type indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device is stored. A user interface providing module for providing a user interface for inputting an instruction to be obtained, and a device information obtaining module used in a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device based on the input instruction. A request module for requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network; and obtaining paper type information from the image input / output device in response to the request via the device information obtaining module. An acquisition module to be executed; and a paper tie of the image input / output device to be acquired. Of information, storage medium storing a computer-readable printing control program, characterized in that it comprises a reflecting module to reflect on a user interface, a provided by the printer driver. 10. A paper type designation module for providing a user interface for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device, and designated via a user interface provided by the paper type designation module. Based on the paper type and print data to be printed by the image input / output device,
The storage medium storing a computer-readable print control program according to claim 9, further comprising: a job generation module that generates a print job. 11. A paper supply method designating module for providing a user interface for designating a paper supply method in the image input / output device, wherein the sheet is supplied via the user interface provided by the paper supply method designation module. When a first paper supply specification mode, which is a paper supply method based on the type, is specified, a user interface for specifying a paper type to be supplied by the paper type specification module is provided, and the paper type is specified. A storage medium storing the computer-readable print control program according to claim 10. 12. The image input / output device further includes a paper supply location designation module for providing a user interface for designating a paper supply location to be fed, and the user interface provided by the paper supply method designation module is provided. When the second paper supply designation mode, which is a paper supply method based on the paper supply place of the image input / output device, is designated, the paper supply place designation module is used to designate the paper supply place to be supplied. 12. A storage medium storing a computer-readable print control program according to claim 11, wherein a user interface is provided for specifying a paper feed location. 13. An information processing apparatus for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein information of a paper type indicating a medium type of the image input / output device can be designated. Requesting means for requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network; obtaining means for obtaining paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the requesting means; Paper type designation means for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by: a print data generation means for generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device; A job attribute packet including a paper type specified by the paper type specifying unit and not including print data is generated. Characteristic packet generating means; and job generating means for generating a print job including print data generated by the print data generating means and a job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generating means. Information processing device. 14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said print data does not include a command for designating a paper type. 15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a reflection unit that reflects the information of the paper type of the image input / output device acquired by the acquisition unit on a user interface provided by the printer driver. Or the information processing apparatus according to 14. 16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said job attribute packet includes information for specifying a paper type for each page. 17. The print job generated by the job generating means is composed of a print data packet including print data and a job attribute packet including attribute information of the print job, each packet indicating a type of the packet. 17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, comprising a packet header section and a data section indicating data relating to a type specified by the packet header section. 18. An information processing method for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein information of a paper type indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device can be designated. Requesting paper type information from the image input / output device via a network; obtaining the paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the request unit; A paper type designation step of designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by a print data generation step of generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device, An attribute that generates a job attribute packet that includes the paper type specified in the paper type specification step and does not include print data And a job generating step of generating a print job including the print data generated in the print data generating step and a job attribute packet generated in the attribute packet generating step. Information processing method. 19. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein the print data does not include a command for specifying a paper type. 20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising a step of reflecting the information on the paper type of the image input / output device acquired in the acquiring step on a user interface provided by the printer driver. Or 1
10. The information processing method according to item 9. 21. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein said job attribute packet includes information for specifying a paper type for each page. 22. A print job generated in the job generation step includes a print data packet including print data and a job attribute packet including attribute information of the print job. Each packet indicates a type of the packet. 22. The information processing method according to claim 18, comprising a packet header section and a data section indicating data relating to a type specified by the packet header section. 23. A storage medium storing a print control program for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network, wherein information of a paper type indicating a type of the medium of the image input / output device is stored. A request module for requesting the paper type information from the image input / output device via a network so as to enable specification; and obtaining the paper type information from the image input / output device in response to a request from the request module. A module for providing a user interface for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device; and a print data generation module for generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device. Finger through a user interface provided by the paper type designation module Includes the paper type to be,
An attribute packet generation module that generates a job attribute packet that does not include print data; a print job that includes print data generated by the print data generation module; and a job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generation module. A storage medium storing a computer-readable print control program, comprising: a job generation module; 24. The storage medium according to claim 23, wherein the print data does not include a command for designating a paper type. 25. The image processing apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a reflection module for reflecting the information of the paper type of the image input / output device acquired by the acquisition module on a user interface provided by the paper type designation module. 25. A storage medium storing the computer-readable print control program according to item 23 or 24. 26. The computer-readable print control program according to claim 23, wherein the job attribute packet includes information for specifying a paper type in page units. Storage medium. 27. A print job generated by the job generation module includes a print data packet including print data and a job attribute packet including attribute information of the print job. Each packet indicates a type of the packet. The computer-readable print control program according to any one of claims 23 to 26, comprising a packet header portion and a data portion indicating data relating to a type specified by the packet header portion. Storage medium. 28. A printing system, comprising: an information processing device that generates print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network; and an image input / output device that performs print processing based on the print data. From a user interface provided by a driver, an instruction input unit for inputting an instruction to acquire information on a paper type indicating a type of a medium of the image input / output device, based on the instruction input by the instruction input unit, A request unit for requesting the image input / output device for paper type information via a network using a device information acquisition module used in a network device management utility for managing the image input / output device; In response to a request, paper type information is sent from the image input / output device to the device information acquisition module. The information processing apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit that obtains the information via the image input / output device via a printer interface; Return means for returning information on the paper type in the image input / output device based on a paper type acquisition request received from the information processing device; and printing based on print data received from the information processing device. A printing system, comprising: a print processing unit for performing processing in the image input / output device. 29. A printing system, comprising: an information processing device for generating print data to be printed by an image input / output device via a network; and an image input / output device for performing a printing process based on the print data. Requesting means for requesting the paper type information from the image input / output device via a network so that the paper type information indicating the type of the medium of the image input / output device can be designated; Acquisition means for acquiring paper type information from the image input / output device, and paper type designation means for designating a paper type to be fed in the image input / output device using a user interface provided by a printer driver; Print data generating means for generating print data to be printed by the image input / output device; Attribute packet generating means for generating a job attribute packet that does not include print data, the print data generated by the print data generating means, and a job attribute packet generated by the attribute packet generating means. And a job generating means for generating a print job including the information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus returns a paper type information in the image input / output apparatus based on a paper type acquisition request received from the information processing apparatus. A print processing unit configured to perform print processing based on print data included in a print job received from the information processing apparatus in the image input / output apparatus.