JP2002132467A - Print processing device, printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] When printing a large amount of standard form data, maintain the comfort of a network environment and reduce costs. SOLUTION: This is a print processing apparatus in which computers 2a, 2b and a printer 3 are connected via a LAN 1.
The computers 2a and 2b include a print utility for transmitting a registration command for registering data to be printed to the printer 3 via the LAN 1, and the printer 3 receives the library 33 for storing the data to be printed and the LAN 3 via the LAN 1. The command is discriminated. For example, in the case of a registration command, it is searched whether or not the specified data exists in the library 33. If the specified data does not exist, the data received from the computers 2a and 2b is
3 and a control unit 32 for reading out the corresponding data from the library 33 in accordance with the received print command and causing the printing mechanism 34 to print the data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus and a printing method in which, for example, a computer and a printer are connected via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of computers and a printer are connected via a network, and data transmitted from each computer via the network is received and printed by a printer.

[0003]

In the case of such a system configuration using a network, the data to be printed and the print request are transmitted from the computer to the printer via the network each time printing is performed. When a computer accesses a file from another computer on a network, for example, a file server, or transmits print data to another printer, the load on the network increases. In particular, when printing image data or the like, there is a problem that the processing speed of the entire system is reduced.

[0004] Further, in a government office or the like, fixed form data such as an application form may be printed many times many times, and in such a case, there is a problem that not only the network environment is deteriorated but also the communication cost is increased. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and when printing a large amount of standard form data, it is possible to maintain the comfort of a network environment and reduce the cost. It is an object to provide a processing device and a printing method.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print processing apparatus comprising a computer and a printer connected via a network. Means for issuing a registration request command and a print request command for registering data to be printed to the printer via the network in accordance with a user operation, and transmitting the command to the printer via the network, A print data storage unit that stores the data to be printed, a command from the computer through the network, a receiving unit that receives the data to be printed, and a determining unit that determines the command received by the receiving unit.
A search unit for searching whether the data specified by the command determined by the determination unit is present in the print data storage unit; and a command determined by the determination unit being a registration request command; As a result, when the designated data is not present in the print data storage means, the registration means for registering the data received by the reception means in the print data storage means, and the command determined by the determination means is a print request command. A print unit that prints the data of the print data storage unit when the designated data exists in the print data storage unit as a result of the search by the search unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method in a print processing apparatus in which a computer and a printer are connected via a network, wherein data to be printed by the computer is transmitted to the printer via the network. Registering a print request command in the computer, transmitting the print request command to the printer via the network, and retrieving data registered in the printer based on the print request command received in the printer. And printing the data specified by the print request command.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method in a print processing apparatus in which a computer and a printer are connected via a network, wherein a user designates data to be printed on the computer. Adding the first unique information to the printer via the network and registering the data registered by the printer with the second unique information given by the printer.
Receiving and displaying the unique information on the computer via the network, and transmitting a print request command including at least one of the first and second unique information to the printer via the network at the computer. And searching for data registered in the printer based on the unique information included in the print request command received by the printer, and printing data having matching unique information. I have.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when registering data to be printed which is likely to be repeatedly printed in a printer,
When a registration request command is issued from the computer, and the command received from the computer is a registration request command, the printer searches whether or not the data specified by the command is present in the print data storage unit. If the data is not in the print data storage, the data received from the computer is registered in the print data storage. Then, if the command received by the printer from the computer is a print request command, the data specified by the command is searched, and as a result of the search, the specified data exists in the print data storage unit. Since the data in the print data storage unit is printed, the print data does not flow on the network no matter how many sheets are printed after registration, so that it is possible to maintain the comfort of the network environment and reduce costs. it can.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, data to be printed which is likely to be repeatedly printed is registered in a printer from a computer via a network, and a print request command is generated in the computer at the time of repetitive printing, and the print request command is generated via the network. The printer searches for data registered in itself based on the print request command received by the printer, and prints the data specified by the print request command. Even if the data to be printed does not flow over the network, the comfort of the network environment can be maintained and the cost can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first unique information for the user to specify the data is added to the data to be printed by the computer and registered in the printer via the network. The second unique information given by the printer to the registered data is received by a computer via a network and displayed. Then, at the time of repetitive printing, the computer transmits a print request command including at least one of the first and second unique information to the printer via the network, and based on the unique information included in the print request command received by the printer. Since the data registered in the user is searched and the data having the unique information that matches is printed, only the data registered by the user himself can be printed while the confidentiality is enhanced.

As a result, when printing a large amount of standard form data, it is possible to maintain the comfort of the network environment and reduce the cost.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a print processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this print processing apparatus comprises:
The printer 3 includes computers 2 a and 2 b connected via a network such as a local network 1 (LAN 1).

The computers 2a and 2b are CD-ROM
This is a general computer including an apparatus main body that can be loaded with and read a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) and an input device and a display device connected to the apparatus main body. The input device is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. The display device is, for example, a CRT monitor, an LCD monitor, or the like.

The apparatus main body includes a CPU, a ROM and an R
A control unit including an AM, a hard disk drive (HDD), and a CD-R for reading information from a CD-ROM
An OM drive, an FD drive that reads and writes information from and to the FD, a communication device, and the like are mounted. The ROM stores an initial operation setting program such as BIOS. The communication device is a LAN interface (hereinafter, referred to as LAN I / F) such as a LAN board for performing data communication with the LAN 1. Various software including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as an OS) is installed in the HDD. The software includes, for example, a print utility. The print utility starts when a print instruction is issued by a user operation, and displays a print screen (print utility screen).

As shown in FIG. 2, the print utility screen 20 has a name input field 21 for naming the print data when the user registers the print data (name for library search), An ID 22 issued and transmitted from the printer 3 is displayed, and a key 22 for key input of an ID for uniquely designating and printing data to be printed, a column 23 for specifying the number of copies, and a registration button 24 , A print button 25 and the like. The registration button 24 and the print button 25 issue commands to the printer 3 in response to user button operations.

The printer 3 has a LAN I / F 31, a control unit 32, a library 33, and a printing mechanism 34. The LAN I / F 31 performs data communication with the LAN 1. The control unit 32 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and executes a registration process of data to be printed in the library 33 and a printing process in cooperation with a print utility installed in the computers 2a and 2b. The library 33 is a database that stores print target data generated in a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk device. This library 33
For example, data and document contents of a fixed form (such as a paper for requesting a copy of a resident's card) used in a government office or the like are registered and stored in.

The printing mechanism 34 is controlled by the control unit 32 to feed printing paper set in a paper cassette or the like, print data to be printed on the printing paper, and discharge the printing paper.

Next, the operation (printing method) of the print processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, an operation (registration phase) when registering data to be printed in the printer 3 in the print processing apparatus will be described.

For example, in the computer 2a or the like, a fixed form or the like is created using certain application software, and the user performs a printing operation (print instruction) (FIG. 3).
(S101), the print utility is activated, and the print utility screen 20 shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the monitor of the computer 2a (S102).

Here, if there is a possibility that this fixed form is printed many times in the future, that is, if there is a possibility of repeated printing, a name input on the print utility screen 20 is performed to register the data of this form. A form name (first unique information given by the user), for example, “application form A1” or the like is entered in a column 21 by a key, and a registration button 24 is pressed.

Then, the print utility determines that a registration operation has been performed without pressing the print button 25 (N in S103) (print operation in S104), and a registration request command to which the name “application form A1” has been added (hereinafter referred to as “registration request”). A registration command is generated and transmitted to the printer 3 via the LAN 1 (S105).

In the printer 3, the computer 2a sends L
When a command is received by the LAN I / F 31 through the AN 1 (S201 in FIG. 4), the command is passed to the control unit 32.

The control unit 32 determines what kind of command the received command is (S202).

If the received command is a registration command (the registration command in S202), the control unit 3
2 searches the library 33 using the unique information included in the registration command, that is, “application form A1” as a key (S2
03).

As a result of this search, if data having unique information matching the “application form A1” exists in the library 33 (Y in S204), the control unit 32 sends a response indicating that registration is impossible to the LAN1 to the registration command. Through computer 2
a (S205).

When the computer 2a receives a response indicating that registration is not possible, it prompts the user to enter a key with a different name in the input field 21.

Also, when there is no data having the unique information corresponding to the "application form A1" in the library 33 (S2
In N of 04), the control unit 32 transmits a registration-possible response to the registration command to the computer 2a via the LAN 1, and when the print utility of the computer 2a receives the response, transmits the data to be printed to the printer 3.

When the printer 3 receives the data to be printed from the computer 2a, the control unit 32 adds “00051” to the received data to be printed.
(Management information unique to the printer that can uniquely identify data to be printed on the printer side: second unique information) (key code automatic issuance processing), “application form A1”, time, etc. Is registered as new data in the library 33 (S206).

Then, the control section 32 transmits the assigned printer-specific management information, that is, “00051” to the computer 2a through the LAN 1 (S207).

When the computer 2a receives the printer-specific management information, that is, “00051” from the printer 3, the print utility displays it in the ID column 22 of the print utility screen 20.

Next, the operation (print phase) when printing the data to be printed in the print processing apparatus will be described.

In this case, the print utility is activated in the computer 2a and the print utility screen 20 is displayed as in the registration phase (S in FIG. 3).
101 to S102).

In the case of printing normal print data, the user inputs the number of copies in the number of copies column 23 and presses the print button 25 (Y in S103). Since nothing is entered in the columns 21 and 22, it is determined that the printing is normal printing, and the data to be printed created by the currently active application software and a print request command (hereinafter referred to as a print command). Is transmitted to the printer 3 via the LAN 1 (S106).

In the printer 3, the computer 2a sends L
When a command is received by the LAN I / F 31 through the AN 1 (S201 in FIG. 4), the command is passed to the control unit 32.

The control unit 32 determines what kind of command the received command is (S202).

Since the received command is a print command, does not include unique information, and has received print data (print command in S202 + print data), the control unit 32 34, and prints the received print data on print paper (S208).

On the other hand, in the case of repetitive printing, specific information is keyed into any of the name and ID fields 21 and 22 of the print utility screen 20, the data to be printed is specified, and the number of copies is input, and then the print button is pressed. When 25 is pressed (the print operation of A104 in FIG. 3), the print utility generates (issues) a print command including the unique information, and
The data is transmitted to the printer 3 through the AN 1.

In the printer 3, the computer 2a sends L
When a command is received by the LAN I / F 31 through the AN 1 (S201 in FIG. 4), the command is passed to the control unit 32.

The control unit 32 determines what kind of command the received command is (S202).

If the print command includes the unique information, the library 33 is searched using the unique information as a key (S209).

As a result of this search, when data having unique information that matches the received unique information exists in the library 33 (Y in S210), the control unit 32
3, the corresponding print target data is read out, the printing mechanism 34 is controlled, and the specified number of copies are printed (S20).
8).

As a result of the above search, if data having unique information that matches the received unique information does not exist in the library 33 (N in S210), the control unit 32 sends the print data to the printer 3 Is transmitted to the computer 2a via the LAN 1 (S211).

When the computer 2a receives the non-printable response, it prompts the user to enter a key with a different name and ID in the name and ID input fields 21 and 22.

As described above, according to the print processing apparatus of this embodiment, the data to be printed which is likely to be repeatedly printed is printed beforehand on the printer 3 which is the printing destination connected to the computers 2a and 2b via the LAN 1. When printing the registered data, the computer 2a,
By sending only the print command from 2b to the printer 3, any number of sheets can be printed, and the load on the network can be reduced.

Also, no matter how many repetitive printings are performed, only one command needs to be transmitted, so that the amount of data flowing on the network can be reduced and the communication cost can be reduced.

Further, when the data to be printed is registered in the printer 3, unique information (such as an ID number) managed by the printer is transmitted to the computers 2a and 2b and displayed. Only the user himself / herself can print the data registered in the printer 3, and confidentiality can be ensured when the printers 3 are separated from the computers 2a and 2b.

The present invention is not limited only to the above embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the hard disk device is described as an example of the print data storage unit of the printer. However, for example, a memory, a tape device, an optical disk device, or the like may be used. Further, in the above embodiment, the storage format of the data in the library is not limited, but the print data may be stored as a print image,
Further, the print command itself may be stored.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an ID is assigned to data to be printed registered in the printer 3 so that the data can be managed by the printer. Alternatively, for example, an ID may be assigned by the host. . Also,
It may be a program ID, a task ID, a thread ID, or the like.

The operation contents of the print utility of the computer 2a and the operation contents of the printer 3 described in the above embodiment are stored as software (programs) in the computers 2a and 2b such as floppy disks, or in a storage medium readable by the printer 3. May be
In this case, the software (program) stored in the storage medium is transferred to the computer 2a, 2b or the printer 3
The processing in each embodiment can be performed by reading.

The storage medium in the present invention includes:
Magnetic disk, floppy disk, hard disk,
Optical disks (CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc.),
Any storage medium, such as a magneto-optical disk (MO or the like) or a semiconductor memory, which can store a program and can be read by a computer or a printer, may have any storage format.

Also, based on instructions of a program installed in the computer or the printer from the storage medium, an MW (middleware) such as an OS (Operating System) running on the computer or the printer, database management software, network software, etc. ) May execute a part of each process for realizing the present embodiment.

Further, the storage medium in the present invention is not limited to a medium independent of a computer or a printer.
A storage medium in which a program transmitted via a LAN, the Internet, or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored is also included.

Further, the number of storage media is not limited to one, and the case where the processing in the present embodiment is executed from a plurality of media is also included in the recording medium of the present invention, and any media configuration may be used.

The computer and the printer according to the present invention execute each processing in the present embodiment based on a program stored in a storage medium. Any configuration such as a network-connected system may be used.

The computer in the present invention is
Not only a personal computer but also an arithmetic processing unit, a microcomputer, and the like included in an information processing device are collectively referred to as devices and devices that can realize the functions of the present invention by a program.

[0059]

As described above, according to the first and third aspects of the present invention, a registration request command is issued from a computer for data to be printed which is likely to be repeatedly printed and specified by the printer. If there is no data, register the data received from the computer. Then, next, when a print request command is received from the computer to the printer, the printer searches for the data specified by the command, and prints the data if the specified data exists in the printer. No matter how many sheets are printed, print data does not flow on the network, so that the network environment can be kept comfortable and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, unique information allocated to print data registered on the printer side in response to a registration request command issued from a computer, or corresponding data on the printer side in response to a print request command. The provision of the display means for displaying the information notified when the data does not exist allows only the user who has registered the data to print the data stored in the printer.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first unique information for the user to specify the data is added to the data to be printed by the computer, and the data is registered in the printer via the network. The second unique information given by the printer to the registered data is received by a computer via a network and displayed. Then, at the time of repetitive printing, the computer transmits a print request command including at least one of the first and second unique information to the printer via the network, and based on the unique information included in the print request command received by the printer. Since the data registered in the user is searched and the data having the unique information that matches is printed, only the data registered by the user himself can be printed while the confidentiality is enhanced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printer, if there is no data having at least one of the first unique information and the second unique information as a result of the search, the information indicating that there is no corresponding data is provided. Since the information is transmitted to the computer via the network and the computer displays information indicating that there is no corresponding data received via the network, only the user who has registered the data can print the data stored in the printer. .

As a result, when printing a large amount of standard form data, the comfort of the network environment can be maintained and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a print utility screen displayed on a computer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a print utility.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 LAN, 2a, 2b computer, 3 printer, 31 LAN interface (LAN I / F),
32: control unit, 33: library, 34: printing mechanism.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A print processing apparatus comprising a computer and a printer connected via a network, the computer comprising: a registration request command and a print request for registering data to be printed in the printer via the network. Means for issuing a command in response to a user operation and transmitting the command to the printer via the network, the printer comprising: a print data storage unit for storing the data to be printed; and a command from the computer via the network. Receiving means for receiving data to be printed; determining means for determining a command received by the receiving means; determining whether data specified by the command determined by the determining means is present in the print data storage means. Search means for searching, and discrimination by the discrimination means A registration command for registering the data received by the receiving unit in the print data storage unit when the specified command is a registration request command and the specified data is not found in the print data storage unit as a result of the search by the search unit; When the command determined by the determination unit is a print request command, and the search result by the search unit indicates that the specified data is present in the print data storage unit, the printing of the print data storage unit data is performed. And a print processing apparatus. 2. The computer receives, in response to the issued registration request command, unique information of registered print data transmitted from the printer via the network, or is notified in response to the print request command. A display unit for displaying information indicating that there is no corresponding data; the printer stores, in the print data storage unit, unique information added to the print data registered by the registration unit, or data specified by a print request command. 2. The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting information indicating that there is no corresponding data when there is no data to the computer via the network. 3. A printing method in a print processing apparatus comprising a computer and a printer connected via a network, wherein the computer registers data to be printed in the printer via the network. Generating a print request command and transmitting it to the printer via the network; searching for data registered in the printer based on the print request command received by the printer; Printing the data. 4. A printing method in a print processing apparatus comprising a computer and a printer connected via a network, wherein first specific information for a user to specify data is added to data to be printed by the computer. Registering the printer with the printer via the network; receiving and displaying, by the computer, the second unique information given by the printer to the data registered by the printer; and The computer transmitting a print request command including at least one of the first and second unique information to the printer via the network, based on the unique information included in the print request command received by the printer; Search for the data registered in the printer, Printing method, comprising a step of printing the data with a broadcast. 5. As a result of searching for the printer, the first
When there is no data having at least one of the unique information and the second unique information, transmitting information indicating that there is no corresponding data to the computer via the network; and at the computer, via the network 5. The printing method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of displaying the received information indicating that there is no corresponding data.