JP2003067149A - Data processor, data processing system, data processing method, tab printing method, storing medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processor, a data processing system, a data processing method, a storing medium, and a program capable of utilizing a stored document as information in retrieving by extracting only a character code from various information, and preserving the character code in a box together with image data when developing PDL data into the image data. SOLUTION: A digital complex machine 1-4 has the function of preserving the PDL data in a document form, and is provided with a PDL interpreting part 620 for interpreting the PDL data, a PDL plotting part 621 for developing and plotting intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data as the image data, and a page processing part B 612 for linking and preserving the image data and text data in a data storage area 622 by forming the text data from the character code extracted from the intermediate data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a data processing device,
Data processing system, data processing method, tab printing method,
Regarding storage media and programs, particularly in a system in which peripheral devices such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a digital multi-function peripheral are connected to a computer via a network, PDL data is transmitted to a printer and stored and stored in the form of a document. The present invention relates to a data processing device, a data processing system, a data processing method, a tab printing method, a storage medium, and a program that are suitable for retrieving stored documents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a PDL transmitted from an external device
In a device such as a printer that stores (page description language) data in the form of a document in a storage means called a box, when storing the data, image data after expanding the PDL data is stored. In this case, the original PD
The L data includes various information of characters and figures (shape, color, size, position) and control information (setting information of the number of print copies when printing, setting information of double-sided printing / single-sided printing, etc.). However, since the expanded image data is raster image data, such information is lost (first conventional technique).

On the other hand, conventionally, a PD transmitted from an external device
In a device such as a printer that stores L (page description language) data in the form of a document in a storage means called a box, when data is stored, image data after expanding PDL data is stored. Moreover, since the size of image data is usually large, image compression is performed using an image compression technique to reduce the size of the image data (second conventional technique).

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned first conventional technique has the following problems. A storage means (document storage area) called a box for a document which is a set of image data in which PDL data is once expanded.
If stored in, there is a problem in that it is difficult to identify the document when printing, deleting or moving the document later. In other words, the user may not be able to retrieve the previously stored document, which may make it difficult to identify the document.

Although it is conceivable to display a thumbnail image of the image data, there is a problem that it takes a long time to process, or there is a problem that it is difficult to display characters because the thumbnail image is subjected to a reduction process.

Further, there may be a case where the user cannot find the stored document unless he prints the document. In addition, it is possible that the user inputs a search keyword when the document is stored, but the operation becomes very complicated, which is not realistic.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned second conventional technique has the following problems. In the case of PDL data, it may be a complicated figure when it is expanded and drawn on the image data. In that case, the image data cannot be compressed with a high compression rate. For example, in PDL data, even information represented by a small amount of information (several bytes to several tens of bytes) such as graphic information, position information, and a hatch pattern becomes a graphic with a large area and a fine pattern when developed and drawn. If the compression rate is very poor, the data size may increase compared to the original image in some cases.

On the contrary, even if the PDL command is very complicated data consisting of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, it will be very simple image data when it is expanded and drawn, and very very compressed when it is compressed. It may be possible to compress at a very high compression rate.
As described above, the size of the compressed image data is affected by the image, so compressing the image data as in the conventional method and storing the document in the device with a function called a box is It's not always the best way to save a document.

Further, for example, in the case of printing a plurality of documents stored in a box, in order to make it possible to identify the print result (a plurality of printed documents), the body of the document is attached to the body of the tabbed paper. It is convenient for business processing to print the document identification information on the tab together with printing. However, conventionally, there has been a problem that a technique for printing the document body on the body portion of the tabbed paper and printing the document identification information on the tab has not been developed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in a device having a function of saving PDL data in a document form, when the PDL data is expanded into image data, a character code is selected from various information. Extract only,
To provide a data processing device, a data processing system, a data processing method, a storage medium, and a program that can be used as information when searching a stored document by storing a character code together with image data in a box. Is the first purpose.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and in a device having a function of saving PDL data in a document form, it is possible to print a document name on a tabbed paper, for example, print it. A second object is to provide a data processing device, a data processing system, a tab printing method, a storage medium, and a program capable of clearly identifying a plurality of output documents.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a PDL (Page Description).
Language) data processing device having a function of saving the data in the form of a document, and P for interpreting the PDL data.
DL interpreting means, PDL drawing means for expanding and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data, extracting means for extracting text data from the intermediate data, the image data and the text data And a storage means for storing the data in a data storage area.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the extracting means extracts a character code from the intermediate data which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information and control information. By doing so, the text data is extracted.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 3 further detects the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area and an input means for inputting a search keyword for document search. However, the present invention is characterized by having a document search means for searching a document including the search keyword and a display means for displaying a search result regarding the searched document.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 4, the search keyword can be input by a single input or a plurality of inputs, and the document search means is a plurality of inputs when a plurality of the search keywords are input. The document search is performed based on the logical product condition or logical sum condition of the search keywords.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 5 is a multifunctional machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function,
It is characterized by being applicable to a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 6 is a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form, and is a document of a document stored in a data storage area. When the name is printed on the tab of the tabbed paper, a document name specifying unit that specifies the document name to be printed from the data storage area, and an intermediate data creating unit that creates intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper PDL drawing means for expanding and drawing the intermediate data into image data, and print control means for printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 7 further comprises a display means for displaying a list of document names of the documents stored in the data storage area, and a tab with the document name list. It has a selecting means for selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of the paper.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 8, an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and the intermediate data Is characterized in that predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab of the tabbed paper.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 9 is such that the font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data is the length of a document name printed on the tab of the tabbed paper. It is characterized by having a font size adjusting means for adjusting in accordance with the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 10 is a multifunctional machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 11 has a function of transmitting an information processing device for transmitting PDL (Page Description Language) data and a function of storing the PDL data received from the information processing device in a document form. A data processing system including a data processing device having: a data processing device, wherein the data processing device develops and renders image data into PDL interpretation means for interpreting the PDL data, and intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data. The information processing apparatus includes: a PDL drawing unit for extracting the text data; an extracting unit for extracting text data from the intermediate data; and a saving unit for linking the image data and the text data to save in a data storage area. Data communication is performed with the data processing device via a network or an interface.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 12 is characterized in that the extraction means of the data processing device is a group of data including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. The text data is extracted by extracting a character code from.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 13, the data processing device further comprises an input means for inputting a search keyword for document search, and the text data stored in the data storage area. It is characterized by further comprising document search means for detecting the search keyword from the document and searching for a document including the search keyword, and display means for displaying a search result regarding the searched document.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 14, the search keyword can be input by a single input or a plurality of inputs, and the document search means of the data processing device inputs a plurality of the search keywords. In this case, the document search is performed based on a logical product condition or a logical sum condition of the plurality of search keywords.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 15 is that the data processing device has a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, an image reading function and an image. The present invention is applicable to a copying machine having a forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 16 has a function of storing an information processing apparatus for transmitting PDL (Page Description Language) data and the PDL data received from the information processing apparatus in a document form. And a data processing device having a data processing device, wherein the data processing device prints a document name of a document stored in a data storage area on a tab of tabbed paper,
A document name specifying unit that specifies a document name to be printed from the data storage area, an intermediate data creating unit that creates intermediate data for tabs of the tabbed paper, and a PDL that develops and draws the intermediate data into image data. Drawing means,
Print control means for printing the document name on a tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data, and the information processing device performs data communication with the data processing device via a network or an interface. And

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 17, the data processing device further comprises display means for displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and the document name. Selection means for selecting a document name to be printed on the tab of the tabbed paper from the list.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 18, an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and the intermediate data Is characterized in that predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab of the tabbed paper.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 19, the data processing device further prints font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data on a tab of the tabbed paper. It is characterized in that it has a font size adjusting means for adjusting it according to the length of the document name.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 20 is characterized in that the data processing device has a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, an image reading function and an image. The present invention is applicable to a copying machine having a forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

To achieve the above object, the invention of claim 21 is a data processing method executed by a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form. A PDL interpreting step for interpreting the data, and the intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data is expanded into image data and drawn P
It is characterized by including a DL drawing step, an extracting step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, and a saving step of linking the image data and the text data and saving them in a data storage area.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 22, in the extracting step, a character code is extracted from the intermediate data which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. By doing so, the text data is extracted.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 23 further comprises an input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area. However, the method further includes a document search step of searching for a document including the search keyword and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 24, the search keyword can be input singly or plurally, and in the document search step, when plural search keywords are inputted, plural search keywords are inputted. The document search is performed based on the logical product condition or logical sum condition of the search keywords.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention as claimed in claim 25 is a multifunctional machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 26 is a tab printing method executed by a data processing device having a function of saving PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form, which is a data storage. When the document name of the document stored in the area is printed on the tab of the tabbed paper, the document name specifying step of specifying the document name to be printed from the data storage area, and the intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper And a PDL drawing step for developing and drawing the intermediate data into image data, and a print control step for printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data. Characterize.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 27 further comprises a display step of displaying a list of document names of the documents stored in the data storage area, and the tab addition from the list of document names. And a selection step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of paper.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 28, an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and the intermediate data is stored. Is characterized in that predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab of the tabbed paper.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 29, further, the length of the document name for printing the font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data on the tab of the tabbed paper. It is characterized by having a font size adjusting step for adjusting according to the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 30 is a multifunctional machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 31 stores a program for executing a data processing method applied to a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form. And a PDL interpreting step for interpreting the PDL data, and a PDL for developing and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data.
The method is characterized by comprising a drawing step, an extracting step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, and a saving step of linking the image data and the text data to save them in a data storage area.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 32 is characterized in that, in the extracting step, a character code is extracted from the intermediate data which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information and control information. By doing so, the text data is extracted.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 33 further comprises an input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area. However, it is characterized by including a document search step of searching for a document including the search keyword and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 34, the search keyword can be input singly or plurally, and in the document search step, when plural search keywords are inputted, plural search keywords are inputted. The document search is performed based on the logical product condition or logical sum condition of the search keywords.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention as set forth in claim 35, is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 36 stores a program for executing a tab printing method applied to a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the tab printing method is such that, when the document name of the document stored in the data storage area is printed on the tab of the tabbed paper, the document to be printed from the data storage area. A document name specifying step of specifying a name, an intermediate data creating step of creating intermediate data for tabs of the tabbed paper, a PDL drawing step of developing and drawing the intermediate data into image data, and A print control step for printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 37, further comprises a display step of displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and the tab addition from the list of document names. And a selection step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of paper.

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 38, an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and the intermediate data Is characterized in that predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab of the tabbed paper.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 39, further, the length of the document name for printing the font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data on the tab of the tabbed paper. And a font size adjusting step for adjusting the font size according to the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention as set forth in claim 40 is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 41 is a program supplied to a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in the form of a document, wherein the PDL data is stored in the program. PDL interpreting step for interpreting, and P for rendering and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data
It is characterized by comprising a DL drawing step, an extracting step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, and a saving step of linking the image data and the text data and saving them in a data storage area.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 42, in the extracting step, a character code is extracted from the intermediate data which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information and control information. By doing so, the text data is extracted.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 43 further comprises an input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area. However, it is characterized by including a document search step of searching for a document including the search keyword and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 44 can input a single or a plurality of search keywords, and in the document search step, when a plurality of the search keywords are input, a plurality of search keywords are input. The document search is performed based on the logical product condition or logical sum condition of the search keywords.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention as set forth in claim 45, a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 46 is a program supplied to a data processing device having a function of storing PDL (Page Description Language) data in a document form, which is stored in a data storage area. When printing the document name of the saved document on the tab of the tabbed paper, a document name identification step of identifying the document name to be printed from the data storage area, and creating intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper Intermediate data creation step
PDL for developing and drawing the intermediate data into image data
It is characterized by including a drawing step and a print control step of printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 47 further comprises a display step of displaying a list of document names of the documents stored in the data storage area, and the tab addition from the list of document names. And a selection step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of paper.

To achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 48, an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and the intermediate data Is characterized in that predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab of the tabbed paper.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 49 is further the length of a document name for printing font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data on a tab of the tabbed paper. And a font size adjusting step for adjusting the font size according to the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 50 is a multi-functional machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, and a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function. , A printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.

[0062]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
The host computer and the peripheral device according to the embodiment of
It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of the network system connected by AN. The network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of host computers 1-
1, 1-2, 1-3, digital multifunction peripheral 1 which is a peripheral device
-4, LAN (Local Area Network) 1-5.

To explain the above configuration in detail, the host computers 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 generate various jobs,
It is an information processing apparatus that transmits a job to a peripheral device (digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 in this embodiment). Digital multifunction machine 1
-4 has a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, and an image communication function, and a print job for forming an image on a print medium, a scan job for reading an image from a document, and an image with an external device. It executes various jobs such as a fax job for communication, a copy job for forming an image read from a document on a print medium, and the like. Each of the host computers 1-1 and 1-2 has a LAN1-
5 and can use the digital multifunction peripherals 1-4. The host computer 1-3 is L
It is connected to the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 through an interface 1-6 such as parallel (or serial) rather than AN.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram showing the basic configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4, which is a peripheral device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a CPU 2-1 and an RO.
M2-2, RAM 2-3, external storage device 2-4, display unit 2-5, operation unit 2-6, engine interface 2-
7, a network interface 2-8, an external interface 2-9, and a system bus 2-10.

Explaining the above configuration in detail, the CPU 2-1
It is a central processing unit that performs control of the entire apparatus, arithmetic processing, and the like, and executes processing shown in each flowchart described later based on a program stored in the ROM 2-2. ROM2-
Reference numeral 2 denotes a read-only memory, which is a storage area for a system start-up program, a program for controlling the printer engine, character data, character code information, and the like. RAM
Reference numeral 2-3 is a random access memory, which is a data storage area with no use restriction, in which font data additionally registered by download is stored, and programs and data are loaded and executed for various processes. Also, RA
M2-3 can also be used as a data storage area. The external storage device 2-4 is composed of, for example, a hard disk, and spools data, stores programs and various information files, and is used as a work area.

The display unit 2-5 displays, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is used for displaying the setting status of the apparatus, current internal processing of the apparatus, error status, and the like. Operation part 2
-6 is used to change or reset the setting, and a search result screen or the like can be displayed as described later. The engine interface 2-7 is a part for exchanging commands and the like for actually controlling the engine.
The network interface 2-8 is for connecting this device to a network via the network interface 2-8. External interface 2-9
Is connected to the host computer via an interface such as parallel (or serial). The system bus 2-10 should be a data path between the above-mentioned components.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal software structure of the host computer 3-1 and digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The host computer 3-1 is the host computer 1- of FIG.
It corresponds to 1, 1-2, and 1-3. Digital MFP 1-4
Includes controller software 3-2, and the controller software 3-2 can be divided into a protocol interpreting unit 3-3, a job control unit 3-4, and a device unit 3-5. The protocol interpretation unit 3-3 interprets a command (protocol) sent from the host computer 3-1 via the LAN 1-5 or the external interface 1-6, and sends a job to the job control unit 3-4. This is the part that requests execution. The job control unit 3-4
This is the part that actually processes the job requested by the protocol interpreter 3-3. Furthermore, the device used by the job control unit 3-4 to execute the job is included in the device unit 3-5.

FIG. 4 shows the controller software 3-2 of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the outline. Host computer 1
A series of operation requests from -1, 1-2, 1-3 to the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 are sent in the form of a command (protocol) via the network I / F 2-8 and the external I / F 2-9. Come on. The command sent to the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 is interpreted by the protocol interpretation unit 3-3 and sent to the job control unit 3-4. At this point, the command is converted into a form that the job control unit 3-4 can understand.

The job generator 4-1 generates a job 4-10. Various jobs such as a copy job, a print job, a scan job, and a FAX job can be considered as the job 4-10. For example, for a print job,
It also includes setting information such as the name of the document to be printed, the number of copies, the designation of the output tray that outputs the print result, and the print data itself (PDL code). Job 4-10
Is sent to the job processing unit 4-2, and settings (processing such as printing and stapling a plurality of documents collectively) and processing relating to the entire job are performed. Further, the job processing unit 4-2
Then, except for the settings and processes related to the entire job, the input document 4-11 is divided into smaller work units.

The input document 4-11 is converted into an output document 4-14 by the document processing section 4-3. That is, for example, when considering a scan job in which a scanner scans a bundle of originals one by one and converts them into a plurality of image data, it is the input document 4-11 in which the setting and operation procedures regarding the bundle of originals are written. The output document 4-14 describes the procedure for setting and operating a plurality of image data. Then, the document processing unit 4-3 has a role of converting each paper image forming the bundle of documents into a plurality of image data. Also, the document processing unit 4
-3 performs only document-based processing, and generates an input page 4-12, which is a smaller unit of work. This is just the same as the job processing unit 4-2 devoting itself to processing on a job-by-job basis and generating a document for more detailed work.

The setting / operation for each document specifically relates to page order such as page rearrangement, setting of double-sided printing for printing on both sides of a print medium, addition of a cover, and OHP insertion. Also, the input page 4-12 is
The page processing unit 4-4 converts the output page 4-15. For example, in the case of the scan job of the above example, the input page 4-12 describes settings and procedures such as the reading resolution and reading direction (landscape / portrait), and the output page 4-15 shows Settings and procedures such as the storage location of the image data (addresses and data names of the RAM 2-3 and the external storage device 2-4) are written.

The job processing unit 4-2, the document processing unit 4-3, and the page processing unit 4-4 all use devices when proceeding with processing. Of course, if a plurality of processing units proceed with work at the same time, a device conflict occurs. Therefore, the device allocating unit 4-6 arbitrates this. Device 1 (4-7), Device 2 (4-8), Device 3
(4-9) is a device assigned to the processing unit by the device assigning unit 4-6, such as a page memory, a document feeder, a marking engine,
A scanner or the like can be considered.

Next, the first aspect of the present invention constructed as described above
The operation centered on the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 of the network system according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example in which each unit shown in FIG. 6 in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention waits to receive an event from another unit. In step S501, it waits for an event sent from other means or itself. At this time, instead of occupying the CPU 2-1, the control is transferred to other means. In step S502, it is determined whether or not an event addressed to itself has been transmitted. If no event exists, step S501.
Return to and wait for the event again. If there is an event, the process proceeds to step S503, and predetermined processing corresponding to the received event is performed. After that, step S501
Return to and wait for the event again.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of each means at the time of processing a PDL print job in the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the event is propagated to both sides in the same layer (horizontal line) in the unit of large work (upper) and the unit of small work (lower). Host computers 1-1, 1-2,
The PDL data sent from the printer driver 1-3 to the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 is in the form of a command (protocol) and is network I / F2-8, external I / F2-
It will be sent via 9. The command sent to the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 sends the protocol interpretation unit 3-3 (601).
(Equivalent to) and is sent to the job control unit 3-4.
At this point, the command is converted into a form that the job control unit 3-4 can understand.

Job generator 4-11 (equivalent to 602)
Interprets the sent command and generates a PDL print job 603. A PDL print job 603, which is a composite job, includes a PDL interpretation job 604 and a PDL drawing job 6 having a function for realizing PDL printing.
05, and a print job 606 is generated. Furthermore,
The PDL interpretation job 604, the PDL drawing job 605, and the print job 606 generate a document processing unit and a page processing unit, respectively. Specifically, the PDL interpretation job 604 generates a document processing unit A607 and a page processing unit A608. Similarly, the PDL drawing job 605 generates the document processing unit B611 and the page processing unit B612, and the print job 606 generates the document processing unit C615 and the page processing unit C616.

In the protocol interpreting unit 601, so-called job attributes (settings such as the number of copies, finishing process such as sorting / stapling of printing completion sheets, double-sided printing / single-sided printing, etc.) associated with the printing process are sent to the job generating unit 602. After that, it becomes a form that can be referred to in a series of processes in the form of a job. Apart from that, the PDL data is sent to the PDL interpreter 620. The result interpreted by the PDL interpreter 620 is sent to the document processor A607. The information sent to the document processing unit A607 is the job attribute obtained in the process of interpreting the PDL data. PD above
The job attribute added to the L print job 603 and P
Regarding the job attributes obtained in the process of interpreting the DL data, attributes of the same type may exist, but which attribute is given priority depends on the specifications of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 and the type of attributes.

The job attribute set by the PDL interpreting unit 602 is sent to the document processing unit A 607, and the intermediate document 609 is generated. The above-mentioned job attributes are stored in the intermediate document 609, and in particular, the attributes required when the PDL drawing unit 621 performs drawing processing are referred to. The document processing unit B611 refers to the intermediate document 609 to generate the image document 613. The job attributes are stored in the image document 613 as described above. Similarly, the document processing section C
615 generates a paper document 617 with reference to the image document 613. The job attributes are also stored in the paper document 617.

The PDL data itself has no page breaks as a data stream, but the PDL interpreter 620
In the process of interpreting PDL data, data to be drawn is cut out in page units. The PDL interpretation unit 620 notifies the page processing unit A 608 of a page generation event in page units. The page processing unit A 608 generates an intermediate page 610 by using it as a trigger. What is the intermediate page 610?
It is a collection of drawing data for one page. That is, it can be considered as a data group including types, sizes, colors, position information, etc. of figures and fonts. Intermediate page 610 is PDL
It is generated every time the interpretation unit 620 notifies a page generation event. Therefore, only the number of pages is generated (instantiated).

Next, the intermediate page 610 is the PDL drawing section 6
21. The page processing unit B612 secures a memory necessary for image drawing, and uses the memory for the PDL drawing unit 6
21 and requests drawing processing. PDL drawing unit 6
The image data on the memory that has undergone the drawing process in 21 is managed in the form of an image page 614. Similar to the intermediate page 610, the image pages 614 are generated (instantiated) by the number of pages.

As described above, PDL data is converted into image data one after another. When the image data is printed by the printer engine, the expanded image page 614 (image data) is transferred to the image transfer unit 62.
2 is sent to the printer control unit 62.
3 is sent and printed. More specifically, image data is DMA (Direct Memory Access) transferred from the memory to the printer engine via the engine I / F 2-7. In the case of double-sided printing or through-pass printing, the printing order of the image pages does not have to be simply output in the order of generation of the image pages 614, but is scheduled by the printer paper control unit 619.

When the image data is printed by the printer engine, the page processing section C616 generates a paper page 618 corresponding to the image page 614. Size when printed on paper page 618 (A4, A3, etc.)
Information is stored in the printer paper control unit 619.
The page is scheduled with reference to the information.
The paper document 617 manages the paper page 618, and the paper page 618 is registered in the printer paper control unit 619 every time the paper page 618 is generated. As a result of the scheduling, the printer paper control unit 619 notifies the paper page 618 of a paper feed permission event. This paper feed permission event is transmitted to the page processing unit C616 and issues a paper feed command to the printer control unit 623. Further, the page processing unit C616 sends an image transfer start event to the image transfer unit 622, so that the image data (image page 614) is printed.

Up to this point, the case of printing PDL data has been described. Next, a function of saving PDL data in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (hereinafter referred to as a box function) will be described. In FIG. 6, when the image data after drawing is stored, the page processing unit B612 is the compression / expansion unit 6.
Image page 614 is compressed and written in the data storage area (external storage device 2-4 etc.) 625 by sending the image compression event to 24. At the same time, PDL
The drawing unit 621 extracts only the character code information from the intermediate page 610, and generates the text page 625 via the page processing unit B612. Page processing unit B612
Stores the text page 625 in the data storage area together with the image page 614.

The PDL data is input to the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 as a print job to be stored in a box. At this time, it is possible to specify in which box the PDL data is stored, and the document can be stored. You can specify the name of. These pieces of information are processed in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 as the job information. In particular,
Document processing unit B611 is image document 6
The PDL data is stored in the data storage area 626 based on the above information stored in 13.

Next, a process of saving PDL data as a document in the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the page processing unit B612 of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This processing is started in step S1001. At this stage, the initialization process necessary for the operation is performed. In step S1002, it waits for an event to be transmitted. If the event is sent, step S1
At 003, it is determined whether or not it is an image page creation completion notification. If it is not the image page creation completion notification in step S1003, the process advances to step S1007 to process other events. On the contrary, if it is the image page creation completion notification in step S1003, step S10
In step 04, the data storage mode of the print job is acquired.

Next, in step S1005, a conditional branch is made as to whether or not the mode is for storing data. If it is not the mode for storing data in step S1005,
After shifting to step S1002, the state of waiting for an event is entered again. Conversely, in the case of the data storage mode in step S1005, the process proceeds to step S1006, and the page processing unit B612 activates the compression / expansion unit 624 to compress the image page 614 (image data), and compresses the compressed image page 614. Write data to the data storage area. When the process of step S1006 ends, the process returns to step S1002, and the event waiting state is entered again.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the processing of the page processing unit B 612 of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This processing is started in step S1101. At this stage, the initialization process necessary for the operation is performed. In step S1102, it waits for an event to be transmitted. If the event is sent, step S
At 1103, it is determined whether or not it is a text page creation completion notification from the PDL drawing unit 621. If step S1
If it is not the text page creation completion notification from the PDL drawing unit 621 in 103, the process advances to step S1107 to process other events. Conversely, if it is the text page creation completion notification from the PDL drawing unit 621 in step S1103, the process advances to step S1104 to acquire the data storage mode of the print job.

Next, in step S1105, a conditional branch is made as to whether or not the mode is for storing data. If it is not the mode for storing data in step S1105, the process shifts to step S1102, and the event waiting state is entered again. On the contrary, in the case of the data storage mode in step S1105, the process proceeds to step S1106, and the page processing unit B612 writes the text page 625 in the data storage area. When the process of step S1106 is completed, the process returns to step S1102, and the event waiting state is entered again.

As a result of the storage processing as described above, the document is managed in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 in the form as shown in FIG. In the figure, 1201 is a digital multi-function peripheral 1
-4 box (100 of B0 to B99 in this embodiment)
This is a box management table for managing individual items). For example, it indicates that the box name of the box B0 is “report” and that three documents of D0, D1, and D2 are stored in the box. A document management table 1202 manages the document name and the storage page in the document. For example, the document D0 in the box B0 (box name “report”) indicates that the document name is “1999 Sales Report” and the pages forming the document are P0, P1, and P2.

A page management table 1203 manages page IDs P0 to P3999, which means that 4000 pages can be managed. The pages P0, P1 and P2 forming the document D0 are
It consists of an image file and a text file. For example, the file is managed by the file name of the DOS file system. That is, the page management table 1203
, Page P0 is FILE000. img000.img and FILE000.img It manages a relationship consisting of entities for the text page txt.
Further, reference numeral 1204 is a document index pointer, which is a pointer to a document for pointing a document currently processed when searching for a document.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the result of document storage described above in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is displayed on the operation unit 2-6. It is a figure. In the figure, 701 is a box list screen. An icon 702 indicates the box 00 (B0 in FIG. 12). Then, 703 represents that the name of the box 00 is “report”. Also, 704
Indicates an icon indicating the box 03 (B03 in FIG. 12), but indicates that the document is not saved. Further, since there are 100 boxes in this embodiment, scroll buttons 705 and 706 for displaying the boxes on the screen are provided. A document search button 707 is used to shift to a search screen to search for a desired document from the documents stored in each box.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a keyword input screen in the document search processing of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 801 is a search keyword input screen. A search keyword is input to the input area 802 with the illustrated key (in the present embodiment, a keyword of sales). A cancel button 803 is pressed to cancel the search process, and an OK button 804 is pressed to search.

Next, the document search process in the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a search start process via the operation unit 2-6 of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Step S130
This process is started at 1. In step S1302, it waits for an event to be transmitted. When an event is transmitted from the operation unit 2-6, it is determined in step S1003 whether the notification is a document search instruction notification. If step S100
If it is not the document search instruction notification in step 3, step S1305
Go to to process other events. If step S1
If it is a document search instruction notification in 003, step S130
In step 4, the document search instruction event is sent to the document search unit (document search means) included in the controller software 3-2. When the process of step S1304 ends, the process returns to step S1302, the event waiting state is resumed, and other processes from the operation unit 2-6 can be accepted.

14 and 15 are flowcharts showing the search processing of the document search section of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This process is started in step S1401. In step S1402, an external event is waited for. When an event other than the document search instruction notification event is sent from the operation unit 2-6, step S1
At 403, conditional branching is performed to determine whether the event is a document search instruction event. If the event is not a document search instruction event in step S1403, the process advances to step S1416 to perform another event process. If it is the document search instruction event in step S1403, the process advances to step S1404 to acquire the search keyword (described in FIG. 8) added to the document search instruction event. In this embodiment, the keyword is “sales”.

Next, in step S1405, an initial value is assigned to the document index pointer 1204 in FIG. In this embodiment, the document management table 120 shown in FIG.
2 is searched from D0 to D999, so the initial value is D
Substitute 0. In step S1406, page I of the document with the document ID indicated by the document index pointer 1204
The D list is searched to obtain the top page ID.
As a specific example, the document index pointer 1204
Is the first page ID of the page ID list of D0, and therefore indicates P0.
In step S1407, the first page I acquired above is acquired.
Evaluate the adequacy of D. If the page ID is NULL in step S1407, it indicates that there are no more pages linked to the document, and the search target is moved to the next document, and the process advances to step S1413. If the page ID is not NULL in step S1407, the process advances to step S1408.

In step S1408, the page ID concerned
Image file of page management table 12 in FIG.
Reference from 03, open the text file.
In step S1409, the text file is searched using the search keyword acquired in step S1404. In step S1410, conditional branching is performed according to the search result. If the keyword is included in the text file in step S1410, step S1411.
To the document ID and box ID from the page ID to which the text file belongs, and the document ID including the keyword and the box ID in which the document is stored.
To the operation unit 2-6. Then, the process proceeds to step S1413 to search for the next document.

On the other hand, if the keyword is not included in the text file in step S1410, step S1
In step 412, the next page ID in the page ID list of the document ID indicated by the document index pointer 1204 is acquired (in this embodiment, P1 next to P0 is acquired). Then, the process returns to step S1407, and the validity evaluation of the page ID and the search process for the keyword page are repeated.

If the search is completed for all pages in the document, or if a keyword is detected during the search, the process advances to step S1413 to move to the next document.
In step S1413, the document index pointer 1
Increment 204. That is, in the document management table 1202 of FIG. 12, the document moves to the next line and the document to be searched is changed (in this embodiment, D1 is designated). Step S
At 1414, the document number limit is checked. Since all registered documents are searched, if so, step S1414.
When the document index pointer 1204 is incremented beyond the range of documents D0 to D999, the process advances to step S1415, and a document search end notification event is sent to the operation unit 2-6 to notify that the search is completed. Then, the process returns to step S1402, and the event waiting state is entered again.

If the range of documents D0 to D999 is not exceeded in step S1414, it means that there are still documents to be searched. Therefore, the process returns to step S1406, and the document index pointer 120 is returned.
The index is searched from the first page of the document indicated by 4. As described above, the keyword search is performed for all the documents included in all the boxes.

FIG. 16 shows an operation performed when the document search section of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention notifies the operation section 2-6 of the search result in step S1411 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by the part 2-6 side. The operation unit 2-6 starts this processing in step S1601 at the start-up stage of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4, and normally waits for an event in step S1602. In step S1603, branching is performed according to the type of event. If it is an event other than the box ID from the document search unit and the document ID notification event in step S1603, the process proceeds to step S1606, and the action corresponding to the event is activated (other event processing is performed). If the event is a box ID / document ID notification event in step S1603, the process advances to step S1604, and the box ID (box name) added to the notification event,
The document ID (document name) is acquired, and in step S1605,
It is displayed in the list on the search result screen of the operation unit 2-6. After that, the process returns to step S1602, and the event waiting state is entered again.

FIG. 17 shows the operation unit 2-6 which receives the document search end notification event sent by the document search unit of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention in step S1415 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a movement. The operation unit 2-6 starts this processing in step S1701 at the startup stage of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4, and normally waits for an event in step S1702. In step S1703, branching is performed according to the type of event. If it is an event other than the document search end notification event in step S1703, the process advances to step S1705, and an action corresponding to the event is activated (other event processing is performed). If it is a document search end notification event in step S1703, the process advances to step S1704 to finalize the document list on the search result screen. After that, the process returns to step S1702, and the event waiting state is entered again.

By the search processing as described above, the search result screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the operation unit 2 of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4.
It can be displayed at -6. In the figure, 901 is a search result screen, 902 is a list of boxes and documents containing keywords, and 903 is a close button for exiting the search result screen.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the P transmitted from the host computer
In the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 having a function of storing DL (page description language) data in the form of a document in a storage unit (data storage area 626) called a box, the PD
When the intermediate data obtained by interpreting the L data is drawn and developed into the image data, by extracting only the character code from the intermediate data which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. By generating the text data and storing the text data in the box (data storage area 626) together with the image data, there is an effect that it can be used as information when searching the stored document. Further, by searching the data storage area for a document including the search keyword and displaying the search result, there is an effect that a desired document can be efficiently searched from a large number of documents.

[Second Embodiment] The host computers 1-1, 1-2, 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
3 and the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 are connected by a LAN to a network system (see FIG. 1), the basic configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 2), and the software structure of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4. Overview (see FIG. 3), details of software structure of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 4)
Etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the configurations of the respective parts have been described in detail in the first embodiment, and will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, when a desired document is searched from the documents stored in each box, the document is searched by inputting a single search keyword, but the second embodiment is described. As described above, it is possible to search for a document by inputting a plurality of search keywords and taking an AND condition or an OR condition for the plurality of input search keywords.

[Third Embodiment] The host computers 1-1, 1-2, 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
3 and the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 are connected by a LAN to a network system (see FIG. 1), the basic configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 2), and the software structure of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4. Overview (see FIG. 3), details of software structure of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 4)
Etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the configurations of the respective parts have been described in detail in the first embodiment, and will be omitted.

In the first embodiment described above, a plurality of text files are created for each page. However, as in the third embodiment, one text file is created for each document and the text files are stored in the document management table. It is also possible to manage by 1202. This also has the effect of reducing the number of files in the file system.

[Fourth Embodiment] The host computers 1-1, 1-2, 1 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
3 and the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 are connected by a LAN to a network system (see FIG. 1), the basic configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 2), and the software structure of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4. Overview (see FIG. 3), details of software structure of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 4)
Etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the configurations of the respective parts have been described in detail in the first embodiment, and will be omitted.

Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above.
The operation centered on the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 of the network system according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example in which each unit shown in FIG. 18 in the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention waits to receive an event from another unit. It is similar to the first embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of each means during PDL print job processing in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 18, an event has a unit of large work (upper), a unit of small work (lower), and the same layer (horizontal line).
Is propagated to both sides. Host computers 1-1, 1-
2, 1-3 printer driver to digital multi-function peripheral 1-
The PDL data sent to the network No. 4 is in the form of a command (protocol), the network I / F 2-8, the external I / F.
It is sent via F2-9. Digital MFP 1-4
Command sent to the protocol interpreter 3-3
(Equivalent to 1601) and sent to the job control unit 3-4. At this point, the command is the job control unit 3-4.
Will be converted into a form that can be understood.

Job generation unit 4-11 (equivalent to 1602)
Interprets the sent command and generates a PDL print job 1603. The PDL print job 1603, which is a composite job, generates a PDL interpretation job 1604, a PDL drawing job 1605, and a print job 1606 that have a function for realizing PDL printing. Further, the PDL interpretation job 1604, the PDL drawing job 1605, and the print job 1606 generate a document processing unit and a page processing unit, respectively. Specifically, the PDL interpretation job 1604 generates a document processing unit A1607 and a page processing unit A1608. Similarly, the PDL drawing job 1605 creates the document processing unit B1611 and the page processing unit B1612, and the print job 1606 creates the document processing unit C1615 and the page processing unit C1616.

The protocol interpreting unit 1601 sends so-called job attributes (settings such as the number of copies, finishing processing such as sorting / stapling of print-completed sheets, double-sided printing / single-sided printing, etc.) accompanying the print processing to the job generating section 1602. After that, it becomes a form that can be referred to in a series of processes in the form of a job. Apart from that, PDL data is PDL
It is sent to the interpretation unit 1620. The result of interpretation by the PDL interpretation unit 1620 is sent to the document processing unit A1607. The information sent to the document processing unit A1607 is
It is a job attribute obtained in the process of interpreting PDL data. Regarding the job attribute added to the PDL print job 1603 and the job attribute obtained in the process of interpreting the PDL data, the same kind of attribute may exist.
Which attribute is given priority depends on the specifications of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 and the type of attribute.

The job attribute set by the PDL interpreting unit 1602 is sent to the document processing unit A 1607, and the intermediate document 1609 is generated. Intermediate document 1
The above-mentioned job attributes are stored in 609.
The attributes required when the DL drawing unit 1621 performs the drawing process are referred to. The document processing unit B1611 refers to the intermediate document 1609 and refers to the image document 1
613 is generated. The job attributes are stored in the image document 1613 as described above. Similarly, the document processing unit C1615 refers to the image document 1613 to generate a paper document 1617. The job attributes are also stored in the paper document 1617.

The PDL data itself has no page breaks as a data stream, but the PDL interpreter 1620
However, in the process of interpreting the PDL data, the data to be drawn is cut out in page units. The PDL interpretation unit 1620 notifies the page processing unit A1608 of a page generation event in page units. The page processing unit A1608 generates an intermediate page 1610 by using it as a trigger. The intermediate page 1610 is a collection of drawing data for one page. That is, it can be considered as a data group including types, sizes, colors, position information, etc. of figures and fonts. The intermediate page 1610 is generated each time the PDL interpretation unit 1620 notifies the page generation event. Therefore, only the number of pages is generated (instantiated).

Next, the intermediate page 1610 is transferred to the PDL drawing unit 1621. The page processing unit B1612 secures a memory necessary for image drawing, transfers the memory to the PDL drawing unit 1621, and requests drawing processing. PDL
The image data on the memory that has undergone the drawing processing by the drawing unit 1621 is managed in the form of an image page 1614. Image page 16 as well as intermediate page 1610
14 is also generated (instantiated) by the number of pages.

As described above, PDL data is converted into image data one after another. When the image data is printed by the printer engine, the expanded image page 1614 (image data) is transferred to the image transfer unit 1.
When sent to 622, the image data is further sent to the printer control section 1623 and printed. More specifically, image data is DMA (Direct Memory Access) transferred from the memory to the printer engine via the engine I / F 2-7. In the case of double-sided printing or through-pass printing, the printing order of the image pages does not have to be simply output sequentially in the order of generation of the image pages 1614, but is scheduled by the printer paper control unit 1619.

When the image data is printed by the printer engine, the page processing section C1616 generates a paper page 1618 corresponding to the image page 1614. The size when printed on the paper page 1618 (A4,
Information such as A3) is stored in the printer paper control unit 1
619 performs page scheduling with reference to the information. The paper document 1617 is the paper page 161.
8 is managed, and the paper page 1618 is registered in the printer paper control unit 1619 every time the paper page 1618 is generated. As a result of the scheduling, the printer paper control unit 1619 notifies the paper page 1618 of a paper feed permission event. This paper feed permission event is transmitted to the page processing unit C1616 and issues a paper feed command to the printer control unit 1623. Furthermore, the page processing unit C161
6 sends an image transfer start event to the image transfer unit 1622, so that image data (image page 161
4) is printed.

Up to this point, the case of printing PDL data has been described. Next, a function of saving PDL data in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (hereinafter referred to as a box function) will be described. In FIG. 18, when the image data after drawing is stored, the page processing unit B1612 sends an image compression event to the compression / decompression unit 1624.
The image page 1614 is compressed and written in the data storage area (external storage device 2-4 etc.) 1625.

The PDL data is input to the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 as a print job to be stored in a box. At that time, it is possible to specify in which box the PDL data is to be stored, and the document can be stored. You can specify the name of. These pieces of information are processed in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 as the job information. In particular,
Based on the above information stored in the image document 1613, the document processing unit B1611 uses the PDL.
The data is saved in the data storage area 1625.

Next, processing for storing PDL data as a document in the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing the processing of the page processing unit B1612 of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This processing is started in step S2801. At this stage, the initialization process necessary for the operation is performed. In step S2802, it waits for an event to be transmitted. If the event is sent, step S
In 2803, it is determined whether or not it is the image page creation completion notification sent from the PDL drawing unit 1621. If it is not the image page creation completion notification sent from the PDL drawing unit 1621 in step S2803, step S
Proceed to 2808 to process another event. Conversely,
If it is the image page creation completion notification sent from the PDL rendering unit 1621 in step S2803, step S
In step 2804, the data storage mode of the print job is acquired.

Next, in step S2805, a conditional branch is made as to whether or not the mode is for storing data. If it is not the mode for storing data in step S2805,
The process moves to step S2802, and the event waiting state is entered again. Conversely, in the case of the data storage mode in step S2805, the flow advances to step S2806, and the page processing unit B1612 activates the compression / decompression unit 1624 to compress the image page 1614 (image data). Next, proceeding to step S2807, the compressed image page is written in the data storage area 1625. Then, the processing returns to step S2802, and the event waiting state is again entered.

As a result of the storage processing as described above, the document is managed inside the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 as shown in FIG. In the figure, 1901 is the digital multi-function peripheral 1
-4 box (100 of B0 to B99 in this embodiment)
This is a box management table for managing individual items). For example, it indicates that the box name of the box B0 is “report” and that three documents of D0, D1, and D2 are stored in the box. A document management table 1902 manages the document name and the storage page in the document. For example, the document D0 in the box B0 (box name “report”) is the document name “sales”, and the pages constituting the document are P
0, P1, and P2.

A page management table 1903 manages page IDs P0 to P3999, which means that 4000 pages can be managed. The pages P0, P1 and P2 forming the document D0 are
It consists of an image file and a text file. For example, the file is managed by the file name of the DOS file system. In FIG. 19, a document D0 (document name “sales”) is composed of three pages, the first page is a compressed image page (FILE000.Img), the second page is a compressed image page (FILE001.Img), and The third page is a compressed image page (FILE002.Img)
Made of

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing how the result of document storage described so far in the digital multi-functional peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is displayed on the operation unit 2-6. It is a figure. In the figure, reference numeral 2001 denotes a box list screen. 2002 is box 00 (B0 in FIG. 19)
Is an icon indicating. And 2003 is box 0
It means that the name of 0 is "report". Further, 2004 is an icon indicating the box 03 (B03 in FIG. 19), but indicates that the document is not stored. Since there are 100 boxes in this embodiment, scroll buttons 2005 and 2006 for displaying them on the screen are 2005 and 2006, respectively.

When the icon 2002 of the box 00 (name “report”) is pressed, a document list screen 2101 as shown in FIG. 21 is displayed. Reference numeral 2102 indicates the name of the box containing the document. Reference numeral 2103 is a document list display field. Reference numeral 2104 denotes a document stored in the box. Further, reference numeral 2105 is a check button indicating the selection state of the document. In addition, scroll buttons 2106 and 2107 are provided in case the documents cannot be displayed on the document list screen 2101. If you want to print the document, press the check button 2105 to select the document in the list display field 2103,
After that, when the print button 2108 is pressed, printing is started. Further, when the operation is stopped midway, the close button 2109 is pressed. At the time of printing, if the document name in the figure is printed on tabbed paper (hereinafter referred to as tab paper), the check button 2105 is turned on.

Further, the input of the document name and the box name is as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to use an input screen as shown in. 27
A document name input screen 01 is used to input a document name in the input area 2702 using the key icon in the figure. A cancel button 2703 is pressed to cancel the processing, and an OK button 2704 is pressed to confirm the processing. By this processing, the box management table 1901, the document management table 1902, and the page management table 1903 of FIG.
Rewrite.

As shown in FIG. 21, for example, three documents of “sales”, “monthly report”, and “proposal” are selected, and the check button 2105 is turned on to print the document name on the tab, and the print instruction is issued. When it is performed, the printing result as shown in FIG. 22 is obtained. In FIG. 22, reference numeral 2201 denotes a tab sheet of the first document (T0), and the first document name “sales” is printed on the tab portion. 2202 is the first document itself (D0), and as described above, 3
Composed of pages. Similarly, 2203, 2205
Are tab sheets (T1) of the second document and tab sheets (T2) of the third document, respectively. And 2204, 22
06 is the second document itself (D1) and the third document itself (D2). The print order is 2 first
201 is printed, then 2202, and then 2203. The completed result is divided into tab sheets as shown in 2207, and the tab has a document name (“sales”, “monthly report”).
"Proposal") will be printed.

Next, the processing until the above result is obtained will be described. When the print button 2105 in FIG. 21 is pressed, a protocol (command) as shown in FIG. 23 is sent from the operation unit 2-6 to the protocol interpretation unit 1601 in the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4. In FIG. 23, reference numeral 2301 is a command expressing job attributes,
It indicates that the job type is a box print job for printing the data stored in the box (data storage area). Furthermore, the number of documents included in the job is 3
That is, it indicates that three documents are printed together. Further, Copies = 1 indicates that the number of print copies is one.

Reference numeral 2302 is a command expressing a document (document) attribute. BoxID = B0 as an identifier for specifying which document in the box the document is.
DocID = D0 is included. This indicates that it is the document D0 of the box B0. That is, the above description refers to the “sales” document 2104 (FIG. 21). Further, the next attribute TabMode = ON indicates that the document is printed on the tab sheet. Similarly, 23
03 is the second document (document attribute), 23
Reference numeral 04 denotes the document (document attribute) of the third document. Moreover, such a command is only an example and is not limited.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a box print job execution process of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 shows a process of printing the first document and the tab sheet attached to the first document.
The protocol (command) as shown in FIG.
Job generation unit 160 via protocol interpretation unit 1601
2, the BOX print job 3201 is generated by referring to the job type of the job attribute. The process of FIG. 24 is the same as the process of FIG. 18 except for a part thereof, and therefore only different points will be described.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing the processing according to the tab page print instruction of the page processing unit B1612 of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is written in the document attribute 2302 in FIG. 23 that the tab sheet is added to the document and the document name is printed, and the information is written in the intermediate document 1609, the image document 1613, and the paper document 1617. ing. The document processing unit 1611 transmits an event of a tab sheet print instruction to the page processing unit B1612 by referring to the information. This processing is started in step S2501. At this stage, the initialization process necessary for the operation is performed. In step S2502, it waits for an event to be transmitted. If the event is sent, step S25
At 03, the type of event is determined.

If it is not a tab page print instruction event from the document processing unit 1611 in step S2503, the flow advances to step S2507 to process other events. If it is the tab page print instruction event from the document processing unit 1611 in step S2503, the process advances to step S2504 to refer to the page management table 1903 of FIG. 19 from the box ID and document ID stored in the image document 1613. , Specify the target document name. Then, in preparation for drawing and developing the document name, in step S2505, intermediate data for a tab is created. Next, step S2506.
Then, the PDL drawing unit 1621 is activated to draw and develop an intermediate page to create an image page 1614. When the processing is completed, the process returns to step S2502,
Waiting for an event again.

Here, the image page 1614 is equivalent to an image in which the document name is drawn in the page memory.
Further, the image page 1614 is the image transfer section 162.
The document name is sent to the printer control unit 1623 via 2 and the document name is printed at the desired position on the tab. Normally, printing on tabbed paper requires an image transfer timing different from that of a normal page.
In 614, an identifier indicating that the image page 1614 is for a tab is written. Also, in the PDL drawing unit 1621, appropriate data is set in the intermediate page so that the document name is printed at an appropriate position on the tab. Also, a paper document 1617 and a paper page 1618
Information is set so that a tab sheet is fed. This is based on the tab mode information written in the paper document 1617.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, after printing the document name (image page) on the tab of the tab sheet,
The body of the document is printed on the body of the tab sheet.
The processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the processing according to the page printing instruction of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This processing is started in step S2601. At this stage, the initialization process necessary for the operation is performed. In step S2602, it waits for an event to be transmitted. If the event is sent, step S260
At 3, the type of event is determined. If step S
If the event is not a page print instruction event from the document processing unit 1611 in 2603, the process advances to step S2606 to process another event.

If it is the page print instruction event from the document processing unit 1611 in step S2603, the process advances to step S2604, and the page management table 1903 shown in FIG. 19 is obtained from the box ID and the document ID stored in the image document 1613. Refer to identify the target document name. In step S2605, the page file is finally read out, and the compression / decompression unit 1624 is executed.
Is started and the image page 1614 is reproduced. The subsequent printing process is as described above. Then, the process returns to step S2602, and the event waiting state is entered again.
This process is repeated for the number of pages forming the document.

Up to this point, the printing of the first document has been described, but when the printing of the tab sheet attached to the first document and the first document itself is completed, the printing process of the second and third documents is performed. The printing result as described with reference to FIG. 22 can be obtained.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the P transmitted from the host computer
In the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 having a function of saving DL (page description language) data in the form of a document in a storage means called a box, the document name can be printed on tabbed paper, and for example, a plurality of printed and output documents can be printed. The effect is that the document can be clearly identified.

[Fifth Embodiment] The host computers 1-1, 1-2, 1 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
3 and the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 are connected by a LAN to a network system (see FIG. 1), the basic configuration of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 2), and the software structure of the digital multi-function peripheral 1-4. Overview (see FIG. 3), details of software structure of the digital multifunction peripheral 1-4 (see FIG. 4)
Etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the configurations of the respective parts have been described in detail in the first embodiment, and will be omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, the font size information according to the length of the document to be printed on the tab of the tab sheet is not mentioned, but like the fifth embodiment,
It is also conceivable to adjust the font size information contained in the appropriate data set in the intermediate data according to the length of the document printed on the tab of the tab sheet. This makes it possible to print the document name so that the tab does not overflow.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment of the present invention, the network system having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of FIG. Computers, peripherals (digital multifunction devices)
It is possible to install any number of
As peripheral devices, printers,
It is also possible to install a copying machine, a facsimile, etc.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, the printing method of the peripheral device is not particularly mentioned, but the present invention is applicable to various printing methods such as an electrophotographic method, an inkjet method, a thermal transfer method, a heat sensitive method and an electrostatic method. It is possible to apply.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the documents shown in the list of FIG. 9 are taken as an example of the documents stored in the peripheral device, but the present invention is not limited to a specific document and various documents can be used. It can be applied to documents.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. A medium such as a storage medium storing a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the medium such as the storage medium. Needless to say, the present invention can be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

In this case, the program code itself read from the medium such as the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the medium such as the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. It will be. As a medium such as a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-RO.
M, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card,
ROM or download via a network can be used.

Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS or the like running on the computer is actually executed based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the present invention includes a case where a part or all of the processing of (1) is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from a medium such as a storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted in the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the instruction of the program code is given. Based on the above, a case where a CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is not included in the present invention. Needless to say.

[0153]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a data processing device having a function of storing PDL data in a document form, the PDL data is interpreted and
In order to perform control of developing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the data into image data, drawing, extracting text data from the intermediate data, linking the image data and the text data, and saving the data in a data storage area. ,
That is, when the intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data is drawn and developed into image data, a character code is extracted from the intermediate data that is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. By extracting the text data and saving the text data in the data storage area together with the image data, there is an effect that it can be used as information when searching the stored document. Further, by searching the data storage area for a document including the search keyword and displaying the search result, there is an effect that a desired document can be efficiently searched from a large number of documents.

Further, according to the present invention, in a data processing device having a function of saving PDL data in a document form, when the document name of the document saved in the data storage area is printed on the tab of the tabbed paper, A document name to be printed is specified from the data storage area, intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper is created, the intermediate data is expanded and drawn into image data, and the document name is converted into the tab based on the image data. Since the control to print on the tab of the attached paper can be performed, the document name can be printed on the tabbed paper,
For example, there is an effect that a plurality of documents printed out can be clearly identified. Further, the font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data is adjusted according to the length of the document name to be printed on the tab of the tabbed paper, so that the document name does not run off the tab. There is also the effect that you can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of a network system in which a host computer and peripheral devices according to first to fifth embodiments of the present invention are connected by a LAN.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration example of a peripheral device according to the first to fifth embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of a software structure of a peripheral device according to the first to fifth embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing details of a software structure of a peripheral device according to the first to fifth embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an event reception waiting process according to the first and third embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a PDL print job execution process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a box screen according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a search keyword input screen according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a search result screen according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing by an image page completion notification event of the page processing unit B according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing by a text page completion notification event of the page processing unit B according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a box management table, a document management table, and a page management table according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a document search start process of the operation unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a search process of a document search unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a search process of a document search unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a search result display process of the operation unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing when the search result of the operation unit according to the first embodiment ends.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a PDL print job execution process according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a box management table, a document management table, and a page management table according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a box screen according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a document list screen according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print result of a document partitioned by tab sheets according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a command example of a box print job according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a box print job execution process according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing processing by a tab page print instruction of the page processing unit B according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing processing by a page print instruction of the page processing unit B according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a document name input screen according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a compressed data storage process of the page processing unit B according to the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-1, 1-2, 1-3 Host computer 1-4 Digital multi-function peripheral 2-4 External storage device 2-6 Operation unit (input means, display means, selection means) 2-8 Network interface 2-9 External interface 612 page processing unit B (storing unit) 620 PDL interpreting unit (PDL interpreting unit) 621 PDL drawing unit (PDL drawing unit, extracting unit) 626 data storage area 1203 page management table 1612 page processing unit B (document name specifying unit, intermediate) 1621 PDL drawing unit (PDL drawing unit) 1623 Printer control unit (print control unit) 1625 Data storage area

Claims (50)

[Claims] 1. A PDL (Page Description Language)
A data processing device having a function of saving data in a document form, comprising: a PDL interpreting means for interpreting the PDL data;
PDL drawing means for developing and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting DL data, image data, extracting means for extracting text data from the intermediate data, and data storage by linking the image data and the text data A data processing device, comprising: a storage unit that stores the data in an area. 2. The extracting means includes graphic information, character information,
The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the text data is extracted by extracting a character code from the intermediate data that is a data group including position information and control information. 3. An input means for inputting a search keyword for document search, and a document search for detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area and searching for a document containing the search keyword. 3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means and display means for displaying a search result regarding the searched document. 4. The search keyword can be input singly or plurally, and when a plurality of the search keywords are inputted, the document search means sets a logical product condition or a logical sum condition of the plural search keywords. 4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the document search is performed based on the document. 5. A multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function and an image communication function, a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and an image communication function. The data processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is applicable to a facsimile. 6. A PDL (Page Description Language)
A data processing device having a function of saving data in the form of a document, wherein when printing a document name of a document stored in a data storage area on a tab of tabbed paper, a document name to be printed from the data storage area A document name specifying unit that specifies the intermediate data, an intermediate data creating unit that creates intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper, a PDL drawing unit that expands and draws the intermediate data into image data, and the document based on the image data. A data processing device, comprising: a print control unit that prints a name on a tab of the tabbed paper. 7. A display means for displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and a selection means for selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper from the list of document names. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:
The described data processing device. 8. The image data includes an identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper, and the intermediate data includes an appropriate position of the tab of the tabbed paper. 7. The data processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed on the document. 9. A font size adjusting means for adjusting font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data according to a length of a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper. Claim 6 characterized by the above-mentioned.
9. The data processing device according to any one of 8 to 8. 10. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
10. The data processing apparatus according to claim 6, which is applicable to a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 11. A PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A data processing system comprising an information processing device for transmitting data, and a data processing device having a function of storing the PDL data received from the information processing device in a document form, wherein the data processing device comprises: P for interpreting the PDL data
DL interpreting means, PDL drawing means for expanding and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data, extracting means for extracting text data from the intermediate data, the image data and the text data A data processing system, wherein the information processing apparatus performs data communication with the data processing apparatus via a network or an interface. 12. The extraction unit of the data processing device extracts the text data by extracting a character code from the intermediate data that is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. The data processing system according to claim 11, wherein: 13. The data processing apparatus further includes input means for inputting a search keyword for document search, and detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area, and including the search keyword. 13. The data processing system according to claim 11, further comprising a document search unit that searches for a document, and a display unit that displays a search result regarding the searched document. 14. The search keyword can be input by a single input or a plurality of inputs, and the document search means of the data processing device, when a plurality of the search keywords are input, a logical product condition of the plurality of the search keywords. Alternatively, the data processing system according to claim 13, wherein the document search is performed based on a logical sum condition. 15. The data processing device comprises a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, and an image communication function, a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function,
15. The data processing system according to claim 11, which is applicable to a printer having an image forming function and a facsimile having an image communication function. 16. A PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A data processing system comprising an information processing device for transmitting data, and a data processing device having a function of storing the PDL data received from the information processing device in a document form, wherein the data processing device comprises: When printing the document name of the document stored in the data storage area on the tab of the tabbed paper, the document name specifying means for specifying the document name to be printed from the data storage area, and the tab for the tabbed paper An intermediate data creating unit that creates intermediate data, a PDL drawing unit that develops and draws the intermediate data into image data, and a print control unit that prints the document name on a tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data are provided. However, the information processing device performs data communication with the data processing device via a network or an interface. Data processing system. 17. The data processing apparatus further includes a display unit for displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and a document to be printed on the tab of the tabbed sheet from the list of document names. The data processing system according to claim 16, further comprising a selection unit that selects a name. 18. An identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and an appropriate position of the tab of the tabbed paper is written in the intermediate data. The predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed on the document.
6. The data processing system according to item 6. 19. The font size, wherein the data processing device further adjusts font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data according to a length of a document name printed on a tab of the tabbed paper. The data processing system according to claim 16, further comprising an adjusting unit. 20. The data processing device is a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, and an image communication function, a copying machine having an image reading function and an image forming function,
20. The data processing system according to claim 16, which is applicable to a printer having an image forming function and a facsimile having an image communication function. 21. PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A data processing method executed by a data processing device having a function of saving data in a document form, the PDL interpreting step of interpreting the PDL data,
PDL drawing step of developing and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting DL data into image data, extracting step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, and data storage by linking the image data and the text data And a storage step of storing the data in an area. 22. In the extracting step, the text data is extracted by extracting a character code from the intermediate data, which is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. 22. The data processing method according to claim 21. 23. An input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area,
23. The data processing method according to claim 21, further comprising a document search step of searching for a document including the search keyword, and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document. 24. The search keyword may be input singly or plurally, and in the document search step, when a plurality of the search keywords are input, a logical product condition or a logical sum condition of the plurality of search keywords is set. 24. The data processing method according to claim 23, wherein the document search is performed based on the data. 25. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
The data processing method according to any one of claims 21 to 24, which is executed by a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 26. PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A tab printing method executed by a data processing device having a function of saving data in the form of a document, wherein when the document name of the document saved in the data storage area is printed on a tab of tabbed paper, the data A document name specifying step of specifying a document name to be printed from a storage area, an intermediate data creating step of creating intermediate data for tabs of the tabbed paper, and a PDL drawing step of developing and drawing the intermediate data into image data And a print control step of printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data. 27. A display step of displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and a selection step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper from the list of document names. 27. The tab printing method according to claim 26, further comprising: 28. An identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and an appropriate position of the tab of the tabbed paper is included in the intermediate data. The predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed on the document.
6. The tab printing method described in 6. 29. A font size adjusting step of adjusting font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data according to a length of a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper. 29. The tab printing method according to claim 26. 30. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
30. The tab printing method according to claim 26, which is executed by a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 31. PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for executing a data processing method applied to a data processing apparatus having a function of saving data in a document form, wherein the data processing method stores the PDL data. P to interpret
DL interpretation step, PDL drawing step of developing and drawing intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data, extraction step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, the image data and the text data And a storage step of linking and storing in a data storage area. 32. In the extracting step, the text data is extracted by extracting a character code from the intermediate data that is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. The storage medium according to claim 31. 33. An input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and a document search for detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area and searching for a document including the search keyword. 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising a step and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document.
The storage medium according to 1 or 32. 34. The search keyword can be input singly or plurally, and in the document search step,
34. The storage medium according to claim 33, wherein when a plurality of the search keywords are input, a document search is performed based on a logical product condition or a logical sum condition of the plurality of search keywords. 35. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
The storage medium according to any one of claims 31 to 34, which is applicable to a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 36. PDL (Page Description Languag)
e) A computer-readable storage medium that stores a program that executes a tab printing method applied to a data processing apparatus having a function of saving data in a document form, wherein the tab printing method is a data storage area. When printing the document name of the saved document on the tab of the tabbed paper, a document name identification step of identifying the document name to be printed from the data storage area, and creating intermediate data for the tab of the tabbed paper And a PDL drawing step for expanding and drawing the intermediate data into image data, and a print control step for printing the document name on the tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data. Storage medium. 37. A display step of displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and a selecting step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper from the list of document names. 37. The storage medium according to claim 36, comprising: 38. An identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and an appropriate position of the tab of the tabbed paper is written in the intermediate data. The predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed on the document.
6. The storage medium according to 6. 39. A font size adjusting step of adjusting font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data according to a length of a document name to be printed on the tab of the tabbed paper. 39. The storage medium according to claim 36, wherein the storage medium is a storage medium. 40. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
40. The storage medium according to claim 36, which is applicable to a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 41. PDL (Page Description Languag
e) A program supplied to a data processing device having a function of saving data in a document form, the PDL interpreting step of interpreting the PDL data, and the intermediate data obtained by interpreting the PDL data into image data. It is characterized by comprising a PDL drawing step of developing and drawing, an extracting step of extracting text data from the intermediate data, and a saving step of linking the image data and the text data to save them in a data storage area. program. 42. In the extracting step, the text data is extracted by extracting a character code from the intermediate data that is a data group including graphic information, character information, position information, and control information. 42. The program according to claim 41. 43. An input step of inputting a search keyword for document search, and a document search for detecting the search keyword from the text data stored in the data storage area and searching for a document including the search keyword. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a step and a display step of displaying a search result regarding the searched document.
The program according to 1 or 42. 44. The search keyword can be input singly or plurally, and in the document search step,
The program according to claim 43, wherein when a plurality of the search keywords are input, a document search is performed based on a logical product condition or a logical sum condition of the plurality of search keywords. 45. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
The program according to any one of claims 41 to 44, which is supplied to a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function. 46. PDL (Page Description Languag
e) A program supplied to a data processing device having a function of saving data in the form of a document, wherein when the document name of the document saved in the data storage area is printed on a tab of tabbed paper, the data storage area A document name specifying step for specifying the name of a document to be printed, an intermediate data creating step for creating intermediate data for tabs of the tabbed paper, a PDL drawing step for developing and drawing the intermediate data into image data, A print control step of printing the document name on a tab of the tabbed paper based on the image data. 47. A display step of displaying a list of document names of documents stored in the data storage area, and a selecting step of selecting a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper from the list of document names. 47. The program according to claim 46, comprising: 48. An identifier indicating that the image data is for a tab of the tabbed paper is written in the image data, and an appropriate position of the tab of the tabbed paper is included in the intermediate data. 5. The predetermined information is set so that the document name is printed on the document.
6. The program described in 6. 49. A font size adjusting step of adjusting font size information included in the predetermined information set in the intermediate data according to a length of a document name to be printed on a tab of the tabbed paper. 49. The program according to any one of claims 46 to 48, which is characterized. 50. A multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, an image communication function, and an image reading function.
50. The program according to claim 46, which is supplied to a copying machine having an image forming function, a printer having an image forming function, and a facsimile having an image communication function.