JP2003108345A - System for network printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for network printer capable of reducing efforts and costs of management of client computers and printers and enhancing convenience of operators of the client computers. SOLUTION: The system comprises a plurality of client computers 1 connected to a predetermined network line 2, a plurality of printers 3 connected to the network line 2 and an application server 5 installed application softwares to print files of predetermined documents, images, etc., and printer drivers supporting to each printer 3, wherein the server 5 converts the predetermined documents and images transmitted from each client computer 1 into printer description languages by using the application softwares and printer drivers and transfers the converted printer files to the printers 3, so that the system performs a function to print out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network printer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A client computer device (also called client PC device, PC device, PC) and a printer (also called printer device) are network-connected, and
As a conventional technique related to a network printer system that outputs print data created in C to a designated printer, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-181662 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 20-162662 are available.
No. 00-20268 is available.

With reference to this publication, in a client PC device or the like which is generally network-connected to a LAN (local area network), when a document or image of the PC device is printed on a printing device connected to the network, , PC devices, printers,
It is necessary to register in advance information such as what kind of code the printer accepts, how many paper sizes can be printed, whether color is possible, and what peripherals are.

Further, in order to create a printer description language corresponding to a printer, it is necessary to install a printer driver in each PC device, and a printer driver is required for each printer. Further, in order to print a document or image, it is necessary to similarly install application software corresponding to the document or image file format in each PC device. In an era in which the functions of digital devices are updated as in modern times, it is necessary to update the printer driver and application software corresponding to the function updates of devices, or the print results will be different if not updated. There were cases where problems such as these occurred. Therefore, it takes time and effort for the administrator of the PC or printer to always use the latest functions.
The printer operator also had to check the version of the printer driver and application software.

Conventionally, when obtaining the latest application software and printer driver, each PC
It takes time and effort to download the device from the WEB site and to upgrade the software. In some cases, unauthorized use such as duplication and application of application software was performed for the purpose of reducing this cost.

Further, different OSs (operating systems) may be installed in PC devices in which application software and printer drivers are installed, and software corresponding to each OS is required.

[0007]

In recent years, as networks have become widespread and documents and the like have been digitized, the management, labor, and cost of PC devices and printers connected to the network are increasing at an accelerating rate. is there. Conventionally, digitized documents and images are often stored and accumulated in each PC device, and there are many inconveniences in sharing and effectively utilizing them.

Conventionally, the maintenance cost of the printer is required for each printer device, and the number of sheets printed by each printer is used to calculate the maintenance cost.
It was necessary to manage the number of prints for each printer.

The present invention provides a network printer system capable of reducing the labor and cost for managing the client computer device and the printer device and improving the convenience of the operator of the client computer device. The purpose is to

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a plurality of client computer devices connected to a predetermined network line, a plurality of printer devices connected to the network line, An application server that includes application software for printing a file such as a predetermined document or image and an application server device in which a printer driver corresponding to each printer device is installed, and the predetermined document or image sent from each client computer device A network printer system that has the function of performing print output by converting the printer description language into a printer description language using application software and a printer driver in the device and transferring the printer file after the printer description language conversion to the printer device The main feature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the network printer system according to the first aspect, the application server device has a billing management device for billing according to the number of times the application software and printer driver are used or the file transfer size. The main feature is the network printer system.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the network printer system according to the second aspect, a data server is attached to the application server device, and various files sent from the client computer device and the printer are included in the data server. The accounting management device has a file storage means for accumulating printer files after description language conversion, and the charging management device is characterized mainly by a network printer system that charges according to the accumulation period and the accumulation file size.

As described above, in the present invention, by installing the application server device on the network and installing the application software and the printer driver, it becomes unnecessary to install the application software and the printer driver in each PC device. The management can be unified, and the labor and cost of the management can be reduced. Further, by transferring a print data file to a printer device connected remotely, printing at a remote place is possible, and by linking with a billing management device, billing for each print job is also possible. By storing files such as documents and images in the data server, they can be shared and used.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, a network connection form of a general information processing apparatus (PC) and a printer, which is a premise of the present invention, will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the connection form.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a PC (personal computer) as an information processing apparatus, to which a display device such as a CRT and an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse are connected. The PC 1 is connected to a network 2 such as Ethernet (registered trademark). A printer 3 as a printing device for printing characters and images and a proxy server 4 are also connected to the network 2.

The network 2 is connected to an external network via a proxy server 4 so that files can be exchanged between the devices. In the conventional technology, in order to print the document or image edited and stored in each PC 1 shown in FIG. 1 on the printer 3, application software corresponding to the document file or image file and a printer driver corresponding to each printer 3 are required. It has to be installed in each PC 1, and each PC 1 manages this.

In such a case, for example, when the printer 3 is updated and replaced with a new one, it is necessary to reinsert the printer driver in each PC 1 in order to use the printer 3, as described above. The defect is also as described above.

First, a first embodiment (corresponding to the invention of claim 1) will be described. FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration example of a PC in the network printer system of the present invention. The CPU 11 is a part that executes a program stored in the RAM 12, the HDD 13, and the like to perform processing. RAM
Reference numeral 12 is a part for temporarily storing programs and calculation results. The ROM 14 is a part that stores a program for controlling the PC 1.

The HDD 13 is a part which is controlled by the disk controller 15 and stores programs and data. The video controller 16 is a part that controls a display device such as a CRT. The I / O controller 17 is a part that controls a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, and the like. The network I / F 18 is a part connected to the network 2 such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

An outline of this embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a PC, a display device such as a CRT, a keyboard,
An input device such as a mouse is connected. The PC 1 is connected to a network 2 such as Ethernet (registered trademark). An operating system (OS) and application software for editing documents and images are installed in the PC 1. The PC 1 can exchange files with the PC 1 of the same type connected to the network 2 via the network.

A printer 3 and an application server 5 are connected to the network 2. The application server 5 has the same configuration as the PC 1 described above, and includes a CPU, RAM, HDD, and the like. However, the processing performance is improved as compared with the PC1. Like the PC 1, an operating system (OS) is installed in the application server 5, and application software is also installed in the same manner.

Further, a printer driver corresponding to each printer 3 is installed in the application server 5. The URL of the WEB site where the latest printer driver can be downloaded is registered in advance in the application server 5, and if the latest printer driver is released, it is downloaded and updated. Similarly, by downloading the latest version of application software from the WEB site,
Alternatively, it is updated by installing the latest version from a CD-ROM device or the like. The application server 5 is also connected to another network system 2, and the PC 1 and the printer 3 are also connected to the network system 2.

Here, when a user edits a document or an image using the above-mentioned PC 1 and wants to print the result, the printing process is conventionally performed by each PC 1, but in the present embodiment, the document file or the image is printed. The file itself is transferred to the application server 5. The application server 5 determines the corresponding application software with reference to the extension of the transferred document file or image file. For example, if the document file has a .doc extension, it is determined that the document is created by Microsoft Word application software.

When the corresponding application software is determined based on the result of the determination, the document or image file is printed by the application software and converted by the printer driver into a printer file described in the printer description language (PDL). . Printer files are commonly designated with a prn extension. The application server 5 transfers the printer file to the predetermined printer 3. The printer 3 develops the print image by the printer file sent and starts printing on the photographic paper.

By doing so, the network 2
Printing can be performed without setting a printer on each of the above PCs 1. Further, as described above, if only the application software on the application server 5 is set to the latest version, generally an old version of the file can be read, so that printing can be performed even if the application software version of each PC 1 is old. Therefore, the labor and cost of managing each PC 1 can be reduced.

If the application server 5 is set to automatically download the latest printer driver on a regular basis, the latest printer driver can always be used. Also application server 5
If the setting is such that the printer 3 always detects the state of the printer 3, it is possible to avoid the printer 3 in which the error has occurred and print to the alternative printer 3. A flowchart of this embodiment is shown in FIG. The processing described above is performed in S1 to S10 of FIG.

Next, a second embodiment (corresponding to the invention of claim 2) will be described. The outline of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
The network printer system of the present embodiment has the charging management device 6 inside the application server 5 in the network printer system of the first embodiment.

In the operation of this embodiment, as described above in the first embodiment, files of documents and images are transferred from each PC 1 connected to the network, and printing processing is performed by application software. At this time, each time the application software is used, the number of times is counted, the number is taken into the charging management device 6, and the charging is performed according to the number of times. Similarly, by counting the number of times the printer driver has been used, which printer 3 has been used is recorded, so that it is possible to charge according to the printer 3 used.

Since the PC 1 as the transfer source of the document or image file can be specified by the header or the like, which PC 1 sent the print processing is recorded, and each PC 1 is recorded.
It is possible to charge for each. Further, similarly, by detecting the file size of the document, the image file, or the printer file, it becomes possible to charge according to the file size. Also in this case, it is possible to charge each PC 1 as described above.

In this way, the billing can be centrally managed, and the labor and management cost can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to perform billing that corresponds in detail to the usage status of each PC 1 and each printer 3. A flowchart of this embodiment is shown in FIG. . The above-described processing is performed in S1 to S14 of FIG.

Next, a third embodiment (corresponding to the invention of claim 3) will be described. The outline of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
The network printer system of the present invention has a data server 7 attached to the application server 5 in the network printer system of the second embodiment.

In the operation of this embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, files of documents and images are transferred to the application server 5 from each PC 1 connected to the network. The application server 5 stores the sent document and image files in the associated data server 7. On the other hand, the application server 5 performs the printing process of the document or the image file as described in the first embodiment and creates the printer file. The created printer file is similarly stored in the data server 7.

Various files accumulated in the data server 7 are automatically stored for a fixed period. Also the data server 7
Has a file search function and can search various accumulated files. Therefore, once a document or image file is transferred to the application server 5, it can be stored in the data server 7 and can be searched, so that various files can be printed separately.

Further, as described in the second embodiment, in the present embodiment, the application server 5 and the charging management device 6 are provided.
As described above, it is possible to perform charge management for each use or for each printer 3, as described above. Further, in this embodiment, billing is possible according to the period during which files are stored in the data server 7. Therefore, it is possible to charge while the file is stored in the data server 7 or after the file is stored for a certain period. Further, as described in the second embodiment, since the charge can be made on the basis of the file size as well, the charge management can be finely performed according to the file size and the storage period.

Therefore, flexible charging according to the usage status of each PC 1 and printer 3 becomes possible. Also the data server 7
Since various files are stored in the PC, the data server 7 can be searched for even in the PC 1 located in a different location, the target file can be extracted and printed out, and the convenience for the user is increased. The flowchart of this embodiment is shown in FIG. The above-described processing is performed in S1 to S17 of FIG.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, management of the printer driver and application software corresponding to files such as predetermined documents and images are centrally performed on the application server device. Since the management can be performed, it is possible to reduce the labor and cost for managing the client computer device and the printer device.
In addition, since it is possible to always use the latest software and driver, it is possible to increase the convenience of the user. Further, in the past, since the print processing was performed by each client computer apparatus, other work may be interrupted during the print processing. However, in the present invention, the print processing is performed by the application server apparatus side. The load is reduced and the convenience of the operator of the client computer device is increased.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by using the billing management device in the application server device, billing can be centrally managed on the application server device, and the client computer device or the printer device can be used. Since it is possible to manage the charge according to the situation, it is possible to reduce the management labor. In addition, it is possible to charge according to the usage status of software and printer devices, and it is possible to perform more detailed charge management than in the past.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the data server attached to the application server device can store the document file, the image file, or the printer file, and the file storage can be centrally managed. It is possible to reduce the management labor. Also, by storing the file in the data bar,
It becomes possible to promote the sharing of files. Further, it becomes possible to charge according to the period for storing the file, and it is possible to provide the storage service to the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a general network printer system.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a PC in the network printer system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a network printer system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a network printer system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a network printer system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart in the network printer system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart in the network printer system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart in the network printer system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 PC (client computer device) 2 network (network line) 3 printer (printer device) 5 application server (application server device) 6 billing device 7 data server

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of client computer devices connected to a predetermined network line, a plurality of printer devices connected to the network line, application software for printing files such as predetermined documents and images, and each printer device. A printer description is provided by including an application server device in which a corresponding printer driver is installed, and converting a predetermined document or image sent from each client computer device into a printer description language using application software and a printer driver in the application server device. By transferring the printer file after language conversion to the printer device,
A network printer system having a function of performing print output. 2. In the application server device,
2. The network printer system according to claim 1, further comprising a charging management device that charges according to the number of times the application software and the printer driver are used or the file transfer size. 3. A data server is attached to the application server device, and the data server has a file storage means for storing various files sent from the client computer device and a printer file after printer description language conversion. 3. The network printer system according to claim 2, wherein the charge management device charges according to the accumulated period and the accumulated file size.