JP2006123319A - Printing device, printing system and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a user easily perform the editing of accumulated printing data on a page-by-page basis and improve the user's convenience. <P>SOLUTION: In the printing device performing printing on the basis of printing data input, the detail of the bit map of data accumulated in a storage device 15 is displayed on an operating panel 4 or on a personal computer 23 connected through a network, the detail of the printing data accumulated in the storage device 15 is displayed, and the printing data is edited on a page-by-page basis by specifying an optional page in the optional data from the operating panel 4 or the personal computer 23 while perusing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a printer that prints on a recording medium based on input print data, a copying machine in which a scanner or a facsimile is connected to the printing apparatus, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having these functions. The present invention relates to a printing system, and a printing method implemented by these printing apparatuses and multifunction peripherals.

  When printing is instructed in the printing apparatus, for example, by copying a document with a scanner in the case of a copying machine, the data to be printed is transmitted through a communication line in a specific format for a printer or facsimile. By analyzing, print data is generated, and printing is performed based on the print data. This print data is collected in units of files inside the apparatus and is clearly distinguished from other print data.

  On the other hand, as this type of apparatus, for example, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 or 2 is known. Among these, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of jobs are combined to create one combined job, and in order to provide a user with a print result that does not have a defect, a combination instruction for combining a plurality of print jobs into one combined job is provided. A technique for analyzing print setting information of a plurality of print jobs and generating print setting information for a combined job in which only one piece of information that can be set for one print job is generated is disclosed. .

Patent Document 2 discloses data storage that can store electronic documents in order to provide a printer that generates a single print job based on an electronic document and a paper document and executes batch printing processing. And a printer having data processing means for generating print data based on data from the data storage means, wherein the data processing means reads the electronic document data stored in the data storage means and a paper document. A technique has been disclosed in which print data of one print job is generated by combining the electronic paper document data.
JP 2001-134394 A JP 2001-171200 A

As described above, some conventional printing apparatuses can print by connecting a plurality of files in units of files as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, which is convenient for the user. Although these methods have contributed to the improvement, these methods are based on the premise that there is no error in the contents of the accumulated print data, and are merely an improvement in convenience based on that premise. That is, when printing certain print data,
(1) There is an error in page order.
(2) Unnecessary pages are printed.
(3) There are not enough pages.
If a problem such as the above is discovered, the page order must be changed manually, unnecessary pages must be removed, and the necessary pages must be replenished. After printing a large number of copies, it will be difficult. Will require a lot of effort.

  In order to solve these problems, the print data is stored in the apparatus, and only one copy is printed. After confirming the print result, the print data is provided with a test print function that prints the remaining number of copies according to user instructions. In the first place, measures such as storing print data in the device and providing a function to enable viewing of images to be printed from a PC connected via an operation panel or network have been taken. Essentially, the print data containing errors could not be corrected, and the fundamental solution was not reached.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to easily edit stored print data in units of pages and improve user convenience. Is to make it.

  In order to achieve the object, the first means is a printing apparatus for printing based on inputted print data, a storage means for storing the print data in the apparatus, and a bit of data stored in the storage means. Display means for displaying the contents of the map on an operation panel or a personal computer connected via a network, and the display operation while browsing the contents of the print data stored in the storage means on the display means Editing means for editing print data page by page by designating an arbitrary page in arbitrary data from the panel or the personal computer.

  The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, the editing means has at least one function of page replacement, deletion and duplication with respect to the print data.

  According to a third means, in the first means, when there are a plurality of data stored in the storage means, the editing means selects two of the stored data, and one of the data is selected from any of the other data. It is characterized by having a function of inserting into a position.

  According to a fourth means, in the first means, when there are a plurality of data stored in the storage means, the editing means selects two of the stored data, and a page of an arbitrary part of the one data is selected. , And a function of exchanging with a page of an arbitrary part of the other data.

  According to a fifth means, in the first means, when there are a plurality of data accumulated in the storage means, the editing means selects two of the accumulated data, and a page of an arbitrary part of one of the data Is inserted into an arbitrary position of the other data.

  A sixth means includes a printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth means and an information processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus, and is compatible with data stored in a storage means in the printing apparatus. The editing unit of the printing apparatus generates data having the characteristics of the data stored in the storage unit by the function set in the editing unit, and the data generated by the information processing apparatus. Is equivalent to a printing system that edits print data in units of pages.

  A seventh means includes a printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth means and an information processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus, and an instruction to store the information in a storage means in the printing apparatus. In the printing system, the storage unit stores unprinted print data, and the editing unit edits the print data in units of pages when instructed later, and then performs reprinting.

  The eighth means is a printing method for printing based on inputted print data, wherein the print data is stored in the apparatus, and the contents of the bitmap of the stored data are connected via an operation panel or a network. Display on the display means of the personal computer, and edit the print data in units of pages by designating any page in any data from the operation panel or the personal computer while browsing the contents of the displayed print data And printing.

  In the following embodiments, the printing apparatus is in the printing apparatus 1 or the printer 1, the storage means is in the NV-RAM 11 or the storage apparatus 15, the display means is in the operation panel 4 or the PC 23, and the editing means and the information processing apparatus are in the PC 23. Each corresponds.

  According to the present invention, while viewing the contents of the print data stored in the storage means on the display means, the print data is designated by designating any page in any data from the display operation panel or the personal computer. Since editing is performed in units, it is possible to easily edit the accumulated print data in units of pages and improve user convenience.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

1. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a laser printer as an example of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a controller 2, an operation panel 4, and a printer engine 13. The controller 2 is a generic term for a control mechanism that converts print data from the host 3 into video data and outputs it to the printer engine 13 in accordance with the control mode set at that time and the control code from the host 3. , A program ROM 6, a font ROM 7, a panel I / F 8, a CPU 9, a RAM 10, an NV-RAM 11, an engine I / F 12, and an option RAM 14.

  The host I / F 5 is an interface for control signals and data from the host 3 to the printer 1 and status signals from the printer 1 to the host 3. The CPU 9 processes data (print data, control data) from the host 3 in accordance with the program ROM 6. The RAM 10 is a work memory for processing by the CPU 9, a buffer for managing and temporarily storing data from the host 3 in units of pages, a bit for converting the data stored in the buffer into an actual print pattern, and storing video data Used for map memory etc.

  The NV-RAM 11 is a nonvolatile RAM for storing data that is to be retained even when the power is turned off. The program ROM 6 stores data management in the controller 2 and programs for controlling peripheral modules. The font ROM 7 has various types of fonts used for printing. The engine I / F 12 is an interface for a control signal from the controller 2 to the printer engine 13 and a status signal from the printer 1 to the controller 2. The printer engine 13 creates and develops an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor (not shown) by a video signal and a control signal from the controller 2, and feeds transfer paper from a paper feed unit (not shown) to transfer and fix it. , Form an image. The panel I / F 8 is a signal interface for switching the state, mode, font, and the like of the printer 1.

  The operation panel 4 is a display unit that indicates the state of the printer 1 and a switch unit that switches the printer mode, font, and the like.

  Data sent from the host through the host interface 5 is divided into print data and print control data (SP, CR, LF, HT, VT, etc.) and others by the CPU 9, and the print data and print control data are controlled. It is converted into code and stored in the buffer. When the print command from the host 3 or the data received from the host exceeds one page, the controller 2 first converts the intermediate code into video data, and when it is finished, prints to the printer engine 13 through the engine I / F 12. Give a start command.

  The print data from the host 3 is printed via the printer engine 13 in the series of flows as described above.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration in the present embodiment using the printer 1 of FIG. The system according to the present embodiment basically includes a host device (PC) 3, a printer (printing device) 1 connected to the host device 3, a scanner 21, and a personal computer PC23 for displaying and editing print data. In this embodiment, a facsimile 22 is further connected to this configuration. In this embodiment, the NV-RAM 11 is used as the storage device 15 in the printer 1, but a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk device is used when a large storage capacity is required. The image forming unit 13 includes a controller 2 and a printer engine 13, and the host device 3 and the facsimile machine 22 are connected to the controller 2 via an I / F. The PC 23 is connected to the storage device 15 via an I / F (not shown), and can send and receive information bidirectionally.

  In this system, the host 3 transmits print data of the printer to the image forming unit 13 of the printer 1, here the controller 2. The host 3 transmits data to the printer 1 via a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark). In addition, the facsimile 22 transmits print data to the image forming unit 13 via a public line. A scanned image is sent from the scanner 21 to the image forming unit 13 via a cable.

  The image forming unit 13 stores print data sent from the host 3, the facsimile 22, and the scanner 21 in the storage device 15, for example, the NV-RAM 10 or an HDD (not shown). The operation panel 4 calls the information stored from the storage device 15 to display the content of the print data on the display unit (so-called preview function), operates the operation panel 4 to edit the stored data, and stores it in the storage device 15. return. The storage device 15 is also connected to the PC 23 so as to be capable of two-way communication. The PC 23 can display and edit the stored data using the preview function in the same manner as the operation panel 4.

  In the printer 1 configured as described above, first, the user performs printing for accumulating data in the apparatus by trial printing, confidential printing, or the like. Then, the data accumulated in the storage device 15 in the apparatus can be displayed on the operation panel 4 or the PC 23, and it can be confirmed whether or not the data is desired data. If a page order error or the presence of an unnecessary page is confirmed at this point, the data can be corrected on a page-by-page basis by issuing an instruction such as page deletion on the operation panel 4 or the PC 23. This instruction, operation input from the keyboard or on the screen, is processed by the CPU 9 according to the program stored in the program ROM 6 of the printer 1, or the CPU of the PC 23 is processed by software downloaded to the PC 23. As a result, even if data containing an error is transmitted, printing can be performed after correcting the data in units of pages. As a result, not only is it unnecessary to spend unnecessary labor when printing data with incorrect data, but there is no need to re-store the entire corrected data if there is an error. Data can be corrected on the spot, which can contribute to improvement of user convenience.

2. Second Embodiment As a function of editing the print data in units of pages, page replacement, deletion, and duplication can be performed. This replacement, deletion, and duplication can be executed on a normal PC by software having an editor function, such as a text editor or a word processor. As a result, even if data containing errors is sent, printing can be performed after correcting the data in units of pages. Therefore, wasteful labor required when printing data with incorrect data is used. In addition to saving time, it is possible to correct data on the spot without having to re-accumulate the entire corrected data in the event of an error, which contributes to improved user convenience. Can do.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

3. Third Embodiment When there are a plurality of data stored in the storage device 15 of the printer 1, a function of selecting two of the stored data and inserting one data at an arbitrary position of the other data is provided. It can also be configured. This function is also realized by a program and can be easily realized by editing functions such as a text editor and a word processor. With this configuration, it is possible to insert all of the other stored data at an arbitrary position of one data while browsing the contents of a plurality of stored data on the display screen of the PC 23. Thus, it is possible to perform printing that can be applied in various ways, such as by inserting or quoting a necessary page from another stored document, which contributes to improving the convenience of the user.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

4). Fourth Embodiment When there are a plurality of data stored in the storage device 15, two of the stored data are selected, and a page of an arbitrary part of one data is a page of an arbitrary part of the other data. It is configured to have a function to replace each other. This function is also realized by a program and can be easily realized by editing functions such as a text editor and a word processor. With this configuration, while browsing the contents of stored data, it is possible to reconstruct data by replacing any part of one data with any part of the other data. It is possible to perform printing that can be applied in various ways, such as exchanging and reconstructing each document, which contributes to improving the convenience for the user.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

5. Fifth Embodiment When there are a plurality of data stored in the storage device 15, two of the stored data are selected, and a page of an arbitrary part of one data is inserted at an arbitrary position of the other data. Configure to have functionality. This function is also realized by a program and can be easily realized by editing functions such as a text editor and a word processor. With this configuration, a part of one data can be inserted into the other while browsing the contents of a plurality of accumulated data, so a part of the previous data is re-displayed in the data used in daily and weekly meetings. Thus, the creation of such a document can be corrected by editing the page after instructing the printing, and printing that can be applied in various ways can be performed, which contributes to improving the convenience for the user.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

6). Sixth Embodiment A configuration is provided so that data compatible with data stored in the storage device 15 is created outside the device, and the data outside the device can also be edited by the editing functions described above. To do. This function is also realized by a program and can be easily realized by editing functions such as a text editor and a word processor. With this configuration, print data can be edited in units of pages regardless of whether the data is inside or outside the apparatus.

  As an example of a method for creating outside the apparatus, if a printer is taken as an example, a print data management application that runs on a PC that can analyze data saved by the printer driver and save it in a format compatible with the inside of the apparatus On the other hand, there is a method of saving compatible data by sending data from a printer driver. If such a method is adopted, in the above-described example, a page operation such as a page change can be performed between the data stored on the PC 23 and the data in the main body.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of data created outside the apparatus and a configuration for editing. In FIG. 3, the storage device 15 of the printer (printing apparatus) 1 and the print data management application 233 of the PC 23 are configured so that editing such as data exchange and insertion can be performed. The document data created by the creation application 231 is input to the print data management application 233 via the printer driver 232, and data is exchanged or inserted between the document data and the data stored in the storage device 15. Is called.

  With this configuration, there is a risk of pressing the capacity of the storage device 15 in the printer 1, so even if it is difficult to actively accumulate data in the printer 1, data outside the printer 1 Can be handled in the same way as the data in the printer 1, it becomes easier to edit the accumulated print data in units of pages, which can contribute to the improvement of convenience for the user.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

7). Seventh Embodiment Even if the print instruction from the host device 3 does not instruct to store data, the data is stored in the storage device 15 in the printer 1 or transferred to the PC on the first floor of the printer and stored. It is also possible to provide a function for this purpose so that reprinting can be performed after the print data is edited in units of pages in accordance with user instructions. Since the editing functions described so far are only for stored documents, they cannot be handled when the user wants to make corrections by looking at the print results after performing normal non-stored printing. Therefore, in the present invention, even if printing is not instructed to store, the function of storing data in the apparatus or transferring and storing data to a machine outside the apparatus such as a PC is provided. By providing, it is possible to obtain the same convenience as in the case of accumulation. As a result, printing with various applications is possible, and it is possible to contribute to improvement of convenience for the user.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and function in the same manner.

  Although the first to seventh embodiments have been described by taking a printer as an example, an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile, or a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) having the functions of these (including a printer). Needless to say, the present invention is generally applicable.

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the accumulated print data can be edited on a page-by-page basis while browsing the accumulated print data on an operation panel or an external PC, so that it is possible to flexibly change pages and delete unnecessary pages. Can respond.

  When there are multiple print data, it is possible to insert or replace some pages from one to the other, so it is easy to correct print data containing errors to correct data, reduce printing errors, Unnecessary labor after printing becomes unnecessary.

  In order to correct an incorrect part, print data including the correct page is sent and stored in the device, and then editing the page between the stored files will reduce the capacity of the storage device in the device. However, in an external device such as a PC, it is possible to generate data that is compatible with the print data in the device, and pages are exchanged between the data in the device and the data outside the device. Therefore, it becomes easy to edit the accumulated print data in units of pages, and it is possible to contribute to improving the convenience for the user.

1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a laser printer as a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure in this embodiment using the printer of FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline of the structure produced and the data produced outside an apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer (printing device)
2 Controller 3 Host device (PC)
4 Operation panel 11 NV-RAM
13 Printer engine (image creation unit)
15 Storage Device 21 Scanner 22 Facsimile 23 PC
231 Document creation application 232 Printer driver 233 Print data management application

Claims (8)

In a printing apparatus that prints based on input print data,
Storage means for storing the print data in the apparatus;
Display means for displaying the contents of the bitmap of the data stored in the storage means on an operation panel or a personal computer connected via a network;
Editing for editing print data in units of pages by designating any page in any data from the display operation panel or the personal computer while browsing the contents of the print data stored in the storage means on the display means Means,
A printing apparatus comprising:   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit has at least one function of page replacement, deletion, and duplication with respect to the print data.   The editing means has a function of selecting two of the stored data and inserting one data at an arbitrary position of the other data when there are a plurality of data stored in the storage means. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   When there are a plurality of data accumulated in the storage means, the editing means selects two of the accumulated data, and an arbitrary partial page of one data is designated as an arbitrary partial page of the other data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of replacing each other.   When there are a plurality of data stored in the storage unit, the editing unit selects two of the stored data and inserts a page of an arbitrary part of one data at an arbitrary position of the other data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An information processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus creates data compatible with data stored in the storage means in the printing apparatus, and the editing means of the printing apparatus stores the storage by the function set in the editing means. A printing system, wherein print data is edited in page units equivalently to data stored in the means and data created by the information processing apparatus. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An information processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus;
And storing the print data not instructed to be stored in the storage means in the printing apparatus in the storage means, and the editing means after editing the print data in page units when instructed later A printing system characterized by causing reprinting to be performed. In a printing method for printing based on input print data,
Storing the print data in the device;
Displaying the contents of the stored bitmap of data on a display means of a personal computer connected via an operation panel or a network;
A printing method comprising: editing the print data page by page by designating an arbitrary page in the arbitrary data from the operation panel or the personal computer while browsing the contents of the displayed print data.

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