JP2006224442A - Image forming device and printer driver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device saving on memory capacity necessary for filing and realizing management of downloaded font with a little load of print processing. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming device 10 is provided with: a data receiving section 20 which receives from a host the downloaded font necessary for printing the printing data from among the printing data and the downloaded font classified in advance into a plurality of groups and information of the groups to which the downloaded font belongs; a recording device 3 for storing the printing data and the downloaded font; a job management section 21 which decides whether the received downloaded font belongs to a group different from the downloaded font stored in the storage device on the basis of the information, and stores it in the storage device if the received downloaded font belongs to a downloaded font of a different group; and a printing section for performing printing operation using the stored printing data and the downloaded font stored in the storage device 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a storage medium capable of reprinting print data, and in particular, print data including font information can be stored in a storage medium, and an image can be formed by taking it out as necessary. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a storage medium.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as printers have become highly functional, have built-in storage media such as a hard disk, and store (filing) image data that has been printed once so that it can be reprinted or connected via a network. The so-called document filing that does not output the print data received from the host at the time of reception, but has a function to enhance security by storing it in a storage medium until the user inputs a code from the printer operation panel. An image forming apparatus equipped with a function has been proposed.

  In printing using such a document filing function, when reprinting print data stored in a storage medium, it is necessary to determine whether a download font necessary for printing is stored on the RAM or the storage medium. However, this determination needs to be performed for all characters included in the print data, and processing takes time. In particular, when Kanji fonts are included in the print data, since the number of characters is large, it takes a lot of time compared to print data containing only alphanumeric characters. Furthermore, when the downloaded font is deleted from the RAM and the storage medium, it is necessary to download again from the external device, and the load of the printing process is large.

Although there is a concept of storing all fonts necessary for printing in the image forming apparatus, the number of fonts is very large and the required storage capacity becomes enormous. Furthermore, it cannot cope with a new font added later. In recent years, in order to match the screen display on the host side with the print result, the host side often provides a download font together with print data to the image forming apparatus.
In order to realize the print data reprinting function, several methods related to reducing the load of printing processing and saving the storage capacity necessary for filing have been proposed.

  For example, when printing data is stored in a storage medium, rendering is performed by measuring whether the page description language received by the image forming apparatus is stored in an intermediate language format or an image data format of a raster image. A method is known in which the selection is made by comparing the time with a set time limit, and the data capacity of the storage medium can be reduced without increasing the printing time (for example, Patent Document 1). ).

  Also, by storing the print data list information stored in the storage medium in the cache area as cache data, the print data can be reprinted and accessed without being retransmitted from an external device. A technique is known that enables reprinting of print data by reducing the number of times (for example, Patent Document 2).

  Furthermore, when the print data including the download font is printed, if the free space of the RAM for storing the download font is insufficient, the data already stored in the RAM is compressed and the download font is stored in the created free area. Or if there is not enough free space on the RAM, the downloaded font on the RAM is stored in the storage device and the font information index stored on the storage medium is stored on the RAM. A technique is known that enables storing new downloaded fonts without deleting them from the RAM and storage medium (for example, Patent Document 3).

In addition, when printing print data including a download font, whether or not the download font included in the print data is already stored in the storage medium by referring to the font information table on the storage medium and performing automatic consistency determination It is possible to make a determination, and when a newly downloaded font is stored in the RAM, it is possible to select whether to compress only the data portion or the entire file based on the free space of the RAM. A technique for efficiently storing downloaded fonts on top is known (for example, Patent Document 4).
JP 2001-347709 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200808 JP-A-8-166858 JP 2000-347821 A

In Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is no particular mention regarding print data including download fonts.
However, in the case where the print data is stored in the storage medium in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151867, when the image data format of the raster image is converted into the storage medium and stored in the storage medium, a download font is not necessary at the time of reprinting. When stored in a storage medium in a format, a download font is required for reprinting. Accordingly, the individual processes should be performed for both of them, and the process becomes complicated as compared with the method of performing only one of the processes, and the number of man-hours for design and maintenance increases.

  In the method of Patent Document 2, a larger-capacity cache is required as the cache capacity is increased in order to reduce the number of accesses to the storage device for reprinting. Further, since all the print data is stored in the storage medium, a large-capacity storage device is required especially when storing the kanji font data together with the print data.

  Also, the method of Patent Document 3 also requires a large-capacity storage device because all print data is stored in the storage device, as in Patent Document 2. Furthermore, when the free area on the RAM is insufficient, the downloaded font is stored in the storage area. However, an index must be created every time the RAM capacity is insufficient, and the shortage of free capacity occurs continuously. Requires many times to create an index, and the processing is burdensome.

The technique of Patent Literature 4 manages download fonts using a font typeface table. However, when the number of download fonts to be managed increases, when reprinting print data stored in a storage medium or performing electronic sorting, The load for determining whether or not the downloaded font required by the print data is stored in the storage medium increases.
There is a demand for a technique that can reduce the load of printing processing and save the storage capacity necessary for filing.

  The present invention includes a data receiving unit that receives, from a host, print data and a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data among download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups, and information on a group to which the download font belongs, A storage device for storing data and downloaded fonts, and whether the received downloaded fonts belong to a different group from the downloaded fonts stored in the storage device; An image forming apparatus is provided that includes a job management unit stored in a storage device, and a printing unit that performs printing using stored print data and a downloaded font stored in the storage device.

  The present invention also includes a process of sending print data and a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data out of the download fonts previously classified into a plurality of groups and information on a group to which the download font belongs to a printing apparatus. A printer driver to be executed by a computer is provided.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention receives print data and a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data out of download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups and information on a group to which the download font belongs from a host. A job management unit that determines whether the received downloaded font belongs to a group different from the downloaded font stored in the storage device based on the information and stores the downloaded font in the storage device if the downloaded font belongs to a different group. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the received downloaded font is already stored in the storage device based on the received information, and to save the storage capacity of the downloaded font without storing duplicate downloaded fonts. In addition, since the downloaded fonts are classified into groups, it is not necessary to determine the download font necessary for each print data for each character, and therefore the number of determinations is small and the processing load is not required.

  In addition, the printer driver of the present invention sends the print data and the download font of the group necessary for printing the print data among the download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups and the information of the group to which the download font belongs to the printing apparatus. Since the processing to be executed is executed by the computer, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the sent download font is already stored in the printing apparatus based on the information, and to save the storage capacity without storing the duplicate download font. it can.

  There are two types of image forming apparatuses, one that prints print data from the host without storing it in the storage device, and one that temporarily stores the print data in the storage device. The image forming apparatus of the present invention temporarily stores the print data in the storage device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can be stored in an image forming apparatus. However, it is not always necessary to store all the print data in the storage device, as long as the print data can be stored as necessary. As a printing form in which the print data is stored in the storage device, for example, there is a so-called document filing in which frequently used print data is stored in the image forming apparatus and can be immediately printed as necessary. In addition to this, there is a form in which the page order is rearranged and printed on the image forming apparatus side.

  When the image forming apparatus receives the print data, a font necessary for printing the received print data may or may not be stored in the image forming apparatus. When a font necessary for printing is not stored, it is necessary to obtain the font from the outside. As a method for acquiring a font from the outside, there is a method of downloading and using a font from a host connected via a network. The font received in this way is called a download font.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention receives print data and a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data out of download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups and information on a group to which the download font belongs from a host. And a storage device for storing the print data and the downloaded font, and whether the received downloaded font belongs to a different group from the downloaded font stored in the storage device, and downloads a different group In the case of a font, a job management unit that stores in a storage device, and a printing unit that performs printing using the stored print data and a downloaded font stored in the storage device are provided.
Here, the print data may be, for example, data described in a page description language format, but is not limited thereto.

  When the printing unit prints a plurality of print data using the same group of downloaded fonts, the downloaded fonts stored in the storage device may be shared. In this way, since the downloaded font is shared and printed by a plurality of print data, it is not necessary to store the duplicate downloaded font in the storage device, and the storage capacity of the downloaded font can be saved.

  The data receiving unit receives a download font of a group necessary for printing out of the download fonts grouped so that one includes all the other fonts, and the job management unit includes the received download font. When the downloaded font of the group to be stored is stored in the storage device, the included download font may be deleted from the storage device, and the received download font may be stored in the storage device. In this way, printing using the downloaded font of the group stored in the storage device can be performed using the downloaded font of the group including the group, so that both groups can be compared with the case of storing in the storage device. Therefore, printing can be performed with a small storage capacity, and the storage area can be saved. From another point of view, if a download font of a group including a limited font is selected for print data using a limited font, the storage capacity of the download font can be saved.

  Various groups can be considered for grouping fonts, and a suitable system may be used according to the application. Further, it is not necessary that all groups have an inclusive relationship with each other, and a system in which only some groups have an inclusive relationship may be used. As an example of grouping, the first group may be alphanumeric characters, kana characters and various symbols, the second group may be characters included in the JIS first level, and the third group may be characters included in the JIS second level. In the above case, the first group is included in the second group, and the second group is included in the third group. If all the fonts are included in each group above, all groups are inclusive, but if grouped by typeface, each group for the same typeface is inclusive, but with different typefaces. There is no inclusive relationship between them.

  The image forming apparatus holds the download font in the storage device until all the print data using the download font stored in the storage device is deleted, and the download font after all the print data is deleted There may be further provided a font management unit that deletes. In this way, the font management unit holds the download font necessary for printing until printing is completed and the print data is deleted. Therefore, there is no download font at the time of printing, so that it is downloaded again. Or printing using an alternative font does not cause a print result unintended by the user to be output. This is particularly effective when print data is stored in the image forming apparatus for a long period of time, such as printing using a document filing function.

  Alternatively, the image forming apparatus determines the use frequency of the download font within a predetermined period after deleting the print data using the download font stored in the storage device, and the print data uses the download font during the period. You may make it further provide the font management part which deletes the said download font when the frequency used is less than a reference | standard. In this case, since the font management unit retains the frequently used downloaded font even after the print data using the downloaded font is deleted, it is not necessary to frequently download the downloaded font. The processing time or processing load required for the download is reduced. This is especially effective for frequently used downloaded fonts.

  For example, the font management unit has a counter corresponding to the download font of each group, and increments the counter corresponding to the download font used by the print data when the print data is stored in the storage device. If the count number is less than or equal to the predetermined number, it may be determined that the use frequency of the downloaded font does not satisfy the standard.

  The job management unit may store the downloaded font in the storage device by a storage method corresponding to the font format. In this way, for example, bitmap fonts need to store downloaded fonts for each font size, whereas outline fonts with different font formats do not need to store fonts by size, etc. The storage capacity of the downloaded font can be saved by allocating necessary and sufficient storage capacity according to the font format.

Further, when the job management unit receives a download font having the same group as the download font stored in the storage device and having a different font format, the storage capacity required for storage of both is compared, and the smaller storage capacity is determined. You may make it store in a memory | storage device and may not store the other. In this way, when there are a plurality of font formats for the downloaded fonts in the same group, the one with the smaller storage capacity is stored, so that the storage capacity of the downloaded font can be saved.
When the outline font, which is the received download font, includes a bitmap font of the same typeface stored in the storage device, the job management unit stores the outline font in the storage device and includes it in the stored outline font. The bitmap font to be deleted may be deleted. In this way, the storage capacity of the downloaded font can be saved by replacing the bitmap font that needs to store the font data for each size with the outline font.

  In addition, the printer driver of the present invention sends the print data and the download font of the group necessary for printing the print data among the download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups and the information of the group to which the download font belongs to the printing apparatus. Cause the computer to execute the process. The printer driver generates print data in response to a print processing request from an application, and the request includes information such as the typeface and size of the selected font. Although the selected font may be one type, in many cases, a plurality of types of fonts are selected for printing a word processing document. The printer driver is configured to distinguish a font to be added to print data, that is, a downloaded font and a font that does not need to be downloaded. The font that does not need to be downloaded is, for example, a font held in the ROM or the like on the image forming apparatus side, and the printer driver knows the font held on the image forming apparatus side. The font information held by the image forming apparatus is stored in advance in a printer driver provided by the manufacturer in a pair with the image forming apparatus, or the configuration information of the image forming apparatus is acquired when the printer driver is installed. This is realized.

The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention and the printer driver of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU 1, a program ROM 2, an HDD (hard disk device) 3, a host I / F 4, a RAM 5, a printer I / F 6, a printer engine 7, a UI (user interface) unit 8, and a bus. It is composed of nine. The CPU 1 executes an image forming process.

  The program ROM 2 stores a program indicating a procedure of processing to be executed by the CPU 1. The programs include a program 20 (hereinafter referred to as a data receiving unit) that causes the CPU 1 to execute processing as a data receiving unit, and a program 21 (hereinafter referred to as a job managing unit) that executes processing as a job managing unit. Further, it may include a program 22 (hereinafter referred to as a font management unit) for executing processing as a font management unit. In addition, the program ROM 2 includes a program for processing the print data and creating a raster signal to be sent to the printer engine 7. The CPU 1 may control the printer engine 7 including a program for controlling the printer engine 7, but a CPU (not shown) other than the CPU 1 may control the printer engine 7.

  The hard disk device (HDD) 3 is a storage device for storing job information including print data received from the host device 19, download fonts, and information about download fonts. The host I / F 4 is connected to the host device 19 and receives print data and the like from the host device 19 via communication. The RAM 5 provides a work area for the work of the CPU 1 and an image memory area for performing print data processing. The printer I / F 6 sends a raster signal for printing to the printer engine 7. The printer engine 7 functions as a printing unit for printing the received print data. The user interface (UI) unit 8 includes a liquid crystal screen that informs the operator of the image forming apparatus of the contents of the print data stored in the image forming apparatus, the contents of the font, and the state of the image forming apparatus, and a touch panel that receives operation inputs. Is done.

  The host device 19 includes a printing I / F 11, a CPU 12, an input device 13, a RAM 14, a display device 15, and a hard disk device (HDD) 16. The HDD 16 stores an application program 17 that causes the CPU 12 to execute an application and a printer driver 18. Upon receiving a print request from an application or the like, the printer driver 18 causes the CPU 12 to create print data and create a download font and group information to which the download font belongs to execute the print data as a job. The processing is executed so as to be sent to the image forming apparatus together with the print data.

  An example of the processing procedure of the printer driver 18 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure relating to a downloaded font that the printer driver of the present invention sends to the image forming apparatus together with print data as a filing job. The printer driver 18 starts processing upon receiving a print processing request from the application. Then, based on the font selection information included in the print processing request from the application, it is determined whether or not the download font should be included in the print data to be created (step S101). When the download font is not included in the print data, the routine proceeds to step S103.

  When the download font is included in the print data, the printer driver 18 determines the group to which the outline font used by the print data belongs when creating the print data (step S102). Details of the processing in step S102 will be described later. When the outline font group to be used is determined, the printer driver creates a job font list in order to provide information about the determined group to the image forming apparatus (step S103). The job font list is list data including attributes (font format, character size, typeface name, etc.) of all downloaded fonts included in the created print data, ID numbers of groups to which the respective downloaded fonts belong, and font data. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a job font list. Details of the job font list creation will be described later.

  Then, the printer driver 18 links the job font list to the created print data (step S104) and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 10 (step S105). The image forming apparatus 10 receives print data, a job font list, that is, a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data and information of a group to which the download font belongs from the host device.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the process for determining the group to which the outline font belongs (step S102 in FIG. 2). First, all array variables GourpNumber [j] indicating group numbers are initialized for each series of fonts arranged in accordance with the typeface and character size (step S201). The series is a series for each typeface for outline fonts, and is a series for each typeface and size for bitmap fonts. For example, a Mincho font font whose font sizes are 14, 16 and 20 belong to the series 1. The Gothic font of the outline font belongs to series 2. Then, the text fonts of the outline font are grouped so that they belong to the series 3. Also, bitmap fonts and outline fonts of the same typeface may be the same series.

Next, the routine enters a loop process in which the processes from step S202 to step S212 described below are sequentially repeated for all characters included in the print data (step S202).
First, the first character char [i] is selected, and the type of font used for printing char [i] is determined based on font selection information included in the print request from the application (step S203). Let the determined series ID be n. The determination of the group to which the selected character char [i] belongs is performed in the subsequent processing, and the ID value n of the series is held so as to store the obtained result in the group number array variable GroupNumber [n] corresponding to the series n. (Step S204).

  Then, it is determined whether or not char [i] belongs to any of various symbols, alphanumeric characters, and kana characters (step S205). If char [i] is one of various symbols, alphanumeric characters, and kana characters, the variable GroupNumber [n] is set to 1 (step S209), and then the routine proceeds to the loop end in S212.

  On the other hand, if char [i] does not belong to any of various symbols, alphanumeric characters, and kana characters, it is determined whether or not char [i] belongs to a JIS first level character code (step S206). ). If char [i] belongs to the JIS first level, the value of the variable GroupNumber [n] is set to 2 (step S210), and then the routine proceeds to the end of the loop in S212.

  If char [i] does not belong to the JIS first level, it is further determined whether or not char [i] belongs to the JIS second level character code (step S207). If the selected character belongs to the JIS second level, after setting the value of the variable GroupNumber [n] to 3 (step S211), the routine proceeds to the loop end of S212.

  On the other hand, if the selected character does not belong to the JIS second level, after setting the value of the variable GroupNumber [n] to 4 (step S208), the routine proceeds to S212 and selects the next character char [i]. Thereafter, the processing from step S203 to step S212 described above is repeated for the newly selected char [i]. The loop processing is performed until the processing for all characters is completed.

  When the loop processing of steps S202 to S212 is completed, the value of the variable GroupNumber [n] indicates the value of the group including all characters included in the print data for each series. The groups 1 to 4 in the same series have a relationship in which a large value group includes a small value group. When GroupNumber [n] is 0, it indicates that the font of that series is not used for print data. The group whose GroupNumber [n] is 1 is a character group composed of various symbols, alphanumeric characters and kana characters, the group 2 is a group belonging to the JIS first level, the group 3 is a group belonging to the JIS second level, Group 4 is a group that includes characters that are not included in JIS Level 2. For example, descriptive symbols, unit symbols, and non-generic foreign language fonts (diacritical marks, diacritical marks, etc.) stipulated as JIS auxiliary kanji. Marked Greek alphabet etc.) correspond to this group. There is a relationship in which a group of large values includes a group of smaller values. Therefore, the download font of the group indicated by the variable GroupNumber is sufficient to print the print data.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of job font list creation processing (step S103 in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 4, the printer driver 18 determines whether or not a download font is included in the print data (step S301). If the download data is not included in the print data, an empty job font list is created (step S303), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the download data is included in the print data, it is determined whether the font format of the download font is a bitmap font or an outline font (step S302). As a result, when it is determined that the font is an outline font, outline font data of the group indicated by the variable GroupNumber [j] is added to the job font list (step S304). On the other hand, if it is determined that the font format of the download font is not an outline font but a bitmap font, the bitmap font data of the group indicated by the variable GroupNumber [j] is added to the job font list (step S305).

  The font may have a different storage format depending on the format. This is because the bitmap font has data corresponding to the font size, but the outline font has data common to all sizes. Therefore, the storage capacity required to store the font also differs depending on the font format. When grouping bitmap fonts, if the font sizes included in the group do not match, they are not treated as the same series of fonts. For example, if a Mincho bitmap font and font sizes 14, 16, and 20 belong to the series 1, the same Mincho bitmap font and font sizes 6, 8, 10, and 12 are used. The font is handled differently from the series 1 and belongs to the series 4, for example.

Next, an example of a print processing procedure executed by the image forming apparatus 10 in this embodiment will be described.
The data receiving unit 20 stored in the program ROM 2 of the image forming apparatus 10 receives the print data and the job font list sent from the host device 19 via the host I / F 4 and stores the processing in the RAM 5 in the CPU 1. Let it run. For example, the host I / F 4 may be an interface for connecting to a host device through a parallel port, but is not limited to this, and may be connected by USB, IEEE 1394, or the like, or Instead of being connected to the host device on a one-on-one basis as shown in FIG. 1, it may be connected to a network.

The print data and job font list from the host device stored in the RAM 5 are processed by the CPU 1 executing the job management unit 21.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the job management unit 21 included in the program ROM 2 of the image forming apparatus 10. The job management unit 21 refers to the job font list stored in the RAM 5 and determines whether or not the print data includes a download font (step S401). If it is determined that the job font list is empty and does not include a download font, the routine proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, when it is determined that the print data includes the downloaded font, the job management unit 21 performs an update process of the built-in font list (step S402). That is, the received downloads that need to be stored are stored in the HDD 3, and the built-in font list that is a list of fonts stored in the HDD 3 is updated. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a built-in font list. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the font data list referred to by the built-in font list. Details of the update processing of the built-in font list will be described later.

  Then, the job management unit 21 stores the print data stored in the RAM 5 as a filing job in the HDD 3, and adds the print data to the filing job list for managing the stored filing job list (step S403). . Details of the update processing of the built-in font list will be described later.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a filing job list.
For example, assume that the content of the job font list for a filing job is as shown in FIG. The filing job consists of a Mincho bitmap font JFL (1) having a character size of 14, a Mincho bitmap font JFL (2) having a character size of 16, and a Gothic outline font JFL (3). The text font outline font JFL (4) and other fonts are used.

  The job management unit 21 compares the job font list with the built-in font list. First, when examining the same Mincho font as JFL (1), the built-in font FL (1) registered in the built-in font list is Mincho and has a character size of 14. The value of GroupNumber of JRL (1) is 1 while the GroupNumber of the size 14 font among the built-in fonts is 2, which is included in the built-in font. Therefore, it can be determined that JFL (1) does not need to be newly stored as a built-in font.

  Similarly, if JFL (2), JFL (3), and JFL (4) are also judged, there is a typeface that matches the built-in font list, but the JFL (4) GroupNumber is 3. Thus, it can be seen that the GroupNumber of the built-in font FL (3) is 2, and it is necessary to replace the outline font FN (3) of the text type with JFL (4) in order to print the filing job. Each built-in font is stored in the font data list shown in FIG. 12, and the font data can be accessed by referring to “reference destination of font data list” in the built-in font list. Each font data is stored in the font data list in a known data format. For example, the font FN (1) is a bitmap font format and stores data for each font size. Sizes 14, 16, and 20 are stored.

  The filing job received from the host is additionally registered in the filing job list shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, there are at least three registered filing job lists, and the font used for the filing job FJ (1) is the font FL (2), and the filing job FJ (2) is the built-in font. The filing job FJ (3) indicates that a bitmap font having a character size of 16 and a font FN (2) are used in the font FN (1).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of the built-in font list update process (step S402 in FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 6, the job management unit 21 refers to the received job font list and selects the first font registered in the job font list (step S501). It is determined whether the font of the downloaded font in the list is already registered in the built-in font list and there is a font of the same type whose font is stored in the HDD 3 (step S502). If the same font is not registered in the built-in font list as a result of the determination, the routine proceeds to S503, where it is determined whether the downloaded font type in the job font list is an outline font or a bitmap font (step S503). . If the result of the determination is an outline font, the downloaded font stored in the RAM 5 is added to the font data list in the HDD 3 (see FIG. 12). That is, the downloaded font is stored in the HDD 3.

  Then, a new font number is added so that the stored downloaded font can be referred to in the built-in font list. Are additionally registered (step S504). In addition, referring to a timer unit (not shown), the registration date and time of the download font is registered in the item “starting date and time” in the built-in font list, and the number of links in the period is set to zero. On the other hand, if the result of the determination is a bitmap font, the downloaded font is added to the font data list and stored in the HDD 3. Then, a new font number is added so that the stored downloaded font can be referred to in the built-in font list. Are additionally registered (step S505). In addition, referring to a timer unit (not shown), the registration date and time is registered in the “starting date and time” of the built-in font list, and the “number of links in period” is set to zero. Then, the routine proceeds to S510.

  On the other hand, in step S502, the target Font No. in the job font list is displayed. When it is determined that a font having the same typeface as that of the first font is registered in the built-in font list, it is determined whether the registered font format is an outline font or a bitmap font (step S506). If it is an outline font, the routine proceeds to step S508. On the other hand, if the font format is a bitmap font, it is determined whether the same font size is included in the built-in font list. This is because bitmap fonts are grouped by font size and font data is stored. If a font of the same size is not included in the built-in font list, the routine proceeds to step S505, and a process of adding a bitmap font of the size to the built-in font is performed. On the other hand, if the same font size is included in the built-in font list in step 507, the routine proceeds to S508.

  In step S508, the target Font No. in the job font list is displayed. The group is determined as to whether or not the font is included in the corresponding built-in font list (step S508). The target font number in the job font list. If the value of “GroupNumber” in the job font list is larger than the value of “GroupNumber” in the corresponding built-in font list, the target Font No. in the job font list is displayed. The downloaded font is not already included in the built-in font list, and it is necessary to register the font. Therefore, Font No. in the job font list is displayed. Are added to the font data list and stored in the HDD 3. Then, a new font number is added so that the stored downloaded font can be referred to in the built-in font list. Are additionally registered (step S509). In addition, referring to a timer unit (not shown), the registration date and time is registered in the “starting date and time” in the built-in font list, and the number of links in the period is set to zero.

  On the other hand, in step S508, the target Font No. in the job font list is displayed. If the value of “GroupNumber” in the job font list is smaller than or equal to the value of “GroupNumber” in the corresponding built-in font list, the target Font No. Since the downloaded font is already included in the built-in font list, there is no need to add a built-in font. In that case, the routine proceeds to step S510.

In step S510, the job management unit 21 checks the built-in font list to check whether the bitmap font and outline font of the same typeface are not duplicated. If there is an overlap, the bitmap font is deleted to save the font data storage capacity. Details of step S510 will be described later.
In step S511, the job management unit 21 determines that all font numbers included in the job font list. It is determined whether or not the series of processing in steps S502 to S509 described above has been performed, and if there is an unprocessed font, the next Font No. Is selected and the process returns to step S501 to repeat the process. On the other hand, all font numbers in the job font list are displayed. If it is determined that the process has been performed for the font, the process ends.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the details of the processing in step S510 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 to detect duplication of the internal font list and replace the bitmap font with the outline font. As shown in FIG. 15, in the process of step S510, the processes from step S1102 to S1108 described below are sequentially performed for all the font numbers in the built-in font list. First, it is checked whether the target Font No. font is an outline font (step S1102). If it is not an outline font, the next font No. is selected without performing processing for that font (step S1109), and the process returns to the top of the loop from step S1101.

  On the other hand, if the target font number is an outline font, the built-in font list is searched to check whether there is a bitmap font of the same typeface (step S1103). If there is no bitmap font of the same typeface as the font of the target Font No. in the built-in font list, the target Font No. is selected without performing processing for that font.

  On the other hand, if there is a bitmap font of the same typeface as the font of the target Font No., it is checked whether the bitmap font is included in the outline font. Specifically, the processes of steps S1105 to S1107 described below are sequentially performed for all the sizes of the bitmap font. That is, one target size is selected, and for the bitmap font of that size, it is determined whether the GroupNumber of the bitmap font is smaller than or equal to the GroupNumber of the outline font to be compared (step S1105). If the GroupNumber of the bitmap font is less than or equal to the GroupNumber of the outline font, the bitmap font is included in the outline font. Therefore, the bitmap font data is deleted (step S1106), and the font number used in the filing job list is updated (step S1107), and the bitmap font is replaced with the outline font. Then, the process proceeds to step S1108. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1105 that the bitmap font GroupNumber is larger than the outline font GroupNumber and the bitmap font is not included in the outline font, it is determined that the font cannot be replaced with the outline font, and the routine proceeds to step S1108. move on.

  In step S1108, the next target bitmap font size is selected, and the flow returns to step S1104 to repeat the loop processing. After performing the above loop processing on all the sizes of the target bitmap font in the determination in step S1103, the routine proceeds to step S1109. In step S1109, the job management unit 21 selects a font having a font number to be the next target, returns to the top of the loop in step S1101, and repeats the processing. After performing the above loop processing for all Font Nos. In the built-in font list, the routine ends.

Further, details of the processing in step S1107 for updating the used font number in the filing job list will be described.
FIG. 16 is a follow chart showing details of the processing in step S1106 for deleting font data of character size from the target FontNo. In the built-in font list in the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, when deleting the font data of the character size from the target FontNo. In the built-in font list, the job management unit 21 first decides to replace the font data in the font data list with the outline font. The bitmap data having the size is deleted (step S1201). Then, the size deleted from the registration information in the “character size” item is deleted from the registration information of the process “Font No.” in the built-in font list (step S1202). Further, the filing job list is searched, and the value of “number of links” in the registration information of “Font No.” is updated (step S1203). For the “link number” of the outline font replaced with the bitmap font, the filing job list is searched, and the values are updated by recalculating the link number and the in-period link number (step S1204). Note that the “number of links in period” in the filing job list for the font in which the previous bitmap font is replaced with the outline font may be maintained without updating. This is because the “number of links within the period” is merely an index for evaluating the frequency of use of the font, and there is no significant problem even if it is not strictly updated.
If the “character size” does not exist in the process of step S1202 (step S1205), all the registered information of “Font No.” is deleted from the built-in font list (step S1206). However, if other “character size” registration information exists, the registration information of “Font No.” is not deleted.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of a processing procedure for adding a print job to the filing job list (step S403 in FIG. 5). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the job management unit 21 additionally registers the print data stored in the RAM 5 as a new “Filing Job No.” filing job in the filing job list (step S <b> 601).

  For the newly added filing job, the Font No. in the built-in font list corresponding to the font used in the print job is displayed. Is registered (step S602). Fonts used in the print job are registered in the job font list. The correspondence between these fonts and the fonts registered in the built-in font list is obtained by comparing attributes such as the typeface and size of each font stored in the job font list and the built-in font list.

  Next, 1 is added to the value of the “number of links” of the font in the built-in font list corresponding to “Use Font No.” of the filing job newly registered in the filing job list (step S603). Further, 1 is added to the value of “number of links in period” of the font (step S604). Further, the “protection flag” of the font is set to “ON” (step S605).

The processing of the job management unit 21 when printing a filing job registered in the filing job list will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when the job management unit 21 prints a filing job. As shown in FIG. 8, the job management unit 21 refers to the filing job list, and the correspondence in the built-in font list is based on the item “Used Font No.” of the filing job of “Filing job No.” to be printed. “Font No.” is acquired (step S701).

  Then, based on the acquired “Font No.”, the data of the built-in font list is read into the RAM 5 (step S702). Further, “print data” is read into the RAM 5 with reference to the filing job list, and the CPU 1 executes the data processing for printing (step S703), and the processed raster signal is sent to the printer engine 7. (Step S705). The printer engine 7 forms an image corresponding to the raster signal and prints it out.

  When the print output is completed, the job management unit 21 subtracts 1 from the “link number” value of the corresponding “Font No.” in the built-in font list for all the fonts used by the print data (step S705). Then, it is determined whether or not the subtraction result is 0 (step S706). If it is zero, the process of deleting the font data from the built-in font list is performed (step S707). On the other hand, if the subtraction result is not 0, the routine proceeds to step S708. Finally, the completed filing job is deleted from the filing job list (step S708).

  Several methods can be selected as an opportunity to delete font data from the built-in font list. The simplest method is to delete the font data when all filing jobs that use the font registered in the built-in font list are deleted. In order to realize this method, the font data may be deleted unconditionally in the above-described step S707. Step S707 is executed because the “number of links” of the font in the built-in font list is zero in the determination in step S706, that is, there is no print data using the font.

  As an alternative method, even if the “Number of links” becomes zero, if the frequency of use of the font within the specified period exceeds the specified standard from the time when the font was registered in the built-in font list, registration will continue. However, the font may be deleted when it is less than a predetermined standard. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a program for causing the CPU 1 to execute processing as the font management unit 22 that realizes the above-described processing. FIG. 9 corresponds to a portion called as a function for actually executing step 706 in FIG. In addition to this, there is also a timer process that periodically executes a process to determine the font usage frequency. When this function is called, the font management unit 22 refers to the received job font list and selects the first font registered in the job font list (step S801).

  Then, it is determined by referring to the filing job list whether there is another filing job that uses the target font (step S802). If there is another filing job using the font, the routine proceeds to loop termination step S809. On the other hand, when there is no other filing job that uses the target font, the font management unit 22 sets the “protection flag” in the built-in font list to “OFF” and performs the process executed by the periodic timer process. The deletion of the font is permitted (step S803).

  Then, the number of links in the period and the starting date and time are acquired from the built-in font list (step S804). Further, the current date and time are acquired from a timer (not shown), and a determination period from the calculation date and time to the current date and time is obtained (step S805). Then, the number of links in the period, that is, the number of registered filing jobs that use the font during the determination period is divided by the determination period, and it is determined whether the value is smaller than a reference threshold (step S806). . The threshold corresponds to a reference font usage frequency. If the determination result is smaller than the threshold value, it means that the font usage frequency does not meet the standard, and the target font is deleted from the built-in font list (step S807). Then, the “number of links in period” is set to zero (step S808). On the other hand, if the comparison value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the routine proceeds to S809 at the end of the loop.

  In step S809, the font management unit 22 sets all font numbers included in the job font list. It is determined whether or not the series of processing in steps S802 to S808 described above has been performed, and if there is an unprocessed font, the next Font No. Is selected and the process returns to step S801 to repeat the processing. On the other hand, all font numbers in the job font list are displayed. If it is determined that the process has been performed for the font, the process ends.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a timer processing function that is periodically called to determine the font usage frequency. When this function is called, the font management unit 22 refers to the received job font list and selects the first font registered in the job font list (step S901). Then, it is determined whether or not the “protection flag” of the target font is “OFF” (step S902). If there is another filing job using the font, the routine proceeds to loop termination step S908. On the other hand, if there is no other filing job using the target font, the font management unit 22 acquires the number of links in the period and the date and time of calculation from the built-in font list (step S903). Further, the current date and time are acquired from a timer (not shown), and a determination period from the calculation date and time to the current date and time is obtained (step S904).

  Then, the number of links in the period, that is, the number of registered filing jobs that use the font during the determination period is divided by the determination period, and it is determined whether the value is smaller than a reference threshold (step S905). . The threshold corresponds to a reference font usage frequency. If the determination result is smaller than the threshold value, it means that the font usage frequency does not meet the standard, and the target font is deleted from the built-in font list (step S906). Then, the “number of links in period” is set to zero (step S907). On the other hand, if the comparison value is greater than or equal to the threshold, the routine proceeds to S908 at the end of the loop.

  In step S908, the font management unit 22 determines that all font numbers included in the job font list. It is determined whether or not the series of processing in steps S902 to S907 described above has been performed, and if there is an unprocessed font, the next Font No. Is selected and the process returns to step S901 to repeat the process. On the other hand, all font numbers in the job font list are displayed. If it is determined that the process has been performed for the font, the process ends.

It is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention and the printer driver of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing relating to a downloaded font that the printer driver of the present invention sends to the image forming apparatus together with print data as a filing job. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process (step S102 of FIG. 2) which determines the group to which an outline font belongs. 3 is a flowchart showing details of job font list creation processing (step S103 in FIG. 2). 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a job management unit 21 included in a program ROM 2 of the image forming apparatus 10. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of the update process (step S402 of FIG. 5) of a built-in font list. 6 is a flowchart showing details of a processing procedure for adding a print job to a filing job list (step S403 in FIG. 5). 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when a job management unit prints a filing job. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process managed so that a built-in font is not deleted when the font usage frequency in a predetermined period is more than a reference | standard. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process of the timer processing function called periodically in order to determine the usage frequency of a font. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a filing job list. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content of the font data list which an internal font list refers. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a job font list. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a built-in font list. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of a process of detecting duplication of a built-in font list and replacing a bitmap font with an outline font in the flowchart of FIG. 6. 16 is a follow chart showing details of processing for deleting character size information from a selected FontNo. In the built-in font list in the flowchart of FIG. 15.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU
2 Program ROM (Job management is performed by the job management unit)
3 Storage device, hard disk device, HDD: storing font list table, filing job list, font data list 4 host I / F
5 RAM
6 Printer I / F
7 Printer Engine 8 User Interface Unit, Liquid Crystal Screen and Touch Panel 9 Bus 10 Image Forming Device 19 Host Device (Add Job Font List Table to Print Data)
20 Data reception part 21 Job management part 22 Font management part

Claims (9)

A data receiving unit for receiving, from a host, a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data and a group to which the download font belongs, among print data and download fonts classified in advance into a plurality of groups;
A storage device for storing print data and downloaded fonts;
A job management unit for determining whether the received downloaded font belongs to a group different from the downloaded font stored in the storage device based on the information and storing the downloaded font in a different group if the downloaded font is in a different group;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs printing using stored print data and a downloaded font stored in a storage device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit shares a downloaded font stored in a storage device when printing a plurality of print data using the same group of downloaded fonts. The data receiving unit receives a download font of a group necessary for printing among download fonts grouped so that one includes all the other fonts,
When the download font of the group included in the received download font is stored in the storage device, the job management unit deletes the included download font from the storage device, and the received download font is stored in the storage device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 for storing.   A font management unit that holds the download font in the storage device until all the print data using the downloaded font stored in the storage device is deleted, and deletes the download font after all the print data is deleted; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   After deleting the print data using the downloaded font stored in the storage device, the frequency of use of the download font within a predetermined period is determined, and the frequency of use of the download font by the print data during the period satisfies the standard. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a font management unit that deletes the downloaded font when there is not.   The font management unit has a counter corresponding to the download font of each group, and increments the counter corresponding to the download font used by the print data when the print data is stored in the storage device. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the count number is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the use frequency of the downloaded font is determined not to satisfy a standard.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job management unit stores the downloaded font in the storage device by a storage method according to a font format.   When the outline font, which is the received download font, includes a bitmap font of the same typeface stored in the storage device, the job management unit stores the outline font in the storage device and is included in the stored outline font. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bitmap font is deleted.   A printer driver for causing a computer to execute processing for sending to a printing device a download font of a group necessary for printing the print data and information of a group to which the download font belongs among print fonts and download fonts classified into a plurality of groups in advance. .

Images