JP2007072607A - Printing apparatus, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid printing that could waste a colorant when image data are not included in print requests. <P>SOLUTION: When image data are included in print requests, a controller 60 of a multifunction printer 10 controls an ink-jet control part 30 so that the image data are printed on printing paper. When no image data are included in the print requests, the controller regards the print requests to contain dummy data as white solid images, and controls the ink-jet control part 30 so that the dummy data are printed on the printing paper. Since the dummy data are white solid images, no ink is used when the dummy data are printed. Thus, it is made possible to avoid printing that could waste ink even if no image data are included in the print requests. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a printing control program.

In recent years, mobile communication terminals typified by mobile phones have mainly been built with CCD cameras, and of course have telephone functions, as well as sending e-mails with image data taken with CCD cameras. It is possible to upload image data to a web page called a bulletin board. There is also known a printing apparatus that directly receives data from a mobile communication terminal and executes printing based on the data. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printing apparatus that, when receiving a print request including image data from a digital camera, creates an image layout based on the image data and performs print processing.
JP 2002-33992 A

  By the way, in the printing apparatus as in Patent Document 1, when the print request is received and the image data is not included in the print request, the operator is warned that the image data is not included. It is conceivable to perform a warning print to call out. Also, if the print request includes a file format that includes image data but cannot be printed by the printing device, a warning print is performed to alert the operator that the image data is in a file format that cannot be printed. It is also possible. As such alert printing, for example, it is conceivable to print only a frame line in an area where an image should be originally printed on a printing sheet. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the print result. FIG. 12A shows the print result when printable image data is included in the print request, and FIG. 12B shows the image data in the print request. Represents a print result (notice print) when the file is not included or the image data included is in a file format that cannot be printed.

  However, when such alert printing is performed, there arises a problem that ink and toner are wasted in printing the frame line.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and is a printing apparatus capable of avoiding printing that wastes a colorant when image data is not included in a print request. Another object is to provide a printing control method and a program therefor. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, a printing control method, and a program thereof that can avoid printing that wastes a colorant when image data that does not correspond to a print request is included. One.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve at least one of the above objects.

The first printing apparatus of the present invention includes:
A print request input means for inputting a print request that may include image data;
Dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image;
Printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant;
When the image data is included in the print request, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. When the image data is not included in the print request, the dummy data is included in the print request. The dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper, and the colorant is added to the white portion of each image data. Printing control means for controlling the printing means not to use;
It is equipped with.

  In this printing apparatus, when image data is included in the print request, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. On the other hand, when image data is not included in the print request, it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, and the printing unit is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Since it is a white solid image, no colorant is used when printing this dummy data. As described above, when image data is not included in the print request, it is assumed that dummy data is included, and therefore printing is performed to notify the operator that the image data is not included using the colorant. There is no. Further, since the dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used during printing. Therefore, even if image data is not included in the print request, it is possible to avoid printing that wastes the colorant.

  In the first printing apparatus of the present invention, the image data is data for printing a background image, and the print control means prints the image data as a background image when the print request includes image data. Creating a document in a markup language in which printing conditions are set, controlling the printing unit based on the document, and printing the dummy data as a background image when the print request does not include image data It is also possible to create a document in a markup language in which printing conditions are set and to control the printing unit based on the document. Since the markup language is a language in which various attribute information and the like are described in the document as predefined commands, the print control means can use the document data described in the markup language to print the document. It becomes possible to understand the contents of the data and control the printing means.

The second printing apparatus of the present invention is
A print request input means for inputting a print request including image data;
Dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image in a printable format;
Printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant;
When the image data included in the print request is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and when the image data included in the print request is in a non-printable format, Assuming that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Print control means for controlling the printing means so as not to use the colorant for the white portion;
It is equipped with.

  In this printing apparatus, when the image data included in the print request is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. On the other hand, when the image data included in the print request is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that dummy data in a printable format is included in the print request, and the printing unit is configured to print the dummy data on the printing paper. Control. Since this dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used when the dummy data is printed. In this way, when the image data included in the print request is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that dummy data in a printable format was included, so the image data included in the print request was in an unprintable format. No printing is performed to inform the operator using the colorant. Further, since the dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used during printing. Therefore, even if the print request includes image data in an unprintable format, it is possible to avoid printing that wastes the colorant.

  In the second printing apparatus of the present invention, the image data is data for printing a background image, and the print control means is configured to print the image data when the image data included in the print request is in a printable format. Creating a document in a markup language in which printing conditions for printing as a background image are set, controlling the printing means based on the document, and when the image data included in the print request is in a non-printable format A document in a markup language in which printing conditions for printing dummy data as a background image are set may be created, and the printing unit may be controlled based on the document. Since the markup language is a language in which various attribute information and the like are described in the document as predefined commands, the print control means can use the document data described in the markup language to print the document. It becomes possible to understand the contents of the data and control the printing means.

  In the first and second printing apparatuses of the present invention, the dummy data is formed with an allowable minimum number of pixels, and the print control unit enlarges the dummy data so as to have a preset image size. The printing unit may be controlled so that the enlarged image data is printed on the printing paper. In this way, the storage capacity of dummy data can be kept small.

The third print control method of the present invention provides:
A printing control method by computer software for controlling printing using dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image and printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant,
(A) inputting a print request that may include image data;
(B) When image data is included in the print request input in step (a), the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and the print request does not include image data. Sometimes it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Controlling the printing means not to use the colorant for the white portion of
Is included.

  In this print control method, when image data is included in the print request, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. On the other hand, when image data is not included in the print request, it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, and the printing unit is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Since it is a white solid image, no colorant is used when printing this dummy data. As described above, when image data is not included in the print request, it is assumed that dummy data is included, and therefore printing is performed to notify the operator that the image data is not included using the colorant. There is no. Further, since the dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used during printing. Therefore, even if image data is not included in the print request, it is possible to avoid printing that wastes the colorant. In the printing control method of the present invention, a step for realizing the function of any of the printing apparatuses described above may be added.

The fourth print control method of the present invention provides:
Print control method using computer software for controlling printing using dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image in a printable format and printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant Because
(A) inputting a print request that may include image data;
(B) When the image data included in the print request input in step (a) is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and is included in the print request. When the image data is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing is performed so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Controlling the printing means so as not to use the colorant for the white portion of each image data;
Is included.

  In this print control method, when the image data included in the print request is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. On the other hand, when the image data included in the print request is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that dummy data in a printable format is included in the print request, and the printing unit is configured to print the dummy data on the printing paper. Control. Since this dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used when the dummy data is printed. In this way, when the image data included in the print request is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that dummy data in a printable format was included, so the image data included in the print request was in an unprintable format. No printing is performed to inform the operator using the colorant. Further, since the dummy data is a white solid image, no colorant is used during printing. Therefore, even if the print request includes image data in an unprintable format, it is possible to avoid printing that wastes the colorant. In the printing control method of the present invention, a step for realizing the function of any of the printing apparatuses described above may be added.

  The print control program of the present invention is a program for causing one or a plurality of computers to execute each step of the above-described third or fourth print control method. This program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (for example, hard disk, ROM, FD, CD, DVD, etc.), or from a computer via a transmission medium (communication network such as the Internet or LAN). It may be distributed to another computer, or may be exchanged in any other form. If this program is executed by one computer, or if each computer is caused to execute by sharing each step, the same effects as those of the third or fourth printing control method described above can be obtained.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-function printer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing electrical connection of the multi-function printer 10, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of storage areas of a ROM of a controller. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction printer 10 of the present embodiment is fitted into the upper surface of the housing 12 and the lid cover 16 that is attached to the back of the upper surface of the housing 12 through hinges 14 and 14 so as to be opened and closed. A scanner unit 20 that scans an object placed on the glass plate 22 through the glass plate 22, and an inkjet method on a sheet P that is disposed below the scanner unit 20 and fed from the back of the housing 12. Inkjet printing unit 30 that prints out printed paper P from discharge port 18 provided on the front surface of housing 12 and card slot 40 into which a communication card, memory card, etc. can be inserted, and various information In addition to the display 52 to be displayed, an operation panel 50 provided with a button group 54 such as a power switch, a copy button, a scanner button, and a print button, Controller 60 that controls the entire multifunction printer 10 of and a (see FIG. 2).

  The scanner unit 20 is configured as a so-called flatbed type full-color scanner. As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner unit 20 includes a line image sensor 24 that optically reads the object M placed on the glass plate 22 through the glass plate 22, and a line image for reading the object M. And a moving mechanism 26 that scans the sensor 24. The line image sensor 24 is a well-known color image sensor that separates the reflected light after being emitted toward the object M into red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors to obtain scan data. is there.

  The ink jet printing unit 30 is configured as an ink jet full color printer. As shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet printing unit 30 is mounted on the carriage 32, and a carriage 32 that reciprocates along a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) by a carriage motor 32 a. Ink cartridges 34 individually containing ink of each color of cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta, and black, a print head 36 that applies pressure to each ink supplied from each ink cartridge 34, and paper P And a conveying roller 38. Here, the print head 36 employs a system in which a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element to deform the piezoelectric element to pressurize the ink and eject ink droplets from a nozzle (not shown). Etc.), and a method of pressurizing the ink with bubbles generated at that time may be employed.

  The card slot 40 is a connector for connecting the inserted card to the external communication interface 68. As shown in FIG. 2, an infrared communication card 42 is inserted into the card slot 40, but various other memory cards can also be inserted. The infrared communication card 42 is a module having an infrared communication function compliant with IrDA (Infrared Data Association), a memory 44 functioning as a data buffer, an infrared light receiving / emitting unit 46 functioning as a communication port for infrared communication, And a card control unit 48 that performs overall control of the card. Although not shown, the infrared light receiving and emitting unit 46 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Among these, the light emitting element outputs infrared rays composed of a bit signal obtained by pulse phase modulation of a carrier wave having a carrier frequency of, for example, 25 to 50 kHz by turning on and off the light emission. On the other hand, the light receiving element receives infrared rays composed of bit signals expressed in the same manner. Although not shown, the card control unit 48 includes a CPU, a ROM, and the like, and the CPU executes various operations based on a control program and an application in the ROM. For example, when the card control unit 48 receives various data from the outside via the infrared light receiving / emitting unit 46, the card control unit 48 temporarily stores the data in the memory and then transfers the data to the controller 60 of the multifunction printer 10.

  The operation panel 50 includes the display 52 and the button group 54 as described above, and is configured to exchange signals with the CPU 62 via the internal communication interface 67. The display 52 of the operation panel 50 can sequentially display operation screens prepared for each operation procedure of the portable character composition print mode in which image data and character data in the mobile phone 80 are used for printing. It is. The button group 54 has a cross key (up / down / left / right key) used to select one of a plurality of options displayed on the operation screen, to advance to the next screen, or to return to the previous screen. is doing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 60 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 62, and stores a ROM 64 storing various processing programs, various data, various tables, and the like, and temporarily stores scan data and print data. And communication with the mobile phone 80 via the internal communication interface 67 enabling communication with the operation panel 50 and the infrared communication card 42 inserted into the card slot 40. And an external communication interface 68 connected to each other via a bus 69 so that signals can be exchanged with each other. The controller 60 inputs various operation signals and various detection signals from the scanner unit 20 and the inkjet printing unit 30, and inputs image data and character data transmitted from the mobile phone 80 via the infrared communication card 42. An operation signal generated in response to the operation of the button group 54 of the operation panel 50 is input. Further, the controller 60 outputs a display control signal to the display 52 of the operation panel 50 and outputs various control signals to the scanner unit 20 and the inkjet printing unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ROM 64 of the controller 60 is provided with a character font set storage area 64a, a character code conversion table storage area 64b, a dummy data storage area 64c, and an XHTML document data storage area 64d. Among these, the character font set storage area 64a stores character font sets composed of character groups of the same typeface and the same size for each typeface and size. The character code conversion table storage area 64b stores a character code conversion table that represents the relationship between a character code (in this embodiment, a shift JIS code) and the corresponding character. In the dummy data storage area 64c, white solid image data is stored as dummy data. This dummy data is a PNG file that is a file format that can be printed by the multi-function printer 10, and in this embodiment, the file name is “blank.png”. The dummy data is composed of the minimum number of pixels that can be used in the multifunction printer 10 and specifically has a size of 8 × 8 pixels. The XHTML document data storage area 64d stores XHTML document data associated with a template that defines a layout used in the portable character composition print mode. Since a plurality of types of templates are created according to the background image and text layout, a plurality of types of XHTML document data are also created for each template. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a template. In the template 100 of FIG. 4, a background image 102 is arranged on the entire surface of the paper, and a text frame 104 (frame for entering text data) extending left and right is arranged on the lower side of the paper. XHTML (eXtensible Hyper Text Markup Language) is a redefinition of HTML as a specification according to XML, and since it is already well known, a detailed description is omitted, but an example of an XHTML document associated with a template is used. Conceptually, it is as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the XHTML document has a description of an XML declaration at the beginning, in which an XML version and a character code to be used are described. Next, there is a description of the declaration of DOCUTYPE, and the location of a file called DTD (Doucument Type Definition) that defines the grammatical structure of XHTML is described. Next, there is a description of the main body of XHTML, in this case, format information for laying out a document as a head element in an html element (for example, paper size, text frame position / height / width / font size, character Setting, background image position, and the like) are described, and the body (background image path name, text content entering the text frame, etc.) is described as the body element. The XHTML document stored in the XHTML document data storage area 64d has been described in advance except for the body (body element), and the body (body element) is described by an XHTML document creation processing routine described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 80 has an infrared communication function compliant with IrDA, and includes an operation button 81 such as a numeric keypad, a microphone 82 for collecting voice spoken by the earpiece, and a mouthpiece. A speaker 83 that outputs sound to the outside via a display, a display 84 that displays various screens (images), a CCD camera 85 that captures images, a transmission / reception unit 86 that is a data input / output interface of a cellular phone network, and various data temporarily A memory 87 that can be stored, an infrared light receiving and emitting unit 88 capable of infrared communication, and a mobile phone control unit 89 that controls the entire mobile phone. Here, in the memory 87, telephone book data sequentially created by operating the operation button 81, transmission mail data to be transmitted to or transmitted to another mobile phone, personal computer, etc. via the transmission / reception unit 86, Incoming mail data received from another mobile phone or personal computer via the transmission / reception unit 86, memo pad data created by operating the operation button 81, image data taken by the CCD camera 85, and the like are stored. The mobile phone control unit 89 executes various controls, and as one of them, when a transmission command is input from the operation button 81, the data selected from these data is transferred to the above-described infrared communication card. The data is transmitted to the multi-function printer 10 through an infrared light receiving / emitting unit 88 similar to the infrared light receiving / emitting unit 46.

  Next, a portable character composition printing program executed by the CPU 62 of the controller 60 among the operations of the multifunction printer 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. The portable character composition printing program is stored in the ROM 64. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the main routine of this program. In this main routine, the operator operates the button group 54 to display an operation screen (not shown) in the portable character composition print mode on the display 52 of the operation panel 50, and among the plurality of templates displayed on the operation screen. This is started when a desired template is selected. Here, for convenience of explanation, a case where the template shown in FIG. 4 is selected and both the background image and text data are acquired from the mobile phone 80 will be described.

  When this main routine is started, the CPU 62 first executes a data input process for inputting a background image and text data from the mobile phone 80 (step S100), and then, based on the input data, shown in FIG. An XHTML document creation process for completing the XHTML document is executed (step S200). Finally, a print process for printing on a sheet based on the created XHTML document is executed (step S300), and this main routine is terminated. Next, each routine of the data input process, the XHTML document creation process, and the print process will be individually described based on FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG.

  First, the data input processing routine will be described with reference to FIG. When the data input processing routine is started, the CPU 62 displays a menu screen on which the use / non-use of the image can be selected on the display 52 of the operation panel 50 (step S110), and then the selection operation on the menu screen is performed. Whether or not a menu for using an image or a menu for not using an image has been selected when a selection operation has been performed (step S120). Is determined (step S130). When the menu for using an image is selected, a dialog box with the content “Please send image data used for background image from mobile phone” is displayed on display 52 of operation panel 50 (step S140). It is determined whether or not reception of image data has been completed from the mobile phone 80 via the infrared communication card 42 and the card slot 40 (step S150). While receiving image data from the mobile phone 80, the CPU 62 accumulates the received image data sequentially in a reception buffer (not shown) provided in the RAM 66. If the reception of the image data from the mobile phone 80 is not completed in step S150, the process returns to step S150 again. On the other hand, when the reception of the image data from the mobile phone 80 is completed, the received image data is stored in the RAM 66 as image data to be used as a background image when performing the current printing (step S160). After this step S160 or when a menu not to use an image is selected in step S130, the CPU 62 displays a dialog box with the content “Please send text data to be entered into the text frame from the mobile phone” on the operation panel 50. Is displayed on the display 52 (step S170), and it is determined whether or not the reception of the text data from the mobile phone 80 via the infrared communication card 42 and the card slot 40 is completed (step S180). While receiving the text data from the mobile phone 80, the CPU 62 accumulates the received text data in a reception buffer (not shown) provided in the RAM 66. If the reception of text data from the mobile phone 80 is not completed in step S180, the process returns to step S170 again. On the other hand, when the reception of the text data from the mobile phone 80 is completed, the received text data is stored in the RAM 66 as text data to be used for the current printing (step S190), and this data input processing routine is terminated.

  Next, the XHTML document creation processing routine will be described with reference to FIG. When the XHTML document creation processing routine is started, the CPU 62 displays a print setting screen (not shown) on the operation panel 50 that can set the text color, print quality, number of prints, and the like and can issue a print request. This is displayed on the display 52 (step S205). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the setting of the text color or the like has been changed (step S210). When the setting is changed, the print setting screen after the setting change is displayed on the display 52 (step S215), and step S210 is again performed. Return to. On the other hand, when the setting has not been changed, it is determined whether or not a print request command has been issued on the print setting screen (step S220), and when the print request command has not been issued, the process returns to step S210 again. On the other hand, when a print request command is issued, it is determined whether or not a background image is stored in the reception buffer of the RAM 66 (step S225). If a background image is stored, the image data of the background image is stored in the multi-image. It is determined whether the file format is printable for the function printer 10 (step S230). When the image data of the background image is in a printable file format, the “background image path name” in the body (body element) of the XHTML document shown in FIG. 5 is used as the background image for the current printing. The path name of the image data is embedded (step S235). The path name is created including the drive name of the RAM 66 in which the image data is stored (here, S drive) and the image file name. On the other hand, when the background image is not stored in step S225, that is, when the image is not used in the current printing, or when the image data of the background image is not printable in step S230, the text of the XHTML document shown in FIG. The path name of the dummy data of the white solid image stored in the dummy data storage area 64c of the ROM 64 is embedded in the “path name of the background image” in (body element) (step S240). The path name is created including the drive name of the ROM 64 in which the image data is stored (here, R drive) and the image file name “blank.png”. Then, after inputting the path name in step S235 or S240, the text data used for printing this time is acquired from the reception buffer of the RAM 66 (step S245), and the first character code (here, the text data) is included. (Shift JIS code) is read (step S250), the character corresponding to the currently read shift JIS code is obtained from the character code conversion table (see FIG. 3) (step S255), and the character is the body of the XHTML document (body element). (Step S260). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not all the shift JIS codes included in the text data have been processed (step S265). If all the shift JIS codes have not been processed yet, the next shift JIS code included in the text data is determined. Reading (step S270), the processing after step S255 is executed again. On the other hand, when all the shift JIS codes included in the text data have been processed, this XHTML document creation processing routine is terminated.

  Here, a specific example of the completed XHTML document will be described. 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of an XHTML document and a printing result corresponding to the XHTML document. For example, when the file name of the image data of the background image transmitted from the mobile phone 80 is “woman.png” and the text data transmitted from the mobile phone 80 is “It seems to be hot today.” As shown in FIG. 10A, “<img src =“ S: woman.png ”/>” is embedded in the “background image path name” of the body (body element) of the XHTML document, and the “text frame” "The text content that goes into" includes "Today it will be hot." On the other hand, when the background image is not transmitted from the mobile phone 80 and the text data transmitted from the mobile phone 80 is “It is likely to be hot today”, as shown in FIG. 11A, the text of the XHTML document (Body element) “background image pathname” includes “<img src =” R: blank.png ”/>, and“ text content that goes into the text frame ”is likely to be hot today Is included.

  Next, the print processing routine will be described with reference to FIG. When the print processing routine is started, the XHTML document created this time is analyzed, and the bitmap image data is arranged so that the image and text input from the mobile phone 80 are arranged on the printing paper according to the layout defined in the XHTML document. Is created (step S310). Thereafter, the CPU 62 controls the ink jet printing unit 30 to perform printing on the printing paper based on the bitmap image data (step S320), and this routine is finished after the printing is finished.

  Here, a creation example and printing example of bitmap image data will be described. The background image of the bitmap image is created as follows. First, the CPU 62 reads out the image data based on the “background image path name” of the body (body element) of the XHTML document, and enlarges or reduces the read-out image data so as to fit the paper size defined in the XHTML document. . Here, when a background image for printing is transmitted, the image data for background image is read from the reception buffer of the RAM 66 and enlarged or reduced to fit the paper size, and the background image for printing is not transmitted. The dummy data of the white solid image is read from the dummy data storage area 64c of the ROM 64 and enlarged to fit the paper size. For the characters arranged in the text frame, a character font set corresponding to the font size defined in the XHTML document is selected from the character font set storage area 64a of the ROM 64, and the font data of the character font set is used. create. When printing based on the bitmap image data created in this way, the CPU 62 performs control so that the ink of the inkjet printing unit 30 is not used for the white portion, and the inkjet printing unit 30 for the other color portions. The printing is controlled using the inks of the respective colors as appropriate. For this reason, the ink of the inkjet printing unit 30 is not used for the portion of the bitmap image data in which the dummy data is enlarged to fit the paper size. FIG. 10B shows an example of a printing result when a printing background image has been transmitted. FIG. 11B shows a printing result when a printing background image has not been transmitted. An example is shown.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The infrared communication card 42 of the present embodiment corresponds to a print request input unit of the present invention, the ROM 64 corresponds to a dummy data storage unit, the inkjet printing unit 30 corresponds to a printing unit, and the CPU 62 corresponds to a printing control unit. In the present embodiment, an example of the printing apparatus of the present invention is clarified by describing the operation of the multifunction printer 10, and an example of the printing control method is also clarified.

  According to the multifunction printer 10 of the present embodiment described in detail above, when the print request from the mobile phone 80 does not include the image data of the background image, or when the image data included in the print request is in a format that cannot be printed. Is considered to include dummy data of a white solid image as background image data, and since the white portion does not use the ink of the inkjet printing unit 30, ink is wasted even in those cases. It is possible to avoid such printing (for example, printing only the border line of the print area, see FIG. 12B). In addition, XHTML, which is one of the markup languages, is a language in which various attribute information and the like are described in the document as predefined commands. Therefore, by using the XHTML document, the CPU 62 uses the document data. It is possible to control the inkjet printing unit 30 by understanding the contents of the above. Furthermore, since the dummy data is formed with the minimum allowable number of pixels, the storage capacity can be kept small.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the background image is not included in the print request or the image data of the background image is included but the file format is not printable, dummy data is included as the image data of the background image. The XHTML document is created by assuming that it has been included, but it may be considered that dummy data is included as image data of the background image only when the background image is not included in the print request. However, the image data of the background image is included in the print request, but it may be considered that the dummy data is included as the image data of the background image only when the file format is not printable.

  In the above-described embodiment, the multi-function printer 10 has shown an example in which the infrared communication card 42 is detachably inserted into the card slot 40 to communicate with the mobile phone 80. However, the multi-function printer 10 may incorporate an infrared communication function. In addition, text data to be printed is input using infrared communication, but wireless communication using a few GHz band such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used, or a USB connection or the like is used. Wired communication may be used.

  In the embodiment described above, the text data to be printed is received from the mobile phone 80. However, for example, text data to be printed is received from a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, or the like. May be.

  In the embodiment described above, an example in which the present invention is applied to the multi-function printer 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the apparatus has a printing function. For example, an inkjet printer that does not include the scanner unit 20 The present invention may be applied to a facsimile machine. The printing method is not limited to the ink jet method, and may be an electrophotographic method (laser printer or the like) or a thermal transfer method.

The perspective view of a multifunction printer. The block diagram showing the electrical connection of a multifunction printer. Explanatory drawing showing each storage area of ROM of a controller. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of a template. The conceptual diagram which shows an example of the XHTML document matched with the template. The flowchart of the main routine of portable character synthetic printing. The flowchart of a data input processing routine. The flowchart of a XHTML document creation process routine. 6 is a flowchart of a print processing routine. Explanatory drawing of the text content of a XHTML document, and its printing result. Explanatory drawing of the text content of a XHTML document, and its printing result. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of a printing result.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Multifunction printer, 12 Housing | casing, 14 Hinge, 16 Cover cover, 18 Outlet, 20 Scanner part, 22 Glass plate, 24 Line image sensor, 26 Moving mechanism, 30 Inkjet printing part, 32 Carriage, 32a Carriage motor, 34 Ink cartridge, 36 Print head, 38 Transport roller, 40 Card slot, 42 Infrared communication card, 44 Memory, 46 Infrared light emitting / receiving unit, 48 Card control unit, 50 Operation panel, 52 Display, 54 Button group, 60 Controller, 62 CPU 64 ROM, 64a character font set storage area, 64b character code conversion table storage area, 64c dummy data storage area, 64d XHTML document data storage area, 66 RAM, 67 internal communication interface Ace, 68 External communication interface, 69 bus, 80 mobile phone, 81 operation button, 82 microphone, 83 speaker, 84 display, 85 CCD camera, 86 transmission / reception unit, 87 memory, 88 infrared light emitting / receiving unit, 89 mobile phone control unit, 100 templates, 102 background images, 104 text frames.

Claims (8)

A print request input means for inputting a print request that may include image data;
Dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image;
Printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant;
When the image data is included in the print request, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper. When the image data is not included in the print request, the dummy data is included in the print request. The dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper, and the colorant is added to the white portion of each image data. Printing control means for controlling the printing means not to use;
Printing device with The image data is data for printing a background image,
When the print request includes image data, the print control unit creates a document in a markup language in which a print condition for printing the image data as a background image is set, and uses the print unit based on the document. And when the print request does not include image data, create a document in a markup language in which printing conditions for printing the dummy data as a background image are set, and control the printing unit based on the document To
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. A print request input means for inputting a print request including image data;
Dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image in a printable format;
Printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant;
When the image data included in the print request is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and when the image data included in the print request is in a non-printable format, Assuming that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Print control means for controlling the printing means so as not to use the colorant for the white portion;
Printing device with The image data is data for printing a background image,
When the image data included in the print request is in a printable format, the print control unit creates a document in a markup language in which printing conditions for printing the image data as a background image are set, and based on the document And controlling the printing means to create a document in a markup language in which printing conditions for printing the dummy data as a background image are set when the image data included in the print request is in a non-printable format. Controlling the printing means based on:
The printing apparatus according to claim 3. The dummy data is formed with the minimum number of pixels allowed,
The print control means enlarges the dummy data so as to have a preset image size, and controls the printing means so that the enlarged image data is printed on the printing paper.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. A printing control method by computer software for controlling printing using dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image and printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant,
(A) inputting a print request that may include image data;
(B) When image data is included in the print request input in step (a), the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and the print request does not include image data. Sometimes it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing means is controlled so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Controlling the printing means not to use the colorant for the white portion of
A printing control method. Print control method using computer software for controlling printing using dummy data storage means for storing dummy data of a white solid image in a printable format and printing means for printing on printing paper using a colorant Because
(A) inputting a print request that may include image data;
(B) When the image data included in the print request input in step (a) is in a printable format, the printing unit is controlled so that the image data is printed on the printing paper, and is included in the print request. When the image data is in an unprintable format, it is assumed that the dummy data is included in the print request, the dummy data is read from the dummy data storage means, and the printing is performed so that the dummy data is printed on the printing paper. Controlling the printing means so as not to use the colorant for the white portion of each image data;
A printing control method.   A print control program for causing one or more computers to realize each step of the print control method according to claim 6 or 7.

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