JP2007261106A - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make printing as intended. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes: an identifying information recording section 26 where identifying information for identifying data is recorded; a data recording section where data is recorded so as to correspond to the identifying information; a comparison processing means for comparing data identifying information sent from an upper apparatus with the identifying information recorded in the identifying information recording section 26; and an image forming section for forming an image from result of the comparison by the comparison processing means, and on the data recorded in the data recording section. Since the data identifying information sent from the upper apparatus is compared with the identifying information recorded in the identifying information recording section 26, and the image is formed from the result of the comparison, and on the data recorded in the data recording section, the printing as intended is made even if the data is updated by another operator. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine, for example, an image forming system formed by connecting a printer to a host device, print data is transmitted from the host device to the printer. The printer forms an image in accordance with the print data, that is, after printing, records the print data in a memory such as a hard disk without deleting the print data, and reuses the recorded print data for printing. Can be done.

In this case, the printer does not need to receive print data from the host device, and when information representing the recorded contents is received from the host device, the corresponding print data is read from the memory and printed according to the print data. Accordingly, the host apparatus does not need to newly transmit print data, and therefore the transmission time of print data from the host apparatus to the printer can be shortened (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-227302

  However, in the conventional image forming system, since the print data recorded in the memory is updated by a plurality of operators, a print instruction is issued without knowing that it has been updated by another operator. When sent, it cannot print as intended.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of solving the problems of the conventional image forming system and performing printing as intended.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, an identification information recording unit in which identification information for identifying data is recorded, a data recording unit in which data is recorded in association with the identification information, and a host device Based on the comparison processing means for comparing the identification information of the transmitted data with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording section, the comparison result by the comparison processing means, and the data recorded in the data recording section An image forming unit for forming an image.

  According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an identification information recording unit in which identification information for identifying data is recorded, a data recording unit in which data is recorded in association with the identification information, and a host device. Based on the comparison processing means for comparing the identification information of the transmitted data with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording section, the comparison result by the comparison processing means, and the data recorded in the data recording section An image forming unit for forming an image.

  In this case, the identification information of the data transmitted from the host device is compared with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit, and an image is formed based on the comparison result and the data recorded in the data recording unit. Therefore, even when updated by another operator, it is possible to perform printing as intended.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, a printer is used as the image forming apparatus, and an image forming system formed by connecting the host apparatus and the printer will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the host device Psi (i = 1, 2,...) And the printer 20 are connected via the network 11.

  The printer 20 discriminates identification information for identifying the data received by the transmission / reception unit 21 and the transmission / reception unit 21 for transmitting and receiving various types of data to and from the host device Psi via the network 11. When the identification information determination unit 22 determines that the data received by the transmission / reception unit 21 is print data, the data temporarily records the print data in association with the identification information. The temporary recording unit 25 as a recording unit, the identification information recording unit 26 that records identification information corresponding to already printed data, and the data received by the transmission / reception unit 21 are determined to be identification information by the identification information determination unit 22. If the received identification information is compared with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, is the same data present? If the same data exists, the comparison unit 23 as a comparison processing unit for determining which data is the latest data, the control unit 24 for controlling the entire printer 20, the print data In this embodiment, the image processing unit 27 for performing rasterization processing and the printing unit 28 as an image forming unit for performing printing according to the image data subjected to the rasterization processing are provided.

  The temporary recording unit 25 includes an image unprocessed data unit 25a that records print data that has not undergone rasterization processing, and an image processed data unit 25b that records print data that has undergone rasterization processing. Accordingly, when the data received by the transmission / reception unit 21 is determined to be print data by the identification information determination unit 22, the received data is recorded in the image unprocessed data unit 25a.

  In addition, the control unit 24 transmits / receives data by the transmission / reception unit 21, notifies the identification information determination unit 22 of data received by the transmission / reception unit 21, and whether the information notified from the transmission / reception unit 21 is identification information. Determination in the identification information determination unit 22 as to whether it is print data, or recording of data received by the transmission / reception unit 21 in the image unprocessed data unit 25a when the identification information determination unit 22 determines that the data is print data The comparison unit 23 compares the identification information determined by the identification information determination unit 22 with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, and print data to the host device Psi via the transmission / reception unit 21. Transmission request, recording of the identification information identified by the identification information determination unit 22 in the identification information recording unit 26, the image unprocessed data unit 2 transmission of the data recorded in a to the image processing unit 27, recording of the image data rasterized in the image processing unit 27 to the image processed data unit 25b, and image rasterized in the image processing unit 27 Transmission of data to the printing unit 28 is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a printing system of the host device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, Psi is a host device. In the host device Psi, print data creation processing means (not shown) of the printer driver 32 normally performs print data creation processing to create print data according to the application 31, and the print data To the spooler. In the present embodiment, a special spooler called a data division spooler 33 is used as the spooler. The transmission information recording processing unit (not shown) of the data division spooler 33 performs transmission information recording processing to divide the original print data into identification information for identifying the print data and the print data itself, as well as the print data. A header number is assigned to each and is recorded in the memory data division table Tb1 set in the internal memory 34 in the host device Psi.

  A transmission processing unit (not shown) of the data division spooler 33 performs transmission processing and transmits only the identification information to the printer 20 (FIG. 2) via the network 11.

  Further, when a transmission request for print data designated by the header number is transmitted from the printer 20, the transmission processing means specifies and reads out the print data recorded in the internal memory 34 by the header number, and the printer 20 Send to. Accordingly, an erasing processing unit (not shown) of the data division spooler 33 performs an erasing process and erases the transmitted print data from the internal memory 34.

  Next, the contents of the identification information will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the format of identification information in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the identification information includes the computer name and MAC address, the file name of the printing source data, and the printing source data for specifying the host device Psi (FIG. 3) in order to identify the printing data. The creation date and time, the print setting information identification number for identifying the print setting information set in creating the print data, and the header number for the data division spooler 33 to identify the print data are included.

  As examples of identification information, “HostXX1” is the computer name assigned to the device by the operator, “00 85 83 25 44 AA” is the unique MAC address of the device, and “Demonstration 1” is the file name of the printing source data. “2005 01 12 10 14 40” is the creation date and time of the printing source data (January 12, 2005, 10:14:40), “# 8” is, for example, [paper size setting] , Resolution Setting, N-Up Setting] is set to [A5 size paper, 600 × 1200 [dpi], 4], and “# 3” is a header number assigned by the data division spooler 33. , The identification information is 3, and the print data is 3.

  Next, the contents of the print setting information specified by the print setting information identification number will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the print setting information identification number table in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, Tb2 is a print setting information identification number table set in the internal memory 34 of the host device Psi (FIG. 3), and printing is performed in correspondence with the print setting information identification number in the print setting information identification number table Tb2. Setting information is recorded. In the host apparatus Psi, a print setting information setting processing unit (not shown) of the printer driver 32 performs a print setting information setting process to set the print setting information. The print setting information includes a combination of print settings such as a paper size setting, a print resolution setting, and an N-Up setting for the paper used for printing. For example, the print setting information of the print setting information identification number # 8 has a paper size setting of A4 size paper, a print resolution setting of 600 × 1200 [dpi], and an N-Up setting of 4. Represents.

  By the way, normally, even if rasterizing processing is performed on data that matches the file name of the printing source data, the creation date and time of the printing source data, and the file size, the printing results are not the same. This is because, as described above, the print setting information is included in the data transmitted from the host device Psi, and the print setting information may be different.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the print setting information is used to determine whether the data transmitted from the host device Psi and the data recorded in the temporary recording unit 25 (FIG. 1) are exactly the same data. An identification number is used to determine whether or not the two data match based on the print setting information identification number.

  For this purpose, the print setting information identification number acquisition processing unit (not shown) of the printer driver 32 performs print setting information identification number acquisition processing and refers to the print setting information identification number table Tb2 when creating print data. The print setting information identification number corresponding to the information is read out, and the print data creation processing means records the print setting information identification number in the print data as header information.

  On the other hand, the print setting information identification number for each print data is also assigned to the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit 26 (FIG. 1).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a data storage format in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the identification information recording unit 26 (FIG. 1) records the file name of the printing source data, the creation date and time of the printing source data, and the printing setting information identification number.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system having the above configuration will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer in the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a transmission form of identification information in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the transmission form of the identification information in this embodiment, and print data.

  First, in the printer 20 (FIG. 1), when a reception processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs reception processing and receives data by the transmission / reception unit 21, a command determination (not shown) as an update request determination processing unit of the control unit 24 is performed. The processing means performs a command determination process as an update request determination process, and determines whether an update request is included in the identification information, that is, whether the update command is an update request for updating data. For example, if it is an update request, it is determined whether “1” is present in the bit, and if it is not an update request, “0” is present in the bit. When the bit has “1”, it is determined that the request is an update request, and when the bit has “0”, it is determined that the request is not an update request.

  When the update command is an update request, identification information recording processing means (not shown) as first recording processing means of the control unit 24 performs identification information recording processing as first recording processing, and identifies received data. Among the information, the creation date and time and the print setting information identification number are recorded in the identification information recording unit 26. Next, the identification information recording processing unit includes setting information such as a print setting information identification number, a paper size setting, a print resolution setting, and an N-Up setting among the received data identification information. Is recorded as a setting information index in a print setting information identification number table set in an internal memory (not shown). For this purpose, a print setting information identification number table having the same contents as the print setting information identification number table Tb2 (FIG. 5) is set in the internal memory of the control unit 24. In addition, a data recording processing unit (not shown) as a second recording processing unit of the control unit 24 performs a data recording process as a second recording process, and print data is processed into an image unprocessed data unit 25a of the temporary recording unit 25. To record.

  On the other hand, when the update command is not an update request, the identification information discrimination processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs the identification information discrimination process, notifies the received data to the identification information discrimination unit 22, and the received data is shown in FIG. Whether it is only the identification information as shown or the identification information and print data as shown in FIG. 9 is determined. 8 and 9, the identification number represents a print setting information identification number.

  When the received data is only the identification information, the first comparison processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs the first comparison processing, and the identification information determined by the identification information determination unit 22 by the comparison unit 23. And the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit 26 according to the data storage format shown in FIG. 6 based on the file name of the printing source data and the print setting information identification number. It is determined whether it is recorded in the recording unit 26.

  If the same identification information is not recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, a print data request processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs a print data request process, and the identification information determined by the identification information determination unit 22 is displayed. Based on this, the computer name and MAC address information of the host device Psi (FIG. 3) is read, the host device Psi is specified by the computer name and MAC address information, and the header number information is notified to the host device Psi via the transmission / reception unit 21. At the same time, a print data transmission request is notified.

  At this time, by including the header number information in the information notified to the host apparatus Psi, the print data transmission processing means in the host apparatus Psi can specify the print data to be transmitted to the printer 20.

  When the same identification information is recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, the second comparison processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs the second comparison process, and the comparison unit 23 performs the identification information determination unit 22. Are compared with the identification information already recorded in the identification information recording unit 26 based on the print setting information identification number, the paper size setting, the print resolution setting, and the N-Up setting. It is determined whether the print setting information is recorded in the identification information recording unit 26.

  If the same print setting information is not recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, the print data request processing means determines the computer name and MAC of the host device Psi based on the identification information determined by the identification information determination unit 22. The address information is read, the host device Psi is specified by the computer name and the MAC address information, the header number information is notified to the host device Psi via the transmission / reception unit 21, and the print data transmission request is notified.

  When the same print setting information is recorded in the identification information recording unit 26, the data acquisition processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs the data acquisition process, and the image already processed data unit 25b stores the image with the same print setting. It is determined whether or not there is processed data. If there is data that has been subjected to image processing with the same print settings in the image processed data portion 25b, the corresponding processed ( When the image processed data is read out and sent to the printing unit 28, and the image processed data unit 25b has no data subjected to image processing with the same print settings, a corresponding unprocessed data unit 25a Processing data (image processing is not performed) is read and sent to the printing unit 28.

  Then, when corresponding processed data is read from the image processed data portion 25b and sent to the printing unit 28, an image forming processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 24 performs image forming processing, and the printing unit 28 Thus, printing is performed according to the data sent from the temporary recording unit 25.

  On the other hand, when the corresponding unprocessed data is read from the image unprocessed data section 25a and sent to the printing section 28, the image processing means (not shown) of the control section 24 performs image processing, and the image unprocessed data section The data read from 25a is rasterized by the image processing unit 27, and the data subjected to the rasterizing process is recorded in the image processed data unit 25b in association with the print setting information identification number.

  The rasterization process is performed based on the print setting information (paper size setting, print resolution setting, N-Up setting, etc.) stored in the print setting information identification number table. Accordingly, when the print setting information is different, the rasterization process is performed again.

  On the other hand, when the received data is the identification information and the print data, the identification information recording processing unit records the creation date and the print setting information identification number in the identification information recording unit 26 among the identification information of the received data. Next, the identification information recording processing means stores the print setting information identification number, the paper size setting, the print resolution setting, the N-Up setting, etc., among the received data identification information, in the internal memory of the control unit 24. Is recorded in the print setting information identification number table.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the data transmitted from the host device Psi to the printer 20 is only the identification information, it is determined whether or not the same identification information is recorded in the identification information recording unit 26. When the identification information is recorded, it is determined whether or not the same print setting information is recorded in the identification information recording unit 26. When the same print setting information is recorded, the data recorded in the temporary recording unit 25 is recorded. Printing is performed using. Therefore, the host apparatus Psi does not need to newly transmit print data, and therefore the print data transmission time from the host apparatus Psi to the printer 20 can be shortened.

  In addition, when the update command is an update request, identification information is newly added to the print data and transmitted to the printer 20. Therefore, when the data recorded in the temporary recording unit 25 is updated, the update data is updated. Data remains. Therefore, even if a print instruction is transmitted without knowing that it has been updated by another operator, printing can be performed according to the previous data recorded in the temporary recording unit 25. As a result, it is possible to perform printing as intended.

  In the present embodiment, the updated print data is recorded as it is in the image unprocessed data portion 25a, but may be recorded in the image already processed data portion 25b by performing rasterization processing. it can. When the capacity of the temporary recording unit 25 is exhausted, new data can be recorded even when the memory is full by deleting the oldest data sequentially.

Next, a flowchart will be described.
Step S1: Receive data.
Step S2: Determine whether the update command is an update request. If the update command is an update request, the process proceeds to step S14, and if not, the process proceeds to step S3.
Step S3: It is determined whether the received data is only identification information. If the received data is only the identification information, the process proceeds to step S4. If the received data is not only the identification information (identification information and print data), the process proceeds to step S10.
Step S4: Determine whether the same identification information is recorded. If the same identification information is recorded, the process proceeds to step S5. If not, the process proceeds to step S7.
Step S5: It is determined whether or not the same print setting information is recorded. If the same print setting information is recorded, the process proceeds to step S6. If not, the process proceeds to step S7.
Step S6: It is determined whether or not there is data in the image processed data portion 25b. If there is data in the image processed data portion 25b, the process proceeds to step S8, and if there is no data, the process proceeds to step S9.
Step S7: The print data transmission request is notified to the host apparatus Psi, and the process is terminated.
Step S8: Read the corresponding data from the image processed data part 25b, and go to Step S17.
Step S9: Read the corresponding data from the image unprocessed data portion 25a.
Step S10: Record in the identification information recording unit 26.
Step S11: Record in the print setting information identification number table.
Step S12 Rasterize processing is performed.
Step S13: Record the image in the processed image data portion 25b, and proceed to Step S17.
Step S14: Recorded in the identification information recording unit 26.
Step S15: Record in the print setting information identification number table.
Step S16: Recording in the image unprocessed data portion 25a, and the process is terminated.
Step S17 Print processing is performed and the processing is terminated.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the structure of the printer in the present embodiment is the same as that of the printer 20 (FIG. 1) in the first embodiment, description will be made with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, when the identification information determined by the identification information determination unit 22 is older than the identification information of the identification information recording unit 26, the print data corresponding to the identification information of the identification information recording unit 26 has not been printed. It is confirmed whether it is stored in either the processing data part 25a or the image processed data part 25b. If stored in the image processed data portion 25 b, the rasterized print data corresponding to the information in the identification information recording unit 26 is read from the image processed data portion 25 b and printed via the printing unit 28. Is done.

  If the image data is stored in the unprocessed image portion 25a, print data that has not undergone rasterization processing corresponding to information in the identification information recording portion 26 is notified to the image processing portion 27, and after rasterization processing has been performed. After the data is recorded in the image processed data portion 25 b and the corresponding identification information is recorded in the identification information recording portion 26, printing is performed via the printing portion 28.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the received data is identification information and print data, the received data is temporarily recorded in the image unprocessed data portion 25a, notified to the image processing portion 27, and subjected to rasterization processing. After data is recorded in the image processed data portion 25 b and corresponding identification information is recorded in the identification information recording portion 26, printing is performed via the printing portion 28.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the latest rasterized data is accumulated and updated and recorded in the temporary recording unit 25 at any time, thereby improving the hit rate of received data that can be formed without performing rasterization processing. Therefore, printing throughput can be improved.

  In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the printer 20 is used as the image forming apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is a record that can store print data such as an MFP and a copying apparatus. The present invention can be applied to a printing apparatus in which a part exists.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously based on the meaning of this invention, and does not exclude them from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the printing system of the high-order apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the format of the identification information in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a format of the printing setting information identification number table in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the data storage format in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the transmission form of the identification information in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the transmission form of the identification information in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and print data.

Explanation of symbols

11 Network 20 Printer 23 Comparison Unit 24 Control Unit 25 Temporary Recording Unit 26 Identification Information Recording Unit 28 Printing Unit 33 Data Division Spoolers Ps1 to Ps3, Psi Host Device

Claims (4)

(A) an identification information recording unit in which identification information for identifying data is recorded;
(B) a data recording unit in which data is recorded in association with the identification information;
(C) comparison processing means for comparing the identification information of the data transmitted from the host device with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit;
(D) An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image based on a comparison result by the comparison processing unit and data recorded in the data recording unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification information includes a setting information index for identifying setting information regarding image formation. (A) update request determination processing means for determining whether or not an update request for updating data is included in the identification information of data transmitted from the host device;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a recording processing unit that records the identification information when the identification information includes an update request. In an image forming system having a host device, an image forming device, and a network connecting the host device and the image forming device,
(A) a transmission processing unit that is disposed in the host device and transmits identification information for identifying data to the image forming device;
(B) an identification information recording unit disposed in the image forming apparatus and having identification information recorded thereon;
(C) a data recording unit disposed in the image forming apparatus and having data recorded in association with the identification information;
(D) comparison processing means that is arranged in the image forming apparatus and compares the identification information of the data transmitted from the host apparatus with the identification information recorded in the identification information recording unit;
(E) an image forming unit disposed in the image forming apparatus and configured to form an image based on data recorded in the recording unit based on a comparison result by the comparison processing unit; Forming system.

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