JP2007301864A - Printer, printing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer, a printing method and the program which neither limits the range of image formation, nor makes an unjust duplication occur, nor needs to perform a scanning for analyzing the printing information, even when adding printing information to a printing form. <P>SOLUTION: If a printing instruction section receives a printing instruction, a paper stored in a paper tray is conveyed to a printing information acquisition section, and the printing information acquisition section acquires the printing information from a magnetic substance tag embedded in the paper, and a printing information analysis section analyzes the printing information and detects a printing mode, and then a printing information notice section reports the printing information. When the execution of a printing processing is permitted, a printing mode setting section establishes the printing mode, and the paper is conveyed to a printing processing section, and then the printing processing section makes the printing processing to the paper conveyed from the printing information acquisition section according to the established printing mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, method, and program, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus, method, and program for setting various print settings.

  Recent printing apparatuses have many print settings such as double-sided printing, Nup printing, and monochrome printing, and the user has to perform complicated operations to set the print settings when printing a document. Therefore, information indicating the print settings is added to the print paper, and the information is analyzed by the printing apparatus to automatically set the print settings, thereby reducing the burden on the user's operation.

  For example, when performing double-sided printing, a barcode indicating the management number of the document on the back side is printed at the same time as printing on the front side, and the barcode is read to call the document with the corresponding management number and print it on the back side. There is an apparatus (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, for example, there is a recording paper and a printing apparatus that set a printing mode by entering an identification mark in a mark entry field added to the recording paper (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-7-228209 JP 2001-205932 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 and the technique described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to add a barcode or an identification mark to a predetermined location on the printing paper, and an image is formed at the specific location. There is a problem that the range of image formation is limited. Furthermore, since information is easily analyzed with barcodes and identification marks, there is a possibility that unauthorized duplication may occur. Furthermore, since it is necessary to scan the printing paper once in order to acquire the printing information set on the printing paper, the printing time becomes long.

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention does not limit the range of image formation even if print information is added to print paper, and does not cause unauthorized duplication. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, method, and program that do not have a problem.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 embeds a magnetic tag embedded with a magnetic tag storing printing information related to printing processing within a certain distance. A print information acquisition unit that acquires the print information from the magnetic tag, and a print processing unit that performs a print process on the paper according to the print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit. .

  The invention of claim 2 further comprises sheet storage means for storing the sheet in the invention of claim 1, wherein the print information acquisition means is provided with the print information acquisition means, and the sheet storage means The installed print information acquisition unit acquires the print information from a magnetic tag embedded in a sheet stored in the sheet storage unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the sheet storage means includes at least two.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the print information notifying unit for notifying the print information acquired by the print information acquiring unit is further provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, the print information notifying unit notifies the print information to a terminal that instructs the print processing.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the print information acquisition means is embedded in the paper when the magnetic material tag storing the print information related to the print processing is embedded within a certain distance. The printing method is characterized in that the printing information is acquired from the magnetic tag, and the printing processing means performs printing processing on the paper according to the printing information acquired by the printing information acquisition means.

  The invention of claim 7 is the invention of claim 6, wherein the print information acquisition means is installed in a paper storage means for storing the paper, and the print information acquisition means installed in the paper storage means is The printing information is obtained from a magnetic tag embedded in a paper stored in a paper storage means.

  The invention of claim 8 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 7, at least two sheet storage means are provided.

  The invention of claim 9 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 6 or 7, the print information notification means notifies the print information acquired by the print information acquisition means.

  According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in the ninth aspect of the invention, the print information notification means notifies the print information to a terminal that instructs the print processing.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, when a paper in which a magnetic tag storing printing information relating to printing processing is embedded is within a certain distance, the magnetic tag embedded in the paper is A process for acquiring the print information via a sensor and a process for performing a print process on the paper according to the acquired print information are operated by the printing apparatus.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the eleventh aspect, the sensor is installed in a paper tray for storing the paper, and the printing is performed from the magnetic tag embedded in the paper stored in the paper storage tray. The printing apparatus is caused to operate a process for acquiring information.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the twelfth aspect of the present invention, a process for notifying print information acquired by the sensor is caused to operate in the printing apparatus.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the printing apparatus is caused to operate a process for notifying the terminal that instructs the print process of the print information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to embed print information for designating a print mode or the like at an arbitrary place on a sheet, and to produce an image at a place where the print information is embedded.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to save the trouble of setting print information when a print instruction is given.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform printing in a desired print mode even in a situation where print information cannot be set when a print instruction is given by a unique application of a mobile terminal.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform printing in the non-billing mode at the time of execution of test printing at the time of installation or maintenance, and there is an effect that clearing processing after test printing becomes unnecessary.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is not necessary to set a printer driver default value in each client for printing in a printing mode determined when the printing apparatus is installed.

  Embodiments of a printing apparatus, method, and program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus 101 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printing apparatus 101 includes a paper tray 2, a UI [User Interface] 3, a print instruction unit 4, a print information acquisition unit 5, a print information analysis unit 6, a print information notification unit 7, and a print mode setting unit. 8. A print processing unit 9 is provided. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which one paper tray 2 is provided, the present invention can be applied even when a plurality of paper trays 2 exist.

  Note that the printing apparatus 101 can be realized by a general-purpose printer in terms of hardware, and the processing functions of each component are exhibited by executing a printing program according to the present invention on the printer. Each component can also be configured by hardware construction using an IC or the like.

  A sheet 10 used in the printing apparatus 101 according to the present invention is embedded with a magnetic tag 11 such as a magnetic wire capable of storing information of a plurality of bits, and the magnetic tag 11 has a duplex printing mode, a Nup printing mode, and a duplex printing mode. Stored is print information for designating a print prohibit mode, a monochrome print mode, a non-billing mode, and the like. Since the magnetic tag 11 can read information from a distance within a certain range, there is no restriction on the positional configuration for reading information.

  The UI 3 includes a hard key or the like for inputting input items such as a print instruction, and a display or the like for displaying print information added to the sheet. Note that a touch panel method having both input and display functions may be applied, and display information is output to an information processing apparatus connected via a network, and a print instruction or the like input from the information processing apparatus is input. You may comprise so that the information regarding a matter may be input.

  The print instruction unit 4 performs processing for receiving a print instruction input from the UI 3.

  The print information acquisition unit 5 is a sensor or the like that acquires print information stored in the magnetic tag 11, and is installed in the transport path from the paper tray 2, and when the transported paper 10 approaches within a certain distance, A process of acquiring print information from the magnetic tag 11 embedded in the paper 10 is performed. Since the magnetic tag 11 can read information from within a certain distance, there is no restriction on the positional configuration of the print information acquisition unit 5.

  The print information analysis unit 6 analyzes the print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit 5 and detects the print mode designated for the paper.

  The print information notification unit 7 performs processing (specifically, displayed on the UI) for notifying the print information analyzed by the print information analysis unit 6.

  The print mode setting unit 8 performs processing for setting the print mode detected by the print information analysis unit 6.

  The print processing unit 9 executes print processing on the paper conveyed from the print information acquisition unit 5 according to the print mode set by the print mode setting unit 8.

  Next, the procedure of the printing process performed by the printing apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the print instruction unit accepts the print instruction (step S201), the paper stored in the paper tray is conveyed to the print information acquisition unit (step S202), and the print information acquisition unit is embedded in the paper conveyed from the paper tray. The print information is acquired from the magnetic tag (step S203), the print information analysis unit analyzes the acquired print information to detect the print mode (step S204), and the print information notification unit analyzes the print information. Is displayed (displayed on the UI) (step S205).

  If the user who has confirmed the notification of the print information permits the execution of the printing process (YES in step S206), the process proceeds to step S207, and if the user does not permit the execution of the printing process (NO in step S206). ), The procedure of the printing process is terminated. In addition, after notifying the print information, a procedure for executing the print processing without asking for the user's permission may be used (that is, through step S206).

  If the user who has confirmed the print information notification permits the execution of the print process (YES in step S206), the print mode setting unit sets the detected print mode (step S207), and transports the paper to the print processing unit. (Step S208), the print processing unit executes the print process on the paper conveyed from the print information acquisition unit in accordance with the set print mode (Step S209), and ends the procedure of the print process.

  Next, a specific example of the printing process performed by the printing apparatus 101 will be described.

(Specific example 1)
When the double-sided printing mode is stored in the magnetic tag 11 of the paper 10, the double-sided printing mode of the paper 10 is acquired by the print information acquisition unit 5, the double-sided printing mode is set by the print mode setting unit 8, and the print processing unit Since the double-sided printing is executed in step 9, the trouble of setting the double-sided printing mode in the print instruction unit 4 can be saved, and the paper 10 can be saved easily.

(Specific example 2)
When the 2up print mode is stored in the magnetic tag 11 of the paper 10, the print information acquisition unit 5 acquires the 2up print mode of the paper 10, the print mode setting unit 8 sets the 2up print mode, and the print processing unit Since double-sided printing is executed at 9, the trouble of setting the 2up print mode in the print instruction unit 4 can be saved and the paper 10 can be saved easily.

(Specific example 3)
When the double-sided printing prohibition mode is stored in the magnetic tag 11 of the paper 10, the double-sided printing prohibition mode of the paper 10 is acquired by the print information acquisition unit 5, the double-sided printing prohibition mode is set by the print mode setting unit 8, Since the execution of double-sided printing in the print processing unit 9 is prohibited, it is possible to easily prevent an erroneous operation that erroneously executes double-sided printing when using the backing paper.

(Specific example 4)
When a monochrome print mode is stored in the magnetic tag 11 of the paper 10, the print information acquisition unit 5 acquires the monochrome print mode of the paper, the print mode setting unit 8 sets the monochrome print mode, and the print processing unit 9 Since monochrome printing is executed in this way, it is possible to easily prevent an erroneous operation that erroneously executes color printing, and it is also possible to easily prevent an increase in cost due to color billing.

(Specific example 5)
When the non-chargeable print mode is stored in the magnetic tag 11 of the paper 10, the non-chargeable print mode of the paper is acquired by the print information acquisition unit 5, the non-chargeable print mode is set by the print mode setting unit 8, and printing is performed. Since the non-billing process in which the billing meter does not count up is executed in the processing unit 9, it is possible to easily prevent an erroneous operation that mistakenly counts up the billing meter.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus 102 according to the present invention.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the printing apparatus 102 includes two paper trays (paper tray A 21 and paper tray B 22), a UI [User Interface] 3, a print instruction unit 4, and a print information acquisition unit (print information acquisition of the paper tray A). Unit 51, print information acquisition unit 52 of paper tray B), print information analysis unit 6, print information notification unit 7, print mode setting unit 8, and print processing unit 9. Although FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which two paper trays 21 and 22 are provided, the number of paper trays 21 and 22 may be singular or three or more.

  Note that the printing apparatus 102 can be realized by a general-purpose printer in terms of hardware, and the processing functions of each component are exhibited by executing a printing program according to the present invention on the printer. Each component can also be configured by hardware construction using an IC or the like.

  Magnetic sheets 111 and 112 such as a magnetic wire capable of storing information of a plurality of bits are embedded in sheets 1001 and 1002 used in the printing apparatus 102 according to the present invention, and a duplex printing mode is embedded in the magnetic tags 111 and 112. , Nup printing mode, duplex printing prohibition mode, monochrome printing mode, non-billing mode, and the like are stored. Since the magnetic tags 111 and 112 can read information from within a certain distance, there is no restriction on the positional configuration for reading information.

  The UI 3 includes a hard key or the like for inputting input items such as a print instruction, and a display or the like for displaying print information added to the sheet. Note that a touch panel system having both input and display functions may be applied.

  The print instruction unit 4 performs processing for receiving a print instruction input from the UI 3.

  The print information acquisition units 51 and 52 are sensors or the like that acquire print information stored in the magnetic tags 111 and 112. The print information acquisition units 51 and 52 are arranged in the paper tray A21 and the paper tray B22, respectively. The acquisition unit 51 acquires print information from the magnetic tag 111 embedded in the paper 1001 stored in the paper tray A21, and the print information acquisition unit 52 arranged in the paper tray B22 stores the paper 1002 stored in the paper tray B22. Print information is acquired from the magnetic tag 112 embedded in the. Since the magnetic tags 111 and 112 can read information from within a certain distance, there is no restriction on the positional configuration of the print information acquisition units 51 and 52. Note that when sheets having different print information are mixed in the same sheet tray 21 and 22, the print mode of the sheet acquired by the print information acquisition units 51 and 52 is the print mode of the first sheet.

  The print information analysis unit 6 analyzes the print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit 51 of the paper tray A21, detects the print mode designated for the paper 1001 stored in the paper tray A21, and detects the print mode of the paper tray B22. The print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit 52 is analyzed, and the designated print mode is detected for the paper 1002 stored in the paper tray B22.

  The print information notification unit 7 performs processing (specifically, displayed on the UI) for notifying the print information analyzed by the print information analysis unit 6.

  The print mode setting unit 8 performs processing for setting the print mode detected by the print information analysis unit 7.

  The print processing unit 9 executes print processing on the paper conveyed from the print information acquisition unit according to the print mode set by the print mode setting unit 8.

  Next, a specific example of the printing process performed by the printing apparatus 102 will be described.

(Specific Example 6)
When an arbitrary print mode is stored in the magnetic tags 111 and 112 of the paper 1001 and 1002, the print information acquisition unit 51 and 52 of each paper tray 21 and 22 acquires the paper print mode, and the print information notification unit 7, the print modes of the sheets 1001 and 1002 stored in the respective sheet trays 21 and 22 are notified, so it is easy to determine which print modes 1001 and 1002 are set in which sheet trays 21 and 22. Can be confirmed.

(Specific example 7)
When an arbitrary print mode is stored in the magnetic tags 111 and 112 of the paper 1001 and 1002, the print information acquisition unit 51 and 52 of each paper tray 21 and 22 acquires the paper print mode, and the print information notification unit Since the print modes of the sheets 1001 and 1002 stored in the respective sheet trays 21 and 22 are notified by 51 and 52, the trouble of setting the print mode by the print instruction unit 4 can be saved easily.

(Specific example 8)
When an arbitrary print mode is stored in the magnetic tags 111 and 112 of the paper 1001 and 1002, the print information acquisition unit 51 and 52 of each paper tray 21 and 22 acquires the paper print mode, and the print information notification unit 7, the print modes of the sheets 1001 and 1002 stored in the respective sheet trays 21 and 22 are notified. Therefore, the sheet trays 21 and 22 storing the sheets 1001 and 1002 storing the print modes to be used are displayed. Therefore, it is possible to easily prevent the printing result from being different from the desired printing mode.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the printing apparatus 1 is connected to a client 12 such as a PC or a mobile terminal 13 such as a mobile phone via a network or the like, the print information acquired by the print information acquisition units 5, 51, and 52. Is transmitted to the client 12 and the portable terminal 13, so that the trouble of setting the print mode on the printer driver of each client 12 can be saved easily. Even in the portable terminal 13 that cannot be set, printing in a desired print mode is possible.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processing performed in the printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram when a printing apparatus is connected to a client such as a PC and a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone via a network or the like.

Explanation of symbols

1, 101, 102 Printing device 2 Paper tray 21 Paper tray A
22 Paper tray B
3 UI
4 Print instruction unit 5, 51, 52 Print information acquisition unit 6 Print information analysis unit 7 Print information notification unit 8 Print mode setting unit 9 Print processing unit 10, 1001, 1002 Paper 11, 111, 112 Magnetic tag 12 Client 13 Mobile Terminal

Claims (14)

Print information acquisition for acquiring the print information from the magnetic tag embedded in the paper when the paper embedded with the magnetic tag storing the print information related to the printing process exists within a certain distance Means,
A printing apparatus comprising: a printing processing unit that performs a printing process on the paper according to the printing information acquired by the printing information acquisition unit. Paper storage means for storing the paper;
The print information acquisition means includes
The print information acquisition means is installed;
The printing information acquisition means installed in the paper storage means
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing information is acquired from a magnetic tag embedded in a sheet stored in the sheet storage unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising at least two sheet storage units. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a print information notification unit that notifies the print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit. The print information notification means includes:
The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printing information is notified to a terminal that instructs the printing process. The print information acquisition means detects the print information from the magnetic tag embedded in the paper when the paper in which the magnetic tag storing the print information related to the print processing is present within a certain distance. Get
A printing method, wherein the print processing means performs print processing on the paper in accordance with the print information acquired by the print information acquisition means. Installing the print information acquisition means in a paper storage means for storing the paper;
The printing information acquisition means installed in the paper storage means
The printing method according to claim 6, wherein the print information is acquired from a magnetic tag embedded in a sheet stored in the sheet storage unit. The printing method according to claim 7, comprising at least two of the paper storage means. The printing method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the printing information notification means notifies the printing information acquired by the printing information acquisition means. The print information notification means includes:
The printing method according to claim 9, wherein the printing information is notified to a terminal that instructs the printing process. When a paper in which a magnetic tag storing print information related to printing processing is embedded is within a certain distance, the print information is acquired from the magnetic tag embedded in the paper via a sensor. Processing to
A printing program that causes a printing apparatus to perform a process of performing a printing process on the paper according to the acquired printing information. The sensor is installed in a paper tray for storing the paper,
12. The printing program according to claim 11, wherein the printing apparatus operates the process of acquiring the print information from the magnetic tag embedded in the paper stored in the paper storage tray. The printing program according to claim 12, wherein a process for notifying print information acquired by the sensor is operated by a printing apparatus. The printing program according to claim 13, wherein the printing apparatus causes the printing apparatus to perform a process of notifying the printing information to a terminal that instructs the printing process.

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