JP2008040638A - Print server device, print instruction program, and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To establish the reusability of print setting data and the variation of settable print configurations. <P>SOLUTION: When a client prints certain print data, a print server acquires the information of a plurality of print setting data stored so as to be associated with the print data, and presents it to a client as a print setting data list 110. The print setting data are described in the order of the past use frequency in this list under the consideration of the convenience of the selection of a client. The print server instructs the printing of print data to a printer by using the print setting data selected by the client. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for giving a print instruction to a printer, and more particularly to a technique for giving a print instruction to a printer using print setting data.

  The printer is generally provided with a function of receiving print setting data called a job ticket and performing print control according to the print setting data. The print setting data is data for performing print settings such as paper size setting, double-sided / single-sided setting, Nup setting, color / monochrome setting, etc., separately from the print data to be printed or embedded in the print data to the printer. Sent.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for printing scan data generated by scanning and stored in a holder using print setting data for the holder.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for providing a server that stores print setting data. In this technique, a user selects print setting data to be a prototype and performs editing such as specifying print data in response to a print instruction.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-320845 JP 2004-88182 A

  In the technique of the above-mentioned patent document 1, only one print setting data is defined for a plurality of print data. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, print setting data is stored one after another, but a plurality of print setting data is not managed for each print data.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a technology that achieves both reuse of print setting data and diversification of print modes that can be set.

  Another object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of selection when the user selects print setting data from a plurality of candidates.

  According to an input from a client, the print server apparatus according to the present invention receives a receiving unit that receives information for specifying certain print data, and acquires a plurality of pieces of print setting data stored in association with the print data. Based on the selected print setting data, presenting means for presenting information of the plurality of print setting data to the client, selection means for selecting print setting data used for a print instruction in accordance with an input from the client And an instruction means for instructing the printer to print the print data.

  This print server device is a device that provides a print control service for one or a plurality of printers to one or a plurality of clients. The print server device can be constructed by using computer hardware having an arithmetic function and a function and software defining the operation. The print server device may be constructed as a centralized processing system using a single piece of hardware or as a distributed processing system using a plurality of communicable pieces of hardware. Further, the print server device may be built in the same hardware as the client or the printer.

  The accepting means is means for accepting information for specifying certain print data in accordance with an input from the client. The print data itself may be input from the client, or identification data such as the name or URL of the print data may be input. The accepting unit obtains information for specifying the print data based on such input.

  The acquisition unit acquires information about a plurality of print setting data stored in association with the print data (print setting data itself, file name of the print setting data, storage location information of the print setting data, and the like). (However, if the print setting data is not sufficiently prepared, such as when new print data is prepared, there may be no print setting data corresponding to the print data or only one. In this case, Note that the acquisition unit does not necessarily need to acquire information on all print setting data corresponding to the print data, and some print settings are based on appropriate conditions. Only data information may be acquired.

  The presenting means presents the acquired information to the client. Thereby, typically, information about print setting data is displayed on the monitor screen of the client. In general, it is desirable that the presentation is performed so that the convenience of the client is good. Therefore, for example, when there are a plurality of clients (or client operating users), it is also effective to present the print setting data that the client or user used in the past.

  The selecting means selects print setting data for print instructions in accordance with the input from the client. That is, when the client selects any print setting data or gives a selection condition, the selection unit selects the print setting data for the print instruction according to the input result.

  The instruction unit is a unit that issues a print instruction to the printer based on the selected print setting data. For the print instruction, the print setting data itself may be transmitted. Further, the print instruction may be performed after integrating with other print setting data separately input from the client or standard print setting data prepared in the print server apparatus. In the case of integration, it is effective to perform simple synthesis, and it is also effective to adjust conflicting settings according to priority. In print instructions, the print data may be sent directly to the printer (obtained from the storage location if necessary), but only the print data identification data is sent to obtain the print data. You may make it let.

  According to this configuration, when a client (and typically a user who operates the client) issues a print request for print data, the client uses the print setting data corresponding to the print data for printing. It is possible to select print setting data. Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of print settings, such as selecting a desired print mode from among various print mode candidates. As a result, it is possible to reduce or avoid the trouble of finely instructing the print instruction every time printing is performed, and it becomes easy to perform reprinting with the same print settings as the previous printing or further past printing. Note that a device that stores print data or print setting data may be built in the print server device or may be provided externally.

  In one aspect of the print server apparatus of the present invention, the acquisition unit also acquires use history information of the plurality of print setting data, and the presentation unit sets a presentation order based on the use history information, and Information on multiple print setting data is presented. The usage history information is information that describes records in which each print setting data has been used during the entire past period or a partial period. The usage history information may be recorded in detail such as the date and time of use, the user used, or the like, or may be simple recording such as simply counting the number of uses. A presentation means sets a presentation order based on this usage history information. As a specific example, a mode in which the presentation order is determined reflecting the time used (such as the latest order) can be used. This makes it possible to use trendy print setting data. In one aspect of the print server apparatus of the present invention, the presentation order is an order based on the number of times (frequency) that each print setting data has been used in the past. As a result, it is possible to imitate the frequently used print setting data (which can be said to be print setting data that can generally realize popular settings or standard settings).

  Note that setting the presentation order means setting an order that makes a difference in the display mode between the print setting data. As a result, when displaying on a monitor screen, the order can be visualized by arrangement order, arrangement position, size, density, color tone, etc., and the degree of attention of the user can be made different. . In this configuration, it is desirable to provide means for recording the history (or instructing recording) when the stored print setting data is used for the print instruction. This makes it possible to update the history at any time.

  In one aspect of the print server apparatus of the present invention, the print data is stored data, and the receiving unit inputs identification data for acquiring the print data from the client. That is, instead of inputting the print data itself, identification data for specifying the print data is input, and the print data is separately acquired from the storage location based on the identification data. The print data may be stored in the print server device or may be stored in an external device. In any case, the stored print data is likely to be printed many times, and it is considered that there are many situations where the client wants to reuse the print setting data. Although different from this aspect, the print data may be unsaved data. For example, it can be expected that data printed with a paper size and orientation specified by a scanner will always be a similar type of data. Therefore, it is effective to use this scan result as print data and prepare a plurality of corresponding print setting data.

  In one aspect of the print server device of the present invention, the print server device includes means for setting one or more alias names in the print setting data in accordance with an input from the client, and the presenting means presents the alias name. That is, the alias name is stored in association with the print setting data, and at least one alias name is displayed in the presentation stage. As a result, the client can name his / her favorite and can improve usability and ease of remembering. For example, when reprinting, it will be easy to search for the same print setting data as before. The client name (or the user name that uses the client) may be stored together with the alias name, and the alias name corresponding to the client name of the presentation destination may be displayed. This makes it possible to prepare an alias name dedicated to each client.

  In one aspect of the print server apparatus of the present invention, the accepting unit also accepts information for specifying a printer, the print setting data includes a printer serving as a print instruction destination, and the obtaining unit accepts the information. The plurality of print setting data with the designated printer as the print instruction destination are presented. In general, different printers may print the same print data in different printing modes. Therefore, print setting data is prepared for each printer. Thus, even when another printer is used, printing using appropriate print setting data can be performed without trial and error.

  In one aspect of the print server apparatus of the present invention, a means for receiving new print setting data from the client for the print data, and a means for instructing a printer to print the print data based on the new print setting data And means for storing the new print setting data in association with the print data. That is, when the client newly creates print setting data and issues a print instruction, the print setting data is stored. As a result, when reprinting is performed, print setting data used in the past can be reused.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic system configuration according to the present embodiment. The system includes a client 10 serving as a user operation terminal, a print server 20 that receives a print request from the client 10, and printers 40, 42,... That perform printing based on an instruction from the print server 20. . . It is included.

  The print server 20 is constructed by software control of computer hardware such as a workstation and a PC. In the print server 20, a request reception unit 22, a print setting data extraction unit 24, a data transmission unit 26, a management table 28, a print database 30, a print setting database 32, and a print setting data list creation unit 34 are constructed.

  The request receiving unit 22 is a device that receives data input from an external device, and typically receives a print request from the client 10. The request receiving unit 22 can also receive a print setting data list acquisition request from the client 10. The print setting data extraction unit 24 is a device that analyzes the received print request and prepares a print instruction, and typically extracts print setting information from the received print request. The print request includes print data to be printed or its identification data, and print setting data for print control or its identification data. The data format of the print data is not particularly limited, and various types such as PDF, tiff, jpeg, and DocuWorks (registered trademark) can be exemplified. The print setting data is data describing settings to be instructed to the printer, and is described in accordance with printer control rules (language). The print setting data extraction unit 24 extracts print data and print setting data from input data regarding a print request, extracts print data from the print database 30 based on identification data, and print settings from the print setting database 32. Extract data.

  The data transmission unit 26 is a device that transmits data to an external device. For example, when issuing a print instruction to the printer 40, the data transmission unit 26 inputs the print data and the print setting data from the print setting data extraction unit 24, or from the print database 30 or the print setting database 32. 40.

  The management table 28 is a table in which print data and print setting data are associated with each other. The management table 28 also records the usage history of the print setting data. An example of the management table 28 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  The print database 30 is a storage device that stores print data. The print setting database 32 is a storage device that stores print setting data.

  The print setting data list creation unit 34 creates a print setting data list when there is a print setting data list acquisition request from the client 10. The print setting data list is a list in which a list of print setting data stored for each print data is described. The print setting data list creation unit 34 creates a print setting data list while referring to the management table 28 and the print setting database 32, and outputs the print setting data list to the client 10 through the data transmission unit 26.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining in detail a configuration example of the management table 28 shown in FIG. The management table 28 includes print data 01,. . . , N, and print setting data 01,. . . , M. For example, as shown in the figure, for a certain print data 01, the print setting data 01, 02,. . . Are associated. In the column 52 of the print setting data 01, a transmission destination printer 56 to be printed by the print setting data 01 and a counter 58 indicating the number of times the print setting data 01 has been used in the past are described. . The print setting data 01 includes aliases 60, 62,. . . Is set and stored in association with the print setting data 01.

  By referring to the management table 28, it is possible to search for print setting data for printing certain print data in the print database 30. Also, by using the information of the destination printer, it is possible to select print setting data to be used for printing with a specific printer, and by using the counter information, the print setting is based on the number of times used in the past. Data can be selected. Furthermore, print setting data can be displayed and searched by using an alias named by the client.

  Next, an example of processing in the print server 20 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the print server 20. When the user makes a processing request through the client 10, the request receiving unit 22 first determines whether or not the processing request is a print setting data list acquisition request (S10).

  In this determination, if it is determined that the processing request is a print setting data list acquisition request, the print setting data list creation unit 34 refers to the management table 28 and sets the requested print data name and printer name. Corresponding print setting data is extracted (S12), and a print setting data list is created by arranging them in order of frequency of use (S14). Then, the data transmission unit 26 transmits this print setting data list to the client 10 (S16).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating operations performed by the system of FIG. 1 in the above process. When a print data name / destination printer name 100 is input from the client 10 and a print setting data list acquisition request is made, the request receiving unit 22 creates a print setting data list in the print setting data list creating unit 34. Instruct. Then, the print setting data list creation unit 34 creates the print setting data list 110 with reference to the management table 28 and the print setting database 32. The print setting data list 110 is transmitted to the client 10 through the data transmission unit 26.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print setting data list 110. In the print setting data list 110, five print setting data that can be used to print certain print data with a certain printer are arranged in order of frequency of use. Specifically, “print setting data 05” is described first. This “print setting data 05” is used to perform “color” printing with “one side” and “2 up” on the sheet of “A3”, and the number of times used in the past is 31 times. The second “print setting data 01” is used for setting “A3”, “single-sided”, “2up”, and “monochrome” printing, and has been used 15 times in the past. Further, fifth, print data to which an alias “My setting” is given is described. This “My setting” performs “A4”, “double-sided”, and “color” printing, and has been used only once in the past. By giving such an alias, it is possible to easily find the print setting data in the next printing. Further, by arranging the print setting data in the order of the number of times of use, the user can clearly recognize frequently used items and use them as a reference for selection.

  Next, a process when the request from the client 10 is not a print setting data list acquisition request in step S10 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described. In this case, the print setting data extraction unit 24 determines whether or not the processing request is a print request specifying print data and print setting data in the print server 20 (S18).

  If this determination is Yes, the counter of the print setting data in the management table 28 is updated (S20). Then, the print data read from the print database 30 and the print setting data read from the print setting database 32 are transmitted to the corresponding printer, and printing is executed (S22).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining operations performed by the system of FIG. 1 in the above process. When receiving a print request specifying the print data name / print setting data name 130 from the client 10, the request receiving unit 22 outputs the print request to the print setting data extracting unit 24. The print setting data extraction unit 24 instructs the management table 28 to update the counter of the print setting data, and instructs the print database 30 and the print setting database 32 to read the print data and the print setting data, respectively. Then, the data transmission unit 26 inputs these read data, collects them as a print job 132, and transmits them to the printer 40. In the illustrated example, the print job 132 includes print data 01 and print setting data 03.

  Next, the case where the determination in step S18 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is No will be described. In this case, it is determined whether new print setting data has been designated and a print request for print data stored in the print server 20 has been made (S24). When this determination is Yes, new print setting data is stored in the print setting database 32 (S26), and the new print setting data is registered in the management table 28 in association with the print data (S28). ). Then, a print job based on the designated print data and new print setting data is transmitted to the printer designated by the new print setting data (S22).

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S24 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is No, that is, if new print data and new print setting data are input and a print request is made, the print data is saved (S30). ), Print setting data is saved (S32), and registered in the management table 28 (S34), and then a print instruction is issued (S22).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating operations performed by the system of FIG. 1 in the above process. In this example, the request reception unit 22 receives a print request 140 including print setting data 02 and print data 01 from the client 10 and outputs the print request 140 to the print setting data extraction unit 24. The print setting data extraction unit 24 extracts print data from the print request 140 and stores it in the print database 30, and extracts print setting data and stores it in the print setting database 32. Further, the print setting data extraction unit 24 analyzes the print setting data to identify a printer that is a printing destination, and registers information about the printer in the management table 28 together with the print data and the print setting data. Then, the data transmission unit 26 inputs the print data and the print setting data from the print setting data extraction unit 24 and transmits the print job 150 to the specified printer 40.

  By using this system in this way, print setting data used in the past can be reused when printing print data. In addition, since the number of times each print setting data is used is shown, it is easy to select popular print setting data.

  Therefore, for example, when an order is received for printing a catalog or a poster through the Web, the client that places an order selects a frequently used print setting data from the presented print setting data and issues a print request. Is possible. The frequently used print setting data is likely to give a good print result. That is, in this system, recommended print setting data is presented to the user implicitly. Further, the user can easily search for the print setting data when reusing it by assigning an alias to the specific print setting data.

  In the above description, only the number of times of use is recorded as the use history information of the print setting data. However, more detailed history information may be recorded. For example, by recording information on the use date and time, it is possible to calculate the number of uses in a partial period.

It is a schematic block diagram explaining an example of system configuration. It is a figure explaining the structural example of a management table. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of a print server. It is a figure explaining the process of presenting a list. It is a figure which shows the example of a list. It is a figure explaining the process of the print request based on a list. It is a figure explaining the process of the print request based on new print setting data.

Explanation of symbols

  10 client, 20 print server, 22 request reception unit, 24 print setting data extraction unit, 26 data transmission unit, 28 management table, 30 print database, 32 print setting database, 34 print setting data list creation unit, 40 printer, 56 transmission Destination printer, 58 counter, 60 alias.

Claims (9)

Accepting means for accepting information for identifying certain print data in accordance with an input from the client;
Obtaining means for obtaining information of a plurality of print setting data stored in association with the print data;
Presenting means for presenting information of the plurality of print setting data to the client;
Selection means for selecting print setting data used for a print instruction in accordance with an input from the client;
An instruction means for instructing a printer to print the print data based on the selected print setting data;
A print server device. The print server device according to claim 1,
The acquisition unit also acquires use history information of the plurality of print setting data,
The presenting means is a print server device that sets a presentation order based on the use history information and presents information of the plurality of print setting data. The print server device according to claim 1,
The presentation order is a print server device that is based on the number of times each print setting data has been used in the past. The print server device according to claim 1,
The print data is stored data,
The print server apparatus, wherein the reception unit inputs identification data for acquiring the print data from the client. The print server device according to claim 1,
Means for setting one or more alias names in the print setting data in accordance with an input from the client;
The presenting means is a print server device that presents at least one alias name. The print server device according to claim 1,
The accepting means also accepts information identifying a printer,
In the print setting data, a printer as a print instruction destination is set,
The acquisition unit is a print server device that presents the plurality of print setting data with a received printer as a print instruction destination. The print server device according to claim 1,
Means for accepting new print setting data from the client for the print data;
Means for instructing a printer to print the print data based on the new print setting data;
Means for storing the new print setting data in association with the print data;
A print server device. Against the computer
A reception procedure for receiving information for identifying certain print data in accordance with an input from the client;
An acquisition procedure for acquiring information of a plurality of print setting data stored in association with the print data;
A presentation procedure for presenting information of the plurality of print setting data to the client;
A selection procedure for selecting print setting data to be used for a print instruction in accordance with an input from the client;
An instruction procedure for instructing a printer to print the print data based on the selected print setting data;
Print instruction program to execute A method performed by a computer,
A reception procedure for receiving information for identifying certain print data in accordance with an input from the client;
An acquisition procedure for acquiring information of a plurality of print setting data stored in association with the print data;
A presentation procedure for presenting information of the plurality of print setting data to the client;
A selection procedure for selecting print setting data to be used for a print instruction in accordance with an input from the client;
An instruction procedure for instructing a printer to print the print data based on the selected print setting data;
Including a printing instruction method.

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