JP2008230001A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a printing under a desired printing condition even if the printing condition has been established with an application software. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming system performs the application software and includes a personal computer 1 having a control part 1 for outputting the printing data prepared by users during performing the application software and a printer apparatus 2 having a printing part 26 for printing the printing data outputted from the personal computer 1. The personal computer 1 includes a key board 14 which enables a user to establish and input the printing-condition information showing the printing condition of the printing data in a printer apparatus 2 and an external interface 15 for transmitting the established printing-condition information to the printer apparatus 2. The printing part 26 of the printer apparatus 2 performs the printing of the printing data based on the printing-condition information transmitted from the personal computer 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system that includes a personal computer and a printer device, and prints out print data created using the personal computer with the printer device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, application software such as document creation and spreadsheet is executed on a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as “personal computer”), and a document and a spreadsheet are created by a user. Documents and spreadsheets created on application software are sent to the printer device when the user's print command is input. As a result, a document or a spreadsheet sheet is printed on the printer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-78168

  Normally, when printing a document or the like on a printer, the user displays a printer driver setting screen of the printer device while executing application software, and sets various printing conditions on the setting screen. The printing conditions include, for example, the size of paper to be printed, the type of paper feed slot such as which cassette on the printer device side is used, the type of paper such as plain paper or postcard, and the expansion or reduction of print data. .

  However, when print data transmitted from a personal computer is printed on the printer, the application software sets unique print conditions even though the user sets print conditions on the printer driver of the application software. Sometimes. For example, even though the user sets the printing paper as “A4 paper” as the printing condition, “A3 paper” may be set by the application software. This is caused by the mutual processing of data between the application software and the OS (operating system) installed in the personal computer, and cannot be changed and set by the user. For this reason, printing may be performed under printing conditions different from the printing conditions set by the user.

  The present invention has been conceived under the above circumstances, and provides an image forming system capable of performing printing under desired printing conditions even when the printing conditions are set by application software. Let that be the issue.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  An image forming system provided by the present invention includes: an execution unit that executes application software; a personal computer having an output unit that outputs print data created by a user during the execution of the application software; and the output unit An image forming system having a printing unit that prints the print data output from the personal computer by the personal computer, wherein the personal computer executes the print data in the printer device during execution of the application software. Operation input means capable of setting and operating printing condition information indicating printing conditions of the user, and transmission means for transmitting the printing condition information set and input by the operation input means to the printer device. For example, the printing means of the printer device is characterized in that to print the print data based on the print condition information transmitted by said transmitting means (claim 1).

  According to the present invention, in the personal computer, the print condition information indicating the print data printing conditions in the printer device is set and input by the user during the execution of the application software, and the set print condition information is transmitted to the printer device. The In the printer device, print data is printed based on the print condition information transmitted from the personal computer. Therefore, it is possible to print the print data under the desired printing conditions set by the user. For example, it is possible to eliminate problems during printing when the unique printing conditions are set by the application software.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the transmission unit may transmit the print condition information to the printer device before the print data is output by the output unit.

  According to another preferred embodiment, when the printing device performs printing based on the printing condition information by the printing means, the equipment of the printer device corresponds to the printing condition of the printing condition information. It is preferable that the apparatus includes an apparatus determining unit that determines whether or not the apparatus is equipped, and the printing unit performs printing based on the printing condition information when the apparatus determining unit determines that the apparatus of the printer device is compatible. (Claim 3).

  According to another preferred embodiment, the printing means may perform printing based on the equipment of the printer device when the equipment judgment means judges that the equipment of the printer device is not compatible ( Claim 4).

  According to another preferred embodiment, the printer device includes a canceling unit that cancels printing based on the printing condition information when the equipment determining unit determines that the equipment of the printer device is not compatible. (Claim 5).

  According to another preferred embodiment, the printing condition information may be information including at least the type of paper used for printing or the type of paper feed port.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. The image forming system is roughly constituted by a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as “personal computer”) 1, a printer device 2, and a communication cable 3 connecting the personal computer 1 and the printer device 2. The personal computer 1 and the printer device 2 may be connected to each other on a network such as a LAN (local area network) connection, or may be connected by wireless communication.

  The personal computer 1 includes a control unit 11, and the control unit 11 includes a CPU 11a and a memory 11b. A hard disk device 12, a display device 13, a keyboard 14, an external connection unit 15 and the like are connected to the control unit 11.

  The control unit 11 has a function capable of starting and executing application software for document creation, spreadsheet sheet creation, figure creation, and the like. When a user creates a document or the like using application software and a user issues a print command to the printer device 2, the control unit 11 sends print data such as the document to the printer device 2 via the external connection unit 15. It has a function to transmit.

  The CPU 11 a functions as a control center of the personal computer 1, and displays various images such as displaying an image on the display device 13 in accordance with an execution program stored in the memory 11 b and the hard disk device 12 and an operation input from the keyboard 14. Performs operations and data processing.

  The memory 11b stores various data and provides a work area for the CPU 11a. The hard disk device 12 stores the above-described application software including an execution program and various data. In particular, the hard disk device 12 according to the present embodiment has an area for storing printing conditions of print data in the form of a printer driver. The printing conditions include, for example, the size of paper to be printed, the type of paper feed port such as which cassette on the printer device 2 side is used, the type of paper such as plain paper or postcard, and the expansion or reduction of print data. It is done.

  In the personal computer 1, during the execution of the application software, for example, the property screen of the printer driver of the printer device 2 as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the display device 13, and each print information provided in the property screen by the user is displayed. By changing the contents of the input field, the print condition of the print data can be arbitrarily set. The hard disk device 12 stores printing conditions for this print data. Hereinafter, the print condition of the print data set by the user is referred to as “user set print condition”, and the print condition converted into data is referred to as “user set print condition information”.

  The user-set print condition information is a print condition for print data such as a document that is separately set by application software (hereinafter referred to as “application-set print condition”). This is different from “set print condition information”. However, the contents of the user setting printing conditions may differ from the contents of the application setting printing conditions depending on the setting, or may match. The “print data” here refers to actually printed drawing data, character data, and the like that do not include user-set print condition information.

  In addition, when a document created by the user using application software has multiple pages, when the same user setting printing condition is applied to a plurality of pages, a user setting printing condition common to each page is created. When different user setting printing conditions are applied, different user setting printing conditions may be created for each page.

  The external connection unit 15 has a communication function for transmitting user setting printing condition information output from the control unit 11, application setting printing condition information added to the print data, and the like to the printer device 2.

  The printer device 2 prints out print data transmitted from the personal computer 1. The printer device 2 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown). FIG. 1 shows functional blocks. The printer device 2 is roughly configured by an external connection unit 20, a received data analysis processing unit 21, a print layout creation processing unit 22, a panel control unit 23, a panel unit 24, a printer status check processing unit 25, a printing unit 26, and the like. .

  The printer device 2 may be a printer device having a printing function alone, or may be, for example, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, or a multifunction machine having a facsimile function, a copying function, a scanner function, and the like. Good.

  The external connection unit 20 has a communication function for receiving user setting printing condition information transmitted from the personal computer 1, application setting printing condition information added to the printing data, and the received information is received data. The data is output to the analysis processing unit 21.

  The received data analysis processing unit 21 analyzes the contents of user setting print condition information and application setting print condition information added to the print data from the external connection unit 20. Specifically, in the received data analysis processing unit 21, for example, the paper type is “A4”, the paper feed port is “cassette 1 (the printer device 2 includes a plurality of cassettes, and“ cassette 1 ” The printing condition such as “1” is recognized. The received data analysis processing unit 21 outputs the contents of the transmitted user setting print condition information and application setting print condition information to the print layout creation processing unit 22.

  The print layout creation processing unit 22 creates a page layout of print data based on the contents of the user setting print condition information and the application setting print condition information from the received data analysis processing unit 21. The print layout creation processing unit 22 includes a memory 22a that stores user setting printing condition information and application setting printing condition information output from the received data analysis processing unit 21, and a bitmap memory 22b. The bitmap memory 22b stores and expands print data to be printed.

  The panel control unit 23 includes a panel display processing unit 27, a panel switch processing unit 28, and a memory 23a. The panel display processing unit 27 controls display on the panel unit 24 based on a user operation input on the panel unit 24. The panel switch processing unit 28 controls an operation input of a user's switch 32 (described later) on the panel unit 24. Based on this operation input, the panel display processing unit 27 displays a predetermined display, Information on priority conditions (described later) is stored in the memory 23a.

  The panel unit 24 is provided on the upper surface of the main body (not shown) of the printer device 2, and as shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. A lamp 33 and the like are provided. As the switch 32, a menu switch 32a for displaying various operation menus, an online switch 32b for shifting to an online state in which print data from the personal computer 1 can be received, an operation menu, items and the like are selected. An upper switch 32c, a lower switch 32d, a left switch 32e and a right switch 32f, a paper discharge set switch 32g used for determining an operation menu and discharging paper, and a cancel switch 32h used when canceling printing In addition, a power saving switch 32i and the like for shifting to the power saving state are provided.

  As the lamp 33, an online lamp 33a for indicating an online state, an error lamp 33b for indicating that an error has occurred, a power saving lamp 33c for indicating a power saving state, and the like are provided. In addition, the panel unit 24 is provided with a guidance display 33d for guiding a location in the printer device 2 to be inspected by the user when an error occurs. Here, the guidance display 33d shows the appearance of the printer apparatus 2.

  Here, the control operation in the priority condition of the panel control unit 23 relating to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. When the printer device 2 is turned on and the initial setting process is completed, the display unit of the panel unit 24 is displayed. 31 displays “printable”. After confirming this display, the user can make settings such as priority printing conditions and whether to prioritize paper in the printer 2.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when the menu switch 32 a is operated, the screen shifts to a screen for selecting either “user setting printing conditions” or “application setting printing conditions” as “priority printing conditions”. The user can input any of the conditions by performing an input operation on the paper discharge set switch 32g when “user-set print condition” or “application-set print condition” is displayed in the lower column of “priority print condition”. Can be set. These priority conditions can be set in advance by the user, and the contents of the set priority conditions are stored in the memory 23a.

  When the lower switch 32d is operated while “priority printing condition” is displayed on the display unit 31, another priority condition is displayed. That is, the process proceeds to an inquiry as to whether or not to “prioritize the paper in the apparatus” and the inquiry item is displayed, and a character for selecting either “Yes” or “No” is displayed. Here, “priority paper in the apparatus” means that, for example, the paper existing in the printer apparatus 2 is given priority regardless of the type of paper set by the user. The user can set one of the conditions by performing an input operation on the paper discharge set switch 32g when “Yes” or “No” is displayed in the lower column of “Priority on paper in the apparatus”. Can do.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the printer status check processing unit 25 is indicated by “user setting print condition information” or the like output from the personal computer 1 when printing the print data with the page layout created by the print layout creation processing unit 22. Whether or not printing is actually possible under the printing conditions is checked in consideration of the priority conditions stored in advance in the memory 23a, the installation state of the printer device 2, and the like. Here, the “equipment state of the printer device 2” refers to a state of whether or not a sheet is stored in a cassette of the printer device 2, for example. For example, when the paper type in the user setting print condition information is A4 paper, it is checked whether the printer device 2 is short of A4 paper. For example, when the A4 sheet is insufficient and cannot be printed, an error is displayed on the display unit 31.

  The printing unit 26 prints print data on a predetermined sheet based on a print command from the print layout creation processing unit 22.

  Next, a print data communication process performed between the personal computer 1 and the printer apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, it is assumed that application software for creating a document or spreadsheet is activated on the personal computer 1 and the user-set printing condition information is set by the user in the printer driver.

  First, when print data can be transmitted in the personal computer 1 and a print data transmission command is operated by the user, a print start command is transmitted to the printer apparatus 2 (S1). At this time, the personal computer 1 creates application setting printing condition information separately from the user setting printing condition information. When the power of the apparatus is turned on and the initial setting process is completed, the printer apparatus 2 returns a response command to the print start command from the personal computer 1 (S2). As a result, the personal computer 1 and the printer apparatus 2 are connected to each other.

  The personal computer 1 can confirm that the printer device 2 can perform the printing operation by receiving the response command from the printer device 2, and then transmits the user-set printing condition information to the printer device 2 (S3). ).

  When the printer apparatus 2 receives the user setting printing condition information from the personal computer 1, it stores the contents in the memory 22 a of the print layout creation processing unit 22. Then, a response command indicating that the user setting printing condition information has been received is returned to the personal computer 1 (S4).

  When the personal computer 1 receives the response command from the printer apparatus 2, it transmits the print data and application setting print condition information assigned thereto to the printer apparatus 2 (S5). On the other hand, the printer apparatus 2 returns a response command indicating that the print data and the application setting print condition information have been received to the personal computer (S6). Although not shown, in this print data transmission process, all print data is not transmitted at once, but is transmitted for each predetermined block, and a response command is returned from the printer device 2 each time. .

  When the personal computer 1 finishes transmitting all the print data, it transmits a print end command indicating that the transmission of the print data has ended to the printer device 2 (S7). On the other hand, the printer apparatus 2 returns a response command indicating that all print data has been received to the personal computer (S8). As a result, the line between the personal computer 1 and the printer apparatus 2 is disconnected.

  In this way, print data is exchanged between the personal computer 1 and the printer device 2. This embodiment is characterized in that user-set printing condition information is created in the personal computer 1 and transmitted from the personal computer 1 to the printer device 2. That is, conventionally, the user setting printing condition information is not created in the personal computer 1 and is not transmitted to the printer apparatus 2. For this reason, printing is performed based on the application setting printing conditions transmitted to the printer apparatus 2 together with the print data, and the printing is actually performed even though the user sets the printing conditions on the printer driver of the application software. In some cases, the printing conditions set by the user may be different.

  In the present embodiment, if the priority condition is set so that the user-set print condition has priority over the application-set print condition, printing is performed based on the user-set print condition. That is, since the printing conditions set by the user are reflected at the time of actual printing, appropriate desired printing can be performed. It is more preferable that the user setting print condition information is transmitted to the printer device 2 before the print data, that is, before the application setting print condition information. This is because, when a page layout is created in the print layout creation processing unit 22, if the schematic configuration of the print page is recognized first, the process can be performed more quickly when the print data is expanded in the bitmap memory 22b. It is.

  Next, control processing of the printer apparatus 2 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In this control process, it is assumed that the user has already set the priority conditions in the printer device 2 (see, for example, FIG. 4).

  First, in the printer apparatus 2, when the power is turned on by the user, an initial setting process is performed (T1). Examples of the initial setting process include a process of clearing the contents of the memories 22a, 22b, and 23a and the flag used for control.

  When the initial setting process is completed, it is determined whether or not a command indicating print activation is received from the connected personal computer 1 (T2). When a command indicating print activation is received (T2: YES), a command reception process indicating print activation is performed (T3). In the process of receiving a command indicating print start, for example, a process of returning a response command to the personal computer 1 is performed.

  Next, when some data is received from the personal computer 1 (T4), the received data analysis processing unit 21 analyzes the received data. For example, it is determined whether the received data is print data (T5). If the received data is not print data (T5: NO), it is determined whether or not the received data is user-set print condition information (T6). When the received data is user set print condition information (T6: YES), the user set print condition information is stored in the memory 22a of the print layout creation processing unit 22 (T7). Examples of the printing conditions included in the user setting printing condition information include a paper size type and a paper feed port type.

  If the received data is not user set printing condition information (T6: YES), that is, if the received data is not recognizable data, the process returns to step T4.

  In step T5, when the received data is print data (T5: YES), the application setting print condition information added to the print data is temporarily stored in the memory 22a of the print layout creation processing unit 22. Then, the user setting printing conditions stored in the memory 22a of the print layout creation processing unit 22 are compared with the application setting printing conditions added to the print data, and it is determined whether or not the contents of both are different. (T8). For example, it is determined whether or not the settings such as the paper size and the paper feed port match.

  If the user setting printing condition is not different from the application setting printing condition in step T8 (T8: NO), it is determined to perform the printing process with the printing condition included in the application setting printing condition information (T9).

  On the other hand, when the user setting printing condition is different from the application setting printing condition in step T8 (T8: YES), it is determined whether or not the user setting printing condition is prioritized (T10). In other words, whether or not the user setting print condition is prioritized over the application setting print condition added to the print data is set in advance by the user using the panel unit 24 (see FIG. 4). Is performed based on the setting contents in the panel unit 24.

  If it is set that the application setting printing condition is given priority over the user setting printing condition (T10: NO), the process proceeds to step T9, and it is determined to perform the printing process with the printing condition included in the application setting printing condition information. On the other hand, when it is set that the user setting printing condition is given priority over the application setting printing condition (T10: YES), it is determined to perform the printing process with the user setting printing condition information (T11).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the printing conditions set by the user using the printer driver while executing the application software are transmitted from the personal computer 1 to the printer apparatus 2 as the user setting printing condition information. In the printer apparatus 2, the printing conditions in the printer apparatus 2 are determined based on that. Therefore, the contents set by the user in the personal computer 1 are applied without being countered, and when the print data transmitted from the personal computer 1 is printed by the printer device 2, the user's desired printing can be performed. Therefore, even if the application setting printing condition is set by the personal computer 1, it is possible to solve the problem at the time of printing.

  Next, the printer status check processing unit 25 determines whether the equipment on the printer device 2 side corresponds to the user setting printing condition or the application setting printing condition (T12). That is, even if printing is performed with the contents indicated by the user setting printing condition or the application setting printing condition, printing cannot be performed unless the printer apparatus 2 is actually equipped. ing. Specifically, it is determined whether or not a sheet, a paper feed port, or the like used for the printing process exists in the printer apparatus 2 with respect to the user setting printing condition or the application setting printing condition. For example, when the user-set printing condition is set to use A4 paper, it is confirmed whether or not there is A4 paper in the cassette for storing A4 paper in the printer apparatus 2.

  In step T12, when it is determined that the printer device 2 side equipment corresponds to the user setting printing condition or the application setting printing condition (T12: YES), the printing unit 26 determines in step T9 or step T11. Printing processing is executed under printing conditions (T13).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step T12 that the printer device 2 side equipment does not correspond to the user setting printing condition or application setting printing condition (T12: NO), the printer device 2 side equipment is set to the user setting printing condition or It is determined whether or not priority is given to the application setting printing conditions (T14). That is, whether or not the user prioritizes the equipment of the printer device 2 over the printing conditions is set in advance using the panel unit 24 (see FIG. 4), and the determination process in step T14 is performed in the setting in the panel unit 24. Based on content.

  When it is determined that the equipment of the printer apparatus 2 is prioritized over the user setting printing conditions or the application setting printing conditions (T14: YES), the printing process is executed using the current equipment of the printer apparatus 2 (T15). This is a case where the current equipment of the printer apparatus 2 does not correspond to the user setting printing condition or the application setting printing condition, but printing is forcibly performed within the current equipment. For example, the type of paper is not appropriate, but for the time being, the user desires a print result.

  On the other hand, when it is not determined that the equipment of the printer device 2 is prioritized over the user-set print condition or the application-set print condition (T14: NO), the panel display processing unit 27 displays an error message such as “There is no paper that meets the print conditions”, for example. Is output to the display unit 31 (S16).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the stop switch 32h is operated by the user (T17). If the stop switch 32h is operated (T17: YES), the printing conditions are cleared (T18). That is, the contents of the memory 22a are cleared, and thereafter, the process returns to the determination process as to whether or not the print activation command in Step T2 has been received. This is a process in the case where the user stops (or restarts) the print process halfway.

  In step T17, when the stop switch 32h is not operated and input (T17: NO), it is determined whether or not the user has taken action to eliminate the error in response to the error display in step T16 (T19). For example, in the case of an error when A4 paper is insufficient, when the A4 paper is replenished to the cassette by the user, it is determined that an action has been taken to eliminate the error (T19: YES), and the error has been resolved. The printing process is executed in the state (T20). In this way, even if an error is displayed, if the user takes a measure to eliminate the error, the printing process is immediately resumed.

  When the printing process is executed in steps T9, T11, and T20, it is determined whether or not there is continuous page print data (T21). This is a determination process for confirming, for example, when there are a plurality of print data. If it is determined that there is no continuation page print data (T21: NO), the process returns to step T2. If it is determined that there is print data for the continuation page (T21: YES), the process returns to the determination process for determining whether or not the received data in step T5 is print data. As described above, when a page to be printed covers a plurality of pages, printing is performed based on the user setting print condition set for each page. As a result, for example, the first page can be printed with “A4 paper” and the second page can be printed with “A3 paper”.

  Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the configuration of the image forming system is shown in FIG. 1, but the configuration is not limited to the components shown in FIG. 1 as long as it has the same function as the present invention.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the personal computer, the printing condition information indicating the printing condition of the printing data in the printer device is set and inputted by the user during the execution of the application software, and the printing condition information thus set and inputted is Sent to the printer. In the printer device, print data is printed based on the print condition information transmitted from the personal computer. Therefore, it is possible to print the print data under the desired printing conditions set by the user. For example, it is possible to eliminate problems during printing when the unique printing conditions are set by the application software.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer driver property screen of the printer apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a display part. It is a figure for demonstrating operation which sets a priority condition. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining data communication processing performed between a personal computer and a printer device. 6 is a flowchart illustrating control processing of the printer apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Personal computer 2 Printer apparatus 11 Control part 12 Hard disk apparatus 13 Display apparatus 14 Keyboard 21 Received data analysis process part 22 Print layout creation process part 22a Memory 23 Panel control part 24 Panel part 24a Memory 25 Printer status check process part 26 Print part 27 Panel display processing unit 28 Panel switch processing unit 31 Display unit 32 Switch 33 Lamp

Claims (6)

A personal computer having execution means for executing application software; and output means for outputting print data created by a user during execution of the application software to the outside;
A printer apparatus having a printing unit that prints the print data output from the personal computer by the output unit,
The personal computer is
An operation input means that allows a user to set and operate print condition information indicating a print condition of the print data in the printer device during execution of the application software;
Transmission means for transmitting the printing condition information set and input by the operation input means to the printer device,
The printing means of the printer device includes:
An image forming system, wherein the print data is printed based on the print condition information transmitted by the transmission unit. The transmission means includes
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the print condition information is transmitted to the printer apparatus before the print data is output by the output unit. The printer device includes:
When printing based on the printing condition information by the printing means, equipped with an equipment determination means for determining whether or not the equipment of the printer device corresponds to the printing conditions of the printing condition information,
The printing means includes
3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed based on the printing condition information when the equipment discrimination unit determines that the equipment of the printer device is compatible. 4. The printing means includes
The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein when the equipment determination unit determines that the equipment of the printer device is not compatible, printing is performed based on the equipment of the printer device. The printer device includes:
The image forming system according to claim 3, further comprising: a canceling unit that cancels printing based on the printing condition information when the equipment determination unit determines that the equipment of the printer device is not compatible.   6. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the printing condition information is information including at least a type of paper used for printing or a type of paper feed port.

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