JP2008257624A - Print system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select an appropriate print setting from accumulated print settings. <P>SOLUTION: In the print system adapted to perform printing based on print instruction data generated based on processing data and a designated print setting, the frequency of printing is stored in a memory for each combination of processing data and print setting, retrieval of print setting is performed, upon receipt of a print instruction based on processing data, based on the frequency stored in the memory for the processing data concerned, and the retrieval print setting is set. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system.

  Printing systems in which client computers and printers are connected via a network have become common. In many cases, a plurality of client computers are connected to such a printing system, and the convenience of the user may be improved by sharing the setting information among the client computers.

For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses storing print settings designated by each client computer in a shared database. In this way, when executing print processing for the same document data, the print settings stored in the database can be diverted to save the user's trouble.
JP-A-10-326167

  However, the above-described prior art has a problem that when a large amount of print settings are accumulated, it takes a lot of time and effort for the user to select an appropriate print setting.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that makes it easy to select an appropriate print setting from among accumulated print settings.

  In order to achieve the above object, the printing system according to claim 1 includes a specifying unit that specifies a print setting, a generation unit that generates print instruction data based on processing data and the print setting, and the generation unit. Printing means for printing on the basis of the print instruction data generated by the above, storage means for storing the frequency printed by the printing means for each combination of the processing data and print settings, and the processing data Search means for searching for print settings based on the frequency stored in the storage means, and the specification means can specify the print settings searched by the search means.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the search unit searches for a print setting that is frequently stored in the storage unit in association with the processing data. .

  The invention according to claim 3 further includes determination means for determining whether or not a failure has occurred in printing based on the print instruction data in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage means The combination of the processing data corresponding to the print instruction data and the print setting is further stored in association with the determination result by the determination unit, and the search unit is stored in the storage unit in association with the processing data. The print setting is searched based on the determination result.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further includes a reception unit that receives an operation performed by a user. The determination unit receives the predetermined operation when the reception unit receives the predetermined operation. It is determined that a problem has occurred in printing based on the print instruction data.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the third or fourth aspect, the print instruction data includes user information, and the storage means prints the processing data corresponding to the print instruction data and prints The information of the user is further stored in association with the combination of the setting, and the determination unit is configured to store the processing data and the print setting in which the same user information is stored in the storage unit in association with the processing data. It is determined that a problem has occurred in printing based on at least one of the combinations.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the determination result stored in the storage means in association with the combination of the processing data and the print setting designated by the designation means in the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 5. Is further characterized by further including warning means for warning when a failure has occurred.

  The invention of a printing system according to claim 7 includes at least one client device and a print control device, wherein the client device includes a designation unit for designating print settings, processing data, and the print settings, respectively. Generating means for generating print instruction data based on the data, and transmitting means for transmitting the print instruction data generated by the generating means to the print control apparatus, wherein the print control apparatus is transmitted by the transmitting means. The receiving means for receiving the print instruction data, the printing means for printing based on the print instruction data received by the receiving means, and the frequency of printing by the printing means for each combination of the processing data and the print setting are associated with each other. Storage means, and the client device further stores in the storage means in association with the processing data It includes search means for searching the print settings based on the frequency with which, to be specified by the specifying means to search print set by the searching means, and wherein the.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily select an appropriate print setting from the accumulated print settings.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily select a print setting frequently used in the printing system from the accumulated print settings.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when selecting a print setting from the accumulated print settings, it is possible to take into account information on a defect recorded during printing according to the print setting.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when there is a predetermined operation input from the user, it can be determined that there is a problem during printing.

  According to the invention of claim 5, when the same user prints by specifying a plurality of print settings for the same processing data, there is a problem when printing by one of the print settings. It can be judged.

  According to the invention of claim 6, when using a print setting in which a problem has occurred in the past, it is possible to warn and alert the user.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in a printing system including at least one client device and a print control device, it is possible to easily select an appropriate print setting from the accumulated print settings.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of the printing system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 is a system in which at least one client device 10 and a printer 20 are connected via a network 30. The network 30 may be, for example, a network that performs communication using a TCP / IP protocol, and is configured as either the Internet or an intranet, or a combination of both. Details of the client device 10 and the printer 20 will be described below.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the client device 10 is a device including a control unit 100, a storage unit 102, an input unit 104, a display unit 106, and a communication unit 108 as a functional configuration. Hereinafter, details of each unit provided in the client device 10 will be described.

  The control unit 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU), and controls the hardware of each unit constituting the client device 10 and the timing of processing performed in each unit. For example, the control unit 100 reads a program stored in the storage unit 102 and sequentially executes instructions of the read program.

  The storage unit 102 includes a storage device such as a memory element or a magnetic disk. The storage unit 102 stores programs and data, and is also used as a working memory for the control unit 100. In the present embodiment, the program stored in the storage unit 102 controls various application programs such as document creation / editing and image creation / editing, and communication and processing with the printer 20 in addition to a control program such as an operating system. A printer driver program is included. These programs may be stored in advance in the storage unit 102, or may be stored in a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, flash memory, or any other form of information storage medium. When the program is stored in the information storage medium, the program is read from the information storage medium by a medium reading device (not shown) connected to the client device 10. Further, the above program may be downloaded via the network 30.

  The input unit 104 receives information input to the client device 10. The input unit 104 may receive information input from an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse connected to the client device 10. The input unit 104 receives a print request from a user and an input value of a print setting (print property) in response to an operation input from a keyboard or the like.

  The display unit 106 visualizes and displays an image and a character string on a display device such as a display based on the graphic data generated by the control unit 100. The display unit 106 includes a graphic interface and a display. The graphic interface includes a graphic memory (VRAM), and transfers image data drawn in the graphic memory to the display. The display displays an image based on the transferred image data.

  The communication unit 108 includes a network interface card (NIC) and connects to the network 30 via the network interface card. The communication unit 108 performs data communication with other information devices connected to the network 30. In the present embodiment, the client device 10 performs data communication with the printer 20 using the TCP / IP protocol.

  Next, details of the printer 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 20 is a device that includes a control unit 200, a storage unit 202, an image forming unit 204, and a communication unit 206 as a functional configuration. Hereinafter, details of each unit provided in the printer 20 will be described.

  The control unit 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU), and controls the hardware of each unit constituting the client device 10 and the timing of processing performed in each unit. For example, the control unit 200 reads a program stored in the storage unit 202 and sequentially executes instructions of the read program. The control unit 200 includes an image forming processing unit that performs rasterization based on PDL data included in the print instruction data.

  The storage unit 202 includes a storage device such as a memory element or a magnetic disk. The storage unit 202 stores programs and data. The program stored in the storage unit 202 includes a control program for controlling each unit of the printer 20. The data stored in the storage unit 202 includes a print setting information table that manages print settings specified by each client device 10. Details of the print setting information table will be described later.

  The image forming unit 204 forms an image on printing paper based on image data (raster data) generated by an image forming processing unit included in the control unit 200. The image forming unit 204 forms a transfer image on the photoconductor based on the image data transmitted from the control unit 200. Then, the image forming unit 204 transfers the transfer image formed on the photosensitive member to the printing paper fed by the paper feeding mechanism. The printing paper on which the image is transferred is discharged by a paper discharge mechanism provided in the image forming unit 204. Thus, the image forming process (printing process) by the image forming unit 204 is performed.

  The communication unit 206 includes a network interface card (NIC) and connects to the network 30 via the network interface card. The communication unit 206 performs data communication with other information devices connected to the network 30. In the present embodiment, the printer 20 performs data communication with the client device 10 using the TCP / IP protocol.

  Details of the print setting information table stored in the storage unit 202 of the printer 20 will be described below. As described above, the print setting information table is table information that manages print settings specified by each client device 10.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the print setting information table. As shown in FIG. 2, the print setting information table stores records in units of combinations of data names and print settings. Each record stores a counter that counts the frequency of printing according to the combination of the data name and the print setting. The data name is, for example, the name of data that is the basis when generating print instruction data (print job). The data includes data in various formats such as application data such as text data and electronic documents, and image data in various formats such as bitmap and JPEG. The print settings include layout setting information related to the layout and color setting information related to the color. Hereinafter, details of each item of the print setting will be described.

  The print setting layout setting information includes output paper size, magnification setting, duplex printing setting, page layout setting, and printing type. The output paper size is information that specifies the size of the paper used for printing. The magnification setting is information for designating an enlargement / reduction ratio at the time of enlargement or reduction printing. The enlargement / reduction ratio may be a value that designates a range of 20% -400% in units of 1%, for example. If no value is specified for the enlargement / reduction ratio, normal printing without enlargement / reduction, that is, 100% magnification may be designated. The double-sided printing setting is information for designating whether or not double-sided printing is performed. The page layout setting is information specifying how many pages of image data based on the print instruction data are to be printed on one page of printing paper. The booklet printing is information that specifies whether to output a printed matter in the form of a booklet.

  The color setting information of the print setting includes a color mode and image quality adjustment. The color mode is information for designating the type of color used for printing. Examples of the color mode include gray scale and full color mode. The image quality adjustment is information for specifying the print image quality. For example, when the printer 20 has an automatic image quality adjustment function, “recommended” or the like may be designated.

  The counter recorded for each record counts the number of times of printing performed by the combination of the data name stored in the record and the print setting. Here, the counter may count the number of times of printing every time the print instruction data is processed, or may count the number of times of printing according to the number of copies and pages of the printed material printed based on the print instruction data.

  Next, the flow of printing processing in the printing system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of processing mainly by the client device 10. In the client device 10, for example, it is assumed that an application program such as a word processor is operating. At this time, when the client device 10 receives a print request by an operation input by the user (S101), the client device 10 performs the following processing in accordance with a command of the printer driver program.

  In the printing system 1, the print setting information stored in the print setting information table is searched based on the data name for which the print instruction is given (S102). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the print setting is retrieved by the printer 20. Hereinafter, a print setting search process performed in the printing system 1 will be described in detail.

  The client device 10 transmits the data name to the printer 20. Then, the printer 20 receives the data name transmitted by the client device 10. Next, the printer 20 refers to the print setting information table and searches for print settings having the highest specified frequency, that is, the largest counter value among the print settings stored in association with the received data name. To do. For example, when the print setting information table is as shown in FIG. 2, “save information A” having the maximum frequency stored for the data name (x.doc) is taken as the search result. Then, the printer 20 transmits the print setting included in the searched “saved information A” to the client device 10.

  The client device 10 receives the print setting transmitted from the printer 20. Then, the client device 10 displays a print setting screen in which the received print settings are set to initial values on the display unit 106 (S103). Further, in the above search processing, when the print setting associated with the data name transmitted by the client device 10 is not searched, a print setting screen in which default values of the printer driver are set may be displayed.

  Note that the print setting search process is not limited to the above-described mode. For example, the client device 10 may perform print setting search processing. In this case, the client device 10 acquires a copy of the print setting information table stored in the printer 20 and stores it in the storage unit 102 of the client device 10. Then, the client device 10 may search for the print setting with reference to the print setting information table stored in the storage unit 102.

  Next, the print setting is determined based on the information input in the input field of the print setting screen displayed on the display unit 106 (S104). The print setting may be corrected by inputting a value into the print setting screen using the input unit. When print settings are determined and printing is instructed according to the contents, print instruction data (print job) in a format that can be processed by the printer 20 is generated based on the processing data and the print settings (S105). .

  The client device 10 transmits the generated print instruction data (print job) to the printer 20 (S106). The printer 20 receives the print instruction data transmitted from the client device 10 and stores it in the print queue. Then, the printer 20 sequentially processes the print instruction data stored in the print queue.

  Next, details of processing in the printer 20 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  The printer 20 reads the print instruction data stored in the print queue (S201). The printer 20 updates the print setting information table based on the read print instruction data. The print setting information table update process will be described below.

  The control unit 200 extracts the data name of the application data and the print setting data from the print instruction data. Then, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the combination of the extracted data name and the setting contents of the print setting data is already stored in the print setting information table (S202). When determining that the data has already been stored (S202: Y), the control unit 200 adds 1 to the counter of the record and updates it (S203). If the control unit 200 determines that the above combination is not stored in the print setting information table (S202: N), the control unit 200 adds and updates a new record (S204). Note that “1” is input to the counter of the record to be added.

  When the update of the print setting information table is completed, the printer 20 performs print processing based on the read print instruction data (print job) (S205). That is, the printer 20 rasterizes the PDL data included in the print instruction data, and generates image data (raster data). Then, the printer 20 transfers the generated image data to the image forming unit 204, and the image forming unit 204 forms an image on the printing paper. Thus, the process using one print instruction data is completed. The printer 20 sequentially processes the print instruction data if they remain in the print queue.

  According to the printing system 1 described above, it is possible to easily select an appropriate print setting from the accumulated print settings. Thus, the user's trouble can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that print error information is added to a record in the print setting information table, and the print error information is used when searching for print settings. Hereinafter, the description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted, and the configuration unique to the second embodiment will be mainly described.

  The print setting information table according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, in the second embodiment, user information and print error information are newly added to the record in the print setting information table.

  The user information is information for identifying the user who has requested printing, that is, the owner of the print instruction data. The user information is information included in the print instruction data. The printer 20 extracts user information included in the print instruction data, and stores the user information in the print setting information table.

  The printing error information is information recorded based on a determination as to whether or not printing performed based on the print instruction data is in a mode desired by the user. In this embodiment, the printing error information is recorded as “Missed” or “No Missed”. An example of the case where “missing” is recorded in the printing error information is given below.

  The first case is a case where a predetermined operation is performed by the user on the client device 10 or the printer 20 while the printer 20 is processing the print instruction data. The predetermined operation is, for example, an operation input requesting to cancel printing (pressing a print cancel button or the like).

  The second case is when printing is performed by specifying different print settings from the same user for the processing data (application data). For example, in addition to the latest print setting designated by the same user, “Missed” may be recorded in the print error information. This is because the fact that the user specified different print settings for the same data and performed printing again is presumed that there was an error in the previous print settings.

  Next, print setting search processing performed in the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the client device 10 acquires a print setting information table from the printer 20 and stores the print setting information table in the storage unit 102 of the client device 10. The print setting information table stored in the storage unit 102 of the client device 10 is synchronized with the print setting information table in the printer 20 so as to be always the latest information.

  When the client device 10 receives a print request from the user (S301), the print setting is searched from the print setting information table stored in the storage unit 102 (S302). In the present embodiment, the client device 10 searches for a record (saved information) in which the printing error information is “no error” and the value stored in the counter is large, based on the processing data (application data) name. The print setting stored in the record retrieved by the above processing is input to the initial value of the print setting screen and displayed on the display unit 106 (S303).

  Next, the print setting is determined based on the information input in the input field of the print setting screen displayed on the display unit 106 (S304). The print setting may be corrected by inputting a value into the print setting screen using the input unit. Then, when the print setting is determined, the control unit 100 determines, with reference to the print setting information table, whether or not “missed” is recorded in the print error information for the determined print setting (S305). ). Here, when the control unit 100 determines that “Miss” is recorded (S305: Y), the display unit 106 prints “Same setting, printing canceled or another setting. A warning such as “Do you want to print with this setting?” Is displayed (S306). If the user resets the print settings in response to the displayed warning (S307: Y), the process returns to S304. On the other hand, if the user does not reset the print settings regardless of the warning (S307: N), the control unit 100 can process the printer 20 based on the processing data and the specified print settings. Format print instruction data (print job) is generated (S308). The client device 10 transmits the generated print instruction data to the printer 20 via the communication unit 108 (S309).

  Next, processing in the printer 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 20 reads the print instruction data stored in the print queue (S401). The printer 20 updates the print setting information table based on the read print instruction data. The print setting information table update process will be described below.

  The control unit 200 extracts the data name of the application data and the print setting data from the print instruction data. Then, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the combination of the extracted data name and the setting content of the print setting data is already stored in the print setting information table (S402). When determining that the data has already been stored (S402: Y), the control unit 200 adds 1 to the counter of the record and updates it (S403).

  If the control unit 200 determines that the above combination is not stored in the print setting information table (S402: N), the control unit 200 is further specified when the same data is printed by the same user. It is determined whether or not a record storing the print setting is included in the print setting information table (S404). Here, when it is determined that the above-described record is included in the print setting information table (S404: Y), the control unit 200 sets “missed” for at least one of the records. Record. The control unit 200 adds a new record based on the read print instruction data (S406).

  In addition, when it is determined that the print setting information table does not include a record that stores the print setting designated when the same user prints the same data name (S404: N) A new record is added and updated based on the read print instruction data as it is (S406). Note that “1” is input to the counter of the record to be added.

  When the update of the print setting information table is completed, the printer 20 performs print processing based on the read print instruction data (print job) (S407). Here, when the cancellation of printing is accepted (S408: Y), “Missed” is recorded for the print instruction data being processed (S409). If printing has not been canceled (S408: N), “no mistake” is recorded, and the printing process is terminated.

  According to the printing system 1 described above, it is possible to easily select a print setting without any trouble from the accumulated print settings.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, only one client device 10 is shown, but the present invention can also be applied to a system configured by connecting a plurality of client devices 10 and printers 20. It is.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting information table. FIG. It is a flowchart of the process by a client apparatus. It is a flowchart of the process by a printer. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting information table. FIG. It is a flowchart of the process by a client apparatus. It is a flowchart of the process by a printer.

Explanation of symbols

  1 printing system, 10 client device, 20 printer, 30 network, 100 control unit, 102 storage unit, 104 input unit, 106 display unit, 108 communication unit, 200 control unit, 202 storage unit, 204 image forming unit, 206 communication unit .

Claims (7)

A specifying means for specifying print settings;
Generating means for generating print instruction data based on the processing data and the print settings;
Printing means for printing based on the print instruction data generated by the generating means;
Storage means for storing the frequency of printing by the printing means in association with each combination of the processing data and print settings;
Search means for searching print settings based on the frequency stored in the storage means in association with the processing data,
The print setting searched by the search means can be specified by the specifying means.
A printing system characterized by that. The search means searches for a print setting that is frequently stored in the storage means in association with the processing data;
A printing system characterized by that. A judgment means for judging whether or not a problem has occurred in printing based on the print instruction data;
The storage means further stores a determination result by the determination means in association with a combination of the processing data corresponding to the print instruction data and a print setting,
The retrieval unit retrieves a print setting based on a frequency and a determination result stored in the storage unit in association with the processing data;
The printing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. And further includes a receiving means for receiving an operation by the user,
The determination unit determines that a problem has occurred in printing based on the print instruction data when a predetermined operation is received by the reception unit;
The printing system according to claim 3. The print instruction data includes user information,
The storage means further stores the user information in association with a combination of the processing data corresponding to the print instruction data and a print setting,
The determination unit determines that a failure has occurred in printing based on at least one of the combinations of the processing data and print settings in which the same user information is stored in association with the processing data in the storage unit. To
The printing system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the above. A warning means for warning when a determination result stored in the storage means in association with a combination of processing data and a print setting designated by the designation means indicates that a malfunction has occurred;
The printing system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein: Including at least one client device and a print control device;
Each of the client devices is
A specifying means for specifying print settings;
Generating means for generating print instruction data based on the processing data and the print settings;
Transmission means for transmitting the print instruction data generated by the generation means to the print control apparatus,
The print control device includes:
Receiving means for receiving the print instruction data transmitted by the transmitting means;
Printing means for printing based on the print instruction data received by the receiving means;
Storage means for associating and storing the frequency of printing by the printing means for each combination of the processing data and print settings,
The client device further includes
Search means for searching print settings based on the frequency stored in the storage means in association with the processing data,
The print setting searched by the search means can be specified by the specifying means.
A printing system characterized by that.

Images