JP2009070169A - Image-forming system, information-processing device, web page print-supporting method, and web page print-supportting program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image-forming system which improves visibility when a web page is printed and reduces a printing cost, and also provide an information-processing device, a web page print supporting method, and a web page print supporting program thereof. <P>SOLUTION: In a web page print supporting system 1, an information processing device 100 having a display means 102 which displays a web page 11 is connected to an image forming device 200 which prints the web page 11 in response to a printing request. In this case, the web page print supporting system 1 is provided with; an image determination means 44 which determines whether a prescribed image Ia is included in the web page 11 on the basis of the image definition data 51i of the web page 11; an image definition data deleting means 45 which deletes the image definition data 51i from the page data 51 of the web page 11; and a print request means 33 which request the image forming device 200 to print the page data 51 after the deletion from the information-processing device 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, an information processing apparatus, and a Web page printing support in which a print request is made to an image forming apparatus from an information processing apparatus browsing a Web page and the image forming apparatus prints a Web page in response to the print request The present invention relates to a method and a Web page printing support program.

  Conventionally, when a web page viewed from a web browser is printed, the page data is not created in consideration of printing by the creator of the web page. As described above, there is a problem that the entire page does not fit in the print area of recording paper such as paper, and a part of the page is not printed.

  Therefore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-228867 discloses that an image forming apparatus that reconfigures a Web page so that an image or text included in the Web page has an appropriate size according to the size of recording paper to be printed, and prints it as data for printing. Web page printing support system that “send to” is disclosed, and by using such a system, even if the Web page is not created in consideration of printing, the user has a good appearance. Printing results can be obtained.

  Currently, Web pages published on the Internet are used as one of advertising media with the spread of networks and information processing apparatuses. For example, a banner advertisement, which is a method of pasting an advertisement image on a web page and linking to an advertiser's website, is a typical example.

In the Web page printing support system described in Patent Document 1, Web page reconstruction according to the size of the recording paper of the system is possible even for Web pages that are complicatedly composed of various contents including advertisement images as described above. With the function, the entire Web page is printed in the print area of the recording paper, and a good-looking print result can be obtained.
JP 2007-18287 A

  However, in the Web page printing support system described in Patent Document 1, in addition to an image that is necessary information for a user, an unnecessary image such as an advertisement image that does not need to be printed is printed. There is a problem that necessary information is difficult to see, and further, there is a problem that unnecessary toner is consumed by printing an unnecessary image, and paper resources are consumed due to an excessive number of printed sheets.

  As described above, in the conventional Web page printing support system, the good appearance when the Web page is printed is taken into consideration, but “how to print necessary information in an easy-to-view form (improvement of visibility)” And “how to reduce printing costs (low cost)” are not considered, and it cannot be said that the Web page printing service desired by the user can be provided.

  In the present invention, in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, in Web page printing, an image forming system, an information processing apparatus, a Web page printing support method, which can improve the visibility of the printing result and reduce the cost for printing, An object of the present invention is to provide a Web page printing support program.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming system according to the present invention includes an information processing apparatus having display means for displaying a Web page and an image forming apparatus that prints the Web page in response to a print request from the information processing apparatus. An image determination unit for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data that defines information about an image displayed on the Web page; The image definition data deleting means for deleting the image definition data defining the predetermined image from the page data of the Web page based on the determination result by the image determining means, and the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus A print request for requesting printing of the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deletion unit And having a stage.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming system of the present invention, the information processing apparatus uses the page data acquisition means for acquiring the page data of the Web page and the page data as a search key using a predetermined character string. Image definition data search means for searching the page data acquired by the acquisition means and extracting the image definition data defined in the page data is provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming system of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes a print request source determination unit that determines whether or not the application software that is a print request source is a Web browser. The page data acquisition unit acquires the page data when the print request source determination unit determines that the print request source is the Web browser.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming system of the present invention, in the image definition data deleting unit, the image determining unit retrieves the image definition data retrieved and extracted by the image definition data retrieving unit. The image definition data defining the predetermined image is deleted from the page data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming system according to the present invention includes a determination condition setting unit that sets a determination condition when the information processing apparatus determines whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page. The image determination unit determines whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on the determination condition set by the determination condition setting unit.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the image forming system of the present invention, in the image determination unit, the image displayed on the Web page is added to the image displayed on the Web page based on the storage location of the image data defined in the image definition data. It is characterized by determining whether or not a predetermined image is included.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming system of the present invention is displayed on the Web page based on a character string indicating the content of the image data defined in the image definition data in the image determination unit. It is determined whether or not the predetermined image is included in the image.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming system of the present invention is displayed on the Web page based on the horizontal width and / or vertical width of the image data defined in the image definition data in the image determination unit. It is determined whether or not the predetermined image is included in the image.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the image forming system of the present invention, all the images displayed on the Web page by the image definition data retrieved and extracted by the image definition data retrieval unit in the image determination unit. Is determined as the predetermined image.

  Thus, the image forming system according to the present invention determines whether or not an unnecessary image is included in the Web page according to a predetermined determination condition based on the image definition data that defines information about the image displayed on the Web page. If there is an unnecessary image on the Web page, the image definition data defining the unnecessary image is deleted from the page data of the Web page, and the image forming apparatus is requested to print the deleted page data. As a result, in Web page printing, the visibility of the print result is good (a print result composed of necessary information is obtained), and the cost for printing is reduced (excess toner and paper for unnecessary image printing) Resources).

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays a Web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a Web page in response to a print request. An information processing apparatus that requests the image forming apparatus to print the Web page that has been processed, and the Web page includes a predetermined image based on image definition data that defines information about an image displayed on the Web page An image determination unit that determines whether or not the image definition data is deleted, and an image definition data deletion unit that deletes the image definition data that defines the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determination unit. Requesting the image forming apparatus to print the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deleting means. And having a print requesting unit.

  As a result, the information processing apparatus of the present invention has good visibility of print results in Web page printing (a print result composed of necessary information is obtained), and reduces printing costs (unnecessary image printing). Can reduce excess toner and paper resources.

  In order to achieve the above object, a Web page printing support method of the present invention includes a display unit that displays a Web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a Web page in response to a print request. A web page printing support method in an information processing apparatus for requesting the image forming apparatus to print the web page displayed by the method, based on image definition data defining information about an image displayed on the web page An image determination procedure for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in a Web page, and the image definition data for defining the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determination procedure The image definition data deletion procedure to be deleted, and the image definition data deleted by the image definition data deletion procedure And having a print request procedure for requesting printing of Jideta to the image forming apparatus.

  Accordingly, the Web page printing support method of the present invention determines whether or not an unnecessary image is included in the Web page according to a predetermined determination condition based on the image definition data that defines information about the image displayed on the Web page. If there is an unnecessary image on the Web page, the image definition data defining the unnecessary image is deleted from the page data of the Web page, and the image forming apparatus is requested to print the page data after the deletion. be able to.

  Therefore, the Web page printing support method of the present invention has good visibility of the print result (a print result composed of necessary information is obtained) in Web page printing, and reduces the cost for printing (unnecessary image) It is possible to reduce excess toner and paper resources for printing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a Web page printing support program according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays a Web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a Web page in response to a print request. A Web page printing support program in an information processing apparatus that requests the image forming apparatus to print the Web page displayed by the computer, based on image definition data that defines information about an image displayed on the Web page An image determination unit that determines whether or not the predetermined image is included in the Web page, and the image that defines the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determination unit Image definition data deleting means for deleting definition data, and the image definition data deleting means To function to print the page data definition data is deleted as a print requesting means for requesting said image forming apparatus.

  Accordingly, the Web printing support program of the present invention causes the computer to include an unnecessary image in the Web page according to a predetermined determination condition based on the image definition data that defines information about the image displayed on the Web page. If there is an unnecessary image on the Web page, the image definition data defining the unnecessary image is deleted from the page data of the Web page, and the page data after deletion is printed on the image forming apparatus. Can function as required.

  Therefore, the Web printing support program of the present invention can realize a Web page printing function that can improve the visibility of the printing result and reduce the printing cost in the image forming apparatus in the image forming system.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming system, an information processing apparatus, a Web page printing support method, and a Web page printing support program capable of reducing the printing cost in web page printing with good visibility of the printing result. Can be provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
First, the system configuration of the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a terminal that has a display unit (display device described later) for displaying a Web page and is used when a user browses the Web page, as shown in FIG. An information processing apparatus 100 and an image forming apparatus 200 that prints a Web page in response to a print request from the information processing apparatus 100 are connected by a data transmission path 90 capable of communicating print data. The data transmission path 90 that connects the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or a network cable. However, the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 are not limited to these means, and a network (data communication) such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) constructed by a wired and / or wireless line. The image forming system 1 may have a means for performing data communication such as print data between the apparatuses.

<< Hardware configuration >>
Now, a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 constituting the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[Information processing device (terminal)]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an input device 101, a display device 102, a drive device 103, a recording medium 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 106, and a CPU. (Central Processing Unit) 107, interface device 108, and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 109 are connected to each other via a bus.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used to input each operation signal to the information processing device 100. The display device 102 is configured by a display (display means) or the like, and displays a web page via, for example, a web browser. The interface device 108 is an interface that connects the information processing apparatus 100 to a data transmission path 90 such as a network. The HDD 109 stores programs and data relating to an OS (Operating System) that is basic software, application software that implements various functions including a Web page printing support function and a Web browser according to the present embodiment, and the like. Further, the HDD 109 manages various data including unnecessary image determination condition data used in the Web page printing support function according to the present embodiment by a predetermined file system or DB.

  A Web page printing support program for realizing the Web page printing function according to the present embodiment is provided to the information processing apparatus 100 by a recording medium 104 such as a CD-ROM, or through a network that is the data transmission path 90. Downloaded. The recording medium 104 is set in the drive device 103, and a Web page printing support program is installed in the HDD 109 from the recording medium 104 via the drive device 103.

  The ROM 105 stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) program executed when the information processing apparatus 100 is activated and various data. The RAM 106 temporarily stores various programs and data read from the ROM 105 and the HDD 109. The CPU 107 executes a program temporarily stored in the RAM 106.

[Image forming apparatus]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 21, a storage medium I / F 22, a controller 23, a data communication I / F 24, an HDD 209, a scanner 25, and a plotter 26, and each includes a bus. Are connected to each other.

  The operation panel 21 includes an input device 201 and a display device 202. The input device 201 includes hardware keys and the like, and is used to input each operation signal to the image forming apparatus 200. The display device 202 is configured by a display or the like, and displays, for example, various types of information related to the image forming operation. The data communication I / F 24 includes an interface device 208, and is an interface that connects the image processing device 200 to a data transmission path 90 such as a network. The HDD 209 stores various data such as received document data and read image data handled by the image forming apparatus 200. The HDD 209 manages these various data by a predetermined file system or DB.

  The various data stored in the HDD 209 includes electronic data recorded by an external device such as a digital camera. In such a case, it is provided to the image forming apparatus 200 by a recording medium 204 such as a memory card, or is uploaded through a network or the like as the data transmission path 90. The recording medium 204 is set in the drive device 203 included in the storage medium I / F 22, and various data is stored in the HDD 209 from the recording medium 204 via the drive device 203.

  The controller 23 includes a ROM 205, a RAM 206, and a CPU 207, and the ROM 205 stores programs executed when the image forming apparatus 200 is activated and various data. The RAM 206 temporarily stores various programs and data read from the ROM 205 and the HDD 209. Further, the CPU 207 executes a program temporarily stored in the RAM 206. For example, when the print data is received via the data communication I / F 24, the controller 23 executes a program (PDL parser) that can interpret a PDL (Page Description Language) read from the ROM 205 onto the RAM 206 by the CPU 207. Then, the print data is interpreted to generate a bitmap image.

  The scanner 25 has an image reading device 210 and optically reads a document placed on a reading surface and generates image data. The plotter 26 has a printing device 211, and prints a bitmap image on a recording sheet by, for example, an electrophotographic process method.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to this embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 executes the Web page printing support program read into the RAM 106 by the CPU 107 and refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data stored in the HDD 109. Then, according to a predetermined determination condition, the image definition data that defines an unnecessary image is deleted from the page data of the Web page, and the print data of the deleted page data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200 via the interface device 108. Yes.

  In the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the CPU 207 executes a program that can interpret the PDL read into the RAM 206 of the controller 23 by the image forming apparatus 200, and print data received from the information processing apparatus 100. A bitmap image is generated from the image data, and the generated bitmap data is transferred to the plotter 26 via a bus to print a web page.

<< Software configuration >>
Next, the software configuration of the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[Information processing device (terminal)]
In the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, a Web browser 31 that is application software for browsing a Web page, and an unnecessary image deletion program 32 that deletes unnecessary images such as advertisement images displayed on the Web page. A printer driver 33 that generates print data interpretable by the image forming apparatus 200 based on application data generated by application software and transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus 200 is executed by the CPU 107 and operates on the OS. .

[Image forming apparatus]
In the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment, a PDL parser (not shown) that interprets print data described in PDL is mainly executed and operated by the CPU 207 of the controller 23.

[Operation overview]
The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment has the software configuration as described above, and prints a Web page according to the following procedure.

(Procedure 1) Acceptance of print request instruction from user The information processing apparatus 100 uses the Web browser 31 to transfer a print request instruction from the user received via a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to the unnecessary image deletion program 32. .

(Procedure 2) Deletion of Unnecessary Image When the information processing apparatus 100 receives a print request instruction from application software including the Web browser 31 by the unnecessary image deletion program 32, the information processing apparatus 100 determines whether the print request source is the Web browser 31 or not. When the print request source is the Web browser 31, the page data of the Web page (for example, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data) is acquired. The unnecessary image deletion program 32 determines whether an unnecessary image is included in the Web page according to a predetermined determination condition based on image definition data that defines information about an image displayed on the Web page included in the acquired page data. Judge whether or not. As a result, when it is determined that there is an unnecessary image on the Web page, the unnecessary image deletion program 32 deletes the image definition data that defines the unnecessary image from the page data, and prints the page data after the deletion together with the print request. Transfer to the driver 33.

(Procedure 3) Generation and Transmission of Print Data When the information processing apparatus 100 receives page data from which image definition data defining an unnecessary image has been deleted in the unnecessary image deletion program 32 by the printer driver 33, the information processing apparatus 100 uses the page data as a basis. Then, print data described in PDL that can be interpreted by the PDL parser included in the image forming apparatus 200 is generated, and the generated print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200 together with the print request.

(Procedure 4) Printing Upon receiving the print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 200 interprets the print data with a PDL parser to generate a bitmap image, and the generated bitmap image is sent to the plotter 26. Transferred. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 prints the bitmap image on the recording paper by the plotter 26.

  As described above, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment performs the Web page printing with the above-described (Procedure 1) to (Procedure 4) with good visibility of the printing result and reducing the printing cost. Web page printing support function ”is realized.

<Web page printing support function>
Next, each means for realizing the “Web page printing support function” included in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of means for realizing the Web page printing support function included in the image forming system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

<< Overview of realization means configuration >>
The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment mainly includes an image determination unit 44 that determines whether or not an unnecessary image to be deleted is included among images displayed on a Web page, and a deletion target. The image definition data deleting unit 45 that deletes image definition data that defines an unnecessary image from the page data of the Web page, and the image forming apparatus 200 that requests printing of the page data from which the image definition data that defines an unnecessary image is deleted. A print request source determination unit 41 that determines whether or not the application software that requested the print is the Web browser 31, and a page data acquisition unit 42 that acquires page data of the Web page. And search for image definition data that is information about the image displayed on the Web page defined in the page data. Image definition data retrieval means 43 for output, and a determination condition setting means 46 for setting the judgment conditions for judging whether contains unwanted images in a Web page. Below, each said means is demonstrated easily.

  The image determination unit 44 is a unit that determines whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data that defines information about an image displayed on the Web page. Here, the “predetermined image” means an unnecessary image such as an advertisement image.

  The image definition data deletion unit 45 is a unit that deletes image definition data that defines an unnecessary image (predetermined image) from the page data of the Web page based on the determination result by the image determination unit 44.

  The print request unit 33 is a unit that requests the information processing apparatus 100 to the image forming apparatus 200 to print page data from which image definition data that defines an unnecessary image has been deleted by the image definition data deletion unit 45.

  The print request source determination unit 41 is a unit that determines whether the application software requested to print out of the application software of the information processing apparatus 100 is the Web browser 31.

  The page data acquisition means 42 is means for acquiring page data of a Web page to be printed from the Web browser 31.

  The image definition data search means 43 is means for searching the page data acquired by the page data acquisition means 42 using a predetermined character string as a search key and extracting the image definition data defined in the page data. Here, the “predetermined character string” means a character string such as an image tag (IMG tag) used when defining an image to be displayed on a web page in page data.

  The determination condition setting means 46 is a means for setting a determination condition for determining whether or not an unnecessary image (predetermined image) is included in the Web page.

  Among the above-described units, the print request source determination unit 41, the page data acquisition unit 42, the image definition data search unit 43, the image determination unit 44, and the image definition data deletion unit 45 are illustrated in FIG. The unnecessary image deletion program 32 of the software component included in the information processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. The print request unit 33 mentioned above is a unit included in the printer driver 33 and is realized by the CPU 107 executing the printer driver 33.

<< Overview of functional operation >>
Next, an outline of how the “Web page printing support function” of the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is operated by each of the means described above will be described below.

(Operation Procedure 1) Confirmation of Print Request Source In the information processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, first, the print request received by the unnecessary image deletion program 32 is requested from the web browser 31 by the print request source determination unit 41. Check if it is a thing. That is, it is determined whether the print request source is the Web browser 31 or another application software AP. When it is determined that the print request source is another application AP other than the Web browser 31, the print request source determination unit 41 transfers application data received together with the print request to the print request unit (printer driver) 33.

(Operation Procedure 2) Acquisition of Page Data When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the Web browser 31, the information processing apparatus 100 uses the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the Web browser 31. The page data of the Web page to be obtained is acquired.

(Operation Procedure 3) Extraction of Image Definition Data The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to extract the page data acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using a character string such as an image tag (IMG tag) as a search key. Search and extract corresponding image definition data. The extracted image definition data is a candidate for image definition data to be deleted as image definition data for defining an unnecessary image by the subsequent image definition data deleting means 45.

(Operation Procedure 4) Determination of Unnecessary Image and Identification of Unnecessary Image Definition Data The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image determination unit 44 to extract an image unnecessary for the Web page based on the image definition data extracted by the image definition data search unit 43. Whether or not is included is determined. At this time, the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data stored in the HDD 109 and determines whether or not an unnecessary image is included according to the determination condition selected and set by the determination condition setting unit 46. To do. When the image determination unit 41 determines that an unnecessary image is not included in the Web page, the image determination unit 41 transfers the page data received from the Web browser 31 together with the print request to the print request unit 33.

(Operation Procedure 5) Deletion of Unnecessary Image Definition Data The information processing apparatus 100 extracts an image extracted by the image definition data deletion unit 45 when the image determination unit 44 determines that an unnecessary image is included in the Web page. Image definition data defining an unnecessary image identified from the definition data is deleted from the page data. The image definition data deleting unit 45 transfers the deleted page data to the print request unit 33.

(Operation Procedure 6) Generation and Transmission of Print Data The information processing apparatus 100 uses the print request unit 33 from the print request source determination unit 41, the unnecessary image determination unit 44, and the image definition data deletion unit 45 of the unnecessary image deletion program 32. Based on the transferred page data of the Web page, print data that can be interpreted by the PDL parser included in the image forming apparatus 200 is generated according to the setting of the printing conditions and the like, and the generated print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200.

<Details of Web page printing support function>
From here, the “Web page printing support function” of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10 in addition to FIG.

<< Web page >>
A Web page that the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment performs printing by the image forming apparatus 200 will be briefly described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displaying the Web page 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  When viewed through the web browser 31, the web page 11 is displayed on the display screen with a page configuration as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The Web page 11 includes, in addition to text T and image Ia indicating the disclosed information, an image Ib that is not necessary as originally public information such as a banner advertisement.

  Therefore, in the “Web page printing support function” of the image forming system 1, by deleting the unnecessary image Ib such as an advertisement image from the Web page 11, only necessary information is printed, and the print result is highly visible. Good and reduce the cost of printing.

<< Data structure >>
First, data handled in the “Web page printing support function” will be described. In the Web page printing support function, mainly, page data in which each content displayed on the Web page 11 is defined in a structured language, and image definition data defining information about an image in the page data, Unnecessary image deletion processing is performed using unnecessary image determination condition data that is a determination condition for determining whether or not an unnecessary image is included in the Web page 11. The page data and the image definition data are read and temporarily stored in the RAM 106 during the unnecessary image deletion process, and the unnecessary image determination condition data is stored in the HDD 109 and read out to the RAM 106 as necessary. And temporarily held.

[Page data]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the page data 51 and the image definition data 51i according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The page data 51 is acquired from the web browser 31 by the page data acquisition unit 42 and temporarily held on the RAM 106 as described in the outline of the functional operation. The page data 51 is data described in a structured language such as HTML that can be interpreted by the Web browser 31 as shown in the data configuration example of FIG. In the page data 51 described in such a language, it is possible to define a logical structure, a display layout, and the like of information published on the Web page 11 using a character string called “tag”.

[Image definition data]
As shown in FIG. 7A, the image definition data 51i uses the “image tag” (“IMG tag” in the figure) in the page data 51 to define information about the image to be published on the Web page. This is a character string. In the image definition data 51i, as shown in FIG. 7B, information about an image can be defined as an attribute value. FIG. 7B shows storage location information 51ia (“bird001.jpg” in the figure) indicating the storage location of image data to be disclosed by a character string such as a file path, and the image size width / The size information 51ib ("250,180" in the figure) indicating the vertical width and the image information 51ic ("bird photograph" in the figure) indicating the description of the image contents, the image data name, etc. by an arbitrary character string An example of a data structure defined as each attribute value (“src”, “width, height”, and “alt” in the figure) according to the specification is shown.

[Unnecessary image determination condition data]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The unnecessary image determination condition data 61 includes determination condition information indicating the contents of the determination condition when determining an unnecessary image Ib and image definition data of an image corresponding to the determination condition as shown in FIG. Is stored in a predetermined storage area of the HDD 109. In FIG. 8, the determination condition 61a of “whether or not all the image definition data 51i included in the page data 51 is deleted” and “corresponding image definition data 51i based on the horizontal width and / or vertical width of the image size are displayed. An example of a data configuration configured with two types of determination conditions 61b is determined. More specific contents of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 shown in FIG. 8 are as follows.

(Example of unnecessary image judgment conditions)
a. All image tags (IMG tags) are determined to be deleted
b. An image tag (IMG tag) whose image width (WIDTH attribute) is a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
c. An image tag (IMG tag) whose image height (HEIGHT attribute) is a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
d. An image tag (IMG tag) in which either one of the vertical width and horizontal width (WIDTH attribute or HEIGHT attribute) of the image has a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
e. An image tag (IMG tag) having both predetermined height and width (WIDTH attribute and HEIGHT attribute) is determined as a deletion target.
f. Regardless of the vertical and horizontal width, an image tag (IMG tag) whose long side (the larger value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) does not match a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
g. Regardless of the vertical width and the horizontal width, an image tag (IMG tag) whose short side (the smaller value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) does not match a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target. This is a value set in advance as a threshold for determining whether or not the image is an unnecessary image.

<< Means for Realizing Web Page Printing Support Function >>
Hereinafter, the operation of the main means for realizing the “Web page printing support function” according to the present embodiment will be described using the data described above.

[Setting / updating unnecessary image determination condition data]
The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a determination condition setting unit 46 that sets / updates deletion presence / absence information of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen 71 for selecting an unnecessary image determination condition according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 shows a selected unnecessary according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of image determination conditions.

  For example, the determination condition setting unit 46 receives a determination condition selection result from the user via a selection screen 71 having a GUI function capable of selectively setting the determination condition as shown in FIG. 9, and based on the received selection result, The deletion presence / absence information of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 stored in the HDD 109 is updated.

  In the case of the selection screen 71 shown in FIG. 9, the determination condition setting means 46 includes a determination condition 61 b of the type that the user determines an unnecessary image based on the horizontal and vertical widths of the condition 2. When the content of “when the horizontal or vertical width of the image is a predetermined length” is selected (black circle in the figure) and the confirmation button B on the selection screen 71 is pressed, the result of the selected determination condition is accepted. The unnecessary image determination condition data 61 stored in the HDD 109 is referred to. As a result, based on the received selection result, the relevant judgment condition is identified from the judgment condition information, the deletion presence / absence information corresponding to the relevant judgment condition information is changed from “not deleted” to “deleted”, and the data Update. FIG. 10 shows a data configuration example of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 updated by the determination condition setting means 46 in accordance with the determination conditions selected and set on the selection screen 71 shown in FIG. The deletion information of the data area shown in the frame 61s is updated to “delete”.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the determination condition setting unit 46 allows the user to select and set the determination condition used when determining an unnecessary image Ib included in the Web page. . As a result, the user can confirm the content configuration of the Web page 11 that he / she browses and prints frequently, and can delete unnecessary images Ib with a certain degree of freedom.

[Extract image definition data]
The image definition data search unit 43 according to the present embodiment searches the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using a character string such as an image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and searches for the corresponding image definition data 51i. It is a means to extract.

  The image definition data search means 43 is, for example, a character string of an image tag (IMG tag) stored in advance in a non-volatile storage device as a search key in the case of the page data 51 shown in FIG. When the obtained page data 51 is searched using "<img src", a character string defining information about an image as shown by a broken line frame 51i in the figure "<img src =" bird001.jpg "width =" 250 "height =" 180 "alt =" bird image ">" is extracted as the image definition data 51i. The image definition data 51i extracted in this way is referred to by the image determination means 44 described later.

[Determination of unnecessary images and identification of unnecessary image definition data]
The image determination unit 44 according to the present embodiment is a unit that determines whether or not an unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11 based on the image definition data 51 i extracted by the image definition data search unit 43. The image determination unit 44 specifies image definition data 51i that defines an unnecessary image Ib by the following procedure.

(Procedure 1 for specifying) Obtaining determination conditions The image determination means 44 accesses a predetermined storage area of the HDD 109, is selected and set by the determination condition setting means 46 described above, and the deletion presence / absence information is updated. The unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is referred to. At this time, determination condition information in which the deletion presence / absence information of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is set to “delete” is acquired. For example, in the case of the data example of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 after the deletion presence / absence information update shown in FIG. 10, the image determination unit 44 determines the determination condition “image width or "When the vertical width is a predetermined length" is acquired.

(Procedure 2 for specifying) Specifying image definition data to be deleted The image determination means 44, from all the image definition data 51i included in the page data 51 extracted by the image definition data acquisition means 43 according to the acquired determination condition, The image definition data 51i corresponding to the determination condition is specified. The image definition data 51i specified at this time is a target to be deleted from the page data 51 as the image definition data 51i of the unnecessary image Ib.

  For example, in the case of the determination condition “delete corresponding image definition data 51i when the horizontal or vertical width of the image is a threshold value”, the horizontal and vertical widths of the image size defined in the extracted image definition data 51i Is compared with a preset threshold value, and the image definition data 51i having the same value is specified as image definition data 51i that defines an unnecessary image Ib to be deleted.

  Thereby, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment can specify an unnecessary image Ib such as an advertisement image included in the page data 51 of the Web page 11 in accordance with a predetermined determination condition selected and set by the user. .

[Delete unnecessary image definition data]
The image definition data deletion unit 45 according to the present embodiment, when the image determination unit 44 determines that the unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11, the unnecessary image definition data 51i identified from the extracted image definition data 51i. This is means for deleting the image definition data 51 i defining the image Ib from the page data 51. At this time, as a method of deleting the image definition data 51i from the page data 51, for example, a method of deleting all the character strings (one line) of the image definition data 51i to be deleted in the page data 51, or an image definition There is a method of replacing the character string of the information 51ia indicating the storage location of the image data of the data 51i with a dummy character string. The image definition data deleting unit 45 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33 together with the print request.

  As a result, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment can generate page data 51 including only information necessary for the user in the Web page 11. As a result, the image forming system 1 prints the page data 51 composed only of necessary information with the image forming apparatus 200 so that the visibility of the printing result is good, and toner or paper by printing unnecessary information. Resource consumption can be reduced.

As described so far, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is based on the image definition data 51i that defines information about the image displayed on the Web page 11 according to a predetermined determination condition. It is determined whether or not an unnecessary image Ib is included in the page 11, and when there is an unnecessary image Ib in the Web page 11, image definition data that defines the unnecessary image Ib from the page data 51 of the Web page 11 By deleting 51i and requesting the image forming apparatus 200 to print the page data 51 after the deletion, it is possible to provide a Web page printing support function that improves the visibility of the print result and reduces the cost of printing. <Processing procedure>
From here, a specific processing procedure of the “Web page printing support function” according to the present embodiment described above will be described with reference to FIGS. The processing procedure described below is mainly a procedure performed by the unnecessary image deletion program 32 executed by the CPU 107 of the information processing apparatus 100 that is a component of the image forming system 1.

<< Basic processing procedure >>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a basic processing procedure of the Web page printing support function according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 receives a print request from the application software AP (step S101), and the application software requested to print by the print request source determination unit 41 is the Web browser 31. It is determined whether or not (step S102).

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is not the Web browser 31 (when Step S102 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 proceeds to the processing procedure of Step S104, and the application to be printed Data is transferred to the print request means 33.

  If the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the Web browser 31 (step S102: YES), the unnecessary image deletion that deletes the unnecessary image Ib displayed on the Web page 31 is deleted. The process is executed (step S103), and the page data 51 of the Web page 11 from which the unnecessary image Ib is deleted is transferred to the print request unit 33. (Step S104).

  As described above, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment deletes the unnecessary image Ib displayed on the Web page 11 in response to the print request from the Web browser 31, and the Web includes only necessary information. By transferring the page data 51 of the page 11 to the printer driver 33 and printing the print data generated by the print request unit 33 by the image forming apparatus 100, the visibility of the print result is good and the cost for printing is reduced. "Web page printing support function" is realized.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure for each determination condition of the unnecessary image Ib in the unnecessary image deletion processing in step S103 of FIG. 11 will be described.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 1) >>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example (part 1) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows a processing procedure when the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “a. Judge all image tags (IMG tags) as deletion targets” described with reference to FIG. It is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S201).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, and the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 and extracts the extracted image according to the determination condition “a. Determine all image tags (IMG tags) as deletion targets”. It is determined that all the definition data 51i are to be deleted, and all the image definition data 51i included in the page data 51 is deleted by the image definition data deleting unit 45 based on the determination result (step S202). Thereafter, the page data 51 after deletion is transferred to the print request unit 33 by the image definition data deletion unit 45.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, since all images are to be deleted, reduction of toner consumption and saving of paper resources can be maximized. However, in the above processing procedure, there is a possibility that even an image necessary for the user is to be deleted. Therefore, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the images to be deleted can be narrowed down according to the determination conditions shown in the subsequent unnecessary image deletion processes (No. 2) to (No. 7).

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 2) >>
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example (No. 2) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows a processing procedure when the determination condition for determining an unnecessary image Ib is “b. Determine image tag (IMG tag) whose image width (WIDTH attribute) is a predetermined value as a deletion target”. It is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S301).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, and the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 and determines that “b. Image tag (IMG tag) whose image width (WIDTH attribute) is a predetermined value is to be deleted. The attribute value indicating the width of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i matches the predetermined value (threshold value) in accordance with the determination condition “Yes” It is determined whether or not to perform (step S302).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S302 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data deletion unit 45. The image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S304).

  If the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size does not match the predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S302 is NO), it is unnecessary for all the extracted image definition data 51i. It is determined whether image determination has been performed (step S303).

  As a result, if it is determined that the unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the image definition data 51i (YES in step S303), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S303), the process proceeds to step S305 and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S302).

  In many cases, only the horizontal width of advertisement images is unified. In such a case, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, unnecessary image deletion processing can be effectively performed on an image with a uniform horizontal width according to the determination conditions shown in the processing procedure.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 3) >>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example (No. 3) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 shows a process in the case where the determination condition for determining an unnecessary image Ib is “c. Determine image tag (IMG tag) whose image vertical width (HEIGHT attribute) is a predetermined value as a deletion target”. The procedure is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S401).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is referred to by the image determination means 44, and “c. Image tag (IMG tag) whose image vertical width (HEIGHT attribute) is a predetermined value is to be deleted. An attribute value indicating the vertical size of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i in accordance with the determination condition “determine” is a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance. (Step S402).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical size of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S402 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 determines the image definition data deletion unit 45. Thus, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S404).

  If the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical width of the image size does not match the predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S402 is NO), all the extracted image definition data 51i It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed (step S403).

  As a result, when it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the image definition data 51i (YES in step S403), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S403), the process proceeds to step S405, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S402).

  In the Web page 11, there is a method of adjusting the screen layout using an image in which only the vertical width is specified as a spacer (position adjustment). When such a spacer is used, the layout on the screen is optimized, and printing on recording paper is not considered. In such a case, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the unnecessary image Ib is deleted from the Web page 11 by the processing procedure according to the determination condition, so that the visibility of the print result is good and the printing is started. Cost can be reduced.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 4) >>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example (No. 4) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 15, the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “d. An image tag (IMG tag) in which one of the vertical and horizontal widths of the image (WIDTH attribute or HEIGHT attribute) is a predetermined value. The processing procedure in the case of “determining as a deletion target” is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S501).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, and the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61. “d. Image with either a vertical or horizontal width (WIDTH attribute or HEIGHT attribute) of a predetermined value. An attribute value indicating the width of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i is set in advance according to the determination condition “determine that the tag (IMG tag) is to be deleted”. It is determined whether or not the predetermined value (threshold value) matches (step S502).

  When it is determined by the image determination unit 44 that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S502 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data deletion unit 45. Then, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S505).

  If the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size does not match a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S502 is NO), the attribute value is defined in the extracted image definition data 51i. It is determined whether or not the attribute value indicating the vertical width of the image size of the existing image tag (IMG tag) matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S503).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical size of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S503 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 determines the image definition data deletion unit 45. Thus, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S505).

  Further, when the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical width of the image size does not match the predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S503 is NO), all the extracted image definition data 51i are determined. It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed (step S504).

  As a result, when it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the image definition data 51i (YES in step S504), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S504), the process proceeds to the processing procedure in step S506, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S502).

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, a lot of unnecessary processing is performed by the processing procedure according to the determination condition corresponding to both the determination conditions in the unnecessary image deletion process (part 3) and (part 4). The image Ib can be deleted.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 5) >>
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example (No. 5) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 16, the determination condition for determining an unnecessary image Ib is “e. Image tags (IMG tags) having both predetermined height and width (WIDTH attribute and HEIGHT attribute) are set as deletion targets. The procedure for “determining” is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S601).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is referred to by the image determination means 44, and “e. Image tag (IMG with both WIDTH attribute and HEIGHT attribute) having predetermined values is displayed. The attribute value indicating the width of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i is set in accordance with a predetermined condition set in advance according to the determination condition “determine that tag is to be deleted”. It is determined whether or not the value matches (threshold value) (step S602).

  When it is determined by the image determination unit 44 that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S602 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 further includes an image tag (IMG tag). ) Determines whether or not the attribute value indicating the vertical width of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S603).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical size of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S603 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 determines the image definition data deletion unit 45. Thus, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S604).

  If the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the horizontal or vertical width of the image size does not match each predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S602 or S603 is NO), all the extracted values It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed for the image definition data 51i (step S605).

  As a result, if it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all image definition data 51i (YES in step S605), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S605), the process proceeds to the processing procedure of step S506, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S602).

  Link banner advertisements and the like displayed on the Web page 11 are often fixed in size, for example, 200 (pixels) × 40 (pixels) horizontally. In such a case, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively perform unnecessary image deletion processing on an image in which the size of the vertical width and the horizontal width is fixed according to the determination condition shown in the above processing procedure. it can.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (No. 6) >>
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example (No. 6) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 17, the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “f. Image whose long side (the larger value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) does not match a predetermined value regardless of the vertical width and the horizontal width. The processing procedure in the case of “determining a tag (IMG tag) as a deletion target” is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S701).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, and the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61. “f. Regardless of the height and width, the long side (the one with the larger numerical value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) is predetermined. Attribute value indicating the width of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i in accordance with the determination condition “determine that an image tag (IMG tag) that does not match the value of the image is to be deleted” Are compared with the vertical width attribute value to determine whether the horizontal width attribute value is equal to or greater than the vertical width attribute value (step S702).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the horizontal width of the image size is greater than or equal to the vertical attribute value (YES in step S702), the information processing apparatus 100 further includes an image tag (IMG tag). ) Determines whether or not the attribute value indicating the width of the image size (the long side of the image size) matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S704).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size does not match a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S704 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 determines the image definition data deletion unit 45. Thus, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S706).

  In addition, when the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size is smaller than the attribute value of the vertical width (when step S702 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 further includes an image tag (IMG It is determined whether or not the attribute value (long side of the image size) indicating the vertical width of the image size of the tag matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S703).

  When it is determined by the image determination unit 44 that the attribute value indicating the vertical width of the image size does not match the predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S703 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 performs the image definition data deletion unit. In step S706, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 by 45.

  The information processing apparatus 100 also determines that the attribute value indicating the horizontal or vertical width of the image size matches each predetermined value (threshold value) by the image determination unit 44 (when step S703 or S704 is YES) ), It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the extracted image definition data 51i (step S705).

  As a result, when it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the image definition data 51i (YES in step S705), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S705), the process proceeds to step S707, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S702).

  The image by the digital camera is an image that is likely to be required by the user. In such a case, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, an image obtained by the digital camera is identified by a processing procedure according to the above-described determination condition in which an image obtained by the digital camera is specified and other images are unnecessary and deleted. On the other hand, it is possible to perform effective unnecessary image deletion processing.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 7) >>
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example (No. 7) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 18, the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “g. Image whose short side (the smaller value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) does not match a predetermined value regardless of the vertical width and horizontal width. The processing procedure in the case of “determining a tag (IMG tag) as a deletion target” is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S801).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, and the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61. “g. Regardless of the vertical width and the horizontal width, the short side (the smaller value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) is predetermined. Attribute value indicating the width of the image size of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i in accordance with the determination condition “determine that an image tag (IMG tag) that does not match the value of the image is to be deleted” Are compared with the vertical attribute value, and it is determined whether or not the horizontal attribute value is equal to or greater than the vertical attribute value (step S802).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size is greater than or equal to the attribute value of the vertical width (when step S802 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 further includes an image tag (IMG tag). ) Determines whether or not the attribute value (long side of the image size) indicating the vertical size of the image size matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S804).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the vertical size of the image size does not match the predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S804 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 determines the image definition data deletion unit. By 45, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S806).

  In addition, when the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the horizontal width of the image size is smaller than the vertical attribute value (when step S802 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 further includes an image tag (IMG It is determined whether or not an attribute value (long side of the image size) indicating the horizontal width of the image size of the tag matches a predetermined value (threshold value) set in advance (step S803).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the attribute value indicating the width of the image size does not match a predetermined value (threshold value) (when step S803 is NO), the information processing apparatus 100 performs the image definition data deletion unit 45. Thus, the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result is deleted from the page data 51 (step S806).

  The information processing apparatus 100 also determines that the attribute value indicating the horizontal or vertical width of the image size matches each predetermined value (threshold value) by the image determination unit 44 (when step S803 or S804 is YES) ), It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the extracted image definition data 51i (step S805).

  As a result, when it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the image definition data 51i (YES in step S805), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S705), the process proceeds to step S807, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S802).

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, a panoramic photograph image that cannot be determined as an image by a digital camera according to the determination condition used in the unnecessary image deletion process (No. 6) is also described. An effective unnecessary image deletion process can be performed by a processing procedure according to the determination condition.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment realizes the “Web page printing support function” by the following procedure.

(Procedure 1) Confirmation of Print Request Source In the information processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the print request received by the unnecessary image deletion program 32 is first requested from the web browser 31 by the print request source determination unit 41. Confirm whether or not.

(Procedure 2) Acquisition of Page Data When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the Web browser 31, the information processing apparatus 100 uses the page data acquisition unit 42 to determine whether to print from the Web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 is acquired.

(Procedure 3) Extraction of Image Definition Data The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to retrieve the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using a character string such as an image tag (IMG tag) as a search key. Retrieval is performed to extract the corresponding image definition data 51i.

(Procedure 4) Determination of Unnecessary Image and Identification of Unnecessary Image Definition Data The information processing apparatus 100 is unnecessary for the Web page 11 based on the image definition data 51i extracted by the image definition data search unit 43 by the image determination unit 44. It is determined whether or not the image Ib is included. At this time, the image determination unit 44 refers to the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 stored in the HDD 109 and determines whether or not an unnecessary image Ib is included according to the determination condition selected and set by the determination condition setting unit 46. Determine.

(Procedure 5) Deletion of Unnecessary Image Definition Data When the image determination unit 44 determines that an unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11, the information processing apparatus 100 extracts the image definition data by the image definition data deletion unit 45. The image definition data 51 i that defines the unnecessary image Ib specified from the image definition data 51 i is deleted from the page data 51. The image definition data deleting unit 45 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

(Procedure 6) Generation and transmission of print data The information processing apparatus 100 prints the print request unit 33 according to the settings such as the print conditions based on the page data 51 of the Web page 11 transferred from the image definition data deletion unit 45. Data is generated, and the generated print data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 200.

  As described above, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment and the above (procedure 1) to (procedure 6) perform predetermined determination based on the image definition data 51i that defines information about the image displayed on the web page 11. According to the conditions, it is determined whether or not the unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11, and when the unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11, the unnecessary image Ib is defined from the page data 51 of the Web page 11. The image definition data 51i to be deleted is deleted, and the image forming apparatus 200 is requested to print the page data 51 after the deletion.

  Therefore, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment can provide a “Web page printing support function” that can improve the visibility of the printing result and reduce the printing cost in Web page printing.

[Second Embodiment]
The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment uses the storage location information 51ia indicating the storage location of the image data defined in the image definition data 51i, the image information 51ic indicating the description of the image contents, the image data name, and the like as the determination conditions. This is a system having a “Web page printing support function” for performing unnecessary image determination processing.

  In the image forming system 1 according to the first embodiment, unnecessary image deletion processing is performed using the image size information 51 ib indicating the horizontal and vertical widths of the image size among the information related to the image defined in the image definition data 51 i as a determination condition. I was going.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to the determination conditions described in the first embodiment, storage destination information 51ia indicating the storage destination of image data defined in the image definition data 51i, description of image contents, and image Image information 51ic indicating a data name or the like is used as a determination condition.

  Hereinafter, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The technical matters similar to those of the first embodiment are not described in the present embodiment by using the drawings and reference numerals described in the first embodiment.

<Details of Web page printing support function>
The “Web page printing support function” of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

<< Data structure >>
[Unnecessary image determination condition data]
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of unnecessary image determination condition data 61 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The unnecessary image determination condition data 61 according to the present embodiment includes determination condition information indicating the contents of the determination condition when determining an unnecessary image Ib and image definition data of an image corresponding to the determination condition as shown in FIG. It includes deletion presence / absence information indicating whether or not to delete, and is stored in a predetermined storage area of the HDD 109. In FIG. 19, a determination condition 61 a of “whether or not all image definition data 51 i included in the page data 51 is deleted” and “corresponding image definition data 51 i based on the horizontal width and / or vertical width of the image size are displayed. In addition to the two types of determination conditions 61b, whether to delete or not, a determination condition 61c, whether to delete the corresponding image definition data 51i based on the image data storage destination, and "image A data configuration example including a total of four types of determination conditions 61d of “whether or not the corresponding image definition data 51i is to be deleted based on the description or the image data name” is shown. More specific contents of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 shown in FIG. 19 are as follows.

(Example of unnecessary image judgment conditions)
a. All image tags (IMG tags) are determined to be deleted
b. An image tag (IMG tag) whose image width (WIDTH attribute) is a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
c. An image tag (IMG tag) whose image height (HEIGHT attribute) is a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
d. An image tag (IMG tag) in which either one of the vertical width and horizontal width (WIDTH attribute or HEIGHT attribute) of the image has a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
e. An image tag (IMG tag) having both predetermined width and width (WIDTH attribute and HEIGHT attribute) is determined as a deletion target.
f. Regardless of the vertical and horizontal width, an image tag (IMG tag) whose long side (the larger value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) does not match a predetermined value is determined as a deletion target.
g. Image tags (IMG tags) whose short sides (the smaller numerical value of the WIDTH attribute and the HEIGHT attribute) do not match a predetermined value regardless of the height and width are determined as deletion targets.
h. The host address storing the page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be printed does not match the host address storing the image data (the specified address of the image tag (IMG tag) is not a relative address (address )) The image tag (IMG tag) is determined as a deletion target.
i. The image tag (IMG tag) whose ALT attribute is a predetermined character string is determined as a deletion target. The “predetermined value” is set in advance as a threshold for determining whether or not the image is an unnecessary image. It is a value. The “predetermined character string” is a value set in advance as a keyword (for example, “advertisement” or “adv”) for determining an unnecessary image Ib.

<< Means for Realizing Web Page Printing Support Function >>
Hereinafter, among the main means for realizing the “Web page printing support function” according to the present embodiment, the determination condition setting means 46 different from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[Setting / updating unnecessary image determination condition data]
The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a determination condition setting unit 46 that sets / updates the deletion presence / absence information of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen 71 for selecting an unnecessary image determination condition according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 21 shows a selected unnecessary according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of image determination conditions.

  For example, the determination condition setting unit 46 receives a determination condition selection result from the user via a selection screen 71 having a GUI function capable of selecting and setting the determination condition as shown in FIG. 20, and based on the received selection result, The deletion presence / absence information of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 stored in the HDD 109 is updated. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, from the selection screen 71, the condition 3 of the condition “determine an unnecessary image based on the storage destination of image data” of the condition 3 and the condition “image contents and A determination condition 61d of the type of “determining an unnecessary image based on a character string such as an image data name” can be selected.

  Therefore, in the case of the selection screen 71 shown in FIG. 20, the determination condition setting unit 46 selects the determination condition 61c of the type that the user determines the unnecessary image based on the storage destination of the image data in the condition 3. When the confirmation button B on the selection screen 71 is pressed, the result of the selected determination condition is accepted and the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 stored in the HDD 109 is referred to. As a result, based on the received selection result, the relevant judgment condition is identified from the judgment condition information, the deletion presence / absence information corresponding to the relevant judgment condition information is changed from “not deleted” to “deleted”, and the data Update. FIG. 21 shows a data configuration example of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 updated by the determination condition setting means 46 in accordance with the determination conditions selected / set on the selection screen 71 shown in FIG. The deletion information of the data area shown in the frame 61s is updated to “delete”.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the determination condition setting unit 46 defines the image definition data 51i as a determination condition used when the user determines an unnecessary image Ib included in the Web page. It is possible to select and set determination conditions using image information 51 ic indicating storage location information 51 ia of the image data being described, description of image contents, image data name, and the like. As a result, it is possible to perform unnecessary image deletion processing with higher accuracy.

<Processing procedure>
From here, a specific processing procedure of unnecessary image deletion processing of the “Web page printing support function” according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. The processing procedure described below is a procedure performed by the unnecessary image deletion program 32 executed by the CPU 107 of the information processing apparatus 100 that is a component of the image forming system 1, as in the first embodiment.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 1) >>
FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an example (part 1) of an unnecessary image deletion process according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 22, the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “h. The host address where the page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be printed is stored and the host address where the image data is stored. The processing procedure in the case of “determining an image tag (IMG tag) that does not match (the specified address of the image tag (IMG tag) is not a relative address) as a deletion target” is shown.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S901).

  The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is referred to by the image determination unit 44, and “h. The host address where the page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be printed is stored and the image data are stored. Defined in the extracted image definition data 51i in accordance with a determination condition of “determining an image tag (IMG tag) to be deleted” that does not match the host address that is specified (the specified address of the image tag (IMG tag) is not a relative address) The storage location information 51ia indicating the storage location of the image data of the image tag (IMG tag) being used is a relative address. Determines whether (step S902).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the storage location information 51ia indicating the storage location of the image data is not a relative address (including the character string “http: //”), the information processing apparatus 100 has YES in step S902. ), The image definition data deleting unit 45 deletes the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result from the page data 51 (step S904).

  When the image determination unit 44 determines that the storage location information 51ia indicating the storage location of the image data is a relative address (not including the character string “http: //”) (when step S902 is NO). Then, it is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed for all the extracted image definition data 51i (step S903).

  As a result, when it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all image definition data 51 i (YES in step S <b> 903), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S903), the process proceeds to the processing procedure in step S905, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which determines (it transfers to step S902).

  If the image Ia is related to the contents of the Web page 11, the image Ia is often stored in the same information provider (same host address) as the other contents of the Web page 11, and conversely In the case of an unrelated image Ib such as an advertisement image, the host address is often different from the information provider of the related image Ia such as an advertising company. Therefore, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the image Ia related to the content of the Web page 11 and the other unnecessary image Ib are accurately determined according to the determination condition shown in the above processing procedure, and the effect is achieved. Thus, unnecessary image deletion processing can be performed.

<< Unnecessary Image Deletion Process (Part 2) >>
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example (No. 2) of the processing procedure of the unnecessary image deletion processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 23 shows a processing procedure when the determination condition for determining the unnecessary image Ib is “determine an image tag (IMG tag) whose i.ALT attribute is a predetermined character string as a deletion target”. Yes.

  When the print request source determination unit 41 determines that the print request source is the web browser 31 (when step S102 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 causes the page data acquisition unit 42 to print from the web browser 31. The page data 51 of the Web page 11 to be obtained is acquired (step S1001).

    The information processing apparatus 100 uses the image definition data search unit 43 to search the page data 51 acquired by the page data acquisition unit 42 using the character string of the image tag (IMG tag) as a search key, and the image data included in the page data 51 The definition data 51i is extracted, the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 is referred to by the image determination means 44, and "the image tag (IMG tag) whose i.ALT attribute is a predetermined character string is determined as a deletion target". In accordance with the determination condition, image information 51ic indicating the image content description and image data name of the image tag (IMG tag) defined in the extracted image definition data 51i is a character string (determination keyword) set in advance. It is determined whether or not they match (step S1002).

  When it is determined by the image determination unit 44 that the image information 51 ic indicating the description of the image content, the image data name, or the like matches the character string (determination keyword) (when step S1002 is YES), the information processing apparatus 100 The definition data deleting unit 45 deletes the image definition data 51i specified from the determination result from the page data 51 (step S1004).

  Further, when the image determination unit 44 determines that the image information 51ic indicating the description of the image content, the image data name, and the like does not match the character string (determination keyword) (when step S1002 is NO), all the extracted information is obtained. It is determined whether or not unnecessary image determination has been performed on the image definition data 51i (step S1003).

  As a result, if it is determined that unnecessary image determination has been performed for all image definition data 51i (YES in step S1003), the information processing apparatus 100 transfers the deleted page data 51 to the print request unit 33.

  If it is determined that unnecessary image determination has not been performed for all the image definition data 51i (NO in step S1003), the process proceeds to step S1005, and an unnecessary image is determined for the next image definition data 51i. It progresses to the process which performs determination (it transfers to step S1002).

  In the image tag (IMG tag), in the ALT attribute, text (arbitrary character string) is defined such that the content of the image is described as an explanation or image data name, or is displayed as alternative information when the image is not displayed. There is a case. Therefore, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the image Ia related to the content of the Web page 11 and the other unnecessary image Ib are accurately determined according to the determination condition shown in the above processing procedure, and the effect is achieved. Thus, unnecessary image deletion processing can be performed.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is based on the image definition data 51i that defines the information related to the image displayed on the Web page 11. In accordance with the determination condition, it is determined whether or not the unnecessary image Ib is included in the Web page 11, and when the unnecessary image Ib exists in the Web page 11, the unnecessary image Ib from the page data 51 of the Web page 11 is determined. The image definition data 51i for defining the image data is deleted, and the image forming apparatus 200 can be requested to print the page data 51 after the deletion.

  Therefore, the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment can provide a “Web page printing support function” that can improve the visibility of the printing result and reduce the printing cost in Web page printing.

<Modification>
From here, the modification of 1st and 2nd embodiment is demonstrated using FIGS. 24-27. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen 71 for selecting unnecessary image determination conditions according to a modification of the present invention.

  In the embodiments so far, for example, a determination condition setting method for selecting each determination condition of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 via a selection screen 71 having a GUI function as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 20 will be described. Went.

  In this modified example, as another example of setting the determination condition, a selection screen 71 having a GUI function as shown in FIG. 24 is used, so that the level of deleting the unnecessary image Ib from the Web page 11 is divided into three stages. In addition, an interface that can be set intuitively by the user can be provided.

  For example, when the selection item “deletion level of unnecessary image: high” on the selection screen 71 shown in FIG. 24 is selected, the determination condition setting unit 46 “deletes all images” as shown in a broken line frame 61s in FIG. The determination condition “Yes” is set. That is, the determination condition setting unit 46 sets a determination condition such that the number of image candidates to be deleted increases according to the deletion level selected by the user.

  Similarly, when the selection item “unnecessary image deletion level: medium” is selected on the selection screen 71, the determination condition setting unit 46 displays the “width and / or height of the image size as shown by broken line frame 61 s in FIG. 26. When the determination condition “delete image based on width” is set and the selection item “unnecessary image deletion level: low” is selected, the determination condition setting unit 46 causes the broken line frame 61s of FIG. The determination condition “deleting the image based on the image data storage destination, the image content description, etc.” is set.

  As described above, in this modification, the determination condition setting unit 46 sets the deletion level intuitively selected by the user and the determination condition of the unnecessary image determination condition data 61 in association with each other. Provided a “Web page printing support function” that allows a user to set determination conditions for deleting unnecessary images more easily in printing, has good visibility of printing results, and can reduce printing costs. be able to.

  Furthermore, the following modifications are also conceivable. In Web page printing, assuming that the user wants to print only necessary information with higher accuracy than the examples given in each embodiment, the user himself is a pointing device such as a mouse based on the contents displayed on the Web browser 31. For example, a selection screen (interface) capable of selecting an image to be deleted on the display screen is provided. As a result, in the image forming system 1, the image definition data deleting unit 45 sends the corresponding image definition data 51 i to be printed based on the image information to be deleted received via the selection screen (interface). By deleting from the 11 page data 51, it is possible for the user to instruct the unnecessary image Ib to be deleted more accurately in Web page printing, the visibility of the printing result is good, and the printing cost is reduced. A “Web page printing support function” that can be reduced can be provided.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the first and second embodiments, the “Web page printing support function” included in the image forming system 1 according to each embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 22 and FIG. 23 can be realized by executing the processing procedures shown in FIG. 23 on a computer as a program coded in a programming language suitable for each operating environment (platform). Therefore, the Web page printing support program including the unnecessary image deletion process included in the image forming system 1 according to each embodiment of the present invention can be stored in the computer-readable storage medium 104.

  Therefore, the Web page printing support program according to each embodiment stores these storage media 104 in the storage media 104 such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD (Compact Disc), and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). The information can be installed from the recording medium 104 connected to the readable drive device 103 to the information processing apparatus 100 that is a component of the image forming system 1. In addition, since the information processing apparatus 100 includes the interface apparatus 108, the Web page printing support program can be downloaded and installed using the Internet.

  Finally, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as combinations of other elements with the shapes listed in the above embodiments. With respect to these points, the present invention can be changed within a range that does not detract from the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image forming system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unit that realizes a Web page printing support function included in the image forming system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen which displayed the web page which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the page data and image definition data which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the unnecessary image determination condition data which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen which selects the unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selected unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the basic processing procedure of the Web page printing assistance function which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 1) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 2) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 3) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 4) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 5) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 6) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 7) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the unnecessary image determination condition data which concern on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen which selects the unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selected unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 1) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example (the 2) of the process sequence of the unnecessary image deletion process which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen which selects the unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (the 1) of the selected unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (the 2) of the selected unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (the 3) of the selected unnecessary image determination conditions which concern on the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Web page 21 Operation panel 22 Recording media I / F
23 Controller 24 Data communication I / F
25 Scanner 26 Plotter 31 Web Browser 32 Unnecessary Image Deletion Program 33 Printer Driver (Print Request Unit)
41 Print request source determination means 42 Page data acquisition means 43 Image definition data search means 44 Image determination means 45 Image definition data deletion means 46 Determination condition setting means 51 Page data (HTML data, etc.)
61 Unnecessary image determination condition data 71 Determination condition selection screen 81 Pointer 90 Data transmission path (USB cable, network cable, etc.)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 101 Input apparatus 102 Display apparatus (display means)
103 Drive device 104 Recording medium 105 ROM
106 RAM
107 CPU
108 Interface device 109 HDD
200 Image Forming Device 201 Input Device 202 Display Device 203 Drive Device 204 Recording Medium 205 ROM
206 RAM
207 CPU
208 interface device 209 HDD
210 Image reading device (scanner device)
211 Printing device (plotter device)

Claims (12)

An image forming system in which an information processing apparatus having display means for displaying a web page and an image forming apparatus for printing the web page in response to a print request from the information processing apparatus are connected.
Image determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data defining information relating to an image displayed on the Web page;
Image definition data deleting means for deleting the image definition data defining the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determining means;
An image forming system comprising: a print request unit that requests printing of the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deletion unit from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes:
Page data acquisition means for acquiring page data of the Web page;
And image definition data search means for searching the page data acquired by the page data acquisition means using a predetermined character string as a search key and extracting the image definition data defined in the page data. The image forming system according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus includes:
A print request source determination unit that determines whether or not the application software serving as a print request source is a Web browser;
The page data acquisition means includes
When the print request source determination unit determines that the print request source is the web browser,
The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the page data is acquired. The image definition data deleting means includes
Of the image definition data searched and extracted by the image definition data search means, image definition data defining the predetermined image determined by the image determination means is deleted from the page data. The image forming system according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus includes:
Determination condition setting means for setting a determination condition for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page;
The image determination means
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page is determined based on the determination condition set by the determination condition setting unit. Image forming system. The image determination means
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining whether or not the predetermined image is included in an image displayed on the Web page based on a storage location of the image data defined in the image definition data. The image forming system according to any one of the above. The image determination means
The determination as to whether or not the predetermined image is included in an image displayed on the Web page based on a character string indicating the content of the image data defined in the image definition data. The image forming system according to any one of 1 to 5. The image determination means
The image displayed on the Web page is determined whether or not the predetermined image is included based on a horizontal width and / or a vertical width of the image data defined in the image definition data. Item 6. The image forming system according to any one of Items 1 to 5. The image determination means
6. All the images displayed on the Web page are determined as the predetermined image based on the image definition data searched and extracted by the image definition data search means. The image forming system described in 1. Information for displaying the web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a web page in response to a print request, and requesting the image forming apparatus to print the web page displayed by the display means A processing device comprising:
Image determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data defining information relating to an image displayed on the Web page;
Image definition data deleting means for deleting the image definition data defining the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determining means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a print request unit that requests the image forming apparatus to print the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deletion unit. Information for displaying the web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a web page in response to a print request, and requesting the image forming apparatus to print the web page displayed by the display means A web page printing support method in a processing apparatus,
An image determination procedure for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data that defines information related to an image displayed on the Web page;
An image definition data deletion procedure for deleting the image definition data defining the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determination procedure;
And a print request procedure for requesting the image forming apparatus to print the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deletion procedure. Information for displaying the web page connected to an image forming apparatus that prints a web page in response to a print request, and requesting the image forming apparatus to print the web page displayed by the display means A web page printing support program in a processing device,
Computer
Image determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined image is included in the Web page based on image definition data defining information relating to an image displayed on the Web page;
Image definition data deleting means for deleting the image definition data defining the predetermined image from page data of the Web page based on a determination result by the image determining means;
A Web page printing support program that functions as a print request unit that requests the image forming apparatus to print the page data from which the image definition data has been deleted by the image definition data deletion unit.

Images