JP2009104282A - Printing system and printing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily produce an appropriate print driver corresponding to each of various printers. <P>SOLUTION: A printing system includes a printer B for printing print data and an information processor A1 connected thereto for transmitting the print data to the printer B from a print job. The printer B transmits unique function information of the printer B to the information processor A1 based on a request from the information processor A1. The information processor A1 requests the unique function information to the printer B, acquires it, and incorporates the acquired unique function information in a print diver body to form a unique print driver for the printer B. The information processor A1 produces print data based on the unique print driver and outputs it to the printer B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing program. For example, the present invention relates to a printing system in which a printing apparatus such as a printer or a multi function peripheral (MFP) is connected to an information processing apparatus (computer), and an improvement in a printing program used therefor. .

  In general, an information processing apparatus such as a computer can be connected to a printing apparatus such as a printer to construct a printing system that prints a document or the like created by executing various application software.

  When a document or the like is printed by a printer, the computer generates print data using printer driver software (print driver) corresponding to the printer language, control code, device configuration, etc. used by the printer. It is common to send to and print.

  However, if the printer manufacturing meter is different or the same manufacturer has different models, the printer language and control code used are often different, and it is necessary to install a printer driver corresponding to each printer on the computer side. Yes, it tends to be complicated, and various proposals have been made to improve this.

  As an example, there is a printer and a printer driver disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-326601 (Patent Document 1).

  In this patent document, a printer language specification indicating correspondence between a drawing object and a printer language and a control language specification indicating correspondence between a control element and a control language are transmitted from a printer to a host computer. If the driver) can receive the printer language specification setting data and the control language specification setting data, the printer language and control language can be installed or set up automatically by simply connecting the printer without any user operation. It is something that can be done.

  A network printer system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63451 (Patent Document 2) is also provided.

  This Patent Document 2 detects that a printing device is newly connected on the host device side, and checks the printer driver installed in the detected printing device, and if the printer driver does not match, the automatically identified model is used. A suitable printer driver is installed, and the setting of the printer driver to be used after connection is facilitated to improve usability.

  Furthermore, a printing system and a printing method disclosed in JP 2006-190218 A (Patent Document 3) are also provided.

In this printing system that performs bidirectional communication including transfer of print data between a computer and a printer, the device configuration information of the printer is acquired in a cache to reduce the communication time for printing. Thus, it is possible to avoid an increase in the difference between the actual device configuration and the obtained device configuration information.
JP 2000-326601 A JP-A-10-63451 JP 2006-190218 A

  However, in Patent Document 1 described above, the functions possessed by the printer are acquired from the printer main body and stored, and the printer driver is formed based on the functions. On the other hand, the function information of the printer driver depends on the version of the driver. If there are functions that can and cannot be used with the driver of the version, it is necessary to store model-specific function information for each printer on the host computer side, which requires extra storage capacity and is optimal for each printer There is room for improvement to obtain a simple printer driver.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 described above, since it is necessary to store a printer driver for each model of the printing apparatus in some storage device, as the number of models increases, the storage capacity of the printer driver in the storage device increases, and the memory is stored. There is room for improvement in order to save the storage capacity of the device.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 3 described above, the past device configuration information relating to the printer is acquired in a cache manner, thereby enabling the printer to be used temporarily, and appropriate for the configuration of each printer. The printer driver is not set, and the above-mentioned problem has not been solved yet.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing system and a printing program in which it is easy to secure an appropriate print driver corresponding to various printing apparatuses.

  In order to solve such a problem, a printing system according to the present invention includes a printing apparatus that prints print data, and information processing that is connected to the printing apparatus, generates the print data from a print job, and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus. Device.

  The printing apparatus receives a request and print data from the information processing apparatus, and receives a communication unit that transmits unique function information of the printing apparatus to the information processing apparatus for printing the print data. A control unit that controls transmission of the unique function information based on a request from the information processing apparatus, and a printing unit that prints print data received from the information processing apparatus.

  The information processing apparatus transmits a request for unique function information and print data to the printing apparatus and receives the unique function information, a storage unit for storing the print driver main body, and a unique function acquired from the printing apparatus. There is a driver formation unit that forms the unique print driver for each printing device by incorporating the function information into the print driver main body, and a print data creation unit that creates print data based on the unique print driver and outputs it to the communication unit. is doing.

  In the printing system of the present invention, the print driver main body included in the information processing apparatus may have common function information that does not depend on the model of the printing apparatus.

  In the printing system of the present invention, a configuration in which the printing apparatus transmits all the unique function information of the printing apparatus is also possible.

  In the printing system of the present invention, the information processing apparatus may have a setting input unit for setting setting items of the unique print driver.

  In the printing program according to the present invention, the print driver creates print data from the print job and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus. The holding process for holding the print driver main body and the print data are printed. In order to do so, the unique function information of the printing device is acquired and incorporated into the print driver body to form a unique print driver for each printing device, and print data is created based on the unique print driver and printed. Print data creation processing to be output to the apparatus.

  The printing program of the present invention may be configured to execute a request process for requesting acquisition of unique function information for the printing apparatus prior to the driver formation process.

  In the printing program of the present invention, the held print driver main body may have a configuration having common function information independent of the model of the printing apparatus.

  In the printing program according to the present invention, the acquired unique function information may include all the unique function information of the printing apparatus.

  The printing program of the present invention may be configured to execute setting input processing for setting the setting items of the unique print driver.

  In such a printing system according to the present invention, when the information processing apparatus transmits a request for specific function information to the printing apparatus from the communication unit, the communication unit receives the request from the communication unit, and the control unit Transmits the unique function information of the printing apparatus from the communication unit to the information processing apparatus.

  In the information processing apparatus, the unique function information acquired via the communication unit is incorporated into the print driver main body, and a unique print driver for each printing apparatus is formed in the driver forming unit, and a print data creation unit based on the unique print driver The print data is generated by the communication unit, and the print data is output from the communication unit to the printing apparatus. The print data is printed by the printing apparatus.

  Therefore, it is easy to form an appropriate print driver corresponding to each of various printing apparatuses.

  In the present invention, in the configuration in which the print driver main body has common function information that does not depend on the model of the printing apparatus, the print driver main body is made common to a plurality of printing apparatuses, and the development of the print driver main body is easy. It tends to be cheap.

  In the present invention, in the configuration in which all the unique function information is acquired by the information processing apparatus, it is possible to increase the unique functions that can be used in the printing apparatus.

  In the present invention, in a configuration in which the setting items of the unique print driver can be set, an accurate unique function corresponding to the printing apparatus can be used.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The printing program according to the present invention will be described in the process of describing the operation of the printing system.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an outline of a printing system according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present invention includes a plurality of computers (PCs) A1, A2, A3 and a printer (Printer) B connected to these via a network 1. The computers A1 to A3 and the printer B may be locally connected.

  The computers A1 to A3 have substantially the same basic hardware configuration, and execute the same or different operation functions independent of each other depending on an installed OS (operating system) or application software. In the following description, the computer A1 will be described, and detailed description and illustration of the computers A2 and A3 will be omitted.

  The computer A1 is configured to include a storage unit 5, a display unit 7, an operation unit 9, a communication unit 11, a driver formation unit 13, and a print data generation unit 15 that are connected to the control unit 3 by a bus. It is a processing device. The computer A1 has other components, but is not a main part of the present invention, and thus description and illustration thereof are omitted. The function of the control unit 3 will be described later.

  The printer B is a printing apparatus (multifunction machine) configured to include a communication unit 17, a storage unit 19, a printing unit 21, and a control unit 23 connected by a bus, and details thereof will be described later.

  The storage unit 5 of the computer A1 stores processed data and intermediate data processed by the control unit 3 under the control of the control unit 3, or a printer driver main body (print driver main body program) or application program installed in advance. Is a readable / writable hard disk, for example.

  The printer driver main body has, for example, common function information that does not depend on the model of the connected printer B, and is a simple driver framework that does not have any specific function information of the printer B. The unique function information is taken in and forms the body of the printer driver.

  The printer driver main body is supplied from a printer manufacturer or the like via a CD-ROM or the like, installed in the computer A1 from a CD-ROM drive unit or the like (not shown), and stored in the storage unit 5.

  The display unit 7 is a known liquid crystal display or CRT display, and has a function of displaying various operational data in the computer A1 and displaying setting items related to the printer driver main body and a specific printer driver described later.

  The operation unit 9 is, for example, a keyboard or a touch panel for inputting characters and the like to the computer A1, and setting contents for setting items related to the printer driver main body and the unique printer driver. The input code and instruction command are controlled by the operation unit 9. Is output to the unit 3.

  In FIG. 1, the display unit 7 and the operation unit 9 are illustrated as being built in the computer A1 for convenience, but are generally externally connected.

  The communication unit 11 is connected to an external printer B through the network 1 under the control of the control unit 3 and inputs various information to be described later from the printer B. It is an interface that transmits a request command to request.

  That is, the communication unit 11 specifies the printer B, transmits a request command requesting print data and specific function information of the printer B according to a predetermined data transfer protocol, or receives the specific command received from the printer B in response to the request command. It has a function of outputting function information and other information to the control unit 3. The unique function information of the printer B will be described later.

  As the data transfer protocol, for example, SNMP (simple network management protocol), SOAP (simple object access protocol), PJL (print job control language), and other uses are possible.

  The communication unit 11 automatically establishes a connection with the printer B using a predetermined address or the like when the printer B is connected to the network or locally.

  The unique function information of the printer B is unique function information that the printer B has in order to print print data. For example, a font designation command that designates a font that the printer 2 has, a PDL (printer description) that the printer 2 can interpret (Language) format print control command, and further, print mode information as device configuration information of the printer B, for example, whether monochrome printing and color printing, printing with stapling, duplex printing or printing with electronic sort is possible, etc. The output is permitted.

  When the unique function information of the printer B is obtained under the control of the control unit 3, the driver forming unit 13 has a function of forming the unique printer driver dedicated to the printer B by incorporating the unique function information into the print driver body. Have.

  The print data creation unit 15 creates print data based on a unique printer driver formed by the driver formation unit 13 from a print job based on a document created by the control unit 3 under the control of the control unit 3. The communication unit 11 has a function of controlling output to the printer B.

  Note that the driver forming unit 13 and the print data creating unit 15 are extracted and illustrated as elements constituting the computer A1 for convenience, but are realized by a unique printer driver 25 including a print driver main body.

  The control unit 3 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a startup program for the CPU, and the like. The application unit stored in the storage unit 5 stores the storage unit 5, the display unit 7, the operation unit 9, the connection unit 9, and the communication unit 11. And the functions of the driver forming unit 13 and the print data creating unit 15.

  The control unit 3 has a function of creating a document or the like by, for example, a document creation application program and transferring the document or the like to the print data creation unit 15 as a print job.

  The control unit 3 has a function of creating a request command for requesting specific function information of the printer B when the printer B is connected to the communication unit 11 and controlling transmission from the communication unit 11 to the printer B. Has a function of controlling the output of the unique function information to the driver forming unit 13 when the unique function information is received from the printer B.

  As described above, the printer B includes the communication unit 17, the storage unit 19, the printing unit 21, and the control unit 23, and includes other components as a printing apparatus. However, since it is not a main part of the present invention, description and illustration are omitted.

  The communication unit 17 is an interface that receives print data and a request command for unique function information from the computer A1 and outputs the request command to the control unit 23, and transmits the unique function information of the printer B based on the request command to the computer A1. .

  The storage unit 19 is a readable / writable memory that stores the unique function information of the printer B and the print data received by the communication unit 19 as well as the operation program of the printer B under the control of the control unit 23.

  The printing unit 21 develops the print data from the paper feeding unit for setting the printing paper, the toner cassette storing the toner, and the storage unit 19 into the print image image data, and develops the toner with the toner from the toner cassette. This is a known color or monochrome print engine having a transfer fixing unit for transferring and fixing to printing paper, a paper discharge unit for discharging printing paper on which an image is transferred and fixed, and the like, and operates under the control of the control unit 23.

  The control unit 23 controls operations of the communication unit 17, the storage unit 19, the printing unit 21, and the like, and transmits the specific function information of the printer B based on the request command and permitted to be output, to the communication unit 17. When the communication unit 17 receives the print data, the print unit 21 stores the print data in the storage unit 19 and appropriately adds the print data to the print unit 21.

  The unique function information that is permitted to be output from the printer B is displayed in accordance with a selection instruction from an operation unit (not shown) while displaying the unique function information on a display unit (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the printing system according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  First, the printer driver main body is installed in the computer A1. When the printer B is connected to the computer A1, the control unit 3 of the computer A1 creates a request command for requesting the unique function information of the printer B and controls transmission from the communication unit 11 to the printer B. (Capability: Printer Capability) is requested.

  Next, in the printer B, since the control unit 23 responds to the specific function information permitted to be output from the printer B based on the request command via the communication unit 17, the control unit 3 of the computer A1 sends the specific function information to the driver forming unit. 13 is output.

  Then, the driver formation unit 13 of the computer A1 incorporates the unique function information in the printer driver body to construct a unique printer driver (Printer Driver) dedicated to the printer B.

  Thereafter, the print data creation unit 15 creates print data from a print job based on a document or the like based on a unique printer driver, and the created print data is output from the communication unit 11 to the printer B, and is printed by the printer B. The

  These processing procedures are executed by the printing program according to the present invention.

  The operation relationship between the computers A2 and A3 and the printer B is the same.

  Further, when another printer (not shown) is connected to the computers A1 to A3, the previous unique printer driver in the computers A1 to A3 is deleted or newly created when the unique printer driver for the new printer is created. Is overwritten by a simple printer.

  As described above, a printing system according to the present invention includes a printer (printing apparatus) B that prints print data, and a computer (information processing apparatus) that is connected to the print system and generates print data from a print job and transmits the print data to the printer B. : A2, A3) A1.

  The printer B receives the request and print data from the computer A1, and receives the communication unit 17 that transmits the unique function information of the printer B to the information processing apparatus in order to print the print data. A control unit 23 that controls transmission of the unique function information based on a request from the computer A1, and a printing unit 21 that prints print data received from the computer A1.

  Further, the computer A1 transmits a request for unique function information and print data to the printer B and receives the unique function information, a storage unit 5 for storing the printer driver main body, and the printer B. A driver formation unit 13 that forms the unique printer driver for each printer B by incorporating the acquired unique function information into the printer driver main body, and print data that generates print data based on the unique printer driver and outputs the print data to the communication unit 11 And a creation unit 15.

  Therefore, it is easy to form an appropriate unique printer driver corresponding to each printer, and if the printer driver main body has common function information independent of the model of each printer, it can be applied to a plurality of printers. Since the printer driver main body is shared, development of the printer driver main body is easy and inexpensive.

  Moreover, since the unique printer driver for each printer only needs to be temporarily stored, it is not necessary to individually store the unique function information of the printer B in the computers A1 to A3, and the necessary storage capacity is reduced. It is difficult to depend on the version of the printer driver main body, and a system can be constructed with all printers capable of outputting unique function information.

  Further, in the configuration in which the computers A1 to A3 acquire all the unique function information related to each printer, there is an advantage that the unique functions that can be used in the printer B are increased. However, it is not always necessary to acquire all the unique functions, and at least basic unique functions may be obtained.

  In addition, setting items for unique printer drivers, such as monochrome and color printing, resolution, presence / absence of stapling printing, and single-sided / double-sided printing, can be set. Can be used.

  The printing program according to the present invention generates a print data from a print job by the printer driver and sends the print data to the printing apparatus. In order to do so, the unique function information possessed by the printing device is acquired and incorporated in the printer driver main body to form a unique printer driver for each printing device, and print data is created based on the unique printer driver and printed. Since print data creation processing to be output to the apparatus is executed, the same effect as the above-described printing system is obtained.

  Moreover, in the printing program of the present invention, prior to the driver formation process, a configuration for executing a request process for requesting acquisition of unique function information for the printing apparatus, and the printer driver body to be held depend on the model of the printing apparatus. In the configuration having the common function information that is not included, the configuration in which the acquired unique function information has all the unique function information of the printing apparatus, and the configuration in which the setting input process for setting the setting items of the specific printer driver is executed. This has the same effect as the printing system.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing an outline of a printing system according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence by the printing system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network 3, 23 Control part 5, 19 Storage part 7 Display part 9 Operation part 11, 17 Communication part 13 Driver formation part 15 Print data creation part 21 Printing part 25 Intrinsic printer driver (printer driver main body)
A1, A2, A3 Computer (information processing device)
B Printer (printing device: multifunction device)

Claims (9)

A printing apparatus that prints print data; and an information processing apparatus that is connected to the print apparatus and generates the print data from a print job and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus.
The printing apparatus receives a request from the information processing apparatus and the print data, and a communication unit that transmits unique function information of the printing apparatus to the information processing apparatus for printing the print data. A control unit that controls transmission of the unique function information based on a request from the information processing device, and a printing unit that prints the print data received from the information processing device,
The information processing apparatus transmits the request for the unique function information to the printing apparatus and the print data and receives the unique function information, a storage unit that stores a print driver main body, and the printing apparatus A driver forming unit that forms the unique print driver for each printing apparatus by incorporating the unique function information into the print driver main body, and print data that generates the print data based on the unique print driver and outputs the print data to the communication unit Having a creation section,
A printing system characterized by that. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print driver main body included in the information processing apparatus has common function information independent of a model of the printing apparatus. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus transmits all the unique function information of the printing apparatus. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a setting input unit that sets setting items of the unique print driver. For a computer that creates print data from a print job with a print driver and sends it to a printing device,
Holding process to hold the print driver body,
A driver forming process for acquiring unique function information of the printing apparatus for printing the print data and incorporating it into the print driver main body to form a unique print driver for each printing apparatus;
Print data creation processing for creating the print data based on the unique print driver and outputting the print data to the printing apparatus;
A printing program characterized in that the program is executed. 6. The printing program according to claim 5, wherein a request process for requesting the printing apparatus to acquire the unique function information is executed prior to the driver formation process. The printing program according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the held print driver main body has common function information independent of a model of the printing apparatus. The printing program according to claim 5, wherein the acquired unique function information includes all of the unique function information of the printing apparatus. The printing program according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein a setting input process for setting a setting item of the unique print driver is executed.

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