JP2009141771A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which the source of data is recognized, received data from the source is collectively stored and an appropriate processing depending on the source can be executed in printing of the received data. <P>SOLUTION: The printer has a means for discriminating the source of transmission among received data, a means for sorting the received data into a memory region corresponding to each source and a print setting storing means for storing the processing method of print data for each source. An MFP is provided with a controller which discriminates the source when data are received, stores an image in a memory region corresponding to the source and carries out print operation, image display processing and data transmission processing in accordance with print setting corresponding to the source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that executes printing based on data transmitted from the outside, a processing method thereof, and software.

  By increasing the functionality of a multifunction peripheral (MFP), the MFP has a fax function and can print received fax documents or store received data in a storage device such as a hard disk (HDD). Some MFPs have a finishing device that performs processing such as punching, stapling, paper folding, and paper discharge to a specified paper discharge stage. Furthermore, the MFP receives print data from a PC connected to the network, prints it out, performs the finishing process specified by the driver of the PC, or saves the received data in a specified folder on the HDD. Some things can be done.

  Information of the data transmission source can be easily acquired even in a fax, Internet fax, network print, or the like. The sender information is printed out in the header area of the fax document, or the sender's user ID is displayed on the display unit of the MFP when receiving a network print.

A printer has been invented that uses this technique to perform printing in a printing format designated according to a transmission source ID (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-337416 A

  However, when data is acquired from various transmission sources and printed by a single MFP, the following points are raised. In other words, received jobs (fax, print, copy, etc.) are printed out to the paper output destination in the order received. For example, when a fax received document is stored as a file for each sender, a plurality of jobs are printed. It is necessary to extract the fax document from the received document and sort it again for each transmission source.

  Also, depending on the sender, there may be requests such as when you want to immediately detect that you have received it, when you want to print after viewing the contents, or when you want to save it to the HDD at the same time as printing. Later, the user manually selects a process according to the transmission source.

  Further, in an MFP used by a plurality of users, another user mistakenly takes back a printed matter requested by one user for printing. Alternatively, there is a problem that a printed matter that other users do not want to see or an image of a received document displayed on the operation panel can be seen.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and by simply recognizing the data transmission source and printing the pre-set treatment by the user according to the transmission source on the printed matter. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that can control display of an image or notify or transfer the reception to another device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives external print data and a transmission that determines a transmission source included in the print data. When the print data is received, the original discriminating means, the storage destination assigning means for assigning the print data to the storage area corresponding to each sender, the print setting storage means for storing the print data processing method for each sender In accordance with the transmission source determined by the transmission source determination unit, the storage destination distribution unit stores print data in a storage area prepared for each transmission source, and print settings corresponding to the transmission source are stored in the print source. A print setting acquisition unit acquired from a setting storage unit, and a print execution for executing printing based on the print data according to the print setting acquired by the print setting acquisition unit. Data processing execution means for executing, as necessary, image display execution means for executing image display based on the print data, and transmission execution means for transmitting data based on the print data to an external device. It is characterized by providing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the transmission source of print data, store the data in a storage area prepared for each transmission source, and further store the data for each transmission source. Printing, display, and data transmission can be executed based on print settings corresponding to the transmission source of the print setting storage means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the second aspect, the storage area in which the print data is stored for each transmission source by the storage destination distribution unit sets a user access restriction for each storage area prepared for each transmission source. It is possible to do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, access to the storage area stored according to the transmission source can be restricted for each user.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a new transmission source that does not exist in the print setting storage unit is detected, the printing apparatus secures a newly corresponding storage area and registers the print setting as the new transmission source. Is stored in the previous print setting storage means.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a new transmission source is detected, it is possible to prompt the user to register the execution process after reception. Thereafter, it is possible to automatically execute execution processing after reception.

  A printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention further includes a finishing unit that performs a finishing process on the printed matter output by the print execution unit, and the print setting stored by the print setting storage unit is executed by the finishing unit. The type of finishing process to be performed is also specified.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the finishing process for performing the process of punching, stapling, folding the paper, and discharging the printed matter to the designated discharge stage according to the transmission source is performed. Is possible.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the print setting stored by the print setting storage unit is a setting for additionally printing a unique background color, a unique code, and a unique character string for each transmission source. It is characterized by including.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to additionally print the background color, code, and character string according to the transmission source.

  As described above, the invention according to claim 1 is capable of determining a transmission source of print data, storing data in a storage area prepared for each transmission source, and further, for each transmission source. The stored data can be printed, displayed, or data transmitted based on the print settings corresponding to the transmission source of the print setting storage means.

  For this reason, the user can identify the transmission source of the print data without error and store it in the corresponding folder, and prints immediately according to the transmission source. Alternatively, image data is displayed on the operation panel. Alternatively, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of performing appropriate measures such as transferring received data to another device.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, access to the storage area stored according to the transmission source can be restricted for each user.

  Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of performing secure data management by restricting data browsing for each transmission source.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a new transmission source is detected, it is possible to prompt the user to register execution processing after reception. It is possible to perform execution processing after reception.

  For this reason, when a new transmission source is detected, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a printing apparatus that can reduce the user's trouble of setting.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a finishing process is performed in which a printed matter that has been printed out is subjected to processing such as punching, stapling, paper folding, and discharging to a designated discharge stage according to the transmission source. Is possible.

  For this reason, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a printing apparatus that can reduce the trouble of sorting the discharged prints for each transmission source without causing the user to perform punching, stapling, and paper folding operations each time.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to additionally print a background color, a code, or a character string according to the transmission source.

  For this reason, when sorting the transmission sources, the user can provide a printing apparatus that can distinguish the transmission sources based on the background color, code, and character string.

  An example of an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an MFP which is a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. The MFP shown in FIG. 1 is configured to receive image data of a document read by the scanner unit 101, fax document data received by the fax unit 102 via a telephone line, and print data received from the network from the NIC unit 103. 104 is input. The controller unit 104 performs necessary image processing on the input data as appropriate, and outputs the image data to the printer unit 106, fax unit 102, NIC unit 103, and operation panel unit 105. A print printed by the printer unit 106 is discharged to a stage selected from a plurality of stages of paper discharge destinations by a finisher unit 107 for punching, stapling, paper folding, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the controller unit 104. The controller is a part that processes data input from each input device in accordance with the function of the MFP and performs appropriate image processing on each output device. In order to perform the functions of the MFP, the following path switching control is performed.

Copy: scanner unit 101 → controller unit 104 → printer unit 106
Network scan: scanner unit 101 → controller unit 104 → NIC unit 103
Network print (hereinafter print): NIC unit 103-> controller unit 104-> printer unit 106
Fax transmission: scanner unit 101 → controller unit 104 → fax unit 102
Fax reception: fax unit 102 → controller unit 104 → printer unit 106
Direct printing: USB unit (not shown) → controller unit 104 → printer unit 106
Scanned document storage: scanner unit 101 → controller unit 104
Network document storage: NIC unit 103 → controller unit 104
Document browsing: controller unit 104 → operation panel unit 105
The illustrated controller performs image processing on the image data received by the data input unit 201 according to the input destination device by the input image processing unit 202. For example, when a document image read by the scanner unit 101 is input, the input image processing unit 202 performs image data processing such as shading correction, line interpolation, input masking, and LOG conversion. Data processed by the input image processing unit 202 is stored in the storage unit 203. When storing, data is compressed and encrypted (not shown in the block diagram). Further, the storage unit 203 includes an area (folder) obtained by subdividing the storage area according to usage, and a folder for controlling a system area storing a program for operating the MFP by controlling the CPU 206, There are a copy image folder for storing copy images, a document storage folder for storing print data and scan data by providing a password for each user. Access restrictions to each folder can be set, and control is performed so that other users' document data cannot be accessed. The data stored in the storage unit 203 is subjected to data processing by the output image processing unit 204 according to the output destination device, and is output to each device via the data output unit 205.

  When the data input unit 201 receives a fax or print, the transmission source determination unit 207 identifies the transmission source from the telephone number, IP address, MAC address, or the like. The transmission source information specified by the transmission source determination unit 207 is compared with the data registered in the print setting storage unit 208, and when they match, the print setting corresponding to the transmission source stored in the print setting storage unit 208 is displayed. read out. If they do not match, that is, if a new transmission source is detected, a display prompting the user to make print settings on the operation panel unit 105 is displayed, and the print settings newly set by the user are added to the print setting storage unit To do. The print setting includes the following information as shown in FIG.

-Sender name: personal name, department name, company name, etc.-Sender number: fax (telephone) number, IP address, etc. -Access restriction: Whether to restrict access to the storage location of the document storage-Reception notification: Whether to notify when a document is received from the registered sender-Notification destination address: Where to receive the reception notification-Transfer: Registered • Forwarding address: Where to forward the document • Printing: Whether to print immediately after receiving • Background color: Whether to add a background color to the document received from the registered sender Screen display: Whether the received document image is displayed on the operation panel unit 105 immediately after reception. Punch hole: Whether the finisher unit 107 performs punching processing. Layout: 2 in 1 CPU section 206 such reduction layout) and duplex printing two pages on one sheet, based on the print setting, and stores the processed by the input image processing section 202 data to the folder that corresponds to the source in the storage unit 203. The stored data is read based on the print setting, subjected to a corresponding process in the output image processing unit 204, and output to the output unit 204.

  Taking Company A in FIG. 3 as an example, when the sender discrimination unit 207 detects that a fax document from Company A has been received, the received fax document is processed by the input image processing unit 202 for fax image processing ( Compression / decompression or raster data conversion by a run length method or the like is performed. In the print setting, since the document storage is set to NO, the image modulated into the raster data is temporarily stored in the temporary data area in the storage unit 203. Since it is registered in the setting to print immediately after reception, the raster data stored in the temporary data area is subjected to image processing for a printer to which a light blue background color is added by the output image processing unit 204, so that two holes are punched. Are sent to the printer unit 106 and the finisher unit 107 via the data output unit 205 together with a command for performing the above. At the same time, the output image processing unit 204 converts the image data into a viewable file format such as JPG or PDF, and aaa@***.*** along with a mail notifying that a fax has been received from the company A. And a11@***.*** through the NIC unit 103. When the processing so far is completed, the data temporarily stored in the temporary data area in the storage unit 203 is deleted.

  Company B in FIG. 3 creates a folder for Company B in the storage unit 203 and saves the received document, but allows other users to view and print out the document in the folder for Company B. Yes. However, the documents received from Company C, Company D, and Mr. E can be browsed and printed out only by authorized users.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an MFP. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a controller of the MFP. The figure for demonstrating the example of a print setting.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Scanner part 102 Fax part 103 NIC part 104 Controller part 105 Operation panel part 106 Printer part 107 Finisher part 201 Data input part 202 Input image processing part 203 Storage part 204 Output image processing part 205 Data output part 206 CPU part 207 Source discrimination Part 208 print setting storage part

Claims (5)

A receiving unit that receives print data from the outside; a transmission source determination unit that determines a transmission source included in the print data; a storage destination distribution unit that distributes print data to a storage area corresponding to each transmission source; Print setting storage means for storing a print data processing method for each transmission source;
When print data is received, according to the transmission source determined by the transmission source determination unit, the storage destination distribution unit stores the print data in a storage area prepared for each transmission source, and corresponds to the transmission source. Print setting acquisition means for acquiring the printed setting from the print setting storage means;
Print execution means for executing printing based on the print data, image display execution means for executing image display based on the print data, and data based on the print data according to the print settings acquired by the print setting acquisition means A printing apparatus comprising: a transmission execution unit that transmits a message to an external device; and a data processing execution unit that executes the transmission execution unit as necessary.   The storage area in which print data is stored for each transmission source by the storage destination distribution unit can set user access restrictions for each storage area prepared for each transmission source. The printing apparatus according to 1.   When a new transmission source that does not exist in the print setting storage unit is detected, a new corresponding storage area is secured, and the user is prompted to register the print setting as the new transmission source, and is stored in the previous print setting storage unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer.   The printing apparatus further includes a finishing unit that performs a finishing process on the printed matter output by the print execution unit, and the print setting stored by the print setting storage unit also specifies a type of the finishing process executed by the finishing unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The print setting stored by the print setting storage unit includes a setting for additionally printing a unique background color, a unique code, and a unique character string for each of the transmission sources. Printing device.

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