JP2009205257A - Print control part and print control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reprint a document through easy and accurate print settings corresponding to intended printing, without returning to a print instruction terminal even if the document is printed in an unintended condition. <P>SOLUTION: In a printer 30, a print control part 361 causes an image forming part 34 to print a document instructed to be printed by a client terminal 10, and a document maintenance control part 364 stores the document in a storage part 32. A print history managing part 362 manages a print history of printed documents. When a document to be reprinted is selected from the print history displayed in a display/operation part 35 by a print history display control part 363, a reprint control part 365 displays a print setting screen that disables the acceptance of designation of the kind of paper in the print history of the document, then accepts the input of the kind of paper corresponding to intended printing, makes print settings, reads the document from the storage part 32, and causes the image forming part 34 to reprint the document based on the print settings set on the print setting screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus and a print control system.

  With the spread of network environments connecting higher-level devices such as personal computers (PCs) and print control devices such as printers and multifunction devices, the number of cases in which many users share one or more print control devices has increased. is doing.

  In such a network environment, there are users who are far away from the print control apparatus depending on the arrangement of seats and the like.

  In this case, the user is forced to perform a useless operation more than other users in order to go back and forth between his / her seat and the printing control apparatus, and the possibility of feeling stress increases.

  On the other hand, a print control apparatus generally includes a mechanism for setting a plurality of types of paper.

  For example, in a configuration provided with each paper feed tray for setting two types of paper, plain paper and backing paper, the user intends to print by specifying plain paper, but goes to the printing device to get the printed matter, and print history As a result, it was possible that the paper was printed on the back paper.

  At this time, it is very troublesome to go back to the PC at the seat and re-set the paper and reprint, especially for users who are far away from the seat and the print control device. Compared with users who are close to each other, unnecessary operations increase and stress increases.

  As a conventional apparatus that operates in the above-described network environment, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses that the paper discharged in the previous printing operation and the paper in the new printing operation are mixed and discharged to the same paper discharge unit. In order to prevent this, an image that has a plurality of discharge ports, discharges to a discharge port that has detected the absence of paper by a paper presence sensor, and also notifies the mixing when a plurality of jobs are mixed in the discharge port A forming apparatus is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 below changes the print attribute when printing is performed by reading the print data stored in the storage unit, or when the read print data is determined to be unprintable by the print availability determination unit. An apparatus including a print attribute changing unit that can be used is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-259542 describes a configuration in which compressed print information read from a secondary storage device is expanded based on identification information selected by an operation panel and output to an engine unit to reprint already printed print information. An apparatus is disclosed.

Patent Documents 4, 5 and 6 below disclose techniques for deleting print information from a storage unit in accordance with an accumulation time or the like in a printing apparatus having a unit for storing information instructed to be printed.
JP-A-5-105316 JP-A-9-179704 JP-A-11-175280 JP-A-10-226115 JP 2001-94745 A JP 2002-171379 A

  The present invention relates to a print control device capable of reliably performing print settings corresponding to intended printing and reprinting the document as intended without returning to the print instruction terminal when the document is printed in an unintended state. And a print control system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the print control system according to claim 1 includes a document processing terminal and a printing apparatus that performs document print processing based on a print instruction from the document processing terminal, and An apparatus includes: a print history management unit that manages a print history of a document printed by the printing process; a storage unit that stores the document instructed to print; and a display unit that displays a print history managed by the print history management unit A selection unit that selects a document to be reprinted from the print history displayed by the display unit, and a print setting screen that restricts the setting of a specific print attribute based on the print history of the document selected by the selection unit. A print setting unit configured to perform print settings based on a print attribute input using the print setting screen; a document selected by the selection unit is read from the storage unit; Follow the print settings set by the serial printing setting means comprises a printing means for printing I.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the print history management means manages the print history including a paper type used for printing the printed document, and the print setting means The print setting screen in which the paper type cannot be set as a print attribute is displayed based on the paper type in the print history of the document selected by the selection unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the print history management unit performs a printing process by switching from a specified sheet of the printed document to another type of sheet. And the print history including the paper type on which the page preceding the switch page is printed, and the print setting means includes the switch page number in the print history of the document selected by the selecting means. Based on the paper type that printed the page before the switching page number, only the pages after the switching page can be specified as the printing page, and the printing paper type of the page before the switching page number can be set as the paper type The print setting screen is displayed.

  The print control apparatus according to claim 4 is a print control apparatus that executes print processing of a document based on a print instruction from a document processing terminal, and manages a print history of a document printed by the print processing. A management unit, a storage unit that stores the document instructed to be printed, a display unit that displays a print history managed by the print history management unit, and a document to be reprinted are selected from the print history displayed by the display unit. A print setting screen for restricting the setting of a specific print attribute based on the print history of the selection unit and the document selected by the selection unit, and the print setting based on the print attribute input using the print setting screen; Print setting means for performing the print processing according to the print settings set by the print setting means and reading the document selected by the selection means from the storage means Comprising a that printing unit.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the print history management means manages the print history including a paper type used for printing the printed document, and the print setting means The print setting screen in which the paper type cannot be set as a print attribute is displayed based on the paper type in the print history of the document selected by the selection unit.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourth or fifth aspect, when the print history management unit performs a printing process by switching from a designated sheet of the printed document to another type of sheet. And the print history including the paper type on which the page preceding the switch page is printed, and the print setting means includes the switch page number in the print history of the document selected by the selecting means. Based on the paper type that printed the page before the switching page number, only the pages after the switching page can be specified as the printing page, and the printing paper type of the page before the switching page number can be set as the paper type The print setting screen is displayed.

  According to the invention of the print control system according to claim 1, when the user notices that the result is an unintended print result by taking the printed paper to the printer in an environment where the user's PC and the printer are connected to the network. , Set the desired print attributes easily and accurately using the print configuration screen with a functional configuration that does not accept the specific print attribute settings specified at the time of printing from the PC. It is possible to obtain a print result as intended without instructing to change the print order.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, even if an unintended print result is obtained by erroneously specifying the paper type in the document print instruction from the PC, the printer side After the print setting for the document, it is possible to perform printing as intended using the initially desired paper type.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, an intended print result can be obtained by switching to another sheet and printing due to out of the designated sheet in the function of the printer. Even if there is not, after the print setting of the document on the printer side, pages after the number of switching pages due to running out of paper can be printed as intended using the originally desired paper.

  According to the invention of the print control apparatus according to claim 4, when the user notices that the printed result is an unintended print result by taking the printed paper to the printer, the specific print attribute specified at the time of print instruction from the PC Use the print settings screen with a function configuration that does not accept the settings of the printer, and set the print attributes that you originally wanted easily and accurately, return to your PC, change the print settings again, and print as you intended. The result can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in the invention described in claim 4, even when an unintended print result is obtained by erroneously specifying the paper type in the document print instruction from the PC, the printer side After the print setting for the document, it is possible to perform printing as intended using the initially desired paper type.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in the invention described in claim 4 or 5, an intended print result can be obtained by switching to another sheet and printing due to the designated sheet being out of paper. Even if there is not, after the print setting of the document on the printer side, pages after the number of switching pages due to running out of paper can be printed as intended using the originally desired paper.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a print control system according to the present invention.

  The print control system includes a plurality of client terminals 10 (10-1, 10-2,..., 10-n) having document processing functions such as document editing and management, and document print instruction (print job) issuance. Based on a print instruction from an arbitrary client terminal 10, a printer 30 that prints and outputs the document information that has been instructed as an image on a recording medium (recording paper) is connected via a transmission path 50 such as a LAN cable. Composed.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the client terminal 10 in FIG.

  The client terminal 10 is realized by, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), and as shown in FIG. 2, displays an input / operation unit 11 including an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and various kinds of information such as operation guidance and operation status. Display unit 12, storage unit 13 for storing various information such as operation programs, control unit 14 for controlling the entire apparatus, and communication with printer 30 (transmission and reception of data such as print jobs) via transmission path 50. A communication interface (I / F) unit 15 that controls the communication interface is provided.

  In the client terminal 10, the control unit 14 includes an application unit that performs processing such as operation on document information (document file), storage, display, editing, and print instruction operation in accordance with a predetermined operation on the input / operation unit 11. 141, a print job generation unit 142 that generates a print job composed of print data of a document file and its processing instruction based on a predetermined print instruction operation in the input / operation unit 11 and sends the print job to the printer 30; The operating state information related to the printing process or the like in the printer 30 based on the sent (printing instruction) print job is received from the printer 30, and the operating state of the printer 30 is displayed on the display unit 12 based on the operating state information. A printing apparatus state management control unit 143 that manages operation state information used for display is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the printer 30 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 30 includes a communication interface (I / F) unit 31 that controls a communication interface when communicating (data transmission / reception) with a plurality of client terminals 10 via a transmission path 50, an operation program, The information is stored in the storage unit 32 and the storage unit 32 for storing various information such as document information (image data) to be printed included in a print instruction (print job) received from an arbitrary client terminal 10 through the communication I / F unit 31. An image processing unit 33 that performs image processing for generating print data from document information (image data) to be printed, and an electrophotographic process based on the image signal (print data) image-processed by the image processing unit 33 and recording An image forming unit 34 that forms (prints) an image on a medium (recording paper) and discharges it to a discharge tray (not shown), a display unit such as a liquid crystal display, and a numeric keypad. Display / operation unit composed of an operation unit having various operation keys (hereinafter, control panel) 35, and comprises a control unit 36 for controlling the entire apparatus.

  The control unit 36 receives a print instruction from any client terminal 10 through the communication I / F unit 31 and generates print data by the image processing unit 33 from the document information (image data) to be printed included in the print instruction. In addition, the image forming unit 34 prints an image on a recording sheet based on the print data, and the print control unit 361 performs print control for discharging the printed sheet to a discharge tray. The print control unit 361 performs print processing. A print history management unit 362 that generates and manages a print history of a job (document), and a print history display control unit 363 that displays the print history on the display unit of the control panel 35 based on the print history managed by the print history management unit 362. A document instructed to be printed from the client terminal 10 (a document to be printed by the print control unit 361) is printed with a paper type, a size, and the like. In a state where the attributes and the editing method can be changed later, the display of the control panel 35 is performed by a predetermined print history display operation on the document storage control unit 364 and the control panel 35 stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 32, for example. A print history of the document generated so far, and when a document to be reprinted is selected, a print setting screen is displayed based on the print history of the selected document. Reprinting that performs print settings based on print attributes input using the screen, and performs control to read out the document selected as a reprint target from the storage area of the storage unit 32 and reprint based on the print settings. A control unit 365 is provided.

  The printer 30 is provided with a plurality of paper feed trays 40. In the example shown in FIG. 3, four paper feed trays 40 (40-1, 40-2, 40-3, 40-4) are provided, and each of the paper feed trays 40 is any one of A4 to A3, for example. Various types of recording paper (plain paper, backing paper (printed paper loaded so that an image is formed on one side by single-sided printing and the non-printed side becomes the printing side), etc.) can be loaded. is there.

  In the print control unit 361, the correspondence between each paper feed tray 40 and the size and type of recording paper loaded in each paper feed tray 40 is held and managed according to settings from the user (user). .

  Each of the paper feed trays 40 is provided with a plurality of paper presence / absence detection sensors (not shown) that detect the presence / absence of recording paper loaded in the paper feed trays 40.

  These paper presence / absence detection sensors generate detection outputs corresponding to the presence or absence of paper depending on whether or not there is a recording paper in the corresponding paper feed tray 40.

  In the print control system having such a configuration, each user uses the client terminal 10 to share the printer 30 and print document information.

  When printing a document on the printer 30, the user operates the client terminal 10 to generate or obtain a desired document, and inputs print attributes such as the number of prints, the size and type of recording paper, and performs print settings. After that, the printing start operation is performed.

  As a result, the client terminal 10 generates a print job including the document and its print settings, and sends the print job to the printer 30.

  When the printer 30 receives a print job (print instruction) from the client terminal 10, the printer 30 determines the size and type of the paper feed tray 40 and the recording paper loaded in the paper tray 40 based on the print attributes of the paper size and paper type being set for printing. With reference to the information indicating the correspondence relationship, the paper feed tray 40 in which the recording paper of the designated size and type is loaded is specified, and the document is designated while feeding the recording paper from the paper feed tray 40 Print only the number of sheets and discharge the printed paper to the discharge tray.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a control sequence between each client terminal 10 and the printer 30 in the printing process of the printing control system according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, when in the standby state, the printer 30 performs an operation state display (display indicating that printing is possible) on the display unit of the control panel 35 (step S301).

  In this standby state, for example, when the user A starts up the application unit 141 on the client terminal 10-1 (PC1) and operates the input / operation unit 11 to give a print instruction for a desired document, for example, AAA (step S101). Then, the print job generation unit 142 generates a print job instructing to print the document AAA and sends it to the printer 30 (step S102).

  In contrast, when the printer 30 receives the print job from the PC 1, the document storage control unit 364 takes out the document instructed to be printed from the print job and stores it in the storage unit 32 (step S302).

  The print control unit 361 generates print data from the document instructed to be printed based on the received print job by the image processing unit 33, and sends the print data to the image forming unit 34. A printing process is performed in which the recording paper is fed out from the tray 40 and conveyed, and the image of the document AAA is printed on the recording paper and discharged to the discharge tray (step S303).

  During this printing process, the control unit 36 displays an operation state corresponding to the progress of the printing process on the display unit of the control panel 35, and when the printing of the print job is completed, the printing history management unit 362. Generates and holds the print history of the print job, and the print history display control unit 363 displays the print history on the display unit of the control panel 35 (step S304).

  Further, when the print processing of the print job of the document AAA is completed, the control unit 36 prints the operation state information indicating the operation state of the device at this time (the state where the printing is completed and the printed paper can be taken out). The data is sent to the instruction source PC 1 (step S305).

  On the other hand, when the PC 1 receives the operation state information from the printer 30, the printing apparatus state management control unit 143 takes out the operation state, that is, printing is completed and the printed sheet is taken out on the display unit 12 based on the operation state information. Is displayed (step S103).

  The processes in steps S302 to S305 (a series of processes of storing a document instructed to print, printing the document, generating a print history, and holding) receive a print instruction from each of the client terminals 10-1 to 10-n. Performed every time.

  As a result, in the printer 30, the print history management unit 362 generates a print history of the document in step S304 every time printing of the document instructed to print from each client terminal 10 is completed. For example, the storage unit 32 Is stored and managed by using a print history management table 321 provided in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of print history information managed using the print history management table 321.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the print history management table 321 includes a document (job) name, the number of printed sheets, a printing time, a user name of a print instruction source, Print history information including attribute items such as paper size and paper type is held and managed.

  In particular, according to the print history management table 321 of this example, the document BBB instructed to be printed by the user B from the client terminal 10-2 (PC2), and the document instructed to be printed by the user A from the client terminal 10-1 (PC1). AAA, the print history of each document CCC instructed to be printed by the user C from the client terminal 10-3 (PC3) and the document DDD instructed to be printed by the user D from the client terminal 10-4 (PC4) are held. .

  Among these, for the print history of the document BBB, the document AAA, and the document CCC, the print history of each document corresponds to the printout of each document on A4 plain paper, A4 back paper, and A3 plain paper, respectively. In the “paper type” column, the paper type information of “A4 plain paper”, “A4 back paper”, and “A3 plain paper” is held, respectively.

  On the other hand, in the column of “paper type” in the print history of the document DDD, papers “P (meaning“ page ”) 1 to P40: A4 plain paper” and “P41 to P100: A4 back paper” are displayed. Type information is retained.

  This is a print history of the document DDD provided in the printer 30 by the automatic paper switching continuous print control function described below.

  That is, in the printer 30, the print control unit 361 detects that the paper feed tray 40 is out of paper based on the detection output of the paper presence / absence detection sensor provided in the paper feed tray 40 of the paper feed source during printing of the document. Switching to another paper feed tray 40, for example, a paper feed tray 40 loaded with different types of recording paper of the same size as the recording paper that has run out of paper, and recording fed from the switched paper feeding tray 40 It has a control function for continuously printing the remaining pages on the paper until the last page.

  When the automatic switching continuation printing to another recording paper due to the out of paper of a document is completed, the print history management unit 362 displays the number of pages (switching page number) for which the paper has been switched as the print history of the document. Information is further generated and stored in the “paper type” column.

  The print history of the document DDD illustrated in FIG. 5 is that when the document DDD instructed by the user D from the PC 4 is printed on A4 size plain paper up to 40 pages, the A4 size plain paper is out of paper, and the A4 size By switching from page 41 to page 100, pages 41 to 100 are printed, so that the number of pages to be switched (= P41) is retained in the “paper type” column in the print history of the document DDD.

  Here, returning to FIG. 4 again, the operation after the printing of the document AAA instructed to be printed by the user A from the PC 1 will be described.

  As described above, when the print processing of the print job of the document AAA from the PC 1 is completed in the printer 30, an operation indicating the operation state of the apparatus at this time (a state where printing is completed and printed paper can be taken out). The status information is sent to the print instruction source PC 1 (step S304), and the PC 1 can display the operation status (printing is completed and printed paper can be taken out) on the display unit 12 based on the operation status information received from the printer 30. A certain state) is displayed (step S103).

  Here, the user A is prompted to perform the above display, and can go to the printer 30 to remove the printed paper of the document AAA that he / she has instructed to print from the discharge tray 40.

  At that time, if the printed paper is the intended printing result, the user A takes the printed paper home and uses it.

  On the other hand, if the printed paper is not the intended print result, the user can display the print history of all documents managed at that time on the display unit of the operation panel 35, and the user can print from the operation. Through the operation of selecting the instructed document and the operation of performing print settings using the print setting screen displayed in response to the selection of the document, the document selected from the print history is stored in the printer 30. It is possible to execute a process (step S310) of reading from 32 and performing reprinting based on the print setting.

  Here, consider a case in which when the user goes to the printer 30 to take a printed sheet of a document that he / she has instructed to print, he / she notices that the document is not printed in the intended manner.

  In this case, in the printer 30, for example, A4 size plain paper is loaded in the paper feed tray 40-1, A4 size back paper is loaded in the paper feed tray 40-2, and the paper feed trays 40-3, 40 are loaded. -4 is loaded with plain paper of B4 size and A3 size, respectively.

  As a result, for example, if the user A intends to instruct A4 size plain paper when printing the document AAA, but accidentally designates the A4 size back paper, the printer 30 causes the document AAA to be A4 size paper. It is printed out on the backing paper (see the print history of document AAA in FIG. 5).

  In this case, the user A who has taken out the printed paper that has been printed out notices that the document AAA is not printed in the intended manner because the document AAA is printed on the A4 size backing paper.

  Further, when the user D designates a document DDD consisting of 100 pages from the PC 4 and prints it by designating A4 size plain paper, only 40 sheets of A4 size plain paper may remain.

  In this case, after printing the document DDD up to the 40th page on A4 size plain paper, the printer 30 detects the absence of A4 size plain paper based on the detection output of the paper presence / absence detection sensor 41 provided in the paper feed tray 1. By detecting it, it automatically switches to the paper feed tray 2 in which the presence of paper is detected, and prints the 40th page to the 100th page while feeding the A4 size backing paper loaded there. (See print history of document DDD in FIG. 5).

  In this case, the user D who has taken out the printed paper that has been printed out notices that the document DDD is not printed in the intended manner because the document DDD is printed on the A4 size backing paper from the middle page. It will be.

  As described above, the case where the intended print result cannot be obtained due to erroneously specifying the type of recording paper, and printing is performed by switching to another recording paper when the designated recording paper runs out. The reprint processing operation in the print control system of the present invention will be described with the case where the intended print result cannot be obtained in mind.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the reprinting process (see step S310 in FIG. 4) of the printer 30 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the printer 30, for example, printing of a document based on a print instruction from a PC (PC1, PC2,...) Which is step S303 in FIG. 4 is completed and can be taken out to the PC. An operation state such as waiting for the user to take out the printed paper after displaying (step S103) [the print history of the document that has been printed so far is held in the print history management table 321 (see FIG. 6). ], For example, it is monitored whether a print history display operation has been performed by pressing a predetermined function key on the operation panel 35 (step S501).

  Here, when a print history display operation is performed (YES in step S501), the reprint control unit 365 displays all documents based on the print history managed by the print history management unit 362 using the print history management table 321. Is displayed on the display unit of the control panel 35 as a reprintable job (step S502), and it is continuously monitored whether a print job to be reprinted is selected from the displayed print jobs. (Step S503).

  When a print job to be reprinted is selected (YES in step S503), the reprint control unit 365 acquires the print history of the selected print job from the print history management table 321 (step S504), and Based on the acquired print history, a print setting restriction requirement for restricting the print job from being set is extracted (step S505).

  Next, the reprint control unit 365 controls a print setting screen in which print settings other than the print setting restriction requirements extracted in step S505 can be set (print attributes corresponding to the print restriction requirements cannot be accepted). Display on the panel 35 (step S506).

  Subsequently, the reprint control unit 365 accepts input of print attributes excluding the print attributes corresponding to the print setting restriction requirements extracted in step S505 on the print setting screen displayed in step S506 (step S507). While executing the print setting process that temporarily holds the input print attributes (step S508), it is monitored whether or not a print start operation has been performed (step S509).

  Here, while the print start operation is not performed (NO in step S509), the processing of steps S507 and S508 is repeatedly executed to accept the print settings. If the print start operation is performed during this time (YES in step S509), the process proceeds to step S503. A process (step S510) of reading a document corresponding to the print job selected as a reprint target from the storage area of the storage unit 32 and reprinting the document based on the print settings received in steps S507 and S508 so far. Execute.

  When the reprinting of the print job is completed, the print history management unit 362 displays the previous print history of the print job held in the print history management table 321 for each print attribute at the time of reprinting in step S510. The print history management table 321 is updated by replacing the print history with (step S511), and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing in more detail the flow of the processing (print setting restriction requirement extraction / print setting screen display processing) in steps S505 and S506 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the print setting restriction requirement extraction / print setting screen display process, a print job (document) to be reprinted in step S503 in FIG. 6 is selected, and in the same way, in step S504, the print job of the print job is selected. After the print history is acquired, the reprint control unit 365 checks based on the acquired print history of the print job whether there is a print history corresponding to the automatic paper switching continuous printing process (step S601). .

  Here, when there is no print history corresponding to the automatic paper switching continuous printing process (NO in step S601), the reprint control unit 365 reads the paper type information in the print history acquired in step S504 of FIG. 6 (step S601). In step S602, a print setting screen that disables selection (designation) of the type of paper is displayed on the display unit of the control panel 35 (step S603).

  On the other hand, if there is a print history corresponding to the automatic paper switching continuous printing process (YES in step S601), the reprint control unit 365 switches the switching page in the paper type information of the print history acquired in step S504 in FIG. Number information (for example, the number of pages to be switched (= P41) in the paper type information in the print history of the document DDD in FIG. 5) is read (step S604), and it is restricted to designate a page before the switching page as a printing page. Control the print setting screen that can be specified as the reprint page only for the pages after the switching page, and can specify the paper type used for printing the page before the switching page number as the paper type. It is displayed on the panel 35 (step S605).

  Through this process (a series of processes shown in FIG. 7), in step S506 in FIG. 6, a print setting screen for restricting the setting of the paper type used in the previous print process based on the process in step S603 in FIG. Any one of the print setting screens for restricting the print page designation of the page before the paper switching page in the previous automatic paper switching continuous printing process based on the process in step S605 of FIG. 7 is displayed. .

  Thereafter, in step S507 in FIG. 6, the reprint control unit 365 accepts print settings using the print setting screen displayed based on the display processing in either step S603 or S605, and sets the accepted print settings. Based on this, reprinting of the corresponding document (the reprint target document selected in step S503) is executed (see steps S507 to S511 in FIG. 6).

  8 and 9 show the flow of the status display and the specifics of the display contents in the control panel 35 of the printer 30 related to the series of reprint processing shown in FIG. 6 (the processing of steps S505 and S506 is shown in FIG. 7). It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example.

  In particular, FIG. 8 shows a flow of reprinting using a print setting screen (print setting screen for restricting setting of the paper type used in the previous print processing) displayed based on the display processing in step S602 of FIG. FIG. 9 shows a print setting screen displayed based on the display process in step S605 of FIG. 7 (print setting for restricting the print page designation of the page before the paper switching page in the previous automatic paper automatic switching continuous printing process. The flow of reprinting using the screen) is shown.

  Here, as a first case in which an unintended print result by the user can be obtained, a flow of status display related to reprint processing when the user mistakenly specifies the paper type in the document print instruction from the PC used by the user Will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 9, the printer 30 displays “In-situ print” on the display unit of the control panel 35 in a standby state (see step S <b> 301 in FIG. 4) after the printing of the document BBB instructed by the user B from the PC 2 is completed. The operation status display screen 351 having the content of “JOB JOB: 1 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is displayed (see step S301 in FIG. 4).

  Here, “BBB” is the document name, “1 My” is the number of printed sheets, and “Tray 1” is that the paper source for the printing is the paper supply tray 1 (40-1). This shows that printing is performed on A4 size plain paper fed from the tray 40-1.

  The print history of the document BBB includes other information such as the print time and the print instruction source user. In this example, all information is displayed for the convenience of the display size of the display unit of the control panel 35. I can't do it.

  Here, in order to view item information that is not currently displayed, it is only necessary to scroll using the scroll function of the screen. The same applies to the display of each operation state described below.

  When the operation status display screen 351 is displayed, when the user A issues a print instruction to print 15 sheets of the document AAA by designating the back paper (tray 2) from the PC 1, the printer 30 instructs the print instruction. When the printing of the print job is executed based on the above, and the printing is completed, a print history display screen 353 having the content “Insatsukimasashiyo JOB: 2 AAA 15 My Tray 2 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is displayed (FIG. 4). (See step S304).

  Here, “AAA” is the document name, “15 My” is the number of printed sheets, and “Tray 2” is that the paper source for the printing is the paper feed tray 2 (40-2). This indicates that printing is performed on an A4 size backing sheet fed from the tray 40-2.

  Here, when the user A has instructed the printing of the document AAA, the “printing paper” is erroneously designated as “printing paper” as the printing type, and the printing is performed with the intention of designating “plain paper”. When the finished paper is picked up to the printer 30, it is noticed that it is not the intended printing result (printing on “plain paper”).

  As a result, when a print history display operation is performed on the control panel 35 in order to reprint the document AAA, the printer 30 reprints all the documents that have been printed based on the print history held in the print history management table 321. Display as a printable print job.

  Specifically, a reprintable job display screen 354 with the contents “Saiin Satsukanou Job Hiji AAA 15 My Tray 2 BBB 1 My Tray 1 CCC 3 My Tray 4” is displayed (see step S502 in FIG. 6).

  Here, when the user A selects the document “AAA” to be reprinted, the printer 30 causes the printer 30 to print the print history of the selected document AAA and the setting thereof “Ikano JOB Gasentakus AAAA 15 My 10:30 Set Change”. A message display indicating that the change can be handled, and a setting change selection screen 355 including a “through” button and a “sign” button for designating whether to change the setting are displayed.

  By pressing the “through” button on the setting change selection screen 355, the printer 30 performs processing in steps S504 and S505 in FIG. 6 (specifically, processing in steps S601 NO → S602 → S603 in FIG. 7). Paper type specified at the time of the previous printing instruction (from PC 1) ("Back" specified incorrectly) A print setting screen 356 of a content that restricts designation of “paper”: loaded in the paper feed tray 2) is displayed.

  In this example, on the print setting screen 356, “tray 2 (A4 back side)” is displayed in gray, for example, and cannot be selected.

  Here, in order to disable selection of the paper type (A4 size backing paper) designated at the time of the previous printing instruction, a display other than the gray display described above may be used, or may not be displayed from the beginning. good.

  When the user selects “Tray 1 (A4 media)” on the print setting screen 356, the printer 30 prints the document AAA selected using the reprintable job display 354 on A4 size plain paper. After the print setting of the contents to be performed (other attributes are automatically set to the same values as in the previous printing), the document AAA is read from the storage location of the storage unit 32, and printing is started based on the print settings (FIG. 6). (See step S510).

  While the re-printing of the document AAA is being performed, it is indicated that the document AAA, “Insatsu JOB2: (AAA) paper: Tray 1 (A4 paper)”, is being printed using A4 size plain paper. A printing execution display screen 358 is displayed.

  Thereafter, when the reprinting of the document AAA is completed, the previous print history (paper type = A4 backing paper: tray 2) of the document AAA is displayed as the print setting contents after reprinting (paper type = A4 plain paper: tray 1). ), And the operation status display face 359 having the content “Insatsukimasashiyo JOB: 2 AAA 15 My Tray 1 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is switched.

  As can be seen from the display contents of the print setting screen 356 in the series of display flows shown in FIG. 8, in the present invention, although there is no intention to print on the back paper, the print setting for erroneously using the back paper from the PC is performed. Even if it is noticed that an unintended print result is obtained by looking at the printed paper after going to the printer 30, the paper type designated last time on the reprint setting screen 356 of the document on the printer 30 side In this case, it is possible to easily acquire the intended print result without returning to the personal computer of the user's seat by definitely specifying the paper type to be initially specified.

  Next, as a second case in which an unintended print result by the user can be obtained, the printer 30 issues an instruction to print a document from the PC used by the user, and the document is being printed on the paper designated by the print setting. With reference to FIG. 9, a description will be given of the flow of status display relating to the reprinting process when the sheet is exhausted and is automatically switched to another sheet and the remaining pages are printed.

  In FIG. 9, when an operation state display screen 351 equivalent to that in FIG. 8 is displayed, the user D issues a print instruction to print a 100-page document DDD using A4 size plain paper using the PC 4. The description will be made on the assumption that the above has been done.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the operation status display screen 351 having the contents “Insatsukimasasu JOB: 1 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is displayed on the printer 30, and the user D When a print instruction is issued from the PC 4 to print a document DDD consisting of 100 pages using A4 size plain paper (tray 1), the printer 30 executes printing of the print job based on the print instruction.

  While printing the document DDD, for example, when up to 40 sheets of the document DDD are printed while receiving A4 size recording paper (plain paper) one by one from the paper feed tray 1, the presence / absence of the paper is detected. When the absence of paper is detected based on the detection output of the sensor, the printer 30 switches to the paper feed tray 2 (40-2) loaded with the same A4 size paper (back paper). A process of printing the remaining pages while feeding A4 size backing paper one by one.

  During the printing of the 41st and subsequent pages on the back paper fed from the paper feed tray 2 after switching from the paper feed tray 1 to the paper feed tray 2, the printer 30 performs “Insert 40 My Tray 1”. A paper switching print execution display screen 352 with a content of “PAPER TRAY 2 NO.

  Thereafter, when the printing up to the 100th page of the document DDD on the A4 size backing paper is completed, the printer 30 prints the content of “Insatsukimassangyo JOB: 2 DDD 100 My Tray 1 → 2 BBB 1 My Tray 1”. The history display screen 353b is displayed (see step S304 in FIG. 4).

  When the printing of the document DDD is completed, the printing history management table 321 adds and holds the printing history of the document DDD after the printing history of the document BBB. Specifically, the print history of the contents obtained by deleting the history of the documents AAA and CCC from the print history of the documents AAA, BBB, CCC, and DDD shown in FIG.

  Here, in the print history of the document DDD, for example, in the paper type column, A4 size plain paper is used for printing pages 1 to 40, and A4 size is used for printing pages 41 to 100. (P1 to P40: A4 plain paper P41 to P100: A4 back paper) indicating that the other back paper is used is held.

  On the other hand, when printing of this document DDD is completed, printed sheets from the 1st to 40th pages for the A4 size plain paper and the 41st to 100th pages for the A4 size backing paper are printed on the discharge tray. The paper is discharged in the accumulated state.

  Here, since the user D designates “plain paper” when instructing to print the document DDD, when he goes to the printer 30 to take the printed paper with the intention, the intended print result (all pages “ordinary” You will notice that it is not “printing on paper”.

  As a result, when a print history display operation is performed on the control panel 35 in an attempt to reprint the document DDD, the printer 30 reprints all the printed documents based on the print history held in the print history management table 321. Display as a printable job.

  Specifically, a reprintable job display screen 354b having the content “Saiin Satsukanou Job Hidori DDD 100 My Tray 1 → 2 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is displayed (see step S502 in FIG. 6).

  Here, when the user selects the document “DDD” to be reprinted, the printer 30 executes “Steps S 504 and S 505 in FIG. 6 (specifically, steps S 601 YES → S 604 → S 605 in FIG. 7) based on“ It is restricted that the page before the switching page is designated as a print page, such as “Set Draft DDD 100 My Tray 1 → 2 Kirikae Page Kaline Satoshi Maska” (only pages after the switching page can be designated as reprinted pages, A print setting screen 356b is displayed in which the paper type can be specified as the paper type used for printing the page before the switching page number.

  On this print setting screen 356b, a “through” button for instructing printing from the switching page and a “not in” button for instructing not to print from the switching page in correspondence with the display of “Kirikae page alignment mask”. Is also displayed.

  By pressing the “through” button on the print setting screen 356b, A4 size plain paper (paper designated at the time of print instruction from the PC 4) used in the printer 30 is printed in the printer 30. Recognizing that there is no paper, the paper loading prompting screen 357 with the content “No paper tray 1 No paper (A4 paper) is displayed” is displayed.

  When the user D who sees the paper loading prompt screen 357 loads an A4 size plain paper in the tray 1 (the paper feed tray 40-1) and then performs a print start operation, the reprintable job display screen 354b. The document DDD selected using the button is read from the storage location of the storage unit 32, and the document DDD is read from the page after the switching page (from the 41st page onward) in response to pressing of the “through” button on the print setting screen 356b. (Page 100) is set as a print page (the other items are automatically set to the same contents as in the previous print), and the document information on pages 41 to 100 of the document AAA is stored in the storage unit 32. Printing from the 41st page and thereafter is started while feeding A4 size plain paper one by one from the tray 1 from the storage location (see step S510 in FIG. 6).

  While the document DDD is being printed after the page after the switching, the corresponding page of the document DDD, which is “Insitu JOB2: (DDD) Paper: Tray 1 (A4 paper)”, is printed on A4 size plain paper. A printing execution display 358b indicating that printing is in progress is performed.

  Thereafter, when reprinting from the 41st page to the 100th page of the document DDD is completed, the previous print history of the document DDD (“DDD 100 My Tray 1 → 2”) is displayed as the print setting contents after the reprint ( After replacing and updating to “DDD 100 My Tray 1”), the operation status display screen 359b having the contents of “Insatsukimusikyo JOB: 2 DDD 100 My Tray 1 BBB 1 My Tray 1” is switched.

  As can be seen from the display contents of the print setting screen 356b in the series of display flows shown in FIG. 9, in the present invention, unintended printing is performed by performing the above-described automatic paper switching continuous printing process on the document instructed to be printed from the PC. Even when the result is obtained, it is restricted that the page before the switching page is designated as the printing page on the reprint setting screen 356b of the document on the printer 30 side, and only the pages after the switching page are the number of the switching pages. It is possible to easily acquire a print result as intended without returning to the personal computer of the user's desk by specifying the paper type without fail when printing the previous page.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented by being appropriately modified within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  For example, the reprinting control in the printer 30 according to the present invention is not limited to the paper type designation error, but the paper size, trial printing, and aggregate printing [N per page (N = 2, 4, 6,... 1) mistakenly specify one or a plurality of pages, or when there is no substitute paper of the size specified in the document print instruction from the PC in the above-described automatic paper switching continuous printing process. It is also possible to respond to reprinting when printing is performed by switching to another size paper, or when an unintended print result is obtained due to the fact that the paper specified by the PC is insufficient and the documents are consolidated and printed. is there.

  Even when reprinting without obtaining the intended print result due to these factors, based on the print history of the document, the attribute specified in the previous mistake or the attribute automatically changed with respect to the previous print instruction is specified. By restricting the acceptance of the specified attribute setting on the reprint setting screen of the document, the print setting corresponding to the intended print result can be performed accurately and easily.

  The present invention can be applied to a print control device such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral that is connected to a document processing terminal via a network and is used by a user from a remote location using the document processing terminal, and a print control system using the print control device. .

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a print control system according to the present invention. The block diagram which shows the function structure of a client terminal. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printer. The figure which shows the control sequence which concerns on the printing process between a client terminal and a printer. FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of print history information managed using a print history management table. 5 is a flowchart showing a reprint processing operation of the printer according to the present invention. The flowchart which shows the detailed process of step S505 and S506 of FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the specific example of the flow of the status display concerning reprint control, and the display content. The conceptual diagram which shows the example of the flow of the status display which concerns on the reprint control of another example, and the display content.

Explanation of symbols

  10, 10-1, 10-2, ..., 10-n ... Client terminal (PC: personal computer), 11 ... Input / operation unit, 12 ... Display unit, 13 ... Storage unit, 14 ... Control unit, 141 ... Application unit 142 ... Print job generation unit 143 ... Printing device state management control unit 15 ... Communication interface (I / F) unit 30 ... Printer 31 ... Communication interface (I / F) unit 32 ... Storage unit 321 ... Print history management table, 33 ... Image processing unit, 34 ... Image forming unit, 35 ... Display / operation unit (control panel), 36 ... Control unit, 361 ... Print control unit, 362 ... Print history management unit, 363 ... Print history display control unit, 364 ... Document storage control unit, 365 ... Reprint control unit, 40, 40-1, 40-2, 40-3, 40-4 ... Paper feed tray, 50 ... Transmission path

Claims (6)

A document processing terminal;
A printing apparatus that performs document printing processing based on a printing instruction from the document processing terminal;
The printing apparatus includes:
Print history management means for managing a print history of a document printed by the printing process;
Storage means for storing the document instructed to be printed;
Display means for displaying a print history managed by the print history management means;
Selecting means for selecting a document to be reprinted from the print history displayed by the display means;
A print setting screen for restricting the setting of a specific print attribute based on the print history of the document selected by the selection unit, and performing print settings based on the print attribute input using the print setting screen Means,
A print control system comprising: a print processing unit that reads a document selected by the selection unit from the storage unit and prints the document based on a print setting set by the print setting unit. The print history management means includes:
Managing the print history including the paper type used to print the printed document;
The print setting means includes
The print control system according to claim 1, wherein the print setting screen in which the paper type cannot be set as a print attribute is displayed based on the paper type in the print history of the document selected by the selection unit. The print history management means includes:
Managing the print history including the number of pages to be switched when the printed document is switched from the specified paper to another type of paper and the type of paper on which a page before the page is printed is printed. ,
The print setting means includes
Based on the switching page number in the printing history of the document selected by the selection means and the paper type on which the page before the switching page number is printed, only the pages after the switching page can be designated as the printing page, and the paper The print control system according to claim 1, wherein the print setting screen capable of setting a print paper type of a page preceding the number of switching pages as a type is displayed. A print control apparatus that executes document print processing based on a print instruction from a document processing terminal,
Print history management means for managing a print history of a document printed by the printing process;
Storage means for storing the document instructed to be printed;
Display means for displaying a print history managed by the print history management means;
Selecting means for selecting a document to be reprinted from the print history displayed by the display means;
A print setting screen for restricting the setting of a specific print attribute based on the print history of the document selected by the selection unit, and performing print settings based on the print attribute input using the print setting screen Means,
A print control apparatus comprising: a print processing unit that reads a document selected by the selection unit from the storage unit and prints the document based on a print setting set by the print setting unit. The print history management means includes:
Managing the print history including the paper type used to print the printed document;
The print setting means includes
The print control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the print setting screen in which the paper type cannot be set as a print attribute is displayed based on the paper type in the print history of the document selected by the selection unit. The print history management means includes:
Managing the print history including the number of pages to be switched when the printed document is switched from the specified paper to another type of paper and the type of paper on which a page before the page is printed is printed. ,
The print setting means includes
Based on the switching page number in the printing history of the document selected by the selection means and the paper type on which the page before the switching page number is printed, only the pages after the switching page can be designated as the printing page, and the paper The print control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the print setting screen is displayed for setting a print paper type of a page preceding the number of switching pages as a type.

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