JP2009269243A - Printing apparatus and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus which prints after receiving a printing instruction from a user, in which when competition generates in setting of printing in accordance with the printing instruction, the printing apparatus receiving the printing instruction can change setting of printing according to an aim of the user to solve the competition even if the user does not carry out operation for setting of printing again. <P>SOLUTION: The printing apparatus includes a printing instruction receiving part 21 which receives the printing instruction in which setting of printing has been carried out on a plurality of setting items, a priority order determination part 24 which determines the priority order of setting of printing for competitive setting items based on a determination condition of the priority order selected beforehand by the user in a host apparatus 1 when the competition generates in setting of printing contained in the received printing instruction, and a print set change part 25 which changes setting of printing according to the determined priority order. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing system.

  Conventionally, when printing image data from a terminal device such as a PC (personal computer) to a printing apparatus for printing, a plurality of functions relating to printing may not be set simultaneously due to physical limitations of the printing apparatus. . Usually, a prohibition on a printing apparatus on a user interface (hereinafter also referred to as “UI”) of a control program (hereinafter also referred to as “printer driver”) developed for each printing apparatus in order to control the printing apparatus. Based on the information, processing such as making it impossible to set a plurality of functions exceeding the limit at the same time or automatically resolving conflicts is performed.

  However, in some cases, conflict resolution in the UI may not be performed. For example, when the printing setting is changed directly from an application that generates image data for printing and a printing instruction is issued to the printing apparatus, the conflict resolution processing by the UI of the printer driver is not performed. There is also a general-purpose printer driver that has only a basic print setting function related to a printing apparatus and can issue a print instruction to an unspecified printing apparatus. In such a printer driver UI, conflict resolution processing is not performed, and basically any combination of print settings is allowed. For this reason, a combination that cannot be selected by a printer driver for a printing apparatus that actually receives a print instruction may be selected by a general-purpose printer driver.

  In this way, if printing settings are changed in an application or printing settings are made with a general-purpose printer driver, the printing settings are almost free of restrictions, so it is functional for the printing device. A print instruction may be issued with a print setting that cannot be performed. In such a case, for example, an error (for example, a jam) may occur on the printing apparatus side, the print setting may be forcibly changed by the system, or the print may be forcibly terminated, so that the user's intention May lead to unintended consequences.

  In the following Patent Document 1, a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction determines whether or not there is a disabled function among the print settings related to the function, and if it is determined that there is a disabled function, it is disabled. A technique for resetting printing according to a function is disclosed.

JP 2006-110861 A

  According to the present invention, in a printing apparatus that performs printing in response to a print instruction from a user, when a conflict occurs in a print setting corresponding to the print instruction, the user does not have to perform an operation for print setting again. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of resolving the conflict by changing the print setting in accordance with the user's intention on the printing apparatus side that has received the print instruction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is a conflict between a print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction in which a print setting is made for a plurality of setting items, and a print setting included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit. A priority determining unit that determines the priority of print settings for the conflicting setting items based on a priority determination condition selected in advance by the user, and the priority determined by the priority determining unit A printing apparatus comprising: a print setting changing unit that changes print settings according to a ranking.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the print setting changing unit changes the print setting under a condition that is closest to the setting before the change.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the priority order determination unit is configured to automatically select one of the setting items of the print setting included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit. When there is a setting item whose print setting is forced by the administrator of the apparatus, the print setting related to the setting item is determined to have the highest priority.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect, an operation unit that receives an operation for selecting the priority determination condition from a user, and the priority order received by the operation unit And a priority order determination condition holding unit for holding the determination conditions.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided means for receiving selection of priority determination conditions from a user, means for receiving print settings for a plurality of setting items from the user, and the priority received from the user. A terminal device comprising: first information relating to a determination condition of the user; and means for adding a second information relating to the print setting received from the user to image data for printing and outputting a print instruction; and the print instruction And the conflicting setting based on the first information included in the print instruction when a conflict occurs in the print setting based on the second information included in the received print instruction. A printing apparatus comprising: means for determining priority of print settings for an item; and means for changing print settings in accordance with the determined priority. It is a printing system.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is a conflict between a print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction in which a print setting has been made for a plurality of setting items and a print setting included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit. The conflicting setting item is selected based on the priority determination condition selected according to the place name information set in the external terminal device that has output the print instruction or the place name information set in the own apparatus. A priority order determining unit that determines the priority order of print settings, and a print setting changing unit that changes the print settings according to the priority order determined by the priority order determining unit. .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction from the user and performs printing, when a conflict occurs in the print setting included in the print instruction, the user again sets the print setting. Even if no operation is performed, the printing apparatus that receives the print instruction can change the print settings in accordance with the user's intention to resolve the conflict.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the print settings can be changed under conditions close to the print settings made by the user.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the priority order can be determined so that the print setting is not changed against the intention of the administrator of the printing apparatus.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the determination condition of the priority order desired by the user is received and held by the printing apparatus, and the print setting is changed according to the determination condition to eliminate the conflict. it can.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction from a user who operates the terminal device and performs printing, when a conflict occurs in the print settings included in the print instruction, the user However, even if the user does not perform the print setting operation again, the printing apparatus that receives the print instruction can change the print settings in accordance with the user's intention to resolve the conflict.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction from the user and performs printing, when a conflict occurs in the print setting included in the print instruction, the user again sets the print setting. Even if no operation is performed, the printing device that receives the print instruction changes the printing settings by reflecting the place name information set in the external terminal device or the place name information set in the printing device. , Can resolve the conflict.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications and improvements have been made within the scope of deriving specific effects obtained by the constituent requirements of the invention and combinations thereof. Also includes form.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated printing system, the host device 1 and the printing device 2 are communicably connected via, for example, a printer cable (not shown) or a network (not shown). The host device 1 is configured by a terminal device such as a PC, for example.

  A printer driver 3 that controls the printing apparatus 2 is installed in the host apparatus 1 by installation. Here, it is assumed that the printer driver 3 is a printer driver dedicated to the printing apparatus 2. The printer driver 3 includes a user interface unit 31, a print setting processing unit 32, a print data generation unit 33, a print instruction output unit 34, a priority order determination condition holding unit 35, and a set date and time holding unit 36. ing.

  The user interface unit 31 serves as an interface for exchanging various information and data related to printing with a user who operates the host device 1.

  The print setting processing unit 32 sets printing for each setting item for a plurality of setting items (printing function) related to printing, and holds the result of the print setting as print setting information. Examples of setting items related to printing include print color, paper size, paper type, binding processing (staple processing), and punching processing (punching processing). Among these, regarding the print color, a setting is made as to whether the printing process on the paper is performed in monochrome printing or color printing. Regarding the paper size, the paper size used for printing is set as a standard size (A plate, B plate). With respect to the paper type, the type of paper used for printing is set, for example, as a plain paper, a thick paper, or an OHP sheet. Regarding the binding process, whether or not to execute the binding process on a printed sheet is set. Regarding the punching process, whether or not to execute the punching process on the printed paper is set. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the position at which the staple needle is driven into the sheet by the binding process and the position at which the hole is punched by the punching process are set in a positional relationship that overlaps (interferes) with each other.

  For example, at the stage where the printer driver 3 is installed in the host device 1, the print setting processing unit 32 performs print settings under preset default conditions. As a specific example, the print color is set to “monochrome printing” by default. The paper size is set to “A4 size” by default, and the paper type is set to “plain paper” by default. In addition, regarding the binding process and the punching process, both are set to “do not execute” by default.

  The print data generation unit 33 generates image data (drawing data) for printing. The print instruction output unit 34 outputs a print instruction to the printing apparatus 1. The print instruction includes at least image data for printing and information on print settings to be applied to printing the image data.

  The priority order determination condition holding unit 35 holds conditions for determining the priority order of print settings for the plurality of setting items. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the priority order determination condition held in the priority order determination condition storage unit 35 defines the order relationship of the date and time when printing is set and the priority level relationship. Specifically, among the two options of “first priority” that gives priority to the one set first by the print setting processing unit 32 and “post priority” that gives priority to the one set later by the print setting processing unit 32 Information indicating which option the user has selected (hereinafter, “condition determination information”) is stored in the priority determination determination unit 35 as a priority determination condition. The relationship after and after the setting (context relationship) is defined on the time axis. When the user selects “first priority”, the setting item that is set earlier is handled with higher priority than the setting item that is set relatively later, When the user selects “post priority”, the setting item set relatively later is handled with higher priority than the setting item set relatively earlier.

  The setting date and time holding unit 36 holds, for each setting item, information (hereinafter, “setting date and time information”) that clearly indicates the date and time when the print setting is updated by the print setting processing unit 32 for the plurality of setting items. It is. For example, when the printer driver 3 is installed in the host device 1, the setting date and time holding unit 36 holds the installation date and time (hereinafter “installation date and time”) as the first update date and time for all setting items. For this reason, after the printer driver 3 is installed, in a situation where the print setting has never been performed, the update date / time of all the setting items is held at the installation date / time (same date / time). On the other hand, for example, when the print settings related to the print color are updated after the installation date and time, the setting date and time information corresponding to the print color setting item is retained at the date and time after the installation date and time. If the setting is re-updated after that, the date and time of the re-update is retained. For this reason, by referring to the setting date / time information held in the setting date / time holding unit 36, it is possible to specify when the setting is updated for each setting item.

  On the other hand, the printing apparatus 2 includes a print instruction reception unit 21, a competition determination unit 22, a print processing unit 23, a priority order determination unit 24, and a print setting change unit 24.

  The print instruction receiving unit 21 receives a print instruction transmitted from an external terminal device to the own device including the host device 1. The print instruction includes at least image data for printing and print setting data to be applied to printing the image data.

  The conflict determination unit 22 determines whether or not a conflict occurs in the print settings included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21. The case where “conflict occurs” described here refers to a case where a function that cannot be handled by the printing apparatus 2 is specified in the print settings included in the print instruction, or a function that can be handled by the printing apparatus 2 When multiple functions that cannot coexist are specified at the same time. Specifically, for example, when color printing is specified in the print settings relating to the printing color for a printing apparatus that does not have a color printing function, or for a printing apparatus that does not have a binding processing function. In any case, the conflict determination unit 22 determines that a conflict occurs. In addition, when a print apparatus having a binding processing function and a punching processing function is designated as “execute” in the print settings relating to the binding processing and the punching processing, a conflict occurs in the conflict determination unit 22. judge.

  The print processing unit 23 performs print processing based on the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit 21. The “printing process” described here means a process of printing an image on a sheet using a printing material such as toner or ink.

  The priority order determination unit 24 determines the priority order of the competing setting items when the conflict determination unit 22 determines that a conflict occurs in the print settings included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21. is there. The priority of print settings is determined based on “condition determination information” and “setting update date / time information” included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21. The “condition determination information” is information that is held in the priority determination condition holding unit 35 in the printer driver 3 described above, and that is included in the print instruction and transmitted to the printing apparatus 2 by the print instruction output unit 34. The “set date / time information” is information that is held in the above-described set date / time holding unit 36 in the printer driver 3 and is transmitted to the printing apparatus 2 by the print instruction output unit 34 in a print instruction.

  The print setting change unit 25 sets the priority order determined by the priority order determination unit 24 when the conflict determination unit 22 determines that a conflict occurs in the print settings included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21. Therefore, the print setting is changed.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the host apparatus 1 (mainly the printer driver 3) constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the printer driver 3 incorporated in the host device 1 determines whether or not an operation for selecting a priority determination condition has been performed by the user (step S1). When selecting a priority determination condition, the user displays an operation screen (hereinafter, “condition selection screen”) for selecting a priority determination condition presented by the user interface unit 31 of the printer driver 3. An operation of selecting “first priority” or “second priority” is performed.

  Here, it is assumed that when the printer driver 3 is installed in the host apparatus 1, “first priority” is selected in the default state. If the user wants to determine the priority order in the default state after installing the printer driver 3, the user does not need to perform an operation of selecting “post priority” on the condition selection screen, but under conditions different from the default state. In order to determine the priority order, it is necessary to perform an operation of selecting “post priority” on the condition selection screen. In addition, when the user wants to determine the priority order under a condition different from the currently set condition, the user needs to perform an operation of selecting a desired condition on the condition selection screen. For example, if the current setting is “first priority” and the condition desired by the user is “second priority”, it is necessary to perform an operation of selecting “second priority” on the condition selection screen. In the case of “post-priority”, when the condition desired by the user is “first priority”, it is necessary to perform an operation of selecting “first priority” on the condition selection screen.

  When it is determined Yes in step S1, the result selected by the user on the condition selection screen is notified from the user interface unit 31 to the priority determination condition holding unit 35. Upon receiving this notification, the priority determination condition holding unit In 35, the determination condition ("first priority" or "second priority") for the priority order selected by the user is held (step S2). That is, when the user selects “first priority”, “first priority” is retained as the priority determination condition, and when the user selects “second priority”, “second priority” is determined as the priority determination condition. Hold "priority". If it is determined No in step S1, the process skips step S2 and proceeds to the next step S3.

  Next, the printer driver 3 determines whether or not an operation for updating print settings has been performed by the user (step S3). When updating the print settings, the user can print the desired setting items on the print setting operation screen (hereinafter, “print setting screen”) presented by the user interface unit 31 of the printer driver 3. Perform an operation to update the settings.

  Here, it is assumed that when the printer driver 3 is installed in the host apparatus 1, the print setting processing unit 32 performs print settings under default conditions. If the current print settings match the print settings desired by the user, the user does not need to update the print settings on the print settings screen, but the current print settings are If the desired print setting does not match, it is necessary to perform an operation for updating the print setting on the print setting screen. As a specific example, when the paper size is set to “A4 size” in the current print settings, and the paper size desired by the user is “B5 size”, the user can use the print setting screen. It is necessary to perform an operation for updating the print setting relating to the paper size from “A4 size” to “B5 size”.

  If YES is determined in step S3, the print setting processing unit 32 updates (rewrites) the print setting based on the print setting contents updated by the user on the print setting screen (step S4). The date and time holding unit 36 holds the updated date and time as update date and time information corresponding to the paper size (step S5). For example, when the user performs an operation of updating the print setting regarding the paper size on the print setting screen as in the above-described example, the print setting processing unit 32 sets the paper size to “B5 size” based on the operation. The setting date and time holding unit 36 holds the date and time when the print setting processing unit 32 performed the setting process as update date and time information corresponding to the paper size. If it is determined No in step S3, steps S4 and S5 are skipped and the process proceeds to the next step S6.

  Note that either the processing of steps S1 and S2 or the processing of steps S3 to S5 may be performed first. In addition, the process for updating the print settings is performed by a general-purpose printer driver different from the printer driver 3, or by the user at the host device 1 for creating or editing image data to be printed, for example. This may be performed by a started application (such as a document creation application).

  Next, the printer driver 3 determines whether or not there is a print instruction from the user (step S6). If it is determined that there is no print instruction, the process returns to step S1. If it is determined that there is an instruction for printing, the print data generation unit 33 generates image data for printing (step S7). Next, the print instruction output unit 34 adds print setting information, condition determination information, and setting date / time information to be applied to the printing of the image data to the printing image data generated by the print data generation unit 33 in step S6. The printed instruction is output to the printing apparatus 2 (step S8). Of the print setting information, condition determination information, and setting date / time information included in the print instruction, the print setting information is information read from the print setting processing unit 32, and the condition determination information is information read from the priority determination condition holding unit 35. The set date information is information read from the set date storage unit 36.

  Whether or not there has been an instruction for printing from the user may be determined by whether or not the user has performed an operation to instruct printing on the operation screen presented by the user interface unit 31 of the printer driver 3. However, there are cases where the user performs an operation for instructing printing using an operation screen presented by the general-purpose printer driver or application. Here, in any case, it is assumed that the print instruction sent to the printing apparatus 2 includes image data for printing, the print setting information, the condition determination information, and the setting date / time information.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing apparatus 2 constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the print instruction receiving unit 21 determines whether or not there is a print instruction from an external terminal device including the host device 1 (step S11), and if there is a print instruction, the print instruction is received (step S12). As described above, the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit 21 includes image data for printing, print setting information, condition determination information, and setting date / time information.

  Next, the competition determination unit 22 executes a competition determination process using the print setting information included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21 in step S12 (step S13). In the print setting information, for example, as described above, how the print settings are made for a plurality of setting items related to printing such as the print color, the paper size, the paper type, the binding process, and the punching process. Since it is specified for each setting item, the conflict determination unit 22 determines whether or not a conflict occurs in the printing apparatus 2 by referring to the setting information.

  Next, the competition determination unit 22 determines whether or not a competition occurs based on the determination processing result in step S13 (step S14). That is, if conflict occurs, it is determined Yes in step S14, and if conflict does not occur, it is determined No in step S14.

  When it is determined Yes in step S14, the priority order determination unit 24 uses the condition determination information and the set date information included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21 in step S12. The priority of print settings is determined for the target (step S15).

  As a first example, when it is determined that a conflict occurs because the paper size is designated as “A3 size” and the paper type is designated as “thick paper” and the printing apparatus 2 cannot handle printing on the designated paper. The paper size and the paper type correspond to the conflicting setting items. In such a case, the priority order determination unit 24 refers to the set date and time information to compare the date and time when the print setting related to the paper size is updated with the date and time when the print setting related to the paper type is updated and Understand the relationship before and after (after / after). For example, the date and time when the print settings related to the paper size were updated was 10:25 on February 20, 2008, and the date and time when the print settings related to the paper type were updated was 14:06 on March 12, 2008. If it is determined that the print setting related to the paper size has been made prior to the print setting related to the paper type. Further, the priority order determination unit 24 refers to the condition determination information to check whether the condition for determining the priority order of the print setting is designated as “first priority” or “after priority”. If the condition for determining the priority order of the print settings is specified as “first priority”, the priority order of the print settings related to the paper size is set higher than the priority order of the print settings related to the paper type. To be determined. If the condition for determining the priority of print settings is specified as “prior priority”, the priority of the print settings related to the paper size is set higher than the priority of the print settings related to the paper type. To be determined.

  As a second example, if it is determined that a conflict occurs because the print settings related to the binding process and the punching process are both designated as “execute”, the binding process and the punching process are set as conflicting setting items. Applicable. In such a case, the priority order determination unit 24 refers to the set date and time information to compare the date and time when the print setting related to the binding process is updated with the date and time when the print setting related to the punching process is updated, and the date and time. Understand the relationship between before and after (after / before). For example, the date and time when the print setting related to binding processing was updated was 11:15 on March 04, 2008, and the date and time when the print setting related to drilling processing was updated was 9:57 on February 28, 2008. Recognizes that the print setting relating to the binding process is performed after the print setting relating to the punching process. Further, the priority order determination unit 24 refers to the condition determination information to check whether the condition for determining the priority order of the print setting is designated as “first priority” or “after priority”. If the condition for determining the priority order of the print settings is specified as “first priority”, the priority order of the print settings related to the punching process is set higher than the priority order of the print settings related to the binding process. decide. In addition, when the condition for determining the priority order of the print settings is designated as “post priority”, the priority order of the print settings related to the binding process is set higher than the priority order of the print settings related to the punching process. decide.

  Next, the print setting change unit 25 changes the print setting according to the priority order determined by the priority order determination unit 24 in step S15 (step S16). In this case, the print setting changing unit 25 changes the print setting for a setting item having a relatively low priority among the competing setting items. The conflict is resolved by changing the print setting.

  For example, in the first example, when the condition for determining the priority order of the print setting is designated as “first priority”, the print setting related to the paper type becomes a setting item with a relatively low priority. The print setting related to the paper size is prioritized (that is, not changed), and the print setting related to the paper type is changed to return to the default, for example. As an example of changing to the default, if the paper type is set to “Thick” in the current (pre-change) print settings, and the default paper type is “plain paper” Change the print setting for the type from “Thick” to “Plain”.

  Further, in the first example, when the condition for determining the priority order of the print setting is designated as “post priority”, the print setting related to the paper size becomes a setting item having a relatively low priority order. , Give priority to the print settings related to the paper type (that is, do not change), and set the print settings related to the paper size to the default among the paper sizes that can handle thick paper, Change to a closer size. As an example of changing to the default, if the paper size is set to “A3 size” in the current (pre-change) print settings, and the default paper size is “A4 size”, the paper is The print setting related to the size of “A3” is changed from “A3 size” to “A4 size”. Also, as an example of changing to the size closest to the current setting, when the paper size is set to “A3 size” in the current print settings, and the paper size closest to this is “B4 size” Changes the print setting relating to the paper size from “A3 size” to “B4 size”. The degree of the closeness of the paper size is the size of the paper that can be handled by the printing apparatus 2, for example, comparing at least one of the long and short dimensions of the paper, and the length of the diagonal line of the paper. What is necessary is just to compare and judge.

  On the other hand, in the second example, when the condition for determining the priority order of the print settings is designated as “first priority”, the priority order of the print settings related to the binding process is a setting item having a relatively low priority order. Therefore, priority is given to the print setting related to the punching process (that is, it is not changed), and the print setting related to the binding process is changed from “execute” to “not execute” in order to invalidate the print setting.

  Further, in the second example, when the condition for determining the priority order of the print setting is designated as “post priority”, the priority order of the print setting related to the punching process is a setting item having a relatively low priority order. Therefore, priority is given to the print setting related to the binding process (that is, it is not changed), and the print setting related to the punching process is changed from “execute” to “not execute” in order to invalidate the print setting.

  Next, the print processing unit 23 executes print processing using the image data for printing included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit 21 in step S12 (step S17). If it is determined No in step S14, the image data is printed according to the print setting information included in the print instruction. If YES is determined in step S14, the image data is printed according to the print setting information in which the print setting is changed in step S16.

  In the first embodiment, the user sets priority determination conditions (“first priority”, “second priority”) using the condition selection screen presented by the user interface unit 31 of the printer driver 3. In addition to this, for example, according to the place name information such as the country name or the area name set in the printer driver 3, the host device 1 in which the printer driver 3 is incorporated, or the printing device 2, "Or" priority priority "may be selected. This is because, depending on the people and ethnic groups, which one of “first priority” and “second priority” should be selected may be uniquely determined. Specifically, for example, if the place name information belongs to Japan, “first priority” is selected, and if the place name information belongs to Europe and America, “second priority” is selected.

  In the first embodiment, the condition for determining the priority order of the print settings is designated by either “first priority” or “second priority”. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, according to the selection operation of the user using the condition selection screen, identification information indicating the priority order of print settings is assigned to each setting item related to printing in association with each setting item. The identification information may be included as condition determination information in the print instruction output from the print instruction output unit 34. In this case, in the print instruction output from the print instruction output unit 34, in addition to the image data for printing, print setting information and condition determination information applied to the printing of the image data are added. Become.

  Here, when the identification information indicating the priority order of the print settings is given by a priority number consisting of natural numbers, for example, the lowest priority number is the highest priority, and thereafter the priority is increased as the number increases. The ranking will be lowered step by step. For example, when there are 10 setting items related to printing, for example, priority order numbers 1 to 10 are assigned to the 10 setting items in a 1: 1 relationship according to the number of items. . The priority number is assigned according to the user's selection operation using the condition selection screen, and the assignment result is held in the priority determination condition holding unit 35. Thus, even if the host apparatus 1 does not add condition determination information or setting date / time information to the print instruction, the printing apparatus 2 that has received the print instruction from the host apparatus 1 has a conflict in print settings. By referring to the condition determination information (priority order number) included in the print instruction, it is possible to determine the priority order of the print settings for the conflicting setting items, and change the print settings according to the priority order. .

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated printing system, the configuration of the host device 1 and the configuration of the printing device 2 are different from those of the first embodiment. That is, the host device 1 includes the user interface unit 31, the print setting processing unit 32, the print data generation unit 33, and the print instruction output unit 34 described in the first embodiment. The priority determination condition holding unit 35 and the set date / time holding unit 36 mentioned in the first embodiment are not provided. As for the printing apparatus 2, the print instruction receiving unit 21, the competition determination unit 22, the print processing unit 23, the priority order determination unit 24, and the print setting change unit 25 described in the first embodiment are provided. In addition, an operation unit 26 and a priority order determination condition holding unit 27 are provided.

  The operation unit 26 is for a user to operate the printing apparatus 2 to perform various settings and input operations. The priority order determination condition holding unit 27 holds conditions for determining the priority order of print settings for a plurality of setting items related to printing.

  The condition for determining the priority order is designated by the user using the operation unit 26. For example, as described above, in the case where identification information (print order number) indicating the priority order of print settings is assigned to each setting item in association with each setting item, the operation unit 26 presents it. In accordance with the user's selection operation using the condition setting screen, a priority number is assigned to each setting item and held in the priority determination condition holding unit 27. Note that the priority determination condition is not specified by the user via the operation unit 26. For example, information (condition determination information) specified by the user by starting a printer driver dedicated to the printing apparatus 2 is used as the host device. 1 may be sent to the printing apparatus 2 and the information may be held in the priority determination condition holding unit 27.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the host apparatus 1 (mainly the printer driver 3) constituting the printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the printer driver 3 already incorporated in the host device 1 determines whether or not an operation for updating print settings has been performed by the user (step S21). If YES is determined in step S21, the print setting processing unit 32 updates (rewrites) the print setting based on the print setting content updated by the user on the print setting screen (step S22). If it is determined No in step S21, step S22 is skipped and the process proceeds to next step S23.

  Next, the printer driver 3 determines whether or not there is a print instruction from the user (step S23). If it is determined that there is no print instruction, the process returns to step S21. If it is determined that there is an instruction for printing, the print data generation unit 33 generates image data for printing (step S24). Next, the print instruction output unit 34 prints a print instruction in a form in which print setting information applied to printing of the image data is added to the image data for printing generated by the print data generation unit 33 in step S24. It outputs to the apparatus 2 (step S25).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing apparatus 2 constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the operation unit 26 determines whether an operation for selecting a priority determination condition has been performed by the user (step S31). If it is determined Yes in step S31, the result selected by the user on the condition selection screen is notified from the operation unit 26 to the priority determination condition holding unit 27, and upon receiving this notification, the priority determination condition holding is performed. The unit 27 holds the priority determination conditions selected by the user (step S32). If it is determined No in step S31, the process skips step S32 and proceeds to the next step S33.

  Next, the print instruction receiving unit 21 determines whether or not there is a print instruction from an external terminal device including the host device 1 (step S33), and if there is a print instruction, the print instruction is received (step S34). If there is no print instruction, the process returns to step S31.

  Next, the competition determination unit 22 executes a competition determination process using the print setting information included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 21 in step S34 (step S35). Next, the competition determination unit 22 determines whether or not a competition occurs based on the determination processing result in step S35 (step S36). That is, if a conflict occurs, it is determined Yes in step S36, and if no conflict occurs, it is determined No in step S36.

  If YES is determined in step S36, the priority determination unit 24 uses the condition determination information stored in the priority determination condition storage unit 27, and the priority determination unit 24 sets the priority of print settings for the conflicting setting items. Determine (step S37). Next, the print setting changing unit 25 changes the print settings in accordance with the priority order determined by the priority order determining unit 24 in step S37 (step S38). In this case, the print setting changing unit 25 changes the print setting so as to return to the default as described above, or changes the print setting under the condition closest to the setting before the change.

  Next, the print processing unit 23 executes print processing using the image data for printing included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit 21 in step S34 (step S39). When it is determined No in step S36, image data print processing is performed according to the print setting information included in the print instruction. If YES is determined in step S36, the image data is printed in accordance with the print setting information in which the print setting has been changed in step S38.

  Incidentally, the print setting may be forced by a specific administrator who has authority to manage the printing apparatus. For example, in order to reduce the printing cost, for example, a setting operation using the user interface unit 31 of the printer driver 3 or a setting operation using the operation unit 26 of the printing apparatus 2 forces the print setting related to the print color to monochrome printing. May be set. In such a case, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, for the setting items for which the print setting is forced by the administrator so that the forced setting is not canceled against the intention of the administrator. If there is a setting item to which the forced setting information is given, information that clearly indicates that (hereinafter referred to as “forced setting information”) is handled, and the print setting related to the setting item is handled with the highest priority. Process as follows. Specifically, if there is a setting item forcibly set by the administrator in the priority order determination unit 24, the setting item is determined to have the highest priority, and the print setting change unit 25 follows the determination, and the print setting change unit 25 Priority is given to the setting items forcibly set by (i.e., without changing), and other setting items having a lower priority order are changed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a host device constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing apparatus constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the printing system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the host apparatus which comprises the printing system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing apparatus constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Host device, 2 ... Printing device, 3 ... Printer driver, 21 ... Print instruction reception part, 22 ... Competition determination part, 23 ... Print processing part, 24 ... Priority determination part, 25 ... Print setting change part, 26 ... Operation unit 27 ... Priority order determination condition holding unit 31 ... User interface unit 32 ... Print setting processing unit 33 ... Print data generation unit 34 ... Print instruction output unit 35 ... Priority order determination condition holding unit 36 ... Set date and time storage

Claims (6)

A print instruction accepting unit for accepting a print instruction in which printing is set for a plurality of setting items;
When a conflict occurs in the print settings included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit, the print setting for the conflicting setting items is determined based on the priority determination conditions selected in advance by the user. A priority determining unit for determining the priority;
A printing apparatus comprising: a print setting changing unit that changes print settings in accordance with the priority order determined by the priority order determining unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.
The printing apparatus, wherein the print setting changing unit changes the print setting under a condition that is closest to the setting before the change. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The priority determination unit, when there is a setting item for which the print setting is forcibly set by the administrator of the own device among the setting items of the print setting included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit, A printing apparatus that determines a print setting relating to the setting item to the highest priority. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3,
An operation unit that accepts an operation for selecting the priority determination condition from a user;
A printing apparatus, comprising: a priority determination condition holding unit that holds the priority determination condition received by the operation unit. Means for receiving selection of priority determination conditions from a user; means for receiving print settings for a plurality of setting items from the user; and first information relating to the priority determination conditions received from the user; A terminal device having means for adding a second information related to the print setting received from the user to the image data for printing and outputting a print instruction;
Based on the first information included in the print instruction when a conflict occurs between the means for receiving the print instruction and a print setting based on the second information included in the received print instruction, A printing system comprising: a printing apparatus having means for determining priority of print settings for competing setting items; and means for changing print settings in accordance with the determined priority. A print instruction accepting unit for accepting a print instruction in which printing is set for a plurality of setting items;
When a conflict occurs in the print setting included in the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit, the place name information set in the external terminal device that has output the print instruction or the place name information set in the own apparatus A priority determining unit that determines the priority of print settings for the conflicting setting items based on the priority determination condition selected according to
A printing apparatus comprising: a print setting changing unit that changes the print settings according to the priority determined by the priority determining unit.

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