JP2010244242A - Printer, printing browsing system, printing browsing method, and printing browsing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer for allowing a user to browse materials within a printing end time limit set to the materials. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 10 is provided with: a print job acceptance part 201 for accepting print data and a print instruction including a printing end time limit; a print image generation part 202 for generating a print image from the print data; and a print engine 150 for printing the print image on sheets. The printer 10 is provided with: a job control part 203 for determining whether the printing of the print image can be completed within the printing end time limit, and for causing the print engine to print the print image when it can be; and a Web server 204 for, when the job control part determines that it cannot be, enabling the print image to be browsed through a computer network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to printing of a document in which a printing completion deadline time is set in the printing apparatus.

  In organizations such as companies and research institutions, computer networks have been established, and hardware and software environments operating on the networks have been rapidly established. Along with this, printers that were once connected to a personal computer operated by each user and could only be used for printing from that computer are also shared on the local network in recent years to reduce running costs. Increasingly integrated into network printers.

  In relation to this, there are the following patent documents. Patent Document 1 describes a printing apparatus that has a function as a web server and can designate an image to be printed via a web browser. Patent Document 2 describes a print reservation system that can reserve printing by specifying a time.

JP 2007-286758 A JP 2008-209974 A

  In an environment where network printers are shared on the local network as described above, if a specific user gives a large number of print instructions or if many people give print instructions simultaneously, It takes time to complete printing. In particular, when it is necessary to complete printing of a document used in an event such as a meeting by the start time of the event (print completion deadline time), the printing may not be completed by that time.

  To solve this problem, in an environment with multiple network printers, communication between printers is performed, and the print instruction is transferred from a printer with a high load to a printer with a low load, thereby shortening the time until printing is completed. The method of thinking is also conceivable. However, this method cannot be used when there is only one printer.

  Further, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, it is possible to print in accordance with the print completion deadline time, but only a print instruction that cannot be printed in time for this print completion deadline time is simply rejected. With the technology of Patent Document 1, it is possible to specify an image to be printed via a web browser, but it does not allow the user to browse materials that cannot be printed in time for the print completion deadline time. That is, none of the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and a combination of these techniques solve the above problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus, a print browsing system, a print browsing method, and a print browsing program that allow a user to browse a document for which a print completion deadline time is set by that time. .

  To achieve the above object, a printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a print job reception unit that receives a print instruction including print data and a print completion time limit, a print image generation unit that generates a print image from the print data, and a print image. A print engine that prints on a sheet of paper, and determines whether or not the print image can be completed before the print completion deadline time. If it is determined that the print can be completed, the print image is sent to the print engine. The printer includes a job control unit to be printed and a web server unit that enables a print image to be browsed when the job control unit determines that printing cannot be completed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a print browsing system according to the present invention is connected to a computer network and receives a print instruction from a client computer on the computer network to print or view a document. A print job reception unit that receives a print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time, a print image generation unit that generates a print image from the print data, and a print engine that prints the print image on paper. At the same time, it is determined whether or not the print image can be printed before the print completion deadline time. If it is determined that the print can be completed, the job control unit that causes the print engine to print the print image and the job control unit cannot complete the print. If it is determined that And having a web server unit to browsable state via the di a computer network.

  In order to achieve the above object, a print browsing method according to the present invention is a printing apparatus that prints or browses a document in response to a print instruction from a client computer, and prints or browses the document. Whether the print browsing method is in a possible state, accepts a print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time, generates a print image from the print data, and whether or not the print image can be printed by the print completion deadline time The print image is printed when it is determined that the printing can be completed, and the print image can be viewed when it is determined that the printing cannot be completed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a print browsing program according to the present invention is a printing apparatus which receives a print instruction from a client computer and prints a document or makes it in a viewable state. A procedure for receiving a print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time, a procedure for generating a print image from the print data, a procedure for determining whether or not a print image can be printed by the print completion deadline time, and job control A procedure for printing a print image when the printing unit determines that printing can be completed, and a procedure for setting a print image to be viewable when the job control unit determines that printing cannot be completed. .

  In the present invention, as described above, the print image is displayed on the client computer when it is determined that the print cannot be completed before the print completion deadline time, so that the print cannot be completed at the print completion deadline time. However, it can be in a state where the user can browse. This provides a printing device, a print browsing system, a print browsing method, and a print browsing program that have excellent features that allow a user to browse a document with a print completion deadline time by that time. can do.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the printing browsing system which is a computer network containing the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on attached FIGS. 1-2.
First, the basic content of the present embodiment will be described, and then more specific content will be described.
The printing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a print job reception unit 201 that receives a print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time, a print image generation unit 202 that generates a print image from the print data, and a print image on a sheet. A printing apparatus having a print engine 150 for printing. The printing apparatus 10 determines whether or not the print image can be printed before the print completion deadline time, and if it is determined that the print can be completed, the job control unit 203 that causes the print engine to print the print image, and the job control unit Has a web server unit 204 that makes it possible to view a print image when it is determined that printing is not completed.

  Here, the web server unit 204 has a function of deleting a print image when the browseable time limit has elapsed. Further, the job control unit 203 has a function of inquiring other computers for the print completion deadline time.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the access to the web server unit 204 is by a user having a legitimate authority. If the user has a legitimate authority, the user is allowed to view the print image. An access control unit 205 is provided in the web server unit 204. Further, the access control unit 205 has a function of inquiring other computers whether or not this user has a valid authority.

With the above-described configuration, the printing apparatus 10 can allow the user to browse the document for which the print completion deadline time is set by that time.
Hereinafter, this will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the print browsing system 1 which is a computer network including the printing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The printing apparatus 10 is a so-called network printer that is connected to the network 20 and is shared among a plurality of client computers 30 connected to the same network 20. The printing apparatus 10 has a built-in microcomputer 100, thereby receiving a print instruction from the client computer 30 and controlling the print engine 150 to actually print on the paper.

  In addition to the printing apparatus 10 and the client computer 30, a computer such as a groupware server 40 that provides groupware services and a later-described LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server 50 is also connected to the network 20. Thus, the print browsing system 1 is configured. The printing apparatus 10 communicates with the groupware server 40 and the LDAP server 50 and operates while inquiring about specific data.

  The microcomputer 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that is a main body that executes a computer program, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 that stores a computer program executed by the CPU 101, a program read by the CPU 101 from the ROM 102, and A RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 that temporarily stores print data received from the client computer 30 and a NIC (Network Interface Card) 104 that communicates with other computers via the network 20 are provided.

  In the CPU 101, a print job reception unit 201 that receives a print instruction from the client computer 30, a print image generation unit 202 that generates a print image based on data received from another computer 30, and a generated print image. The job control unit 203 causes the print engine 150 to print this print image while determining whether printing is possible, and displays the print image so that it can be viewed from another computer using a protocol such as HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol). The web server unit 204 includes an access control unit 205 that controls access to the web server unit 204 from other computers.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. First, the client computer 30 transmits print data to the printing apparatus 10 and issues a print instruction. At the same time, the client computer 30 transmits to the printing apparatus 10 a print completion deadline time at which printing of this print data must be completed.

  As a method for specifying the print completion deadline time, for example, the deadline time may be transmitted simultaneously with the print instruction from the client computer 30. Also, an event such as a specific conference registered in the groupware server 40 may be designated simultaneously with the print instruction. In this case, the job control unit 203 of the printing apparatus 10 inquires the groupware server 40 about the start time of the event, and sets this time as the print completion deadline time.

  The printing apparatus 10 receives a print instruction including the print data and the print completion deadline time in the print job reception unit 201 (step S301), and passes the print data to the print image generation unit 202 to generate a print image (step S302). .

  The job control unit 203 receives the print image generated in step S302, receives the print completion deadline time from the print job reception unit 201, and determines the print completion deadline time based on its own load status and the content of the print image. It is determined whether or not printing of this print image can be completed by step S303. At this time, the job control unit 203 changes the execution order of its own print jobs according to a preset deadline scheduling policy, and whether or not printing can be completed based on the changed contents. May be determined.

  If the job control unit 203 determines in step S303 that printing can be completed by the print completion time limit, the print engine 150 prints the print image on paper as it is (step S304). If it is determined that printing cannot be completed by the printing completion time limit, the job control unit 203 passes this print image to the web server unit 204. The web server unit 204 converts the print image into a format that can be distributed by HTTP, such as a multi-page TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) or PDF (Portable Document Format), and can be viewed from the client computer 30. (Step S305).

  At that time, in response to access from the client computer 30 to view the print image, the access control unit 205 causes the user to input a user name and password from the client computer 30, for example, and the input user name and password are input to the LDAP server. 50, it is determined whether or not the user is authorized (step S306).

  If the user has a valid authority, the access control unit 205 permits browsing of the print image on the client computer 30 (step S307). If the user is not authorized, the process of FIG. In addition to this, the access control unit 205 can restrict browsing such as, for example, limiting the number of viewers (allowing access to the print image only up to the number of printed copies).

  The browsing of the print image from the client computer 30 can be terminated when the browsing possible time limit elapses. In that case, the access control unit 205 determines whether or not the browseable expiration time has elapsed, and when it has elapsed, the web server unit 204 deletes the print image (steps S308 to S309), and the process ends. If not, browsing of the print image in step S307 is continued.

  In step S305, when the print image can be browsed by accessing the web server unit 204, an operation for notifying the person to be browsed (for example, the attendee of the meeting) to browse the print image is as follows. Any method can be used because it is not included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the target person may be notified using an electronic bulletin board of the groupware server 40, or an electronic mail may be distributed to the target person.

(Overall operation of the first embodiment)
Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be described. The print browsing method according to the present invention is connected to the computer network 20 and prints a document in response to a print instruction from the client computer 30 or prints the document in a state where the document can be browsed. Alternatively, it is a print browsing method for enabling browsing. First, a print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time is received (FIG. 3: step S301), a print image is generated from the print data (FIG. 3: step S302), and the print image can be printed by the print completion deadline time. (FIG. 3: Step S303). When it is determined that the printing can be completed, the print image is printed (FIG. 3: Step S304). When it is determined that the printing cannot be completed, the print image is browsed. A possible state is set (FIG. 3: step S305).

Here, each of the above-described operation steps may be programmed to be executable by a computer, and may be executed by the printing apparatus 10 which is a main body that directly executes each of the steps.
With this configuration and operation, the present embodiment has the following effects.

  For a printer who sets a print completion deadline time from the client computer 30 to the printing apparatus 10 and issues a print instruction for the material, the user is unaware of whether or not the material can be printed by the print completion deadline time. The subject can be surely viewed by that time by that time.

  In addition, when it is impossible to print until the print completion deadline time and the target person uses the web server unit to browse, the target can be obtained by inquiring other computers such as the LDAP server 50 for conditions related to access restriction. It is possible to restrict viewing by non-persons. That is, it can be said that the same access restriction as in the case of printing on paper is possible.

  Further, by inquiring other computers such as the groupware server 40 about the conditions related to the print completion deadline time, it is possible to set the print completion deadline time in the form of, for example, before the start of a specific meeting, and as a result. The convenience related to this time setting can be enhanced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus 10 is a network printer controlled by the built-in microcomputer 100. However, in addition to this, a printer connected to a normal personal computer (PC) is connected to the PC. The printer and the printer may be combined to be realized as a printing apparatus according to the present invention by setting so that the network is shared.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to refer to the groupware server 40 for the print completion deadline time, and to query the LDAP server 50 for conditions relating to access restriction to the web server unit 204 by the access control unit 205. However, the groupware server 40 and the LDAP server 50 may of course be the same computer. Further, the partner with which the printing apparatus 10 inquires about the conditions related to the print completion deadline time or access restrictions is not limited to the groupware server or the LDAP server.

  The present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and any known hitherto provided that the effects of the present invention are achieved. Even if it is a structure, it is employable.

  It can be widely used in an environment where network printers are shared on a local network.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print browsing system 10 Printing apparatus 20 Network 30 Client computer 40 Groupware server 50 LDAP server 100 Microcomputer 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 NIC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 150 Print engine 201 Print job reception part 202 Print image generation part 203 Job control part 204 Web server part 205 Access control part

Claims (8)

Print having a print job reception unit that receives the print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time, a print image generation unit that generates a print image from the print data, and a print engine that prints the print image on paper A device,
Determining whether or not the print image can be printed before the print completion deadline time, and causing the print engine to print the print image when it is determined that the print can be completed;
A printing apparatus, comprising: a web server unit configured to enable browsing of the print image when the job control unit determines that printing cannot be completed.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the web server unit has a function of deleting the print image when a browseable time limit elapses.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job control unit has a function of querying another computer for the print completion deadline time.   Access that determines whether access to the web server unit is by a user having a legitimate authority, and if the access is by a user having a legitimate authority, the access permitting the user to view the print image The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control unit is provided in the web server unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the access control unit has a function of querying another computer as to whether or not the user has a valid authority. A print browsing system connected to a computer network and receiving a print instruction from a client computer on the computer network to print or view a document,
A print job reception unit that receives the print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time; a print image generation unit that generates a print image from the print data; and a print engine that prints the print image on paper. ,
Determining whether or not the print image can be printed before the print completion deadline time, and causing the print engine to print the print image when it is determined that the print can be completed;
A print browsing system, comprising: a web server unit that enables the print image to be browsed via the computer network when the job control unit determines that printing cannot be completed. In a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction from a client computer and prints or allows a document to be viewed, a print browsing method for printing or viewing the document,
Receiving the print instruction including the print data and the print completion deadline time;
Generating a print image from the print data;
Determining whether the print image can be printed by the print completion deadline time;
When it is determined that printing can be completed, the print image is printed,
A print browsing method, characterized in that when it is determined that printing cannot be completed, the print image can be browsed. In a printing apparatus that receives a print instruction from a client computer and prints a document or makes it in a viewable state, the computer provided in the printing apparatus includes:
A procedure for receiving the print instruction including print data and a print completion deadline time;
Generating a print image from the print data;
A procedure for determining whether or not the print image can be printed by the print completion deadline time;
A procedure for printing the print image when the job control unit determines that printing can be completed;
A print browsing program for executing a procedure for making the print image viewable when the job control unit determines that printing cannot be completed.

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