JP2011123730A - Print controller, prohibition management device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously materialize both convenience securement of a user designating a print condition and speed-up of processing related to the designation of the print condition according to prohibition setting. <P>SOLUTION: At first, prohibition setting information stored in a terminal device assumes a state in which the prohibition setting is not registered, and the terminal device transmits print document data and print condition information to a printer when setting of the print condition by the user is completed (affirmation in 60). Print condition restriction information set with a condition of printing impossibility is stored in the printer, and the printer decides whether or not the received print condition accords with the condition of the printing impossibility (82), performs printing when it does not accord (84), and notifies the terminal device about the condition of the printing impossibility when it accords (86). When the condition of the printing impossibility is notified (affirmation in 66), the terminal device adds the condition to the prohibition setting information (70). The prohibition setting information is collated in time of the setting of the print condition by the user (54), and a warning is displayed as the need arises (56, 58). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control device, a prohibition management device, a print control program, and a prohibition management program.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a detailed setting mode in which various information for printing is set based on input data from an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and at least a part of various information that can be set in the detailed setting mode. A screen for selection prepared as an option for the simple setting mode for automatically setting is displayed on the monitor, and at least one of the information that can be automatically set in the simple setting mode when the simple setting mode is selected. A technology for prohibiting display on the selection screen has been disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 2 relates to a group printer driver that can control a plurality of member printer drivers having different characteristics, and extracts setting items that can be set differently according to combinations of types of the plurality of member printer drivers. There is disclosed a technique for controlling an extracted setting item to be an item that can be set on a setting screen of a group printer driver.

  Patent Document 3 stores the setting information of the print job executed by the first printer driver and the setting information of the print job executed by the second printer driver as common history data, which is described on the printer driver setting screen. In relation to the setting item for displaying “”, a technique is disclosed in which the number of times of use in an executed print job is calculated based on history data, and the description of the setting item is changed based on the calculated number of times of use.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-296324 JP 2003-162388 A JP 2008-084074 A

  The present invention relates to a print control device, a prohibition management device, and a print control program that can achieve both of convenience for a user who specifies a print condition and high-speed processing related to specification of a print condition in accordance with the prohibition setting. The purpose is to obtain a prohibition management program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the printing control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a prohibition setting that prescribes printing conditions to be restricted among printing conditions that can be set by printing processing, stored in the first storage unit. Based on the information, as a printing process printing condition, a control unit that allows the user to specify a printing condition that does not correspond to the restricted printing condition, and a printing process printing condition designated by the user is transferred to the prohibition management device. A setting unit configured to set the notified printing condition in the prohibition setting information as the restricted printing condition when notified from the prohibition management device that the transferred printing condition is inappropriate. Has been.

  The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, wherein the prohibition setting information includes an initial state, a state in which the printing condition to be restricted is not set, or a restriction target determined to be necessary by an administrator. Only the printing conditions are set.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the control unit sets the prohibition setting information for each individual printing condition to be restricted set in the prohibition setting information. Information representing at least one of the designated time and use frequency is stored as print setting history information in the first storage unit, and the restricted print set in the prohibition setting information stored in the first storage unit When the number of conditions reaches a preset upper limit value, the restriction target print conditions set in the prohibition setting information are set in the prohibition setting information based on the print setting history information The management means is further provided for deleting from the oldest or the least frequently used.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the prohibition setting information is stored in the first storage means for each individual user or a preset user. Each of the groups is stored, and the setting means sets the prohibition setting information corresponding to the user who has specified the print conditions or the use of the prohibition management device to notify the print conditions notified from the prohibition management device. The restriction setting information corresponding to the group to which the person belongs is set as a restriction-target printing condition.

  The prohibition management device according to the invention described in claim 5 is such that when the printing conditions of the printing process are transferred from the printing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the transferred printing conditions are: Whether or not it matches the restriction target printing conditions set in the printing condition restriction information that defines the restriction printing conditions among the printing conditions that can be set in the printing process, stored in the second storage means And a notification means for notifying the printing control apparatus that the transferred printing condition is inappropriate when it is determined that the two match.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the printing condition restriction information is stored in the second storage unit for each individual user or for each preset group of users. The print control apparatus also transfers user identification information for identifying a user who has designated the print condition to the prohibition management apparatus when transferring the print condition of the print processing, and the notification unit includes the print control. The printing condition transferred by the apparatus is the printing condition restriction information corresponding to the user represented by the user identification information transferred from the print control apparatus together with the printing condition, or the printing condition restriction corresponding to the group to which the user belongs. It is determined whether or not the restriction-target printing conditions set in the information are met.

  The invention described in claim 7 is the invention described in claim 5 or 6, wherein the prohibition management device is a printing device, and the printing condition transferred from the printing control device by the notification means is the printing condition restriction. A printing unit is provided that performs printing under the transferred printing condition when it is determined that the printing condition does not match the restriction printing condition set in the information.

  The printing control program according to the invention described in claim 8 is based on prohibition setting information that defines a printing condition to be restricted among printing conditions that can be set by printing processing, stored in the first storage unit. As a printing condition of the printing process, the control unit that allows the user to specify a printing condition that does not correspond to the printing condition to be restricted, and the printing condition of the printing process specified by the user are transferred to the prohibition management device and transferred. When the prohibition management apparatus is notified that the printing condition is inappropriate, the printing apparatus functions as a setting unit that sets the notified printing condition as the restriction target printing condition in the prohibition setting information.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a prohibition management program in which a computer connected to the print control apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is transferred from the print control apparatus to a print condition for print processing. The transferred printing conditions are set in the printing condition restriction information that defines the printing conditions to be restricted among the printing conditions that can be set in the printing process, stored in the second storage unit. It is determined whether or not the printing condition to be restricted is met, and when it is determined that the printing condition is met, it is made to function as a notification unit that notifies the print control apparatus that the transferred printing condition is inappropriate.

  According to the first, second, and eighth aspects of the invention, as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided, the convenience of the user who designates the printing condition is ensured and the processing related to the designation of the printing condition in accordance with the prohibition setting is performed at a higher speed It has the effect that it is possible to realize both compatibility.

  The invention according to claim 3 has an effect that the prohibition setting information can be prevented from being enlarged.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when a plurality of users or users belonging to different groups specify the printing conditions via the printing control apparatus, the processing relating to the specification of the printing conditions in accordance with the prohibition setting is performed. There is an effect that high speed can be realized.

  The inventions according to claims 5 and 9 have the effect that the printing conditions determined as appropriate / unsuitable can be arbitrarily set by the printing condition restriction information.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of users or users belonging to different groups respectively specify printing conditions via the print control apparatus, a prohibition setting is made for each individual user or each group of users. Can be made different.

  The invention according to claim 7 has an effect that the sequence for performing the printing process is simplified as compared with the case where the prohibition management device and the printing device are separate.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. (A) is a flowchart illustrating an example of the contents of a printing condition setting process performed in the terminal device, and (B) is a flowchart illustrating an example of the contents of a printing condition determination process performed in the printing apparatus. (A) is an example of a printing condition setting screen, and (B) is an image diagram showing an example of a warning screen. It is the schematic which shows an example of prohibition setting information. (A), (B) is a flowchart which shows an example of a prohibition setting confirmation process, respectively. It is a block diagram which shows the other example of schematic structure of a printing system.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a printing system 10 according to the present embodiment. The printing system 10 is configured by connecting a printing device 12 and a plurality of terminal devices 20 to each other via a communication line 30.

  The printing apparatus 12 includes a microcomputer 14 and a main body control unit 14 including a CPU 14A, a memory 14B, a non-volatile storage unit 14C including an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, and the like, and a communication I / F (interface) unit 14D. It has. The printing apparatus 12 is connected to the communication line 30 via the communication I / F unit 14D. The main body control unit 14 is provided with an image printing unit 16 that prints an image represented by the input image data for printing on recording paper, a display unit 18A composed of an LCD or the like, and an operation unit 18B composed of a numeric keypad or a touch panel. An operation panel 18 is connected to each other.

  The image printing unit 16 may have a configuration in which an image is formed by electrophotography based on printing image data, and the formed image is transferred to and fixed on a recording sheet. Inkjet printing may be performed on the basis of printing image data. The system may be configured to eject ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles according to a method and record an image on recording paper, and any of various known methods can be applied as a method for recording an image on recording paper. It is. The storage unit 14C of the main body control unit 14 is installed with a printing condition determination program for performing a printing condition determination process to be described later in the main body control unit 14 of the printing apparatus 12, and print condition restriction information (described later) is also included. It is remembered. The printing condition determination program is an example of a prohibition management program according to claim 9, and the printing apparatus 12 is configured such that the CPU 14 </ b> A of the main body control unit 14 executes the prohibition management program, so that the prohibition management apparatus according to the present invention is executed. One example functions as an example of a printing apparatus according to claim 7. The storage unit 14C is an example of a second storage unit according to claims 5 and 6, and the image printing unit 16 is an example of a printing unit according to claim 7.

  On the other hand, the terminal device 20 includes a personal computer (PC) and the like, and a terminal main body 22 including a CPU 22A, a memory 22B, a nonvolatile storage unit 22C including an HDD, a flash memory, and the like, and a communication I / F unit 22D. The terminal body 22 is connected to the communication line 30 via the communication I / F unit 22D. In addition, a display 24, a keyboard 26, and a mouse 28 are connected to the terminal main body 22 of the terminal device 20.

  The storage unit 22C of the terminal body 22 of the terminal device 20 includes an application program (indicated as “APL” in FIG. 1) for creating a document to be printed and instructing printing, and a printer driver program. Each is installed, and prohibition setting information (described later) is also stored. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer driver program includes a printing condition setting program. This printing condition setting program is an example of a printing control program according to claim 8. When the CPU 22A of the terminal body 22 executes the printing condition setting program, it functions as an example of a printing control apparatus according to the present invention. The storage unit 22C is an example of a first storage unit according to the first aspect.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Generally, when a user instructs printing by a printing apparatus, printing is performed by setting desired setting values for each item (for example, paper size, number of copies, etc.) constituting the printing conditions via a printer driver. Although conditions are specified, among the conditions that can be specified as printing conditions, there are conditions that try to use functions that cannot be used physically at the same time, or conditions that cause or are highly likely to cause problems in the printing apparatus 12 Also exist. For this reason, printing conditions that the user wants to prohibit (the printing conditions include printing conditions that are prohibited for administrative reasons in addition to the above conditions) are stored as prohibition settings, and the printer driver When the printing condition that the user intends to specify is a printing condition that matches the prohibition setting, a warning is output and the specification of the printing condition is rejected.

  However, the number of types of printing conditions that can be set during printing (combinations of setting values for each item) is enormous due to recent multifunctional printing devices and the development of various post-processing devices that can be connected to printing devices. As a result, the number of types of conditions for which prohibition is set is also increasing. As a result, when the user specifies printing conditions, the prohibition setting is referred to, and the printer driver that determines whether the printing condition that the user is trying to specify matches the prohibition setting is significantly slowed down. It was becoming. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the initial state of the prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20 is set to a state in which the prohibition setting is not registered as illustrated in FIG. In the printing condition restriction information stored in the storage unit 14 </ b> C of the printing apparatus 12, a plurality of prohibition settings (all printing conditions that are desired to be prohibited by the user) are registered as unprintable conditions.

  Next, the printing condition setting process performed in the terminal device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. In this print condition setting process, a user operating the terminal device 20 performs an operation of starting a printer driver on the terminal device 20 in order to specify print conditions and instruct printing by the printing device 12. This is realized by executing the printing condition setting program by the CPU 22A in response to the notification.

  In the print condition setting process, first, in step 50, a print condition setting screen shown in FIG. 3A as an example is displayed on the display 24 of the terminal device 20. This print condition setting screen is a screen in which it is possible to check the current set value for each item constituting the print condition and change the set value as necessary. FIG. For each item of “original size”, “output paper size”, “original orientation”, “magnification”, “number of copies”, “double-sided printing mode”, and “multiple image printing mode (shown as“ collectively one sheet ”)” A screen state in which the set value is displayed and the displayed current set value can be changed is shown. The printing condition setting screen shown in FIG. 3A is provided with a plurality of tabs 46. The tab 46 to be displayed on the front side is switched, and the screen associated with the tab 46 after switching is displayed on the front side (printing). It is also possible to switch to a screen state in which setting values can be changed for other items constituting the condition (as an example, attached to the tab 46 labeled “basic” in FIG. 3A). Screen is displayed in the foreground).

  In the next step 52, the user operating the terminal device 20 performs an operation for changing the setting value for any item constituting the printing condition via the printing condition setting screen displayed on the display 24. It is determined whether or not If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 60, and it is determined whether or not the printing condition setting is completed. If this determination is also negative, the process returns to step 52, and steps 52 and 60 are repeated until either determination is affirmed. When the user operating the terminal device 20 displays the print condition setting screen on the display 24 of the terminal device 20, each item constituting the print condition while switching the front display target tab 46 as necessary. Check the current setting value and find an item for which the current setting value should be changed.If you want to change the setting value for that item (such as entering the changed setting value or To select the option different from the option corresponding to the current setting value), the printing condition is set.

  When the user performs an operation to change the setting value of any item constituting the printing condition, the determination in step 52 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 54, and the current printing condition including the changed setting value is displayed. Each prohibition setting registered in the prohibition setting information is collated, and in the next step 56, it is determined whether or not the current printing condition matches any prohibition setting registered in the prohibition setting information. In the present embodiment, as described above, the initial state of the prohibition setting information is set to a state in which prohibition setting is not registered (see FIG. 4A). Since the prohibition setting does not exist, the determination in step 56 is uniformly denied and the process proceeds to step 60.

  When the user operating the terminal device 20 completes the setting of the printing condition, the user sets the printing condition by selecting the button 48 provided in the printing condition setting screen, and further determines the document to be printed. An operation for instructing printing is performed. When this operation is performed, the determination at step 60 is affirmed and the routine proceeds to step 62, where data of the document to be printed (printed document data) and information indicating the printing conditions set by the user (printing condition information) are obtained. The data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 12 via the communication line 30. In the next step 64, it is determined whether or not a response has been received from the printing apparatus 12, and step 64 is repeated until the determination is affirmed.

  On the other hand, in the main body control unit 14 of the printing apparatus 12, the print condition determination program is executed by the CPU 14A when the above-described print document data and print condition information are received from the terminal apparatus 20 via the communication line 30. Then, the printing condition determination process shown in FIG. In the print condition determination process, first, in step 80, the print condition represented by the print condition information received from the terminal device 20 is collated with the individual unprintable conditions registered in the print condition restriction information. Whether or not the printing condition represented by the printing condition information received from the terminal device 20 matches at least one of the printing disabled conditions registered in the printing condition restriction information based on the result of the collation in step 80. judge.

  The non-printable conditions registered in the printing condition restriction information include, for example, “when the setting value a is set in the item A constituting the printing condition” or “the setting value b is set in the item B constituting the printing condition. Is set and the setting value c is set in the item C ”(specifically,“ double-sided printing mode ”is“ short ”as an example shown in FIG. 4B). In the case of “edge binding” and “stapling” is “upper right”, etc.), and the setting values of some of the items constituting the printing conditions match one or more non-printing conditions, step 82 is performed. Is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 86, and information for notifying the printing disabled condition that matches the printing condition represented by the printing condition information is transmitted to the terminal device 20, and the printing condition determining process is terminated. In this case, the document to be printed is not printed.

  On the other hand, if the printing conditions represented by the printing condition information do not match any of the printing disabled conditions registered in the printing condition restriction information, the determination in step 82 is negative and the process proceeds to step 84. Then, the image represented by the print document data received from the terminal device 20 is printed on the recording paper in accordance with the printing conditions received from the terminal device 20, and information notifying the completion of printing is transmitted to the terminal device 20, and the printing condition determination process is terminated. To do. The above-described printing condition determination process is an example of a notification unit described in claim 5 (more specifically, claim 6).

  As described above, when the printing device 12 is notified of the print completion or non-printable condition, in the print condition setting process (see FIG. 2A) executed in the terminal device 20, the determination in step 64 is performed. If the result is affirmative and the process proceeds to step 66, it is determined whether or not the information received from the printing apparatus 12 is information for notifying the condition that printing cannot be performed. When the information notifying the completion of printing is received from the printing apparatus 12, the determination in step 66 is denied and the process proceeds to step 68, a message notifying the completion of printing is displayed on the display 24, and the printing condition setting process is terminated. . In this case, the message displayed on the display 24 recognizes that the user who is operating the terminal device 20 has successfully printed the document to be printed.

  Further, when information notifying the condition that printing cannot be performed is received from the printing apparatus 12, the determination in step 66 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 70, and the condition that cannot be printed notified by the information received from the printing apparatus 12 is set. It is additionally registered in the prohibition setting information as a new prohibition setting. As shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), the prohibition setting information according to the present embodiment is information indicating the prohibition setting itself, and each information of the prohibition setting registration date and the number of times of warning is set as individual prohibition setting. When adding a new prohibition setting to the prohibition setting information in step 70, the current date and time as the prohibition setting registration date and “0” as the initial value of the number of warnings are set. Is also registered.

  In the next step 72, as shown in FIG. 3 (B) as an example, a warning screen clearly indicating the non-printable condition notified from the printing apparatus 12 is displayed on the display 24. By displaying this warning screen, the user who is operating the terminal device 20 recognizes that the document to be printed has not been printed, and the non-printable conditions that caused the printing. After the warning screen is displayed on the display 24, a prohibition setting confirmation process is performed in step 74 to end the printing condition setting process. The prohibition setting confirmation process will be described later.

  As mentioned earlier, the number of types of printing conditions that can be set during printing has become enormous due to the increased functionality of printing devices, but users of printing devices use all the various functions of printing devices. This is rare, and most of the usage patterns frequently use only some of the various functions of the printing apparatus. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20 is in a state in which no prohibition setting is registered in the initial state (see FIG. 4A), and printing is performed. Each time a print condition that matches the non-printable condition registered in the print condition restriction information stored in the storage unit 14C of the apparatus 12 is specified, the non-printable condition is additionally registered in the prohibition setting information. For this reason, in the present embodiment, as the printing system 10 operates, the number of prohibition settings registered in the prohibition setting information increases as shown in FIG. The additionally registered non-printable condition is a print that matches the print condition actually specified by the user among the non-printable conditions registered in the print condition restriction information stored in the storage unit 14C of the printing apparatus 12. Since it is only the impossible condition, the prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20 is prevented from being enlarged more than necessary.

  If the user specifies a printing condition that matches the prohibition setting registered in the prohibition setting information, the determination in step 56 of the printing condition setting process (see FIG. 2A) is affirmed and step 58 is performed. As an example, a warning screen shown in FIG. 3B (a screen clearly showing prohibition setting (printing prohibition condition) that matches the specified printing conditions) is displayed on the display 24, and the determination in step 56 is performed. For the specific item whose set value has been changed immediately before affirmation, the set value is returned to the value before the change, and then the process returns to step 52. This prevents printing with printing conditions that match the prohibition settings registered in the prohibition setting information, and the printing conditions specified by the user can be set to any prohibition setting registered in the prohibition setting information. Is corrected to a printing condition that does not match. In step 58 described above, a process of incrementing the “warning count” set in the prohibition setting information in association with the prohibition setting that matches the printing condition specified by the user by 1 is also performed.

  In the printing condition setting process described above, steps 50 to 60 are examples of processing performed by the control unit according to claims 1 and 3, and steps 62 to 74 are performed by the setting unit according to claim 1. It is an example of the process performed.

  Next, the prohibition setting confirmation process performed in step 74 will be described with reference to FIG. In the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5A, first, in step 100, the number of prohibition settings included in the prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20 is counted, and in the next step 102, It is determined whether or not the number of prohibition settings counted in step 100 exceeds a preset upper limit value. If the determination is negative, the prohibition setting confirmation process is terminated. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 104, and the prohibition setting information is set in association with each prohibition setting included in the prohibition setting information. Compare “registration date / time”. In the next step 106, the prohibition setting with the oldest “registration date / time” is deleted from the prohibition setting information, and the process returns to step 102.

  As a result, steps 102 to 106 are repeated until the determination in step 102 is denied, so that the number of prohibition settings included in the prohibition setting information is less than or equal to the upper limit value. The prohibition setting is deleted. In the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5A, the period set in the prohibition setting information becomes longer as the “registration date / time” of the prohibition setting becomes older, so that it is recognized by the user as a condition that cannot be set as a print condition. Some of the prohibition settings have been deleted in order from the oldest "registration date" based on the possibility that the registration date and time are increased, and the above prohibition setting confirmation process is performed each time a new prohibition setting is added to the prohibition setting information. As a result, it is possible to leave more useful prohibition settings in the prohibition setting information while suppressing the number of prohibition settings included in the prohibition setting information below the upper limit value.

  Instead of the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5A, a prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5B may be performed. In the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5B, the prohibition setting information is associated with each prohibition setting included in the prohibition setting information in step 108 instead of steps 104 and 106 shown in FIG. The usage frequency for each prohibition setting (frequency that matches the printing conditions specified by the user) is calculated and compared based on the “number of warnings” set to This is different from the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5A in that the process of deleting the lowest prohibition setting from the prohibition setting information is performed.

  In the prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 5 (B), some prohibition settings are deleted in ascending order of use frequency based on the fact that the usefulness of the prohibition setting decreases as the use frequency of the prohibition setting decreases. By performing the above prohibition setting confirmation process each time a new prohibition setting is added to the setting information, the number of prohibition settings included in the prohibition setting information is suppressed to the upper limit or less, and more useful prohibition settings are prohibited. It becomes possible to leave information. The prohibition setting confirmation process shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is an example of a process performed by the management unit according to the third aspect.

  In the prohibition setting confirmation process, the parameters used for determining the usefulness of each prohibition setting are limited to the registration date and time in the process shown in FIG. 5A and the use frequency in the process shown in FIG. For example, the length of the period since the last prohibition setting was used, the frequency of use or the number of warnings for each prohibition setting within the period from a certain time before the current time to the current time, the latest It is also possible to judge the usefulness of each prohibition setting included in the prohibition setting information based on the number of warnings for each prohibition setting in N warnings, and to combine each parameter with each prohibition It is also possible to determine the usefulness of the setting.

  Further, in the above description, as a process for causing the user to specify a printing condition that does not match the prohibition setting, when the printing condition specified by the user matches the prohibition setting, a warning screen shown in FIG. Although the mode of performing the process of correcting the specified printing condition to the printing condition that does not match the prohibition setting has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and among the options in the individual items constituting the printing condition For an option corresponding to the prohibition setting, a process for blocking selection by the user may be performed. Specifically, for example, when the prohibition setting includes “when the setting value a is set in the item A”, the option corresponding to the setting value a is displayed when the option of the item A is displayed. Is displayed so that it is recognized that it cannot be displayed or selected (for example, grayed out). For example, in the prohibition setting, “setting value b is set in item B constituting the printing condition and set in item C”. In the case where “when value c is set” is included, after setting value b is set in item B, the option corresponding to setting value c is not displayed when the option of item C is displayed. Alternatively, display is made so that it is recognized that selection is impossible (when the setting value c is set in the item C first, the same processing as described above is performed for the setting value b in the item B). May be.

  In the above description, the initial state of the prohibition setting information is set to a state in which the prohibition setting is not registered, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the prohibition setting determined to be necessary by the administrator, for example, physically Forbidden settings that limit conditions for using functions that cannot be used at the same time, and forbidden settings that limit conditions that cause problems in the printing apparatus 12, may be registered in the prohibition setting information from the beginning.

  Further, in the above description, a mode in which the printing condition setting process is performed using the single prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20 without identifying the user who operates the terminal device 20 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each individual user who operates the terminal device 20 or each user when the user who operates the terminal device 20 is divided into a plurality of groups in advance. Prohibition setting information is provided for each group, and among the prohibition setting information stored in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20, the prohibition setting information corresponding to the user who is currently operating the terminal device 20 is used. Printing condition setting processing may be performed. This aspect is particularly effective when the printing conditions specified by the user are different for each individual user or for each group of users, or when the frequency is high, and is registered. Since the prohibition setting is optimized for each prohibition setting information, the upper limit value of the number of prohibition settings included in the individual prohibition setting information can be further reduced. In the above aspect, the prohibition setting information is divided into individual information for each user or each group of users and common information common to all users or all groups of users, and is printed by a specific user. When a condition is instructed, information obtained by combining individual information corresponding to a specific user and common information may be used as prohibition setting information corresponding to the specific user.

  Moreover, although the aspect which performs a printing condition determination process using the single printing condition restriction | limiting information memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 14C of the printing apparatus 12 was demonstrated above, this invention is not limited to this, As with the prohibition setting information described above, for example, printing conditions are limited for each individual user who operates the terminal device 20 or for each group when the users who operate the terminal device 20 are divided into a plurality of groups in advance. Corresponding to the user notified from the terminal device 20 (the user who is currently operating the terminal device 20) among the plurality of printing condition restriction information stored in the storage unit 14C of the printing device 12. The printing condition determination process may be performed using the printing condition restriction information. If this aspect is used in combination with the above-described aspect in which prohibition setting information is provided for each user or each group of users, for example, for general users, color printing is set as a condition that prohibits printing in the corresponding printing condition restriction information. Color printing is restricted by setting, for example, for administrators and managers, color printing is permitted by not setting color printing as a non-printable condition in the corresponding printing condition restriction information, etc. It is also possible to apply different prohibition settings for each user or for each group of users.

  Also, in the above, the printing condition restriction information is stored in the storage unit 14C of the printing apparatus 12, and the printing condition determination process (FIG. 2B) is performed by the main body control unit 14 of the printing apparatus 12 to thereby perform the printing apparatus 12. Has been described as an example of the prohibition management device according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a device other than the printing device 12 functions as an example of the prohibition management device according to the present invention. You may do it. As an example, in the printing system 32 shown in FIG. 6, a management server 34 is added to the printing system 10 shown in FIG. 1, and this management server 34 stores the CPU 36A, memory 36B, printing condition restriction information and prints. The server main body 36 having a storage unit 36C and a communication I / F unit 36D in which a condition determination program is installed is provided. The server main unit 36 is connected to the communication line 30 via the communication I / F unit 36D. A display 38, a keyboard 40, and a mouse 42 are connected to each other. In the printing system 32 illustrated in FIG. 6, when an operation for confirming the printing condition designated by the user is performed by the user, the terminal device 20 transmits printing condition information indicating the confirmed printing condition to the management server 34. Then, it is determined whether or not the confirmed printing condition matches the non-printable condition registered in the printing condition restriction information. If it is notified that the print conditions do not match the non-printable conditions, the print original data and the print condition information are transmitted to the printing apparatus 12 to print the original to be printed. When it is notified that the print prohibition condition is met, processing such as additional registration of prohibition settings in the prohibition setting information is performed. This aspect has the advantage that the load on the printing apparatus 12 is reduced.

  Further, in the aspect in which the printing apparatus 12 functions as an example of the prohibition management apparatus according to the present invention (the aspect in FIG. 1), only the printing condition restriction information is once transmitted to the printing apparatus 12 as described above, and the transmitted printing condition information is transmitted. When it is notified that the information represented by the information does not match the non-printable condition, a sequence may be adopted in which print original data is additionally transmitted to the printing apparatus 12 to print the original to be printed. Good.

  Further, in the above, the printing condition setting program as an example of the printing control program according to claim 8 is stored (installed) in advance in the storage unit 22C of the terminal device 20, and is an example of the prohibition management program according to claim 9. The aspect in which the printing condition determination program is stored (installed) in advance in the storage unit 14C of the printing apparatus 12 (or the storage unit 36C of the management server 34) has been described. The prohibition management program described in (1) can be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing system 12 Printing apparatus 14C Storage part 16 Image printing part 20 Terminal device 22C Storage part 24 Display 26 Keyboard 28 Mouse 32 Printing system 34 Management server 36C Storage part

Claims (9)

Based on the prohibition setting information that prescribes the restricted printing condition among the printing conditions that can be set in the printing process, stored in the first storage unit, the printing condition for the printing process does not correspond to the restricted printing condition. Control means for allowing the user to specify printing conditions;
When the printing conditions specified by the user are transferred to the prohibition management device and the transferred management conditions are notified from the prohibition management device, the notified printing conditions are transferred to the restriction management device. Setting means for setting the prohibition setting information as a printing condition;
Including a printing control device.   2. The prohibition setting information has an initial state in which a restriction-target printing condition is not set, or only a restriction-target printing condition determined to be necessary by an administrator is set. Print control device. The control means uses, as print setting history information, information indicating at least one of the time and use frequency set in the prohibition setting information for each restriction target print condition set in the prohibition setting information. Memorize it in one storage means,
The restriction target set in the prohibition setting information when the number of restriction target printing conditions set in the prohibition setting information stored in the first storage means reaches a preset upper limit value. 3. The printing according to claim 1, further comprising: a management unit that deletes the printing conditions based on the print setting history information in order from the oldest time set in the prohibition setting information or the least frequently used. Control device. In the first storage means, the prohibition setting information is stored for each individual user or a preset group of users, respectively.
The setting means includes the prohibition setting information corresponding to the prohibition setting information corresponding to the user who specified the print condition or the prohibition setting corresponding to the group to which the user belongs, regarding the print condition notified from the prohibition management device as inappropriate. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is set in the information as a print condition to be restricted.   5. The printing process according to claim 1, wherein when the printing condition of the printing process is transferred from the printing control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the transferred printing condition is stored in a second storage unit. It is determined whether or not it matches the printing condition restriction information set in the printing condition restriction information that defines the restriction printing condition among the printing conditions that can be set in, and is transferred when it is judged that it matches A prohibition management apparatus including notification means for notifying the printing control apparatus that the printing conditions are inappropriate. In the second storage means, the printing condition restriction information is stored for each individual user or for each preset group of users,
The print control device also transfers user identification information for identifying a user who has designated the print conditions when transferring the print conditions of the print processing to the prohibition management device,
The notifying means may be configured such that the printing conditions transferred by the printing control apparatus include printing condition restriction information corresponding to a user represented by the user identification information transferred from the printing control apparatus together with the printing conditions, or the user The prohibition management apparatus according to claim 5, wherein it is determined whether or not the printing condition restriction information set in the printing condition restriction information corresponding to the group to which the group belongs is determined.   The prohibition management device is a printing device, and the notification unit determines that the printing conditions transferred from the printing control device do not match the restriction-target printing conditions set in the printing condition restriction information 7. The prohibition management apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a printing unit that performs a printing process under the transferred printing conditions. Computer
Based on the prohibition setting information that prescribes the restricted printing condition among the printing conditions that can be set in the printing process, stored in the first storage unit, the printing condition for the printing process does not correspond to the restricted printing condition. Control means for allowing the user to specify printing conditions;
In addition, the printing conditions specified by the user are transferred to the prohibition management apparatus, and the notified printing conditions are restricted when the transferred management conditions are notified from the prohibition management apparatus. A printing control program for functioning as a setting means for setting in the prohibition setting information as a target printing condition. A computer connected to the print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
When the printing conditions of the printing process are transferred from the printing control apparatus, the transferred printing conditions are stored in the second storage unit, and the printing conditions that are to be restricted among the printing conditions that can be set in the printing process The print control apparatus determines whether or not the print condition to be restricted that is set in the print condition restriction information that prescribes the print condition is satisfied, and that the print condition that is transferred when it is determined to match is unsuitable Prohibition management program to function as a notification means to notify to.

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