JP2012058817A - Information processor, printing system, information processing method, and printer driver program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor allowing a user to easily specify a paper discharge setting of a print job generated from document data in which paper sizes and document orientations are mixed.SOLUTION: A host computer 1100 transmitting a print job to a printing device 1200 and commanding the printing includes: page setting condition analyzing means 1111 that analyzes a paper size and a document orientation for every page of document data; paper discharge pattern candidate generating means 1131 that generates a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates based on the analysis result; paper discharge pattern setting means 1112 that sets a paper discharge pattern candidate selected by a user from the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates as a paper discharge pattern; and use paper information adding means 1121 that adds an orientation of a paper with respect to a paper discharge direction determined for the every paper size and document orientation based on the set paper discharge pattern, to a page attribute of the print job as use paper information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a printing system, an information processing method, and a printer driver program, and in particular, information that can realize printing of a discharge pattern desired by a user for a document in which paper sizes and document orientations are mixed. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus, a printing system, an information processing method, and a printer driver program.

  When you print a document with mixed paper size and document orientation (document orientation or document orientation) on a printer that has a paper tray that can be set vertically or horizontally, the printer controller automatically automatically It has already been known that a vertically placed paper or a horizontally placed paper is automatically selected, an original is aligned with the orientation of the paper, and processing such as rotation is performed for output.

  For example, when document data in which paper size and document orientation are mixed is input from an application executed on the host computer and the printer driver outputs print data based on the document data, the print driver The print data is generated by adjusting the output paper size to the paper size specified for each page, and the printer controller automatically selects portrait or landscape paper. The original is aligned with the direction of the paper, and processing such as rotation is performed for printing.

  Patent Document 1 describes that the output result of a document in which paper sizes are mixed can be freely changed.

  Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a plurality of paper feed trays are switched depending on whether the printing direction is horizontal or vertical in a print job.

  However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 only includes means for freely determining a sheet to be used for a document in which sheet sizes are mixed. That is, it is not possible to specify a paper to be used for documents having the same paper size and mixed document orientations.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a configuration for selecting whether to discharge in the same direction or to discharge according to the screen display when printing a print job in which portrait and landscape are mixed. Only.

  In this case, the user needs to select a print job to be printed, but it is not easy for the user to select the print job in consideration of the direction of the print job.

Specifically, for example, the direction in which the user wants to output changes depending on whether an A3 portrait document, an A4 portrait document, or an A4 landscape document is mixed in the print job, or only an A3 portrait document or an A4 portrait document. come.
Even in the case of the A3 vertical document and the A4 vertical document, whether the A4 vertical document is aligned so that the short sides are parallel to each other in consideration of the readability of the A4 vertical document, or the A3 vertical document Assuming that the document is folded into A4 size, the output form changes depending on the user's needs, such as whether the short side of the A3 vertical document and the long side of the A4 vertical document are discharged in parallel (Note that Is a case where the character direction of the A3 vertical document and the A4 horizontal document is “horizontal writing”).
Therefore, it has been desired that the user can easily set the paper discharge direction for a print job for printing on a plurality of sizes of paper.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the prior art, and when printing document data having a mixed paper size and document orientation using a printer having a plurality of paper feed trays. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a printing system, an information processing method, and a printer driver program that allow a user to easily specify paper discharge settings for each paper size and document orientation in a print job.

The present invention provided to solve the above problems is as follows. In addition, the site | part and code | symbol etc. which respond | correspond in the form for implementing this invention in a parenthesis are shown.
[1] A printing job (printing device 1200) having a plurality of paper feed trays (paper feed trays 1232) that generates a print job based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set. A page setting condition analyzing unit (page setting condition analyzing unit 1111) for analyzing a paper size and a document orientation for each page of the document data, and the page setting Based on the information obtained by the condition analysis means, a plurality of paper discharge patterns in which the combination of the paper size and the paper discharge direction for each document orientation in the document data is made different as discharge pattern candidates. A paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit (paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131) to be generated and the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit Paper discharge pattern setting means for displaying a plurality of generated paper discharge pattern candidates on a display device and setting a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and input by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates as a paper discharge pattern (Paper discharge pattern setting means 1112) and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation based on the paper discharge pattern set by the paper discharge pattern setting means. Used information adding means (used paper information adding means 1121) for adding to the page attribute of the print job as an information processing apparatus (host computer 1100, FIG. 1).
[2] Paper Tray Information Acquisition Unit (Paper Tray Information Receiving Unit 1132) that acquires information on the size of the paper set in each paper feed tray and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction from the connected printing apparatus. The paper discharge pattern candidate generation means includes a paper size and a document orientation in the document data based on information obtained by the paper feed tray information acquisition means and the page setting condition analysis means. The information processing apparatus according to [1], wherein a plurality of paper discharge patterns with different combinations of paper orientations with respect to the paper direction are generated as paper discharge pattern candidates.
[3] The paper feed tray information acquisition unit also acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray, and the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit acquires the paper feed tray information acquisition unit for each paper feed tray acquired by the paper feed tray information acquisition unit. The remaining amount of paper is compared with the paper size and the number of printed sheets for each paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. When there is more paper than the corresponding paper tray, the exclusive control is performed so that the paper size and the paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction are not included in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. The information processing apparatus according to [2].
[4] The information processing apparatus (host computer 1100) according to any one of [1] to [3], and a plurality of paper feed trays (paper feeds) capable of storing a plurality of sizes of paper in a portrait orientation or a landscape orientation. A printing apparatus (printing apparatus 1200) having a tray 1232), and the printing apparatus determines a paper feed tray to be used based on used paper information added to the print job received from the information processing apparatus. A printing system (printing system 1000, FIG. 1) characterized by performing printing by determining.
[5] A print job to be printed by a printing apparatus (printing apparatus 1200) having a plurality of paper feed trays (paper feed trays 1232) based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set. An information processing method to be generated, based on information obtained in a page setting condition analysis step (S11) for analyzing the paper size and document orientation for each page of the document data, and the page setting condition analysis step A paper discharge pattern candidate generation step (S12) for generating a plurality of paper discharge patterns with different combinations of the paper direction and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data as discharge pattern candidates. And a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates generated in the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step are displayed on a display device, and the plurality of paper discharge patterns are displayed. Based on the paper discharge pattern setting step (S13) for setting a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and input from the candidates as a paper discharge pattern, and the paper discharge pattern set by the paper discharge pattern setting step, A used paper information adding step (S14) for adding the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation to the page attribute of the print job as used paper information. Information processing method (FIGS. 1 and 4).
[6] A paper feed tray information obtaining step for obtaining information on a paper size set in each paper feed tray and paper orientation with respect to a paper discharge direction from the printing apparatus, and the paper discharge pattern candidate generating step Are different from each other in the combination of the paper size with respect to the paper size and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data based on the information obtained in the paper feed tray information acquisition step and the page setting condition analysis step. The information processing method according to [5], wherein a plurality of discharged paper pattern candidates are generated.
[7] The paper feed tray information acquisition step also acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray, and the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step performs the process for each paper feed tray acquired in the paper feed tray information acquisition step. The remaining amount of paper is compared with the paper size and the number of printed sheets for each paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. When there is more paper than the corresponding paper tray, the exclusive control is performed so that the paper size and the paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction are not included in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. The information processing method according to [6].
[8] A print job to be printed by a printing apparatus (printing apparatus 1200) having a plurality of paper feed trays (paper feed trays 1232) based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set. A printer driver program executed by the information processing apparatus (host computer 1100) to be generated, the page setting condition analyzing step (S11) for analyzing the paper size and document orientation for each page of the document data, and the page Based on the information obtained in the setting condition analysis step, a plurality of paper discharge patterns in which the combination of the paper direction with respect to the paper size and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data is made different are the discharge pattern candidates. Generated in the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step (S12) and the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step A plurality of discharged paper pattern candidates are displayed on a display device, and a paper discharge pattern setting step of setting, as a paper discharge pattern, a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and input by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates ( S13) and the page of the print job using the paper orientation with respect to the paper ejection direction determined for each paper size and document orientation based on the paper ejection pattern set in the paper ejection pattern setting step. A printer driver program (FIGS. 1 and 4) that causes an information processing apparatus to execute a used paper information adding step (S14) to be added to an attribute.
[9] By causing the information processing apparatus to execute a paper feed tray information acquisition step of acquiring information about the size of the paper set in each paper feed tray and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction from the printing device. In the pattern candidate generation step, based on the information obtained in the paper feed tray information acquisition step and the page setting condition analysis step, the paper size in the document data and the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction for each document orientation are determined. The printer driver program according to [8], wherein the printer driver program generates a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates having different combinations.
[10] The paper feed tray information acquisition step also acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray, and the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step includes the paper feed acquired in the paper feed tray information acquisition step. The remaining amount of paper for each tray is compared with the size of the paper in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates and the number of printed sheets for each paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction. When the number of printed sheets is greater than the remaining amount of paper in the corresponding paper feed tray, exclusive control is performed so that the paper size and the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction are not included in the plurality of paper ejection pattern candidates. The printer driver program according to [9], wherein the printer driver program.

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the paper size set in the document data to be printed and the orientation as the document are analyzed, and based on the analysis, a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates are presented to the user for a desired paper discharge. Select a pattern candidate as an arrangement pattern, and add the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction determined for each paper size and document orientation based on the selected paper ejection pattern as used paper information to the page attribute of the print job Therefore, the paper feed tray is automatically selected so that the paper discharge pattern selected on the printing apparatus side is obtained, and a printed matter having a paper discharge pattern as desired by the user can be obtained.
According to the printing system of the present invention, the information processing apparatus analyzes the paper size and document orientation set in the document data to be printed, and presents a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates to the user based on the analysis. A desired discharge pattern candidate is selected as a discharge pattern, and based on the selected discharge pattern, a print job using the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation as the used paper information Since the paper feed tray is automatically selected so that it becomes the paper discharge pattern selected based on the print job on the printing apparatus side, the printed matter with the paper discharge pattern as desired by the user is obtained. be able to.
According to the information processing method of the present invention, the paper size set in the document data to be printed and the orientation as the document are analyzed, and based on the analysis, a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates are presented to the user for a desired paper discharge. A pattern candidate is selected as a paper discharge pattern, and based on the selected paper discharge pattern, the paper orientation relative to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation is used as the used paper information in the page attribute of the print job. Since the information processing apparatus is controlled to be added, the paper feed tray is automatically selected so as to have the paper discharge pattern selected on the printing apparatus side, and the printed matter with the paper discharge pattern as desired by the user Can be obtained.
According to the printer driver program of the present invention, the paper size set in the document data to be printed and the orientation as the document are analyzed, and based on the analysis, a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates are presented to the user for a desired paper discharge. A pattern candidate is selected as a paper discharge pattern, and based on the selected paper discharge pattern, the paper orientation relative to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation is used as the used paper information in the page attribute of the print job. Since the information processing apparatus causes the information to be added, the paper feed tray is automatically selected so as to obtain the paper discharge pattern selected on the printing apparatus side, and the printed material with the paper discharge pattern as desired by the user. Can be obtained.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system according to the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the example (1) of the paper discharge pattern which a paper discharge pattern candidate production | generation means produces | generates. It is the schematic which shows the paper discharge pattern example (2) which a paper discharge pattern candidate production | generation means produces | generates. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of information processing related to document printing executed by the printing system of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration of an information processing apparatus and a printing system, an information processing method, and a printer driver program according to the present invention will be described.
Here, the document data to be printed is created by application software such as a word processor, and the paper size and document orientation (also referred to as document orientation) are set for each page. It is assumed that the document has a plurality of combinations of paper sizes and document orientations.
The plurality of paper sizes include, for example, A3 size and A4 size (hereinafter, may be referred to as A3 and A4), and the orientation as the plurality of documents includes a vertical document and a horizontal document. A vertical document is a document in an arrangement state in which the document is viewed with the short side of the paper as the vertical direction, and a horizontal document is a document in an arrangement state in which the document is viewed with the short side of the paper as the horizontal direction (note that the character direction (It is different from the distinction between vertical writing and horizontal writing.) Also, the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction is the paper orientation relative to the paper transport direction (paper ejection direction) in the printing apparatus (printer), and is the paper side perpendicular to the paper ejection direction the short side? There are two types of long sides. This is also the paper placement direction in the paper feed tray. If the paper side perpendicular to the paper discharge direction is short, the paper is placed horizontally in the paper feed tray, and the paper side perpendicular to the paper discharge direction is long. In this case, the paper feed tray is placed vertically.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system according to the present invention.
The printing system 1000 includes a host computer 1100 that is an information processing apparatus (high-order apparatus) that executes a printer driver program, and a printing apparatus 1200 that is a printer having a plurality of paper feed trays. The host computer 1100 is connected to the printing apparatus 1200 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

[Host computer 1100]
Here, the host computer 1100 includes a print instruction unit 1110, a job generation unit 1120 that generates a print job from document data, and an exclusive control unit 1130.

(Print instruction unit 1110)
Among these, the print instruction unit 1110 includes a page setting condition analysis unit 1111 and a discharge pattern setting unit 1112, and has a function of acquiring information necessary for generating a print job in response to a print instruction. Also, the print instruction unit 1110 transmits a print job in which used paper information is added to page attribute information (hereinafter also referred to as page attribute) to be described later to the printing apparatus 1200 to instruct printing.

  The page setting condition analysis unit 1111 analyzes the document data to be printed at the time of printing instruction, specifies the paper size and document orientation (document orientation) for each page set in the document data, and It has a function of analyzing which pattern paper size and document orientation are mixed.

  A paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112 selects a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates generated by a paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131, which will be described later, from a liquid crystal display or the like for a document in which paper size and document orientation are mixed as print targets. When a user selects a desired paper discharge pattern from a plurality of displayed paper pattern candidates displayed on a display device (not shown) connected to the host computer, the selected paper discharge is selected. It has a function of setting a pattern candidate as a paper discharge pattern at the time of printing. In other words, a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates for a print job generated by the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 are displayed on the display device, and paper output selected and input by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. A pattern candidate is set as a paper discharge pattern for a print job. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the character direction (and size) is displayed for each paper display, or a certain page is extracted as a representative, and the document direction is displayed as a thumbnail image. That's fine.

(Exclusive control unit 1130)
The exclusive control unit 1130 includes a paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 and a paper feed tray information reception unit 1132. The exclusive control unit 1130 generates a paper discharge pattern candidate for document data to be printed and receives it from the paper feed tray side. It has a function of performing exclusive control for reflecting the discharge pattern restrictions to the discharge pattern candidates.

  The paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 can be taken as the printing system 1000 based on the information obtained by the page setting condition analysis unit 1111 (paper size and document orientation for each page set in the document data) ( A plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates are generated in which all combinations of paper discharge patterns that can be specified, that is, combinations of the paper size and the paper discharge direction for each document orientation in the document data to be printed are different.

  2 and 3 show examples of the paper discharge pattern generated by the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131. FIG. In this embodiment, it is assumed that sheets of A3 landscape orientation, A4 portrait orientation, and A4 landscape orientation are set in the paper feed tray of the printing apparatus 1200 (the same applies to the following description).

  Among these, when the document data includes three types of documents, an A3 size vertical document (A3 portrait document), an A4 size portrait document (A4 portrait document), and an A4 size landscape document (A4 landscape document), As shown in FIG. 2, four discharge patterns are generated as discharge pattern candidates as all of the possible discharge patterns.

That is, in the first paper discharge pattern (pattern 1), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction for the A3 vertical document is set as the short side, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set for the A4 vertical document and the A4 horizontal document. Long side.
In the second paper discharge pattern (pattern 2), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 vertical document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the long side for the A4 vertical document. The side of the A4 landscape document perpendicular to the paper discharge direction is the short side.
Further, in the third paper discharge pattern (pattern 3), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 vertical document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set for the A4 vertical document and the A4 horizontal document. The short side.
In the fourth paper discharge pattern (pattern 4), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 vertical document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A4 vertical document. The side of the sheet that is orthogonal to the paper discharge direction of the A4 landscape document is the long side.

  In addition, when the document data includes three types of documents, that is, an A3 size landscape document (A3 landscape document), an A4 size portrait document (A4 portrait document), and an A4 size landscape document (A4 landscape document), FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, four discharge patterns are generated as discharge pattern candidates as all of the possible discharge patterns.

That is, in the fifth paper discharge pattern (pattern 5), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 horizontal document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set for the A4 vertical document and the A4 horizontal document. Long side.
In the sixth paper discharge pattern (pattern 6), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 horizontal document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the long side for the A4 vertical document. The side of the A4 landscape document perpendicular to the paper discharge direction is the short side.
In the seventh paper discharge pattern (pattern 7), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 horizontal document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set for the A4 vertical document and the A4 horizontal document. The short side.
Further, in the eighth paper discharge pattern (pattern 8), the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A3 horizontal document, and the side of the paper orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is set as the short side for the A4 vertical document. The side of the sheet that is orthogonal to the paper discharge direction of the A4 landscape document is the long side.

  The paper feed tray information receiving unit 1132 receives information regarding a plurality of paper feed trays 1232 provided in the printing apparatus 1200 notified from the paper feed tray information notifying unit 1241 on the printing apparatus 1200 side. The information relating to the paper feed tray 1232 is the paper size, placement direction, and remaining amount of paper set in each paper feed tray 1232.

  At this time, the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 sets the information obtained by the page setting condition analysis unit 1111 to the information about the paper feed tray 1232 obtained from the paper feed tray information reception unit 1132 (set in each paper feed tray 1232. A plurality of different combinations of paper orientation and paper orientation for each document orientation in the document data to be printed on the basis of the information. Paper discharge pattern candidates (all of the paper discharge patterns that can be taken by the printing system 1000) are preferably generated. As a result, it is possible to narrow down to a realizable paper discharge pattern from all of the possible paper discharge patterns generated as described above and generate them as possible paper discharge pattern candidates.

  For example, in the paper discharge pattern candidates shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, if sheets of A3 landscape, A4 portrait, and A4 landscape are set in the plurality of paper feed trays 1232 of the printing apparatus 1200, all the discharge patterns are set. Paper pattern candidates are generated as dischargeable patterns that can be specified. For example, when A4 landscape paper is not set, the patterns 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 are excluded from the discharge patterns that can be specified.

  Further, the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 includes the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray 1232 acquired by the paper feed tray information reception unit 1132 and a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates as described above (FIGS. 2 and 3). ) The remaining amount of paper in the paper feed tray 1232 corresponding to the size of a certain paper and the number of printed sheets in the direction of the paper with respect to the paper discharge direction are compared with each other. If there are more, the exclusive control may be performed so that the paper size and the paper direction with respect to the paper discharge direction are not included in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. As a result, errors such as running out of paper during printing can be prevented in advance.

  Note that the number of printed sheets is the sum of the paper size and the print designation number for each direction as a document in the print job, corresponding to the size of a certain sheet and the direction of the sheet with respect to the paper discharge direction. For example, when both the A4 portrait document and the A4 landscape document use the A4 landscape paper feed tray 1232, the sum of the designated print number of the A4 portrait document and the A4 landscape document is set as the print number.

(Job generation unit 1120)
The job generation unit 1120 includes a used paper information addition unit 1121 and has a function of generating print data from document data to be printed and generating a print job including the print data. The print job includes at least print data including a printer control command that can be interpreted by the printing apparatus 1200 generated from document data to be printed, page attribute information regarding information for each page of the document, the number of copies, resolution, and the like. Job attribute information related to the print settings.

  The used paper information adding unit 1121 determines the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size (page size) and document direction (original direction) based on the paper discharge pattern set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112. Is added to the page attribute of the print job as used paper information.

  For example, when the paper discharge pattern of the pattern 1 is set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112, as shown in Table 1, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as to the A3 landscape document. The used paper information that is A3 landscape, A4 portrait for A4 portrait, and A4 portrait for A4 landscape is added to the page attribute of the print job.

When the paper discharge pattern of the pattern 2 is set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape for an A3 landscape document and A4 portrait. The used paper information in which the document is A4 portrait and the A4 landscape document is A4 landscape is added to the page attribute of the print job.
When the paper discharge pattern of the pattern 3 is set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape for an A3 landscape document and A4 portrait. The used paper information in which the document is A4 landscape and the A4 landscape document is A4 landscape is added to the page attribute of the print job.
When the discharge pattern of the pattern 4 is set by the discharge pattern setting unit 1112, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape for A3 landscape documents and A4 portrait. Use paper information in which the document is A4 landscape and the A4 landscape document is A4 portrait is added to the page attribute of the print job.

When the paper discharge pattern of the pattern 5 is set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape and A4 portrait. The used paper information in which the document is A4 portrait and the A4 landscape document is A4 portrait is added to the page attribute of the print job.
When the paper discharge pattern of the pattern 6 is set by the paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape and A4 portrait. The used paper information in which the document is A4 portrait and the A4 landscape document is A4 landscape is added to the page attribute of the print job.
When the discharge pattern of the pattern 7 is set by the discharge pattern setting means 1112, the used paper information adding means 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape for A3 portrait documents and A4 portrait. The used paper information in which the document is A4 landscape and the A4 landscape document is A4 landscape is added to the page attribute of the print job.
When the discharge pattern of the pattern 8 is set by the discharge pattern setting means 1112, the used paper information adding means 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction as A3 landscape for A3 portrait documents and A4 portrait. Use paper information in which the document is A4 landscape and the A4 landscape document is A4 portrait is added to the page attribute of the print job.

[Printer 1200]
The printing apparatus 1200 includes a job reception unit 1210, a print control unit 1220 having a used paper feed tray determination unit 1221, a printing device information transmission unit 1240, one paper discharge tray 1231, and a plurality of paper feed trays 1232 (1, 2... N (N is an integer of 2 or more)).

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 1200 includes three paper feed trays 1232. Specifically, the first paper feed tray on which A3 landscape paper is set and the A4 portrait paper are set. The second paper feed tray is the third paper feed tray on which A4 landscape paper is set. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any sheet feeding tray that has at least two or more sheet feeding trays and can be set vertically or horizontally may be used. Further, the paper discharge tray 1231 may have a plurality of units.

  The job receiving unit 1210 includes a job receiving unit 1211 that receives a print job transmitted from the host computer 1100, and has a function of sending information on the received print job to the print control unit 1220.

  The printing apparatus information transmission unit 1240 transmits a sheet size, orientation, and remaining sheet information set in each sheet feeding tray 1232 of the printing apparatus 1200 to the host computer 1100 by the sheet feeding tray information notification unit 1241. Have Note that the printing apparatus information to be transmitted may include not only paper feed tray information but also paper discharge tray information.

  The print control unit 1220 includes a used paper feed tray determining unit 1221 that determines a paper feed tray 1232 to be used for each page of the document to be printed from the used paper information added to the page attribute of the print job. Based on the information on the paper feed tray 1232 and the job attribute of the print job, a print process using the print data is performed.

  Here, the used paper feed tray determination unit 1221 determines the paper feed tray 1232 to be used for each page to be printed based on the used paper information added to the page attribute of the print job sent to the print control unit 1220. decide. For example, based on the used paper information shown in Table 1, it is decided to use the first paper feed tray on which A3 portrait paper is set for printing pages of A3 portrait documents, and A4 portrait documents and A4 landscape documents. It is determined to use the second paper feed tray on which A4 portrait paper is set for printing the document pages (thus, the third paper feed tray is not used).

In the printing system 1000 configured as described above, transmission / reception of information necessary for document printing and information processing are performed in the following procedure, and printing processing is executed. This will be described with reference to FIG.
(S11) When the host computer 1100 receives a signal instructing printing (print request), the page setting condition analysis unit 1111 analyzes the paper size and document orientation for each page of document data to be printed. Accordingly, it is assumed here that, for example, an A3 portrait document, an A4 portrait document, and an A4 landscape document are detected as the paper size and document orientation.
(S12) Based on the information obtained in step S11, the paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit 1131 changes the combination of the paper size and the paper orientation for each paper orientation in the document data. A plurality of paper discharge patterns (for example, paper discharge patterns shown in FIG. 2) are generated as paper discharge pattern candidates.
(S13) The paper discharge pattern setting unit 1112 displays a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates for the print job generated in step S12 on the display device, and is selected and input by the user from the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. The paper discharge pattern candidates to be printed are set as paper discharge patterns for printing (for print jobs). Here, for example, the paper discharge pattern candidates shown in FIG. 2 are displayed, and pattern 1 is selected and set as a paper discharge pattern for printing.
(S14) Based on the paper discharge pattern acquired in step S13, the used paper information adding unit 1121 sets the paper orientation with respect to the paper ejection direction determined for each paper size and document orientation. (Used paper information shown in Table 1) is added to the page attribute of the print job generated from the document data. Note that job attribute information related to print settings based on a print instruction is also added to the print job.
(S15) The print instruction unit 1110 transmits the print job to the printing apparatus 1200, and the job reception unit 1211 receives the print job.
(S16) The used paper feed tray determination unit 1221 determines the paper feed tray 1232 to be used for each page to be printed based on the used paper information added to the page attribute of the print job. For example, based on the used paper information shown in Table 1, it is decided to use the first paper feed tray on which A3 portrait paper is set for printing pages of A3 portrait documents, and A4 portrait documents and A4 landscape documents. It is determined to use the second paper feed tray on which A4 portrait paper is set for printing the document page.
(S17) The print control unit 1220 determines the image orientation of the print data of the print job based on the used paper information added to the page attribute. For example, in the used paper information shown in Table 1, it is necessary to perform 90 ° rotation processing for A3 portrait documents and A4 landscape documents.
(S18) The print control unit 1220 feeds paper from the paper feed tray 1232 determined in step S16 to each page, and as necessary so that the correct image orientation determined in step S17 is obtained. Print data subjected to the rotation process is generated, and the print data is printed on the paper. As a result, the paper printed with the paper discharge pattern of pattern 1 in FIG. 2 is discharged.
Thereafter, a finishing process is performed as necessary.

  Through the above processing, the paper size and document orientation set in the document data to be printed are analyzed on the host computer 1100 side, and based on the analysis, a plurality of paper discharge patterns are presented as paper discharge pattern candidates to the user. Select the desired paper discharge pattern, and based on the selected paper discharge pattern, add the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction determined for each paper size and document orientation as the used paper information to the page attribute of the print job Since the paper feed tray is automatically selected on the printing apparatus 1200 side so as to have a paper discharge pattern selected based on the print job, a printed matter having a paper discharge pattern as desired by the user can be obtained.

  In the procedure shown in FIG. 4, before step S <b> 12, the paper tray information receiving unit 1132 receives the size of the paper set in each paper tray 1232 from the paper tray information notifying unit 1241 of the printing apparatus 1200. And a paper feed tray information acquisition step for acquiring information on the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction. In step S12, based on the information obtained in the paper feed tray information acquisition step and S11, the document data A plurality of paper discharge patterns with different combinations of paper orientations with respect to the paper size and the paper ejection direction for each document orientation may be generated as paper ejection pattern candidates.

  Further, in the paper feed tray information acquisition step, the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray 1232 is also obtained, and in step S12, each paper feed tray 1232 acquired in the paper feed tray information acquisition step. Are compared with the number of printed sheets for each paper direction and the number of printed sheets for each paper direction in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. Is larger than the remaining amount of paper in the corresponding paper feed tray 1232, exclusive control may be performed so that the paper size and the paper orientation relative to the paper ejection direction are not included in the plurality of paper ejection patterns. preferable.

  Further, the host computer 1100 generates a print job to be printed by the printing apparatus 1200 having a plurality of paper feed trays based on the document data in which the paper size and the document orientation are set. Although a driver program is stored, a configuration that causes the host computer 1100 to execute the above-described steps S11 to S14 by this printer driver program is also within the scope of the present invention.

  Although the present invention has been described with the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. Can be changed within the range that can be conceived, and any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited.

1000 Printing System 1100 Host Computer 1110 Print Instruction Unit 1111 Page Setting Condition Analysis Unit 1112 Paper Discharge Pattern Setting Unit 1120 Job Generation Unit 1121 Used Paper Information Adding Unit 1130 Exclusive Control Unit 1131 Paper Discharge Pattern Candidate Generation Unit 1132 Paper Tray Information Receiving Unit 1200 Printing Device 1210 Job Receiving Unit 1211 Job Accepting Unit 1220 Print Control Unit 1221 Used Paper Tray Determining Unit 1230 Optional Configuration 1231 Paper Discharge Tray 1232 Paper Tray 1240 Printing Device Information Transmitting Unit 1241 Paper Tray Information Notifying Unit

JP 2002-321432 A JP 2008-165717 A

Claims (10)

An information processing apparatus that generates a print job based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set, and transmits the print job to a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed trays to instruct printing. ,
A page setting condition analyzing means for analyzing a paper size and a document orientation for each page of the document data;
Based on the information obtained by the page setting condition analyzing means, a plurality of paper discharge patterns in which the combination of the paper direction and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data is different are discharged. A paper discharge pattern candidate generation means for generating a pattern candidate;
A plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates generated by the paper discharge pattern candidate generation means are displayed on a display device, and a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and inputted by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates is displayed as a paper discharge pattern. Paper discharge pattern setting means to be set as
Based on the paper discharge pattern set by the paper discharge pattern setting means, the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation is added to the page attribute of the print job as used paper information. And a used paper information adding unit. A paper feed tray information acquisition unit configured to acquire information about a paper size set in each paper feed tray and a paper orientation with respect to a paper discharge direction from the connected printing apparatus;
The paper discharge pattern candidate generation unit is configured to generate a paper sheet corresponding to a paper discharge direction for each paper size and document direction in the document data based on the information obtained by the paper feed tray information acquisition unit and the page setting condition analysis unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of paper discharge patterns with different combinations of orientations are generated as paper discharge pattern candidates. The paper feed tray information acquisition unit also acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray,
The paper discharge pattern candidate generation means is a paper remaining amount for each paper feed tray acquired by the paper feed tray information acquisition means, a paper size and a paper orientation with respect to a paper discharge direction in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. If the number of prints in the paper direction for a certain paper size and paper discharge direction is greater than the remaining paper amount in the corresponding paper feed tray, the paper size and paper discharge direction The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein exclusive control is performed so that a paper orientation is not included in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed trays capable of storing a plurality of sizes of paper in a portrait orientation or a landscape orientation,
The printing system performs printing by determining a paper feed tray to be used based on used paper information added to the print job received from the information processing apparatus. An information processing method for generating a print job to be printed by a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed trays based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set.
A page setting condition analysis step of analyzing the paper size and document orientation for each page of the document data;
Based on the information obtained in the page setting condition analyzing step, a plurality of paper discharge patterns in which the combination of the paper direction and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data is different are discharged. A paper discharge pattern candidate generation step to generate as a pattern candidate;
A plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates generated in the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step are displayed on a display device, and a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and inputted by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates is displayed as a paper discharge pattern. Paper discharge pattern setting process to be set as
Based on the paper discharge pattern set in the paper discharge pattern setting step, the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation is added to the page attribute of the print job as used paper information. And a used paper information adding step. A paper feed tray information obtaining step for obtaining information about the paper size set in each paper feed tray and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction from the printing apparatus;
In the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step, based on the information obtained in the paper feed tray information acquisition step and the page setting condition analysis step, the paper for the paper discharge direction for each paper size and document orientation in the document data 6. The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates with different combinations of orientations are generated. The paper feed tray information acquisition step also acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray,
The paper discharge pattern candidate generation step includes the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray acquired in the paper feed tray information acquisition step, and the paper size and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. If the number of prints in the paper direction for a certain paper size and paper discharge direction is greater than the remaining paper amount in the corresponding paper feed tray, the paper size and paper discharge direction The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein exclusive control is performed so that a paper orientation is not included in the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. A printer driver program executed by an information processing apparatus that generates a print job to be printed by a printing apparatus having a plurality of paper feed trays based on document data in which a paper size and a document orientation are set. And
A page setting condition analysis step of analyzing the paper size and document orientation for each page of the document data;
Based on the information obtained in the page setting condition analyzing step, a plurality of paper discharge patterns in which the combination of the paper direction and the paper discharge direction for each document direction in the document data is different are discharged. A paper discharge pattern candidate generation step to generate as a pattern candidate;
A plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates generated in the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step are displayed on a display device, and a paper discharge pattern candidate selected and inputted by the user from among the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates is displayed as a paper discharge pattern. Paper discharge pattern setting process to be set as
Based on the paper discharge pattern set in the paper discharge pattern setting step, the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction determined for each paper size and document orientation is added to the page attribute of the print job as used paper information. A printer driver program that causes an information processing apparatus to execute a used paper information adding step. Causing the information processing apparatus to execute a paper feed tray information acquisition step of acquiring information about the paper size set in each paper feed tray and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction from the printing device;
In the paper discharge pattern candidate generation step, based on the information obtained in the paper feed tray information acquisition step and the page setting condition analysis step, the paper for the paper discharge direction for each paper size and document orientation in the document data 9. The printer driver program according to claim 8, wherein the printer driver program generates a plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates with different combinations of orientations. The paper feed tray information acquisition step acquires the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray,
The paper discharge pattern candidate generation step includes the remaining amount of paper for each paper feed tray acquired in the paper feed tray information acquisition step, and the paper size and the paper orientation with respect to the paper discharge direction in each of the plurality of paper discharge pattern candidates. If the number of prints in the paper direction for a certain paper size and paper discharge direction is greater than the remaining paper amount in the corresponding paper feed tray, the paper size and paper discharge direction 10. The printer driver program according to claim 9, wherein exclusive control is performed so that the orientation of the sheet is not included in the plurality of discharge pattern candidates.

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