JP2012168758A - Printed matter editing program, printed matter editing device and printed matter editing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printed matter editing program capable of flexibly editing print data without changing a program of an existing application.SOLUTION: The inventive program determines printed matter using print data output from an application on the basis of printed matter configuration information, and makes a computer editing the print data on the basis of editing information and outputting the data to a communication port perform processing for generating the printed matter configuration information and the editing information. The program makes the computer perform: a step of dividing the print data into objects each indicating a part of print content, generating configuration information on each object and storing the configuration information as the printed matter configuration information on the printed matter using the print data; a step of displaying the configuration information on the object to receive an editing instruction from a user; and a step of generating the editing information with the content of the received editing instruction as editing content, associating the editing information with the printed matter using the print data and storing them.

Description

  The present invention relates to a program for editing printed matter for editing print data output from an existing application, and in particular, it is easy to edit print data flexibly reflecting the user's intention without changing the program of the existing application. The present invention relates to a program for editing printed matter that can be executed.

  In retail sales businesses such as supermarkets, a POS system, which is a sales management system, has become widespread, and in this system, a plurality of terminal devices (registers) connected to a server via a network operate according to applications provided in the device. Execute the process. Also, normally, each terminal device is provided with a printer, and outputs a receipt or a coupon according to an instruction from the application. In addition, as a system having a configuration similar to the POS system with such output, there are a system used in a hospital, a system used in a transportation company, and the like.

  Even in such a system, it is necessary to expand the function and change the function in accordance with the technical improvement and business improvement request after the introduction. For example, the layout of the receipt output from the POS terminal and the colorization may be changed. Although it may be necessary, such a system is generally used as a business center at all times, and it is often complicatedly linked with other systems. Is usually not easy.

  As for this problem, the following proposals have conventionally been made regarding the functions of the output processing system.

  The following Patent Document 1 describes a device that performs a modem function in a personal computer that can remove the microprocessor and memory required for a conventional modem without having to modify an existing application program. Has been.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 below, by accessing one communication port without changing the application, it is possible to cause a printer connected to another communication port to execute printing simultaneously. A device is described that enables it.

JP-A-8-69427 JP 2006-338443 A

  However, the contents described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are not limited to realizing limited functions of the output system such as a modem function and a duplication printing function, and cannot satisfy other various demands. Further, since the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 is processing in the OS kernel layer, there is a problem that function construction (program development or the like) is generally not easy and functions are limited.

  In addition, in the POS system, there are demands such as changing the design of output materials such as receipts and changing the output contents in time and season.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is a printed matter editing program for editing print data output from an existing application, and changes the program of an existing application to edit flexible print data reflecting the user's intention. It is to provide a printed material editing program that can be easily executed without any problems.

  In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention includes an application for instructing output of a printed matter, and determines a printed matter based on print data output from the application based on prestored printed matter configuration information. The print data is edited based on the editing information stored in advance for the determined printed material, and the printed material configuration information and the editing information are generated in a computer that outputs the edited print data to the communication port. A printed matter editing program to be processed divides the print data into objects representing a group of print contents based on a rule stored in advance, generates configuration information of the object, and converts the configuration information into the configuration information. Storing the printed matter configuration information of the printed matter according to the print data, and the composition of the generated object; Displaying the information to the user, receiving the editing instruction for each object of the user for the display, and generating the editing information in which the content of the received editing instruction is the editing content for each object. And causing the computer to execute a step of storing the editing information in association with the printed matter by the print data.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferable aspect thereof is characterized in that the object includes an object whose print content changes according to the print data and an object whose print content does not change.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferred aspect is characterized in that the editing information includes at least information on a print content and an arrangement position of the object.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, according to one aspect, the discrimination of the printed matter based on the printed matter configuration information is performed by comparing the configuration of the object of the print data with the configuration of the object based on the printed matter configuration information. It is characterized by that.

  Further, in the above invention, a preferable aspect is that when the configuration information of the object is displayed to a user, the configuration information is changed by receiving an instruction to change the configuration information by the user, and the configuration information is changed based on the change instruction. And causing the computer to execute the step of updating the rule.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferable aspect thereof is characterized in that a plurality of the editing information can be stored for one printed matter.

  In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention includes an application for instructing output of a printed matter, and determines a printed matter based on print data output from the application based on prestored printed matter configuration information. The printed matter editing apparatus that edits the print data based on editing information stored in advance for the determined printed matter and outputs the edited print data to the communication port stores the print data in advance. Based on the rule, the object is divided into objects representing a lump of print contents, the configuration information of the object is generated, the configuration information is stored as the printed material configuration information of the printed material by the print data, and the generated configuration information of the object Is displayed to the user, the user's edit instruction for each object for the display is received, and the Generates the editing information contents Shin the editing instruction was edits for each of the objects, and stores the editing information thus generated in association with the printed matter according to the print data, is that.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to still another aspect of the present invention, an application for instructing output of a printed matter is provided, and a printed matter based on print data output from the application is determined based on prestored printed matter configuration information. The printed matter editing method in the printed matter editing apparatus that edits the print data based on the editing information stored in advance for the determined printed matter and outputs the edited print data to the communication port includes the printed matter editing method. The apparatus divides the print data into objects representing a lump of print contents based on a rule stored in advance, generates configuration information of the object, and generates the configuration information of the print product of the print product based on the print data. A step of storing the information as information, and the printed material editing apparatus stores the generated object configuration information And receiving the editing instruction for each object of the user for the display, and the printed matter editing apparatus generates the editing information in which the content of the received editing instruction is the editing content for each object, And storing the generated editing information in association with the printed matter of the print data.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

It is a schematic block diagram which concerns on the embodiment of the POS terminal device to which this invention is applied. It is a schematic function block diagram of a POS terminal device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data used for an edit process. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for generating object structure data 802 and editing rules 803; It is the figure which illustrated the receipt before and behind edit. It is a figure which shows the object structure and edit content which are displayed to a user. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an editing rule 803. FIG. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the edit process. It is a figure for demonstrating the improvement of a POS system.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference symbols.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a POS terminal device to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the POS terminal apparatus. A POS terminal device 2 (printed material editing device) shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a device to which the present invention is applied. In this device, print data (for example, receipt data) output from the POS application 201 is transmitted to a communication port. Before being output to 209, it is acquired by the virtual port 203 of the OS kernel layer 230. Then, the acquired data is received by the port handler 204 of the application layer 220, and the data analysis unit 205, the data processing unit 206, and the like execute processing for editing the print contents on the data. Thereafter, the processed print data is output from the port handler 204 to the communication port 209 corresponding to the processed data.

  Further, in the editing processing of the print contents, data indicating the object structure (object structure data 802, printed material configuration information) and data indicating how to edit each object (edit rule 803, editing) Information) is referenced and used. The object structure data 802 and the editing rule 803 are generated in advance and held in the POS terminal device. The POS terminal device has a function for generating these data.

  According to the generation function, by comparing a plurality of print data for each print product, the object structure data 802 is generated by extracting an object in the print product based on a predetermined object extraction rule 801. Thereafter, the object structure is displayed to the user, the user's editing instruction is received for each object, and the editing rule 803 is generated based on the instruction.

  In the POS terminal device 2, by executing such processing, flexible editing of print data reflecting the user's intention is easily performed without changing the program of the existing application.

  In this embodiment, a POS system used in a store or the like is assumed, and a plurality of POS terminal devices 2 are connected to a POS server 1 via a network 4 as shown in FIG. ing. The POS server 1 is constituted by a computer system, and executes processing such as management of the plurality of POS terminal devices 2 and aggregation and management of various data acquired from the POS terminal devices 2.

  The POS terminal device 2 is installed at each cash register and is connected to the printer 3. The printer 3 outputs a receipt or the like according to the print data output from the POS terminal device 2. Therefore, the POS terminal device 2 is positioned as the host device of the printer 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each POS terminal device 2 includes a POS terminal main body 21, a display 22, a keyboard / mouse 23, a barcode reader 24, a card reader 25, and the like. The display 22 displays the price of the product to the customer, and the keyboard / mouse 23 is used by the operator to input product information such as price and product code, and customer information such as sex and age. Further, the barcode reader 24 reads the barcode attached to the product to acquire product information, and the card reader 25 reads the information stored in various cards to acquire information necessary for settlement.

  The display 22 and the keyboard / mouse 23 are also used for editing instructions by the user, which will be described later.

  The POS terminal main body 21 generates information to be printed on a receipt or a coupon based on information acquired from the keyboard / mouse 23, the barcode reader 24, and the card reader 25 described above, and outputs the information to the printer 3. The POS terminal main body 21 is configured by a computer and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an HDD and the like (not shown). A program for the POS application 201 described later, a program for editing a printed matter, and the like are stored in the ROM, and each process is executed by the CPU operating in accordance with these programs.

  Further, the POS terminal device 2 has a functional configuration as shown in FIG. The POS application 201 performs a process of generating and outputting information to be printed on the receipt and the like described above, and the data generated here is the original data before performing the editing process. The generated data is data in a format that can be output to the printer 3A as it is, or data in a format that is passed to the printer 3A driver 202. The former is generated in the case of simple print data such as printing of text only.

The printer 3A driver 202 is a printer driver for the printer 3A, and the printer 3A can receive and print data output from the POS application 201 by a command depending on the model (device) of the printer 3A. Output as print data.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the POS application 201 and the printer 3A driver 202 are located in an application layer 220 on which a program executes each process based on an operating system (OS) of a computer. Both are constituted by a program stored in the ROM for instructing each processing content and the CPU for executing processing according to the program. The POS application 201 and the printer 3A driver 20 are the same as those used in the conventional apparatus before the present invention is applied.

  Next, the virtual port 203 is an OS kernel in which the operating system is located before the communication port 209 receives print data (referred to as original print data here) output from the POS application 201 or the printer 3A driver 202. This is the part received by layer 230. Then, the virtual port 203 delivers the acquired original print data to the port handler 204. Here, it is assumed that the original print data received by the virtual port 203 is composed of a text object.

  Next, the port handler 204, the data analysis unit 205, the data processing unit 206, the command conversion unit 207, the rule setting unit 210, and the data storage unit 208 are portions that perform editing processing on the original print data. Through the processing, the printed matter output from the POS application 201 can be edited.

  The port handler 204 transfers the original print data delivered from the virtual port 203 to the data analysis unit 205 and receives print data after editing processing (here, referred to as post-processing print data), Processing to output post-processing print data to the corresponding communication port 209 is performed.

  The data analysis unit 205 is a part that determines the processing contents by analyzing the original print data and determines the communication port 209 that outputs the processed print data. The data analysis unit 205 refers to information (object structure data 802 and the like) stored in the data storage unit 208 as appropriate when performing the processing.

  Next, the data processing unit 206 is a part that processes the original print data in accordance with the processing content determined by the data analysis unit 205. In addition, the data processing unit 206 executes processing (model-specific processing) depending on the output destination printer 3 of post-processing print data as necessary. Note that the data processing unit 206 appropriately refers to information (such as the editing rule 803) in the data storage unit 208 when executing these processes.

  The command conversion unit 207 uses different commands for the printer 3 connected to the communication port 209 specified by the original print data and the printer 3 connected to the communication port 209 from which processed print data is output. In this case, it is a part for performing processing to change the command.

Next, the rule setting unit 210 is a part for setting the editing content of the printed matter reflecting the user's intention. Here, the editing rule 803 is generated and stored in the data storage unit 208. Further, the rule setting unit 210 determines the object configuration of the print object to be edited and generates the object structure data 802 prior to the generation of the editing rule 803. The generated object structure data 802 is similarly stored in the data storage unit 208. Further, the rule setting unit 210 provides a user interface screen to be displayed on the display 22 in order to receive an instruction from the user regarding the editing content. The processing executed by the rule setting unit 210 is a major feature of the POS terminal device 2, and the specific contents thereof will be described later.

  Note that the virtual port 203, the port handler 204, the data analysis unit 205, the data processing unit 206, the command conversion unit 207, and the rule setting unit 210 each execute a process instructing a process performed by each unit and the process according to the program. It is comprised by the said CPU etc. The program related to the rule setting unit 210 corresponds to the printed matter editing program of the present invention.

  The data storage unit 208 is a part that stores various information used by the data analysis unit 205 and the data processing unit 206. The main information stored here is an object extraction rule 801, object structure data 802, an editing rule 803, and image data such as a logo used for editing processing. The data storage unit 208 is composed of the HDD or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of data used for editing processing. The object extraction rule 801 is rule information for extracting an object representing a group of images to be printed on a printed material from print data. As shown in FIG. 3, the rule information is held in common for each printed matter, and has a basic rule and a rule added by the user later. The basic rule is that when the print data is text, for example, a space or a line feed command is used as an object delimiter, and an image between these delimiters is extracted as one object. Further, the addition rule by the user is added when the object configuration to be described later is changed. For example, the left and right images connected by the Hai Phong are extracted as different objects, and a predetermined text over two lines is one object. It is a rule such as extracting as. In accordance with the object extraction rule 801, the rule setting unit 210 executes an object extraction process for the original print data.

  Next, the object structure data 802 is information indicating the configuration of the object included in the printed matter. Since the information differs depending on the type of printed matter, it is generated and stored for each printed matter. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, object structure data 802A, 802B, and 802C corresponding to the printed materials A, B, and C exist, respectively. In the case where the object structure data 802 is a variable part that has different print contents for each printing, or a fixed part that always has the same print contents for each extracted object, or a fixed part Includes the contents of the image, position information on the printed matter, and the like. The object structure data 802 is displayed on the user interface screen provided by the rule setting unit 210, can be changed by the user, and the content printed by the user with respect to the displayed object structure data 802 is confirmed. Is instructed to edit. Further, the object structure data 802 is used for identifying the original print data and identifying an object including the data when actually executing the editing process for the original print data.

  Next, the editing rule 803 is rule information that defines the editing content of each printed material, and a plurality of editing rules 803 can be generated and stored for each printed material as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 3, there are three editing rules 803A (a), 803A (b), and 803A (c) for the printed matter A. An edit rule 803B and edit rules 803C (a) and 803C (b) exist for the printed materials B and C, respectively. For example, when it is desired to change the receipt design according to the season, a plurality of editing rules 803 indicating the editing contents for each season are stored for one type of original print data.

The editing rule 803 uses the content of the editing instruction by the user as rule information, and the editing content is stored for each object described above. The stored editing rule 803 is referred to when actually executing the editing process for the original print data, and the editing process according to the rule stored here is performed.

  Next, the POS terminal device 2 includes a communication port 209A in the physical layer 240 and is connected to the printer 3A. Here, as an example, the printer in the conventional system before applying the present invention is used as it is as the printer 3A. 2, the printer 3B is connected to the second communication port 209B, the printer 3A is a monochrome printer, and the printer 3B is a color printer. A configuration in which more than two printers 3 are connected may be employed. In addition, a configuration in which the printer 3A is a new printer that has not been used in the conventional system is also possible. The communication port 209 is a COM communication port for serial communication, a USB communication port for performing USB communication, or the like.

  The present POS terminal device 2 having the above-described configuration is characterized by the generation processing of the object structure data 802 and the editing rule 803 described above, and the editing processing of the printed matter using the information. A typical processing procedure will be described. First, generation processing of the object structure data 802 and the editing rule 803 by the rule setting unit 210 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the generation process.

  This generation process is a process for the user to set the editing content in the POS terminal device 2 in advance, and the rule setting unit 210 is activated at a timing desired by the user. Specifically, the rule setting unit 210 is activated by the user's operation with the keyboard / mouse 23, and the printed material for setting the editing content is determined based on the identification information of the printed material input by the user operation.

  Here, a case where setting for editing the print contents of a receipt is performed will be described as an example. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating receipts before and after the editing. FIG. 5A shows a receipt before editing, which is the print content indicated by the original print data. That is, if the original print data is printed as it is, such a receipt is output. On the other hand, FIG. 5B shows a receipt after editing, which has an output content desired by the user. Then, such a receipt is output by the processing of the data processing unit 206 for the original print data based on the editing rule 803 generated by the generation processing.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the editing content includes, for example, converting the store name into a logo, changing the arrangement position, changing the expression (using bold), and adding a new object such as a ruled line.

  Returning to FIG. 4, as described above, upon receiving a user instruction (step S <b> 1), the rule setting unit 210 determines whether or not the object structure data 802 already exists in the data storage unit 208 for the instructed printed matter. Check (step S2). In the example shown in FIG. 3, if the designated printed matter is the printed matter A, it is checked whether or not the object structure data 802A exists.

  If the editing rule 803 has been previously generated for the printed matter, the object structure data 802 exists, and thus the process proceeds to step S5 after the above check (Yes in step S2).

  On the other hand, when the edit rule 803 is generated for the first time for the printed matter, the object structure data 802 does not exist (No in step S2). Print data is received and temporarily stored (accumulated) (step S3).

  Specifically, the user is instructed to output the print data of the specified printed matter from the POS application 201, and more specifically, a plurality of different print data of the printed matter, for example, for five receipts. The print data is displayed on the display 22 so as to be output, and the print data output by a user operation is appropriately stored in the HDD or the RAM.

  Thereafter, the rule setting unit 210 analyzes the print contents of the printed material using the accumulated print data, and generates the object structure data 802 for the printed material (step S4).

  Specifically, the process is performed by the following procedure as an example. First, the rule setting unit 210 compares the plurality of accumulated print data with each other, and extracts a fixed part having the same print contents (here, text data) in the plurality of print data. Then, the fixed part that is continuous in the order of description on the receipt (in the direction from left to right and in the direction from top to bottom) is defined as one object.

  Similarly, as a result of the comparison of the print data, a portion whose print contents are different among the print data, that is, a portion that is not a fixed portion is extracted as a variable portion, and the fixed portion that is continuous in the above described order is defined as one object .

  Next, the rule setting unit 210 divides the extracted fixed part and variable part objects in accordance with the object extraction rule 801 described above. That is, when a space or line feed command is included in the extracted object, the object is divided by using it as a delimiter to generate a plurality of objects from one object.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an object configuration and edit contents displayed to the user. FIG. 6A shows the display contents when the object configuration described later is displayed by the user. The receipt object shown in FIG. 5A dealt with here is clearly shown. In the printed contents of the receipt, since “(not shown for violation of public order and morals) Matsumoto Minami store” through “in charge:” is a fixed part and is continuous, it is initially extracted as one object in the above processing. However, since a line break is included as a break in the middle, the object is divided into a plurality of (here, five) objects by the object dividing process. Each part surrounded by a square shown in FIG. 6A represents one object after division. For example, the first fixed part object is “Matsumoto Minami branch (not shown for public order and morals violation)”. Similarly, the variable part is extracted and divided.

  When the divided objects are extracted as described above, the rule setting unit 210 attaches identification information to each extracted object, and determines whether each of the identification information is a fixed part or a variable part. The stored print data includes information such as the identifier, the print content if it is a fixed part, the arrangement position on the printed matter (on the receipt) (relative position after the variable part where the print area changes in the notation order), and the like. To generate object structure data 802 of the printed matter. That is, information for representing the object configuration shown in FIG. 6A is generated.

When the object structure data 802 is generated in this way, or when the object structure data 802 already exists as described above, the rule setting unit 210 sets the object structure of the printed matter based on the object structure data 802. Displayed to the user (step S5). Here, the object configuration shown in FIG. 6A is displayed on the display 22 as the above-described user interface screen. FIG. 6 shows only a portion for displaying the object configuration of the user interface screen, and various other interfaces for user operations are displayed on the screen. In FIG. 6A, an object indicated by a is an example of a fixed part object, and an object indicated by b is an example of a variable part object.

  When such a display is made, the user confirms whether or not the displayed object configuration is acceptable (step S6). If the user wants to change the object configuration, an operation for instructing the change contents is performed on the interface of the screen. (Yes in step S6).

  Receiving the change instruction, the rule setting unit 210 reassembles the object in accordance with the instruction, and changes the object structure data 802 to correspond to the reconfiguration (step S7). In this change, a plurality of objects are integrated into one object, or conversely, one object is divided into a plurality of objects. For example, in FIG. 6A, the variable part object indicated by c is an object that is originally divided into six parts by a space and a line feed and is integrated into one according to a user instruction. Further, in FIG. 6A, if the two fixed part objects indicated by d are always expressed together, they can be integrated into one object by a change operation.

  Thereafter, the rule setting unit 210 generates an object extraction rule based on the changed content and adds it to the object extraction rule 801 described above (step S8). For example, a rule that an object determined to be a telephone number and an address is extracted as a single object even if there is a break in the middle, a rule that an object is extracted as a single object from the top to a predetermined position in the order of printed matter, For text strings, even if they are continuous, a rule that separates objects with a hyphen as a separator is added. In the subsequent data analysis (S4), the updated object extraction rule 801 is used.

  After that, the rule setting unit 210 displays the changed object configuration again in the same manner (S5), and if there is no change by the user or if there is no user change from the beginning (No in step S6), The object structure data 802 at that time is stored as object structure data 802 of the printed matter in the data storage unit 208 with identification information of the printed matter (step S9). Note that the determination that there is no change by the user can be made based on an operation by the user. If there is a change again, the processing from step S7 described above is repeated.

  Next, the process proceeds to the editing content setting stage, and the rule setting unit 210 receives the editing instruction from the user while keeping the display of the latest object configuration as it is (Yes in step S10). Here, an instruction for editing contents as described above shown in FIG. 5 is received.

  A specific example of the editing instruction will be described with reference to FIG. In (a) of FIG. 6, since the store name indicated by a is to be changed to a logo, an instruction to replace it with an image (image) object of “(not shown for violation of public order and morals)” shown in (b) of FIG. Is made. In addition, regarding the telephone number object, since it is desired to right-align the arrangement, an instruction to change the position is given. For an object such as “receipt”, an instruction to change the font attribute to “BOLD” is given. In addition, for the ruled line and date objects shown in FIG.

  Each time such an editing instruction is given, the rule setting unit 210 displays the state of the printed matter after editing on the display 22 (step S11), and the editing instruction and the display are repeatedly executed until the editing operation is completed. The In the display after editing, for example, the display as shown in FIG. 6B is performed. The editing instruction by the user can be performed in units of objects by using various buttons and menus provided on the above-described user interface screen.

  Thereafter, upon receiving a user operation indicating that the editing instruction has been completed (No in step S10), the rule setting unit 210 performs test printing on the edited printed matter (step S12). Specifically, the data processing unit 206 is notified of the contents displayed as the edited printed matter at that time and the communication port 209 to be output. The data processing unit 206 generates print data for the notified content using a command for the printer 3 connected to the notified communication port 209, and the print data is output from the communication port 209 via the port handler 204. Is done. Then, the edited printed matter is output from the printer 3 connected to the communication port 209.

  The user determines whether or not it is okay to look at the printed matter that has been test-printed. If the user wants to make further changes (edits) (No in step S13), the user executes the edit instruction again. That is, the process from step S10 is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that it is acceptable (Yes in step S13), an instruction to that effect is given, and the rule setting unit 210 that has received the instruction stores the editing rule 803 (step S14). Specifically, the contents of the post-edit printed matter displayed at that time are recorded for each object.

  FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the editing rule 803. As described above, since the identification information is attached to the object in the object structure data 802, the identification information is used as it is for the object existing in the original print data, and the editing rule 803 corresponds to the identification information. Information on the image to be printed. “Object 001” shown in FIG. 7 is identification information of the object indicated by a in FIG. 6A, and as described based on FIG. 6, this object is converted into a logo image by editing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, image information to that effect is added to the identification information and stored as an editing rule.

  In addition, the object newly added by editing is attached with identification information that can determine that fact, and similarly, the edited image information is attached to the identification information. In FIG. 7, “object N001” and “object N002” with “N” in the identification information are the identification information of the new objects, and these are the ruled line and date information shown in FIG. Corresponding. As shown in FIG. 7, the image information is also added to these identification information and stored as an editing rule 803.

  For the variable portion object, since the content of the image is not determined unless the actual original print data is received, the fact that the content of the received original print data should be printed is stored as the edit rule 803. Further, the identification information and the identification information of the printed matter are attached to the editing rule 803 to be stored.

  When the storage process of the editing rule 803 is completed, the printing unit is stored in the data storage unit 208 as one editing rule, for example, as in the editing rule 803A (a) shown in FIG.

Next, when there are a plurality of editing rules 803 for the printed matter generated and stored, the rule setting unit 210 stores rules (usage rules) on how to use the editing rules 803. Set in the unit 208 (step S15). Specifically, users are given choices such as always using user-specified ones, randomly selecting and using them, or using them in a predetermined order, and determining usage based on user instructions for them, The determined usage is set for the identification information of the printed matter. Note that the setting of the use rule may be performed at another timing without being performed during the generation process of the edit rule 803.

  As described above, the object structure data 802 and the editing rule 803 are generated and stored in advance.

  When the object configuration is displayed to the user and confirmed, the user designates an object capable of discriminating the printed matter, and sets the object or those objects in the data storage unit 208 together with the identification information of the printed matter. You may make it keep. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6A, when the “receipt” object is detected at the position in the original print data, it is determined that the print data is the print data (the receipt). Is set.

  Further, in the above description, the editing rule 803 represents the print contents after editing by showing the correspondence with the original print data for each object of the original print data. However, in the edited print contents, May be stored as data representing the print contents without the object identification information described above.

  Next, a description will be given of a process of actually executing and outputting the original print data using the stored object structure data 802 and the editing rule 803. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure.

  First, as described above, the original print data is output directly from the POS application 201 or via the printer 3A driver 202 (step S21). Here, the original print data is print data of a receipt output from the printer 3A. Therefore, the communication port 209A is designated as the output destination communication port, and is expressed by a command depending on the printer 3A.

  Next, the output original print data is received by the virtual port 203 before reaching the designated communication port (here, the communication port 209A) (step S22). This processing is realized by changing the (priority) setting of the registry so that the virtual port 203 receives data for any communication port 209, and the setting change is started by the OS. Sometimes executed. Thereafter, the received original print data is sent from the virtual port 203 to the port handler 204 of the application layer 220 (step S22).

  Next, the port handler 204 transfers the sent original print data to the data analysis unit 205 (step S23).

  The data analysis unit 205 analyzes the original print data (step S24). Specifically, it is determined which printed matter the received data is for, and the editing rule 803 stored for the printed matter is determined. In this discrimination of the printed matter, the received original print data is compared with the stored object structure data 802, and if the object configuration matches, it is judged that the printed matter is the identification information attached to the object structure data 802. To do. In the example shown in FIG. 3, if three object structure data 802A, 802B, and 802C are stored at that time, they are compared with each other, and if they match the object structure data 802A, it is a printed matter A. Is determined. If there is no matching object structure data 802, it is determined that the editing process is not performed.

In addition, as described above, when printed matter discrimination information such as a “receipt” object is set, whether the set object is extracted in the original print data based on the information is determined. A determination may be made.

  In the determination of the editing rule 803 after the determination, if there is one editing rule 803 stored for the printed matter, it is determined that the editing rule 803 is used, and there are a plurality of editing rules 803 stored. For example, one editing rule 803 to be used is determined based on the above-described usage rule.

  In addition, the data analysis unit 205 determines the printer 3 suitable for the edited printed matter, and notifies the port handler 204 of the output destination communication port 209 corresponding thereto. For example, when the printer 3A is a monochrome printer and the printer 3B is a color printer, if the edited printed matter is monochrome printing or not edited, the communication port 209A is notified and the edited printed matter is printed. If is a color print, the communication port 209B is notified.

  Next, the determined editing rule 803 is notified to the data processing unit 206, and editing processing for the original print data by the data processing unit 206 is executed (step S25). Specifically, processing is performed for each object of the original print data in accordance with the information indicated in the editing rule 803 described above, and additional processing is performed for the new object, and the edited print data (printed after processing) Data). The original print data is subjected to the same object division and object identification information addition as the matched object structure data 802 when the data analysis unit 205 compares the object configurations. Processing for each object according to the editing rule 803 is executed.

  As a result of such editing processing, print data of the edited printed matter reflecting the contents of editing instructed by the user, for example, replacement with an image, change of arrangement, insertion of new contents, and the like is generated. When editing is not performed, the processing by the data processing unit 206 is not executed.

  Next, when it is necessary to change the command for the processed print data generated by the data processing unit 206, the command conversion unit 207 executes a command conversion process (step S26). As described above, since the print data is expressed by a command that depends on the output destination printer 3, when two or more printers 3 are connected, the original print data command and the determined output destination printer If the three commands are different, the command is converted into a command suitable for the output destination. The processed data is delivered to the port handler 204. If command conversion is not required, the print data transferred from the data processing unit 206 is delivered to the port handler 204. When editing is not performed, the processing by the data processing unit 206 is not executed.

  Next, the port handler 204 outputs the transferred post-processing print data to the determined communication port 209 (step S27). In the example in which the two printers 3A and 3B shown in FIG. 2 are connected, the data is output to the communication port 209A and / or the communication port 209B.

  Thereafter, the print data is transmitted from the communication port 209 to the connected printer 3, the printer 3 performs printing using the print data, and a printed matter such as a receipt is subjected to predetermined editing and output (step S28).

  As described above, the printed matter output process reflecting the editing content set by the user is completed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the function of editing the print contents for the print data output from the POS application 201 has been described. However, the POS terminal apparatus 2 executes other processes on the original print data. You can also do it. For example, when a predetermined product name is included in the print data of the receipt, a coupon is issued, when a predetermined printed matter is printed, a plurality of printings are performed, and an output destination printer is changed depending on the printed matter. Can be executed.

  Even when these other processes are executed, the data analysis unit 205 analyzes the original print data and discriminates the printed material, or detects predetermined information included in the data and is determined by the printed material. Alternatively, a process defined for the predetermined information is determined. When the determined processing requires processing of the print data, the data processing unit 206 executes the processing of the print processing, and an output is performed with a command corresponding to the printer 3 from the communication port 209 suitable for the determined processing. The Also in this case, the printed matter and the processing content, or information indicating the predetermined information and the processing content in association with each other are stored in the data storage unit 208 by the rule setting unit 210 in advance.

  As described above, the POS terminal apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment can add various values including editing to the print data output from the POS application 201. Then, the POS terminal device and the POS system that do not add value can be improved to the POS terminal device 2 and the POS system including the POS terminal device 2 by a relatively easy method.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the improvement. This figure is the same functional configuration diagram as FIG. 2, and the solid line portion shows the POS terminal device and POS system before improvement described above. That is, the system before improvement is configured such that print data output directly from the POS application 201 or via the printer driver 202 is received by the communication port 209A and output from the printer 3A. And it is possible to make this POS terminal device 2 and the POS system containing it by adding the part shown with a dotted line with respect to the system of such a structure.

  That is, the function of the existing POS system can be expanded by adding the program indicated by the dotted line and the data in the data storage unit 208 without changing the existing POS application 201. In addition, a new printer 3B indicated by an alternate long and short dash line may be added. In this case, the improvement is performed by installing a new printer 3B and installing the printer driver software including the program and data. obtain. Note that the computers constituting the printer 3A and the POS terminal device 2 can be replaced with new devices.

  As described above, by using the POS terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to freely edit the printed matter by an easy method without changing the existing POS application program. In addition, the function expansion for other existing systems can be easily realized. In addition, since the main processing for that purpose is configured to be performed in the application layer of the computer, it is possible to easily develop a program that executes various processing.

  In addition, since the user can appropriately determine the editing content by the rule setting unit 210, user convenience can be improved.

  As for object extraction, the contents of user instructions are accumulated as rules as needed and reflected in the process, so that the process that matches the user's intention can be further automated.

  In the present embodiment, the POS server 1 is a system connected to a plurality of POS terminal devices 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and is in an environment where a POS terminal device and a printer are connected. It can be applied to.

  In the present embodiment, an example of a POS system is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to a POS system, but a predetermined application including output of printed matter from a printer, such as a system used in a hospital or a transportation company. The present invention can be applied to a provided system, and is particularly effective when it is difficult to modify an existing application program.

  In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the program of the POS terminal device 2 is stored in the ROM. However, these programs are not limited to the ROM, and may be stored in a storage medium such as a RAM or an HDD. . These programs may be stored in separate storage media.

  The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but covers the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

  1 POS Server, 2 POS Terminal, 3 Printer, 4 Network, 21 POS Terminal, 22 Display, 23 Keyboard / Mouse, 24 Barcode Reader, 25 Card Reader, 201 POS Application, 202 Printer 3A Driver, 203 Virtual Port 204 port handler, 205 data analysis unit, 206 data processing unit, 207 command conversion unit, 208 data storage unit, 209 communication port, 210 rule setting unit, 220 application layer, 230 OS kernel layer, 240 physical layer, 801 object extraction Rules, 802 object structure data, 803 editing rules

Claims (8)

An application for instructing output of a printed matter is provided, a printed matter based on print data output from the application is determined based on prestored printed matter configuration information, and based on editing information stored in advance for the determined printed matter A program for editing printed matter, wherein the print data is edited, and the edited print data is output to a communication port.
Based on the rules stored in advance, the print data is divided into objects representing a group of print contents, the configuration information of the object is generated, and the configuration information is stored as the print configuration information of the print by the print data. And a process of
Displaying the generated object configuration information to the user, and receiving an editing instruction for each object of the user for the display;
Generating the editing information in which the content of the received editing instruction is the editing content for each object, and storing the generated editing information in association with the printed matter of the print data. A program for editing printed matter characterized by In claim 1,
The printed object editing program, wherein the object includes an object whose print content changes according to the print data and an object whose print content does not change. In claim 1 or 2,
The program for editing printed matter, wherein the editing information includes at least information on a print content and an arrangement position of the object. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
A printed matter editing program, wherein the discrimination of a printed matter based on the printed matter configuration information is performed by comparing the configuration of the object of the print data with the configuration of the object based on the printed matter configuration information. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4, Furthermore,
When the configuration information of the object is displayed to the user, the computer receives a change instruction for the configuration information from the user, changes the configuration information, and updates the rule based on the change instruction. A program for editing printed matter, characterized by In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
A printed matter editing program, wherein a plurality of the editing information can be stored for one printed matter. An application for instructing output of a printed matter is provided, a printed matter based on print data output from the application is determined based on prestored printed matter configuration information, and based on editing information stored in advance for the determined printed matter A printed matter editing apparatus that edits the print data and outputs the edited print data to a communication port,
Based on the rules stored in advance, the print data is divided into objects representing a group of print contents, the configuration information of the object is generated, and the configuration information is stored as the print configuration information of the print by the print data. And
Displaying the generated object configuration information to the user, receiving an editing instruction for each object of the user for the display,
The printed material editing apparatus, wherein the editing information is generated with the content of the received editing instruction as editing content for each object, and the generated editing information is stored in association with the printed material by the print data. An application for instructing output of a printed matter is provided, a printed matter based on print data output from the application is determined based on prestored printed matter configuration information, and based on editing information stored in advance for the determined printed matter A printed matter editing method in a printed matter editing apparatus for editing the print data and outputting the edited print data to a communication port,
The printed matter editing apparatus divides the print data into objects representing a group of print contents based on a rule stored in advance, generates configuration information of the object, and generates the configuration information of the printed matter based on the print data. Storing as the printed matter configuration information;
The printed matter editing apparatus displaying the generated object configuration information to the user, and receiving an editing instruction for each object of the user for the display;
The printed matter editing apparatus generates the editing information in which the content of the received editing instruction is the editing content for each object, and stores the generated editing information in association with the printed matter by the print data. A printed matter editing method characterized by comprising:

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