JP2021102269A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer that is able to perform accumulative printing conveniently even if the use of print settings is limited.SOLUTION: A printer has a mode in which, in accumulative printing, a job list of print jobs associated with identification information of an authenticated user is displayed on a display unit (41) and a selection of a print job to be executed from the job list is accepted. When extracted jobs include a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed, the print job that can be executed is indicated to be executable and the print job that cannot be executed is indicated to be not executable, in the job list.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.

It is known that the print job executed by the printing device is executed by the user moving to the printing device and logging in to the printing device by sending the print job from a personal computer or the like to the storage unit of the printing device and storing the print job. ing. The print job is associated with the identification information of the user who generated the print job. The user inputs the identification information to the printing device when the printing device executes the printing job stored in the storage unit. The printing device performs an authentication process based on the input identification information, and when the authentication is established, permits the execution of the print job associated with the identification information of the user.

Patent Document 1 describes a job determination means for determining whether or not a print job can be executed, and a job display means for displaying a job list of only print jobs determined to be executable by the job determination means on the display means. An image forming apparatus comprising the above is disclosed. According to this, when the user authentication is established, the job list of only the print jobs determined to be executable by the job determination means is displayed on the display means by the job display means.

The job determination means can be executed by comparing the print conditions (corresponding to the print settings) included in the job list of the print job associated with the user identification information with the functional information of the function provided by the image forming apparatus. Judge whether or not. The image forming apparatus accepts the selection of one or more print jobs from the displayed job list, and executes the accepted print job.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-56918

The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 displays a job list of only print jobs determined to be executable, and does not display a list of print jobs determined to be unexecutable. Therefore, the user cannot know which of the accumulated print jobs is a print job that cannot be executed.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of conveniently performing storage printing even if there are restrictions on the use of print settings.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention performs a printing unit that prints an image on a recording medium, a printing job that uses the printing unit, and identification information associated with the printing job. A reception unit that accepts, a storage unit that stores print jobs and identification information received by the reception unit, an identification information input unit that inputs identification information, a display unit, and an operation panel that accepts operations from the user. , A control unit, and whether or not printing using the print settings can be executed is set for each of the plurality of print settings of the print unit for the identification information, and the control unit is the identification information input unit. An authentication process that authenticates the identification information input from, and an extraction process that extracts a print job associated with the identification information authenticated by the authentication process from the print jobs stored in the storage unit. From the display process of displaying the job list of the print jobs extracted by the extraction process on the display unit and the executable print jobs included in the job list displayed on the display unit by the display process. A selection acceptance process for accepting the selection of the print job to be executed using the operation panel and a selection job execution process for executing the print job accepted in the select acceptance process using the printing unit are performed. Further, in the display process, if there are a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed in the print job extracted by the extraction process, the print job that can be executed can be executed in the job list. It is characterized in that it indicates that there is, and that the print job that cannot be executed cannot be executed.

According to the above configuration, when the print job and the identification information are received by the reception unit, the print job and the identification information are stored in the storage unit. When the identification information input from the identification information input unit is authenticated, the print job associated with the identification information is extracted from the print jobs stored in the storage unit.

Then, a job list including the extracted print jobs is displayed on the display unit. If there are a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed in the extracted print job, the job list indicates that the print job that can be executed is executable, and the print job that cannot be executed is displayed. Is shown to be infeasible.

When the user selects a print job to be executed from the executable print jobs included in the job list using the operation panel, the selected print job is executed in the print unit and the image is printed on the recording medium. ..

In the job list, non-executable print jobs are also displayed in the job list, so that the user can clearly know which print job cannot be executed from the job list.

In the printing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the control unit further deletes the executable print job and the non-executable print job included in the job list displayed on the display unit from the storage unit. It is also possible to perform a deletion acceptance process of receiving the deletion instruction using the operation panel and a deletion process of deleting the print job accepted by the deletion acceptance process from the storage unit.

According to the above configuration, the user can delete unnecessary print jobs from the storage unit regardless of whether or not they can be executed by selecting the print job to be deleted from the print jobs included in the job list.

In the printing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the control unit further comprises the operation panel as a touch panel, the display unit as a display unit of the touch panel, and the control unit using the touch panel. When the designated acceptance process that accepts the designation of one or more print jobs from the job list is performed and only the print jobs that can be executed are accepted in the specified acceptance process, and the print jobs that can be executed and the print jobs that cannot be executed When both of the above specifications are accepted, the print button that accepts the execution instruction of the specified print job and the delete button that accepts the delete instruction of the specified print job by performing the selection acceptance process and the delete acceptance process. When both are displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be input and only the print job that cannot be executed is specified in the designated acceptance process, only the deletion acceptance process is performed without performing the selection acceptance process, and the deletion is performed. The buttons may be displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be input.

According to the above configuration, it is a touch panel in which a display unit and an operation panel are integrated, and a user gives an instruction by performing an operation such as touching or bringing an object such as a finger or a touch pen close to a button displayed on the touch panel. Input is possible. As a result, the user can easily specify a print job from the job list by performing the above-mentioned operation on the job list displayed on the touch panel.

Then, when only the print job that can be executed is specified, or when both the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed are specified, both the print button and the delete button can be instructed and input to the touch panel. Is displayed in. Therefore, the user can execute the print job by operating the print button for the print job that can be executed, and memorize the unnecessary print job by operating the delete button regardless of whether the print job can be executed or not. Unnecessary print jobs can be deleted from the copy.

If only print jobs that cannot be executed are specified, only the delete button is displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be entered, so the user can delete unnecessary print jobs by operating the delete button. , It does not induce an operation such as operating the print button unnecessarily.

In the printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the control unit further receives designation of both a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed in the designated reception process, and the print button and the delete button. When the instruction input of the print button is received while both of the above are displayed on the touch panel so that the instruction can be input, the selection job execution process is performed for the print job that can be executed, and the print job that cannot be executed is described. It can also be configured to perform deletion processing.

According to the above configuration, when the user specifies both a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed and operates the print button, the print job that can be executed is executed and printed in the print unit and cannot be executed. The print job of is deleted from the storage. As a result, the print job that cannot be executed can be deleted from the storage unit together with the process of executing the print job that can be executed, so that it is possible to prevent unnecessary print jobs from staying in the storage unit.

In the printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, a list display setting for setting whether or not to perform the display process is stored in the storage unit in advance, and the control unit is set with the list display setting. In that case, the display process, the selection acceptance process and the selection job execution process after the display process are performed, and if the list display setting is not set, the extraction process is performed after the authentication process, and the extraction process is performed. It is also possible to configure all the print jobs that can be executed among the print jobs extracted by the process to be executed by using the print unit.

According to the above configuration, the mode in which the user can select the print job to be executed from the displayed job list and the job list are not displayed, and all the executable print jobs associated with the user after the authentication process are displayed. The mode to be executed can be set selectively. As a result, the workability of the user can be improved by setting the mode according to the usage situation, and the convenience of the printing device is improved.

In the printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, if the control unit does not set the list display setting, the print job that cannot be executed among the print jobs extracted by the extraction process is further executed. It is also possible to perform a complete deletion process for deleting the print job from the storage unit and a notification process for displaying a message indicating that the print job has been deleted because the print setting cannot be used on the display unit.

According to the above configuration, in the mode in which the job list is not displayed, the print job that cannot be executed is deleted together with the process of executing the print job that can be executed, so that the retention of unnecessary print jobs can be suppressed. ..

Moreover, since the display is notified by a message that the print job has been deleted because the print settings cannot be used, the user knows that the print job cannot be executed because the print settings that cannot be used are included. Can be done. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary print jobs from staying in the storage unit. The user can also take measures to make the print job executable, such as changing to an available print setting and re-creating the print job.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of conveniently performing storage printing even if there are restrictions on the use of print settings.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the printing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user management information stored in the RAM of the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the accumulation process of the print job in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the login process in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the accumulation printing process in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the list non-display processing in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the list display color permission processing in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the screen displayed on the display part in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the list display color disapproval processing in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the display switching process in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the print delete button display switching process in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the screen displayed on the display part in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the screen displayed on the display part in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the screen displayed on the display part in the printing apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[Configuration of printing device]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, the MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) 1 is illustrated as an example of the printing apparatus. The MFP 1 is a multifunction device having a print function, a copy function, a scan function, a facsimile function, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP 1 includes a control unit 10, a printing unit 20, an image reading unit 30, a touch panel 40, a key button unit 50 which is a physical key, a communication interface (I / F) 70, and a USB interface (I /). F) 80 is provided.

The control unit 10 performs general control on each unit of the MFP 1. The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, and an NVRAM (Non-volatile Random Access Memory) 14.

The ROM 12 stores information such as various control programs and various settings for controlling the MFP 1. The RAM 13 is a read / write area used as a program area for developing a program in the ROM 12, a work area for temporarily storing data when the CPU 11 executes a program and controls each part, a storage area for storing print data, and the like. Possible memory. The stored job data 131 and the job management information 133, which will be described later, are stored in the RAM 13 as an example of the storage unit. The NVRAM 14 is a non-volatile memory. The NVRAM 14 stores information regarding user management information 132, storage settings, and list display settings.

When the control unit 10 instructs the print unit 20 to execute the print job, the print unit 20 prints an image on a recording medium such as paper using the print data of the print job. The image printing method may be an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

The image reading unit 30 has a scanning function for reading an image. The image reading method may be an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) method for reading an image while transporting a recording medium, or an FB (Flat Bed) method for reading an image of a recording medium placed on the upper surface of a contact glass. It may be.

The operation panel 60 is provided on the upper surface of the MFP 1. The operation panel 60 includes a touch panel 40 and a key button unit 50. The key button unit 50 has a plurality of key buttons for operating the MFP 1.

The touch panel 40 has a display unit 41 made of, for example, a liquid crystal display. The touch panel 40 can detect an instruction operation by contact or proximity with the indicator body to the display unit 41. Various specific modes of the indicator capable of performing the instruction operation can be considered, and may be, for example, a fingertip or a specific instruction device such as a stylus pen.

The display unit 41 displays an instruction input screen for accepting user's instruction input, such as a login screen and a list display screen shown in FIG. The instruction input screen includes various touch buttons for executing a specific function. As various touch buttons, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, there are a delete button 422, a select all button 421, and a print button 428. Further, as various touch buttons, there are job designation buttons 414 to 418 in which the print jobs displayed in the list can be designated respectively. Further, as various touch buttons, there are an up cursor button 429 and a down cursor button 430.

When the user operates the up cursor button 429 and the down cursor button 430,
The display unit 41 can display the job designation button corresponding to the print job not displayed in the list on the display unit 41 by sliding the portion where the job designation buttons 414 to 418 are displayed up and down. The select all button 421 accepts the designation of all print jobs included in the job list and displayed as the job designation button.

When the user touches each touch button displayed on the display unit 41, the touch panel 40 detects the contact or approach of an object to each touch button. The touch panel 40 outputs a signal corresponding to the type of touch button operated by touch to the control unit 10.

The display unit of the touch panel 40 is an example of the “display unit” of the present invention.

Further, the display unit 41 displays a login screen for inputting a user ID and a password that constitute identification information necessary for user authentication. The control unit 10 for displaying the login screen on the touch panel 40 and the touch panel 40 are examples of the "identification information input unit" of the present invention.

The communication interface 70 and the USB interface 80 are connected to the control unit 10. The communication interface 70 is an interface for communication with an external device, and the communication method may be a wireless communication method or a wired communication method. Examples of the external device include a personal computer (PC) 100 and a mobile terminal 200 of each user who uses the MFP1. Also included is the PC100, the administrator of the MFP1. The control unit 10 is communicably connected to the PC 100 and the mobile terminal 200 via the communication interface 70. A print job transmitted from the PC 100 and the mobile terminal 200 is input to the MFP 1 via the communication interface 70. The communication interface 70 is an example of the "reception unit" of the present invention.

The USB interface 80 is a device for connecting a USB device (not shown). By connecting the USB device to the USB interface 80, the user can print the printable data stored in the USB device.

[Various information stored in NVRAM 14]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of user management information 132 stored in NVRAM 14. The user management information 132 includes a user ID and a password that constitute the identification information. Further, for the identification information, it is set whether or not printing can be executed using the print settings for each of the plurality of print settings of the print unit 20. In the example of FIG. 2, three items of monochrome printing, color printing, and permitted number of prints are shown as each of the plurality of print settings of the printing unit 20.

For example, a user whose user ID is "User1" is permitted to print in monochrome, but is not permitted to print in color, and the number of permitted prints is set to 200. A user whose user ID is "User2" is in a state in which monochrome printing is not permitted and printing restrictions are applied. A user whose user ID is "User3" is permitted to perform color printing, and there is no limit on the number of permitted prints. The administrator of the MFP1 also sets such a setting of whether or not to execute printing using the print settings for each user in advance using the PC100 or the operation panel 60 of the MFP1.

The job management information 133 includes a job ID, a user ID, a job name, and print settings. The job ID is information for identifying the print job accepted by the MFP1. Information on the user ID, job name, and print setting of the user who generated the print job is added to the print job. The control unit 10 manages the added user ID, job name, and print setting in association with the job ID.

The NVRAM 14 stores information regarding storage settings and list display settings.
The storage setting is a setting for whether or not the MFP 1 performs storage printing. The storage printing is printing in which a print job received from an external device is stored in the RAM 13 of the MFP 1 and the user logs in to the MFP 1 to execute the stored print job of the logged-in user. When the storage setting is on, the control unit 10 performs storage printing, and when the storage setting is off, the control unit 10 does not perform storage printing and executes a print job using the printing unit 20.

The list display setting is a setting for whether or not to display a list for displaying the job list of the print jobs accumulated in the accumulated printing on the display unit 41. When the list display setting is on, the control unit 10 displays the job list on the display unit 41, and when the list display setting is off, the control unit 10 does not display the job list on the display unit 41.

The storage setting and the list display setting are set in advance by the administrator of the MFP1. The administrator of the MFP1 uses the PC100 or the operation panel 60 of the MFP1 to set the storage setting to either on or off. Also, when the storage setting is turned on, either the list display setting can be set on or off.

[Print job accumulation process]
Next, the flow of the print job accumulation process by the control unit 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

The control unit 10 determines whether or not a print job has been received from an external device such as the PC 100 and the mobile terminal 200 via the communication interface 70 (S1). When the print job has not been received (S1: NO), the control unit 10 returns the process to S1 and determines whether or not the print job has been continuously received. When the print job is received (S1: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the user ID and the job name of the user are added to the print job (S2).

When the user ID and the job name of the user are not added to the print job (S2: NO), the control unit 10 advances the process to S6 and executes the print job using the print unit 20. As a result, the image of the print job received from the external device is printed on the recording medium using the printing unit 20.

When the user ID and the job name of the user are added to the print job (S2: YES), the control unit 10 subsequently determines whether or not the storage setting is on (S3). Here, when the storage setting is off (S3: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S6 in the same manner as when the storage setting is determined to be NO in S2, and prints the print job received from the external device. When the storage setting is on (S3: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the received print job can be stored (S4). Depending on the print job protocol, there are some that cannot be stored in the RAM 13, so the processing of S4 is required.

Even when storage is not possible (S4: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S6 in the same manner as when NO is determined in S2 and S3, and prints the print job received from the external device. When the storage is possible (S4: YES), the control unit 10 stores the received print job in the RAM 13 as the storage job data 131. The control unit 10 reflects the received print job in the job management information 133 and updates the job management information 133 (S5).

[Login process]
Next, the flow of the login process of the MFP 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The control unit 10 displays a login screen on the display unit 41 of the touch panel 40 (S11). The user can input the user ID and password from the login screen using the touch panel 40 of the operation panel 60. When the control unit 10 receives the user ID and password by the touch panel 40, the control unit 10 refers to the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14, and the user management information 132 includes a combination of the input user ID and password. If so, it is determined that the user is logged in (S12: YES). If the user management information 132 does not include the input user ID and password combination (S12: NO), the control unit 10 displays an error screen on the display unit 41, returns to S11 again, and returns to the display unit 10. Display the login screen on 41.

When the control unit 10 confirms the login (S12: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the print job of the logged-in user, that is, the print job associated with the user ID of the user is stored in the RAM 13 (S13). ). When the print job of the logged-in user is not saved in the RAM 13 (S13: NO), the control unit 10 displays the standby screen after login on the display unit 41 (S15). After that, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the user has been instructed to log out by operating the key button unit 50 of the operation panel 60 (S16), and returns to S15 until the logout is instructed (S16: NO). The standby screen after logging in is displayed on the display unit 41. When the logout is instructed (S16: YES), the control unit 10 logs out and ends the process.

When the print job of the logged-in user is stored in the RAM 13 (S13: YES), the control unit 10 executes the storage print process (S14) shown in FIG. The login process of FIG. 4 is terminated by the execution of the storage print process (S14) by the control unit 10.

[Accumulation printing process]
Next, the flow of the accumulation printing process of the MFP 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The control unit 10 refers to the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 to determine whether or not the logged-in user has print authority (S21).

(If you do not have print permission)
With reference to the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14, if both monochrome printing and color printing cannot be set, or if the number of permitted prints is zero, the control unit 10 has the print authority of the logged-in user. (S21: NO), and the process proceeds to S22. Next, the control unit 10 deletes the stored job data 131 corresponding to the logged-in user from the RAM 13. The control unit 10 displays a message on the display unit 41 notifying that all the print jobs stored in the MFP 1 have been deleted because the printer has no print authority (S23). When such a message is displayed, the user who does not have the printing authority can clearly know that printing using the MFP1 is not permitted. The control unit 10 proceeds to S28 after S23.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the logged-in user has print authority (S21: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the list display setting is on (S22).

(If you have print permission but list display is off-list hiding process-)
When the list display setting is off (S22: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S24 and executes the list non-display process shown in FIG.

In the list hiding process shown in FIG. 6, the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 of the logged-in user is permitted for monochrome printing or at least one of the color printing settings, and printing is permitted. This is a process executed by the control unit 10 when the number of sheets is not zero. The control unit 10 creates a job list including all the print jobs of the logged-in user stored in the RAM 13 (S31).
Next, the control unit 10 clears the color print impossibility flag (S32). The color print impossible flag is a flag set when the print job is color printing but the user is not permitted to perform color printing and cannot execute the print job. The color print impossible flag is stored in the RAM 13.

Next, the control unit 10 sets the first print job of the created job list as a processing job (S33). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the set processing job can be executed based on the user management information 132 of the NVRAM 14 (S34).

Specifically, when the print setting of the processing job is the color setting, the control unit 10 confirms whether or not the user who logged in to the user management information 132 of the NVRAM 14 is set not to be color-enabled. When the user management information 132 is set to disable color, the control unit 10 determines that the corresponding processing job cannot be executed. When the user who logged in to the user management information 132 of the NVRAM 14 is set to be color-enabled, the control unit 10 determines that the processing job can be executed.

When the print setting of the processing job is the monochrome setting, the control unit 10 uniformly determines that the processing job can be executed.

When the control unit 10 determines that the processing job can be executed (S34: YES), the control unit 10 executes the printing process using the printing unit 20 for the processing job (S36). When the control unit 10 determines that the processing job cannot be executed (S34: NO), the control unit 10 sets the color print impossible flag in the RAM 13 (S35).

The control unit 10 deletes the stored job data 131 stored in the RAM 13, which corresponds to the processing job (S37). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there are any remaining print jobs in the created job list (S38).

When the created job list has the remaining print jobs (S38: NO), the control unit 10 returns to S33 and sets the next print job from the job list as the processing job.

When there are no remaining print jobs in the created job list (S38: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the color print disabled flag is set in the RAM 13 (S40). When the color print disabled flag is set in the RAM 13 (S40: YES), the control unit 10 sends a message to the display unit 41 notifying that the print job has been deleted because the user does not have the authority to print in color. Display (S41). Then, the control unit 10 ends the list hiding process of FIG. If the color print impossibility flag is not set in the RAM 13 (S40: YES), the control unit 10 ends the list hiding process of FIG. 6 as it is. The control unit 10 proceeds to S28 in the flowchart of the accumulation process of FIG.

(When list display is on and color permission is set ~ List display color permission processing ~)
Returning to the flowchart of the accumulation process of FIG. 5, when the list display setting is on (S22: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S25. When the user who logged in to the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 permits the color printing setting (S25: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S26 and executes the list display color permission process shown in FIG. 7. ..

In the list display color permission process of FIG. 7, when the color print setting of the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 of the logged-in user is permitted and the number of print permission sheets is not zero, the control unit 10 performs. This is the process to be executed. The control unit 10 creates a job list including all print jobs of the logged-in user stored as stored job data in the RAM 13 (S51).

As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 displays the job list, the print button 428, the delete button 422, and the select all button 421 on the display unit 41 (S52). FIG. 8 shows an example of the list display screen displayed on the display unit 41 in S52. On the list display screen of FIG. 8, the job specification buttons 414, 415, 416, 417, and 418 of the print job that can be executed are displayed together with the print job names "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E", respectively. Has been done.

The control unit 10 has the job designation buttons 414, 415, so that the user can specify the job designation buttons 414, 415, 416, 417, 418 from the job list displayed on the display unit 41 using the touch panel 40. The designation of 416, 417, and 418 can be accepted (S53).

The control unit 10 determines whether the instruction input is performed by the print button 428 or the delete button 422 (S54). When the control unit 10 determines that the instruction input by the print button 428 has been input (S54; YES), the control unit 10 uses the print unit 20 to execute print processing for each of the designated print jobs (S55). The list display color permission process of FIG. 7 is terminated. Then, the control unit 10 proceeds to S28 in the flowchart of the accumulation process of FIG.

When the control unit 10 determines that the instruction input by the delete button 422 has been input (S54: NO), the control unit 10 deletes the accumulated job data 131 corresponding to the specified print job from the RAM 13 and updates the job list (S56). .. Subsequently, the control unit 10 determines whether or not a print job that can be specified remains in the job list (S57). The control unit 10 returns to S52 when there are print jobs that can be specified in the job list (S57: YES), and returns to S52 when there are no print jobs that can be specified in the job list (S57: NO). The list display color permission process of 7 is terminated.

(When list display is on and color is not permitted ~ List display color disallowed processing ~)
Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the list display setting is on (S22: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S25. When the user who logged in to the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 disallows the color printing setting (S25: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S27 and executes the list display color disallowing process of FIG. To do.

The list display color disallowance process of FIG. 9 is performed when the color print setting of the user management information 132 stored in the NVRAM 14 of the logged-in user is disallowed and the number of print permitted sheets is not zero. 10 is the process to be executed. The control unit 10 creates a job list including all the print jobs of the logged-in user stored in the RAM 13 (S71).

(Display switching process)
The control unit 10 proceeds to S72. The control unit 10 executes the display switching process shown in FIG. The control unit 10 determines whether or not the created job list is only executable (S81). Specifically, in S81, the control unit 10 determines whether all the print jobs in the job list are set to monochrome printing, or whether the job list includes at least one print job set to color printing. Deciding.

When the control unit 10 determines that the created job list is only executable (S81: YES), the control unit 10 displays the job list and the select all button 421 on the display unit 41 (S82).

The control unit 10 further grayed out the print button 428 and the delete button 422 on the display unit 41 (S83). The control unit 10 does not accept the instruction input by the print button 428 and the delete button 422 that are grayed out. The control unit 10 ends the display switching process of FIG.

901 of FIG. 12 shows an example of the list display screen displayed on the display unit 41 in S82 and S83 of FIG. In the list display screen of 901 of FIG. 12, job designation buttons 454, 455, 456, 457 and 458 of the print job that can be executed are displayed together with the name of the print job.

The difference between S52 in FIG. 7 and S82 in FIG. 10 is that the job list displayed in S52 in FIG. 7 is a job list of print jobs including color print settings and monochrome print settings. The job list displayed in S82 of FIG. 10 is a print job having only monochrome printing settings. The job list in S82 of FIG. 10 does not include the print job of the color print setting because the print job of the color print setting is not permitted.

When the control unit 10 determines that the job list of the print job of the logged-in user is not only executable (S81: NO), the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed are included in the job list of the print job of the logged-in user. It is determined whether or not the print job is included together (S84). Specifically, in S84, at least one print job with monochrome printing settings is included in the job list print job, and at least one print job with color printing settings is included in the job list. The control unit 10 determines whether or not the two are included.

When the control unit 10 determines that both the executable print job and the non-executable print job are included in the created job list (S84: YES), the control unit 10 displays the executable job list at the upper part of the display unit 41. Display (S85). The control unit 10 displays an unexecutable job list at the lower part of the display unit 41 (S86).

In the present embodiment, the executable job list is the job list of the print job which is the setting of monochrome printing, and the non-executable job list is the job list of the print job which is the setting of color printing.

The control unit 10 further displays the print button 428 and the delete button 422 on the display unit 41 in gray out so that the instruction input cannot be accepted (S83). The control unit 10 ends the display switching process of FIG.

902 of FIG. 12 shows an example of the list display screen displayed in S85, S86, and S83 of FIG. In the list display screen of 902 of FIG. 12, job designation buttons 424 and 425 of the print job that can be executed are displayed at the upper part of the list, and job designation buttons 426 and 427 of the print job that cannot be executed are displayed at the lower part of the list. For print jobs that cannot be executed
By arranging those job specification buttons 426 and 447, and their names under the indication "Print job that cannot be executed", it is possible to clearly inform the user that the job cannot be executed. ing.

When the control unit 10 determines that the created job list does not include both the executable print job and the non-executable print job (S84: NO), the control unit 10 displays the non-executable job list on the display unit 41. (S87). In this case, the print job of the job list does not include the print job of the monochrome print setting, and is only the print job of the color print setting.

The control unit 10 further displays the print button 428 and the delete button 422 on the display unit 41 in gray out so that the instruction input cannot be accepted (S83). The control unit 10 ends the display switching process of FIG.

Returning to the list display color disallowance process of FIG. 9, the control unit 10 enables the touch panel 40 to accept the designation of an arbitrary print job from the job list displayed on the display unit 41 (S73). ..

For example, in the case of the list display screen of 901 in FIG. 12, the user presses the job designation buttons 454 to 458, and in the case of the list display screen of FIG. 12 902, the user presses the job designation buttons 424 to 427. In the case of the list display screen, any print job can be specified by pressing the job specification buttons 466 and 467.

However, on the list display screen of 901, the list display screen of 902, and the list display screen of 903 of FIG. 12, any of the job designation buttons 454 to 458, 424 to 427, 466, and 467 is pressed. Since it is not specified, the delete button 422 and the print button 428 are grayed out so that the instruction input cannot be accepted. For the select all button 421 that is not grayed out, it is possible to accept instruction input.

(Print deletion button display switching process)
Next, the control unit 10 executes the print deletion button display switching process of FIG. 9 (S74). FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of S74 of FIG.

In S91, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the designated print job is only an executable print job. The control unit 10 displays to the display unit 41 to accept instruction input to both the print button 428 and the delete button 422 shown in FIG. 8 when only the print job that can be executed is executed (S91: YES). , The grayout display that does not accept instruction input for both the print button 428 and the delete button 422 is canceled (S92). The control unit 10 ends the print deletion button display switching process of FIG.

The display of accepting the instruction input to both the print button 428 and the delete button 422 means that the print button 428 and the delete button 422, which are not grayed out displays, emit light, respectively. Hereinafter, the display in which each button emits light is referred to as a light emission display. When the user presses the print button 428 and the delete button 422 on the touch panel 40, the control unit 10 can accept the instruction input from each button.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of switching between the grayout display and the light emission display of the print button 428 and the delete button 422 in the case of the list display screen of FIG. 902. The list display screen of 1001 in FIG. 13 corresponds to the list display screen of 902 in FIG.

The list display screen of 1002 of FIG. 13 shows a screen displaced from the list display screen of 1001 of FIG. 13 when only the print jobs that can be executed are specified. When only the print job that can be executed is specified, all of the print button 428, the delete button 422, and the select all button 421 are displayed in a state in which the instruction input can be accepted. That is, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 41 to emit and display all of the print button 428, the delete button 422, and the select all button 421.

In the case of the list display screen of 1002 of FIG. 13, the user specifies the job designation buttons 424 and 425 of the print job, and the check marks are aligned with the job designation buttons 424 and 425 of the print job of the display unit 41, respectively. It is displayed so that you can see whether or not a print job has been specified. In the case of the list display screen of 1002 of FIG. 13, it is shown that the display mode of the print button 428 and the delete button 422 in the list display screen of 902 of FIG. 12 has been switched from the grayout display to the light emission display.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 11, when the control unit 10 includes not only the print job that can be executed (S91: NO), whether or not the specified print job includes both the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed. Is determined (S93). When both print jobs exist (S93: YES), the process proceeds to S92, both the print button 428 and the delete button 422 are made to emit light, and the grayout display of the print button 428 and the delete button 422 is canceled (S92). The control unit 10 ends the print deletion button display switching process.

The list display screen of 1004 in FIG. 13 is a screen displaced from the list display screen of 1001 in FIG. 13 when both a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed are specified. In the case of the list display screen of 1004 of FIG. 13, the job designation buttons 424 and 427 of the print job are specified by the user, and both the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed are specified. On the display unit 41, all of the print button 428, the delete button 422, and the select all button 421 are displayed by light emission.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 11, and determining NO in S93, the control unit 10 determines whether only the print job that cannot be executed is specified (S94). When only non-printable print jobs are specified (S94: YES), the control unit 10 switches the delete button 422 displayed on the display unit 41 from the grayout display to the light emission display, and the print button 428 maintains the grayout display. (S95). The control unit 10 ends the print deletion button display switching process.

If NO is also determined in S94, the control unit 10 ends the print deletion button display switching process. Although the print button 428 and the delete button 422 have been described here, the all-select button 21 is always displayed with light emission.

The list display screen of 1003 in FIG. 13 is a screen displaced from the list display screen of 1001 in FIG. 13 when only print jobs that cannot be executed are specified. When only the print job that cannot be executed is specified, the print button 428 remains grayed out, and the delete button 422 and the select all button 421 are displayed by light emission. Then, the control unit 10 can accept the instruction input by the user pressing the deletion button 422 of the touch panel 40. Even if the user presses the print button 428, which is the grayout display of the touch panel 40, the control unit 10 does not accept the instruction input.

Returning to the flowchart of the list display color disallowance process of FIG. 9, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is an instruction input by the print button 428 or an instruction input by the delete button 422 after S74 (S75). If it is not determined that the instruction input by the print button 428 or the instruction input by the delete button 422 has been received (S75: NO), the control unit 10 repeatedly executes the print delete button display switching process of FIG. 11 (S74).

When it is determined that the instruction input by the print button 428 or the instruction input by the delete button 422 has been performed (S75: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether or not the input instruction input is the instruction input by the print button 428. Judgment (S76).

When the user presses the print button 428 to input an instruction (S76: YES), the control unit 10 executes the print process using the print unit 20 only for the print jobs that can be executed among the specified print jobs. (S77).

If the user does not input the instruction by pressing the print button 428 (S76: NO), the control unit 10 deletes the accumulated job data 131 corresponding to the specified print job from the RAM 13 and updates the created job list. (S78).

The control unit 10 determines whether or not a print job that can be specified remains in the updated job list (S79). The print job that can be specified means that the logged-in user has either a print job that can be executed or a print job that cannot be executed in the job list.

When the print job that can be specified remains in the job list (S79: YES), the control unit 10 again executes the display switching process (S72) shown in FIG. The control unit 10 repeatedly executes the processes after S72. When there is no print job that can be specified in the job list (S79: NO), the control unit 10 ends the list display color disallowed display of FIG. Then, the control unit 10 proceeds to S28 in the flowchart of the accumulation process of FIG.

(Accumulation printing process)
Returning to the accumulation printing process of FIG. 5, the control unit 10 performs the list hiding process (S24) shown in FIG. 6, the list display color permission process (S26) shown in FIG. 7, or the list display shown in FIG. When the color disallowance process (S27) is completed, the control unit 10 displays the standby screen after logging in to the display unit 41.

The control unit 10 determines whether or not the user has input the operation of the redisplay key belonging to the key button unit 50 (S28). When there is an operation input of the redisplay key (S28: YES), the control unit 10 returns to S25. If there is no operation input of the redisplay key (S28: NO), it is determined whether or not logout is instructed (S29), the screen returns to S28 until logout is instructed, and when logout is instructed, logout is performed. Along with ending the accumulation printing process of FIG. 5, the login process of FIG. 4 is also completed.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a screen displayed on the display unit 41 during processing of a print job in the MFP 1. FIG. 14 shows another example of the job list displayed on the display unit 41 in S85 and S86 of FIG. As described above, the control unit 10 indicates in the job list displayed on the display unit 41 that the print job that can be executed can be executed, and that the print job that cannot be executed cannot be executed.

On the list display screen of 1005 of FIG. 14, job designation buttons 424 and 425 of print jobs that can be executed are displayed at the upper part of the list, and display instruction buttons 433 for instructing the display of print jobs that cannot be executed are displayed at the lower part of the list. ing. When the control unit 10 receives the instruction input by the display instruction button 433, the control unit 10 displays a list of print jobs that cannot be executed. On the list display screen of 1006 of FIG. 14, when the control unit 10 receives the instruction input by the display instruction button 433, the job designation button 426 of the unexecutable print job and the job designation button 426 of the unexecutable print job are displayed under the display of "unexecutable print job". 427 is displayed.

In the list display screen of 1006 of FIG. 14, since only the list of print jobs that cannot be executed is displayed, the delete button 422 is also displayed in gray out, which cannot accept instruction input, and only the select all button 421 is displayed in light emission so that instruction input can be accepted. ing. Further, on the list display screen of 1006 of FIG. 14, the print button 428 is not grayed out and is not displayed at all.

[Example of realization by software]
The control block (particularly the control unit 10) of the MFP 1 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

In the latter case, the MFP 1 includes a computer that executes the instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program. Then, in the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes it, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium", for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Further, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the above program may be further provided. Further, the program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. In addition, one aspect of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the above program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 MFP
10 Control unit 11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
20 Printing unit 21 All select button 30 Image reading unit 40 Touch panel 41 Display unit 50 Key button unit 60 Operation panel 70 Communication interface 80 USB interface 132 User management information 131 Stored job data 133 Job management information 200 Mobile terminal 421 Select all button 422 Deleted Buttons 414 to 418, 424 to 427, 454 to 458, 466 to 467 Job specification button 428 Print button 429 Up cursor button 430 Down cursor button

Claims (6)

A printing unit that prints images on a recording medium,
A print job that uses the print unit, a reception unit that receives identification information associated with the print job, and a reception unit.
A storage unit that stores print jobs and identification information received by the reception unit, and a storage unit.
The identification information input section where the identification information is input, and
Display and
An operation panel that accepts operations from users,
With a control unit
With respect to the identification information, whether or not printing using the print settings can be executed is set for each of the plurality of print settings of the print unit.
The control unit
An authentication process that authenticates the identification information input from the identification information input unit, and
An extraction process for extracting a print job associated with the identification information authenticated by the authentication process from the print jobs stored in the storage unit, and
A display process for displaying the job list of print jobs extracted by the extraction process on the display unit, and
In the display process, the selection acceptance process of accepting the selection of the print job to be executed from the executable print jobs included in the job list displayed on the display unit by using the operation panel, and the selection acceptance process.
The print job received in the selection acceptance process is executed by the selection job execution process using the print unit.
Further, in the display process, if there are a print job that can be executed and a print job that cannot be executed in the print job extracted by the extraction process, the print job that can be executed can be executed in the job list. A printing device that indicates that there is a print job that cannot be executed, and that the print job cannot be executed. The control unit further
For the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed included in the job list displayed on the display unit, a deletion acceptance process for receiving a deletion instruction to be deleted from the storage unit using the operation panel, and a deletion acceptance process.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a deletion process of deleting a print job received in the deletion acceptance process from the storage unit. The operation panel is a touch panel, and the display unit is a display unit of the touch panel.
The control unit
Using the touch panel, a designated acceptance process for accepting the designation of one or more print jobs from the job list is performed.
When the designation of only the print job that can be executed is accepted in the designated acceptance process, or when the designation of both the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed is accepted, the selection acceptance process and the deletion acceptance are accepted. After processing, both the print button that accepts the execution instruction of the specified print job and the delete button that accepts the delete instruction of the specified print job are displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be input.
When the designation of only the print job that cannot be executed is accepted in the designated acceptance process, only the delete acceptance process is performed without performing the selection acceptance process, and the delete button is displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be input. The printing apparatus according to claim 2. The control unit
In a state where both the print job that can be executed and the print job that cannot be executed are specified in the designated acceptance process and both the print button and the delete button are displayed on the touch panel so that instructions can be input. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when an instruction input of a print button is received, the selection job execution process is performed for a print job that can be executed, and the deletion process is performed for a print job that cannot be executed. A list display setting for setting whether or not to perform the display process is stored in the storage unit in advance.
The control unit
When the list display setting is set, the display process, the selection acceptance process after the display process, and the selection job execution process are performed.
If the list display setting is not set, the extraction process is performed after the authentication process, and all the print jobs that can be executed among the print jobs extracted by the extraction process are performed by using the print unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein all job execution processing is performed. The control unit
If the list display setting is not set, further, the all deletion process for deleting the unexecutable print job among the print jobs extracted by the extraction process from the storage unit and the print setting cannot be used. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a notification process for displaying a message indicating that the print job has been deleted on the display unit.

Images