JP3218563B2 - Printing apparatus and information processing service providing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system configuration of an information processing apparatus connected to a distributed local area network and providing an information processing service.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a server called a server is connected to a distributed local area network. The server provides a shared service to devices such as workstations used personally and interactively. In the server, the user interface unit shown in Table 1 below was constituted only by the remote server monitor unit, and there was no interface function for providing the service of the service processing function unit. Further, the workstation has a network interface composed of only a client network interface, and has no interface function unit for providing a service of the service processing function unit.

[0003]

[Table 1]

By the way, a server such as a workstation can remotely control the server as long as it is located somewhere in a local area network, with some exceptions such as a print server described later. , A desired service can be provided. In this sense, the operator does not need to know where the server is located. In the present specification, as described above, the presence of a device that does not need to be particularly recognized by an operator at a place where a service is performed is referred to as a “logical presence”.

On the other hand, in the case of ordinary office equipment such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine installed in an office, an operator must go to a place where these are installed and perform work such as copying. .
That is, in order to receive the service, the operator needs to clearly recognize the location of these devices and directly operate them. In the present specification, the presence of a device that needs to recognize the place where the service is performed is referred to as “physical presence”.

Recently, office equipment such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine has been gradually incorporated into a network. When incorporated into a network, these office devices can perform predetermined tasks by remote control. It is also possible for an operator to go to a place where these office devices are arranged and operate them. In other words, office equipment embedded on the network
It has both logical and physical existence.
As a result, it is difficult to configure an information processing service system using only the conventional concept of a server.

[0007]

By the way, even if office equipment conventionally used in a direct interactive and shared manner is turned into a network server due to the progress of networking, it will be equipped with only remote monitoring means at that moment. It is not good.

[0008] In addition, a logical server that has not been conscious of direct use in the past has been required to become an explicit device as part of office coordination, that is, as an office device in harmony with the office. I have. On the other hand, some conventional servers connected on a network can directly communicate with an operator, and in this sense, some have a physical meaning. That is, in the case of 8000INS, which is a product of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., a server called a server monitor or a server monitoring server can be arranged on a network. This server monitor can monitor the operation status of the designated server.

As described above, the user or the operator can monitor the usage status of the server by directly interacting with the server monitor. However, this direct interaction with the operator is not for obtaining the service that is the primary purpose of the server. For this reason, the operator is usually not a general user but an administrator called a network administrator.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a method for providing an information processing service , which enable a direct interactive service as well as a remote service through a network.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, (a) a print information receiving unit for receiving print information to be printed from a network, and (b) an electronic device from a storage medium that can be brought by the user. An electronic information reading unit for reading information; (c) a display unit for displaying to the user electronic information read by the electronic information reading unit or print information received by the print information receiving unit; D) an input unit for inputting an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information;
(E) a user interface unit for interactively specifying a print process based on an instruction from the input unit and a display result on the display unit; and (f) printing of electronic information or print information by the print process specified by the user interface unit. It is provided in <br/> printing device as an integral and print execution means for execution.

Further, the information processing server according to the second aspect of the present invention.
The service providing method includes the steps of: (a) inputting a specification of a document to be served and a service to be processed for the document from a user interface unit provided in a server connected to the network; (B)
A step of retrieving the document input in this step from the storage location via the network; (c) performing a process according to the content of the service on the document retrieved in this step; the server and outputting the processed document in step with printer
The processing is performed by a printer integrated with the printer .
Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, (a) a print information receiving unit for receiving print information to be printed from a network, and (b) electronic information for reading electronic information from a storage medium that can be carried by the user. An electronic information reading unit;
(C) a display unit for displaying to the user the electronic information read by the electronic information reading unit or the print information received by the print information receiving unit, and (d) an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information. An input unit for inputting, (e) a user interface unit for interactively adding editing processing to electronic information and specifying print processing based on an instruction from the input unit and a display result on the display unit; The printing apparatus is integrally provided with print execution means for executing printing of print information or edited electronic information in the print processing specified by the user interface unit. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, (a) a print information receiving section for receiving print information to be printed from a network, and (b) an electronic information reading section for reading electronic information from a storage medium that can be carried by the user. An electronic information reading unit;
(C) a display unit for displaying to the user the electronic information read by the electronic information reading unit or the print information received by the print information receiving unit, and (d) an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information. An input unit for inputting, (e) a user interface unit for interactively adding edit processing to print information and specifying print processing based on an instruction from the input unit and a display result on the display unit; The printing apparatus is integrally provided with print execution means for executing printing of electronic information or edited print information in the print processing specified by the user interface unit.

FIG. 1 is a reference for understanding the present invention. In FIG. 1, (i) an information processing section 1 for providing an information processing service, and (ii) an information processing section provided by the information processing section. A user interface unit 2 for interactively providing a service to a user; and (iii) a service interface for providing a service provided by the information processing unit 2 to a client such as a workstation which is on a communication network and receives the information processing service. A system in which the network interface unit 3 exists is shown. The control unit 4 performs scheduling of the order, time, and the like of the operations of the information processing unit 1, the user interface unit 2, and the network interface unit 3. The client network interface section 5 is a section in which the network interface section 3 transmits and receives information specified by the user via the user interface section 2. The remote service monitor unit 6 interrupts the information processing unit 1 and the network interface unit 3 according to a user's instruction.

In FIG. 1, an area 7 surrounded by a polygonal line indicates a workstation that specializes in providing the function of the information processing section 1, and an area 8 similarly surrounded by a polygonal line provides the function of the information processing section 1. Shows the server.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments. FIG. 2 shows a main part of the information processing service system according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the first aspect of the present invention.

On the network 11, the server 12 of this embodiment is arranged. The server 12 includes an information processing unit 13 that performs a service process and a network 1
1 includes a network interface unit 14 for exchanging information with another device (not shown), a user interface unit 16 for controlling an interface with a user 15, and a control unit 17 for controlling these parts. The information processing unit 13 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), a storage medium for storing a program for executing a service, and the like.

First, a case where a direct interactive service is performed in the information processing service system of this embodiment will be described.

The direct interactive service is performed by the user 15 receiving the service processing performed by the information processing unit 13 through the user interface 16. The user interface 16 differs depending on the type of service to be provided. For example, when printing out information, a recording unit for this is provided in this portion, and when outputting audio, an audio output circuit for outputting information to an audio signal is provided in this portion. As described above, the user interface 16 is various depending on the type of service, and since there are already many products, detailed description is omitted in this embodiment.

Next, the remote service will be described. The remote service is provided through the network 11. That is, in FIG. 2, the user 22 inputs a service request from the workstation 21 or the like arranged on the network 11. This service request is received by the network interface unit 14 of the server 12. The network interface unit 14 sends this to the information processing unit 13, where a desired service is performed. The processing result of the information processing unit 13 is returned to the network interface unit 14 and output to the output unit for each service. For example, when a printed processing result is requested, information is transferred from the network interface unit 14 to the print server 25 via the network 11, and the print result is output from this.

The network interface unit 14 also has some basic configurations depending on the service type. One of them will be described in detail in the following embodiment . Control unit 17
Is provided for adjusting a schedule among the user interface unit 16, the information processing unit 13, and the network interface unit 14. However, the normal case is managed by dominant schedule to the user interface unit 16 and the network interface unit 14. For example, when the information processing unit 13 and the network interface unit 14 each have a dedicated processor, the load on the control unit 17 is reduced accordingly, and the configuration of the control unit 17 itself may be simplified.

FIG. 3 specifically shows the network interface unit. In the network interface unit 14, at least one type and at most five types of communication function units can be set. In this example, the following servers 31 to 35 can be set. (I) Filing server 31: (ii) Filing user 32: (iii) Mailing server 33: (iv) Mailing user 34: (v) Client network interface unit 3
5:

In the information processing service system of this embodiment, the above three types of servers or users 31, 32 and 34 except for the mailing server 33 and the client network interface 35 are set in the network interface 14 thereof. I have.

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the network interface unit 14 when the filing server 31, filing user 32 and mailing user 34 are set.

For example, the workstation 2 shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the user 22 requests a remote service from 1 and sends information. The request contents and information are sent to the mailing user 34 by mail or stored in the filing server 31. In the figure, transmission information 4 in mailing
Reference numeral 1 denotes service request target information and a service instruction, or a service instruction. The transmission information 42 in filing represents service processing target information.

The difference between the contents indicated by these transmission information 41 and 42 is as follows. That is, in the case of the transmission information 41 in the mailing, (a) the information itself and the service processing instruction for the information are integrated, or (b) only the instruction information is described.
In the case of the transmission information 42 in filing, this is the information body, which means that the configuration information of the filing server 31 represents the service processing instruction information.

In the configuration of the network interface unit 14 shown in FIG. 4, the filing server 31 is used as an interface for user's work such as transmission of information and designation of a service type, and a system for transmitting a message about a processing result. It is desirable to use the mailing user 34 properly for work from the side.

Some of the most common uses will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 and the following FIGS.

(1) A case where a "document diagnosis service for supporting the revision of a created document" is used.

<1> First, an operator as a user enters a screen 51 on a display such as a workstation.
(FIG. 5a) is displayed, and the service list 53 is developed by operating the document diagnosis server icon 52 shown here (FIG. 5b: screen 54). Service list 53
Shows diagnostic items such as spell check, sentence length check, and grammar check. Here, the operator moves a cursor (not shown) with a mouse (not shown) and checks the sentence length to check the sentence length.
Item is selected.

Instead of displaying the icons 52 and the window 53, the operator displays a menu screen displaying the contents of various operations, selects them using a mouse, cursor keys, and the like, and selects desired diagnostic contents. It is also possible.

<2> When the item "Check sentence length" is selected, a list 55 of documents related to this service is displayed as a screen 56 as shown in FIG. 5D. Here, the document SL-1 and the document SL-2 have been subjected to the sentence length check process, and the document SL-3 is currently undergoing the process. The operator adds the document X to be requested for processing to the queue for the sentence length check displayed in this manner. This is screen 5
As shown in FIG. 6, the process is performed by superimposing a user document icon 57 displaying a document to be processed on the user side at a corresponding position in the queue (the position marked with a cross in the figure).

When the user performs the above operation, FIG.
Is transmitted through the network 11 to the filing server 31 in the network interface unit.
And the store of the document X is requested. The information processing unit 13 extracts the document X through the filing user 32. Then, service processing of the document X is performed. In the case of this example, statistics of the sentence length in the document X are obtained. When the service processing result 59 (FIG. 4) of the document X is obtained in this way, it is sent to the filing server 31 through the filing user 32.
The filing server 31 has a result column,
Here, the service processing result 59 is inserted.

On the other hand, when the service processing of the document X is completed in the information processing section 13, the transmission information 61 is output from the processing section 59 together with the service processing result 59 and transmitted to the network 11 through the mailing user 34. Transmission information 61
Is composed of a service processing result and a message, or a message about the service processing result 59. By receiving this, the user can know that the processing of the document X has been completed.

<3> Now, the operator as a user receives the transmission information 61 as a mail or looks at the screen 62 (FIG. 5c) when a predetermined time has elapsed.
You will see the progress of the process. If the result of the document X is displayed on the processing result list 63 displayed as shown on the screen 62, it is known that the processing has been completed, and this is taken out by, for example, the icon 64. On the other hand, if the result is a printer output or the like, the completion of the processing is confirmed based on the transmission information 61 or the information in the processing result list 63, and the printer output result is taken to a predetermined place.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the processing result is taken out by looking at the mail sent by the information processing service system.

The screen 66 in FIG. 6B shows a state in which a mail has been received, and a mail inbox icon 67 is displayed. When the operator opens this, a screen 68 as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed, and a processing result message 69 of the document X is displayed here. When the user wants to know a specific processing result, he or she needs to take out the processing result from the result column in the filing server 31.

The above remote use can be directly used through the interface unit of the server.

(Print Service System) Next, a print service system will be described as an example of an information processing service system, and this embodiment will be described more specifically.

FIG. 7 shows a main part of a network in which a print service system is arranged. A print service system 71 is arranged on the network 11 together with devices such as the workstation 21. The print service system 71 has a built-in laser printer, and can perform printing based on print information transmitted through the network 11, and can also respond to a direct print request. I have. For this reason, a disk drive device 73 is arranged on the front of the main body of the print service system 71,
A display 74 and a keyboard 75 are arranged on an upper panel of the main body to enable editing and creation of a document. A mouse as a pointing device can be connected to the print service system 71 via an interface circuit (not shown).

Before describing the print service system 71, the concept of a service system or server, which is also a feature of the present invention, will be clarified. In order to distinguish the conventional server from the server, the service system or the server according to the present invention will be referred to as a service system unless otherwise specified, and the conventional server will be referred to as a server.

The service system is a place where services are literally provided. What differs from the conventional concept of a server is that it has a “place”. Until now, servers have been quite indirect, except for print servers, where their location did not need to be recognized, and the server itself did not need to be visible. The print server is an exception in this sense. That is, the print server prints out information on paper, and needs a “place” in the sense that the place where the paper is collected must be recognized. It will be clear from the following description that this print server differs from the service system of the present invention also in the sense of “place”.

By the way, in the case where the server is fixedly regarded as "logical existence" as described above, the characterization of office information equipment, which is expected to increase rapidly, will be hindered. Many of these office information devices are visible entities, or "physical entities."

By the way, having a "place" indicates that its existence is made explicit to the user. Both the mailing server and filing server, as well as the clearinghouse server that performs tasks such as registering and searching various resources on the network, collating the user's name and password, and performing authentication, have evolved into servers that can be accessed directly, that is, service systems. Should. The basic concept is explained by comparing the service system to a sushi restaurant.

A sushi restaurant is a service business that provides sushi to people. The sushi bar holds a sign and waits for people to pass through the curtain. Occasionally, the shop sells ready-to-pack sushi at the store, and customers seeking this do not need to go through a noren. On the other hand, a home delivery service can be requested by telephone. In other words, a sushi bar sells over-the-counter customers while dealing with customers in the store who are sitting at counters and tables, and also responds to orders over the telephone.

FIG. 8 shows a service system of the present invention in comparison with this sushi restaurant. As shown in the route 81, the user 82 has a service system (sushi restaurant).
Going to 83 and interacting directly with it,
You can make detailed orders for unique services such as sushi. In addition, as shown by a route 84, a service processed unilaterally by the service system 83 (a set of sushi prepared in advance at the sushi bar) 8
The user 5 can go out and purchase it directly. Furthermore, as shown by the route 86, it is also possible to indirectly or directly request a service from the service system 83 using the workstation 87 or the like (delivery service).

The service system of the present invention has a service form like a sushi restaurant. Of course, the existing server can be added to one variation of the service system. The concept of a service system is large enough to easily organize many independent office information devices such as copiers and facsimile machines.

Returning to FIG. 7, the description will be continued. The form of service by the print service system 71 is as follows.

(A) As in the prior art, a print request can be received from the workstation 21 or the like via the network 11, and a print service is provided for this. (B) When the user 91 brings the floppy disk 92, the print service can be performed on the spot by setting the floppy disk 92 in the disk drive device 73. At this time, a direct interactive editing service such as printing out a part of the document by operating the keyboard 75 or the like can also be provided. The print here is a permanent visible display, and does not only mean printing on physical paper. For example, this includes synthesizing a print image with a bitmap and returning it to the workstation 21 or the like. (C) Depending on the user 93, a document or information may be created by a lower-level document creation device 94 such as a portable Japanese word processor, stored in the floppy disk 95, and brought to the print service system 71. . In this case, the floppy disk 95 can be set in the disk drive device 73 to perform advanced editing that could not be performed by a lower-level device, or to convert characters that could not be converted. . (D) It is also possible to call a workstation owned by the user from the print service system 71 and transfer an object to be printed (whether or not it is brought) to this. (E) The print service system 71 uses ODA (Office
Any device capable of handling the highest standards of Document Architecture (Standard Office Document System) can provide general services on the street. That is, it accepts documents and graphics created at home, for example, using a simplified Japanese word processor, etc., changes the font of the documents, prints them out, marks certain areas or specific figures, and differs from others. More advanced services such as printing in different colors can be provided.

(Filing Service System) FIG. 9
Represents a filing service system. The same parts as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

The filing service system 101 connected to the network 11 has a disk drive unit 73 on the front of the main unit and a display 74 on the upper panel of the main unit to enable operations such as file search and editing. And a keyboard 75. Of course, a mouse may be connected to the filing service system 101 via an interface circuit (not shown). The same applies to the print service system 71 described above, but a storage medium other than a floppy disk, for example, an IC card, a memory card, an optical disk, or the like may be used.

This filing service system 101
The form of the service according to is as follows. (B) As in the past, upon receiving a filing request from the workstation 21 or the like via the network 11,
Perform filing services. (B) When the user 91 brings the floppy disk 92, the user can receive the filing service on the spot by setting it in the disk drive 73. At this time, a direct interactive editing service such as partial filing can be performed by operating the keyboard 75 or the like. (C) The user 102 can directly search and edit a file by directly operating the keyboard 75 or the like of the filing service system 101, and display the contents thereof on the display 74.
You can check with. (D) The filing service system 101 can call a workstation owned by the user and transfer an object to be filed (whether or not it has been brought) to this.

(Electronic Bulletin Board) FIG. 10 shows an electronic bulletin board as another example of the service system. In FIG. 10, the same portions as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

Conventionally, what is called an electronic bulletin board has been a logical entity that connects remote places that are far apart. On the other hand, a so-called bulletin board is a plate having a predetermined size, and a bulletin board is physically attached on the bulletin board. Therefore, the contents cannot be read unless the user is nearby. Therefore,
By arranging an electronic bulletin board to which the service system of the present invention is applied in an office, it is possible to construct a bulletin service system as a physical entity.

The electronic bulletin board 111 according to the present embodiment is connected to the network 11 and has a notice board 112 of a relatively large size arranged vertically and an operation board arranged almost horizontally at a position where it is easy to operate. And a panel unit 113. The posting section 112 uses a flat display such as a plasma display, a liquid crystal display, or an EL (electroluminescence) display. A keyboard is arranged on the operation panel unit 113, and a pointing device such as a mouse can be attached as needed.

The form of the service using the electronic bulletin board 111 is as follows. (B) From the workstation 21 etc. to the network 11
A posting service can be provided in response to a request for a posting through. (B) The user 91 operates the operation panel unit 1 of the electronic bulletin board 111.
By directly operating 13, it is possible to input the contents to be posted, and to reply to the notice posted on the notice section 112.

FIG. 11 shows a schedule board as still another example of the service system. In FIG. 11, the same portions as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

Conventionally, the schedule board is composed of physical board materials provided in each section and the like, on which a schedule of each person is written with a marker, or a magnet on which each person's name is written is specified. The schedule is managed by adsorbing at the position. Therefore, overall schedule management was possible only with this board, and each person had to go here to enter schedule changes and the like. Further, when the schedule is concentrated on one point of the schedule board, there is a problem that the entry may be incomplete or information may be lost.

The schedule board 121 of this embodiment is
An electronic board unit 122 connected to the network 11 and having a relatively large size arranged vertically and an operation panel unit 1 arranged almost horizontally at a position where the height is easy to operate.
23. The electronic board unit 122 uses a flat display such as a plasma display, a liquid crystal display, or an EL (electroluminescence) display like the electronic bulletin board 111 described above.
However, it does not necessarily require one large display screen,
The electronic board unit 122 can be configured by arranging elongated displays separated by date and the like. A keyboard is arranged on the operation panel unit 123,
It is also possible to attach a pointing device such as a mouse if necessary. Also, this operation panel unit 1
A disk drive device 73 is arranged in a part before 23.

The form of the service provided by the schedule board 121 is as follows. (B) From the workstation 21 etc. to the network 11
In response to a request for posting a schedule, the user can post a schedule of each person and change the content of the notice. (B) The contents posted on the schedule board 121 can be sent to the work stations 21 or the like of each person via the network 11 and displayed on them. In addition, a printed matter of the schedule table can be obtained through a print server (not shown) as needed. (C) The user 91 directly operates the operation panel unit 123 of the schedule board 121 to input a schedule to be posted or to display the details of the schedule displayed on the electronic board unit 122 in a multi-window format. Can be. Also, for example, a message or the like necessary for this can be transmitted without being aware of the location of the officer or the like displayed as "in a meeting". (D) In addition, the user 91 can use his own floppy disk 9
The user can copy the contents of the schedule to the schedule board 2 or write his / her own schedule on the schedule board 121 via the floppy disk 92. Also, based on the program stored on the floppy disk 92,
The display contents of the schedule board 121 can also be arranged. As such a thing, various kinds of things, such as displaying only the schedule of the section manager or displaying only the schedule of female employees, can be considered.

FIG. 12 shows a mail service station as another example of the service system.
In FIG. 12, the same parts as those in FIG.
These descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

Conventionally, mail handwritten on physical paper such as stationery has been posted from a post, processed at a post office, and delivered to a place of address or a person. In the case of handwriting, there are many cases in which characters etc. can not be read, and inconveniences such as mail items not being delivered correctly, mail contents being erroneously read, and products different from the order being sent also occur did.

Mail service station 1 of this embodiment
31 has a mail submission port 132 and a display 133 for checking the contents of the mail. By operating the operation panel 134 arranged on the front side of the apparatus, various operations such as printing out a mail form can be performed. The printed paper 135 is stored in the mail output tray 1
36.

The operation panel 134 may be constituted by a keyboard or a touch panel. Of course, it is also possible to operate a pointing device such as a mouse to input data or the like in relation to the display contents of the display 133.

The form of service provided by the mail service station 131 is as follows. (B) From the workstation 21 etc. to the network 11
When an e-mail is received through the display 13
3 can be displayed. That is, network 1
On 1, it serves as a mail server, and can look into its own mailbox. As a result, the mail can be transferred to another workstation 21 or the like, and the mail can be printed out using the print function of the mail service station 131. In order to prevent other people's mailboxes from being viewed without permission, a password may be input from the operation panel 134, and a match may be detected to display a mail. Similar restrictions can be provided for printouts.

(B) There are roughly two methods for the user 91 to send the mail 137 on the network 11. 1
One is a method of transmitting as image information. In this case, the user 91 posts mail 137 such as handwriting from the mail port 132, and causes the one-dimensional image sensor provided therein to read an image. The read image is transmitted as it is on the network 11 as image information. At this time, the destination may be read by the mail service station side and the result of the determination may be displayed on the display 133 for confirmation, or the operation panel 134 may be operated to input a destination code or the like.

Another method of transmitting an e-mail is to convert it to code information and send it out. By converting to code information and sending, you can send a large amount of mail in a short time,
In addition, the memory capacity for storing the data in the workstation 21 or the like can be reduced.

When transmitting with the code information, the user 91 operates the operation panel 134 to cause the mail service station 131 to discharge a mail sheet in a predetermined format.
Such a mail sheet is obtained by printing out by a built-in printer based on a style pattern stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) in the mail service station 131 or the like. The user 91 hand-writes an address and a sentence on the mail sheet, and sends the mail
Insert into 2. In the mailing mode using the code information, the read output of the one-dimensional image sensor described above is sent to a character discriminating circuit (not shown), and each character is discriminated. The reading result is displayed on display 1
33. The user 91 confirms this and gives an instruction to start transmission from the operation panel 134. For characters that cannot be read, a display to that effect is displayed on the display 133 or a handwritten image is displayed. The user 91 operates the operation panel 134 to give an instruction to re-enter these characters or to transmit an unknown part as an image.

(C) Of course, the user operates the operation panel 13
The user can also directly create a mail by operating a keyboard or the like arranged on the computer 4. (D) Although not shown, bring your own floppy disk and copy the contents to the mail service station 13.
It is also possible to copy the data to 1, make corrections, etc., and then send it or store the sent mail on a floppy disk and port it to another network.

[0069]

As described above, according to the first, third, and fourth aspects of the present invention, not only the input unit for inputting electronic information or instructions for print information to the printing apparatus, but also A display unit for displaying electronic information and print information to the user is provided, and a user interface unit for interactively specifying a print process based on an instruction from the input unit and a display result on the display unit is provided for these.
Since it is provided as a body, it is possible for the user to specify print processing by interactive processing. And also pudding
Since the print execution means integrally provided in the printing apparatus executes the print by the print processing specified by the user interface unit, it is possible to execute a desired print in a user-friendly environment.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a user interface unit is provided in a server connected to a network, and a document to be serviced is specified and a service to be processed for the document is specified. The contents and the input can be input, and a document processed according to the contents of the service is output from the printer. Therefore, the user can execute the necessary processed document directly with the server by directly operating the server. There is an effect that printout can be easily performed by a different printer .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of the information processing service system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network interface unit in the server shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating how information is processed in a network interface unit and an information processing unit.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing display contents of a screen when executing a document diagnosis service.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing contents displayed on the screen when the document diagnosis service is executed.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of a network using a print service system.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the concept of the service system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of a network using a filing service system.

FIG. 10 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of a network using an electronic bulletin board.

FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of a network using a schedule board.

FIG. 12 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of a network using a mail service station.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 13 information processing section, 2, 16 user interface section, 3, 14 network interface section, 4, 17 control section, 5, 35 client network interface section, 6 remote service Monitor part, 7, 8 ... area, 11 ... network, 1
2 ... server, 31 ... filing server, 32 ...
Filing user, 33 Mailing server, 34
... Mailing user, 71 print service system, 83 service system, 91, 93 user, 101 filing service system, 111
…… Electronic bulletin board, 121 …… Schedule board, 13
1. Mail service station

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print information receiving unit for receiving print information to be printed from a network, an electronic information reading unit for reading electronic information from a storage medium that a user can bring, and an electronic information reading unit. A display unit for displaying to the user the electronic information read by the electronic information or the print information received by the print information receiving unit; an input unit for inputting an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information; A user interface unit for interactively specifying a print process based on an instruction from an input unit and a display result on the display unit; and a print execution for executing printing of the electronic information or print information by the print process specified by the user interface unit. pre, characterized in that and means integrally Winding device. 2. A step of inputting a specification of a document to be served and the contents of a service to be processed for the document from a user interface unit provided in a server connected to the network. Retrieving the input document from the storage location via the network; performing a process according to the contents of the service on the document retrieved in this step; Printer output step is processed by a printer integrated with the server
A method for providing an information processing service, comprising: 3. A print information receiving section for receiving print information to be printed from a network, an electronic information reading section for reading electronic information from a storage medium which can be carried by a user, and an electronic information reading section. A display unit for displaying to the user the electronic information read by the electronic information or the print information received by the print information receiving unit, an input unit for inputting an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information, A user interface unit that interactively edits the electronic information based on an instruction from an input unit and a display result on the display unit, and specifies a print process; and performs the print process by the print process specified by the user interface unit. To print the information or the edited electronic information. And cement execution means an integral
A printing apparatus characterized by comprising: 4. A print information receiving section for receiving print information to be printed from a network, an electronic information reading section for reading electronic information from a storage medium that can be brought by a user, and an electronic information reading section. A display unit for displaying to the user the electronic information read by the electronic information or the print information received by the print information receiving unit; an input unit for inputting an instruction for the displayed electronic information or print information; A user interface unit that interactively edits the print information based on an instruction from an input unit and a display result on the display unit, and specifies a print process; and a print process specified by the user interface unit. Print information or the edited print information. And a print execution means an integral
A printing apparatus characterized by comprising: