JP4135408B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of directly mounting a storage medium capable of storing various data and printing the data stored in the storage medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Currently, various types of data such as image data and text data are stored in a small storage medium such as SmartMedia (registered trademark), CompactFlash (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark), etc. This data can be printed out using a printing device such as a printer. In a typical example, a storage medium is attached to a digital camera, and image data when a person or landscape is photographed is stored in the storage medium. Thereafter, when printing the image data stored in the storage medium, the storage medium is removed from the digital camera, and the removed storage medium is attached to the personal computer. After that, when the user performs a predetermined operation on the personal computer, the image data to be printed is sent to the printing apparatus and printed out.
[0003]
In recent years, a storage medium is directly mounted on a printing apparatus, and data stored in the storage medium can be printed by a user input operation using a user interface function of the printing apparatus. A printing apparatus corresponding to such a printing method includes a medium mounting unit for mounting a storage medium, and a user interface unit for displaying information to the user and inputting information from the user. When the storage medium is actually loaded in the medium loading unit, the operation screens that are hierarchized in advance are displayed in order from the top, and the data is input by the user's input operation based on the operation screen of each layer. Print instruction information necessary for printing is acquired.
[0004]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure in a case where a printing process is performed by a conventional printing apparatus. First, when a storage medium is loaded in the medium loading unit (step S1), a first level operation screen is displayed on the display unit of the user interface unit (step S2). As the first level operation screen, a screen for selecting a file format of data to be printed is applied. Next, when a file format is selected by a user input operation on the user interface unit (step S3), the mode is shifted to a print display mode corresponding to the file format, and the operation screen on the second layer is displayed on the user interface. (Step S4). A screen for selecting a data file to be printed (hereinafter also referred to as a print file) is applied as the operation screen for the second layer.
[0005]
Next, when a print file is selected by a user input operation on the user interface unit (step S5), an operation screen in the third hierarchy is displayed on the display unit of the user interface unit (step S6). A screen for setting printing conditions is applied as the operation screen for the third layer. Thereafter, when printing conditions are set by a user input operation on the user interface unit (step S7), an operation screen for the fourth layer is displayed on the display unit of the user interface unit (step S8). As the fourth level operation screen, a screen for instructing execution of printing is applied. Next, when printing execution is instructed by a user input operation on the user interface unit (step S9), data is printed out on a sheet such as a sheet as a printing medium (step S10).
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional printing apparatus, the operation screen having a hierarchical structure is displayed in order from the highest level (first level) until the user performs print output after the storage medium is mounted, and the operation screen for each level is displayed. Accordingly, since the method of accepting the print instruction information by the user input operation according to the above, there is a problem that the user input operation becomes complicated and the time required for starting printing becomes long.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a medium mounting unit to which a storage medium can be attached and detached, a recognition unit for recognizing a data storage situation including a file format of data stored in the storage medium mounted on the medium mounting unit, Display means capable of displaying a hierarchical operation screen that accepts print instruction information necessary for printing data stored in a storage medium by user input operation, and data storage status recognized by the recognition means A display control means for determining an operation screen to be displayed on the display means from among the hierarchized operation screens and displaying the operation screen on the display means. , Recognize the file format and the number or percentage of files for each file format It has a configuration.
[0008]
In the printing apparatus configured as described above, when a storage medium is loaded in the medium loading unit, a data storage situation including the file format of data stored in the storage medium is recognized. When displaying the operation screen on the display means, the display hierarchy of the operation screen is determined according to the data storage status recognized when the storage medium is mounted, and the display means is operated according to the determined display hierarchy. Screen is displayed. Thereby, for example, when there is only one data file format as the data storage status in the storage medium, the display of the operation screen for selecting the file format to be printed is omitted. It is possible to display the operation screen appropriately and efficiently in accordance with the data storage status.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the printing apparatus 1 includes a medium mounting unit 2, a control unit 3, a memory 4, a user interface unit (hereinafter referred to as UI unit) 5, and a printing unit 6. The medium mounting portion 2 has a slot portion for detachably mounting the storage medium 7 and a contact portion that is electrically connected to the storage medium 7 through the slot portion. The storage medium 7 stores data in an arbitrary file format. As the storage medium 7, for example, a memory card such as SmartMedia (registered trademark), CompactFlash (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), or multimedia card (registered trademark) is used. It is done.
[0011]
The control unit 3 controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 1 according to a control program given in advance. The control unit 3 has a function of monitoring whether or not the storage medium 7 is attached to the medium attachment unit 2, data stored in the storage medium 7 from the storage medium 7 attached to the medium attachment unit 2, A function of reading information related to the data, a function of storing data in the memory 4 and reading data from the memory 4, a function of displaying a screen on the UI unit 5 and receiving an input from the UI unit 5, A function for controlling the operation of the printing unit 6 is provided.
[0012]
The memory 4 stores data necessary for the control unit 3 to control the operation of the apparatus. The memory 4 stores display data necessary for the control unit 3 to display a screen on the UI unit 5. Among the display data held in the memory 4, a display of operation screens hierarchized so as to accept print instruction information necessary for printing data stored in the storage medium 7 by user input operation. Contains data. The operation screen described here means that the user inputs print instruction information necessary for print processing from when the user mounts the storage medium 7 to the medium mounting unit 2 until the actual print output of data starts. A screen that is displayed for operation.
[0013]
The UI unit 5 includes, for example, a display unit including a liquid crystal display panel and an input operation unit including various buttons, switches, keys, and the like. The display unit is a display unit that can display the operation screens hierarchized as described above, and displays the operation screens corresponding to the display data held in the memory 4. The input operation unit is input by a user.
[0014]
The printing unit 6 includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys a sheet such as a sheet serving as a print medium along a predetermined path, and visible information (image) using a printing material such as ink and toner on the sheet conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. And a printing mechanism for printing out.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hierarchical structure of operation screens held as one of display data in the memory 4. In FIG. 2, there is a file format selection screen as the operation screen for the first layer, and it is branched into four print display modes from here, and the second to fourth layers for each print display mode. There is an operation screen for. The display mode for printing is divided into for digital camera printing, for PDF printing, for TIFF printing, and for JPEG printing. In addition, as a display mode for digital camera printing, a print file selection screen is used as a second-level operation screen, a print condition setting screen is used as a lower-level third-level operation screen, and a lower-level fourth-level operation is also displayed. There is a print execution instruction screen as an operation screen. Similarly, as the display modes for PDF printing, TIFF printing, and JPEG printing, the print file selection screen is used as the operation screen for the second layer, the print condition setting screen is used as the operation screen for the third layer, respectively. A print execution instruction screen exists as a four-level operation screen.
[0016]
In the operation screen having such a hierarchical structure, a file format selection screen in the first hierarchy (topmost level) selects a file format (file type) of data to be printed as one piece of print instruction information. This is an operation screen. On this file format selection screen, a list of file formats of data that can be handled by the printing apparatus 1 is displayed, and a selection button for selecting a desired file format from the list is displayed. Data file formats include image files taken with digital cameras (hereinafter referred to as digital camera files), PDF (Portable Document format) format document files (hereinafter referred to as PDF files), and TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format image files. (Hereinafter, TIFF file) and JPEG format (Joint Photographic Experts Group Format) image files (hereinafter referred to as JPEG files) are exemplified, but other file formats can also be handled.
[0017]
Here, the difference between a digital camera file and another image file (in this example, a JPEG file or a TIFF file) depends on whether or not the image file is taken with a digital camera. That is, for example, an Exif format (Exchange Image File Format) standardized by the Japan Electronics Industry Promotion Association (JEIDA) is applied to an image file taken with a digital camera. In the case of an image file to which the Exif format is applied, the image data is saved in the JPEG format or the TIFF format, so that the file name has the same extension as the JPEG file or the TIFF file, but the file structure is hierarchized. A specific string will be included in the file name. This also applies to image files other than the Exif format. Therefore, whether the image file is a digital camera file or other image file can be clearly identified depending on whether or not a specific character string is included in the file name of the image file.
[0018]
On the other hand, the display modes for digital camera print, PDE print, TIEE print surface, and JPEG print are displayed according to the file format of the data selected by the user on the above-described first layer file format selection screen. Is. That is, the display mode for digital camera printing is prepared for printing data in the digital camera file format, and is displayed when the user selects the digital camera file format on the file format selection screen. The display mode for PDF printing is prepared for printing data in the PDF file format, and is displayed when the user selects the PDF file format on the file format selection screen. The display mode for TIFF printing is prepared for printing data in the TIFF file format, and is displayed when the user selects the TIFF file format on the file format selection screen. The JPEG print screen is prepared for printing data in the JPEG file format, and is displayed when the user selects a JPEG file on the file format selection screen.
[0019]
Of the three operation screens (print file selection screen, print condition setting screen, print execution instruction screen) displayed in each print display mode, the print file selection screen of the second layer after the first layer is printed. As one of the instruction information, an operation screen for selecting a data file (print file) to be printed is displayed. The print file selection screen displays a list of data files that match the file format selected by the user on the file format selection screen, and selects a desired file to be printed from the file list. A selection button is displayed.
[0020]
The third-layer printing condition setting screen is an operation screen for setting printing conditions as one piece of printing instruction information. On this print condition setting screen, as an example of the print condition, a selection button for selecting a print format and an input button for inputting the number of copies are displayed. The selection of the print format by the selection button displays the print formats that can be supported by the printing apparatus 1 in a list format so that the user can selectively select a print format desired by the user from a plurality of print formats prepared in advance. One of them can be arbitrarily selected with a selection button. The number of copies to be printed may be arbitrarily input using a numeric keypad. By the way, as print formats, for example, index printing that prints data of multiple files (image data etc.) side by side on one sheet, or normal printing that prints data of one file on one sheet Such a method is conceivable. As other examples of printing conditions, it is also possible to specify double-sided printing or print output color (color / monochrome).
[0021]
The fourth-layer print execution instruction screen is an operation screen for instructing print execution as one piece of print instruction information. This print execution instruction screen displays a “print execution button” for instructing print execution, a “cancel button” for canceling print execution, and the like. In addition, the operation screens that are actually displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 are displayed on the operation screens of the second layer to the fifth layer so that the user can appropriately respond to the input operation re-executed by the user. Displays a "switch button" for switching to the file format selection screen of the hierarchy, a "return button" for returning to the operation screen of the upper hierarchy, and a "cancel button" for canceling the input. .
[0022]
Subsequently, a specific procedure of the printing process in the printing apparatus 1 will be described. First, the flowchart of FIG. 3 shows an example of processing when the file format of the data stored in the storage medium 7 is a digital camera file format and there are a plurality of files (number of data) of the digital camera file format. It explains using.
[0023]
First, when the storage medium 7 is loaded on the medium loading unit 2 of the printing apparatus 1 (step S11), the control unit 3 that senses this loading recognizes the data storage status in the storage medium 7 (step S12). . At this time, the control unit 3 reads out the file names of all the data stored in the storage medium 7 and analyzes the character strings (including extensions) included in the respective file names, whereby the storage medium 7 Recognize the file format of the data stored in and the number of files for each file format. At this time, the file format of the data is identified by an extension included in the file name of the data. Further, as described above, the digital camera file and other image files are identified by whether or not the data file name includes a specific character string.
[0024]
Next, the control unit 3 determines the display hierarchy of the operation screen to be displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 in accordance with the data storage status (data file format, number of files, etc.) recognized in the previous step S12. (Step S13). At this time, the control unit 3 determines which level of the operation screen is actually displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 (in other words, which level of the operation screen is omitted). At the same time, it determines which level of the operation screen is displayed first.
[0025]
Next, the control unit 3 displays an operation screen on the display unit of the UI unit 5 according to the previously determined display hierarchy (step S14). When displaying the operation screen on the display unit, the control unit 3 reads display data corresponding to the previously determined display hierarchy from the memory 4 and sends the read display data to the UI unit 5, thereby displaying the display unit. Display the operation screen.
[0026]
Here, the control unit 3 recognizes that the data file format is a digital camera file format in step S12, and therefore determines that the selection of the file format is unnecessary, and omits the display of the first-layer file format selection screen (skip). And automatically shift to the display mode for digital camera print. Then, the control unit 3 reads the display data of the print file selection screen, which becomes the operation screen of the second hierarchy in the display mode for digital camera print, from the memory 4 and displays it on the display unit of the UI unit 5.
[0027]
Thereafter, when a file of data to be printed is selected by a user input operation on the UI unit 5 according to the print file selection screen (step S15), the control unit 3 becomes a third-level operation screen. The display data of the printing condition setting screen is read from the memory 4 and displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 (step S16). Next, when a printing condition is set by a user input operation on the UI unit 5 according to the printing condition setting screen (step S17), the control unit 3 displays a print execution instruction screen serving as a fourth level operation screen. Display data is read from the memory 4 and displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 (step S18). Thereafter, when a print execution is instructed by a user input operation in the UI unit 5 according to the print execution instruction screen (step S19), the control unit 3 stores the data of the print file selected in the previous step S15. In order to print in accordance with the printing conditions set in the previous step S17, the data is read from the print medium 7 and sent to the printing unit 6 to execute print output (step S20).
[0028]
When a plurality of data in the digital camera file format is stored in the storage medium 7 as described above, the control unit 3 automatically recognizes (identifies) the file format of the data and displays a display hierarchy suitable for the recognition result. In order to display the operation screen (print file selection screen in this processing example) on the display unit of the UI unit 5, the number of display times of the operation screen in the UI unit 5 and the number of user input operations based on each operation screen Can be reduced. As a result, the user does not have to select the data file format in the UI unit 5 one by one. Therefore, compared with the conventional case where the operation screens are displayed in order from the first layer, the user's input operation can be saved and the time required to start printing can be shortened.
[0029]
Next, an example of processing when the file format of data stored in the storage medium 7 is a digital camera file format and there is only one file of the digital camera file format will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0030]
First, when the storage medium 7 is loaded in the medium loading unit 2 of the printing apparatus 1 (step S21), the control unit 3 that senses this loading stores the data storage status in the storage medium 7 in the same manner as in the processing example described above. (Data file format, number of files, etc.) are recognized (step S22). Next, the control unit 3 determines the display hierarchy of the operation screen to be displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 according to the data storage status recognized in the previous step S22 (step SS23).
[0031]
Next, the control unit 3 displays an operation screen on the display unit of the UI unit 5 according to the previously determined display hierarchy (step S24). In this case, since the control unit 3 recognizes the data file format as the digital camera file format in step S22, the control unit 3 determines that the selection of the file format is unnecessary, and omits the display of the first-layer file format selection screen (skip). And automatically shift to the display mode for digital camera print. Further, since the control unit 3 recognizes that the number of files in the digital camera file format is one in step S22, the control unit 3 determines that the selection of the print file is unnecessary and omits the display of the second-layer print file selection screen. The display data of the printing condition setting screen, which is a three-level operation screen, is read from the memory 4 and displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5.
[0032]
Thereafter, when the printing condition is set by the user's input operation on the UI unit 5 according to the printing condition setting screen (step S25), the control unit 3 displays the print execution instruction screen serving as the fourth-level operation screen. The display data is read from the memory 4 and displayed on the display unit of the UI unit 5 (step S26). Next, when print execution is instructed by a user input operation on the UI unit 5 according to the print execution instruction screen (step S27), the control unit 3 stores one piece of data stored in the storage medium 7 as In order to print in accordance with the printing conditions set in the previous step S25, the data is read from the print medium 7 and sent to the printing unit 6 to execute print output (step S28).
[0033]
When only one data in the digital camera file format is stored in the storage medium 7 as described above, the control unit 3 automatically recognizes (identifies) the file format and the number of files of the data, and displays the recognition result. In order to first display an operation screen (printing condition setting screen in the present processing example) with a suitable display hierarchy on the display unit of the UI unit 5, the number of display of the operation screen on the UI unit 5 and each operation screen are displayed. The number of input operations by the user can be reduced. Thus, the user does not have to select the data file format or the file to be printed in the UI unit 5 one by one. Therefore, compared with the conventional case where the operation screens are displayed in order from the first layer, the user's input operation can be saved and the time required to start printing can be shortened.
[0034]
In the above-described two processing examples, it is assumed that data in the digital camera file format is stored in the storage medium 7, but the file format of the data stored in the storage medium 7 is the PDF file format, TIFF. Even in the case of the format or the JPEG format, the processing is basically performed in the same procedure except that the display mode for printing that is the transfer destination from the file format selection screen is different.
[0035]
Further, as a process when the file format of the data stored in the storage medium 7 is a digital camera file format and there is only one file of the digital camera file format, for example, when a print condition setting screen is displayed. A processing mode for switching the screen display so as to omit the selection of the printing format (index printing / normal printing) which is one of the printing conditions may be adopted.
[0036]
Furthermore, when the hierarchy order of the print file selection screen and the print condition setting screen is reversed (when the operation screen for the second hierarchy is the print condition setting screen and the operation screen for the third hierarchy is the print file selection screen) In this case, when the display level of the operation screen is determined in step S23, it may be determined so that the second level operation screen and the fourth level operation screen are displayed. In this case, after displaying the operation screen of the second hierarchy, the display of the operation screen of the third hierarchy is omitted, and the operation screen of the fourth hierarchy is displayed.
[0037]
Further, when the setting item of the printing condition for digital camera printing is only selection of the printing format, for example, it is not necessary to set the printing condition when the number of files of the digital camera file format stored in the storage medium 7 is one. Become. Therefore, in this case, the processing mode as shown in FIG. 5 can be preferably adopted. That is, in steps S31 and S32, after the data storage status in the storage medium 7 loaded in the medium loading unit 2 is recognized, the display hierarchy is determined in step S33 based on the recognition result. The display of the operation screens in the hierarchy is determined to be unnecessary, the display of those screens is omitted (skip), the display data of the print execution instruction screen that becomes the operation screen of the fourth hierarchy is read from the memory 4, and the UI unit 5 It is displayed on the display unit (step S34). Thereafter, when print execution is instructed by a user input operation on the UI unit 5 according to the print execution instruction screen (step S35), one piece of data stored in the storage medium 7 is read from the print medium 7. The data is sent to the printing unit 6 to execute print output (step S36). By adopting such a processing mode, the user can print data by simply instructing print execution in accordance with the print execution instruction screen displayed on the UI unit 5 after mounting the storage medium 7 in the medium mounting unit 2. can do. As a result, the number of times the screen is displayed on the UI unit 5 and the user's input operation can be completed only once, so that the input effort is greatly reduced and the time required to start printing is greatly reduced. Can do.
[0038]
In addition, when a plurality of types of file format data are mixedly stored in the storage medium 7, in principle, the operation screens (prints) of each layer are printed in order from the first layer operation screen (file format selection screen). File selection screen, print condition setting screen, print execution instruction screen). However, depending on the data storage status in the storage medium 7, the following processing mode can be adopted.
[0039]
That is, when the control unit 3 senses that the print medium 7 is loaded in the medium loading unit 2 and recognizes the data storage status of the storage medium 7, for example, data in PDF file format and data in TIFF file format are mixed. Suppose you were. In such a case, the control unit 3 automatically selects the file format with the larger number of files by the relative comparison of the number of files, shifts to the display mode for printing suitable for the file format, and selects the second-level print file. The screen is determined as the operation screen to be displayed first.
[0040]
In addition to the number of files, the ratio of files for each file format is recognized with respect to the total number of files of all data stored in the storage medium 7, and this ratio is, for example, 90% to 100% of the total number of files. If the file format exists, the mode automatically shifts to the print display mode conforming to this file format, and the second-layer print file selection screen is determined as the operation screen to be displayed first.
[0041]
As described above, if the display hierarchy of the operation screen is appropriately determined according to the number and ratio of the files for each file format, the number of display times of the operation screen in the UI unit 5 is similar to the above-described processing example. The number of user input operations based on each operation screen can be reduced.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the display hierarchy of the operation screen is determined according to the data storage status recognized when the storage medium is mounted, and the operation screen is displayed on the display means according to the determined display hierarchy. This makes it possible to display the operation screen appropriately and efficiently in accordance with the data storage status in the storage medium. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time required to start printing by reducing the user's input operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical structure of an operation display screen.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first processing example of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second processing example of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a third processing example of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a conventional print process.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing apparatus, 2 ... Medium mounting part, 3 ... Control part, 4 ... Memory, 5 ... UI part, 6 ... Printing part, 7 ... Storage medium

Claims (2)

A medium mounting part to which a storage medium can be attached and detached;
Recognizing means for recognizing a data storage situation including a file format of data stored in a storage medium mounted on the medium mounting unit;
Display means capable of displaying a hierarchical operation screen for accepting print instruction information necessary for printing data stored in the storage medium by a user input operation;
A display for determining an operation screen to be displayed on the display means from among the hierarchized operation screens according to the data storage status recognized by the recognition means, and displaying the operation screen on the display means Control means, and
The recognizing unit recognizes the file format and the number or ratio of files for each file format as the data storage status. It said recognition means, the printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognizing the file format of the data from the file name of the data stored in the storage medium.

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