JP4936545B2 - Information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for setting printing conditions in a printing apparatus such as a printer, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and program for transmitting print data to a printing apparatus and instructing output of the print data.

  When a document (electronic document) created using various application software (for example, word processor software) running on a personal computer (PC) is printed out by a printer or the like, printing conditions (for example, a tray) Specification, paper size specification, print position specification, etc.) are set. The printing conditions are usually set on application software. However, since the setting of the printing conditions in the application software is different for each application software, a setting error occurs, and printing output is performed under unintended printing conditions. As a result, a desired output result cannot be obtained. Inconveniences such as wasted paper may occur. Also, in an office of a company, an administrator who manages printers and computer systems is often placed. In such a case, the administrator changes the printer settings, which is a problem for general users. If not transmitted, print output is performed with printer settings not intended by the user who issued the print instruction, resulting in inconveniences such as wasted paper.

  On the other hand, recently, a virtualization technology that builds a plurality of independent virtual machines on a single hardware platform and executes a plurality of OSs has attracted attention in the field of server management. By using the virtualization technology and mounting a plurality of server functions on a single piece of hardware, it is possible to effectively use hardware resources, reduce the occupied area, and reduce power consumption. And more recently, a method for managing user machines not only on server machines but also on client PCs using virtualization technology has been considered. That is, a user system used by a user and a management system are mounted on a virtualized platform so that the user system can be managed without being known by the user.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-6556, when a document or the like created on a host computer is output to a printer, a setting condition changing unit of the host computer performs predetermined printing prior to image data when executing printing. By sending the printing conditions and changing the printing conditions set in the printer, it is possible to prevent the image data from being sent from the host computer to the printer with different printing condition settings and to execute printing efficiently. A print data transfer system is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-41306 discloses a hypervisor that provides a virtual copy of a console and an operator panel to an OS image that operates in a plurality of logical partitions.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-6556 JP 2002-41306 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to perform information processing that enables printing under appropriate printing conditions even if the user does not care about print settings. To provide an apparatus and a program.

  In the present invention, even if a user tries to print with an inappropriate print setting using a virtualization technology, print data including appropriate print setting information for a printing apparatus such as a printer without user intervention. By changing the print data so that is transmitted, a printing error is prevented.

That is, according to the present invention,
A hypervisor that virtualizes hardware resources and divides it into a plurality of logical partitions including at least a user system partition used by a user and a management system partition that controls data transmitted from the user system;
The management system partition is
Because was determined whether the changes are required print data sent from the user system to the outside, and the print setting information of the printing apparatus to be the destination, and a print control information included in the print data A change necessity determination unit that compares and determines whether or not a change is necessary in response to a result of the comparison ;
For the print data determined to be changed by the change necessity determination unit, the print control information included in the print data is changed in a portion different from the print setting information of the printing apparatus to be the output destination. An information processing apparatus including a data changing means is provided.

In the present invention, the management system partition may include a print setting information management unit that manages print setting information of a printing apparatus that is an output destination of the print data.

In the present invention, the change necessity determination unit compares the print setting information managed by the print setting information management unit with the print control information included in the print data, and if both the print setting information do not match, Determination means for determining that the print data needs to be changed, and the print data change means determines that the print data needs to be changed by the change necessity determination means. Changing means for changing the printing control information included in the.

  In the present invention, the print setting information management means can include print setting information changing means for changing the managed print setting information in response to an instruction from the outside. In the present invention, the print setting information management means may include print setting information management means for managing the print setting information for each user.

In the present invention, the change necessity determination unit includes an inspection unit that inspects whether or not a predetermined character string is included in a file name included in the print data, and the print data change unit includes: When the output of the inspection means is used and the character string is included in the file name, the print control information included in the print data can be changed.

  The present invention provides a program executable by the information processing apparatus for causing a computer to function as each of the means described in any one of the above.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a printing system using an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the printing system 100 includes a host computer 110, printing apparatuses 120 (120a to 120d), and a management apparatus 130, each connected to a network 190 such as a LAN.

  The host computer 110 is an information processing apparatus used by a user in order to create a document to be printed by the printing apparatus 120 and to issue a print instruction for the created document. The host computer 110 is configured by, for example, a normal personal computer or other computer, and includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory (ROM and RAM), an external storage device (for example, a hard disk device and an optical disk device), and various interface units (for example, , A network interface unit), a display device (for example, a CRT display or a liquid crystal display), an input device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse), and the like.

  When the execution of printing is instructed by the user, the host computer 110 generates print data from the document instructed to print, and the generated print data is designated as an output destination via the network 190. 120. In the present embodiment, for simplicity, only one host computer 110 is used. However, the printing system 100 can also include a plurality of host computers.

  The printing apparatus 120 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 110 via the network 190 and performs output on the paper according to the received print data. Each printing apparatus 120 includes, for example, a normal network-compatible multifunction peripheral (MFP), a laser printer (LP), an inkjet printer, a line printer, a plotter, and the like.

  The management apparatus 130 is an information processing apparatus that is used by an administrator to manage the printing system 100. The management device 130 is configured by, for example, a normal personal computer or other computer, and includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory (ROM and RAM), an external storage device (for example, a hard disk device and an optical disk device), and various interface units (for example, , A network interface unit), a display device (for example, a CRT display or a liquid crystal display), an input device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse), and the like. The administrator uses the management apparatus 130 to manage print settings in each printing apparatus 120 by setting print setting information for the host computer 110 used by each user.

  FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the host computer 110. The host computer 110 includes a hardware resource 210, a hypervisor (virtual machine monitor) 220, a user system 230, and a user management system 240. The host computer 110 virtualizes hardware by the hypervisor 220, and logically arranges a user system 230 used by the user and a user management system 240 that is a management system.

  The hardware resource 210 is hardware that constitutes the host computer 100. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of a CPU 211, a memory 212, a hard disk unit 213, a network interface unit 214, and other hardware resources 215.

  The CPU 211 is a central processing unit that implements various functions provided by the host computer 110 by executing a program loaded in the memory 212. The memory 212 is a main storage device that stores various programs and various data used by the CPU 211. The hard disk unit 213 is an auxiliary storage device that stores various programs used by the CPU 211, print data, and other various data.

  The network interface unit 214 is connected to a network 190 such as a LAN and controls the exchange of data with the outside via the network 190.

  The hypervisor 220 virtualizes the hardware resource 210 into a plurality of virtual machines, and divides the hardware resource 210 into a plurality of logical partitions. The hypervisor 220 treats the OS and applications running on it as a single system, provides a function for causing each system to recognize each system as a virtual machine, and provides multiple functions on a single hardware resource 210. Allows multiple systems to run simultaneously. That is, the hardware resource 210 is appropriately allocated to each operating system operating in each logical partition.

  The user system 230 is a system used by a user, and operates on one independent virtual machine provided by the hypervisor 220. In the user system 230, for example, Windows (registered trademark) operates as an OS, and an application (for example, word processor software) that creates a document and prints the created document operates.

  The user management system 240 is a management system that controls data transmitted from the user system 230 to the outside, and operates on one independent virtual machine provided by the hypervisor 220. Also in the user management system 240, the OS and applications are operating, and functions required for the user management system 240 are realized. The OS operating on the user management system 240 may be the same as the OS operating on the user system 230, or may be different.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the user management system 240. In the host computer 110, when the user instructs printing of the document, the user system 230 generates print data from the document. The print data generated by the user system 230 is transmitted on the network 190 via the user management system 240, the hypervisor 220, and the hardware resource 210.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the print data 231 generated by the user system 230 and passed to the user management system 240 includes print control information 232 and a page drawing element 233. The print control information 232 is information for controlling printing on the printing apparatus, and includes identification information (for example, the IP address of the printing apparatus) of the printing apparatus that is an output destination, and identification information (for example, user information) of the user who instructed printing ID), information for setting printing conditions, and the like. The page drawing element 233 is data defining each drawing element constituting an image formed on each sheet by the printing apparatus.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the user management system 240 includes a change necessity determination unit 241, a print data change unit 242, and a print setting information management unit 243.

  The change necessity determination unit 241 monitors print data delivered from the user system 230 and determines whether or not the print data needs to be changed. More specifically, the print control information 232 included in the print data 231 is compared with the print setting information held by the print setting information management unit 243 (of the printing apparatus serving as the output destination). If it exists, it is determined that the print data (print control information included in the print data) needs to be changed. When it is determined that the print data needs to be changed, the change necessity determination unit 241 notifies the print data change unit 242 to that effect.

  The print data change unit 242 changes the print data when notified from the change necessity determination unit 241 that the print data needs to be changed. More specifically, the print control information included in the print data is changed in accordance with the print setting information (of the printing apparatus that is the output destination) held in the print setting information management unit 243. For example, if there is a part (item) different from the print setting information held in the print setting information management unit 243 in the print control information included in the print data, the print setting information management unit The data held in the H.243 is replaced. The print data whose print control information has been changed by the print data changing unit 242 is transmitted over the network 190 via the hypervisor 220 and the hardware resource 210. If it is not necessary to change the print data, the print data transferred from the user system 230 is transmitted as it is to the network 190 via the hypervisor 220 and the hardware resource 210.

  The print setting information management unit 243 holds and manages the print setting information 244 (244a to 244d) of each of the printing apparatuses 120a to 120d included in the printing system 100. For example, the print setting information management unit 243 manages the identification information of each of the printing apparatuses 120a to 120d and the print setting information 244a to 244d of each printing apparatus in association with each other. The print setting information 244a to 244d applied to each printing apparatus is registered in advance in the print setting information management unit 243 by an administrator, for example.

  As described above, the print control information 232 includes information (printing device identification information) that can specify the printing device such as the IP address of the printing device that is the transmission destination of the print data. The print data change unit 242 and the print data change unit 242 use the printing device identification information to identify a printing device that is a transmission destination, and acquire print setting information corresponding to the specified printing device from the print setting information management unit 243. To do. The print setting information acquired from the print setting information management unit 243 is used by the change necessity determination unit 241 and the print data change unit 242 to determine whether or not to change the print data and to change the print data.

  In the user management system 240, the change necessity determination unit 241 monitors the print control information 232 included in the print data 231, and when it is determined that the print data (print control information) needs to be changed according to the contents thereof, The print data changing unit 242 changes the print data (print control information). The print data changed as necessary is transmitted to an external printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus performs printing with appropriate print settings described in the print control information.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the user management system 240. The process in FIG. 4 starts from step S400. When print data is received from the user system 230 in step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether or not to control print settings. In the user management system 240, whether or not to perform print setting control is specified in advance by an administrator using the management device 130, for example.

  As a result of the determination in step S402, if the print setting is not controlled (S402: No), the print data received from the user system 230 is transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220 as it is in step S405.

  On the other hand, when the print setting is controlled as a result of the determination in step S402 (S402: Yes), it is determined in step S403 whether or not the print data needs to be changed. That is, the print control information included in the print data is compared with the print setting information of the printing apparatus serving as the output destination held by the print setting information management unit 243, and it is determined whether or not they match.

  As a result of the determination in step S403, if it is determined that the print data needs to be changed (S403: Yes), that is, the print control information included in the print data and the print setting information management unit 243 hold. If there is a difference between the print setting information of the printing apparatus serving as the output destination, in step S404, the print control information included in the print data is the printing apparatus serving as the output destination held by the print setting information management unit 243. Is changed to match the print setting information. In step S405, the print data whose print control information has been changed is transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that the print data need not be changed (S403: No), that is, the print control information included in the print data and the print setting information management unit 243 hold the print data. If the print setting information of the printing apparatus serving as the output destination matches, the print data received from the user system 230 is transmitted as it is via the hypervisor 220 in step S405.

  When the print settings are controlled by performing the above processing, the print control information included in the print data transmitted from the host computer to the printing apparatus is stored in advance in the print setting information management unit 243 without user intervention. Is changed so as to match the print setting information of the printing apparatus that is the transmission destination set in (1).

  For example, for printing output for correction during document creation, to reduce the consumption of consumables (paper, toner, ink, etc.), color documents can be printed in black and white, or multiple pages can be printed on a single sheet. It is possible to set to perform aggregate printing to be performed and duplex printing to be performed on both sides of the paper. Further, in the case of the operation for performing normal color printing, the print setting for a certain printing apparatus 120a is set to print settings for monochrome printing, aggregate printing, and duplex printing. be able to. At this time, the print setting of another printing apparatus 120b is set to perform normal color printing. In the present embodiment, the user performs printing in accordance with the above operation without setting detailed printing conditions only by properly using the printing apparatuses 120a and 120b to be selected as output destinations when printing from any application. Will be able to.

  Further, the print setting information management unit 243 can update the held print setting information in response to an instruction from the management apparatus 130. That is, the print setting information held by the user management system 240 can be changed from the outside. For this reason, for example, when the administrator changes the configuration of the printing apparatus that affects the print settings (for example, an optional paper feed tray or duplex printing unit is added), user management corresponds to the change. By only updating the print setting information held in the system 240 (print setting information management unit 243), it is possible to notify each user that the configuration of the printing apparatus has been changed without requesting the necessary setting changes. However, it is possible to print under appropriate printing conditions.

  In the above-described embodiment, the print setting information management unit 243 holds and manages the print setting information 244a to 244b for each of the printing apparatuses 120a to 120d included in the printing system 100. However, the print setting information management unit 243 Furthermore, print setting information can be held and managed for each user who uses the printing system 100. In this case, the user management system 240 can change the print setting for each user.

  For example, the print setting information management unit 243 holds a registered user list, and manages user identification information and print setting information in association with each user (registered user) registered in the list.

  In this case, since the print control information includes information (user identification information) that can identify the user who has output the print data, the change necessity determination unit 241 and the print data change unit 242 include the user identification information. Is used to specify the user who has output the print data, and the print setting information corresponding to the specified user is acquired from the print setting information management unit 243. The print setting information acquired from the print setting information management unit 243 is used by the change necessity determination unit 241 and the print data change unit 242 to determine whether or not to change the print data and to change the print data.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the user management system 240 when a registered user performs printing with print settings corresponding to each user. The processing in FIG. 5 starts from step S500. When print data is received from the user system 230 in step S501, it is determined in step S502 whether the print data is a registered user. That is, it is determined whether or not the user identification information included in the print data is registered in the registered user list.

  If the result of determination in step S502 is that the print data received from the user system 230 is not for a registered user (S502: No), processing for unregistered users is performed in step S506. For example, similarly to the processes S402 to S404 illustrated in FIG. 4, the print control information included in the print data is changed to information suitable for the printing apparatus serving as the output destination, as necessary. In step S505, the print data in which the print control information is changed as necessary is transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220. The print data of the unregistered user may be transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220 without performing any special processing and receiving the print data received from the user system 230 as it is.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S502 is that the print data received from the user system 230 is that of a registered user (S502: Yes), whether or not it is necessary to change the print data in step S503. Is determined. That is, the print control information included in the print data is compared with the print setting information of the corresponding user held by the print setting information management unit 243, and it is determined whether or not they match.

  As a result of the determination in step S503, if it is determined that the print data needs to be changed (S503: Yes), that is, the print control information included in the print data and the print setting information management unit 243 hold. If there is a difference between the print setting information of the corresponding user, the print control information included in the print data matches the print setting information of the corresponding user held by the print setting information management unit 243 in step S504. To be changed. In step S505, the print data whose print control information has been changed is transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S503, if it is determined that there is no need to change the print data (S503: No), that is, the print control information included in the print data and the print setting information management unit 243 hold the print data. If the print setting information of the corresponding user matches, the print data received from the user system 230 is directly transmitted to the outside via the hypervisor 220 in step S505.

  By performing the processing as described above, for the user registered in advance, the print control information included in the print data transmitted from the host computer to the printing apparatus is stored in advance in the print setting information management unit 243 without user intervention. To the print setting information set for the user. That is, for the users included in the registered user list, the print settings can be changed for each user.

  Accordingly, the print setting can be changed for each user who uses the user system 230. For example, one user uses the same printing apparatus 120a for correction and another user uses it for clean-up. Operation can be realized. Also, it is possible to perform print settings that suit each user's preference.

  In the above-described embodiment, the change necessity determination unit 241 determines whether the print setting information included in the print control information included in the print data matches the print setting information held in the print setting information management unit 243. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the print data (print control information) needs to be changed. However, whether or not the print data needs to be changed using other information included in the print data is determined. It is also possible to judge.

  For example, the print data includes the file name of the document to be printed, and it may be possible to determine whether or not the print setting needs to be changed using the file name.

  In other words, if the file name includes a character string that indicates a confidential document such as “confidential” or “internal material”, printing using the security function of the printing device is required for printing the print data. Therefore, it is determined that the print data (print control information) needs to be changed, and the print data (print control information) is changed so as to enable the security function of the printing apparatus. As security functions provided in the printing apparatus, for example, a background pattern printing function for synthesizing and printing a specific background pattern (which causes a check character string such as “copy prohibited” to appear when copied) on the background of a document, There is a stamp printing function that synthesizes and outputs stamp images such as “Malce”.

  By performing such processing, printing using a security function provided in the printing apparatus is automatically performed without requiring any setting by the user, so that necessary security can be ensured.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the print data output by the user can be changed without using an external device such as a server machine, and further, the procedure is performed without notifying the user. be able to.

  In addition, since the print settings can be managed from outside the host computer used by the user, the settings on the user side can be changed without user intervention when the settings are changed on the printing apparatus side. .

  In addition, when printing a specific file (that is, a file including a specific character string in the file name), a specific process can be performed without notifying the user. Even when printing is performed, security measures provided by the printing apparatus can be automatically applied.

  The functions of the above-described embodiments are as follows: assembly language, C, Visual C, C ++, Visual C ++, Java (registered trademark), Java (registered trademark) Beans, Java (registered trademark) Applet, Java (registered trademark) Script, Perl , Ruby, etc., can be realized by a device-executable program written in a legacy programming language, an object-oriented programming language, or the like, and can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium.

  The present invention has been described with the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and other modifications, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be made within the scope that can be conceived by those skilled in the art. Any embodiment is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the operations and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system using an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows embodiment of a host computer. Explanatory drawing about embodiment of operation | movement of a user management system. The flowchart for demonstrating embodiment of operation | movement of a user management system. The flowchart for demonstrating embodiment of operation | movement of a user management system at the time of making it print with the printing setting according to each user about a registered user.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Printing system 110 ... Host computer, 120a-120d ... Printing apparatus, 130 ... Management apparatus, 190 ... Network, 210 ... Hardware resource, 211 ... Central processing unit, 212 ... Memory, 213 ... Hard disk unit, 214 ... Network Interface unit, 215 ... other hardware resources, 220 ... hypervisor, 230 ... user system, 231 ... print data, 232 ... print control information, 233 ... page drawing element, 240 ... user management system, 241 ... change necessity judgment , 242... Print data change unit, 243... Print setting information management unit, 244a to 244d.

Claims (7)

A hypervisor that virtualizes hardware resources and divides it into a plurality of logical partitions including at least a user system partition used by a user and a management system partition that controls data transmitted from the user system;
The management system partition is
Because was determined whether the changes are required print data sent from the user system to the outside, and the print setting information of the printing apparatus to be the destination, and a print control information included in the print data A change necessity determination unit that compares and determines whether or not a change is necessary in response to a result of the comparison ;
For the print data determined to be changed by the change necessity determination unit, the print control information included in the print data is changed in a portion different from the print setting information of the printing apparatus to be the output destination. An information processing apparatus including data changing means. The management system partition is
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print setting information management unit that manages print setting information of a printing apparatus that is an output destination of the print data. The change necessity determination means includes
The print setting information managed by the print setting information management unit is compared with the print control information included in the print data, and if both the print setting information do not match, it is determined that the print data needs to be changed. Including determination means for
The print data changing means includes
A change means for changing print control information included in the print data when the change necessity determination means determines that the print data needs to be changed;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the print setting information management unit includes a print setting information change unit that changes the managed print setting information in response to an instruction from the outside.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the print setting information management unit includes a print setting information management unit that manages the print setting information for each user. The change necessity determination unit includes an inspection unit that inspects whether or not a predetermined character string is included in a file name included in the print data,
The print data changing unit uses the output of the inspection unit, and changes the print control information included in the print data when the file name includes the character string. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.   An information processing apparatus executable program for causing a computer to function as each unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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