JP5659583B2 - Printing system, image processing apparatus, printing apparatus, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that converts print data transmitted from an information processing apparatus such as a PC (personal computer) or a server into image data for printing (image formation), a printer including the image processing apparatus, and a digital copying machine. , A printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) such as a digital multifunction peripheral and a facsimile machine, a printing system including the information processing apparatus and the printing apparatus, and a function necessary for a computer that controls the image processing apparatus (functions related to the invention) program for realizing a), and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.

The information processing apparatus as described above is connected to a printing apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as “device”) provided with the image processing apparatus as described above so as to be able to communicate with the printing apparatus for printing. In a printer driver for creating drawing data (print data) in the PDL format or the like, a configuration is already known in which functions are updated according to the model of a device that is communicably connected.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a printer is provided for the purpose of providing an information processing apparatus, an information processing program, and a recording medium that can efficiently and appropriately add functions such as device driver model addition and function update. A configuration for adding a model or a function to a driver later is disclosed.

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, although the function can be increased or decreased, the image quality (quality of the printed image) cannot be adjusted according to the model of the device connected to be communicable. There is a problem that cannot be optimized.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to enable an information processing apparatus to perform image quality adjustment in accordance with the model of a printing apparatus including an image processing apparatus that is communicably connected. To do.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing system, an image processing apparatus, a printing apparatus , a program executed by a computer that controls the image processing apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded. Provide each.

A printing system according to the present invention includes an information processing apparatus that generates and transmits print data, and a printing apparatus that includes an image processing apparatus that generates image data for printing based on print data from the information processing apparatus. A printing system capable of bidirectional communication between an information processing apparatus and the image processing apparatus,
Print data generation means for generating print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus , and transmission means for transmitting the print data generated thereby to the image processing apparatus And receiving means for receiving correction information relating to the image quality of the drawing data from the image processing apparatus, and printing settings for the drawing data for the correction information received by the receiving means. And a print setting reflecting means to be reflected in
To the image processing device analyzes the commands used in the receiving means for printing received data, the OS information and the page description language contained in the print data received thereby from the information processing apparatus When it is determined whether drawing correction is necessary based on the version of the page description language based on the analysis result and the OS indicated by the OS information, and when it is determined that drawing correction is necessary, the image quality of the drawing data Analysis means for generating correction information related to the above and transmission means for transmitting the correction information generated thereby to the information processing apparatus .

The print data generated by the print data generation unit of the information processing apparatus includes support model information indicating a model of the printing apparatus supported by the information processing apparatus, and the analysis unit of the image processing apparatus receives the reception The support model information included in the print data received by the means is also analyzed to check whether the image processing apparatus itself is supported by the information processing apparatus. If the image processing apparatus is not supported, the correction information is It is good to generate.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention is capable of bidirectional communication with the information processing apparatus, and generates image data for printing based on print data from the information processing apparatus. command from being used to the receiving means and, the OS information and the page description language contained in the print data received thereby for receiving print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus analyzes, and version of the page description language by the analysis result, determines whether or not it is necessary to correct the rendering based on the OS of the OS information indicates, when the correction of the drawing is determined that the required drawing analyzing means for generating a correction information relating to the image quality of the data, thereby that the correction information generated is provided a transmission means for transmitting to said information processing apparatus A.
The print data received by the upper receiving means from the information processing apparatus includes support model information indicating the model of the printing apparatus supported by the information processing apparatus, and the upper analysis means receives the print data received by the receiving means. Is also analyzed to check whether the image processing apparatus itself is supported by the information processing apparatus. If the image processing apparatus is not supported, the correction information may be generated .

A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described image processing apparatus, and performs printing based on printing image data generated thereby.
Program according to the present invention, an information processing apparatus and a two-way communicable, a computer that controls an image processing apparatus that generates print image data based on the print data from the information processing apparatus, said from above information processing apparatus Receiving means for receiving print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus, the OS information included in the print data received by the means, and a command used in the page description language. If the analysis is performed, it is determined whether drawing correction is necessary based on the version of the page description language based on the analysis result and the OS indicated by the OS information. Means for generating correction information relating to the image quality of the image, and transmission for transmitting the correction information generated by the analyzing means to the information processing apparatus Is a program for functioning as a stage.
The recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

As a printing apparatus according to the present invention, there is also provided a printing apparatus that includes a storage unit that stores the above-described program, and that prints image data for printing generated by the image processing apparatus .
As a printing apparatus according to the present invention, there is also provided a printing apparatus that downloads and executes the above program from an external device connected to a network.

According to this invention, the information processing apparatus generates print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus and transmits the print data to the image processing apparatus. When correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data from the apparatus is received, the correction information is reflected in the print settings for the drawing data, so that it matches the model of the printing apparatus having the image processing apparatus to be communicably connected. Image quality adjustment can be performed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration example of a printing system including an information processing apparatus and a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of PC1 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the software structural example of PC1 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer driver 103 in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a printer 2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main software configuration example of the printer 2 in FIG. 1.

It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of an outline | summary of the control regarding this invention in the printing system shown in FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence between the programs illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 when the PC 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 transmits print data including test data to the printer 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence between the programs shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 when the printer 2 in FIG. 1 returns function information generated by interpreting print data including test data from the PC 1 to the PC 1. is there. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of a communication sequence between the programs shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of print data including test data transmitted from the PC 1 of FIG. 1 to the printer 2c by the printer driver 103. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the decision-making table stored in HDD37 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of correction information regarding drawing in XML format transmitted to the printer driver 103 in FIG. 4 by the transmission unit 204 in FIG. 6. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence between the programs illustrated in FIG. 4 when the PC 1 in FIG. 1 receives correction information relating to drawing from the printer 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence between programs shown in FIG. 4 when printing is instructed by the PC 1 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driver UI screen that is displayed by a UI unit 105 in FIG. 4 before adding a correction function. It is a figure which similarly shows an example of the driver UI screen after correction function addition.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Note that processing and control by a program such as a printer driver, which will be described later, is actually executed by the CPU operating in accordance with the program, but for convenience of explanation, the program may be described as executing processing and control. .

  The following embodiments have the following characteristics when adding / updating models / functions with a printer driver. In other words, in order to ensure consistency between the printer driver function and the printer function, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus uses XML format function information (supported model information, function list information, OS information) and a test PDL format. The drawing data (drawing command) is transmitted as print data to the image processing apparatus provided in the printing apparatus, and the image processing apparatus analyzes the received print data and corrects the drawing (particularly related to the image quality of the drawing data). Information is returned to the printer driver, and the printer driver reflects the received drawing correction information in its own print settings (various settings such as print condition settings and mode settings), so that the image quality suitable for the printer model It is characterized by being able to make adjustments. The feature will be described in detail later.

First, a configuration of a printing system including an information processing apparatus and a printing apparatus (including an image processing apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration example of the printing system.
This printing system includes a host computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 1 such as a personal computer which is an information processing apparatus, a printer 2 which is a printing apparatus, and a digital multifunction peripheral (hereinafter also simply referred to as “multifunction apparatus”) 3. ing. These devices can be connected to each other via a network 7 such as a LAN (local area network). The connection conforms to the USB standard, the serial connection conforms to the RS-485 standard, the SCSI ( You may carry out by the parallel connection etc. based on the Small Computer System Interface) standard etc.

The PC 1 creates print data using a printer driver by user operation (operation of the input device by the user), and selectively transmits it to the printer 2 or the multifunction device 3.
The printer 2 receives print data from the PC 1 and executes print processing based on the print data. That is, since the print data includes PDL ( page description language) format drawing data (hereinafter also simply referred to as “PDL”) that is a print command, printing image data (bitmap-like print drawing data) is generated based on the drawing data. Create and print (image formation) on paper as a visible image. A printing medium (transfer material) other than paper can also be used.

  In addition to the print function similar to the printer 2, the multifunction machine 3 scans a document with a scanner (not shown), reads an image of the document, and outputs image data (may be an image reading function by another image reading device). Other functions such as scanning a document with a scanner, reading the image of the document, sending the image data (scan data) as image data for printing to a plotter (not shown), and printing on paper are also available. Have.

  The printer 2 and the multifunction device 3 have different specifications. The differences are, for example, the PDL (print command) version (Version), the orientation and type of supported trays (paper feed tray, paper discharge tray, etc.), and the presence and type of peripheral devices such as duplex units and finishers. is there. In this embodiment, the printing apparatus including the controller which is the image processing apparatus is the printer 2 or the multifunction peripheral 3, but a printing apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a facsimile apparatus is used instead of or in addition to them. May be. In other words, the image forming apparatus is not limited to the printer 2 and the multifunction machine 3 and may be anything.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the PC 1 in FIG. 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the PC 1.
The PC 1 (hereinafter also referred to as “device”) includes a CPU 11, a display interface (hereinafter referred to as “I / F”) 12, a RAM 13, chip sets 14 and 15, a hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”) 16, a network An I / F 17, a mouse 18, a keyboard 19, and a modem 20 are provided.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that performs overall control of the entire device according to a program that will be described later. The CPU 11 can function as a print data generation unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and a print setting reflection unit according to the present invention by executing a program and controlling each unit of the device.
The display I / F 12 outputs a signal for displaying information such as the state of the device to the user using a monitor (display) which is a display means connected to the outside.

The RAM 13 is a readable / writable memory used as a program memory for developing a program executed by the CPU 11, a work memory for the CPU 11 to work on executing the program, a print data memory for generating print data, and the like.
The chip set 14 connects the CPU 11, the display I / F 12, and the RAM 13 with a high-speed internal bus, and also exchanges data with the external general-purpose bus 21.

The HDD 16 is a memory device connected to the general-purpose bus 21 and stores an OS (Operating System), programs and data for realizing various controls, and the like.
The network I / F 17 is an interface that performs bidirectional communication with the printer 2 or the multifunction device 3 via the network 7.

The chip set 14, HDD 16, and network I / F 17 are connected by a general-purpose bus 21 that is slower than the internal bus.
The chip set 15 exchanges data with the chip set 14, the HDD 16, and the network I / F 17 and a lower-speed bus 22 and port.
In the mouse port and the keyboard port, an input by a user operation is received by a mouse 18 and a keyboard 19 which are input devices (input means) connected to the outside. The modem port can perform FAX communication or the like through a telephone line (public line) connected to the external modem 20.

Next, a software configuration example of the PC 1 in FIG. 1, that is, a printer driver installed in the PC 1 and its peripheral programs will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration example of the PC 1 of FIG.
A printer driver 103 that is a program for converting a drawing command of an OS (operating system) 101 into a PDL that is a language that can be printed out by the printer 2 or the multifunction device 3 is installed in the PC 1.

  This installation mode is a state in which the OS 101 is locally incorporated as one module. If it is the technology of Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation, there are other installation methods such as Point & Print, and there is no problem even if it is installed by that method.

In addition to the printer driver 103, an application program (hereinafter abbreviated as “application” or “application”) 102 and a spooler 106 are also installed in the PC 1.
In the PC 1, the OS 101 operates, and the application 102, the printer driver 103, and the spooler 106 operate during print control. The OS 101 will be described using Windows (registered trademark) as an example.
In Windows, print control is as follows.

For example, a print instruction including drawing data is sent from the application 102 such as Microsoft Word (registered trademark) to the OS (Windows) 101.
In response to the print instruction, the OS 101 selects the printer driver 103 in accordance with the printing device used for printing selected from the printer 2 and the multifunction peripheral 3, and passes, for example, a drawing command including drawing data to the graphics unit 104. .
When the graphics unit 104 receives the drawing command, the graphics unit 104 converts the drawing data included in the drawing command into PDL (PDL format drawing data), which is drawing data in a data format suitable for a printing apparatus used for printing. Then, it is passed to the UI unit 105.

The printer driver settings are as follows.
A print setting instruction is sent from the application 102 such as Microsoft Word to the OS (Windows) 101.
In response to the instruction, the OS 101 activates a UI (user interface) unit 105 of the printer driver 103 in order to perform print settings (setting of print conditions and the like).

The UI unit 105 of the printer driver 103 provides a user interface when the user changes the setting of the printer driver 103. When the UI unit 105 is activated by the OS 101, a driver UI screen for print setting is displayed on the display.
A value set by the user using the driver UI screen is transferred to the graphics unit 104 via the OS 101 and is moved according to the value set at the time of print control.
The UI unit 105 also sends print data including the PDL received from the graphics unit 104 to the spooler 106.

When the spooler 106 receives the print data, the spooler 106 transmits the print data to the printing apparatus used for printing via the network 7 (or another route such as USB).
When receiving the print data sent from the PC 1, the printing apparatus interprets the print data (PDL), converts it into image data, and prints it on a sheet as a visible image. Further, if the received print data includes test data to be described later, the process related to the present invention is performed, and the PC 1 that is the print data transmission source is notified.

Next, a configuration example of the printer driver 103 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printer driver 103 of FIG.
As described above, the printer driver 103 includes the graphics unit 104 that generates PDL ( page description language ) and the UI unit 105 that performs print settings.

The graphics unit 104 includes a drawing command reception unit 111, an image generation unit 112, and a PJL / PDL generation unit 113.
The drawing command receiving unit 111 has a function of receiving a drawing command including drawing data transmitted from the application 102 (or OS 101) and appropriately assigning the command to other modules in the graphics unit 104. The drawing command indicates, for example, “DrvTextOut (command for writing characters)” in Windows.

The image generation unit 112 has a function of generating image data according to the received drawing command and passing it to the PJL / PDL generation unit 113.
The PJL / PDL generation unit 113 is a language in which the print destination (printing device used for printing) can interpret the setting value passed from the setting management unit 121 of the UI unit 105 and the image data passed from the image generation unit 112. It has a function of converting to PDL and passing the PDL to the setting management unit 121 of the UI unit 105.

The UI unit 105 includes a setting management unit 121, a display unit 122, a transmission / reception unit 123, and a setting adaptation unit.
The display unit 122 provides a function for displaying on the display a driver UI screen for performing print settings by a user operation as shown in FIG.
The setting management unit 121 provides a function of holding and managing setting values input by a user operation on the driver UI screen displayed on the display by the display unit 122. In Windows, this means inputting data into a data structure called DEVMODE.

The setting management unit 121 also provides a function of passing the PDL passed from the PJL / PDL generation unit 113 of the graphics unit 104 as it is or adding information including OS information described later to the transmission / reception unit 123 as print data. .
The transmission / reception unit 123 passes the print data passed from the setting management unit 121 to the spooler 106 in FIG. 3 and transmits the print data to the print destination (printing apparatus used for printing) and the data sent from the print destination. It has a function of receiving via the spooler 106.
The setting adaptation unit 124 has a role of interpreting data sent from the printing destination via the spooler 106 and the transmission / reception unit 123 and instructing addition of a function or change of the UI unit 105.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the printer 2 in FIG. 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 1 includes a configuration similar to that of the printer 2, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the printer 2 of FIG.

  The printer 2 (hereinafter also referred to as “device”) includes an operation panel 31, a CPU 32, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 33, a RAM 34, a ROM 35, a network I / F 36, an HDD 37, and an engine unit 38. Among them, the CPU 32, the ASIC 33, the RAM 34, the ROM 35, the network I / F 36, and the HDD 37 constitute a controller (FIG. 6) that is an image processing apparatus that creates image data for printing.

The operation panel 31 includes various operation keys (also referred to as operation switches or operation buttons) for inputting operation requests (print request, transmission request, etc.) to the engine unit 38 and external devices by user operations, and displays such as an LCD or CRT. It is an operation part which has a vessel.
The CPU 32 is a central processing unit that performs overall control of the entire device according to a program that will be described later. The CPU 32 controls the input / output of modules built in itself and various devices connected to the module 32 via the ASIC 33, and executes a printer application for realizing print processing by the engine unit 38 to be described later. be able to.

  The ASIC 33 is a multi-function device board composed of a plurality of I / Fs and the like for connecting the CPU 32, RAM 34, ROM 35, network I / F 36, and operation panel 31, respectively. The ASIC 33 shares the devices to be controlled by the CPU 32. This is an IC that supports high efficiency development of applications and the like from the viewpoint of architecture. Here, the ASIC 33 includes hardware elements for image processing.

  The RAM 34 is a program memory for expanding a program executed by the CPU 32, a work memory for the CPU 32 to execute the program, and printing for printing a visible image on a sheet by the engine unit 38 based on print data including PDL. Is a readable / writable memory (storage means) used as an image memory or the like used when developing image data (raster image data).

The ROM 35 is a read-only memory that stores various programs and data for realizing various controls including image processing and print control.
The network I / F 36 is an interface for receiving print data from the PC 1 via the network 7.
The HDD 37 is used by the PC 1 and various data including an OS used by the printer 2, various programs for realizing various controls related to the present invention, and print settings (actually data indicating the contents of the print settings). An auxiliary storage device (storage means) that stores various control programs such as a printer driver.

  The engine unit 38 prints an image on a sheet using an image forming method such as a laser method, an LED method, an ink jet method, or other methods based on image data (print drawing data) in order to realize a print function. Thus, a plotter (image forming means) for outputting is configured. If the configuration of FIG. 5 shows the multifunction device 3, the engine unit 38 configures a scanner and a plotter in order to realize a scanner function and a copy function. Also, the plotter can be equipped with a peripheral unit such as a duplexer for printing on both sides of the paper and a finisher for adding a function capable of performing plate making processes such as punching and cover sheet forming on the printed paper. And

In the printer 2 configured as described above, the CPU 32 executes various programs to control each unit of the device , thereby realizing various functions including functions as a receiving unit, an analyzing unit , and a transmitting unit according to the present invention. be able to. For example, when there is a printer driver acquisition request from the PC 1 or when there is a printer driver transmission request from the input device to the PC 1, the printer driver in the HDD 37 is designated as the acquisition request source or the transmission request destination PC 1. Can be sent to. When the printer driver is sent to the PC 1, it is received and stored in the HDD 16 in FIG.

Next, a main software configuration example of the printer 2 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main software configuration example of the printer 2.
In the printer 2, the controller 200 includes a reception unit 201, an analysis unit 202, a generation unit 203, and a transmission unit 204 as main programs constituting software.
The receiving unit 201 has a function of receiving print data sent from the PC 1 from the printer driver 103 and passing the print data to a required part.

The analysis unit 202 is an analysis unit that analyzes the print data delivered from the reception unit 201 and generates correction information when it is determined that drawing correction is necessary based on the analysis result. And a function of acquiring engine information from the engine unit 38 by notifying the engine unit 38 of an engine information acquisition request. The engine unit 38 knows information such as engine characteristics, and has a function of returning engine information when an engine information acquisition request is received.

The generation unit 203 has a function of generating data to be passed to the printer driver 103 of the PC 1 that is the transmission source of the print data, and passing the data to the transmission unit 204 according to the analysis result by the analysis unit 202.
The transmission unit 204 has a function of transmitting data passed from the generation unit 203 to the PC 1 (printer driver 103).

  Hereinafter, control related to the present invention in the printing system of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. As the printer 2 in FIG. 1, it is assumed that three printers 2 a (A), 2 b (B), and 2 c (C) of different models exist on the network 7.

First, an outline example of control related to the present invention in this printing system will be described with reference to FIG. For convenience of explanation, the XML format is used as the format of data (information) transmitted / received between the PC 1 and the printer 2, but other data formats may be used. Here, the printer driver 103 already supports each of the two printers 2a (A) and 2c (C) so that the PDL transmitted by the PC 1 can be converted into desired image data for printing and printing can be performed. Suppose you are. In addition, it is assumed that the printer 2b (B) is selected as a printing apparatus used for printing.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an outline example of control related to the present invention in the printing system shown in FIG.

  The printer driver 103 of the PC 1 has support model information (information indicating the models of the two printers 2a (A) and 2c (C) supported by the printer driver 103) 1001, which is function information in XML format, and a list of support functions Information (information indicating a list of functions for specifying duplex printing supported by the printer driver 103, a function for specifying a finisher) 1002, OS information (information indicating the type of the OS 101 being used) 1003, and test data The PDL 1004 is collected and transmitted as print data to the controller 200 of the printer 2b (B). If the printer driver 103 supports other functions such as a function for designating monochrome / color printing, information indicating the function may be added to the support function list information. Further, application information indicating the type of the application 102 may be used instead of the OS information.

Here, the print data including each piece of information such as the supported model information 1001 and the PDL 1004 corresponds to “print data described in a page description language” according to the present invention. Of the function information in the XML format, the supported model information 1001 is “information related to printing” related to the present invention, and the support function list information 1002 and the OS information 1003 are “information related to image quality of drawing data” related to the present invention. Respectively.

The controller 200 of the printer 2b (B) receives the print data sent from the PC 1, analyzes the received print data, and relates to drawing (related to the image quality of the drawing data) according to the analysis result. Correction information (information indicating a correction function for thickening characters during color printing) 1004 is returned to the printer driver 103 of the PC 1.
The printer driver 103 of the PC 1 receives correction information 1004 related to drawing sent from the controller of the printer 2b (B), and reflects the correction information 1004 in its own print settings. Thereby, image quality adjustment adapted to the model of the printer 2b can be performed.

  Next, an example of a communication sequence between the programs shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 when the PC 1 in FIG. 1 transmits print data including test data to the printer 2 (2b) will be described with reference to FIG. To do. In the subsequent sequence examples, it is assumed that the printer driver 103 already supports each model of the two printers 2a (A) and 2b (B). In addition, it is assumed that the printer 2c (C) is selected as a printing apparatus used for printing. Further, the communication destination with the printer driver 103 is actually the controller of the printing apparatus, but for the convenience of explanation, it is simply a printing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence between the programs. In each figure including this figure, the step is abbreviated as “S”.
When the UI unit 105 of the printer driver 103 is activated by a user operation, the display unit 122 of the UI unit 105 displays a driver UI screen on the display (opens the UI). At the same time, the setting management unit 121 is requested to acquire model information (S1).
When the setting management unit 121 receives the model information acquisition request, the setting management unit 121 passes a drawing command including test drawing data of the graphics unit 104 to the drawing command receiving unit 111 (S2).
The drawing command receiving unit 111 transfers the drawing command to the image generating unit 112 (S3).

When the image generation unit 112 receives the drawing command, for example, based on characters, vector graphics, and images (may be other combinations) stored and held in advance in the HDD 16, test image data (pictures) including them may be used. ) Is generated (S4).
Here, the “character” may be generated in various fonts such as a font separated from a font whose font data includes the “Bold” character shape, a fixed font, and a proportional font.

For example, a combination of “Arial”, “Arial Bold”, “MS Mincho”, and “MS P Mincho” can be considered. In the example given here, it is even better because it includes 1 byte characters and 2 byte characters.
“Graphics” is preferably drawing data including straight lines, circles, and filled circles. This is because the commands are different for straight lines and Bezier curves, and line drawing and fill drawing.
The “image” preferably includes three data of 24-bit color, 8-bit index color, and monochrome.

When the generation of the test image data by them is completed, the image generation unit 112 passes it to the PJL / PDL generation unit 113 (S5).
Upon receiving the test image data, the PJL / PDL generation unit 113 converts the image data into a test PDL ( page description language ), which is a language that can be interpreted by the printer 2 b, and converts it into a setting management unit of the UI unit 105. It is passed to 121 (S6, S7).
When receiving the PDL, the setting management unit 121 acquires OS information (for example, information indicating that the computer is operating under Windows 2000 (registered trademark)) from the OS 101 (S8). In Windows OS, OS information can be acquired by a function called GetVersionEx ().

The setting management unit 121 also supports supported model information indicating the models of the two printers 2 a (A) and 2 b (B) supported by the printer driver 103 and the two printers supported by the printer driver 103. Support function list information indicating a list of each function of 2a (A) and 2b (B) is acquired (S9). Then, the acquired OS information, supported model information, and support function list information and the test PDL received from the PJL / PDL generation unit 113 are collected into a communicable format and passed to the transmission / reception unit 123 as print data (S10). , S11).
Upon receiving the print data, the transmission / reception unit 123 transmits the print data to the printer 2c (C) by the spooler 106 of FIG. 3 (S12).

Next, the communication sequence between the programs shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 when the printer 2 (2c) in FIG. 1 returns the correction information generated by interpreting the print data including the test data from the PC 1 to the PC 1. An example will be described with reference to FIGS.
9 and 10 are diagrams showing different examples of communication sequences between the programs.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a format of print data including test data transmitted from the PC 1 of FIG. 1 to the printer 2c by the printer driver 103. As shown in FIG.

In the printer 2 c (C), as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when print data including test data is sent from the PC 1 by the printer driver 103, the reception unit 201 receives it and passes it to the analysis unit 202. (S21).
Upon receiving print data including test data from the receiving unit 201, the analysis unit 202 analyzes (parses) the print data (S22).

  That is, the analysis of the XML format function information and the test PDL constituting the print data are respectively performed, and based on the support model information in the XML format function information, for example, described in “Support Model” of FIG. It is confirmed whether the printer name (corresponding to the model) is included, that is, whether it is supported by the printer driver 103 of the data transmission source.

Actually, the device itself is not supported. However, if it is assumed that the device itself is supported, the printer driver 103 of the transmission source already has the device itself as supported model information. As shown in FIG. 5, the generation unit 203 is notified that it is supported (S31).
Upon receipt of the support, the generation unit 203 is an XML that allows the printer driver 103 to interpret notification information (for example, indicating its own printer name) indicating that the data transmission source printer driver 103 supports the data. It is generated in a format, and the notification information in the XML format is returned to the PC 1 (printer driver 103) by the transmission unit 204 (S32 to S34). In that case, it is expected that the communication data to be returned can be reduced.

On the other hand, if the analysis unit 202 is not supported, as shown in FIG. 9, the analysis unit 202 draws based on the supported function list information and the OS information in the analyzed function information in the XML format and the test PDL. Correction information is generated (S23).
Here, depending on the compatibility between the OS 101 (or the application 102) and a version of PDL (PDL Version), characters may be printed with a small size.

  In order to avoid such printing, for example, the generation of a command for drawing characters used in the analyzed test PDL is checked to determine which version of the PDL. Then, referring to a decision making table as shown in FIG. 12 (for example, stored in advance in HDD 37 in FIG. 5), drawing correction is required based on the determined PDL version and the OS indicated by the analyzed OS information. Whether or not (characters need to be thickened), and when correction of drawing is necessary, correction related to drawing, which is information indicating a function (correction function to be added to the printer driver 103) necessary for the correction Generate information.

Alternatively, correction information related to drawing can be generated based on the analyzed OS information and engine information (S24, S25).
Here, a thin line may fade and disappear due to the engine characteristics of the engine unit 38. At that time, there is a case where the correction is made by drawing thicker than the actual line width and making it difficult to disappear.
Therefore, since the engine control software normally has the fine line characteristic that is the engine characteristic of the engine unit 38, the minimum line width is obtained from the engine control software, and it is provided to the printer driver 103 that the line width needs to be changed as a function. That's fine.

Therefore, the analysis unit 202 requests engine information from the engine unit 38, and engine information indicating engine characteristics is returned from the engine unit 38, and therefore acquires the engine information (S24).
Next, for example, the generation of a command for drawing a character used in the analyzed test PDL is checked to determine which version of the PDL. Then, based on the determined PDL version and the engine characteristics indicated by the acquired engine information, it is determined whether drawing correction is necessary (whether it is necessary to thicken the character). Correction information relating to drawing, which is information indicating a function necessary for the correction, is generated.

When the generation of the correction information related to drawing is completed, the analysis unit 202 notifies the generation unit 203 of the correction information related to drawing (S26).
Upon receiving the correction information related to the drawing, the generation unit 203 converts the correction information (information indicating the correction function to be added to the printer driver 103) into an XML format that can be interpreted by the printer driver 103, and relates to the drawing in the XML format. The correction information is sent back to the transmission / reception unit 123 of the PC 1 (printer driver 103) by the transmission unit 204 (S27 to S29). An example of the correction information related to the drawing in the XML format is shown in FIG.
When application information is used instead of OS information, it may be determined whether drawing correction is necessary using the type of the application 102 indicated by the application information.

Next, an example of a communication sequence between the programs shown in FIG. 4 when the PC 1 in FIG. 1 receives correction information related to drawing from the printer 2 (2c) will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence between the programs.

The transmission / reception unit 123 of the UI unit 105 of the PC 1 (printer driver 103) receives correction information related to drawing in XML format from the printer 2c in response to transmission of print data including test data to the printer 2c described with reference to FIG. When it is received, it is received and passed to the setting adaptation unit 124, and the display unit 122 is notified that the data has been returned (S41, S42).
When the setting adaptation unit 124 receives the correction information related to the drawing in the XML format, the setting adaptation unit 124 interprets the correction information. If the correction information indicates that the correction information indicates a correction function to be added to the printer driver 103, the setting adaptation unit 124 adds the correction function. Then, it is reflected in the print settings managed by the setting management unit 121 (S43). At this time, information indicating the correction function is added to the print setting information stored in the HDD 16.

When the display unit 122 receives notification that the data has been returned, the display unit 122 inquires and acquires the correction function added to the setting adaptation unit 124, and includes a setting unit for setting the correction function on / off. The UI screen is displayed on the display (S44, S45). At the start of the display, the added correction function is set to ON, and switching to OFF is possible.
For example, when the driver UI screen as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed on the display when the UI unit 105 is activated, a setting unit for setting ON / OFF of the function for fattening characters as shown in FIG. Switch the display to the added driver UI screen. In this state, it can be used like the same function as before.

Next, an example of a communication sequence between the programs shown in FIG. 4 when printing is instructed by the PC 1 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence between the programs. The setting adaptation unit 124 adds a correction function in step S43 in FIG. 14, and adds it to the driver UI screen displayed on the display in step S45. This shows a case where the correction function is set to OFF by an operation on the setting unit for setting ON / OFF of the correction function.

When the drawing command receiving unit 111 of the graphics unit 104 is instructed to print normal drawing data (document data) created by the application 102, the drawing command including drawing data instructed to be printed from the application 102. Is sent to the image generation unit 112 (S51).
When receiving the drawing command, the image generating unit 112 generates image data based on the drawing command (S52).

  At this time, the setting management unit 121 of the UI unit 105 is inquired about the presence or absence of the added correction function, and if there is an added correction function, there is a notification of information indicating the correction function. The image data is corrected based on the correction function indicated by the information (S53, S54). In the example of FIG. 15, since the correction function is to set the minimum line width to “3” (thicken the characters), even if the drawing command includes drawing data specifying the line width to “1”. The image data is corrected by replacing “1” with “3” (the line width is not less than the minimum line width).

Thereafter, the corrected image data is transferred to the PJL / PDL generation unit 113 (S55).
The PJL / PDL generation unit 113 receives the image data from the image generation unit 112 and receives setting values (print conditions, etc. that are not related to the generation of image data by the image generation unit 112) that have been passed from the setting management unit 121 of the UI unit 105 in advance. ) And the image data transferred from the image generation unit 112 are converted into PDL, which is a language that can be interpreted by the printing destination (printing apparatus used for printing), and the PDL is transferred to the setting management unit 121 of the UI unit 105 (S56, S57).

Upon receiving the PDL, the setting management unit 121 passes it to the transmission / reception unit 123 as print data (S58).
Upon receiving the print data, the transmission / reception unit 123 causes the spooler 106 in FIG. 3 to transmit the print data to the printer 2c to perform printing (S59).

In this manner, the PC (information processing apparatus) generates print data described in a page description language including information related to printing and information related to the image quality of the drawing data, and sends the print data to the controller (image processing apparatus) of the printing apparatus. When the correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data is received from the controller in response to the transmission, the correction information is reflected in the print settings for the drawing data (adding / updating functions) The image quality can be adjusted according to the model of the printing apparatus that is communicably connected, and the image quality of the printing apparatus can be optimized.

In addition, the controller of the printing apparatus analyzes the OS information included in the print data received from the PC and the command used in the page description language, and generates correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data based on the analysis result. Then, the correction information is transmitted to the PC. However, when the result of the analysis shows that the source of the received print data is determined to be a support target for generating print image data (when function addition is not necessary) By transmitting that fact to the transmission source PC, it is possible to obtain an effect that the response to the PC is accelerated.

[Program related to this invention]
This program includes a program for causing a CPU that controls a controller (image processing apparatus) included in the printing apparatus to realize functions as a receiving unit, an analyzing unit, and a transmitting unit according to the present invention. By causing the CPU to execute the program, the above-described effects can be obtained.

Such a program may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM provided in the controller from the beginning , a non-volatile memory (flash ROM, EEPROM, etc.), or an HDD (hard disk device). -Provided by recording on a ROM or a non-volatile recording medium (memory) such as a memory card, flexible disk, MO, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD + R, DVD + RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, or DVD-RAM You can also Each program described above can be executed by installing a program recorded in the recording medium in the controller and causing the CPU to execute the program , or by causing the CPU to read and execute the program from the recording medium.
Furthermore, it is also possible to download and execute an external device that is connected to a network and includes a recording medium that records the program, or an external device that stores the program in the storage unit.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus can perform image quality adjustment in accordance with the model of the printing apparatus including the image processing apparatus that is communicably connected. Therefore, it is possible to provide a high-quality printing apparatus and printing system.

1: PC 2: Printer 3: MFP 7: Network 11, 32: CPU 12: Display I / F 13, 34: RAM 14, 15: Chipset 16, 37: HDD 17, 36: Network I / F 18: Mouse
19: Keyboard 20: Modem 31: Operation panel 33: ASIC
35: ROM 38: Engine unit 101: OS 102: Application 103: Printer driver 104: Graphics unit 105: UI unit 106: Spooler 111: Drawing command receiving unit 112: Image generating unit 113: PJL / PDL generating unit 121: Setting Management unit 122: Display unit 123: Transmission / reception unit 124: Setting adaptation unit 200: Controller 201: Reception unit

JP 2009-25865 A

Claims (9)

An information processing apparatus that generates and transmits print data, and a printing apparatus that includes an image processing apparatus that generates image data for printing based on the print data from the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus and the image processing A printing system capable of bidirectional communication with a device,
In the information processing apparatus,
Print data generation means for generating print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus ;
Transmitting means for transmitting the print data generated by the print data generating means to the image processing apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data from the image processing apparatus in response to transmission of the print data by the transmitting means;
A print setting reflecting means for reflecting the correction information received by the receiving means in a print setting for the drawing data;
In the image processing apparatus,
Receiving means for receiving the print data from the information processing apparatus;
The OS information included in the print data received by the receiving means and the command used in the page description language are analyzed , and the version of the page description language based on the analysis result and the OS indicated by the OS information An analysis unit that determines whether or not drawing correction is necessary, and generates correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data when it is determined that drawing correction is necessary ;
A printing system comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the correction information generated by the analysis unit to the information processing apparatus. The print data generated by the print data generation unit of the information processing apparatus includes support model information indicating the model of the printing apparatus supported by the information processing apparatus,
The analysis unit of the image processing apparatus also analyzes the support model information included in the print data received by the reception unit, and confirms whether the image processing apparatus itself is supported by the information processing apparatus. the system according to claim 1, characterized in that to generate the correction information if it is not supported. An image processing apparatus capable of bidirectional communication with an information processing apparatus and generating print image data based on print data from the information processing apparatus,
Receiving means for receiving print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus from the information processing apparatus ;
The OS information included in the print data received by the receiving means and the command used in the page description language are analyzed , and the version of the page description language based on the analysis result and the OS indicated by the OS information An analysis unit that determines whether or not drawing correction is necessary, and generates correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data when it is determined that drawing correction is necessary ;
An image processing apparatus comprising: transmission means for transmitting the correction information generated by the analysis means to the information processing apparatus. The print data received by the receiving unit from the information processing apparatus includes support model information indicating the model of the printing apparatus supported by the information processing apparatus,
The analysis unit also analyzes the support model information included in the print data received by the reception unit, and confirms whether or not the image processing apparatus itself is supported by the information processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the correction information is generated when there is not . An image processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, the printing apparatus and performs printing based on the print image data generated by the image processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus and a two-way communicable, a computer that controls an image processing apparatus that generates print image data based on the print data from the information processing apparatus,
Receiving means for receiving print data described in a page description language including OS information of the information processing apparatus from the information processing apparatus;
The OS information included in the print data received by the receiving means and the command used in the page description language are analyzed, and the version of the page description language based on the analysis result and the OS indicated by the OS information An analysis unit that determines whether or not drawing correction is necessary, and generates correction information related to the image quality of the drawing data when it is determined that drawing correction is necessary;
A program for causing the correction information generated by the analysis means to function as a transmission means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus . A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 6 is recorded. A printing apparatus comprising: a storage unit storing the program according to claim 6 , wherein the printing image data generated by the image processing apparatus is printed. A printing apparatus that downloads and executes the program according to claim 6 from an external device connected to a network .