JP6651902B2 - Printing system, driver program, and printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system in which a printer performs a printing operation according to an instruction from an information processing terminal.

  The host described in Patent Literature 1 generates print data after instructing the printer to perform pre-print preparation, and transmits the generated print data to the printer. Further, the printer described in Patent Literature 1 performs head maintenance according to a pre-print preparation instruction from a host, and performs printing according to print data received from the host.

JP 2000-163225 A

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a printer having a so-called SFL (Secure Function Lock) function for authenticating a user who has transmitted print data and performing printing in response to successful authentication has been known. If the printer having the SFL function performs the head maintenance in advance, there is a problem that the head maintenance is wasted when the user authentication fails and the printing is not performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that suppresses execution of unnecessary pre-print operations.

  The printing system described in the present specification includes a driver program readable by an information processing terminal having a first communication interface, and a printer. The driver program causes the information processing terminal to execute a preparation instruction process of transmitting preparation instruction information including first authentication information to the printer via the first communication interface. The preparation instruction information is information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet in a print operation. The first authentication information is information indicating that the user has an authority to cause the printer to execute the printing operation. The driver program is configured to generate print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process, and through the first communication interface And a print instruction process for transmitting print instruction information to the printer. The print instruction information is information for instructing execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the generation processing. The printer includes an operation unit that executes the pre-print operation and the print operation, a second communication interface, a device memory, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to perform a first reception process of receiving the preparation instruction information from the information processing terminal via the second communication interface, and the preparation instruction is received in response to receiving the preparation instruction information in the first reception process. A first determination process of determining whether the first authentication information included in the information matches the second authentication information stored in the device memory; and determining whether the first authentication information and the second authentication information are the same. And the print instruction information is received from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface, in response to the first determination process determining that the first and second information match. A second receiving process, receiving the print instruction information in the second receive process, and, in response to the completion of the pre-print process, performing the printing operation according to the print instruction information to the operation unit. It executes the print process to the row.

  According to the above configuration, the information processing terminal transmits the first authentication information together with the preparation instruction information, and the printer executes the pre-printing operation in the operation unit in response to the match between the first authentication information and the second authentication information. Let it. Thus, by executing the pre-print operation after confirming that the user has the authority to execute the print operation, unnecessary execution of the pre-print operation can be suppressed. Also, since the print data is generated in the information processing terminal while the printer performs the pre-printing operation according to the preparation instruction information, the first sheet is ejected from the printer after the execution instruction of the printing operation is input. FPOT (abbreviation of First Print Out Time), which is the time required for the above, can be reduced.

  The driver program described in this specification can be read by an information processing terminal having a communication interface. The driver program causes the information processing terminal to execute a preparation instruction process of transmitting preparation instruction information including first authentication information to the printer via the communication interface. The preparation instruction information is information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet in a print operation. The first authentication information is information indicating that the user has an authority to cause the printer to execute the printing operation. The driver program is configured to generate print data to be subjected to the print operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process, and the printer interface through the communication interface. And a print instruction process for transmitting print instruction information to the information processing terminal. The print instruction information is information for instructing execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the generation processing.

  The printer described in this specification includes an operation unit that executes a pre-print operation and a print operation, a communication interface, a device memory, and a control unit. The printing operation is an operation of printing an image represented by print data on a sheet. The pre-print operation is an operation executed prior to the print operation in order to print an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet. The control unit executes a first reception process of receiving preparation instruction information including first authentication information from the information processing terminal via the communication interface. The preparation instruction information is information for instructing execution of the pre-print operation. The control unit, in response to receiving the preparation instruction information in the first reception processing, the first authentication information included in the preparation instruction information and the second authentication information stored in the device memory A first judging process for judging whether or not they match each other, and in response to the first judging process judging that the first authentication information and the second authentication information match, the operation section gives the pre-print operation And a second receiving process of receiving print instruction information from the information processing terminal through the communication interface. The print instruction information is information for instructing execution of the print operation on print data generated by the information processing terminal. A print process for receiving the print instruction information in the second reception process and for causing the operation unit to execute the print operation according to the print instruction information in response to completion of the pre-print process Execute

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of the printer 10, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an authentication information list stored in the EEPROM 34. 2A is a block diagram of the information processing terminal 50, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating condition information stored in the data storage area 62B. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the queue areas 67A to 67C. FIG. 3A shows the correspondence between the printers 10A and 10B and the queue areas 67A to 67C, and FIG. 3B shows the print instruction information. (C) shows the queue area 67A in which the preparation instruction information is stored. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the print instruction process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the StartDoc process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the StartPage process. FIG. 7A is a flowchart of the preparation instruction processing, and FIG. 7B is a flowchart of the instruction release processing. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the printing process. FIG. 9A is an example of an editing screen, and FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet has been discharged from the printer 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the standard setting screen.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention. For example, the execution order of each process described below can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention.

  The printing system according to the present embodiment includes, for example, the printer 10 illustrated in FIG. 1A and the information processing terminal 50 illustrated in FIG. The printer 10 and the information processing terminal 50 are configured to be able to communicate with each other through a communication network, for example. A specific example of the communication network is not particularly limited, but may be a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, a USB cable, or the like. Further, the information processing terminal 50 may be capable of communicating with a plurality of printers 10A and 10B, for example, as shown in FIG.

  The maker provides a user with a printing system including the printer 10 shown in FIG. 1A and a driver program 66 that can be installed in the information processing terminal 50, for example. Then, the driver program 66 is installed in the information processing terminal 50 by the user. The driver program 66 may be provided, for example, in the form of a CD-ROM or the like bundled with the printer 10, or may be made downloadable through a manufacturer's WEB site.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the printer 10 mainly includes a power supply unit 11, an operation unit 20, a display 23, an input I / F 24, a communication I / F 25, and a control unit 30. The components of the printer 10 are interconnected via a communication bus. In the present embodiment, an example of the ink jet printer 10 will be described. However, the printing method of the printer 10 is not limited to the ink jet printer, and may be a known printer such as an electrophotographic printer. Note that the basic configuration of the printers 10A and 10B shown in FIG. 3A may be the same as that of the printer 10 shown in FIG.

  The power supply unit 11 supplies electric power supplied from an external power supply through a power plug to each component of the printer 10. More specifically, the power supply unit 11 outputs the power acquired from the external power supply to the operation unit 20 as drive power (for example, 24 V) and outputs it to the control unit 30 as control power (for example, 5 V). Although not shown, the power supply unit 11 also supplies power to the display 23, the input I / F 24, and the communication I / F 25.

  Further, the power supply unit 11 can switch between a driving state and a sleep state based on a power supply signal output from the control unit 30. More specifically, the control unit 30 switches the power supply unit 11 from the sleep state to the drive state by outputting a high-level power signal (for example, 5 V). The control unit 30 switches the power supply unit 11 from the drive state to the sleep state by outputting a low-level power signal (for example, 0 V).

  The driving state is a state in which driving power is being output to the operation unit 20. In other words, the drive state is a state in which the operation unit 20 can operate. The dormant state is a state in which drive power is not output to the operation unit 20. In other words, the sleep state is a state in which the operation unit 20 cannot operate. On the other hand, the power supply unit 11 outputs control power to the control unit 30 irrespective of whether it is in the drive state or the sleep state. Although not shown, the input I / F 24 can output an operation signal according to a user operation regardless of whether the power supply unit 11 is in a driving state or a sleep state. Further, the communication I / F 25 can receive information from an external device regardless of whether the power supply unit 11 is in a driving state or in a sleep state.

  The operation unit 20 performs a printing operation and a pre-printing operation in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 30. The printing operation is an operation of printing an image on a sheet. The pre-print operation is an operation executed prior to the print operation in order to print an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet in the print operation. Details of the printing operation and the pre-printing operation will be described later. The operation section 20 mainly includes a transport section 21 and a discharge section 22, as shown in FIG.

  The transport unit 21 transports a sheet supported by a feed tray (not shown) in the transport direction. The transport unit 21 is configured by, for example, a plurality of rollers that rotate by transmitting a driving force of a motor (not shown). The roller rotated by the motor conveys the sheet supported by the feed tray to a position facing the discharge unit 22, and discharges the sheet on which the image is printed by the discharge unit 22 to the outside of the printer 10. The printer 10 can include a plurality of feed trays.

  The ejection unit 22 moves in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction at a position where the ejection unit 22 can face the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit 21. The ejection unit 22 moves in the main scanning direction by transmitting a driving force of a motor (not shown). A nozzle surface on which a plurality of nozzles are formed is formed on the lower surface of the discharge unit 22. The ejection unit 22 ejects ink droplets from the nozzles.

  An image is printed on the sheet as the ink ejected in the process of the ejection unit 22 moving in the main scanning direction lands on the sheet. In the process in which the ejection unit 22 moves from one side to the other in the main scanning direction, an area on a sheet where ink ejected from the ejection unit 22 can land is referred to as a “print area”. The sheet is partitioned into a plurality of print areas. Then, the ejection unit 22 sequentially prints an image on each of the plurality of printing areas in a printing operation described later.

  The display 23 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and has a display surface for displaying various information.

  The input I / F 24 is a user interface that receives an input operation by a user. Specifically, the input I / F 24 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Further, the input I / F 24 may have a film-shaped touch sensor superimposed on the display surface of the display 23. An operation of designating an object displayed on the display surface of the display 23 and an operation of inputting a character string or a number string are examples of a user operation. The “object” is, for example, a character string, an icon, a button, a link, or the like displayed on the display 23.

  The input I / F 24 implemented as a touch sensor outputs position information indicating a position on the display surface touched by the user. Note that “touch” in this specification includes all operations for bringing an input medium into contact with a display surface. In addition, even if the input medium does not touch the display surface, the term “hover” or “floating touch” for bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance between the input surface and the display surface is very small is based on the concept of the aforementioned “touch”. May be included. Further, the input medium may be a user's finger, a touch pen, or the like. The user operation of tapping the position of the icon displayed on the display 53 is an example of a specifying operation for specifying the icon.

  The communication I / F 25 is an example of a second communication interface capable of communicating with an external device via a communication network. That is, the printer 10 outputs various information to an external device through the communication I / F 25 and receives various information from the external device through the communication I / F 25. The communication I / F 25 may be a device that transmits and receives wireless signals in a communication procedure according to Wi-Fi (a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance), or may be an interface to which a LAN cable or a USB cable is connected. There may be.

  The control unit 30 controls the overall operation of the printer 10. The control unit 30 is a microcomputer mainly including a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an EEPROM 34, and an ASIC 35, as shown in FIG. The ROM 32, the RAM 33, and the EEPROM 34 are examples of a device memory.

  The ROM 32 stores a program for the CPU 31 to control the operation of the printer 10. The RAM 33 is used as a storage area or a work area for temporarily recording various data used when the CPU 31 executes a program. The EEPROM 34 stores settings, flags, and the like that should be retained even after the power is turned off. The CPU 31 controls the operation of the printer 10 by reading the program from the ROM 32 and executing the program. The transport unit 21, the discharge unit 22, the display 23, the input I / F 24, and the communication I / F 25 are connected to the ASIC 35. The ASIC 35 operates each component of the printer 10 according to an instruction from the CPU 31.

  The ROM 32, the RAM 33, and the EEPROM 34 may be computer-readable storage media. The computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. Non-transitory media include recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs in addition to the above examples. Further, a non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electric signal that carries a program downloaded from a server or the like on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium that is a kind of computer-readable medium, but is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Not included in the medium. The same applies to the memory 62 of the information processing terminal 50 described later.

  The EEPROM 34 can store an authentication information list, for example, as shown in FIG. The authentication information list can store one or more authentication information records. The authentication information record includes second authentication information, threshold information, and number information. The control unit 30 registers the authentication information record input through the input I / F 24 or the authentication information record received from the external device through the communication I / F 25 in the authentication information list.

  The second authentication information is information indicating that the printer 10 has authority to execute a printing operation. The second authentication information may be, for example, a user ID for logging in to the information processing terminal 50, or may be an arbitrary character string set by a user of the information processing terminal 50. The threshold information is information indicating an upper limit of the number of sheets that can be printed in accordance with print instruction information including the same first authentication information as the corresponding second authentication information (hereinafter, referred to as “threshold number”). The number information is information indicating the cumulative number of sheets on which an image has been printed according to the print instruction information including the same first authentication information as the corresponding second authentication information. That is, the authentication information record in the first line of FIG. 1B can print an image on 1000 sheets according to the print instruction information including the first authentication information “abc”, and at the present time, prints the image on 325 sheets. Indicates that was printed.

  The ASIC 35 outputs a drive signal to the motor. When the motor rotates, the transport unit 21 transports the sheet, and the discharge unit 22 moves in the main scanning direction. The ASIC 35 outputs a drive signal to a drive element such as a piezo element. When the drive element vibrates, the ejection unit 22 ejects ink droplets from the nozzles. The ASIC 35 outputs an image signal to the display 23 and causes the display 23 to display a screen. The ASIC 35 acquires an operation signal output from the input I / F 24. The ASIC 35 receives information from an external device through the communication I / F 25 and transmits information to the external device through the communication I / F 25.

  The information processing terminal 50 mainly includes a display 53, an input I / F 54, a communication I / F 55, a CPU 61, a memory 62, and a communication bus 63, as shown in FIG. The display 53, the input I / F 54, the communication I / F 55, and the CPU 61 included in the information processing terminal 50 have the same configurations as the display 23, the input I / F 24, the communication I / F 25, and the CPU 31 included in the printer 10. Description is omitted. The communication I / F 55 is an example of a first communication interface, and the memory 62 is an example of a terminal memory.

  The information processing terminal 50 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a PC. The information processing terminal 50 is an example of a computer. The input I / F 54 of the information processing terminal 50 may be, for example, a combination of a mouse and a keyboard. In this case, the user operation of moving the mouse pointer to the position of the icon displayed on the display 53 and clicking the icon is an example of a designation operation for designating the icon.

  The memory 62 is configured by, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, a portable storage medium such as a USB memory that is detachably attached to the information processing terminal 50, a buffer included in the CPU 61, or a combination thereof. The memory 62 has a program storage area 62A and a data storage area 62B. An OS 64, an editing program 65, and a driver program 66 are installed in the area 62A. Each program stored in the area 62A may be a single program or an aggregate of a plurality of programs. In the area 62B, data or information necessary for executing each program is stored.

  In this embodiment, Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System will be described as a specific example of OS64. However, a specific example of OS64 is not limited to this. For example, Android (registered trademark of Google inc.) OS, iOS (Registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.) or the like.

  The editing program 65 is a program for editing content data according to a user operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the editing program 65 displays an image represented by the designated content data on the display 53, and accepts a user operation instructing editing of the content data through the input I / F 54. Edit the content data according to the received user operation. Examples of the format of the content data include a text format, an image format, a spreadsheet format, and a presentation format. Content data may include one or more page data. The page data is data indicating the content to be printed on one sheet.

  The driver program 66 is a program for causing the printer 10 to execute a printing operation in accordance with a printing instruction received from the OS 64. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the driver program 66 according to the present embodiment includes a UI module 66A which is an example of a first module, and a rendering module 66B which is an example of a second module. However, the driver program 66 may be composed of a single module, or may further include another module. The driver program 66 may be capable of instructing a printing operation only to a single model of the printer 10, or may be capable of instructing a printing operation to a plurality of models of the printer 10.

  A plurality of functions specified by the OS 64 are defined in the driver program 66. Then, the driver program 66 can cause the printer 10 to execute a printing operation by calling a plurality of functions in a predetermined order by the OS 64. The print instruction according to the present embodiment indicates, for example, that the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” defined in the UI module 66A is called by the OS 64 using the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTDOC” as an argument.

  The region 62B includes a first region 62C and a second region 62D, as shown in FIG. The first area 62C is, for example, a so-called registry which is a database of basic information on the OS 64 or setting information of the driver program. The procedure for referring to the information stored in the first area 62C is defined by the OS 64. Then, the OS 64 guarantees the correctness of the information referenced according to the reference procedure, and does not guarantee the correctness of the information referenced without following the reference procedure. On the other hand, the information stored in the second area 62D can be referred to at any timing without performing the reference procedure as described above. Hereinafter, when it is described that "the program stores information in the area 62B", it is assumed that the information is stored in the second area 62D in principle. An example of a procedure for referring to information stored in the first area 62C will be described below.

  As an example, the editing program 65 secures a predetermined memory area in the second area 62D. Then, the editing program 65 calls a read function defined in the OS 64 with the first pointer “DEVMODE” indicating the head address of the secured memory area as an argument. The OS 64 copies the information stored in the first area 62C to the memory area indicated by the first pointer “DEVMODE”. As a result, the editing program 65 can read or edit the information copied from the first area 62C to the memory area indicated by the first pointer "DEVMODE".

  As another example, the driver program 66 defines a function defined by the OS 64 (for example, a first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()”). The OS 64 calls the first function using the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_FIRST” and the second pointer as arguments. The second pointer indicates the start address of the memory area where the information stored in the first area 62C is stored or the start address of the memory area where the information copied from the first area 62C to the second area 62D is stored. . Then, the driver program 66 can read or edit the information stored in the memory area indicated by the second pointer as the information stored in the first area 62C. In the present embodiment, the execution of the first function by designating the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_FIRST” and the second pointer as arguments may be referred to as a reference instruction that permits reference to the information stored in the first area 62C. is there.

  The first area 62C stores condition information, for example, as shown in FIG. The condition information is information for indicating an execution condition of a printing operation to be executed by the printer 10. The condition information according to the present embodiment includes size information, color information, tray information, sheet information, margin information, and first authentication information. However, a specific example of the condition information is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, the first authentication information need not be included in the condition information.

  The condition information is stored in the first area 62C when the driver program 66 is installed. Further, the driver program 66 can change the condition information stored in the first area 62C according to a user's instruction. More specifically, the driver program 66 reads condition information from the first area 62C in accordance with a reference instruction from the OS 64, and causes the display 53 to display the read condition information. Next, in response to receiving a user operation for changing the condition information through the input I / F 54, the driver program 66 overwrites the condition information stored in the first area 62C with the changed condition information.

  The condition information includes public information and private information. The public information is information that can be edited by other programs (for example, the editing program 65) installed in the information processing terminal 50. The private information is information that other programs installed in the information processing terminal 50 cannot be edited. In other words, the private information is information that can be edited only by the driver program 66. In the example of FIG. 2B, the size information and the color information are public information, and the tray information, sheet information, margin information, and first authentication information are private information.

  The size information indicates the size of the sheet used for the printing operation (for example, “A4”, “B5”, etc.). The color information indicates the color of the ink used for the printing operation (for example, “color”, “monochrome”, etc.). The tray information indicates one (for example, “Tray 1”, “Tray 2”, etc.) among a plurality of feeding trays provided in the printer 10. The sheet information indicates the type of sheet used for the printing operation (for example, “plain paper”, “glossy paper”, etc.). The margin information indicates whether or not a margin having a predetermined width is provided at the outer edge of the sheet in the printing operation (for example, “with margin”, “without margin”, etc.). The first authentication information is information indicating that the printer 10 has an authority to execute a printing operation, and is set through the input I / F 54, for example.

  Although the data structure of the public information is defined by the OS 64, FIG. 2B shows only typical items. On the other hand, the data structure of the private information may be different for each printer 10 or each driver program 66. Hereinafter, the execution condition indicated by the public information may be referred to as “public condition”, and the execution condition indicated by the private information may be referred to as “private condition”.

  The area 62B includes one or more queue areas 67A, 67B, and 67C as shown in FIG. The queue areas 67A to 67C are memory areas in which information to be transmitted to the printers 10A and 10B is stored. The queue areas 67A to 67C are associated with so-called printer ports that specify the printers 10A and 10B. That is, information to be transmitted to the printer 10A is stored in the queue areas 67A and 67B. Further, information to be transmitted to the printer 10B is stored in the queue area 67C. In the driver program 66, for example, queue areas 67A to 67C in which information is to be stored are specified from the OS 64 as function arguments. Hereinafter, the queue areas 67A to 67C designated for the driver program 66 may be referred to as “designated queues”.

  Information for instructing the printers 10A and 10B to execute various operations is stored in the queue areas 67A to 67C. More specifically, print instruction information shown in FIG. 3B, preparation instruction information shown in FIG. 3C, and status transmission instruction information (not shown) are stored in the queue areas 67A to 67C. . The print instruction information is information for instructing execution of a print operation, and includes authentication instruction information, feed instruction information, cueing instruction information, transport instruction information, ejection instruction information, discharge instruction information, and the like. The preparation instruction information is information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation. Status transmission instruction information (not shown) is information for instructing transmission of status information indicating the status of the printers 10A and 10B. However, specific examples of the information stored in the queue areas 67A to 67C are not limited to these.

  The queue area 67A is an area in which information transmitted by the OS 64 to the printer 10A via the communication I / F 55 is specified and stored in a transmission order. In other words, the OS 64 checks at a predetermined timing whether or not the instruction information is stored in the queue area 67A. Then, in response to determining that the instruction information is stored in the queue area 67A, the OS 64 transmits the instruction information to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55 in a predetermined transmission order, and transmits the transmitted instruction information. The information is deleted from the queue area 67A. The same applies to the queue areas 67B and 67C.

  More specifically, a job ID is added to the instruction information stored in the queue area 67A, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C. The job ID is information for specifying instruction information to be transmitted continuously in the queue area 67A. That is, the same job ID may be added to a plurality of pieces of instruction information. The OS 64 transmits a plurality of pieces of instruction information to which the same job ID is added in the order in which the pieces of instruction information are stored in the queue area 67A. In addition, the OS 64 transmits the instruction information to which different job IDs are added in the order in which the job IDs are generated.

  For example, in the queue area 67A shown in FIG. 3B, the OS 64 first transmits, in this order, the transport instruction information, the ejection instruction information, and the ejection instruction information to which the job ID “content data A” is added. Next, the OS 64 transmits the feed instruction information to which the job ID “content data B” is added and the cueing instruction information in this order. At this time, even if the feed instruction information to which the job ID “content data B” is added is written in the queue area 67A before the discharge instruction information to which the job ID “content data A” is added, Information is sent first. That is, a plurality of pieces of instruction information to which the same job ID has been added are continuously transmitted in the order of writing.

[System operation]
The operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The flowchart in this specification basically shows the processing of the CPUs 31 and 61 according to the instructions described in the program. That is, processes such as “determination”, “extraction”, “selection”, and “control” in the following description represent processes of the CPUs 31 and 61. The processing by the CPU 61 also includes hardware control via the OS 64. Further, “data” in this specification is represented by a bit string that can be read by a computer. Data having substantially the same meaning but different formats is treated as the same data. The same applies to “information” in the present specification.

  4 to 8, particularly FIGS. 5 and 6, particularly important processes in the present invention are illustrated, and other processes executed between the processes are not illustrated. More specifically, the OS 64 may call a function (not shown) in addition to the functions shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Further, in the following description, only representative arguments among the arguments specified at the time of calling each function are described, but other arguments may be specified. Further, in the following description, among the processes defined for each called function, a process that is particularly important in the present invention will be described, and a description of other processes may be omitted.

  First, the editing program 65 of the information processing terminal 50 causes the display 53 to display the editing screen shown in FIG. The editing screen includes a read instruction icon 111, a storage instruction icon 112, a print instruction icon 113, and an edit image 114. Then, the editing program 65 receives a user operation on the editing screen through the input I / F 54.

  Read instruction icon 111 corresponds to an instruction to read the content data stored in area 62B. The storage instruction icon 112 corresponds to an instruction to store content data indicating the edited image 114 in the area 62B. The print instruction icon 113 corresponds to an instruction to execute a print operation on content data. The edited image 114 is an image indicated by page data included in the content data. The editing program 65 according to the present embodiment displays the edited image 114 on the editing screen such that the longitudinal direction of the edited image 114 is along the vertical direction of the display 53.

  The editing program 65 displays a list of readable content data on the display 53 in response to receiving a user operation for designating the read instruction icon 111 through the input I / F 54. Next, the editing program 65 reads the content data specified through the input I / F 54 from the area 62B. Then, the editing program 65 causes the display 53 to display the edited image 114 indicated by the read content data. The editing program 65 edits the content data in response to receiving, via the input I / F 54, a user operation instructing editing of the edited image 114. The editing program 65 stores the edited content data in the area 62B in response to receiving a user operation for designating the storage instruction icon 112 through the input I / F 54.

  The editing program 65 temporarily stores, in the area 62B, a data ID for identifying the content data being edited in response to receiving a user operation for specifying the print instruction icon 113 through the input I / F 54. Hereinafter, the temporarily stored data ID is referred to as “designated data ID”, and the content data identified by the designated data ID is referred to as “designated content data”. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the designated data ID “content data C” is temporarily stored. Then, the editing program 65 executes a print instruction process. The print instruction process is a process for instructing the printer 10 to perform a print operation on the designated content data. The details of the print instruction process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Print instruction processing]
First, the editing program 65 secures a memory area necessary for storing the condition information in the second area 62D of the area 62B. The editing program 65 calls a read function defined in the OS 64 by designating a first pointer “DEVMODE” indicating the head address of the secured memory area as an argument. As a result, the condition information stored in the first area 62C is copied by the OS 64 to the memory area indicated by the first pointer “DEVMODE”. Hereinafter, the condition information stored in the memory area secured in the second area 62D is referred to as “editing condition information”.

  Next, the editing program 65 causes the display 53 to display the standard setting screen shown in FIG. 10 (S11). The standard setting screen includes a pull-down menu 121, radio buttons 122, 123, 124, 125, an [OK] icon 126, and a [Cancel] icon 127. Then, the editing program 65 receives a user operation on the standard setting screen through the input I / F 54 (S12).

  The pull-down menu 121 corresponds to an instruction for designating the printer 10 for executing the printing operation. Radio buttons 122 and 123 correspond to setting values “A4” and “B5” that can be set in the size information. The radio buttons 124 and 125 correspond to the setting values “color” and “monochrome” that can be set in the color information. On the standard setting screen displayed first, the states of the radio buttons 122 to 125 correspond to the setting values set in the editing condition information. The [OK] icon 126 corresponds to an instruction to cause the printer 10 to execute a printing operation on the designated content data according to the execution condition indicated by the editing condition information. [Cancel] icon 127 corresponds to an instruction to end the print instruction processing.

  The editing program 65 receives a user operation on the pull-down menu 121 through the input I / F 54, and stores a printer ID (hereinafter, referred to as “designated printer ID”) for identifying the designated printer 10 in the area 62B. To temporarily memorize. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the printer 10A identified by the printer ID “MFP-A” is specified. In addition, in response to receiving the user operation on the radio buttons 122 to 125 through the input I / F 54 (S12: setting change), the editing program 65 edits the editing conditions with the setting values corresponding to the designated radio buttons 122 to 125. The information is updated (S13).

  Then, the editing program 65 displays a standard setting screen on which the user operation is reflected on the display 53 (S11). In other words, the editing program 65 can receive, through the standard setting screen, the designation of the printer 10 for executing the printing operation and the change of the public information included in the editing condition information. On the other hand, the editing program 65 cannot accept a change in the private information included in the editing condition information.

  The editing program 65 executes StartDoc processing in response to the designation of the [OK] icon 126 being received through the input I / F 54 (S12: [OK] icon) (S14). On the other hand, although illustration is omitted, the editing program 65 ends the print instruction process in response to receiving the designation of the [Cancel] icon 127 through the input I / F 54. The StartDoc process is a pre-process for causing the printer 10 to execute a printing operation. Details of the StartDoc processing will be described with reference to FIG.

[StartDoc processing]
First, the editing program 65 calls a function "StartDoc ()" defined in the OS 64 (S21). Hereinafter, the function called in step Sxx may be referred to as “function Sxx”. The editing program 65 specifies the specified data ID “contents data C”, the specified printer ID “MFP-A”, and the first pointer as arguments of the function S21. The OS 64 calls various functions defined in the driver program 66 in a predetermined order in response to the call of the function S21. Further, the driver program 66 executes a process defined in the function called by the OS 64. Details of these processes are omitted.

  The OS 64 that has called the function S21 calls the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” (S22). The OS 64 specifies the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_FIRST” and the second pointer as arguments of the function S22. The second pointer is, for example, information indicating the start address of the first area 62C in which the condition information is stored or the start address of the memory area in which the condition information read from the first area 62C by the OS 64 is stored.

  Next, in response to the function S22 being called, the UI module 66A reads the condition information stored in the memory area indicated by the second pointer, and stores the read condition information in the second area 62D (S23). ), End the function S22 (S24). That is, in step S23, the UI module 66A stores the condition information read from the first area 62C in the second area 62D. The process of step S22 executed by the driver program 66 is an example of a reference receiving process, and the process of step S23 is an example of a storage process.

  Hereinafter, the condition information stored in the second area 62D in step S23 is referred to as “evacuation condition information”. Here, the edit condition information and the save condition information have the same private information, and the public information may be different. More specifically, if the editing condition information has been updated in step S13, the public information differs between the editing condition information and the save condition information.

  The OS 64 that has called the function S21 calls the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” (S25). The OS 64 specifies the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTDOCCDOC” as an argument of the function S25. The process in step S25 is performed after the process in step S22. Next, the UI module 66A, from which the function S25 is called, executes a preparation instruction process (S26). The preparation instruction process is a process of instructing the printer 10 to execute a pre-print operation. The process of step S25 executed by the UI module 66A is an example of a print instruction receiving process for receiving a print instruction from the OS 64. The details of the preparation instruction process will be described with reference to FIG.

  It is desirable that the instruction to execute the pre-print operation to the printer 10 is issued when it is certain that the print instruction information is transmitted to the printer 10. After the “OK” icon 126 on the standard setting screen is designated, the print instruction information is transmitted to the printer 10 without requiring the user's instruction through the input I / F 54. That is, the designation of the [OK] icon 126 can be regarded as an indication of a user's intention to instruct the printer 10 to execute a printing operation. Therefore, it is desirable that the UI module 66A executes the preparation instruction process after the [OK] icon 126 on the standard setting screen is designated.

  More specifically, the editing program 65 calls the function S21 in response to receiving the specification of the [OK] icon 126 on the standard setting screen through the input I / F 54 (S12: OK icon). The OS 64 may call the function defined in the UI module 66A at a timing other than when the function S21 is called (for example, at a timing when referring to the information of the printer driver). However, the OS 64 calls the function S25 only when the function S21 is called. Therefore, the UI module 66A according to the present embodiment executes the preparation instruction process in response to the call of the function S21.

[Preparation instruction processing]
As shown in FIG. 7A, first, the UI module 66A determines whether or not specific instruction information is stored in a queue area 67A that is a designated queue for the printer 10A (S61). The designated queue is designated as an argument of a function called by the OS 64. Further, the UI module 66A determines whether or not the specific instruction information is stored in another queue area 67B in which the information to be transmitted to the printer 10A is written (S62). Note that the UI module 66A also determines information written in the queue areas 67A and 67B by programs other than the driver program 66 in steps S61 and S62.

  The specific instruction information is instruction information indicating an instruction to operate the operation unit 20 of the printer 10. The specific instruction information according to the present embodiment includes preparation instruction information or print instruction information, and does not include status transmission instruction information. That is, the specific instruction information is written in the queue areas 67A to 67C by executing the processing of steps S45, S48, S53, and S64 described later by the driver program 66 or another program.

  Next, in response to determining that the specific instruction information is not stored in both the queue areas 67A and 67B (S61: No & S62: No), the UI module 66A stores the evacuation condition information stored in the second area 62D. The first authentication information "abc" is read out from (S63). Then, the UI module 66A transmits the preparation instruction information including the first authentication information “abc” read in step S63 to the printer 10A via the communication I / F 55 (S64). The process of step S63 is an example of an acquisition process, and the process of step S64 is an example of a preparation instruction process.

  More specifically, in step S64, the UI module 66A generates a job ID “__preparation__” which is an example of the generation identification information. Note that the UI module 66A generates a job ID so as not to overlap with a character string that can be the designated data ID. This is because the designated data ID is used as a job ID in step S29 described later. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the UI module 66A stores the prepared instruction information to which the generated job ID “__preparation__” is added in the queue area 67A (S64). The preparation instruction information stored in the queue area 67A is transmitted by the OS 64 to the printer 10A.

  On the other hand, the UI module 66A executes the processing of steps S63 and S64 in response to determining that the specific instruction information is stored in at least one of the queue areas 67A and 67B (S61: Yes / S62: Yes). Without this, the preparation instruction processing ends. That is, in steps S61 and S62, the UI module 66A determines whether or not the start of the pre-print operation is instructed by the preparation instruction information. In other words, the UI module 66A determines whether to transmit preparation instruction information before printing instruction information described later.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the UI module 66A ends the function S25 (S27). Next, in response to the termination of the function S25 (S27), the OS 64 calls the second function “DrvStartDoc ()” defined in the rendering module 66B (S28). The OS 64 specifies the specified data ID “content data C” and the first pointer specified as the arguments of the function S21 as the arguments of the function S28.

  Next, in response to the calling of the function S28, the rendering module 66B generates a print job having the specified data ID “contents data C” specified as an argument as the job ID in the queue area 67A that is the specified queue. Then (S29), the function S28 ends (S30). A job ID “contents data C” is added to various instruction information written in the queue area 67A in steps S45, S48, and S53 described later. However, the print job identified by the job ID “content data C” does not include the instruction information at this time. The specified data ID specified as an argument of the function S28 is an example of specified identification information specified by the OS 64.

  Next, the OS 64 calls the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” in response to the termination of the function S28 (S30) (S31). The OS 64 specifies a constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTDOCPOST” as an argument of the function S31. Next, the UI module 66A executes an instruction release process in response to the function S31 being called (S32). The details of the instruction release processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  The UI module 66A determines whether or not the instruction information to which the job ID “__preparation__” temporarily stored in step S64 is added is stored in the queue area 67A (S66). The instruction information to which the job ID “__preparation__” has been added refers to the preparation instruction information. In addition, the case where Yes is determined in step S66 includes, for example, a case where the communication I / F 55 is not connected to the communication network, a case where the power of the printer 10A is turned off, and the like.

  Then, in response to determining that the preparation instruction information is stored in the queue area 67A (S66: Yes), the UI module 66A deletes the preparation instruction information from the queue area 67A (S67). On the other hand, upon determining that the preparation instruction information is not stored in the queue area 67A (S66: No), the UI module 66A ends the instruction release processing without executing the processing of step S67. The process of step S66 is an example of a second determination process, and the process of step S67 is an example of a deletion process.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the UI module 66A ends the function S31 (S33). The OS 64 terminates the function S21 in response to the termination of the function S31 (S33) (S34). Thus, the StartDoc process ends. Returning to FIG. 4 after the function S21, the editing program 65 executes a StartPage process (S15). The StartPage process is a process for generating print instruction information. The StartPage process is executed for each page data included in the designated content data. The page data to be processed in the StartPage process is specified as an argument of a function by the editing program 65, for example. The details of the StartPage process will be described with reference to FIG.

[StartPage processing]
The editing program 65 calls a function “StartPage ()” defined in the OS 64 (S41). Next, the OS 64 calls the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” (S42). The OS 64 designates the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTPAGE” as an argument of the function S42. Next, the UI module 66A executes a predetermined process and ends the function S42 (S43).

  Next, in response to the termination of the function S42 (S43), the OS 64 calls a function “DrvStartPage ()” defined in the rendering module 66B (S44). Next, in response to the calling of the function S44, the rendering module 66B generates header instruction information and stores the generated header instruction information in the queue area 67A (S45). The header instruction information is print instruction information for instructing an operation to be executed before printing an image on a sheet in a series of operations for printing an image on one sheet. The header instruction information according to the present embodiment is authentication instruction information, feed instruction information, and cueing instruction information.

  The authentication instruction information is information for instructing whether or not the information processing terminal 50 that is the transmission source of the print instruction information has the authority to instruct the execution of the print operation. The authentication instruction information includes the same first authentication information “abc” as the first authentication information included in the preparation instruction information. More specifically, the editing program 65 reads the first authentication information from the editing condition information, and stores the authentication instruction information including the read first authentication information in the queue area 67A. The feed instruction information is information for feeding a sheet from the feed tray indicated by the tray information of the editing condition information to the transport unit 21. The cueing instruction information is information for causing the conveyance unit 21 to convey the fed sheet to a position where the first print area of the fed sheet faces the ejection unit 22.

  Then, the rendering module 66B ends the function S44 (S46). Next, the OS 64 ends the function S41 in response to the end of the function S44 (S46) (S47). Next, in response to the termination of the function S41 (S47), the editing program 65 calls a drawing function defined in the OS 64. Further, the OS 64 calls the drawing function defined in the rendering module 66B in response to the drawing function being called by the editing program 65.

  Then, the rendering module 66B generates print data from the page data by executing the plurality of rendering functions in a predetermined order. The print data is, for example, raster data obtained by rasterizing page data. Further, the rendering module 66B generates print instruction information for executing a print operation on the print data, and stores the generated print instruction information in the queue area 67A (S48). In step S48, ejection instruction information and transport instruction information are generated as described later.

  The ejection instruction information is information for indicating the ejection timing of the ink by the ejection unit 22 in order to print an image on the print area of the sheet facing the ejection unit 22. The conveyance instruction information is information for causing the conveyance unit 21 to convey a sheet to a position where a print area on which an image is to be printed next faces the ejection unit 22. The process of generating print data in step S48 is an example of a generation process. Hereinafter, details of a process in which the rendering module 66B generates the ejection instruction information and the transport instruction information will be described.

  First, at a predetermined timing after step S28, the rendering module 66B notifies the OS 64 of unit information indicating a unit of data transferred as a target of rasterization. In the unit information, for example, “page” instructing the transfer in page data units or “band” instructing the transfer in band data units is set. The band data is a part of the page data. More specifically, the page data is partitioned into a plurality of band data adjacent in the longitudinal direction. The image represented by the band data has a larger area than the image represented by the path data described later.

  The rendering module 66B notifies the OS 64 of the unit information “page”, for example, in response to the setting of the specific size (for example, A4) in the size information of the editing condition information. A sheet of a specific size is conveyed by the conveyance unit 21 of the printer 10 in a state where the short side direction of the sheet coincides with the conveyance direction. Further, on a sheet of a specific size, an image is printed by the ejection unit 22 of the printer 10 that moves along the longitudinal direction of the sheet.

  On the other hand, the rendering module 66B notifies the OS 64 of the unit information “band”, for example, in response to the non-specific size (for example, other than A4) set in the size information of the editing condition information. A sheet of a non-specific size is conveyed by the conveyance unit 21 of the printer 10 in a state where the longitudinal direction of the sheet is made to coincide with the conveyance direction. In addition, an image is printed on a sheet of a non-specific size by the ejection unit 22 of the printer 10 that moves along the short direction of the sheet.

  The unit information may be notified as a return value of a function called by the OS 64, for example. The specific size may be different for each of the printers 10A and 10B, for example. The specific size for each of the printers 10A and 10B may be described in the source code of the driver program 66, or the driver program 66 may inquire the printers 10A and 10B.

  The OS 64 that has obtained the unit information “page” transfers the page data to the rendering module 66B in step S48. The rendering module 66B rasterizes the entire page data passed from the OS 64 to generate raster data. Next, the rendering module 66B rotates the raster data developed in the area 62B by 90 ° in the area 62B. Next, the rendering module 66B extracts path data indicating an image to be printed on one of the print areas from the raster data rotated by 90 °. Then, the rendering module 66B generates ejection instruction information and transport instruction information based on each of the extracted path data, and writes the generated ejection instruction information and transport instruction information into the queue area 67A in order. The rendering module 66B continuously extracts path data, generates ejection instruction information and transport instruction information, and writes the generated information to the queue area 67A for all the path data included in the page data.

  On the other hand, the OS 64 having acquired the unit information “band” transfers one of the plurality of band data included in the page data to the rendering module 66B in step S48. The rendering module 66B rasterizes the entire band data passed from the OS 64 to generate raster data. Next, the rendering module 66B generates ejection instruction information and transport instruction information based on the raster data, and writes the generated ejection instruction information and transport instruction information to the queue area 67A. Then, the above-described processing is repeatedly performed on all band data constituting the page data.

  That is, in the case of the unit information “page”, the first ejection instruction information is written in the queue area 67A only after the entire page data is converted into raster data and the raster data is rotated by 90 ° in the area 62B. Become. On the other hand, in the case of the unit information “band”, the first ejection instruction information is written to the queue area 67A after the entire band data, which is a part of the page data, is converted into raster data. That is, the time from when the [OK] icon 126 is designated to when the first ejection instruction information is written in the queue area 67A is longer in the case of the unit information “page” than in the case of the unit information “band”.

  Next, the editing program 65 calls the function “EndPage ()” defined in the OS 64 in response to the end of the processing of step S48 for the designated page data (S49). Next, the OS 64 calls the first function “DrvDocumentEvent ()” (S50). The OS 64 specifies the constant “DOCUMENTEVENT_ENDPAGE” as an argument of the function S50. Next, the UI module 66A executes a predetermined process and ends the function S50 (S51).

  Next, in response to the termination of the function S50 (S51), the OS 64 calls the function “DrvEndPage ()” defined in the rendering module 66B (S52). Next, in response to the function S52 being called, the rendering module 66B generates ejection instruction information and stores the generated ejection instruction information in the queue area 67A (S53). The discharge instruction information is information for discharging the sheet on which the image is printed to the transport unit 21.

  The plurality of pieces of print instruction information written in the queue area 67A by the StartPage process shown in FIG. 6 are transmitted to the printer 10A in the order of writing by the OS 64. Typically, the OS 64 transmits the authentication instruction information, the feed instruction information, the cueing instruction information, the ejection instruction information, the transport instruction information, the ejection instruction information,..., The ejection instruction information to the printer 10A through the communication I / F 55. In this order. The processing of step S45, the processing of storing the print instruction information in the queue area 67A in step S48, and the processing of step S53 are examples of print instruction processing for transmitting the print instruction information to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55.

  Then, the rendering module 66B ends the function S52 (S54). Next, the OS 64 ends the function S49 in response to the end of the function S52 (S54). Thus, the StartPage process ends. Next, returning to FIG. 4, the editing program 65 determines whether or not StartPage processing has been performed on all the page data included in the designated content data (S16). Then, in response to determining that there is page data for which the StartPage process has not been executed (S16: Yes), the editing program 65 executes the StartPage process for the page data (S15).

  Then, the editing program 65 executes EndDoc processing in response to determining that the StartPage processing for all page data has been completed (S16: No) (S17). The EndDoc process is a post-process after the printer 10 performs a printing operation. The EndDoc process is a well-known process that is started when the function “EndDoc ()” defined in the OS 64 is called by the editing program 65, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[Print processing]
Next, a printing process executed by the printer 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 10 executes the printing process in response to receiving the preparation instruction information or the print instruction information from the information processing terminal 50 via the communication I / F 25. The following processes may be executed by the CPU 31 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 32, or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 30.

  The control unit 30 of the printer 10 receives the preparation instruction information from the information processing terminal 50 via the communication I / F 25 (S71: preparation instruction). The process of receiving the preparation instruction information in step S71 is an example of a first reception process. Then, in response to receiving the preparation instruction information (S71: preparation instruction), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the information processing terminal 50 that has transmitted the preparation instruction information has the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation. Is determined (S72). The process in step S72 is an example of a first determination process.

  More specifically, the control unit 30 determines whether an authentication information record including the same second authentication information as the first authentication information “abc” included in the received preparation instruction information is registered in the authentication information list. to decide. Next, in response to determining that the authentication information record including the second authentication information “abc” has been registered, the control unit 30 compares the accumulated number of authentication information records with the threshold number. Then, the control unit 30 determines that the information processing terminal 50 has the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation in response to the determination that the accumulated number is less than the threshold. On the other hand, in response to determining that the authentication information record including the second authentication information “abc” has not been registered, or in response to determining that the cumulative number has reached the threshold number, It is determined that the information processing terminal 50 does not have the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation.

  Then, in response to determining that the information processing terminal 50 does not have the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation (S72: No), the control unit 30 skips the processing of steps S73 to S76. On the other hand, in response to determining that the information processing terminal 50 has the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation (S72: Yes), the control unit 30 determines whether the power supply unit 11 is in the sleep state (S73). . The control unit 30 may store flag information indicating the current state of the power supply unit 11 in the RAM 33 or the EEPROM 34, for example, and make the determination in step S73 based on the flag information. However, the method of the determination in step S73 is not limited to the above example.

  Next, in response to determining that the power supply unit 11 is in the sleep state (S73: Yes), the control unit 30 switches the power supply unit 11 from the sleep state to the drive state (S74). More specifically, the control unit 30 outputs a high-level power signal to the power unit 11. The process in step S74 is an example of a switching process. On the other hand, the control unit 30 skips the processing of step S74 in response to determining that the power supply unit 11 is in the driving state (S73: No). The process of step S73 is an example of a state determination process, and the process of step S74 is an example of a switching process.

  Next, the control unit 30 notifies the reception of the preparation instruction information through the display 23 (S75). The control unit 30 may turn on the backlight of the display 23 for a predetermined time, for example. The process in step S75 is an example of a notification process. The display 23 is an example of a notification unit. However, a specific example of the notification process is not limited to this, and an LED lamp (not shown) may be turned on, or a notification sound may be output to a speaker (not shown).

  Next, the control unit 30 causes the operation unit 20 to execute a pre-print operation (S76). The pre-printing operation is an operation to be executed by the printer 10 in order to print a predetermined quality image on a sheet in the printing operation. The pre-printing operation includes, for example, an uncapped process in which a cap covering the nozzle surface is separated from the ejection unit 22, a flushing process in which ink is ejected to the ejection unit 22 outside a region where the sheet passes, and a power supply voltage of the power supply unit 11 is set to a target voltage. Or some or all of the boosting processing for boosting the pressure. The process in step S76 is an example of a pre-print process.

  Further, the control unit 30 stores flag information corresponding to each of the plurality of pre-printing operations in the RAM 33 or the EEPROM 34. At the start of the pre-print processing, a second value “OFF” corresponding to the fact that the pre-print operation has not been completed is set in all the flag information. Then, in response to the completion of one of the pre-print operations, the control unit 30 sets a first value “ON” corresponding to the end of the pre-print operation to the flag information corresponding to the completed pre-print operation. I do.

  Next, the control unit 30 receives print instruction information from the information processing terminal 50 via the communication I / F 25 (S71: print instruction). That is, the control unit 30 transmits the authentication instruction information, the feed instruction information, the cueing instruction information, the ejection instruction information, the transport instruction information, the ejection instruction information,..., The ejection instruction information to the information processing terminal through the communication I / F 25. 50 in this order. The process of receiving the print instruction information in step S71 is an example of a second reception process.

  Next, in response to receiving the authentication instruction information (S71: printing instruction), the control unit 30 determines whether the information processing terminal 50 that has transmitted the authentication instruction information has the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation. Is determined (S77). The process in step S77 is an example of the second determination process, and may be similar to step S72. Then, in response to determining that the information processing terminal 50 does not have the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation (S77: No), the control unit 30 skips the processing of steps S78 to S83.

  On the other hand, in response to determining that the information processing terminal 50 has the authority to instruct the execution of the printing operation (S77: Yes), the control unit 30 determines whether the pre-print processing has been completed (S78). . More specifically, the control unit 30 determines that the pre-print processing has ended in response to the fact that the first value “ON” is set in all the flag information associated with the pre-print operation (S78). : Yes). On the other hand, the control unit 30 determines that the pre-print processing has not been completed in response to the second value “OFF” being set in at least one piece of flag information associated with the pre-print operation (S78). : No).

  The reception interval between the preparation instruction information and the print instruction information varies depending on, for example, the amount of processing in step S48, the state of the communication network, and the like. That is, the pre-print process started by using the preparation instruction information as a trigger may not be completed when the print instruction information is received. Therefore, in response to determining that the pre-print process has not been completed (S78: No), the control unit 30 waits for the execution of the subsequent process until the pre-print process is completed. Then, in response to determining that the pre-print processing has been completed (S78: Yes), the control unit 30 causes the operation unit 20 to execute a printing operation according to the received print instruction information (S79 to S83). The processing of steps S79 to S83 is an example of the printing processing.

  First, the control unit 30 executes a feeding process according to the received feeding instruction information and a cueing process according to the cueing instruction information (S79). That is, the control unit 30 causes the transport unit 21 to feed the sheets stored in the feed tray indicated by the feed instruction information. Next, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to convey the sheet fed in the feeding process to a position indicated by the cueing instruction information. Note that these processes may be executed in a pre-print process.

  Next, the control unit 30 executes a discharge process according to the received discharge instruction information (S80). That is, the control unit 30 moves the ejection unit 22 from one side to the other in the main scanning direction, and causes the ejection unit 22 to eject ink at the ejection timing indicated by the ejection instruction information. Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the image has been printed on all the print areas of the sheet (S81). In other words, the control unit 30 determines which of the transport instruction information and the discharge instruction information has been received next to the ejection instruction information used in the latest step S80.

  Next, in response to determining that the image has not been printed in all the print areas of the sheet (S81: No), the control unit 30 executes a transport process according to the received transport instruction information (S82). . That is, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to convey the sheet by the conveyance amount indicated by the conveyance instruction information. The control unit 30 repeatedly executes the processing of steps S80 to S82 until the image is printed on all the print areas of the sheet (S81: No).

  Then, in response to determining that the image has been printed on all the print areas of the sheet (S81: Yes), the control unit 30 executes a discharge process according to the received discharge instruction information (S83). That is, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to discharge the sheet on which the image is printed to the outside of the printer 10. If the specified content data includes a plurality of page data, the processes of steps S79 to S83 are repeatedly executed. Thereby, the image indicated by the print data generated in step S48, in other words, the image indicated by the designated content data is printed on the sheet.

[Operation and effect of the present embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, the information processing terminal 50 transmits the preparation instruction information including the first authentication information, and the printer 10 having received the preparation instruction information determines that the first authentication information and the second authentication information match. In response, the control unit 20 causes the operation unit 20 to execute the pre-print operation. Thus, by executing the pre-print operation after confirming that the user has the authority to execute the print operation, unnecessary execution of the pre-print operation can be suppressed. In addition, since the print data is generated in the information processing terminal 50 while the printer 10 performs the pre-print operation according to the preparation instruction information, the first sheet is ejected from the printer after the execution instruction of the print operation is input. FPOT, which is the time required to complete, can be shortened.

  In addition, as in the above embodiment, the first authentication information is included in the condition information as private information, and the condition information stored in the first area 62C is saved in the second area 62D, so that an appropriate The first authentication information can be transmitted to the printer 10. However, the method of obtaining the first authentication information is not limited to the above-described example. For example, the UI module 66A may acquire the user ID of the user who has logged in to the information processing terminal 50 from the OS 64 as the first authentication information in step S63. More specifically, the UI module 66A may call an API provided by the OS 64 and acquire the first authentication information as a return value of the API.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the accumulated number and the threshold number are compared in addition to the comparison of the authentication information, the execution of the unnecessary pre-printing operation is further suppressed. Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of authority is determined at the execution timing of each of the pre-print operation and the print operation. Therefore, the state from receiving the preparation instruction information to receiving the print instruction information is determined by the printer. No need to manage.

  Although not shown, the EEPROM 34 of the printer 10 may store an authentication flag. The authentication flag is an example of flag information indicating whether or not to execute the processing of steps S72 and S77. As the authentication flag, a first value “ON” corresponding to an instruction to execute the processing of steps S72 and S77 or a second value “OFF” corresponding to an instruction not to execute the processing of steps S72 and S77 is set. Further, control unit 30 may determine the set value of the authentication flag in response to receiving the preparation instruction information and the authentication instruction information. Then, the control unit 30 may execute the processing of steps S72 and S77 in response to determining that the first value “ON” is set in the authentication flag. On the other hand, the control unit may skip steps S72 and S77 in response to determining that the second value “OFF” is set in the authentication flag.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, whether or not to transmit the preparation instruction information is determined at the timing when the function S25 is called, so that the printer 10 does not need to perform an unnecessary pre-print operation. That is, it is possible to instruct the printer 10 to execute the pre-print operation at an appropriate timing. Further, when the specific instruction information has already been written in the queue area, the operation unit 20 of the printer 10 operates according to the specific instruction information. In such a case, as in the above-described embodiment, the preparation instruction processing is skipped, so that the printer 10 does not needlessly perform the pre-printing operation. Further, by checking not only the designated queue but also all the queue areas in which the instruction information to be transmitted to the printer 10 is written, unnecessary execution of the pre-printing operation can be further effectively suppressed.

  On the other hand, when the transmission interval between the preparation instruction information and the print instruction information is short, the merit of pre-starting the pre-print operation by the preparation instruction information is reduced. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, if the preparation instruction information still remains in the queue area despite the print job being generated, the preparation instruction information is deleted from the queue area, and the The amount of communication with the information processing terminal 50 can be reduced.

  When the printer 10 prints an image on a sheet of a specific size, the print data is generated after reversing the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the designated content data. The generation process takes longer time than when an image is printed. Therefore, by executing the generation processing by the information processing terminal 50 and the pre-print processing by the printer 10 in parallel as in the above configuration, the FPOT can be reduced. Furthermore, as described above, the FPOT can be further reduced by executing the generation processing by the information processing terminal 50 and the switching processing by the printer 10 in parallel.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the notification unit notifies that the printer 10 has received the preparation instruction information. As a result, the user who has instructed the execution of the printing operation can be made aware that the printer 10 has started the operation.

  Further, in the printer 10 and the information processing terminal 50 of the above-described embodiment, various processes stored in the ROM 32 or the memory 62 are executed by the CPUs 31 and 61, thereby realizing each process executed by the control unit of the present invention. Examples have been described. However, the configuration of the control unit is not limited to this, and a part or all of the control unit may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit.

  Further, the present invention can be realized not only as the printer 10 and the information processing terminal 50 but also as a program for causing the printer 10 and the information processing terminal 50 to execute processing. Then, the program may be provided by being recorded on a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium may include a storage unit mounted on a server that can be connected to the printer 10 and the information processing terminal 50 via a communication network, in addition to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like. The program stored in the storage unit of the server may be distributed as information or a signal indicating the program through a communication network such as the Internet.

10 Printer 23, 53 Display 24, 54 Input I / F
25, 55 ... Communication I / F
30 ... Control unit 31, 61 ... CPU
32 ... ROM
50 ... information processing terminal 62 ... memory 66 ... driver program

Claims (10)

And program readable by an information processing terminal having a first communication interface, a printing system including a printer,
Before Kipu program is
Causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction reception process of receiving a print instruction from the OS of the information processing terminal, wherein the print instruction indicates that an instruction to cause the printer to execute a print operation has been input by a user;
In response to receiving the print instruction in the print instruction reception process, the information processing terminal executes a preparation instruction process of transmitting preparation instruction information including first authentication information to the printer through the first communication interface, It said preparation instruction information is information instructing the execution of the pre-printing operation to print an image of a predetermined quality sheet by the print operation, the first authentication information, authority to execute the printing operation in the printer Is information indicating that the
A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
And causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction process of transmitting print instruction information to the printer through the first communication interface, wherein the print instruction information executes the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. Information to instruct,
The printer is
An operation unit that executes the pre-printing operation and the printing operation;
A second communication interface;
Device memory;
And a control unit.
The control unit includes:
A first reception process of receiving the preparation instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
In response to receiving the preparation instruction information in the first reception process, whether the first authentication information included in the preparation instruction information matches the second authentication information stored in the device memory A first determination process of determining
A pre-print process that causes the operation unit to execute the pre-print operation in response to the first determination process determining that the first authentication information matches the second authentication information;
A second reception process of receiving the print instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
A print process for receiving the print instruction information in the second reception process and, in response to the completion of the pre-print process, causing the operation unit to execute the print operation according to the print instruction information. system. The information processing terminal further includes a terminal memory including a first area in which information can be referenced only when a reference instruction is received from an OS, and a second area in which information can be referenced without receiving the reference instruction. And
The first area is information indicating an execution condition of the printing operation, and includes public information that can be edited by another program installed in the information processing terminal, and private information that can be edited only by the program. It stores condition information,
The first authentication information is the private information,
The program is
A reference receiving process of receiving the reference instruction from the OS;
Storing, in the second area, the condition information read from the first area in response to receiving the reference instruction in the reference reception processing; Let the terminal run
The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein in the preparation instruction processing, the first authentication information stored in the second area is included in the preparation instruction information . A printing system comprising: a program readable by an information processing terminal having a first communication interface; and a printer,
The program is
Causing the information processing terminal to execute an acquisition process for acquiring the first authentication information from the OS of the information processing terminal, wherein the first authentication information is information for identifying a user of the information processing terminal, and is printed on the printer. Information indicating that the user has the authority to perform the operation,
Causing the information processing terminal to execute a preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information including the first authentication information acquired in the acquisition process to the printer through the first communication interface; The first authentication information is information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet.
A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
And causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction process of transmitting print instruction information to the printer through the first communication interface, wherein the print instruction information executes the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. Information to instruct,
The printer is
An operation unit that executes the pre-printing operation and the printing operation;
A second communication interface;
Device memory;
And a control unit.
The control unit includes:
A first reception process of receiving the preparation instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
In response to receiving the preparation instruction information in the first reception process, whether the first authentication information included in the preparation instruction information matches the second authentication information stored in the device memory A first determination process of determining
A pre-print process that causes the operation unit to execute the pre-print operation in response to the first authentication process determining that the first authentication information matches the second authentication information;
A second reception process of receiving the print instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
A print process for receiving the print instruction information in the second reception process and, in response to the completion of the pre-print process, causing the operation unit to execute the print operation according to the print instruction information. system. A printing system, comprising: a program readable by an information processing terminal including a first communication interface, a terminal memory including a queue area, and a printer,
The queue area is an area in which information transmitted by the OS of the information processing terminal to the printer through the first communication interface is specified and stored in a transmission order,
The program is
The preparation instruction information including the first authentication information is stored in the queue area, and the information processing terminal executes a preparation instruction process for transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the first communication interface. Is information that instructs execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet, and the first authentication information is information indicating that the printer has authority to execute the print operation,
A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
Storing the print instruction information in the queue area, and causing the information processing terminal to execute print instruction processing for transmitting the print instruction information to the printer via the first communication interface; Information instructing execution of the printing operation on the print data generated in the
The printer is
An operation unit that executes the pre-printing operation and the printing operation;
A second communication interface;
Device memory;
And a control unit.
The control unit includes:
A first reception process of receiving the preparation instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
In response to receiving the preparation instruction information in the first reception process, whether the first authentication information included in the preparation instruction information matches the second authentication information stored in the device memory A first determination process of determining
A pre-print process that causes the operation unit to execute the pre-print operation in response to the first determination process determining that the first authentication information matches the second authentication information;
A second reception process of receiving the print instruction information from the information processing terminal through the second communication interface;
A print process for receiving the print instruction information in the second reception process and, in response to the completion of the pre-print process, causing the operation unit to execute the print operation according to the print instruction information. system. In the print instruction process, the program transmits the print instruction information including the first authentication information to the printer through the first communication interface,
The control unit includes:
Whether the first authentication information included in the print instruction information matches the second authentication information stored in the device memory in response to receiving the print instruction information in the second reception process A second determination process of determining whether
5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing process is performed in response to a determination in the second determination process that the first authentication information matches the second authentication information . 6. The apparatus memory stores the second authentication information and the number information in association with each other, and the number information includes the print instruction information including the same first authentication information as the corresponding second authentication information. Indicates the cumulative number of sheets on which images are printed according to
The control unit includes:
In the first determination processing and the second determination processing, it is further determined whether the cumulative number has reached a threshold value,
Executing the pre-printing process in response to the first authentication information matching the second authentication information and determining in the first determination process that the cumulative number is less than the threshold,
6. The printing process according to claim 5, wherein the printing process is executed in response to the first authentication information matching the second authentication information and determining in the second determination process that the accumulated number of sheets is less than the threshold. printing system. The device memory stores a first value corresponding to an instruction to compare the first authentication information with the second authentication information, or a second value corresponding to an instruction not to compare the first authentication information with the second authentication information. It stores flag information for which a value is set,
The control unit includes:
Receiving the preparation instruction information in the first receiving process, and executing the first determining process in response to the first value being set in the flag information;
The printing according to claim 5, wherein the print instruction information is received in the second reception process, and the second determination process is executed in response to the first value being set in the flag information. system.   A program readable by an information processing terminal having a communication interface,
  The program is
  Causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction reception process of receiving a print instruction from the OS of the information processing terminal, wherein the print instruction indicates that an instruction to cause the printer to execute a print operation has been input by the user;
  And causing the information processing terminal to execute a preparation instruction process of transmitting preparation instruction information including first authentication information to the printer through the communication interface in response to receiving the print instruction in the print instruction reception process. The instruction information is information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet in the print operation, and the first authentication information has an authority to cause the printer to execute the print operation. Information indicating that
  A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
  And causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction process of transmitting print instruction information to the printer through the communication interface, wherein the print instruction information instructs execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. A program that is information. A program readable by an information processing terminal having a first communication interface,
The program is
Causing the information processing terminal to execute an acquisition process of acquiring the first authentication information from the OS of the information processing terminal, wherein the first authentication information is information for identifying a user of the information processing terminal, and the printer performs a printing operation. Is information indicating that the user has the authority to execute
Causing the information processing terminal to execute a preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information including the first authentication information acquired in the acquisition process to the printer via the first communication interface; Information for instructing execution of a pre-print operation for printing a quality image on a sheet,
A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
And causing the information processing terminal to execute a print instruction process of transmitting print instruction information to the printer through the first communication interface, wherein the print instruction information executes the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. The program that is the information to direct .   A program readable by an information processing terminal including a first communication interface and a terminal memory including a queue area,
  The queue area is an area in which information transmitted by the OS of the information processing terminal to the printer through the first communication interface is specified in a transmission order and stored.
  The program is
  The preparation instruction information including the first authentication information is stored in the queue area, and the information processing terminal executes a preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the first communication interface. Is information that instructs execution of a pre-print operation for printing an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet, and the first authentication information is information indicating that the printer has an authority to execute the print operation,
  A generation process of generating print data to be subjected to the printing operation based on image data specified by a user in response to executing the preparation instruction process;
  Storing the print instruction information in the queue area, and causing the information processing terminal to execute print instruction processing for transmitting the print instruction information to the printer via the first communication interface; A program as information for instructing execution of the printing operation on the generated print data.

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