JPH11134276A - Device and method for image formation and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To directly acquire data from a WWW server on a network without passing through an information processor and to prevent unnecessary data from being acquired by deterring a data acquiring means from operating once it is determined prior to acquisition that the data to be acquired is a specified data file. SOLUTION: This image forming device acquires information contained in homepages from WWW servers 12 and 13 through a network I/F part 7. It is determined whether or not data to be acquired is a previously specified data file, and when it is determined that the data is the specified data file before acquisition, control is so performed to deter the operation for data acquisition. When there is, for example, an HREF option, an HREF processing is started by HTML Parser 253, and when it is recognized that the file to be acquired is a sound file or CGI, access to the WWW servers 12 and 13 is stopped. Consequently, unnecessary data which need not be printed are not acquired.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for printing data stored in a WWW server,
The present invention relates to an image forming method and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the networking of information, a WWW (World Wide Web) server holding various information, and an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Pr
otocol) is connected to a computer equipped with dedicated software (hereinafter referred to as a browser) for access via a network (Internet or intranet), and a system capable of referring to information on a WWW server from the computer has been realized. I have. In this system, since the information on the WWW server can be stored in the computer by the browser, the user instructs the printer to print out the information once stored in the computer. The above information can be printed out.

A system for printing information stored in the WWW server will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional system for printing information stored in a WWW server.

In this system, as shown in FIG. 19, a PC client 11 equipped with a browser can connect to an intranet WWW server 12 via an intranet and connect to an Internet WWW server 13 via an internet network 14. It is possible. A printer 15 that is shared with other clients including the PC client 11 is connected on the intranet.

[0005] The PC client 11 is connected to the intranet W
When acquiring information such as homepage data of the WW server 12, a browser on the PC client 11 is first activated. Next, this browser is called Intranet W
It accesses the WWW server 12 and acquires information stored in the WWW server 12. The acquired information is displayed on the display of the PC client 11.

Similarly, when information such as homepage data of the Internet WWW server 13 is acquired, the information is acquired by accessing the Internet WWW server 13 via the Internet network 14, and the acquired information is displayed on a display. I do.

When printing the acquired information, a print menu is activated from a browser on the PC client 11, and
The acquired information is converted by the browser into print data that can be printed by the printer 15 and transmitted to the printer 15. The printer 15 that has obtained the print data executes a printing process based on the obtained data.

An HREF option indicating a hyperlink destination is described in the HTML document data from the WWW server. The HREF option is an option that is always required for the anchor tag <A>.

[0009] For example, and it has been described as click <P> the <A HREF="foo.html"> here </A>, in the browser, "this
Click here, and click here with the mouse to move the display to "foo.html".

[0010] Also, CGI (Common)
Gateway Interface). In the CGI processing, when data is sent from a browser to a WWW server in a form or the like, the CG is sent to the WWW server.
I script works. The WWW server creates the processing result as HTML format data, and creates the created HTML.
Format data to the browser. The browser receiving the data in the HTML format operates to display the data.

One of the CGIs is a clickable map. The clickable map is pasted as an image on a homepage, and when this image is clicked, it operates so as to display a specified URL. HTML for operating the clickable map is described as follows.

<A HREF="/cgi-bin/imagemap/foo"><IMG S
RC = "/ map / foo.gif"ISMAP></A> With this description, the browser displays the foo.gif image in the / map directory.

When this image is clicked on with a mouse, the coordinates of the click are transmitted to the WWW server. The WWW server operates to select a corresponding HTML document based on the clicked position and transmit the selected HTML document to the browser.

[0014]

However, in the above-described conventional system, when printing the information held by the WWW servers 12, 13, the PC client 11 uses the W client.
Since the processing of converting the information of the WW servers 12 and 13 into data that can be printed by the printer 15 is performed, the processing load is increased on the PC client 11 and the processing is executed when other programs are executed in parallel. The above may cause trouble.

Further, the print data often becomes large-size data, and the print data is transmitted to the printer 15 via the network. Therefore, the load on the network becomes heavy, and the other data connected to the network may become heavy. The operation of the system may be hindered.

Further, as described above, the HTML document has a hyperlink function, and can link to another HTML document described by HREF = "foo.html". Foo.html
The display shifts to.

[0017] Without printing after displaying on the browser,
In a system for directly printing an HTML document of a WWW server, when printing a plurality of HTML documents linked using the above link function, a portion described as HREF = "foo.html" is searched for, and printing of html is performed. Do. But HR
What is described with EF = is not always an HTML document, and may be CGI. When accessing the CGI, it is often necessary to transmit data to the server. However, this direct printing system does not include means for transmitting parameters to the CGI.

For example, in the clickable map, unless the clicked coordinates are passed, an error occurs, and an HTML document in which error information is written is created on the WWW server. As a result, an HTML document describing error information that is meaningless and meaningless to the user is printed.

There are also files on the homepage that have nothing to do with printing, such as audio files. An example of this file is an audio file. Until you access this audio file and analyze this file, you won't know if it's a handleable file,
Useless data will be sent out on the network.

An object of the present invention is to provide a WWW on a network.
An image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a storage medium capable of directly acquiring data from a server without passing through an information processing apparatus and preventing the acquisition of unnecessary data that wastes printing are prevented. To provide.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an image forming apparatus for printing data held by a WWW server on a network, a data acquisition unit for accessing the WWW server via the network and acquiring data held by the WWW server; Image data generating means for generating printable image data from data, printing means for printing the image data generated by the image data generating means, and data to be obtained by the access when the data obtaining means accesses the data. A determination unit for determining whether or not the data file is a data file specified in advance, and wherein the data to be obtained is determined by the determination unit before the data obtaining unit obtains the data to be obtained. When it is determined that the data acquisition means is controlled, control is performed to suppress the operation of the data acquisition means. It is characterized in.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the specified data file is a CGI program.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, the CGI program is a clickable map.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the specified data file is an audio file.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method for printing data held by a WWW server on a network using an image forming apparatus having a printing unit for printing image data. A step of determining whether or not the data to be obtained by the access is a data file specified in advance when accessing, and the data to be obtained is stored in the specified data file before the data to be obtained is obtained. If it is determined that there is
Controlling the access operation to the WWW server to be suppressed; and determining that the acquisition target data is not the specified data file, accessing the WWW server and retrieving the acquisition target data from the WWW server. And a step of generating image data that can be printed by the printing unit from the obtained acquisition target data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the fifth aspect, the specified data file is a CGI program.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the sixth aspect, the CGI program is a clickable map.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to the fifth aspect, the specified data file is an audio file.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a program for constructing a system for printing data held by a WWW server on a network is stored on an image forming apparatus having a printing unit for printing image data. In the storage medium, the program accesses the WWW server via the network, and acquires a data held by the WWW server; and an image data printable by the printing unit from the acquired data. An image data generation module that generates a data file; a determination module that determines whether data to be obtained by the access is a data file specified in advance when the data obtaining unit accesses the data; Before obtaining the target data, the determination module If the target data is determined to the a specified data file, characterized in that it comprises a control module for controlling to inhibit the operation of the data acquisition module.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2, and an image input / output control unit 3. The reader unit 1 reads an image of a document, and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to the printer unit 2 and the image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 records an image corresponding to image data from the reader unit 1 and the image input / output control unit 3 on recording paper. The image input / output control unit 3 connects the reader unit 1, and also includes a facsimile unit 4, a file unit 5, a network I / F unit (network interface unit).
7, a formatter unit 8, an image memory unit 9, and a core unit 10.

The facsimile unit 4 decompresses the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the decompressed image data to the core unit 10, and compresses and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10. Is a circuit for transmitting the compressed image data obtained through a telephone line. A hard disk 12 is connected to the facsimile unit 4.
Can temporarily store the received compressed image data.

A magneto-optical disk drive 6 is connected to the file unit 5. The file unit 5 compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and sends the compressed image data to the magneto-optical disk drive 6 together with a keyword for searching the image data. Write to the set magneto-optical disk. The file unit 5 searches compressed image data stored in the magneto-optical disk based on the keyword transferred via the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses the image data, and stores the decompressed image data in the core. Transfer to unit 10.

The network I / F unit 7 has an interface for connecting the image input / output control unit 3 to a network. This network consists of an intranet, which has a plurality of intranets WWW.
The server 12 is connected, and is connected to an Internet network 14 that spreads all over the world. The Internet network 14 has a huge number of Internet WWW servers 1
3 and each WWW server 12, 13 publishes a homepage. In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, each WWW server 1 is connected via a network I / F unit 7.
The information of each home page can be obtained from 2 and 13.

The formatter unit 8 has a network I / F
A circuit for developing code data representing an image transferred from a computer connected to the unit 7 into image data printable by the printer unit 2.

The image memory section 9 is a circuit for temporarily storing image data.

Although the core unit 10 will be described later, the core unit 10 includes a reader unit 1, a facsimile unit 4, a file unit 5,
It controls the flow of data between each block of the network I / F unit 7, formatter unit 8, and image memory unit 9.

Next, the configurations of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of an image input / output device in which a reader unit 1 and a printer unit 2 are provided integrally.

As shown in FIG. 2, a document feeder 101 is mounted on the reader unit 1. The document feeder 101 feeds a document one by one from a last page onto a platen glass 102 one by one. After the document reading operation is completed, the document on the platen glass 102 is discharged.

When the original is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on and the scanner unit 10 is turned on.
The movement of No. 4 is started. The original is exposed and scanned by the movement of the scanner unit 104, and the reflected light from the original at the time of the exposure scanning is transmitted through a mirror 105, 106, 107 and a lens 108 to a CCD image sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a CCD image sensor).
(Referred to as CCD) 109. Thus, the scanned image of the original is read by the CCD 109,
The CD 109 converts an optically read image into image data by photoelectric conversion and outputs the image data. The image data output from the CCD 109 is subjected to predetermined processing and then transferred to the printer unit 2 and the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 via a video bus (not shown).

The printer unit 2 inputs the image data output from the reader unit 1 to the laser driver 201. The laser driver 201 drives the laser emitting unit 221 based on the input image data. That is, the laser light emitting unit 221 is driven so as to emit laser light according to the image data output from the reader unit 1. The laser light is irradiated while being scanned on the photosensitive drum 202, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the laser light is formed on the photosensitive drum 202.

The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 202 is visualized as a developer image by the developer supplied from the developing device 203. Further, at a timing synchronized with the start of laser beam irradiation, a recording sheet is fed from one of the cassettes 204 and 205, and the recording sheet is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 202 and the transfer unit 206. The developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 202 is transferred onto a recording sheet fed by the transfer unit 206.

The recording paper onto which the developer image has been transferred is fixed to the fixing unit 20.
The fixing unit 207 fixes the developer image on the recording paper by heat-pressing the recording paper. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by discharge rollers 208,
The sorter 220 sorts the recording paper by storing the discharged recording paper in each bin. In addition, the sorter 220
When the sorting is not set, the operation is performed so that the recording paper is stored in the uppermost bin. When double-sided recording is set, the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208 is reversed after the recording paper is conveyed to the position of the discharge roller 208, and the recording paper is guided by the flapper 209 to the re-feed conveyance path. I have. If multiplex printing is set, the flapper 20 prevents the recording paper from being conveyed to the discharge roller 208.
9 is set so as to be switched and guided to the re-feeding conveyance path. The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path is fed again between the photosensitive drum 202 and the transfer unit 206 at the timing described above.

Next, the configuration of the reader unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the reader unit 1 of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image data output from the CCD 109 is converted into digital data by analog / digital conversion by the A / D / SH unit 110, and the digital data is subjected to shading correction. Is done. The image data processed by the A / D / SH unit 110 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the image processing unit 111 and the image data of the image input / output control unit 3 via the I / F unit (interface unit) 113. The data is transferred to the core unit 10. The image processing unit 113 performs various image processing such as a trimming process, and the I / F unit 113
It manages the interface with the core unit 10, such as taking in data including image data transferred from the.

The image processing unit 111 and the I / F unit 113 are controlled by the CPU 114 in accordance with the settings set by the operation unit 115. For example, when a copy mode in which a copy is performed by performing a trimming process with the operation unit 115 is set, the CPU 114 executes the trimming process in the image processing unit 111 and outputs the trimmed image data to the printer unit 2. Control to transfer to. When the facsimile transmission mode is set on the operation unit 115, the CPU 114 controls the I / F unit 113 to transfer image data and a control command corresponding to the set mode to the core unit 10.

The control by the CPU 114 is executed according to a control program stored in the memory 116. The memory 116 is also used as a work area of the CPU 114.

Next, the configuration of the core unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the core unit 10 of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

The core unit 10 is an I / F unit 1 with the reader unit 1.
22 and the image data transferred from the reader unit 1 is I
/ F unit 122 to the image data processing unit 121 and the control command from the reader unit 1
123. The image data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing on the input image data as necessary.
The image data subjected to the image processing is transferred to the facsimile unit 4, the file unit 5, or the network I / F unit 7 via the I / F unit 120 according to the control command transferred from the reader unit 1. .

The code data representing the image input via the network I / F unit 7 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 and then transferred to the formatter unit 8 where it is expanded into image data. Is transferred to the facsimile unit 4 or I
The data is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the / F unit 122. The image data received by the facsimile unit 4 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 and then to the printer unit 2, the file unit 5, or the network unit 7. File part 5
Output from the image data processing unit 121
After that, it is transferred to the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4 or network unit 7.

The CPU 123 controls the transfer of data between the blocks according to the control program stored in the memory 124 and the control command transferred from the reader unit 1, and controls the execution of image processing by the image data processing unit 121. . Further, the memory 124 stores the CPU 12
3 is also used as a work area.

As described above, processing combining the functions of reading the original image, printing the image, transmitting and receiving the image, storing the image, and inputting / outputting data from / to the computer is performed mainly on the core unit 10. Is possible.

Next, a program configuration in the network I / F unit 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a program configuration in the network I / F section of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a program in the network I / F unit 7 is an IP (Internet Protocol).
250, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP),
It comprises a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) 251, an application layer protocol 254, and a plurality of applications 252 and 253.

The IP 250 is an Internet protocol layer that provides a service for sending a message from a sending host to a destination host in cooperation with a relay node such as a router. The most important information for sending the message is the address of the transmission and destination, and the address of the transmission and destination is managed by the IP 250. The routing of a message to a destination host in the Internet network according to address information is determined by I
Perform at P250.

The TCP and UDP 251 are transport layers that provide a service for sending a message from a sending application process to a receiving application process. While TCP is a connection-type service and guarantees high reliability of communication, UDP is a connectionless service and does not guarantee reliability.

Application layer protocol 254
Specifies several protocols, which include:
There are TELNET which is a remote login service, FTP which is a file transfer service, SNMP which is a network management protocol, LPD which is a server protocol for printer printing, and HTTPd which is a protocol of a WWW (World Wide Web) server.

The application includes an HTTP client 252 for acquiring data from the WWW server, and an HTML for converting the acquired HTML data and image data into a data format for printing on recording paper.
A Parser 253 is provided.

Next, the configuration of the operation unit 115 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the operation unit 115 provided in the reader unit 1 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a copy mode display on the operation unit 115.

The operation unit 115 has a liquid crystal display unit provided with a touch panel and a plurality of hard keys 318 to 321 as shown in FIG. For example, when the copy mode is set, a window 300 for displaying a current state and a soft key 30 for performing various settings are provided on the liquid crystal display unit.
1 to 316 are displayed. In this figure, window 30
At 0, it is displayed that copying is currently possible, and that one copy is printed at an enlargement ratio of 100% on an A4 paper size.

The soft key 301 is a guide key and is a key for instructing display of an appropriate advice when the operation is unknown. Soft keys 302 to 304 are mode change keys. When the soft key 302 is pressed, a copy mode is selected, a soft key 303 selects a FAX mode, and a soft key 304 selects a Web print mode. A soft key 305 is a key for displaying another mode key which is not currently displayed. When this key is pressed, a printer mode key and a FILE mode key are displayed.

A soft key 306 is a paper selection key.
When this key is pressed, a paper selection input screen shown in FIG. 7A is displayed, and a paper size is selected by an input operation on the paper selection input screen. When the paper size is selected, paper is fed from the cassettes 204 and 205 that store the paper of the selected size.
A soft key 307 is a key for displaying a processing menu screen for performing settings related to image processing. Using the processing menu screen displayed by this key, settings such as trimming, masking, negative / positive inversion, and shadow processing are performed. It can be carried out. A soft key 308 is a key for displaying a menu screen for performing processing settings related to double-sided printing.
Using the menu screen displayed by this key, one setting can be selected from three settings for copying from one-sided original to one-sided original, from one-sided original to two-sided original, and from two-sided original to two-sided original. The soft key 309 is an application zoom key for displaying a menu screen for setting so that the vertical and horizontal magnifications can be changed.

The soft key 310 is a sorter key. When this key is pressed, a menu screen for the sorter 220 shown in FIG. 7B is displayed. When sort is selected on this menu screen, a plurality of printed materials are sorted by the sorter 220.
Sort and discharge one copy per bin. When the staple sort is selected, a setting is made so that the sorted printed materials are stapled. When the group sort is selected, a plurality of originals are set so that printed matter of the same page is discharged to the same bin.

The soft key 311 is a document mixed key, which is a key for indicating whether documents of different sizes are mixed or only originals of the same size are stacked. If mixed originals of different sizes are specified, the original size is checked each time scanning is performed. If mixed originals are not specified, the original page size is checked only for the first page. Soft key 31
Reference numeral 4 denotes a 1: 1 key for returning the enlargement ratio to the setting of 100%.
Soft keys 315 and 316 are reduction and enlargement keys for displaying menus for setting the enlargement ratio and reduction ratio, respectively.

As hard keys, a ten key 318, a start key 319, a reset key 320, and a STOP key 321 are provided. In this screen example, ten keys 31
Reference numeral 8 is used to input the number of copies. Reset key 320
When is pressed, parameters required for copying are returned to the default values. The parameters necessary for copying are set before the start of copying, and when the start key 319 is pressed after setting each necessary parameter, the copying operation is started. After starting copying, STOP key 321 and reset key 3
By pressing 20, the copy operation is interrupted.

Next, an example of an operation screen in the WEB print mode displayed on the operation unit 115 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 14 show the operation unit 11.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on a screen 5;

When setting the WEB print mode,
As shown in FIG. 8, first, a soft key 304 (Web print mode key) is pressed, and a window 300 displaying the current state of the Web print mode is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit. In this example, the window 300 indicates that printing is to be performed on an A4 sheet size, that the enlargement ratio is 100%, and that one copy is to be printed. Also, on the liquid crystal display unit, soft keys 301 to 306 and 3 for instructing the same setting as in the copy mode are displayed.
10 and soft keys 332 to 339 for performing setting instructions different from those in the copy mode are displayed.

The soft key 339 is a key for displaying a menu screen for performing processing settings relating to double-sided printing.
Intranet WWW server 12, Internet WWW
When printing data from each WWW server such as the server 13, it is possible to set whether to print on one side or both sides. Note that the setting contents of the soft key 339 related to double-sided printing are different from the setting contents of the screen (shown in FIG. 6) soft key 308 in the copy mode.
In the X mode and the printer mode, the same contents as those of the soft key 339 are set. In this screen example, the numeric keypad 318 is used to set the number of copies, as in the screen in the copy mode.

The soft key 331 is a URL key. The URL key also serves as an input screen for inputting a domain name of each WWW server such as the intranet WWW server 12 and the Internet WWW server, and a file name of HTML data to be obtained. When this soft key 331 is pressed,
A virtual alphabet keyboard (not shown) is displayed, and a character string for designating the above data is input using the virtual alphabet keyboard.

The soft key 332 is a print time key.
The print time key is a key for accessing a WWW server to open a window for setting a date and time for acquiring data in HTML format, an image file, and the like. When this soft key 332 is pressed, a window shown in FIG. 9 is opened. In this window, as shown in FIG. 9, first, the cursor blinks so as to prompt the input of the print date 350, and the date for printing is set by inputting a numerical value from the ten keys 318. When the input of the print date 350 is completed, the cursor moves to the input field of the print time 351 and blinks to prompt the input. Similarly to the input for the print date 350, a numerical value indicating the print time is input from the numeric keypad 318, and the print time is set. When the input of the printing time 351 is completed, an OK key 352 is displayed. By pressing the OK key 352, the printing time is set, and the screen is switched to the screen of FIG. 8 again. Since data of the WWW server may not be correctly acquired during a time period when network traffic is heavy, this time period can be avoided by specifying the printing time in this way.

The soft key 333 is a periodic patrol key for periodically accessing the WWW server and executing printing. When this periodic patrol key is pressed, a window shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. In this window, as shown in FIG. 10, soft keys including a day key 360, an interval (day) key 361, an interval (month) key 362, and a print time key 363 are displayed, and the day key 360, the interval (day) are displayed. Key 361 and interval (month) key 362
It is possible to select whether to enter the interval for periodically going around the WWW server in units of days of the week, in units of days, or in units of months. These three soft keys 360, 3
Out of 61 and 362, only one soft key becomes active. When one key is selected, the setting items by other keys are canceled. For example, when the day key 360 is selected, seven keys from the month key 364 to the day key 370 are set.
One key is valid. A plurality of these keys can be selected. When selected, the keys are displayed in black, and when pressed again in a selected state, the selection is released and displayed in white.
When the interval (day) key 361 is selected, the cursor moves to the day input box 371 and blinks, and a date interval for accessing the WWW server is set by inputting a numerical value from the numeric keypad 318 in the input box 317. You. When the interval (month) key 362 is selected, the cursor moves to the month input field 372.
And flashes, and the numeric keypad 318
By entering a numerical value from, a month interval for accessing the WWW server is set.

When the print time key 363 is depressed, the cursor moves to the time input field 373 and blinks, and the time for accessing the WWW server is set by inputting a numerical value from the ten keys 318 in this input field 373. You.

Each data is set in this way and O
When the K key 362 is pressed, the parameters for the periodic tour are determined, and the screen is switched to the screen in FIG. 8 again.

The soft key 334 is used for the BOO shown in FIG.
Book M for displaying K MARK window
ark key, and when this key is pressed, a BOOK
A MARK window is opened. In this window,
As shown in FIG. 11, a list (each of five registered URLs from 380 to 384 can be displayed on one screen) describing each registered URL is displayed, and when an up arrow key 386 is pressed in this window, , The URL list is scrolled up, and when the down arrow key 387 is pressed, the URL list is scrolled down. When the registration key 385 is pressed, the URL of the WWW server input with the soft key 331 (URL key) shown in FIG. 8 is additionally registered in this list. A description portion 380 of each URL on the URL list
Press any one of ~ 384 to get the URL of the pressed description
Is selected and data is set to the soft key 331 (URL key). When the delete key 388 is pressed, the URL
By pressing the description portion 380 to 384 of each URL on the list, the selected URL is deleted from the URL list.

The soft key 335 is a time designation list key for displaying the time designation list shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, a job specified by the soft key 332 (printing time specifying key) or the soft key 333 (periodic patrol specifying key) is registered in the time specifying list. The display items of the time designation list are URL 405,
A print date 406 and a print time 407 are shown. In this time designation list, five registered URLs from 400 to 404 can be displayed on one screen, and the list can be scrolled up with the up arrow key 408 and down with the down arrow key 409, respectively. . When any one of the area parts 400 to 404 on the list is pressed, the URL described in the pressed area part is selected. When the delete key 410 is pressed in a state where this URL is selected, the selected area is selected. The URL is deleted from the time specification list. In the example of the time designation list, the job 400 is a job registered on the day of the week by the soft key 333 (a regular tour designation key).
The day of the week to be executed is displayed in association with the job. The specified number of days is displayed in association with the job 401 specified at intervals of days. Jobs 403 and 404 specified on a monthly basis are displayed in association with the specified number of months. The job 402 has the soft key 33
2 (print time designation key), and the designated print date is displayed in association with the job.

The soft key 336 is used for the standby J shown in FIG.
This is a standby job list key for displaying an OB list window. When this key is pressed, a standby job list describing URLs 420 to 424 of waiting jobs is displayed as shown in FIG. If there are many jobs waiting to be executed, the list is scrolled up by pressing the up arrow key 425 and down by pressing the down arrow key 426. In addition, each area portion 420 to 424 on the list
Is pressed, a job described in the pressed area is selected. When the delete key 427 is pressed in a state where this job is selected, the selected job is deleted from the standby JOB list.

The soft key 337 is a log key for displaying the log list shown in FIG. 14, and this log list describes the result of accessing the WWW server in the WEB print mode as shown in FIG. The access results are listed in the order of new jobs from the top, and older jobs that exceed the maximum number are automatically deleted. Specifically, the display items of the log list include URL 437, date 438, time 439, and result display 440. URL437 is the URL of the accessed WWW server
And a date 438 and a time 439 indicate the date and time of accessing the WWW server. When it is possible to normally access the WWW server and print out the data acquired from the WWW server, the URLs 430, 433, and 43
4 is described as a normal end.
On the other hand, if printing is interrupted by the reset key 320 by the user, reset completion is described as in the URL 431. If printing cannot be performed normally due to the state of the network or the state of the WWW server, the URL is reset.
An error end is described as in L432. This list can be scrolled up with the up arrow key 435 and down with the down arrow key 436.

The soft key 338 is a detailed setting key for displaying a menu screen for setting parameters described in Table 1.

[0080]

[Table 1] The data in the HTML format received from the WWW server can be hyperlinked to another HTML data, and the hyperlinked HTML data is converted to another HTML data.
Sometimes hyperlinked to To set the link level, parameter 1 is set. Parameter 1 is a parameter for setting the maximum link level at which the link of the designated URL is to be followed and printed, and the maximum number of HTML links to be printed is set by this parameter.

Parameter 2 is a parameter for setting the maximum number of pages to be printed.
As a result of laying out the ML data on the paper size set by the soft key 306 (paper selection key), if the required number of pages exceeds the maximum number of pages set by this parameter 2, the subsequent pages It is set not to print out. In this example, “0” is set as the default value, and this default value “0” is set.
Then, the maximum number of pages to be printed is set without limitation.

Parameter 3 is a parameter for setting whether or not to print the current HTML data even if the maximum number of pages is exceeded. When this parameter exceeds the maximum number of pages set in parameter 2, One HT
This is a function that can be selected by the user because it may be difficult to print the ML document until the end.

Parameter 4 is a parameter for setting whether or not to print HTML of another site.
If the link level of parameter 1 is set to 1 or more,
There is a case where a printed HTML document is hyperlinked to HTML of another site. In this case, since the HTML document of another site may be a homepage that is not of interest to the user at all, the parameter 4
User prints HTML of other site by setting
Allows you to choose / not.

Parameter 5 is a parameter for setting a timeout period. By setting the timeout period with this parameter, TCP, UDP 25
When a network-related communication error such as 1 (shown in FIG. 5) occurs, repetition of retry for a long time is prevented.

Parameter 6 is a parameter for setting the number of retries when a communication error occurs in the HTML client program 252.

A parameter 7 is a parameter for setting a font name to be used, and a parameter 8 is a parameter for specifying a font size. Parameter 9 is a parameter for setting the thickness of the Font.
Reference numerals 8 and 9 are used for setting a font for printing HTML text data.

Parameter 10 is the printing left margin, parameter 11 is the printing right margin, and parameter 12
Is the print top margin, parameter 13 is the print bottom
These parameters are used to set margins, and the parameters 10, 11, 12, and 13 are used to define the top, bottom, left, and right margin widths in the paper size set by the soft key 306 (paper selection key).

The parameter 14 is a parameter for setting whether the background is to be printed or not. If this parameter is set, a problem arises when displaying a home page with a black background or the like on a color display. Even if this is not the case, if this homepage is printed by a black-and-white printer, the text portion will also be black and the background will be black, making it possible to prevent the text from being indeterminate.

The parameter 15 includes a header and a footer (UR
(L, Page number, print date) to set whether or not to print. Due to the setting of this parameter, the home page on the WWW server is not described at the stage of printing layout. URL, Page
You can select whether to add the number and print date or not.

The parameter 16 is a parameter for setting whether or not to print the link map. When the maximum link level to be printed is set to 1 or more with the parameter 1 using this parameter, the printed HTML is set.
The user can select whether or not to print the link information indicating how the document was hyperlinked.

Parameter 17 is a parameter for setting whether or not to use a style sheet. This style sheet is used because the name of the font to be printed and the font size are not specified in the HTML data. This is a data sheet that describes parameters for preventing a layout result from being different for each program that lays out a home page. When using this style sheet, it is necessary to specify the name of the sheet to be used. By specifying the name of this sheet, the sheet to be used is specified, and the layout is performed according to the information of the specified sheet.

Next, HTML Parser 253, H
A processing procedure for executing a program such as the TTP client 252 and printing a homepage of the WWW server will be described. FIG. 15 shows the WW in the image forming apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedure for printing the home page of the W server, FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the command receiving process in step S502 in FIG. 15, and FIG.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a schedule job process in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1.

When printing the home page of the WWW server, a command is issued from the operation unit 115 as shown in FIG. When a command is issued from the operation unit 115, as described above, parameters necessary for printing a home page are set using the operation unit 115, and then the start key 319 is pressed. Issues a print instruction command to the network I / F unit 7 via the core unit 10.

A command is also issued from the PC client 11. The operation unit 1 is provided on the PC client 11.
A print parameter setting program set in step 15 is installed, and after a print parameter is set by the setting program, a print instruction command including the print parameter is issued. This print instruction command is issued to the network I / F unit 7 via the network by LPR (client protocol for printer printing). Since the command flowing through the network is a parameter necessary for printing, the data length is extremely short as compared with the data converted from the homepage and printable by the printer. P
The print instruction command issued from the C client 11 is received by the LPD which is one of the protocols 254 of the application layer of the network I / F unit 7 in step S501.

Further, a print instruction command is issued by a schedule job process described later. Details of the schedule job process will be described later.

The print instruction command from the operation unit 115, the print instruction command from the client PC 11, and the print instruction command from the schedule job process have the same data format. Operation unit 115, client PC
11 issues a schedule job inquiry command in addition to the print instruction command. The issuance timing of the schedule job inquiry command from the operation unit 115 is determined by the soft key 335 on the display screen of the operation unit 115.
(Time designation list key) is set at the time of pressing. Also, a schedule job deletion command (issued at the timing when the time designation list delete key 410 is pressed on the operation unit display screen) and an immediate job inquiry command (soft key 336, that is, the standby JOB list key is pressed on the operation unit display screen) Issued at the time of pressing), an immediate job list delete command (a timing at which the delete key 427 of the standby job list is pressed on the operation unit display screen, and a timing at which the STOP key 321 or the reset key 320 is pressed during the printing operation) Is issued).

When the above-mentioned command is issued from any one of the operation unit 115, the PC client 11, and the schedule job process, in step S502, the command receiving process is executed by the command receiving process program.

In the command receiving process, as shown in FIG. 16, first, in step S520, it is determined whether or not the received command is a schedule job inquiry command, and the received command is a schedule job inquiry command. If there is, the process proceeds to step S521 to acquire a schedule job list (time designation list), and in a succeeding step S524, the acquired schedule job list is transmitted as a message to the destination that has issued the schedule job inquiry command, and the process ends. I do. Here, when the operation unit 115 issues a schedule job inquiry command, the operation unit 115 creates and displays a time designation list shown in FIG. 12 based on the received message.

If the received command is not a schedule job inquiry command, the flow advances to step S522 to determine whether the received command is a schedule job deletion command. If the received command is a schedule job deletion command, the process advances to step S523 to delete the job specified by the schedule job deletion command from the schedule list. In the next step S524, the schedule list deleted to the command issuing destination is deleted. Is transmitted as a message, and the process ends. Here, when the operation unit 115 issues a schedule job deletion command, the operation unit 115 creates and displays a time designation list shown in FIG. 12 based on the received message.

If the received command is not a schedule job deletion command, the flow advances to step S525 to execute
It is determined whether or not the received command is an immediate job inquiry command. If the received command is an inquiry command for an immediate job, the process proceeds to step S526 to acquire an immediate job list, and then proceeds to step S52.
In step 4, the acquired immediate job list is transmitted as a message to the destination that has transmitted the command, and the process ends. When the operation unit 115 issues an immediate job inquiry command, the operation unit 115 creates and displays a standby JOB list shown in FIG. 13 based on the received data.

If the received command is not an immediate job inquiry command, the flow advances to step S527 to determine whether the received command is an immediate job deletion instruction. If the received command is the immediate job deletion command, the process proceeds to step S528, and the designated job is transmitted to the HTTP client 252 or the HTML.
It is determined by the Parser 253 whether it is being executed. If the specified job is not being executed, the process proceeds to step S529, where the specified job is immediately deleted from the job list, and in step S524, the deleted job list is transmitted as a message to the destination that issued the command, and the processing is performed. finish. Here, when the operation unit 115 issues the immediate job deletion command, the operation unit 115 updates and displays the standby job list shown in FIG. 13 based on the received message.

The job instructed to be deleted is HTT
P client 252 or HTML Parser2
If the process is being executed in step S53, the process proceeds to step S530, in which a cancel flag is set, and the process ends.

If the received command is not an immediate job delete command, the flow advances to step S531 to determine whether or not the received command is an immediate job print command. Then, in step S532, this job is registered as a schedule job, and the process ends.

If the received command is an immediate job print command, step S50 shown in FIG.
The processing shifts to the processing of the HTTP client 252 of No. 4. H
TTP client 252, HTTP Parser2
53 does not process a plurality of jobs in parallel at a time so as not to consume a large amount of memory. If another process is already running, the job is designated by this immediate job print command job. The completed job is immediately registered in the job list, and is executed as soon as the processing is completed.

In step S504 shown in FIG. 15, an operation for acquiring HTML data, image data, and the like, which are homepage data, from the WWW server by the HTTP client 252 is executed.

When the operation by the HTTP client 252 is completed, the flow advances to step S505 to determine whether a cancel flag is set. If the cancel flag has been set, the flow advances to step S509 to execute a print stop process, and then to step S510.
Then, a message indicating that the printing has been canceled is transmitted to the operation unit 115, and the processing is terminated. If the cancel flag has not been set, the process proceeds to step S506, and H
The processing by the TML Parser 253 is started. H
In the processing of the TML Parser 253, print data that can be printed by the printer unit 2 is generated based on data acquired from the WWW server.

After the processing of the HTML Parser 253 ends, the flow advances to step S507 to determine again whether or not the cancel flag is set. Here, if the cancel flag is set, as described above, step S
In step 509, a print stop process is executed, and the process proceeds to step S510.
Then, a message indicating that the printing has been canceled is transmitted to the operation unit 115, and the processing is terminated. If the cancel flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S508, and H
The image data created by the TML Parser 253 is transmitted to the core unit 10 and the process ends. The core unit 10 that has received the image data transfers the image data to the printer unit 2 via the reader unit 1, and the printer unit 2 feeds a sheet of a corresponding size from the cassette 204 or the cassette 205 and prints the sheet.

Next, the schedule job process will be described with reference to FIG.

The schedule job process is periodically started once every minute. The schedule job is a job whose execution date and time is set by the soft key 332 (printing time key) or the soft key 333 (periodic patrol key).

In the schedule job process, as shown in FIG. 17, first, in step S541, it is determined whether or not there is a schedule job. If there is no schedule job, this process ends. If there is a schedule job, the process proceeds to step S542, and it is determined whether the print time set for this schedule job has arrived. If the print time set for the schedule job has not arrived, the process proceeds to step S542. To end. If the print time set for the schedule job has arrived, the process proceeds to step S543, where a print instruction command is transmitted, and the process ends. When the print instruction command is transmitted, as described above, the immediate job print is received in the command receiving process in step S502, and the command is transmitted in step S51.
At a time designated in the step 1, the WWW server is accessed to print the home page.

Next, the hyperlink processing performed by the HTML Parser 253 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is an HTML diagram in the image forming apparatus of FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the hyperlink process which Parser253 performs.

HTML Parser 253 is HREF
If there is an option, the HREF process is started. This H
In the REF process, as shown in FIG.
In 551, the file name suffix is .au or .snd
Is determined, and if the suffix is .au or .snd, the process ends. That is, files with the suffix .au or .snd are sound files in the AU / μ-law format, and these files are ignored.

If the suffix is not .au or .snd, the flow advances to step S552 to determine whether the suffix of the file name is .aif or .aiff, and the suffix is .aif or .aiff. If so, the process ends.
That is, files with a .aif or .aiff suffix
These are sound files in FF / AIFC format and these files are ignored. Suffix .aif or .aiff
If not, the process proceeds to step S553,
Determines whether the file name suffix is .wav. If the suffix is .wav, the process ends. Files with the suffix .wav are sound files in the WAV format and are ignored.

If the suffix is not .wav, step S
Proceeding to 554, it is determined whether the suffix of the file name is .mp2. If the suffix is .mp2, the process ends. Files with the suffix .mp2 are MPEG Audio format files and are ignored. If the suffix is not .mp2, the process proceeds to step S555,
Search for the IMG tag following HREF, and after the file name
Determine whether there is an ISMAP description. If there is a description of ISMAP after the file name, it is determined that the CGI is a clickable map CGI, the processing is terminated, and access to the WWW server is not performed. If there is no description of ISMAP after the file name, the flow advances to step S556 to execute a hyperlink process and terminate the process.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if the HREF option is present, the HTML parser 253 activates the HREF processing. When the HREF processing recognizes that the file to be obtained is a sound file or a CGI, the WWW server Since the access to the server is stopped, it is possible to prevent unnecessary data from being acquired so that printing is wasted.

Further, data can be directly obtained from a WWW server on a network without going through the PC client 11.

Although the present embodiment has been described using TCP / IP as the communication protocol of the network,
The same effect can be obtained by using a communication protocol such as PX / SPX or Apple Talk. Further, although LPR and LPD are used as a communication protocol with the client PC 11, a similar effect can be obtained by using a communication protocol such as HTTP or FTP instead.

[0118]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, data acquisition means for accessing a WWW server via a network and acquiring data held by the WWW server, Image data generating means for generating image data that can be subjected to print processing from the data, printing means for printing the image data generated by the image data generating means, and data to be obtained by the access when the data obtaining means accesses the image data. Determining means for determining whether or not the data file is a specified data file, and when the data obtaining means determines that the data to be obtained is the specified data file before the data obtaining means obtains the data to be obtained. Since the operation of the data acquisition means is controlled to be suppressed, the information is transmitted from the WWW server on the network Data it is possible to obtain directly, printing can be prevented the acquisition of unnecessary data, such as wasted.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the designated data file can be a CGI program.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, C
The GI program can be a clickable map.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, the specified data file can be an audio file.

According to the image forming method of the fifth aspect, W
Determining whether or not the data to be obtained by the access is a previously specified data file when accessing the WW server; and determining whether the data to be obtained before the data to be obtained is If it is determined that there is, the step of controlling the access operation to the WWW server is suppressed, and if it is determined that the data to be acquired is not the specified data file, the server accesses the WWW server and acquires the Since the method includes a step of acquiring data and a step of generating image data that can be printed by a printing unit from the acquired acquisition target data, it is possible to directly acquire data from a WWW server on a network without using an information processing device. In addition to the above, it is possible to prevent unnecessary data from being wasted such that printing is wasted.

According to the image forming method of the present invention, the specified data file can be used as a CGI program.

According to the image forming method of the seventh aspect, C
The GI program can be a clickable map.

According to the image forming method of the present invention, the specified data file can be an audio file.

According to the storage medium of the ninth aspect, the program accesses the WWW server via the network, and the data acquisition module for acquiring the data held by the WWW server, and the printing means prints the acquired data from the acquired data. An image data generation module for generating processable image data, a determination module for determining whether data to be obtained by the access is a data file designated in advance when the data obtaining means accesses the data, and a data obtaining module When the determination module determines that the acquisition target data is the specified data file before acquiring the acquisition target data, the control module controls the operation of the data acquisition module to be suppressed.
It is possible to directly obtain data from a WWW server on a network without passing through an information processing device, and it is possible to prevent the acquisition of unnecessary data that wastes printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image input / output device in which a reader unit 1 and a printer unit 2 are integrally provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a reader unit 1 of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a core unit 10 of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a program configuration in a network I / F unit of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1;

6 is an operation unit 11 provided in the reader unit 1 of FIG.
5 is a diagram showing a configuration of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a copy mode display on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen in a Web print mode displayed on the operation unit 115.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for printing a homepage of a WWW server in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a command receiving process in step S502 in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a schedule job process in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

18 is a diagram illustrating the HTML Pa in the image forming apparatus of FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the hyperlink process which rser253 performs.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional system for printing information stored in a WWW server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reader part 2 Printer part 3 Image input / output control part 7 Network I / F part 10 Core part 11 PC client 12 Intranet WWW server 13 Internet WWW server 14 Internet network 114,123 CPU 250 IP 251 TCP, UDP 252 HTTP client 253 HTML Parser 254 Application Layer Protocol

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04L 12/54 H04L 11/20 101B 12/58

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for printing data held by a WWW server on a network, wherein the data obtaining means accesses the WWW server via the network and obtains the data held by the WWW server. Image data generating means for generating printable image data from the acquired data; printing means for printing the image data generated by the image data generating means; and Determining means for determining whether the data to be obtained by the access is a data file specified in advance, and the obtaining means sets the data to be obtained by the determining means before the data obtaining means obtains the data to be obtained. If it is determined that the data file is the specified data file, the operation of the data acquisition unit is suppressed. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the image forming apparatus is controlled as follows. 2. The designated data file is a CG file.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an I program. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the CGI program is a clickable map. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specified data file is an audio file. 5. An image forming method for printing data held by a WWW server on a network using an image forming apparatus having a printing unit for printing image data, wherein the access is performed when accessing the WWW server. Determining whether or not the acquisition target data is a data file specified in advance, and determining that the acquisition target data is the specified data file before the acquisition target data is obtained. Controlling the access operation to the WWW server to be suppressed;
When it is determined that the acquisition target data is not the specified data file, a step of accessing the WWW server to acquire the acquisition target data from the WWW server; Generating image data that can be subjected to print processing. 6. The specified data file is a CG file.
6. The image forming method according to claim 5, wherein the image forming method is an I program. 7. The image forming method according to claim 6, wherein the CGI program is a clickable map. 8. The image forming method according to claim 5, wherein the specified data file is an audio file. 9. A storage medium storing a program for constructing a system for printing data held by a WWW server on a network on an image forming apparatus having a printing unit for printing image data, the program comprising: A data acquisition module that accesses the WWW server via the network and acquires data held by the WWW server; and an image data generation module that generates image data printable by the printing unit from the acquired data. A module, a determination module that determines whether the data to be obtained by the access is a data file specified in advance when the data obtaining unit accesses, and a module before the data obtaining module obtains the data to be obtained. The acquisition target data is specified by the determination module A control module for controlling the operation of the data acquisition module if the data file is determined to be a data file.