TW201409347A - Print system and print equipment and print method thereof for portable communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

A print system for a portable communication device is disclosed and comprising a portable communication device, a print equipment and a server. The portable communication device, the print equipment and the server are connected with a network. The print equipment has model information. The server transforms the file formats corresponding to the model information. The portable communication device is selectively communicated with the server according to the model information of the print equipment in order to send a print data and the model information to the server. After receiving a printable data sent by the server, the portable communication device sends the printable data to the print equipment, so that the printable data is printed by the print equipment. Under this circumstance, the present invention simplifies the operational process, reduces the time cost, and enhances the user experiences.

Description

Printing system of portable communication device and printing device and method thereof

The present invention relates to a printing system and method, and more particularly to a printing system of a portable communication device with cloud printing technology and a printing device and method thereof.

Portable communication devices, such as smart phones or tablets, have become an indispensable electronic device in daily life due to their slimness, compactness, versatile integration, high processing speed and portability. In general, in addition to the main functions of mobile calling, the portable communication device has functions such as video playback, Bluetooth communication, digital camera, data access, e-mail and wireless Internet access, thereby enhancing portable communication. The utility and convenience of the device.

Generally, the size of the screen of the portable communication device is small, and it is inconvenient and difficult to read the data directly on the screen, so the user often needs to print out the data in the portable communication device. At present, most of the portable communication devices use wireless connection transmission to transfer the printing work to supporting printing devices, such as laser printers, inkjet printers and multifunction printers. Etc., for printing, and the type and type of printing device it supports depends on the type of portable communication device, operating system, and installed application. For other unsupported printing devices, it is not possible to print directly, that is, the driver of the unsupported printing device must be installed by a general desktop PC (Desktop PC) for printing.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a structural diagram showing a printing system of a conventional portable communication device. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 of the conventional portable communication device includes a portable communication device 10, a supporting printing device 11, and an unsupported printing device 12. The portable communication device 10 is connected to the supported printing device 11 and the unsupported printing device 12 by means of wireless connection, and exchanges information through the wireless connection to confirm the printing device. Types and models, etc. After determining the type and model of each printing device, the portable communication device 10 converts only the information to be printed into a file format compatible with the supporting printing device 11 and transmits it to the support list. The printing device 11 performs the printing operation, and cannot convert the file format to be printed by the unsupported printing device 12, so that the printing operation cannot be performed by the unsupported printing device 12.

In general, when the supported printing device 11 exists in the network environment in which the user is located, although the portable communication device 10 can be connected to the supported printing device 11 for printing, it still costs Establish the connection and information exchange time to confirm whether the printing device supports it, and can start the printing work. When there is no supporting printing device 11 in the network environment where the user is located, there is only unsupported When the device 12 is printed, the user still has to spend time establishing a connection and information exchange before learning that the printing operation cannot be performed. Therefore, the printing system of the conventional portable communication device is quite limited and inconvenient in use, and has a problem of unnecessary time waste and poor user experience for the user. In addition, in view of the complexity of the types and types of printing equipment on the market, manufacturers and developers of portable communication devices also face many difficulties in installing supported applications and drivers, which is not only convenient for control, but also It takes a lot of manpower and time to build a supported application and driver database and install it in a portable communication device.

Therefore, how to enable the portable communication device to print through various printing devices, and simplify the operation process and development difficulty, and save time and labor costs, is currently a problem to be solved.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a printing system for a portable communication device and a printing device and method thereof, which solves the limitation of the use of the printing system of the conventional portable communication device, and excessively wastes time, resulting in a user experience. Good, and the manufacturing R&D of portable communication devices are facing difficulties, resulting in difficulties in management and control, and the need to spend a lot of manpower and time costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system for a portable communication device and a printing device and method thereof, which automatically and selectively convert a printed content into a to-be-printed material by a portable communication device, or Establish communication with the server and convert the printed content into the data to be printed through the server for printing, which simplifies the operation process and saves time, thereby improving the user experience.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system for a portable communication device and a printing device and method thereof, wherein the portable communication device can perform printing operations by using various printing devices in the same network environment, which is not only exempted. Many restrictions on printing systems can reduce the difficulty of manufacturing and R&D, and achieve easy control and greatly reduce manpower and time cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a broader aspect of the present invention is to provide a printing system for a portable communication device, comprising: a portable communication device connected to a network; at least one printing device, and the network Linking and having a type of information; and a server coupled to the network for constructing a file format for converting type information; wherein the portable communication device is based on the model of the printing device The information selectively communicates with the server to transmit a print content and the model information to the server, and after receiving the server to send back a piece of information to be printed, the information to be printed is transmitted to the server The printing device performs the printing of the data to be printed.

In order to achieve the above object, another broad aspect of the present invention provides a printing method comprising at least the steps of: (a) providing a portable communication device, at least one printing device, and a server; (b) The portable communication device reads one type of information of the printing device; (c) the portable communication device determines whether the model information is supportable; (d) when the portable communication device determines that the result is negative, The portable communication device establishes communication with the server, and transmits a printed content and the model information to the server, and receives one of the information to be printed by the server; and (e) the portable communication The device transmits the to-be-printed data to the printing device, and performs printing operation of the to-be-printed data.

In order to achieve the above object, another broad aspect of the present invention provides a printing device suitable for printing a portable communication device and a printing system for printing the portable communication device. The printing device comprises: a control unit; a printing unit connected to the control unit for printing work; a storage unit connected to the control unit for storing one Model information; and a communication unit connected to the control unit and communicating with the portable communication device, wherein the portable communication device reads and determines whether the model information is supportable through the communication unit, wherein When the determination result is no, the portable communication device selectively establishes communication with the server according to the model information, so as to transmit a print content and the model information to the server, and receive the server backhaul. After the data to be printed, the data to be printed is transmitted to the communication unit, and the communication unit receives the data to be printed and transmits the data to the printing unit, and performs the waiting Print jobs printed information purposes.

Some exemplary embodiments embodying the features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present invention is capable of various modifications in the various aspects of the present invention, and the description and drawings are intended to be illustrative and not limiting.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a block diagram showing the printing system of the portable communication device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the printing system 2 of the portable communication device of the present invention includes a portable communication device 20, at least one printing device 21, and a server 22. The portable communication device 20 can be, for example, but not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant, or a palmtop computer, and is connected to a network, and the network can be the Internet. Roads, mobile communication networks, regional networks or wireless local area networks, etc., but not limited to them. The printing device 21 is connected to the network, and can be a printer, including but not limited to a laser printer, an inkjet printer, a dot matrix printer, a multifunction printer, etc., and corresponding to the printer. Models with the same or different model information. The server 22 is connected to the network, and can be, for example, but not limited to, a cloud server, which can be applied to the cloud printing technology to construct a file format for converting the model information of the corresponding printing device 21. In this embodiment, the portable communication device 20 is configured to selectively establish communication with the server 22 according to the model information of the printing device 21, so as to transmit the printed content to be printed and the model information to the server. 22, and after the server 22 converts the printed content into a to-be-printed data, the portable communication device 20 receives the data to be printed back by the server 22, and transmits the to-be-printed data to the printing device 21.俾 Print the information to be printed.

In some embodiments, the portable communication device 20 of the present invention establishes a connection with the printing device 21 by wire or wirelessly, and reads the model information stored in the printing device 21, and determines whether the model information is It is supported. When the result of the determination is YES, the portable communication device 20 converts the printed content into the information to be printed of the compatible printing device 21, and transmits the to-be-printed data to the printing device 21 to be processed. The print data is printed; and when the judgment result is no, the portable communication device 20 establishes communication with the server 22, and transmits the print content to be printed and the model information corresponding to the printing device 21 to The server 22 converts the printed content into the print data of the compatible printing device 21 through the server 22 and returns the data. After the portable communication device receives the data to be printed returned by the server 22, the portable communication device The data to be printed is delivered to the printing device 21, and the printing of the data to be printed is performed. In other words, if the supported printing device 21' exists in the network environment of the portable communication device 20 in this case, the portable communication device 20 converts the printed content to be printed into the to-be-printed data by itself; When only the unsupported printing device 21'' exists in the network environment where the portable communication device 20 is located, the portable communication device 20 establishes communication with the server 22 and converts the printed content through the server 22. For the data to be printed, the portable communication device 20 automatically and selectively converts the printed content into the data to be printed by itself or through the server 22 for printing, thereby simplifying the operation process of the user and Saves on the operation and waiting time, thus improving the user experience.

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 , wherein FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a printing system of a portable communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the way in which the portable communication device 20 establishes a connection with the printing device 21 and the communication with the server 22 can be transmitted through, for example, Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (for example). Wi-Fi), third-generation mobile communication network (3G), fourth-generation mobile communication network (4G), universal serial bus (USB) or Ethernet (Ethernet), but not To this end, it is substantially in the same network environment, such as but not limited to the same Internet environment or the same regional network environment. In some embodiments, the communication system 2 of the portable communication device further includes a region management unit 23, such as but not limited to a router, an IP sharer, an access point (AP), etc., and the area management. The unit 23 is coupled to the portable communication device 20, the printing device 21, and the server 22 to construct a regional network and connect to the Internet, thereby enabling the portable communication device 20, the printing device 21, and the server 22 Essentially in the same network environment. In other words, the communication device 20, the printing device 21, and the server system of the present invention may be located in the same regional network, or in different regional networks and connected to each other through the Internet.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, according to the concept of the present invention, the portable communication device 20 can search for the printing device 21 through a connection port or a communication protocol in advance, for example, through a universal serial bus, an Ethernet network, etc. Or a communication protocol such as Bonjour, SLP, SNMP, LPT, etc., but not limited thereto, and when the search finds that the printing device 21 exists, the connection with the printing device 21 is established by wire or wirelessly in the foregoing manner, and is read. The model information stored in the printing device 21 is taken, and it is determined whether the model information is supportable. In some embodiments, the portable communication device 20 can search for and discover external printing devices 21 ′′′ existing in the same network environment, including but not limited to external printing devices 21 ′ connected to the server 22 ′. '', and whether the external printing device 21''' is supported by the foregoing method, thereby converting the printing content, and printing the data to be printed through the external printing device 21''' Since the manner of its judgment and file format conversion is the same as that of the foregoing embodiment, it will not be described again. Therefore, the portable communication device 20 of the present invention can perform printing operations by using various printing devices 21 in the same network environment, which not only eliminates many limitations of the printing system, but also reduces the difficulty of manufacturing and research and development, and is easy to achieve. Control and greatly reduce the cost of manpower and time costs.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the printing apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the printing device 21 of the present invention is applicable to the printing system 2 including the portable communication device 20 and the server 22 for printing the portable communication device 20. The information to be printed is transmitted, wherein the printing device 21 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 211, a communication unit 212, and a printing unit 213. The control unit 210 is configured to control the operation of the printing device 21, and the storage unit 211 is connected to the control unit 210 for storing the model information 2110 corresponding to the model of the printing device 21, and the communication unit 212 is associated with the control unit 210. Connected and communicated with the portable communication device 20, and the printing unit 213 is connected to the control unit 210 for printing work.

In this embodiment, the portable communication device 20 determines whether the model of the printing device 21 corresponding to the model information 2110 is supportable through the communication unit 212 of the printing device 21. When the determination result is yes, the portable communication device 20 converts the printed content into the data to be printed that is compatible with the printing device 21; and when the determination result is no, the portable communication device 20 is based on The model information 2110 selectively establishes communication with the server 22 to deliver the print content and model information 2110 to the server 22, and the printer 22 converts the print content to the print device 21 model compatible with the model information 2110. After the data is to be printed and returned, the portable communication device 20 receives the data to be printed and transmits the data to be printed to the communication unit 212 of the printing device 21, and the communication unit 212 receives the data to be printed. And the printing unit 213 is transferred to perform the printing work of the data to be printed.

Please refer to FIG. 5 and cooperate with FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the printing method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the printing method of the printing system 2 applicable to the portable communication device of the present invention comprises at least the steps of: firstly, providing portable communication as shown in step S100. The device 20, the at least one printing device 21, and the server 22; secondly, as shown in step S200, the portable communication device 20 is connected to a network, and searches for the printing device 21 in the network environment, and discovers After printing the device 21, the model information 2110 of the printing device 21 is read; then, as shown in step S300, the portable communication device 20 determines whether the printing device 21 corresponding to the model information 2110 is a supportable printing device 21 Then, as shown in step S400, when the judgment result of the portable communication device 20 is no, the portable communication device 20 establishes communication with the server 22, and transmits the print content and the model information 2110 to the server. 22, and receiving the data to be printed back by the server 22; finally, as shown in step S500, the portable communication device 20 transmits the data to be printed to the printing device 21, and prints the data to be printed. jobs.

According to the concept of the present invention, after the step S300, when the judgment result of the portable communication device 20 is YES, the portable communication device 20 can convert the printed content into the data to be printed by itself. Please refer to Fig. 6 and cooperate with Fig. 2, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, wherein Fig. 6 is a detailed flow chart showing the printing method of the present case. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, in step S300, the portable communication device 20 determines whether the model information 2110 stored in the storage unit 211 of the printing device 21 is supportable. . When the result of the determination of the portable communication device 20 is no, the process proceeds to step S400, wherein the step S400 further includes a detailed process: first, as shown in step S401, the portable communication device 20 establishes communication with the server 22, and Passing the print content and model information 2110 to the server 22; secondly, as shown in step S402, the server 22 converts the print content into the data to be printed compatible with the printing device 21 according to the model information 2110 and returns it; Then, as shown in step S403, the portable communication device receives the data to be printed. In some embodiments, when the determination result of the portable communication device 20 is YES in step S300, step S300 further includes step S404. As shown in step S404, the portable communication device 20 prints according to the model information 2110. The content is converted to the material to be printed that is compatible with the printing device 21. In other words, the portable communication device 20 of the present invention selectively converts the printed content into the data to be printed, or converts the printed content into the data to be printed through the server 22, and the selection is based on determining the model information. Whether 2110 is a supportable judgment result is based on, but not limited to.

In step S403 or step S404, the portable communication device 20 has a printable data to be printed, and then performs step S500, wherein the step S500 further includes a detailed process: first, as in step S501 The portable communication device 20 transmits the data to be printed to the printing device 21; then, as shown in step S502, the printing device 21 performs the printing operation of the data to be printed, so as to complete the printing method flow of the present case. step. In some embodiments, the process shown in step S501, that is, the portable communication device 20 transmits the data to be printed to the printing device 21, through a specified communication protocol, such as but not limited to raw, LPD, A communication protocol such as IPP to transmit the data to be printed to the printing device 21, and the specified communication protocol is selected according to the compatibility of the printing device 21.

In other embodiments, the server 22 of the printing system of the portable communication device has a web server or a webpage user interface, which is connected to a network for the user to select and Convert the print content to the data to be printed. Please refer to FIG. 7 and cooperate with FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of the portable communication device of the present invention selecting and converting the data to be printed through the server. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7, the portable communication device 20 of the present invention automatically determines the supportability of the printing device 21 for printing in addition to the method described in the foregoing embodiment, and the flow of this embodiment can be further The steps are for the user to select and convert the printed content into the data to be printed to prepare in advance the materials to be printed that are compatible with the printing device 21 of different models or types. First, as shown in step S91, the portable communication device 20 establishes communication with the server 22; secondly, as shown in step S92, the portable communication device 20 transmits the printed content to be printed to the server 22; As shown in step S93, the user selects the file format of the data to be printed to be converted through the web server or the webpage user interface, and the server 22 converts the printed content into the to-be-printed data after the user selects the user. The web server or webpage user interface further displays the file format of the data to be printed and the model comparison table of the various printing devices 21 for reference by the user; finally, as shown in step S94, the server 22 The converted communication data is transmitted back to the portable communication device 20, so the portable communication device 20 can receive and obtain the to-be-printed data after the conversion is completed, and can be prepared to be applied to other places or other networks in advance. Print equipment in the road environment to save conversion waiting time in actual use.

In summary, the present invention provides a printing system for a portable communication device and a printing device and method thereof, which automatically and selectively converts the printed content into a to-be-printed material by the portable communication device, or Establish communication with the server and convert the printed content into the data to be printed through the server for printing, which simplifies the operation process and saves time, thereby improving the user experience. In addition, the portable communication device can print using various printing devices in the same network environment, which not only eliminates many limitations of the printing system, but also reduces the difficulty of manufacturing and research and development, and achieves easy control and greatly reduced. Manpower and time cost and other effects.

The present invention has been described in detail by the above-described embodiments, and may be modified by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

1. . . Portable communication device printing system

10. . . Portable communication device

11. . . Supported printing equipment

12. . . Unsupported printing device

2. . . Portable communication device printing system

20. . . Portable communication device

twenty one. . . Printing equipment

twenty one'. . . Supported printing equipment

twenty one''. . . Unsupported printing device

twenty one'''. . . External printing device

210. . . control unit

211. . . Storage unit

2110. . . Model information

212. . . Communication unit

213. . . Print unit

twenty three. . . Regional management unit

S100, S200, S300, S400, S500. . . step

S401, S402, S403, S404, S501, S502. . . step

S91, S92, S93, S94. . . step

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a printing system of a conventional portable communication device.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the printing system of the portable communication device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the printing system of the portable communication device of another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the printing apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the printing method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a detailed flow chart showing the printing method of the present case.

Figure 7 is a flow chart showing the portable communication device of the present invention selecting and converting the data to be printed by the server.

2. . . Portable communication device printing system

20. . . Portable communication device

twenty one. . . Printing equipment

twenty one'. . . Supported printing equipment

twenty one''. . . Unsupported printing device

twenty one'''. . . External printing device

twenty three. . . Regional management unit

Claims (10)

A printing system for a portable communication device, comprising:
a portable communication device connected to a network;
At least one printing device coupled to the network and having a model information; and a server coupled to the network for constructing a file format corresponding to the model information;
The portable communication device is configured to selectively establish communication with the server according to the model information of the printing device to transmit a print content and the model information to the server, and receive the servo. After returning one of the materials to be printed, the data to be printed is delivered to the printing device, and the printing of the data to be printed is performed. The printing system of the portable communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a regional management unit coupled to the portable communication device, the printing device and the server to construct an area The network is coupled to an internet network such that the portable communication device, the printing device, and the server are located within the network. The printing system of the portable communication device according to claim 1, wherein the server further has a web server or a webpage user interface, and is connected to the network to provide a The user selects and converts the printed content to the to-be-printed material. The printing system of the portable communication device of claim 1, wherein the printing device comprises at least a storage unit and a communication unit, wherein the model information is stored in the storage unit, and the printing device is It is connected to the network through the communication unit. A printing method comprising at least the steps of:
(a) providing a portable communication device, at least one printing device, and a server;
(b) the portable communication device reads one type of information of the printing device;
(c) the portable communication device determines whether the model information is supportable;
(d) when the portable communication device determines that the result is no, the portable communication device establishes communication with the server, and transmits a printed content and the model information to the server, and receives the server back. And transmitting (e) the portable communication device to the printing device to perform printing of the to-be-printed data. The printing method of claim 5, wherein the step (b) further comprises the step of: connecting the portable communication device to a network and searching for the printing device in the network environment. The printing method of claim 6, wherein the portable communication device searches for the printing device through a connection or a communication protocol. The printing method of claim 5, wherein the step (c) further comprises the step of: when the portable communication device determines that the result is YES, the portable communication device according to the model information The printed content is converted to the to-be-printed material that is compatible with the printing device. The printing method of claim 5, wherein the step (d) further comprises the step of: converting, by the server, the printed content according to the model information to be compatible with the printing device to be printed. Information and return. A printing device is applicable to a printing system including a portable communication device and a server for printing one of the materials to be printed delivered by the portable communication device, the printing device comprising:
a control unit;
a printing unit connected to the control unit for printing work;
a storage unit connected to the control unit for storing a type of information; and a communication unit connected to the control unit and communicating with the portable communication device, the portable communication device transmitting the communication The unit reads and determines whether the model information is supportable. When the judgment result is no, the portable communication device selectively establishes communication with the server according to the model information, so as to display a print content and the model. The information is transmitted to the server, and after receiving the data to be printed back by the server, the data to be printed is transmitted to the communication unit, and the communication unit receives the data to be printed and transmits the data to the column. The printing unit performs the printing of the information to be printed.