JP2008041001A - Image forming apparatus, printing control method and information managing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate a printing instruction in printing an electronic document. <P>SOLUTION: When printing instruction information with a printing form for printing designated is input together with print object data, a job ticket generating and processing part 14 generates a job ticket on the basis of the printing instruction information and registers the job ticket in a job ticket storing part 15. A printing execution control part 13 instructs to print the inputted print object data according to the printing instruction information inputted together with the print object data. On the other hand, when the printing instruction information is not inputted together with the print object data, the printing execution control part 13 extracts the job ticket related to the print object data according to attribute information of the inputted print object data and instructs to print the print object data according to the extracted job ticket. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to setting print attributes of data to be printed.

  In recent years, there has been an active movement to hold and manage information as an electronic document instead of a paper medium, and the e-document law has been enforced in accordance with such trends. Management by electronic documents improves convenience in terms of storage and quality of information, but it is not necessarily advantageous in terms of cost, such as requiring software to convert to electronic documents.

  In order to eliminate such a situation where handling of an electronic document is disadvantageous, there are many cases where the file is saved in a PDF (Portable Document Format) file format which is a de facto standard for electronic documents. This is because software for reading PDF files is distributed free of charge. Therefore, recently, multifunction devices having a function of saving a scanned document as a PDF file have appeared. In addition, there is a technique for converting document data to be printed into an HTML document and storing it in the same manner as a printing unit in a printer (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The PDF does not include attribute information relating to the printing mode such as double-sided, stapling, and punching. This is because an electronic document is generally generated by a host computer such as a personal computer (PC), and it is not always appropriate to incorporate information dependent on a specific printing machine into the electronic document. Therefore, when it is desired to specify an attribute such as double-sided or stapling for an electronic document such as a PDF file, printing is executed by specifying a printing attribute from a predetermined setting screen prepared by the printer driver of the multifunction peripheral.

JP 11-195128 A

  By the way, the same document may be printed again by additional printing or the like. In some cases, the document to be printed may be printed in the same print form as a different document that has already been printed. In such a case, as described above, the PDF does not have an attribute dependent on a specific printing machine such as a multifunction peripheral. Therefore, when printing an electronic document stored in the PDF file format, the function of the printer driver is used. The print attribute must be specified every time printing is performed. Therefore, even if it is desired to print a document in the same printing form, it is troublesome because it is necessary to designate the same contents each time and give a printing instruction.

As described above, when printing is performed in a specific printing form, an electronic document having a file format that does not incorporate information dependent on a specific device such as the above-described PDF must specify the printing form each time. The handling at the time of printing was inconvenient.
On the other hand, print instruction information is added to the PDF file to be printed and sent to the multifunction peripheral. However, it is convenient if the print instruction information or PDF file used for printing can be handled separately. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to facilitate the printing instruction when printing an electronic document.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention stores input processing means for inputting print target data, and print instruction information for specifying a print mode for printing the print target data. Print instruction information storage means for printing, print execution control means for printing the print target data input by the input processing means in accordance with the print instruction information associated with the print target data, and the input processing means for printing together with the print target data An information generation processing unit configured to generate print instruction information shared from the print instruction information and register the print instruction information in the print instruction information storage unit when the instruction information is input; If the processing means does not input the print instruction information together with the print target data, the processing means relates to the print target data according to the attribute information of the input print target data. Taking out the print instruction information from the print instruction information storage means, and executes the printing of the print data in accordance with the print instruction information extracted.

  In addition, the information processing apparatus includes an information transmission processing unit that transmits the print instruction information used for printing the print target data to the print target data transmission source in response to a request from the transmission source or automatically.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a reception processing unit that receives print target data, and print instruction information that specifies a print mode for printing the print target data is added to the received print target data. A separation unit that separates the print instruction information from the print target data, and an information transmission unit that transmits at least one of the print target data and the print instruction information in a separated state to the print target data transmission source. It is characterized by.

  The printing control method according to the present invention is performed by a computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a printing function, and an input step for inputting print target data and the input print target data are associated with the print target data. Printing according to the print instruction information, and when the print instruction information is input together with the print target data, the print instruction information to be shared is generated from the print instruction information and registered in the storage unit, In the printing step, when the print instruction information is not input together with the print target data, the print instruction information related to the print target data is extracted from the storage unit according to the attribute information of the input print target data, and the extracted According to the print instruction information, the print target data is printed.

  An information management method according to the present invention is performed by a computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a printing function, and receives a print target data, and prints the print target data on the received print target data. When the print instruction information with the specified print form is added, at least one of the separation step of separating the print instruction information from the print target data, and the print target data and the print instruction information in the separated state And an information transmission step of transmitting to the print target data transmission source.

  According to the present invention, print instruction information is generated and registered from information related to a print instruction associated with print target data, and even when print target data is sent without a print instruction thereafter. In accordance with the attribute information of the print target data, the print instruction information related to the print target data is extracted from the print instruction information storage unit, and printing of the print target data is executed according to the extracted print instruction information. You don't have to give a print instruction each time. This is convenient because it eliminates the trouble of the input designation operation.

  In addition, since the print instruction data and the print instruction information can be handled separately by separating the print instruction information from the print object data, the separated print object data is separated from other print instruction information or separated print instruction information. Can be combined or reused with other data to be printed, so that it is possible to facilitate printing instructions.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 is assumed to be a multifunction machine equipped with a scanner function, a print function, a FAX function, and the like, and operation control is performed by a computer built in the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 1, a CPU 2, RAM 3, HDD 4 mounted on a computer, an operation panel 1 corresponding to a user interface of the computer, and a network interface (IF) 5 for exchanging data with the outside are connected. Further, a scanner 6, a printer 7, and a FAX 8 for realizing the various functions described above are mounted, and these components are connected by an internal bus 9.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an input processing unit 11, an image formation processing unit 12, a print execution control unit 13, a job ticket generation processing unit 14, and a job ticket storage unit 15. The input processing unit 11 inputs print target data. The input source of data to be printed is read data by a scanner, electronic data transmitted from a PC or the like and received via a network, input data from a FAX line, or the like. The image formation processing unit 12 performs image processing such as image shift on the data input by the input processing unit 11 as necessary. When document data in a file format other than the PDF file handled in the present embodiment is sent, it is converted into a PDF file that can be viewed and printed. The print execution control unit 13 performs execution control of printing of print target data in the PDF file format. When the print instruction information is incorporated in or added to the print target data input by the input processing unit 11, the print execution control unit 13 performs print execution control of the print target data according to the print instruction information. More specifically, the print execution control unit 13 instructs the printer driver to execute printing, and the printer driver performs drive control of the printer 7 in accordance with the instruction, and prints designated for duplex, color copy, enlargement / reduction, etc. Printing is performed on the sheet with the attribute, and the printed matter is discharged from the image forming apparatus 10 in a specified printing form such as punching or stapling. However, since printing is performed under the initiative of the print execution control unit 13, it may be expressed that the print execution control unit 13 executes printing in order to simplify the description. When the print instruction information is input together with the print target data, the job ticket generation processing unit 14 generates print instruction information shared from the print instruction information and registers it in the job ticket storage unit 15.

  Each of the constituent elements 11 to 14 is realized by a cooperative operation of various devices such as a computer and a scanner mounted on the image forming apparatus 10 and a program operating on a CPU mounted on the computer.

  Next, basic printing processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A shows print target data (file name “abc.pdf”) created in the PDF file format, and FIG. 3B shows job ticket attribute data associated with the print target data. An example of setting is shown. The job ticket is set with print instruction information for instructing the print form when printing the associated print target data. In the present embodiment, the print attribute refers to a print instruction for each page such as color printing or double-sided printing, and the print form refers to the form in which each printed page such as staples is processed and printed matter. It can be said that it is an instruction to complete as. However, in the present embodiment, the printing form is also interpreted broadly and includes a printing attribute or is synonymous with a printing attribute. The content set as the print mode is, for example, content specified from the print function property screen prepared by the print driver. In the job ticket, the print form designated in the print target data is set.

  When the input processing unit 11 inputs a PDF file (here, “abc.pdf”) sent from a PC via a network and a job ticket of the PDF file, for example, the print execution control unit 13 adds the job ticket to the job ticket. Print a PDF file according to the settings. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a printing state when printing is performed according to the job ticket illustrated in FIG. According to the job ticket illustrated in FIG. 3B, the printing instruction is that the first to third pages are duplex printing, and the fourth to fifth pages are single-sided printing. Accordingly, one or two pages are printed on both sides, and the other pages are printed on one side. Note that double-sided printing is instructed on page 3, but single-sided printing is instructed on page 4 that should be printed on the back side of the same sheet. One-sided printing will be performed.

  In this way, by adding a job ticket to the print target data from the PC and sending a print request to the image forming apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus 10 prints the print target data in the designated print form. .

  Note that the PC may generate a job ticket in which print instruction information is set in a data file format, add the print ticket to the print target data, and send the print ticket. It may be incorporated into a print job. In addition, when the paper to be printed is read by the scanner, the print instruction information may be recorded on the paper as code data that can be read by the scanner, or the paper may be printed by a magnetically readable IC tag or the like. It may be incorporated above.

  As described above, in the basic printing process, the image forming apparatus 10 executes printing in the designated printing mode by referring to the job ticket associated with the print target data. . Therefore, in order to cause the image forming apparatus 10 to execute printing in a desired printing form, conventionally, it is necessary to associate a job ticket with print target data every time printing is requested. A characteristic feature of the present embodiment is that the job ticket associated with the print target data is stored and managed separately from the print target data, and no print instruction is given such as no job ticket added. When the target data is input, it is searched from those holding the job ticket related to the print target data, and the print target data is printed according to the job ticket. Thus, it is possible to print in a desired printing form without necessarily associating the job ticket with the print target data and making a print request. Hereinafter, a characteristic print process in the present embodiment will be described. First, characteristic job ticket generation processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The input processing unit 11 inputs information related to the print instruction together with the print target data (step 101). The information related to the print instruction corresponds to a job ticket when the print target data is received via the network described above. In the case of copying, the attribute item input and designated from the operation panel 1 corresponds to this. As described above, the input processing unit 11 inputs data to be printed and information related to a print instruction sent from various devices. Here, a case where a print job is received will be described as an example.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of a print job described and defined in a page language (PDL (Page Description Language)) for printing used in the printer 7. Each print job includes a print form covering a plurality of pages such as collation and stapling. In FIG. 5, a section is a unit composed of one or more pages. Printing instructions can be specified for each section. For example, a section composed of 1 to 4 pages includes double-sided printing, and a section composed of 5 to 10 pages includes a print instruction such as printing to A3 size. The page information is information for developing one page of image information. In recent copies, there is a so-called build job function that can change the setting for each original bundle, so that the print target data can be set for each section by dividing the print target data into a plurality of sections as in the case of the print job.

  In the PC, a print instruction is normally performed using a tool called a driver. A menu such as “electronic document” is provided in the driver, and the user can instruct “electronic document”. When the electronic document is not instructed (N in Step 102), the print execution control unit 13 performs normal print processing (Step 111). On the other hand, when electronic documenting is instructed (Y in step 102), the image forming processing unit 12 converts the input print target data into a PDF file. Then, the job ticket generation processing unit 14 extracts various print instruction information included in the print job and converts the extracted various print instruction information into a job ticket format for sharing. Specifically, the job ticket generation processing unit 14 sequentially reads various pieces of information from the top of the print job input by the input processing unit 11 until a file processing mark included at the end is detected (Y in step 104). ), Process as follows.

  That is, since a print job includes a print instruction for each divided section, a print instruction for each page included in the section, and image data for each page, following the job print instruction, the job ticket generation process The unit 14 sequentially reads out in the order of registration of print instructions to the print job (steps 105 to 109). Specifically, the output instruction of each section is read in the order of registration in the print job (step 106), each page information and image data included in the section is read (step 108), and a predetermined job ticket format is obtained. Is set and held (step 110). In this way, a job ticket for the print target data is generated and registered in the job ticket storage unit 15.

  As described above, the input print instruction related information is converted into the job ticket format, and the print instruction information of the print target data is stored. The stored job ticket and the print target data are associated with information set in the job ticket, for example, the file name of the print target data in the example shown in FIG. Of course, the information to be associated is not limited to the file name. For example, the job ticket and the print target data can be associated in a one-to-many relationship by the owner ID of the file.

  Also in the present embodiment, when printing the print target data for the first time, it is necessary to obtain a print instruction by some method or form such as the job ticket itself or input from the operation panel 1 as described above. The data is printed in a printing form set in accordance with the print instruction information designated for input. However, when the document data is additionally printed, it is not necessary to give a print instruction in the present embodiment.

  That is, when print target data is received without a print instruction, when the print execution control unit 13 recognizes that a print instruction is not given such as a job ticket is not added to the print target data, the print execution data 13 A job ticket related to the print target data is extracted from the job ticket storage unit 15 according to the obtained attribute information, and printing of the print target data is executed according to the extracted print instruction information. According to the example shown in FIG. 3, when it is desired to additionally print document data whose file name is “abc.pdf”, as long as the document data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10, a file that is attribute information of the document data is displayed. The job ticket related to the document data can be specified from the name. As a result, since the job ticket of the same document data that has already been printed can be used, the user can cause the image forming apparatus 10 to print in the same print form without giving a print instruction to the document data for additional printing. be able to.

  In the above description, the case where the same document is additionally printed is taken as an example. For example, when the user who is the owner of the documents A and B wants to print different document data in the same print form as the document data already printed, such as when stapling is performed in the same manner as the document A stapling the document B, The document data to be printed for the first time is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10 without adding a job ticket. When the print execution control unit 13 of the image forming apparatus 10 recognizes that there is no print instruction such as a job ticket not added to the print target data, the print execution control unit 13 relates to the print target data according to the attribute information obtained from the print target data. The job ticket to be printed is taken out from the job ticket storage unit 15, and printing of the print target data is executed according to the taken-out print instruction information. In this example, the job ticket related to the print target data is extracted from the job ticket storage unit 15 using the owner ID of the print target data as attribute information obtained from the print target data.

  In this way, by effectively using a job ticket that has already been generated from document data having the same attribute information, the image forming apparatus 10 is made to print in the same print form without giving a print instruction to the document data to be printed for the first time. be able to.

  Note that there are various types of attribute information obtained from the document data, such as file names and owner IDs, and a plurality of associated job tickets may be considered. Therefore, it is desirable to prioritize the attribute information used for reading the job ticket.

  According to the present embodiment, when printing is performed for the first time, basically, it is necessary to give a print instruction, but when the same document is printed again such as additional printing, it is not necessary to give a print instruction each time. It is. Further, even when printing is performed for the first time, it is not necessary to give a print instruction by effectively using print instruction information of a printed document.

  In this embodiment, a job ticket is automatically generated from the received print instruction information and registered in the job ticket storage unit 15. However, the job ticket registered in the job ticket storage unit 15 is edited by providing an information management unit. You may comprise so that it can do. As a result, the print form can be adjusted, so that a more detailed print form can be set and a general-purpose job ticket can be generated.

  Further, the job ticket generated by the job ticket generation processing unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 10 may be sent to the print target data transmission source in response to a request from the transmission source or automatically. For example, when it is desired to print the document data “abc.pdf” from another image forming apparatus 10, conventionally, the print form has to be specified again. For this reason, not only is the input operation cumbersome, but if there is a setting error or the initial setting value of the image forming apparatus is different, there is a possibility of printing in a different printing form. Therefore, if the job ticket is sent back to the print target data transmission source as described above, the job ticket is added to the document data “abc.pdf” on the PC or the like that received the job ticket to form another image. If printing is performed by the apparatus, printing can be reliably performed in the same printing form.

  The print target data is printed according to the print instruction information. However, for example, a PDF file can be set without using the print instruction information, for example, a password can be set for the file itself. Therefore, if the data to be printed is converted into a PDF file format and a password is set and managed, security can be improved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted. The image forming apparatus 20 in the present embodiment includes a separation processing unit 21, a transmission processing unit 22, and a PDF file storage unit 23. The separation processing unit 21 and the transmission processing unit 22 are realized by a cooperative operation of various devices such as a computer and a scanner mounted on the image forming apparatus 20 and a program operating on a CPU mounted on the computer.

  There is a case where a job ticket is added as print instruction information to a PDF file to be printed, and in this embodiment, the PDF file is separated from the PDF file by separating the job ticket added to the PDF file. And job tickets can be handled individually. Hereinafter, the operation in the present embodiment will be described.

  When the input processing unit 21 receives the PDF file to which the job ticket is added, the print execution control unit 13 prints the PDF file according to the instruction described in the job ticket. In addition to the print processing performed by the print execution control unit 13, the separation processing unit 21 separates the job ticket from the PDF file when the job ticket that is the print instruction information is added to the received PDF file. Data corresponding to each of the file storage unit 23 and the job ticket storage unit 15 is registered. Then, the transmission processing unit 22 transmits the separated PDF file and job ticket to the PDF file transmission source.

  As a result, the transmission source that receives the PDF file or the like can handle the PDF file and the job ticket separately. That is, the PDF file can be reused by combining it with another job ticket or combining the job ticket with another PDF file. That is, different PDF files can be printed in the same print form, and one PDF file can be easily printed in different print forms.

  In this embodiment, the separated PDF file and job ticket are transmitted to the PDF file transmission source. However, at least one of them may be transmitted automatically or upon request. Good. Further, a PDF file or a job ticket may be transmitted in response to a request from a source other than the transmission source.

  In each of the above embodiments, the multifunction peripheral has been described as an example of an image forming apparatus. However, the image forming apparatus may be configured to be realized by a server program that simulates the image forming apparatus.

1 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram used for explaining basic printing processing according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a print job handled in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating job ticket generation processing according to the first embodiment. 3 is a block configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1 operation panel, 2 CPU, 3 RAM, 4 HDD, 5 network interface, 6 scanner, 7 printer, 8 FAX, 9 internal bus, 10, 20 image forming apparatus, 11 input processing unit, 12 image forming processing unit, 13 printing Execution control unit, 14 job ticket generation processing unit, 15 job ticket storage unit, 21 separation processing unit, 22 transmission processing unit, 23 PDF file storage unit.

Claims (5)

Input processing means for inputting print target data;
A print instruction information storage unit that stores print instruction information in which a print mode for printing print target data is specified;
Print execution control means for printing the print target data input by the input processing means in accordance with the print instruction information associated with the print target data;
Information generation processing means for generating print instruction information shared from the print instruction information and registering it in the print instruction information storage means when the input processing means inputs print instruction information together with the print target data;
Have
When the input processing unit does not input print instruction information together with the print target data, the print execution control unit prints print instruction information related to the print target data according to the attribute information of the input print target data. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus extracts from the instruction information storage unit and executes printing of the print target data according to the extracted print instruction information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus comprising: information transmission processing means for transmitting print instruction information used for printing print target data to a print target data transmission source in response to a request from the transmission source or automatically. Input processing means for inputting print target data;
Separation means for separating the print instruction information from the print target data when the print instruction information in which the print mode for printing the print target data is specified is added to the input print target data;
Information transmitting means for transmitting at least one of the separated print target data and print instruction information to the print target data input source;
An image forming apparatus comprising: Implemented by a computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a printing function,
An input step for entering the data to be printed;
The input print target data is printed according to the print instruction information associated with the print target data. When the print instruction information is input together with the print target data, the print instruction information shared from the print instruction information is displayed. A printing step that is generated and registered in the storage means;
Including
When the print instruction information is not input together with the print target data, the printing step extracts the print instruction information related to the print target data from the storage unit according to the attribute information of the input print target data, A print control method, wherein printing of the print target data is executed according to the print instruction information. Implemented by a computer mounted on an image forming apparatus having a printing function,
An input step for entering the data to be printed;
A separation step of separating the print instruction information from the print target data when the print instruction information in which the print mode for printing the print target data is specified is added to the input print target data;
An information transmission step of transmitting at least one of the print target data and the print instruction information in a separated state to the print target data input source;
An information management method comprising:

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