JP2009039913A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system easily performing printing by a different printer, when a printer can not perform printing, according to print setting previously set in a print job. <P>SOLUTION: The URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers) of the object of the print job is stored in a portable memory, the object of the print job is obtained from a server, based on the URI and a job ticket is extracted from the object of the obtained print job. When non-correspondent print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, the practice of the print job corresponding to the job ticket is interrupted and the job ticket is stored in the portable memory in association with the URI of the print job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method that perform printing by acquiring a print job from a server via a communication network such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet.

  A printing system including a printing apparatus and a print server, wherein the print server outputs a print job designated by a user to the printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus performs printing according to the print job acquired from the print server. Are known. In this printing system, the user selects a plurality of print jobs via the operation panel of the print server and issues a print instruction. At that time, if one of these print jobs has color print settings, but the printing device does not have a color print function, the print settings for that print job are set to monochrome print settings. Changed and printed. If one of these print jobs is set to “Finished” but the printing apparatus does not have a finisher function (post-processing function), the print setting of the print job is set to “Finish”. The print setting is changed to “None”.

JP 2007-105937 A

  However, in the two situations described above, the user who has instructed printing may want to obtain a print result according to preset print settings for the print job. In other words, there are cases where the user wants to avoid printing with the print settings of the print job being forcibly changed. Further, the user who has obtained the above print result moves to a printing apparatus equipped with a color printing function or another printing apparatus equipped with a finisher function in order to obtain a printing result according to a desired print setting. You need to try reprinting. In such a case, in another printing apparatus, it is necessary for the user to designate the same print job as in the previous time with the printing MEAP application again and issue a printing instruction. For this purpose, the user needs to store the job name of the previous print job. That is, in order to perform reprinting with another printing apparatus, the user needs to memorize the previous print job name, and further to issue a print instruction in the same procedure as the previous procedure. The burden is heavy.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it easy for a user to issue a print instruction for a print job to another printing apparatus when the printing apparatus cannot perform printing in accordance with print settings preset for the print job. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that can perform printing.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a unit that stores a URI of a print job object in a portable memory, a unit that acquires a print job object from a server based on the URI, and a job ticket from the acquired print job object. Means for extracting, means for determining whether or not incompatible print settings are described in the extracted job ticket, and print corresponding to the job ticket when incompatible print settings are described in the extracted job ticket Means is provided for interrupting job execution and storing the job ticket in a portable memory in association with the URI of the print job.

  The printing apparatus of the present invention has a means for reading a job ticket of an unprocessed print job stored in a portable memory, a means for determining whether or not an unsupported print setting is described in the read job ticket, When the non-compliant print setting is not described in the read job ticket, a means for reading the URI corresponding to the job ticket from the portable memory, and the print job object corresponding to the URI based on the read URI from the server And a means for extracting the PDF document from the acquired print job object and printing the extracted PDF document in accordance with the print settings described in the job ticket.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a unit that stores a URI of a print job object in a first server, a unit that acquires a print job object from the second server based on the URI, and an acquired print job object. Means for extracting the job ticket from the means, means for determining whether or not the incompatible print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, and if the incompatible print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, the job ticket And a unit that stores the job ticket in the first server in association with the URI of the print job.

  The printing apparatus of the present invention has means for reading out a job ticket for an unprocessed print job stored in the first server, means for determining whether or not a non-corresponding print setting is described in the read job ticket, If the read job ticket does not contain incompatible print settings, a means for reading the URI corresponding to the job ticket from the first server and the print job object corresponding to the URI based on the read URI It is characterized by comprising means for obtaining a PDF document from the second server, extracting the PDF document from the obtained print job object, and printing the extracted PDF document in accordance with the print settings described in the job ticket.

  The printing method of the present invention includes a step of storing a URI of a print job object in a portable memory, a step of acquiring a print job object from a server based on the URI, and a job ticket from the acquired print job object. A step of extracting, a step of determining whether or not an incompatible print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, and a print corresponding to the job ticket when an incompatible print setting is described in the extracted job ticket The method includes a step of interrupting job execution and storing the job ticket in a portable memory in association with the URI of the print job.

  The printing method of the present invention includes a step of storing a URI of a print job object in a first server, a step of acquiring a print job object from the second server based on the URI, and an object of the acquired print job A step of extracting a job ticket from the step, a step of determining whether or not an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, and a job ticket when an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket Including the step of interrupting the execution of the print job corresponding to and storing the job ticket in the first server in association with the URI of the print job.

  The printing method of the present invention includes a step of reading a job ticket of an unprocessed print job stored in the first server, a step of determining whether or not an unsupported print setting is described in the read job ticket, If the read job ticket does not contain non-compliant print settings, a step of reading a URI corresponding to the job ticket from the first server, and a print job object corresponding to the URI based on the read URI The method includes the steps of: acquiring from the second server; extracting a PDF document from an object of the acquired print job; and printing the extracted PDF document in accordance with print settings described in the job ticket.

  A computer-readable recording medium of the present invention records a program for causing a computer to execute any of the above methods.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute any one of the methods described above.

  According to the present invention, when the printing apparatus cannot perform printing according to the print settings set in advance for the print job, the user can easily issue a print instruction for the print job to another printing apparatus. Can do.

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

<Printing system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system.

  The printing system 100 includes a printing apparatus 103 or 104 such as a print server 101, a directory server 115, an MFP (multifunction printer: multifunction peripheral), or an SFP (single function printer). Here, the printing apparatus 103 is a printing apparatus not equipped with a finisher function, and the printing apparatus 104 is a printing apparatus equipped with a finisher function. The print server 101 and each printing apparatus are connected via a communication line 102 such as a LAN. In the printing system 100, the print server 101 transmits a print job to the printing apparatus 103 or 104, and the printing apparatus 103 or 104 that has received the print job performs printing.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes an operation panel of the printing apparatus 103, and reference numeral 106 denotes an operation panel 106 of the printing apparatus 104. Reference numeral 107 denotes a portable memory reader / writer equipped in the printing apparatus 103, and reference numeral 108 denotes a portable memory reader / writer equipped in the printing apparatus 104. The reader / writers 107 and 108 read / write data to / from a card-type memory such as an IC card or a portable memory such as a stick-type memory such as a USB flash memory. Reference numeral 109 denotes a user who uses the printing apparatus 103, and reference numeral 110 denotes a user who uses the printing apparatus 104. 111 indicates the operation of the operation panel 105 by the user 109, and 112 indicates the operation of the operation panel 106 by the user 110. Reference numeral 113 denotes a portable memory inserted into the reader / writer 107, and reference numeral 114 denotes a portable memory inserted into the reader / writer 108.

  In order for the printing system 100 to function, it is necessary to install a printing application program in the printing apparatus 103 or 104 and execute it. It can be executed, for example, in a Java (registered trademark) application environment called MEAP (Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform) (trademark).

  The printing system 100 can perform user authentication using a portable memory. In FIG. 1, the reader / writer 107 or 108 installed in the printing apparatus 103 or 104 reads user authentication information from the portable memory 113 or 114. The printing apparatus 103 or 104 performs user authentication using the user authentication information, and permits the use of the printing apparatus 103 or 104 only to authorized users.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the print server 101 or the directory server 115.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes a main body of the print server 101 or the directory server 115. The main body unit 201 connects an input device such as a keyboard 202 and a mouse 203 to the video display 215. The main unit 201 communicates with other computers and printing apparatuses via a network interface 210 and a communication line 214 such as a LAN. The main body 201 may include a magnetic tape drive (not shown).

  The main body unit 201 includes a CPU 204, an I / O interface 205, a memory 206, a CD-ROM drive 207, a video interface 209, a network interface 210, a storage device 211 such as an HDD 212 and an FDD 213. These units exchange commands and data with each other via the system bus 208.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printing apparatus 103 or 104.

  A control unit 301 controls the operation of the printing apparatus 301. The control unit 301 includes a CPU 302, a memory 303, a ROM 304, a printer interface engine 307, a panel interface 315, a network controller 313, and a disk controller 310. These units exchange commands and data with each other via the system bus 309. An operation panel 316 and a printer engine (printing unit) 308 are connected to the control unit 301.

  A CPU 302 controls the entire printing apparatus according to a program 305 stored in a ROM 304. Further, the CPU 302 outputs print data to the printer engine 308 via the printer engine interface 307. The ROM 304 also stores font data 306 used when generating print data.

  The network controller 313 controls communication between the control unit 301 and another computer or printing apparatus connected to a communication line 214 such as a LAN.

  The memory 303, the ROM 304, or the HD 311 stores a printing application program. The HD 311 also stores user information and print data.

  Reference numeral 312 denotes a portable memory such as a USB flash memory or an IC card.

  The operation panel 316 presents an operation screen and status information of the printing apparatus to the user using a user interface screen.

  The panel interface 315 captures information input by the user via the operation panel 316 into the control unit 301 and sends operation information and status information to the operation panel 316.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen 401 displayed on the operation panel 316 after the printing application program is started.

  The printing application program is activated when the user operates the activation button 414 on the operation panel 316.

  When the printing application program is activated, the printing apparatus 103 or 104 acquires a print job from the print server 101. The print job is acquired in a list format including an object name and a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) of the object as one item. The acquired print job list is displayed on the user interface screen 401. The URI is an address of a resource on the network. That is, the printing apparatus 103 or 104 acquires a print job in the following format.

(Object name) (URI)
Application file file: //distribution-server1/job/Application.zip
Design document A file: // distribution-server1 / job / Design document A.zip
Receipt file: //distribution-server1/job/receipt.zip
Set A file: // distribution-server1 / job / Set A.zip
Results table file: // distribution-server1 / job / Results table.zip
Set C file: // distribution-server1 / job / Set C.zip

  The print job object represented by the URI is a ZIP archive file composed of a PDF document and a job ticket described in JDF (Job Definition Format). For example, when the object is an application form, the ZIP archive file “application form.zip” is composed of “application form.pdf” of the PDF document and “application form.jdf” of the job ticket.

  The printing apparatus 103 or 104 displays a print job list 415 and various operation buttons 428 to 434 on the user interface screen 401.

  For example, the user 109 using the printing apparatus 103 selects a print job to be printed from the print job list 415 displayed on the user interface screen 401. The selected print job is highlighted as shown at 426a to 426d. Next, when the user 109 presses the print button 434, the printing application program starts execution processing of the selected print job.

  A printing process using a portable memory will be described below.

<User authentication>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of user authentication by the printing application program.

  Assume that the user 109 is trying to print using the printing apparatus 103. The user 109 receives user authentication by inserting the portable memory 113 into the reader / writer 107. The portable memory 113 stores user authentication information including a user name and a password.

  The CPU 302 of the printing apparatus 103 determines whether the portable memory 113 has been inserted into the reader / writer 107 (S501).

  Recognizing that the portable memory 113 has been inserted, the CPU 302 reads user authentication information from the portable memory 113 (S502).

  The CPU 302 performs user authentication by comparing the user authentication information read from the portable memory 113 with the user authentication information stored in advance in the hard disk 311 (S503). Based on this user authentication, it is determined whether or not the user 109 is a legitimate user having print execution authority (S504).

  When the user 109 is authenticated as a legitimate user in S504, the CPU 302 displays the user name on the user name display unit 416 in the user interface screen 401 (S505).

  The CPU 302 permits the user 109 to perform a print operation such as a print job selection via the print job selection unit 415 in the user interface screen 401 (S506).

  If it is determined in S504 that the user is not an authorized user, the CPU 302 does not allow the user 109 to perform a print operation such as job selection via the print job selection unit 415 in the user interface screen 401.

  When user authentication is not performed, use of the printing operation is permitted for all users.

  User authentication is performed by collating user authentication information read from the portable memory 113 and user authentication information stored in advance in the hard disk 311 of the printing apparatus 103. As another example, the printing apparatus 103 may acquire user authentication information from the directory server 115. In that case, it is not necessary to store user information in the hard disk 311 of the printing apparatus 103 in advance. Alternatively, an authentication server may be provided separately, and user authentication information read from the portable memory 113 by the CPU 302 may be sent to the authentication server, and an authentication result may be received from the authentication server.

<Print job execution processing>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of print job execution processing by the printing application program.

  The user 109 determined to be a regular user by the user authentication selects a print job via the print job selection unit 415 in the user interface screen 401 displayed on the operation panel 316 of the printing apparatus 103, and then clicks a “print” button. 434 is pressed. The user can select a plurality of print jobs at a time.

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not the “print” button 434 has been pressed (S601).

  When the “print” button 434 is pressed, the CPU 302 stores the URI of the object of the print job selected by the user in the portable memory (S602).

  The CPU 302 starts print processing of an unprocessed print job among print jobs selected by the user (S603).

  The CPU 302 acquires the print job object from the print server 101 based on the URI of the print job object (S604). For example, if the print job of “Application Form” is selected, “Application Form.zip” is printed based on the URI “file: // distribution-server1 / job / Application Form.zip” of “Application Form”. 101. The printing apparatus 103 acquires a print job object from the print server 101 using a protocol such as FTP, HTTP, or NFS.

  The CPU 302 having acquired the print job object extracts the job ticket “application form.jdf” from the ZIP archive file of the “application form” object (S605).

  The CPU 302 that extracted the job ticket analyzes the job ticket “application form.jdf” (S606), and print settings that are not supported (or cannot be supported) by the printing apparatus 103 are described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”. It is determined whether or not (S607).

  If the print setting not supported by the printing apparatus 103 is not described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”, the CPU 302 extracts the PDF document “application form.pdf” from the acquired print job object (S608).

  The CPU 302 that has extracted the PDF document prints the PDF document in accordance with the print settings described in the job ticket (S609).

  The CPU 302 deletes the URI stored in the portable memory 113 (S610).

  On the other hand, if the print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 302 is described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”, the CPU 302 proceeds to the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 to be described later (S611).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not all the print jobs selected by the user have been processed (S612), and the CPU 302 repeats the processes of S603 to S612 until all the print jobs have been processed.

<Processing when print settings not supported by the printing apparatus 103 are described in the job ticket>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when print settings that are not supported by the printing apparatus 103 are described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”.

  When the printing apparatus 103 determines in S607 in FIG. 6 that the incompatible print setting is described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”, the CPU 302 displays a dialog box in the user interface screen 401. The dialog box displays a message asking the user whether to continue printing (forced printing) or skip printing. Forced printing is to continue printing by changing a print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 to a print setting that can be handled.

  FIG. 8 shows a dialog box 801 for inquiring the user whether to continue printing (forced printing) or skip printing. In the dialog box 801, a “skip” button 802 and a “forced printing” button 803 are displayed (S701).

  The CPU 302 determines which one of the “skip” button 802 and the “forced printing” button 803 in the dialog box 801 is pressed (S702).

  When the user presses the “skip” button 802, the CPU 302 skips the execution of the print job (S703).

  The CPU 302 that skipped execution of the print job stores the job ticket “application form.jdf” of the skipped print job in the portable memory 113 (S704). The job ticket “application form.jdf” of the skipped print job is stored in association with the URI of the print job already stored in the portable memory 113. Thereafter, a print re-execution process is performed. The print re-execution process will be described later.

  When the user presses the “forced printing” button 803, the CPU 302 changes the print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 to a print setting that can be handled (S705). For example, when the printing apparatus 103 that is not equipped with a finisher function receives a job ticket in which finishing print settings such as sorting, stapling, and punching are described, the CPU 302 changes the finishing print setting to a print setting without finishing. .

  The CPU 302 extracts the PDF document “application form.pdf” from the print job object acquired from the print server 101, similarly to S608 of FIG. 6 (S706).

  The CPU 302 prints the extracted PDF document according to the changed print setting (S707).

  The CPU 302 deletes the URI of the object of the print job that has been printed from the portable memory 113 as in S610 of FIG. 6 (S708).

<Data stored in portable memory>
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing data stored in the portable memory 113 in the processing shown in FIGS.

  Reference numeral 901 denotes a state in which user authentication information such as a user name and a password necessary for user authentication is stored in the portable memory 113. In particular, the user authentication information is stored in the memory area 902 of the portable memory 113.

  Reference numeral 903 denotes a state in which the URI of the print job object selected by the user is stored in the portable memory 113. Here, the URI of the print job A is stored in the memory area 904, the URI of the print job B is stored in the memory area 905, the URI of the print job C is stored in the memory area 906, and the URI of the print job D is stored in the memory area 907. .

  Reference numeral 908 denotes a state in which the URI of the object of the print job that has been printed is deleted. That is, in the state 908, the URI of the object of the print job A stored in the memory area 904 is deleted because the printing of the print job A is completed.

  Reference numeral 909 denotes a state in which a job ticket of a print job whose printing has been canceled is stored in the portable memory 113. Here, the job ticket of the print job B whose printing has been canceled is stored in the memory area 910.

  Reference numeral 911 denotes a state in which the URI of the print job C stored in the memory area 906 is deleted because the printing of the print job C is completed.

  Reference numeral 912 denotes a state in which the URI of the print job D stored in the memory area 907 is deleted because the printing of the print job D is completed.

<Print re-execution process>
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, when the user skips execution of the print job B, the job ticket for the print job B is stored in the portable memory 113. Thereafter, the user removes the portable memory 113 from the reader / writer 107 of the printing apparatus 103, logs off the printing apparatus 103, and stops using the printing apparatus 103. In this case, as shown in the state 911, the portable memory 113 stores the job ticket and the URI of the print job B in the portable memory 113. Assume that the job ticket for print job B describes finishing print settings.

  Next, in order to execute the print job B, the user uses the printing apparatus 104 equipped with the finisher function.

  The user inserts the portable memory 113 into the reader / writer 108 of the printing apparatus 104.

  The CPU 302 of the printing apparatus 104 executes the same process as the user authentication shown in FIG.

  If the user authentication confirms that the user is a legitimate user, the CPU 302 performs print re-execution processing of the print job B using the job ticket and URI of the print job B stored in the portable memory 113. Details of the print re-execution process will be described below.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the print re-execution process.

  This flowchart shows processing after S506 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 302 searches for data stored in the portable memory 113 (S1002).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not a job ticket for an unprocessed print job is stored in the portable memory 113 (S1003). As described above, the portable memory 113 stores the job ticket of the print job B skipped by the printing apparatus 103.

  The CPU 302 reads the job ticket for the print job B from the portable memory 113 (S1004).

  The CPU 302 analyzes the read job ticket (S1005), and determines whether or not a print setting incompatible with the printing apparatus 104 is described in the job ticket (S1006).

  If the CPU 302 determines that a non-compliant print setting is not described in the job ticket, the CPU 302 reads the URI corresponding to the job ticket from the portable memory 113 (S1007).

  The CPU 302 acquires a print job object from the print server 101 based on the read URI (S1008). In this case, the CPU 302 acquires the object of the print job B from the print server 113.

  The CPU 302 extracts a PDF document from the acquired object of the print job B (S1009).

  The CPU 302 prints the extracted PDF document according to the print settings described in the job ticket (S1010).

  The CPU 302 deletes the job ticket and URI of the print job B stored in the portable memory 113 (S1011).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of S1006 that a non-compliant print setting is described in the job ticket, the CPU 302 returns to the processing of S1002.

  The CPU 302 searches whether or not another job ticket is stored in the portable memory 113, and repeatedly executes steps S1002 to S1011 until there is no unprocessed job ticket.

  The user removes the portable memory 113 from the reader / writer 108 of the printing apparatus 104, logs off the printing apparatus 104, and ends the printing operation.

  In the case of the print job B corresponding to the job ticket in which the finishing print setting is described, the information of the print job B shown in the state 911 is deleted from the portable memory 113 by the above processing by the printing apparatus 104, and only the user authentication information is stored. The saved state 901 is entered.

  Next, a printing resumption process after the user using the printing apparatus 103 interrupts the use of the printing apparatus 103 after the process of S603 in FIG. 6 will be described. It is assumed that the user performs printing again using the printing apparatus 103. Note that the processing in the case where print settings that are not supported by the printing apparatus are described in the job ticket is the same as in the above-described example, and therefore will be omitted.

<Print resumption processing using URI>
A state 908 in FIG. 9 indicates data stored in the portable memory 113 when printing is interrupted. The state 908 indicates that the user removes the portable memory 113 from the printing apparatus 103 after the printing of the printing job A and before the printing of the printing job B during the processing of the printing jobs A, B, C, and D. 103 shows a state of logging off.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the print restart process.

  This flowchart shows the processing after S506 of FIG.

  The CPU 302 searches for data stored in the portable memory 113 (S1102).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not a job ticket for an unprocessed print job is stored in the portable memory 113 (S1103). Since printing is interrupted after printing of print job A is completed, job tickets for print jobs B, C, and D are stored in portable memory 113.

  The CPU 302 reads out the job ticket and URI of the print job B from the portable memory 113 (S1104).

  The CPU 302 acquires the object of the print job B from the print server 101 based on the read URI, similarly to the process of S604 (S1105).

The CPU 302 extracts the PDF document from the acquired object of the print job B, and prints the extracted PDF document according to the print settings described in the job ticket (S1106).
The CPU 302 deletes the job ticket and URI of the print job B from the portable memory 113 (S1107).

  The CPU 302 also performs the above processing for the print jobs C and D.

  The user removes the portable memory from the reader / writer 107 of the printing apparatus 103, logs off the printing apparatus 103, and ends the printing operation.

  According to the first embodiment, when printing is performed by the printing apparatus, the URI of the print job selected by the user is copied to the portable memory inserted in the printing apparatus, and the portable memory is stored until the print job is completed. Save the URI. When the user inserts the portable memory into another printing device, the other printing device checks whether the URI of the incomplete print job is saved in the portable memory. Automatically execute incomplete print jobs. As a result, the user can execute an uncompleted print job on another printing apparatus simply by inserting the portable memory into the other printing apparatus. Further, it is assumed that the user interrupts printing due to an emergency or the like during printing and takes out the portable memory. Even in this case, on another occasion, the user can re-execute the interrupted print job by inserting the portable memory into the printing apparatus again.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, only the print job URI or the print job URI and the job ticket are copied to the portable memory. Therefore, even if the user loses the portable memory and a malicious third party obtains it, important information such as the print job itself or the document of the print job itself is sent to the third party. There is no leakage.

  According to the first embodiment, only the print job URI or the print job URI and the job ticket are copied to the portable memory for user authentication. Therefore, even if a user loses the portable memory for user authentication and a malicious third party obtains it, printing cannot be performed because the user authentication is not passed.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the data stored in the portable memory is a URI of a print job or a job ticket. Since the size of these data is generally small, a portable memory having a small storage capacity can be used.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, when the printing apparatus cannot print according to the print settings set in advance for the print job, the execution of the print job can be skipped. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the printing apparatus from outputting printed material that is useless to the user.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the job ticket of the skipped print job is stored in the portable memory, and when the user inserts the portable memory into another printing apparatus, the other printing apparatus automatically obtains the job ticket. Read on. Then, another printing apparatus determines whether or not a print job according to the print setting can be executed. Therefore, when another printing apparatus can execute a print job according to print settings, the user does not need to instruct the execution of the print job again.

  A printing process using the directory server 115 will be described below. In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, it is assumed that the URI of the print job and the job ticket are stored in the directory server 115.

<User authentication>
FIG. 12 shows a login screen 1201 displayed on the operation panel 316 by the printing application program. The user inputs user authentication information such as a user name and a password via the login screen 1201.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of user authentication of the printing application program.

  The CPU 302 displays a login screen 1201 on the operation panel 316 (S1301).

  The CPU 302 determines whether user authentication information such as a user name and a password has been input (S1302).

  When user authentication information is input, the CPU 302 requests the directory server 115 to transmit user information using the input user name as a search key (S1303). The user information includes a user password.

  The CPU 302 determines whether user information has been received from the directory server 115 (S1304).

  When the user information is received from the directory server 115, the CPU 302 stores the received user information in the memory 303 or the hard disk 311 (S1305). This user information is stored in the memory 303 or the like until the user logs off the printing apparatus 103.

  The CPU 302 performs user authentication by collating the password included in the user information stored in the memory 303 or the like with the password input on the login screen 1201 (S1306).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not the user is a regular user (S1307).

  If the user is authenticated as a legitimate user in S1307, the CPU 302 displays the user name on the user name display unit 416 in the user interface screen 401 (S1308).

  The CPU 302 permits a print operation such as a print job selection via the print job selection unit 415 in the user interface screen 401 (S1309).

  If the user information cannot be received from the directory server 115 in S1304, the user authentication fails and the CPU 302 displays the login screen 1201 again (S1301). If it is determined that the user is not an authorized user at the time of user authentication in S1307, the user authentication fails and the CPU 302 displays the login screen 1201 again (S1301).

(Print job execution processing)
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of print job execution processing by the printing application program.

  The user who is determined to be a regular user by the authentication selects a print job via the print job selection unit 415 in the user interface screen 401 displayed on the operation panel 316 of the printing apparatus 103, and further, a “print” button 434 is pressed. The user can select a plurality of print jobs at a time.

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not the “print” button 434 has been pressed (S1401).

  When the “print” button 434 is pressed, the CPU 302 saves the URI of the object of the print job selected by the user in the memory 303 or the like (S1402). This URI is stored in association with user information that has already been stored.

  The CPU 302 starts print processing of an unprocessed print job among the print jobs selected by the user (S1403).

  The CPU 302 acquires the print job object from the print server 101 based on the URI of the print job object (S1404). For example, if the print job of “Application Form” is selected, “Application Form.zip” is printed based on the URI “file: // distribution-server1 / job / Application Form.zip” of “Application Form”. 101. The printing apparatus 103 acquires a print job object from the print server 101 using a protocol such as FTP, HTTP, or NFS.

  The CPU 302 that has acquired the print job object extracts the job ticket “application form.jdf” from the ZIP archive file of the “application form” object (S1405).

  The CPU 302 that has extracted the job ticket analyzes the job ticket “application form.jdf” (S1406), and determines whether or not the print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 is described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”. (S1407).

  If the print setting not supported by the printing apparatus 103 is not described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”, the CPU 302 extracts the PDF document “application form.pdf” from the acquired print job object (S1408).

  The CPU 302 that has extracted the PDF document prints the PDF document according to the print settings described in the job ticket (S1409).

  The CPU 302 deletes the URI stored in the memory 302 or the like (S1410).

  On the other hand, when the print settings not supported by the printing apparatus are described in the job ticket, the CPU 302 proceeds to the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 to be described later (S1411).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not the processing of all the print jobs selected by the user has been completed (S1412), and the CPU 302 repeats the processing of S1403 to S1412 until the processing of all the print jobs is completed.

  The CPU 302 updates the information stored in the directory server 115 by storing the URI and job ticket stored in the memory 303 or the like in the directory server 115 (S1413).

<Print processing when print settings not supported by the printing apparatus 103 are described in the job ticket>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when print settings that are not supported by the printing apparatus 103 are described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”.

  When it is determined in S1407 in FIG. 14 that the print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 is described in the job ticket “application form.jdf”, the CPU 302 displays a dialog box in the user interface screen 401. In the dialog box, a message for inquiring the user whether to continue printing (forced printing) or skip printing is displayed. Forced printing is to continue printing by changing a print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 to a print setting that can be handled.

  FIG. 8 shows a dialog box 801 for inquiring the user.

  The CPU 302 displays a “skip” button 802 and a “forced printing” button 803 in the dialog box 801 (S1501).

  The CPU 302 determines whether the user has pressed the “skip” button 802 or the “forced printing” button 803 in the dialog box 801 (S1502).

  When the user presses the “skip” button 802, the CPU 302 skips the execution of the print job (S1503).

  The CPU 302 that has skipped execution of the print job stores the job ticket “application form.jdf” for the skipped print job in the memory 303 or the like (S1504). The job ticket “application form.jdf” of the skipped print job is stored in the memory 303 in association with the URI of the print job.

  When the user presses the “forced printing” button 803, the CPU 302 changes the print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 to a print setting that can be handled (S1505). When the printing apparatus 103 not equipped with a finisher function receives a job ticket in which finishing print settings such as sorting, stapling, and punching are described, the CPU 302 changes the finishing print setting to a print setting without finishing.

  The CPU 302 extracts the PDF document “application form.pdf” from the object of the print job acquired from the print server 101, similarly to S1408 of FIG. 14 (S1506).

  The CPU 302 prints the extracted PDF document according to the changed print setting (S1507).

  Similar to S1410 in FIG. 14, the CPU 302 deletes the URI of the object of the print job that has been printed from the memory 303 or the like (S1508).

  The CPU 302 updates the information stored in the directory server 115 by storing the URI and job ticket stored in the memory 303 or the like in the directory server 115 (S1509).

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of the print re-execution process.

  This flowchart shows processing after S1309 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 302 searches for data stored in the directory server 115 (S1602).

  The CPU 302 determines whether or not a job ticket for an unprocessed print job is stored in the directory server 115 (S1603).

  If unprocessed job ticket data is stored in the memory 303 or the like, the CPU 302 reads the unprocessed job ticket data from the directory server 115 and stores it in the memory 303 or the like (S1604).

  The CPU 302 analyzes the read job ticket (S1605), similarly to the processing of S606, and determines whether the job ticket describes a print setting that is not supported by the printing apparatus 103 (S1605).

  If it is determined that the print setting that cannot be handled is described in the job ticket, the CPU 302 reads the URI corresponding to the job ticket from the directory server 115 and stores it in the memory 303 (S1607).

  The CPU 302 acquires a print job object from the print server 101 based on the read URI (S1608).

  The CPU 302 extracts a PDF document from the acquired print job object (S1609).

  The CPU 302 prints the extracted PDF document according to the print settings described in the job ticket (S1610).

  The CPU 302 deletes the job ticket and URI of the print job stored in the memory 303 or the like (S1611).

  If it is determined in the processing of S1606 that a print setting that is not compatible with the job ticket is described, the CPU 302 returns to the processing of S1602 and skips the processing from S1607 onward for this job ticket.

  The CPU 302 searches whether or not another job ticket is stored in the directory server 115, and repeatedly executes steps S1602 to S1611 until there is no unprocessed job ticket.

  The CPU 302 updates the information stored in the directory server 115 by storing the URI and job ticket stored in the memory 303 or the like in the directory server 115 (1612).

  The user logs off the printing apparatus 103 and ends the printing operation.

  According to the second embodiment, the URI of the print job selected by the user is copied to the user information of the directory server 115, and the directory server stores the URI until the print job is completed. When the user logs in to another printing apparatus, the other printing apparatus checks whether the URI of the uncompleted print job is stored in the directory server. If the URI is stored, the uncompleted print job is stored. Is automatically executed. Thereby, even when the user interrupts printing due to circumstances such as an emergency and logs off the printing apparatus, at another opportunity, the user logs in to the printing apparatus or another printing apparatus again, An interrupted job can be re-executed.

  According to the second embodiment, the URI of the skipped print job is stored in the directory server, and when the user logs in to another printing apparatus, the other printing apparatus stores the URI of the uncompleted print job in the directory server. Check if it has been saved. If the URI is stored, another printing device automatically executes an incomplete print job. Accordingly, when the user can execute a print job according to the print setting by another printing apparatus, the user does not need to instruct the execution of the print job again.

(Other examples)
The present invention can take the form of a system, apparatus, method, computer program or computer-readable recording medium. Further, the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or a single device.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a computer program for realizing the above-described functions of the present invention is supplied to a system or apparatus via a recording medium or a network, and the computer included in the system or apparatus executes the program. included. The recording medium is a computer-readable recording medium. Therefore, the embodiment includes a computer program itself that realizes the functions of the present invention. The computer program includes object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like. The recording medium is a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD or the like. As a program supply method, for example, there is a method of downloading from the Internet to a recording medium such as a hard disk using a browser of a client computer. In this method, a computer program file or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the Internet. Further, the embodiment includes dividing the program code constituting the computer program into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different server. The embodiment also includes a server that allows a plurality of users to download a computer program file.

  The functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by a computer executing a computer program. The functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by an OS running on a computer performing part or all of actual processing based on an instruction of the computer program.

  Even after the computer program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized. That is, the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized when a CPU or the like provided in a function expansion board or a function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on instructions from a computer program.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a print server or a directory server. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the user interface screen displayed on an operation panel. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of user authentication in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print job execution processing according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow when print settings that are not supported by the printing apparatus are described in a job ticket according to the first exemplary embodiment. 7 shows a dialog box for inquiring of a user whether to continue printing (forced printing) or skip printing in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data preserve | saved in portable memory in Example 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a print re-execution process in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a print restart process according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a login screen displayed on an operation panel according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of user authentication in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print job execution processing according to the second exemplary embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow when print settings that are not supported by the printing apparatus are described in a job ticket according to the second exemplary embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a print re-execution process in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printing system 101 Print server 102 Communication network 103 Printing apparatus 104 not equipped with a finisher function Printing apparatus 107 equipped with a finisher function Portable memory reader / writer 108 Portable memory reader / writer 113 Portable memory 114 Portable memory 115 Directory server

Claims (15)

Means for storing the URI of the object of the print job in a portable memory;
Means for acquiring an object of the print job from a server based on the URI;
Means for extracting a job ticket from the acquired print job object;
Means for determining whether incompatible print settings are described in the extracted job ticket;
If an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, the execution of the print job corresponding to the job ticket is interrupted, and the job ticket is stored in the portable memory in association with the URI of the print job. A printing apparatus comprising: means.   The apparatus further comprises means for allowing a user to select whether to continue or interrupt execution of a print job corresponding to the job ticket when an unsupported print setting is described in the job ticket. The printing apparatus according to 1.   When a non-compliant print setting is not described in the job ticket, or a non-compliant print setting is described in the job ticket, the user selects to continue the print job corresponding to the job ticket. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a unit that executes a print job corresponding to the job ticket. The means for executing the print job includes:
The URI corresponding to the job ticket is read from the portable memory, the print job object corresponding to the URI is acquired from the server based on the read URI, and the PDF document is extracted from the acquired print job object. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the extracted PDF document is printed in accordance with the print setting described in the job ticket.   5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for deleting a URI and a job ticket corresponding to the print job stored in the portable memory when execution of the print job is completed.   6. The portable memory further stores user authentication information for confirming whether or not the user is a legitimate user having print execution authority. The printing apparatus as described. Means for reading a job ticket of an unprocessed print job stored in a portable memory;
Means for determining whether or not non-compliant print settings are described in the read job ticket;
Means for reading a URI corresponding to the job ticket from the portable memory if the non-compliant print setting is not described in the read job ticket;
Based on the read URI, a print job object corresponding to the URI is acquired from the server, a PDF document is extracted from the acquired print job object, and extracted according to the print settings described in the job ticket. A printing apparatus comprising: means for printing a PDF document.   8. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for deleting a URI and a job ticket corresponding to the print job stored in the portable memory when execution of the print job is completed. Means for storing a URI of an object of a print job in a first server;
Means for acquiring an object of the print job from the second server based on the URI;
Means for extracting a job ticket from the acquired print job object;
Means for determining whether incompatible print settings are described in the extracted job ticket;
If an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, execution of the print job corresponding to the job ticket is interrupted, and the job ticket is stored in the first server in association with the URI of the print job. A printing apparatus comprising: means for performing Means for reading a job ticket of an unprocessed print job stored in the first server;
Means for determining whether or not non-compliant print settings are described in the read job ticket;
Means for reading out a URI corresponding to the job ticket from the first server when a non-compliant print setting is not described in the read job ticket;
Based on the read URI, a print job object corresponding to the URI is acquired from the second server, a PDF document is extracted from the acquired print job object, and the print setting described in the job ticket is used. A printing apparatus comprising: means for printing the extracted PDF document. Storing the URI of the object of the print job in a portable memory;
Acquiring an object of the print job from the server based on the URI;
Extracting a job ticket from the acquired print job object;
Determining whether non-compliant print settings are described in the extracted job ticket;
If an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, the execution of the print job corresponding to the job ticket is interrupted, and the job ticket is stored in the portable memory in association with the URI of the print job. A printing method comprising the steps of: Storing the URI of the object of the print job in a first server;
Obtaining an object of the print job from the second server based on the URI;
Extracting a job ticket from the acquired print job object;
Determining whether non-compliant print settings are described in the extracted job ticket;
If an unsupported print setting is described in the extracted job ticket, execution of the print job corresponding to the job ticket is interrupted, and the job ticket is stored in the first server in association with the URI of the print job. The printing method characterized by including the step to perform. Reading a job ticket for an unprocessed print job stored in the first server;
Determining whether non-compliant print settings are described in the read job ticket;
A step of reading a URI corresponding to the job ticket from the first server when a non-compliant print setting is not described in the read job ticket;
Based on the read URI, a print job object corresponding to the URI is acquired from the second server, a PDF document is extracted from the acquired print job object, and the print setting described in the job ticket is used. And a step of printing the extracted PDF document.   A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 11.   The program for making a computer perform the method of any one of Claims 11-13.

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