JP2005173688A - Printing service, and printing service server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set a detailed print style on a user terminal, without being limited to only simple printing style settings which are provided in submission forms in advance. <P>SOLUTION: Provided is a means of acquiring device capability from a printer device which is available at a store via a driver and acquiring device configuration information installed on the device. Those pieces of information are registered in advance in a print service server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print service system that performs a print service in response to a user request in a print service including an output device such as a printer.

When a user (user) uses a printer of a print service store, for example, the user brings electronic data in which a document or an image is recorded to a print service store equipped with an output device such as a printer and prints it, or a personal computer ( There is a form in which an electronic document stored in a terminal is printed by bringing a terminal such as a PC) and connecting it to an output device with a cable. Also, there is a form in which printing is performed by connecting an electronic document from a terminal in an office or home to a server via a network such as an ISDN line and transmitting the electronic document from the terminal to any print service store. (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2)
JP-A-11-007365 JP 2001-236196 A

  However, in the method in which the user sets the printing style via the network, as in JP-A-2001-236196, information to be used for the printing style is set on the store side, and the setting value is registered in the server. However, there is a method of setting on the user terminal according to the form. This method is limited to simple print appearance settings prepared in advance on the submission form, and detailed print appearance settings cannot be set on the user terminal.

  In the present invention, means for acquiring device capability from a printer device available in a store via a driver and acquiring device configuration information attached to the device is provided so that the print format can be set in detail. The information is registered in advance in the print service server. Accordingly, the stand-alone application can select the device and set the print style with the same level of fineness as set in the printer properties. In addition, since it is meaningless in the Internet world to select a printing device at the user terminal, a means for the print service server to perform device discovery is installed on the server side based on the setting value of the print format set by the user. did. As a result, the user can set the maximum device capability that can be printed at a store without being aware of the device.

  Also, in order to respond to the fact that a plurality of printers are installed in the store, job distributor means are provided in the store. By this means, it is possible to distribute the job requested by the user to the printing apparatus according to the standard assumed by the store.

  The present invention assumes that a plurality of stores are connected to the Internet. Therefore, there is provided means for managing a group of printer devices in units of stores under a group ID assigned to each store.

  As described above, from the user terminal, it is possible to perform intended print settings on the printing apparatus in the expected store without specifying a device. On the store side, by setting the distributor standards as intended by the store, it becomes possible to reduce the lining cost, perform load distribution, and respond flexibly.

  The present invention assumes a plurality of stores. By sharing those store information to the print service server, it is possible to seamlessly select stores from the user terminal, and by uniformly managing the printing device group that can be printed at that store with the store group ID, Device discovery is possible with the print service server.

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

  1 and 2 are examples of a configuration diagram of a print service system in the present embodiment.

  A print service server 100 performs operation management and service management of the entire print service.

  In principle, the billing process for the user and the handling of the device information of the service store are also managed here.

  A user terminal 101 is a tool for accessing the print service system.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes a print service store, which is a base for providing print services based on user instructions.

  Hereinafter, the operation mode in each figure will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an operation mode in which a user terminal (for example, a general personal computer), a print service store, and a print service server are arranged on the same network. Specifically, each system is connected to the Internet, and a user can access a print service server to print a predetermined document at a predetermined print store. The device information is handled by the print service server. It is done in.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the user terminal is a mobile phone having a function as an information terminal that has been used in recent years, and the basic service operation mode is the same as FIG.
The access means to the print service server is implemented mainly with a general Internet protocol (HTTP, etc.), and the system is also used as a security measure using a general means represented by SSL (Secure Socket Layer). It has come to be used.

  Further, the connection means between the print service store system and the user terminal is also implemented by general parallel and serial connection means.

  FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the print service server in this embodiment.

  A communication control unit 401 performs data communication processing with the user terminal 101, the print service store 102, and the like. Here, processing such as user authentication is performed using data managed by the authentication information management device 451.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes an information providing unit that retrieves requested data from various data managed by the server and generates data to be returned to the request source. In particular, the device information related to the present invention is acquired from the store information management apparatus 456 and provided to the user terminal.

  A job reception unit 403 receives job data (mainly a print request) from the user and manages it in the job management apparatus 454.

  A document uploaded from the user is also accepted here, and the data is managed by the document information management device 455.

  Reference numeral 404 denotes a job distribution unit that transfers unprocessed job data managed by the job management apparatus 454 to the designated print service store.

  Reference numeral 405 denotes a store capability registration unit. Here, the device information sent from the print service store is collected, processed into the device capability of the store, and the device capability and the store capability are stored in the store information management device 456. To do.

  A device discovery unit 406 analyzes the contents of the print format setting set in the user terminal and performs a process of calculating an applicable device.

  A result reception unit 407 receives the result of the job executed at the print service store, updates the job management data of the job management device 455 according to the content, and records the log in the log information management device 453.

  Reference numeral 408 denotes a charge calculation unit that performs a calculation process for a charge amount to be charged for the job result based on various charge conditions.

  Next, a supplementary description will be given of various data management devices operated and managed in this server.

  Reference numeral 451 denotes an authentication information management device that manages data to be managed with sufficient password security corresponding to each user ID.

  452 is a charge system management device, which is a standard charge table imposed on a service, a user charge management attribute reference table serving as a calculation reference for various charge processing services applied according to usage records, and a service operation record. The contracted store loyalty standard table, which serves as a basis for calculating loyalty for contracted stores to be applied, is managed.

  Reference numeral 453 denotes a log information management apparatus, which can record and manage from which person to where, what job is issued, and the result, etc. for each service.

  Reference numeral 454 denotes a job management apparatus that first manages jobs received from the user and sequentially processes the jobs.

  It is also possible to set job priority designation, schedule job execution, accept time-designated jobs, and store job data so that it can be re-executed later.

  Reference numeral 455 denotes a document information management apparatus, which can register, manage, search, and the like when requested by a user.

  Reference numeral 456 denotes a store information management apparatus that manages store information such as device capability, device configuration information, store device capability, and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the print service store system in this embodiment.

  A communication control unit 501 performs data communication processing with the user terminal 101, the print service server 100, and the like.

  A device capability providing unit 502 generates data to be sent back to the print service server, such as device capabilities and device configuration information managed by this system.

  A job reception unit 503 receives job data (mainly print requests) from the user from the print service server and manages the job data in the job management apparatus 551.

  A job processing unit 504 sequentially transfers unprocessed job data managed by the job management apparatus 551 to the distributor 505 and executes the job.

  The distributor 505 that receives the job distributes it to the printing apparatus A 507 or the printing apparatus B 508 according to the distribution standard.

  A result notification unit 506 notifies the print service server of the result of the executed job.

  Next, a supplementary description will be given of various data management devices that are operated and managed in the system.

  Reference numeral 551 denotes a job management apparatus that first manages jobs received from others and sequentially processes the jobs.

  It is also possible to set job priority designation, schedule job execution, accept time-designated jobs, and store job data so that it can be re-executed later.

  A device capability management apparatus 552 acquires the device capability and device configuration information of the printing apparatus connected to the store, and is stored in the apparatus. Then, when there is a registration request to the print service server, the storage method is transmitted from the communication control unit to the server.

  Reference numeral 553 denotes a log information management apparatus which can sequentially record and manage who received what jobs and what the results were regarding services performed in the system.

  6 and 7 are sequence examples of the print service in this embodiment.

  FIG. 6 shows a sequence for registering the store device capability in the print service server, and the basic flow will be described.

  In S601, the ability is acquired from a device that can print at the store.

  In S602, configuration information of available devices such as the finisher of the device is acquired.

  In S603, the acquired information is temporarily stored in the device management apparatus.

  In S604, when there is a registration request to the print service server, the stored device information is transferred to the server.

  In S605, the transferred device information is accepted.

  In S606, when there are a plurality of device information items, a device device capability is newly created as a device capability of one store according to the store capability calculation procedure.

  In S607, the device information transmitted from the store and the store device capability calculated by the server are registered in the store information storage device.

  FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a series of flows in which a job is submitted from the user terminal to the print service server, and the print service server requests printing of the job entered in the store printing apparatus. The basic flow will be described.

  In S701, the user inputs the user ID and password, and checks whether the user is registered in the authentication process of the server that received the information. If registered, the access right of the user is checked, and a restriction on the functions that can be operated on the user terminal is set.

  If the user can print in S703, the document to be printed by the user is first uploaded to the server. The document is temporarily stored in the server in S704. Printing instructions are given to the stored document in the following procedure. A method may be used in which a temporarily stored document is retrieved and printing is performed from the document. In this case, the procedure of S703 can be omitted.

  In S705, the store that the user wants to request printing is selected from the stores registered in the print service server.

  In S706, the device capability information of the selected store is acquired, and the capability is downloaded to the user terminal in S707.

  In S708, a user operation screen for setting the print style is displayed, but only the capability capable of printing in the store can be set.

  In S709, if the print format setting is completed, the data is transmitted to the server.

  In S710, the data received from the user terminal searches for a printable device from the printing apparatuses registered by the store in S711, and sets the device name in the job ticket. In S713, the cost for printing is calculated and transmitted to the user terminal.

  In S714, after confirming the fee, the user submits the job execution to the server if this condition is acceptable.

  In S716, the server that has received the job execution request records the log of the job execution received from the user in S717, and issues the job to the store.

  In S718, the store that accepted the execution of the job determines which printing apparatus to use in S719 according to the distribution standard, and submits the job to the printing apparatus in S720.

  FIG. 7 is a flow showing a procedure for registering the store device capability. This flow will be described.

  In S1101, the device capability is acquired from the driver of the printing apparatus that can print at the store.

  In S1102, if any finisher is attached to the printing apparatus, the device configuration information is acquired.

  In S1103, the acquired device information is temporarily stored in the device capability management apparatus.

  In S1104, it is checked whether or not the device information has been acquired for all the devices registered in the server. If there is a device that has not yet been acquired, the flow returns to S1101 and the flow for acquiring the device information is resumed. . After acquiring all the device information, in S1105, the device information is transferred to the print service server.

  FIG. 8 is a flow showing a procedure for registering the store device capability, and the server-side registration means will be described.

  When device information is received from the store in S1201, the maximum device capability that can be printed in the store is calculated from the device information in S1202. This is the store device capability.

  In S1203, the device information received from the store and the store device capability calculated above are stored in the store information management apparatus 456.

  FIG. 9 summarizes an example of elements indicating device information and store device capability in a table. This table will be described.

  The store A is set as a group ID = 0001, and devices that can be printed at this store belong to the group ID. Device A and device B indicate the device capability and device configuration information of each device received from the store. The device ID is a unique code assigned to each device. The circles in this table indicate the capabilities that can be used by the device. The OR operation of these abilities is the store device ability, which is assigned to ID = 9999. There is always one ID for each group as a store capability.

  FIG. 10 is a flow on the user terminal side showing the procedure of the printing process.

  In S1301, the user sets a user ID and password and logs in to the system. If the user is registered in the print service server, the print document is uploaded to the server in S1303.

  In S1304, a store to request printing is selected.

  In S1305, the ability to print at the store is acquired, and its setting menu is displayed.

  In S1306, printing is set according to the menu.

  In step S1307, the print settings are transmitted to the server. The fee according to the print setting is calculated by the server, and the fee is displayed on the user terminal in S1308.

  In step S1309, the user submits a job as a result of understanding the printing conditions.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of print processing, and more specifically describes the procedure of print setting of the user terminal.

  The setting is prioritized for the printing ability. For example, assuming that the device capability in the upper row of the table in FIG. 9 has a higher priority, the lower capability is affected by the setting value having a higher priority.

  In S1401, when the set value of the output paper size is determined, it is rechecked in S1402 whether the item affected by the set value can be selected.

  In S1403, for example, if the output paper size is set to A4, the device A cannot be supported, and the setting item of the device A cannot be selected. Accordingly, setting items for only device A are excluded from the print setting items. This process is performed in S1404.

  In S1405, the orientation of the next highest priority paper is set. After this setting, devices that can be handled are calculated in the same manner as described above, and device capabilities that cannot be handled are made impossible to set. By performing these operations in the order of priority in the order of page layout and below, it is possible to create a print setting that matches any device of the store printing apparatus.

  FIG. 12 is a flow showing a print processing procedure on the server side, and in particular a flow showing a procedure showing device discovery.

  After receiving the print style setting data from the user terminal in S1501, in S1502, it matches the information stored in the store information management device 456, and detects a print device that can print with the setting. All device names detected as a result are set in the job ticket. In this procedure, if a discovery criterion is set in advance, a device is determined according to the procedure. For example, if it is assumed that the minimum value of the device capability is extracted as the criterion, a device name that satisfies the print format setting and has the minimum device capability is set in the job ticket.

  FIG. 13 is a flow showing the print processing procedure on the store side, and in particular, a flow showing the processing of the distributor that distributes to the printing apparatus.

  After receiving a job from the server in S1601, the device name set in the job ticket is extracted in S1602. It is possible to execute printing according to print settings set by the user on these devices.

  In S1603, the printing apparatus is determined according to the distribution standard. For example, if the store side provides a standard for printing with priority to the printers with the minimum capability as described above, the job is distributed to the printing apparatus. If the reference is set so that the load balance of the printing apparatus is taken into consideration, the job is currently submitted to the printing apparatus with the smallest load. Further, if priority is given to the printing apparatus with the lowest running cost, the job is input to the printing apparatus with the lower maintenance cost.

Print service system block diagram (the 1). Print service system block diagram (the 2). The print service server block diagram. The print service store system block diagram. An example of a store printing capability registration sequence. An example of a print service sequence. Store printing capability registration flow (store side). Store printing capability registration flow (server side). Examples of device information, operator process capability and store printing capability. Print processing flow (client side). Print processing flow and print settings (client side). Print processing flow and device discovery (server side). Print processing flow distributor (store side).

Claims (5)

A print service system that accepts a print request including at least an electronic document to be printed, provides a printer based on the request, and provides a service for printing the electronic document by the printer;
In the print request, it has means for displaying setting items that can be printed in the store,
The setting item depends on information obtained from a unit that obtains device information from a printing apparatus capable of printing by the store.
Also, there is means for registering these device information in the print service server,
It is possible to display the information by downloading the information to the user terminal. A user terminal that has a means for setting a print appearance when the print request is made and can be set according to the setting means;
Based on the data set in the print format, the print service server is a means for discovering a store device that can be printed, and a means for setting the searched device in a job ticket.
A print service system that submits this information to a store.   The store in which the job is input has a distributor means for sending to a printing apparatus adapted according to a distribution standard on the store side, and a print service system for printing a user's job with the printing apparatus distributed by this means. In the means to register device information in the print service server,
It has a means to calculate the store device capability by collecting a plurality of device information,
Device information and store device capabilities are print service systems that can be registered in the store information management device. The print style setting means has a dependency control for assigning priorities to the print setting items and controlling lower item values in accordance with the setting contents of the items having higher priorities.

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