JP3899851B2 - Printing management method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print management method and apparatus, and more particularly to a print management method and apparatus for managing print attributes not defined by a print protocol.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, networks such as the Internet and Intranet have been developed, and companies and individuals have been able to perform various tasks on the network. For this reason, the system developers need to be aware of the Internet and intranet.
[0003]
Under such a background, the Internet printing protocol (hereinafter abbreviated as IPP) is adopted as a standard printing protocol on the Internet in the printing protocol used in the network, and it is also adopted in many other systems. It is becoming a standard protocol.
[0004]
However, IPP does not stipulate resource-related attributes such as stamps and forms that are common for print services. If you want to specify these resource-related attributes, you can use media attributes (paper attributes). It was necessary to add resource-related attributes to and register.
[0005]
For this reason, even when one resource-related attribute is registered, the attribute has to be registered for all paper sizes and the like.
[0006]
In many printing protocols other than IPP, the attributes relating to paper and the attributes relating to resources are independent. Therefore, in a service supporting multi-protocol, an attribute management unit that manages attributes relating to paper and attributes related to resources are managed. When the attribute management unit is independent and supports IPP, it is necessary to manage both in a unified manner.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, some printing protocols used in a network do not have resource-related attributes such as IPP, and it is complicated to specify resource-related attributes using these protocols. It was necessary to work.
[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a print management method and apparatus that allows an attribute that is not defined by a print protocol to be specified by an easy operation and allows a user to easily obtain a desired print result. Objective.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a print management method for managing print attributes used when printing on a printing apparatus, and when registering resource attributes corresponding to resources used for printing, The registered resource attribute is added to the media attribute corresponding to the medium used for printing to generate a print attribute corresponding to the Internet printing protocol, and the generated print attribute is registered.
[0010]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, a media attribute designated from registered media attributes is selected, and the resource attribute is added to the selected media attribute.
[0011]
The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, a plurality of media attributes designated from registered media attributes are selected, and the resource attribute is added to each of the selected media attributes. And
[0012]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when a resource attribute corresponding to a resource used for printing is registered in a print management method for managing a print attribute used at the time of printing on a printing apparatus, the registered resource attribute is stored in the Internet. A new print attribute is generated in addition to the print attribute corresponding to the print protocol, and the generated print attribute is registered.
[0013]
The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 4, a print attribute designated from registered print attributes is selected, and the resource attribute is added to the selected print attribute.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, a plurality of print attributes designated from registered print attributes are selected, and the resource attribute is added to each of the selected print attributes. And
[0014]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print management apparatus for managing print attributes used at the time of printing on a printing apparatus. A resource attribute management unit that manages a resource attribute corresponding to a resource, a print attribute management unit that manages a print attribute corresponding to an Internet printing protocol, and a new resource attribute are registered in the resource attribute management unit, and the registered A print attribute registration unit that adds a resource attribute to the media attribute managed by the media attribute management unit to generate a new print attribute, and registers the generated print attribute in the print attribute management unit; It is characterized by.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the printing attribute registration means includes media attribute selection means for selecting a media attribute designated from media attributes managed by the media attribute management means. The resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management means is added to the media attribute selected by the media attribute selection means.
[0016]
The invention according to claim 9 is the media attribute selection means according to claim 7, wherein the print attribute registration means selects a plurality of media attributes designated from the media attributes managed by the media attribute management means. The resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management means is added to each media attribute selected by the media attribute selection means.
[0017]
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print management apparatus for managing print attributes used when printing on a printing apparatus, a resource attribute management means for managing resource attributes corresponding to resources used for printing, and an Internet print protocol. A print attribute management unit that manages the corresponding print attribute, a new resource attribute is registered in the resource attribute management unit, and the registered resource attribute is added to the print attribute managed by the print attribute management unit. Printing attribute registration means for generating new printing attributes and registering the generated printing attributes in the printing attribute management means.
[0018]
The invention of claim 11 is the invention of claim 10, wherein the printing attribute registration means comprises printing attribute selection means for selecting a printing attribute designated from the printing attributes managed by the printing attribute management means. The resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to the print attribute selected by the print attribute selection unit.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, in the tenth aspect of the invention, the print attribute registration means selects a plurality of print attributes designated from the print attributes managed by the print attribute management means. The resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to each of the print attributes selected by the print attribute selection unit.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing management method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, a system to which the present invention is applied is configured by connecting a network printer 1, a print server 3 to which a printer 2 is connected, and a plurality of clients 4-1 to 4-n to a network 5.
[0021]
The network printer 1 receives a print instruction from the clients 4-1 to 4-n and executes printing, and provides print attributes that can be specified prior to execution of printing to the clients 4-1 to 4-n. This print attribute is preset by an operation from the user interface of the network printer 1 or the clients 4-1 to 4-n.
[0022]
The printer 2 and the print server 3 operate in the same manner as the network printer 1 together.
[0023]
Each of the clients 4-1 to 4-n (hereinafter referred to as client 4) issues a print instruction to the network printer 1 and the print server 3, and print attributes of the network printer 1 and the print server 3. Make settings.
[0024]
Note that the network printer 1, the printer 2, and the print server 3 do not necessarily have to be connected to the network 5, and more may be connected to each other.
[0025]
In such a configuration, the print management apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the network printer 1 and the printer server 3.
[0026]
Here, the print management apparatus will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the print management apparatus. Each unit constituting the print management apparatus is basically provided as software that runs on a computer, but may be provided by hardware.
[0027]
As shown in the figure, the print management apparatus 10 includes an IF unit 11, a resource management request reception unit 12, a resource attribute management unit 13, a used paper management request reception unit 14, a paper attribute management unit 15, and an IPP attribute management request reception. 16, an IPP attribute management unit 17, a protocol management request reception unit 18, and a protocol management unit 19.
[0028]
The IF unit 11 is an interface that accepts print attribute setting requests and print attribute reference requests from the client 4. The resource management request unit 21, the used paper management request unit 22, the IPP attribute management request unit 23, and the protocol management request unit. 24 is comprised. The IF unit 11 is not necessarily arranged in the print management apparatus 10, and may be arranged in each of the clients 4-1 to 4-n. In this case, the portion corresponding to the IF unit 11 of the clients 4-1 to 4-n operates as an interface with the print management apparatus 10, but the operation is the same as the operation of the IF unit 11 described later. .
[0029]
Based on a request from the client 4, the resource management request unit 21 requests the resource management request reception unit 12 to set and reference resource-related attributes such as a stamp and a form managed by the resource attribute management unit 13. In response to a request from the resource management request unit 21, the resource management request reception unit 12 sets a resource-related attribute in the resource attribute management unit 13 or refers to the attribute. The resource attribute management unit 13 manages and holds resource-related attributes.
[0030]
Based on a request from the client 4, the used paper management request unit 22 requests the used paper management request reception unit 14 to set or refer to a paper-related attribute managed by the paper attribute management unit 15. In response to a request from the used paper management request unit 22, the used paper management request receiving unit 14 sets paper-related attributes in the paper attribute management unit 15 or refers to the attributes. The paper attribute management unit 15 manages and holds paper-related attributes.
[0031]
Based on a request from the client 4, the IPP attribute management request unit 23 requests the IPP attribute management request reception unit 16 to set or refer to an IPP attribute managed by the IPP attribute management unit 17. In response to a request from the IPP attribute management request unit 23, the IPP attribute management request reception unit 16 sets an IPP attribute in the IPP attribute management unit 17 or refers to the attribute. The IPP attribute management unit 17 manages and holds paper-related attributes.
[0032]
Based on a request from the client 4, the protocol management request unit 24 requests the protocol management request reception unit 18 to set or refer to a print protocol that can be used by the print management apparatus 10 managed by the protocol management unit 19. In response to a request from the protocol management request unit 24, the protocol management request reception unit 18 sets a print protocol that can be used in the protocol management unit 19 and refers to the attribute. The protocol management unit 19 manages and holds print protocols that can be used by the print management apparatus 10, that is, the network printer 1 (print server 3).
[0033]
Note that the configuration of the print management apparatus 10 shown here corresponds to the multi-protocol, and when the print management apparatus 10 handles only IPP as the print protocol, the print management apparatus 10 includes the IF unit 11 and the IPP. Only the attribute management request reception unit 16 and the IPP attribute management unit 17 may be provided, and the IF unit 11 may include only the IPP attribute management request unit 23.
[0034]
Next, a process for registering print attributes in the print management apparatus 10 will be described. In the print management apparatus 10, the paper-related attributes can be registered by the same processing as in the past for both IPP and other printing protocols. Therefore, the description here is omitted, and only the registration of resource-related attributes is described. To do.
[0035]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of registration processing of resource-related attributes. In registration of resource-related attributes, first, a desired resource attribute such as a stamp or a form is registered in the resource attribute management unit 13 from the client 4 or the like via the resource management request unit 21 of the IF unit 11 (step 101). Note that registration of resource attributes in the resource attribute management unit 13 can be performed by the same processing as in the past.
[0036]
When a resource attribute is registered in the resource attribute management unit 13, if the resource attribute is not used in IPP (NO in step 102), the process ends.
[0037]
On the other hand, when the resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit 13 is used in IPP (YES in step 102), the used paper management unit 22 registers in the paper attribute management unit 15 via the used paper management request reception unit 14. The paper-related attributes (registered media) that have been registered are acquired and displayed on the client 4 or the like (step 103). For example, the display of the paper-related attribute is as shown in FIG. Note that the paper-related attributes registered in the paper attribute management unit 15 can set the paper size, paper quality, scale, and the like independently.
[0038]
Next, when the user (or the administrator) selects a resource-related attribute registered in step 101 from the paper-related attributes displayed on the client 4 or the like (step 104), the selected paper-related attribute and resource are selected. A screen for inputting detailed settings is displayed on the client 4 or the like with the related attributes associated therewith. This screen is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 when the resource-related attribute is a stamp attribute, and as shown in FIG. 6 when the resource-related attribute is a form attribute. On the other hand, when the user inputs a detailed setting value (step 105), the paper-related attribute including the resource-related attribute is set as the IPP attribute via the IPP attribute management request unit 23 and the IPP attribute management request reception unit 16. It is registered in the IPP attribute manager 17 (step 106).
[0039]
When the IPP attribute is registered, if the resource-related attribute is associated with other paper-related attributes (NO in step 107), the process returns to step 104 and the same processing is repeated. Exit.
[0040]
Here, it has been described that the registered medium displayed in step 103 is a paper attribute registered in the paper attribute management unit 15, but the IPP attribute registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 has been registered. By using media, a plurality of resource-related attributes can be combined with paper attributes. For example, if an IPP attribute registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 has a firm attribute, a paper attribute (IPP attribute) having both a form attribute and a stamp attribute is generated by adding a stamp attribute to the IPP attribute. Can do. Of course, both the paper attribute registered in the paper attribute management unit 15 and the IPP attribute registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 may be displayed as registered media.
[0041]
Further, as described above, when the print management apparatus 10 supports only IPP as a print protocol, the processing of step 101 and step 102 is omitted, and is registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 in step 103. Displays IPP attributes as registered media.
[0042]
Next, another example of printing attribute registration processing in the print management apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow in another example of the resource-related attribute registration process.
[0043]
In registering resource-related attributes, first, a desired resource attribute such as a stamp or a form is registered in the resource attribute management unit 13 from the client 4 or the like via the resource management request unit 21 of the IF unit 11 (step 201). Note that registration of resource attributes in the resource attribute management unit 13 can be performed by the same processing as in the past.
[0044]
When a resource attribute is registered in the resource attribute management unit 13, if the resource attribute is not used in IPP (NO in step 202), the process ends.
[0045]
On the other hand, when the resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit 13 is used in IPP (YES in step 202), a screen for inputting detailed settings of the resource attribute is displayed on the client 4 or the like.
[0046]
On the other hand, when the user inputs a detailed setting value (step 203), the paper-related attributes (registration) registered in the paper attribute management unit 15 by the used paper management unit 22 via the used paper management request receiving unit 14 are registered. Ready media) is acquired and displayed on the client 4 or the like (step 204). For example, the paper-related attributes are displayed as shown in FIG. 8, and all the paper-related attributes that can be associated with the resource-related attributes being processed are displayed.
[0047]
In response to this display, when the user selects all the paper-related attributes to be associated, for example, in FIG. 8, a process of adding a check mark with a mouse or keyboard (step 205), the selected paper is selected. The related attribute and the resource related attribute are associated with each other, and the paper related attribute including the resource related attribute is registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 through the IPP attribute management request unit 23 and the IPP attribute management request reception unit 16 as an IPP attribute. (Step 206). At this time, the number of registered IPP attributes depends on the number of paper attributes selected by the user as a target to be associated.
[0048]
In this case as well, the registered media displayed in step 204 is either or both of the paper attributes registered in the paper attribute management unit 15 and the IPP attributes registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17. Can do. Then, by selecting an IPP attribute registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 as a registered medium, a plurality of resource-related attributes can be combined with the paper attribute.
[0049]
If the print management apparatus 10 supports only IPP as a print protocol, the processing in step 201 and step 202 is omitted, and in step 204, the IPP attribute registered in the IPP attribute management unit 17 has been registered. Display as media.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when registering a resource attribute such as a stamp or a form, a paper attribute registered in advance is selected, and an IPP attribute including the resource attribute is selected in the selected paper attribute. Since it is configured to generate and register, it is possible for the user or administrator to set the IPP attribute including the resource attribute with an easy operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a print management apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a resource-related attribute registration process.
FIG. 4 is a diagram (1) illustrating a display example of paper-related attributes.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a detailed setting input screen when a resource-related attribute is a stamp attribute.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a detailed setting input screen when a resource-related attribute is a form attribute.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process flow in another example of a resource-related attribute registration process.
FIG. 8 is a diagram (2) illustrating a display example of paper-related attributes.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network printer 2 Printer 3 Print server 4-1 to 4-n Client 5 Network 10 Print management apparatus 11 IF part 12 Resource management request reception part 13 Resource attribute management part 14 Used paper management request reception part 15 Paper attribute management part 16 IPP Attribute management request reception unit 17 IPP attribute management unit 18 Protocol management request reception unit 19 Protocol management unit 21 Resource management request unit 22 Used paper management request unit 23 IPP attribute management request unit 24 Protocol management request unit

Claims (12)

In a print management method for managing print attributes used when printing with a printing device,
When the resource attribute corresponding to the resource used for printing is registered, the registered resource attribute is added to the media attribute corresponding to the medium used for printing to generate the print attribute corresponding to the Internet printing protocol, and the generation A print management method characterized by registering a print attribute.   The print management method according to claim 1, wherein a media attribute designated from registered media attributes is selected, and the resource attribute is added to the selected media attribute.   The print management method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of media attributes designated from registered media attributes are selected, and the resource attribute is added to each of the selected media attributes. In a print management method for managing print attributes used when printing with a printing device,
When a resource attribute corresponding to a resource used for printing is registered, a new print attribute is generated by adding the registered resource attribute to a print attribute corresponding to the Internet printing protocol, and the generated print attribute is registered. A print management method.   5. The print management method according to claim 4, further comprising: selecting a designated print attribute from registered print attributes, and adding the resource attribute to the selected print attribute.   The print management method according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of designated print attributes are selected from the registered print attributes, and the resource attribute is added to each of the selected print attributes. In the print management device that manages the printing attributes used when printing on the printing device,
Media attribute management means for managing media attributes corresponding to media used for printing;
Resource attribute management means for managing resource attributes corresponding to resources used for printing;
Printing attribute management means for managing printing attributes corresponding to the Internet printing protocol;
A new resource attribute is registered in the resource attribute management unit, and the registered resource attribute is added to the media attribute managed by the media attribute management unit to generate a new print attribute, and the generated print attribute A printing attribute registration unit for registering the printing attribute management unit with the printing attribute management unit. The printing attribute registration means
Media attribute selection means for selecting a media attribute designated from the media attributes managed by the media attribute management means;
The print management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to the media attribute selected by the media attribute selection unit. The printing attribute registration means
Media attribute selection means for selecting a plurality of media attributes designated from the media attributes managed by the media attribute management means;
The print management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to each media attribute selected by the media attribute selection unit. In the print management device that manages the printing attributes used when printing on the printing device,
Resource attribute management means for managing resource attributes corresponding to resources used for printing;
Printing attribute management means for managing printing attributes corresponding to the Internet printing protocol;
A new resource attribute is registered in the resource attribute management unit, and the registered resource attribute is added to the print attribute managed by the print attribute management unit to generate a new print attribute, and the generated print A print attribute registration unit for registering an attribute in the print attribute management unit. The printing attribute registration means
Printing attribute selection means for selecting a printing attribute designated from the printing attributes managed by the printing attribute management means,
The print management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to the print attribute selected by the print attribute selection unit. The printing attribute registration means
Printing attribute selection means for selecting a plurality of printing attributes designated from the printing attributes managed by the printing attribute management means;
The print management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a resource attribute registered in the resource attribute management unit is added to each of the print attributes selected by the print attribute selection unit.

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