JP4238827B2 - Output form determination system and output form determination program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system and a program for determining an output form in an output device based on output form information such as a job ticket, and in particular, even if there is no output device that can completely realize a required output form. It relates to the preferred output format determining system and output form determining program to prevent differences from occurring in the required output form the final output form.

  In order to obtain printed matter in the printing form intended by the document creator, a technique called job ticket is generated separately from the document data to be printed, and printing is performed based on the job ticket and document data. Yes. As the job ticket, for example, a print form including finishing information such as binding position in addition to format information such as paper size, printing direction, layout setting and presence / absence of double-sided printing is defined.

Conventionally, as a technique for performing printing using a job ticket, for example, a printing instruction apparatus described in Patent Document 1 and a printing system described in Non-Patent Document 1 are known.
The invention described in Patent Literature 1 includes a print instruction providing unit in which a terminal device provides a print instruction to a printing device management apparatus, and a preview unit that displays a final print form intended by the print instruction in accordance with the print instruction provided by the print instruction providing unit. A partial print instruction providing unit that provides a partial print instruction for extracting the entire print instruction or a specific part of the print instruction provided by the print instruction providing unit, and the printing device management apparatus according to the partial print instruction by the partial print instruction providing unit. And a print control unit that performs printing by controlling one or more managed printing apparatuses.

The technique described in Non-Patent Document 1 defines a format for printing using a job ticket.
JP 2004-240849 A “CIP4 Web Site”, [online], before November 24, 2004, CIP4 Organization, [searched on November 24, 2004], Internet <URL: http://www.cip4.org/>

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, when there is a difference between the printing form defined by the job ticket and the printing form of the final printed matter, a configuration for realizing the printing form of the job ticket using a plurality of printers Therefore, if there is only one printer and it cannot cope with the print form of the job ticket, or if there is no combination of printers that can correspond to the print form of the job ticket, the print form of the job ticket is realized. There was a problem that I could not. For example, a printer that can only handle a paper size of A4 or smaller cannot handle a job ticket that defines a printing mode such as saddle stitching on one page A4 (because printing at A3 or higher is required), and therefore a printer of A3 or higher. A separate printer capable of handling the paper size is required.

Further, since the technique described in Non-Patent Document 1 is a general printing technique using a job ticket, the same problem as the invention described in Patent Document 1 occurs.
Such a problem is not limited to the case where printing is performed with a printer, but is similarly assumed when a display device such as a projector or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is connected to a network and displayed on the display device.

Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to such an unsolved problem of the conventional technology, and is required even if there is no output device that can completely realize the required output form. and its object is to provide a suitable output form determining system and the output format determining program to prevent differences from occurring in the output form the final output form that.

[Mode 1] In order to achieve the above object, an output mode determination system according to mode 1
An output form determination system that determines an output form in an output device based on output form information that defines an output form,
The output form storage means for storing the requested output form and the changed output form in association with each other, the output form information acquisition means for acquiring the output form information, and the output form information acquired by the output form information acquisition means And output form search means for searching the output form storage means for the corresponding output form after the change.

With such a configuration, when the output form information is acquired by the output form information acquisition means, the output form search means outputs the corresponding changed output form based on the acquired output form information as the output form storage means. It is searched from.
As a result, the output form that approximates the required output form is stored as the changed output form, and if the output is performed based on the output form retrieved by the search, the required output form is completely realized. Even if there is no output device that can be used, the difference between the required output form and the final output form can be reduced as compared with the conventional case.

  Here, the output form information acquisition means may have any configuration as long as it can acquire the output form information. For example, the output form information may be input from an input device or the like. The output form information may be acquired or received from an external device or the like, or the output form information may be read from a storage device, a storage medium, or the like. Thus, acquisition includes at least input, acquisition, reception and reading. Hereinafter, the same applies to the output form determination system of form 2.

  The output form storage means stores the output form by any means and at any time, and may store the output form in advance, or may store the output form in advance without storing the output form. The output form may be stored by an external input or the like during system operation. Hereinafter, the same applies to the output form determination system of form 2.

  Further, the output device may have any configuration as long as it can output, for example, a printing device that performs printing, a display device that performs display, or a sound output that outputs sound. Device included. For example, a projector or an LCD corresponds to the display device. The same applies to the output form determination system of form 2, the output form determination program of forms 8 and 9, and the output form determination method of forms 15 and 16.

  Further, the present system may be realized as a single device, terminal, or other device, or may be realized as a network system in which a plurality of devices, terminals, or other devices are communicably connected. In the latter case, each component may belong to any one of a plurality of devices and the like as long as they are connected so as to communicate with each other. Hereinafter, the same applies to the output form determination system of form 2.

[Form 2] Furthermore, the output form determination system of form 2 is
An output form determination system that determines an output form in an output device based on output form information that defines an output form,
Output form storage means for storing the requested output form, the output device and the changed output form in association with each other, output form information obtaining means for obtaining the output form information, and obtaining output device information relating to the output device Output device information acquisition means, output form information acquired by the output form information acquisition means and output device information obtained by the output device information acquisition means based on the output form information acquired by the output form information acquisition means Output form search means for searching from among the above.

With such a configuration, when the output form information is acquired by the output form information acquisition means and the output device information is acquired by the output apparatus information acquisition means, the output form information and output acquired by the output form search means Based on the device information, the output form after the change is searched from the output form storage means.
As a result, the output form that approximates the required output form is stored in association with the output device as the changed output form, and output is performed by the corresponding output device based on the output form searched for by the search. For example, even if there is no output device that can fully realize the required output form, it is possible to reduce the difference between the required output form and the final output form as compared with the conventional case. .

  Here, the output device information acquisition means may have any configuration as long as the output device information is acquired. For example, the output device information may be input from an input device or the like. The output device information may be acquired or received from an external device or the like, or the output device information may be read from a storage device, a storage medium, or the like. Thus, acquisition includes at least input, acquisition, reception and reading.

[Mode 3] Furthermore, the output mode determination system of mode 3 is the same as the output mode determination system of mode 2.
Furthermore, it is characterized by further comprising output request means for requesting output from the output device based on the output form and output data retrieved by the output form search means.
If it is such a structure, an output will be requested | required of an output device by the output request | requirement means based on the searched output form and output data. In the output device, output is performed in response to the output request.
Thereby, the effect that the difference which arises in a required output form and a final output form can be reduced, and output can be performed is acquired.

[Form 4] Furthermore, the output form determination system of form 4 is the output form determination system of form 2,
Furthermore, output form information generating means for generating the output form information based on the output form searched by the output form searching means is provided.

If it is such a structure, output form information will be produced | generated by the output form information generation means based on the searched output form.
Thereby, if it outputs based on the produced | generated output form information, the effect that the difference which arises in the required output form and the last output form can be reduced is acquired.

[Form 5] Furthermore, the output form determination system according to Form 5 is the output form determination system according to any one of Forms 2 to 4,
Further, an output form presenting means that prompts the user to select one of the output forms searched by the output form searching means, and a selection from among the output forms presented by the output form presenting means. Output form selection means for inputting.

With such a configuration, the output form presentation means presents the retrieved output form and prompts the user to select one. Here, the user can select the output form by the output form selection means.
As a result, when there are a plurality of output forms that can be handled by the output device, it is possible to achieve an output form that is suitable for the user's preference.

[Mode 6] Furthermore, the output mode determination system according to mode 6 is the output mode determination system according to any one of modes 2 to 4,
The output form information defines a plurality of the output forms and their priorities,
And further comprising output form selection means for selecting one of the output forms searched out by the output form search means in accordance with the priority order included in the output form information obtained by the output form information obtaining means. To do.

With such a configuration, the output form selection means selects one of the searched output forms according to the priority order included in the acquired output form information.
Thereby, when there are a plurality of output forms that can be handled by the output device, it is possible to achieve an output form with a high degree of importance.

[Mode 7] Furthermore, the output mode determination system according to mode 7 is the output mode determination system according to any one of modes 2 to 4,
Further, the selection history information storage means for storing selection history information indicating the selection history of the output form, and the output form searched out by the output form search means based on the selection history information of the selection history information storage means Output form selecting means for selecting one of the above, and selection history information updating means for updating selection history information in the selection history information storage means based on a selection result of the output form selecting means.

With such a configuration, the output form selection means selects one of the searched output forms based on the selection history information in the selection history information storage means. Then, the selection history information update unit updates the selection history information in the selection history information storage unit based on the selection result.
As a result, when there are a plurality of output forms that can be handled by the output device, it is possible to obtain an effect that a previously selected output form can be preferentially realized.

  Here, the selection history information storage means stores the selection history information by any means and at any time. The selection history information may be stored in advance, or the selection history information may be stored in advance. Instead, the selection history information may be stored by an external input or the like during operation of the system.

[Mode 8] On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the output mode determination program of mode 8
An output form determination program for determining an output form in an output device based on output form information defining an output form,
The output form acquired in the output form information acquisition step from the output form information acquisition step for acquiring the output form information and the output form storage means for storing the requested output form and the changed output form in association with each other A program for causing a computer to execute processing including an output form search step for searching for the corresponding output form after change based on information is included.

With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing in accordance with the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 1 can be obtained.
Here, the output form information acquisition step may be in any form as long as the output form information is acquired. For example, the output form information may be input from an input device or the like, or output from an external device or the like. The form information may be acquired or received, or the output form information may be read from a storage device or a storage medium. Thus, acquisition includes at least input, acquisition, reception and reading. Hereinafter, the same applies to the output form determination program of form 9 and the output form determination methods of forms 15 and 16.

[Form 9] Furthermore, the output form determination program of form 9 is
An output form determination program for determining an output form in an output device based on output form information defining an output form,
The output form information obtaining step for obtaining the output form information, the output apparatus information obtaining step for obtaining output apparatus information relating to the output device, the requested output form, the output device, and the changed output form are associated with each other. Output for searching the output form after the change based on the output form information acquired in the output form information acquisition step and the output apparatus information acquired in the output apparatus information acquisition step from the output form storage means to be stored A program for causing a computer to execute a process including a form search step is included.

With this configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 2 can be obtained.
Here, the output device information acquisition step may take any form as long as the output device information is acquired. For example, the output device information may be input from an input device or the like, or output from an external device or the like. The device information may be acquired or received, and the output device information may be read from a storage device or a storage medium. Thus, acquisition includes at least input, acquisition, reception and reading. Hereinafter, the same applies to the output form determination method of form 16.

[Mode 10] Furthermore, the output mode determination program of mode 10 is the output mode determination program of mode 9,
Further, the present invention includes a program for causing a computer to execute a process including an output request step for requesting the output device to output based on the output form and output data searched in the output form search step.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 3 can be obtained.

[Form 11] Furthermore, the output form determination program of form 11 is the output form determination program of form 9,
Further, the present invention includes a program for causing a computer to execute a process including an output form information generation step for generating the output form information based on the output form searched in the output form search step.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 4 can be obtained.

[Mode 12] Further, the output mode determination program of mode 12 is the output mode determination program of any one of modes 9 to 11,
Furthermore, the output form presented in the output form search step is presented to prompt the user to select one of the output forms, and the output form presented in the output form presentation step is selected. A program for causing a computer to execute processing including an input output form selection step is included.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing in accordance with the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system of mode 5 can be obtained.

[Form 13] Furthermore, the output form determination program of form 13 is the output form determination program of any one of forms 9 to 11,
The output form information defines a plurality of the output forms and their priorities,
Further, the computer includes a process including an output form selection step for selecting one of the output forms searched for in the output form search step according to the priority order included in the output form information acquired in the output form information acquisition step. A program for executing the program is included.
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 6 can be obtained.

[Form 14] Furthermore, the output form determination program of form 14 is the output form determination program of any one of forms 9 to 11,
Furthermore, based on the selection history information of the selection history information storage means for storing selection history information indicating the selection history of the output form, an output form for selecting one of the output forms searched in the output form search step A program for causing a computer to execute processing including a selection step and a selection history information update step for updating selection history information in the selection history information storage unit based on a selection result of the output form selection step is included. And
With such a configuration, when the program is read by the computer and the computer executes processing according to the read program, the same operation and effect as those of the output form determination system according to mode 7 can be obtained.

[Mode 15] On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the output mode determination method of mode 15
An output form determination method for determining an output form in an output device based on output form information defining an output form,
The output form acquired in the output form information acquisition step from the output form information acquisition step for acquiring the output form information and the output form storage means for storing the requested output form and the changed output form in association with each other And an output form search step for searching for the corresponding output form after the change based on information.
Thereby, the effect equivalent to the output form determination system of form 1 is acquired.

[Mode 16] Furthermore, the output mode determination method of mode 16 includes:
An output form determination method for determining an output form in an output device based on output form information defining an output form,
The output form information obtaining step for obtaining the output form information, the output apparatus information obtaining step for obtaining output apparatus information relating to the output device, the requested output form, the output device, and the changed output form are associated with each other. Output for searching the output form after the change based on the output form information acquired in the output form information acquisition step and the output apparatus information acquired in the output apparatus information acquisition step from the output form storage means to be stored And a form retrieval step.
Thereby, the effect equivalent to the output form determination system of form 2 is acquired.

[Mode 17] Furthermore, the output mode determination method of mode 17 is the same as the output mode determination method of mode 16.
Furthermore, it is characterized by further comprising an output requesting step for requesting the output from the output device based on the output form and output data retrieved in the output form searching step.
Thereby, the effect equivalent to the output form determination system of the form 3 is acquired.

[Form 18] Furthermore, the output form determining method of form 18 is the same as the output form determining method of form 16.
Furthermore, it is characterized by including the output form information generation step which produces | generates the said output form information based on the output form searched in the said output form search step.
Thereby, the effect equivalent to the output form determination system of form 4 is acquired.

[Mode 19] Furthermore, the output mode determination method of mode 19 is the output mode determination method of any one of modes 16 to 18,
Furthermore, the output form presented in the output form search step is presented to prompt the user to select one of the output forms, and the output form presented in the output form presentation step is selected. And an output form selection step for inputting.
Thereby, the effect equivalent to the output form determination system of form 5 is acquired.

[Mode 20] Furthermore, the output mode determination method of mode 20 is the output mode determination method of any one of modes 16 to 18,
The output form information defines a plurality of the output forms and their priorities,
Furthermore, according to the priority order included in the output form information acquired in the output form information acquisition step, an output form selection step of selecting any one of the output forms searched in the output form search step, To do.
Thereby, the same effect as the output form determination system of form 6 is acquired.

[Form 21] Furthermore, the output form determination method of form 21 is the output form determination method of any one of forms 16 to 18,
Furthermore, based on the selection history information of the selection history information storage means for storing selection history information indicating the selection history of the output form, an output form for selecting one of the output forms searched in the output form search step And a selection history information updating step of updating selection history information in the selection history information storage unit based on a selection result of the output form selection step.
Thereby, the same effect as the output form determination system of form 7 is acquired.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 7 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of an output form determination system, an output form determination program, and an output form determination method according to the present invention.
In this embodiment, the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention are applied to a case where printing is performed by the network printer 200 using a job ticket as shown in FIG. It is a thing.

First, an outline of functions of a network system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a network system.
As shown in FIG. 1, a host terminal 100 and a plurality of network printers 200 are connected to the network 199.

The host terminal 100 uses a print form defined by the job ticket (hereinafter referred to as a requested print form), a specification of the network printer 200, and a print form that can be supported by the network printer 200 (hereinafter referred to as a compatible print form). The printing form storage unit 10 stores the information in association with each other.
The host terminal 100 further includes a job ticket acquisition unit 12 that acquires a job ticket, a printer information acquisition unit 14 that acquires printer information indicating the specifications of the network printer 200, and the job ticket and printer acquired by the job ticket acquisition unit 12. The print form search unit 16 is configured to search the print form storage unit 10 for a corresponding compatible print form based on the printer information acquired by the information acquisition unit 14.

The host terminal 100 further includes a print data generation unit 18 that generates print data based on the compatible print forms searched by the print form search unit 16, and a network that prints the print data generated by the print data generation unit 18 together with a print request. The print data transmission unit 22 is configured to transmit to the printer 200.
The network printer 200 includes a print data receiving unit 40 that receives print data together with a print request, and a printer engine 42 that performs printing based on the print data received by the print data receiving unit 40.

Next, the configuration of the host terminal 100 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the host terminal 100.
As shown in FIG. 2, the host terminal 100 includes a CPU 50 that controls operations and the entire system based on a control program, a ROM 52 that stores a control program for the CPU 50 in a predetermined area, and data read from the ROM 52 and the like. And a RAM 54 for storing calculation results required in the calculation process of the CPU 50, and an I / F 58 for mediating input / output of data to / from an external device, which are signals for transferring data The buses 59 are connected to each other so as to be able to exchange data.

The I / F 58 includes, as external devices, an input device 60 such as a keyboard and a mouse that can input data as a human interface, a storage device 62 that stores data, tables, and the like as files, and a screen based on image signals. Is connected to a signal line for connecting to the network 199.
The storage device 62 configures the print form storage unit 10 and stores a print form registration table 400 in which the requested print form, the specifications of the network printer 200, and the compatible print forms are registered in association with each other.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the printing form registration table 400.
In the printing form registration table 400, as shown in FIG. 3, one or more records are registered for each network printer 200. Each record includes a field 402 for registering a serial number, a field 404 for registering the specifications of the network printer 200, a field 406 for registering a requested print form, a field 408 for registering a compatible print form, and a manual operation after printing. And a field 410 for registering post-processing to be performed.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the first-stage record includes “A3 duplex printing” as the specification of the network printer 200, “A4 vertical saddle stitching” as the required printing form, and “A3 landscape 2” as the compatible printing form. “Page layout duplex printing” and “Fold + Saddle stitch” are registered as post-processing. This indicates that the network printer 200 is capable of duplex printing with a paper size of A3 or smaller. Further, when a job ticket is provided that specifies that the paper size is “A4”, the printing direction is “vertical”, and the binding position is “saddle stitching”, the requested print form is indicated by the paper size “A3”. , The print direction is “horizontal”, and the print format is converted into a compatible print form that stipulates that 2-page layout and double-sided printing are performed. Furthermore, it is shown that it is necessary to perform a manual operation for folding and saddle-stitching printing paper after printing.

Returning to FIG. 2, the CPU 50 includes a microprocessing unit and the like, starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 52, and executes a print request process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 according to the program.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the print request process.
The print request process is a process for requesting printing to the network printer 200. When the print request process is executed in the CPU 50, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the process proceeds to step S100.

In step S100, it is determined whether printing is requested from a document creation application or the like. When it is determined that printing is requested (Yes), the process proceeds to step S102, but when it is determined that printing is not required (No). The process waits in step S100 until printing is requested.
In step S102, a job ticket is acquired. The job ticket is received via the network 199 and is acquired by inputting from the input device 60 or reading from the storage device 62. The same applies to step S104.

FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the job ticket.
As shown in FIG. 5, the job ticket includes a start tag and an end tag between a predetermined start tag 500 (for example, <job ticket>) and an end tag 502 (for example, </ job ticket>). The requested print form is set by describing the set in a nested manner. Between the tag sets 500 and 502, tag sets 504 and 506 for setting the printing form are described. Further, tag sets 508 and 510 for setting the bookbinding method are described between the tag sets 504 and 506.

Between the tag sets 508 and 510, “A4 portrait” is described by the tag sets 512 and 514 for setting the paper size and the printing direction. This indicates that the paper size is “A4” and the printing direction is “vertical”.
Further, “saddle stitching” is described between the tag sets 508 and 510 by the tag sets 516 and 518 for setting the binding position. This indicates that the binding position is “saddle stitching”.

Returning to FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S <b> 104, and the printer information of the network printer 200 designated as the printing destination by the user is acquired.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of printer information.
As shown in FIG. 6, the printer information includes a start tag and an end tag between a predetermined start tag 530 (for example, <printer information>) and an end tag 532 (for example, </ printer information>). The specification of the network printer 200 is set by describing the set in a nested manner.

Between the tag sets 530 and 532, “A3” is described by tag sets 534 and 536 for setting a printable paper size. This indicates that the paper size that the network printer 200 can print is “A3”.
In addition, “Possible” is described between the tag sets 530 and 532 by the tag sets 538 and 540 for setting whether double-sided printing is possible. This indicates that the network printer 200 can perform duplex printing.

Returning to FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S <b> 106, and the corresponding compatible print form is searched from the print form registration table 400 based on the acquired job ticket and printer information, and the process proceeds to step S <b> 108. Print data is generated based on the searched compatible print form, and the process proceeds to step S112.
In step S112, the generated print data is transmitted to the designated network printer 200 together with the print request, and the process proceeds to step S114.

In step S114, the post-process corresponding to the searched compatible print form is read from the print form registration table 400, the contents of the read post-process are displayed on the display device 64, and the series of processes is terminated to return to the original process. Return.
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
Hereinafter, a case where the printing form registration table 400 has the contents of FIG. 3, the job ticket has the contents of FIG. 5, and the printer information has the contents of FIG. 6 will be described as an example.

At the host terminal 100, the user gives a job ticket and designates the network printer 200 capable of double-sided printing with a paper size of A3 or less as a printing destination and requests printing.
In the host terminal 100, when printing is requested, a job ticket is obtained through steps S102 to S106, printer information is obtained, and a corresponding compatible print form is searched based on the obtained job ticket and printer information. Is done. As a result, the print form registration table 400 corresponds to record 0 (a record in which the serial number “0” is registered; hereinafter abbreviated in the same manner) and record 1 that can be handled. The printing form is searched. Here, an evaluation value is calculated for each of the two compatible printing forms, and the higher evaluation value is selected. The evaluation value is calculated by collating each item of the requested print form with each item of the compatible print form and adding ½ only when they match.

First, the printable form of record 0 is “A3 landscape, 2 pages, duplex printing”, so “A4 portrait” matches the requested print form. Further, since the post-processing is “fold + saddle stitching”, “saddle stitching” matches the requested printing form. Therefore, the evaluation value is 1/2 + 1/2 = “1” because the two items match.
On the other hand, since the printable form of record 1 is “A4 portrait 1 page double-sided printing”, “A4 portrait” matches the requested print form. However, since the post-processing is “left binding or right binding”, the binding position does not match the requested printing form. Therefore, the evaluation value is “½” because one item matches.

As a result, since the evaluation value of record 0 is higher, the printable form corresponding to record 0 is selected. Then, through steps S108 to S112, print data is generated based on the selected compatible print form, and the generated print data is transmitted to the designated network printer 200 together with the print request.
In the network printer 200, when the print data receiving unit 40 receives the print data together with the print request, the printer engine 42 performs printing based on the received print data. In this case, the paper size is “A3”, the printing direction is “horizontal”, and double-sided printing is performed with 2-page layout.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an allocation method for performing double-sided printing with 2-page allocation.
When the total number of printed pages is 4, as shown in FIG. 7, the first page is printed on the right half of the front surface of the printing paper, and the fourth page is printed on the left half. The third page is printed on the right half and the second page is printed on the left half. A known imposition technique can be used for such an allocation method and other allocation methods.

On the other hand, in the host terminal 100, the post-process corresponding to the selected compatible print form is read through step S114, and the content of the read post-process is displayed.
The user obtains a printed material from the network printer 200, and binds the printed material by manually performing post-processing on the printed material while referring to the displayed post-processing contents. In this case, the A3 sheet is folded in half and saddle stitched using a stapler or the like.

  In this way, in the present embodiment, the host terminal 100 acquires the job ticket, the printer information, and the print data, searches for the corresponding compatible print form based on the acquired job ticket and the printer information, The print data is generated based on the compatible print mode, and the generated print data is transmitted to the network printer 200 together with the print request.

As a result, even if there is no network printer 200 that can fully realize the requested printing form, it is possible to perform printing while reducing the difference between the requested printing form and the final printing form as compared to the conventional case.
In the first embodiment, the network printer 200 corresponds to the output devices of forms 1 to 3, 8 to 10, and 15 to 17, and the print form storage unit 10 and the print form registration table 400 are the forms 1 and 2. , 8, 9, 15 or 16, the job ticket acquisition unit 12 and step S102 correspond to the output form information acquisition means of the form 1 or 2. Step S102 corresponds to the output form information acquisition step of form 8, 9, 15 or 16, printer information acquisition unit 14 and step S104 correspond to the output device information acquisition means of form 2, and step S104 This corresponds to the output device information acquisition step of form 9 or 16.

  In the first embodiment, the print form search unit 16 and step S106 correspond to the output form search means of forms 1 to 3, and step S106 is the output form search of forms 8 to 10 and 15 to 17. Corresponding to the steps, the print data generation unit 18, the print data transmission unit 22, the I / F 58, and steps S 108 and S 112 correspond to the output request unit of the third form. Steps S108 and S112 correspond to the output request step of the form 10 or 17, the job ticket corresponds to the output form information of the form 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 or 16, and the printer information corresponds to the form 2 , 9 or 16 output device information.

In the first embodiment, the print data corresponds to the output data of forms 3, 10 or 17.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 8 to 10 are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the output form determining system, the output form determining program, and the output form determining method according to the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention are applied to a case where printing is performed by the network printer 200 using a job ticket as shown in FIG. This is different from the first embodiment in that when there are a plurality of compatible print forms for the same network printer 200, the user can select one of the compatible print forms. It is in.

First, an outline of functions of the host terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of the host terminal 100.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the host terminal 100 includes a print form storage unit 10, a job ticket acquisition unit 12, a printer information acquisition unit 14, a print form search unit 16, a print data generation unit 18, and a print data transmission unit 22. Configured.

The host terminal 100 further displays a print form retrieved by the print form search unit 16 and prompts the user to select one of the print forms, and a print form displayed on the print form display unit 24 And a printing form selection unit 26 for inputting one of the selections.
The print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the compatible print form selected by the print form selection unit 26.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
Hereinafter, a case where the print form registration table 400 has the contents of FIG. 3, the job ticket has the contents of FIG. 9, and the printer information has the contents of FIG. 6 will be described as an example.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a job ticket.
In the job ticket, “A4” is described by the tag sets 512 and 514, and “left binding” is described by the tag sets 516 and 518, as shown in FIG. This indicates that the paper size is “A4” and the binding position is “left binding”.

At the host terminal 100, the user gives a job ticket and designates the network printer 200 capable of double-sided printing with a paper size of A3 or less as a printing destination and requests printing.
In the host terminal 100, when printing is requested, the job ticket acquisition unit 12 acquires a job ticket, and the printer information acquisition unit 14 acquires printer information. Then, the corresponding print form is searched by the print form search unit 16 based on the acquired job ticket and printer information. As a result, the printable form registration table 400 corresponds to the printable print forms corresponding to the records 2 to 4, so that the printable printable forms are searched for, and the printable form display unit 24 finds the three printable compatible print forms. Is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of compatible print forms.
Since the print format that can be supported by the record 2 is “A4 vertical, 1-page double-sided printing”, as shown in FIG. 10A, the paper size is “A4” and the printing direction is “vertical”. A state in which double-sided printing is performed in one page layout is displayed in a diagrammatic manner. Further, since the post-processing is “left binding or right binding”, the state of left binding using a stapler or the like is also displayed graphically.

  Since the printable format of record 3 is “A3 landscape, 2-page double-sided printing”, as shown in FIG. 10B, the paper size is “A3” and the print direction is “landscape”. A state in which double-sided printing is performed with 2-page layout is displayed in a schematic manner. In addition, since the post-processing is “folding + saddle stitching”, the state of performing saddle stitching using a stapler or the like is also displayed graphically.

  Since the printable format of record 4 is “A3 landscape, 2-page double-sided printing”, as shown in FIG. 10C, the paper size is “A3” and the print direction is “landscape”. A state in which double-sided printing is performed with 2-page layout is displayed in a schematic manner. In addition, since the post-processing is “cut + left binding or right binding”, the state of cutting the printing paper using scissors or the like and performing the left binding using a stapler or the like is also displayed graphically.

Here, for example, since the post-processing steps of the record 2 are few, the user selects the print form that can be handled by the record 2 by the print form selection unit 26.
In the host terminal 100, when a compatible print form is selected, the print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the selected compatible print form. Then, the print data transmission unit 22 transmits the generated print data to the designated network printer 200 together with the print request.

In the network printer 200, when the print data receiving unit 40 receives the print data together with the print request, the printer engine 42 performs printing based on the received print data. In this case, the paper size is “A4”, the printing direction is “vertical”, and duplex printing is performed with one page layout.
Note that, for example, when there are few A4 print sheets and the user wants to print on A3 print sheets, the user may select a printable form corresponding to the records 3 and 4. In particular, if it is not desired to use scissors, the printable form of record 4 can be selected.

  In this way, in the present embodiment, when the host terminal 100 searches for a plurality of compatible print forms, the host terminal 100 displays the searched compatible print forms and indicates to the user that one should be selected. When the corresponding print form is selected in response to the request, print data is generated based on the selected compatible print form, and the generated print data is transmitted to the network printer 200 together with the print request. Yes.

Thereby, when there are a plurality of print forms that can be handled for the same network printer 200, it is possible to realize a print form that suits the user's preference.
In the second embodiment, the print form search unit 16 corresponds to the output form search unit of form 5, the print form display unit 24 corresponds to the output form presentation unit of form 5, and the print form selection unit 26. Corresponds to the output form selection means of form 5.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 11 to 13 are diagrams showing a third embodiment of the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention.
In this embodiment, the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention are applied to a case where printing is performed by the network printer 200 using a job ticket as shown in FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that when there are a plurality of compatible print forms for the same network printer 200, one of the compatible print forms is selected in accordance with the priority order. In the point.

First, an outline of functions of the host terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of the host terminal 100.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the host terminal 100 includes a print form storage unit 10, a job ticket acquisition unit 12, a printer information acquisition unit 14, a print form search unit 16, a print data generation unit 18, and a print data transmission unit 22. Configured.

The job ticket defines a plurality of printing forms and their priorities.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a job ticket.
In the job ticket, as shown in FIG. 12, the priority is described in start tags 512 and 516. In the example of FIG. 12, “1” is described as the priority in the start tag 512, and “0” is described as the priority in the start tag 516. This indicates that the binding position should be given priority over the paper size and the printing direction because the priority of the binding position is smaller.

Returning to FIG. 11, the host terminal 100 further selects one of the compatible print forms searched by the print form search unit 16 according to the priority order included in the job ticket acquired by the job ticket acquisition unit 12. The printing form selection unit 28 is included.
The print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the compatible print form selected by the print form selection unit 28.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
In the following, an example will be described in which the printing form registration table 400 has the contents of FIG. 3, the job ticket has the contents of FIG. 12, and the printer information has the contents of FIG.
FIG. 13 shows the data structure of printer information.
In the printer information, as shown in FIG. 13, “A4” is described by the tag sets 534 and 536, and “impossible” is described by the tag sets 538 and 540. This indicates that the network printer 200 can only perform single-sided printing with a paper size of A4 or smaller.

At the host terminal 100, the user gives a job ticket and designates a network printer 200 capable of only single-sided printing with a paper size of A4 or smaller as a printing destination and requests printing.
In the host terminal 100, when printing is requested, the job ticket acquisition unit 12 acquires a job ticket, and the printer information acquisition unit 14 acquires printer information. Then, the corresponding print form is searched by the print form search unit 16 based on the acquired job ticket and printer information. As a result, since the printable form corresponding to the records 5 and 6 corresponds in the print form registration table 400, the compatible print forms are searched, and the two printable selectable print forms are searched by the print form selecting unit 28. Of these, the one with the highest priority is selected.

First, the printable form of record 5 is “A4 vertical 1 page layout single-sided printing × 2”, so “A4” matches the requested print form. However, since the post-processing is “left binding or right binding”, the binding position does not match the requested printing form.
On the other hand, the print format that can be handled by the record 6 is “A4 vertical 2-page layout single-sided printing × 2”, and therefore the paper size does not match the requested print format. However, since the post-processing is “fold + saddle stitching”, “saddle stitching” matches the requested print form.

In both cases, the result is that one matches but one does not match. However, since the priority of the binding position is set high in the job ticket, the compatible print form of the record 6 is selected. .
In the host terminal 100, when a compatible print form is selected, the print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the selected compatible print form. Then, the print data transmission unit 22 transmits the generated print data to the designated network printer 200 together with the print request.

In the network printer 200, when the print data receiving unit 40 receives the print data together with the print request, the printer engine 42 performs printing based on the received print data. In this case, the paper size is “A4”, the printing direction is “vertical”, and single-sided printing is performed with 2-page layout.
In this way, in the present embodiment, when the host terminal 100 searches for a plurality of compatible print forms, the host terminal 100 selects one of the searched compatible print forms according to the priority order included in the job ticket. Is selected, print data is generated based on the selected compatible print form, and the generated print data is transmitted to the network printer 200 together with the print request.

As a result, when there are a plurality of print forms that can be handled for the same network printer 200, it is possible to realize a print form with a high degree of importance.
In the third embodiment, the job ticket acquisition unit 12 corresponds to the output form information acquisition unit of form 6, and the print form search unit 16 corresponds to the output form search unit of form 6, and the print form selection unit. 28 corresponds to the output form selection means of form 6.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing a fourth embodiment of the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention.
In this embodiment, the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention are applied to a case where printing is performed by the network printer 200 using a job ticket as shown in FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that when there are a plurality of compatible print forms for the same network printer 200, any one of the compatible print forms is selected as a past selection history. The point to choose based on.

First, the functional outline of the host terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of the host terminal 100.
As illustrated in FIG. 14, the host terminal 100 includes a print form storage unit 10, a job ticket acquisition unit 12, a printer information acquisition unit 14, a print form search unit 16, a print data generation unit 18, and a print data transmission unit 22. Configured.

  The host terminal 100 further uses a selection history information storage unit 30 that stores selection history information indicating a selection history of print formats that can be supported, and a printing history search unit 16 based on the selection history information in the selection history information storage unit 30. A print form selection unit 32 that selects one of the searched compatible print forms, and a selection history information update that updates selection history information in the selection history information storage unit 30 based on a selection result of the print form selection unit 32 Part 34.

The print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the compatible print form selected by the print form selection unit 32.
The storage device 62 constitutes the selection history information storage unit 30 and stores a selection history information registration table 420 for registering selection history information.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a data structure of the selection history information registration table 420.

As shown in FIG. 15, one record is registered in the selection history information registration table 420 every time a print format that can be handled is selected by the print format selection unit 32. Each record includes a field 422 for registering the printing date and time, and a field 424 for registering the serial number of the record in which the selected compatible print form is registered.
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

Hereinafter, a case where the print form registration table 400 has the contents of FIG. 3, the job ticket has the contents of FIG. 5, the printer information has the contents of FIG. 6, and the selection history information registration table 420 has the contents of FIG.
At the host terminal 100, the user gives a job ticket and designates the network printer 200 capable of double-sided printing with a paper size of A3 or less as a printing destination and requests printing.

  In the host terminal 100, when printing is requested, the job ticket acquisition unit 12 acquires a job ticket, and the printer information acquisition unit 14 acquires printer information. Then, the corresponding print form is searched by the print form search unit 16 based on the acquired job ticket and printer information. As a result, the printable form registration table 400 corresponds to the printable print forms corresponding to the records 0 and 1. Therefore, the printable compatible print forms are searched out, and the two printable selectable print forms are searched by the print form selecting unit 28. One of them is selected based on the selection history.

In the selection history information registration table 420, it is registered that the record 0 has been selected twice and the record 1 has been selected once in the past. The
In the host terminal 100, when a compatible print form is selected, the print data generation unit 18 generates print data based on the selected compatible print form. Then, the print data transmission unit 22 transmits the generated print data to the designated network printer 200 together with the print request.

In the network printer 200, when the print data receiving unit 40 receives the print data together with the print request, the printer engine 42 performs printing based on the received print data. In this case, the paper size is “A3”, the printing direction is “horizontal”, and double-sided printing is performed with 2-page layout.
In this way, in the present embodiment, when the host terminal 100 searches for a plurality of compatible print forms, the host terminal 100 selects one of the searched compatible print forms based on the selection history information. Then, print data is generated based on the selected compatible print form, and the generated print data is transmitted to the network printer 200 together with the print request.

As a result, when there are a plurality of print formats that can be handled for the same network printer 200, it is possible to preferentially realize the print formats that can be selected in the past.
In the fourth embodiment, the selection history information storage unit 30 and the selection history information registration table 420 correspond to the selection history information storage unit of the form 7, 14 or 21, and the printing form search unit 16 Corresponding to the output form search means, the print form selection unit 32 corresponds to the output form selection means of form 7. The selection history information update unit 34 corresponds to the selection history information update unit of the seventh aspect.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the printing form registration table 400 is configured to register the specifications of the network printer 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the model, name, symbol, etc. of the network printer 200 are not limited thereto. It can also be configured to register the identifier.
In the first to fourth embodiments, the print data is generated based on the compatible print form, and the generated print data is transmitted to the network printer 200 together with the print request. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to generate a job ticket based on a compatible printing form, acquire print data, and transmit the acquired print data and the generated job ticket to the network printer 200 together with a print request. In addition, it may be configured to only generate a job ticket.

  Moreover, in the said 4th Embodiment, although it comprised so that one might be selected from the searchable correspondence print forms searched based on selection history information, not only this but such a structure is comprised. The present invention can also be applied to the second embodiment. Specifically, based on the selection history information, the user can prompt the user to display the searched compatible print form and select one. In the operation example of the fourth embodiment, the printable print form of record 0 is displayed preferentially (for example, at the top).

In the first embodiment, the case where the print request process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed has been described with respect to the case where the control program stored in advance in the ROM 52 is executed. Alternatively, the program may be read from the storage medium storing the program showing the above procedure into the RAM 54 and executed.
Here, the storage medium is a semiconductor storage medium such as RAM or ROM, a magnetic storage type storage medium such as FD or HD, an optical reading type storage medium such as CD, CDV, LD, or DVD, or a magnetic storage type such as MO. / Optical reading type storage media, including any storage media that can be read by a computer regardless of electronic, magnetic, optical, or other reading methods.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the output form determination system, the output form determination program, and the output form determination method according to the present invention are printed by the network printer 200 using a job ticket. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other cases without departing from the gist of the present invention. Instead of the network printer 200, for example, a projector, electronic paper, home gateway, personal computer, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), network storage, audio equipment, mobile phone, PHS (registered trademark) (Personal Handyphone System), watch type PDA, The present invention can be applied to STB (Set Top Box), POS (Point Of Sale) terminals, FAX machines, telephones (including IP telephones), and other output devices.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the function outline | summary of a network system. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a host terminal 100. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a printing form registration table 400. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print request processing. It is a figure which shows the data structure of a job ticket. It is a figure which shows the data structure of printer information. It is a figure for demonstrating the allocation method which performs double-sided printing by 2 page allocation. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a host terminal 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of a job ticket. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the correspondence printing form. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a host terminal 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of a job ticket. It is a figure which shows the data structure of printer information. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a host terminal 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the selection history information registration table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Print server 200 ... Network printer 10 ... Print form memory | storage part 12 ... Job ticket acquisition part 14 ... Printer information acquisition part 16 ... Print form search part 18 ... Print data generation part 22 ... Print data transmission , 24... Print form display section 26, 28, 32... Print form selection section 30... Selection history information storage section 34... Selection history information update section 40 .. print data reception section 42 ... printer engine 50. CPU 52 ... ROM 54 54RAM 58 ... I / F 59 ... bus 60 ... input device 62 ... storage device 64 ... display device 400 ... print form registration table 420 ... selection history information registration table 500-518, 530-540 ... Tag set

Claims (2)

An output form determination system that determines a print form in a printing apparatus based on print form information that defines a required print form ,
It said request print format, the specification of the printing device, 1 for those the request printing form the printing device is adaptable corresponding printable form for, and manually against the printed material after printing in the corresponding printable form Or a printing form storage means for storing post-processing consisting of a plurality of steps in association with each other;
A print format information obtaining means for obtaining the print format information,
A printing apparatus information acquiring means for acquiring the printing apparatus information indicating the specifications of the printing device,
A plurality of said corresponding printable forms corresponding to the specification of the print mode information request print form of the obtained print format information obtaining means and the printing apparatus information acquired by the printing apparatus information acquiring unit for arrangement in the print format storage means A print form search means for searching;
For each corresponding printable form retrieved by the print form retrieval means, acquired, the acquired post-processing the corresponding printable form from among the corresponding printable said print format storage means post-processing corresponding to the form An output form determination system , comprising: a print form selection unit that displays a corresponding print form on the display device in association with each other, and causes the user to select a compatible print form from the displayed compatible print forms . An output form determination program characterized by being a program for causing a computer to function as the output form determination system according to claim 1.

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