JPH04241018A - Data output system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print desired data among labeling data efficiently. CONSTITUTION:Plain paper (rolled paper) 10 is set on a printer 1. A controller 4 reads out data of respective items in a labeling data file 6 to detect whether or not there is an item to be printed, reads a format corresponding to the item out of a format overlay data file 7 when there is the item to be printed, and writes the data of the item to set a format overlay. Then the controller 4 supplies the format overlay set for the item to a printer 1. Consequently, the specific format and data are printed on the continuous paper 10. After the printing, the continuous paper 10 is conveyed to a processing device 2, which performs specific processes of cutting, folding, etc.; and a sealing device 3 puts the cut paper in envelopes by mailing destinations and seals the envelopes.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention particularly relates to a data output method suitable for printing the contents of name identification data on a form having a predetermined form.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it has been widely practiced to output data in a predetermined format through computer processing. For example, it is common practice in various fields to output and display desired data in a predetermined format on a display device such as a CRT. It is also practiced to create data, print it on a form having a predetermined form, and mail it as a personal mail. Examples of the latter include, for example, notices on the maturity of time deposits, notices on details of deposits and withdrawals, notices on insurance, notices on details of credit payments, etc., provided by banks, life insurance companies, etc. Note that although the following explanation will take printing on forms and a personal mail system as an example, the mode of "data output" referred to in this specification is not limited to printing on forms;
There are various modes such as output to a display device such as.

0003

By the way, in order to print predetermined data on a form, three types of printing elements are required: printing data, printing medium, and print processing means. The data to be printed is the data itself to be printed and a file containing the data, the medium to be printed is a pre-printed form (hereinafter simply referred to as a form) on which a predetermined form is printed in advance, and the print processing means is This is a printing program that can be executed by a control device such as a microcomputer, and each data is printed at a designated position on a form according to the processing described in this program. The printing process of a form is performed by the organic interaction of these three types of printing elements, but in the past, the printing process of a form was performed mainly by the printing processing means (hereinafter referred to as printing Since the printing process centered on the processing means is referred to as program-driven printing process, the following problems have arisen. In other words, if we take a bank as an example, as mentioned above,
Various notifications may be sent to customers as personal emails, such as notices of maturity of term deposits, notices of deposit/withdrawal details, notices of loan payments/balances, notices of credit payment details, etc. It would be expensive to send each notification by mail, so they are sent in batches, but in the conventional program-driven printing process, a printing program for a specific notification is created and the printing system is programmed. Next, set the magnetic tape (hereinafter referred to as MT) or magnetic disk (hereinafter referred to as MD) on which the data to be printed to be printed using the printing program is written into the printing system, and then It is necessary to print data on the form by setting a form and running a printing program, so if you are trying to mail multiple notifications at once, you need to set a printing program that corresponds to each notification. is created in advance, and when the printing of the form corresponding to one notification is completed, the printing program corresponding to the next notification,
It was necessary to repeat the process of setting and printing the data to be printed and the form, which required a great deal of effort. The above matters will be explained using the conceptual diagram of program-driven printing processing shown in FIG. 9 as follows. Now, A, B,
If three types of notifications C are to be mailed together, first print programs 101 and 1 for each notification A, B, and C are sent in advance.
02 and 103 are created and set in the printing system 100. Next, to print the first notice, for example notice A,
MT104 in which data for notification A is written;
and the form 107 for notification A is set in the printing system 100. As shown in FIG. 10, the MT 104 has written therein the name of the individual to whom the notification A is directed and data regarding the notification A for the individual. The same applies to MTs 105 and 106. Then, the printing program 101 is activated to perform printing. As a result, a form for each individual written in the MT 104 is created. When the printing of the form for notification A is completed, in order to print notification B next,
Remove MT104 and print MT105 in the printing system 10
In addition to setting it to 0, the remaining form 10 for notification A
The form 108 for notification B is set except for 7 and printed. When printing of the form for notification B is completed, next, printing of notification C is performed in the same manner.

[0004]Three types of forms are printed in this way, and after printing is completed, these forms are set in, for example, an inserting and sealing device (not shown), and each form for the same person is matched and collated. Then, the package is enclosed in a predetermined envelope and the series of processing is completed. Note that although the above description assumes that data for each notification is written to the MT separately, it is also possible to use name matching data. Here, name-linked data refers to data collected cross-sectionally on distinctive items from among the information related to each subject. For example, name-linked data on banks, as shown in Figure 11, uses business partners as a distinctive item, and It is created by compiling information on transactions conducted by each business partner, with various transactions such as deposits, current accounts, time deposits, savings deposits, housing loans, and student loans as subjects. However, as mentioned above, conventional program-driven printing processing can only print one form at a time, so even if name matching data is available, the customer data for each transaction can be compiled into a diagram from the name matching data. It is necessary to create data with the structure shown in 10. In any case, if you want to send multiple forms together by personal mail, first print out each type of form to be mailed, and then print it out for each recipient. You have to do the work of collating the
Not only was it extremely time-consuming, but there were also situations where data from other business partners was sent by mail due to incorrect collation.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data output method that can efficiently output desired data from name matching data. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can efficiently perform personal mailing.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned conventional problems are caused by the fact that data output is mainly performed by a printing program. Therefore, the present invention solves the above problem by employing data-driven output processing in which output processing is performed mainly on name matching data.

[0007] Data-driven output processing is defined as a process in which a control means is included in each item of the identification data when there is identification data and a printing program group that prints data of each subject of the identification data in a predetermined format. This is the process of detecting the subject that is being displayed, selecting the corresponding printing program from a group of printing programs, running them one after another, and outputting the data to a form.

Therefore, the first data output method of the present invention includes name identification data, format overlay data, and continuous paper on which no format is printed, and includes subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data. Selecting a format corresponding to the format from the format overlay data and determining a format overlay according to the data content of the subject data,
The second data output method is characterized in that the subject data is printed on the continuous paper, and the second data output method includes a printing machine for printing the name matching data, an output processing means group, and a format form of the subject included in the name matching data. and a continuous sheet of paper on which no format is printed, selects and synthesizes an output processing means corresponding to the subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data from the output processing means, and combines Selecting a printing machine for printing a corresponding format, printing the format for the subject on the continuous paper by the selected printing machine, and then printing data for the subject based on the synthesized output processing means. It is characterized by

[0009] The first personal mail system of the present invention also includes name identification data, format overlay data, and continuous paper on which no format is printed, and includes subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data. selecting a format corresponding to the format overlay data from the format overlay data, determining a format overlay according to the data content of the subject data, printing the subject data on the continuous paper, processing it, and enclosing it; The second personal mail system includes name matching data, an output processing means group, a printing press group for printing format forms of subjects included in the name matching data, and continuous paper on which no format is printed, Output processing means corresponding to the subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data are selected and synthesized from the output processing means, and a printing machine for printing a format corresponding to the subject is selected, and the The present invention is characterized in that after printing a format for the subject on continuous paper using the selected printing machine, the data for the subject is printed, processed, and sealed based on the synthesized output processing means.

0010

[Operation and Effects of the Invention] In the conventional printing program-based method, only one form can be printed at a time, and it is necessary to create a printing program each time predetermined data is printed on a form. However, in the present invention, data output processing is performed mainly on name identification data, so a printing program for printing data for each subject in name identification data is stored as a module in a file, and the necessary data for printing is stored in a file. Since only the print program module is read and merged, there is no need to create a print program every time a form is printed. In addition, in the present invention, there is no need to perform any processing on the name identification data, so it can be used very efficiently as is, and there is no need to change the MT every time a single form is printed, as was the case in the past. , you can save time and effort. Furthermore, since the data of a predetermined subject in the collated data is printed consecutively, collation errors that conventionally occur do not occur. Furthermore, regarding the control of processing equipment, conventionally it was necessary for the operator to give all instructions each time, but in the present invention,
Since processing conditions can be automatically set according to the size of the format printed on the form, the operator's workload can be reduced.

Furthermore, when a form is printed by form overlay, the length of the created form becomes the minimum necessary length, so that the waste of continuous paper can be minimized.

0012

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment in which the first data output method according to the present invention is applied to a personal mail system, and in the figure, 1 is a printer, 2 is a processing device, and 3 is an enclosure/sealer. 4 is a control device, 5 is an input device, 6 is a name identification data file, 7 is a format overlay data file, and 8 is a processing condition data file. The printer 1 prints predetermined data on a form, and is composed of an impact printer or a non-impact printer. The processing device 2 includes a cutting machine for cutting printed forms;
It consists of a folding machine and the like for folding documents in a predetermined manner. Known cutting machines and folding machines can be used, and their operations will be described later. The enclosing/sealing device 3 is a device that seals the form processed in a predetermined manner by the processing device 2 into an envelope for each mailing destination, and a well-known device can be used. The control device 4 is composed of a personal computer or the like, and centrally manages the operations of each part of the personal mail system. Its operation will be described later. The input device 5 is used to instruct the control device 4 on desired operations and input parameters for desired processing, and is comprised of well-known input means such as a keyboard, a magnetic card reader, and an IC card reader. The name identification data file 6 is a database having the structure described above. In the following explanation, it is assumed that the name matching data file 6 is data related to bank transactions as shown in FIG. Format overlay data file 7
stores the format and print program data for printing data for all subjects set in the name identification data. The processing condition data file 8 stores data on various processing conditions for the length of the form, such as the relationship between the length of the form and the cutting timing, the folding width and the number of folds relative to the length of the form, etc. be.

Now, in FIG. 1, a form to be printed is not set in the printer 1, but a continuous paper that is plain or has only a predetermined ground pattern, pattern, or figure printed thereon is set. Now, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, if all data written in the name matching data file 6 is to be printed, the control device 4 first prints the first item from the name matching data file 6. If so, read out the customer data. The item is now A,
Assuming that there are three subjects B and C, the control device 4 reads the format corresponding to subject A, the format corresponding to subject B, and the format corresponding to subject C from the format overlay data file 7, Write the data for each subject in the appropriate format and set the format overlay to be printed. As a result, if there are 10 lines of data for subject A, a format overlay for 10 lines is set, and if there are 20 lines of data, a format overlay for 20 lines is set. Then, the control device 4 sequentially supplies the set format overlays for each subject to the printer 1. Similar printing processing is performed for the second and subsequent items. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, subject data for each item is printed on the continuous paper 10 set in the printer 1. In FIG. 2, KA, KB, KC, KD, and KE indicate formats corresponding to subjects A, B, C, D, and E, respectively. The same applies hereafter. As described above, in the present invention, the printing format is automatically set according to the content of each item in the name matching data, so the trouble of creating a printing program every time printing is done as in the past is eliminated. Not only can this be omitted, but also the waste of the continuous paper 10 can be kept to a minimum.

[0014] When printing is completed, the continuous paper 10 is conveyed to the processing device 2, and is subjected to processing such as cutting and folding. Processing can be carried out in various ways. The first method is to cut and fold each item, and the cutting timing conditions in the cutting machine and the folding conditions such as the folding width and the number of folds in the folding machine are set by supplying the cutting machine from the control device 4. Alternatively, data indicating the cutting timing conditions and folding conditions may be printed at a predetermined position on the form for each item, and the data may be read into the cutting machine and the folding machine. The former method is as follows. That is, since the control device 4 sets the format overlay, it recognizes the length of the form for the item in question. Therefore, by referring to the processing condition data file 8, the cutting timing for the length of the form, and the processing conditions for folding such as the folding width and number of folds can be determined from the length of the form and the preset envelope size. In this method, the cutting machine and the folding machine are automatically set according to the processing conditions. The latter method is as follows. The control device 4 refers to the machining condition data file 8 to determine the machining conditions as described above, and supplies the determined machining conditions to the printer 1 together with the data to be printed. As a result, M in Fig. 2
As shown in , data such as the cutting timing, fold width, and number of folds of the form are printed at a predetermined position of the form for each item, for example, in the upper left corner of the first format. Then, by having the cutting machine and folding machine read this data, the settings are automatically made. It is well known that processing machines such as cutting machines and folding machines are equipped with sensors for reading data printed on forms, so details of the mechanism will be omitted. The form processed as described above is then conveyed to the enclosing and sealing device 3, where it is enclosed in a predetermined envelope and sealed.

[0015] The second processing mode is to cut the printed forms one by one, fold them as necessary, and collate them for each customer. The processing conditions for the cutting machine and folding machine in this case can be set in the same manner as described in the first processing mode. That is, since the control device 4 recognizes the length of each format, it notifies the cutting machine of the cutting timing determined by referring to the processing condition data file 8, and the folding machine of the folding width and number of folds. By this, predetermined processing conditions can be set. Further, as shown by MD in FIG. 3, the obtained processing conditions are printed at a predetermined position of each format using the printer 1, for example, in the upper left corner of the first format, and the data is read into the cutting machine and folding machine. This allows you to set processing conditions.

The collation is as follows. The collating machine collects the cut forms for each mailing address, but the control device 4 instructs the collating machine to determine which forms to collate. Can be done. That is, since the control device 4 recognizes how many sheets of forms have been printed for each item, by instructing the folding machine the number of sheets of forms for each item, the sheets are conveyed in the order in which they were printed. can be collated. Another method is to print the subject data using the printer 1, and place a start mark SM in the predetermined position of the first format of the item as shown in Figure 4, and in the predetermined position of the last format. The method is to print an end mark, have it read by a collating machine, and collate the form from the form printed with the start mark SM to the form printed with the end mark EM, or to print it at a predetermined position of each format when printing. In this method, the printer 1 prints the identification number of the item, the collation machine reads it, and the forms on which the same identification number is printed are collected and collated. In this case, if the collating machine is placed after the folding machine, it goes without saying that the start mark SM, end mark EM, or identification number must not be hidden by folding. be. Note that since a well-known collating machine can be used, details of the mechanism will be omitted. When cutting each form as in the second processing mode, a stapler for binding the collated forms can be disposed in the processing device 2 as necessary. When using a stapler, to set the stapler's processing conditions, such as where and how many places to staple, in the same way as described above, refer to the processing condition data file 8 and give the stapler the processing conditions found. You can also do this with
This can be done by printing the machining condition data shown by MD in FIG. 3 and reading it into the stapler, or furthermore, it can be done by giving an instruction from the input device 5. The form processed as described above is then conveyed to the enclosing and sealing device 3, where it is enclosed in a predetermined envelope and sealed.

In the third processing mode, instead of enclosing the form in a pre-prepared envelope as in the first and second processing modes, as shown in FIG. The name is also printed, and when cutting, the hatched part in Figure 5 is cut off to form the flap FL, and after the form with the data printed is folded inside, it is sealed by gluing it to the flap FL using the enclosing and sealing device 3. It is a mode. At this time, processing conditions in the cutting machine and folding machine and conditions for gluing in the enclosing and sealing device 3 can be set in the same manner as described above. Note that printing of the address format and sender format can be performed by instructing the control device 4 in advance using the input device 5 to print the subject data prior to printing. The fourth processing mode is a mode in which thick paper is attached to a certain format when thin paper is used as the continuous paper 10. This processing mode is used, for example, when forming a format for a reply postcard. In other words, there are currently restrictions on the size and weight of paper used for postcards, and since thin paper cannot be used as a postcard, it is necessary to attach thick paper to form the format of a reply postcard. for that purpose,
It is necessary to arrange a pasting machine in the processing device 2 and instruct the pasting machine when to paste the cardboard. This instruction can be given, for example, by giving the position of the form to be pasted to the pasting machine from the control device 4, which recognizes the position of the form. Alternatively, this can be done by printing a predetermined mark on the form to which the cardboard is to be pasted, and having the pasting machine read the mark.

The case where all the data written in the collated data file 6 is printed has been described above, but next, the case where only the data of a desired subject selected from among the subjects is printed will be explained. Now, for example, B
, C, the control device 4 determines whether or not the items read from the name matching data file 6 have data for subjects B and C, and prints these two subjects. If so, the relevant subject B,
Read the format overlay corresponding to C from the format overlay data file 7, set the format overlay according to the amount of data, and select only data for subject B or subject C.
, the format overlay for subject B or C is read out from the format overlay data file 7 and a format overlay corresponding to the amount of data is set. Items that do not have these two subjects are ignored, and data for the next item is read. The processing after setting the format overlay as described above is performed in the same manner as described above.

The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, and now the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment in which the second data output method according to the present invention is applied to a personal mail system. In the figure, 1 is a printer, 2 is a processing device, and 3 is an enclosing and sealing device. , 4 is a control device, 5 is an input device, 6 is a name matching data file, 8 is a processing condition data file, 20 is a printing program file, and 21 is a printing device. Note that the same components as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. The configuration shown in FIG. 6 is intended to print the subject format using a printing machine instead of printing using a format overlay as was done in the first embodiment, and for this purpose, the configuration shown in FIG. No format overlay data file is provided;
Instead, a printing device 21 is provided. Additionally, a printing program file 20 is provided for printing subject data. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the printer 1 does not print the format. In FIG. 6, the printing program file 20 is a file in which a printing program for printing the subject data included in the identification data is written as a module for each subject. For example, as shown in FIG.
Assuming that the name identification data shown in is to be printed, the printing program file 20 includes a printing program module for printing ordinary deposit data, a printing program module for printing current account data, and time deposit data. A printing program module for printing savings deposit data, a printing program module for printing housing loan data, a printing program module for printing student loan data, etc. A printing program module is written to print subject data. As shown in FIG. 7, the printing device 21 is for printing a desired format on the continuous paper 10, which is plain or only has a predetermined background pattern printed thereon, and includes a plurality of printing machines P1, P2. , . For example, printing press P1 is equipped with a plate cylinder for printing a form for subject A, printing press P2 is equipped with a plate cylinder for printing a form for subject B, and printing machine PN is equipped with a plate cylinder for printing a form for subject B. It is equipped with a plate cylinder for printing the form for subject N. Then, printing pressure is applied to the printing press selected by the control device 4, and the predetermined format is printed by the printing press. A specific configuration example of the printing device 21 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the printing device 21 includes three monochrome offset printing machines 30, 31, and 32. In each offset printing machine, ink is inked from an ink reservoir 40 onto a plate cylinder 42 by a group of rollers 41, while dampening water 43 is transferred onto the plate cylinder 42 by a group of rollers 44. The ink and dampening water transferred to the plate cylinder 42 are further transferred to the blanket cylinder 45. It goes without saying that the plate cylinders 42 of each offset printing press have different format patterns. Then, in the printing press that is instructed to print by the control device 4, the plate cylinder 42 is lowered, as in the offset printing press 30 of FIG. 8, and printing in a predetermined format is performed on the continuous paper 10. Also, a printing machine may be used in which the impression cylinder 46 is raised instead of the plate cylinder being lowered. In a printing press that is not instructed to print, the impression cylinder 46 and blanket cylinder 45 are kept separated, as in the offset printing presses 31 and 32 shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 8, 47 indicates a conveyance roller.

Now, in the configuration of FIG. 6, if all the data currently written in the name matching data file 6 is to be printed, the control device 4 first prints the data of the first item from the name matching data file 6. read out. Assuming that the item has three subjects, A, B, and C, the control device 4 controls a printing machine having a format corresponding to subject A, a printing machine having a format corresponding to subject B, and a printing machine having a format corresponding to subject B. Select a printing machine having formats corresponding to subject C, print these formats in sequence, and further select a printing program module corresponding to subject A, a printing program module corresponding to subject B, and a printing program module corresponding to subject C. The printing program module is read out from the printing program file 20 and synthesized, a printing program is generated, and the generated printing program is supplied to the printer 1 together with the data to be printed, and the printing is performed.

Thereafter, by performing similar processing for all items, the data written in the merged data file 6 can be printed in a predetermined format. The processing and enclosing and sealing processes after the printing is completed are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the second embodiment above,
Although the printing device 21 is assumed to be placed before the printer 1, it may be placed after the printer 1 so that the format corresponding to the subject is printed after the printer 1 finishes printing the subject data. It is. Furthermore, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the printing machine is not limited to an offset printing machine, and that other printing machines can also be used, and that a color printing machine can also be used.

Furthermore, it is clear that various items and subjects can be considered for the name identification data.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, it has been explained that the data of the printing program is also stored in the format overlay data file, but the data may be separated into the format overlay data file and the printing program file.

Furthermore, in the processing process, in the embodiment, the folding process is performed after the collating process, but the collating process may be performed after the folding process, or each item may be folded into a bellows shape and bound. You can also turn it into a booklet. As described above, various forms of forms can be obtained by appropriately combining known processing devices in the processing process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining one method of setting processing conditions of a processing device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another method of setting machining conditions of a machining device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining one method for collating.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining one aspect of processing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration example of a printing device.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a conventional personal mail system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the structure of data used in a conventional personal mail system.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the structure of name matching data.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Printer, 2... Processing device, 3... Enclosing and sealing device, 4...
Control device, 5... Input device, 6... Name identification data file,
7...Format overlay data file, 8...Processing condition data file.

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claim 1: Comprising name identification data, format overlay data, and continuous paper on which no format is printed, and selecting a format corresponding to subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data from the format overlay data. At the same time, a format overlay is determined according to the data content of the subject data, and the subject data is printed on the continuous paper. [Claim 2] Name matching data, a group of output processing means,
An output process corresponding to the subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data, comprising a group of printing machines for printing format forms of subjects included in the name identification data and continuous paper on which formats are not printed. A means is selected from the output processing means and combined, a printing machine for printing a format corresponding to the subject is selected, and after printing the format for the subject on the continuous paper by the selected printing machine, the A data output method characterized in that data of the subject is printed based on a synthesized output processing means. 3. Comprising name identification data, format overlay data, and continuous paper on which no format is printed, a format corresponding to subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data is selected from the format overlay data. At the same time, a format overlay is determined according to the data content of the subject data, and the subject data is printed on the continuous paper,
A personal mail system characterized by processing, enclosing and sealing. 4. The personal mail system according to claim 3, wherein the processing conditions are set based on the determined format overlay. [Claim 5] Name matching data, a group of output processing means,
An output process corresponding to the subject data to be printed in each item of the name identification data, comprising a group of printing machines for printing format forms of subjects included in the name identification data and continuous paper on which formats are not printed. A means is selected from the output processing means and combined, a printing machine for printing a format corresponding to the subject is selected, and after printing the format for the subject on the continuous paper by the selected printing machine, the A personal mail system characterized by printing, processing, and enclosing data of the subject based on a synthesized output processing means.