JP3733673B2 - Network-compatible printing apparatus, printing method, and network printing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a network-compatible printing apparatus, printing method, and network that can directly access information resources such as homepages that exist on various networks such as the Internet, an intranet, and a LAN, and can download and print the information resources. The present invention relates to a printing system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a network printer connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and shared by a plurality of host computers is conventionally known. Such network printers receive print jobs from a plurality of host computers connected to the network and perform printing. On the other hand, the Internet is known as a worldwide network formed by connecting a large number of networks to each other.
[0003]
Therefore, a network printer according to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. The Internet 100 is a worldwide network formed by interconnecting several backbone networks, and a multi-vendor compatible communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission) for performing data communication between servers 101 of different models. Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc. are adopted.
[0004]
Here, each server 101 normally stores a plurality of information resources in the spool 102. As information resources, home pages provided by WWW (World Wide Web) servers, files provided by FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers, net news provided by news servers, and the like are known.
[0005]
A LAN 103 can be connected to the Internet 100. A plurality of host computers 104 serving as clients are connected to the LAN 103. A network printer 105 shared by each host computer 104 is also connected to the LAN 103. The LAN 103 is connected to the Internet 103 via a router 106 or the like.
[0006]
Each host computer 104 can use various information resources held by each server 101 by connecting to the server 101 via the router 106 or the like. Various information resources downloaded from each server 101 are reproduced by software such as browsing software and viewer installed in the host computer 104.
[0007]
Among the downloaded information resources, printable information such as document data and still image files can be printed out on a print recording medium by the network printer 105. In this case, the host computer 104 that performs printing outputs print data including the LAN address, print data, control code, and the like of the network printer 105 on the LAN line. The network printer 105 that has received this print data executes printing.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described prior art, when obtaining information resources stored in a WWW server or the like on the Internet 100 as a printed matter, the user first starts up the host computer 104 to access the desired server 101, and the second The target document data must be downloaded into the host computer 104, and thirdly, the downloaded document data must be transmitted to the network printer 105 for printing.
[0009]
That is, even if it is going to finally obtain information resources on the Internet as printed matter, it cannot be printed unless the host computer 104 is involved, so it takes time to obtain the printed matter and the processing load on the host computer 104 increases. There is a drawback of doing.
[0010]
The document data is described by various print commands, but document data that is not described by a print command that can be directly interpreted by the network printer 105 cannot be printed. However, if various types of print commands are mounted in the network printer 105 in advance, a large amount of memory resources and the like are required, and the manufacturing cost increases.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of the various problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to directly access and print the instructed information resource from the printing apparatus side, and data that cannot be directly printed by the information resource. If it is configured, a network-compatible printing apparatus, a printing method, and a network printing system capable of actively searching and printing a conversion program for converting into printable data are provided. There is. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to efficiently search for the location of a conversion program by transmitting a part of information resources to a predetermined conversion device for interpretation. And a printing method and a network printing system. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a network-compatible printing apparatus, printing method, and network printing system that can receive and print other information resources linked to information resources.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the network-compatible printing apparatus according to the present invention actively accesses the instructed information resource, determines whether the information resource is printable data, In some cases, a conversion program is searched and converted into printable data.
[0013]
In other words, the invention according to claim 1 is a network-compatible printing apparatus that is connected to a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers and receives and prints information resources stored in each of the servers. Print control means for performing printing by controlling a print engine based on data, specific information registration means for registering specific information necessary for specifying the information resource, and the registration via a network connection means A network control unit that connects to the received information resource, receives the information resource, a data determination unit that determines whether the received information resource is formed from data printable by the print control unit, and the data When the determination unit determines that the data is not printable data, the received information resource is converted into the printable data. Network search means for searching through the network connection means, and data conversion means for converting the received information resource into the printable data by the searched conversion program. It is characterized by.
[0014]
Here, “a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers” refers to a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers, such as the Internet or an intranet, and includes a LAN. The “information resource” means, for example, a WWW server home page, an FTP server file, or the like. “Specific information” is information necessary for specifying information resources such as a home page and a document file, and corresponds to, for example, a file name (information resource name), an address, and the like. The network control means connects to the registered information resource via the network connection means and receives the information resource. The data determination unit determines whether the received information resource is data that can be printed by the print control unit.
[0015]
“Data that can be printed by the print control means” includes data that conforms to a print command (control code) installed in the print control means and data that conforms to another print command system that can be printed by an emulator. . In the case of printable data, it is printed by the print control means.
[0016]
On the other hand, if the received information resource is not described by a print command that can be printed directly on the print control means, the network search means uses a conversion program for converting data that cannot be printed directly into printable data. Search for. For example, in a network consisting of heterogeneous computers and peripheral devices interconnected, information resources described by various types of print commands are often distributed. There is a case where a conversion program for converting the data into the print command system is prepared for a server on the network or another printer shared by the network. Therefore, the network search means searches for the existence of the conversion program.
[0017]
If the conversion program is found as a result of the search, the data conversion means converts data that cannot be printed directly by this conversion program into printable data. Thus, the data converted to be printable is printed by the print control means. If the conversion program cannot be searched on the network, the designated information resource cannot be printed, so printing is not performed.
[0018]
By actively searching for the conversion program, printing can be performed even when the print control means does not directly implement the conversion program. Therefore, it is possible to save memory resources necessary for mounting programs and the like. The search for the conversion program can also be performed by using a directory service or the like that manages various resources distributed on the network.
[0019]
In the invention according to claim 2, the data conversion means transfers the received information resource to the conversion apparatus having the conversion program via the network connection means, and the received information to the conversion apparatus. It is characterized by requesting conversion of resources into the printable data.
[0020]
The conversion device having the conversion program searched by the network search means is instructed without increasing the load of the print control means by transferring the received information resource and requesting conversion to printable data. Information resources can be printed. Here, the “conversion device having a conversion program” means a computer or other printer on which the conversion program is installed.
[0021]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the data conversion means receives the conversion program and converts the received information resource into the printable data by the conversion program.
[0022]
Depending on the format of the conversion program installed in another printer or computer, the environment of the printing apparatus, etc., conversion processing can be performed in the printing apparatus by the conversion program. Thus, by receiving the converted conversion program and converting it into data that can be printed in the printing apparatus, various information resources can be printed without mounting various types of print commands in the print control means.
[0023]
In this case, as in the invention according to claim 4, the conversion program is preferably formed by an architecture neutral program language.
[0024]
“Architecture neutral programming language” refers to a programming language that does not depend on a specific architecture, and includes, for example, the Java language developed by Sun Microelectronics, Inc., USA. When the conversion program is formed by a program language that does not depend on a specific architecture such as the Java language, the conversion program can be easily executed on the printing apparatus side by mounting a virtual machine or the like for a predetermined language. Can be executed.
[0025]
In the invention according to claim 5, the network search means transmits a part of the received information resource to a conversion device set in advance, interprets the conversion program based on a response signal from the conversion device. It is characterized by searching.
[0026]
That is, a conversion device to be searched is set in advance. Then, when a part of the information resource is transmitted from the network search means to the conversion device, the conversion device tries to interpret it with its own conversion program. As a result, if interpretation is possible, a response signal indicating that interpretation is possible is sent from the conversion device to the network search means. If the interpretation is impossible, the conversion device sends a response signal that the interpretation is impossible to the network search means. Therefore, the network search means can know the location of the necessary conversion program based on the response signal from the conversion device. It is to be noted that a plurality of conversion devices are set in advance, and a part of the information resource is transmitted to each conversion device in a predetermined order to be interpreted, so that the location of a desired conversion program is searched by so-called try-and-error. can do.
[0027]
In the invention according to claim 6, the network control means receives a part of the data of the information resource via the network connection means, and the data resource is determined by the data determination means based on the part of the data. When it is determined that the data consists of the printable data, the remaining data of the information resource is received.
[0028]
Here, “partial data” refers to, for example, data of a portion that is first read from the server, and more preferably, a minimum amount of data necessary to determine whether or not the data is printable. Means. When it is determined whether or not the data is printable after receiving the entire information resource, if it is finally determined that printing is impossible, all the received data must be discarded. Therefore, by receiving the head data of the information resource and determining whether printing is possible, the communication time can be shortened and the communication resource can be used efficiently.
[0029]
In the invention which concerns on Claim 7, the link information determination means which determines whether the link information with other information resources is contained in the said information resource is provided, The said network control means is set to the set predetermined level. The linked information resource is received.
[0030]
For example, link information called an anchor is embedded in an information resource expressed in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), such as a home page provided by a WWW server. By accessing a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) designated by this anchor, other information resources can be received without being aware of the link relationship. Therefore, link information determination means for determining the presence or absence of link information in the information resource is provided, and when the link information is included, the desired information and related information can be obtained by receiving other linked information resources. Can be obtained as printed matter. For example, taking the home page as an example, the home page provides a simple introduction of the entire information resource, and the substantial contents are often linked as other information resources. Therefore, even if only a home page is received and printed, there is a possibility that effective information cannot be obtained as a printed matter. On the other hand, in the present invention, it is possible to trace and receive information resources linked to a predetermined level, so that desired information can be printed effectively. Here, the “predetermined level” means a tracking level of a link destination, and is intended to prevent unlimited printing of linked information resources.
[0031]
The invention according to claim 8 is a network-compatible printing method for receiving and printing information resources stored in each server connected to a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers, wherein the information resources are specified. Specific information necessary for the input, a step of connecting to the information resource of the input specific information via a network connection means, a step of receiving head data of the connected information resource, Determining whether the information resource is formed from data printable by a print control unit based on the head data; and, if the information resource is formed from printable data, the information Receiving the remaining data of the resource and printing it by the print control means; and the information resource is not formed from printable data. In this case, a search step for searching for a conversion program for converting the information resource into the printable data via the network connection means, and the printable data for the information resource by the searched conversion program And a conversion step for converting to.
[0032]
Thereby, the same effect as that of the invention according to claim 1 can be obtained.
[0033]
In the invention according to claim 9, in the conversion step, the information resource is transferred to the conversion apparatus having the conversion program via the network connection means, and the printable data of the information resource is transferred to the conversion apparatus. It is characterized by requesting conversion to.
[0034]
Thus, the same effect as that attained by the 2nd aspect can be attained.
[0035]
The invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that the conversion step receives the conversion program and converts the information resource into the printable data by the conversion program.
[0036]
Thus, the same effect as that attained by the 3rd aspect can be attained.
[0037]
In the invention according to claim 11, in the search step, a part of the received information resource is transmitted to and interpreted by a conversion device set in advance, and the conversion program is searched based on a response signal from the conversion device. It is characterized by doing.
[0038]
Thus, the same effect as that attained by the 5th aspect can be attained.
[0039]
In the invention which concerns on Claim 12, the step which determines whether the link information with other information resources is contained in the said information resource, The step which sets the receiving range level of other linked information resources, And receiving and printing the linked information resources up to the set reception range level.
[0040]
Thus, the same effect as that attained by the 7th aspect can be attained.
[0041]
In the invention according to claim 13, a host computer for instructing specific information of information resources stored in a server on the network, and the information resource of the specific information instructed by the host computer are connected to receive the information resources. A network printing system including a printer device for printing, and a print control means for performing printing by controlling a print engine based on input data, and specification of information resources instructed from the host computer Specific information registration means for registering information, network control means for connecting to the information resource of the registered specific information via the network connection means and receiving the information resource, and the received information resource is the print control means Data determining means for determining whether or not the data is formed from printable data, and A network search unit for searching for a conversion program for converting the received information resource into the printable data via the network connection unit when the data determination unit determines that the data is not printable data; Conversion request means for transferring the received information resource to the conversion device having the searched conversion program, and converting the received information resource into the printable data by the conversion device; and conversion by the conversion device Data return means for returning the printable data to the print control means.
[0042]
That is, the host computer instructs only specific information of information resources to be accessed to the printer apparatus, and reception and printing of the instructed information resources are executed by the printer apparatus. Accordingly, since the processing load on the host computer side is reduced, the resources of the host computer can be allocated to execution of other applications, and the efficiency of the entire printing system is improved. If data that cannot be printed because it cannot be directly interpreted by the printer device is received, the data of the information resource is transferred to the conversion device having the conversion program, and the data is printed by the conversion device. It is sent back to the printer after being converted. Therefore, software resources and hardware resources possessed by the entire printing system can be effectively used, and an efficient distributed processing type network printing system can be constructed.
[0043]
Here, for example, as in the case where the host computer and the printer device are connected to a common LAN line, a network connection unit unique to the host computer may be provided to perform data communication with the printer device via the network. Alternatively, the host computer may not be provided with a specific network connection means, and the host computer may be locally connected to the printer apparatus via the interface of the printer apparatus.
[0044]
In the invention which concerns on Claim 14, the link information determination means which determines whether the said information resource contains the link information with another information resource is provided, The said network control means is to the set predetermined level. The linked information resource is received.
[0045]
Thus, the same effect as that attained by the 7th aspect can be attained.
[0046]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same elements as those described in the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0047]
1. First embodiment
1 to 5 show a network printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network printing system according to this embodiment.
[0048]
1-1 Functional configuration on the printer side
A printer 1 as a network-compatible printing apparatus or “printer apparatus” according to the present embodiment is connected to a host computer 2 and configured to be connectable to the Internet 100. That is, the printer 1 is equivalent to the host computer 2 with respect to the Internet 100 and actively accesses the Internet 100 to download data. The printer 1 can collect information from the Internet 100 and can also be used as a local printer of the host computer 2. Although FIG. 1 shows that both the printer 1 and the host computer 2 can be connected to the Internet 100, the host computer 2 may be configured to connect to the printer 1 locally via another interface. .
[0049]
As will be described later, the printer 1 includes a network connection unit 3, a memory 4, a command interpretation unit 5, a print control unit 6, a print engine 7, a network control unit 8, and a registration unit 9. Yes.
[0050]
The network connection unit 3 as a “network connection unit” includes, for example, a LAN driver for connecting to the LAN 103, various protocol groups such as TCP / IP and HTTP, and various hardware such as Ethernet. Yes. The printer 1 can be connected to the host computer 2 and the Internet 100 via the network connection unit 3 or the like.
[0051]
The memory 4 stores data such as HTML documents downloaded from each server 101, data input from the host computer 2, and the like, and is managed by the memory management unit 4A.
[0052]
The command interpreting unit 5 as “data determining means” interprets the format of data downloaded from each server 101 and determines whether or not the downloaded data is data that can be printed by the print control unit 6. is there. Specifically, since the data described in a command system other than the print command system implemented by the print control unit 6 cannot be directly printed by the print control unit 6, the command interpretation unit 5 The download data is determined to be unprintable. If the print control unit 6 determines that the data cannot be printed directly, the command interpretation unit 5 notifies the network control unit 8 of the determination result.
[0053]
The print control unit 6 as a “print control unit” interprets data input from the server 101 or the host computer 2 to generate final print data, and based on control data such as line feed and page break and print data Then, printing is executed by controlling the print engine 7. The print control unit 6 can be mounted with an original print command (control code) system and an emulator for covering other command systems.
[0054]
The print engine 7 includes, for example, a paper feed mechanism, a print head, and the like, and performs printing on a print recording medium such as paper. As the print engine 7, various engines such as a page printer that prints in units of pages such as a laser printer, a serial printer that prints in units of one character such as an inkjet printer or a thermal transfer printer, and a line printer that prints in units of lines are used. be able to.
[0055]
The network control unit 8 as “network control means” controls access to the Internet 100 via the network connection unit 3. The network control unit 8 accesses a server 101 having a predetermined address stored in the registration unit 9 to download a desired information resource. Further, the internal functions of the network control unit 8 include a search unit 8A for performing a search for a conversion program, which will be described later, and a conversion unit 8B for performing data conversion by the conversion program. In the figure, address information necessary for specifying an information resource is expressed as an “address”.
[0056]
1-2 Functional configuration on the host computer side
As will be described later, the host computer 2 includes a network connection unit 11 and a printer driver 12 as components related to printing.
[0057]
The network connection unit 11 is for connecting to the LAN 103 and can perform bidirectional data communication with the printer 1 via the network connection unit 11 and the LAN 103. The host computer 2 can also be connected to the Internet 100 via the network connection unit 11, the LAN 103, the router 106, and the like.
[0058]
For example, the printer driver 12 interprets a source code input from an application program (abbreviated as “application” in the figure) 13 such as word processing software or drawing software by referring to a font memory or the like. Print data based on the print command system is generated. The internal functions of the printer driver 12 include an address specifying unit 12A as “address information instruction means” for instructing the address information of an information resource such as a URL to the printer 1, and a conversion unit for performing data conversion by a conversion program. 12B, an interpretation unit 12C that interprets the source code from the application program or the converted data from the conversion unit 12B, and a command generation that generates print data according to a predetermined print command system based on the interpretation result of the interpretation unit 12C Part 12D.
[0059]
1-3 Process flow
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a communication sequence when information resources are downloaded from the server 101 to the printer 1.
[0060]
First, after establishing a connection between the printer 1 and a predetermined server 101 designated in advance, the printer 1 requests the information resource of the server 101 to transmit head data.
[0061]
Here, the server 101 may be requested to transmit a preset number of data segments, but the head data can also be received by controlling the transmission timing of the acknowledgment signal. That is, every time the printer 1 receives one data segment, an acknowledgment signal including the sequence number of the data segment to be received next is transmitted to the server 101 side. Unless the response signal is returned, the next data segment is not transmitted from the server 101 side. Accordingly, the printer 1 transmits an acknowledgment signal until it receives a preset number of data segments, analyzes the head data obtained thereby, and requests transmission of the subsequent data segment. It's enough.
[0062]
Then, as a result of analyzing the first received head data, if it is determined that the information resource is composed of printable data, the printer 1 requests the server 101 to transmit the remaining data. . When the printer 1 receives all data, the connection is released. Although not shown in FIG. 2, when it is determined that printing is impossible at the stage of receiving the head data as described later, the connection is released without requesting transmission of subsequent data.
[0063]
Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing network printing processing by the printing system.
[0064]
First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as “S”) 1, the address designation unit 12A of the host computer 2 instructs the address information of the information resource to be accessed to the printer 1. Specifically, the user inputs desired address information via an input device (mouse, keyboard, etc.) of the host computer 2. Further, it is possible to use an address information registration sheet on which a plurality of address information is printed in advance, read the contents of the registration sheet with a scanner, a barcode reader, or the like, and selectively input the address information.
[0065]
The address information instructed in S1 is registered in the registration unit 9 of the printer 1 via the LAN 103 or the like. The network control unit 8 of the printer 1 refers to the registered address information and connects to a predetermined information resource (S2), and receives the top data of the information resource (S3). Specific modes of connection establishment and head data reception are as described above with reference to FIG.
[0066]
Next, in S4, based on the top data received as partial data of the information resource, it is determined whether or not the information resource such as a home page is composed of printable data. A specific example of the interpretability determination process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in S4 that the data is printable, the remaining information resource data is received (S5). The received information resource is printed by the print control unit 6 (S6). When the printing of the received information resource is completed, “YES” is determined in S7, and this program is terminated.
[0067]
On the other hand, when the head data received from the information resource in S3 is not data described by the print command system installed in the printer 1 or data covered by the emulator, the print control unit 6 directly transmits the data. It cannot be printed. Therefore, “NO” is determined in S4, and the search / conversion process is executed in S8.
[0068]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the search / conversion process shown as S8 in FIG.
[0069]
If the command interpretation unit 5 of the printer 1 determines that the data cannot be printed directly (S4), in S11, a conversion program for converting the data that cannot be printed directly into printable data is searched. To do.
[0070]
As the search method, at least two methods are conceivable.
[0071]
The first method is to provide a conversion program database that centrally manages the functions and location addresses of conversion programs in a unified manner, and inquires about the location of a desired conversion program from this database.
[0072]
In the second method, whether or not all or part of information resources can be transferred and converted to a conversion apparatus that may have a conversion program, for example, another network printer 105 or host computer 104. The conversion device is actually interpreted, and the location of the conversion program is found based on the response of the interpretation result.
[0073]
In the first method, since it is only necessary to query a database that centrally manages the location of the conversion program, the location of the desired conversion program can be searched in a short time. However, the construction and maintenance of a database that completely manages many kinds of conversion programs that are improved every day is costly and troublesome.
[0074]
In the second method, information resources are directly transferred to a conversion device that may have a conversion program, and the conversion device is searched for by executing whether or not the conversion device can interpret the information resource. -Due to the configuration of errors, there is a possibility that the search time will be longer, but it is possible to search easily.
[0075]
Either method may be adopted, but in this embodiment, the dynamic search is performed by the second method. That is, when a plurality of conversion devices such as the network printer 105 and the host computer 104 connected to the LAN 103 or the server 101 connected to the Internet 100 are registered in advance and data that cannot be printed directly is received, these are registered. When a part of the information resource is transferred to the conversion device and a response signal indicating that the information cannot be interpreted is received from the conversion device, a part of the information resource is transferred to the next registered conversion device. It has become.
[0076]
Accordingly, in S11, as shown in FIG. 4, a table in which addresses of a plurality of conversion devices are registered in advance is referred to. In S12, a part of data of the information resource received for the first conversion device, that is, All or part of the head data received in S3 is transferred.
[0077]
The conversion device that has received the data transferred from the printer 1 interprets the data (S13). If the data can be converted into data that can be printed by the printer 1, a response signal indicating that the data can be converted is received from the conversion device, and S13 is determined as “YES”. Therefore, the remaining data of the information resource is received on the printer 1 side (S14), this is transferred to the conversion device to request data conversion (S15), and the received data on the printer 1 side is discarded (S16). The conversion device interprets the transferred information resource and converts it into data in a format interpretable by the printer 1 (S17). The data converted to be printable by the conversion device is transferred from the conversion device to the printer 1. Here, in the conversion device, for example, the raster image data that can be interpreted by the printer 1 is converted into data following raster image data.
[0078]
On the other hand, if a response signal indicating that conversion is not possible is received from the conversion device that is called first, S13 determines “NO”, and in S19, whether all the conversion devices registered in advance have been searched or not. Determine. If all the conversion devices have not been tried, the process returns to S11 and the address of the next conversion device is referred to.
[0079]
If the conversion program cannot be searched even after checking all the conversion devices, the information resource instructed by the host computer 2 cannot be printed. Therefore, it is determined as “NO” in S 19, the received data on the printer 1 side is discarded (S 20), the unprintable process is performed, and the process ends (S 21). The unprintable process is performed, for example, by notifying the host computer 2 as data that the designated information resource could not be printed. Alternatively, a message indicating that printing could not be performed may be printed out.
[0080]
Next, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process for determining the possibility of interpreting a print command performed by the printer 1 or the conversion device, and is used by S4 in FIG. 3 and S13 in FIG.
[0081]
First, a predetermined amount of data DX is extracted from the received data (S31), and a print command held by itself is set (S32). Then, by interpreting the predetermined amount data DX by the set print command, the command created by the print command is found, and the total amount DL of the parts P1 to Pn that can be interpreted by the set print command is calculated. (S33). For all the print commands implemented in the printer 1 or the conversion device, the total amount DL of the interpretable part by each print command is calculated (S34).
[0082]
When the total amount DL of interpretable parts is obtained for all print commands, the ratio (DL / DX) of the total amount DL of interpretable parts in the predetermined amount data DX is calculated for each print command ( S35). Then, by comparing each of these ratios with a preset reference value α, it is determined whether or not there is a print command with DL / DX equal to or greater than the reference value α (S36). If there is a print command that is equal to or greater than the reference value α, in S37, it is determined that the received data can be interpreted by the print command, and the print command is selected. When there are a plurality of print commands that are equal to or greater than the reference value α, a print command that maximizes DX / DL is set. If there are a plurality of print commands having DL / DX close to “1”, the data size of the predetermined amount data DX cut out from the received data can be increased, and the processes of S31 to S38 can be performed again.
[0083]
On the other hand, if the DX / DL of any print command does not satisfy the reference value α, it is determined that the received data cannot be interpreted by the print command held by itself (S38).
[0084]
According to the present embodiment configured as described above, the user simply instructs the printer 1 via the host computer 2 the address information of the desired information resource, and access and reception of the designated information resource can be performed. Since it is executed by the printer 1, information resources on the network can be easily obtained as printed matter without the intervention of the host computer 2. Further, after instructing the address information of the information resource from the host computer 2, the host computer 2 is released from the flow of printing processing of the information resource, so the host computer 2 can execute another application program, Usability is improved.
[0085]
When the data received from the information resource is data that cannot be directly printed by the printer 1, a conversion program for converting the data that cannot be directly printed into printable data is activated on the network. In this configuration, it is not necessary to mount various kinds of print commands in the printer 1 in advance, so that the memory resources of the printer 1 can be saved, and the resources distributed on the network. Can be used effectively.
[0086]
In other words, a conversion program that is considered necessary can be mounted in advance on the printer 1 side, but in order to be able to support all data formats, it is necessary to mount various types of conversion programs. However, in order to mount many conversion programs on the printer 1, many memory resources must be installed on the printer 1, which increases costs. Further, when viewed from the entire distributed printing system using a network, if the same conversion program is repeatedly mounted on the server 101, the host computer 2, the network printer 105, and the printer 1, the system becomes redundant and efficient. is not.
[0087]
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, whether the conversion program is necessary and the search for the conversion program are executed on the printer 1 side, and the storage of the conversion program is performed by the server 101 or the like, using the network. Since a distributed printing system that shares each other's roles is constructed, memory resources and communication resources can be used effectively as the entire system.
[0088]
Further, addresses of a plurality of conversion devices (for example, the host computer 104, the network printer 105, and the server 101) are registered in advance in a registration table, and a part of information resources is allocated to each conversion device in a predetermined order such as the registration order. Since the transfer program is configured to search for the location of the conversion program based on a response signal indicating whether or not the conversion device can interpret, the conversion program can be easily and dynamically searched for in a so-called try-and-error manner.
[0089]
Also, rather than determining whether printing is possible after receiving the entire information resource, whether the first data of the information resource is received and whether direct printing is possible based on this partial head data Therefore, the communication time can be shortened and communication resources can be used efficiently.
[0090]
2. Second embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. A feature of this embodiment is that other information resources linked can be printed based on the link information in the information resource accessed first.
[0091]
FIG. 6 shows a functional configuration of the network printing system according to the present embodiment. The registration unit 21 of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment shows a tracking range of a link destination in addition to an address such as a URL. A tracking level as a “predetermined level” is registered. In addition, the printer driver 12 of the host computer 2 according to the present embodiment is provided with a level designation unit 22 for instructing the printer 1 of the tracking level for instructing the tracking range of the link destination. The level designation unit 22 can also be expressed as, for example, a level designation unit.
[0092]
Next, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the link relationship of information resources. For example, when the address information instructed to the printer 1 is the home page HPA of the server A, the printer 1 accesses the designated server A, and the source code of the home page HPA, that is, the source code described in the HTML format. Request transmission.
[0093]
The source code of the homepage HPA received by the printer 1 includes link information L1 and L2 called anchors. For example, the link information L1 indicates another page PA1 on the same server A as a link destination, and the other link information L2 indicates another homepage HPB on another server B as a link destination. Yes. Therefore, the printer 1 tracks the link information L1 and L2, so that information distributed over the network can be collected and printed. However, if the link destination is tracked for a long time, there is a possibility that a lot of information irrelevant to the initially desired information content may be included, and the communication time also increases. Therefore, the collection range of information resources can be narrowed by setting the tracking level in advance. For example, when the tracking level is set to “2”, the homepage HPA of server A can be traced to the homepage HPC of server C via homepage HPB of server B.
[0094]
Next, FIG. 8 is a flowchart of network printing processing according to this embodiment. The description of the same steps as those according to the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 3 is omitted.
[0095]
S41 that is characteristic of the present embodiment is executed when it is determined in S7 that printing has ended. That is, when it is determined as “YES” in S7, it is a case where printing of the information resource received by first accessing is completed. Therefore, after printing the first designated information resource, in S41, it is determined whether or not the information resource includes link information indicating a link relationship with another information resource. If link information is not included, S41 determines “NO” and ends the process.
[0096]
If link information is included in the initially specified information resource, it is determined in S42 whether or not the link tracking level is set. When the tracking level of the link destination is set in advance, the user desires to print not only the information resource specified first but also other linked information resources. Therefore, S42 is determined as “YES”, and in S43, address information of other linked information resources is set based on the link information, and the process returns to S2. As a result, the processing of S2 to S8 is repeated, and the linked information resource is printed. If all the information resources in the range designated as the tracking level are printed, or if new link information is not embedded in the information resource of the link destination, this processing ends.
[0097]
According to the present embodiment configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, since the linked information resource is also received and printed, desired information can be collected as a printed matter, improving usability. Since the link destination tracking level can be specified, it is possible to prevent unlimited printing and to collect information different from the information in the originally planned range.
[0098]
3. Third embodiment
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment is characterized in that when the converted conversion program can be executed on the printer 1 side, the conversion program is downloaded to the printer 1 and converted by the printer 1.
[0099]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing search / conversion processing according to the present embodiment. The same steps as those in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
[0100]
S51, which is characteristic of the present embodiment, is executed after a necessary conversion program has been found by S11 → S12 → S13 → S19, and thereby “YES” is determined in S13.
[0101]
In S51, it is determined whether or not the conversion program found by the search can be executed on the printer 1 side. That is, for example, when a conversion program is created by an architecture neutral program language such as Java language developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc., the conversion program has low dependency on a specific hardware environment and software environment. . Therefore, for example, when a predetermined interpreter or virtual machine is provided on the printer 1 side, this conversion program can be executed on the printer 1 side.
[0102]
If it is determined that the conversion program can be executed on the printer 1, the conversion program is downloaded from the conversion device (S52). Next, the remaining data of the information resource designated by the host computer 2 is received (S53), and the information resource is converted into printable data by the conversion program (S54).
[0103]
Also in the present embodiment configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the searched conversion program can be executed on the printer 1 side. If it is determined that the conversion program can be executed, the conversion program is downloaded to the printer 1. Since the information resource is converted into printable data in the printer 1, the information resource can be printed without increasing the processing load of the conversion device such as the host computer 104 or the network printer 105 that holds the conversion program. it can.
[0104]
A person skilled in the art can make various additions and modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in each embodiment. For example, not only the conversion program but also font resources can be searched in the same way, and a highly efficient network printing system can be constructed by further sharing software resources and hardware resources. It is also possible to store address information of information resources that have been registered in the past as history information, and specify the address information of information resources by referring to the history information. Furthermore, in each embodiment, the case where one piece of address information is designated first is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to configure so that address information of a plurality of information resources can be designated. In this case, a different link destination tracking level may be set for each designated address information. In addition to the name and address, the account information and password can be registered in advance as the address information.
[0105]
Further, the printer 1 is not limited to a printer-dedicated machine, and may be, for example, a multifunction machine having functions such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine.
[0106]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the network-compatible printing apparatus, printing method, and network printing system according to the present invention, the address information of a desired information resource can be specified in advance, and the information resource designated from the printing apparatus side can be obtained. If the data is actively accessed and cannot be printed by the print control means, the information resource is printed in order to search for a conversion program for conversion into printable data and execute the conversion process. Can be easily obtained, and network resources can be used effectively.
[0107]
Further, not only the designated information resource but also other information resources linked to the information resource can be received and printed, so that information in a desired range can be efficiently collected as printed matter. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a network printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence between a printer and a server.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing network printing processing for accessing a specified information resource and performing printing.
FIG. 4 shows a search / conversion process for searching for a conversion program for converting the data into printable data when the received data cannot be printed directly by the print control unit, and performing the conversion process. It is a flowchart.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for determining whether or not received data can be interpreted by a conversion program and print command that are held.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a network printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a link relationship of information resources.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating network printing processing.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing search / conversion processing of network printing processing according to the third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional network printer that passively processes print data input from a host computer.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Printer
2 Host computer
3 Network connection
5 Command interpretation part
6 Print controller
7 Print engine
8 Network controller
9 Registration Department
11 Network connection
12 Printer driver
12A addressing part
12B converter
21 Registration Department
22 Level specification part
100 Internet
101 server

Claims (10)

A network-compatible printing apparatus that is connected to a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers and receives and prints information resources stored in each of the servers,
Print control means for performing printing by controlling the print engine based on the input data;
Specific information registration means for registering specific information necessary for specifying the information resource;
Network control means for connecting to and receiving the registered information resources via network connection means;
Data determination means for determining whether or not the received information resource is formed from data printable by the print control means;
When the data determination unit determines that the data is not printable data, the network search unit searches for a conversion program for converting the received information resource into the printable data. Network search determination means for determining whether or not execution is possible;
A data conversion means for receiving the searched conversion program when the network search determination means determines that the execution is possible, and converting the received information resource into the printable data by the conversion program;
A network-compatible printing apparatus comprising:   The network-compatible printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion program is written in an architecture neutral program language.   The network search determining means transmits a part of the received information resource to a conversion device set in advance and interprets it, and searches for the conversion program based on a response signal from the conversion device. The network-compatible printing apparatus according to claim 1.   The network control unit receives a part of the data of the information resource via the network connection unit, and the information resource is configured from the printable data by the data determination unit based on the part of the data. 4. The network-compatible printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the information resource is received, the remaining data of the information resource is received. 5.   Link information determining means for determining whether or not link information with other information resources is included in the information resource, and the network control means receives the linked information resource to a predetermined level set. The network-compatible printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network-compatible printing apparatus is provided. A network-compatible printing method that is connected to a network formed by connecting a plurality of servers and receives and prints information resources stored in each of the servers,
Inputting specific information necessary to specify the information resource;
Connecting to the information resource of the input specific information via a network connection means;
Receiving head data of the connected information resource;
Determining whether the information resource is formed from data printable by a print control means based on the head data;
If the information resource is formed from the printable data, the remaining data of the information resource is received and printed by the print control means;
If the information resource is not formed from the printable data, a conversion program for converting the information resource into the printable data is searched through the network connection means, and the conversion program executes Determining whether it is possible;
Receiving the searched conversion program when the searched conversion program is determined to be executable, and converting the received information resource into the printable data by the conversion program;
A network-compatible printing method characterized by comprising:   The search step includes transmitting a part of the received information resource to a conversion device set in advance and interpreting it, and searching the conversion program based on a response signal from the conversion device. 7. The network-compatible printing method according to 6.   Determining whether the information resource includes link information with another information resource, and setting a reception range level of the other linked information resource, the set reception 8. The network-compatible printing method according to claim 6, wherein the linked information resource is received and printed up to a range level. A host computer for instructing specific information on information resources stored in a server on a network, and a printer device for connecting to the information resources for specific information instructed from the host computer and receiving and printing the information resources Network printing system,
Print control means for performing printing by controlling the print engine based on the input data;
Specific information registration means for registering specific information of an information resource instructed from the host computer;
Network control means for connecting to and receiving the registered information resources via network connection means;
Data determination means for determining whether or not the received information resource is formed from data printable by the print control means;
When the data determination unit determines that the data is not printable data, the network search unit searches for a conversion program for converting the received information resource into the printable data. Network search determination means for determining whether or not execution is possible;
A data conversion means for receiving the searched conversion program and converting the received information resource into the printable data when it is determined that the searched conversion program is executable;
A network printing system comprising:   Link information determining means for determining whether or not link information with other information resources is included in the information resource, and the network control means receives the linked information resource to a predetermined level set. The network printing system according to claim 9.

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