JP4903064B2 - Print control apparatus, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program.

  The printer driver is a program module for controlling the printer. The printer driver displays its GUI (Graphical User Interface) when printing a document from an application. For example, in a general Windows (registered trademark) application, when a print menu item in the file menu is selected, a print dialog is displayed by the application. When a property button in the print dialog is pressed, a printer driver GUI corresponding to the printer selected as the print destination, that is, a printer property dialog is displayed.

The display contents of the printer property dialog differ depending on the printer. This is because the print conditions that can be set differ for each printer. The printer driver plays a role of converting an application document into a printer language that can be interpreted by a printer, but the printer language that can be interpreted differs depending on the printer. Therefore, the user needs to install a printer driver corresponding to the printer used by the user.
JP 2002-366502 A JP 2003-280842 A

  However, in an environment where a plurality of printers are connected to a network such as an office, it is necessary to install a corresponding printer driver in each PC (Personal Computer) or the like, which is a heavy burden on a system administrator or the like. It was.

  Further, when the function is enhanced on the printer side, the printer driver on the PC side must be manually updated in order to cope with the function enhancement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program that can flexibly cope with differences in printer models and functional enhancements. Objective.

Accordingly, in order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a print language configuration command including configuration information of a print setting screen having a plurality of display components that accept input from a printer connected via a network, and input information for the display components . Information acquisition means for acquiring printer information having a plurality of program modules for conversion and storing the information in a storage device; display control means for constructing the print setting screen based on the configuration information and displaying the print setting screen on the display device; Conversion means for converting input information for the display component into the command using the program module, and the configuration information includes identification information of the program module that associates the display component with the program module. And the converting means receives the configuration information acquired by the information acquiring means. Wherein based on said program module identified by the identification information, and converting the input information inputted to the display component on the command, thereby executing the printing on the printer by sending the command to the printer to It is characterized by.

  In such a print control apparatus, it is possible to flexibly cope with differences in printer models and functional enhancement.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program that can flexibly cope with differences in printer models and function enhancement.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing system in embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 1, a printing system 1 is configured by connecting a host computer 10 and a printer 20 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) (whether wired or wireless). Although only one printer 20 is displayed in FIG. 1, a plurality of printers may be connected to the network.

  The host computer 10 is a computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) that issues a print instruction to the printer 20. In FIG. 1, software such as an application 11, a printer driver 12, and printer information 13 is installed in the host computer 10.

  The application 11 corresponds to a general application for creating a document to be printed, such as word processing software or spreadsheet software.

  The printer driver 12 displays a dialog for setting printing conditions corresponding to the printer 20 when printing of a document is instructed from the application 11 or the like. For example, in a general Windows (registered trademark) application, when a print menu item in the file menu is selected, a print dialog is displayed by the application. When a property button in the print dialog is pressed, a printer property dialog (print setting dialog) corresponding to the printer selected as the print destination is displayed. This dialog corresponds to one of the dialogs displayed by the printer driver 12.

  The printer driver 12 generates print data for causing the printer 20 to print the document of the application 11 based on the print conditions set in the print setting dialog. The print data is data in which commands in a printer language (PDL (Page Description Language) data or the like) that can be interpreted by the printer 20 are described. The print data generated by the printer driver 12 is transmitted to the printer 20.

  The printer information 13 includes information for executing processing for converting the configuration information (display information) of the dialog displayed by the printer driver 12 and the value (input information) input to the dialog into the printer language.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of printer information. In FIG. 3, the printer information 13 includes version information 131, UI information 132, functional module information 133, and the like. The version information 131 is information indicating the version of the printer information 13.

  The UI information 132 is configuration information of a dialog displayed by the printer driver 12. The UI information 132 defines the number of dialogs, and includes dialog information 1321 corresponding to the number of dialogs. The dialog information 1321 defines the dialog size, the number of dialog items, and item information 1322 corresponding to the number of dialog items as the configuration information of one dialog. Item information defines item type, item coordinates, initial value, maximum value, minimum value, corresponding function module identifier, and the like as display information and control information of one item (display component of dialog information). The item type is information for identifying the item type, such as a text box, a radio button, or a combo box. Item coordinates are information indicating a position where an item is arranged on the dialog. The initial value is an initial value set for the item. The maximum and minimum values are the maximum and minimum values that can be set for the item. The corresponding function module identifier is an identifier of a function module for converting information input to the item into a printer language. That is, each item is associated with a functional module by the corresponding functional module identifier.

  The functional module information 133 is information regarding functional modules, and is defined for the number of functional modules. The functional module information 133 includes a functional module identifier and a functional module entity. The function module identifier is created based on, for example, the OS type, PDL type, and function name. The entity of the functional module is a program module for converting information input to the item into a command in the printer language.

  The printer information 13 is downloaded from the printer 20 and stored in the storage device of the host computer 10. In a state where the printer information 13 has not been downloaded (hereinafter referred to as “initial state”), the screens that can be displayed by the printer driver 12 and the functions that can be executed are limited to parts that do not depend on the model or functional enhancement of the printer 20. It is done.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an initial state of the printer driver. As shown in FIG. 4, the printer driver 12 includes a UI module 121, a print module 122, and the like. The UI module 121 displays a dialog based on the UI information 132 included in the printer information 13. The print module 122 generates print data according to information set in the dialog displayed by the UI module 121 using the function module.

  Returning to FIG. The printer 20 is a so-called printer that prints a document based on print data transferred from the host computer 10. The printer 20 includes software such as a communication unit 21, a command parser unit 22, a print processing unit 23, and a printer information management unit 24.

  The communication unit 21 receives a command transferred from the host computer 10, transmits printer information of the printer 20 (information stored as printer information 13 in the host computer 10), and the like. Here, the command transferred from the host computer 10 includes a print information transfer request in addition to the print data. All the commands are described in the printer language.

  The command parser unit 22 interprets the command received by the communication unit 21 and controls processing according to the command. If the command is a print request (print data), the command parser unit 22 causes the print processing unit 23 to execute processing. If the command is a printer information transfer request, the command parser unit 22 acquires the printer information from the printer information management unit 24 and transmits the printer information to the host computer 10.

  The print processing unit 23 causes the printer 20 to print a document based on the print data. The printer information management unit 24 manages printer information unique to the printer 20 stored in the storage device of the printer 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the host computer according to the embodiment of the present invention. The host computer 10 in FIG. 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, a display device 106, and an input device 107, which are mutually connected by a bus B. And is configured to have.

  A program for realizing processing in the host computer 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 on which the program is recorded is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 104 implements functions related to the host computer 10 in accordance with programs stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. The display device 106 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like by a program. The input device 107 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used for inputting various operation instructions.

  The program need not be installed from the recording medium 101 and may be downloaded from another computer via a network.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the printing system 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the printer information transfer process.

  First, the printer driver 12 of the host computer 10 inquires about the version of printer information in the printer 20 (S101). The inquiry is transmitted to the printer 20 as a command in the printer language.

  Inquiries from the printer driver 12 are received by the communication unit 21 of the printer 20 and interpreted by the command parser unit 22. The command parser unit 22 acquires the version information 131 of the printer information from the printer information management unit 24 and transmits it to the printer driver 12 (S102).

  The printer driver 12 compares the version information 131 of the transferred printer information with the version information 131 of the printer information 13 stored in the host computer 10. If the transferred version information 131 is newer, the printer driver 12 transmits a command in the printer language for requesting transfer of the printer information to the printer 20 (S103).

  The printer information transfer request from the printer driver 12 is received by the communication unit 21 of the printer 20 and interpreted by the command parser unit 22. The command parser unit 22 acquires printer information from the printer information management unit 24 and transmits it to the printer driver 12 (S104).

  Note that the printer information 13 may be acquired periodically by the printer driver 12, or may be performed when a print setting dialog or the like is displayed, as will be described later.

  Next, processing when the host computer 10 requests display of the print setting dialog will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the printer driver when the print setting dialog is displayed.

  When the display of the print setting dialog is requested, the printer driver 12 acquires the version information 131 of the printer information of the printer 20 (S201). Subsequently, the printer driver 12 determines whether the printer 20 has been updated by comparing the version information 131 of the printer information 13 in the host computer 10 with the version information 131 of the acquired printer information (S202). ). That is, when function enhancement or the like is applied to the printer 20, printer information in the printer 20 is also updated if print settings are affected.

  If the version information acquired from the printer 20 is newer (Yes in S202), the printer driver 12 acquires the printer information as shown in FIG. 3 from the printer 20 (S203), and the printer information is used as the printer information 13 Is stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 (S204). Note that the processing in steps S201 to S204 corresponds to the processing described in FIG. Steps S201 and S202 may be performed when the printer information 13 has already been downloaded to the host computer 10.

  On the other hand, if the printer 20 has not been updated (No in S202), if the printer information 13 has already been downloaded to the host computer 10 (Yes in S209), the printer information is acquired from the printer 20. Absent.

  Subsequent to Yes in step S204 or step S209, the UI module 121 of the printer driver 12 constructs a print setting dialog based on the UI information 132 of the printer information 13 (S205) and displays it on the display device 106 (S206). ).

  When print conditions are set in the print setting dialog and a print execution instruction is input, the print module 122 of the printer driver 12 specifies the corresponding function module based on the corresponding function module identifier defined for each item. By executing the function module, input information for the print setting dialog is converted into print data constituted by commands in the printer language (S207), and the print data is transmitted to the printer 20 (S208).

  By downloading the printer information 13, the configuration of the printer driver 12 is as follows, for example. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printer driver after downloading the printer information.

  In FIG. 7, color setting UI information 132 a and resolution setting UI information 132 b are shown as UI information 132. The color setting UI information 132a corresponds to dialog information 1321 for color setting. The resolution setting UI information 132b corresponds to the dialog information 1321 for resolution setting. In this case, the UI module 121 of the printer driver 12 displays a print setting dialog based on the color setting UI information 132a, the resolution setting UI information 132b, and the like.

  In FIG. 7, color setting module information 133 a and resolution setting module information 133 b are shown as the function module information 133. Therefore, the print module 122 of the printer driver 12 converts the setting contents for the color setting dialog 1321 into a command in the printer language using the function module included in the color setting module information 133a. Further, the print module 122 converts the setting contents for the resolution setting dialog 1322 into a command in the printer language using the function module included in the resolution setting module information 133b.

  As described above, according to the printing system 1 in the present embodiment, information related to the dialog for performing print settings is downloaded from the printer 20. Also, when the information is updated, it is automatically downloaded again. Therefore, even when the function enhancement of the printer 20 is performed and the print setting screen is changed, the print setting screen corresponding to the function enhancement is unaware of the update of the printer driver 12 for each host computer 10. Can be displayed.

  Further, not only the configuration information of the print setting screen but also the program module for converting the input information for the print setting screen into a command in the printer language is downloaded from the printer 20, so that not only the display contents are updated by the printer driver 12. The processing contents are automatically updated.

  In an environment where there are a plurality of printers of different models, the printer information may be stored for each printer, and the printer information may be returned in response to a request from the printer driver 12. By doing so, the printer driver 12 can execute display and processing corresponding to each model by referring to the printer information of each model.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the host computer in embodiment of this invention. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of printer information. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an initial state of a printer driver. FIG. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for describing printer information transfer processing; 6 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a printer driver when a print setting dialog is displayed. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer driver after downloading printer information. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing system 10 Host computer 11 Application 12 Printer driver 13 Printer information 20 Printer 21 Communication part 22 Command parser part 23 Print processing part 24 Printer information management part 100 Drive apparatus 101 Recording medium 102 Auxiliary storage apparatus 103 Memory apparatus 104 Arithmetic processing apparatus 105 Interface device 106 Display device 107 Input device 121 UI module 122 Printing module B Bus

Claims (9)

Printer having configuration information of a print setting screen having a plurality of display parts for receiving input from a printer connected via a network, and a plurality of program modules for converting input information for the display parts into commands in a printer language Information acquisition means for acquiring information and storing it in a storage device;
Display control means for constructing the print setting screen based on the configuration information and displaying it on a display device;
Conversion means for converting input information for the display component into the command using the program module;
The configuration information includes identification information of the program module that associates the display component with the program module,
The conversion means converts the input information input to the display component into the command based on the program module specified by the identification information included in the configuration information acquired by the information acquisition means,
A print control apparatus that causes the printer to execute printing by transmitting the command to the printer. Determining means for determining whether or not the printer information is updated;
The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires the printer information when the printer information is updated.   The determination unit acquires version information of the printer information from the printer, and compares the acquired version information with the version information of the printer information stored in the storage device to determine whether or not the update has been performed. The print control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination is made. A printing control method executed by a computer,
Printer having configuration information of a print setting screen having a plurality of display parts for receiving input from a printer connected via a network, and a plurality of program modules for converting input information for the display parts into commands in a printer language An information acquisition procedure for acquiring information and storing it in a storage device;
A display control procedure for constructing the print setting screen based on the configuration information and displaying the print setting screen on a display device;
A conversion procedure for converting the input information for the display component into the command using the program module;
The configuration information includes identification information of the program module that associates the display component with the program module,
The conversion procedure converts the input information input to the display component into the command based on the program module specified by the identification information included in the configuration information acquired by the information acquisition procedure,
A printing control method for causing the printer to execute printing by transmitting the command to the printer. A determination procedure for determining whether or not the printer information is updated;
The print control method according to claim 4, wherein the information acquisition procedure acquires the printer information when the printer information is updated.   The determination procedure acquires version information of the printer information from the printer, and compares the acquired version information with the version information of the printer information stored in the storage device to determine whether or not the update has been performed. The printing control method according to claim 5, wherein the determination is performed. On the computer,
Printer having configuration information of a print setting screen having a plurality of display parts for receiving input from a printer connected via a network, and a plurality of program modules for converting input information for the display parts into commands in a printer language An information acquisition procedure for acquiring information and storing it in a storage device;
A display control procedure for constructing the print setting screen based on the configuration information and displaying the print setting screen on a display device;
A conversion procedure for converting the input information input to the display component into the command based on the program module associated with the display component based on the identification information included in the configuration information acquired by the information acquisition procedure. Print control program to be executed. A determination procedure for determining whether or not the printer information is updated;
The print control program according to claim 7, wherein the information acquisition procedure acquires the printer information when the printer information is updated.   The determination procedure acquires version information of the printer information from the printer, and compares the acquired version information with the version information of the printer information stored in the storage device to determine whether or not the update has been performed. The printing control program according to claim 8, wherein the determination is made.

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