JP4974836B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus or the like for printing form data.

As an information processing device for printing conventional form data, an arbitrary color is set according to the form type and the contents of its item cell, and an identification color such as a color tag is printed in any specified area of the form Etc. were known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-297801 (first page, FIG. 1 etc.)

  However, in the conventional information processing apparatus, the print destination of the form information to be printed is set by the printer designated as the default for the application software for processing the form, or once the form is printed by the user The last printed printer etc. For this reason, for example, even if the information processing apparatus is in an environment where a plurality of printers connected via a network can be used, the printer from which the form is output is determined for each application software. However, there is a problem that it is not easy to print each form that can be printed using a printer suitable for each form.

  For example, even if a certain application software can output to a printer a color form that is preferably printed by a color printer and a monochrome form that is preferably printed by a monochrome printer, If the default printer is designated as a monochrome printer, and if the user prints these forms without specifying the printer, color forms will be output in monochrome, and printing is performed using the optimal printer. It cannot be said that it was done.

  Also, in such a case, it is possible for the user to appropriately specify a printer to be used for printing for each form, and in such a case, which form is output from which printer, Depending on the judgment of each user, the form may not always be printed from an appropriate printer. In addition, if it is left to the judgment of each user in this way, the print destination of the form cannot be managed in a unified manner, and the same form is output with different print results, and the sense of unity for each form is lost. .

  Also, when specifying the print destination of multiple application software, it is necessary to individually specify the print destination by starting each application once and changing the initial settings, or once performing printing or previewing. There is a problem that it takes time to specify the printing destination. In particular, when the same print destination is designated for a plurality of information processing apparatuses including the same application, the designation of the print destination performed for the application of the one information processing apparatus is designated as another information processing apparatus. It was also necessary to repeat the process, and it took time to specify the printing destination.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction for one or more forms, a plurality of printing units that print form data that is data of the one or more forms, and the one or more forms. A printing unit management information storage unit that can store printing unit management information that is information indicating correspondence with the plurality of printing units; a user identification information acquisition unit that acquires user identification information that is information for identifying a user; One or more user-specific printing units that are associated with the user identification information and that can store user-specific printing unit management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units. The management information storage unit and the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit according to the print instruction When the information indicating the correspondence between the specified form and the printing part is included, the printing data corresponding to the form specified by the printing instruction is printed using the user-specific printing part management information. If the printing unit to be determined is not included and information indicating the correspondence is not included, the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit is used to correspond to the form designated by the printing instruction. A printing destination determining unit that determines a printing unit as a printing unit that prints form data, a form data storage unit that can store the form data specified by the print instruction, and the form data specified by the print instruction And a print processing unit that reads out from the form data storage unit and outputs to the printing unit determined by the printing destination determination unit.

  With this configuration, the form data can be printed by the printing unit corresponding to the form without starting up each application once and changing the printing destination, and printing suitable for each form can be easily performed. . In addition, when there is designation for each form for all users and individual users, it is possible to prioritize the printing unit designated by the user over the printing unit designated by all users. In addition, when it is not necessary to specify individual users for each form, for example, when all users use a common printing unit, all users can be specified as forms by specifying each form as all users. The print data can be printed by the corresponding printing unit.

  In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus, a print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction for one or more forms hierarchized in a tree structure, and form data that is data of the one or more forms A plurality of printing sections that perform printing, the one or more forms, a printing section management information storage section that can store printing section management information that is information indicating a correspondence relationship between the plurality of printing sections, and the form tree The printing unit designation receiving unit that receives the designation of the printing unit for the node of the structure, the printing unit that associates one or more forms of the subtree of the node that has accepted the designation of the printing unit, and the designated printing unit A printing unit designation storage unit that accumulates management information in the printing unit management information storage unit, and a printing unit corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction using the printing unit management information, A printing destination determination unit that determines a printing unit that prints data, a form data storage unit that can store form data designated by the print instruction, and form data designated by the print instruction from the form data storage unit And a print processing unit that reads and outputs to a printing unit determined by the printing destination determination unit.

  With this configuration, the user can specify the printing unit that prints a hierarchically formed form for each form node, so the form can be easily specified and is suitable for each form. Printing can be performed easily.

  According to the information processing apparatus and the like according to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform printing suitable for each form.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an information processing apparatus and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the component which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in embodiment performs the same operation | movement, description may be abbreviate | omitted again.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

  The information processing apparatus 1 includes a print instruction receiving unit 101, one or more printing units 102, a printing unit management information storage unit 103, a printing destination determination unit 104, a form data storage unit 105, a print processing unit 106, and one or more user identification information. An acquisition unit 111 and a user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 are provided. Here, for convenience, one or more printing units 102 are represented as 102a, 102b, 102c, etc., and one or more user-specific printing unit management information storage units 112 are represented as 112a, 112b, 113c, etc. However, the number of the printing units 102 and the user-specific printing unit management information storage units 112 may be two or more. Further, the one or more user-specific print unit management information storage units 112 may be physically realized by a single storage unit.

  In addition to the above, the information processing apparatus 1 executes a processing unit (not shown) that executes application software and the like, processes an input, receives an input to the form (not shown), and receives a form. You may provide suitably the display part (not shown) etc. which are displayed on a screen etc. Note that these processing units, input receiving units, display units, and the like are well-known techniques and will not be described.

  The print instruction receiving unit 101 receives a print instruction for one or more forms. The print instruction is, for example, a combination of information for instructing printing and information for specifying a form to be printed. The form is, for example, a book or a slip. The form described here may be printed on paper or the like, or may be an electronic form displayed on a monitor screen or the like. An input form or the like for inputting form data may be considered as a form. Specifically, the book is a table in which necessary information regarding transactions and the like is entered, for example, the movement of money, deposits, goods, and the like. The slip is filled with information for notifying the contents of the transaction or the like. Usually, the book has a fixed format according to the intended use and the destination. The form may be interpreted as a data group having a predetermined layout. Here, as an example, it is assumed that form identification information that is identification information for identifying the form is assigned to the form. The form identification information only needs to be information that can identify forms, and is, for example, a form name or a number assigned to the form. The form identification information may be a combination of identification information corresponding to a menu executable by the information processing apparatus 1 and form identification information usable in the menu. The print instruction may be, for example, a combination of form identification information of a form to be printed and information for instructing printing, such as a command. Further, the print instruction may be information that instructs the information processing apparatus 1 to print the form currently displayed on a monitor screen (not shown). If the form to be printed can be specified without specifying the form as in the case of printing the form data currently displayed, the information for specifying the form data to be printed in the print instruction is It can be omitted. The reception described here is, for example, reception from an input unit, reception of an input signal transmitted from another device, reading of information from a recording medium, or the like. The printing instruction input means may be anything such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, mouse, or menu screen. The print instruction receiving unit 101 can be realized by a device driver for input means such as a numeric keypad or a keyboard, control software for a menu screen, and the like.

  The printing unit 102 prints form data that is data of one or more forms. The form data is specifically data such as numbers and character strings constituting the form. In addition to these data, the form data may include information such as ruled lines and images when the form is displayed or printed. The form data is usually used for outputting, for example, displaying or printing the form. For example, the form data is table data including numbers and character strings configured using ruled lines or the like. The form data may be data in any format such as image data or text data. Here, the form data corresponding to the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit 101, that is, the form data specified by the print instruction is printed. The printing unit 102 may appropriately convert the form data into data that can be used for printing, such as bitmap data for printing. The printing unit 102 has a storage medium such as a buffer (not shown), for example, and the form data may be temporarily spooled in the storage medium. The printing unit 102 may or may not include a printer. The printing unit 102 can be realized by printer driver software or printer driver software and an output device. Moreover, software etc. which instruct | indicate a printing to a driver may be sufficient. Note that the number of printing units 102 may be two or more. Further, it is assumed that printing unit identification information, which is identification information for enabling the printing units 102 to be distinguished from each other, is assigned to each printing unit 102. The printing unit identification information is, for example, the name of the printing unit 102, the name of a printer (not shown) that performs printing by the printing unit 102, the number assigned to the printing unit 102, and the like.

  The printing unit management information storage unit 103 can store printing unit management information that is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms and a plurality of printing units 102. Specifically, the print unit management information is information for managing one print unit 102 in association with one form. For example, the form identification information of one form and the print unit corresponding to this form The printing unit identification information 102 is stored in association with each other. Specifically, in the printing unit management information, for example, corresponding form identification information and printing unit identification information are managed as two attribute values of one record. Here, in particular, the print unit management information stored in the print unit management information storage unit 103 is common to a plurality of users capable of printing a form, for example, all users or a user group. It is assumed that the information indicates the correspondence between one or more forms common to the group and a plurality of printing units 102. The printing unit management information storage unit 103 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The user identification information acquisition unit 111 acquires user identification information for identifying a user. The user identification information is, for example, a user name, a user employee number, an address of an input terminal used by the user, or the like. In addition, it is not always necessary to have a one-to-one correspondence with the user. For example, the user identification information may be identification information corresponding to a department to which the user belongs, a user's job title, responsibility, or the like. It does not matter how the user identification information acquisition unit 111 acquires user identification information. For example, logon identification information such as a user ID input when starting the information processing apparatus 1 or application software that processes a form executed by the information processing apparatus 1 may be acquired as user identification information. Further, the print instruction receiving unit 101 or a not-shown receiving unit receives user identification information together with the print instruction or after receiving the print instruction, and the user identification information acquiring unit 111 acquires the user identification information. May be. The user identification information acquisition unit 111 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the user identification information acquisition unit 111 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The user-specific printing part management information storage unit 112 is associated with user identification information, and stores user-specific printing part management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between one or more forms and a plurality of printing parts 102. obtain. For example, the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 only needs to receive the same number as the number of users who can print a form, or a number less than that. Specifically, the printing unit management information for each user is information for managing one print unit 102 in association with one form data. For example, the form identification information of one form data and the form data Is stored in association with the printing unit identification information of the printing unit 102 corresponding to the. Specifically, in the user-specific printing part management information, for example, corresponding form identification information and printing part identification information are managed as two attribute values of one record. The user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 is, for example, a management for managing the correspondence between the identification information of the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 stored in a memory (not shown) and the user identification information. Information is managed by using, for example, user-specific storage management information. The user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The print destination determination unit 104 includes a print instruction reception unit 101 that adds user-specific print unit management information stored in the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 111. When information indicating a correspondence relationship between the form designated by the received print instruction and the print unit is included, the print unit 102 corresponding to the form corresponding to the print instruction is displayed using the print unit management information for each user. When the printing unit 102 for printing the form data is determined and the information indicating the correspondence is not included, the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103 is used to designate the printing data. The printing unit 102 corresponding to the form is determined as the printing unit that prints the form data. Specifically, first, the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 111 is detected using the above-described user-specific storage unit management information or the like. Then, the detected user-specific print part management information stored in the user-specific print part management information storage unit 112 is read into a memory or the like, and the search is performed using the form identification information corresponding to the form data specified by the print instruction as a search key. Do. As a result of the search, when printing section identification information of a record including matching form identification information is detected, the printing section 102 that prints the form data designated by the printing instruction is used as the printing section 102 corresponding to the printing section identification information. To decide. In addition, as a result of the search, if print section identification information of a record including matching form identification information is not detected, printing section management information is stored using the form identification information corresponding to the form data specified by the print instruction as a search key. The printing unit management information stored in the unit 103 is searched, and the printing unit identification information of the record including the matching form identification information is acquired as the printing unit identification information of the printing unit 102 that performs printing. As a result, the printing unit 102 corresponding to the acquired printing unit identification information is determined to be the printing unit 102 that prints the form data designated by the printing instruction. The printing destination determination unit 104 can be usually realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the printing destination determination unit 104 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The form data storage unit 105 can store form data that is data used for printing forms. It does not matter how the form data is stored in the form data storage unit 105. For example, the form data obtained by using the information processing apparatus 1 using the query or the like as the data used for the form from a database or the like in which data used for one or more forms is stored may be accumulated. Further, form data that is data obtained by reading a record of a database prepared for each form may be accumulated. There is no limitation on the timing at which the form data is accumulated in the form data storage unit 105. For example, when a print instruction is received, form data corresponding to the print instruction may be configured and stored by the information processing apparatus 1. Further, it may be configured and accumulated to display the form data on a monitor or the like before accepting the print instruction. The form data storage unit 105 may be a nonvolatile storage medium such as a hard disk or a volatile storage medium such as a memory. For example, the form data storage unit 105 is a storage medium such as a memory for temporarily storing form data that is configured for processing a form by a processing unit that executes application software of the information processing apparatus 1. Alternatively, the display unit or the like may be a storage medium such as a VRAM that temporarily stores form data for display. Further, it may be a storage medium such as a hard disk or an optical disk for storing the form data.

  The print processing unit 106 reads out the form data designated by the print instruction from the form data storage unit 105 and outputs it to the printing unit 102 determined by the printing destination determination unit 104. The output here is a concept including passing form data to the printing unit 102 and writing the form data in a memory area or the like for temporarily spooling data used for printing by the printing unit 102. . The print processing unit 106 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the print processing unit 106 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the print unit management information is stored in advance in the print unit management information. Further, it is assumed that the form data storage unit 105 stores form data.

  (Step S200) The user identification information acquisition unit 111 acquires user identification information. For example, a user ID or the like input when logging in to the information processing apparatus 1 or the like is acquired as user identification information.

  (Step S201) The print instruction receiving unit 101 determines whether a print instruction has been received. This print instruction is an instruction including form identification information that is identification information of a form to be printed. Here, as an example, the form identification information is a combination of a form ID number and a menu ID number that is identification information of a menu that can be used by calling the form (for example, a menu corresponding to an execution file that reads the form). It shall consist of For example, when a user gives an instruction to print a form used in a menu while executing a certain menu, the form identification information including a combination of the ID number of this menu and the ID number of the form data is included. The print instruction receiving unit 101 receives a print instruction. For example, the print instruction is a combination of the form identification information and the print command. When the print instruction receiving unit 101 receives a print instruction, the process proceeds to step S202.

  (Step S202) The printing destination determination unit 104 acquires form identification information from the printing instruction received in step S201.

  (Step S203) The printing destination determination unit 104 detects the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information acquired in step S200. For example, by using the user identification information as a search key, search for user-specific storage unit management information for managing the correspondence between the user identification information and the identification information of the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112, and use the user identification information as the user identification information. The identification information of the corresponding user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 is detected.

  (Step S204) Using the form identification information acquired in step S202 as a search key, the printing destination determination unit 104 adds the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 detected in step S203. On the other hand, a search is performed for print unit management information for each user associated with the form identification information that matches the search key.

  (Step S205) The printing destination determination unit 104 determines whether there is printing unit identification information including form identification information that matches the search key. If there is, the process proceeds to step S206, and if not, the process proceeds to step S209.

  (Step S206) The printing destination determination unit 104 acquires printing unit identification information from the printing unit management information for each user determined to match in step S205.

  (Step S207) The print processing unit 106 reads out the form data corresponding to the form identification information included in the print instruction received in Step S201 from the form data storage unit 105, and corresponds to the printing unit identification information acquired by the printing destination determination unit 104. To the printing unit 102.

  (Step S208) The printing unit 102 to which the form data is transferred in Step S207 prints the form data. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S209) The printing destination determination unit 104 uses the form identification information acquired in step S202 as a search key, and uses the form identification information that matches the search key from the print part management information stored in the print part management information storage unit 103. The print unit identification information associated with is acquired by searching. Then, the process proceeds to step S207.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process is terminated by powering off or a process termination interrupt.

  Hereinafter, a specific operation of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the information processing apparatus. Here, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus 1 is connected to a plurality of printers 2 that are printing devices. Each printer 2 is associated with each printing unit 102 of the information processing apparatus 1 on a one-to-one basis, and each printing unit 102 prints form data from the associated printer 2. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the printing unit 102a performs printing using the printer a, the printing unit 102b uses the printer b, and the printing unit 102c uses the printer c. Here, it is assumed that the user identification information is a user ID used for authentication at the time of login to the information processing apparatus 1.

  First, when the user A inputs “38002” that is a user ID to the information processing apparatus 1 and logs on, the user identification information acquisition unit 111 acquires the user identification information that is the user ID.

  Next, when the user selects a menu for performing a process for handling a payment slip from among executable menus of the information processing apparatus 1, a program corresponding to the menu for handling a payment slip is displayed in the MPU (not shown) in the information processing apparatus 1. Etc. are executed.

  Next, it is assumed that by operating the menu, the user gives an instruction to the information processing apparatus 1 to display a form with the name “total balance trial calculation table” whose ID assigned to the form is “100”. .

  An MPU (not shown) in the information processing apparatus 1 responds to selection of an instruction to display a form by the user, among form data stored in advance on a hard disk (not shown), that is, form data designated by the user, that is, a form. The form data “total balance trial calculation table” whose ID is “100” is read into a memory (RAM) or the like and displayed on a monitor or the like. Here, it is assumed that the memory in which the read form data is temporarily stored is the form data storage unit 105.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the form data “total balance trial calculation table” displayed on a monitor (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 1.

If the user operates the menu of the information processing apparatus 1 and gives the information processing apparatus 1 an instruction to print the currently displayed form, the print instruction receiving unit 101 prints the currently displayed form. The print instruction to be accepted is accepted. The printing destination determination unit 104 acquires the form identification information of the form specified by the print instruction. Here, the form identification information of the form currently displayed is acquired from, for example, the form data storage unit 105 or a processing unit (not shown) that performs processing for display. Instead of accepting a print instruction for the currently displayed form, the user may directly accept the form identification information of the form desired to be printed. This form identification information may be included in the print instruction.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the form identification information acquired by the printing destination determination unit 104. Here, the form identification information is composed of a combination of attributes “menu ID” and “form ID”. The “menu ID” is identification information of the menu from which the form data is read, and here, it is assumed that the “menu ID” is “03” that is an ID corresponding to the menu that handles the accounting form. “Form ID” is an ID of a form that can be used in accordance with the menu, and is “100” as described above.

  FIG. 6 is a user-specific storage unit management table for managing the correspondence between the user identification information and the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112. The user-specific storage unit management table has attributes of “ID”, “user identification information”, and “user-specific storage unit identification information”. “ID” is identification information for managing records. “User identification information” is the above-described user identification information. “User-specific storage unit identification information” is user-specific storage unit identification information that is identification information of the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112. For example, the user-specific storage unit identification information of the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112a is “U001”, the user-specific storage unit identification information of the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112b is “U002”, and the like. The attribute value of “user identification information” and the attribute value of “user-specific storage unit identification information” of the same record indicate the corresponding user identification information and user-specific printing unit identification information.

  Next, the printing destination determination unit 104 detects the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 111. Specifically, in the user-specific printing section management table shown in FIG. 6, a record having the same attribute value of “user identification information” is searched using the user identification information “38002” as a search key. Here, a record whose “ID” is “002” is searched. Then, the printing destination determining unit 104 acquires “U001” that is “user-specific storage unit identification information” of the retrieved record. Accordingly, it is determined that the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 b whose “user-specific storage unit identification information” is “U001” is the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user A.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing user-specific print unit management information stored in the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112b. The print unit management information has attributes of “menu ID”, “form ID”, and “print unit ID”. The “menu ID” and “form ID” are the same as those in FIG. The “printing part ID” is printing part identification information of the printing part 102 used for printing the form data. Here, it is assumed that the form data is printed in the printing unit 102 corresponding to the “printing part ID” of the record determined by the form identification information that is a combination of the “menu ID” and the “form ID”. Here, for example, the “printing part ID” of the printing part 102a is “P001”, the “printing part ID” of the printing part 102b is “P002”, the “printing part ID” of the printing part 102c is “P003”, and the like. . The “printing part ID” may be identification information of a printer from which each printing part outputs a printed matter, such as an address on a network.

  Next, the print destination determination unit 104 acquires the form identification information of the print instruction received by the print instruction reception unit 101, here, the combination of the menu ID “01” and the form ID “100” illustrated in FIG. . Then, using this form identification information as a search key, a record that matches the search key is searched in the print unit management information stored in the print unit management information storage unit 112b for each user. Here, a record in which the attribute value of “menu ID” is “01” and the attribute value of “form ID” is “100” is detected. Then, the “printing part ID” of the matching record is read out. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, since the “printing section ID” of the matching record is “P002”, the printing destination determining unit 104 reads “P002”. This “P002” is print section identification information corresponding to the print instruction.

  Next, the print processing unit 106 receives from the form data storage unit 105 the form data designated by the print instruction accepted by the print instruction accepting unit 101, here the print instruction is a print instruction for the form being displayed. , Currently used for display. The form data, which is form data, is read and transferred to the printing unit 102 having the printing destination identification information “P002” determined by the printing destination determination unit 104. Here, since the printing unit 102 whose printing unit identification information is “P002” is the printing unit 102b, it passes the form data to the printing unit 102b.

  The printing unit 102b forms printing data using the form data passed from the print processing unit 106, and prints the form data from the printer 2 corresponding to the printing unit 102b.

  Here, for example, in the printing unit management information for each user stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 112b for each user shown in FIG. 7, the attribute value of “menu ID” is “01” and the “form ID” is set. It is assumed that there is no record whose attribute value is “100”.

  In this case, the printing destination determination unit 104 cannot detect a record in which the attribute value of “menu ID” is “01” and the attribute value of “form ID” is “100”.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103. Details of the printing unit management information are the same as the printing unit management information for each user shown in FIG.

  For this reason, the printing destination determination unit 104 determines the menu ID “01” and the form ID “100” shown in FIG. 5 from the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103 shown in FIG. The printing unit identification information corresponding to the form identification information combined with the above is searched, and the process of determining the printing destination is performed. Specifically, a record in which the attribute value of “menu ID” is “01” and the attribute value of “form ID” is “100” is detected from the printing unit management information, and the “printing unit” of the detected record is detected. Read “ID”. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, since the “printing part ID” of the matching record is “P001”, the printing destination determining unit 104 reads “P001”. This “P001” is print unit identification information corresponding to the print instruction.

  Next, the print processing unit 106 receives from the form data storage unit 105 the form data designated by the print instruction accepted by the print instruction accepting unit 101, here the print instruction is a print instruction for the form being displayed. , Currently used for display. The form data, which is form data, is read and transferred to the printing unit 102 having the printing destination identification information “P001” determined by the printing destination determination unit 104. Here, since the printing unit 102 having the printing unit identification information “P001” is the printing unit 102a, the form data is transferred to the printing unit 102a.

  The printing unit 102a configures printing data using the form data passed from the print processing unit 106, and prints the form data from the printer 2 corresponding to the printing unit 102a.

  In the above specific example, the printing unit management information for each user stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 112 for each user is written out from an output unit (not shown) or the like as one file or the like. It may be received from the reception unit or the like and stored in the desired user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112. With such a configuration, the user-specific print section management information set for other users can be copied to other users via a file or the like, and labor for setting the user-specific print section management information Can be reduced.

  In the above specific example, the form identification information is a combination of “menu ID” and “form ID”, but the form identification information may be any information that can identify the form data. Only the “form ID” individually assigned to the form data handled by 1 may be used. However, since the form identification information is a combination of “menu ID” and “form ID”, even if “form ID” overlaps between different menus, it can be identified as different form data. The data amount of “ID” can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to correspond to the form identification information of the form to be printed by using the user-specific print part management information and the print part management information for managing the form identification information and the print part identification information. By determining the printing unit 102 and printing the form data by the printing unit 102, printing is performed by the printing unit 102 corresponding to the form without starting up each application and changing the printing destination. It is possible to perform printing suitable for each form.

  In addition, when the printing destination corresponding to the form can be determined using the user-specific printing part management information prepared for each user, printing is performed with priority from the printing destination specified by the user-specific printing part management information. Therefore, it is possible to specify a printing destination by making use of individual settings of the user.

  In the above embodiment, the parameters used for printing may be changed for each form.

  Hereinafter, such a modification will be described. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a modification of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or corresponding parts.

  The information processing apparatus 1a further includes a print parameter information storage unit 170 in the information processing apparatus 1 described in the above embodiment.

  The print parameter information storage unit 170 can store one or more pieces of print parameter information that is information for designating parameters used when the plurality of printing units 102 print one or more forms. The print parameter information is information for performing settings at the time of printing.For example, the paper size at the time of printing, the paper feeding method, the printing direction, the left and right upper and lower margins, the magnification, whether to perform double-sided printing, This is a combination of information for specifying the print quality and the like. For example, the print parameter information is set according to a combination of one or more forms and a plurality of printing units 102 that print the forms. Here, as an example, it is assumed that print parameter identification information for identifying the print parameter information is added to the print parameter information. An example of the print parameter information is shown in FIG. The print parameter information storage unit 170 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  In addition, each user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 of this modification includes the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit according to the above embodiment, which includes one or more forms, a plurality of printing units 102, and the printing described above. The user-specific printing section management information, which is information indicating the correspondence with the parameter information, can be stored. Specifically, it is assumed that form identification information, printing section identification information, and printing parameter identification information are associated with each other and stored in the user-specific printing section management information. As an example of the user-specific printing part management information, FIG. 19 shows user-specific printing part management information stored in the user-specific printing part management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information “38001”. The other points are the same as those of the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit according to the above embodiment.

  In addition, the printing unit management information storage unit 103 according to the modification includes a user-specific printing unit management information storage unit according to the above embodiment, which includes one or more forms, the plurality of printing units, and the printing parameter information described above. It is possible to store print section management information, which is information indicating the corresponding relationship. Specifically, it is assumed that form identification information, printing section identification information, and printing parameter identification information are stored in association with each other in the printing section management information. The other points are the same as those of the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit according to the above embodiment.

  In addition, the printing destination determination unit 104 according to the modification includes a user-specific printing unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 111 in the printing destination determination unit according to the above embodiment. 112, when the information indicating the correspondence between the form designated by the print instruction and the printing unit 102 is included in the printing unit management information for each user stored in 112, printing is performed using the printing unit management information for each user. The print parameter information corresponding to the form designated by the instruction is determined as the print parameter information used for printing. Further, the form specified by the print instruction and the printing unit 102 are stored in the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112 corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 111. When the information indicating the correspondence relationship does not include the information indicating the correspondence relationship, the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103 is used to correspond to the form designated by the print instruction. The print parameter information is determined as print parameter information used for printing. As a specific example, the detection process described above searches for a record including form identification information that matches the form identification information specified by the print instruction in the user-specific printing part management information or the printing part management information. This is processing for detecting print parameter identification information included in a record. Other configurations of the printing destination determination unit 104 are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  The print processing unit 106 of this modification further reads out the print parameter information determined by the print destination determination unit 104 from the print parameter information storage unit 170 in the print processing unit of the above embodiment, and the print destination determination unit 104 The data is output to the determined printing unit 102. Specifically, the print processing unit 106 displays the print parameter information corresponding to the print parameter identification information detected by the print destination determination unit 104 in addition to the process of reading out the form data as described above. The data is read from 170 and output to the printing unit 102 determined by the printing destination determination unit 104. Other configurations of the print processing unit 106 are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  The printing unit 102 of this modification further prints the form data using the printing parameter information output from the printing processing unit 106 in the printing unit of the above embodiment. Specifically, the setting of the paper size at the time of printing and the setting such as the magnification are set to values indicated by the print parameter information. Other configurations of the printing unit 102 are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  In this modification, for example, as user identification information, the user identification information acquisition unit 111 acquires user identification information “38001”, and the print instruction reception unit 101 prints a form whose form identification information is “201”. If the printing instruction is received, the printing destination determination unit 104 stores the printing unit management information for each user as shown in FIG. 19 stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 112 for each user corresponding to the user identification information “38001”. From this, the print section identification information “P001” and the print parameter identification information “PP01” are detected. Then, the print processing unit 106 reads out print parameter information corresponding to the print parameter identification information “PP01” from the print parameter information shown in FIG. 18, and adds the print parameter information to the print data to the print unit identification information “ To the printing unit 102 corresponding to “P001”. Thus, printing is performed from the printing unit 102 corresponding to the printing unit identification information “P001” according to the setting indicated by the printing parameter information corresponding to the printing parameter identification information “PP01”.

  Also, information indicating the correspondence between the form designated by the print instruction and the printing unit 102 corresponds to the printing unit management information for each user stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 112 for each user corresponding to the user identification information. If the information indicating the relationship is not included, the same processing is performed using the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103.

  According to such a modification, it is possible to print the form from the printing unit 102 corresponding to the form with the print settings prepared in advance according to each form, and the optimum printing according to the form The result can be obtained.

  In this modification, a case has been described in which print parameter information is stored in association with both user-specific print unit management information and print unit management information. Only one of the information and the print unit management information may be stored in association with each other.

(Embodiment 2)
The information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is designed so that forms are managed in a tree (tree) structure, and a printing unit for printing form data can be specified in sub-tree units. is there.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
The information processing apparatus 10 includes a form data storage unit 105, a print instruction reception unit 101, one or more printing units 102, a printing unit management information storage unit 103, a printing destination determination unit 104, a print processing unit 106, and one or more user identification information. An acquisition unit 111, a user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112, a form structure information storage unit 107, a printing unit designation receiving unit 108, and a printing unit designation accumulating unit 109 are provided.

  Form data storage unit 105, print instruction reception unit 101, one or more printing units 102, printing unit management information storage unit 103, printing destination determination unit 104, print processing unit 106, one or more user identification information acquisition units 111, for each user Since the configuration of the printing unit management information storage unit 112 is the same as that of the information processing apparatus 1, the description thereof is omitted.

  The form structure information storage unit 107 stores form structure information indicating the hierarchical tree structure of the form. Specifically, forms managed in a tree structure are layered according to the purpose of the form, the authority over the form, the user who uses the form, the purpose of use, the location of use, etc. It is a managed form. This tree structure may include information for specifying a form only at the end of the subtree, and the nodes that are branch points of the subtree may only make the information for specifying the form logically difficult. For example, it is a form group that is managed hierarchically according to the authority of the user who prints the form according to the organization chart of the company, etc. In this form group, the users corresponding to the upper hierarchy are all forms Can be printed, and a user at each level below can print only the forms arranged in the subtree below his node. Specifically, the form structure information is information for managing the hierarchical relation of the form, the subtree in which the form exists, and the like. It does not matter how the structure such as the hierarchical relationship of the form is specified in the form structure information. For example, a hierarchical structure or the like may be specified by associating a path in the tree structure, a directory, or the like with the identification information of each form, or tagging the identification information of the form, such as XML Then, a hierarchical structure may be specified by describing it in a nested structure. The form structure information storage unit 107 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The print unit designation accepting unit 108 accepts designation of the print unit 102 with respect to the node of the form tree structure. For example, the print unit designation accepting unit 108 accepts a combination of information for designating a node of a form tree structure and print unit identification information for the node. The reception described here is, for example, reception from an input unit, reception of an input signal transmitted from another device, reading of information from a recording medium, or the like. This input means may be anything such as a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, or a menu screen. The printing unit designation receiving unit 108 can be realized by a device driver of an input unit such as a numeric keypad or a keyboard, menu screen control software, or the like.

  The printing unit designation accumulating unit 109 stores printing unit management information in which one or more forms in the sub-tree below the node that received the designation of the printing unit 102 and the designated printing unit 102 are associated with each other. Stored in the unit 103. Specifically, one or more forms located in the subtree of the node that has received the designation of the printing unit 102 are determined using the form structure information stored in the form structure information storage unit 107, and the one or more determined The printing unit management information in which the printing unit identification information of the printing unit designated by the printing unit designation receiving unit 108 is associated with the identification information of the form is configured. The configured print unit management information is stored in the print unit management information storage unit 103. The print unit designation accumulating unit 109 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the printing unit designation accumulating unit 109 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  Next, the flowchart will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, the same steps as those in FIG. 2 indicate the same or corresponding steps, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  (Step S <b> 210) The printing unit designation receiving unit 108 determines whether or not the printing unit 102 has received a designation for a node in the form tree structure. If accepted, the process proceeds to step S211, and if not accepted, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S211) The printing unit designation accumulating unit 109 stores printing unit management information that associates one or more forms in the sub-tree below the node that received the designation with the designated printing unit 102. Stored in the unit 103. If there is print unit management information that has already been accumulated, it may be overwritten and accumulated. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends.

  Hereinafter, specific examples will be described. However, since the process for determining the printing unit 102 according to the form is the same as in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of form structure information for managing the form structure stored in the form structure information storage unit 107. The form management information includes attributes of “ID”, “menu ID”, “form ID”, “form name”, “first hierarchy”, “second hierarchy”, and “third hierarchy”. Have. “ID” is identification information for managing records. Since “menu ID” and “form ID” are the same as the form identification information described with reference to FIG. 5 in the specific example of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here. “Form name” is the name of the form. However, this name may be omitted or may be used as “form ID”. The “first hierarchy”, “second hierarchy”, and “third hierarchy” reach each form specified by the form identification information combining “menu ID” and “form ID” from the root of the tree structure. Node names of the first, second, and third layers on the subtree. For example, a form with a form ID “001” and a form with a form ID “002” are forms under a node of the second hierarchy “operation setting”. The first hierarchy is the highest hierarchy after the root, and the third hierarchy is the lowest hierarchy from the root. Of the “first hierarchy”, “second hierarchy”, and “third hierarchy”, a hierarchy without a node is represented by “−”.

  First, it is assumed that an administrator or the like of the information processing apparatus 10 gives an instruction to display an input screen on a monitor or the like for designating the printing unit 102 for a form to a reception unit (not illustrated) of the information processing apparatus 10.

  A screen configuration unit (not shown) for configuring the input screen of the information processing apparatus 10 reads out the form structure information as shown in FIG. 11 from the form structure information storage unit 107, and represents the form in a tree structure. In addition, an input screen including a check box indicating that the designation of the printer for each node or form of the tree structure has been received is configured. Then, a display unit (not shown) displays the configured input screen on a monitor or the like.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen displayed on the monitor or the like by the information processing apparatus 10. As shown in the figure, each form is displayed in a tree structure in accordance with the form structure information as shown in FIG. 11, and each node has a node name shown in FIG. 11 and a printer for the node. A check box is provided to accept the designation.

  Next, when an administrator or the like operates a mouse or the like to check a check box for a node for which the printer 102 is to be set, information indicating that the check box is checked is displayed as a print unit designation receiving unit 108. Accept. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the administrator or the like has checked the check box 120 with the node name “warehouse registration”.

  A screen configuration unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 10 configures an input screen that receives the designation of the printing unit 102, triggered by the check box being checked. A display unit (not shown) displays the configured input screen on the monitor as shown in FIG.

  When an administrator or the like inputs information for specifying the printing unit 102 from the input screen and presses the “Register” button 130, the printing unit designation receiving unit 108 displays the input identification information of the printing unit 102 and a check box. A combination of an attribute and an attribute value corresponding to, specifically, a hierarchy and a node name are accepted. Here, assuming that “P001”, which is the “printing part ID” as described above, is input as information for specifying the printing part 102, the printing part instruction receiving part 108 includes the printing part identification information “P001” and the hierarchy. Accepts “second level” and node name “warehouse registration”. Note that when the print unit name or printer name is associated with the print unit identification information and managed using management information or the like, the print unit name or printer name may be designated for the node. In this case, the print unit identification information corresponding to the designated print unit name or printer name may be appropriately acquired from the management information by searching or the like.

  When the printing unit designation receiving unit 108 receives a combination of the printing unit identification information and the node name, here, the printing unit identification information “P001”, the hierarchy “second hierarchy”, and the node name “warehouse registration”, The print unit designation accumulating unit 109 detects, from the form storage information stored in the form structure information storage unit 107, a record having a “second layer” attribute value of “warehouse registration” by searching or the like. And all the form identification information of the record is acquired. Here, since the “second layer” attribute of the records whose “ID” is “6” and “7” is the attribute value “warehouse registration”, the menu ID “06” and the form ID “006” are combined. The print part designation receiving unit 108 acquires the form identification information and the form identification information obtained by combining the menu ID “06” and the form ID “007”. Then, the acquired form identification information is associated with the printing unit identification information “P001” received by the printing unit designation receiving unit 108 and stored in the printing unit management information storage unit 103. Specifically, the form identification information and the print part identification constituted by the menu ID “06” and the form ID “006” are added to the print part management information stored in the print part management information storage unit 103 shown in FIG. Combining a record that is a combination of a print part ID “P001” that is information, a form identification information composed of a menu ID “06” and a form ID “007”, and a print part ID “P001” that is a print part identification information Added records to the print management information. If there is already a record including the same form identification information as the form identification information, the “printing part ID” of this record is overwritten with the printing part identification information received by the printing part designation receiving part 108. As a result, print section management information as shown in FIG. 14 is obtained.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when adding or changing the print unit management information, it is possible to collectively specify the print unit for the form in units of nodes in the hierarchy. Additions and changes can be easily made in a short time.

  In addition, for example, in the case where the forms are structured in a tree structure according to usage, the forms that are usually located under the same node may be used in the same place, for example, the same department. Many. In such a case, by specifying the printing unit for each form in the hierarchical node unit, the printing unit that performs printing for a similar use purpose located at the lower level of the same node. 102 can be specified at the same time, so that the workability can be improved and the omission of the specification of the printing unit 102 for a form having a similar usage can be eliminated.

  In this embodiment, when the designation of the printing unit 102 for printing the user-specific forms is unnecessary, the user identification information acquisition unit 111, the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit 112, and the like may be omitted.

  Further, in the present embodiment, instead of adding or changing the print unit management information stored in the print unit management information storage unit 103, the above-described print unit designation receiving unit 108, print unit designation accumulating unit 109, and The form structure information storage unit 107 may be used to add or change user-specific print unit management information stored in the user-specific print unit management information storage unit 112 in the same manner as described above.

  In the present embodiment, the printing unit management information for each user is added using the above-described printing unit designation receiving unit 108, printing unit designation accumulating unit 109, and form structure information storage unit 107, or by adding a similar configuration. The addition or change of the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the storage unit 112 may be performed in the same manner as described above.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a form is obtained using information obtained by combining the print part management information stored in the print part management information storage part 103 and the form structure information stored in the form structure information storage part 107. The management of the printing unit 102 used for printing and the form tree structure may be managed.

  In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. May be.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, it goes without saying that two or more communication means (such as an information transmission unit) existing in one apparatus may be physically realized by one medium.

  In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as an MPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

  The software that realizes the information processing apparatus in each of the above embodiments is a program as described below. That is, this program causes the computer to receive a print instruction reception unit that receives a print instruction for one or more forms, a plurality of print units that print form data that is data of the one or more forms, and information that identifies a user A user identification information acquisition unit for acquiring the user identification information, the one or more forms stored in association with the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit, the plurality of printing units, If the information indicating the correspondence between the form designated by the print instruction and the printing unit is included in the user-specific printing unit management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between the user, the user-specific printing unit management information is used. Stored in the case where the printing unit corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction is determined as the printing unit for printing the form data and information indicating the correspondence is not included. A printing unit that prints form data using a printing unit management information that is information indicating a correspondence relationship between the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units. And a print processing unit that reads out the form data designated by the stored print instruction and outputs it to the printing unit determined by the printing destination determination unit. It is.

  In addition, the program includes a print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction for one or more forms hierarchized in a tree structure, and a plurality of printing units that print form data that is data of the one or more forms. A printing unit designation receiving unit that accepts designation of the printing unit for a node of the tree structure of the form, one or more forms of a subtree of the node that has accepted designation of the printing unit, and the designated printing unit A printing unit that stores the associated printing unit management information in a printing unit management information storage unit that can store printing unit management information that is information indicating a correspondence relationship between the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units. A designated storage unit, and a printing destination determination unit that determines a printing unit corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction as a printing unit that prints the form data, using the printing unit management information. A form data storage unit that can store the form data specified by the print instruction, and a print process that reads the stored form data specified by the print instruction and outputs the form data to the printing unit determined by the print destination determination unit It is a program for functioning as a part.

  In the above program, in a transmission step for transmitting information, a reception step for receiving information, etc., processing performed by hardware, for example, processing performed by a modem or an interface card in the transmission step (only performed by hardware). Not included) is not included.

  In the program, the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can be realized only by hardware. For example, a function that can be realized only by hardware such as a modem or an interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information or an output unit that outputs information is not included in the function realized by the program.

  Further, the computer that executes this program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. The above-described embodiment is realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

  In FIG. 15, a computer system 500 includes a computer 501 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 505, an FD (Flexible Disk) drive 506, a keyboard 502, a mouse 503, and a monitor 504.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a computer system. In FIG. 16, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 505 and the FD drive 506, a computer 501 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 511, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 512 for storing a program such as a bootup program, A RAM (Random Access Memory) 513 that is connected to the MPU 511 and temporarily stores application program instructions and provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 514 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, an MPU 511, and a ROM 512 Etc. to each other. The computer 501 may include a network card (not shown) that provides connection to the LAN.

  A program that causes the computer system 500 to execute the functions of the information processing apparatus according to the above embodiment is stored in the CD-ROM 521 or the FD 522, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 505 or FD drive 506, and transferred to the hard disk 514. May be. Instead, the program may be transmitted to the computer 501 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 514. The program is loaded into the RAM 513 when executed. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 521, the FD 522, or the network.

  The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 501 to execute the functions of the information processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment. The program may include only a part of an instruction that calls an appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 500 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.

  Further, although cases have been described with the above embodiments where the information processing apparatus is a stand-alone, the information processing apparatus may be a stand-alone apparatus or a server apparatus in a server / client system. In the latter case, the accepting unit or the printing unit accepts input via a communication line or prints form data.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus and the like according to the present invention are suitable as an information processing apparatus used for printing form data, and in particular, an information processing apparatus capable of properly using a plurality of printers or the like as print destinations for form data. Useful as.

Block diagram of the information processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Flow chart for explaining the operation of the information processing apparatus Conceptual diagram of the information processing device The figure which shows the example of a display of the same information processing apparatus The figure which shows the form identification information of the information processing apparatus The figure which shows the storage part management table according to user of the information processing apparatus The figure which shows the printing part management information classified by user of the information processing apparatus The figure which shows the printing part management information of the information processing apparatus The block diagram of the information processing apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Flow chart for explaining the operation of the information processing apparatus Diagram showing form structure information of the information processing apparatus The figure which shows the example of a display of the same information processing apparatus The figure which shows the example of a display of the same information processing apparatus The figure which shows the printing part management information of the information processing apparatus The figure which shows an example of the external appearance of the computer system which implement | achieves the information processing apparatus The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system which implement | achieves the information processing apparatus Block diagram of a modification of the information processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention The figure which shows the printing parameter information management table | surface of the modification of the information processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the printing part management information classified by user of the modification of the information processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 10 Information processing apparatus 2 Printer 101 Form data storage part 101 Print instruction reception part 102, 102a, 102b, 102c Printing part 103 Print part management information storage part 104 Printing destination determination part 106 Print processing part 107 Form structure information storage part 108 Print unit designation receiving unit 109 Print unit designation storage unit 170 Print parameter information storage unit

Claims (3)

A print instruction receiving unit for receiving a print instruction for one or more forms;
A plurality of printing units for printing form data which is data of the one or more forms;
A printing unit management information storage unit capable of storing printing unit management information, which is information indicating a correspondence relationship between the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units;
A user identification information acquisition unit for acquiring user identification information which is information for identifying a user;
One or more user-specific printing unit managements that are associated with the user identification information and can store user-specific printing unit management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units. An information storage unit;
Correspondence between the form specified by the print instruction and the printing unit in the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit When the information indicating the relationship is included, the printing unit corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction is determined as the printing unit for printing the form data using the user-specific printing unit management information, and the correspondence relationship is determined. Printing that prints the form data on the printing unit corresponding to the form specified by the printing instruction using the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit when the information to be displayed is not included A print destination determination unit to be determined
A form data storage unit capable of storing the form data designated by the print instruction;
A print processing unit that reads out the form data designated by the print instruction from the form data storage unit and outputs it to the printing unit determined by the printing destination determination unit ,
A printing parameter information storage unit that can store printing parameter information that is information for specifying parameters used when the printing unit prints a form;
The print parameter information storage unit stores a plurality of print parameter information including a plurality of print parameter information set according to a combination of one form and a plurality of print units that print the form,
The printing unit management information storage unit can store the printing unit management information, which is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms, the plurality of printing units, and the printing parameter information.
The user-specific print unit management information storage unit is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms, the plurality of print units, and the print parameter information, and prints the one form and the form. The user-specific printing section management information, which is information including correspondence information between a plurality of printing sections and the plurality of printing parameter information set in accordance with the combination of the one form and the plurality of printing sections Can be stored,
The print destination determination unit is further specified by the print instruction in the user-specific print unit management information stored in the user-specific print unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit. Print parameter information corresponding to the form designated by the print instruction using the print part management information for each user when the information indicating the correspondence relationship between the printed form and the print part is included. Print parameters corresponding to the form designated by the print instruction using the print unit management information stored in the print unit management information storage unit when the information is determined and information indicating the correspondence is not included The information is determined as print parameter information used for printing,
The print processing unit further reads the print parameter information determined by the print destination determination unit from the print parameter information storage unit, and outputs the print parameter information to the printing unit determined by the print destination determination unit. An information processing apparatus that prints form data using print parameter information output from the print processing unit. Identifies a user with a print instruction management unit that can store print unit management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between one or more forms and the plurality of print units, a print instruction receiving unit, a plurality of print units, One or more user-specific print unit management information, which is associated with user identification information, which is information to be stored, and can store user-specific print unit management information, which is information indicating the correspondence between the one or more forms and the plurality of print units Print section management information storage section, user identification information acquisition section, print destination determination section, form data storage section that can store form data that is form data, print processing section, and print section that prints the form An information processing method performed using a print parameter information storage unit that can store print parameter information that is information for specifying parameters to be used when
A print instruction receiving step in which the print instruction receiving unit receives a print instruction for one or more forms;
The user identification information acquisition unit acquires the user identification information; and
Correspondence between the form specified by the print instruction and the printing unit in the user-specific printing unit management information stored in the user-specific printing unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired in the user identification information acquisition step When the information indicating the relationship is included, the printing unit corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction is determined as the printing unit for printing the form data using the user-specific printing unit management information, and the correspondence relationship is determined. Printing that prints the form data on the printing unit corresponding to the form specified by the printing instruction using the printing unit management information stored in the printing unit management information storage unit when the information to be displayed is not included Printing destination determination step to determine the
The print processing unit reads out the form data designated by the print instruction from the form data storage unit, and outputs to the printing unit determined in the printing destination determination step;
The printing unit determined in the printing destination determination step includes a printing step for printing the form data output in the printing processing step, and
The print parameter information storage unit stores a plurality of print parameter information including a plurality of print parameter information set according to a combination of one form and a plurality of print units that print the form,
The printing unit management information storage unit stores the printing unit management information, which is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms, the plurality of printing units, and the printing parameter information.
The user-specific print unit management information storage unit is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms, the plurality of print units, and the print parameter information, and prints the one form and the form. The user-specific printing unit management information, which is information including information indicating a correspondence relationship between the plurality of printing units and the plurality of printing parameter information set in accordance with the combination of the one form and the plurality of printing units Is stored,
In the printing destination determination step, the printing destination determination unit further includes user-specific printing unit management information stored in a user-specific printing unit management information storage unit corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit. If the information indicating the correspondence relationship between the form designated by the print instruction and the print part is included, the print parameter information corresponding to the form designated by the print instruction using the print part management information for each user Is specified by the print instruction using the print unit management information stored in the print unit management information storage unit, when the print parameter information used for printing is determined and information indicating the correspondence is not included. Print parameter information corresponding to the selected form is determined as print parameter information used for printing,
In the print processing step, the print processing unit further reads the print parameter information determined in the print destination determination step from the print parameter information storage unit, and outputs the print parameter information to the print unit determined in the print destination determination step. ,
An information processing method in which, in the printing step, the printing unit prints form data using print parameter information output in the printing processing step . Computer
A print instruction receiving unit for receiving a print instruction for one or more forms;
A plurality of printing units for printing form data which is data of the one or more forms;
A user identification information acquisition unit for acquiring user identification information which is information for identifying a user;
The user-specific printing unit management information, which is information associated with the one or more forms and the plurality of printing units, stored in association with the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit. When the information indicating the correspondence between the form designated by the print instruction and the print part is included, the print part corresponding to the form designated by the print instruction is determined using the print part management information for each user. When the printing unit that prints the form data is determined and the information indicating the correspondence is not included, the printing unit is information indicating the correspondence between the stored one or more forms and the plurality of printing units A print destination determination unit that determines a print unit corresponding to the form designated by the print instruction as a print unit that prints the form data, using management information;
A print processing unit that reads out the form data designated by the stored print instruction and outputs the form data to the printing unit determined by the printing destination determination unit;
A program to make it function ,
The printing part management information is information for specifying parameters used when the printing part stored in the one or more forms, the plurality of printing parts, and the printing parameter information storage part prints the form. Information indicating the correspondence between the information and
The print parameter information stored in the print parameter information storage unit includes a plurality of print parameter information set according to a combination of one form and a plurality of print units that print the form,
The user-specific print unit management information is information indicating a correspondence relationship between one or more forms, the plurality of print units, and print parameter information stored in the print parameter information storage unit, Information including information indicating a correspondence relationship between a form, a plurality of print units that print the form, and a plurality of print parameter information set according to a combination of the one form and the plurality of print units ,
The printing destination determination unit further includes information indicating a correspondence relationship between the form designated by the printing instruction and the printing unit in the user-specific printing unit management information corresponding to the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit. If it is included, the printing parameter information corresponding to the form designated by the printing instruction is determined as the printing parameter information used for printing by using the user-specific printing section management information, and information indicating the correspondence is included. If not, using the printing section management information, to determine the printing parameter information corresponding to the form specified by the printing instruction to the printing parameter information used for printing,
The print processing unit further reads the print parameter information determined by the print destination determination unit from the print parameter information storage unit, and outputs the print parameter information to the print unit determined by the print destination determination unit,
The printing unit is a program for printing form data using print parameter information output from the print processing unit .

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