JP6115253B2 - Print system, spool server, spool method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a print system, a spool server, a spool method, and a program for realizing these, which enable printing with an arbitrary printer in accordance with a user's instruction after temporarily storing print data.

  Conventionally, in companies and the like, the use of a pull print system has increased. In the pull print system, a user can temporarily store print data in a server, and then print the stored print data from any printer connected to the network (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). 9).

  Also, when using the pull print system, the user does not need to specify the printer that actually executes the print when sending the print data, and specifies the most convenient printer for outputting the print data. And printing can be executed.

  Furthermore, in recent years, due to the development of cloud services, services combining a pull print system with cloud services have also been proposed. This service is called printing everywhere, and the user simply sends print data from the terminal device to the spool server in advance, for example, to output the print data from a multifunction device installed in a convenience store. You can also.

  By the way, in the pull print system as described above, since there are various printers, the user needs to determine print settings before transmitting print data. However, the print settings are changed immediately before output. I have something to do. For this reason, the pull print system is required to be able to change print settings immediately before printing.

  To make it possible to change the print settings immediately before, for example, use a universal printer driver, save the print data in an intermediate format until printing is executed, and then change the printer driver after changing the settings. It is possible to print by using.

Japanese Patent No. 4033857 Japanese Patent No. 4317162 Japanese Patent No. 4697713 Japanese Patent No. 4623469 JP 2012-78998 A JP 2012-78999 A JP 2012-94113 A JP 2012-181694 A JP 2012-208886 A

  However, the use of the universal printer driver may cause inconvenience to the user because of the problem that the functions that each printer can handle are limited.

  On the other hand, storing the print data in an intermediate format can solve the above problem. In this case, however, the administrator of the pull print system places a printer driver on the server that performs printing in advance. It is necessary to set up a printer that can print. For this reason, in a large-scale pull print system in which a plurality of spool servers that accept print requests and print servers that perform printing exist, the burden on the administrator increases.

  In addition, since a heavy burden is placed on the administrator, in the above-described case, it takes time to construct a system, especially when adding a print server or a new printer for measures to increase the load on the print server. It will be late.

  In addition, the installation location of the print server and the printer is often physically separated from the location where the administrator is located, and this also causes time for system construction. Furthermore, as the number of print servers and printers increases, the probability of setting errors such as omission of settings by the administrator also increases.

An example of an object of the present invention is to provide a print system, a spool server, and a spool method that can easily increase the number of print servers and printers while solving the above-described problems and enabling the change of print settings during printing. There is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, a printing system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a spool server and a print server,
The spool server
An information storage unit for storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from the user;
A setting change unit that changes the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the print server, the print setting thereof, and the printer driver of the designated printer; A print instruction unit for transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver,
The print server
A print execution unit for instructing printing of the transmitted print data using the print setting, the printer driver, and the setting information transmitted to the designated printer;
It is characterized by that.

In order to achieve the above object, a spool server according to an aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from a user;
A setting change unit that changes the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the server, the print setting thereof, the printer driver of the designated printer, and the printer A print instruction section for transmitting setting information necessary for driver setting;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, a spool method according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
(A) storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from a user;
(B) changing the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
(C) When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the server, the print setting thereof, and the printer driver of the designated printer; And transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is stored in a computer.
(A) storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from a user;
(B) changing the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
(C) When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the server, the print setting thereof, and the printer driver of the designated printer; And transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver;
Is executed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the printing system, it is possible to easily increase the number of print servers and printers while allowing the print settings to be changed during printing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the print system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the spool server in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of print settings registered in the spool information database in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of printer management information registered in the printer management information database in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of printer driver setting information registered in the printer management information database according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the printer driver management database in the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer that implements the spool server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Summary of Invention)
According to the present invention, when a user performs printing, the print job is not directly transmitted to the printer, but is once spooled in the spool server, and then, when printing is instructed, the print job is transmitted to the print server. Used in pull print systems. The present invention is characterized in that information necessary for printing with a printer such as a printer driver is centrally managed on the spool server side, and such information is not managed on the print server side.

  In the present invention, when printing of print data is instructed by the user, the spool server sends to the print server, in addition to the print data and print settings, the printer driver of the printer to be used, and information necessary for the settings (printer IP address, printer name, etc.). Then, the print server performs printer settings based on the received driver, and causes the printer to perform printing.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when printing is actually performed, the printer is automatically set for the server serving as the printer print server. This eliminates the need for the print system administrator, the print system user, the printer staff, etc. to make settings for each print server. Also, when the number of printers and print servers increases, it is only necessary to register information on a device to be newly added to the spool server, and a large amount of setting processing is not required.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a print system, a spool server, a spool method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[System configuration]
First, the overall configuration of the print system in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the print system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a spool server 20 and a print server 30, which are connected to each other via a network 50. A client 10 used by a user is connected to the spool server 20 via a network 50, and a printer 40 is connected to the print server 30. In the example of FIG. 1, two clients 10, print servers 30, and printers 40 are illustrated, but the number of these is not particularly limited.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the spool server 20 includes an information storage unit 27, a setting change unit 22, and a print instruction unit 24. Among these, the information storage unit 27 stores print data and print settings when print data and print settings are transmitted together with a print request from the user via the client 10.

  The setting change unit 22 changes the print setting stored in the information storage unit 27 according to the instruction when the user instructs to change the print setting. When the user designates the printer 40 and instructs to print the print data, the print instruction unit 24 instructs the print server 30 to print data instructed to print, its print settings, and the printer driver of the designated printer , And setting information necessary for setting the printer driver.

  The print server 30 includes a print execution unit 31. First, the print execution unit 31 receives print data, print settings, a printer driver, and setting information from the instruction unit spool server 20. Then, the print execution unit 31 instructs the printer 40 specified by the user to print the print data using the print setting, the printer driver, and the setting information.

  As described above, in this embodiment, information necessary for printing with the printer 40 such as a printer driver is centrally managed on the spool server side until printing is instructed. For this reason, the user can change the print setting until immediately before printing.

  In addition, the print server 30 does not need to hold information necessary for printing by the printer 40, and can instruct the printer 40 to print using information transmitted from the spool server. Therefore, it is not necessary for the administrator of the print system 100 to make settings for the print server 30 and the printer 40. Therefore, when the print server 30 and the printer 40 are added, it is only necessary to register information such as a printer driver of a device to be newly added to the spool server, and the print server 30 and the printer 40 can be easily added.

  Here, the configuration of the printing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the print system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 2, for explanation, only one client 10, print server 30, and printer 40 are shown, but the number is not particularly limited as described above.

[client]
As shown in FIG. 2, the client 10 used by the user in this embodiment includes a spool request unit 11, a setting change request unit 12, and a print instruction unit 13. Among these, the spool request unit 11 transmits a print request according to a user instruction, and transmits print data (document data to be printed) and print settings to the spool server 20.

  In addition, the setting change request unit 12 requests the spool server 20 to change the print settings (print job) spooled therein according to a user instruction. The print instruction unit 13 requests the spool server 20 to perform printing when the user instructs printing of the spooled print data.

  In the present embodiment, specific examples of the client 10 include terminal devices such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and PCs (Personal Computers). In this case, the spool request unit 11, the setting change request unit 12, and the print instruction unit 13 are realized by a program installed in the terminal device.

[Spool server]
As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the spool server 20 includes a spool receiving unit 21 and a print destination search unit 23 in addition to the information storage unit 27, the setting change unit 22, and the print instruction unit 24 described above. And. In this embodiment, the information storage unit 27 includes a spool information database 25 and a printer management information database 26. Hereinafter, the database is referred to as “DB”.

  First, the spool receiving unit 21 receives a print request from the user client 10 and registers the received print data and print settings in the spool information DB 25. In the present embodiment, when a change in print setting is instructed by the user, the setting change unit 22 accesses the spool information DB 25 and changes the print setting in accordance with the instruction.

  When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of print data, the print destination search unit 23 accesses the printer management information database 26 and specifies a print server that can be used as the print server of the designated printer. To do. Specifically, the printer management information DB 26 includes information necessary for printer management (hereinafter referred to as “printer management information”), for example, the names of printers that can be used for each print server, and printer drivers for each print server. The acquisition status etc. are registered. The print destination search unit 23 compares the designated printer name with the printer name registered in the printer management information DB 26 to identify an available print server.

  In the present embodiment, the print instructing unit 24 prints the print data instructed to print to the print server specified by the print destination search unit 23, its print settings, the printer driver of the designated printer, and the printer. Sends the setting information necessary for driver settings. In the present embodiment, the printer management information DB 26 also registers printer drivers and setting information for each printer 40. The print instruction unit 24 acquires a printer driver to be transmitted and setting information from the printer management information DB 26.

[Print Server]
As shown in FIG. 2, the print server 30 includes a logical printer creation unit 32 and a printer driver storage unit 34 in addition to the print execution unit 31 described above. A printer driver management DB 33 is constructed in the printer driver storage unit 34.

  In the present embodiment, the print execution unit 31 receives print data, print settings, printer drivers, and setting information from the spool server 20 and registers them in the printer driver management DB 33.

  The logical printer creation unit 32 creates a logical printer using print settings, printer drivers, and setting information registered in the printer driver management DB 33. A logical printer is a virtual printer associated with a physical printer. The logical printer converts print data to be printed into a printer language that can be understood by the corresponding physical printer.

  In the present embodiment, the print execution unit 31 instructs the printer 40 to print print data using the logical printer created by the logical printer creation unit 32. Specifically, the print execution unit 31 converts print data into a printer language using a logical printer, and transmits the converted printer language to the printer 40.

[System operation]
Next, the operation of the print system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, FIGS. 1 and 2 are referred to as appropriate. In the present embodiment, the spool method is implemented by operating the spool server 20. Therefore, the description of the spool method in the present embodiment is replaced with the following description of the operation of the spool server 20.

[System operation: Spool server]
First, the operation of the spool server 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the spool server in the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, when the user executes printing in the client 10, the sprawl request unit 11 of the client 10 transmits a print request, print data, and print settings to the sprawl server 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, in the spool server 20, the spool receiving unit 21 receives the transmitted print request, print data, and print settings, and the received print data and print settings are stored in the spool information DB 25. (Step A1). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of print settings registered in the spool information database in the embodiment of the present invention.

  Next, the setting change unit 22 confirms whether or not a change in print setting is requested from the setting change request unit 12 of the client 10 (step A2). If a change is requested as a result of the confirmation in step A2, the print setting registered in the spool information DB 25 is changed in response to the change request (step A3).

  Next, if there is no change request as a result of the confirmation in step A2, or if step A3 is executed, the print instruction unit 24 determines whether print data is instructed from the print instruction unit 13 of the client 10. Is determined (step A4). As a result of the determination in step A4, if printing of print data is not instructed, step A2 is executed again.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step A4 is that printing of print data is instructed, the print instructing unit 24 accepts this instruction (step A5) and further specifies the name of the printer designated by the user. (Step A6).

  Specifically, in step A6, the print instruction unit 24 specifies the identifier of the designated printer included in the command transmitted from the print instruction unit 13 of the client 10, and stores the specified identifier in the printer management information DB 26. The name of the designated printer is specified by collating.

  Next, the print instruction unit 24 passes the specified printer name to the print destination search unit 23. As a result, the print destination search unit 23 identifies the print server 30 that can perform printing from the printer management information stored in the printer management information DB 26 based on the received printer name (step A7).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of printer management information registered in the printer management information database in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the printer management information includes the names of printers that can be used for each print server and the acquisition status of printer drivers for each print server.

  Next, the print instruction unit 24 acquires the printer driver and setting information of the printer designated by the user from the printer management information DB 26 (step A8). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of printer driver setting information registered in the printer management information database according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the setting information includes an IP address for each printer and a printer driver name for each printer.

  Thereafter, the print instruction unit 24 transmits the print data and print settings registered in the spool information DB 25 in step A1 and the printer driver and setting information acquired in step A8 to the print server specified in step A7. (Step A9).

[System Operation: Print Server]
Next, the operation of the print server 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the print server in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, first, in the print server 30, the print execution unit 31 receives a printer driver, setting information, a print target document, and print settings (step B1). The print execution unit 31 registers the received printer driver, setting information, document to be printed, and print settings in the printer driver management DB 33.

  In this embodiment, the received printer driver is registered as “acquired printer driver” in the printer driver management DB 33 as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the printer driver management database in the present embodiment.

  Next, the logical printer creation unit 32 creates a logical printer using the print settings, printer driver, and setting information registered in the printer driver management DB 33 (step B2).

  Thereafter, the print execution unit 31 converts the print data into the printer language of the designated printer 40 using the logical printer created in step B2, and transmits the converted printer language to the designated printer 40. (Step B3).

[Effects of the embodiment]
As described above, in this embodiment, even when a print server and a printer are added or changed, even when the print server capable of printing and the printer capable of printing are changed or increased, there is actually a print request. Sometimes the system is built automatically. For this reason, the administrator does not need to make settings on each server that is physically remote. In addition, this can reduce artificial setting errors and setting man-hours.

  Further, in this embodiment, until the actual printing is performed, the printer driver or the like is not distributed to the print server and the setting is not performed, thereby eliminating unnecessary consumption of resources in the server used as the print server. Is done.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, in step A7 shown in FIG. 3, when determining the print server to be used, the print destination search unit 23 already holds a printer server corresponding to the printer 40 serving as the output destination. Can also be given priority. In this case, the print instruction unit 24 of the spool server 20 does not need to send a printer driver, so the processing load is reduced.

[program]
The program in the present embodiment may be a program that causes a computer to execute steps A1 to A9 shown in FIG. By installing and executing this program on a computer, the spool server 20 and the spool method in the present embodiment can be realized. In this case, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the computer functions as a spool receiving unit 21, a setting change unit 22, a print destination search unit 23, and a print instruction unit 24 to perform processing. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk provided in the computer functions as the information storage unit 27.

  Here, a computer that realizes the spool server 20 by executing the program according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer that implements the spool server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the computer 110 includes a CPU 111, a main memory 112, a storage device 113, an input interface 114, a display controller 115, a data reader / writer 116, and a communication interface 117. These units are connected to each other via a bus 121 so that data communication is possible.

  The CPU 111 performs various calculations by developing the program (code) in the present embodiment stored in the storage device 113 in the main memory 112 and executing them in a predetermined order. The main memory 112 is typically a volatile storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Further, the program in the present embodiment is provided in a state of being stored in a computer-readable recording medium 120. Note that the program in the present embodiment may be distributed on the Internet connected via the communication interface 117.

  Specific examples of the storage device 113 include a hard disk drive and a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory. The input interface 114 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and an input device 118 such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display controller 115 is connected to the display device 119 and controls display on the display device 119.

  The data reader / writer 116 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and the recording medium 120, and reads a program from the recording medium 120 and writes a processing result in the computer 110 to the recording medium 120. The communication interface 117 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and another computer.

  Specific examples of the recording medium 120 include general-purpose semiconductor storage devices such as CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) and SD (Secure Digital), magnetic storage media such as a flexible disk, or CD- An optical storage medium such as ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) can be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the printing system, it is possible to easily increase the number of print servers and printers while allowing the print settings to be changed during printing. The present invention is particularly useful for a cloud printing system and a print system having a load distribution function.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Client 11 Spool request part 12 Setting change request part 13 Print instruction part 20 Spool server 21 Spool reception part 22 Setting change part 23 Print destination search part 24 Print instruction part 25 Spool information database 26 Printer management information database 27 Information storage part 30 Print Server 31 Print execution unit 32 Logical printer creation unit 33 Printer driver management database 34 Printer driver storage unit 40 Printer 50 Network 100 Print system 110 Computer 111 CPU
112 Main Memory 113 Storage Device 114 Input Interface 115 Display Controller 116 Data Reader / Writer 117 Communication Interface 118 Input Device 119 Display Device 120 Recording Medium 121 Bus

Claims (9)

A spool server and a print server;
The spool server
An information storage unit for storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from the user;
A setting change unit that changes the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the print server, the print setting thereof, and the printer driver of the designated printer; A print instruction unit for transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver,
The print server
A print execution unit for instructing printing of the transmitted print data using the print setting, the printer driver, and the setting information transmitted to the designated printer;
A printing system characterized by that. The print server further includes a logical printer creation unit that creates a logical printer by using the received print settings, the printer driver, and the setting information.
The print instruction unit instructs the designated printer to print the transmitted print data using the logical printer;
The printing system according to claim 1. A plurality of the print servers are provided,
The spool server
A print destination search unit for specifying a print server that can be used as a print server of the designated printer when the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data;
The print instructing unit transmits the print data instructed to print, the print setting thereof, the printer driver of the designated printer, and setting information of the printer driver to the specified print server. Item 4. The printing system according to Item 1. An information storage unit for storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from the user;
A setting change unit that changes the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
When the user designates a printer and instructs to print the print data, the print server instructed to print, the print setting, the printer driver of the designated printer, and the printer A print instruction section for transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver;
A spool server comprising: A print destination search unit that identifies a print server that can be used as a print server of the designated printer when the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data;
In addition,
The print instructing unit transmits the print data instructed to print, the print setting thereof, the printer driver of the designated printer, and setting information of the printer driver to the specified print server. Item 5. The spool server according to item 4. (A) storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from a user by a spool server ;
(B) when the spool server instructs the user to change the print setting, the stored print setting is changed in response to the instruction;
(C) When the user designates a printer and instructs to print the print data, the print data instructed to be printed by the spool server, the print setting, and the designated data are designated by the spool server . Transmitting the printer driver of the printer and setting information necessary for setting the printer driver; and
A spool method characterized by comprising: (D) when the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the method further includes a step of identifying a print server that can be used as a print server of the designated printer;
In the step (c), the print data instructed to be printed to the print server specified in the step (d), the print settings, the printer driver of the designated printer, and the printer The spool method according to claim 6, wherein the driver setting information is transmitted. On the computer,
(A) storing print data and print settings transmitted together with a print request from a user;
(B) changing the stored print settings in response to an instruction when the user instructs to change the print settings;
(C) When the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the print data instructed to be printed to the print server, the print setting, and the printer driver of the designated printer And transmitting setting information necessary for setting the printer driver; and
A program that executes (D) when the user designates a printer and instructs printing of the print data, the computer further executes a step of specifying a print server that can be used as a print server of the designated printer. ,
In the step (c), the print data instructed to be printed to the print server specified in the step (d), the print settings, the printer driver of the designated printer, and the printer The program according to claim 8, which transmits driver setting information.

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