Patent Application
20060238799
The present invention relates generally to network printing and, more particularly, to a system and method for selecting a printer for printing a document.
With the spread of networks and high-performance personal computers (PCs) and workstations, it has become more common to maintain documents electronically in place of hardcopy paper versions. In some respects, however, the handling of electronic documents can be more complicated than paper versions. For example, when a document is distributed electronically, the users receiving the document will often print the document, creating a hardcopy version to review the document or to store. The printing of the document can be performed at one of a number of printers connected to the network, each printer having a particular output capability and print cost. Having a multitude of printers with different capabilities and costs connected to the network allows for effective sharing and utilization of the printers and provides each user with several printing options.
When preparing a print job, a user typically selects the printer to print the print job from a list of printers existing in the network. If the print job requires certain particular settings or options, then the user is required to know the capability of each printer before designating which printer to print the print job. In a large network environment, however, it is difficult for each user to know the varying capabilities of each of the networked printers.
In a conventional system, it has been known to preset the printing options for a particular printer. When a user wants to start a print job, the user can select from one of the preset printing options of a particular printer and submit the print job to that printer using the preset printing options. In this conventional system, the user must still know the capabilities of each network printer to be able to preset the printing options for any of the printers.
In another conventional system, information about paper size, font types, resolution and location is retrieved from each network printer. The retrieved information is obtained from a storage area of each printer. A user specifies a printing requirement according to one or more of paper size, font type, resolution, and locations. The retrieved information from each network printer is compared to the user-specified printing requirement to determine a list of printers, which is presented to the user, that can perform the user-specified printing requirement. The user then selects the printer to print the print job from among the listed printers.
According to an aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus and method for selecting a hardcopy device from a plurality of hardcopy devices to print a document includes receiving a request to print a document, and determining printer selection criteria based on attribute information associated with the document. A hardcopy device capable of performing the print request based on the printer selection criteria is automatically identified from the plurality of hardcopy devices, and the document is sent to the identified hardcopy device to be printed.
Further features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments that follows, when considered together with the accompanying figures of drawing.
The workstation 10, which may be a PC or a server, includes a CPU, a main memory, a ROM, a storage device and a communication interface all coupled together via a bus in one embodiment consistent with the present invention. The CPU may be implemented as a single microprocessor or as multiple processors for a multi-processing system. The main memory is preferably implemented with a RAM and a smaller-sized cache. The ROM is a non-volatile storage, and may be implemented, for example, as an EPROM or NVRAM. The storage device can be a hard disk drive or any other type of non-volatile, writable storage.
The communication interface for the workstation 10 provides a two-way data communication coupling via a network link to the network 40. For example, if the communication interface is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem, the communication interface provides a data communication connection to the corresponding type of telephone line. If the communication interface is a local area network (LAN) card, the communication interface provides a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links are also possible. In any such implementation, the communication interface sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals, which carry digital data streams representing different types of information, to and from the network 40.
If the network 40 is implemented as the Internet, the workstation 10 can transmit a requested code for an application program through the Internet, an ISP, the local network and the communication interface. The received code can be executed by the CPU in the workstation or server as it is received, stored in the storage device, or stored in some other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, a user at the workstation or server may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave. The server 20 may be implemented in the same manner as the workstation 10, plus any other functionality that may be needed to manage the operation of the network 40.
In operation, the workstations 10 communicate with the hardcopy devices 30 via the network 40, or via a more direction connection, such as by USB. This communication enables the workstation 10 to request the hardcopy device 30 to perform a function, such as to print a document or to send or receive a fax. In addition, the workstation 10 can request information from the hardcopy device 30.
The hardcopy device 30 is a device which can generate a reproduction of an electronic document, such as a printer, a multi-function peripheral (MFP), or any other device capable of generating hardcopies of documents or files. For the purposes of the following description, it is assumed that at least two of the hardcopy devices 30 have different capabilities. For example, one hardcopy device 30 may be color capable, have a high resolution, have a low page per minute, and provide multiple finishing options, such as stapling or hole-punching, while another hardcopy device 30 may be monochrome (i.e., black and white or B/W), have a low resolution, have a high page per minute, and not provide any finishing options.
The printer driver 202 can be activated in response to a print request from an application, such as a word processing or image processing application, operating on the workstation 10 or the server 20. The printer driver 202 is preferably configured to generate a print job based on the print request and the document or file that is the subject of the print request. To generate the print request, a user of the application may request that a document be printed from a pull-down menu or by a shortcut keystroke. The print request may also include a number of settings or parameters for the print, such as color or B/W, page size, finishing parameter, etc.
The direct print request 204, like the printer driver 202, can be activated by a print request and configured to generate a print job in response to the print request and the applicable document of file to be printed. In the direct print request 204, however, an unopened document or file is printed directly without opening or editing the document. For example, a document or file listed in a file manager or document management system, or attached in an e-mail, can be selected and printed with the direct print request 204 without first opening it.
The print selection processing part 206 is configured to identify or select an appropriate hardcopy device 30 in the network 40 to print a document or file in response to a print job received from the printer driver 202 or the direct print request 204. To make the appropriate selection, the print selection processing part 206 includes the print request receiving part 208, which receives the print job from the printer driver 202 or the direct print request 204. The receipt of a print job by the print request receiving part 208 activates the other components of the print selection processing part 206.
In accordance with the print request receiving part 208 receiving the print job, the document information collecting part 210 is configured to collect information about the document to be printed including attribute information for the document. The attribute information for the document corresponds to features or characteristics of the document itself and is distinct from any settings made in the print request and set forth in the print job. Such attribute information of a document includes, for example, the existence of color pages, the resolution of images in the document, signature information (e.g., draft, final, signature, approved), the maximum paper size, security or accessibility setting (e.g., public document, read only, accessible only limited to group or individual), the location or type of document (e.g., e-mail, local storage, database, the Web), the document data type (e.g., photos, images, text), or any other information regarding a characteristic of the document itself.
The output destination/setting judgment part 212 is configured to use the attribute information collected by the document information collecting part 210 to determine printer selection criteria and printer settings, and to select a hardcopy device 30 that is most suitable for processing the print job. The printer selection criteria corresponds to capabilities needed by a hardcopy device 30 to complete the print job. The printer settings correspond to formatting or finishing settings to be used to complete the print job. To select the hardcopy device 30, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 refers to rules stored in the judgment rule database 214. The rules are applied to the attribute information of the document being printed. Based on the application of the rules, one or more hardcopy devices 30 is identified as being appropriate for processing the print job.
The printer information collecting part 216 is configured to collect information regarding the capabilities of each hardcopy device 30 in the network 40. The capability information collected by the printer information collecting part 216 is stored in the printer information storage part 218, which stores the capability information of each hardcopy device 30 in the network 40. In addition, the printer information storage part 218 preferably includes information indicating whether the capability information of a hardcopy device 30 is up-to-date. To ensure that the capability information is up-to-date, the printer information collecting part 216 can be configured to collect the capability information any time capability of a hardcopy device 30 changes.
The capability information of each hardcopy device 30 includes, for example, color capability, resolution, paper sizes available, finishing capabilities (e.g., stapling, hole-punch), paper quality, duplex capability, cost per printed page, or any other information identifying a characteristic or capability of the hardcopy device 30. The capability information collected by the printer information collecting part 216 is used by the output destination/setting judgment part 212, in conjunction with the attribute information of the document being printed and the rules stored in the judgment rule database 214, to determine the appropriate hardcopy device 30 for printing the document.
The printing part 220 is configured to forward the print job to the appropriate hardcopy device 30 selected by the output destination/setting judgment part 212. The print job is transferred from the printing part 220 over the network 40 and received by the selected hardcopy device 30, which prints the document in accordance with the settings of the print job. Such printing can occur automatically, or the user can be provided the option to confirm the print job and associated chosen hardcopy device before the printing actually occurs.
The printer name 301 corresponds to a unique identifier of each hardcopy device 30 in the network 40. The color or B/W 302 indicates whether the hardcopy device 30 is capable of producing color printouts. The resolution 303 indicates the resolution in dots per inch (DPI) of the hardcopy device 30. The higher the number for the resolution 303, the better the resolution. The actual number listed typically corresponds to the highest resolution possible. The hardcopy device 30 may be capable of generating printouts having lower resolutions than the one indicated by the resolution 303, which may enable the hardcopy device 30 to print pages at a higher rate.
The paper size 304 corresponds to the largest paper size that can be produced by the hardcopy device 30. The paper size 304 may be further configured to identify each of the paper sizes available for printing by the hardcopy device 30, and not just the largest paper size available. The paper quality 305 corresponds to the type or quality of the paper used by the hardcopy device 30. Like the paper size 304, the paper quality 305 may be configured to identify each paper quality type available to the hardcopy device 30. The print cost 306 corresponds to a cost per page printed by the hardcopy device 30. Although shown with a fixed cost per page, the print cost 306 may be variable depending upon the paper quality 305, the paper size 304, the resolution 303, and the color or B/W 302 used for the print. For example, a B/W print at a low resolution using low quality paper may be less expensive than a color print at a high resolution using high quality paper.
The duplex 307 indicates whether the hardcopy device 30 is capable of producing printouts with printing on both sides of each paper sheet. The staple 308 indicates whether the hardcopy device 30 is capable of stapling together sheets of a printout. Similarly, the hole punch 309 indicates whether the hardcopy device 30 is capable of making a hole punch to sheets of a printout. The staple 308 and the hole punch 309 are examples of possible finishing parameters for a print job.
The information in the capability table of
As described above, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 not only uses the capability information of the hardcopy devices 30 to select the appropriate hardcopy device 30 for performing the print job, it also references the attribute information of the document being printed and applies judgment rules to determine printer selection criteria and printer settings, which are used to make the selection.
The rule number 401 is a unique identifier for each rule in the judgment rule database. The priority 402 indicates a value or importance of a particular rule relative to other rules in the judgment rule database. As shown in
The document attribute 403 corresponds to a particular attribute from the attribute information of the document being printed. As shown in
The printer selection criteria 404 identify capabilities or characteristics needed by a hardcopy device 30 to perform the print job if the corresponding rule applies. As shown in
Finally, the printer setting 405 is a setting or parameter set in the print job to effectuate the performance of a particular function of the hardcopy device. As shown in
The printer setting 405 corresponding to a particular rule may be a setting already included in the print job or one that is added to the print job in accordance with a corresponding document attribute 403. For example, if the document being printed is a draft document, the printer setting 405 is 2in1, which is two page images per page, in contrast to the standard layout of one page image per page. The 2in1 printer setting 405 is used because the document is a draft document not for distribution, and the 2in1 printer setting 405 reduces the number of paper sheets need to print the document. Accordingly, if the document being printed is a draft document, the 2in1 printer setting can be added to the print job to reduce the number of paper sheets used to print the document.
A check is made to determine whether to update the capability information of the hardcopy devices (step 504). The capability information identifies capabilities of each hardcopy device 30 in the network 40. The capability information is collected by the printer information collecting part 216 and is stored in the printer information storage part 218. As described above, the capability information of each hardcopy device 30 includes, for example, color capability, resolution, paper sizes available, finishing capabilities (e.g., stapling, hole-punch), paper quality, duplex capability, cost per printed page, or any other information identifying a characteristic or capability of the hardcopy device 30. The storage of the capability information in the printer information storage part can be in the form of a table, such as shown in
To determine whether to update the capability information, a check is made to determine whether the capability information for any of the hardcopy devices 30 has changed. For example, the available paper type or paper size at the hardcopy device may have changed. Alternatively, the determination of whether to update the capability information may be made if a predetermined amount of time has passed since the last update was made. If the determination is yes, then the capability information is updated (step 506). The updating of the capability information can be performed for each of the hardcopy devices 30 in the network 40. Alternatively, the updating can be performed only for the hardcopy device 30 whose capability information has changed.
In response to receiving the print job, the document information collecting part 210 collects the attribute information for the document that is the subject of the print job (step 508). As described above, the attribute information for the document includes, for example, the existence of color pages, the resolution of images in the document, signature information (e.g., draft, final, signature, approved), the maximum paper size, security or accessibility setting (e.g., public document, read only, accessible only limited to group or individual), the location of the document (e.g., e-mail, local storage, database, the Web), the document type (e.g., photos, images, text), or any other information regarding a characteristic of the document.
In accordance with the attribute information of the document being printed, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 determines the printer selection criteria and the printer settings (step 510). The printer selection criteria correspond to capabilities needed by a hardcopy device 30 to complete the print job. The printer settings correspond to formatting or finishing settings to be used to complete the print job. To determine the printer selection criteria and the printer settings, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 references judgment rules stored in the judgment rule database 214. More specifically, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 identifies rules in the judgment rule database 214 corresponding to the attribute information of the document being printed. As shown in
In addition to determining the printer selection criteria and the printer settings, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 selects an appropriate printer to perform the print job (step 512). To make the selection, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 references the capability information stored in the printer information storage part 218 and determines which, if any, of the hardcopy devices 30 satisfy the printer selection criteria. In other words, the output destination/setting judgment part 212 determines the hardcopy device having each of the capabilities set forth in the printer selection criteria. For example, with reference to
However, if none of the hardcopy devices 30 are able to satisfy the printer selection criteria, then a modification is made to the printer selection criteria. To make this modification, reference is made to the priority 402 corresponding to each judgment rule. For example, if the document attributes 403 of the document being printed indicate that it is a color, double-sided document, then the printer selection criteria would be for a color printer having a duplex print function. As shown in
Furthermore, if more than one hardcopy device 30 satisfies the printer selection criteria, then additional criteria can be used to identify an appropriate hardcopy device 30 to perform the print. The additional or deciding criteria may include, for example, a location of the hardcopy device 30 or a print cost for the hardcopy device 30. If two hardcopy devices 30 satisfy the printer selection criteria, then the one chosen to perform the print can be the one closest to the location of the user generating the print job or the one having the lowest print cost. It is also possible to configure the output destination/setting judgment part 212 to display to the user a list of hardcopy devices 30 that satisfy the printer selection criteria and allow the user to select the hardcopy device 30 to perform the print from the list.
The printing part 220 sends the print job to the hardcopy device 30 selected by the output destination/setting judgment part 212 (step 514). The print job sent to the hardcopy device 30 includes not only the information received by the print request receiving part, but also the printer settings determined by the output destination/setting judgment part 212. For example, if the document attribute 403 is draft, then the printer setting 405 is for a 2in1 layout. The print job received by the hardcopy device 30 would therefore include a setting that the document be printed with a 2in1 layout. In the event that the printer is chosen by a user from a list of hardcopy devices 30 that satisfy the printer selection criteria, then the printing part 220 sends the print job to the hardcopy device 30 selected by the user.
In accordance with present invention, it is possible to make a print request without the user having to select the hardcopy device to print the document. Further, by referencing the attribute information of the document being printed, it is possible to identify applicable printer selection criteria and printer settings in accordance with various judgment rules. The printer selection criteria is used to select an appropriate hardcopy device for printing the document. As a result, a user may request a document be printed without knowing the printing capabilities of each networked hardcopy device when making the request.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light in the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and as practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
