Information processor, method for processing information and memory medium for storing program readable by computer

• US 7,154,627 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2005
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Mori, Yasuo, Nishikawa, Satoshi, Nakagiri, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): Menberu, Beniyam
• Application Number:
  US11/092,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20050179926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.9, 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/1.18, 358/450, 358/451, 358/452, 715/527, 715/530, 715/517, 715522-525
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1205 resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1206 resulting in increased flexibility in input data format or job format or job type
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1255 Settings incompatibility, e.g. constraints, user requirements vs. device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1262 by grouping or ganging jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server

Abstract

In order to compose a plurality of print jobs together to prepare one composed job and provide a desired printed result with no inconvenience to a user, an information processor of the present invention includes a generator for generating print setting information for the composed job, for analyzing the print setting information of a plurality of print jobs and unifying information which can be respectively set only to one print job when a plurality of print jobs are instructed to be composed together so as to obtain one composed job.

Claims

1. An information processor for generating printing data to be transmitted to a printer comprising:

an intermediate code conversion unit for converting data to be printed which is generated by an application into a print job of an intermediate code format and temporarily storing the print job in association with layout information for the data to be printed;

a composition instruction unit for providing a composition instruction that instructs a plurality of print jobs of the intermediate code format converted by said intermediate code conversion unit to be composed together so as to generate one composed job;

a job information generation unit for, in a case where said composition instruction unit provides the composition instruction, generating job output setting information that includes layout information for the composed job, based on job setting information that includes layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the job output setting information retaining page layout for the plurality of print jobs;

a discrimination unit for discriminating whether a layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job; and

an editing unit for, in case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, editing the job output setting information generated by said job information generation unit such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to a common page layout,

wherein in a case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, the composed job is generated such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to the common page layout based on the job output setting information edited by said editing unit,

and wherein in a case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is not provided for the composed job, the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is retained based on the job output setting information generated by said job information generation unit.

2. An information processor according to claim 1, wherein said job information generation unit generates, based on the layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the layout information for the composed job by a physical page unit such that any logical page to be assigned to a physical page may be specified.

3. An information processor according to claim 1, further comprising a layout unification instruction unit for providing a unification instruction that instructs the layout for the composed job to be unified, wherein said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, in response to the unification instruction being provided by said layout unification instruction unit.

4. An information processor according to claim 1, wherein in a case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing unit edits the job output setting information generated by said job information generation unit such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to predetermined layout information.

5. An information processor according to claim 1, wherein in a case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing unit edits the job output setting information generated by said job information generation unit such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to layout information for a print job corresponding to a first physical page in the composed job.

6. An information processor according to claim 1, wherein said job information generation unit counts the number of logical pages in the composed job and determines layout of the logical pages on a physical page for each physical page based on the layout information.

7. An information processor according to claim 1, wherein in a case where said discrimination unit discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing unit edits the job output setting information by obtaining setting information on page shifting processing between the plurality of print jobs.

8. An information processor according to claim 1, further comprising a page shifting layout instruction unit for instructing any logical pages to be shifted in a same physical page, instructing at least one logical page to be shifted to a reverse side of a physical page if the reverse side has an available space, or instructing any logical pages for one print job to be shifted to a physical page different from a physical page for another print job.

9. An information processor according to claim 1, further comprising a preview control unit for controlling a display unit to display a preview screen for the composed job.

10. An information processor according to claim 1, further comprising a printing data generation unit for generating the printing data to be transmitted to the printer based on the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored.

11. An information processor according to claim 10, further comprising:

a draw command generation unit for converting the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored to a draw command that can be interpreted by a drawing unit of an OS; and

a print command assigning unit for assigning a print command received from the application via the drawing unit of the OS to said intermediate code conversion unit and assigning a print command received from said draw command generation unit via the drawing unit of the OS to said printing data generation unit.

12. An information processor according to claim 11, wherein the draw command comprises a GDI function, the print command comprises a DDI function and the printing data is described in a printer language.

13. A method for generating printing data to be transmitted to a printer comprising, comprising:

an intermediate code conversion step for converting data to be printed which is generated by an application into a print job of an intermediate code format and temporarily storing the print job in association with layout information for the data to be printed;

a composition instruction step for providing a composition instruction that instructs a plurality of print jobs of the intermediate code format converted in said intermediate code conversion step to be composed together so as to generate one composed job;

a job information generation step for, in a case where said composition instruction step provides the composition instruction, generating job output setting information that includes layout information for the composed job, based on job setting information that includes layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the job output setting information retaining page layout for the plurality of print jobs;

a discrimination step for discriminating whether a layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job; and

an editing step for, in case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, editing the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to a common page layout,

wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, the composed job is generated such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to the common page layout based on the job output setting information edited in said editing step,

and wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is not provided for the composed job, the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is retained based on the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said job information generation step generates, based on the layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the layout information for the composed job by a physical page step such that any logical page to be assigned to a physical page may be specified.

15. A method according to claim 13, further comprising a layout unification instruction step for providing a unification instruction that instructs the layout for the composed job to be unified, wherein said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, in response to the unification instruction being provided in said layout unification instruction step.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to predetermined layout information.

17. A method according to claim 13, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to layout information for a print job corresponding to a first physical page in the composed job.

18. A method according to claim 13, wherein said job information generation step counts the number of logical pages in the composed job and determines layout of the logical pages on a physical page for each physical page based on the layout information.

19. A method according to claim 13, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information by obtaining setting information on page shifting processing between the plurality of print jobs.

20. A method according to claim 13, further comprising a page shifting layout instruction step for instructing any logical pages to be shifted in a same physical page, instructing at least one logical page to be shifted to a reverse side of a physical page if the reverse side has an available space, or instructing any logical pages for one print job to be shifted to a physical page different from a physical page for another print job.

21. A method according to claim 13, further comprising a preview control step for controlling display of a preview screen for the composed job.

22. A method according to claim 13, further comprising a printing data generation step for generating the printing data to be transmitted to the printer based on the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored.

23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising:

a draw command generation step for converting the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored to a draw command that can be interpreted by a drawing unit of an OS; and

a print command assigning step for assigning a print command received from the application via the drawing unit of the OS to said intermediate code conversion step and assigning a print command received from said draw command generation step via the drawing unit of the OS to said printing data generation step.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the draw command comprises a GDI function, the print command comprises a DDI function and the printing data is described in a printer language.

25. A program stored on a computer-readable medium for generating printing data to be transmitted to a printer comprising, the program causing the computer to execute:

an intermediate code conversion step for converting data to be printed which is generated by an application into a print job of an intermediate code format and temporarily storing the print job in association with layout information for the data to be printed;

a composition instruction step for providing a composition instruction that instructs a plurality of print jobs of the intermediate code format converted in said intermediate code conversion step to be composed together so as to generate one composed job;

a job information generation step for, in a case where said composition instruction step provides the composition instruction, generating job output setting information that includes layout information for the composed job, based on job setting information that includes layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the job output setting information retaining page layout for the plurality of print jobs;

a discrimination step for discriminating whether a layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job; and

an editing step for, in case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, editing the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to a common page layout,

wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, the composed job is generated such that the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is unified to the common page layout based on the job output setting information edited in said editing step,

and wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is not provided for the composed job, the page layout for the plurality of print jobs is retained based on the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step.

26. A program according to claim 25, wherein said job information generation step generates, based on the layout information for the plurality of print jobs, the layout information for the composed job by a physical page step such that any logical page to be assigned to a physical page may be specified.

27. A program according to claim 25, the program further causing the computer to execute a layout unification instruction step for providing a unification instruction that instructs the layout for the composed job to be unified, wherein said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, in response to the unification instruction being provided in said layout unification instruction step.

28. A program according to claim 25, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to predetermined layout information.

29. A program according to claim 25, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information generated in said job information generation step such that the layout information for the composed job is unified to layout information for a print job corresponding to a first physical page in the composed job.

30. A program according to claim 25, wherein said job information generation step counts the number of logical pages in the composed job and determines layout of the logical pages on a physical page for each physical page based on the layout information.

31. A program according to claim 25, wherein in a case where said discrimination step discriminates that the layout unification instruction is provided for the composed job, said editing step edits the job output setting information by obtaining setting information on page shifting processing between the plurality of print jobs.

32. A program according to claim 25, the program further causing the computer to execute a page shifting layout instruction step for instructing any logical pages to be shifted in a same physical page, instructing at least one logical page to be shifted to a reverse side of a physical page if the reverse side has an available space, or instructing any logical pages for one print job to be shifted to a physical page different from a physical page for another print job.

33. A program according to claim 25, the program further causing the computer to execute a preview control step for controlling display of a preview screen for the composed job.

34. A program according to claim 25, the program further causing the computer to execute a printing data generation step for generating the printing data to be transmitted to the printer based on the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored.

35. A program according to claim 34, the program further causing the computer to execute:

a draw command generation step for converting the print job of the intermediate code format temporarily stored to a draw command that can be interpreted by a drawing unit of an OS; and

a print command assigning step for assigning a print command received from the application via the drawing unit of the OS to said intermediate code conversion step and assigning a print command received from said draw command generation step via the drawing unit of the OS to said printing data generation step.

36. A program according to claim 35, wherein the draw command comprises a GDI function, the print command comprises a DDI function and the printing data is described in a printer language.