Information processing apparatus, and method discriminating between sheet feed from cassette and manual port, and image transfer based thereon

• US 8,134,723 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2006
• Issued: 03/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zheng, Jacky X
• Application Number:
  US11/442,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20060275070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,114 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.14, 358/1.15, 358/1.1, 358/498, 101/118, 271/4.02, 271/136, 271/242, 347/153
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0095 Detecting means for copy material, e.g. for detecting or sensing presence of copy material or its leading or trailing end
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/002 Interacting with the operator
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1809 relating to the printing process

Abstract

An information processing apparatus which controls a host-based printer includes a determination portion which determines designation of feed from a feed unit or manual feed port, a display control portion which, when it is determined that feed from the manual feed port is designated, causes a display portion to display a display to prompt the operator to insert a print medium into the manual feed port, an identification portion which identifies compressed-image data transfer permission corresponding a user instruction, and a transfer portion which transfers compressed image data of one page to the host-based printer.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus which controls a host-based printer that can print each page of one print job on a print medium loaded in a cassette feed portion or a print medium inserted from a manual feed port on the basis of image data of each page and uses a common sensor to detect the print media loaded in the cassette feed portion and the manual feed port, comprising:

a designation unit adapted to designate a page to suspend an operation of the host-based printer in order to print by changing a feed of the print medium loaded in the cassette feed portion into a feed of the print medium inserted from the manual feed port;

a setting unit adapted to set, based on the designation result of said designation unit, suspension information indicating a page at which the operation of the host-based printer is suspended;

a determination unit adapted to determine whether a page is one to which the suspension information is set when one print job is executed;

a display control unit adapted to, when said determination unit determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is set, cause a display portion of the host-based printer to display a prompt for insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port;

an identification unit adapted to, when said determination unit determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is set, identify a user instruction inputted at the host-based printer; and

a transfer unit adapted to (i) transfer image data corresponding to the page to which the suspension information is set to the host-based printer on the basis of the identification by said identification unit, when said determination unit determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is set, and to (ii) transfer successively image data of a plurality of pages to the host-based printer, when said determination unit determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is not set,

wherein in a process for image data of each page of the print job that has not been transferred to the host-based printer after a print process of the one corresponding to the page to which the suspension information is set,

said determination unit determines whether a page is one to which the suspension information is set;

said display control unit of the host-based printer causes the display portion to display again the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port when said determination unit determines again that the page is one to which the suspension information is set,

said identification unit identifies again the user instruction inputted at the host-based printer, and

said transfer unit transfers the image data of a following one corresponding page of the print job to be processed to the host-based printer on the basis of the identification by said identification unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when said identification unit identifies the user instruction, said display control unit cancels the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first designation information determination unit adapted to determine whether information containing the image data of each page contains designation information for controlling an operation of the host-based printer for each page; and

a second designation information determination unit adapted to, when said first designation information determination unit determines that the information contains the designation information, determine whether a setting of suspending the operation of the host-based printer is set in the designation information,

wherein when said second designation information determination unit determines that the setting of suspending the operation of the host-based printer is set in the designation information, said display control unit causes the display portion to display the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port, and

wherein said transfer unit does not transfer corresponding image data until a notification representing image data transfer permission is received from the host-based printer.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said identification unit identifies a notification output from the host-based printer in response to an instruction that insertion of a print sheet into the manual feed port is completed by a user in the host-based printer, and

the notification includes a notification by a response to polling, an event notification, or a notification based on a voltage change at a signal destination.

5. An information processing method of controlling a host-based printer that can print each page of one print job on a print medium loaded in a cassette feed portion or a print medium inserted from a manual feed port on the basis of image data of each page and uses a common sensor to detect the print media loaded in the cassette feed portion and the manual feed port, comprising steps of:

designating a page to suspend an operation of the host-based printer in order to print by changing a feed of the print medium loaded in the cassette feed portion into a feed of the print medium inserted from the manual feed port;

setting, based on the designation result, suspension information indicating a page at which the operation of the host-based printer is suspended;

determining a page to which the suspension information is set;

first display controlling of, when the page to which the suspension information is set in the determining step to be designated, causing a display portion of the host-based printer to display a prompt to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port;

identifying, when said determining step determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is set, a user instruction inputted at the host-based printer;

controlling of causing the host-based printer to (i) output image data of one corresponding page to which the suspension information is set on the basis of the identification in the identifying step, when said determining step determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is set, and to (ii) transfer successively image data of a plurality of pages to the host-based printer, when said determining step determines that the page is one to which the suspension information is not set; and

second display controlling of, in a process for image data of each page of the print job that has not been transferred to the host-based printer after a print process of the one corresponding page, causing the display portion of the host-based printer to display again the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port when said determining step determines again that the page is one to which the suspension information is set,

identifying again the user instruction inputted at the host-based printer, and

transferring the image data of a following one corresponding the page to which the suspension information is set of the print job to be processed to the host-based printer on the basis of the identification by said identification unit; and

said determining step determines whether a page is one to which the suspension information is set.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the user instruction is identified in the identifying step, the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port is canceled in the first display controlling step and the second display controlling step.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of determining whether a setting of suspending an operation of the host-based printer is set in correspondence with each of a plurality of pages,

wherein for a page determined in the determining step which is added the setting for suspending the operation of the host-based printer, the display portion is caused in the first display controlling step to display the display to prompt insertion of a print medium into the manual feed port, and no corresponding image data is transferred in the controlling step of causing the host-based printer until image data transfer permission is identified.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein

in the identifying step, a notification output from the host-based printer is identified in response to an instruction that insertion of a print sheet into the manual feed port is completed by a user in the host-based printer, and

the notification includes a notification by a response to polling, an event notification, or a notification based on a voltage change at a signal destination.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium which stores a program causing a computer to execute an information processing method defined in claim 5.