JP2010158815A - Printer, printing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

An information amount desired by a user is printed without wasting only updated information.
Means for specifying a content acquisition destination, means for specifying a paper size and the number of sheets for printing the content, means for detecting the update of the content and acquiring the content, and the content Extracting means for extracting non-printed information included in the information processing means, means for assigning the extracted information to the designated paper size, and means for executing printing when the information assigned to the paper reaches a designated number of sheets. It is characterized by that.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program capable of automatically printing content acquired from a content server.

  In recent years, infrastructures such as digital broadcasting, optical networks, and high-speed wireless networks have been established. In addition to personal computers and mobile phones, various devices such as digital TVs and hard disk recorders can be connected to the Internet, and the Internet usage environment continues to develop. Also, in Internet content, there are various forms of WEB pages such as news, blogs, and bulletin boards, and the user can easily acquire various information.

Normally, the user can browse the content on the screen of the content display device, but on the screen of the content display device, there is a limit to the amount of content information that can be displayed at one time, so the user can obtain information comfortably on the screen. Can not.
In order to browse the content easily, it is natural to provide the content as a printed matter. Therefore, there is a demand for a technique for immediately printing the content on the network required by the user. In the future, if this technology evolves and can be realized with inexpensive resources that can be used by general users, it is conceivable to use information such as printing information desired by users from Internet content as news every morning.

  For example, in the technology of Patent Document 1, an Internet search engine is built in a printer, so that a homepage or genre preferred by a user can be searched without computer equipment, and printing can be performed according to a designated printing method and printing time. ing.

JP 2002-157096 A

  However, since the conventional technology executes printing regardless of the amount of content update, there are various problems. That is, current Internet content includes content that is updated a large amount of information every day, such as a news site, and content that is operated by an individual such as a blog or a bulletin board that updates a small amount of information irregularly. When content that is updated irregularly using conventional techniques is printed periodically, the content may be printed even if the content is not updated at all, depending on the content update timing. Further, even when printing is performed in accordance with the update time of the content, there is a possibility that printing is performed with a small update amount, and there is a problem that unnecessary printing is performed.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to print the amount of information desired by the user without wasting only the updated information.

  The present invention provides means for designating a content acquisition destination, means for designating a paper size and the number of sheets for printing the content, means for detecting the update of the content and acquiring the content, and the content Extracting means for extracting non-printed information included in the printer, means for assigning the extracted information to the designated paper size, and means for executing printing when the information assigned to the paper reaches a designated number of sheets. It is characterized by that.

  By automatically acquiring content and extracting only unprinted information of content in a printing apparatus connected to the network, it is possible to print update information without waste and with the amount of information desired by the user. .

<First Embodiment>
Next, a first embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system and a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a printing apparatus, which is connected to the content server 103 via the network 102.
Reference numeral 104 denotes content specifying means for the user to specify information for acquiring content.
Reference numeral 105 denotes a time measuring unit that measures time for periodically detecting the update of the content server and time required for processing executed in the present embodiment.
A content acquisition unit 106 acquires the content designated by the content designation unit 104 from the content server (acquisition destination) in synchronization with the elapse of the update detection time of the time measurement unit.

Reference numeral 107 denotes means for storing update identification information for detecting that the content has been updated. As the update identification information, for example, the data capacity of the content and the last update date and time of the content are stored.
Reference numeral 108 denotes content update detection means for detecting whether there is content update. For example, it is possible to detect the update of the content by comparing the data volume of the content or the last update date and time of the content with the update identification information.
Reference numeral 109 denotes a means for storing printed identification information for identifying printed content. As the printed identification information, for example, it is conceivable to analyze the structure of the content and store the printed position as the identification information. In the content printed by the print execution unit 113, the content may be identified by a text character string or an image file name at the end of the last page of the printing paper, or date information of the content.

Reference numeral 115 denotes a means for recognizing an update pattern such as whether content update information is inserted at the beginning or added at the end. The update pattern may be specified by the user. Alternatively, some information at the beginning of the content before update and some information at the end are stored. The update pattern may be recognized by searching the updated content and the two pieces of information at the update detection timing.
An unprinted information extracting unit 110 extracts only unprinted information from information included in the content by using the identification information stored in the printed identification information storage unit using the content update pattern. is there.

Reference numeral 111 denotes paper size paper number designating means for designating the print paper size and the number of prints when printing information updated by user-specified content.
Reference numeral 112 denotes a page allocating unit for calculating how many sheets of printing paper are required when printing information updated by user-specified content on a user-specified paper size. When the number of allocated pages reaches the specified number of sheets, the print execution unit 113 is instructed to execute the print.
A print execution unit 113 prints the content data acquired from the page allocation unit 112 according to the print execution instruction.
Reference numeral 114 denotes a content buffer that primarily stores acquired content. It is desirable that the content buffer 114 has a capacity capable of storing all content information. However, it is also possible to realize a minimum buffer capacity necessary for processing the content by repeatedly acquiring the content as necessary.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a flowchart of the content printing process according to the present embodiment is shown. It is assumed that the content printing process is started at a timing when the time measuring unit 105 detects an update of the content. This flowchart is realized by the CPU of the printing apparatus executing a program stored in the internal storage device.
In step S201, when the content printing process is started, it is determined whether or not the timer is out in step S202. If the timer is out, the process proceeds to step S205, and if not, the process proceeds to step S203. The timer-out is started in step S212, which will be described later, is measured by the time measuring means 105, and enters a timer-out state when a predetermined time has elapsed. The purpose of the timer out will be described later.

In step S203, content update information is acquired from the content server specified by the content specifying means 104. In step S204, it is determined whether or not the content is updated. If there is no update, the process proceeds to step S213 to end the content printing process. If the content is updated, the content is acquired from the content server in step S205.
In step S206, the printed identification information stored in the printed identification information storage unit 109 is searched from the information included in the content, and the position of the information on which the content has been printed is specified.

In step S207, a page allocation process is performed in which information excluding the printed information is allocated to a previously specified paper size. If there is no printed identification information, all information of content is allocated.
In step S208, if the number of pages allocated in step S207 and the number of sheets designated in advance have been reached, or if the timer is out, the process proceeds to step S209. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S213, and the content printing process is terminated.

In step S209, the printing process for the designated number of sheets is executed. If the timer is out, the printing process is executed even if the number is not the designated number. The timer-out is an exception process for preventing printing without a predetermined amount of update even though information that has not been printed is included in the content.
Step S210 is a process of storing identification information for indicating the position of the content after the printing process is executed in the printed identification information storage unit 109.

  Step S211 is a process for determining whether or not information that has not been printed is included in the content. If the information is not included, the process proceeds to step S213 to end the content printing process. If unprinted information is included, the process proceeds to step S212, a process for starting a timer for timer-out is performed, and the content printing process is terminated.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the content on the content server and the print image output in the content print processing performed in the present embodiment.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes the content content as of October 8th. If the number of sheets designated by the number-of-printing designation unit 111 is one, printing is performed as shown at 302. That is, information from October 1 to October 6 is printed, and information from October 7 to October 8 is not printed. The information for identifying the printed information stored in the printed identification information storage means 109 may be a part of information included on October 6, or the information if the location can be specified by the number of characters, the file position, etc. .

  303 indicates the contents of the content as of October 13th. An image 304 is printed at this time. That is, information that has not been printed from October 7 to October 12 is printed, and information on October 13 is not printed. Here, even if an update is detected between October 9 and October 11, even if information that has not been printed is allocated to a page, it is not printed because it is less than one sheet.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the update of the content designated by the user is monitored from the printing apparatus while minimizing the capacity of the content buffer. Then, after the information updated from the printed information of the content is accumulated for the amount of information specified by the user, the information can be automatically printed.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, an embodiment of a printing apparatus corresponding to a case where past information is moved to a link destination in the content server as content is updated will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, the content acquisition unit in the first embodiment is expanded. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the content acquisition process according to the present embodiment. This flowchart is realized by the CPU of the printing apparatus executing a program stored in the internal storage device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which past information is moved to a link destination.
In FIG. 5, content A is the main content. The content B is sub-content corresponding to the link destination indicated by the Back Number included in the content A. Furthermore, the content C is an example in which the past information is moved to the content C, which is the sub-content corresponding to the link destination indicated in the October information indicated by the content B.

In FIG. 4, when the content acquisition process in step S401 is started, the main content acquisition process is performed in step S402. Next, in step S403, it is determined whether the main content has printed identification information. If there is identification information, the process proceeds to step S410, and the content acquisition unit is terminated. If not, the process proceeds to step S404.
In step S404, a process of acquiring the link destination of the sub-content is performed. In step S405, it is determined whether or not there is a link destination. If a link destination is found, a process of acquiring sub-content is performed by following the link destination in step S406. Detection of the link destination may use sub-contents registered in advance by the user. A keyword such as Back Number may be used. Furthermore, if the format of the content is standardized, it may be detected using the standard format.

In step S407, processing for merging sub-contents with main contents is performed.
In step S408, it is determined whether or not there is printed identification information in the sub-content. If there is identification information, the process proceeds to step S410, and the content acquisition process ends normally. If there is no identification information, the process returns to step S404, and the process of following the next link destination is repeated.
If there is no link destination for finding the printed identification information in step S405, the content printing process cannot be continued, so the error process in step S409 is performed, and the error ends in step S411.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, after information updated from the printed information of content is accumulated for the amount of information specified by the user, the information can be automatically printed. In particular, it is possible to cope even when past information is moved to the link destination.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, an embodiment in which the content buffer capacity of the printing apparatus is minimized will be described with reference to the drawings. However, in order to minimize the capacity of the content buffer, it is assumed that the content update information of the content server is added to the end of the content.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the state of content update and the print image output in the content print processing performed in the present embodiment.
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes the contents as of October 8th. If the number of sheets designated by the number-of-printing designation unit 111 is one, printing is performed as shown at 702. That is, information from October 1 to October 6 is printed, and information from October 7 to October 8 is not printed. The information for identifying the printed information stored in the printed identification information storage means 109 may be a part of information included on October 6, or the information if the location can be specified by the number of characters, the file position, etc. .

  Reference numeral 703 denotes the content content as of October 13th. Reference numeral 704 denotes an image printed at this point. That is, information that has not been printed from October 7 to October 12 is printed, and information on October 13 is not printed. Here, even if an update is detected between October 9 and October 11, even if information that has not been printed is allocated to a page, it is not printed because it is less than one sheet.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the content printing process according to the present embodiment. This flowchart is realized by the CPU of the printing apparatus executing a program stored in the internal storage device. It is assumed that the content printing process is started at a timing when the time measuring unit 105 detects an update of the content.
In step S601, when the content printing process is started, it is determined in step S602 whether or not the timer is out, and if it is timer out, the process proceeds to step S605, and if not, the process proceeds to step S603. The timer-out is started in step S613, measured by the time measuring means 105, and enters a timer-out state when a predetermined time has elapsed.

  In step S603, the content update information is acquired from the content server designated by the content designation unit 104. In step S604, it is determined whether or not the content is updated. If there is no update, the process advances to step S614 to end the content printing process. If the content is updated, in step S605, the content buffer content is acquired from the content server according to the information of the acquisition pointer. Here, the pointer is a variable indicating the position of the information included in the content. The acquisition pointer indicates the acquired position, and the printed pointer is a variable indicating the position of the printed information, and is information stored in the printed identification information storage unit 109. If there is no printed information, it is assumed that the printed pointer points to the beginning of the content. In this process, the acquisition pointer is updated by the buffer.

  In step S606, it is determined whether or not all of the acquired content has been acquired. If the content has been acquired to the end, the process proceeds to step S614 to end the content printing process. If not acquired to the end, the process proceeds to step S607. In step S607, the acquisition pointer is compared with the printed pointer, and if the value of the acquisition pointer is large, the process proceeds to step S608. Otherwise, the process returns to step S605, and the content acquisition process for the buffer reaches the printed position. Repeat until.

  In step S608, page allocation processing is performed in which information after the printed pointer is allocated to the designated paper size. In step S609, it is determined whether or not the number of allocated pages has reached the specified number. If not, the process returns to step S605 to repeat the allocation process. If it has reached, the process advances to step S610 to execute the printing process for the designated number of sheets.

  Step S611 is a process in which the printing process is executed and the position of the content is stored in the printed identification information storage unit 109 as a printed pointer. In step S612, it is a process for determining whether or not information that has not been printed remains in the content. If no information remains, the process proceeds to step S614 to end the content printing process. If it remains, the process advances to step S613 to start a timer and end the content printing process.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, after the user-specified amount of information is accumulated, the information can be automatically printed.
Of course, the present invention is also realized by a program installed in a computer.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system and a printing apparatus. It is a flowchart of the content printing process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the printing image output in the printing process of a content. It is a flowchart of the content acquisition process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example which the past information moved to the link destination. It is a flowchart of the content printing process which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the printing image output in the printing process of a content.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Printing apparatus 102 Network 103 Content server 104 Content designation means 105 Time measurement means 106 Content acquisition means 107 Update identification information storage means 108 Content update detection means 109 Printed identification information storage means 110 Unprinted information extraction means 111 Paper size, number of sheets Designating means 112 Page allocation means 113 Print execution means

Claims (4)

A means of specifying the content source;
Means for designating a paper size and the number of sheets for printing the content;
Means for detecting the update of the content and acquiring the content;
Extracting means for extracting unprinted information contained in the content;
Means for allocating the extracted information to the designated paper size;
Means for executing printing when the information assigned to the paper reaches a specified number;
A printing apparatus comprising: Means for recognizing an update pattern of whether the update information of the content is inserted at the beginning of the content or added at the end;
Means for extracting unprinted information according to the update pattern;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: Specifying where to get the content;
Designating a paper size and number of sheets for printing the content;
Detecting the content update to obtain the content;
An extraction step of extracting unprinted information contained in the content;
Assigning the extracted information to the designated paper size;
Executing printing when the number of pieces of information assigned to the paper reaches a specified number;
A printing method characterized by comprising: Specifying where to get the content;
Designating a paper size and number of sheets for printing the content;
Detecting the content update to obtain the content;
An extraction step of extracting unprinted information contained in the content;
Assigning the extracted information to the designated paper size;
Executing printing when the number of pieces of information assigned to the paper reaches a specified number;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

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