JP2013006383A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the user by saving labor of deleting job data unnecessary for the user from the printer device.
A job storage unit 205 that receives and stores job data D1 including print data D10 having image information relating to image formation and job information D20 indicating attributes of the print data, and a job storage unit 205 An unnecessary job determination unit 211 that compares job information D20 of job data stored in the job information D20 and job information D20 of newly received job data and determines whether each job data D1 is necessary or not based on the comparison result; An unnecessary job determination unit 211 includes a job deletion unit 212 that deletes job data D1 determined to be unnecessary.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral, and more particularly to a printing apparatus that automatically deletes unnecessary print data.

  In recent years, printing apparatuses such as general printer apparatuses and multifunction peripherals are connected to a data processing apparatus such as a computer via a network, and receive job data that is a series of print processing data transmitted from the data processing apparatus. The job data is temporarily stored in the data storage unit and printed in the order received.

  The operation of storing the job data in the data storage unit is called “spool”, and by performing “spooling”, the printer apparatus can receive a plurality of job data asynchronously with the printing process.

  Such a printer device has a function of automatically printing job data stored in the data storage unit up to that point in order of reception by logging in to the printer device after spooling the job data.

  However, in a printer device having the above functions, when job data stored in the data storage unit does not need to be printed before logging in after spooling, paper is wasted by automatic printing after logging in. Will be consumed.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to select job data to be printed after logging in and before printing job data spooled up to that point. There have been several techniques for achieving this.

  As the conventional technique described above, for example, there are Patent Documents 1 and 2. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the contents of job data spooled on the display screen are displayed. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the user can easily recognize that the predetermined time has passed by changing the color of the selection tab of the job that has passed a predetermined time since spooling. Yes.

  According to the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 as described above, the user selects an image from the spooled job data to determine whether the job data needs to be printed or is unnecessary. Since it can be selected while viewing, it is possible to prevent unnecessary jobs from being selected and to easily delete unnecessary jobs.

JP 2007-58465 A JP 2001-26166 A

  However, in the techniques disclosed in the cited documents 1 and 2, the user himself has to perform an operation of confirming and deleting job data that needs to be printed or unnecessary job data. At this time, in order for the user to determine whether or not the job data is necessary, it is necessary to check the job data name, the time when the job data was spooled, etc., and the work is complicated and requires a lot of labor. was there.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and avoids unnecessary consumption of paper by printing unnecessary job data as much as possible and deleting unnecessary job data from the printer device by the user himself / herself. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that can save labor and reduce the burden on the user.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A job storage unit for receiving and storing job data including print data having image information related to image formation and job information indicating attributes of the print data;
Unnecessary job determination that compares the job information of the job data stored in the job storage unit with the job information of newly received job data and determines whether each job data is necessary or not based on the comparison result And
And a job deletion unit that deletes job data determined to be unnecessary by the unnecessary job determination unit.

  According to such an invention, the printing apparatus determines whether the job data needs to be automatically executed or unnecessary job data, and deletes unnecessary job data. Therefore, when printing data, It is possible to prevent unnecessary job data from being printed as much as possible, and to eliminate the need for the user to delete unnecessary job data from the printing apparatus, thereby reducing the burden on the user.

  In the above invention, the job information includes at least a user identifier for identifying the user and a print data identifier for identifying the print data, and the job determination unit includes the user identifier and the print data relating to the job data to be compared. It is preferable to determine necessity / unnecessity of the job data based on the identity match / mismatch.

  In this case, since the job data is compared based on the user identifier and the print data identifier, it can be accurately determined whether or not the print data is the same. Thereby, for example, even when the same user accidentally performs a print operation on the same print data, one of the duplicate job data can be automatically deleted.

  In the above invention, the unnecessary job determination unit has a function of acquiring the update time of the print data, and when the user identifier and the print data identifier are the same and the update time of each print data is different, the corresponding job data Of these, it is preferable to determine that job data other than the job data at the latest update time is unnecessary.

  In this case, the update time of the print data is further determined, and it is determined that job data other than the latest job data is unnecessary even if the interval between the reception times of the job data is not equal to or longer than a predetermined time. For this reason, for example, when the user performs a print operation again after correcting the print data, the job data spooled prior to the printing apparatus is automatically deleted, and unnecessary job data is printed. In addition, it is possible to save labor for deleting unnecessary job data from the printing apparatus.

  In the above invention, the unnecessary job determination unit includes the job data of the corresponding job data when the user identifier and the print data identifier are the same in the job information and there is an interval of a predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data. It is preferable to determine that any of the job data is unnecessary.

  In this case, for example, when the user performs a printing operation on a certain piece of print data, forgets that the printing operation has been completed after a predetermined time, and has performed the printing operation on the print data again. However, one of the job data is automatically deleted. For this reason, it is possible to prevent unnecessary job data from being printed and to eliminate the user's own job of deleting unnecessary job data from the printing apparatus, thereby reducing the burden on the user.

  On the other hand, for example, when the user tries to add the number of copies immediately after executing the print processing once for the same print data, the user intentionally performs the print operation for the same print data a plurality of times. If so, it is determined that each job data is not deleted. For this reason, each job data is printed, so that a printed matter as intended by the user can be provided.

  In each of the above inventions, the job information includes unnecessary job deletion setting information set at the job data output source, and the unnecessary job deletion setting information indicates whether an unnecessary job is automatically deleted. It is preferable that the unnecessary job determination unit determines whether or not the job data is necessary / unnecessary in the unnecessary job deletion setting information including information indicating that the unnecessary job is automatically deleted.

  In this case, it is possible to set for each job data whether or not to automatically delete when the condition is met at the job data output source. Automatic deletion management can be executed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent unnecessary job data from being printed in a printing apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral, and to delete unnecessary job data from the printing apparatus by the user himself / herself. Can be omitted and the burden on the user can be reduced.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system including a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the printer apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of job data acquired by the printer apparatus of FIG. 2 from the user terminal of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the user terminal of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an unnecessary job deletion screen displayed on the display screen of the user terminal in FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a printing process performed by the printer apparatus of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an unnecessary job automatic deletion process of FIG. 6.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the job data stored in the storage memory or the like is not output in the order of reception, but a user operation on the operation panel provided in the printer apparatus is waited for, and the user can select from the spooled job data. A case where arbitrary data designated by is printed will be described as an example.

(Overall configuration of printing system)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system including a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the printing system includes a user terminal 1 and a printer device 2 (printing device).

  The user terminal 1 (1a to 1c) is an arithmetic processing device including a CPU, and has a function of creating data for printing by various application software and instructing execution of printing processing of the data. It can be realized by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a dedicated device with specialized functions, and may be a mobile computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or a mobile phone.

  The printer device 2 is a network printer that prints job data D1 (print data) received from the user terminal 1 through the network 3 in accordance with a print instruction based on a user operation.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer device 2 and the plurality of user terminals 1 (1 a to 1 c) are connected to the network 3, and printing data is received from the user terminal 1. The data can be sent to the printer device 2 through the network 3 and can be executed remotely.

  The network 3 is a wireless network such as a local network (LAN) or a wireless LAN (WLAN) based on 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX using the communication protocol TCP / IP, for example, peer-to-peer. Simple network for home use is also included.

(Configuration of printer device)
Next, the configuration of the printer device 2 will be described. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the printer apparatus 2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of job data acquired by the printer apparatus in FIG. 2 from the user terminals 1 (1a to 1c) in FIG. It is.

  The “module” used in the description refers to a functional unit that is configured by hardware such as an apparatus or a device, software having the function, or a combination thereof, and achieves a predetermined operation. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer apparatus 2 includes a communication interface 201, an operation panel 202, a job storage unit 205, and an arithmetic processing unit 210 as modules for printing data received via the network. ing.

  The communication interface 201 is a communication interface that transmits and receives data to and from the user terminal 1 (1a to 1c). For example, the communication interface 201 performs data communication by a wired / wireless LAN, a serial method, a USB method, or the like.

  The operation panel 202 is a module that accepts an instruction operation or a setting operation by a user. In the present embodiment, for example, information for selecting data to be printed is displayed from spooled job data D1. Or a touch panel capable of displaying information for performing an operation related to an unnecessary job deletion process.

  The job storage unit 205 is a storage device that stores various types of data and programs. In the present embodiment, the stored data is non-volatile so that the stored data is not erased even when the supply of power is interrupted. Yes. The job storage unit 205 stores job data D1 transmitted and received from the user terminal 1 (1a to 1c).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the job data D1 stored in the job storage unit 205 includes print data D10 having image information related to image formation, and job information D20 indicating attributes of the print data. It is. The job information D20 includes at least a user identifier D21 for identifying the user and a print data identifier D22 for identifying the print data D10. In this embodiment, the print data update time D23 and other information are also included. Data D24 is also included.

  The print data update time D23 is the time when the print data related to the job is finally stored in the user terminal 1. The other data D24 includes, for example, the reception time when the job data receiving unit 215 receives the job data D1, the size of the print data D10, the print page information related to the job data D1, and the like. Yes. Further, unnecessary data automatic deletion setting information can be included in the other data D24 according to the setting on the user terminal 1 side described later. The unnecessary job automatic deletion setting information will be described later.

  The arithmetic processing unit 210 is configured by a processor such as a CPU or DSP (Digital Signal Processor), memory, hardware such as other electronic circuits, software such as a program having the function, or a combination thereof. Arithmetic module. The arithmetic processing unit 210 virtually constructs various functional modules by appropriately reading and executing a program, and various functions for image data processing, operation control of each unit, and user operations are performed by the constructed functional modules. Perform the process.

  In particular, the setting and control related to the unnecessary job deletion process in the present embodiment is performed by the arithmetic processing unit 210 in response to a user operation received through the operation panel 202 or the printer driver 110 on the user terminal 1. Specifically, as an unnecessary job module, the arithmetic processing unit 210 includes an operation signal acquisition unit 214, an unnecessary job determination unit 211, a job data reception unit 215, a job deletion unit 212, and an image processing unit 213. The timer unit 216 is constructed.

  The operation signal acquisition unit 214 is a module that receives an operation signal from the user through the operation panel 202 and the communication interface 201, analyzes the received operation signal, and causes another module to execute processing according to the user operation. In particular, in the present embodiment, the operation signal acquisition unit 214 receives a print processing instruction operation from the operation panel 202 or the printer driver 110 connected via the communication interface 201 or deletes unnecessary jobs by the user. It accepts instruction operations and setting operations related to processing.

  The operation signal received by the operation signal acquisition unit 214 is input to the unnecessary job determination unit 211 and the image processing unit 213 as a control signal. The operation signal acquisition unit 214 is also provided with a function of acquiring paper type data such as the size, type, or thickness of the printing medium for printing.

  The job data receiving unit 215 is a module that receives job data D1 that is a series of print processing units, and is a module that delivers the received job data D1 to the job storage unit 205. In the present embodiment, when the job data receiving unit 215 receives new job data D1, the job data receiving unit 215 instructs the unnecessary job determining unit 211 to store, for example, the job information D20 or the job data D1 address. Notify information.

  The unnecessary job determination unit 211 compares the job information D20 of the job data D1 stored in the job storage unit 205 with the job information D20 of the newly received job data, and determines the necessity of each job data D1 based on the comparison result. -It is a module that judges unnecessary.

  In the present embodiment, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 first determines whether or not the same job data D1. Specifically, upon receiving notification that new job data D1 has been received from the job data receiving unit 215, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 refers to the user identifier D21 and the print data identifier D22 from the job information D20 of the new job data D1. Then, it is determined whether or not the same user identifier D21 and print data identifier D22 are stored in the job storage unit 205.

  Further, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines whether there is an interval of a predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data D1 for the job data D1 having the same user identifier D21 and print data identifier D22. When there is an interval of a predetermined time or more, there is provided a function for determining that any of the corresponding job data D1 is unnecessary.

  Specifically, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 acquires time information when the job data reception unit 215 receives the job data D1 from the time measurement unit 216 that measures the current time. When the same job data D1 exists, the reception time of each job data D1 is referred to, and it is determined from the difference whether the reception time is an interval equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The predetermined time can be set in units of seconds or minutes, and may be set in advance at the time of factory shipment or arbitrarily set by the user by a user operation.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 acquires the update time D23 of the print data from each job data D1 even when there is no interval of a predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data D1. It is determined whether the print data update time D23 is different.

  Specifically, when the update time D23 of each print data is different, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines the latest job data D1 among the corresponding job data D1 even if the interval of the reception time of each job data D1 is not a predetermined time or more. It is determined that job data D1 other than the job data at the update time D23 is unnecessary. On the other hand, when the update times D23 of the print data are the same, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines that there is no unnecessary job data D1. Then, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 transmits the determination result to the job deletion unit 212.

  Note that when unnecessary data automatic deletion setting information according to settings on the user terminal 1 side described later is included in the other data D24 of the job data D1, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 is set according to the setting contents. It is also possible to determine whether or not there is job data D1 that does not require.

  For example, the unnecessary job automatic deletion setting information may include setting contents of “selection” / “non-selection” of the “job data automatic deletion” function. In this case, if the setting content is “selected”, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 performs each of the above determinations, and if “non-selection”, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 does not perform any of the above determinations (unnecessary job determination). The job deletion unit 212 does not perform deletion).

  In addition to the “selection / non-selection” of the “automatic job data deletion” function, the unnecessary job automatic deletion setting information includes the individual settings for automatically deleting unnecessary jobs (“job data reception” “Compare time” “selection” / “non-selection” and “compare job data update time” “selection” / “non-selection”). In this case, if the setting for the “Auto delete job data” function is “Select”, an unnecessary job is set according to the settings for “Compare job data reception times” and “Compare job data update times”. The determination unit 211 performs part or all of the above determinations.

  The job deletion unit 212 is a module that deletes the job data D1 that the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines to be unnecessary. Specifically, a notification regarding the presence or absence of an unnecessary job is received from the unnecessary job determination unit 211, and if there is an unnecessary job, a notification of an address number that is a storage location in the job storage unit 205 is received, and based on the information, The job data D1 stored in the job storage unit 205 is deleted.

  The image processing unit 213 is an arithmetic processing unit that performs digital signal processing specialized for image processing. The image processing unit 213 receives job data D1 that is a processing unit of printing, and stores image data necessary for printing included in the job data D1. This is a module that performs conversion and executes printing. The image processing unit 213 includes an image formation control unit 213a and a color conversion circuit 213b.

  The image formation control unit 213a is a module that controls the driving of the ink heads 220 of each color and the operation of the driving means of the transport path, and controls the entire image forming process, and forms an image at a timing and printing speed according to scheduling. Do. The color conversion circuit 213b is a circuit that converts an RGB print image into a CMYK print image, and causes the image formation control unit 213a to execute printing based on the print image for each color.

(User terminal configuration)
Next, the user terminal 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the user terminal 1, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an unnecessary job deletion screen displayed on the display screen of the user terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal 1 includes an arithmetic processing unit 10 that performs various arithmetic processes, a storage unit 11 that stores data such as data and execution programs, and data and operation signals to the user terminal 1. It has an output interface 12 and an input interface 13 for inputting / outputting video / audio signals, a communication interface 14 for communicating via the network 3, and a bus 15 for connecting these modules.

  The output interface 12 and the input interface 13 are data transfer modules including external terminals for inputting / outputting data and video / audio signals. Specifically, a display device such as the display 16, a flexible disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a storage unit 11 (hard disk drive), an input device such as a mouse 13a and a keyboard 13b, and the like are generally used for these. Connected device is connected. The output interface 12 and the input interface 13 transmit and receive data and signals in a signal format suitable for each device. The communication interface 14 is a communication interface that transmits and receives data to and from the printer device 2, and performs data communication by, for example, a serial method or a USB method.

  The storage unit 11 is a storage device that accumulates various data, and stores data input from an input device such as a mouse 13a and a keyboard 13b and results of arithmetic processing performed by the arithmetic processing unit 10. The storage unit 11 also stores keywords and figures that determine the attributes of each page in the print data.

  The arithmetic processing unit 10 is an arithmetic device that includes a processor, a memory, and other peripheral devices. In particular, in the present embodiment, the OS 101 is executed on the arithmetic processing unit 10, the application 102 is executed on the OS 101, and the printer driver 110 that controls the units 11 to 14 is executed by the OS 101. By starting the printer driver 110 on the arithmetic processing unit 10, an interface for controlling automatic deletion of job data printed by the printer device 2 is constructed. Accordingly, the user terminal 1 can function as an output source of job data that is a part of the printing system.

  The printer driver 110 is a print control program executed on the user terminal 1 in order to control the printer device 2 connected to the user terminal 1. The printer driver 110 normally acquires document data created by an application 102 such as word processing software in the user terminal 1, for example, and generates print data D10 that is image data for printing according to predetermined print setting information. The data is sent to the printer apparatus 2 as job data D1, and the printer apparatus 2 is caused to execute print processing.

  The printer driver 110 can be provided with a function for setting whether or not unnecessary job data D1 is automatically deleted on the printer device 2 side based on a user operation. When this function is provided, a screen for selecting whether or not to execute the “automatic job data deletion” function is displayed in the window on the display 16 at the time of setting, as shown in FIG. become. On this screen, when the “job data automatic deletion” function is selected by a user operation, the printer apparatus 2 is controlled, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines whether there is an unnecessary job, and the job deletion unit 212 Execute processing to delete unnecessary jobs.

  The printer driver 110 can also have a function for automatically setting conditions for deleting unnecessary jobs. In the case of providing this function, as shown in FIG. 5, when the “job data automatic deletion” function of the window displayed on the screen is selected by the user operation, as shown in FIG. )), A setting screen for each item of “detailed setting” is displayed ((b) in the figure).

  Each item of “detailed setting” includes an item “comparison of job data reception times” and “job data update time” corresponding to the determination contents by the unnecessary job determination unit 211 of the printer apparatus 2 described above. Compare items "are included. When the “Compare Job Data Reception Time” item is selected, the printer driver 110 controls the printer apparatus 2, and the user identifier D 21 and the print data identifier D 22 are the same for the unnecessary job determination unit 211. It is determined whether the reception time of the job data D1 is an interval equal to or longer than a predetermined time.

  When the item “Compare Job Data Update Time D23” is selected, the printer driver 110 controls the printer apparatus 2 to the unnecessary job determination unit 211 to update the same print data update time D23. To determine if they are different.

(Print control method)
By operating the printing system having the above configuration, the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment can be implemented. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a printing process performed by the printer device according to the present embodiment.

  First, when receiving the job data D1 from each user terminal 1 (S101), the printer device 2 sequentially stores it in the job storage unit 205 (S102). When two or more pieces of job data are acquired, the arithmetic processing unit 210 determines whether there is an instruction to automatically delete unnecessary jobs in accordance with a user instruction (S103).

  If there is no instruction to automatically delete unnecessary jobs (“N” in S103), the designated job is not deleted according to the instruction from the user without deleting the job data D1 stored in the job storage unit 205. All the data D1 is printed (S105).

  On the other hand, when there is an instruction to automatically delete an unnecessary job (“Y” in S103), the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines duplicate job data D1, and the job deletion unit 212 determines one of the job data. D1 is deleted (S104). Then, in response to a user instruction on the operation panel 202, the job data D1 remaining in the job storage unit 205 is printed (S105).

  Next, the unnecessary job automatic deletion process processed in step 104 will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an unnecessary job automatic deletion process in step S104 of FIG. Here, it is determined whether or not the other data D24 of the job data D1 does not include the automatic deletion setting information and all the job data D1 received by the printer apparatus 2 is unnecessary job data D1. To do.

  First, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 acquires job information D20 included in the stored job data D1 from the job storage unit 205 (S201). The unnecessary job determination unit 211 compares the user identifier D21 and the print data identifier D22 of the job data stored in the job storage unit 205 with the user identifier D21 and the print data identifier D22 of the newly received job data. Then, it is determined whether there is job data D1 having the same user identifier D21 and print data identifier D22 (S202).

  If it is determined that there is no identical job data D1 (“N” in S202), the process proceeds to the above-described step S105 and print processing is executed. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is the same job data D1 (“Y” in S202), the unnecessary job determination unit 211 refers to the reception time of the job data, and the interval at which the reception time of each job data is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. Whether or not (S203).

  If there is an interval of a predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data (“Y” in S203), it is determined that any job data of the corresponding job data D1 is unnecessary, and is unnecessary for the job deletion unit 212. Notifying that the job is to be deleted and the address destination where the unnecessary job is stored, the job deletion unit 212 deletes one of the job data D1 (S205).

  On the other hand, if there is no interval of the predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data (“N” in S20), the unnecessary job determination unit 211 refers to the job data update time D23 from the job information D20, and each job data It is determined whether or not the update time D23 is different (S204).

  When it is determined that the update time D23 of each job data is different (“Y” in S204), it is determined that job data D1 other than the job data D1 at the latest update time D23 is unnecessary among the corresponding job data D1. It determines and notifies the job deletion unit 212 that the unnecessary job is deleted and the address destination where the job data D1 with the old update time D23 is stored. Upon receiving this notification, the job deletion unit 212 deletes the job data D1 whose update time D23 is old (S205). On the other hand, when it is determined that the update time D23 of each job data is the same ("N" in S204), the process proceeds to the above-described step S105 to execute the printing process.

(Action / Effect)
According to this embodiment, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines whether the job data D1 needs to be automatically printed or is unnecessary, and deletes the unnecessary job data D1. For this reason, it is not necessary to wait for the user's instruction on the operation panel provided in the printer apparatus and to take the procedure of printing the specified data from the stored job data D1. For this reason, it is possible to save labor for deleting the job data D1 unnecessary for the user from the printer device, and to reduce the burden on the user. Further, since the job data D1 determined to be unnecessary by the unnecessary job determination unit 211 is deleted, it is possible to prevent the job data D1 from being printed and the paper from being wasted.

  In the present embodiment, the job information D20 includes at least a user identifier D21 for identifying the user and a print data identifier D22 for identifying the print data D10. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether the print data D10 is the same. Judgment can be made. Thereby, for example, even when the user accidentally performs a print operation on the same print data D10, one of the duplicate job data D1 can be automatically deleted.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 includes the case where the user identifier D21 and the print data identifier D22 are the same in the job information D20, and the reception time of each job data has an interval of a predetermined time or more. Then, it is determined that none of the job data D1 among the corresponding job data is necessary.

  Thus, for example, when the user performs a print operation on a certain print data D10 and performs a print operation on the print data D10 again after a predetermined time has elapsed, one of the job data D1 can be deleted. It is possible to prevent unnecessary job data D1 from being printed. At the same time, it is possible to save labor for deleting the job data D1 unnecessary for the user from the printer device, and to reduce the burden on the user.

  On the other hand, when the time of receiving each job data is equal to or shorter than a predetermined time, it is not determined that each job data D1 is unnecessary. For this reason, the user intentionally performs the same print data D10 a plurality of times, for example, once the print operation is performed on the same print data D10, and then the print data D10 is again printed to add the number of copies. When a printing operation is performed, a printing process is executed for each job data D1, and the number of printed materials intended by the user can be acquired.

  Further, in this embodiment, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 has a function of acquiring the print data update time D23, the user identifier D21 and the print data identifier D22 are the same, and the update time D23 of each print data is the same. If they are different, it is determined that the job data D1 other than the job data at the latest update time D23 is unnecessary among the corresponding job data D1.

  Thus, for example, when the user performs a printing operation again after correcting the print data D10, the job data D1 is stored in advance in the image forming apparatus even if the interval of the reception time of each job data D1 is not equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The job data D1 is automatically deleted. For this reason, it is possible to prevent unnecessary job data D1 from being subjected to printing processing, and to save labor for the user himself / herself to delete unnecessary job data D1 from the printer apparatus, thereby reducing the burden on the user. .

  As described above, when the automatic deletion setting information of the unnecessary job according to the setting on the user terminal 1 side is included in the other data D24 of the job data D1, according to the setting content, The unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines whether there is unnecessary job data D1.

  For example, when the unnecessary job automatic deletion setting information includes the setting contents of “selection” / “non-selection” of the “job data automatic deletion” function, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 performs “job data automatic deletion”. For only the job data D1 whose function is “selection”, the determination in step S202 in FIG. 7 is performed, and the processing in steps S203 and S204 is executed. At this time, the process of step S204 may be omitted, and the process may be changed so as to determine the presence or absence of unnecessary job data D1 only by the process of step S203.

  In addition to the “Select” / “Non-select” option of the “Auto delete job data” function, the individual settings for automatically deleting unnecessary jobs (“Receive job data” If “compare time” “select” / “non-select” and “compare job data update time” “select” / “non-select”) are included, steps S203 and S204 in FIG. This process is performed as follows.

  First, in step S203, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines only job data D1 for which “compare reception time of job data” is “selected”. In step S <b> 204, the unnecessary job determination unit 211 determines only the job data D <b> 1 for which “comparison of job data update times” is “selected”.

  Therefore, some of the job data D1 is not determined by the unnecessary job determination unit 211 according to the procedure of FIG. 7 depending on the setting contents of the other data D24. Some of them determine whether it is unnecessary by determining at least one or both of S203 and S204.

  As described above, whether or not to delete unnecessary jobs automatically is set in the job deletion unit 212 in the job data D1 (other data D24) based on the user operation. In the case of providing the function to do so, it is possible to set whether or not to delete the same job data D1 for each printing process and the setting conditions thereof, so that the user can obtain a printed matter as intended.

1 (1a-1c) User terminal 2 Printer device 3 Network 10 Arithmetic processing unit 11 Storage unit 12 Output interface 13 Input interface 13a Mouse 13b Keyboard 14 Communication interface 15 Bus 16 Display 101 OS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Application 110 Printer driver 201 Communication interface 202 Operation panel 205 Job memory | storage part 210 Arithmetic processing part 211 Unnecessary job determination part 212 Job deletion part 213 Image processing part 213a Image formation control part 213b Color conversion circuit 214 Operation signal acquisition part 215 Job data reception Section 216 Timekeeping section 220 Ink head D1 Job data D10 Print data D20 Job information D21 User identifier D22 Print data identifier D23 Print data update time D24 Other data

Claims (4)

A job storage unit for receiving and storing job data including print data having image information related to image formation and job information indicating attributes of the print data;
Unnecessary job determination that compares the job information of the job data stored in the job storage unit with the job information of newly received job data and determines whether each job data is necessary or not based on the comparison result And
A printing apparatus comprising: a job deletion unit that deletes job data determined to be unnecessary by the unnecessary job determination unit.   The job information includes at least a user identifier for identifying a user and a print data identifier for identifying print data. The unnecessary job determination unit includes the user identifier and the print related to the job data to be compared. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein necessity / unnecessity of the job data is determined based on a match / mismatch of data identifiers.   The unnecessary job determination unit has a function of acquiring an update time of the print data, and when the user identifier and the print data identifier are the same and the update time of each print data is different, the corresponding job data The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein job data other than job data at the latest update time is determined to be unnecessary.   The unnecessary job determination unit, when the user identifier and the print data identifier of the job information are the same and there is an interval of a predetermined time or more in the reception time of each job data, 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one of the job data is determined to be unnecessary.