JP2007026100A - Image processing system, image processing method, and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system, an image processing method, and an image processing program which can easily add delimitation information to the data after conversion when print data obtained by developing PDL (Page Description Language) data is converted to the data of another file format. <P>SOLUTION: A printer controller as an image processing system of this invention receives PDL data (S201), develops the received PDL data to bitmap data (S202), acquires numbers of the head pages of chapters as the delimitation information indicating delimitation in a document (S204), and converts the bitmap data obtained by developing to PDF (Portable Document Format) data reflecting the obtained delimitation information (S406, S407). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program, and in particular, an image processing apparatus and image processing for converting print data obtained by expanding PDL data into data of another file format. The present invention relates to a method and an image processing program.

  In recent years, MFPs have been used in the field of POD (Print On Demand) as the processing speed of MFPs (Multi-Function Peripherals) increases.

  When document data is transmitted from a PC (personal computer) to an MFP for printing, the document data is usually converted into PDL data described in PDL (Page Description Language) by a printer driver installed in the PC, Sent as a print job.

  Since printing by such an MFP does not require a plate, image editing can be easily performed. For this reason, MFPs are often used in workflows in which bitmap format data obtained by rasterizing PDL data is edited and printed out again. The edited data is converted into, for example, PDF (Portable Document Format) data and delivered to the customer.

  By the way, when the delivered data is, for example, a manual, the data is often delivered after setting bookmark information for each chapter in the document.

  On the other hand, a print instruction apparatus is disclosed in which a plurality of pieces of document data are combined into one and an instruction to insert and print a sorting sheet is performed with a single operation (see Patent Document 1). In addition, when document data is instructed to print, chapter information may be set in the document data by the printer driver to instruct the first page of the chapter to be printed on the front side rather than the back side of the paper. As described above, the PDL data may include delimiter information indicating delimiters in the document.

However, since the bitmap format data obtained by rasterization no longer holds the above-described delimiter information, the bitmap format data is directly converted into PDF data without delimiter information. Therefore, if it is necessary to set, for example, bookmark information in the converted PDF data according to the customer's request, an application for editing is used to place a page where “bookmark” is placed on the converted PDF data. There is a problem that it is troublesome to specify each one and set bookmark information, which takes time and effort.
JP-A-8-278865

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to convert print data obtained by expanding PDL data into data of another file format. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program capable of easily adding delimiter information to later data.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) A receiving unit that receives PDL data, a developing unit that expands the received PDL data into print data, an acquisition unit that acquires delimiter information indicating a delimiter in a document from the received PDL data, and the print data Conversion means for reflecting the obtained delimiter information into data of another file format.

  (2) The image processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the delimiter information is a number of a first page of a chapter in a document.

  (3) The image processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the delimiter information is a page number into which a tab sheet having a tab portion protruding from a part of a sheet side is inserted into a document.

  (4) The image processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the data in the other file format is PDF data.

  (5) The image processing apparatus according to (4), wherein the conversion unit converts the print data into PDF data in which bookmark information corresponding to the delimiter information is set.

  (6) A receiving step for receiving PDL data, a developing step for developing the received PDL data into print data, an acquisition step for acquiring delimiter information indicating delimiters in the document from the received PDL data, and the print data A conversion step of reflecting the obtained delimiter information into data of another file format.

  (7) A reception procedure for receiving PDL data, a development procedure for developing the received PDL data into print data, an acquisition procedure for obtaining delimiter information indicating a delimiter in a document from the received PDL data, and the print data An image processing program for causing a computer to execute a conversion procedure for converting the data into data of another file format by reflecting the obtained delimiter information.

  (8) A computer-readable recording medium on which the image processing program according to (7) is recorded.

  According to the present invention, when print data obtained by expanding received PDL data is converted into data of another file format, delimiter information is automatically added to the converted data. Therefore, even if it is necessary to set bookmark information in the converted PDF data, for example, according to the customer's request, etc., it is troublesome to set the bookmark information by specifying pages one by one using an editing application. It can be eliminated, and the burden on the operator is reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the printing system. The printing system includes a PC (personal computer) 100, a printer controller 200 as an image processing apparatus, and a printer 300. The PC 100 and the printer controller 200 are connected via a network 400 so that the printer controller 200 and the printer 300 can communicate with each other directly between devices.

  Note that the printer controller 200 and the printer 300 may be connected via the network 400 without being directly connected between the devices, or the PC 100 and the printer controller 200 may be directly connected between the devices without via the network 400. It may be connected with. Further, the type and number of devices connected to the network 400 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PC 100. The PC 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a hard disk 104, a display 105, an input device 106, and a network interface 107, which are connected to each other via a bus 108 for exchanging signals.

  The CPU 101 performs control of the above parts and various arithmetic processes according to a program. The ROM 102 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 103 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The hard disk 104 stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

  The hard disk 104 also includes an application for creating / editing a document and a PDL described in a language (for example, PDL such as PostScript (registered trademark)) in which the printer controller 200 can interpret document data instructed by the application. A printer driver for converting data, and a Web browser used for browsing the status of the printer controller 200 and browsing, printing, and changing image data (bitmap data) stored in the printer controller 200 And are installed.

  The display 105 displays various information. The input device 106 is a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard, and is used for performing various inputs.

  The network interface 107 is an interface for communicating with other devices via the network 400, and standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI are used.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer controller 200. The printer controller 200 includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, hard disk 204, display 205, input device 206, network interface 207, and printer interface 208, which are connected to each other via a bus 209 for exchanging signals. Has been. Of the above-described units of the printer controller 200, portions having the same functions as those of the above-described units of the PC 100 are not described in order to avoid redundant description.

  The hard disk 204 is used to store bitmap data output to the printer 300 for printing. In addition, a utility for realizing an operation related to bitmap data is installed in the hard disk 204.

  The printer interface 208 is an interface for communicating with the printer 300. For example, a dedicated video interface can be used. However, the printer interface 208 may be a serial interface such as RS-232C, IEEE 1394, or USB, or a parallel interface such as IEEE 1284, or may be based on an original standard.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the printer 300. The printer 300 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, an operation panel unit 304, a printing unit 305, and a controller interface 306, which are connected to each other via a bus 307 for exchanging signals. Of the above-described units of the printer 300, portions having functions similar to those of the above-described units of the PC 100 will not be described in order to avoid redundant description.

  The operation panel unit 304 includes a touch panel, a fixed key outside the touch panel, a display lamp, and the like, and is used for performing various inputs and displays. The printing unit 305 prints the bitmap data transferred from the printer controller 200 on a recording material such as paper by a printing method such as an electrophotographic method. The controller interface 306 is an interface for communicating with the printer controller 200.

  The PC 100, the printer controller 200, and the printer 300 may include components other than the above-described components, or some of the above-described components may not be included.

  Next, the operation of the printing system will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of PDL data transmission processing in the PC 100. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as the hard disk 104 of the PC 100 and is executed by the CPU 101.

  As a premise, document data to be printed is created by a document creation application (for example, Word, Excel, etc.).

  When printing document data, the printer driver is activated based on a user operation (S101).

  Subsequently, various printing conditions are set on the setting screen displayed by the printer driver. At this time, chapter information is set (S102). In the chapter information setting, the number (value) of the first page of the chapter is input as delimiter information indicating the delimiter in the document. The chapter information can be set arbitrarily.

  Subsequently, the document data is converted by the printer driver to create PDL data (S103).

At this time, the chapter information set in step S102 is described in the PDL data. Specifically, for example, the following description is added in the PDL data.
CHAPTER = ON
SET CHAPTER = “C1, C5, CN”
This description indicates that chapter information is set and the number of the first page of the chapter is C1, C5, CN.

  The created PDL data is transmitted to the printer controller 200 (S104).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of PDL data reception processing in the printer controller 200. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as the hard disk 204 of the printer controller 200 and is executed by the CPU 201.

  First, the printer controller 200 receives PDL data from the PC 100 (S201).

  Subsequently, rasterization processing is performed on the received PDL data. That is, PDL data is expanded and bitmap data is acquired (S202).

  In step S203, it is determined whether chapter information is set in the PDL data. That is, it is searched whether or not the chapter information described above is included in the PDL data. If chapter information is not set in the PDL data (S203: NO), the process proceeds to step S207.

  If it is determined in step S203 that chapter information is set in the PDL data (S203: YES), the number of the first page of the chapter is acquired from the description of the chapter information in the PDL data (S204).

  In step S205, it is determined whether an even number exists in the number of the first page of the acquired chapter. If there is no even number in the number of the first page of the chapter (S205: NO), that is, if all the numbers of the first page of the chapter are odd numbers, the process proceeds to step S207.

  If it is determined in step S205 that there is an even number in the number of the first page of the chapter (S205: YES), a blank page immediately before the first page of the chapter that is an even page in the bitmap data acquired in step S205. Is inserted (S206). A blank page is a blank page on which nothing is printed. Thereby, in the case of duplex printing, the first page of the chapter is set to be always printed on the surface of the paper.

  Subsequently, the created bitmap data is stored in a storage unit such as the hard disk 204 (S207).

  Subsequently, the chapter information detected in step S203 is stored in a storage unit such as the hard disk 204 (S208). Here, the chapter information is stored together with other related information in association with the file name in the bitmap data information table.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the bitmap data information table.

  In FIG. 7, a column “Job No.” indicates an identification number arbitrarily given to newly received PDL data. The “File Name” column indicates the file name of the received PDL data. The column “Status” indicates the state of processing relating to the received PDL data (“Printed” indicates that printing has been completed). The column “Job Class” indicates the type of job such as printing or scanning. The column “Owner” indicates an operator of PDL data. The value in the “Date” column indicates the date when the job is completed. The “Chapter” column indicates the presence / absence of chapter information (“ON” indicates that chapter information exists). The column “Pages” indicates the number of the first page of the chapter when chapter information exists. Note that other fields such as a field indicating the data size of the bitmap data may be included.

  Then, the created bitmap data is transmitted to the printer 300 for printing output (S209).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process procedure in the printer 300. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as the ROM 302 of the printer 300 and is executed by the CPU 301.

  First, the printer 300 receives bitmap data from the printer controller 200 (S301). The received bitmap data is printed on a recording material such as paper by the printing unit 305 (S302).

  Next, a process for operating (reusing) bitmap data stored in the printer controller 200 as processed data will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of bitmap data conversion processing in the printer controller 200. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is stored as a program in a storage unit such as the hard disk 204 of the printer controller 200 and executed by the CPU 201.

  An instruction to operate the bitmap data can be made by communicating from the PC 100 to the printer controller 200 using a Web browser via an intranet, for example. In addition, the operation of bitmap data can be instructed by using the display 205 attached to the printer controller 200 or the operation panel unit 304 attached to the printer 300. In the present embodiment, a case in which an operation of bitmap data is instructed using the display 205 connected to the printer controller 200 will be described below.

  First, a utility for operating bitmap data stored in the printer controller 200 is activated, and login for obtaining permission for access after activation of the utility is performed based on a user input (S401). . Here, for example, login authentication is performed in the printer controller 200 in accordance with the input login name and password.

  When the login is completed, an operation screen for accepting an operation related to bitmap data is displayed on the display 205. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation screen. In the operation screen of FIG. 10, a list of jobs is shown.

  Then, by selecting a file (bitmap data) desired to be operated in the list, the bitmap data to be operated is determined (S402).

  Subsequently, based on the user operation through the operation screen, a file format conversion instruction is accepted here as a desired operation item from among the available operations (S403). It is also possible to instruct operations such as reprinting and image editing. In this embodiment, the file format is converted from bitmap data to PDF data. However, the bitmap data may be converted into data of another file format, and the converted file format may be selectable from a plurality of file formats.

  When the conversion instruction is accepted, the bitmap data to be operated is converted into PDF data (S404).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether chapter information is set in the PDL data corresponding to the bitmap data to be operated (S405). Here, by referring to the “Chapter” column in the bitmap data information table (see FIG. 7), it is determined whether or not chapter information is set in the PDL data corresponding to the bitmap data to be operated. The If chapter information is not set (S405: NO), the process proceeds to step S407.

  If it is determined in step S405 that chapter information is set (S405: YES), the chapter information is reflected in the PDF data. Specifically, bookmark information is set for the PDF data (S406). In the PDF data, “bookmark” represents the structure of a section such as a chapter in a document, and is similar to the table of contents in the case of a book.

  In step S407, the converted PDF data is stored in a storage unit such as the hard disk 204 (S407). Here, when chapter information is set in the PDL data, PDF data in which bookmark information is set is saved.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a description inserted in PDF data for setting bookmark information.

  When setting bookmark information for PDF data, it is necessary to store in advance the page number in which the chapter is set in the PDL data and the page size. These pieces of information are preferably stored in a bitmap data information table (see FIG. 7).

  The example of FIG. 11 shows a case where “bookmark” is inserted on the second page of a three-page document of A4 size. The description shown in FIG. 11 includes objects 1 to 7. The type of the object 1 (object indicated by “1 0 obj”) is an outline, and this outline is displayed as “bookmark”. In this example, the contents of the outline are shown in the object 2, and the number of outlines is 1 (the value of “Count”). An object 2 (an object indicated by “2 0 obj”) indicates an outline title and an object (object 3) into which the outline is inserted. Object 3 (an object indicated by “3 0 obj”) indicates the insertion position of the outline (“bookmark”). That is, the position of the height 842 in the page constituted by the object 6 is the insertion position of “bookmark”. Here, the object 6 is a page object. A height value 842 is a value obtained by converting A4 (vertical length of 297 mm) into the number of points. Therefore, a “bookmark” is inserted at the top of the page composed of the objects 6. If the insertion position of “bookmark” is set to a value other than 842, “bookmark” can be inserted in the middle of the page. An object 4 (an object indicated by “4 0 obj”) indicates a page configuration. PDF data is created as a three-page document composed of objects 5, 6, and 7. The first page of the document corresponds to the object 5, the second page corresponds to the object 6, and the third page corresponds to the object 7. Objects 5 to 7 (objects indicated by “5 0 obj”, “6 0 obj”, and “7 0 obj”) are page objects constituting the document.

  As described above, by using the outline function of the PDF specification, chapter information can be set as bookmark information for PDF data. Therefore, when manipulating PDF data, it becomes possible to manipulate PDF data on an application using a “bookmark”.

  The PDF data stored in the printer controller 200 and set with bookmark information can be operated on the printer controller 200. Also, PDF data can be transmitted to other devices by various transfer methods such as e-mail or FTP. In addition, after accessing the printer controller 200 from the PC 100 and downloading the PDF data to the PC 100, the PDF data may be operated on the PC 100.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the display 205 connected to the printer controller 200 is used to instruct the conversion of the file format for the bitmap data has been described. However, the conversion instruction is given in advance using the printer driver on the PC 100. It is also possible to leave. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen for instructing conversion of a file format displayed by the printer driver. Here, as shown in the figure, the converted file format can be selected.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when print data obtained by expanding received PDL data is converted into PDF data, bookmark information is automatically added as delimiter information to the converted PDF data. . Therefore, even if it is necessary to set bookmark information in the converted PDF data according to the customer's request, etc., the troublesome work of setting bookmark information by specifying pages one by one using an editing application is eliminated. This reduces the burden on the operator.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the printer controller 200 as the image processing apparatus is arranged separately from the printer 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printer controller 200 may be included in the printer 300. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to a printing apparatus such as a copying machine or an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral).

  In the above-described embodiment, the number (value) of the first page of the chapter is exemplified as the delimiter information indicating the delimiter in the document. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the delimiter information indicating the delimiter in the document may be, for example, a page number into which a tab sheet having a tab portion protruding at a part of the sheet side is inserted into the document. Alternatively, the delimiter information indicating the delimiters in the document is a number indicating the first page of each document data in the case where a plurality of pieces of document data are combined into one and an instruction to insert and print a sorting sheet is given in one operation. There may be.

  The means and method for performing various processes in the image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated into the software of the apparatus as a function of the image processing apparatus.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the transmission process of PDL data in PC. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of PDL data reception processing in a printer controller. It is a figure which shows an example of a bitmap data information table. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print processing in a printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of bitmap data conversion processing in the printer controller. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen for receiving operation regarding bitmap data. It is a figure which shows an example of the description inserted in PDF data in order to set bookmark information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen for instructing conversion of a file format displayed by a printer driver.

Explanation of symbols

100 PC,
101, 201, 301 CPU,
102, 202, 302 ROM,
103, 203, 303 RAM,
104,204 hard disk,
105, 205 display,
106,206 input device,
107, 207 network interface,
108, 209, 307 bus,
200 Printer controller,
206 Printer interface,
300 printers,
304 operation panel section,
305 printing section,
306 Controller interface,
400 network.

Claims (8)

Receiving means for receiving PDL data;
Expansion means for expanding the received PDL data into print data;
Obtaining means for obtaining delimiter information indicating delimiters in the document from the received PDL data;
Conversion means for converting the print data into data of another file format reflecting the obtained delimiter information;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the delimiter information is a number of a first page of a chapter in a document.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the delimiter information is a page number into which a tab sheet having a tab portion protruding from a part of a sheet side is inserted into a document.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data in the other file format is PDF data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the conversion unit converts the print data into PDF data in which bookmark information corresponding to the delimiter information is set. A receiving step for receiving PDL data;
A development step of developing the received PDL data into print data;
An acquisition step of acquiring delimiter information indicating delimiters in the document from the received PDL data;
A conversion step of converting the print data into data of another file format reflecting the obtained delimiter information;
An image processing method comprising: A receiving procedure for receiving PDL data;
An expansion procedure for expanding the received PDL data into print data;
An acquisition procedure for acquiring delimiter information indicating delimiters in the document from the received PDL data;
A conversion procedure for converting the print data into data of another file format reflecting the acquired delimiter information;
An image processing program for causing a computer to execute.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the image processing program according to claim 7 is recorded.

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