Printing method, electronic device, program, server, and image forming apparatus

Abstract

A printing method, electronic device, program, server, and image forming device are provided that are capable of printing in accordance with any format and improve user convenience. [Solution] The printing method includes a format acquisition step in which the electronic device 5 acquires format information from outside the electronic device, a content identification step in which the electronic device identifies the content of the recorded matter in response to an operation on the operation unit of the electronic device, and a job transmission step in which the electronic device transmits a print job in response to an operation on the operation unit to print the content of the recorded matter identified in the content identification step based on the format information acquired in the format acquisition step.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a printing method, an electronic device, a program, a server, and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Print media (e.g., paper) on which necessary information is written according to a format is known. For example, a home delivery waybill has columns for writing the address and name of the recipient of the package, and the address and name of the sender of the package. There is known a technology that enables a printer to print necessary information on such print media, instead of a user writing the necessary information by hand (e.g., JP 2006-79399 A). Summary of the Invention

[0003] A printing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a format acquisition step, a content specification step, and a job transmission step. In the format acquisition step, an electronic device acquires format information from outside the electronic device. In the content specification step, the electronic device specifies the content of a record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device. In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits a print job in response to an operation on the operation unit, the print job printing the content of the record item specified in the content specification step based on the format information acquired in the format acquisition step.

[0004] An electronic device according to one aspect of the present disclosure has an operation unit, a format acquisition unit, a content identification unit, and a job transmission unit. The format acquisition unit acquires format information from outside the electronic device. The content identification unit identifies content of a record item in response to an operation on the operation unit. The job transmission unit transmits a print job in response to the operation on the operation unit, the print job printing the content of the record item identified by the content identification unit based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit.

[0005] A program according to an aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer of an electronic device having an operation unit to function as the format acquisition unit, the content identification unit, and the job transmission unit.

[0006] A program server according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a format acquisition unit, a position identification unit, and a layout information transmission unit. The format acquisition unit acquires image data obtained by capturing an image of a print medium reflecting a predetermined format from a terminal. The position identification unit identifies a recording position defined by the format as a position where a predetermined record item is to be recorded, based on the image data acquired by the format acquisition unit. The layout information transmission unit transmits information based on the recording position identified by the position identification unit to the terminal or printer.

[0007] An image forming device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an operation unit, a format acquisition unit, a content specification unit, and a printing unit. The format acquisition unit acquires format information from outside the image forming device. The content specification unit specifies the content of a record item in response to an operation on the operation unit. The printing unit prints the content of the record item specified by the content specification unit based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of an example of a printing method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a printing state according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2B] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another example of a printing state according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a format. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device and a server according to a third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device and a server according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device and a server according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device and a server according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a placement unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the arrangement unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a placement process according to the embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining an example of an operation of a content identifying unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an example of a usage mode of a format according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. After the description of the first embodiment, in the description of various embodiments, basically, only the differences from the previously described embodiments will be described. Items that are not specifically mentioned may be considered to be the same as the previously described embodiments or may be inferred from the previously described embodiments.

[0010] First Embodiment (Outline of an example of printing method) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of an example of a printing method according to an embodiment.

[0011] In the printing method according to the embodiment, for example, as shown in the upper left of FIG. 1, a print medium 1 reflecting a predetermined format is scanned by a multifunction machine 3. The print medium 1 is, for example, a home delivery invoice (see FIG. 3). The format of the invoice determines the recording positions (in other words, the positions to be written or the blanks) of items such as one or more destination addresses and names and sender addresses and names (in other words, record items; the same applies below). The recording positions are indicated, for example, by an object 1a printed on the print medium 1. In the example of FIG. 1, as the object 1a, the same number of frame lines as the number of recording positions are indicated, which individually surround one or more recording positions (areas) (three in the illustrated example). In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the items on the print medium 1 refer to items whose contents are recorded by the user (not items whose contents are recorded on the print medium 1 from the beginning), and the recording positions refer to the positions where the contents of the items are recorded.

[0012] In parallel with the above scanning, as shown in the upper right of FIG. 1, the contents of the items to be recorded on the print medium 1 are identified in the electronic device 5 (a smartphone in the illustrated example). For example, the address and name of the recipient and the address and name of the sender are input into the electronic device 5 by a user operation. In the illustrated example, a character string (schematically shown by a black circle) indicating the contents Ct of the identified items is displayed on the screen of the electronic device 5. Here, the contents Ct of three items are identified, as shown by being surrounded by three frame lines.

[0013] By the above scan, information on the format of the print medium 1 is obtained. This format information is transmitted to the electronic device 5, as shown in the lower left of FIG. 1. The electronic device 5 determines the layout when printed for the contents of the items identified in the upper right of FIG. 1 according to the obtained format. For example, as can be seen from a comparison between the print medium 1 in the upper left of FIG. 1 and the print medium 1 as a print image displayed on the screen of the electronic device 5 in the lower left of FIG. 1, the electronic device 5 assigns the contents Ct of the multiple (three) items identified in the upper right of FIG. 1 to multiple recording positions (within three frames in the illustrated example) determined by the format.

[0014] Thereafter, as shown in the lower right of FIG. 1, the electronic device 5 transmits a print job to the multifunction device 3 so that the contents of the items are printed in the arrangement determined as described above. The multifunction device 3 performs printing based on the image data included in the print job. This results in a print medium 1 on which the contents Ct of the record items are printed according to a format. Since the items are filled in by printing, for example, the user is saved from having to write by hand, reducing the burden on the user. Furthermore, since the electronic device 5 obtains format information from outside the electronic device 5, it can support, for example, any format.

[0015] The print medium 1 to be scanned (the print medium 1 in the upper left of FIG. 1) and the print medium 1 on which the contents of the items are printed (the print medium 1 in the lower right of FIG. 1) may be the same individual, or they may be different individual. In the following description, the print medium 1 to be scanned may be referred to as print medium 1A, and the print medium 1 on which the contents of the items are printed may be referred to as print medium 1B. When simply referring to print medium 1, it may be read as print medium 1A and / or 1B, unless a contradiction arises.

[0016] When the print media 1A and 1B are separate entities, the print medium 1A may be a medium before use (one in which the contents of the items are not recorded from another point of view) or a medium after use (one in which the contents of the items are recorded from another point of view). For the sake of convenience, the following description may be given on the assumption that the print medium 1A is a medium before use.

[0017] Figures 2A and 2B are diagrams showing examples of printing aspects for the printing at the bottom right of Figure 1. In each figure, the upper part shows the print medium 1B before the printing at the bottom right of Figure 1 is performed, and the lower part shows the print medium 1B after the printing at the bottom right of Figure 1 is performed.

[0018] In the printing mode of Fig. 2A, the content Ct of an item is printed on a print medium 1B on which an object 1a has been printed in advance. In this mode, the print medium 1A to be scanned and the print medium 1B on which the content of the item is printed may be the same or different objects.

[0019] The printing mode of Fig. 2B is a mode applied when the print medium 1A to be scanned and the print medium 1B on which the contents of the item are printed are separate objects. In this mode, in the printing at the lower right of Fig. 1, both the object 1a and the contents Ct of the item are printed on the print medium 1B on which the object 1a is not printed (e.g., blank).

[0020] The electronic device 5 may be capable of executing only one of the above two types of printing modes, or may be capable of selectively executing both. In the latter case, for example, the printing mode may be selected by a user's operation on the electronic device 5.

[0021] (print media) The print medium 1 (or, from another perspective, the format) may be of various types. For example, in addition to the invoice already described, print medium 1 may include various slips (other than invoices), postcards, envelopes, membership applications, and purchase applications. However, in the following explanation, invoices will be mainly used as an example of print medium 1. Also, for convenience, some explanations will be given on the assumption that print medium 1 is an invoice.

[0022] The print medium 1 can be used for both handwritten entry and printing according to the embodiment, for example, with respect to recording the contents of items. However, the print medium 1 may be used only for printing. In this case, the items to be recorded on the print medium 1 may be those that are practically impossible to record by hand (for example, two-dimensional barcodes).

[0023] The number of items planned to be recorded on the print medium 1 may be one or more. The content of the items may be nouns such as an address and a name, or may be sentences such as a profile. The content of the items may be information represented by characters, information represented by symbols such as a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode (a barcode may be considered an image), or information represented by an image such as a photograph.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an invoice as an example of the print medium 1. As shown in FIG.

[0025] The print medium 1 is made of paper, for example. The print medium 1 may be made of a single sheet of paper, or may be made of two or more sheets of paper stacked together. An example of the latter is a duplicate slip. With regard to the material, number of sheets, and other configurations of such print medium 1, the print medium 1A to be scanned and the print medium 1B on which the contents of the items are printed may have the same configuration or may have different configurations. For example, the print medium 1A may be a duplicate slip, while the print medium 1B may be an ordinary sheet of paper.

[0026] The print medium 1A to be scanned generally has a size that conforms to a format. From another point of view, the size of the print medium 1A may be considered as part of the format. The size of the print medium 1B on which the contents of the item are printed may be the same or different from the size of the print medium 1A. In the latter respect, from another point of view, the size of the print medium 1B may not conform to the format.

[0027] In a mode in which the size of print medium 1B is different from the size of print medium 1A and both object 1a and item content Ct are printed together (FIG. 2B), the size of object 1a on print medium 1B may be the same as or different from the size of object 1a on print medium 1A. An example of the latter is a mode in which object 1a on print medium 1B is enlarged or reduced and / or has a changed aspect ratio with respect to object 1a on print medium 1A.

[0028] The object 1a is, for example, recorded (e.g., printed) on the print medium 1, and indicates the recording position of an item to be filled in by a user. The object 1a may also include something indicating the recording position of an item to be filled in by a person other than the user (e.g., a delivery company), or something unrelated to the recording position (e.g., an explanatory text). However, for convenience, in the description of the embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the term object 1a is used for an object indicating the recording position of an item to be filled in by a user.

[0029] The shape, size, and arrangement of the object 1a may be appropriate depending on the type of the print medium 1. Typical examples of the object 1a include, for example, a character string indicating an item name and a figure indicating a blank space in which the content of the item is recorded. Examples of figures indicating a blank space include a frame surrounding a recording position (area), an underline indicating the lower limit of a recording position, and parentheses surrounding a recording position from both sides in a predetermined direction (for example, the left and right direction). Other examples of the object 1a include notes regarding recording (for example, written text) and dotted lines (for example, figure eights) in blank spaces that a user traces with a pen. For convenience, in the description of the embodiment, typical examples are mainly taken.

[0030] Of course, the item names may be set appropriately depending on the type of print medium 1, etc. In the illustrated example, "recipient," "sender," "postcode," "address," "name," and "telephone number" are shown as item names (in other words, character strings indicating item names). The items may include major items ("recipient" and "sender") and minor items ("postcode," "address," "name," and "telephone number").

[0031] Graphics such as a frame, underline, and brackets may correspond to a string of two or more characters (see, for example, the "Address" field) or to a single character (see, for example, the frame following the "Postcode" field). Other graphics may be placed within a single graphic, such as one or more underlines, one or more other frames, and / or one or more brackets being provided within the frame. As will be understood from this, a blank space does not mean that no object 1a is placed therein, but may refer to an area in which the content of an item is expected to be recorded by the user.

[0032] The object 1a may indicate the recording position appropriately. The recording position indicated by a figure indicating a blank space (such as a frame line, underline, and brackets) is clear without the need for explanation. The item name may indicate the recording position, for example, by being placed adjacent to the recording position. The item name may indicate the recording position by being located inside or next to the figure indicating a blank space. The recording position corresponding to the item name may be indicated by a figure other than the figure indicating a blank space, such as by connecting the item name and the blank space with an arrow.

[0033] In the above, the adjacency between the item name and the recording position (or figure, etc.) may mean, for example, that no object 1a related to another item or a blank space is located between the item name and the recording position. However, as can be seen from the fact that "delivery address", "name", and the blank space for the name are arranged in order, the adjacency referred to here may mean that an object 1a related to a minor item below the major item is present between the item name of the major item and the blank space.

[0034] Furthermore, the vertical and horizontal positional relationship between adjacent item names and recording positions may be set appropriately. In general, item names are shown to the left and / or above a blank space. However, this is not necessarily the case as long as the recording positions are clear, for example, by enclosing the item name and recording position together in a frame.

[0035] In addition, when multiple objects 1a corresponding to multiple items are provided, the multiple objects 1a may be considered as one object 1a. In the description of the present disclosure, the object 1a may refer to each individual object 1a or to the object 1a as a whole. Please interpret it appropriately according to the context.

[0036] When a user fills in blanks by hand, characters may extend beyond the box or brackets, or may overlap underlines. Underlines within boxes may be ignored. Also, some blanks (e.g., postal codes and telephone numbers) may not be filled in. In other words, the print medium 1 is not necessarily filled in completely according to the format. However, such violations of the format are permitted as long as they do not impede the use of the print medium 1.

[0037] Similarly, the printing method of the embodiment does not need to completely follow the format. For example, the printed print medium 1 may violate the format within a range that is acceptable in light of social common sense. Also, for example, it may be assumed that some of the multiple items are written by hand, and only the remaining items may be printed. Therefore, in this disclosure, when it says "following a format," it does not need to completely follow the format, but means following at least a part of the format.

[0038] From a technical point of view, for example, if the relative positions of the contents of multiple items follow the format, it may be considered to follow the format. For example, in the example of Figure 3, if the contents of "recipient" are printed above the contents of "recipient", and the contents of "name" are printed below the contents of "address" for both "recipient" and "recipient", it may be considered to follow the format even if the positional relationship between the contents of the items and object 1a is slightly different from the original positional relationship (there is no problem in using the waybill).

[0039] It has been mentioned that the content of an item does not have to be printed in accordance with the format perfectly. The same is true for other items. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the object 1a is printed by the user, the object 1a may be enlarged or reduced, or the aspect ratio may be changed, as already mentioned.

[0040] The above explanation of the term "following a format" is based on the idea that the entire format appearing on the print medium 1A being scanned is considered to be within the scope of the term format. However, it is also possible to consider only a part of the format appearing on the print medium 1A as the scope of the term format. For example, when the electronic device 5 acquires format information from an external device, only the relative relationship between the recording positions of multiple items may be included in the scope of the term format, and the relative relationship between the recording positions and the object 1a may be excluded from the scope of the term format.

[0041] (Devices used for printing) Returning to Fig. 1, the MFP 3 that performs scanning and the MFP 3 that performs printing may be the same individual device, or may be different individual devices. If they are different individual devices, the models of the two devices may be the same or different.

[0042] A scanner 7 (see FIG. 5) and a printer 9 (see FIG. 5) may be used instead of the multifunction device 3. The multifunction device 3 may also be regarded as the scanner 7 and the printer 9. In the description of the embodiments, the term multifunction device 3 and the term scanner 7 or printer 9 may be interchangeable as long as no contradiction occurs. Instead of scanning with the scanner 7, information on the format of the print medium 1A may be obtained by imaging with a camera 11 (see FIG. 6).

[0043] Both the scanner 7 and the camera 11 include an imager and capture images using the imager. Therefore, the scanner 7 and the camera 11 may be understood as a higher-level concept of an imaging device that captures format information. In the description of the embodiments, the terms scanner 7, camera 11, and imaging device may be interchangeable as long as no contradiction occurs, and the terms scan and capture may also be interchangeable.

[0044] The format information obtained by the imaging device is image data of the print medium 1A that reflects the format. The image data obtained by imaging is usually in raster format. Note that the raster format image data may be converted to vector format image data at an appropriate time, and the vector format image data may be used as the format information.

[0045] The multifunction device 3, scanner 7, printer 9, and camera 11 may have various configurations. For example, these devices may have the same configuration as known devices. Also, for example, these devices may be relatively small for home use, or relatively large for business use.

[0046] The electronic device 5 may be, for example, various devices capable of performing communication and generating and transmitting a print job. Examples of the electronic device 5 include a smartphone and a PC (personal computer). Examples of the type of PC include a tablet type, a notebook type, and a desktop type. The configuration of the electronic device 5 will be described in detail later.

[0047] The communication between the electronic device 5 and other devices (the multifunction device 3, the scanner 7, the printer 9, and / or the camera 11) may be realized by wired or wireless communication, or a combination of both. Furthermore, the communication between the electronic device 5 and other devices may be direct without going through a network, or may be through a network. Examples of the network include a LAN (Local Area Network), a private network, a public network (e.g., the Internet), and combinations of these. When a public network is involved, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or a cloud service may (or may not) be used.

[0048] As can be understood from the fact that a cloud service may be present between the scanner 7 and the electronic device 5, the format information acquired by the electronic device 5 may be image data as is, or may be information extracted from the image data (e.g., numerical data). However, for the sake of convenience, the description of the embodiment may be given on the assumption that the format information is image data.

[0049] As can be understood from the fact that a cloud service may be interposed between the electronic device 5 and the printer 9, the print job is not limited to one generally output from a PC to the printer 9, and may be broadly interpreted. In other words, the information included in the print job may be in an appropriate format. For example, generally, a printer driver of a PC generates and outputs a print job including image data in a raster format corresponding to the model of the printer 9. The electronic device 5 may output a print job corresponding to such a model, or may output a print job including image data in a general format not corresponding to the model. In the latter case, a server of the cloud service may perform the function of the printer driver. Furthermore, the print job may not include image data, but may include text data and the position (coordinate data) of the text data, and the server of the cloud service may generate the image data. However, in the description of the embodiment, for convenience, the description may be made on the premise that the print job includes image data.

[0050] The social usage method of the printing method of the embodiment may be any appropriate one. For example, the owner (or user) of the electronic device 5 and the other devices (multifunction device 3, scanner 7, printer 9 and / or camera 11) may be the same or different. The owner or user may be an individual or an organization, a service user or a service provider. The electronic device 5 and the other devices may be located relatively close to each other (for example, on the same floor) or may be located relatively far away (for example, in different regions).

[0051] Here is a concrete example of a social usage method. When the printed medium 1A is a waybill, the service user uses a device (multifunction device 3 and electronic device 5) owned by the service user or someone else and located nearby to scan the printed medium 1A, identify the item contents Ct, and print the printed medium 1B. The user then hands the package with the printed printed medium 1B attached to it to a delivery company (service provider). Alternatively, the user hands the printed medium 1B that has been printed but has not been attached to it and the package to a delivery company.

[0052] Also, for example, in the above, the multifunction device 3 that prints the print medium 1B may be placed in the office of the delivery company. Then, the service user transmits a print job from the electronic device 5 at a location away from the office or at the office. The package is brought to the office by the service user before or after transmitting the print job, or is collected by the delivery company that goes to the address printed on the "recipient" of the print medium 1B after printing the print medium 1B.

[0053] (Electronic device configuration) FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration (mainly the hardware configuration) of the electronic device 5. As shown in FIG.

[0054] The electronic device 5 has, for example, a control unit 13 that performs various calculations, an operation unit 15 that accepts user operations, a display unit 17 that provides information visually to the user, and a communication unit 19 that communicates with the outside of the electronic device 5.

[0055] The control unit 13 has, for example, the same configuration as a computer. Specifically, for example, the control unit 13 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 25, and an auxiliary storage device 27. The control unit 13 is constructed by the CPU 21 executing a program stored in the ROM 23 and / or the auxiliary storage device 27. Note that the control unit 13 may include a logic circuit configured to perform only a certain operation, in addition to the parts constructed as described above.

[0056] In FIG. 4, a program D1 stored in the auxiliary storage device 27 is illustrated as an example of a program executed by the CPU 21. The program D1 is for realizing the printing method according to the embodiment. The program D1 may be, for example, already stored (in other words, installed) in the auxiliary storage device 27 when the electronic device 5 (hardware and OS (Operating System)) is sold, or may be stored (installed) in the auxiliary storage device 27 by a user after the sale of the electronic device 5. The program D1 may be distributed via a storage medium or communication. A part or all of the program for realizing the printing method according to the embodiment may be stored in the ROM 23.

[0057] The configuration of the operation unit 15 is arbitrary. For example, the operation unit 15 accepts an operation by a user's touch. For example, such an operation unit 15 may include a touch panel and / or one or more push buttons. Note that the operation unit 15 may also accept other types of operation, such as a voice operation.

[0058] The display unit 17 may have any configuration. For example, the display unit 17 may be a display capable of displaying any image. Examples of such a display include a liquid crystal display and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The electronic device 5 may have a device that provides information to the user via a sense other than vision (for example, hearing).

[0059] The communication unit 19 is a part of an interface for the electronic device 5 to communicate with the outside, which is not included in the control unit 13. The communication unit 19 may include only hardware components, or may include a part realized by software in addition to the hardware components. In the latter case, the communication unit 19 does not need to be clearly distinguishable from the control unit 13.

[0060] Specifically, for example, when the electronic device 5 is connected to the outside world via a wire, the communication unit 19 may have a connector or a port to which the cable is connected. The port here is a concept that includes software in addition to a connector. Also, for example, when the electronic device 5 is connected to the outside world wirelessly (e.g., by radio waves), the communication unit 19 may have an RF (Radio Frequency) circuit that converts a baseband signal into a high-frequency signal, and an antenna that converts the high-frequency signal into a wireless signal. Also, in both the wired and wireless cases, the communication unit 19 may include, for example, an amplifier and / or a filter.

[0061] The various components mentioned above (15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27) are connected, for example, by a bus 29. In FIG. 4, all the components are connected to one bus 29 in a schematic manner. In an actual product, multiple buses may be connected in an appropriate manner. For example, an address bus, a data bus and a control bus may be provided. A crossbar switch and / or a link bus may also be applied.

[0062] 4 is merely a schematic diagram. Therefore, for example, in reality, various devices (e.g., CPUs) may be provided in a distributed manner. An interface (not shown) may be interposed between the bus 29 and various devices (e.g., the operation unit 15 or the display unit 17).

[0063] (Functional block diagram of electronic device) FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration (particularly, the control unit 13) of the electronic device 5 (5A).

[0064] In various embodiments, the hardware configuration of the electronic device 5 may be common. On the other hand, in various embodiments, the configuration of various functional units of the control unit 13 constructed by executing the program D1 may be different. Therefore, in the description of the embodiments, the electronic device 5 may be distinguished between the embodiments by adding capital letters to the electronic device 5. For example, the electronic device 5 of the first embodiment may be referred to as electronic device 5A.

[0065] As described above, the electronic device 5A has the control unit 13 and the operation unit 15. The electronic device 5A can also communicate with the scanner 7 and the printer 9. In the control unit 13, the CPU 21 executes the program D1 to configure various functional units (31, 33, 35, 37, and 39). The operation of each functional unit is as follows.

[0066] The format acquisition unit 31 acquires format information from outside the electronic device 5 (see communication from the upper left to the lower left in FIG. 1). The content identification unit 33 identifies the content of the items to be printed on the print medium 1 (see the operation at the upper right in FIG. 1). The arrangement unit 35 determines the arrangement of the content of the items identified by the content identification unit 33 based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 31 (see the operation at the lower left in FIG. 1). The job generation unit 37 generates a print job so that the content of the items identified by the content identification unit 33 is printed in the arrangement determined by the arrangement unit 35. The job transmission unit 39 transmits the print job generated by the job generation unit 37 to the printer 9 via the communication unit 19 (see communication from the lower left to the lower right in FIG. 1).

[0067] Note that the program D1 that causes the computer of the electronic device 5 to function as the various functional units described above does not need to include parts related to the construction of all of the functional units. For example, the program D1 may cause the computer to function as the job transmission unit 39 by calling a lower-level program that defines the basic operation of the job transmission unit 39.

[0068] The specific embodiment of the format acquisition unit 31 may be various. For example, as described above, the format acquisition unit 31 acquires image data from the scanner 7. In other words, the format acquisition unit 31 acquires format information from another device via communication. Instead of image data, the format acquisition unit 31 may acquire coordinate data (in other words, numerical data) that is not in the image data format and indicates the recording position of the contents of the item.

[0069] There may be various specific aspects of the content specification unit 33. The following is an example.

[0070] For example, the content identification unit 33 may accept input of one or more characters (acquire information on one or more characters) via the operation unit 15, and identify the input one or more characters as the content of the item. Specifically, for example, the content identification unit 33 may cause the display unit 17 to display an input form having blank spaces provided for each item. The shape of the outer edge of this input form, the position of one or more blank spaces relative to the outer edge, and / or the relative positions of the blank spaces may be different from, for example, the shape of the outer edge of the print medium 1, the position of one or more blank spaces relative to the outer edge, and / or the relative positions of the blank spaces. The content identification unit 33 may then accept an operation to designate one of the one or more blank spaces and an operation to input characters into the blank spaces.

[0071] Furthermore, for example, the content identification unit 33 may accept an operation to select information to be used as the content of an item from various information (i.e., information held by the electronic device 5) stored in the RAM 25 and / or the auxiliary storage device 27 via the operation unit 15. Examples of such an operation include an operation to copy text from a pre-stored text file and paste it into a blank space in the input form, and an operation to select predetermined information from a database.

[0072] As can be understood from the above example, the identification of the content of an item may or may not involve the acquisition of information from outside the electronic device 5 (for example, character input into an input form via the operation unit 15). In other words, the identification of the content of an item is a different concept from the acquisition of the content of an item. Note that the concept of acquisition may be used from the perspective of the content identification unit 33, not from the perspective of the electronic device 5.

[0073] When there are a plurality of items, the content identification unit 33 may perform a process of classifying the contents of the items. For example, when the print medium 1 is an invoice, the content identification unit 33 may identify whether the identified contents are information related to a destination, a sender, an address, a name, or the like. Various identification methods may be used. For example, the content identification unit 33 may identify the contents of the items while classifying the contents of the items by accepting an operation of inputting or pasting characters into any one of a plurality of blanks provided for each item in the above-mentioned input form. In other words, when the content identification unit 33 accepts an operation to identify the contents of the items via the operation unit 15, it may also accept an operation to identify which item the contents correspond to. In addition, the content identification unit 33 may classify the contents of the items by analyzing the contents of the identified items, not based on a user's operation, for example.

[0074] There may be various specific aspects of the placement unit 35. In the illustrated example, the placement unit 35 includes a position specifying unit 35a and a placement determining unit 35b.

[0075] The position identifying unit 35a identifies the recording position defined by the format for one or more items based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 31. For example, the position identifying unit 35a identifies the position of a blank space within the print medium 1. Also, for example, when there are multiple items, the position identifying unit 35a identifies the correspondence between the multiple items and the multiple blank spaces.

[0076] The information on the recording position identified by the position identification unit 35a may be in an appropriate format. For example, the information on the recording position includes information on the coordinates of the outer edge of the image data (the size of the entire image based on the image data) and information on the coordinates of the recording position. The information on the recording position may include information on the coordinates of the object 1a as necessary. The coordinate information on one recording position (blank space) may be information on one point in the coordinate system, or may be information indicating a range in the coordinate system (for example, information on the coordinates of the four corners or two diagonal points of the blank space). The coordinate system may be in pixel units, or in m units (or equivalents; the same applies below).

[0077] The placement determination unit 35b determines the placement of the contents of the items identified by the contents identification unit 33, based on the recording positions identified by the position identification unit 35a. This determination may be performed automatically without receiving a user operation, or may be performed by receiving a user operation.

[0078] When the arrangement is automatically determined, for example, the arrangement determination unit 35b determines the specific position of the contents of the items in the blank space (for example, the upper position or the left position in the blank space, etc.) according to a predetermined algorithm. Also, for example, when there are multiple items, the arrangement determination unit 35b assigns the contents of the multiple items to multiple blank spaces based on the correspondence between the multiple items and the multiple blank spaces identified by the position identification unit 35a and the classification result of the contents of the items by the content identification unit 33. The trigger for the automatic arrangement may be any appropriate one. For example, the trigger may be a user operation that instructs automatic arrangement, or the acquisition of format information and the identification of the contents of the items may be the trigger. As can be understood from the above, even if the arrangement is automatically determined without accepting a user operation, the trigger may be an operation.

[0079] When accepting a user's operation, for example, the placement determination unit 35b displays an image of the print medium 1A or an image simulating the same on the display unit 17. In this image, the position of the blank space specified by the position specification unit 35a allows the content of the item to be input by character input and / or pasting. That is, the placement determination unit 35b displays an input form simulating the print medium 1A on the display unit 17. The input form may be displayed by the program D1, or may be displayed by reading a file of a predetermined format by software other than the program D1. Then, the user inputs the content of the item by specifying one of two or more blank spaces. As can be understood from this example, the content of the item may be specified in parallel with the processing of the placement unit 35, rather than prior to the processing of the placement unit 35, unlike the example described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0080] Also, for example, the arrangement determination unit 35b may automatically determine the arrangement of the contents of the items, and then display a print image of the determined arrangement on the display unit 17 and accept a user operation to correct the arrangement. Note that in the present disclosure, a mode described as automatically determining something without accepting a user operation may include a mode in which a user operation can be used to correct the arrangement after it is determined as described above.

[0081] The information on the arrangement determined by the arrangement unit 35 may be in an appropriate format. For example, the information on the arrangement includes information on the coordinates of the outer edge of the image data (the size of the entire image based on the image data) and information on the coordinates of the contents of the items (and the object 1a) in the coordinate system of the image data. The coordinate system of the image data is in units of pixels (not in units of m). Furthermore, the information on the arrangement may include information on the size (in units of m) of the entire image on the printing medium 1B when the image data is printed. This size in units of m may be in accordance with, for example, the information on the size of the printing medium 1B acquired by the format acquisition unit 31 (in other words, the format), or may be a size set by the user via the operation unit 15.

[0082] Note that when the user sets the size in m units via the operation unit 15, the setting of this size may be regarded as an operation outside the operation of the placement unit 35, unlike the above description. From another perspective, the placement determined by the placement unit 35 may be a placement in the coordinate system of the image data (the placement unit 35 may be regarded as such), or may be a placement on the print medium 1B (the placement unit 35 may be regarded as such). However, in either case, the fact remains that the placement of the contents of the items in the area defined by the format is determined based on the format.

[0083] The job generating unit 37 may have various specific aspects. For example, as already mentioned, the print job may be generated in a format corresponding to the model of the printer 9, similar to a printer driver in a general PC, or in a format acceptable to a server of a cloud service. The print job generated by the job generating unit 37 may include image data in a raster format or vector format, as already described. In the aspect of FIG. 2B, the print job (image data) includes information on the object 1a in addition to the contents of the items.

[0084] Various specific aspects of the job transmitting unit 39 may be used. For example, as already mentioned, the job transmitting unit 39 may transmit the print job wirelessly or wired, may transmit the print job directly to the printer 9, or may transmit the print job over a network. The printer 9 that receives the print job directly or indirectly from the job transmitting unit 39 performs printing based on the received print job.

[0085] The operation of each functional unit may be performed in response to an operation on operation unit 15, or two or more functional units may be performed as a series of operations in response to one operation on operation unit 15. As an example of the latter, the generation of a print job by job generation unit 37 and the transmission of the print job by job transmission unit 39 may be performed as a series of operations in response to one operation. In other words, the user does not need to instruct the generation of a print job and the transmission of the print job separately (they may be configured to instruct them). Also, for example, the operations subsequent to the operation of placement unit 35 may be a series of operations.

[0086] As described above, the transmission of the print job by the job transmitting unit 39 may be included in a series of operations including the previous operations of other functional units. Even in this case, it can be said that the transmission is performed in response to an operation of the operation unit 15 to instruct printing. From another perspective, the electronic device 5 does not receive a print instruction via communication like a cloud service server. In another embodiment described later, in response to an operation of the operation unit 15 to instruct printing, a signal is transmitted from the electronic device 5 to a server, and a signal is transmitted from the server to the electronic device 5. Then, in response to receiving the signal from the server, the job transmitting unit 39 can transmit a print job. Even in this case, when the operation of instructing printing to the transmission of the print job is automatically performed as a series of operations, it can be said that the transmission of the print job by the job transmitting unit 39 is performed in response to a user's operation of the operation unit 15 to instruct printing.

[0087] The distinction between the various functional units described above does not have to be clear. For example, in the illustrated example, the position identification unit 35a and the placement determination unit 35b are distinguished from each other, but as will be understood from a specific example of the placement unit 35 described later, it may not always be possible to distinguish between the two. Also, for example, when a print job including information on the size of the entire image in m units is generated, the placement of items on the print medium 1B is finally determined. Therefore, a part of the job generation unit 37 may be considered to constitute the placement unit 35.

[0088] If a flowchart showing the printing method according to the embodiment were created, it would be similar to FIG. 5, so illustration of such a flowchart is omitted. For example, in FIG. 5, if the "units" of the functional units in the control unit 13 are replaced with steps, the diagram inside the control unit 13 can be regarded as a flowchart. In this case, the format acquisition unit 31 corresponds to the format acquisition step. The content identification unit 33 corresponds to the content identification step. The placement unit 35 corresponds to the placement step. The job generation unit 37 corresponds to the job generation step. The job transmission unit 39 corresponds to the job transmission step.

[0089] As described above, the printing method according to this embodiment includes a format acquisition step, a content specification step, and a job transmission step. In the format acquisition step, the electronic device 5 acquires format information from outside the electronic device 5. In the content specification step, the electronic device 5 specifies the content of the record items (items) in response to an operation on the operation unit 15 of the electronic device 5. In the job transmission step, the electronic device 5 transmits a print job in response to an operation on the operation unit 15, which prints the content of the items specified in the content specification step based on the format information acquired in the format acquisition step.

[0090] From another perspective, the electronic device 5 according to this embodiment has an operation unit 15, a format acquisition unit 31, a content identification unit 33, and a job transmission unit 39. The format acquisition unit 31 acquires format information from outside the electronic device 5. The content identification unit 33 identifies the content of an item in response to an operation on the operation unit 15. The job transmission unit 39 transmits a print job in response to an operation on the operation unit 15, for printing the content of the item identified by the content identification unit 33 based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 31.

[0091] From another point of view, the program D1 according to this embodiment causes the computer (control unit 13) of the electronic device 5 having the operation unit 15 to function as a format acquisition unit 31, a content specification unit 33, and a job transmission unit 39. The format acquisition unit 31, the content specification unit 33, and the job transmission unit 39 perform the operations described above.

[0092] Therefore, for example, the electronic device 5 can print the contents of the items according to any format. From another perspective, the format information does not need to be included in the program D1. From yet another perspective, when the various functional units of the control unit 13 are constructed, the format information does not need to be stored by the electronic device 5. As a result, for example, convenience for the user is improved. Specifically, for example, printing can be performed according to the format of a delivery company that does not provide an application or cloud service for printing the contents of the items on a waybill with a printer.

[0093] The format information may include image data obtained by imaging the print medium 1A that reflects the format.

[0094] In this case, for example, the format information can be obtained by imaging (scanning) the print medium 1A. Therefore, for example, the user can obtain the format information by scanning an invoice that is at hand. As a result, for example, the need to check whether the format information is available via the Internet is reduced, and printing can be performed according to the format even if the format information is not disclosed on the Internet.

[0095] The printing method may further include an arrangement step (see arrangement unit 35) in which the electronic device 5 determines an arrangement position of the contents of the items based on the image data. In a job transmission step (see job transmission unit 39), the electronic device 5 may transmit a print job to print the contents of the items at the arrangement positions determined by the arrangement step. The determination of the arrangement here may be broadly interpreted, and may be, for example, any of the operations of identifying the positions of one or more blank spaces and arranging the contents of the items in the blank spaces, determining the positions of the contents of the items in the blank spaces, and allocating the contents of multiple items to multiple blank spaces, as described above. Furthermore, a user's operation may be involved in the determination of the arrangement.

[0096] In this case, for example, since the electronic device 5 determines the arrangement of the contents of the items based on the image data, the burden on the user is reduced compared to a mode in which the user determines the arrangement of the contents of the items (this mode may also be included in the technology according to the present disclosure). Note that an example of a mode in which the user determines the arrangement of the contents of the items is a mode in which an image of the print medium 1A based on the image data (one that does not have the function of an input form) is displayed on the display unit 17, and the user drags and drops an image including the contents of the items onto the image of the print medium 1A (one in which images based on image data are simply superimposed on each other). Such a mode may be realized, for example, by applying known drawing software.

[0097] In the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may determine the arrangement position of the contents of the record item (item) identified in the content identification step, based on the format information acquired in the format acquisition step, without receiving a designation of the arrangement position from the operation unit 15. As described above, after the electronic device 5 automatically determines the arrangement position, the user may be able to modify it.

[0098] When the layout is determined automatically in this manner, the burden on the user is reduced compared to a case where the layout is not determined automatically (this case may also be included in the technology according to the present disclosure.) Note that an example of a case where the layout is not determined automatically is a case where the user performs drag and drop, as described above.

[0099] The format may define the recording positions of a plurality of items. In a content identification step (see the content identification unit 33), the electronic device 5 may identify the contents of each of the plurality of items. In an arrangement step (see the arrangement unit 35), the electronic device 5 may assign the contents of the plurality of items identified in the content identification step to the recording positions of the plurality of items without receiving an assignment designation for the operation unit 15. That is, the assignment may be performed automatically by the arrangement unit 35. As described above, after the assignment is performed automatically, the user may be able to perform a correction operation.

[0100] When the allocation is performed automatically in this manner, the burden on the user is reduced compared to a case where the user allocates the contents of multiple items to the recording positions of multiple items (this case may also be included in the technology according to the present disclosure). Note that an example of a case where the user performs the allocation is a case where the user performs drag and drop, as described above.

[0101] The format information may include information about an object 1a indicating a recording position (e.g., having a predetermined positional relationship with the recording position) where a record item (item) is to be recorded by being recorded on the print medium 1. The print job may request printing of only the item content out of the object 1a and the item content (FIG. 2A).

[0102] In this case, for example, printing can be performed on the print medium 1A used to obtain the format information (print medium 1A can become print medium 1B). As a result, for example, the user does not need to prepare print medium 1B separately from print medium 1A. Also, for example, a delivery company may provide customers with a large amount of print media 1 on which objects 1a have been printed but the contents of the items are left blank in order to expand their business. The print media 1 provided by such a company can be utilized.

[0103] Conversely, a print job may request printing of both the object 1a and the item's contents (FIG. 2B).

[0104] In this case, for example, even if the user does not have a print medium 1 on which the object 1a has been printed and on which the contents of the items are blank, the user can create a print medium 1 on which the object 1a and the contents of the items are printed by printing on a blank print medium 1 that the user owns. In other words, the user's convenience is improved in that it is not necessary to prepare the required amount of print medium 1B in advance.

[0105] <Second embodiment> FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 5 (5B) according to the second embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment.

[0106] In the first embodiment, the electronic device 5A is connected to an external imaging device (scanner 7) of the electronic device 5A so as to be able to communicate with the electronic device 5A. Meanwhile, in the second embodiment, the electronic device 5B has an imaging device (camera 11). From another perspective, the electronic device 5A of the first embodiment acquires format information from the outside of the electronic device 5A through communication. In contrast, the electronic device 5B of the second embodiment acquires format information from the outside of the electronic device 5B through imaging.

[0107] Whether or not camera 11 is a part of electronic device 5B may be determined appropriately. For example, if both control unit 13 and camera 11 are held by housing 41, camera 11 may be regarded as a part of electronic device 5B. Even in a mode in which camera 11 and the housing holding control unit 13 are connected via a cable, if the cable is not intended to be detachable (for example, the cable cannot be removed unless the housing and / or camera 11 are disassembled), camera 11 may be regarded as a part of electronic device 5B.

[0108] In the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, format information is acquired from outside the electronic device 5, and therefore the same effects as those of the first embodiment are achieved. For example, printing in accordance with an arbitrary format is possible, improving user convenience.

[0109] <Third embodiment> Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 5 (5C) and a server 43 (43C) according to the third embodiment, and corresponds to Fig. 5 of the first embodiment. As with the electronic device 5, the server 43 may also be designated by capital letters in order to distinguish the server 43 from one embodiment to another.

[0110] The third embodiment is an aspect in which a part of the processing executed by the electronic device 5A of the first embodiment is executed by a server 43. Specifically, it is as follows.

[0111] The server 43 includes a computer. The description of the configuration of the electronic device 5 described with reference to Fig. 4 may be appropriately applied to the configuration of the server 43. Fig. 4 may be regarded as a diagram showing the configuration of the server 43. In the server 43, various functional units (47 and 49) are also configured by the CPU executing a program stored in the ROM and / or auxiliary storage device.

[0112] The server 43 is capable of communicating with the electronic device 5C. The communication may take various forms, similar to the communication between the electronic device 5 and the scanner 7, etc. The description of the communication between the electronic device 5 and the scanner 7, etc. in the first embodiment may be applied to the communication between the electronic device 5C and the server 43. For example, the presence or absence of wired or wireless communication, the presence or absence of a network, the type of network, and the presence or absence of use of technology such as VPN may be appropriately set. FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which a network 45 is present. The network 45 may be a LAN and / or a private network, or a public network, as described above.

[0113] From another perspective, the server 43 may be, for example, a server that an organization as a user of the electronic device 5 has in a LAN and / or a private network, or may be a server constituting a cloud service. The server 43 may also be a PC that an individual as a user of the electronic device 5 (for example, a smartphone) has. As can be understood from this example, the server here refers to a computer that executes processing in response to a request from the electronic device 5, and is not limited to a computer that provides a social service, a computer that accepts processing requests from a plurality of terminals, etc. The processing capacity of the server 43 may be, for example, higher than the processing capacity of the electronic device 5.

[0114] In this embodiment, the process executed by the server 43 on behalf of the electronic device 5C is a process of identifying the recording positions defined by the format for one or more items based on the format information. Specifically, the process is as follows.

[0115] The format acquisition unit 31 of the electronic device 5C transmits the format information acquired from the scanner 7 to the server 43. In the server 43, the format acquisition unit 47 receives the format information transmitted from the electronic device 5. The format acquisition unit 31 of the electronic device 5C does not execute any particular process on, for example, the format information acquired from the scanner 7 (main body excluding incidental information). In other words, the format acquisition unit 31 transfers the format information acquired from outside the electronic device 5C to the server 43. Therefore, the format information received by the server 43 is, for example, image data in raster format.

[0116] In the server 43 that has received the format information, the position identifying unit 49a of the arrangement unit 49 identifies the recording positions stipulated by the format for one or more items, based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 47. This process may be similar to the process of the position identifying unit 35a of the electronic device 5A according to the first embodiment. Then, the position identifying unit 49a transmits information on the identified recording positions to the electronic device 5C.

[0117] In the electronic device 5C that has received the information on the recording positions, the placement determination unit 35b determines the placement of the contents of the items based on the information on the recording positions, as in the first embodiment. Note that the placement unit 35 of the electronic device 5C does not have a position identification unit 35a, unlike the placement unit 35 of the first embodiment (the same reference numerals are used for convenience).

[0118] The placement determination unit 35b may automatically determine the placement, or may accept a user's operation, as in the first embodiment. The information transmitted by the position identification unit 49a may or may not have content and / or format according to the processing mode of the placement determination unit 35b. For example, as described above, in a mode in which the placement determination step and the content identification step are performed in parallel, a file of a predetermined format may be read by the program D1 or another program, thereby displaying an input form for inputting the content of the item. In this mode, the data transmitted by the position identification unit 49a may be the above file, or may not be the above file (conversion to a file may be performed by the placement determination unit 35b).

[0119] In the third embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, format information is acquired from outside the electronic device 5, and therefore the same effects as the first embodiment can be achieved. For example, printing in accordance with any format is possible, improving user convenience.

[0120] From another perspective, the server 43 according to this embodiment has a format acquisition unit 47, a position identification unit 49a, and a placement information transmission unit (part of the position identification unit 49a in this embodiment). The format acquisition unit 47 acquires image data obtained by imaging the print medium 1A reflecting a predetermined format from a terminal (electronic device 5). The position identification unit 49a identifies a recording position defined by the format as a position where a predetermined record item (item) is recorded, based on the image data acquired by the format acquisition unit 47. The placement information transmission unit transmits information based on the recording position identified by the position identification unit 49a (the recording position in this embodiment) to the electronic device 5 or the printer 9 (the electronic device 5 in this embodiment).

[0121] In this case, for example, the process of identifying the recording position from the image data is performed by the server 43, so the processing load on the electronic device 5C is reduced. In other words, the processing capacity of the electronic device 5C can be reduced. Therefore, for example, the versatility of the technology according to the present disclosure is improved.

[0122] <Fourth embodiment> FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 5 (5D) and a server 43 (43D) according to the fourth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment.

[0123] The fourth embodiment is an aspect in which the server 43 executes more processes in place of the electronic device 5 than in the third embodiment. In addition to the processes executed by the server 43C in the third embodiment, the server 43D in the fourth embodiment executes a process of determining the layout of the contents of items based on the recording positions identified by the position identifying unit 49a (having a layout determining unit 49b). Specifically, the process is as follows.

[0124] The content identification unit 33 of the electronic device 5D transmits the content of the identified item to the server 43. In the server 43, the content identification unit 51 receives the content of the item transmitted from the electronic device 5. The placement unit 49 of the server 43 has a placement determination unit 49b, similar to the placement unit 35 of the first embodiment. The placement determination unit 49b determines the placement of the content of the item acquired by the content identification unit 51 based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 47, similar to the placement determination unit 35b of the first embodiment.

[0125] The content identification unit 33 of the electronic device 5D may actively perform processing to identify the content of the item, or may identify the content of the item by accepting a user's operation on the operation unit 15 or displaying an input form on the display unit 17 in response to a command from the content identification unit 51 of the server 43. In the latter case, in other words, the content identification unit 33 may function as a functional unit that serves as an interface between the content identification unit 51 and the user. In either case, however, it can be said that the content identification unit 33 identifies the content of the item in response to the operation of the operation unit 15.

[0126] As in the first embodiment, the layout determination unit 49b may automatically determine the layout without accepting a user's operation on the operation unit 15, or may determine the layout by accepting a user's operation on the operation unit 15, or may display the input form and / or the print image on the display unit 17. However, the acceptance of the operation on the operation unit 15 and the display on the display unit 17 are realized via communication with the electronic device 5.

[0127] The layout determination unit 49b transmits information on the determined layout to the electronic device 5D. In the electronic device 5D that receives the information, the job generation unit 37 generates a print job in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Unlike the control unit 13 (which is referenced for convenience) in the first embodiment, the control unit 13 of the electronic device 5D does not have a layout unit 35. However, a part of the control unit 13 that receives a user's operation on the operation unit 15 and executes a process of displaying an input form and / or a print image on the display unit 17 (a process of constructing an interface) may be regarded as a type of the layout unit 35.

[0128] In the fourth embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, format information is acquired from outside the electronic device 5, and therefore the same effects as the first embodiment can be achieved. For example, printing in accordance with any format is possible, improving user convenience.

[0129] From another point of view, the server 43D according to this embodiment has a format acquisition unit 47, a position identification unit 49a, and an arrangement information transmission unit (part of the arrangement determination unit 49b in this embodiment), similar to the server 43C according to the third embodiment. The arrangement information transmission unit transmits information based on the recording position identified by the position identification unit 49a (information related to the arrangement of the contents of the items in this embodiment) to the electronic device 5 or the printer 9 (electronic device 5 in this embodiment).

[0130] Therefore, for example, the load on the electronic device 5 is reduced as in the third embodiment. Furthermore, since the server 43 executes more processes instead of the electronic device 5 than in the third embodiment, the effect of reducing the load on the processing of the electronic device 5 is improved.

[0131] As can be understood from this embodiment, when the electronic device 5 transmits a print job in response to an operation on the operation unit 15 to print the contents of the record items (items) identified in the content identification step based on the format information acquired in the format acquisition step, the electronic device 5 does not need to perform processing such as arranging the contents of the items according to the format by itself.

[0132] <Fifth embodiment> FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 5 (5E) and a server 43 (43E) according to the fifth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment.

[0133] The fifth embodiment is an aspect in which the server 43 executes more processes instead of the electronic device 5 than in the fourth embodiment. The server 43E of the fifth embodiment generates and transmits print jobs (having a job generating unit 53 and a job transmitting unit 55) in addition to the processes executed by the server 43D of the fourth embodiment. The job generating unit 53 and the job transmitting unit 55 may have basically the same configurations as the job generating unit 37 and the job transmitting unit 39 built in the electronic device 5A of the first embodiment, except that they are built in the server 43E.

[0134] In the fifth embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, format information is acquired from outside the electronic device 5, and therefore the same effects as those of the first embodiment are achieved. For example, printing in accordance with an arbitrary format is possible, improving user convenience.

[0135] From another point of view, the server 43E according to this embodiment has a format acquisition unit 47, a position identification unit 49a, and a placement information transmission unit (a job transmission unit 55 in this embodiment), similar to the server 43C according to the third embodiment. The job transmission unit 55 transmits information (a print job in this embodiment) based on the recording position identified by the position identification unit 49a to the electronic device 5 or the printer 9 (the printer 9 in this embodiment).

[0136] In this case, for example, similarly to the third and fourth embodiments, the load on the electronic device 5 is reduced. Furthermore, since the server 43 executes more processes instead of the electronic device 5 than in the fourth embodiment, the effect of reducing the processing load on the electronic device 5 is improved.

[0137] Sixth embodiment FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device 5 (5F) and a server 43 (43F) according to the sixth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment.

[0138] In the description of the first embodiment, it has been stated that a network and / or other devices may be interposed between the electronic device 5 and other devices (such as the scanner 7 and the printer 9). In the illustrated example, another device 57 and a server 43F are interposed between the scanner 7 and the format acquisition unit 31 of the electronic device 5F. Specifically, this is as follows.

[0139] The other device 57 may be appropriately configured, similar to the electronic device 5. The description of the electronic device 5 may be applied to the other device 57, except for the description of various functional units constructed by execution of the program D1. In the illustrated example, the other device 57 is exemplified as one that communicates with the scanner 7, but the other device 57 may be a device having a camera 11, such as the electronic device 5B of the second embodiment (FIG. 6).

[0140] The description of the communication between the electronic device 5 and the server 43 may also be applied to the communication between the other device 57 and the server 43F. In the illustrated example, the communication between the other device 57 and the server 43F and the communication between the electronic device 5F and the server 43F are performed via the same network 45. However, the former communication and the latter communication may differ in whether or not a network is interposed, or may be performed via different networks. When different networks are used, the types of the networks (private or not, etc.) may be the same or different.

[0141] The other device 57 has a format acquisition unit 59 that acquires format information from the scanner 7. The format acquisition unit 59 may have a configuration similar to that of the format acquisition unit 31 of the electronic device 5C according to the third embodiment (FIG. 7), and transfers the acquired format information (raster format image data) to the server 43F.

[0142] The server 43F may have, for example, a configuration similar to that of the server 43C of the third embodiment (Figure 7), and based on the acquired format information, identifies the recording location specified by the format for one or more items, and transmits information related to the identified recording location to the electronic device 5F.

[0143] The electronic device 5F has a similar configuration to that of the electronic device 5C according to the third embodiment (FIG. 7), except that the electronic device 5F does not have a format acquisition unit 31 that transfers format information acquired from the scanner 7 to the server 43. Although not shown in FIG. 10, the placement unit 35 does not have a position identification unit 35a, but has a placement determination unit 35b, for example, like the electronic device 5C.

[0144] Fig. 10 differs from Fig. 7 in how the functional units are understood. Specifically, in Fig. 7, information from the position identification unit 49a of the server 43 is described as being input to the arrangement determination unit 35b. In Fig. 10, information from the position identification unit 49a of the server 43 is described as being input to the arrangement unit 35 (arrangement determination unit 35b) via the format acquisition unit 31F. This is for the sake of convenience of explanation, and the format acquisition unit 31F is also configured in the electronic device 5C.

[0145] For ease of explanation, the format acquisition unit 31F is given a different reference number from that of the format acquisition unit 31. However, as described above, the format acquisition unit 31 may acquire image data captured by the scanner 7 via a network and / or a server, and therefore the format acquisition unit 31F may be regarded as a type of the format acquisition unit 31.

[0146] In the illustrated example, the server 43 processes the format information from the other device 57 and provides it to the electronic device 5, but the format information from the other device 57 may be transmitted to the electronic device 5 without processing it. In other words, the server 43 may simply transfer the format information.

[0147] In the sixth embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, format information is acquired from outside the electronic device 5, and therefore the same effects as the first embodiment can be achieved. For example, printing in accordance with any format is possible, improving user convenience.

[0148] In addition, since the device (other device 57) that obtains the format information by imaging and the electronic device 5F that instructs printing are separate entities, convenience can be improved depending on the situation. For example, when the other device 57 is a device having a camera 11 like the electronic device 5B of the second embodiment (FIG. 6), a device with excellent portability can be used as the other device 57, and a device with high processing power can be used as the electronic device 5F.

[0149] Seventh embodiment FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 61 according to the seventh embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment.

[0150] The image forming device 61 is a combination of the electronic device 5A, the imaging device (scanner 7), and the printer 9 in the first embodiment configured as a single device. For example, the image forming device 61 has a control unit 13, an operation unit 15, a display unit 17 (see FIG. 5), the scanner 7, and the printer 9. The operation of the image forming device 61 relating to printing on the print medium 1 may basically be the same as the operation of the combination of the electronic device 5A, the imaging device (scanner 7), and the printer 9, except that no communication is performed between the devices.

[0151] Whether or not various devices (e.g., 7, 9, 13, 15, and 17) constitute one image forming device 61 may be determined appropriately. For example, the devices (7, 9, 15, and / or 17) held together with control unit 13 by housing 63 may be regarded as parts of image forming device 61. Furthermore, the devices (7, 9, 15, and / or 17) connected to the housing holding control unit 13 via cables may be regarded as parts of image forming device 61 if the cables are not intended to be detachable.

[0152] As described above, the image forming device 61 according to this embodiment has the operation unit 15, the format acquisition unit 31, the content identification unit 33, and the printing unit (printer 9). The format acquisition unit 31 acquires format information from outside the image forming device 61. The content identification unit 33 identifies the content of the record items in response to an operation on the operation unit 15. The printer 9 prints the content of the record items identified by the content identification unit 33 based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 31.

[0153] Therefore, similar to the first embodiment, the format information is acquired from outside the image forming apparatus 61, and the same effects as the first embodiment are achieved. For example, printing corresponding to any format is possible, and user convenience is improved.

[0154] <Example of functional part configuration> In the following, a specific example of the functional units of the control unit 13 in the above-mentioned embodiment will be described. The following examples may be applied to any of the embodiments. However, for convenience, the description may be given on the premise of the first embodiment. The description of the functional units in the electronic device 5 in the following description may be appropriately applied to the functional units of the server 43 or the image forming device 61. For example, in the following description, the term electronic device 5 may be read as the term server 43 or the term image forming device 61. In addition, the terms format acquisition unit 31, content identification unit 33, arrangement unit 35, job generation unit 37, job transmission unit 39, position identification unit 35a, and / or arrangement determination unit 35b may be read as the terms format acquisition unit 47, content identification unit 51, arrangement unit 49, job generation unit 53, job transmission unit 55, position identification unit 49a, and / or arrangement determination unit 49b, respectively.

[0155] (Example of placement section) 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the placement unit 35 and the content identification unit 33. In the illustrated example, it is mainly assumed that the number of items is two or more. In the following description, for convenience, the description may be given on the premise that the number of items is two or more.

[0156] The content identification unit 33 has, for example, a classification unit 65. When input is scheduled for a plurality of items, the classification unit 65 identifies to which item the content D3 designated by the user corresponds. As mentioned in the description of the first embodiment, the classification unit 65 may, for example, accept an operation of the user on the operation unit 15 to designate to which item the designated content D3 corresponds, and perform classification based on the operation. Also, for example, the classification unit 65 may perform classification by analyzing the designated content D3. The classification unit 65 (program D1) may hold in advance the type of item to be classified, or may analyze the image data D2 to identify the type of item to be classified.

[0157] The position identification unit 35a of the arrangement unit 35 acquires information specifying a recording position included in the image data D2 as format information, for example, by optical character recognition (OCR) and / or image feature extraction processing. To this end, the position identification unit 35a has, for example, an OCR unit 67, a comparison unit 69, an extraction unit 71, and a coordinate identification unit 73.

[0158] The OCR unit 67 reads one or more characters (characters constituting the object 1a) included in the image data D2 by optical character recognition. The comparison unit 69 refers to the database DB1 in which the item names are recorded, and identifies the item name that matches the one or more characters read by the OCR unit 67. That is, the comparison unit 69 identifies the item indicated by the one or more characters. Meanwhile, as described above, in the print medium 1A, for one item, the position of the item name and the recording position where the content of the item is recorded have a certain positional relationship (for example, they are adjacent to each other). Therefore, the recording position can be identified based on the position of the characters that match the item name. Furthermore, when there are two or more items, the recording position of each item is identified.

[0159] The database DB1 may be included in the hardware (electronic device 5, server 43, or image forming device 61) in which the position identification unit 35a is implemented, or may be included in hardware separate from the hardware. An example of the latter is a case in which the position identification unit 35a is implemented in the electronic device 5, and the server 43 has the database DB1.

[0160] In different formats, different item names (synonyms) may be used for the same item. For example, in Japanese, "shipping destination", "delivery destination", "recipient", and "destination" may refer to the same item on a waybill. The illustrated database DB1 stores multiple candidates for the item name for one item. For example, the item "destination" is associated with multiple synonyms (conveniently indicated by symbols such as "syn.a1"). The comparison unit 69 then identifies the item indicated by the one or more characters depending on whether the one or more characters read match any of the multiple candidates in the database DB1. This improves adaptability to any format.

[0161] In the illustrated example, the database DB1 stores multiple candidates for multiple items. However, if the user has only one item to be printed, the database DB1 may store a candidate for the item name for only one item. Also, only one candidate may be stored for each item (synonyms may not be assumed).

[0162] The extraction unit 71 performs image feature extraction processing on the image data D2. As a result, for example, the extraction unit 71 extracts information on figures (figures constituting the object 1a) included in the image data D2. As described above, figures are, for example, figures indicating blank spaces such as frame lines, underlines, and parentheses. Such image feature extraction processing may be performed by a known method. Meanwhile, these figures and the recording positions where the contents of the items should be recorded have a certain positional relationship. Therefore, the recording positions are identified based on the extracted figures.

[0163] The coordinate specifying unit 73 specifies the coordinates of the recording position defined by the format, for example, based on the position of the item specified by the comparison unit 69 and / or the position of the figure specified by the extraction unit 71. For example, the coordinate specifying unit 73 may specify coordinates adjacent to the coordinates of the item name, or may specify the coordinates inside or above a figure (for example, a frame) or an upper part of a figure (for example, an underline). Also, for example, when an item name and a figure are adjacent to each other, the coordinate specifying unit 73 may specify the coordinates inside or above the figure as the coordinates of the recording position corresponding to the item name. Note that the coordinate information may be information indicating the position of one representative point of the recording positions, as described above, or may be information indicating the range of the recording positions.

[0164] The placement determination unit 35b of the placement unit 35 has, for example, an allocation unit 75. The allocation unit 75 allocates the contents of two or more items classified by the classification unit 65 to two or more recording positions identified by the coordinate identification unit 73. For example, the classification unit 65 adds item type information to each item content, and the coordinate identification unit 73 adds item type information to each recording position. Then, the allocation unit 75 allocates the contents of items whose item type information matches to each recording position. Then, the allocation unit 75 outputs information on the allocation result (placement information D4).

[0165] In addition, when the number of items is one, such an allocation process is not necessary. Although not particularly illustrated, the placement determination unit 35b may perform a process of setting a specific position (e.g., above or below a blank space) of the contents of the items relative to the recording position identified by the position identification unit 35a (coordinate identification unit 73) as described above after (or before) the above-mentioned allocation. In addition, the placement unit 35 may accept a user's operation to correct the allocation after automatic allocation is performed as described above, or may accept an operation to fine-tune the position of the contents of the items relative to the recording position.

[0166] As described above, in the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may read one or more characters contained in an image based on the image data by optical character recognition, and determine the arrangement of the contents of the record item (item) based on the read characters.

[0167] In this case, for example, the accuracy of the placement unit 35 (position identification unit 35a) automatically identifying the recording position is improved compared to an aspect in which the recording position is identified based only on a figure (such an aspect may also be included in the technology according to the present disclosure). Also, for example, when the item names included in the object 1a are not in the user's native language, it is possible to support the user in understanding the format.

[0168] The electronic device 5 (database DB1) may store one or more candidates for the name of the record item (item name). In the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may detect one or more item names, each consisting of one or more characters, located in an image based on the image data by optical character recognition. In the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may determine an arrangement of the contents of the items such that the contents of the items associated with the matching item name are recorded in a position adjacent to the position of an item name that matches any of the one or more candidates among the one or more detected item names.

[0169] In this case, for example, a simple algorithm of comparing one or more read characters with pre-stored item names can be used to identify the item indicated by the one or more characters. Also, by storing two or more candidates (synonyms) as item names in the database DB1, it is possible to deal with different item names used by different formats, as described above. In other words, adaptability to any format is improved.

[0170] In the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may execute an image feature extraction process and determine the arrangement of the contents of the record matter (item) based on the result of the process. Specifically, for example, in the arrangement step, blank spaces indicated by at least one of a frame line, an underline, and parentheses located in an image based on image data may be detected, and the arrangement of the contents of the item may be determined so that the contents of the item are printed in one of the detected blank spaces.

[0171] In this case, for example, compared to a mode in which the recording position is identified based only on a character string (item name) (such a mode may also be included in the technology related to the present disclosure), the accuracy is improved when the placement unit 35 (position identification unit 35a) automatically identifies the recording position.

[0172] (Another example of the placement section) 13 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the arrangement unit 35. In the illustrated example, it is mainly assumed that the number of items is two or more. In the following description, for convenience, the description may be given on the premise that the number of items is two or more.

[0173] In the example of the arrangement unit 35 in Fig. 12, the arrangement of the contents of the record items is basically determined according to a predetermined algorithm. On the other hand, the arrangement may be determined using AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology instead of such an algorithm. For example, the arrangement unit 35 has a model 77. The model 77 is a so-called trained model in AI technology.

[0174] In model 77, the input of the training data may be, for example, a plurality of image data obtained by imaging a plurality of types of print media reflecting a plurality of types of formats. In a case where it is desired to change the specific arrangement of the contents of the items (for example, the position of the character string in the blank) relative to the recording position specified by the format according to the contents of the items (for example, according to the length of the character string), the contents of the items may also be input as training data. In addition, in a case where the number of items is two or more and two or more contents are assigned to two or more items, the contents of the two or more items after classification (the example shown in the figure) or the contents of the two or more items before classification may also be input as training data.

[0175] In the model 77, the output of the teacher data may be, for example, the recording position (information thereof) of the recording matter (item) in the above-mentioned multiple types of formats (multiple types of print media). The information of the recording position may be, for example, coordinate data indicating the recording position, or image data obtained by imaging the print medium on which the contents of the item are printed. The information of the recording position may be the position (representative point or range) of a blank space, or the position of the contents of the item actually recorded on the print medium. In a case where it is desired to change the specific arrangement of the contents of the item relative to the recording position specified by the format according to the contents of the item, for example, more detailed information of the position of the contents of the item (for example, the start point and end point of a character string) may be used, or the above-mentioned image data may be used. In a case where the number of items is two or more and two or more contents are assigned to the two or more items, coordinate data associated with the type of item for each of the two or more items may be used, or the above-mentioned image data may be used.

[0176] Image data D2 acquired by the format acquisition unit 31 is input to the model 77 that has been trained using the teacher data as described above. In other words, image data D2 obtained by capturing an image of the print medium 1A on which the content of the item is desired to be printed is input. Also, the content of the item identified by the content identification unit 33 is input to the model 77. This causes information D4 relating to the arrangement of the content of the item to be output. In other words, the arrangement of the content of the item is determined.

[0177] The manner in which AI is used may be modified in various ways. For example, in the illustrated example, the classification of the contents of the items is performed by the classification unit 65, but the classification may also be performed by the model 77. Also, for example, instead of using image data D2 as input, one or more characters (and their positions) read by the OCR unit 67 and / or a figure extracted by the extraction unit 71 may be input. These manners may also be considered as image data being input.

[0178] As can be seen from this example, and as described above, the placement unit 35 does not need to be configured to include the position identification unit 35a and the placement determination unit 35b. Also, as can be seen from the fact that the model 77 may classify the contents of the items, the distinction between the placement unit 35 and the content identification unit 33 does not necessarily need to be clear.

[0179] As described above, in the arrangement step, the arrangement of the contents of the items identified in the content identification step may be determined by inputting the image data D2 acquired in the format acquisition step to the model 77. The model 77 may be a trained model that receives as input a plurality of image data obtained by capturing images of a plurality of types of print media reflecting a plurality of types of formats, and outputs the recording positions of the recorded matters (items) on the plurality of types of print media.

[0180] In this case, even for a format that was difficult to predict when creating the program D1, it is possible to reduce the probability that the recording position specified by the format will differ from the arrangement position determined by the arrangement unit 35. As a result, adaptability to a new format, for example, is improved.

[0181] (Yet another example of the placement section) As described above, the arrangement of the contents of the items may be determined without receiving a user operation, or may be determined with a user operation. An example of a mode in which a user operation is received will be described below.

[0182] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of processing executed by the control unit 13 (arrangement unit 35).

[0183] In step ST1, the placement unit 35 (position identification unit 35a) identifies (sets) an area in which the contents of the items can be placed, based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit 31. For example, the placement unit 35 sets the area inside the frame or brackets of the object 1a as the placeable area. If there are two or more items, a placeable area is set for each item. Note that in the following description, for convenience, reference to the number of items may be omitted.

[0184] In step ST2, the placement unit 35 (placement determination unit 35b) displays an input form simulating the print medium 1A on the display unit 17. This shows the user an area in which the contents of the items identified in step ST1 can be placed.

[0185] In step ST3, the placement unit 35 (placement determination unit 35b) accepts an operation of the user specifying the placement of the contents of the items on the operation unit 15. This operation may be, for example, an operation in which the user pastes text into the input form by dragging and dropping it, and / or an operation in which the user inputs a character string after specifying a predetermined position on the input form. As can be understood from the above example, this operation may also serve as an operation of specifying the contents of the items themselves (an operation accepted by the content identification unit 33).

[0186] In step ST4, the placement unit 35 (placement determination unit 35b) judges whether the placement designated in step ST3 is appropriate. For example, the placement unit 35 judges whether the contents of the items fit within the area set in step ST1. If the judgment is affirmative, the placement unit 35 proceeds to step ST6, and if the judgment is negative, the placement unit 35 proceeds to step ST5.

[0187] In step ST5, the placement unit 35 (placement determination unit 35b) corrects the placement designated in step ST3 so that the contents of the items fit within the area set in step ST1. And / or, the placement unit 35 causes the display unit 17 to display a predetermined message to warn the user. Then, the placement unit 35 proceeds to step ST6.

[0188] In step ST6, the arrangement unit 35 (arrangement determination unit 35b) displays the print image on the display unit 17 in the arrangement accepted in step ST3 (if a positive determination is made in step ST4 or if no correction is made in step ST5) or in the arrangement corrected in step ST5. Note that the display of the print image may be the same process as the display of the input form in step ST2 (this mode is assumed in the illustrated example), or it may be a different process.

[0189] In step ST7, the arrangement unit 35 (arrangement determination unit 35b) accepts a user's confirmation operation as to whether or not it is OK to print with the arrangement displayed in step ST6. If the arrangement unit 35 judges it to be positive, it outputs information related to the arrangement to the job generation unit 37 and ends the process. On the other hand, if the arrangement unit 35 judges it to be negative, it proceeds to step ST8.

[0190] In step ST8, the placement unit 35 (placement determination unit 35b) accepts an operation to modify the placement of the contents of the items, and determines whether or not the operation has been performed. If the determination is positive, the placement unit 35 returns to step ST4, and if the determination is negative, the placement unit 35 returns to step ST7. The operation in step ST8 may be, for example, a drag and drop operation of the contents of the items. In addition to the operation of modifying the placement, an operation of modifying the contents of the items may also be possible. These processes may be the same as those in step ST3.

[0191] As described above, in the arrangement step, the electronic device 5 may set one or more possible arrangement areas for the format based on the format information (step ST1). The electronic device 5 may receive a designation of a position for printing the contents of a record matter (item) via the operation unit 15 (step ST3). When the designated position is located in one or more possible arrangement areas, the electronic device 5 may determine the designated position as the position of the contents of the item. When the designated position is not located in one or more possible arrangement areas, the electronic device 5 may perform at least one of the following: a process of correcting the designated position so that it is located in one or more possible arrangement areas, and determining the corrected position as the position of the contents of the item, and a process of issuing a warning to the user (step ST5).

[0192] In this case, for example, the user can determine the placement of the contents of the items by himself / herself while receiving assistance from the placement unit 35 in the process. As a result, the convenience for the user is improved. From another point of view, for example, the need for the placement unit 35 to automatically determine the placement with high accuracy is reduced, and therefore adaptability to various formats is improved.

[0193] (Example of content specification part) As described above, the content identifying unit 33 may receive an input of the content of the item, or may identify the content of the item from a database. An example of an aspect in which a database is used will be described below.

[0194] The electronic device 5 has a database DB2. The database DB2 can hold, for example, user information D5 which is information about a user (individual or organization) of the electronic device 5, and also has an address book DB3 which is a database of information about individuals or organizations other than the user (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "others").

[0195] The user information D5 may include, for example, information on "name", "address", and "telephone number". The address book DB3 may include, for example, information on one or more other people, and may include, for each of the other people, information on "name", "address", and "telephone number". The address book DB3 may be similar to a database in the address book function of a mobile phone, for example.

[0196] Although the database DB2 may not hold the above information, the following explanation is based on the premise that various information is held. The user information D5 and the address book DB3 may have the same data structure or different data structures. In other words, when the term database is interpreted in a narrow sense, the two may or may not constitute one database DB2.

[0197] The content identification unit 33 may identify information stored in the database DB2 as the content of an item, for example, automatically or in response to a user's operation on the operation unit 15. For example, when the print medium 1 is an invoice, the content identification unit 33 may automatically identify user information D5 as source information (item content D3). Also, the content identification unit 33 may identify any other person's information in the address book DB3 as destination information (item content D3) in response to an operation on the operation unit 15. Of course, the content identification unit 33 may identify other person's information in the address book DB as source information or user information D5 as destination information in response to an operation.

[0198] The database DB2 stores the contents of items by item type. Therefore, the content identification unit 33 (eg, the classification unit 65) may identify the type of content of one or more items based on the information included in the database DB2.

[0199] Here, an example is given of an embodiment in which the electronic device 5 (or, from another point of view, the hardware in which the content identification unit 33 is constructed) has the database DB2 or DB3, like the address book function of a mobile phone. However, the database DB2 or DB3 may be provided in the server 43, or may be possessed by hardware other than the hardware in which the content identification unit 33 is constructed. An example of the latter is, for example, an embodiment in which the content identification unit 33 is constructed in the electronic device 5, and the server 43 has the database DB2 or DB3.

[0200] As described above, the electronic device 5 may have an address database (address book DB3) capable of storing information on a plurality of addresses. In the content identification step, the electronic device 5 may identify at least one of the information on one or more addresses stored in the address book DB3 as the content of a record item (item).

[0201] In this case, the burden on the user is reduced compared to a mode in which address information is specified as the content of an item by inputting characters into the operation unit 15. From another perspective, a known address book is effectively utilized, and the added value of the electronic device 5 is improved.

[0202] (Choose a format) As described above, the electronic device 5 obtains format information from outside the electronic device 5. This format information may be stored to build a database for later use.

[0203] FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of how a database of format information is used.

[0204] Here, an example is taken in which the print medium 1 is an invoice. The various functional units (31, 35, 79, 81, and 83) of the control unit 13 shown in the figure are constructed by, for example, the CPU of the electronic device 5 executing a program D1.

[0205] When the format acquisition unit 31 acquires the format information, the database creation unit 79 stores the format information in the database DB4. The database DB4 stores the format information in association with the information of the delivery company that specifies the format (e.g., the name of the delivery company). Then, the format acquisition unit 31 repeatedly acquires the format information, thereby constructing the database DB4 that holds information on a plurality of formats.

[0206] The correspondence between the format and the delivery company may be performed by the database creation unit 79 accepting an operation of the user on the operation unit 15, or may be performed automatically by the database creation unit 79. When accepting an operation, for example, the database creation unit 79 accepts character input of the delivery company name. When performing automatically, for example, the database creation unit 79 extracts information related to the delivery company included in the format information. For example, the waybill as the print medium 1A usually has the name of the delivery company that handles the waybill printed on it. Therefore, the database creation unit 79 may identify the name of the delivery company from the image data acquired by the format acquisition unit 31 by OCR.

[0207] Thereafter, when it becomes necessary to print the contents of the item on the print medium 1, the selection unit 81 accepts an operation performed by the user on the operation unit 15, and identifies the delivery company (company information D6) that the user wishes to use based on the operation. This operation may be, for example, an operation to accept an arbitrary character input, or an operation to display a list of delivery companies stored in the database DB4 on the display unit 17 and select an arbitrary delivery company from the list.

[0208] When the selection unit 81 identifies the vendor information D6, it refers to the database DB4 to obtain the format information D7 corresponding to the vendor. The subsequent processing is the same as the processing for printing described above. For convenience, the content identification unit 33 and the job generation unit 37 are omitted in Fig. 16, and only the arrangement unit 35 to which the format information is input is illustrated.

[0209] The format information stored in the database DB4 may take various forms. For example, as described above, the format information may be appropriately processed between the time it is acquired by the format acquisition unit 31 and the time it is input to the arrangement unit 35 (which may or may not include the position identification unit 35a). Information at any stage may be recorded. For example, the format information may include information as it is captured (image data in raster format), or may include coordinate data (not in the form of image data) acquired after the recording position is identified by the position identification unit 35a.

[0210] A single delivery company may specify multiple formats. For example, the format may differ depending on the contents of the package (e.g., whether refrigeration is required), the destination (e.g., whether it is a foreign country) and / or whether a time is specified. In this case, for example, the information on the delivery company may include not only the delivery company name but also information indicating the format type. The delivery company name and the format type name may be stored as one data item (the delivery company name and the type name may be treated as a series of character strings), or the format type may be stored as a data item subordinate to the large data item of the delivery company.

[0211] The printing process using database DB4 may be a process that is optionally performed after a series of operations from acquisition of format information by format acquisition unit 31 to transmission of a print job by job transmission unit 39 (printing without using database DB4), or may be a process that does not assume printing without using database DB4. In other words, the latter is a mode in which database DB4 is always used when printing the contents of an item on print medium 1.

[0212] As described above, the printing method may include a storage step (see database creation unit 79). In the storage step, electronic device 5 may store information on the multiple formats acquired in the format acquisition step and information on the multiple delivery companies in a delivery database (database DB4) in association with each other. In the arrangement step, electronic device 5 may accept input of information on the delivery company via operation unit 15, identify information on a format associated with the input information on the delivery company based on database DB4, and determine the arrangement of the contents of the record items (items) based on the identified information on the format.

[0213] In this case, for example, format information previously obtained from outside the electronic device 5 can be used and / or reused, reducing the need to obtain format information from outside the electronic device 5 every time printing is performed, improving user convenience. Also, by storing multiple format information, it is possible to accommodate cases where the delivery company the user wishes to use varies depending on the situation. Since the format is specified by specifying the delivery company, the burden on the user is reduced.

[0214] (Modifying an object) As described with reference to Fig. 2B, in the printing method according to the embodiment, not only the contents of the items but also the object 1a may be printed. In this case, the object 1a may be printed in the form in which it is printed on the print medium 1A (in other words, in the form specified by the format information), or may be printed with some changes.

[0215] Here is an example of the change. When the print medium 1 is a shipping invoice, an object 1a indicating a title (for example, "sama" in Japanese) may be printed in each of the sender's name field and the recipient's name field. Some users may wish to delete the title in the sender field when the sender is themselves. In this case, the electronic device 5 may change the content of the object 1a so as to delete the sender's title.

[0216] In Fig. 16, a change unit 83 (a change step from another point of view) is shown as a functional unit that the control unit 13 has for changing the contents of the object 1a. The change unit 83 may change the object 1a (image data related to the object 1a) at an appropriate time after acquiring the format information and before transmitting the print job. For convenience, Fig. 16 shows an aspect in which the change unit performs processing after the placement unit 35 determines the placement.

[0217] The change unit 83 may delete the title of the sender in a uniform manner, or may delete the title of the sender when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The predetermined condition may be, for example, that the user information D5 shown in FIG. 15 is used as the information of the sender. Also, for example, the change unit 83 may determine that the predetermined condition is satisfied when the user performs an operation on the operation unit 15 to instruct deletion. The user's operation may be accepted after displaying an image on the display unit 17 inquiring whether or not to delete the title when the user information D5 is used as described above, or may be accepted without assuming such a display. Note that the mode of deleting the title of the sender in a uniform manner and the mode of deleting the title of the sender when the user information D5 is used as the information of the sender may be regarded as a mode of automatically changing the object 1a.

[0218] The object 1a can be modified in various ways other than those described above. For example, a dotted line (e.g., a figure eight) that is expected to be traced by a user with a pen is basically unnecessary on the printed medium 1B after printing, and may be deleted. Also, for example, notes on writing may also be deleted, and may be deleted. Also, while the deletion of titles has been described, the object 1a may be modified conversely to add titles to the destinations.

[0219] As described above, the electronic device 5 may further include a change step (see the change unit 83) for changing at least a part of the information of the object 1a. The object 1a requested to be printed by the print job transmitted by the job transmission unit 39 may be based on the information of the object after being changed by the change step.

[0220] In this case, for example, the user can reduce the trouble of overwriting the sender's title with a strikethrough, which improves user convenience.

[0221] The technology according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described aspects and may be implemented in various aspects.

[0222] For example, the various aspects described above may be combined as appropriate. For example, the configuration in which the electronic device in the second embodiment has an imaging device (for example, a scanner or a camera) may be applied to the third to fifth embodiments.

[0223] The electronic device, server, or image forming device may be able to specify the number of copies to be printed. That is, the printing method according to the embodiment may print the contents of the same item on multiple print media. The electronic device, server, or image forming device may also specify multiple contents for the same item and assign the multiple contents to multiple print media for printing. In this case, for example, it is easy to create waybills for sending packages to multiple destinations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0224] 1, 1A and 1B...printing medium, 3...multifunction device (scanner and / or printer), 5 and 5A to 5F...electronic device, 7...scanner (imaging device), 9...printer (printing section), 11...camera (imaging device), 13...control section, 15...operation section, 13...display section, 31...format acquisition section, 33...content identification section, 35...placement section, 37...job generation section, 39...job transmission section, D1...program.

Claims

1. a format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has the information on the format includes image data obtained by imaging a print medium that reflects the format; The electronic device further includes a placement step of determining a placement position of the contents of the record items based on the image data, In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits the print job for printing the contents of the record matter at the arrangement position determined in the arrangement step; In the arranging step, the electronic device reads one or more characters included in an image based on the image data by optical character recognition, and determines the arrangement of the contents of the record items based on the read characters. Printing method.

2. The electronic device stores one or more candidates for a record name; In the placing step, the electronic device detecting, by optical character recognition, one or more record names, each of which is comprised of one or more characters, located within an image based on the image data; The arrangement of the contents of the record is determined so that the contents of the record related to the matching record name are recorded in a position adjacent to a position of a record name that matches any of the one or more candidates among the one or more detected record name. The printing method according to claim 1 .

3. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has the information on the format includes image data obtained by imaging a print medium that reflects the format; The electronic device further includes a placement step of determining a placement position of the contents of the record items based on the image data, In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits the print job for printing the contents of the record matter at the arrangement position determined in the arrangement step; In the arranging step, the electronic device executes an image feature extraction process and determines the arrangement of the contents of the record items based on the result of the process. Printing method.

4. In the arranging step, blank spaces indicated by at least one of a frame line, an underline, and parentheses located in an image based on the image data are detected, and an arrangement of the contents of the recorded matter is determined so that the contents of the recorded matter are printed in any one of the detected blank spaces. The printing method according to claim 3.

5. A format acquisition step in which an electronic device acquires format information from an external device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has the information on the format includes image data obtained by imaging a print medium that reflects the format; The electronic device further includes a placement step of determining a placement position of the contents of the record items based on the image data, In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits the print job for printing the contents of the record matter at the arrangement position determined in the arrangement step; In the arrangement step, a plurality of image data obtained by imaging a plurality of types of print media reflecting a plurality of types of formats is input, and the image data acquired in the format acquisition step is input to a trained model that outputs recording positions defined by the plurality of types of formats as positions at which predetermined record items are to be recorded, thereby determining an arrangement of the contents of the record items identified in the content identification step. Printing method.

6. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device of the electronic device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has The electronic device further includes a placement step of determining a placement position of the contents of the record items based on the information of the format acquired by the format acquisition step, In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits the print job for printing the contents of the record matter at the arrangement position determined in the arrangement step; In the placing step, the electronic device setting one or more possible layout areas for the format based on the information of the format; Accepting a designation of a position for printing the contents of the record matter via the operation unit; When the designated position is located within the one or more possible placement areas, the designated position is determined as the position of the content of the record item; When the designated position is not located within the one or more possible arrangement areas, the designated position is corrected so that it is located within the one or more possible arrangement areas, and the corrected position is determined as the arrangement position of the content of the record item, and / or a process for issuing a warning to the user is performed. Printing method.

7. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from outside the electronic device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has The format information includes object information indicating a recording position where the record item is recorded by being recorded on a print medium; The print job requests printing of only the contents of the record among the object and the contents of the record. Printing method.

8. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device of the electronic device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has The format information includes object information indicating a recording position where the record item is recorded by being recorded on a print medium; The print job requests printing of both the object and the contents of the entry. Printing method.

9. The electronic device further includes a modifying step of modifying at least a part of information of the object, The object requested to be printed by the print job is based on information of the object after it has been modified by the modifying step. The printing method according to claim 8.

10. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device of the electronic device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has The electronic device has an address database capable of storing information of a plurality of addresses, In the content identification step, the electronic device identifies at least one of the pieces of address information stored in the address database as the content of the record item. Printing method.

11. A format acquisition step in which the electronic device acquires format information from an external device of the electronic device; a content specifying step of the electronic device specifying the content of the record item in response to an operation on an operation unit of the electronic device; a job sending step in which the electronic device sends a print job for printing the contents of the record items identified in the contents identifying step based on the format information acquired in the format acquiring step in response to an operation on the operation unit; It has The electronic device further includes a placement step of determining a placement position of the contents of the record items based on the information of the format acquired by the format acquisition step, In the job transmission step, the electronic device transmits the print job for printing the contents of the record matter at the arrangement position determined in the arrangement step; The electronic device further includes a storage step of storing the plurality of format information acquired by the format acquisition step and the plurality of delivery company information in a delivery database in association with each other, In the arranging step, the electronic device accepts input of information about a delivery company via the operation unit, identifies format information associated with the input information about the delivery company based on the delivery database, and determines an arrangement of the contents of the record items based on the identified format information. Printing method.

12. An electronic device, An operation unit; a format acquisition unit that acquires format information from outside the electronic device; a content specification unit that specifies the content of a record item in response to an operation on the operation unit; a job sending unit that sends a print job for printing the contents of the record item identified by the contents identifying unit based on the format information acquired by the format acquiring unit in response to an operation on the operating unit; It has The format information includes object information indicating a recording position where the record item is recorded by being recorded on a print medium; The print job requests printing of only the contents of the record among the object and the contents of the record. electronic equipment.

13. A computer of an electronic device having an operation unit, a format acquisition unit that acquires format information from outside the electronic device; A content specification unit that specifies the content of a record item in response to an operation on the operation unit; and a job transmission unit that transmits a print job for printing the contents of the record item identified by the contents identification unit based on the format information acquired by the format acquisition unit in response to an operation on the operation unit; Function as a The format information includes object information indicating a recording position where the record item is recorded by being recorded on a print medium; The print job requests printing of only the contents of the record among the object and the contents of the record. program.

14. a format acquisition unit that acquires image data obtained by capturing an image of a print medium that reflects a predetermined format from a terminal; a position specifying unit that specifies a recording position defined by the format as a position where a predetermined record item is to be recorded, based on the image data acquired by the format acquisition unit; a location information transmission unit that transmits information based on the recording position identified by the location identification unit to the terminal or the printer; It has The position specifying unit reads one or more characters included in an image based on the image data by optical character recognition, and specifies the recording position based on the read characters. server.

15. An image forming apparatus, An operation unit; a format acquisition unit that acquires format information from outside the image forming apparatus; a content specification unit that specifies the content of a record item in response to an operation on the operation unit; a printing unit that prints the contents of the record items identified by the contents identifying unit based on the information on the format acquired by the format acquiring unit; It has The format information includes object information indicating a recording position where the record item is recorded by being recorded on a print medium; The printing unit prints only the contents of the recorded matter out of the objects and the contents of the recorded matter. Image forming device.

Images