JP2006259999A - Peripheral device control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dynamically create a control script using a peripheral device control application, thereby producing the effects of (1) reducing man hours for software development when dealing with a new kind, (2) reducing man hours for function enhancement, and (3) increasing the variety of function combinations. <P>SOLUTION: This peripheral controller is connected to a function database that manages peripheral control methods or procedures for each function, so as to dynamically create a control sequence. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control system for a peripheral device, and more particularly, to a control device and a control method for performing control conforming to specifications of a peripheral device.

  Conventionally, in a peripheral device control system such as a printer or a copier, the following method has been devised as a method for performing control conforming to device specifications.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-137593 describes a method of automatically configuring a user interface of a control program for controlling a peripheral device in accordance with device specification information acquired from the peripheral device.

  As an example of a control program for controlling peripheral devices, when the above method is applied to a printer driver that controls a printer, the function that can be selected on the user interface of the printer driver is switched according to the function of the printer. Therefore, the printer driver can be configured according to the printer specifications.

As another method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-73303 describes a method in which a sequence diagram is sequentially created with designated function symbols and a program executable by the control device is automatically generated based on the sequence diagram. When the above method is applied to a printer driver, a printer control program can be automatically generated from a printer control sequence diagram.
JP 2000-137593 A JP-A-9-73303

  In the conventional method, the series of control procedures for controlling peripheral devices is the same, and it is effective when only the parameters of the control command included in the control procedure differ depending on the device or device configuration. When a series of control procedures (control scripts) differ greatly depending on the problem, there has been a problem that cannot be solved by this alone.

  For example, when creating a printer driver corresponding to a plurality of printers having greatly different control procedures (control scripts), the control procedure (control script) for the corresponding model must be included in one printer driver. However, there has been a problem that the printer driver program becomes enormous.

  Further, when the control procedure on the printer side is changed, the printer driver has to be updated accordingly. In other words, the driver software must be changed with the change of the peripheral device control method.

  The second conventional method generates a program statically. Therefore, in order to change the control procedure, it is necessary to generate the program again or regenerate the distribution form to the user, and the program must be redistributed.

  The present invention was made to solve the above-described problems, and a first object of the present invention is a peripheral device control system capable of dynamically generating a control script that conforms to the device specifications of the peripheral device. Is to provide.

  In addition, a second object of the present invention is to enable reduction of processing and resources on the control device side when a plurality of peripheral devices having different control procedures are controlled by one control device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a dynamic generation of a control sequence is achieved.

  The present invention is characterized in that a sequence for controlling peripheral devices is automatically generated based on a control method defined by a scenario held in a function database. Since the function realization information is dynamically collected from the function database to control the device, there is no program change due to the function expansion or function addition, and the function expansion or function addition can be flexibly handled. Furthermore, a plurality of devices with different control methods can be handled by a single control device.

  The peripheral device control apparatus according to claim 1 has the following configuration.

  The principle of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a peripheral device to be controlled by this control apparatus, and 1 denotes a function database for managing peripheral device control methods and procedures for each function.

  The present invention is a peripheral device control system for controlling a peripheral device by connecting to a function database and a peripheral device controlled by a control method held in the database.

  The peripheral device control apparatus controls the peripheral device using the scenario acquisition unit 3 that acquires the function realization method from the function database, the scenario storage unit 4 that stores and manages the acquired scenario, and the scenario stored in the scenario storage unit A sequence generation unit 5 that generates a sequence for performing the operation, and a sequence execution unit 6 that converts the sequence created by the sequence generation unit into a peripheral device control command and transmits the command to the peripheral device.

  In the conventional software configuration, when the control method of the peripheral device is changed according to the function of the peripheral device, it is necessary to newly create the software, and the control method cannot be upgraded without changing the software.

  In the present invention, the control method for each function is stored in the function database, and the control device uses it to dynamically generate a control script that conforms to the device specifications of the peripheral device without changing the software. It was. Furthermore, when a plurality of peripheral devices having different control procedures are controlled by a single control device, it is possible to reduce processing and resources on the control device side.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments to which the peripheral device control apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows an internal structure in the embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, a CPU (21) is connected to a ROM (23), a RAM (24), an input interface (25), and an external storage interface (27) via a system bus (22). Give and receive. Further, input information of an input device (26) such as a keyboard is received via the input interface (25). Data of the external storage device (28) such as HD is read / written via the external storage interface (27).

  The ROM (23) stores a control program executed by the CPU (21), initial data for device initialization, a protocol specification table, and the like. The RAM (24) is a work area of the CPU (21), and various registers and data areas are prepared.

  FIG. 3 shows a system configuration in the embodiment. The peripheral device control device (31) is connected to the peripheral device A (32) and the peripheral device B (33) to be controlled via a network, and is defined above a transport layer such as TCP / IP or UDP / IP. A command is exchanged by a predetermined protocol of the application layer. The protocol has device function control commands, and can execute functions such as printing, image scanning, and file storage.

  When controlling the peripheral device, the control device (31) connects to the function database (34), acquires a function realization method based on the control command, and creates and executes a peripheral device control sequence.

  FIG. 4 shows a module configuration of the peripheral device control apparatus according to the embodiment.

  The peripheral device control device (40) includes a scenario acquisition unit (43), a scenario holding unit (44), a sequence generation unit (45), and a sequence execution unit (46).

  The scenario acquisition unit (43) acquires a scenario describing a function realization method from the function database (41), and the scenario holding unit (44) holds the scenario.

  The sequence generation unit (45) includes a scenario analysis unit (451) that analyzes the contents of a scenario, a function related information reflection unit (452) that determines a sequence generation method in consideration of the relationship between functions, and a scenario integration that integrates a plurality of scenarios. Part (453).

  The sequence execution unit (46) includes a sequence interpretation unit (461) that interprets the sequence generated by the sequence generation unit (45), a command conversion unit (462) that converts a command extracted by analysis into an execution form, and peripheral devices ( 42) and a command execution unit (463) that transmits a command packet.

  The function selection user interface (47) is used to specify the function of the peripheral device to be controlled on the user function selection screen.

  FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of the function database in the embodiment.

  The function database includes an "ID" that identifies the function, a "function name", a "used command" that indicates the command used to implement the function, an "used attribute" that indicates the attribute specified in the command, and between functions “Inheritance function” and “aggregation function” indicating the relationship between the commands, and “scenario link” indicating the scenario file describing the specific command issue order.

  The “inheritance function” indicating the relationship between functions will be described with reference to FIG.

  A function (UC002) of “designating the number of copies” (UC002) is obtained by simply adding an additional function of designating the number of copies to the “print” function (UC001).

  When realizing the “print by specifying the number of copies” function (UC002), there are three commands to be used: CreateJob, CreatePage, and SetAttribute. On the other hand, the “print” function (UC001) uses CreateJob and CreatePage. The “print by specifying the number of copies” function (UC002) inherits UC001 and further specifies the number of copies by the SetAttribute command.

  Similarly, UC003 and UC004 inherit UC001 and can be said to be a function in which attribute setting by SetAttribute is added to UC001.

  By the way, the “Specify the number of copies, double-sided printing, and submit the job for stapling” function can be regarded as a combination of UC002, UC003, and UC004. I can say that.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the “aggregation function”.

  The “acquisition of job status in device” function (UC210) is composed of two functions: a “acquisition of job handle” function (UC200) and a “acquisition of job status” function (UC100). In order to realize the function (UC210) of “acquisition of job status in device”, UC200 and UC100 may be executed in order.

  The “inherit function” in the data structure of FIG. 5 indicates the original function ID that inherits the function, and the “aggregate function” indicates the function ID of the components that constitute the function.

  “Link to scenario” in the data structure of FIG. 5 is a path to a file in which the scenario is described in XML. In this XML file, the order of issuing commands for realizing the functions, the related information between the functions, and the like are shown. The scenario schema is shown in FIG.

  The squares in the figure represent XML elements. The upper squares indicate XML element names, and the lower squares indicate XML element attribute names.

  Each element in FIG. 8 has the following meaning.

  -Function: Indicates a function. Holds function ID and function name as element attributes. Under the Function element, there are one or more RelationFunction or Command and Insertion elements.

  -RelationalFunction: Indicates a related function. Relevant function ID (can be specified more than once) and the type of the relationship (inheritance or aggregation) are retained as element attributes. There may be a Command element under the RelationFunction element.

  Command: Indicates a command that constitutes a function. Has command name as element attribute. The command insertion position attribute is valid only when it is placed under the RelationFunction element and the inheritance relationship is established. A Parameter element exists under the Command element.

  -Parameter: Indicates a command parameter. It has parameter name and parameter type as element attributes. Under the Parameter element, a reserved word (PARAM_ANY) indicating that either a numerical value to be substituted for the parameter or a value in the parameter range is substituted is described.

  ・ Insertion: Indicates the position where the command can be inserted. Label element attributes are defined to identify the Insertion element.

  A description example of a specific scenario of the function is shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10, and FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows an example scenario of the inheritance source. In the Function element indicating the “print” function, an Insertion element that defines a command insertion position and a Command element that indicates execution of the command are defined. In this example, three Insertion elements are defined, which indicates that commands can be inserted before and after “CreateJob” of the Command element and after “CreatePage”.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the inheritance destination scenario. The function of the inheritance source is specified using the RelationFunction element, and the addition of the command is indicated by the Command element. The Command element has a Position element attribute indicating the insertion position of the inheritance source, and indicates to which Insertion element the command should be added.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of an aggregation scenario. Using the RelationFunction element, function scenarios that are aggregate parts are listed. In the case of this example, UC210 is comprised from UC200 and UC100, and it has shown that a command is comprised in order of UC200 and UC100.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a user interface and setting data of the print function in the embodiment.

  On the UI screen 1 (121) of the peripheral device control device, peripheral devices connected to the network are listed. The UI screen 2 (122) is displayed by selecting the peripheral device to be controlled on this screen and pressing the OK button. The UI screen 2 displays a plurality of printer functions, and the user can print a document by designating a desired function.

  By pressing the OK button on the UI screen 2, the setting data is confirmed. The setting data (123) in FIG. 12 indicates data stored internally when the three-copy printing function and the duplex printing function are selected.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the entire system in the embodiment.

  A plurality of functions set by the function selection user interface (47) of FIG. 4 and their parameters are acquired (S131), and the scenario acquisition unit (43) specifies the function ID of the selected function and functions the corresponding scenario. Obtained from the database (41) (S132).

  In order to merge all acquired scenarios and generate a sequence, the sequence generation unit (45) performs the following processing. When an abstract parameter (reserved word indicated by PARAM_ANY) exists in the scenario (S134), the parameter specified by the user interface is substituted for the abstract parameter (S135).

  A RelationFunction element indicating a relationship with another function is detected in the scenario (S136). If the relationship is an inheritance relationship, the inheritance relationship processing (S138) is performed. If the relationship is an aggregation relationship, the aggregation relationship processing (S139) is performed. If not, single function processing (S137) is performed.

  The processing of S134 to S139 is performed for all scenarios (S133), and the scenario of the designated function is integrated, and then the RelationFunction and Insertion elements unnecessary for command execution are deleted (S1310). A sequence obtained by integrating the scenarios of multiple functions created in this way is stored in a file format (S1311).

  FIG. 14 shows an example in which a plurality of scenarios are integrated to create a sequence. The scenario of the function “UC002) for specifying the number of copies” and the scenario of the function “UC003” for “duplex printing” (UC003) are integrated to generate a sequence of the function “duplex printing by specifying the number of copies”. The sequence describes the command type and parameter contents necessary for command execution.

  15, 19, and 20 are flowcharts of the sequence generation process. The scenario analysis unit (451) of the sequence generation unit (45) analyzes the scenario, and the function related information reflection unit (452) detects the relationship between the functions, and the inheritance relationship scenario, the aggregation relationship scenario, Identify three types of scenarios that are not related to functions and consist of a single function.

  The scenario integration unit (453) performs processing corresponding to each of a single function scenario, a scenario having an inheritance relationship, and a scenario having an aggregation relationship, integrates a plurality of scenarios, and generates a sequence file.

  As shown in FIG. 15, in the case of a single function scenario, the scenario is developed in a temporary area held by the scenario integration unit (S151).

  As shown in FIG. 19, in the case of a scenario having an inheritance relationship, the inherited function ID is detected from the scenario (S152), and the scenario of the inherited function is acquired using the scenario acquisition unit (43) ( S153). If the scenario is not expanded in the temporary area (S154), the inherited scenario is expanded in the temporary area (S155). A Command element is detected from the scenario, and a Command element is added to the scenario of the inherited function. The insertion position attribute of the Command element is acquired (S157), and the Command element is inserted at the designated position (S158). S157 to S158 are performed for all Command elements (S156).

  As shown in FIG. 20, in the case of a scenario having an aggregation relationship, the scenario of the aggregated function is extracted (S1510), and the scenario of the function included as a functional component using the scenario acquisition unit (43) is extracted. Obtain (S1512). The acquired scenario is developed at the end of the temporary area (S1513). S1512 to S1513 are performed for all scenarios (S1511). In this way, processing is performed in accordance with the appearance order of the functions that have been aggregated, and the scenarios that are functional components are integrated.

  The sequence created by the above procedure is executed by the sequence execution unit (46). FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the sequence execution process. The sequence execution unit (46) acquires the sequence created by the sequence creation unit (45) (S161) and connects to the target device via a network (S162). A Command element is extracted from the acquired sequence (S163), and for all the extracted Command elements (S164), the Command element and the Parameter element under the element are converted into packets (S165), and a packet is transmitted (S166). ). After all the Command elements are transmitted in packets, the device is disconnected (S167), and the command input for the function request is completed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the configuration of the first embodiment, the device control apparatus controls peripheral devices via a network.

  In the second embodiment, an example in which the device control apparatus is arranged in the same system as the peripheral device and the peripheral device is controlled locally will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a system configuration diagram of the second embodiment. When the control device (173) is arranged in the peripheral device (172) and the control device controls the peripheral device, a scenario describing a method for realizing the function from the function database (171) connected via the network To get.

  When the control device controls peripheral devices, the specified I / F (API) is used. The control device receives a function execution instruction from the user interface of the peripheral device, and makes an API call to the peripheral device by the sequence execution unit (46) in FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart of the sequence execution process. The sequence execution unit (46) acquires the sequence created by the sequence creation unit (45) (S181). A Command element is extracted from the acquired sequence (S182), and for all the extracted Command elements (S183), the Command element and the Parameter element under the element are converted to API (S184) and an API call is made (S185). . After executing all Command elements, complete command input for function request.

It is a principle figure of the peripheral device control apparatus of this invention. It is an operation | movement block diagram of the peripheral device control apparatus of this embodiment. It is a system configuration figure of this Embodiment 1. It is a module block diagram of this embodiment. It is a data structure figure of the function database of this embodiment. It is an example of the inheritance relationship of the function of this embodiment. It is an example of the aggregation relation of the function of this embodiment. It is a functional scenario schema of this embodiment. It is XML description example 1 of the functional scenario of this embodiment. It is XML description example 2 of the functional scenario of this embodiment. It is XML description example 3 of the functional scenario of this embodiment. It is the user interface and setting data of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the system of this embodiment. It is a sequence generation example of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the sequence generation process of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the sequence execution process of the first embodiment. It is a system configuration figure of this Embodiment 2. It is a flowchart of the sequence execution process of the second embodiment. The sequence generation flowchart. The sequence generation flowchart.

Claims (7)

A function database that manages peripheral device control methods and procedures for each function,
Peripherals controlled by commands, and
A peripheral device control system for connecting to the database and the peripheral device and controlling the peripheral device,
The peripheral device control system includes:
Scenario acquisition means for acquiring a scenario indicating a function realization method from the function database;
Scenario holding means to hold and manage the acquired scenario,
Sequence generation means for generating a sequence for controlling peripheral devices using the scenario stored in the scenario holding means;
The sequence generating means is composed of sequence execution means for converting a sequence created by the sequence generation means into a peripheral device control command and transmitting the command to the peripheral device, and dynamically creating a sequence corresponding to the function of the peripheral device. Peripheral device control system. The function database holds a function realization method for each single function and holds relation information with other functions, and indicates an inheritance relation and an aggregation relation between the functions. Each function held in the function database has an identifier, and a command for realizing the function and a scenario related to the execution order of the command are defined.
When the inheritance relationship holds, the inheritance destination scenario includes an inheritance source identifier, a command corresponding to the additional function, and insertion of the additional command. In the inheritance source scenario, a position where a command can be inserted is defined.
When an aggregation relationship is established, a scenario composed of a plurality of functions holds an identifier that is a component of aggregation.
The peripheral device control system according to claim 1, wherein the analysis of these scenarios is performed by a sequence generation unit. The sequence generation means creates a sequence by combining a plurality of scenarios that realize a single function, and analyzes the constituent elements of the scenario,
Function related information reflecting means for reflecting related information between functions in sequence generation,
It consists of a scenario integration means that creates a single sequence by merging multiple scenarios,
The sequence generation means includes a step of associating a function to be executed with a scenario, a step of acquiring related information between functions, extracting a function integration method, and merging a plurality of scenarios. The peripheral device control system according to 1. The sequence execution means includes sequence analysis means for analyzing the generated sequence,
It comprises command conversion means for converting a command constituting the sequence into a packet format or API call format that can be transmitted to the peripheral device, and a command execution means for connecting to the peripheral device and transmitting a command or making an API call.
2. The peripheral device control system according to claim 1, further comprising a step of extracting a command from the sequence, a step of converting the command into a format communicable with the peripheral device, and a step of executing the sequence by communicating with the peripheral device. .   The peripheral device control system according to claim 1, wherein the database is stored in a predetermined server on a network.   The peripheral device control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device is arranged outside the peripheral device and controls the peripheral device from a remote location.   The peripheral device control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device is disposed in the peripheral device and controls the peripheral device locally.

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