JP3524541B2 - RECORDING SYSTEM, RECORDING DEVICE, ITS CONTROL METHOD, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, ITS METHOD, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a recording system, a recording apparatus and a control method 及 for recording an image based on image data from the image supply device such as a digital camera
And a communication device, a method thereof, a program, and a storage medium .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital cameras (imaging devices), so-called digital cameras, which are capable of photographing an image with a simple operation and converting it into digital image data, have been widely used. When an image taken by such a camera is printed and used as a photograph, normally, the taken digital image data is once taken in from a digital camera to a PC (computer), and the PC performs image processing. After that, the PC is generally output to a color printer for printing.

On the other hand, recently, a color print system capable of directly transmitting digital image data from a digital camera to a color printer for printing without using a PC, or an image picked up by being mounted on the digital camera. The memory card that stores is directly attached to the color printer, and is stored in the memory card.
So-called photo direct (PD) printers and the like that can print captured images have also been developed.

[0004]

In particular, when image data is transmitted directly from a digital camera to a printer for printing, the specifications and operating methods of digital cameras differ from one manufacturer to another, so that different manufacturers have different specifications. The advent of a photo direct printer device compatible with a digital camera has been desired. Further, such a photo direct printer device may receive and print image data from various devices other than the digital camera described above, such as a mobile phone and a PDA, and the printer itself. Since there are various functions, there is a need to mutually confirm whether or not communication according to a predetermined communication protocol is possible.

In order to mutually confirm whether or not communication according to the new communication protocol is possible, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated command or the like, and to confirm it in a state in which existing rules (PTP, etc.) are not touched at all. Was difficult to do.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording system, a recording apparatus, and a control method therefor capable of promptly confirming the communication function of the connected image supply device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a recording apparatus that is connected to an image supply device via a general-purpose interface and receives and records image data from the image supply device, wherein the image supply device is configured by a physical layer depending on the hardware of the general-purpose interface. First determination means for determining whether or not the image communication device is compatible with a predetermined communication protocol, and whether or not the image supply device is compatible with the predetermined communication protocol in a transport layer that controls communication above the physical layer. Second to determine whether
When it is determined by the determination means and the first or second determination means that the image supply device complies with the predetermined communication protocol, the image supply device complies with the predetermined communication protocol. When it is determined that the image supply device does not comply with a predetermined communication protocol by any of the first and second determination means, the image supply is performed by the application layer that is an upper layer of the transport layer. Control means for controlling so as to determine whether or not the device complies with the predetermined communication protocol.

In order to achieve the above object, the recording system of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in a recording system for exchanging information between a plurality of devices for recording, it is determined whether or not it is possible to shift to a predetermined communication mode in each of a plurality of layers forming an interface between the plurality of devices. And a determination unit that determines that the communication mode between the plurality of devices can be set to the predetermined communication mode when the determination unit determines that the transition to the predetermined communication mode is possible in any of the plurality of layers. And control means for controlling.

In order to achieve the above object, the control method of the recording apparatus of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, a method of controlling a recording apparatus that is connected to an image supply device via a general-purpose interface and receives and records image data from the image supply device, the physical layer depending on the hardware of the general-purpose interface In a first determining step of determining whether or not the supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol, and in the transport layer that manages communication above the physical layer, the image supply device corresponds to the predetermined communication protocol. If it is determined that the image supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol in the second determination step of determining whether or not the image supply device meets the predetermined communication protocol, It is determined that the image supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol, and the image supply device performs a predetermined communication in either the first or the second determination step. If it is not determined that the image supply device corresponds to the predetermined communication protocol in the application layer that is an upper layer of the transport layer, a control step of controlling to determine whether or not the image supply device corresponds to the predetermined communication protocol. , Are included.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a photo direct printer device (hereinafter, PD printer device) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
000 is a schematic perspective view. This PD printer device 10
00 is a function as an ordinary PC printer that receives data from a host computer (PC) and prints it, and directly reads and prints image data stored in a storage medium such as a memory card, or from a digital camera. It has a function to receive and print the image data of.

In FIG. 1, the main body forming the outer shell of the PD printer 1000 according to this embodiment is a case M10.
01, the upper case 1002, the access cover 1003, and the discharge tray 1004. Further, the lower case 1001 forms a substantially lower half part of the PD printer 1000, and the upper case 1002 forms a substantially upper half part of the main body. The combination of both cases accommodates each mechanism described later inside. A hollow body structure having a space is formed, and openings are formed in the upper surface portion and the front surface portion, respectively. Further, one end of the discharge tray 1004 is rotatably held by the lower case 1001, and the opening formed in the front surface of the lower case 1001 can be opened and closed by the rotation thereof. Therefore, when the recording operation is performed, by rotating the discharge tray 1004 to the front side to open the opening, the recording sheets can be discharged from here, and the discharged recording sheets are sequentially stacked. Is ready to go. In addition, the output tray 100
Two auxiliary trays 1004a and 1004b are accommodated in the sheet 4, and the support area of the sheet can be expanded or reduced in three stages by pulling out the respective trays as necessary.

One end of the access cover 1003 is rotatably held by the upper case 1002 so that an opening formed on the upper surface can be opened and closed. By opening the access cover 1003, the inside of the main body is opened. The recording head cartridge (not shown) or the ink tank (not shown) housed therein can be replaced. Although not particularly shown here, when the access cover 1003 is opened and closed, a protrusion formed on the back surface of the access cover 1003 rotates the cover opening / closing lever, and the rotation position of the lever can be detected by a micro switch or the like. Thus, the open / closed state of the access cover can be detected.

A power key 1005 is provided on the upper surface of the upper case 1002 so that it can be pressed. On the right side of the upper case 1002, an operation panel 1010 including a liquid crystal display 1006 and various key switches is provided. The structure of the operation panel 1010 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. An automatic feeding unit 1007 automatically feeds the recording sheet into the apparatus main body. A paper interval selection lever 1008 is a lever for adjusting the distance between the print head and the recording sheet. Reference numeral 1009 denotes a card slot into which an adapter to which a memory card can be attached is inserted, and the image data stored in the memory card can be directly fetched and printed via this adapter. Examples of the memory card (PC) include a compact flash (registered trademark) memory, smart media, and memory stick. Reference numeral 1011 denotes a viewer (a liquid crystal display unit) that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the PD printer 1000, and is used when searching for an image to be printed from images stored in a PC card.
It is used to display images for each frame and index images. Reference numeral 1012 denotes a USB terminal for connecting a digital camera described later. Further, on the rear surface of the PD printer 1000, a personal computer (P
A USB connector for connecting C) is provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the operation panel 1010 of the PD printer apparatus 1000 according to this embodiment.

In the figure, the liquid crystal display section 1006 displays menu items for various settings of data relating to the items printed on the left and right sides thereof. Items displayed here include, for example, the first photo number of the range to be printed, the designated frame number (start frame designation / print frame designation), the last photo number of the printing finished range (end), and the number of copies (copies). ), The type of paper (recording sheet) used for printing (paper type), the number of photos to be printed on one sheet (layout), the specification of print quality (quality), whether to print the shooting date (Printing date), specifying whether to correct and print a photo (image correction), and displaying the number of sheets required for printing (sheet number). Each of these items is selected or designated by using the cursor key 2001. Reference numeral 2002 denotes a mode key. Each time the key is pressed, the type of printing (index printing, all frame printing, 1
Frame printing, etc.) can be switched, and in response to this, L
The corresponding LED of the ED 2003 is turned on. 2004
Is a maintenance key, and is a key for performing printer maintenance such as cleaning of the print head. A print start key 2005 is pressed to instruct the start of printing or to establish maintenance settings. Reference numeral 2006 denotes a print stop key, which is pressed to stop printing or to give an instruction to stop maintenance.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the configuration of the main part relating to the control of the PD printer 1000 according to the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 3, portions common to those in the above-mentioned drawings are given the same symbols and their explanations are omitted.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 3000 denotes a control section (control board). Reference numeral 3001 denotes an ASIC (dedicated custom LSI), the configuration of which will be described later in detail with reference to the block diagram of FIG. A DSP (digital signal processor) 3002 has a CPU inside, and performs various control processes described later and a luminance signal (RGB) to a density signal (CM).
YK) conversion, scaling, gamma conversion, image processing such as error diffusion. 3003 is a memory,
It has a program memory 3003a for storing a control program of the CPU of the DSP 3002, a RAM area for storing a program at the time of execution, and a memory area functioning as a work memory for storing image data and the like. Three
Reference numeral 004 denotes a printer engine, which is equipped with a printer engine of an inkjet printer that prints a color image using a plurality of color inks. 300
Reference numeral 5 denotes a USB connector as a port for connecting a digital camera (DSC) 3012. Reference numeral 3006 is a connector for connecting the viewer 1011. Thirty
Reference numeral 08 denotes a USB hub. When the PD printer 1000 prints based on the image data from the PC 3010, the data from the PC 3010 is directly passed through the printer engine 3 via the USB 3021.
Output to 004. This allows the connected PC3
010 can directly exchange data and signals with the printer engine 3004 to execute printing (functions as a general PC printer). Reference numeral 3009 denotes a power supply connector, which inputs a DC voltage converted from commercial AC by a power supply 3011. The PC 3010 is a general personal computer, 3011 is the above-mentioned memory card (PC card), and 3012 is a digital camera (DSC: Digital Still Camera).

Signals are exchanged between the control unit 3000 and the printer engine 3004 by using the above-mentioned USB.
3021 or IEEE 1284 bus 3022.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the ASIC 3001. In FIG. 4 as well, portions common to those in the previous drawings are given the same symbols and their explanations are omitted.

A PC card interface unit 4001 reads image data stored in the mounted PC card 3011 or writes data to the PC card 3011. 4002 is IEEE128
The 4 interface unit exchanges data with the printer engine 3004. This IEEE1284
The interface unit 4002 is the digital camera 301.
2 or a bus used when printing the image data stored in the PC card 3011. A USB interface unit 4003 exchanges data with the PC 3010. A USB host interface unit 4004 exchanges data with the digital camera 3012. An operation panel / interface unit 4005 inputs various operation signals from the operation panel 1010 and outputs display data to the display unit 1006. A viewer interface unit 4006 controls the display of image data on the viewer 1011. An interface unit 4007 controls interfaces with various switches and the LEDs 4009. 4008 is a CPU interface unit, which is a DS
It controls the exchange of data with the P3002. 4010 is an internal bus (AS) that connects these units.
IC bus).

FIG. 5 shows a DSC according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration example of 3012. However, a digital camera that can be connected to the PD printer 1000 according to the present embodiment includes a display unit 2700 described later.
There may be devices that do not have the.

In the figure, 3100 is a CPU that controls the entire DSC, and 3101 is a ROM that stores the processing procedure of the CPU 3100. 3102 is a CPU
A RAM 3103 is used as a work area, and a reference numeral 3103 is a switch group for performing various operations, including various switches and cursor keys. A liquid crystal display unit 2700 is used to confirm a captured image and display a menu for performing various settings. 310
An optical unit 5 is mainly composed of a lens and its drive system. 3106 is a CCD element, and 310
7 is an optical unit 31 under the control of the CPU 3100.
05 is a driver for driving and controlling the driver. Reference numeral 3108 denotes a connector for connecting a storage medium 3109 (compact flash (registered trademark) memory card, smart media, etc.), and 3110 denotes a USB interface (USB slave side for connecting to the PC or the PD printer 1000 in the embodiment). ).

In the present embodiment, an example in which the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 described above are connected for printing will be mainly described. However, the PD printer 1
Image output devices such as 000, digital cameras of various manufacturers, and devices such as mobile phones and memory devices (D
SPD: Digital Still Photography Devices) is connected, and for the purpose of providing a PD printer device capable of printing based on image data acquired from the PD printer device 1000 and the DS printer device 1000 according to the present embodiment.
Described below are the communication protocols for connecting with a PD for printing. In this embodiment, the communication control between the PD printer and DSPD is performed by a general-purpose file,
A new CDPS (Canon Direct Print Servic) that uses a general-purpose format and does not depend on the interface.
e) is proposed.

Between the DSPD and the image output device, various communication protocol architectures such as P on USB are used.
In order to make an agreement for TP (Still Image Class), Mass Storage Class, OBEX on Blue Tooth, and UPnP, the concept of the print service function is used here. The print service function is a set of execution functions in the application layer and does not depend on various interfaces.

FIG. 6 shows a typical DSPD, DSC30.
12 and a PD printer device 10 which is a typical image output device
It is a figure which shows the function at the time of connecting 00 with a hierarchical structure.

In the figure, reference numerals 600 and 603 denote application parts, reference numerals 601 and 602 denote physical layers, and here, USB / I / F and Bluetooth are shown as examples. DSC3012 and PD printer device 1
This CDPS system can be constructed by incorporating the parts indicated by 600 and 603 in each of 000. However, as indicated by 601, 602, PTP, BIP, MSC (Mass Storage Cla
It is assumed that the architecture such as file system on ss) is implemented. Also, each application part 600, 6
In 03, the actual state of this print service function exists, and the print service function is executed in the part that converts from CDPS to each protocol.

In this way, a direct print service can be realized between the DSC 3012 and the PD printer 1000 without depending on the physical interface.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the processing in step S9 of FIG.

First, at 1402, D
The SC3012 is allocated as a resource, a handle is assigned to a data object as necessary, and a request to start a procedure for special initialization is issued. On the other hand, when a positive response (OK) is returned from the DSC 3012, PTP communication is started. Next 1403
Then, all the handles in the script format are requested to the DSC 3012 (Storage ID: FFFFFF, Object Type:
Script) and, in response thereto, a list of all handles held in the DSC 3012 is returned (140
4). Next, in 1405, the information of the i-th object handle is acquired from the PD printer 1000, and then 1
At 406, the i-th object object is obtained. If the object includes a keyword (for example, “mountain”) indicating the identification of the DSC 3012, the PD printer device 1000 instructs 1407 to send the object information (SendObjectInfo). When the positive response (OK) is received by SendObject, the object is sent from the PD printer 1000 to the DS by SendObject.
Send to C3012. Here, for example, "kawa" is included in this object as a response keyword (password) to the above-mentioned keyword. In this way, it is possible to determine whether the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 each support CDPS.

However, it is necessary to search all the image files before replying "mountain", and when the number of image files is extremely large, it takes time to detect "mountain". .

For example, when a large amount of image data (object) is stored in the memory card on the camera side, in order to create the handle list of the script, the attributes of all files including the image data are confirmed, and the script You need to create a script handle list only for files in the format. Therefore, it takes a lot of time to inform the printer of the script handle list, and it takes a long time to confirm whether the camera and the printer have the communication function according to the predetermined communication protocol.

Therefore, in order to provide a recording apparatus and a control method therefor capable of promptly confirming the communication function of the connected image supply device and shifting to the communication mode, the following method is used.

In each of the plurality of layers that realize the interface between the devices, it is judged whether or not it is possible to shift to a predetermined communication mode, and according to the judgment result,
If it is determined that the transfer is possible in any of the layers, the communication mode is immediately set at that point. At this time, the determination is sequentially performed from the lower layer, and when it is not determined that the transfer is possible until then, the determination by the secret word in the application layer described above is finally performed.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the confirmation processing between the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 in this embodiment as to whether or not the above-mentioned communication protocol CDPS is supported. In this example, the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 are connected via the USB interface. First, in step S1, the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 are connected.
When the and are connected via a USB cable, USB / I /
F is established.

Next, GetStrin on the USB I / F
The gDescriptor command is issued and the information on the device side is acquired. The GetStringDescr
In response to the iptor command, the device side returns the manufacturer (Manufacture) and the product name (Product).

Then, in step S2, indexes 1 and 2 (Inde
Based on the manufacturer name and product name included in the string indicating the manufacturer (Manufacture) and the product name (Product) in (x1, Index2), the connected DSC 3012 is the CDPS.
It is determined whether it corresponds to. If it is determined that it is compatible with CDPS, the process proceeds to step S3, and the memory 3
The CDPS compatible flag of 003 is turned on and step S4
However, if it is determined that they are not supported, step S
The procedure proceeds from step 2 to step S4.

In step S4, PTP communication, which is an upper layer of the USB I / F layer, is established. Then, the process proceeds to step S5, and the DSC 3012 sends “GetDevic
"eInfo" is issued, and "Manufa included in the" DeviceInfo Dataset "returned from the DSC 3012 in response.
cture ”,“ Model ”,“ DeviceVersion ”,“ SerialNum ”
ber "based on which DSC3012 is connected
The manufacturer name and product name (including version) of the
Based on that, the connected DSC3012 is a CD
It is determined whether or not PS is supported.

Here, as the determination method, any method such as including a predetermined character string / code in the information to be returned, a predetermined number of characters, a change in the returned content a plurality of times, etc. May be used.

When it is determined that the DSC 3012 is compatible with CDPS, the process proceeds to step S6, the CDPS compatible flag of the memory 3003 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S7. It progresses from S5 to step S7.

Thus, in step S7, the memory 300
It is checked whether or not the CDPS corresponding flag of No. 3 is on, and if it is on, the process proceeds to step S8, and communication based on CDPS is started.

On the other hand, in step S7, C in the memory 3003
The DPS corresponding flag is off, that is, the corresponding information described above is not described in the string obtained by the GetStringDescriptor command or the like in the USB I / F, or "DeviceInfo Datas by PTP"
It is determined that "et" does not include the corresponding information described above, the process proceeds to step S9, and DSC3
012 determines whether it can support CDPS, and then step S
If it is determined in 10 that CDPS is possible, the process proceeds to step S8, and communication based on CDPS is started. on the other hand,
If it is determined in step S10 that the CDPS is not supported, the confirmation process ends without entering the CDPS communication mode.

In the CDPS compatibility determination on the USB / I / F, GetStringDescription is used.
The determination may be performed based on not the information obtained by the or command but other information obtained by using another command, for example, a command such as GetVendorDescriptor.

Further, in the present embodiment, the judgment is made not only in the application layer but also in the two layers of the physical layer and the transport layer, but it is not always necessary to make the judgment in the two layers, and the judgment is made in the application layer. It is performed prior to the above, and any layer may be used as long as the determination in the application layer can be skipped, and another method may be used as the determination method.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the judgment is made in a plurality of layers forming the interface, whereas in the second embodiment, 1. At least 1
Judgment at one level is mandatory.

2. In that case, the determination in the lowermost layer having a large hardware limitation, for example, the USB interface in the above-described embodiment is not essential.

That is, in the first embodiment, it is checked in each of the physical layer, the transport layer, and the application layer whether or not it is possible to move to CDPS, and finally in step S7 of FIG. If it is determined to be compatible with CDPS, the check in the application layer is omitted and
It was transitioning to mode. However, in the second embodiment, in the example of FIG. 7, C is used in step S3 or step S5.
Immediately after it is determined that the shift to the DPS is possible, the process proceeds to step S8 to enter the CDPS mode.

By doing the above, it is possible to realize a high-speed connection while maintaining stable and little load on mounting and maintaining future expandability and expandability.

[Third Embodiment] The first and second embodiments described above.
In the case of the PD printer device 1000,
Since it was st, the determination was made by the printer apparatus 1000. However, in a system in which the DSC 3012 is a host such as USB-OTG (On The Go), the above relationship is of course reversed. Therefore, in that case, the DSC 3012 may determine whether or not it is possible to shift to CDPS.

That is, in the third embodiment, in FIG.
The positions of the PD printer 1000 and the DSC 3012 may be exchanged and executed, and the flowchart of FIG. 7 may be interpreted by being replaced by the process of the DSC 3012.

In the first to third embodiments described above, US
Although the example of using the PTP protocol on the B interface has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a wireless LA such as Bluetooth in FIG. 6 is used.
Similarly, when connecting with N or with SCSI, before checking whether it is compatible with CDPS by the application, whether it is compatible with CDPS depending on the hardware of the interface and the module executed by the interface. May be determined.

Even when the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a device including one device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile device, etc.) ) May be applied.

A further object of the present invention is a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment (the processing performed on the camera side and various printing processing performed on the printer side) is recorded. Is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code.
And the like perform a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, , The CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing,
The case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image supply device (camera or the like) is connected to the recording device such as the printer device, and the image supply device transmits the image data to the recording device for recording. In the configuration, before the application layer confirms whether or not they correspond to a predetermined communication protocol, the physical layer that depends on the interface hardware and the transport layer that depends on the communication protocol specify each other. If it is confirmed whether the communication protocol is supported, and if it is confirmed that the communication protocol is supported by either the physical layer or the transport layer, the confirmation process by the application layer can be omitted.

As a result, it is possible to promptly confirm with each other whether or not they comply with a predetermined communication protocol.

Further, it depends on the hardware and can be confirmed quickly, but the confirmation processing is performed in the physical layer which has less flexibility, the confirmation processing in the application layer which has a large degree of freedom but requires a long confirmation time, and further If there is a confirmation process in the transport layer located in the middle, and if the confirmation process is completed in the lower layer before the confirmation process in the application layer, the confirmation process in that application layer Can be omitted.

In this embodiment, the PD printer is set as the USB host and the DSC is set as the slave. However, it is not necessary to be particularly concerned with this combination, and any device can be used as long as the gist of the present invention is realized. You may be in charge of host slaves.

As the image supply device, in addition to the digital camera, a PDA, a mobile phone, a television, a video device, an image storage device, etc. can be considered.

The general-purpose interface also includes a connection to a network such as the Internet in addition to the above-mentioned USB and IEEE1394.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the communication function of the connected image supply device can be confirmed quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a PD printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an operation panel of the PD printer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part relating to control of the PD printer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an ASI of the PD printer device according to the present embodiment.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of C.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an interface and software configuration of a PD printer device and a digital camera in which the CDPS according to the present embodiment is implemented.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a confirmation process of a CDPS communication procedure in the PD printer device according to the present embodiment.

8 is a diagram illustrating service discovery (CDPS_ServiceDiscovery) of CDPS by PTP in step S9 of FIG. 7.

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI H04N 5/765 H04N 5/91 H 5/91 L (72) Inventor Hiromitsu Hirabayashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-11-154123 (JP, A) JP-A-3-147447 (JP, A) JP-A-1-126044 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 29/06 B41J 29/38 G06F 3/12 H04L 29/10 H04N 5/76 H04N 5/765 H04N 5/91

Claims (22)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording apparatus, which is connected to an image supply device via a general-purpose interface and receives and records image data from the image supply device, wherein the image is recorded by a physical layer depending on the hardware of the general-purpose interface. First determining means for determining whether or not the supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol, and in the transport layer that controls communication above the physical layer, the image supply device corresponds to the predetermined communication protocol. And a second determination unit that determines whether the image supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol by the first determination unit or the second determination unit. It is determined that the image supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol, and the image supply device in any of the first and second determination means has a predetermined communication rule. If not determined to correspond to, the control means for controlling to determine whether or not the image supply device corresponds to the predetermined communication protocol in the application layer that is an upper layer of the transport layer, A recording apparatus having: 2. The first determination means makes a determination based on at least one of a manufacturer name and device information of the image supply device sent via the general-purpose interface. The recording device according to 1. 3. The second determining means makes a determination based on at least one of a manufacturer name and device information of the image supply device sent in the transport layer. The recording device according to 2. 4. A recording system for exchanging information between a plurality of devices for recording, wherein in each of a plurality of layers forming an interface between the plurality of devices, is it possible to shift to a predetermined communication mode? Determining means for determining whether or not the determining means determines that the transition to the predetermined communication mode is possible in any of the plurality of layers, the communication mode between the plurality of devices is set to the predetermined communication mode. A recording system characterized by comprising: 5. One of the judgments in the plurality of layers is
The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the determination is performed using a secret word. 6. One of the judgments in the plurality of layers is
The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the recording system is based on at least one of a company name, a product name, and a manufacturing number name. 7. The determination means sequentially executes the determination in each of the plurality of layers for each layer, and when it is determined that transfer is possible in a certain layer, the determination process in the subsequent layer is omitted. The recording system according to claim 4. 8. At least one of the plurality of layers is
The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the recording system is an essential layer in an interface between the plurality of devices. 9. The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of layers includes at least two of a physical layer, a transport layer, and an application layer. 10. The recording system according to claim 9, wherein the physical layer includes a USB. 11. The recording system according to claim 9, wherein the transport layer includes PTP. 12. The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of devices include an image output device for recording an image. 13. The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of devices include an image supply device that supplies an image. 14. A control method of a recording apparatus, which is connected to an image supply device through a general-purpose interface and receives and records image data from the image supply device, wherein a physical layer depending on hardware of the general-purpose interface is used. A first determination step of determining whether or not the image supply device complies with a predetermined communication protocol, and in the transport layer that manages communication above the physical layer, the image supply device has the predetermined communication protocol. And a second determination step for determining whether or not the image supply device is compatible with a predetermined communication protocol in either the first or second determination step. It is determined that the device complies with the predetermined communication protocol, and the image supply device does not operate in any of the first and second determination steps. When it is not determined that the image supply device is compatible with the predetermined communication protocol, the application layer, which is an upper layer of the transport layer, is controlled to determine whether the image supply device is compatible with the predetermined communication protocol. A control method comprising: a control step. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the first determining step, the determination is made based on at least one of a manufacturer name of the image supply device and device information received via the general-purpose interface. Control method. 16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the second determination step is performed based on at least one of a manufacturer name and device information of the image supply device sent in the transport layer. 15. The control method according to 15. 17. A communication interface with an external device is constructed.
To a given communication layer from among the multiple layers
Communication based on a predetermined communication protocol by the confirmation process in
And a determination means for determining whether Information exchange in the communication layer lower than the communication layer for communication
By doing so, it is possible to carry out communication based on the predetermined communication protocol.
In response to the confirmation by the determination means,
Omitting the judgment by the judgment means in a fixed communication layer
Control means for controlling communication based on communication protocol
When, A communication device comprising: 18. The determination means is configured to connect to the predetermined communication layer.
Based on the receipt of the given object file in
Prior to sending or receiving the specified object file.
The object managed by the external device can be specified.
To receive a handle list for
The communication device according to claim 17, wherein 19. A communication interface with an external device is constructed.
To a given communication layer from among the multiple layers
Communication based on a predetermined communication protocol by the confirmation process in
And a determination process for determining whether Information exchange in the communication layer lower than the communication layer for communication
As a result, communication based on the above-mentioned predetermined communication protocol becomes possible.
When judged, the judgment process in the predetermined communication layer
Make communication based on communication rules without making decisions
And a control process for controlling
Method. 20. In the determining step, the predetermined communication layer
Based on the receipt of a given object file in
Judge and send and receive the specified object file first.
Stand and identify the objects managed by the external device
The reception of a handle list for
20. The communication method according to claim 19. 21. A communication method according to claim 19 or 20.
A program that is characterized by being executed. 22. The program according to claim 21 is stored.
Read by a computer, characterized in that
Possible storage medium.