JP7316543B2 - PRINT PROCESSING PROGRAM, PRINTING DEVICE, AND PRINTING SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a print processing program, a printing device, and a printing system for printing by a printing device operated from an operation terminal.

A technique is already known in which an operation terminal transmits print data and a printing apparatus executes printing based on the received print data (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200012).

JP 2018-55307 A

As in the above-described prior art, when a printing device executes printing based on print data from an operation terminal, the print data usually contains raster data representing the print content itself and printing conditions at the time of print formation based on the raster data. (for example, print quality, attributes of the medium to be printed, etc.). After receiving the print data from the operation terminal, the printing device determines whether or not the printing conditions included in the printing data match the specifications and usage conditions of the printing device. If they do not match, an error report is returned from the printing device to the operating terminal, and a corresponding error display is provided at the operating terminal. By seeing the error display and knowing that the printing device to which the print data has been sent cannot print, the operator can send the print data to another printing device for printing.

Here, since the raster data included in the print data has a particularly large capacity, it takes a relatively long communication time until the print data including the raster data is received by the printer after being transmitted from the operation terminal. . Therefore, if print data including printing conditions that do not match the specifications and usage conditions of the printing device is sent from the operation terminal to the printing device as described above, it will take a long time for the communication to be completed by the printing device. is followed by an error report from the printer. Therefore, after the long communication time is wasted, the operator needs to send the same print data again to another printer in response to the error display. As a result, the operator may waste a lot of time until the desired printing is completed, and the efficiency of the printing process may be lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a print processing program, a printing device, and a printing system capable of reducing wasteful communication time between an operation terminal and a printing device and improving print processing efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, the print processing program of the present invention includes a transporting means for transporting a print-receiving medium, and a print-receiving medium transported by the transporting means for printing based on raster data. A condition command associated with the raster data and representing printing conditions at the time of forming the print based on the raster data is sent to the operation means provided in the operation terminal for operating the printing apparatus having a command transmission procedure to be transmitted to a device; and information reception for receiving, from the printing device, printing permission/prohibition information indicating whether or not the printing device can execute printing with respect to the printing condition represented by the conditional command transmitted in the command transmission procedure. and a data transmission procedure for transmitting the raster data to the printing device when the printability information indicating that printing is possible is received in the information reception procedure.

In the operation terminal on which the print processing program of the present invention is executed, raster data for causing the printing means of the printing device to print and printing conditions for print formation based on the raster data can be sent separately to the printing device. It has become.
That is, first, a condition command representing the printing conditions is sent to the printing device in a command sending procedure performed by executing the printing processing program. When the printing apparatus that has received the condition command transmits the printing permission/prohibition information corresponding to the printing conditions, the printing permission/prohibition information is received in the information reception procedure. Then, if the print permission/prohibition information received from the printer in the information reception procedure is information indicating that printing is executable, the raster data corresponding to the conditional command is transmitted to the printer in the data transmission procedure.

Thus, in the present invention, data to be transmitted to the printing device is separated into raster data and conditional commands. Raster data is sent to the printer again. Therefore, even if the printing condition indicated by the conditional command does not match the printing device, the operating terminal sends the conditional command → the printing device returns printing information indicating that printing is not possible → the operating terminal accepts the conditional command. Transmission to another printing device → . . . As a result, it is possible to avoid wasting time by waiting for an unnecessarily long communication time as in the above-described prior art in which an error report is sent from the printing device after a long communication time until reception by the printing device is completed. can be suppressed. As a result, print processing efficiency can be improved.

According to the present invention, useless communication time between the operation terminal and the printing apparatus can be reduced, and the efficiency of print processing can be improved.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a print processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the print processing system; FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a method according to a comparative example when printing raster data; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a data processing method according to the first embodiment when printing raster data; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing temporal processing contents of a label printer according to the technique of the comparative example of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of processing over time of the label printer according to the technique of the first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by a CPU of the operating terminal; 4 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure executed by a control circuit of the printer; FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a print processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing temporal processing contents in a receive buffer, two analysis buffers, and a print buffer of a label printer when raster data is printed; FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing temporal processing contents in the reception buffer, two analysis buffers, and print buffer of the label printer when raster data is printed in the third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing temporal processing contents in the reception buffer, two analysis buffers, and print buffer of the label printer when raster data is printed in the modification of the third embodiment of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG.

<Configuration of print processing system>
First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the print processing system of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a print processing system 1 (corresponding to a printing system) of this embodiment includes an operation terminal 2 and a plurality of label printers, here three label printers 3A, 3B, and 3C (hereinafter referred to as appropriate). , "label printers 3A, 3B, and 3C" are collectively referred to simply as "label printer 3"). The operation terminal 2 and the label printer 3 are wirelessly connected to allow mutual communication by an appropriate wireless communication method such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that the operation terminal 2 and the label printer 3 may be wire-connected via a USB cable or the like so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The operation terminal 2 is a so-called smart phone that has operation buttons 14 and a touch panel 17 that is a touch-operable display unit that has a display function. Note that the operation terminal 2 is not limited to a smartphone, but may be a so-called feature phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, desktop computer, or the like, and the display unit may not be the touch panel 17 .

The label printer 3 (corresponding to a printing device) transmits and receives various information and instruction signals to and from the operation terminal 2, and prints desired text, images, etc., based on the user's operation on the operation terminal 2. A print label L is created.

Next, the functional configuration of the print processing system will be described with reference to FIG.

<Functional configuration>
As shown in FIG. 2, the operation terminal 2 includes a CPU 12 (corresponding to arithmetic means and terminal-side control means), a memory 13 having a RAM 13a and a ROM 13b, etc., the operation buttons 14, a communication control section 15, and a flash memory. It has a mass storage device 16 such as a memory and the touch panel 17 .

The RAM 13a of the memory 13 stores print data corresponding to desired print content to be written on the print label L, which is created by, for example, the user appropriately operating the touch panel 17. FIG. In this embodiment, the print data includes raster data representing the print content itself, and printing conditions required when the label printer 3 prints using the raster data. The printing conditions at this time include, for example, the attributes (width dimension, material, etc.) of the tape 203 (described later) to be attached to the tape roll holder portion 210 (described later) of the label printer 3 when printing the raster data, , print quality (normal mode, fine mode, high-speed print mode, etc.) required for the print head 205 (described later).

The CPU 12 controls the overall operation terminal 2 by executing various programs stored in the ROM 13b of the memory 13 and the large-capacity storage device 16 while using the temporary storage function of the RAM 13a of the memory 13 .

The communication control unit 15 controls communication with the label printer 3 .

The ROM 13b of the memory 13 stores a print processing program of this embodiment for causing the CPU 12 to execute each procedure of a flowchart shown in FIG. 7, which will be described later. Note that the print processing program may be stored in the mass storage device 16 . Note that the large-capacity storage device 16 is not limited to the main body memory, and may be an appropriate external memory such as an SD memory card.

The label printer 3 includes a control circuit 202 (corresponding to control means, device-side control means), an operation section 206, a communication control section 208 (corresponding to communication means), a tape roll holder section 210, and a print head 205 (print means), a cutter 207, and a conveying device 209 (corresponding to conveying means). Although the detailed functions of the label printers 3B and 3C are omitted in FIG. 2, they have the same detailed functions as the label printer 3A.

The control circuit 202 includes a RAM 202a, a ROM 202b, a CPU 202c, and the like. The ROM 202a stores a processing program for causing the CPU 202c of the control circuit 202 to execute each procedure of a flowchart shown in FIG. 8, which will be described later. The CPU 202c of the control circuit 202 controls the entire label printer 3 by executing various programs pre-stored in the ROM 202b while using the temporary storage function of the RAM 202a.

The communication control unit 208 controls communication with the communication control unit 15 of the operation terminal 2 .

The print data received from the operation terminal 2 is temporarily stored in the RAM 202 a of the control circuit 202 .

A tape roll 204 (originally spiral-shaped but shown as a concentric circle for simplicity) wound with a tape 203 (corresponding to a medium to be printed) can be attached to and detached from the tape roll holder 210 (or the tape roll 204 may be detachable).

A conveying device 209 is provided facing the print head 205 and conveys the tape 203 unwound from the tape roll 204 .

The print head 205 prints on the tape 203 transported by the transport device 209 based on the raster data included in the print data received from the operation terminal 2 .

The cutter 207 cuts the printed tape 203 into a predetermined length to obtain a printed label L. FIG.

<Features of Embodiment>
As described above, when the label printer 3 executes printing based on the print data from the operation terminal 2, the print data usually includes raster data representing the print content itself and raster data based on the raster data. and printing conditions at the time of print formation.
The most important features of this embodiment are the raster data for causing the label printer 3 to print, and the conditional command that is associated with the raster data in some way and expresses the printing conditions at the time of print formation based on the raster data. , can be transmitted from the operation terminal 2 separately. Then, when it is found from the response from the label printer 3 that received the conditional command that printing is possible, the raster data is sent to the label printer 3 to form printing based on the raster data (hereinafter referred to as "raster data printing" as appropriate). ) is performed. The details are described below.

<Comparative example>
First, as a comparative example of the present embodiment, a case in which the raster data and printing conditions are collectively transmitted to the label printer 3 when printing raster data will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this comparative example, first, print data collectively including a raster data portion and printing conditions is transmitted from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3 (label printer 3A in this example). be. The label printer 3A determines whether or not its own specifications and performance match the printing conditions included in the transmitted print data, that is, whether or not printing can be executed according to the printing conditions. Then, when it is determined that printing cannot be executed under the printing conditions, the label printer 3A transmits information (error report) to the effect that printing cannot be executed to the operation terminal 2 .

When the operation terminal 2 receives the error report from the label printer 3A, instead of the label printer 3A, another label printer 3 (in this example, the label printer 3B) sends the raster data part and the printing conditions again. and print data collectively. When the label printer 3B determines that printing can be executed under the printing conditions, the label printer 3B executes printing using the transmitted raster data.

That is, in this comparative example, the print data including the raster data portion and the printing conditions is received from the operation terminal 2 until information indicating that printing can be executed is received from the label printer 3 that can execute printing under the printing conditions. is sent to the label printer 3. Therefore, as a result of a large amount of data and a long communication time at the time of each transmission, a long processing time is required until the production of the print label L by raster data printing is finally completed.

<Outline of the method of the embodiment>
Next, a data processing method for printing raster data in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, among the print data, the raster data and the condition command representing the printing conditions can be sent to the label printer 3 separately. That is, first, the conditional command is transmitted from the operation terminal 2 to one label printer 3 (label printer 3A in this example). The label printer 3A determines whether or not its own specifications and performance match the printing conditions of the transmitted condition command, that is, whether or not printing can be executed according to the printing conditions. Then, when it is determined that printing cannot be executed under the printing conditions, the label printer 3A transmits information (error report) to the operation terminal 2 to the effect that printing cannot be executed, as in the comparative example. do.

When the operation terminal 2 receives the error report from the label printer 3A, it sends the conditional command again to another label printer 3 (in this example, the label printer 3B) that replaces the label printer 3A. Then, when the label printer 3B determines that printing can be executed under the printing conditions, it transmits information indicating that printing can be executed to the operation terminal 2 . After receiving information indicating that printing can be executed from the label printer 3B, the operation terminal transmits raster data to the label printer 3B. As a result, the label printer 3B executes printing using the transmitted raster data.

That is, in the method of the present embodiment, first, when a conditional command representing printing conditions for raster data is transmitted to the label printer 3, and information indicating that printing is executable is received from the label printer 3 that has received the conditional command, Sending raster data to for the first time. As a result, the amount of data transmitted each time from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3 is small, and the communication time is shortened. As a result, the processing time until the creation of the print label L by raster data printing is finally completed can be shortened. becomes.

<Details of processing over time according to the comparative example>
5(a) and 5(b) will be used to explain the contents of processing over time according to the method of the comparative example shown in FIG. The horizontal axis in FIGS. 5A and 5B represents the time axis, and the label printer 3 (the label printer 3A in the example of FIG. 3) to which print data is first transmitted from the operation terminal 2 printer 1", and the label printer 3 (label printer 3B in the example of FIG. 3) to which print data is transmitted in the next order is abbreviated as "printer 2" (the same applies to FIG. 6, which will be described later).

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the first label printer 3 finishes receiving print data (including raster data and printing conditions) from the operation terminal 2 starting at time t0, Analysis of all print data is performed (see times t1 to t2).
When the analysis is completed (see time t2) and it is determined that printing that meets the above printing conditions can be executed, information to the effect that printing can be executed (in the figure, printing (possible ) information) is transmitted (see times t2 to t3, not shown in FIG. 3). After that, the raster data included in the received print data is continuously printed (see time t3 to t4), whereby the print label L is generated.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, for example, when the analysis is completed (see time t2), if it is determined that printing that meets the above printing conditions cannot be executed, the operation terminal 2 executes printing. Information (abbreviated as print (no) information in the drawing) indicating that printing is not possible is transmitted (see times t2 to t3).
In response to this, the operation terminal 2 starts sending the print data (including the raster data part and the printing conditions) again from time t3. When the label printer 3 in the next order finishes receiving the print data (see time t5), all the print data is analyzed in the same manner as described above (see time t5 to t6).
When the analysis is completed (see time t6) and it is determined that printing that meets the above printing conditions can be executed by the next label printer 3, printing can be executed in the same manner as above for the operation terminal 2. Information to that effect is transmitted (see times t6 to t7). After that, the raster data included in the received print data is continuously printed (see time t7 to t8), whereby the print label L is generated.
Note that the required time (t8-t3) from the start of receiving print data (time t3) to the end of printing (time t8) in the label printer 3 in the next order in FIG. 5(b) is the first is the same as the required time (t4-t0) from the start of reception of print data (time t0) to the end of printing (time t4) in the label printer 3 of FIG.

In this comparative example, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the first label printer 3 cannot execute printing that meets the above printing conditions, and the next label printer 3 executes printing that meets the above printing conditions. If so, the print data is transmitted from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3 a plurality of times (twice in this example). Since this print data includes a raster data portion and printing conditions, it has a large capacity, and the communication time is relatively long ((t1-t0) and (t5-t3)). As a result, a long processing time (t8-t0 ).

<Details of temporal processing according to the embodiment>
6(a) and 6(b) will be used to explain the chronological processing contents according to the method of the present embodiment shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the first label printer 3 finishes receiving and analyzing the conditional command (representing the printing condition) from the operation terminal 2, which started at time t10. (see time t11), and if it is determined that printing that meets the above printing conditions can be executed, information to the effect that printing can be executed (printing (permitted) information in the figure) is sent to the operation terminal 2. ) is transmitted (see times t11 to t12).
In response to this, the operation terminal 2 starts transmitting raster data from time t12, and when the label printer 3 finishes receiving the raster data (see time t13), the raster data is analyzed (time t13). See t13-t14). When the analysis ends (see time t14), the raster data is subsequently printed (see times t14 to t15), thereby generating a print label L.
In this case, the processing time (t15-t10) from when the operation terminal 2 first starts sending the conditional command at time t10 to when the print label L is finally created by raster data printing at time t15. is approximately equal to the similar processing time (t4-t0) shown in the comparative example of FIG. 5(a), for example.
Further, for example, the sum of the time (t11-t10) required for receiving and analyzing the conditional command in FIG. 6A and the time required for receiving raster data (t13-t12) is the print data is approximately equal to the time (t1-t0) required to receive the Also, for example, the time (t14-t13) required to analyze the raster data in FIG. 6A is substantially equal to the time (t2-t1) required to analyze the print data in FIG. 5A.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, for example, when the condition command has been received and analyzed (see time t11), if it is determined that printing that meets the printing conditions cannot be executed, operation Information (abbreviated as print (no) information in the drawing) indicating that printing is not possible is transmitted to the terminal 2 (see times t11 to t12).
In response to this, the operation terminal 2 starts transmitting the conditional command again from time t12. The next label printer 3 receives and analyzes the conditional command (see time t12 to t21). Then, when it is determined that printing that meets the above printing conditions can be executed, information to the effect that printing can be executed is transmitted to the operation terminal 2 (see times t21 to t22).
In response to this, the operation terminal 2 starts transmitting raster data from time t22, and when the label printer 3 finishes receiving the raster data (see time t23), the raster data is analyzed in the same manner as described above. (See time t23-t24). After the analysis is finished (see time t24), the raster data is printed (see time t24-t25), and a printed label L is generated.

Note that the required time (t25-t12) from the start of reception and analysis of the conditional command (time t12) to the end of printing (time t25) in the next label printer 3 in FIG. 6(b) is shown in FIG. 6(a). is the same as the required time (t15-t10) from the start of reception/analysis of the conditional command (time t10) to the end of printing (time t15) in the first label printer 3 of .

In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first label printer 3 cannot execute printing that meets the above printing conditions, and the next label printer 3 executes printing that meets the above printing conditions. If possible, only conditional commands are sent from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3 multiple times (twice in this example). This conditional command has a very small capacity and a short communication time ((t11-t10) and (t21-t12)) compared to the print data in the above comparative example including, for example, the raster data portion and printing conditions. As a result, the processing time (t25-t10) from when the transmission of the conditional command is first started from the operation terminal 2 at time t10 to when the creation of the print label L by raster data printing is finally finished at time t25 is , the processing time (t8-t0) in the above comparative example is significantly reduced.

<Control procedure>
The details of the control executed by the CPU 12 of the operation terminal 2 and the details of the processing executed by the control circuit 202 of the label printer 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, for example, the user operates the operation terminal 2 appropriately to generate the print data and store it in the memory 13, and then transmits the print data via the operation button 14. to the label printer 3 to start.

<Processing procedure of the CPU of the operation terminal>
In FIG. 7, first, in step S10, the CPU 12 of the operation terminal 2 sets 1 to the number N representing the order of the label printers 3 that transmit the conditional commands.

After that, in step S20, the CPU 12 generates the condition command representing the printing conditions included in the print data stored in the RAM 13a of the memory 13, and transmits the condition command to the Nth label printer 3. Note that this step S20 corresponds to the command transmission procedure described in each claim, and the process executed in this step S20 corresponds to the command transmission process.

Based on the transmission of the conditional command in step S20, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, the label printer 3 that has received the conditional command analyzes the conditional command (see step S120 in FIG. Information indicating whether or not printing that meets the printing conditions indicated by the conditional command can be executed (hereinafter referred to as printing permission/prohibition information) is transmitted to the operation terminal 2 (see steps S140 and S180 in FIG. 8 described later). In response to the above transmission, the CPU 12 of the operation terminal 2 receives the above print permission/prohibition information transmitted from the label printer 3 in step S30. This step S30 corresponds to the information receiving procedure described in each claim, and the process executed in this step S30 corresponds to the information receiving process. After step S30 ends, the process moves to step S40.

In step S40, the CPU 12 determines whether or not the print permission/prohibition information received in step S30 indicates that the label printer 3 can execute printing. If printing cannot be executed, the determination in step S40 is not satisfied (S40: NO), and the process proceeds to step S60, which will be described later. If printing is executable, the determination in step S40 is satisfied (S40: YES), and the process proceeds to step S50.

In step S50, the CPU 12 reads the raster data contained in the print data stored in the RAM 13a of the memory 13, and transmits the read raster data to the label printer 3 determined to be printable in step S40. Note that this step S50 corresponds to the data transmission procedure described in each claim, and the process executed in this step S50 corresponds to the data transmission process. After step S50 ends, this flow ends.

On the other hand, in step S60 where the determination in step S40 is that printing is not possible, the CPU 12 determines whether the N at this time has reached a predetermined maximum value Nmax (e.g., a value equal to the number of installed label printers 3). determine whether or not If N<Nmax, the determination in step S60 is not satisfied (S60: NO), and after adding 1 to N in step S70, the process returns to step S20 and the same procedure is repeated. If N=Nmax has been reached, the determination in step S60 is satisfied (S60: YES), and the process proceeds to step S80.

In step S80, the CPU 12 determines that none of the arranged label printers 3 can perform printing that meets the above printing conditions, and causes the touch panel 17 to display an error message indicating that printing cannot be executed. Perform the prescribed error handling. After that, the flow ends.

<Processing procedure of the control circuit of the label printer>
In FIG. 8, first, in step S110, the control circuit 202 (more specifically, the CPU 202c; the same applies hereinafter) of the label printer 3 receives the conditional command transmitted from the operation terminal 2 in step S20 of FIG.

After that, in step S120, the control circuit 202 analyzes the conditional command received in step S110 by a known technique. The processing executed in step S120 and step S110 corresponds to the command analysis processing described in each claim. After step S120 ends, the process proceeds to step S130.

In step S130, the control circuit 202 determines whether the label printer 3 conforms to the printing conditions represented by the conditional command as a result of the analysis of the conditional command in step S120. Determine whether it is possible. For example, in the label printer 3, if the tape 203 having the width dimension and material included in the printing conditions is attached to the tape roll holder unit 210 and the specifications allow raster data printing, the above printing conditions are met. If the tape 203 has a wide dimension and material that does not allow raster data printing, it does not meet the above printing conditions. Also, for example, if the label printer 3 has a specification that allows raster data printing with the print quality included in the printing conditions, it matches the above printing conditions. Otherwise, the above printing conditions will not be met.
If it is impossible to execute printing that matches the printing conditions, the determination in step S130 is not satisfied (S130: NO), and the process proceeds to step S180, which will be described later. If printing that meets the printing conditions can be executed, the determination in step S130 is satisfied (S130: YES), and the process proceeds to step S140. Note that the process executed in step S130 corresponds to the print determination process described in each claim.

In step S<b>140 , the control circuit 202 transmits to the operation terminal 2 the print permission/prohibition information indicating that the label printer 3 can execute printing.

Based on the transmission of the printing permission/prohibition information indicating that printing is permitted in step S140, as described in step S50 of FIG. Raster data corresponding to the command is sent to the label printer 3. In response to the transmission, the control circuit 202 of the label printer 3 receives the raster data transmitted from the operation terminal 2 in step S150.

Thereafter, in step S160, the control circuit 202 analyzes the raster data received in step S150 using a known technique. The processing executed in step S160 and step S150 corresponds to the data analysis processing described in each claim.

After that, in step S170, the control circuit 202 outputs control signals to the conveying device 209 and the print head 205 to print the conveyed tape 203 based on the raster data analyzed in step S160. The process executed in step S170 corresponds to the print process described in each claim. When step S17 is completed, this flow ends.

On the other hand, in step S180 where the determination in step S130 is not satisfied and the process moves to step S180, the control circuit 202 transmits to the operation terminal 2 the print permission/prohibition information indicating that the label printer 3 cannot execute printing. . The processing executed in step S180 and step S140 corresponds to the information transmission processing described in each claim. When step S180 is completed, this flow ends.

<Effects of the first embodiment>
As described above, in the present embodiment, when a condition command representing a printing condition is transmitted from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3, the label printer 3 that received the printing permission/prohibition information for the printing condition is sent to the operation terminal 2. sent. Then, if the print permission/prohibition information indicates that printing is executable, the raster data corresponding to the conditional command is transmitted from the operation terminal 2 to the label printer 3 .
As described above, in this embodiment, data to be transmitted to the label printer 3 is separated into raster data and conditional commands. First, the conditional commands are transmitted, and the response from the label printer 3 enables printing. In this case, the raster data is sent to the label printer 3 again. Therefore, even if the printing condition indicated by the conditional command does not match the label printer 3, the operation terminal 2 transmits the conditional command → the label printer 3 prints as described above with reference to FIG. 6B. The operation terminal 2 sends a conditional command to another label printer 3, and so on. As a result, an error report is sent from the label printer 3 after a long communication time until reception by the label printer 3 is completed. By waiting for , you can limit wasting time. As a result, print processing efficiency can be improved.

In the above, for example, depending on whether or not the label printer 3 satisfies the printing condition indicated by the conditional command from the operation terminal 2, the content of either "printing executable" or "printing not executable" is determined. Although the print permission/prohibition information is transmitted to the operation terminal 2, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, although the label printer 3 has specifications that satisfy the printing conditions indicated by the conditional command from the operation terminal 2, at that time, the print label L is being created by another print job, and printing cannot be executed. However, when the print job is finished (that is, after a certain amount of time has passed), if the print job becomes executable, the label printer 3 sends the print permit/deny information with the content of "printing can be executed after waiting for a while" to the operation terminal 2. You may make it transmit.

In that case, in step S40 of FIG. 7, the content of the print permission/prohibition information received from the label printer 3 in step S30 satisfies the printing condition indicated by the condition command, and no other print job is being executed. "Can be printed" if the specification satisfies the printing conditions indicated by the conditional command and another print job is being executed "Printing is possible after a short while", or "Printing is not possible" if the specifications do not satisfy the printing conditions indicated by the conditional command , to determine which of the three categories.
In this case, a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 1 minute, corresponding to a first predetermined period) is provided to distinguish between "immediate printing possible" and "printing possible after a short while". Is it possible to print within the time limit?, Is it possible to print within the time exceeding the threshold?, or Is it impossible to print? Then, if printing is possible within the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S50, and the raster data is transmitted to the corresponding label printer 3 upon (immediately, for example) reception of the print permission/prohibition information. In this way, when it is found that printing can be executed within the above threshold from the printability information, the receipt of the printability information is used as a trigger to send the raster data to the label printer 3, thereby ensuring and speedy printing. processing can be performed.
If printing is not possible within the above threshold but is possible within the time exceeding the above threshold, a new step (not shown) is entered, and the current execution is started from the timing of receiving the above print permission/prohibition information. Raster data is sent to the corresponding label printer 3 after a period (e.g., 3 minutes, corresponding to a second predetermined period) during which execution of the other print job is expected to be completed has passed. In this manner, by transmitting the raster data to the label printer 3 after the second predetermined period, which is longer than the threshold value (first predetermined period) but limited to some extent, has elapsed, processing can be speeded up. .
If printing is not possible even after the time exceeds the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S60 to determine whether or not N has reached Nmax.

Alternatively, the common condition command is transmitted to all of the plurality of label printers 3, and the printability information from each label printer 3 is received to determine whether printing is possible within the threshold value or exceeds the threshold value. Whether printing is possible in a short time? Then, if even one label printer 3 capable of printing is found within the threshold value, the raster data can be sent to that label printer 3 with priority over others. As a result, for example, when a plurality of label printers 3 are connected to one operation terminal 2, by specifying the label printer 3 that can execute printing within the threshold value and transmitting the raster data, Fast processing can be ensured.
If no label printer 3 capable of printing is found within the threshold, if even one label printer 3 capable of printing within the threshold is found, priority is given to that label printer 3. data may be sent.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted or simplified as appropriate.

<Configuration of print processing system>
FIG. 9, which corresponds to FIG. 1, shows the overall configuration of the print processing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the print processing system 1' of this embodiment includes one label printer 3 and a plurality of operation terminals, here three units of a first operation terminal 2A, a second operation terminal 2B, a third and an operation terminal 2C.

In this embodiment, in the label printer 3, the aforementioned communication control unit 208 (see FIG. 2 above) can transmit and receive information to and from a plurality of operation terminals 2 including the first operation terminal 2A and the second operation terminal 2B. Further, the control circuit 202 performs, for example, a process (printing process) of forming a corresponding print based on the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A, and a process of receiving and analyzing the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B ( command processing) are performed at least partially in parallel with each other. Details of the method will be described below with reference to FIG.

In the present embodiment, the RAM 20202a of the control circuit 202 provided in the label printer 3 is provided with four work areas: a reception buffer, an analysis buffer A, an analysis buffer B, and a print buffer. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the chronological processing contents in the receive buffer, analysis buffer A, analysis buffer B, and print buffer. Note that the horizontal axis in FIG. 10 represents the time axis, and the commands and data transmitted from the first operation terminal 2A are indicated by (1) for simplification, and the commands and data transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B are represented by ( 2) is attached for simplification (the same applies to FIGS. 11 and 12, which will be described later).

In FIG. 10, for example, when a conditional command is first transmitted from the first operating terminal 2A, the conditional command is received by the reception buffer (see times t30 to t31). The conditional command that has been received is subsequently analyzed in the analysis buffer A (see times t31 to t32). Based on the result of the analysis, when information indicating that printing can be executed is sent to the first operation terminal 2A (simply denoted as "response" in the figure) (see time t32), the first The raster data transmitted from the operation terminal 2A is received by the reception buffer (see times t32 to t33). Analysis of the received raster data continues in the analysis buffer A (see time t33).
At this time, in the present embodiment, reception of the conditional command transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B is started using the reception buffer that has become vacant due to the analysis of this conditional command (see time t34). The reception of the conditional command ends earlier than the end of analysis of the conditional command in the analysis buffer A (see time t35).

After that, when the analysis of the raster data in the analysis buffer A ends, the raster data after analysis is developed in the print buffer (see time t36), and using this, printing based on the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A is performed. is executed (see times t36 to t38). Further, after waiting for the raster data to be developed in the print buffer, the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B, which has been received at time t35, is analyzed in the analysis buffer B (see time t36 to t37). ). As a result, the analysis of the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B and the printing based on the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A are performed concurrently from time t36 to time t37.
In the above example, the reception of the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B that started at time t34 is the timing at which analysis of the conditional command from the first operation terminal 2A in the analysis buffer A ends (in other words, the time to the print buffer). (time t35) earlier than time t36, which is the printing start timing by developing the raster data, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the reception of the conditional command from the second operating terminal 2B may start at a timing later than time t34 and end at a timing later than time t36. In this case, the second half of receiving the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B is also performed concurrently with the printing based on the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A.

Based on the analysis result of the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B in the analysis buffer B, information indicating that printing can be executed is sent to the second operation terminal 2B (simply indicated as "response" in the figure). Then (see time t37), the corresponding raster data transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B is received in the reception buffer (see time t37-t39). At this time, the printing of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A, which started at time t36, is completed (see time t38), thereby generating the print label L corresponding to the operation from the first operation terminal 2A. be.

On the other hand, when the reception of the raster data from the second operation terminal 2B in the reception buffer is completed (see time t39), the analysis of the raster data continues in the analysis buffer B (see time t39 to t40). The analyzed raster data is developed in the print buffer (see time t40), and is used to execute printing based on the raster data from the second operation terminal 2B (see time t40-t41). As a result, a print label L corresponding to the operation from the second operation terminal 2b is generated.

According to this embodiment, the process of printing based on raster data from the first operation terminal 2A (=printing process, time t36 to t38) and the process of receiving and analyzing conditional commands from the second operation terminal 2B. (= command processing) are performed in parallel with each other. In this manner, the processes related to the two operation terminals 2A and 2B can be performed in parallel, so that the efficiency of the print process can be improved.

<Third Embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those of the first and second embodiments, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

Also in this embodiment, the communication control unit 208 of the label printer 3 can transmit and receive information to and from a plurality of operation terminals 2 including the first operation terminal 2A and the second operation terminal 2B, as in the second embodiment. In addition, the control circuit 202 receives and analyzes the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B (command processing) during the processing (data analysis processing) for receiving and analyzing the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A. ) is interrupted. Details of the technique will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b). Note that FIG. 11, like FIG. 10, shows the content of processing over time in the receive buffer, analysis buffer A, analysis buffer B, and print buffer, and the horizontal axis represents the time axis.

In FIG. 11(a), as in FIG. 10, for example, when a conditional command is first transmitted from the first operation terminal 2A and received by the reception buffer (see time t30 to t31), the conditional command that has been received is transferred to the analysis buffer. A is analyzed (see time t31-t32). Information to the effect that printing can be executed is transmitted to the first operation terminal 2A (denoted as "response" in the figure) (see time t32), and the raster data transmitted from the first operation terminal 2A is received in the reception buffer. (see time t32-t33). Analysis of the received raster data is started in the analysis buffer A (see time t33).

At this time, in this embodiment, when the reception of the conditional command transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B is started while the raster data is being analyzed in the analysis buffer A from time t33 as described above, (Refer to time t34), the analysis of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A in the analysis buffer A is stopped and postponed (refer to time t37 which will be described later). Then, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when the reception of the conditional command from the second operating terminal 2B ends (see time t36), the analysis of the conditional command from the second operating terminal 2B is performed as described above. The interrupted raster data analysis process from the first operation terminal 2A is interrupted in this manner, and is performed in the analysis buffer B prior to that (see times t36 to t37).

Based on the analysis result of the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B in the analysis buffer B, information indicating that printing can be executed is sent to the second operation terminal 2B (in FIG. 11(b), simply " response” (refer to time t37), the corresponding raster data transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B is received by the reception buffer (refer to time t37 to t39). On the other hand, in response to the end of the analysis in the analysis buffer B, the rest of the analysis processing of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A, which has been interrupted and postponed as described above, is resumed at time t37.

When the analysis of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A in the analysis buffer A is completed, the raster data after analysis is developed in the print buffer (see time t35). Printing based on raster data is executed (see times t35 to t38). As a result, a print label L corresponding to the operation from the first operation terminal 2A is generated.

On the other hand, when the reception of the raster data from the second operation terminal 2B in the reception buffer, which started at time t37, is completed (see time t39), the analysis buffer B continues to analyze the raster data in the same manner as in FIG. is performed (see times t39 to t40). The analyzed raster data is developed in the print buffer (see time t40), and printing is executed based on the raster data from the second operation terminal 2B (see time t40-t41). As a result, a print label L corresponding to the operation from the second operation terminal 2b is generated.

In this embodiment, during the reception and analysis of raster data from the first operation terminal 2A (see times t32 to t33 to t35), the reception and analysis of the conditional command from the second operation terminal 2B are interrupted (see See times t34-t36-t37). Since the processes related to the two operation terminals 2A and 2B can be performed together, the efficiency of the print process can be improved.

<Modified example of the third embodiment>
In the above-described third embodiment, when a conditional command is received from the second operation terminal 2B during the analysis of raster data from the first operation terminal 2A, the reception and analysis are interrupted. Not limited. That is, the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A may be divided into a plurality of data portions from the beginning, and the data portions may be transmitted at intervals. Such a modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b). Parts equivalent to those of the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof are omitted or simplified as appropriate. Note that FIG. 12, like FIG. 11, shows the contents of processing over time in the receive buffer, analysis buffer A, analysis buffer B, and print buffer, and the horizontal axis represents the time axis.

In FIG. 12(a), in this modification, as in FIG. 11(a) above, for example, when a conditional command is first transmitted from the first operation terminal 2A and received by the reception buffer (see times t30 to t31), is analyzed in the analysis buffer A (see times t31 to t32a). Information indicating that printing can be executed is transmitted to the first operation terminal 2A (denoted as "response" in FIG. 11(a)) (see time t32a). As a result, transmission of raster data is started from the first operation terminal 2A, and reception of the transmitted raster data is started in the reception buffer (see time t32a).

At this time, in this modification, when raster data is transmitted from the first operation terminal 2A, as shown in FIG. ) and the divided portion 1b (corresponding to another example of the divided data portion), and only the divided portion 1a is transmitted from time t32a. Then, when the reception of this transmitted signal by the reception buffer of the dividing unit 1a ends at time t32a', the second signal is received (by using the gap time left before the time t32b when the transmission of the dividing unit 1b, which will be described later) is started. A conditional command is transmitted from the second operation terminal 2B and received as a received command (see times t34 to t36).

When the reception of the conditional command from the second operating terminal 2B ends (see time t36), the analysis of the conditional command from the second operating terminal 2B is continued in the analysis buffer B (see time t36-t37a). . Based on the analysis result of the conditional command in the analysis buffer B, information indicating that printing can be executed is transmitted to the second operation terminal 2B (denoted as "response" in FIG. 12(b)). t37a).

In this example, the transmission of the remaining division unit 1b of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A is started at time t32b before time t37a and continues until time t33. Part 1b is received by the receive buffer (see times t32b to t33). In response to completion of reception of raster data from first operation terminal 2A by completion of reception by division unit 1b at time t33b, analysis processing of raster data from first operation terminal 2A continues. It is performed in buffer A (see times t33 to t35). When the analysis of the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A in the analysis buffer A is completed, the raster data after analysis is developed in the print buffer (see time t35), and is used to read the raster data from the first operation terminal 2A. Printing based on the data is executed (see times t35 to t38). As a result, a print label L corresponding to the operation from the first operation terminal 2A is generated.

On the other hand, after the transmission of the information to the effect that printing can be executed to the second operation terminal 2B at time t37a (notation of "response" in FIG. 11(b); see time t37a), the above-described first operation After the reception of raster data from the terminal 2A (time t32b to t33) is completed and the data is analyzed in the analysis buffer, the raster data corresponding to the information indicating that printing can be executed is displayed from the second operation terminal 2B. Data is transmitted and received in the receive buffer (see times t37b-t39). When the reception of the raster data is completed (see time t39), the raster data is analyzed in the analysis buffer B (see time t39-t40). The analyzed raster data is developed in the print buffer (see time t40), and is used to execute printing based on the raster data from the second operation terminal 2B (see time t40-t41). As a result, a print label L corresponding to the operation from the second operation terminal 2b is generated.

In this modification, as shown in FIG. 9, when there are a plurality of operation terminals 2 (first operation terminal 2A, second operation terminal 2B, etc. in the above example) capable of communicating with one label printer 3, In the label printer 3, it is possible to provide a gap time between the reception of raster data from one operation terminal 2 by one division unit 1a and the reception by the next division unit 1b. As a result, as described above, it is possible to temporarily suspend the reception of the dividing unit 1a from the first operation terminal 2A and then receive a conditional command from another second operation terminal 2B during the interval. As a result, as described above with reference to FIG. 11B, the label printer 3 can perform reception processing from the first operation terminal 2A and the second operation terminal 2B at the same time. can be made

<Others>
In the above description, the arrows shown in FIG. 2 indicate an example of signal flow, and do not limit the direction of signal flow.

Further, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the above flows, and additions, deletions, or changes in the order of procedures may be made within the scope of the spirit and technical idea of the invention. You may

In addition to the methods already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined and used.

In addition, although not exemplified one by one, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the invention.

1 Print processing system (printing system)
1' print processing system 2 operation terminal 2A to C operation terminal 3 label printer (printing device)
3A-C Label printer (printing device)
12 CPU (computing means, terminal-side control means)
202 control circuit (control means, device side control means)
203 tape (printing medium)
205 print head (printing means)
208 communication control unit (communication means)
209 transport device (transport means)

Claims (8)

An operation terminal for operating a printing device having transport means for transporting a print-receiving medium and printing means for performing printing based on raster data on the print-receiving medium transported by the transport means. for the computing means
a command transmission procedure for transmitting to the printing device a condition command associated with the raster data and representing printing conditions at the time of forming the print based on the raster data;
an information receiving procedure for receiving from the printing device print permission/prohibition information indicating whether or not the printing device can execute printing for the printing condition represented by the conditional command transmitted in the command transmission procedure;
a data transmission procedure for transmitting the raster data to the printing device when the printability information indicating that printing is executable is received in the information reception procedure;
A print processing program for executing
For the computing means,
In the information receiving procedure, when the print permission/prohibition information indicating print execution is received outside the first predetermined period, the raster data is transmitted to the operation terminal after the second predetermined period has elapsed from the timing of the reception. send to
A print processing program characterized by: The print processing program according to claim 1,
In the data transmission procedure,
In the information receiving procedure, when the print permission/prohibition information indicating print execution permission is received within a first predetermined period, the operation terminal transmits the raster data to the printing device upon receipt of the print permission/prohibition information. print handler. In the print processing program according to claim 2,
In the command transmission procedure,
transmitting the common conditional command to each of the plurality of printing devices;
In the information receiving procedure,
receiving the print permission/prohibition information from each of the plurality of printing devices;
In the data transmission procedure,
The printing process, wherein the operation terminal transmits the raster data to one of the plurality of printing devices that has transmitted the printing permission/prohibition information indicating that printing is permitted within the first predetermined period. program. The print processing program according to claim 1,
In the data transmission procedure,
A print processing program, characterized in that the raster data is divided into a plurality of data portions, and the data portions are transmitted at intervals. a transport means for transporting a print-receiving medium;
printing means for printing based on raster data on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying means;
a communication means capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from an operation terminal;
a control means;
has
A printing device that forms a print on the print-receiving medium based on the raster data received from the operation terminal via the communication means,
The control means is
command analysis processing for receiving and analyzing, via the communication means, a conditional command associated with the raster data and representing printing conditions at the time of forming the print based on the raster data;
print determination processing for determining whether or not printing can be executed using the raster data based on the consistency of the printing apparatus with respect to the printing conditions represented by the condition command obtained by analysis in the command analysis processing;
information transmission processing for transmitting print permission/prohibition information corresponding to the determination result of the print determination processing to the operation terminal via the communication means;
and run
The control means is
if the print determination process determines that printing is executable, the information transmission process transmits the printability information indicating that printing is executable;
and a data analysis process of receiving and analyzing the raster data corresponding to the conditional command transmitted from the operation terminal in response to the print permission/prohibition information representing the print execution permission through the communication means;
a printing process for controlling the conveying means and the printing means according to the raster data analyzed in the data analysis process, and forming a print on the print-receiving medium based on the raster data;
further run
The communication means are
capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of operation terminals including a first operation terminal and a second operation terminal;
The control means further
During the data analysis process of receiving and analyzing the raster data from the first operation terminal, the command analysis process of receiving and analyzing the conditional command from the second operation terminal is interrupted.
A printing device characterized by : The printing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
The control means is
at least a part of the printing process of forming a print based on the raster data from the first operating terminal and the command analysis process of receiving and analyzing the conditional command from the second operating terminal are performed in parallel with each other ; A printing device characterized by performing communication means, transport means for transporting a print-receiving medium, printing means for printing on the print-receiving medium transported by the transport means based on raster data received via the communication means, and apparatus-side control a printing device comprising means;
an operation terminal including terminal-side control means and capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from communication means of the printing apparatus;
A printing system comprising:
The terminal-side control means is
command transmission processing for transmitting to the printing device a condition command associated with the raster data and representing printing conditions at the time of forming the print based on the raster data;
and run
The device-side control means is
command analysis processing for receiving and analyzing the conditional command transmitted in the command transmission processing from the operation terminal via the communication means;
print determination processing for determining whether or not printing can be executed using the raster data based on the consistency of the printing apparatus with respect to the printing conditions represented by the condition command obtained by analysis in the command analysis processing;
information transmission processing for transmitting print permission/prohibition information corresponding to the determination result of the print determination processing to the operation terminal via the communication means;
and run
The terminal-side control means is
information reception processing for receiving the print permission/prohibition information transmitted in the information transmission processing from the printing device;
data transmission processing for transmitting the raster data to the printing device when the printability information indicating that printing is executable is received in the information reception processing;
and run
In the information reception process, if the print permission/prohibition information indicating print execution is received outside the first predetermined period, the raster data is transmitted to the printing apparatus after a second predetermined period has elapsed from the timing of the reception.
A printing system characterized by: communication means, transport means for transporting a print-receiving medium, printing means for printing on the print-receiving medium transported by the transport means based on raster data received via the communication means, and apparatus-side control a printing device comprising means;
an operation terminal including terminal-side control means and capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from communication means of the printing apparatus;
A printing system comprising:
The terminal-side control means is
command transmission processing for transmitting to the printing device a condition command associated with the raster data and representing printing conditions at the time of forming the print based on the raster data;
and run
The device-side control means is
command analysis processing for receiving and analyzing the conditional command transmitted in the command transmission processing from the operation terminal via the communication means;
print determination processing for determining whether or not printing can be executed using the raster data based on the consistency of the printing apparatus with respect to the printing conditions represented by the condition command obtained by analysis in the command analysis processing;
information transmission processing for transmitting print permission/prohibition information corresponding to the determination result of the print determination processing to the operation terminal via the communication means;
and run
and if the print determination process determines that printing is executable, the information transmission process transmits the printability information indicating that printing is executable,
The terminal-side control means is
information reception processing for receiving the print permission/prohibition information transmitted in the information transmission processing from the printing apparatus;
data transmission processing for transmitting the raster data to the printing device when the printability information indicating that printing is executable is received in the information reception processing;
and run
The device-side control means is
data analysis processing for receiving and analyzing the raster data corresponding to the conditional command transmitted in the data transmission processing via the communication means;
a printing process for controlling the conveying means and the printing means according to the raster data analyzed in the data analysis process, and forming a print on the print-receiving medium based on the raster data;
and run
The communication means are
capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of operation terminals including a first operation terminal and a second operation terminal;
The device-side control means further includes:
receiving the conditional command from the terminal-side control means of the second operation terminal during the data analysis process for receiving and analyzing the raster data from the terminal-side control means of the first operation terminal; Interrupt the above command analysis process to be analyzed
A printing system characterized by:

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