KR100509462B1 - Data printing method and apparatus using a printer disk drive - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a data output device using a disk drive of the printer itself, and a panel unit which displays the performance status of the printer and accepts various key inputs in addition to the central processing unit and ROM and RAM which are basically installed and used in an existing printer. The user can add a disk drive to read a file to be printed from the diskette so that the file to be printed can be printed using the printer disk drive.

Therefore, it is possible to use the printer without a separate computer for printing, to reduce the waiting time of computer use by the output data when printing a large amount of documents, and to reduce the additional facility investment cost for sharing the printer to the network. .

Description

Data printing method and apparatus using a printer disk drive}

The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for outputting data using a printer's own disk drive without connecting a file to be output with a computer.

In general, printers are the most common means of viewing, storing, and outputting the results of a computer's processing in document form for delivery to others. Basic components such as multifunction devices, personal computers, fax machines, electronic cash registers, and automated teller machines Until now, daisy-wheel type printers, pin type printers, inkjet type printers, and laser type printers have been developed. In particular, inkjet printers and laser printers are predominant in the diffusion models.

In recent years, as printers are rapidly increasing in demand with office automation devices such as scanners and fax machines, each office automation device is being developed with high performance to expand its own functions. It is a trend to produce and sell products that perform complex document output functions while reducing economic burden and installation space for users by developing each office automation device used as a single unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a general computer system configuration, an output method of controlling the flow of information of an input / output bus is performed in a central processing unit. Received through the interface and interpreted it to send a control signal to the printer controller output was made to the printer.

However, such a conventional output method is expensive in the case of an expensive printer as in the case of a high-resolution laser printer or a color printer, which is widely used in recent years, and it is expensive in terms of cost. Even if one by one has a problem of inefficient operation method in terms of use efficiency. In addition, in order to solve the above problems, the printer is shared between users and used in a network, but in this case, a network such as an intra-company information communication network (LAN: Local Area Network, hereinafter referred to as LAN) should be configured. In this case, the LAN installation cost is more expensive than purchasing the printer equipment, which is unreasonable, and it takes a considerable time to print a large amount of output data such as manuscripts and books for bookbinding on the computer. The disadvantage is that you can't make the most of it.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for maximizing more efficient use of a printer and utilization of a computer by attaching its own disk drive to the printer. In addition, the present invention provides an output device capable of independently outputting data by mounting a disk drive in a printer.

A data output method using the printer's own disk drive of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a diskette printer use key checking step of checking whether the input key value is a diskette printer use key by inputting an arbitrary use key; A file list output step of accessing a disk and outputting a file list on the disk when the key value is the diskette printer use key; and selecting a print file from the output file list and inputting a print start key to print. It is characterized by including.

Preferably, the selection of the print file allows the user to select by operating the selection key up and down.

Preferably, the file information on the selected file is output on the panel.

Another feature of the present invention is a central processing unit for controlling the printer as a whole according to a program set in the data output device using the printer's own disk drive, a ROM storing the system program of the printer, and the data used in the printer RAM for providing temporary storage and printing data, displaying printer status and file list, printing diskette printer mode key, general printer mode key and file selection key and file contents to select files And a panel unit for receiving a key input of the print key, a printer printing unit for output, and a disk drive for reading a file to be output by the user from the diskette.

Preferably, the panel unit includes a diskette printer mode key, a general printer mode key, a print key, a file selection key, and a screen output unit.

Preferably, the disk drive is generally widely used at present and uses a 3.5-inch disk drive to be effective for the movement, storage and storage of data and to be compatible with the diskette currently used on a computer.

Hereinafter, the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention described above will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a printer applied to the present invention.

As shown, the central processing unit 200 for controlling the overall printer according to the set program, the ROM 220 storing the system program, the RAM 230 for temporarily storing and outputting data, and the printer A panel unit (OPE) 210 for displaying an execution state and accepting input of various keys, a printer printer 240 for output, and a disk drive 250 for reading a file to be output from a diskette. It consists of).

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration and implementation example of the panel unit according to the present invention.

As shown, a diskette printer mode key 211 for indicating that printing is performed using the printer's own disk drive, and a general printer mode key 212 for indicating that printing is performed on a computer connected to the printer. ), A selection key 214 for selecting a file to be outputted to the screen output unit 215 when the diskette printer mode key is set, a print key 213 for printing the selected file to the printer, and The screen output unit 215 displays each situation when keys are input.

4 is a flowchart showing the switching operation setting of the diskette printer.

As shown in the drawing, when an arbitrary key is input by panel key input (S300), it is determined whether the input key value is a diskette printer mode key 211 for printing to a diskette printer (S310), and the diskette printer mode key. If the flag mode is off (S340) after checking whether the diskette printer flag mode that distinguishes printing to a diskette printer and a normal printer is off (S340), the diskette printer flag mode is turned on. S350) and return to the beginning (S370), and if the flag mode is in the on state (S370). If the input key value is not a diskette printer mode key, it is determined whether the input key value is a general printer mode key (S320), and if the general printer mode key is turned off (S360), the diskette printer flag is returned (S370) and the normal printer mode. If not, the key performs the corresponding key processing (S330).

An operation of the present invention having such a configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

5 is a flowchart showing a step of performing output on a printer disk drive.

As shown in FIG. 4, when an arbitrary use key is input (S400), when the diskette printer mode is turned on as shown in FIG. 4, it is determined whether the input key value is the diskette printer use key 211 (S410). If it is not the printer use key 211, the corresponding key is processed (S420). If the diskette printer use key 211 is used, the disk is accessed to obtain print information from the diskette inserted into the disk drive mounted in the printer. (S430). After the disk access, the file list on the disk is output to the screen output unit 215 on the panel (S440). After outputting the file list, the user operates up and down using the file selection key 214 to select a print file from the output file list (S450). After the output file is selected, when the print start key 213 is input (S460), information about a print file such as a file size, a creation date, and the number of prints is output to the screen output unit 215 of the panel unit mounted on the printer. (S470) and printing of the file (S480) is performed.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be appreciated that modifications or variations may be made. Therefore, changes in the future embodiments of the present invention will not depart from the technology of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the printer does not need to be shared between users on the network, so that additional network facility investment is unnecessary, and the computer during the output of data such as manuscripts or books for bookbinding that requires a lot of printing time is required. It is possible to make the most of the use of the printer, and the use of expensive printers, such as in the case of high-resolution laser printers or color printers, increases the use efficiency of the printer and does not require a separate computer for output.

1 is a block diagram showing an output method in a general computer system configuration.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the overall structure of a printer according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration and implementation of the panel unit according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the setting of the switching operation of the diskette printer in the present invention.

5 is a flowchart showing an output performing step on a printer disk drive according to the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

200: Central processing unit 210: Panel (OPE: Operation Panel)

211: Diskette Printer Mode Key 212: Normal Printer Mode Key

213: print key 214: file selection key

215: screen output unit 220: ROM

230: RAM 240: printer printing unit

250: disk driver

Claims (4)

In the data output method using the printer's own disk drive, A diskette printer use key checking step of checking whether a user selects a diskette printer use key using an operation panel of the printer; If the user selects a diskette printer use key using the operation panel, the central processing unit of the printer accesses the printer's own disk drive to output a file list of the diskette mounted on the disk drive on the panel of the operation panel. Outputting a file list; And a file printing step of printing the selected print file by selecting a print file from the output file list and inputting a print start key when the file list is output on the panel. How to output data using a drive. The method of claim 1, And outputting information on the selected file on the panel on the panel. In the data output device using the printer's own disk drive, A central processing unit for controlling the overall printer according to a set program; A ROM storing a system program of the printer; RAM for providing data for temporarily storing and outputting the data used in the printer; A panel unit which receives the state of the printer and input of various keys; A printer printing unit for output; And A disk drive for reading a file from a diskette that the user wants to output, When the user selects a diskette printer use key using the panel unit, the CPU unit accesses the disk drive and outputs a file list of the diskette on the panel of the panel unit. Used data output device. The method of claim 3, wherein The panel unit includes a diskette printer mode key, a general printer mode key, a print key, a file selection key, and a screen output unit. And a screen output unit to output information on the selected file.

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