JP2000001002A - Printer, controller and control method for printer, memory medium and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an optimal print results constantly regardless of the type of recording medium being used by providing means for detecting the type of a recording medium being fed by a feeding means and recording an image on a recording medium with a print data corresponding to the detected type of recording medium. SOLUTION: A print sheet provided, on the rear surface thereof, with optical information concerning to the type print sheet in the form of a bar code is employed as a recording medium. At the time of executing printing, a bar code reader 16 reads out the bar code formed on the rear surface of the sheet before the sheet reaches a position where a print head is arranged. Bar code information thus read out is transmitted through an interface 17 to a host computer 19. Since the bar code is notified, the type of print sheet can be determined on the host computer 19 side. Consequently, an appropriate color processing can be set depending on the detected type of sheet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device, a printer control device and method, a storage medium, and a recording medium, and more particularly to a printer device that selectively uses a plurality of types of printing paper, and a printer control device and method for the printer device. The present invention relates to a storage medium storing a program of the method and a recording medium used for the printer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many types of printers prepare various types of print papers in order to improve the print quality, and the host device performs color processing according to the print papers by a printer driver to print data. Supplies the optimum image recording according to the paper type. The setting of the paper type in the printer driver is manually performed by the user.

[0003]

However, in addition to plain paper, glossy paper, coated paper, postcards, OHP sheets, etc. are available as print papers, and the user needs a printer driver for the print paper to be used. , It is difficult to understand whether optimal color processing can be performed and optimal image recording can be performed. For this reason, there is a problem that if the setting is wrong, it is not possible to perform the optimal image recording according to the paper type.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and uses a recording medium in which information indicating the type is formed in advance, and notifies the printer apparatus of the information from the supplied recording medium. A printer device which solves the above-mentioned problem by automatically discriminating the type of a recording medium, a printer control device and method for the printer device, a storage medium storing a program of the method, and a printer device It is an object to provide a recording medium that can be used.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for feeding a plurality of types of recording media, and an external device provided on the recording medium. A recording device for recording an image corresponding to print data from a printer, a detecting device for detecting a type of a recording medium fed by the feeding device, and a detecting device for detecting the detected type to the external device. Notification means, and input means for inputting the print data generated by the external device according to the notification, wherein the print data is used for the recording to be fed according to the detected type. An image is recorded on a medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data generating means for generating image data, and a detection result of a type of a recording medium fed to a printer. Detection means, processing means for processing the image data according to the detection result, and generating print data based on the image data with settings according to the type of the recording medium; and outputting the generated print data to the printer. Sending means for sending to the device.

Here, in the apparatus according to the present invention, the processing means determines whether or not the detection result is valid, and if the detection result is determined to be valid, the processing means determines that the detection result is valid. The image data is processed with settings according to the recording medium described above, and when it is determined that the image data is not appropriate, the image data is processed with predetermined settings.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for generating image data and inputting a detection result of a type of a recording medium fed to a printer. Processing the image data according to the detection result and generating print data based on the image data with settings according to the type of the recording medium; and sending the generated print data to the printer device. And a step.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method according to the fourth aspect, the processing step includes a step of determining whether the detection result is valid, and a step of determining whether the detection result is valid. Processing the image data with settings according to the result recording medium, and processing the image data with predetermined settings when it is determined that the image data is not appropriate.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium for generating image data and inputting a detection result of a type of a recording medium to be fed to a printer, Processing the image data according to the detection result and generating print data based on the image data with settings according to the type of the recording medium; and transmitting the generated print data to the printer device. And a sending step.

In the storage medium according to the present invention, the processing step may include a step of determining whether the detection result is valid, and a step of determining whether the detection result is valid. Processing the image data with a setting corresponding to the recording medium of the detection result, and processing the image data with a predetermined setting when it is determined that the image data is not appropriate. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the recording medium according to the present invention further comprises a notifying means for notifying the printer apparatus of its own type in a recording medium on which an image can be recorded by the printer apparatus. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium according to the eighth aspect, the notifying means is magnetic information indicating the type.

Here, the recording medium of the present invention according to claim 10 is:
In claim 8, the notifying means is optical information representing the type.

Here, the recording medium of the present invention according to claim 11 is:
In claim 10, the notifying means is a plurality of barcodes containing the same optical information, and any one of the plurality of barcodes is formed in a different direction.

According to the printer device, the printer control device and method, the storage medium, and the recording medium of the present invention each configured as described above, the image data is processed according to the detection result of the type of the recording medium in the printer device. Print and print based on the image data with settings according to the type of recording medium.
The data is generated and sent to the printer device.If the detection result is valid, the image data is processed according to the setting of the recording medium of the detection result. By recognizing the type of medium, print processing can always be performed using print data under optimum conditions corresponding to the type.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, a print sheet having information on the type of print sheet as optical information in the form of a bar code on the back surface is used as a recording medium.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a printer suitable for an embodiment of the present invention.

The printer shown in FIG.
11, display panel 12, engine controller 13,
ROM (read only memory) 14, RAM (random access memory) 15, barcode reader 1
6, a printer interface 17 and the like are connected via a data bus 18;
9 and prints out an image based on image data generated by the computer in accordance with a command from the computer.

The CPU 11 controls the overall printer apparatus and controls the present embodiment. The display panel 12 displays a print status, an error status, and the like under the control of a display controller (not shown). The engine controller 13 performs actual print control according to the control of the CPU 11. The ROM 14 stores in advance a program for a control procedure for controlling the entire printer device and necessary information such as other data.

The RAM 15 is used as a work area for the CPU 11 and is used for temporarily storing data. The well-known bar code reader 16 is capable of reading a bar code as optical information, and is for reading a bar code formed on the back surface of a print sheet as described later. The printer interface 17 is connected to the host
This is a bidirectional interface capable of not only receiving print data from the computer 19 but also transmitting the operation state of the printer device to the host computer 19.

The above components transfer various data, programs and the like through the data bus 18.

The host computer 19 can load a printer driver into a disk storage device, a RAM, a ROM, or the like, generates image data such as a document and a graphic by a predetermined application, and uses the printer driver to generate image data such as a document and a graphic. Of the printer device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for explaining the actual hardware configuration of the printer of this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a print head. As the print head 21, for example, an ink jet head having a configuration in which ink is heated to generate bubbles in the ink to discharge an appropriate amount of the ink liquid can be considered.
However, the present invention is not limited to a print head system, and is applicable to a printer device of another print system.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a paper feed roller. Reference numeral 23 denotes a paper discharge roller. 24 is a paper holder. 25 is a paper feed tray. 26 is a paperless sensor. 27 is FIG.
Corresponds to the barcode reader 16.

In the figure, the upper side is the printing surface (image recording surface) of the paper, and the lower side is the back surface. In the present embodiment, a barcode is recorded on the back surface of the paper in order to avoid the influence of reading the image on the print surface of the paper.

When printing is performed, the paper is set on a paper feed tray 25 and fed to an engine (not shown) by rotation of a paper feed roller 22. Before reaching the position where the print head 21 is provided, the print head 21 is conveyed over the barcode reader 27 in the left direction in the figure. At this time, a relative movement occurs between the barcode reader 27 and the sheet, whereby the barcode reader 27 reads a barcode formed on the back surface of the sheet as described later.

The read bar code information is transmitted to the host computer 19 through the interface 17 shown in FIG. By notifying the barcode information in this manner, the host computer 19 can know the type of print paper (glossy paper, coated paper, postcard, OHP sheet, etc.). For this reason, it is possible to make settings so as to perform appropriate color processing in accordance with the detected types.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a print sheet.

FIG. 3 shows the back surface of the print paper 30, and bar codes 31, 32, 33, and 34 are recorded at four corners. The barcodes 31, 34 are formed along the longitudinal direction (Y direction) of the sheet, and the barcodes 32, 33 are formed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (X direction). Each barcode has the same information on the type of print paper 30. Nothing was done to print on the surface.

By providing a plurality of barcodes having different forming directions at the four corners on the same surface, at least one of the barcodes 31, 32, 33, and 34 can be read even if paper is fed from any side of the paper. Is possible.

As described above, the barcode is recorded on the back side of various print papers such as coated paper and glossy paper, but not recorded on plain paper.

Finally, control of print output will be described with reference to the flowchart of the print processing of FIG. 4 by the printer driver.

In the present embodiment, bar code information read by the bar code reader 27 of the printer is input to the host computer 19, and color processing is determined by the printer driver according to this information.

First, in step S41, a paper feed command is transmitted to the printer. In the following description, the step numbers are denoted by “S”.

When the paper feed command is transmitted and the preparation for the printing process is completed, the barcode information is received in S42,
input. When the barcode information is input, it is determined in S43 whether the barcode has been read successfully or unsuccessfully, and the process branches according to the determination result.

Here, if the barcode reading is successful and it is determined that the input information is valid as the barcode information, the process proceeds to S44, where the paper type information represented by the read barcode is distributed to the subsequent color processing. RA for
The data is stored in a storage device such as M, and the process proceeds to the next step.

On the other hand, if the reading of the barcode fails in S43 and it is determined that the input information is not valid as the barcode information, the process proceeds to S45. Since no barcode is recorded on ordinary plain paper (PPC paper), it is determined in step S45 that the print paper is plain paper, and the process proceeds to the next step.

After the type of print paper is determined as described above, the steps from S46 onward are the same as those in the normal print processing. That is, S46 is a color processing step in which color processing is performed according to the type of paper determined in S44 and S45.

S47 is a print command generation step, in which a print command is generated in accordance with the type of paper determined in S44 and S45. S48 is a print command transmission step, and S49 is a discharge command transmission step.

As described above, the barcode indicating the type of the fed paper is read by the barcode reader 16 to determine whether the barcode has been read successfully or not. By setting the processing settings to the type of paper that has been read, and if that fails, the paper type is determined to be plain paper and set to plain paper, so that the printer can automatically recognize the paper type. Thus, the optimum print processing can always be performed. Therefore, there is an effect that the user can always obtain an optimal print result without worrying about the type of paper.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, the paper type information is recorded on the print paper as a barcode, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same paper type information may be recorded on the paper using magnetic information, or a method of physically punching a paper to have optical characteristics according to the type may be used.

In the above embodiment, the information of the paper type is recorded in the corner of the back surface of the paper, but it is not necessary to stick to the back surface. For example, this information may be recorded on the surface (image recording surface) as long as it does not affect the image to be recorded. Even if the barcode is recorded on the surface so that it cannot be seen outside the visible band, there is no problem. Absent. Further, the barcode formation position is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3 as long as it can be read by a reader even if the paper size is different.

It is to be noted that the object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or a computer) of the system or apparatus. It is needless to say that the present invention is also achieved when a processing device such as a CPU or an MPU reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code to a computer or the like, for example, a floppy
Disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code.
It goes without saying that an (operating system) performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided on a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is transmitted to the memory according to the program code. On the basis of this, it goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0051]

As described above, according to the printer apparatus, the printer control apparatus and method, the storage medium, and the recording medium of the present invention, the type of the recording medium fed to the printer apparatus is read by reading the bar code information. The printer control device determines whether the reading has succeeded or failed, and if successful, sets the color processing setting to the type of the recording medium read, and if the reading fails, sets the type of the recording medium. Is determined as plain paper, the type of recording medium can be automatically recognized and the optimal print processing can be performed at all times. Therefore, the user can always select the optimal type of recording medium without worrying about the type of recording medium to be used. There is an effect that a print result can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a printer device suitable for an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from a side.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of a print sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a print process of a printer driver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CPU 12 Display panel 13 Engine controller 14 ROM 15 RAM 16, 27 Barcode reader 17 Printer interface 18 Data bus 19 Host computer 21 Print head 22 Paper feed roller 23 Paper discharge roller 24 Paper press 25 Paper feed Tray 26 Paper-out sensor 30 Print paper 31-34 Barcode

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A printer apparatus comprising: a feeding unit that can feed a plurality of types of recording media; and a recording unit that records an image corresponding to print data from an external device on the recording medium. Detecting means for detecting the type of the recording medium fed by the feeding means; notifying means for notifying the detected type to the external device; and the print data generated by the external device according to the notification. Input means for inputting the print data, and an image is recorded on the fed recording medium in accordance with the detected type according to the print data. 2. An image data generating means for generating image data, a detecting means for inputting a detection result of a type of a recording medium fed to a printer device, and processing the image data according to the detection result. A printer control device comprising: processing means for generating print data based on the image data with settings corresponding to the type of recording medium; and sending means for sending the generated print data to the printer device. . 3. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit determines whether the detection result is valid, and when the detection result is determined to be valid, processes the image data with a setting corresponding to a recording medium of the detection result. 3. The printer control device according to claim 2, wherein the image data is processed with a predetermined setting when it is determined that the image data is not appropriate. 4. A detection step of generating image data and inputting a detection result of a type of a recording medium fed to a printer device, processing the image data according to the detection result, and A printer control method, comprising: a processing step of generating print data based on the image data with a corresponding setting; and a sending step of sending the generated print data to the printer device. 5. The processing step includes: determining whether the detection result is valid; and, when determining that the detection result is valid, processing the image data with settings according to a recording medium of the detection result. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of: processing the image data with a predetermined setting when the image data is determined to be invalid. 6. A detection step of generating image data and inputting a detection result of a type of a recording medium fed to a printer device, processing the image data according to the detection result, and A storage medium storing a program, comprising: a processing step of generating print data based on the image data with a setting corresponding thereto; and a transmitting step of transmitting the generated print data to the printer device. 7. The processing step includes: determining whether the detection result is valid; and, when determining that the detection result is valid, processing the image data with settings according to a recording medium of the detection result. 7. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 6, further comprising: processing the image data with a predetermined setting when the image data is determined to be invalid. 8. A recording medium on which an image can be recorded by a printer device, wherein a notifying means for notifying the printer device of its own type is formed. 9. The recording medium according to claim 8, wherein said notifying means is magnetic information indicating said type. 10. The recording medium according to claim 8, wherein said notifying means is optical information indicating said type. 11. The recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said notifying means is a plurality of barcodes containing the same optical information, and any one of said plurality of barcodes is formed in a direction different from each other. .