JP2000033754A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To register management information and function information etc., specific to a printing apparatus by sharing an NVRAM that can be overwritten for storing the other information. SOLUTION: A command analysis part 10 analyzes a set command sentence input from a host 2. A setting permission judgment part 11 judges whether or not an initial set information designated by the analyzed set command sentence is permitted to be registered to an NVRAM 4. Although the NVRAM 4 can be overwritten, the initial set information can be prevented from being tampered or registered wrong because the initial set information is written only when the registration permission by the setting permission judgment part 11 is generated. Whether or not the initial set information is normally written to the NVRAM 4 is output to a display panel 5 and a printer part 6, so that whether or not the registration is conducted good can be recognized easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus having storage means for storing unique information and function information of the printing apparatus in accordance with a control command input from an external device such as a host computer. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing apparatus, management information such as a printing speed and a serial number unique to the printing apparatus is stored in a memory, read as identification information of the printing apparatus, and used at the time of operation and maintenance. . These management information and the like are written in a storage device during the manufacturing process of the printing apparatus, and a non-rewritable non-volatile memory is generally used as the storage device so that the stored content is not rewritten by mistake. However, in this case, a dedicated non-volatile memory is provided for writing management information or the like, or a special procedure using a dedicated interface or control language is required.
Therefore, there is a problem that a space is squeezed to install the non-volatile memory exclusively, or a manufacturing process becomes complicated to execute a special procedure.

As an apparatus for setting functions in a printing apparatus, for example, JP-A-63-59563 and JP-A-6-59563
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 227060/1990. In this device, a setting file is transmitted from an external terminal to a non-volatile memory that can be overwritten, thereby enabling initial setting of functions.

[0004]

A conventional apparatus which can set a function in an overwritable nonvolatile memory has the following problems. That is, since the information written in the nonvolatile memory can be easily rewritten, there is a possibility that the user may erroneously rewrite the information or falsify the information intentionally. Therefore, from the viewpoint of reliability, it is a problem to record the management information and the like unique to the product in the rewritable nonvolatile memory.

Further, in the manufacturing process, it is necessary for an operator to confirm whether or not a correct function setting operation has been performed, and to make a judgment for finding a defect or the like of the storage device. However, it has not been easy to prevent mistakes or find defective products based only on the judgment of the worker. Therefore, there has been a demand for reliably and easily determining whether the setting information has been correctly stored in the storage device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned problems and can improve the reliability of set management information and function information.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, the present invention interprets an overwriteable non-volatile memory and a setting statement of initial setting information input from an external host. Command analyzing means, setting permission determining means for determining whether or not registration of initial setting information designated by a setting statement interpreted by the command analyzing means in the nonvolatile memory is permitted, and setting permission determining means Registering means for writing the initial setting information in the nonvolatile memory in response to the registration permission output from the display device, and display means for displaying information as to whether or not the initial setting information has been normally written in the nonvolatile memory. It is characterized by having the following.

According to the above feature, the initial setting information is registered in the rewritable nonvolatile memory. Then, in order to prevent erroneous information from being registered in the nonvolatile memory, the setting permission determining unit determines whether or not the initial setting information specified by the setting command can be registered. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the information set in the overwritable nonvolatile memory from being undesirably updated or falsified.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an interface 1 receives an instruction from an external host computer (hereinafter, referred to as “host”) 2. The interface 1 is connected to the external host 2 via a network or a parallel communication cable.

An instruction from the external host 2 is processed by the CPU 3, and information is written to and read from an overwritable nonvolatile memory (NVRAM) 4 in accordance with the processing result. The NVRAM 4 is used to set management information and function information unique to the printing apparatus at the time of manufacturing and maintenance, and is also used by a user to arbitrarily set a printing function. Hereinafter, the management information, the function information, and the like are collectively referred to as “initial setting information”.

The display panel 5 is a display lamp or a liquid crystal screen for displaying the processing result of the CPU 3. The printer unit 6 prints out an image according to a command from the external host 2. The above components are connected, for example, by a bus 7.

An instruction from the external host 2 is analyzed and NVR
An operation of registering the initial setting information in the AM 4 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a registration process of a serial number as one of the initial setting information. External host 2
The processing of this flowchart is started when an instruction is received from. The external host 2 is, for example, a terminal for an operation check test of a product at the time of registration in a manufacturing process, and a terminal carried by a serviceman at the time of registration by a user.

In FIG. 3, in step S1, a function setting command (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "setting command") is added to the received command.
Is determined. This determination is made by interpreting the character string of the reception command described in the print control language. If step S1 is negative, it is determined that the command is a print command, and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, a normal printing process is performed. This printing process is not a main part of the present embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

If step S1 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S2 to analyze the contents of the setting command statement. In step S3, it is determined whether or not the setting statement is a registration statement of a serial number. If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S4,
It is determined whether registration of the serial number is possible. Since the serial number is unique information of the printing apparatus, duplicate registration is prohibited after registration once in this step.
Whether the serial number can be registered or not can be determined by searching the NVRAM 4 and checking the result.

If the serial number is not in the NVRAM 4, it has not been registered, so it is determined that registration is possible, and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the command is converted into setting information.
That is, the serial number is extracted from the statement. Step S
In step 6, the extracted serial number is written in the NVRAM 4. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the serial number has been correctly written into the NVRAM 4. For example, it can be determined whether or not the writing has succeeded based on whether or not the serial number written in the NVRAM 4 has been read.

In step S8, the printer unit 6 outputs a message indicating the success of the registration. In step S9, a message indicating successful registration is displayed on the display panel 5. Steps S8 and S9 are not necessarily performed both, and at least one of them may be performed. The instruction to display and print or to select one of them may be included in a setting command sent from the external host 2. Further, in addition to the message, the initial setting information actually registered in the NVRAM 4, that is, the serial number may be displayed or printed.

When a message is output by the printer unit 6, the message may be included in a predetermined test pattern for confirming the printing performance and output. That is, in the performance check test of the printing apparatus, the test pattern is printed out, and the message is included in the test pattern. By doing so, it is possible to output a message indicating that registration has been successful as well as a test normally performed when the printing apparatus is shipped.

If any of the determinations in steps S4 and S7 is negative, the process proceeds to step S10, where the printer unit 6 outputs a message indicating registration failure. Further, in step S11, a message indicating registration failure is displayed on the display panel 5. Step S1
At least one of 0 and step S11 may be executed as in the case of successful registration.

Next, the processing when the analysis result of the setting command statement is not a serial number, that is, when step S3 is negative, will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process when the setting command is not a serial number. In the figure,
In step S13, it is determined whether or not the command is a registration command for the printing speed (ppm: number of prints per minute). If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S14, where the print speed setting information in the NVRAM 4 is searched. In step S15, it is determined from the search result in step S14 whether or not the printing speed has not been set. If already set, the process proceeds to step S16,
It is determined whether the set printing speed is high speed side or low speed side. For example, the high speed side is 40 ppm, and the low speed side is 20 ppm. Whether the printing speed already set is low or high is determined by searching the NVRAM 4 in which the printing speed is registered.

If step S16 is affirmative, that is, if the high-speed side has been set, the process proceeds to step S17. On the other hand, if step S16 is negative, that is, if the low-speed side is set, the process proceeds to step S10 (FIG. 3).

Even if the printing speed has already been registered by the processing of steps S15 and S16, if the printing speed is to be changed to a lower speed, the registration can be updated. On the other hand, changing the contents set on the low speed side to the high speed side is prohibited.

Changing the printing speed is required in the following cases. For example, for convenience in manufacturing, a large number of NVRAMs, which are uniformly set to the high-speed printing speed, are manufactured in large quantities, and in the final manufacturing stage, the printing speed is changed to a low-speed side for some printing apparatuses to increase the high-speed printing speed. It is conceivable that the printing apparatus is classified as a printing apparatus. Also, as an example of preventing the setting of the low-speed side from being changed to the high-speed side, if the motor of the low-speed machine is mounted and high-speed operation cannot be performed, it is necessary to prevent incorrect setting of the function. Conceivable.

If step S15 is affirmative, that is, if the printing speed has not been set yet, step S16 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the command is converted into setting information. That is, the printing speed is extracted from the command statement. In step S18, the extracted printing speed is written in the NVRAM4.

In step S19, it is determined whether or not the printing speed has been correctly written in the NVRAM 4. For example, it can be determined by whether or not the printing speed written in the NVRAM 4 has been read. If step S19 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S8 (FIG. 3), and if step S19 is negative, the process proceeds to step S10 (FIG. 3).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main functions of a printing apparatus for executing the above processing. The command analysis unit 10 analyzes a command sent from the host 2. If a setting statement is detected as a result of the analysis, the setting permission determining unit 1
1 is activated, and if a setting command is not detected, the printer unit 6 is activated to execute normal printing processing.

The setting permission judging section 11 judges whether or not to register the initial setting information by executing the setting command sent from the host 2 based on the information stored in the NVRAM 4. If the setting is permitted, the writing unit 12 is activated. Writing unit 12
Extracts setting data from a setting command statement and writes the setting data in the NVRAM 4. When the writing of the setting data into the NVRAM 4 is successful, the writing unit 12 sends an instruction to display the writing success to the display control unit 13.

When it is determined that the setting is not permitted, the setting permission determining unit 11 sends an instruction to display the writing failure to the display control unit 13. The display control unit 13 causes the display panel 5 to display a scheduled message in response to an instruction from the setting permission determination unit 11. The instruction to display the message may be output to the printer unit 6 or may be output to both the printer unit 6 and the display panel 5.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the initial setting information of the printing apparatus is stored, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated non-rewritable NVRAM, and the user can arbitrarily set the function information. Can share the overwritable NVRAM, so that there is no pressure on the installation space. In addition, the command statement for setting the initial setting information can use a print control language normally used for printing, so that the interface and the language analysis procedure can be shared. Further, the result of the setting operation becomes a message output on the display panel 5 or the printer unit 6 and can be visually confirmed, so that it is easy to find a mistake or find a defective part.

The instruction for writing the initial setting information is
In one process of manufacturing a printing apparatus, input can be performed using a terminal for normal operation confirmation as a host.
By doing so, there is no need to set up a dedicated host.

The printing apparatus in the above-described embodiment may be an independent single printing apparatus or a printing apparatus included in a facsimile machine or a copying machine. Further, it may be a so-called multi-function device having all the functions of a printing device, a facsimile device, and a copying device. For example, as initial setting information of the facsimile machine,
Contact information in the case of having a function of automatically contacting a specific contact by facsimile when a failure occurs can be considered. In some cases, the service person rewrites the initially set contact information, and it is conceivable that setting permission / non-permission is determined based on whether the input contact information corresponds to a pre-registered destination.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the initial setting information such as the information unique to the printing apparatus and the function information can be set in the rewritable nonvolatile memory. Therefore, for example, a non-volatile memory provided so that a user can arbitrarily write a printing function or the like can be used for registration of initial setting information, and a space can be reduced. In addition, the setting permission determination means prevents unwanted overwriting and falsification of the initial setting information, and a highly reliable storage system can be configured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating main functions of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a serial number registration operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a printing speed registration operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 host, 4 overwritable NVRAM, 5 display panel, 6 printer unit, 10 command analysis unit,
11: setting permission determining unit, 12: writing unit, 13 ...
Display control unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yoko Maruyama 3-7-1, Funai, Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama F-term in Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 AP07 HJ07 HJ10 HK05 HN05 HN15 2C087 AA03 AA09 AB01 AB05 BA01 BC07 BD01 BD53 CB13 CB16 2H027 EF00 GA21 GA32 GA47 GB05 ZA07 5B021 AA05 AA19 BB01 DD17 DD18 PP04

Claims (4)

[Claims] An overwriteable non-volatile memory; a command analyzing means for interpreting a setting statement of initial setting information input from an external host; and an initial setting designated by the setting statement interpreted by the command analyzing means. Setting permission determining means for determining whether to permit registration of information in the nonvolatile memory; and writing the initial setting information to the nonvolatile memory in response to the registration permission output from the setting permission determining means A printing apparatus comprising: a registration unit; and a display unit that displays information as to whether the initial setting information has been normally written in the nonvolatile memory. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting statement is described in a print control language. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is configured to display the information indicating whether or not the data has been written normally and the initial setting information registered in the nonvolatile memory. Or the printing device according to 2. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is included in a multi-function apparatus having at least one of a facsimile function and a copying function and a printing function.