JP2001105689A - Printing system and printing apparatus and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reprint under the initiative of a printer. SOLUTION: In printing, a host computer 103 stores printing data with relating the data to history information received from a printer 101. When history information is inputted at the printer 101 and reprinting is ordered, the printer transmits the inputted information to the host computer 103, and receives and prints searched printing data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, IEEE 1
Bidirectional interface such as 394 interface,
In particular, the present invention relates to a printing system such as a printing device connected to a host computer via an interface capable of performing bidirectional asynchronous communication, a printing device, and a control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a printing process is performed by an output device such as a printer, a host computer opens a document to be printed and sends print data of the document to the printer as a print job. The printer completes the print job when the printing of the print data from the host is completed.

[0003]

In the conventional method, to print the same document again, the document must be opened again on the host computer and the print job must be executed again. That is, in order to print a document, even if it is a document once printed, every time it is printed,
The print job was created on the host computer and had to be sent back to the printer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and stores print data created by a host computer for a predetermined period after printing is completed.
A printing system, a printing apparatus, and a control method for reprinting print data corresponding to a history by inputting history information from an output device by storing print history information of print data in a storage medium. Aim.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, a printing system including a printing apparatus and a host connected by a communication method capable of asynchronous two-way communication, wherein the host is:
Storage means for storing print data printed by the printing apparatus in association with specific information for specifying the print data, and, when the specific information is received from the printing apparatus, print data corresponding to the specific information is stored in the printing apparatus. Means for inputting the specific information, transmitting means for transmitting the input specific information to the host, and printing the print data received from the host. Means.

[0006] More preferably, the specific information is history information on execution of printing of the print data.

[0007] More preferably, the history information includes the date and time when printing of the print data was executed.

More preferably, the history information includes the date and time when printing of print data was executed by the printing device, and the host receives the history information from the printing device.

[0009] More preferably, the storage means compresses and stores the print data.

[0010] More preferably, the communication system capable of asynchronous two-way communication is based on the IEEE 1394 interface.

[0011] More preferably, the storage means is included in a device connected to the host via communication.

[0012] More preferably, the host further comprises means for deleting the print data stored by the storage means after a lapse of a designated time.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing the structure of this embodiment,
According to the present invention, a digital I / F for connecting each device is defined as an IE.
Since the IEEE 1394 serial bus is used, the IEEE
The 94 serial bus will be described in advance.

<Overview of IEEE 1394 Technology> With the advent of home digital VTRs and DVDs, it is necessary to support real-time and high-information-volume data transfer of video data, audio data, and the like. In order to transfer such video and audio data in real time, and to transfer it to a personal computer (PC) or other digital devices, an interface capable of high-speed data transfer with the necessary transfer functions is required. The interface developed from such a point of view is IEEE 1394-1995 Hig
h Performance Serial Bus
(Hereinafter 1394 serial bus).

FIG. 7 shows an example of a network system constructed using a 1394 serial bus. This system is provided with devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. A-B, A-C, B-D, D-E, C-F
, CG, and CH are connected by a twisted pair cable of a 1394 serial bus.
The devices A to H are, for example, PC, digital VTR, DV
D, digital camera, hard disk, monitor, etc.

The connection method between the devices is such that the daisy chain method and the node branch method can be mixed.
A highly flexible connection is possible.

Also, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, forms a single network in a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. One 1394 connection between each digital device
Just by sequentially connecting with a serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay, and constitutes one network as a whole. In addition, it has a function of automatically recognizing the device and recognizing the connection status when the cable is connected to the device by the Plug & Play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus.

In the system shown in FIG. 7, when a certain device is deleted or newly added from the network, the bus is automatically reset to reset the network configuration up to that time. From
Rebuild a new network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer rate is 100/200 /
It has a transmission rate of 400 Mbps, and a device having a higher transfer rate supports a lower transfer rate and is compatible.

As a data transfer mode, Asynch for transferring asynchronous data such as a control signal (hereinafter referred to as Async data) is used.
synchronous transfer of real-time video data and audio data (isochron
ous data: Isoc for transferring Iso data
There is a strong transfer mode. The Async data and the Iso data are stored in each cycle (usually 125
μS), following the transfer of a cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of a cycle, the transfer of the Iso data is prioritized and transferred in a cycle.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the components of the 1394 serial bus.

The 1394 serial bus has a layer (layer) structure as a whole. As shown in FIG.
The most hardware type is a 1394 serial bus cable, which has a connector port to which a connector of the cable is connected.
There are layers and link layers.

The hardware part is a substantial part of an interface chip. The physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and cycle time control.

The transaction layer of the firmware section manages data to be transferred (transacted), and issues commands such as Read and Write.
The serial bus management is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the configuration of the network.

Up to the hardware and firmware, this is the actual configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The software application
The layer differs depending on the software used, and is a part that defines how data is placed on the interface.
It is specified by a protocol such as the V protocol.

The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a diagram of the address space in the 1394 serial bus.

Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus always has a 64-bit address unique to each node. By storing this address in the ROM, it is possible to always recognize the node address of oneself and the other party, and perform communication specifying the other party.

The addressing of the 1394 serial bus is based on the IEEE 1212 standard, and the first 10 bits are used for specifying the bus number.
The next 6 bits are used for specifying the node ID number. The remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the device,
Each can be used as a unique address space. The last 28 bits store information such as identification of each device and designation of use conditions as an area of unique data.

The above is the outline of the technology of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the technology that can be said to be a feature of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

<Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus> FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

In the 1394 serial bus, a power supply line is provided in a connection cable in addition to two twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply, a device whose voltage has dropped due to a failure, and the like.

The voltage of the power supply flowing in the power supply line is 8 to 40.
V and the current are specified as the maximum current DC 1.5A.

<DS-Link Coding> The data transfer format D used in the 1394 serial bus
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the S-Link coding scheme.

In the 1394 serial bus, DS-Lin
The k (Data / Strobe Link) coding method is adopted. This DS-Link coding scheme is suitable for high-speed serial data communication,
Requires two signal lines. The main data is transmitted to one of the twisted pairs, and the strobe signal is transmitted to the other twisted pair.

On the receiving side, the clock can be reproduced by taking the exclusive OR of this communicated data and the strobe.

Advantages of using the DS-Link coding method include higher transfer efficiency as compared with other serial data transfer methods, and the circuit scale of the controller LSI can be reduced because a PLL circuit is not required.
Since there is no need to send information indicating the idle state when there is no data to be transferred, the power consumption can be reduced by setting the transceiver circuit of each device to the sleep state.

<Sequence of Bus Reset> In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and recognized as a network configuration.

When a change occurs in the network configuration, for example, when the number of nodes increases or decreases due to insertion / removal of a node or power ON / OFF, etc., a change occurs. Each detected node sends a bus reset signal on the bus,
Enter the mode to recognize the new network configuration. The method of detecting the change at this time is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage on the 1394 port board.

When a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer at the same time as receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. . After all the nodes finally detect the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated.

The bus reset is also activated by the above-described activation by hardware insertion / removal due to cable disconnection or network abnormality or the like, and also by directly issuing a command to the physical layer by host control from a protocol or the like.

When the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is temporarily suspended, the data transfer during this period is waited, and after the end, the data transfer is resumed under a new network configuration.

The above is the bus reset sequence.

<Sequence of Node ID Determination> After the bus reset, each node starts an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The flowchart of FIG. 19 shows a series of bus operations from the occurrence of a bus reset until the node ID is determined and data transfer can be performed.

First, as step S101, the occurrence of a bus reset in the network is constantly monitored. If a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of a node, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, from the reset state of the network, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of the new network. As step S103,
When the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, step S
One route is determined as 104.

Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all the nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

After the route is determined in step S104, the operation of setting a node ID for giving an ID to each node is performed in step S105. Node IDs are set in a predetermined node order, and I
The setting operation is repeatedly performed until D is given. When the IDs are finally set in all the nodes in step S106, the new network configuration is recognized in all the nodes. And data transfer is started.

When the state of step S107 is reached, a mode for monitoring the occurrence of a bus reset again is entered.
When the bus reset occurs, the setting operation from step S101 to step S106 is repeatedly performed.

The above is the description of the flowchart of FIG. 19. The flowchart from FIG. 19 shows the part from the bus reset to the route determination and the procedure from the route determination to the end of the ID setting in more detail in the flowchart. Are shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, respectively.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 20 will be described.

When a bus reset occurs in step S201, the network configuration is reset once. The occurrence of a bus reset is constantly monitored in step S201.

Next, in step S202, as a first step in re-recognizing the reset network connection status, a flag indicating a leaf (node) is set for each device. Further, in step S203, each device checks how many ports it has are connected to other nodes.

According to the result of the number of ports in step S204, the number of undefined (undetermined parent-child) ports is checked in order to start the declaration of the parent-child relationship.
Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports = the number of undefined ports. However, as the parent-child relationship is determined, the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 changes.

First, immediately after the bus reset, only the leaves can declare the parent-child relationship first. A leaf can be known by checking the number of ports in step S203. In step S205, the leaf declares "I am a child and the other is a parent" to the node connected thereto, and ends the operation.

A node which has a plurality of ports in step S203 and is recognized as a branch has the number of undefined ports> 1 in step S204 immediately after the bus reset.
Moving to step S206, a flag of branch is first set, and in step S207, the process waits for reception of "parent" in the parent-child relationship declaration from the leaf.

The leaf declares the parent-child relationship, and the branch that has received the declaration in step S207 appropriately returns to step S20.
4 The number of undefined ports is confirmed and the number of undefined ports is 1
If it becomes, it becomes possible to declare “I am a child” in step S205 for the node connected to the remaining port. After the second time, step S204
Even if the number of undefined ports is checked in step S207, for a branch having two or more ports, the process waits again in step S207 to accept a "parent" from a leaf or another branch.

Finally, if any one of the branches or exceptionally leaves (because they did not operate quickly enough to make a child declaration) become zero as a result of the undefined port number in step S204, In this case, the declaration of the parent-child relationship of the entire network has been completed, and the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become zero (all are determined as parent ports) is flagged as a root in step S208, and the root is set in step S209. Is recognized.

In this manner, the process from the bus reset shown in FIG. 20 to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between all the nodes in the network is completed.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 21 will be described.

First, in the sequence up to FIG.
Since the information of the flag of each node such as branch and route is set, classification is performed in step S301 based on this.

As a task of assigning an ID to each node, an ID can be first set from the leaf. The IDs are set in ascending order of leaf → branch → route (node number = 0).

In step S302, the number N (N is a natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S303, each leaf requests the root to give an ID. If there are a plurality of such requests, the route performs arbitration (operation of arbitration into one) in step S304, and proceeds to step S3.
As 05, an ID number is given to one winning node, and a failure result is notified to the losing node.

At step S306, the leaf whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation. Step S30 from the leaf whose ID has been acquired
In step 7, the ID information of the node is transferred to all nodes by broadcast. When the broadcasting of the one-node ID information ends, the number of remaining leaves is reduced by one in step S308. Here, as step S309, when the number of the remaining leaves is one or more, step S309
When the ID request operation of 303 is repeatedly performed, and finally all the leaves broadcast ID information,
In step S309, N = 0, and the next is the branch ID.
Move on to settings.

The setting of the branch ID is performed in the same manner as in the leaf setting.

First, at step S310, the number M (M is a natural number) of branches existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S311, each branch requests the root to give an ID. On the other hand, for the route, arbitration is performed in step S312, and the branch is given in order from the winning branch to the next youngest number given to the leaf. In step S313, the root notifies the branch that issued the request of ID information or a failure result, and in step S314, the branch whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation. In step S315, the ID information of the node is broadcast and transferred to all the nodes from the branch where the ID has been obtained. When the broadcast of the one node ID information ends, the number of remaining branches is reduced by one in step S316. Here, step S3
When the number of the remaining branches is 1 or more, the operation from the ID request in step S311 is repeated until all branches finally broadcast ID information. When all the branches have acquired the node IDs, M = 0 in step S317, and the branch ID acquisition mode ends.

At this point, since only the root node has not acquired the ID information at the end, step S
318 is set as the own ID number among the unassigned numbers, and the root I
Broadcast D information.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 21, the procedure from the determination of the parent-child relationship to the setting of the IDs of all the nodes is completed.

Next, the operation in the actual network shown in FIG. 12 will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 12, (root) node B
Are directly connected to node A and node C,
Further, a node D is directly connected below the node C, and a node E and a node F are directly connected below the node D in a hierarchical structure. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, the root node, and the node ID will be described below.

After the bus reset, first, in order to recognize the connection status of each node, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node. The parent and child can be said to be such that the parent is higher in the hierarchical structure and the child is lower.

In FIG. 12, the node A first declares the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Basically, a node (called a leaf) having a connection to only one port of the node can declare a parent-child relationship. Since the user can first know that only one port is connected, it recognizes that this is the edge of the network, and the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that operates earlier in the network. In this manner, the port on the side that has declared the parent-child relationship (node A between AB) is set as a child, and the port on the other side (node B) is set as a parent. Thus, between node AB, child-parent, node E-
The child-parent is determined between D and the child-parent is determined between the nodes FD.

Further up in the hierarchy, among nodes having a plurality of connection ports (branches), the parent-child relationship is declared further higher in order from the node that received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node. To go. In FIG. 12, after the node D first determines the parent-child relationship between the DE leap and the DF,
The parent-child relationship is declared for node C, and as a result, child-parent is determined between nodes D and C.

The node C receiving the parent-child relationship declaration from the node D becomes the node B connected to another port.
Declares a parent-child relationship. As a result, a child-parent is determined between the nodes C and B.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 12 is formed, and the node B which has become the parent in all finally connected ports is determined as the root node. There is only one route in one network configuration.

In FIG. 12, node B is determined to be the root node. This is because node B, which has received the parent-child relationship declaration from node A, makes the parent-child relationship declaration for other nodes at an early timing. If so, the root node may have moved to another node. That is, any node may become a root node depending on the transmission timing, and the root node is not always constant even in the same network configuration.

When the root node has been determined, the process enters a mode for determining each node ID. Here, all nodes notify their determined node IDs to all other nodes (broadcast function).

The self-ID information includes its own node number, information on the connected position, the number of ports it has, the number of connected ports, and information on the parent-child relationship of each port.

As a procedure for assigning node ID numbers, first, nodes can be started from a node (leaf) connected to only one port, and node numbers = 0, 1, 2,... .

The node having the node ID transmits information including the node number to each node by broadcast. As a result, it is recognized that the ID number is “assigned”.

When all the leaves have acquired their own node IDs, the next step is to move to a branch and the node ID number following the leaf is assigned to each node. Similarly to the leaf, the node ID information is broadcast sequentially from the branch to which the node ID number is assigned, and finally, the root node broadcasts its own ID information. That is, the root always owns the maximum node ID number.

As described above, the assignment of the node IDs of the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization is completed.

<Arbitration> In the 1394 serial bus, arbitration (arbitration) of the right to use the bus is always performed prior to data transfer. Since the 1394 serial bus is a logical bus-type network in which each device connected individually relays the transferred signal to transmit the same signal to all devices in the network, packet collision occurs. Arbitration is necessary to prevent This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

As a diagram for explaining arbitration, FIG. 13A shows a bus use request diagram, and FIG. 13B shows a bus use permission diagram.

When arbitration starts, one or more nodes issue a bus use request to the parent node. Nodes C and F in FIG. 13A are nodes that have issued a bus use right request. The parent node (node A in FIG. 13) which has received the request further issues (relays) a bus use request toward the parent node. This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route.

The root node receiving the bus use request determines which node uses the bus. This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node, and the node that has won the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG.
In (b), use permission is given to the node C, and use of the node F is rejected. A DP (data prefix) packet is sent to the node that has lost the arbitration to notify that the node has been rejected. The rejected node use request waits until the next arbitration.

As described above, the node that has won the arbitration and obtained the bus use permission can start transferring data thereafter.

Here, a series of arbitration flows will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

In order for a node to be able to start data transfer,
The bus must be idle. In order to recognize that the data transfer that has been performed earlier is completed and that the bus is currently idle, a predetermined idle time gap length (eg, sub-action. Each node determines that its own transfer can be started by passing the gap.

In step S401, it is determined whether a predetermined gap length corresponding to each data to be transferred, such as Async data and Iso data, has been obtained. Unless the predetermined gap length is obtained, the request for the right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be made, so the process waits until the predetermined gap length is obtained.

If a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether there is data to be transferred. If so, a request for a bus use right is issued in step S403 to secure a bus for transfer. Emit to the route. At this time, the transmission of the signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while relaying each device in the network, as shown in FIG. If there is no data to be transferred in step S402,
Wait as it is.

Next, when one or more bus use requests of step S403 are received by the route at step S404, the route checks the number of nodes that have issued use requests at step S405. If the selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes = 1 (the number of nodes that issued the use right request is one), the immediately subsequent bus use permission is given to that node. The selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes> 1
If (the number of nodes requesting the use is plural), the root performs an arbitration operation of deciding one node to which use permission is given in step S406. This arbitration work is fair, and the same node does not always obtain permission each time, and the right is equally given.

Step S407 is replaced with step S40
At step 6, the node arbitrates the route from among the plurality of nodes that have issued the use request and selects one node whose use has been granted and another node that has lost. Here, for one node that has been arbitrated and has obtained use permission, or a node that has obtained use permission without arbitration with the number of use request nodes = 1 from the selection value in step S405, the route is set to that node as step S408 A permission signal is sent to it. The node that has received the permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately after receiving the permission signal. Further, the nodes that have been defeated in the arbitration in step S406 and have not been permitted to use the bus are given step S406.
A DP (data prefix) packet indicating arbitration failure is sent from the root as 409,
The node that has received the request returns to step S401 to issue a bus use request for performing the transfer again, and waits until a predetermined gap length is obtained.

The above is the description of the flowchart in FIG. 22 for explaining the flow of arbitration.

<Asynchronous Transfer> The asynchronous transfer is an asynchronous transfer. FIG.
5 shows a temporal transition state in asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in FIG. 14 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a certain value, the node desiring transfer determines that the bus can be used and executes arbitration for acquiring the bus.

When the use of the bus is obtained by arbitration, data transfer is executed in packet format.
After the data transfer, the receiving node sets ack (reception confirmation return code) of the reception result for the transferred data to a.
After a short gap of ck gap, the transfer is completed by returning and responding or sending a response packet. The ack is composed of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, and includes information such as success, busy status, and pending status, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, FIG. 15 shows an example of the packet format of the asynchronous transfer.

The packet has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction. The header part has the destination node ID, the source node ID, the transfer data length and the like as shown in FIG. Various codes and the like are written and transferred.

Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from a self-node to a partner node. The packet transferred from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but the address other than its own address is ignored, so that only one destination node reads the packet.

The above is the description of the asynchronous transfer.

<Isochronous (synchronous) transfer>
Isochronous transfer is synchronous transfer. This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is a transfer mode suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as VIDEO video data and audio data.

In addition, when the asynchronous transfer (asynchronous) is 1
Unlike the one-to-one transfer, the isochronous transfer is uniformly transferred from one transfer source node to all other nodes by the broadcast function.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in the isochronous transfer.

The isochronous transfer is executed on the bus at regular intervals. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μS. A cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. A node called a cycle master transmits a cycle start packet, and after a transfer in a previous cycle is completed, a predetermined idle period (subaction gap) is passed, and then the start of this cycle is announced. Send a cycle start packet. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μS.

FIG. 16 shows channel A, channel B,
As indicated by the channel C, a plurality of types of packets can be separately transferred by being given channel IDs in one cycle. This allows real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node fetches only the data of the channel ID desired by itself. The channel ID does not represent the address of the transmission destination, but merely gives a logical number for the data. Therefore, the transmission of a certain packet is 1
From one source node to all other nodes,
It will be transferred by broadcast.

Prior to the packet transmission in the isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in the asynchronous transfer. However, since the communication is not one-to-one communication as in the asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (reception confirmation reply code) in the isochronous transfer.

The iso gap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 16 indicates an idle period necessary for recognizing that the bus is empty before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free, and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, an example of a packet format for isochronous transfer will be described with reference to FIG.

Each packet divided into each channel has a header portion in addition to a data portion and data CRC for error correction, and the header portion has a transfer data length and a channel length as shown in FIG. NO and other various codes and a header CRC for error correction are written and transferred.

The above is the description of the isochronous transfer.

<Bus Cycle> In an actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can coexist. FIG. 18 shows a temporal transition of the transfer state on the bus in which the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are mixed at that time.

The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. . Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In a general bus cycle shown in FIG. 18, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. As a result, each node adjusts the time, and after waiting for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), a node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 18, the channel e, the channel s, and the channel k are sequentially and isochronously transferred.

After the operations from the arbitration to the packet transfer are repeatedly performed for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed.

When the idle time reaches the sub-action gap in which asynchronous transfer is possible, it is determined that the node wishing to perform asynchronous transfer can shift to execution of arbitration.

However, the period during which the asynchronous transfer can be performed is a time (cycle sy) for transferring the next cycle start packet after the completion of the isochronous transfer.
nch) only when a sub-action gap for starting asynchronous transfer is obtained.

In cycle #m of FIG. 18, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) of isochronous transfer for three channels and then asynchronous transfer (including ack) are transferred. After this asynchronous packet 2, a time (cycle) to start cycle m + 1
e sync), the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

However, the time (cy) to transmit the next cycle start packet during asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation
cle sync), it does not forcibly interrupt, and waits for an idle period after the transfer is completed before transmitting a cycle start packet of the next cycle. That is, when one cycle continues for 125 μS or more, it is assumed that the next cycle is shortened by that much from the reference 125 μS. As described above, the isochronous cycle can be exceeded or shortened on the basis of 125 μS.

However, the isochronous transfer is always executed if necessary every cycle to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be transferred to the next and subsequent cycles due to the reduced leap in the cycle.

The cycle time including such delay information is
Controlled by the master.

The above is the description of the IEEE 1394 serial bus.

In the printer connected to the network constituted by the IEEE 1394 serial bus as described above, the print data created on the memory in the host by the host PC is compressed for each executed job after printing is completed. By storing the print history information of each data in the storage medium in the host for a set period in the storage medium in the host, and simply inputting the history information from the printer, the job It is the present invention to perform the reprinting by compressing the data.

[First Embodiment] The printing system of this embodiment is a system in which a host computer and a printer are connected using the above-described IEEE 1394 interface. In this system, print data created on the memory in the host by the host computer is compressed for each print job after printing is completed, and stored in a storage medium in the host for a predetermined period. The print history information of the print job is also stored in a storage medium in the host. An input unit is provided in the printer, and when the history information of the print job is input from the input unit, data of the print job corresponding to the history is requested from the host computer. The requested data is decompressed and sent to a printer for reprinting.
The print data stored in the host computer is deleted after a predetermined period.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of this embodiment.
This system is configured by connecting a host computer (host PC) 103, a printer A101 and a printer B102 to an IEEE 1394 bus. In FIG. 1, the host PC and the printer are connected by a bus. However, as shown in FIG. 24, a tree connection in which the printer A 101 is a branch node may be used. The branch may be a host or a printer B.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the host PC 103 and each printer. Host PC10
3 is a memory 67 by the MPU 63 as a processor.
Is executed to control the entire apparatus. The memory 67 is also used as a transmission / reception buffer for communication via a network. The hard disk 66 stores data and program files.
The display 65 is used to display necessary information. The operation unit 68 includes a keyboard and a pointing device, and a necessary operation input is performed by an operator. The IEEE 1394 interface 61 is an interface for connecting to a device on the bus, here a printer, via the bus. The floppy disk drive (FDD) 64 records data and program files on a removable recording medium and reads data and programs from the recording medium. Also, MPU63
Thereby, a processing procedure by the host computer described later is executed.

The printers 101 and 102 have the same configuration. The printer is a printer controller 26
Is controlled by The printer controller 26 is realized by a processor and a program executed by the processor. The operation unit 27 includes an operation panel having a liquid crystal display and buttons, and is used to input a print job history described later. The memory 23 is provided with a transmission / reception buffer, and stores data and commands to be transmitted / received to / from the network, as well as expanded image data. The network is connected by a 1394 interface 19. The data received from the network is divided into a command and data by the data selector 20. The command is sent to the printer controller 26, and the data is sent to the decoding unit 21. The decoding unit 21 combines the encoded data. Of course, nothing is done if it is not encoded. The image processing unit 22 performs necessary processing such as data rasterization and gamma correction. The image data thus obtained is formed as an image by the printer head 24 driven by the driver 25. In addition, although there is no printer head in a laser beam printer, etc.,
An image is formed by a laser beam printer engine.

<Outline of Communication Process> FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a host and a printer. This block diagram shows a command block 103a in the host computer.
In the printer, how to hold the data buffer 103c and a configuration for processing a command are shown. This configuration is a configuration of a communication process for performing communication between the host and the printer, and using this communication, a command for controlling the printer from the host, data from the host to the printer, or the printer. Is transmitted from the host to the host. That is, FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration for realizing communication between clients, in which a processing unit such as a printer driver in a host or a renderer in a printer is used as a client.

In FIG. 2, the command block 103a
Means that the address of the command and the data are stored in one block according to the content to be executed by the printer. Data transmission from the host computer to the printer is performed by a WRITE command, and data transmission from the printer to the host computer is performed by a READ command. Commands or data exchange at the printer driver level for controlling the printer is performed using the WRITE command or the READ command. The WRITE command includes the address of the data buffer 103c and its size. Commands and data at the client level are written in this data buffer. The READ command includes the address of an area for data passed from the printer to the host.
Command blocks 103a are chained into command lists in the order in which they were issued. When linking the command block to the chain, the host 103 communicates with the printer doorbell register 2 via the IEEE 1394 interface.
Write some value to 61.

In the controller 26 of the printer 101,
By writing to the doorbell register 261, it is notified that a new command has been issued. When there is a write in the doorbell register, the controller 26
The 394 interface causes an unprocessed command block to be written to the memory of the printer. If the written command is a READ command, the controller 26 attaches the read command to the read command queue 262. If the command is a WRITE command, the controller 26 attaches the write command to the write command queue 263. Commands attached to the queue are sequentially taken in by the command processing unit 264 for each READ / WRITE command. When the command processing unit 264 receives the WRITE command, the command processing unit 264 stores the contents of the data buffer indicated by the command pointer in the printer memory (for example, the data buffer 266) by the IEEE1394 interface.
To be written. The data buffer passed to the printer in this way is passed to the client process. In FIG. 2, the client process is a decoding / image processing unit 265.
It is.

The client process reads out the contents of the data buffer pointed to by the pointer of the received command, and copies it to the memory of the printer. Then, the contents of the data buffer are analyzed to interpret a command at the application level, and processing corresponding to the command, for example, expansion of image data is performed. For example,
If there is an instruction and data for describing the object in the data buffer, the image data is expanded based on the instruction and data, and stored in the print buffer. When a predetermined amount of data such as one page or one band is developed, the data is subjected to predetermined processing such as quantization, converted into a video signal, passed to the engine unit 24, and printed as an image.

On the other hand, when receiving the READ command, the command processing unit 264 passes the address of the data buffer to the client process. When data to be transmitted occurs, the client process writes the data to the passed address.

The command processing section is WRITE / READ
When the command is passed to the client process, a status block for notifying the completion of the process is transmitted to the host.
The host receives the status and deletes the corresponding command block from the command list. Thus, the processing of the command is completed.

The host can send data to the printer at any time. However, in order for the printer to send data to the host, a READ command must be issued from the host. Therefore, when data to be transmitted to the host is generated in the printer, the host issues a READ command in advance at the beginning of communication, such as when communication of the printer is established, in order to immediately transmit the data to the host. . The READ command is queued in the read command queue 262 until data to be transmitted to the host is generated in the printer. If the printer has data to send to the host, the queued R
It can be sent immediately using the EAD command.

The host can recognize the reception of data in response to the READ command, for example, from the status block from the printer. In the host receiving the data from the printer, the contents of the data buffer are passed to a client process, for example, a printer driver. The client process performs a process according to the received data.

<Normal Print Processing Procedure> FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts of the present embodiment during normal printing. FIG. 3 shows the procedure in the host, and FIG. 4 shows the procedure in the printer. In these figures, the procedure by the printer driver or the decoding / image processing unit as the client process and the procedure in the communication process for providing the client process with the communication function are shown without distinction. In FIG.
Steps S02 to S05 and S09 are processing by the communication process, and others are processing by the printer driver. In FIG. 4, steps S11 to S13 are processing by a communication process, and the others are the decoding / image processing unit 2
65.

In FIG. 3, S01 print data is created. The created print data is stored in the data buffer 103c, and a command block of a WRITE command is created. The data buffer also stores a print job identifier and the like.

S02 The command created in step S01 is linked to a command list, and a doorbell signal is transmitted to the printer that executes the print job. This signal causes writing to the doorbell register.

S03 If an ACK signal corresponding to the doorbell signal is returned from the printer, the flow branches to step S04. If not, the flow branches to step S02.

S04 Execute the command block. That is, the command block is passed to the printer and queued in the write command queue.

S05 Transmits the contents of the data buffer specified by the command block to the printer.

S06 If the print completion status is received from the printer, the flow branches to step S07. If not, the flow branches to step S06. The printer returns the print completion status to the host, for example, by superimposing it on the status block described above. The completion status includes history information such as the date and time when the job was executed.

S07 The printed print data created in step S01 is compressed and stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk in the host.

S08 Stores history information such as the date and time when the job was executed, the identifier, and the name of the executed printer in a storage medium in the host. This history information is history information received from the printer together with the completion status, and is stored in association with the print job.

S09 The command block of which execution has been confirmed to be completed and the corresponding data in the data buffer are erased.

With the above, the host completes printing. In response to this procedure, the printer executes the procedure shown in FIG.
In FIG. 4, a doorbell signal is received from the S11 host.

S12 Transmits an Ack signal to the host.

S13 Receives a WRITE command.

S14 The print data linked to the WRITE command is received.

S15 The print job is executed by expanding the image data and forming an image using the print data.

S16 When printing is completed, step S17
If not, the flow branches to step S16.

S17 Sends a print completion status to the host. History information such as the date and time of job execution is added to the print completion status.

By the above procedure, normal printing can be performed. At the time of printing, together with the printed print data, the corresponding history information is stored in the host.

<Printing Procedure Initiated by Printer> Next, a print history is designated in the printer, a print history matching the designated history is searched in the host, and print data corresponding to the found print history is sent to the host. Send and print it.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts at the time of reprinting in this embodiment. In these figures, the processing by the communication process is omitted, and only the processing at the client level is described. FIG. 5 shows processing in the printer. Prior to these processes, READ
It is assumed that a command has been issued from the host to the printer, and the printer is ready to send data to the host. FIG. 5 is started when a reprint instruction is input. In FIG. 5, the operator inputs printing history information such as the date and time of a document printed by the S31 printer and the identifier of a print job from the operation unit of the printer.

S32 The input history information is transmitted to the host. The transmission of the history information is performed by the REA as described above.
Use the D command.

S33 If an error code indicating "no corresponding data" has been received from the host, the flow branches to step S38. If a response indicating success has been received or if there has been no response, the flow branches to step S34.

S34: Receive print data from the host. After this step, processing in the printer is the same as in normal printing.

S35 Printing is executed.

S36 After printing is completed, step S37 is reached.
If not, the flow branches to step S36.

S37 Transmits the print completion status to the host.

The host performs the processing shown in FIG.
In FIG. 6, S21 receives history information from the printer.

S22 Searches for compressed print data corresponding to the history information. In this case, the print data that exactly matches may be searched, or the print data may be searched within a certain range. If the search range has a width, the corresponding data can be printed even if the print dates and times do not exactly match.

S23 If there is corresponding print data, the flow branches to step S24. If not, the flow branches to step S27.

S24 The corresponding print data is decompressed in the data buffer, a command is created and transmitted to the printer. This procedure corresponds to steps S02 to S05 in FIG.
Is equivalent to

S25 If the print completion status is received from the printer, the flow branches to step S26. If not, the flow branches to step S25.

S26: Data on Data Buffer is erased.

S27: If the corresponding data is not found, an error code indicating "no corresponding data" is transmitted to the printer.

As described above, in a system capable of asynchronous two-way communication between the host and the printer, the host holds the print history and the corresponding print data, inputs the print history from the printer, and sends it to the host. By doing so, the host can cause the printer to print the print data corresponding to the print history.

In the printer, the print history information is not limited to the execution date and time, but may be any information as long as it can specify print data. For example, it may be a print job identifier, a print job owner name,
The print job may be completed or a combination thereof. Thus, for example, the user who has interrupted the print job can perform an operation of re-executing the interrupted print job from the printer by inputting the state of the print job being “interrupted” and the job owner. .

Further, since the host compresses and stores the print data in page units, the printer can input the history information and the page number, and the job corresponding to the history information can be reprinted in page units. . In this case, the command block is created for each page of the document to be printed.

Further, the host computer can designate a storage destination of the print data to an arbitrary storage unit existing on the IEEE 1394 network. FIG. 23 shows an example of this system configuration. The compressed print data is stored in the storage unit 104. The storage unit may be of any type as long as it has a storage capacity capable of storing print data. For example, it may be a personal computer or a printer.

In this case, the printing procedure is almost the same as the flowcharts in FIGS. However, the storage destination of the compressed print data in step S07 in FIG. 3 is a storage unit on the network. Further, the print data to be decompressed in step S24 of FIG.

As described above, by the initiative of the printer,
The print data stored in the host computer can be extracted and printed.

In addition, a period in which print data is held in the host computer is determined or designated, and
By deleting the print data when the period expires, the amount of print data stored can be suppressed.

<Structure of Engine> FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a laser beam printer applied to the printer of this embodiment.

In FIG. 26, the paper for printing is
From either the paper cassette 802 or 805, the paper feed rollers 803 and 806 and the transport rollers 804 and 807
Supplied by Which paper cassette to use
It is designated at the time of printing from a host computer or the like using this printer. The sheet passes through the registration roller 808 and under the toner cassette 810, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 811 is transferred to the sheet by the charge of the transfer roller 15. The toner image on the photosensitive drum was developed by attaching toner to an electrostatic latent image formed by a laser beam modulated by an image signal and emitted from a laser scanner unit 809 and reflected by a reflecting mirror 817. Things.

The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed on the fixing drum 8.
The toner heated and melted by the fixing unit 12 is fixed on the paper. The paper that has passed through the fixing roller is
3 directs entry or exit to duplex unit 820. When the sheet is discharged upward, the discharge path is further switched by the face-up / face-down selector 814.
In the case of face-down discharge, the sheet is turned to the right in the drawing, and is discharged by the face-down discharge roller 815 onto the face-down discharge tray 816 with the surface printed immediately before facing down. When the face-up discharge is selected, the paper is discharged from the face-up discharge port 819 onto a tray (not shown) with the printed surface facing up. The position of the face-up / face-down selector is detected by a sensor and output as a signal.

On the other hand, when the double-sided printing is selected, the sheet entering the double-sided unit 820 is conveyed by the conveying roller 821 and temporarily placed on the double-sided tray 826.
The printed paper on one side is fed from the double-sided tray to the feed roller 8
22. The conveyed sheet is once sent to a two-sided path 824, and when the rear end of the sheet reaches almost the two-sided conveying roller 823, the center of rotation is substantially the two-sided conveying roller 82
The inverting deflector 825 corresponding to 3 is rotated until the left end reaches the path 828. When the sheet is conveyed in the opposite direction (left side in the figure) in this state, the left end of the sheet is lifted by the deflector and is conveyed as it is by the two-sided path pickup roller 828, and the registration roller 80
Reach 8. Thereafter, an image is formed in the same path and procedure as in normal printing.

At the time of double-sided printing, the printing is controlled by an instruction from the host computer. For example, in order to print efficiently, instead of printing and discharging one sheet at a time on both sides, sheets are alternately supplied to a developing unit from a paper feed tray and a double-sided tray and printed alternately. There is a control method. That is, the order of printing is “first sheet table”.
→ "Second page" → "First page" → "Third page" → "Second page" → "Fourth page" → "Third page" → ... → "Third last page" The back of the book → “the last one sheet” → “the back of the last 2 sheets”
→ Printing on the front and back sides is performed alternately, except that printing on the front and back sides is continuous at the beginning and end, respectively, as in “Last one sheet back”. The sheet on which the front side is printed is sent to the duplex unit, and the sheet on which the back side is printed is directly discharged onto a discharge tray. That is, the paper on which the image is formed on the paper supplied from the paper feed tray is sent to the double-sided tray, and when the image is formed on the paper sent from the double-sided tray,
The sheet is discharged to a discharge tray.

The control during double-sided printing is not limited to this, and printing can be advanced such that both sides are printed one by one and then both sides are printed on the next sheet.
Such control can be switched by an instruction from the host computer.

If a plurality of sheets can be placed on the double-sided tray, one-side printing is performed for the number of sheets that can be placed on the double-sided tray, and then the sheets are sequentially taken out from the double-sided tray and printed on the other side. You can also. In this case, if the host computer can know the capacity on the double-sided tray, the control method can be switched from the host computer.

According to a command from the host computer,
The control unit 801 controls the entire printer. Further, the duplex unit 820 is detachable, and information as to whether it is attached or detached is detected by a sensor and passed to the host computer.

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of an ink jet recording apparatus IJRA to which the present invention can be applied. In the figure,
The carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013 has a pin (not shown), , B. An ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper pressing plate, which presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. 50
16 is a cap member 5 for capping the front surface of the recording head.
Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction unit for sucking the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade. Reference numeral 5019 denotes a member which allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form and a known cleaning blade can be applied to this example. Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery. The lever 5021 moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and the driving force from the driving motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching. Is done.

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. Alternatively, this can be achieved by a CPU or an MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. That is, the procedures in FIGS. 3 and 6 are supplied to a computer, and the procedures in FIGS. 4 and 5 are supplied to a computer having a printer function. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. By executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. This also includes a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed 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 the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. This also includes the case where the CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0189]

As described above, in a printing system having a host computer and a printing device connected to each other by a communication system capable of asynchronous two-way communication, a print job stored in the host computer is selected from among print jobs stored in the host computer. The printing apparatus can select and print a print job corresponding to the designated condition.

Further, as the conditions to be specified, history information such as the date and time when printing was performed can be specified.

Further, a page to be printed can be specified from the specified print job.

Furthermore, the storage destination of the print data can be set to any device connected to the host computer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram between a host and a printer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an in-host process during normal printing according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an in-printer process during normal printing according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an in-printer process at the time of reprinting in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing in the host at the time of reprinting in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration connected using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an address map of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link coding scheme.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a topology setting for determining an ID of each node on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining arbitration on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 14 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating temporal state transition of asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an asynchronous transfer packet.

FIG. 16 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating a temporal state transition of isochronous transfer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a packet for isochronous transfer.

FIG. 18 is an example of a bus cycle showing a state of a packet transferred on an actual bus in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a flow from a bus reset to a determination of a node ID.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a flow of parent-child relationship determination in a bus reset.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state after a parent-child relationship is determined in a bus reset
It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow until a node ID is determined.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining arbitration.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing device, a printer device, and a PC to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a laser beam printer.

FIG. 27 is a diagram of an ink jet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 printer device 102 printer device 103 PC (personal computer)

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. A printing system comprising: a host and a printing device connected by a communication method capable of performing asynchronous two-way communication, wherein the host specifies print data printed by the printing device. A storage unit that stores the specific information in association with the specific information; and a unit that, when receiving the specific information from the printing device, transmits print data corresponding to the specific information to the printing device. A printing system comprising: an input unit for inputting information; a transmitting unit for transmitting input specific information to the host; and a unit for printing print data received from the host. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is history information on printing of print data. 3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the history information includes a date and time when printing of the print data was executed. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the history information includes a date and time when printing of print data is executed by the printing apparatus, and the host receives the history information from the printing apparatus. system. 5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit compresses and stores the print data. 6. A communication system capable of asynchronous two-way communication includes:
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system is based on an IEEE 1394 interface. 7. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is included in a device connected to the host via communication. 8. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the host further comprises a unit for deleting the print data stored by the storage unit after a designated time has elapsed. 9. Printed print data is stored in association with specific information, and when the specific information is received, the print data is connected to a host that transmits print data corresponding to the specific information by a communication method capable of asynchronous bidirectional communication. The input device for inputting the specific information, a transmitting unit for transmitting the input specific information to the host, and a unit for printing the print data received from the host. A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the specific information is history information on execution of printing of print data. 11. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the history information includes a date and time when printing of the print data was executed. 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising transmitting means for transmitting history information to said host.
A printing system according to claim 1. 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the communication system capable of performing asynchronous two-way communication is based on an IEEE 1394 interface. 14. A host device connected by a communication method capable of transmitting bidirectional communication asynchronously with a printing device for transmitting input specific information and printing received print data, and causing the printing device to perform printing. Storage means for storing the print data in association with specific information for specifying the print data, and a means for transmitting print data corresponding to the specific information to the printing apparatus when the specific information is received from the printing apparatus. A host device comprising: 15. The printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the specific information is history information on printing of print data.
The host device according to item 1. 16. The host device according to claim 15, wherein the history information includes a date and time when printing of the print data was executed. 17. The host according to claim 15, wherein the history information includes the date and time when printing of print data was executed by the printing device, and the host receives the history information from the printing device. apparatus. 18. The host device according to claim 14, wherein the storage unit compresses and stores the print data. 19. The host device according to claim 14, wherein the communication system capable of performing asynchronous two-way communication is based on an IEEE 1394 interface. 20. The host device according to claim 14, wherein the storage unit is included in a device connected to the host via communication. 21. The host device according to claim 14, further comprising a unit that deletes the print data stored by the storage unit after a specified time has elapsed. 22. Printed print data is stored in association with specific information, and when the specific information is received, the print data is connected to a host that transmits the print data corresponding to the specific information by a communication method capable of bidirectional communication asynchronously. An input step for inputting the specific information, a transmitting step of transmitting the input specific information to the host, and a step of printing print data received from the host. A method for controlling a printing apparatus, comprising: 23. A control method of a host device connected to a printing device that transmits input specific information and prints the received print data in a communication system capable of performing two-way communication asynchronously, the printing device comprising: Storing the print data printed according to the specified information in association with the specific information specifying the specific information, and transmitting the print data corresponding to the specific information to the printing apparatus when the specific information is received from the printing apparatus. And a step of controlling the host device. 24. Printed print data is stored in association with specific information, and when the specific information is received, the print data is connected to a host that transmits the print data corresponding to the specific information by a communication method capable of bidirectional communication asynchronously. Computer for realizing an input unit for inputting the specific information, a transmitting unit for transmitting the input specific information to the host, and a unit for printing print data received from the host. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. 25. Print data printed by the printing device by a computer connected by a communication system capable of transmitting bidirectional communication asynchronously with a printing device which transmits the input specific information and prints the received print data. A storage unit for storing the specific information in association with the specific information that specifies the specific information, and a unit that, when the specific information is received from the printing apparatus, transmits print data corresponding to the specific information to the printing apparatus. A computer-readable storage medium for storing the computer program of the present invention.