JP2001265546A - Printer controller and printer control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer controller and a printer control method in which a malfunction of a printer is confirmed by a computer when the malfunction is generated in any situation. SOLUTION: When a PnP (plug and play) processing is executed in the case that a printer cable is connected with a USB port, etc., (a step S1), a processing of START-DEVICE is performed (steps S2, S4) and a status monitor is started (a step S5). When the printer cable is removed from the USB port, etc., a processing of REMOVE-DEVICE is performed (steps S3, S6) and the termination processing of the status monitor is performed (a step S7).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a printer control device and a control method of the printer control device capable of reliably monitoring the operation state of the printer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a printer is used by connecting it to a computer such as a personal computer, it is possible to install a program called a status monitor in the computer and monitor the operating state of the printer with the status monitor.

According to this status monitor, for example,
It is possible to confirm that the cover of the printer is open, that a paper jam has occurred, and that the paper has run out while operating the computer or while being near the computer. Quick response to various problems is possible.

[0004]

However, since the conventional status monitor is configured to be activated at the start of printing of the printer, printing by the printer is not yet completed, for example, immediately after the printer is turned on. When the above-mentioned trouble occurred when the operation was not started, the trouble could not be confirmed.

For example, if the above-described trouble occurs immediately after the printer is turned on, the communication state of the printer becomes a busy state in which communication cannot be performed. Could not issue a status transmission request.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer control apparatus and a printer control method capable of solving the above-mentioned problems and reliably confirming the state of a printer by a computer in any situation.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control apparatus which is capable of communicating with a printer apparatus and has an electrical connection state of a communication path with the printer apparatus. What is claimed is: 1. A printer control device comprising: a detecting unit for detecting a change; and a monitoring unit for monitoring an operation state of the printer device, wherein the detecting unit changes a communication path with the printer device from an electrically disconnected state to a connected state. When detecting that the printer device has been operated, the monitoring device activates the monitoring device, and the monitoring device sends, to the printer device, a response request to the printer control device regarding the operation status of the printer device in accordance with the activation. Output means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, for example, when the cable means connected to the printer device is connected to the printer control device, the detecting means determines that the communication path with the printer device is not electrically connected. Detects a change from the state to the connected state. When the change to the connection state is detected, the activation unit activates the monitoring unit. When the monitoring means is activated, the monitoring means outputs to the printer a reply request to the printer control device regarding the operation status of the printer. Upon receiving the request, the printer device informs the printer control device of the operation status, for example, when printing is disabled, whether printing is disabled before or at the start of printing. Make sure you reply.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the detecting means comprises a cable means for connecting the printer apparatus and the printer control apparatus. Means for detecting a change in a connection state or a change in a power-on state of the printer device. The detection means detects a change from a connected state of the cable means to a disconnected state, or a change from a power-on state to a stopped state. The apparatus further comprises a termination unit that terminates the monitoring unit when the detection is detected.

According to the printer control device of the present invention, the detecting means changes the connection state of the cable means connected to the printer device to the printer control device, or changes the state of the printer device connected to the printer control device. Detect changes in the power-on state. Then, the cable means has changed from the state of being connected to the printer control device to the state of being disconnected, or the power of the printer device connected to the printer control device has changed from the on state to the stop state. If it is detected that
Terminating means terminates the monitoring means. Therefore, the next activation of the monitoring means is ensured.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the printer control device according to the first or second aspect is capable of communicating with a printer device via a USB interface, Is US
Basic software having a function of detecting that a device is connected to the B interface and loading a corresponding driver;
And a B driver.

According to the printer control device of the present invention, since the basic software and the USB driver are used as the detection means, the connection state of the cable means or the power-on state of the printer apparatus can be reliably detected.
The start-up process or the end process of the monitoring means described above is reliably performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control method in a printer control device capable of communicating with a printer device, in order to solve the above problem. Detecting a change in the electrical connection state of the path, and monitoring the operation state of the printer apparatus when it is detected that the communication path between the printer apparatus and the communication apparatus has changed from an electrically disconnected state to a connected state. The method includes a step of starting, and a step of outputting, to the printer device, a request to return to the printer control device about an operation state of the printer device when the monitoring is started.

According to the printer control method of the printer control device of the present invention, for example, when the cable means connected to the printer device is connected to the printer control device, the communication path with the printer device is not electrically connected. It is detected that the state has changed from the normal state to the connected state. When the change to the connection state is detected, the monitoring of the operation status of the printer is started, and a reply request to the printer control device regarding the operation status of the printer is output to the printer. You. When the printer receives this request, the printer control device informs the printer of the operation status of the printer, for example, when the printer is in a print-disabled state, regardless of whether or not the print is started before or at the start of the print. Reply to sure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control method in a printer control apparatus, wherein the detecting step comprises the steps of: Detecting a change in the connection state of the cable means for connecting to the control device or a change in the power-on state of the printer device. If a change from the closed state to the closed state is detected,
The method further comprises the step of terminating the monitoring.

According to the printer control method of the printer control device of the present invention, a change in the connection state of the cable means connected to the printer control device to the printer control device or the power supply of the printer device connected to the printer control device. A change in the closing state is detected. Then, the cable means has changed from the state of being connected to the printer control device to the state of being disconnected, or the power of the printer device connected to the printer control device has changed from the on state to the stop state. When it is detected that the monitoring has been performed, the monitoring end processing is performed. Therefore, the start of the next monitoring is reliably performed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer control method for a printer control apparatus, comprising the steps of communicating with a printer apparatus via a USB interface. And the detection step is a USB
Basic software having a function of detecting that a device is connected to the interface and loading a corresponding driver, and a US loaded by the basic software
It is a detection step by a B driver.

According to the printer control method of the printer control device of the present invention, the basic software and the USB
Since the detection step is performed by the driver, the connection state of the cable unit or the power-on state of the printer device is reliably detected, and the above-described monitoring start-up processing or end processing is reliably performed.

[0019]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laser beam printer as an example of a printing device.

In the present embodiment, a USB (Univer
The present invention is applied to a printing system S in which a host computer and a printer are connected by a (sal Series Bas) interface.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printing system S according to the present embodiment includes a computer 6 as a printer control device.
0 and a printer 10 as a printer device.

The printer 10 includes, in addition to print data,
It is known to process printer job control languages.

The printer job control language is used to control the state of the printer itself, separately from the print data processing. The job control language includes an instruction for notifying the computer 60 of the status change when the status of the printer 10 changes. When the printer 10 receives this command, the printer 10 enters a mode in which a subsequent state change, printing status, error status, and the like are transmitted to the computer 60 via a bidirectional interface such as a USB.

The printer 10 has a parallel interface and a network interface in addition to the USB interface, and can be connected to another computer via each.

Computer 6 as Printer Control Device
0 indicates the CPU 50 and the BIOS (Basic Input Output Sy
stem 51), a RAM 52 used as a system memory, a hard disk 55, and a bus 57.
And USB I / F (Interface) 7 including USB port
0, 71, 72, and a display I / F 73. A keyboard 54 connected to the USB I / F 71; a mouse 55 connected to the USB I / F 72;
Display 56 connected to display I / F 73
And

The USB I / Fs 70, 71 and 72 have a known circuit configuration, monitor the potential of the USB signal line, detect a mechanism for detecting connection of a USB device including the printer of the present invention, and a CPU 50. A mechanism for sending an interrupt signal to the When a USB device is connected, the device has a function of activating one of the USB signal lines. Therefore, when the USB is newly connected, the US
An interrupt signal is generated by the BI / F and transmitted to the CPU 50.

The hard disk 55 of the computer 60 has an OS (Operation System) as basic software.
In addition to m), general-purpose software such as word processor software for creating documents related to printing, and printer driver software for controlling a printer are installed. This program is, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk or C
The hard disk 53 is recorded on an information recording medium such as a D-ROM (Compact Disc ROM) and can be started on the computer 60 by the installation process.
Can be stored in

The OS is a known OS having a plug and play mechanism, and the USB I / Fs 70, 71, 72
It has a function of appropriately processing various device detection signals including an interrupt signal from the server, appropriately searching for and loading a corresponding device driver.

Next, the printer 10 as a printer device
Are a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a bus 14, an output interface (output I / F) 15,
A USB I / F 16 and a printing unit 17 are provided. RO
A control program for controlling the printer 10 is stored in M12. The RAM 13 stores print data and the like transmitted from the computer 60.

Next, a description will be given of a print processing program used in the printing system S as described above.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, programs for the printer driver 101, the port monitor 102, the class driver 103, the port driver 104, and the status monitor 105 are installed in the HDD 53 of the computer 60.

The printer driver 101 converts print data created by an application program 100 such as a word processor for creating a document or a CAD for creating a figure, and predetermined printing conditions into a data format that can be processed by a printer. Thereafter, the program outputs data to a printer port named LPT1, USB01, or the like.

The port monitor 102 is a program for linking a printer port represented by a character string as described above with a physical port or a port driver.

A class driver 103 as a start-up unit and a termination unit is a program for bridging the port monitor 102 and a port driver 104 described below. Data processing is performed as appropriate according to the processing mode such as when reading data.

Port driver 104 as detecting means
Is called a USB driver. To absorb differences in the hardware level of the USB interface, USB
This is a program that performs processing according to each model of the interface. In addition, it creates a packet according to the USB specification.

Status monitor 105 as monitoring means
Is a program for monitoring the status of the printer, and outputs a status transmission request to the printer. When the printer that has received the status transmission request outputs a status in response to an error such as a cover open, a paper jam, or no paper, the printer receives the status and displays the status on a display. In this embodiment, when a plug is inserted into the USB port and an interrupt is issued from hardware, the status monitor 1
05 is activated. Details will be described later.

Next, the activation of each program as described above and the processing by each program will be described.

When each of the above-described programs and other driver programs are installed in the computer 60, an entry of a process for executing or starting each program is a kind of database as shown in FIG. It is registered as a driver object 200. In the example shown in FIG. 3, PnP (plug and play) processing 201, Read processing 202, Wri
An entry of te process 203 is registered.
Then, in response to a request from hardware or an application program, the OS 204 calls an optimal entry from the driver object 200, and executes or starts each program.

The port monitor 102 and the port driver 104 are activated when the OS 204 is activated.

Hereinafter, the contents of the specific processing will be described.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing processing when the power of the printer 10 is turned on and when the printer 10 is connected to the USB port of the USB I / F 70. As shown in FIG. 4, first, in preparation for printing, the user connects the hardware (USB I / F) 70 to the hardware
The power of the printer 10 connected via the B cable is turned on or the hardware (USB I / F) 7
When the printer cable 80 as a cable means is connected to 0, the hardware (USB I / F) 70 generates an interrupt and notifies the OS 204 that the power is turned on or the printer cable 80 is connected.

The OS 204 that has detected the interrupt inquires of the connected device what kind of device it is. Each device has an ID
Each device outputs its own ID number to the OS 204. And OS2
04 recognizes the type of the connected device by determining the ID number.

When the OS 204 recognizes that the connected device is the printer 10, the OS 204 selects the class driver 103 prepared for the printer 10, specifies START_DEVICE as a parameter, and PnP processing 201 from objects 200
Call.

The PnP process 201 includes various processes according to parameters. When the PnP process 201 is called with the START_DEVICE specified as a parameter as in this case (FIG. 5: step S1), it is determined that the process to be executed is the START_DEVICE process (step S2: YES). , General START
_DEVICE processing is performed (step S4). This general START_DEVICE processing is the class driver 1
03 refers to processing for loading itself and performing device installation processing. In this example, the printer 10 is recognized as a device, and installation processing of the printer 10 is performed.

In the present embodiment, after the above-described printer 10 installation process is performed,
The class driver 103 is a status monitor 105
Is activated (step S5).

When the status monitor 105 is activated, the status monitor 105 outputs a status return request to the OS 204 as shown in FIG. OS204
Transfers the status return request to the port monitor 102, and selects an entry of the read process 202 from the object module 200. As a result, the status return request is output to the port driver 104 by the cluster driver 103 corresponding to the printer,
Printer 1 via hardware (USB I / F) 70
Output to 0. Then, when the status reply request is received by the printer 10 and the status of the printer 30 changes, the printer 30 outputs a status signal. This status signal is sent to the hardware (USBI
/ F) to the port driver 104 via
The port driver 104 outputs a status signal to the cluster driver 103 via the OS 204. The cluster driver 103 outputs a status signal to the port monitor 102 via the OS 204. Further, the port monitor 102
Outputs a status signal to the status monitor 105 via the OS 204, and the status monitor 105 performs display according to the status signal.

Here, the processing of the status monitor 105 when the power of the printer 10 is turned on will be described in detail.

As described above, when the power of the printer 10 is turned on, the status monitor 105
It rises when the state of the signal line changes.

Immediately after the power is turned on, an error is hardly generated by a signal input from another interface, and print data and a job control language can be received.

In this state, the status monitor 10
5 issues a job control language, and the printer 10
When the status changes, the mode is returned to the computer. It also issues a job control language that returns the current status. The job control language data is passed to the port monitor 102 via the OS 204, and then the class driver 103
Passed to. This data is stored in class driver 1
03 is passed to the port driver 104 by the write process registered in the object module
/ F70 to the printer 10. As described above, since the printer 10 hardly goes offline (communication rejected state) due to an error or the like at this time,
The data is appropriately processed by the printer 10, and the printer 10 enters a mode in which the status is returned to the computer 60 when the status of the printer 10 changes.

Thereafter, the status monitor 105 performs the read process 202 at regular intervals (about one second). The read processing 202 is performed by accessing a read processing program registered in an object module of the class driver 103 via the OS 204. The class driver 103 instructs the port driver 104 to perform a read operation, and the port driver 104 performs a hardware (USB
By operating the I / F 70, the printer 10 performs status reading processing.

Since the printer 10 processes a job control language for instructing to return the current status, the status (online) at that time is changed to the USB /
Return via F70. This status data is in the reverse order (port driver 104, class driver 10
In 3), it is returned to the status monitor 105. The status monitor 105 displays this online information. After this status is returned, a status request is periodically made by the status monitor 105. However, the status is not transmitted unless the status of the printer 10 is changed due to an error or the like. In this case, the status monitor 105 keeps displaying online.

When the user operates the application to perform printing, print data from the application is passed in the order of the port monitor 102, the class driver 103, and the port driver 104, and is output via the USB I / F 70. The printer 10 processes the print data and performs printing. At this time, if the state changes to an error state due to paper shortage or paper jam, an error status is returned at the next read processing from the status monitor 105. This error status is determined by the status monitor 10 in the same procedure as above.
5, the status monitor 105 displays an error, and prompts the user to cancel the error.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show display examples of the status monitor 105. The status of the printer 10 and the status of the print job are displayed on a dialog 300 as shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 shows that the status of the print job is a standby state, and the printer 10 is out of toner. FIG. 8 shows that the status of the print job is a standby state, and the cover of the printer 10 is in an open state. FIG.
The status of the print job is a standby state, indicating that the printer 10 is in a printable state.

Next, when the power of the printer 10 is turned off or the printer cape 80 is disconnected as shown in FIG. 5, the hardware (USB I / F) 70 generates an interrupt and the power of the printer 10 is turned off. The OS 204 is notified that the printer cable 80 has been disconnected and that the printer cable 80 has been disconnected.

The OS 204 that has detected the interrupt recognizes that the power has been turned off or the device from which the cable 80 has been disconnected, and determines the class driver 10 corresponding to the device.
Select 3. In this case, the device whose power is turned off or the cable is disconnected is recognized as the printer 10, and the class driver 103 prepared for the printer 10 is selected. And REMO as a parameter
The PnP process 201 is called from the driver object 200 by designating VE_DEVICE.

When PnP processing 201 is called with REMOVE_DEVICE specified as a parameter (FIG. 5: step S1), it is determined that the processing to be executed is REMOVE_DEVICE processing (step S2: NO, step S3:
YES), a general REMOVE_DEVICE process is performed (step S6). This general REMOVE_DEVICE processing means that the class driver 103 performs device uninstallation processing. In this example, the printer 10 is recognized as a device, and the printer 10 is uninstalled.

Next, the status monitor 105 is terminated (step S7). With this processing, the status monitor 105 ends the display and unloads itself.

Therefore, the status monitor 105 remains invisible until the printer 10 is connected and the power is turned on.

That is, the user operates the status monitor 10
Whether or not 5 is displayed indicates whether or not the printer 10 is normally controlled and the power is turned on.

Next, when printing data created by an application program such as a word processor,
First, the application program 100 outputs a print processing request to the printer driver 101. The printer driver 101 outputs print data and print control data to the port monitor 102 via the OS 204 in response to the print processing request. The port monitor 102 outputs print data and print control data to the class driver 103 via the OS 204. The class driver 103 outputs print data and print control data to the port driver 104 via the OS 204, and the port driver 104 outputs print data and print control data to the printer 10 via hardware via the OS 204.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the status monitor 105 is activated when the cable 80 is inserted into the USB I / F 70, for example, the cover of the printer 10 may be opened before the start of the printing process. The status monitor 105 can reliably grasp the status of the printer 10 even when the paper jam generated during the previous print processing is left as it is. Therefore, appropriate measures can be taken before starting the printer processing.

When the cable 80 is disconnected from the USB I / F 70, the status monitor 105 is terminated.
If the status monitor 105 is inserted, the status monitor 105 is normally activated as described above.

Further, not only when the cable 80 is connected and disconnected, but also when the power of the printer 10 is turned on while the cable 80 is connected, the device is detected. it can. Further, similarly, when the power of the printer 10 is turned off while the cable 80 is connected, the termination process of the status monitor 105 is performed.

Therefore, even if, for example, an error occurs immediately after the power is turned on to the printer 10, since the status monitor 105 is activated when the power is turned on, it is necessary to confirm the error state without fail. Can be.

In this embodiment, since the detecting means is configured by using the plug and play function of the OS 204,
No extra CPU power is used for detection. For this reason, when the printer 10 is not connected or the power is off, there is also an effect that the CPU of the configuration of the present invention does not require any CPU power.

In this embodiment, a system having a USB interface has been described as an example.
The present invention can be similarly applied to a system having an interface conforming to the EE standard 1394. However, in this case, it is necessary to prepare a device driver or the like compliant with the IEEE standard 1394.

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0069]

According to the printer control device of the first aspect, when the detecting means detects that the communication path with the printer device has been changed from the electrically disconnected state to the connected state, the starting means detects the change. Activating the operation status monitoring unit of the printer device, and the monitoring unit outputs a reply request to the printer control device for the operation status of the printer device to the printer device with the activation,
When the printer device is in an operating state, for example, in a state where printing cannot be performed, it is possible to reliably return to the printer control device that printing is not possible, regardless of before or at the start of printing.

According to the printer control device of the present invention, the detecting means detects a change in the connection state of the cable means connecting the printer device and the printer control device or a change in the power-on state of the printer device. When the detecting means detects a change from the connected state of the cable means to the disconnected state, or a change from the power-on state to the stopped state, the ending means terminates the monitoring means. It is possible to reliably start the next monitoring means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the basic software and the USB driver are used as the detecting means, it is possible to reliably detect the connection state of the cable means or the power-on state of the printer. Thus, the start-up process or the end process of the monitoring means can be reliably performed.

According to the printer control of the printer control device, when it is detected that the communication path between the printer device and the printer device has been electrically changed from the unconnected state to the connected state, the operation status of the printer device is determined. Start monitoring,
Further, with the start, a reply request to the printer control device about the operation status in the printer device is output to the printer device, so that the printer device operates in the
For example, if printing becomes impossible, before printing starts,
Or, regardless of the start of printing, the fact that printing is not possible
A reply can be reliably sent to the printer control device.

According to the printer control method of the printer control device of the present invention, a change in the connection state of the cable means connecting the printer device and the printer control device or a change in the power-on state of the printer device is detected. When the change from the connected state to the disconnected state of the cable means or the change from the power-on state to the stop state is detected, the monitoring is terminated, so that the next monitoring is surely started. Can be.

According to the printer control method in the printer control device of the sixth aspect, the basic software and the US
Since the detection is performed by the B driver, the connection state of the cable means or the power-on state of the printer device can be reliably detected, and the above-described monitoring start-up processing or termination processing can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer control program in a printer control device of the print system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an OS and a driver module in the printer control device of the print system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining processing of a program performed when the power of the printer is turned on and when the printer cable is connected to the USB I / F in the printer control device of the print system of FIG. 1; is there.

5 is a flowchart for explaining processing of a program performed in the printer control device of the print system in FIG. 1 according to a change in the state of a communication path between the printer device and the printer control device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining processing of a program when the status of the printer changes in the printer control device of the print system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a status monitor in the print system of FIG. 1 (part 1).

FIG. 8 is a view showing a display example of a status monitor in the printing system of FIG. 1 (part 2).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a status monitor in the print system of FIG. 1 (part 3).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printer 60 computer 100 application program 101 printer driver 102 port monitor 103 class driver 104 port driver 105 status monitor

Claims (6)

[Claims] A printer capable of communicating with a printer device, comprising: a detection unit for detecting a change in an electrical connection state of a communication path with the printer device; and a monitoring unit for monitoring an operation status of the printer device. A control device, comprising: a start unit that starts the monitoring unit when the detection unit detects that the communication path with the printer device has changed from an electrically disconnected state to a connected state. The printer control device outputs, to the printer device, a request for returning to the printer control device the operation status of the printer device in response to the activation. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects a change in a connection state of a cable unit connecting the printer device and a printer control device or a change in a power-on state of the printer device. When the change of the means from the connected state to the non-connected state or the change from the power-on state to the stop state is detected, the apparatus further comprises a termination means for terminating the monitoring means. 2. The printer control device according to 1. 3. A basic software having a function of communicating with a printer via a USB interface, wherein the detecting means detects that a device is connected to the USB interface, and has a function of loading a corresponding driver. 3. The printer control device according to claim 1, further comprising a USB driver loaded by basic software. 4. A printer control method in a printer control device capable of communicating with a printer device, comprising: a step of detecting a change in an electrical connection state of a communication route with the printer device; When it is detected that the state has been electrically changed from the disconnected state to the connected state, a step of starting to monitor the operation state of the printer apparatus, and with the start of the monitoring, the operation state in the printer apparatus Outputting a reply request to the printer control device to the printer device. 5. The detecting step is a step of detecting a change in a connection state of a cable unit connecting the printer device and a printer control device or a change in a power-on state of the printer device. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of terminating the monitoring when a change from a connected state to a disconnected state of the cable means or a change from a power-on state to a stopped state is detected. A printer control method in the printer control device described in the above. 6. The printer device can communicate with a printer device via a USB interface, and the detecting step detects that a device is connected to the USB interface.
6. The printer control method according to claim 4, wherein the detection step is performed by a basic software having a function of loading a corresponding driver and a USB driver loaded by the basic software.