JP2002067403A - Image print out apparatus and data processing method in the apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image print out apparatus in which data between memory cards can be copied without using a personal computer, or the like. SOLUTION: An ink jet printer 1 comprising a slot 2 for smart media 18 and a slot 3 for compact flash(R) is provided with a copy switch 4 for designating copy of data from the compact flash 19 to the smart media 18, and a copy switch 5 for designating copy of data from the smart media 18 to the compact flash 19. When the copy switches 4, 5 are depressed, data is read in from the compact flash 19 or the smart media 18 and stored temporarily in a RAM 12 and then that data is written in the smart media 18 or the compact flash 19.

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 an image printout apparatus such as a printer capable of using an external storage medium such as a smart media or a compact flash, and a data processing method in the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some conventional ink jet printers have a slot for a memory card and can directly print an image of a digital camera without connecting to a personal computer.

For example, a printer has been commercialized which has one slot for smart media and one slot for compact flash, and can use both smart media and compact flash as a memory card.

In this printer, selection of data to be printed, setting of the number of sheets, type of paper, and the like can be performed by a liquid crystal panel provided in the printer.

[0005]

However, the conventional printer can only read data stored in a smart media or a compact flash.

Therefore, for example, when copying or moving data stored in a smart media to a compact flash, it is necessary to use a personal computer or the like.

Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem and provides an image output apparatus such as a printer capable of copying data between external storage media such as a memory card without using a personal computer or the like. It is an object to provide a data processing method in this device.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image printing apparatus for storing an image in an external storage medium, and an external storage medium inserted in the insertion means. Reading means for reading the read data, memory means for storing data read by the reading means,
Writing means for writing the image output data stored in the memory means to another external storage medium inserted in the insertion means, and output means for printing the data stored in each of the external storage media; It is characterized by having.

According to the image output device of the first aspect, the data stored in the external storage medium inserted into the insertion means is read by the reading means and temporarily stored in the memory means. Then, the image output data stored in the memory means is written to another external storage medium inserted in the insertion means by the writing means. Therefore, data is copied from one external storage medium to another external storage medium without using a host computer. The data stored in each of the external storage media is printed by an output unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the image print-out apparatus according to the first aspect, the inserting means includes at least a plurality of external storage media of different types. It is characterized by comprising a first insertion means and a second insertion means capable of being inserted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the inserting means includes at least a first inserting means and a second inserting means into which a plurality of different types of external storage media can be inserted. , Data can be easily copied from one external storage medium to another external storage medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the external storage medium is one of a compact flash and a smart media. Wherein the another external storage medium is the other of the compact flash and the smart media.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the external storage medium is one of a compact flash and a smart media, and the other external storage medium is the other. Copying of data that can be used for digital cameras etc. will be performed without using it

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing method for an image print output apparatus, comprising: a step of inserting an external storage medium; and a step of reading data stored in the inserted external storage medium. Storing the read data in a memory means, and writing the data stored in the memory means to another inserted external storage medium.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the data stored in the external storage medium inserted into the insertion unit is read by the reading unit and temporarily stored in the memory unit. . Then, the image output data stored in the memory means is written to another external storage medium inserted in the insertion means by the writing means. Therefore, data is copied from one external storage medium to another external storage medium without using a host computer.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing method for an image printout apparatus, wherein the step of performing the insertion includes at least: It is characterized by comprising a step of inserting one external storage medium into the first insertion means and a step of inserting another external storage medium into the second insertion means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the step of performing the insertion includes:
At least a step of inserting a plurality of different types of external storage media into the first pluggable means and a step of plugging into the second pluggable means that can be plugged in is provided. Copying of data to the medium will be facilitated.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing method for an image print output apparatus, comprising: The step of performing writing is a step of reading data of either compact flash or smart media as the external storage medium and writing the other data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the step of reading the data and writing the data is performed using one of a compact flash and a smart media as the external storage medium. Is a step of reading and writing to the other side, so that data copy that can be used in a digital camera or the like is performed without using a host computer.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink jet printer as an image output apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part.

In the ink jet printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, a slot 2 for smart media and a slot 3 for compact flash are provided on the front left side of the ink jet printer 1, respectively.

On the right side of the front of the ink jet printer 1, a copy switch 4 for instructing copying from the compact flash to the smart media is provided.
A copy switch 5 for instructing a copy from the smart media to the compact flash, and a power switch 6
Are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet printer 1 has a CPU 10, a host interface 1
1, a RAM 12, a ROM 13, a head control circuit 14, a motor control circuit 15, an ink jet head 16, a motor 17, and the above-described slot 2, slot 3, copy switch 4, copy switch 5, and power switch 6 are connected to the bus 20. ing.

The CPU 10 scans each switch, transmits and receives data to and from a host computer (not shown) via the host interface 11, reads data from each memory card via the slots 2 and 3, and controls the head control circuit 14 or the motor. It outputs a control signal to the control circuit 15 and the like. In addition, as described later, a copy from the smart media to the compact flash or a copy from the compact flash to the smart media is executed.

The host interface 11 is a parallel or serial interface. By connecting the host interface 11 to a host computer such as a personal computer via a cable or the like, data can be received from the host computer or transmitted to the host computer. It is possible to transmit the status of the printer.

The RAM 12 is, for example, an SRAM or a D
A memory such as a RAM, which is used for storing image data transmitted from a host computer, or for storing data read from a smart media or a compact flash as described later. It is preferable that these also serve as the RAM 12 in order to use the memory effectively.

The ROM 13 is a memory for storing various control programs by the CPU 10. A hard disk may be built in instead of the ROM 13, and the control program may be stored in this hard disk.

The head control circuit 14 is a circuit for controlling the ink jet head 16 based on image data.
It operates based on a control signal from the CPU 10.

The motor control circuit 15 includes a motor for driving a carriage on which the inkjet head 16 is mounted,
Alternatively, it is a circuit for controlling the driving of various motors such as a paper feed motor. It operates based on a control signal from the CPU 10.

The ink jet head 16 is a head having a piezoelectric element (not shown), a cavity plate, a nozzle plate, and the like. The driving of the piezoelectric element is controlled by a control signal from a head control circuit 14, and ink is supplied at a predetermined timing. It is configured to be ejected.

The motor 17 includes an ink jet head 16
And a variety of motors, such as a motor for driving a carriage on which is mounted, or a paper feed motor.

The ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment
With the above configuration, it is possible to receive image data transmitted from the host computer and perform print processing. Also, in the slot 2, the smart media 18
By mounting the compact flash 19 in the slot 3, the image data can be read directly from the smart media 18 or the compact flash 19 and the printing process can be performed. When the direct printing process is performed, a predetermined operation is performed using an operation panel (not shown).

Further, the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to copy data from the smart media 18 to the compact flash 19, or to copy data from the compact flash 19 to the smart media 18. Hereinafter, this copy processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that this copy processing is performed by copying the control program stored in the ROM 13 to C
This is realized by the execution of the PU 10.

First, it is determined whether any key input has been performed (step S1). If not performed (step S1; NO), the process waits until performed.

On the other hand, if any key input has been performed (step S1; YES), it is determined whether or not an operation of an operation panel (not shown) has been performed (step S2). When the operation of the operation panel is performed (step S2; Y
ES), for example, performing processing such as printing processing (Step S)
3).

However, when the copy switch 4 is pressed (step S4; YES) instead of operating the operation panel (step S2; NO), the smart media 18 and the compact flash 1 are inserted into the slots 2 and 3, respectively.
9 is mounted or not (step S
5). If either the smart media 18 or the compact flash 19 is not mounted, or if both are not mounted (step S5; NO),
Error processing is performed (step S6). For example, an error message is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel or the like provided on an operation panel (not shown).

However, when both the smart media 18 and the compact flash 19 are mounted (step S5; YES), first, data such as JPEG-compressed image data stored in the compact flash 19 is stored. The data is read together with the file name and the management data (step S7), and the data is stored in the RAM 12 (step S8). Next, a process of converting the stored data from the data in the format of the compact flash 19 to the data in the format of the smart media 18 is performed (step S9).

Next, it is determined whether or not the free space of the smart media 18 to which data is to be written is sufficient (step S10). If the free space is insufficient (step S10; insufficient), error processing is performed (step S1).
1). For example, an error message is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel or the like provided on an operation panel (not shown).

However, when the free space of the smart media 18 is sufficient (Step S10; OK), the converted data is written to the smart media 18 (Step S12), and a series of processing is ended.

Next, when it is determined in step S4 that the copy switch 5 has been pressed (step S4; NO), it is determined whether the smart media 18 and the compact flash 19 are mounted in the slots 2 and 3, respectively. Is determined (step S13). If either the smart media 18 or the compact flash 19 is not mounted, or if both are not mounted (step S13; NO), error processing is performed (step S14). For example, an error message is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel or the like provided on an operation panel (not shown).

However, when both the smart media 18 and the compact flash 19 are mounted (step S13; YES), first, data is read from the smart media 18 (step S15), and the data is stored in the RAM 12. (Step S16). Next, a process of converting the stored data from the format of the smart media 18 to the format of the compact flash 19 is performed (step S1).
7).

Next, it is determined whether or not the free space of the compact flash 19 to which the data is to be written is sufficient (step S18). If the free space is insufficient (step S18; insufficient), error processing is performed (step S18).
19). For example, an error message is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel or the like provided on an operation panel (not shown).

However, if the free space of the compact flash 19 is sufficient (step S18; OK),
The converted data is written in the compact flash 19 (step S20), and a series of processing is terminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to being able to read data directly from the smart media 18 or the compact flash 19 and perform printing processing, the smart media 18 and the compact flash 19 can be used without using a host computer. 19 can be copied. In other words, it is not necessary to use a host computer when copying data between memory cards using an existing slot, so that an easy-to-use printer can be provided. Therefore, for example, when the other memory card is cheaper than the memory card used in the digital camera owned by the user, the cheap memory card should be stored as a backup for image data. Can be achieved without using a host computer.

In the above-described embodiment, control is performed so that all data is written from one memory card to the other memory card. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to designate only necessary data from a plurality of image data and write it to the other. In this case, the image data stored in the memory card is displayed on the display unit of the printer in a thumbnail format, and while confirming the display, the image data to be written to the other memory card is designated. May be specified by displaying only the file name.

Alternatively, the image data may be printed out once with a file name or serial number attached in a thumbnail format, and the image data to be copied may be selected by designating the file name or serial number. You can specify the file name and serial number one by one,
By specifying a plurality of file names and serial numbers in succession and performing copying based on a single operation of the copy key, copying can be performed more efficiently when copying a large amount of image data. it can.

Further, when the free space of the memory is insufficient when writing data from one memory card to the other memory card, the free space of the memory card to be written is displayed, and writing is performed according to the capacity. By designating the image data, the memory card may be used efficiently.

Further, it is not necessary to provide one copy switch for writing data from one memory card to the other memory card, and one copy switch may be used and the number of operations and the operation time may vary depending on the operation. May be specified. The number of types of memory cards that can be used is not limited to two, and writing may be performed between more types of memory cards.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which smart media and a compact flash are used as memory cards. However, the present invention can be applied to other memory cards such as a memory stick and a flash ATA card. is there. Further, the printer is not limited to an ink jet printer, but can be applied to a laser printer or a thermal printer.

[0051]

As described above, according to the image printing apparatus of the first aspect, the data stored in the external storage medium inserted into the insertion means is read by the reading means, and the data is stored in the memory means. Once stored. Then, the image output data stored in the memory means is written to another external storage medium inserted in the insertion means by the writing means. Therefore, data can be copied from one external storage medium to another external storage medium without using a host computer.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plug-in means includes at least a first plug-in means and a second plug-in means into which a plurality of different types of external storage media can be plugged. , Data can be easily copied from one external storage medium to another external storage medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the external storage medium is one of a compact flash and a smart media, and the another external storage medium is one of the compact flash and the smart media. On the other hand, it is possible to copy data that can be used in a digital camera or the like without using a host computer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing method for an image print output apparatus, comprising the steps of: inserting an external storage medium; reading data stored in the inserted external storage medium; A step of storing the data in the memory means and a step of writing the data stored in the memory means to the inserted external storage medium, so that the data can be transferred from one external storage medium to another without using a host computer. Data can be copied to an external storage medium.

According to the data processing method in the image print output device according to the fifth aspect, the step of performing the insertion includes:
Since at least the step of inserting one external storage medium into the first insertion means and the step of inserting another external storage medium into the second insertion means are provided, one external storage medium is connected to another external storage medium. Data can be easily copied to a storage medium.

According to the data processing method of the image print output device of the present invention, the step of reading the data and writing the data is performed by using any one of a compact flash and a smart media as the external storage medium. Since this is a step of reading data and writing the other data, it is possible to copy data that can be used in a digital camera or the like without using a host computer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the inkjet printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of copying data between memory cards in the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer 2, 3 ... Slot 4, 5 ... Copy switch 10 ... CPU 12 ... RAM 18 ... Smart media 19 ... Compact flash

Claims (6)

[Claims] An external storage medium insertion unit; a reading unit that reads data stored in the external storage medium inserted into the insertion unit; a memory unit that stores data read by the reading unit; Writing means for writing the image output data stored in the memory means to another external storage medium inserted into the insertion means; output means for printing the data stored in each of the external storage media; An image print-out device comprising: 2. The plug-in device according to claim 1, wherein the plug-in device includes at least a first plug-in device and a second plug-in device into which a plurality of different types of external storage media can be plugged. 1
An image printout device according to any one of the preceding claims. 3. The external storage medium is one of a compact flash and a smart media, and the another external storage medium is the other of the compact flash and a smart media. 3. The image printout device according to 1 or 2. 4. A step of inserting an external storage medium, a step of reading data stored in the inserted external storage medium, a step of storing the read data in a memory unit, and a step of storing the read data in a memory unit. Writing the data to another inserted external storage medium. A method for processing data in an image print output device, comprising: 5. The step of performing the insertion includes at least a step of inserting one external storage medium into the first insertion means, and a step of inserting another external storage medium into the second insertion means. 5. The data processing method in an image print-out device according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The step of reading the data and writing the data includes: reading any one of a compact flash and a smart media as the external storage medium;
6. The data processing method in an image print-out device according to claim 4, wherein the data is written to the other side.