JP2004142186A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which a print time can be shortened as compared with prior art when a print command is delivered actually from a host terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A printer controller 110 comprises a communicating section 111, a section 112 for judging whether a command related to print is received at a host terminal 101 or not, a section 113 for actuating warm-up operation, and a command data processing section 115 for interpreting command data from the host terminal 101. A printer engine 120 comprises an engine control section 121 being designated by the warm-up actuating section 113 to perform warm-up operation, and a section 122 for printing the print data interpreted at the command data processing section 115. When the command related to print is received at the host terminal 101, warm-up operation of the printer engine 120 is started prior to the print command. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer including a printer controller having a communication unit that communicates with a host terminal, and a printer engine that performs printing based on an instruction from the printer controller.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, attempts have been made to reduce the time required to issue a print command to a printer and actually obtain a print result.
[0003]
A conventional printer will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional printer, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printer of FIG.
[0004]
In FIG. 7, a host terminal 101 is connected to the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a printer controller 110, a communication unit 111, a command / data processing unit 115, a printer engine 120, an engine control unit 121, a printing unit 122, and an engine controller communication unit 130.
[0005]
The printer controller 110 communicates with the host terminal 101. The communication unit 111 exchanges command data with the host terminal 101. The command data processing unit 115 interprets command data from the host terminal 101.
[0006]
The printer engine 120 performs printing based on an instruction from the printer controller, and the engine control unit 121 performs a warm-up operation of the printer 100 and the like.
[0007]
The printing unit 122 prints the print data interpreted by the command / data processing unit 112, and the engine controller communication unit 130 exchanges data between the printer controller 110 and the printer engine 120.
[0008]
8, a printer 100, a host terminal 101, a printer controller 110, a printer engine 120, an engine control unit 121, a printing unit 122, and an engine controller communication unit 130 are the same as those in FIG. 7, and a description thereof will be omitted. I do.
[0009]
The printer controller 110 has a communication interface unit 211 as a communication interface with the host terminal 101, a reception buffer memory 212 for temporarily storing received data, a RAM 213 for a work memory, a CPU (central processing unit) 214, and a control program written therein. It comprises a ROM 215 and a print buffer memory 216 for temporarily storing data for printing.
[0010]
The operation of the thus configured printer 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0011]
In FIG. 8, print command data from the host terminal 101 is taken into the reception buffer memory 212 via the communication interface 211 which is a component of the printer controller 110.
[0012]
The CPU 214 converts the print command data fetched into the reception buffer memory 212 into print data in accordance with the instructions of the ROM 215 in which the control program is written and by using the RAM 213 as a work memory, and converts the print data into a print buffer. It is stored in the memory 216.
[0013]
Next, the CPU 214 processes the print data stored in the print buffer memory 216 according to the instructions in the ROM 215 in which the control program is written and by using the RAM 213 as a work memory. A certain printing unit 122 prints the processed print data on paper.
[0014]
At this time, the warm-up of the printer 100 is started using the engine control unit 121 only when the print command data from the host terminal 101 is to be printed on paper using the printing unit 122. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
[0015]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-148434 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional printer, a print command is issued from the host terminal to start the warm-up operation of the printer for the first time.However, in this case, it is necessary to wait until the warm-up is completed. Therefore, there is a problem that there is a limit in shortening the printing time.
[0017]
In this printer, by starting the warm-up operation before the print command when the host terminal receives the print-related command, the print time when the print command is actually issued from the host terminal is shortened as compared with the related art. Is required.
[0018]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can reduce a printing time when a print command is actually issued from a host terminal by starting a warm-up operation before a print command. .
[0019]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, a printer according to the present invention is a printer having a printer controller and a printer engine that performs printing based on an instruction from the printer controller. A communication unit for exchanging data, a print-related command identification unit for identifying whether a print-related command has been received by the host terminal, a warm-up start unit for starting a warm-up operation, and a command from the host terminal. A command / data processing unit for interpreting the data, the printer engine performs an warm-up operation based on an instruction from the warm-up start unit, and an engine control unit, and print data interpreted by the command / data processing unit. Between the printing unit to print and the printer controller and printer engine An engine-controller communication unit for exchanging data, and when the host terminal receives a print-related command, the warm-up start unit uses the engine control unit to perform the warm-up operation of the printer engine from the print command. It is configured to start before.
[0020]
Thus, by starting the warm-up operation before the print command, an effect is obtained that the printing time when a print command is actually issued from the host terminal can be reduced.
[0021]
Further, in order to solve this problem, a printer according to the present invention includes a warm-up stop unit for stopping a warm-up operation, and the warm-up stop unit is configured to receive the print-related end command when the host terminal receives a print-related end command. When the engine control unit is performing the warm-up operation, the warm-up operation is stopped.
[0022]
As a result, the effect that the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced can be obtained.
[0023]
Furthermore, in order to solve this problem, in the printer according to the present invention, the warm-up stop unit receives a print-related command at the host terminal, and starts the warm-up operation by the engine control unit. When the state where there is no print command from the host terminal continues for a predetermined time, or when the state where the printing from the host terminal is completed and the state where there is no print command from the host terminal continues for a predetermined time, the low power consumption mode is set. It was done.
[0024]
As a result, the effect that the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced can be obtained.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer having a printer controller and a printer engine for performing printing based on an instruction from the printer controller, wherein the printer controller exchanges command data with a host terminal. A communication unit that exchanges data, a print-related command identification unit that identifies whether a print-related command has been received by the host terminal, a warm-up start unit that starts a warm-up operation, and command data from the host terminal. A printer / engine that performs a warm-up operation based on an instruction from the warm-up starting unit, and prints the print data interpreted by the command / data processing unit. Data exchange between the print unit and the printer controller and printer engine An engine-controller communication unit that performs a warm-up operation of the printer engine by using the engine control unit by the warm-up start unit in advance when a print-related command is received by the host terminal. To start. With this, when the host terminal receives a print-related command, the warm-up start unit uses the engine control unit to start the printer warm-up operation before the print command, so that printing is actually performed from the host terminal. There is no need to warm up the printer again when the command is issued, and the printing time in the printing unit can be reduced.
[0026]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer according to the first aspect, further comprising a warm-up stop unit for stopping a warm-up operation, wherein the warm-up stop unit is configured to execute an engine when a host terminal receives a print-related end command. When the control unit is performing the warm-up operation, the warm-up operation is stopped. Accordingly, when the host terminal receives the print-related end command, that is, when the warm-up operation is unnecessary, the warm-up operation of the printer can be stopped, so that the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced. Having.
[0027]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the second aspect, the warm-up stop unit receives a print-related command from the host terminal and starts the warm-up operation by the engine control unit. When the state where there is no print command continues for a predetermined time, or when the state where printing from the host terminal is completed and there is no print command from the host terminal continues for a predetermined time, the low power consumption mode is set. With this, even when the host terminal receives a print-related command, the low power consumption mode can be set when a warm-up operation is not required such that a state in which there is no print command continues for a predetermined time. Therefore, the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced.
[0028]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In these drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
[0029]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a first monitoring task of the printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second monitoring task of the printer in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third monitoring task of the printer in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. And FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fifth monitoring task of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0030]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 includes a printer controller 110, a communication unit 111, a print-related command identification unit 112, a warm-up start unit 113, a warm-up stop unit 114, and a command / data processing unit 115. , A printer engine 120, an engine control unit 121, a printing unit 122, and an engine controller communication unit 130.
[0031]
The printer controller 110 communicates with the host terminal 101. The communication unit 111 exchanges command data with the host terminal 101. The print-related command identification unit 112 identifies whether a screen having a print function in the host terminal 101, for example, a print-related command issued when a print screen is opened is received.
[0032]
The warm-up start unit 113 starts the warm-up operation of the printer 100, and the warm-up stop unit 114 stops the warm-up operation of the printer 100.
[0033]
The command / data processing unit 115 interprets command / data from the host terminal 101, and the printer engine 120 performs printing based on an instruction from the printer controller 110.
[0034]
The engine control unit 121 performs a warm-up operation of the printer 100, and the printing unit 122 prints the print data interpreted by the command / data processing unit 115.
[0035]
In the engine controller communication unit 130, the printer controller 110 and the printer engine 120 exchange data. The host terminal 101 is connected to the communication unit 111 of the printer 100.
[0036]
Further, the printer 100, the host terminal 101, the printer controller 110, the printer engine 120, the engine control unit 121, the printing unit 122, and the engine controller communication unit 130 in FIG. I do.
[0037]
Further, the configuration of the communication interface unit 211, the reception buffer memory 212, the RAM 213, the CPU (central processing unit) 214, the ROM 215, and the print buffer memory 216 in the printer controller 110 is the same as that of the related art. Description is omitted.
[0038]
In such a printer 100, print command data from the host terminal 101 is taken into the reception buffer memory 212 through the communication interface 211 which is a component of the printer controller 110.
[0039]
The CPU 214 converts the print command data fetched into the reception buffer memory 212 into print data according to the instructions of the ROM 215 in which the control program is written and by using the RAM 213 as a work memory, and prints the print data. The data is stored in the buffer memory 216.
[0040]
Next, the CPU 214 processes the print data stored in the print buffer memory 216 in accordance with the instructions in the ROM 215 in which the control program is written, and by using the RAM 213 as a work memory. The printing unit 222, which is an element, prints the processed print data on paper.
[0041]
The operation of the printer 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0042]
An example in which printing is performed from the host terminal 101 to the printer 100 will be described.
[0043]
In the first monitoring task in FIG. 2, the print-related command identification unit 112 determines whether a screen having a print function, for example, a print-related command issued when a print screen is opened is received (S1). . This determination is made via the communication unit 111. If the print-related command has not been received, the first monitoring task is temporarily ended.
[0044]
When the print-related command identifying unit 112 determines YES in S1, that is, when the print-related command is received, the warm-up starting unit 113 starts the warm-up of the printer 100 (S2).
[0045]
Next, the warm-up start-up unit 113 resets a low power consumption mode timer counter (not shown) (TC = 0) (S3), which is a counter for determining transition to the low power consumption mode, and a low power consumption mode timer. The counter starts counting (S4), and the first monitoring task in FIG. 3 ends.
[0046]
At the start of the warm-up of the printer (S2), the warm-up is started by the engine control unit 121, which is a component of the printer engine 120, through the engine-controller communication unit 130 based on the instruction of the warm-up start unit 113 of the printer controller 110. Started for the first time.
[0047]
When a print command is issued from the host terminal 101 to the printer 100, the communication unit 111 determines YES in the print command reception (S11) of the second monitoring task in FIG. 3, and determines whether the printer 100 is in the low power consumption mode. If the warm-up start-up unit 113 determines NO in the determination (S12), it means that the warm-up of the printer has already been completed, and therefore the warm-up of the printer 100 in FIG. YES is determined in the determination of the completion of the up (S21), and the printing of the printer is started immediately (S22).
[0048]
At this time, printing is started (S22) using the printing unit 122, which is a component of the printer engine 120. If the warm-up activation unit 113 determines YES in S12, the warm-up of the printer 100 is started (S13), and the process proceeds to FIG.
[0049]
In the fourth monitoring task in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not a screen having a print function in the host terminal 101, for example, a print-related end command issued when the print screen is closed is received (S31). This determination is made via the communication unit 111.
[0050]
If the print-related termination command has not been received, the fourth monitoring task is temporarily terminated. When the print-related command identifying unit 112 determines YES in S31, that is, when the print-related end command is received, and when the warm-up start unit 113 determines that the printer 100 is warming up (S32), the warm-up stop is performed. The unit 114 stops the warm-up of the printer 100 (S33), stops counting of the low power consumption mode timer counter (S34), and the low power consumption mode timer counter which is a counter for determining transition to the low power consumption mode. (TC = 0) (S35), and the fourth monitoring task ends.
[0051]
In the fifth monitoring task in FIG. 6, if the determination of the low power consumption mode timer counter value TC ≧ predetermined time T in the warm-up activation unit 113 (S41) is YES, that is, the host terminal 101 sets the printing function. When a screen provided, for example, a print-related command issued when a print screen is opened is received, the printer 100 starts a warm-up operation, and a state where there is no print command from the host terminal 101 has continued for a predetermined time (warm-up). When the communication unit 111 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the up operation, or when the communication unit 111 determines that the state where there is no print command has continued for a predetermined time after the printing from the host terminal 101 is completed, The warm-up stop unit 114 stops counting of the low power consumption mode timer counter (S42), After resetting the low power consumption mode timer counter (TC = 0) (S43), which is a counter for determining the transition, and setting the printer 100 to the low power consumption mode (S44), the fifth monitoring is performed. End the task.
[0052]
At this time, in S44, the printer 100 is set to the low power consumption mode using the engine control unit 121 which is a component of the printer engine 120.
[0053]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the print-related command identification unit 112 determines that the host terminal 101 has received a screen having a print function, for example, a print-related command issued when the print screen is opened. In this case, since the warm-up operation of the printer 100 is started in advance using the engine control unit 121 in the warm-up start unit 113 in advance, when the print command is actually issued from the host terminal 101, the printer 100 is started. The warm-up operation becomes unnecessary, and the printing time in the printing unit can be reduced.
[0054]
The host terminal 101 further includes a warm-up stop unit 114 that stops a warm-up operation. The warm-up stop unit 114 receives a print-related end command issued when the host terminal 101 closes a screen having a print function, for example, a print screen. When the engine control unit 121 is performing a warm-up operation, the warm-up operation is stopped when the host terminal 101 receives a print-related end command, that is, when the warm-up operation is unnecessary. Can be stopped, so that the energy consumption of the printer 100 can be reduced.
[0055]
Further, the warm-up stop unit 114 receives a print-related command issued when the host terminal 101 opens a screen having a print function, for example, a print screen, and the engine control unit 121 starts a warm-up operation. If the state where there is no print command from the host terminal 101 continues for a predetermined time, or the state where there is no print command from the host terminal 101 after the printing from the host terminal 101 has continued for a predetermined time, the low power consumption mode Accordingly, even when the host terminal 101 is within the predetermined range, the low power consumption mode can be set when a warm-up operation is not required such that the state where there is no print command continues for a predetermined time. Therefore, the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to warm up the printer again when a print command is actually issued from the host terminal, and it is possible to reduce the printing time in the printing unit. The effect is obtained.
[0057]
Further, according to the present invention, since the warm-up operation can be stopped when the warm-up operation is unnecessary, an effective effect that the energy consumption of the printer can be reduced can be obtained.
[0058]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, even when a print-related command is received by the host terminal, the printer can be set to the low power consumption mode when the warm-up operation is not required. Can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a first monitoring task of the printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a second monitoring task of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a third monitoring task of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of a fourth monitoring task of the printer according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of a fifth monitoring task of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional printer. 8 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printer shown in FIG.
Reference Signs List 100 printer 101 host terminal 110 printer controller 111 communication unit 112 print-related command identification unit 113 warm-up start unit 114 warm-up stop unit 115 command / data processing unit 120 printer engine 121 engine control unit 122 printing unit 130 engine controller communication unit

Claims (3)

A printer having a printer controller and a printer engine that performs printing based on instructions from the printer controller,
The printer controller includes:
A communication unit for exchanging commands and data with the host terminal;
A print-related command identification unit that identifies whether a print-related command has been received at the host terminal;
A warm-up start unit for starting a warm-up operation;
A command data processing unit that interprets command data from the host terminal,
The printer engine includes:
An engine control unit that performs a warm-up operation based on an instruction from the warm-up activation unit;
A printing unit for printing the print data interpreted by the command data processing unit,
An engine controller communication unit that exchanges data between the printer controller and the printer engine,
When a print-related command is received by the host terminal, the warm-up start unit starts the warm-up operation of the printer engine before the print command by using the engine control unit in advance. Printer. A warm-up stop unit for stopping a warm-up operation, wherein the warm-up stop unit stops the warm-up operation when the engine control unit is performing the warm-up operation when the host terminal receives a print-related end command. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is operated. The warm-up stop unit receives a print-related command at the host terminal, and after the engine control unit starts a warm-up operation, after a state where there is no print command from the host terminal for a predetermined time, or 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein when the printing from the host terminal is completed and there is no printing command from the host terminal for a predetermined time, the printer is set to the low power consumption mode.

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