JP2004216604A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer in which missing of print data or related information is avoided when power is turned off. <P>SOLUTION: The printer capable of storing print data temporarily in a nonvolatile storage device has a control section for holding print data and related information received from a host even after power is turned off, or a control section capable of reprinting the same print data upon occurrence of a print error by holding information indicative of whether the print data has been printed or not. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an open printing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there has been no one that guarantees that print data and information about the print data are retained even after the power is turned off.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the case of an open printing device, it is difficult to monitor the status of the printing device unless a special printing device monitoring application is used, and it is not possible to easily check the status of print data. Even when the print data is lost and the print data needs to be retransmitted, it must be confirmed on site and then retransmitted, which is very troublesome. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to eliminate unnecessary work related to printing such as data retransmission without using the above-described application.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a printing apparatus capable of temporarily storing print data in a non-volatile storage device, a print control unit that holds print data received from a host and information about the print data even after power-off is provided. It is characterized by having.
[0005]
Further, a print control unit is provided which holds information on whether or not the print data has been printed, thereby enabling reprinting of the print data when a print error occurs.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0007]
FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the printing apparatus.
[0008]
The print data sent from the host (personal computer or the like) 11 reaches the communication device A14 of the print control unit 12 via the network (LAN, Internet, etc.) 19. The print data received by the communication device A14 is sent to the non-volatile storage device 18 and stored therein until printing.
[0009]
At that time, the control device 16 creates an information file and an information table based on the information regarding the print data, and stores the information file and the information table in the nonvolatile storage device 18. The information table is stored in the volatile storage device 15 in order to speed up the processing. However, when the information table is changed or the power of the printing apparatus is turned off, the information table stored in the non-volatile storage device 18 is used. Update the table. The nonvolatile storage device is desirably a large-capacity and inexpensive hard disk for the purpose of enduring a large number of batch jobs.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 2, the nonvolatile storage device 18 stores print data 22, an information file 23, and an information table 24. The print data 22 and the information file 23 have a one-to-one relationship, and the information file stores information on the print data at the time of reception. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is desirable that information such as an arrival number, a file name, and a host name that can be obtained only at the time of reception be stored in the information file 23. The information table 24 may include information about the print data after reception, such as information indicating whether or not printing has been completed, in addition to the contents of the information file 23 of all print data.
[0011]
When printing is performed, print data is extracted from the nonvolatile storage device 18 based on the contents of the information table 24 and output to the printing unit 13 via the communication device B17. The print data 22 and the information file 23 that have been printed become unnecessary, and are deleted from the nonvolatile storage device 18. However, in order to enable reprinting in the event of a print error, the print data is not immediately erased after printing, but the corresponding print data is set as printed in the information table 24, and if necessary again, the print data is Should be printed.
[0012]
FIG. 4 is a specific example of the information table 24. In this example, in addition to the information file contents of each print data, a flag indicating whether or not printing has been added is added.However, it is not necessary to store the entire contents of the information file in the information table. Items may be added.
[0013]
FIGS. 5 and 6 show what has been described above in a processing flow.
[0014]
FIG. 5 shows a process when print data is received, and shows a flow from the reception of the print data to the update and storage of the information table. It is called when print data is received, and after performing a series of processing, the processing is returned to the calling source.
[0015]
FIG. 6 shows a process at the time of printing of print data, and shows a flow from a print data print request to completion of printing and erasure of data. This is called when a print request for print data is issued, and after performing a series of processes, the process is returned to the calling source. It is assumed that an error occurs during printing, so a branch to error processing is provided. The error processing here is worthy of recovery processing if the printing apparatus has a recovery function, and worthy of processing such as returning a printed flag from printed to unprinted if it does not have a recovery function. In any case, the processing is aimed at preventing the print data from being lost due to an error.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if the printing apparatus is powered off, since the print data received from the host and the information about the print data can be retained, the loss of the print data can be achieved. Can be avoided, and high reliability can be obtained.
[0017]
This eliminates the necessity of managing print data by a special communication application from the host, and can save the trouble of retransmitting data when an error occurs in a situation without the communication application.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printing apparatus.
FIG. 2 illustrates contents of a nonvolatile storage device.
FIG. 3 is an information file of print data.
FIG. 4 is an information table of each print data.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing when print data is received.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process when printing print data.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 is a host, 12 is a printing control unit, 13 is a printing unit, 14 is a communication device A, 15 is a volatile storage device, 16 is a control device, 17 is a communication device B, 18 is a non-volatile storage device, 19 is a network, Reference numeral 21 denotes a nonvolatile storage device, 22 denotes print data, 23 denotes an information file, and 24 denotes an information table.

Claims (2)

A printing apparatus capable of temporarily storing print data in a non-volatile storage device, comprising: a print control unit that holds print data received from a host and information related to the print data even after the power is turned off. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print control unit configured to hold information indicating whether the print data has been printed, thereby enabling the print data to be reprinted when a print error occurs.

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