JP2004318817A - Image forming apparatus, control method for the same, information processor, information processing method, and program for realizing them - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately set a printer before use even if the printer used has no sensors. <P>SOLUTION: A host computer, before sending print data, acquires settings in the preceding printing from the printer (Step 102), and if they match current settings, sends the print data as they are to the printer that prints them (Step 106). If they do not match, a warning is displayed to the user (Step 107) to wait for a command, and upon a continuing command, the printing is continued. When receiving the print data, the printer records the printing settings in a nonvolatile memory (Step 111). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and an information processing apparatus capable of making settings in an image forming apparatus such as a printer with a simple configuration and reducing the occurrence of problems due to print media mismatch at the time of printing. And an information processing method, and a program for realizing them.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many inkjet printers are manufactured and sold to individual consumers as printing apparatuses capable of forming high-quality images at low cost. Inkjet printers that are manufactured and sold on the assumption that individuals are used as the purchasing tier are designed for functions that cannot be realized with software due to factors such as the balance between functions that would be required for personal use and manufacturing costs. Are often simple. For example, a mechanism for setting a plurality of types of recording paper as printable paper and a function of detecting the type and size of the currently set paper are not provided in many cases.

  On the other hand, with the spread of digital cameras and higher image quality of ink jet printers, not only plain paper but also various types of media such as glossy paper and photo paper are used as print media types. At the time of printing, it is difficult for a user to obtain a target image quality unless the user selects a target medium by setting the printer driver and feeds the medium selected by the driver to the printer.

  In addition, an ink jet printer generally has a mechanism for adjusting the distance between a paper holding section called a platen and a print head in accordance with the thickness of a sheet by using a sheet interval adjusting lever. Until now, various methods have been devised for appropriately adjusting the configuration of the device in accordance with the paper to be passed. -237334 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-0066609 have also been devised, but the realization of these methods requires many parts and is costly. There are many devices to do.

For this reason, many of the paper gap adjusting mechanisms allow adjustment of the paper gap only by manual operation by an operator in an inexpensive printer, and the setting state is often manually confirmed by the operator.
JP-A-5-238099 JP-A-7-237334 JP-A-10-006609

  On the other hand, printers are often directly or indirectly connected to a network and shared by a personal computer (PC) or the like. In such a case, a printer that does not have the paper size detecting mechanism as described above or that requires manual adjustment of the paper interval may be used. In such a system, when printing data on a printer that is not installed near a PC, an operator may use the printer to check the type and size of paper currently set in the printer, the paper interval setting, and the like. I couldn't confirm without it.

  Further, in an environment in which a single printer is used by a plurality of users, there is a case where another user performs the operation without exchanging the type and size of the paper. For this reason, when a user intended to print with the settings used last time, an OHP sheet was set by another person, or paper of a size different from the paper size originally intended to be used was set. Often, useless printing is performed.

  Such a problem can be solved by providing a mechanism such as a sensor for detecting a print setting, such as a paper size, a type, and a paper interval setting, in the printer, but the number of components and the complexity of the configuration increase. Another inconvenience, such as an increase in price and an increase in the failure rate, is caused.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and has an image forming apparatus capable of notifying a host apparatus that a setting should be changed with a simple configuration, a control method thereof, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and realizing them. The purpose is to provide a program for doing.

  In particular, even when an image forming apparatus not equipped with a sensor for identifying the media type is used, the user is informed of the possibility that the designated print media type does not match the media type of the fed media, and the user is also confirmed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system that can reduce the labor of work.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a means for acquiring, from a printer, print settings processed by a printer one time before a process to be executed, comparing the settings with the process to be executed with the same settings, and issuing a warning when the settings are different. , Provided in the printing system.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) An image forming apparatus that receives data from a host device and forms an image,
Storage means for storing the latest setting value of the device;
Transmission means for transmitting the latest setting value stored in the storage means in response to a request from the host device,
Updating means for receiving print settings from the host device and updating the latest setting values stored in the storage means;
(2) Alternatively, an image forming apparatus that receives data from a host device and forms an image,
Storage means for storing the latest setting value of the device;
A setting value of the image forming apparatus is determined in response to an image forming request from the host device, and the determined setting value is compared with a setting value stored in the storage unit. Means for processing the formation request and notifying the host device when the request does not match.
(3) More preferably, in (1) or (2), the set value stored in the storage means includes a size and / or type of a sheet on which an image is formed.
(4) More preferably, in (1) or (2), further comprising an image forming means for forming an image by an ink jet method, wherein the set value stored in the storage means is a setting of a distance between an ink jet head and a sheet. Is included.
(5) More preferably, in (1), a panel unit for displaying a message and giving an input instruction;
Determining means for determining whether the data received from the host device includes a confirmation command,
When the determination unit determines that a confirmation command is included, the display unit further includes a confirmation unit that displays a message on the panel unit and requests input of a response to the message.
When a response is input by the confirmation means, an image is formed based on the data.
(6) Alternatively, an information processing apparatus for performing image formation by the image forming apparatus,
Acquiring means for acquiring the latest setting value from the image forming apparatus;
Comparing the setting value in the designated image formation with the setting value obtained by the obtaining unit, transmitting an image forming request to the image forming apparatus if they match, and displaying the fact by the display unit if they do not match; Is provided.
(7) An image forming system comprising the image forming apparatus of (1) and the information processing apparatus of (6) connected to each other.
(8) An image forming system, wherein the image forming apparatus according to (2) is connected to an information processing apparatus that receives a notification from the image forming apparatus and displays the information on a display unit.
(9) An image forming system which obtains the latest setting value stored in a printer and, when the setting value differs from a designated setting value, notifies the user of the fact.
(10) Alternatively, a print system that transmits print settings set by a printer driver to a printer, and performs printing in accordance with the settings.
The printer driver includes means for acquiring print settings stored in the printer,
The printer includes a unit that stores the print settings that were printed immediately before, and a unit that transmits the stored print settings to the printer driver in response to a request from the printer driver.
(11) Alternatively, an input / output system including an input / output device connected to a host computer through an interface capable of two-way communication,
The input / output device stores a sheet thickness adjusting unit corresponding to the thickness of the sheet, a unit that calculates an appropriate position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit based on information transmitted from the host computer, and stores the calculated position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit. Storage means,
The host computer includes a unit for receiving the position information of the sheet thickness adjusting unit from the input / output device, and a determining unit for determining whether the position information of the sheet thickness adjusting unit is appropriate for the input / output operation requested by the operator.
(12) More preferably, in (1), an identifier for identifying a user is stored in the storage unit together with the set value.
(13) More preferably, in (12), the identifier is an identifier given to a control program in the host device.
(14) Alternatively, a plurality of print media types can be used, including a storage unit for storing the printed print media type, and a unit for responding to the inquiry from the host with the print media type stored in the storage unit. Printer and
An acquisition unit for inquiring and acquiring a print medium type printed immediately before from the printer; and a display unit for displaying a confirmation message to the user when the acquisition unit does not match the print medium type set by the user. A print system including a host device constitutes the present invention.
(15) More preferably, in (14), when the print medium type obtained by the obtaining unit does not match the print medium type set by the user, the host device sets the printer in a standby state. Send a confirmation command to the printer,
The printer further includes a confirmation input unit. When the printer is in a standby state by the confirmation command, printing is resumed when a confirmation is input by the confirmation input unit.
(16) More preferably, in (15), when the print medium type obtained by the obtaining unit does not match the print medium type set by the user, the host device determines whether to set the printer in a standby state. To the user.
(17) Alternatively, if the type of the last printed medium is obtained from the printer and an image formation on a medium of a type different from the type of the medium is instructed, the user is notified of the fact. Characterized Print System The print system constitutes the present invention.

  According to the present invention, a configuration is provided in which the latest setting of an input / output device according to a requested input / output operation is stored in the input / output device itself, thereby detecting the actual setting in the input / output device. Even when the setting is not performed, it is possible to determine whether or not the setting needs to be changed for each input / output device, and to notify the user of the need to change the setting.

  Therefore, even when a plurality of input / output devices are used, the above-described operation and effect can be obtained for each device.

  Furthermore, since the input / output device does not need a configuration for detecting the actual setting, it is possible to reduce the cost and improve the fault tolerance.

  Further, by performing an appropriate notification to the user, it is possible to prevent an undesirable operation from being performed, and it is possible to improve productivity.

  According to the present invention, even in a printer without a sensor for identifying a print medium, there is an effect of preventing printing on a print medium not intended by the user by the print medium confirmation processing. Further, printing can be started by the confirmation switch on the printer, and there is an effect that the user does not need to return to the host computer after confirming the print medium.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system that connects an information processing apparatus and a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example of a system configuration in which host computers PC 201, 202, 203, and 206 can perform two-way communication via a network 205 such as a LAN. The printer 204 is connected to the host computer 206 via an interface other than LAN (local interface) such as parallel (or serial). The printer 204 is connected to the network interface 205 via the host computer PC 206, and can be used from the host computers PC 201, 202, and 203.

  In FIG. 2, a host computer PC includes a display device such as a CRT device or an LCD display, and input / output devices such as an FD driver, a CD-ROM drive, a keyboard, and a pointing device connected via a bus on a control board (not shown). And a control unit for controlling the access of the user. The control unit (controller unit) includes an external storage device such as a hard disk, and an operating system and a print control program such as a printer driver for controlling the printer are installed. The print information is transferred to the printer 204 in accordance with a print request from an application via an operating system and a printer driver. The same applies to a case where the printer 204 is used from another PC via the PC 206 functioning as a printer server.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the host computer and the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment, and corresponds to the control configuration in the PC 206 and the printer 204 illustrated in FIG.

  3, the host computer 206 includes a controller unit 301, a keyboard 310 as an input device, a CRT 311 as a display device, and an external memory 312 such as a hard disk or an optical disk. The controller unit 301 includes a CPU 302 that executes processing based on a program or the like stored in the ROM 304. The CPU 302 controls each device connected to the system bus 305 as a whole. A ROM 304 or a hard disk (not shown) serving as the external memory 312 stores control programs executed by the CPU 302, font data used in document processing and the like, and various data used in document processing and the like (for example, And commands for setting the paper size, paper type, various settings, and the like supported by the printer.

  In the controller unit 301, the RAM 303 can be extended by an option RAM or the like, and functions as a main memory or a work area of the CPU 302. A keyboard controller (KBC) 306 controls key input from a keyboard 310 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 307 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 311. A disk controller (DKC) 308 accesses an external memory 312 such as a hard disk (HD) or a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) for storing a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and the like. Control. The printer controller (PRTC) 309 is connected to the printer 323 via a predetermined bidirectional interface (interface) 322, and executes communication control processing with the printer 323. The CPU 302 executes, for example, a process of developing (rasterizing) an outline font in a display information RAM area set on the RAM 303, and enables WYSIWYG on the CRT 311. In addition, the CPU 302 opens various registered windows based on commands specified by a mouse cursor or the like (not shown) on the CRT 311 and executes various data processing. The CPU 302 executes the processing of the flowchart described later by executing the program. Although FIG. 3 illustrates the configuration of the PC 206, the same applies to the other PCs 201 to 203.

  On the other hand, in the controller unit of the printer 204, the printer CPU 313 generally controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 316 based on a control program or the like stored in the ROM 315. And outputs an image signal as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 319 connected thereto. The ROM 315 stores an analysis program such as a printer setting acquisition command sent from the host computer PC via the interface 317. The CPU 313 is capable of performing communication processing with the host computer PC via the interface 317. The CPU 313 stores information on the printer status stored in the NVRAM 320 in the printer 204 (in this embodiment, the paper (Including print settings such as size and paper type) can be notified to the host computer PC. The RAM 314 mainly functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 313. The operation panel 321 includes switches for operation, an LED display, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, a printing system in which the host computer PC and the printer 204 can communicate with each other via the bidirectional I / F 322 is described as an example. However, the host computer PC and the printer 204 communicate with each other via a network such as a LAN. The present invention can be applied to a printing system that can be used. However, the I / F part is constituted by a network controller (NC). Note that the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) 320 stores print setting information notified from the host computer PC. The RAM 314 is configured so that a buffer area for holding print information received from the host computer PC and a work area for the CPU 313 can be secured. The printing unit (printer engine) 319 has a configuration according to the printing method. This embodiment has an ink-jet type configuration, and includes a printer cartridge, a carriage, and the like. The interface 317 performs a process of receiving print data and notifying status information generated by the printer 204 with the host computer PC according to a predetermined protocol. Further, the CPU 313 is configured to be able to control a power supply state from a power supply unit (not shown), and performs sleep control to save power supply to each unit when data is not received from the host computer PC for a certain period of time. I have. The print data includes a command for causing the printer to perform a certain operation and its parameters, and does not indicate only data representing an image to be printed.

  FIG. 1A shows an example of a processing flow of a printer driver installed in a PC, which is executed after a print execution is instructed in the PCs 201 to 203 and 206 according to the present embodiment in the configuration of FIGS. FIG.

  In FIG. 1A, the printer driver instructed to execute printing creates print data to be transmitted to the printer 204 according to the printing conditions set by the user (step 101). The print data includes, in addition to the image data to be printed, setting information relating to printing conditions such as a paper type, a paper size, and print quality.

  Next, a setting request command for requesting setting information such as the paper type and paper size set in the previous printing process (that is, the immediately preceding printing process) is transmitted to the printer 204, and the setting request command is designated by the printer 204 in the previous printing process. The setting information such as the type of paper and the paper size is acquired (step 102). Upon receiving the setting request command, the printer 204 transmits the setting information stored in the NVRAM 320 to the requesting PC. The procedure by this printer is shown in FIG. The setting information set last time is the setting information stored in the NVRAM 320 of the printer 204. The setting information can be set for various processing units. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that setting information is provided for each print job corresponding to a group of print data created by an application on a PC. Therefore, the previous setting information corresponds to the setting information about the print job executed last in the printer 204.

  The printer driver that has obtained the setting information from the printer 204 compares whether the type and size of the sheet included in the obtained setting information are the same as the type and size of the sheet specified in the print data to be transmitted. (Step 103). If they match, the created print data is transmitted to the printer together with the setting information (step 106). The type and size of paper specified in the print data to be transmitted is specified by the user via the UI of the application software or the UI of the printer driver before the procedure of FIG. The designated value is stored in a RAM or the like. In other words, the type and size (medium type) of the paper held in the RAM are the current paper type and size specified in the print data to be transmitted.

  If either the paper type and paper size of the last print process performed by the printer are different from the settings for the print data to be sent, the paper type or size of the print job to be processed or its A window (FIG. 4) for notifying a user (operator) that both settings are different from the printer settings is displayed on the CRT 311 of the host computer (step 104). The operator who sees this screen looks up to the printer as necessary and exchanges paper or changes printer settings in accordance with the print settings of the print job to be printed.

  Thereafter, the process waits for an input from the operator, and if there is an input, it is determined whether or not an instruction to continue printing has been issued (that is, whether the “Yes” button in FIG. 4 has been pressed) (step 105). If an instruction to continue printing is given, print data and setting information are transmitted to the printer (step 106). If it is instructed not to continue printing (that is, if “No” in FIG. 4 is pressed), the print data is discarded, and the print execution process ends.

  On the other hand, the NVRAM of the printer 204 has an area for storing setting information such as the type and size of paper set in the latest (ie, previous) printing process. The printer that has received the previous print setting information request command from the printer driver in step 102 returns the setting information, such as the paper type and paper size, set in the previous printing process and stored in the NVRAM 320 to the printer. I do.

  FIG. 1B shows a processing procedure in the printer 104 that has received the print data. The printer that has received the print data stores the setting information such as the paper type and the paper size in the print data in the NVRAM 320 (step S111), and prints the received print data (step S112).

  As described above, the print setting specified for the recently processed print job is stored in the NVRAM 320 of the printer. Then, the print setting stored in the printer is regarded as the print setting actually set in the printer, and a message urging the operator to change the printer setting is displayed. For this reason, even for a print setting whose status cannot be detected by the printer, the operator can be notified that the setting may be incorrect without providing a mechanism for detecting the print setting.

  Then, even when the print setting that is different from the print setting of the job to be printed is used immediately before, a warning is given to the user before the execution of printing, so that useless printing can be prevented.

  Further, even if the printer is not provided with a mechanism such as a sensor, the above-described effect can be obtained by a cheap and simple configuration.

  That is, even if there is no mechanism for detecting the type and size of the paper set in the printer, there is provided a means for acquiring the type and size of the paper set in the printing process executed last time by the printer. Thus, in an environment where a plurality of users use one printer, it is possible to reduce waste of printing on paper different from the type and size of paper intended by the user. Conversely, the operator who operates the computer can provide a function for grasping the print settings of the printer even by a printer that does not have a sensor for detecting the print settings. The function can be provided by a printing system in which the number of prints is reduced.

  Even in a system in which a plurality of printers are connected, the above-described effects can be obtained for each printer by executing the procedure of FIG. 1 for each printer in order to store the setting information in the printer. Can be.

[Modification 1 of First Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, in step 103 in FIG. 1, the match is determined for the type and size of the sheet, but this is only an example. The present invention can be applied not only to the type and size of paper, but also to manual setting items that need to be manually changed by the operator in the printer according to the print settings specified in the print job.

[Modification 2 of First Embodiment]
Further, the setting information is set for each print job, but is not limited to this, and can be set for each other unit such as a page unit.

[Modification 3 of First Embodiment]
In the procedure shown in FIG. 1, setting information is read from the printer before the print data is transmitted to the printer. This procedure may be omitted, and the print data may be transmitted from the printer driver to the printer. In this case, the printer compares the setting information included in the print data with the setting information stored in the NVRAM. If the setting information is different, the printer interrupts the process and notifies the computer of a warning. If it is, printing is executed as it is. The computer receiving the warning displays the warning as shown in FIG. 4 to urge the operator to change or confirm the setting. If an instruction to continue printing is issued, an instruction to continue printing is issued to the printer, and if an instruction to stop printing is issued, the printing process is stopped and the print data is Issue an instruction to destroy. The printer continues or cancels the printing process according to each instruction.

  As described above, since the setting information is compared by the printer, the setting information is not transmitted from the printer to the computer before the print data is transmitted. You can save time.

[Modification 4 of First Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, the printer is connected to the network via a computer serving as a printer server. However, the present invention is also applied to a network printer connected to a network without a printer server provided with a network interface. It is possible.

[Second embodiment]
In the second embodiment of the present invention, at the time of installing a printer driver, a printer driver ID for the printer to identify the individual printer driver is issued for the printer driver. The printer driver ID is used as one of setting commands transmitted to the printer together with the print data in order to notify the printer of the printer driver that is to perform printing by the printer. As a method of assigning the printer driver ID, for example, there is a method of transmitting an instruction for giving the printer a printer driver ID and giving the command by the printer. The printer assigns a serial number in response to, for example, a request for assigning a printer driver ID. Alternatively, a unique value can be given by combining the date and time when the printer driver was installed with the identification name of the computer on which the printer driver was installed. The printer driver ID is managed by the operating system or the printer driver, is transmitted to the printer 204 together with the print data, and is stored in the NVRAM. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of processing by the printer driver according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, a printer driver instructed to execute printing creates print data to be transmitted to a printer according to printing conditions set by a user (step 501). The print data includes, in addition to image data to be printed, setting information relating to printing conditions such as paper type, paper size, print quality, and a printer driver ID.

  Next, a command for acquiring the ID of the printer driver that instructed the previous printing process from the printer 204 is transmitted to the printer. The printer 204 reads out the ID recorded in a predetermined area of the NVRAM and returns it to the computer. As a result, the printer driver acquires the ID of the printer driver that instructed the previous printing process (step 502). The printer driver determines whether the ID of the printer driver that previously instructed the printer to print from the printer 204 is the same as its own ID (step 503). If they are the same, it is determined that the type and size of the paper set in the printer is the one intended by the user, and the print data is transmitted (step 508).

  If the ID of the printer driver instructing the previous printing is different from the ID of the printer driver itself, a command for requesting the information of the paper type and the paper size set in the printing processing executed last time is transmitted to the printer. In response, the printer reads the setting information from the NVRAM and sends it to the computer. The printer driver obtains the information of the type and size of the paper set in the previous printing process from the printer (step 504).

  The printer driver that has obtained the setting information from the printer 204 compares whether the type and size of the sheet included in the obtained setting information are the same as the type and size of the sheet specified in the print data to be transmitted. (Step 505). If they match, the created print data is transmitted to the printer together with the setting information (step 508).

  If either the paper type and paper size of the last print process performed by the printer are different from the settings for the print data to be sent, the paper type or size of the print job to be processed or its A window (FIG. 4) for notifying the user (operator) that both settings are different from the printer settings is displayed on the CRT 311 of the host computer (step 506). The operator who sees this screen looks up to the printer as necessary and exchanges paper or changes printer settings in accordance with the print settings of the print job to be printed.

  Thereafter, the process waits for an input from the operator, and if there is an input, it is determined whether or not an instruction to continue printing has been issued (that is, whether the “Yes” button in FIG. 4 has been pressed) (step 507). If print continuation is instructed, print data and setting information are transmitted to the printer (step 508). If it is instructed not to continue printing (that is, if “No” in FIG. 4 is pressed), the print data is discarded, and the print execution process ends.

  Although the processing in the printer is not shown in FIG. 5, the NVRAM 320 of the printer stores the printer driver ID set in the last print processing executed by the printer, the setting information such as the type and size of paper, and the like. There is an area for storing. In step 502, the printer that has received the ID information request command of the printer driver that instructed the previous printing from the printer driver reads the ID of the printer driver that performed the previous printing from the NVRAM 320 and transmits the ID to the computer. Further, the printer which has received the print setting information request command in step 504 returns the setting information such as the paper type and paper size set in the previous print processing stored in the NVRAM 320 to the computer. Further, the printer that has received the print data in step 508 stores the setting information such as the printer driver ID, the paper type, and the paper size in the NVRAM 320, and performs printing in accordance with the print settings.

  As described above, first, it is determined whether the user recorded in the printer matches the user who is going to perform printing, and if the same user continues to use the printer, the setting is changed to the printer setting. Determines that it is unnecessary and does not warn about the settings. Therefore, displaying an unnecessary warning does not bother the user. When the user is different, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained by executing the same procedure as in the first embodiment.

  Further, even if the printer is not provided with a mechanism such as a sensor, the above-described effect can be obtained by a cheap and simple configuration.

[Modification 1 of Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the ID is received from the printer at the time of installation in order to distinguish the user. However, information capable of distinguishing the user is transmitted to the printer together with the print data, and the printer stores the information. It is also possible to distinguish users using the information.

  In this embodiment, an identification name is given to the printer driver. Therefore, even when a plurality of operating systems are installed on a single computer and a printer driver is installed on each operating system, each user of each operating system is regarded as a separate user. Can handle.

  However, in normal computer use, one printer driver is installed for one printer in one computer. Therefore, an identifier for uniquely identifying a host on a network may be used instead of the printer driver ID. This eliminates the need to assign a printer driver ID when installing the printer driver.

  Further, some operating systems allow a plurality of users to input a distinguished name and a password and log in, thereby setting a use environment from a profile for each user. When a printer driver is installed in such an operating system, an identification name for each user can be used instead of the printer driver ID. By doing so, it is possible for the printer to recognize each of a plurality of users who use one computer as different users.

[Modification 2 of Second Embodiment]
As in the third modification of the first embodiment, the information on the host side and the information held by the printer can be compared in the printer for the printer driver ID and the setting information. In this case, the host computer executes step 508 immediately after step 501 to transmit the print data.

  The printer that has received the data compares the printer driver ID included in the print data with the printer driver ID stored in the NVRAM, and executes the printing as it is if they match. If they do not match, the setting information included in the print data is compared with the setting information stored in the NVRAM, and if different, the processing is interrupted and a warning is sent to the computer. If they match, printing is executed as it is.

  The computer receiving the warning displays the warning as shown in FIG. 4 to urge the operator to change or confirm the setting. If an instruction to continue printing is issued, an instruction to continue printing is issued to the printer, and if an instruction to stop printing is issued, the printing process is stopped and the print data is Issue an instruction to destroy. The printer continues or cancels the printing process according to each instruction.

  In this way, by causing the printer to compare the setting information, the printer driver ID and the setting information are not transmitted from the printer to the computer before the print data is transmitted. The time until the start of printing can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment]
As a third embodiment, an embodiment will be described in which the present invention is applied to paper interval setting instead of paper size and type.

  In an input / output device that realizes its function by passing various types of paper, such as a printer, the accuracy between the input / output unit in the device and the paper to be passed, that is, the accuracy between the papers, is a factor in the input / output work. Very much affects accuracy.

  In recent years, inkjet technology has been advanced in printers, which are one of input / output devices, and further improvement in image quality has been sought. General-purpose printers need to pass various sheets. In order to improve the printing accuracy, it is essential to keep the paper interval between the print head and the paper to be printed constant. For this reason, the distance between the paper presser called the platen and the print head depends on the paper thickness. The method of adjusting is often taken. Adjustment with the sheet adjustment lever is one of the methods.

  Since automation of this mechanism requires many parts and is costly, there are many devices in which a manual paper interval adjusting mechanism is mounted by an operator. Here, in order to perform printing with the desired accuracy with a device for manually adjusting the sheet interval, it is necessary to determine whether the position of the sheet interval adjusting lever is appropriate for the type of sheet. Conventionally, the built-in sensor detects the position of the platen and the paper adjustment lever, and notifies the connected host computer of the detected lever position.The host computer checks whether the paper adjustment lever position information is appropriate for the paper. The operator was prompted to adjust the position of the paper adjustment lever of the printer if inappropriate.

  In the present embodiment, a printing system will be described in which a printer is not provided with a sensor for detecting a platen position and a sheet gap adjusting lever position, and can appropriately set the sheet gap adjusting lever position. In this system, the host computer that creates the print data does not store the paper type and the position of the paper gap adjustment lever, but stores it in the printer. It works correctly even if it may be connected to and communicate with multiple hosts asynchronously. Further, since a message urging the user to adjust the lever position is not always displayed each time the printing operation is performed, the operator is not actually warned at a timing when the adjustment is unnecessary, and the burden on the operator can be reduced. Note that, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a description will be given of the system configuration in FIGS. 2 and 3.

  FIGS. 6 and 7 show a printer 101 constituting a part of the second embodiment. The printer 101 corresponds to the printer 204 in FIG. The printer (101) includes a print carriage (102) that moves in the main scanning direction. On the print carriage (102), a print head (103) and a sub-tank (104) for temporarily storing ink are provided. The paper feed roller (106) conveys the paper in the sub-scanning direction, that is, the direction of the printing paper paper feeding path (105), and the print carriage moves on the main scanning direction, that is, on the cartridge moving path (107), so as to cover the entire printing medium. Is realized.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the printer of FIG. 6 as viewed from the paper transport direction. The print head 103 on the print carriage 102 and the print paper on the platen 108 are separated from each other by an interval (paper interval) adjusted by the paper interval adjustment lever. The height of the platen (108) is adjusted by the operator adjusting the paper interval adjusting lever (109) to the left and right, so that the interval (paper interval) between the print head (103) and the printing paper can be adjusted. The paper interval adjustment lever position of the printer 101 has two positions of “wide” and “narrow”, and the paper interval is switched between “wide” and “narrow” accordingly.

The printer 101 has the same configuration as the printer 204 having the configuration shown in FIG. In the NVRAM 320, the sheet interval adjustment lever position information is recorded. The information indicating the position of the sheet gap adjusting lever corresponds to the information indicating the position of the sheet thickness adjusting means of the printer. As the value of the sheet adjustment lever position information, a value determined from print settings transmitted from the host computer to the printer 101 together with the print data is recorded. The paper interval adjustment lever position information also takes one of the following two values.
Wide: when it is estimated that the paper interval adjustment lever is set to the “wide” side.
Narrow: When it is estimated that the paper interval adjustment lever is set to the “narrow” side.

  The “estimated case” specifically refers to an optimum paper determined according to the type of paper included in the print setting received from the host computer together with the print data, as shown in the table of FIG. This refers to the case where the position adjustment lever position information is “wide” or “narrow”.

  Next, an example of a procedure when printing is performed by the printer 101 from the host computer (printer driver) will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description and drawings, the sheet interval adjustment lever position information stored in the NVRAM 320 of the printer is referred to as lever position information.

  When the printer driver on the personal computer is instructed by the user to create print data via an application program or the like, the printer driver first requests the printer to transmit lever position information currently stored in the printer (step S11). ).

  Upon receiving the lever position information request (step S21), the printer 101 reads the lever position information from the NVRAM 320 and transmits it to the host computer (step S22).

  The printer driver of the host computer receives the lever position information from the printer (step S12), and the lever position information is used to adjust the sheet interval suitable for the paper specified in the print data to be created, ie, the paper type specified by the operator. It is determined whether the lever position is indicated (step S13). In the present embodiment, if the specified paper type is “plain paper” or “photo-only paper”, the appropriate paper adjustment lever position is determined to be “narrow”, and if it is “envelope”, Is determined to be “wide” (FIG. 9). In step S13, the sheet interval adjustment lever position determined from the sheet information is compared with the lever position information received from the printer, and if they match, it is determined that the lever position is appropriate. If not, it is determined to be inappropriate.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the position is appropriate, the flow advances to step S15 to create print data and transmit it to the printer 101.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the lever is inappropriate, the process proceeds to step S14, and a message prompting the operator to change the lever position is displayed. This message may be a message obtained by changing the contents of the message in FIG. 4 to a message that warns that the lever position is different, and is used by the operator to select whether to continue or interrupt the printing process. Button is also provided.

  If the operator presses the “Yes” button after setting the paper interval adjusting lever to an appropriate position or confirming that the position is appropriate, the printer driver proceeds to step S15 accordingly and prints the print data. It is created and transmitted to the printer 101.

  Upon receiving the print data in step S23, the printer 101 determines the position of the sheet adjustment lever based on the sheet information therein. In step S23, the determination is made based on the same reference as the determination in step S13. That is, if the paper type is “plain paper” or “photo-only paper”, the appropriate paper interval adjustment lever position is determined to be “narrow”, and if the paper type is “envelope”, it is determined to be “wide”. (FIG. 9). As described above, by calculating the sheet gap adjusting lever position information from the sheet information, there is an advantage that the printer driver does not need to newly add an appropriate sheet gap adjusting lever position to the print data. Of course, an equivalent system can be realized by a method in which the printer driver adds appropriate sheet adjustment lever position information to the print data and sends it to the printer.

  In step S25, the printer 101 stores the sheet interval adjustment lever position calculated in step S24 in the storage unit (the NVRAM 203 in the configuration of FIG. 3) and prints the sheet on the sheet in step S26, thereby completing a series of operations.

  As described above, since the paper interval adjustment lever position information calculated from the print data processed last is stored in the storage unit of the printer, the same procedure as described above is performed even when printing is subsequently performed from a different computer. , An appropriate sheet gap adjusting lever position is set, and after the printing operation is completed, the position information is stored in the storage means.

  In this manner, in the printing system of the present embodiment, the position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit is appropriate for the print setting specified by the operator by using a printer that does not include a sensor that detects the position of the sheet gap adjusting lever. It can be determined whether or not, that is, whether or not the position of the sheet adjustment lever is appropriate. For this reason, the printer does not need a sensor for detecting the position of the sheet adjustment lever, and the number of components is small, so that the utilization rate can be improved at low cost.

[Fourth embodiment]
Although the printer according to the third embodiment is supposed to be connected only to a computer, some printers include a general-purpose data processing system and can be connected to devices other than a personal computer. For example, many information devices called non-PCs, such as PDAs, digital cameras, and mobile phones, have a wireless interface such as IrDA or BlueTooth. The printer is equipped with these interfaces, and is equipped with a general-purpose data processing system such as JPEG format image data, text data, vCard, etc., so that it can handle them and print data received from non-PC. . Since these non-PCs often do not have a printer driver dedicated to the printer, even if the printer returns the paper adjustment lever position information before printing, the information equipment cannot display an appropriate message and the print data contains There are restrictions such as not being able to contain seeds. Therefore, the system assumed in the third embodiment cannot properly process non-PCs. The present embodiment can cope with such a case by operating the printer as follows.

In the present embodiment, the sheet interval adjustment lever position information takes one of the following three values.
Wide: when it is estimated that the paper interval adjustment lever is set to the “wide” side.
Narrow: When it is estimated that the paper interval adjustment lever is set to the “narrow” side.
Unknown: The position of the paper adjustment lever cannot be estimated. Unknown at factory shipment.

  The "estimated case" specifically refers to the optimum paper interval adjustment determined according to the type of paper included in the print setting received from the host computer together with the print data shown in the table of FIG. When the lever position information is “wide” or “narrow”, and when the lever position after printing determined according to the lever position before printing is “narrow” or “undefined” as shown in the table of FIG. Corresponding to Here, in the present embodiment, when the host device is a computer, the processing proceeds in the same procedure as in the third embodiment. Therefore, in that case, as in the third embodiment, the lever position information is determined according to the rule shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the non-PC device is the host, the process proceeds in a procedure described later. In this case, the lever position information is determined according to the rule shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the data supported by the printer in the non-PC environment is JPEG images and character information (text files, vCard, vCalendar, etc.). And In any case, the sheet gap adjusting lever should be set to the “narrow” side.

  As described above, the non-PC device does not have a printer driver, and therefore, when printing from them, the non-PC device performs only step 15 in FIG. Therefore, steps S21 to S22 are not executed in the printer. When the print data is received from the non-PC device, the printer determines the sheet adjustment lever position information in step S24 according to the rule shown in FIG. 10, records it in step S25, and prints it in step S26. A series of operations ends. In FIG. 10, the lever position information before printing is the value of the position control lever position information recorded in the NVRAM 320 until updated in step S25, and the lever position information after printing is the value of the lever position information before printing. Is the value of the sheet adjustment lever position information determined by the rule of FIG.

  For example, when print data is received from a host, the printer 101 determines whether a lever position information request has been received immediately before the print data. If the request has been received, the host is a computer, and if not, a non-PC device. Can be determined.

  Here, assuming the presence of an operator 1 (a user who can refer to a manual as needed and can select an appropriate lever position according to paper without a guide) and an operator 2 (a user who cannot change the lever position without a guide) The operator 1 can be expected to set the lever position to an appropriate side (narrow) before printing from a digital camera or the like. Since the operator 2 cannot obtain a guide from a digital camera or the like, it is expected that the lever position will be kept irrespective of printing. Therefore, when the pre-print lever position is "narrow", it is expected that it will be maintained after printing. When the pre-print lever position is "wide", the operator determines whether or not adjustment is to be performed. For this reason, the lever position information after printing is set to "undefined" which means that it has no connection. The same applies to the case where the lever position before printing is “undefined”. FIG. 10 is created so as to be compatible with any of these operators.

  Subsequently, when printing is performed from the personal computer, the printer driver and printer on the personal computer operate as shown in the flowchart of FIG. At this time, the lever position information is determined according to the table of FIG. However, in the present embodiment, the lever position information that has received the data from the printer may be “undefined”. In that case, it is determined in step S13 that the lever position is inappropriate. The printer driver operates in the same manner as the third embodiment by displaying the message prompting the operator to check the position of the sheet adjustment lever and promptly changing the position appropriately.

  As described above, even in a system in which the printer can receive and print the print data from the device having no printer driver, the data can be appropriately processed.

[Fifth Embodiment]
The printers of the third and fourth embodiments are based on the premise that a printer driver displays a message to an operator using a display function of a personal computer and accepts an input from the operator. In the present embodiment, since the printer includes the display device and the input device, the printer itself can prompt the operator to confirm and set the paper interval adjusting lever.

  The operation of the printer driver and the printer in a system based on only the connection with a host computer equipped with a printer driver, as in the third embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 11, print data including paper type information is transmitted from the printer driver to the printer in steps S31 and S41. In step S42, the printer calculates the position of the sheet adjustment lever from the sheet type information arranged near the head of the print data in accordance with FIG. In step S43, a comparison is made with the sheet interval adjustment lever position information stored inside the printer. In step S43, if the position of the sheet adjustment lever is appropriate, the process proceeds directly to S45. If the position of the sheet adjusting lever is inappropriate, the process proceeds to step S44 to display a message to urge the operator to adjust the position of the sheet adjusting lever, and the printer recognizes that the position adjustment of the sheet adjusting lever has been completed by pressing a key or the like. Then, the process proceeds to S45. The printer stores the position of the sheet gap adjusting lever in S45 and performs printing in S46, thereby ending a series of operations. The determination in step S44 is the same as the determination in step S13 in FIG. 8 in the third embodiment.

  Further, when printing is performed from a non-PC in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment, the printing sequence from the non-PC device is equivalent to the procedure by the printer driver described above. In this case, when the print data is transmitted from the non-PC, the printer cannot acquire the sheet information from the print data in step S42 of FIG. However, if the paper interval adjustment lever position information stored in the printer in step S43 is not "wide", the process proceeds directly to S45, and if it is "wide", the process proceeds to S44 to display and provide the operator with adjustment of the paper interval adjustment lever position. When the printer recognizes that the adjustment of the position of the sheet adjustment lever has been completed by pressing a key or the like, the process proceeds to S45, whereby a system equivalent to the case where a computer is used as a host can be configured.

  As described above, in the printing system according to the present embodiment, the position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit is appropriate for the print setting specified by the operator by using a printer without a sensor for detecting the position of the sheet adjusting lever. It can be determined whether or not there is, that is, whether or not the position of the sheet adjustment lever is appropriate. For this reason, the printer does not need a sensor for detecting the position of the sheet adjustment lever, and the number of components is small, so that the utilization rate can be improved at low cost.

[Modifications of First to Fifth Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, a system using a printer from a computer has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to input / output devices having manual setting items that need to be set directly by manual operation in the device. is there. That is, when an instruction to perform an input / output operation using such an input / output device is made by the user from the host device, the value of the manual setting item is set by the user with respect to the information to be input / output. The value is determined according to the output setting, and the determined device setting value is compared with the manual setting item value stored in the input / output device. If they match, the input / output device performs the input / output operation on the assumption that the settings desired by the user have already been made. If they do not match, the user is prompted to change the manual setting, and the input / output operation is continued according to a signal to continue the processing. At that time, the value of the manual setting item determined according to the input / output setting set by the user is stored in the storage unit of the input / output device assuming that the value indicates the setting of the device.

  In this way, every time an input / output operation that requires switching of the manual setting item of the device is requested, the operator can be notified of the fact and prompt the operation, and a sensor that actually detects the manual setting is provided to the device. Even if it is not provided, it is possible to prevent a situation where an input / output operation is performed with incorrect settings.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, when the type of the last printed medium obtained from the printer is different from the type of the medium to be printed from now on, the host computer displays a confirmation message to that effect and confirms to the user. The point of obtaining an input is similar to the first embodiment. However, the confirmation message is not merely a message as to whether or not to continue printing, but rather as to input whether or not to perform further confirmation operation in the printer. Then, when the confirmation operation is selected, the print command is issued from the host computer (printer driver) to the printer with the print command “confirmation print command” attached, instead of simply continuing the printing. Then, the user is caused to make a confirmation input in the printer. This is different from the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the print system of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the name “print command” is used, which is used in the same meaning as “print data” in the first to fifth embodiments. The configurations in FIGS. 2 and 3 are similarly applied to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 12 is an overall configuration diagram of a print system according to the present invention. The entire system is composed of two parts, a printer driver 11 and a printer 12 installed in the host computer. In the following, there is a description that treats the printer driver 11 as if it were a device, but this may mean a computer on which the printer driver 11 is installed.

  The printer driver 11 (that is, the computer in which the printer driver is installed) and the printer 12 are connected by a USB cable, a network, or the like, and can communicate with each other. The printer driver 11 can not only send a print command to the printer 12, but also return various statuses in response to an inquiry from the printer driver 11. The configuration of the printer driver and the inside of the printer are described by extracting portions related to the present invention.

  The data processing unit 111 in the printer driver 11 performs various data processing in the driver. Specific processing contents in the present invention will be described later with reference to FIG. The UI control unit 112 performs display of a user interface screen and input processing from a user. The print medium type acquisition unit 113 makes an inquiry to the printer 12, and acquires the print medium type printed by the printer 12 immediately before (that is, last). The print data generation unit 114 receives print data from the application and generates a print command that can be actually interpreted by the printer 12. The specified print media type storage unit 115 stores a print media type specified by the user for the printer driver.

  On the other hand, the data processing unit 121 in the printer 12 performs various data processing in the printer 12. The details of FIG. 13 will be described in the processing flow. The command analysis unit 122 receives and analyzes the print command transmitted from the printer driver 11, and obtains necessary information. The print media type storage unit 123 is configured by a memory such as an EEPROM that retains the contents even when the power of the printer is turned off, and stores the media type of the media that was printed immediately before. The printer control unit 124 actually controls the motor and the print head of the printer 12 according to the print command received from the printer driver 11 to perform a printing operation.

  Next, the flow of processing of the printer driver 11 and the printer 12 according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 13 shows the flow of processing by the printer driver 11 according to the present invention, which is executed after print execution is instructed from application software on the host computer. Before the print execution is instructed from the application software, the user designates a print media type for the print data to be generated from the UI of the application software or the UI of the printer driver. The type is stored in the designated print medium storage unit 115. That is, the media type stored in the designated print media storage unit 115 is the media type of the current printer driver 11. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 13 is as follows.

  S1301: The printer driver instructed to execute printing acquires a print media type from the printer 12. Specifically, the print media type acquisition unit 113 inquires the printer 12 of the media type that has just been printed, and receives the result. The data processing unit 111 receives, from the print media type acquisition unit 113, the media type that was printed immediately before and received from the printer 12.

  S1302: The data processing unit 111 compares the media type received in S1301 with the media type stored in the designated print media storage unit 115.

  S1303: If the two media types match in S1302, the process proceeds to S1307, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to S1304.

  S1304: Since the media type printed immediately before by the printer 12 does not match the media type of the current printer driver 11, the data processing unit 111 informs the user via the UI control unit 112 that the media type does not match, and Prompt for a choice. FIG. 15 shows a display example. In FIG. 15, the user can select YES (confirmation printing is performed) or NO (confirmation printing is not performed). Then, the UI control unit 112 notifies the data processing unit 111 of the user's selection result. If the user already knows the media that has been fed to the printer 12, the user may select NO.

  S1305: In S1304, if YES is selected, the process proceeds to S1306, and if NO is selected, the process proceeds to S1307.

  S1306: The data processing unit 111 generates a “confirmation print ON” command indicating that the confirmation print is performed, and proceeds to S1308. The printer 12 that has received the print command string including the “confirmation print ON” command is in a standby state without performing printing work until the user presses the “confirmation” button on the printer 12.

  S1307: The data processing unit 111 generates a “confirmation print OFF” command indicating that confirmation print is not performed, and proceeds to S1308. The printer 12 that has received the print command string including the “confirmation print OFF” command does not go into a standby state but performs the printing operation as it is.

  S1308: The print data generation unit 114 receives the print data from the application and creates a print command sequence. Further, the data processing unit 111 adds the confirmation print command generated in S1306 or S1307 to the print command sequence. At this time, a command indicating the current print media type is also included in the print command.

  S1309: Finally, the data processing unit 111 transmits the print command sequence generated in S1308 to the printer 12.

  Thus, the process in the printer driver 11 ends. Next, the flow of processing in the printer 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 16 shows the flow of processing of the printer 12 in response to a media type inquiry from the printer driver 11 on the host computer. The flow in FIG. 16 is started when the data processing unit 121 of the printer 12 receives an instruction to acquire the media type that has just been printed from the printer driver 11.

  S1601: The data processing unit 121 acquires the media type from the print media type storage unit 123 that stores the media type of the print medium that has just been printed. Note that the print medium type storage unit 123 stores the media type of the print medium that has just been printed because S1401 in FIG. 14 described later is executed when the printer 12 executes the print processing.

  S1602: The data processing unit 121 transmits the media type acquired in S1601 to the printer driver 11.

  This completes the process of the printer 12 for the print media type inquiry. Next, a process of the printer 12 when receiving a print command from the linter driver 11 and executing a print job will be described with reference to FIG.

  S1401: The data processing unit 121 receives a print command sequence from the printer driver 11, and passes it to the command analysis unit 122. The command analysis unit 122 analyzes the passed print command sequence, extracts a confirmation print command and a print media type, and transmits them to the data processing unit 121. The data processing unit 121 stores the print media type extracted by the command analysis unit 122 in the print media type storage unit 123.

  S1402: If the confirmation print command transmitted to the data processing unit 121 in S1401 is confirmation print OFF, the process proceeds to S1404. If the confirmation print command is ON, the process proceeds to S1403.

  S1403: Since the confirmation print command is ON, the data processing unit 121 is in a standby state until the confirmation button (the operation panel 321 in FIG. 3) on the printer 12 is pressed. When the user's confirmation operation is completed and the confirmation button on the printer 12 is pressed, the process advances to step S1404.

  S1404: The data processing unit 121 passes the print command string received from the driver 11 to the printer control unit 124, and performs an actual printing operation.

  This completes the printing process in the printer.

  According to the above procedure, even in a printer having no sensor for identifying a print medium, there is an effect of preventing printing on a print medium not intended by the user by the print medium confirmation processing. Further, printing can be started by the confirmation switch on the printer, and there is an effect that the user does not have to return to the host computer after confirming the print medium.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but may be a device including one device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, etc.). May be applied.

  Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or a CPU or a CPU) of the system or the apparatus. (MPU) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  When the computer executes the readout program code, 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 a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is executed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU provided in the 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.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow according to the first embodiment; System configuration diagram of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a dialog for asking the user to determine whether to continue printing. A diagram showing an example of the flow of the second embodiment, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a printer configuration according to an embodiment. Configuration diagram of a platen unit in the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart in an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a correspondence table between paper information and a paper interval adjustment lever position, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a transition table of a sheet gap adjusting lever position by printing from a non-PC; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart in the embodiment. System Configuration, A flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printer driver, A flowchart showing a flow of a printing process in the printer, A diagram showing a selection screen display example, 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing in the printer in response to an inquiry from a printer driver.

Explanation of reference numerals

101 Printer 102 Print carriage 108 Platen 109 Paper adjustment lever 11 Printer driver 12 Printer 111 Data processing unit 112 UI control unit 113 Print media type acquisition unit 114 Print data generation unit 115 Designated print media type storage unit 121 Data processing unit 122 Command analysis Unit 123 print media type storage unit 124 printer control unit

Claims (25)

An image forming apparatus that receives data from a host device and forms an image,
Storage means for storing the latest setting value of the device;
Transmission means for transmitting the latest setting value stored in the storage means in response to a request from the host device,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an update unit that receives print settings from the host device and updates the latest setting values stored in the storage unit. An image forming apparatus that receives data from a host device and forms an image,
Storage means for storing the latest setting value of the device;
A setting value of the image forming apparatus is determined in response to an image forming request from the host device, and the determined setting value is compared with a setting value stored in the storage unit. Means for processing the formation request and notifying the host device when the two do not match, the image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting value stored in the storage unit includes a size and / or a type of a sheet medium on which an image is formed.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image forming unit configured to form an image by an inkjet method, wherein the set value stored in the storage unit includes a setting of a distance between the inkjet head and a sheet. Image forming device. A panel for displaying a message and instructing input;
Determining means for determining whether the data received from the host device includes a confirmation command,
When the determination unit determines that a confirmation command is included, the display unit further includes a confirmation unit that displays a message on the panel unit and requests input of a response to the message.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a response is input by the confirmation unit, an image is formed based on the data. An information processing apparatus for performing image formation by the image forming apparatus,
Acquiring means for acquiring the latest setting value from the image forming apparatus;
Comparing the setting value in the designated image formation with the setting value obtained by the obtaining unit, transmitting an image forming request to the image forming apparatus if they match, and displaying the fact by the display unit if they do not match; An information processing apparatus comprising:   An image forming system comprising the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 and the information processing apparatus according to claim 6 connected to each other.   An image forming system, comprising: the image forming apparatus according to claim 2; and an information processing apparatus that receives a notification from the image forming apparatus and displays the information on a display unit.   An image forming system comprising: acquiring a latest set value stored in a printer; and, when the set value is different from a designated set value, notifying the user of the fact. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus that performs image formation by receiving data from a host device,
A storage step of storing the latest setting values of the device;
In response to a request from the host device, a transmitting step of transmitting the latest setting value stored in the storage unit,
An update step of receiving a print setting from the host device and updating the latest setting value stored in the storage unit. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus that performs image formation by receiving data from a host device,
A storage step of storing the latest setting values of the device;
A setting value of the image forming apparatus is determined in response to an image forming request from the host device, and the determined setting value is compared with a setting value stored in the storage unit. Processing the formation request and, if the two do not match, notifying the host device to that effect. A determination step of determining whether the data received from the host device includes a confirmation command,
When the determination step determines that the confirmation command is included, the method further includes a confirmation step of displaying a message on a panel unit for displaying a message and instructing input, and requesting an input of a response to the message. ,
The method according to claim 10, wherein, when a response is input to the message in the confirmation step, image formation is performed based on the data. An information processing method for performing image formation by an image forming apparatus,
An obtaining step of obtaining the latest setting value from the image forming apparatus,
Comparing the set value in the designated image formation with the set value obtained in the obtaining step, transmitting an image forming request to the image forming apparatus if they match, and displaying the fact by display means if they do not match; An information processing method comprising:   A method for controlling a printer, comprising: obtaining a latest set value stored in a printer; and, when the set value is different from a designated set value, notifying the user of the fact.   A program for realizing a method according to any one of claims 10 to 14 by a computer.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 15 is recorded. A print system that transmits print settings set by a printer driver to a printer, and the printer performs printing according to the settings.
The printer driver includes means for acquiring print settings stored in the printer,
A printing system comprising: a printer for storing print settings that have been printed immediately before; and a unit for transmitting the stored print settings to the printer driver in response to a request from the printer driver. An input / output system including a host computer and input / output devices connected by an interface capable of bidirectional communication,
The input / output device stores a sheet thickness adjusting unit corresponding to the thickness of the sheet, a unit that calculates an appropriate position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit based on information transmitted from the host computer, and stores the calculated position of the sheet thickness adjusting unit. Storage means,
The host computer includes a unit for receiving sheet thickness adjusting unit position information from the input / output device, and a determining unit for determining whether the sheet thickness adjusting unit position information is appropriate for an input / output operation requested by an operator. Characteristic input / output system.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an identifier for identifying a user is stored in the storage unit together with the setting value.   20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the identifier is an identifier assigned to a control program in a host device. Storage means for storing the print media type printed, and means for responding to the inquiry from the host the print media type stored in the storage means, a printer capable of using a plurality of types of print media types,
An acquisition unit for inquiring and acquiring a print medium type printed immediately before from the printer; and a display unit for displaying a confirmation message to the user when the acquisition unit does not match the print medium type set by the user. A print system comprising a host device. When the print medium type acquired by the acquisition unit does not match the print medium type set by the user, the host device sends a confirmation command to the printer to put the printer in a standby state,
The printer further includes a confirmation input unit, and when the printer is in a standby state by the confirmation command, printing is restarted when a confirmation is input by the confirmation input unit. Item 23. The print system according to Item 21,   The host device, when the print media type obtained by the obtaining unit does not match the print media type set by the user, allows the user to select whether or not to put the printer in a standby state. 23. The printing system according to 22.   A printing system for acquiring the type of a medium that has been printed last from a printer and notifying a user of an instruction to form an image on a medium of a type different from the type of the medium. .   The computer obtains the type of the last printed medium stored in the memory of the printer and compares it with the type of the medium instructed to form an image stored in the memory of the computer. A program to output a notification to the user to that effect.

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