JP2006123261A - Printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus capable of normally performing a printing operation without changing setting of recognition on connection of an operational panel even when one printing job data is transmitted by dividing it into a plurality of times of connections. <P>SOLUTION: A work memory 7 for storing the last line data in the printing job data when the connection is cut in the midway of receiving the printing job data, a judgement processing part 8 for judging conformity between the head line data of the printing job data received by a connection after the cut connection and the last line data, a bit map development processing part 5 performing the printing operation based on an intermediate code data formed by analyzing the printing job data received before cutting the connection and the intermediate code data formed by analyzing the printing job data received after cutting the connection when the judgement processing part judges that the conformity exists, are equipped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for performing a printing operation by sequentially analyzing print job data received from another apparatus.

  In a commonly used printing apparatus, when print job data is received from another apparatus such as a host computer, the print job data is first stored in a job buffer. Only one job buffer is prepared for a printing apparatus equipped with a plurality of interfaces, for example, a network interface and a USB, and a plurality of job buffers are not prepared. For this reason, the interface that previously stored data in the job buffer occupies the job buffer, and other interfaces are prevented from storing data in the job buffer.

  When the connection between the printing device and the host computer is disconnected, the job buffer being used is released, and if there is an interface waiting for storage in the job buffer, that interface occupies the job buffer and becomes usable. . The print job data stored in the job buffer is sequentially read and analyzed. After the analysis, it is once converted into an intermediate code such as a display list, bitmap data is created in units of one page or one band, and a printing operation is started.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining print job data transferred through a connection between the host computer and the printing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 4A, one print job data transmitted from the host computer is generally included in one connection. The print job data includes a job start command and an end command at the beginning and end, respectively. When a connection is established between the host computer and the printing apparatus, the host computer transmits print job data including a job start command, and when the transfer up to the job end command is completed, the connection is disconnected. When the printing apparatus receives a job end command, it prints the print job data received so far, performs paper discharge processing, and ends the print job. Further, when the connection is disconnected during the transfer of the print job data, a disconnection process is performed.

  In the job transfer between the host computer and the printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4B, the connection may be cut off during the transfer of the print job data. Cases in which this occurs include the occurrence of a communication error between the host computer and the printing apparatus, and cancellation of the print job by the user. Since the print device end command cannot recognize the print job end command in such a case, if the connection is cut off during transfer, it is interpreted as a job end command reception, and the print job data received so far is discarded after printing. A so-called canceling process of paper is performed.

  However, for connection disconnection before receiving the job end command, as shown in FIG. 4C, in addition to the above case, for example, because the image size to be transferred is large, one print job data is transferred to a plurality of connections on the host computer side. There is also a special case of transferring separately. In such a special case, the conventional printing apparatus cancels the connection when the connection is disconnected. Therefore, the conventional printing apparatus is searching for the next job start command even if the continuation of the print job data is sent through the connection connected later, so that all the subsequent print job data is discarded and a correct print result is obtained. I couldn't.

  In order to solve this problem, the conventional printing apparatus has a function of setting whether to perform connection recognition on the operation panel. When the setting here is “Yes”, the disconnection in the middle of the transfer is canceled as the end of the print job. However, if this setting is set to “No”, the cancel process is not performed even if the connection is cut off during the transfer of the print job data, and the next print job data is awaited. As a result, a normal output result can be obtained even in a special case where one print job data is divided and transferred to a plurality of connections.

JP-A-10-161824 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-235975

  However, an environment in which a plurality of users share a printing apparatus has become common due to the spread of networks and the support of a plurality of interfaces. In such an environment, when a specific user transfers a single print job data separately over multiple connections, when printing, the user bothers to check the connection recognition settings by operating the operation panel of the printer. There must be. Also, after the printing is completed, it is necessary to restore the connection recognition setting to the original so that other users' printing operations are not affected. Therefore, in the conventional printing apparatus, there is a problem that when one print job data is divided and transferred to a plurality of connections, the printing work is complicated and troublesome.

  Further, as described above, since a plurality of users share a single printing device, when the connection recognition setting is set to “OFF”, the printing device must wait for subsequent print job data, There is a problem that it is not possible to accept print jobs from other interfaces or other users.

  The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and even if one print job data is transmitted in multiple connections, the printing operation can be normally performed without changing the connection recognition setting on the operation panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that sequentially analyzes print job data received from another apparatus, converts the print job data into print data, and performs a printing operation. Storage means for storing the last batch of data in the print job data when the connection is cut off in the middle, and the head in the print job data received in the connection after the cut connection A determination unit that determines consistency between the group of data and the last group of data stored in the storage unit, and when the determination unit determines that there is consistency, before disconnection of the connection Print data generated by analyzing the received print job data and print data generated by analyzing subsequent print job data received after the connection is disconnected Characterized by comprising a print control means for performing printing operation Zui.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the determination means has a data size of the group of data included in the header information of the last group of data. Is determined to be consistent when the data size of the last batch of data stored in the storage means matches the value obtained by adding the data size of the first batch of data. It is characterized by being.

  The invention described in claim 3 for achieving the above object is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the one set of data is data for one line.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention for achieving the above object, in the first, second, or third aspect of the invention, after the connection is disconnected, a continuous print job data is received even after a predetermined time has elapsed. If no print job data is received, a new print job data can be received.

  The invention according to claim 5 for achieving the above object is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 4, the predetermined time is a set value of a job timeout time set by a user.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, and when the determination means determines that there is no consistency, the print control means The print job data sent through the interrupted connection is printed as new print job data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the print data is an intermediate code such as a display list or a bitmap. It is characterized by being data.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method in which print job data received from another apparatus is sequentially analyzed, converted into print data, and printed. A storage step for storing the last batch of data in the print job data when the connection is cut off in the middle, and the head in the print job data received in the connection after the cut connection A determination step for determining consistency between the batch of data and the last batch of data stored in the storage step; and when the determination step determines that there is consistency, before disconnection of the connection Based on print data generated by analyzing received print job data and print data generated by analyzing subsequent print job data received after disconnection Characterized by comprising a printing control step of performing the printing operation, the.

  According to the present invention, when the connection between the other apparatus and the printing apparatus is disconnected while the print job data from the other apparatus is being transferred, the determination unit uses the connection after the disconnected connection. The consistency of the first batch of received print job data with the last batch of data received in the connection before disconnection stored in the storage means is determined, and the first batch is determined. When the data of the last is consistent with the last batch of data, the print data generated by analyzing the print job data received before the connection is disconnected and the subsequent print job received after the connection is disconnected A printing operation is performed based on the printing data generated by analyzing the data. Therefore, the user can perform printing by dividing one print job data into a plurality of connections and transferring it to the printing apparatus without setting connection recognition on the operation panel of the printing apparatus.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment is used as a CPU that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM that stores a control program and various data in a nonvolatile manner, a work area used for processing of the CPU, and a temporary storage area for data. A solid line portion in FIG. 1 is a function realized by a CPU and a ROM control program. 1 is a storage unit such as a RAM. In the following, a case will be described in which print job data is received from the host computer and printing is performed.

  The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a receiving unit 1 that receives print job data from a host computer, a job buffer 2 that temporarily stores received print job data, analysis of received print job data, and intermediate code data. A print job control unit (printing control means) 3 that performs control such as generation, an intermediate code buffer 4 that temporarily stores intermediate code data generated by the print job control unit 3, and an intermediate code stored in the intermediate code buffer 4 A bitmap development processing unit 5 that performs processing such as converting code data into printable bitmap data, a printing unit 6 that actually performs printing, and data for the last line when the connection is disconnected ( Sent in the work memory (storage means) 7 that stores the last batch of data) and the connection after the disconnected connection Determination processing unit (determination means) 8 for determining the consistency between the print job data received and the print job data before disconnection, and an intermediate code generated by analyzing print job data already received when the connection is disconnected Are stored in the hard disk 9.

  When the connection is disconnected before receiving the job end command, the work memory 7 temporarily stores the last line of data (the last batch of data) of the print job data received halfway. Is memorized. The data for one line stored in the work memory 7 is used to determine whether the print job data received in the connection after the disconnected connection is a continuation of the print job data received before the connection is disconnected. Used for. When the connection is disconnected before receiving the job end command, the user can cancel the print job or cancel due to a communication failure, for example, the situation on the host computer side, for example, the size of the image data that is the print job data. Is too large, one print job data may be transmitted by dividing it into a plurality of connections.

  The print job control unit 3 analyzes the print job data stored in the job buffer 2 to generate intermediate code data, and controls when the connection is disconnected. In this embodiment, the print job data is not directly developed into bitmap data that is data for printing. Since bitmap data has a large data size and is difficult to handle, it is once converted into intermediate code data having a small data size. The analysis performed by the print job control unit 3 includes analysis of commands such as a job start command and a job end command included in the print job data. The intermediate code buffer 4 holds intermediate code data generated by the print job control unit 3 for a predetermined amount, for example, one page.

  The bitmap development processing unit 5 reads the intermediate code data from the intermediate code buffer 4 according to an instruction from the print job control unit 3, converts the intermediate code data into printable bitmap data, and converts the converted bitmap data to 1 The data is transferred to the printing unit 6 for each page of data or for each band of data. In addition, the bitmap development processing unit 5 performs a process of collecting bitmap data of the original one print job data when one print job data is divided and transferred to a plurality of connections.

  The hard disk 9 analyzes and generates print job data received halfway when connection disconnection occurs before receiving the job end command, and stores the intermediate code data stored in the intermediate code buffer 4. Is.

  When the determination processing unit 8 receives a determination request from the print job control unit 3, the data for the first line of the print job data received by the current connection stored in the job buffer 2 (a group of heads). Data) and the consistency of the last one line of data (the last batch of data) before connection disconnection temporarily stored in the work memory 7 is determined. When the consistency of both is obtained, that is, when both print job data can be connected, the print job control unit 3 is notified that the data can be analyzed. On the other hand, when both data cannot be connected, a signal to that effect is notified.

  Next, the determination processing unit 8 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining data for one line of print job data. The print job data sent from the host computer includes a large number of line data (data for one line) 20, a job start command arranged at the beginning of the print job data, and an arrangement at the end of the print job data. The job end command is included. Each line data 20 has header information 21 and a data body 22 that is an actual data portion for printing. The header information 21 includes data size information 21a indicating how many bytes the data body 22 is.

  The print job control unit 3 recognizes the start of one print job by receiving a job start command, and recognizes the end of the one print job by receiving a job end command. Now, for example, when the connection is disconnected at the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line X in FIG. 2, the print job control unit 3 disconnects the connection without receiving the job end command. I don't know if it was canceled by, or if one print job data was sent in multiple connections. Therefore, the print job control unit 3 stores the received last line data 20 in the work memory 7 when the connection is disconnected without receiving the job end command. In this case, since the connection is disconnected at the position of the alternate long and short dash line X, the data up to the point where the header information 21 is disconnected from the last line data 20 in the work memory 7, that is, the header information 21 and the data body 22 Of the preceding part data 22a is stored. In this specification, the cut data stored in the work memory 7 in this way is also referred to as the last line data (last batch of data).

  When the host computer divides one print job data into a plurality of connections and sends it to the printing apparatus, the transfer of the print job data is started from the portion indicated by the alternate long and short dash line X in FIG. In this case, the print job control unit 3 transfers the head line data of the print job data received through this new connection, that is, the subsequent partial data 22b in the data body 22 of FIG. Request a decision. In the present specification, the subsequent partial data 22b is also referred to as head line data (a group of head data).

  The determination processing unit 8 compares the subsequent partial data 22b sent from the print job control unit 3, the header information 21 stored in the work memory 7 and the previous partial data 22a, and determines consistency. The consistency in this case is the value obtained by adding the data size information 21a of the line data stored in the header information of the cut line data, the data size of the preceding partial data 22a, and the data size of the subsequent partial data 22b. If the two match, a signal having consistency is sent to the print job control unit 3. On the other hand, if they do not match, a signal indicating that they do not match is sent to the print job control unit 3. As described above, in this embodiment, when the connection is disconnected before receiving the job end command, the line data divided by this disconnection is connected, and the data size information included in the header information and the actual data size of the data body are connected. Consistency is judged by whether or not.

  When the determination processing unit 8 sends a consistency signal to the print job control unit 3, the print job control unit 3 recognizes the current disconnection as transfer of one print job data divided into a plurality of connections, and interrupts it. In order to re-execute the print processing, an instruction is sent to the bitmap development processing unit 5 to perform processing using the data before disconnection and the data transferred through the next connection. The bitmap development processing unit 5 receives the analyzed intermediate code data stored in the hard disk 9 before disconnection, and the analyzed intermediate code data received in the current connection stored in the intermediate code buffer 5 and analyzed. Are used to generate bitmap data and transfer them to the printing unit 6. As a result, the interrupted printing process is re-executed.

  On the other hand, when the determination processing unit 8 sends a signal indicating that they do not match, printing is executed as a new print job.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart when the connection is disconnected before receiving the job end command of the print job data in the printing apparatus of the present embodiment. When the receiving unit 1 receives print job data from the host computer, the received print job data is stored in the job buffer 2. The printing apparatus performs processing for sequentially analyzing the print job data received by the print job control unit 3 while receiving processing by the receiving unit 1 (S11).

  If the connection is disconnected without recognizing the job end command while receiving the print job data, the print job control unit 3 recognizes that the print job data has been cut off for some reason (S12). However, at this point in time, it is unknown whether the cancellation is due to a user or a communication failure, or whether the host computer has transmitted one print job divided into a plurality of connections. Therefore, all the intermediate code data generated by analyzing the print job data received so far is saved and saved from the intermediate code buffer 4 to the hard disk 9 (S13). Further, the last line data of the print job data received immediately before disconnection is held in the work memory 7 (S14).

  When the temporary saving process in steps 13 and 14 is completed, the data in the intermediate code buffer 4 and the job buffer 2 are cleared, and the next print job data can be received (S15). When the next print job data is received from the host computer in step S16, the print job control unit 4 checks the consistency between the print job data received this time by the determination processing unit 8 and the print job data received before the interruption of the computer. Request a decision. The determination processing unit 8 checks whether or not the last line data received immediately before disconnection is stored on the work memory 7 (S17). If the last line data is held in the work memory 7, the determination processing unit 8 checks the consistency between the last line data and the first line data of the newly received print job data, and the newly received data It is determined whether the print job data is a continuation of the print job data of the connection before the interruption (S18).

  In step 18, when the determination processing unit 8 determines that the data is continued and notifies the result to the print job control unit 3, the print job control unit 3 instructs the bitmap development processing unit 5 to re-execute. . Also, the print job control unit 3 analyzes the print job data received this time to generate intermediate code data, and stores the generated intermediate code data in the intermediate code buffer 4. Upon receiving a re-execution instruction from the print job control unit 3, the bitmap development processing unit 5 sequentially reads the intermediate code data of the connection before interruption stored in the hard disk 9 (S19), and the intermediate code buffer 4 The intermediate print data generated by analyzing the subsequent print job data received in the current connection stored in is read, and the print job when the connection is disconnected is re-executed before the job end command is received. A printing operation is started (S20). When the re-execution printing process is completed, the print job control unit 3 clears the data held in the hard disk 9 and the work memory 7 (S21), and completes this process.

  Further, when it is determined in step S17 that new print job data is received and no data is stored in the work memory 7, or even if it is stored, it is stored in the work memory 7 in step S18. If the last line data received is not consistent with the first line data received in this connection, the process proceeds to step S22 to receive a new code without reading intermediate code data from the hard disk 9. Normal print processing is performed on the print job data. Thereafter, the process returns to normal printing processing in which new printing job data is received and printing processing is performed.

  If it is determined in step S16 that no new print job data has been received, the process proceeds to step S23 to determine whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. The fixed time in this case is a so-called timeout time set by the user. When new print job data is not received for a certain period of time while the data is held in the hard disk 9 and the work memory 7, it is determined that the previous connection disconnection is a communication failure or a job cancellation due to a user operation. The intermediate code data stored in the memory and the last line data held in the work memory 7 are cleared (S21), the process is terminated, and a new print job data is received and a normal print process is resumed. .

  According to the above-described embodiment, when the connection between the host computer and the printing apparatus is disconnected during the transfer of the print job data, the last line data at the time of disconnection is stored in the work memory 7, and this last data is stored. The consistency between the line data and the first line data sent in the connection after the interruption is judged, and if it is consistent, the interrupted print job data is re-executed to perform the printing process, and the consistency cannot be obtained. For example, print processing is performed as new print job data. If print job data is not received even after a certain period of time has elapsed after the connection is interrupted, all the data held when the connection is interrupted is discarded, and new print job data is received and print processing is performed. Return to normal state. Therefore, the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment allows the user to perform panel operation even when a print job is canceled due to a user operation or communication failure, or when one print job data is transferred in a plurality of connections. The printing process can be performed without any need for.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the connection is disconnected without receiving the job end command, the temporary saving process is performed to clear the data in the intermediate code buffer 4 and the job buffer 2, and the next print job data Therefore, when this device is connected to a network and shared by multiple users, when new print job data is transferred after the above connection is disconnected, this new print job Data can be received and the printing process can be performed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of the summary. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the intermediate code data is stored in the hard disk when the connection is interrupted has been described. In this case, if the data stored in the hard disk is data after analysis, for example, a bit is stored. It may be map data.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where one line data is used as the last group of data and the top group of data has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one line data is used. The combined data may be two or more line data.

  Further, in this embodiment, after the connection is disconnected, when no subsequent print job data is received even after a lapse of a certain time, a new print job data can be received. However, the fixed time may be set independently of the timeout time.

  As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, even when one print job data is divided into a plurality of connections and transferred to the printing apparatus from another apparatus connected to the network, the user can operate the printing apparatus. Without setting panel connection recognition, it is possible to print one print job data divided and transferred to a plurality of connections. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a printing apparatus that is connected to a network and is shared by a plurality of users.

It is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining data for one line of print job data. 10 is a flowchart when the connection is disconnected before receiving the job end command of the print job data in the printing apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining print job data transferred through a connection between a host computer and a printing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reception part 2 Job buffer 3 Print job control part 4 Intermediate code buffer 5 Bitmap expansion process part 6 Printing part 7 Work memory 8 Judgment process part 9 Hard disk 20 Line data 21 Header information 22 Data main body 21a Data size information 22a Preceding partial data 22b Subsequent partial data

Claims (8)

In a printing device that sequentially analyzes print job data received from other devices, converts it into print data, and performs a printing operation,
Storage means for storing the last batch of data among the print job data when the connection is cut off during the reception of the print job data;
Determining means for determining consistency between the first group of print job data received in the connection after the disconnected connection and the last group of data stored in the storage unit When,
When the determination unit determines that there is consistency, the print data generated by analyzing the print job data received before disconnection of the connection and the subsequent print job data received after disconnection of the connection are generated Printing control means for performing a printing operation based on the printed data,
A printing apparatus comprising:   The determination means includes the data size information of the last batch of data stored in the storage means and the data size information of the last batch of data included in the header information of the last batch of data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus determines that there is consistency when the data size of a group of data matches a value obtained by adding the data sizes.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the batch of data is data for one line.   4. A state in which new print job data can be received when subsequent print job data is not received after a lapse of a predetermined time after the connection is cut off. The printing device described.   The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined time is a set value of a job timeout time set by a user.   2. The print control unit, when the determination unit determines that there is no consistency, performs print processing using the print job data sent through the interrupted connection as new print job data. The printing apparatus according to 2, 3, 4 or 5.   7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing data is an intermediate code such as a display list or bitmap data. In a printing method in which print job data received from other devices is sequentially analyzed, converted into print data, and a print operation is performed.
A storage step of storing the last batch of data among the print job data when the connection is cut off during the reception of the print job data;
A determination step for determining consistency between the first batch of print job data received in the connection after the disconnected connection and the last batch of data stored in the storage step;
When it is determined that there is consistency in the determination step, the print data generated by analyzing the print job data received before disconnection of the connection and the subsequent print job data received after disconnection of the connection are analyzed. A printing control process for performing a printing operation based on the generated printing data;
A printing method comprising:

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