JP2007168381A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can print all images to be printed or a larger number of images by recommending a second image storage device making a power consumption lower, when it is determined that the printing processing cannot be performed by using a remaining battery capacity. <P>SOLUTION: This printer acquires electric energy information supplied to the image storage device by the printer, thumbnail image information for the image to be printed, etc. The amount of a power consumption, which is required for printing and which includes standby power consumption, is computed from the electric energy information and the thumbnail image. The computed amount of the power consumption is compared with the remaining battery time of the printer, and it is determined whether or not the printing can be performed. Additionally, the amount of the power consumption in the printing of an image from another image data input means is also computed so that information on equipment as an image data input means best suited to a user can be presented. This can increase the number of the images capable of being printed by using the remaining battery capacity under the same condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that can be connected to an image supply device and that prints an image received from an image storage device.

  In recent years, with the advance of image input devices such as digital devices such as digital cameras and digital video cameras, printers employing various methods for printing out input image data have been developed. One example is a thermal transfer printer. The thermal transfer printer uses thermal paper as printing paper, and selectively drives a plurality of heating elements (thermal heads) arranged in the main scanning direction to convey the paper in the sub-scanning direction. There is a line thermal transfer system that performs dot-line printing on paper.

  In a general inkjet printer currently in widespread use, a small droplet is landed on a sheet only by binary selection of whether or not to drop the droplet, and an apparent resolution and gradation are obtained by a technique such as error diffusion. Get tonality. On the other hand, in the case of a thermal transfer printer, the heat value that can be controlled in one pixel can be easily changed, so that a large gradation can be obtained for one pixel. In addition, due to improvements in the performance of the thermal head and the quality of the paper material, it is becoming possible to obtain an image quality that is not inferior to a silver halide photograph even in the finished quality of the printed image.

  Therefore, printer apparatuses that directly connect such printer apparatuses to photographing devices such as digital cameras and digital video cameras have appeared. In addition, a print system has appeared that prints out image data from an imaging device without using an information processing device by transferring the image data to the printer device via wireless communication. Here, a camera direct print system in which a digital camera and a printer device are directly connected will be described in detail.

  Image data photographed with a digital camera is stored in a recording medium in the camera. In order to print out the image data with the printer device, the user directly connects the camera and the printer with a dedicated cable. Next, the image data stored in the recording medium in the camera is displayed on the camera display, and the user selects an image to be printed. At this time, an operation member of the camera is used to select image data. When the image data to be printed can be selected, the selected image data is transferred to the printer device by the user pressing the print instruction key assigned to the operation member of the camera. In the printer device, the received image data is subjected to data processing so as to be in a printable format, and then printed on paper.

  As described above, the camera direct print system is very convenient because it enables a high-quality print of a photographed image only by a user operating a camera operation member, and is excellent in operability.

  In general, an image taken by a digital camera is compressed by the JPEG method and saved as a JPEG file. In the camera direct print system, a transfer file format is limited to a JPEG file, so that a system can be constructed by devices from different manufacturers.

  With the spread of the camera direct print system as described above, digital devices such as HDD portable players and DVD players will be added as devices that can be connected to the printer device in the future, and the means for inputting image data to the printer device will increase. is expected.

  In addition, in printer devices equipped with a screen such as an LCD, devices that can read image data by directly inserting a recording medium such as a memory card into the device built in the printer device as image data input means have appeared. ing. An image can be printed by operating an operation member on the printer device side and selecting image data to be printed out while viewing the screen.

  There is also a device having a receiving terminal device for wireless communication as image data input means built in the printer device. In the future, it is expected that the image data input means included in the printer apparatus main body will be more diverse as the communication standard advances.

  In addition, printers whose main purpose is to print photos are portable regardless of whether they are outdoors or indoors, thanks to the downsizing of printers and the spread of camera direct printing systems, regardless of thermal transfer or inkjet printing. There are many devices. At the same time, many battery-powered printers have appeared for use in places where AC power cannot be secured, such as outdoors.

When the power supply source is secured by the AC adapter in the printer device, the image data input means is not limited on the printer device side. However, when the printer device is driven by a battery power source, the number of printable sheets depends on the power consumption required for printing. Will be limited. Therefore, a battery-driven printer technology that displays the number of printable sheets by calculating the energy required for printing has been developed. (Patent Document 1) A technique for calculating power consumption required for printing according to the type and size of paper media to be printed is also disclosed. (Patent Document 2)
JP 11-58898 A JP 2004-25497 A

  As described above, there are a wide variety of means for inputting image data to be printed out to the printer. Devices that use communication modes such as cable communication with digital cameras and wireless communication such as mobile phones are also different, and the power consumption required when transferring the same image data to a printer and printing is also different. come.

  In a conventional printing system having a plurality of image data input means, there are cases where image data input means with high power consumption are used even though there is image data input means with lower power consumption. Has led to a decrease.

  Also, with a conventional battery-powered printer, the energy required for printing is calculated from image data and paper media information, compared with the remaining battery charge, and before printing starts, it is determined whether printing is possible. Has been notified. However, the energy supplied to the external image data input means connected to the printer is not considered, and it is difficult to accurately grasp the energy required for printing from only the image data information. Also, in a thermal transfer printer, the power consumed during the waiting time until the heated thermal head is lowered to the temperature at which the next printing can be performed must be taken into account. It is difficult to accurately grasp the energy required for this.

  In addition, since the alternative image input unit is not notified only by confirming whether or not to stop printing, if an image to be printed is selected, the selection work is wasted.

  Further, in order to acquire image data information, it is necessary to store all image data information to be printed out on the printer device side, and the capacity of a RAM or the like for performing data processing on the printer device side increases. As a result, the cost becomes high.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is necessary for printing processing in a battery-driven printing apparatus depending on an image input device, an image transfer method, and standby power consumption of the printing apparatus. The purpose is to accurately grasp the energy.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.
A printing apparatus that can be connected to an image input device and that prints an image acquired from the image input device, and that detects a remaining battery level of the printing apparatus, and prints an image to be printed. Information for calculating power consumption required for processing is acquired from the image input device, power consumption calculation means for calculating power consumption required for print processing, remaining battery level detected by the battery detection means, and power consumption calculation means The comparison means for comparing the power consumption calculated in step (1) and a warning display are displayed when there is no remaining battery for printing all the print target images as a result of the comparison by the comparison means.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling a printing apparatus of the present invention includes the following steps.
A method for controlling a printing apparatus that is connectable to an image input device and that performs printing processing of an image acquired from the image input device, the remaining battery level detecting step for detecting a remaining battery level of the printing device, and a print target Obtains information for calculating the power consumption required for the image printing process from the image input device, calculates the power consumption required for the printing process, and calculates the remaining battery level and power consumption detected in the battery detection process. A comparison process for comparing the power consumption calculated in the process, and a warning process for displaying a warning when there is no remaining battery to print all images to be printed as a result of the comparison in the comparison process. It is characterized by that.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when an image storage device, such as a wireless adapter or a micro drive media, that consumes a large amount of power supplied by a printer is connected to a printing device, the energy required for the printing process can be accurately grasped. can do.

  In addition, if it is determined that the printing process cannot be performed with the remaining battery power, a second image storage device with lower power consumption is recommended, and all or more images to be printed are recommended. Make prints possible.

  Further, when calculating the power consumption during printing, it is possible to save memory capacity such as RAM in the printing apparatus by using thumbnail images with a small amount of data.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a print system in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, image data captured by a digital camera or the like and stored in a recording medium is transmitted from the image data input device 1 such as the digital camera 1a, the wireless adapter 1b, or the card reader 1c by the dedicated cable 8 or wirelessly. Transfer to printer 2 and print.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes an image data input unit built in the printer apparatus 2, which includes a wireless communication device 3a, a card reader 3b, and the like. The printer device 2 acquires image data stored in an external image input device or a storage medium by using the image data input unit 3 and performs printing.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the appearance of the digital camera 1a. Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation member provided in the digital camera. The user uses this to display one or more images to be printed out from the printer. You can choose. At the same time, a print designation frame, a paper size, and the like are selected, and the operation content can be confirmed on the liquid crystal screen 5 also provided in the digital camera.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a user interface of the printer apparatus 2, and 7 is an operation member provided in the printer apparatus 2, and the user uses this to display an image to be printed from the printer apparatus as 1. You can select one or more. At the same time, a print designation frame, a paper size, and the like are selected, and the operation content can be confirmed on the liquid crystal screen 6 similarly provided in the printer apparatus 2.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the printer apparatus. In the figure, 21 is a power consumption calculator that calculates the power consumption required for printing image data from the thumbnail information of the JPEG compressed image sent from the image input means and the requested current information of the connected device. Reference numeral 22 denotes an image data processing unit that performs various image processing for printing from image data. Reference numeral 23 denotes a flash ROM that stores information on an external device for inputting image data connected to a system control program and a printer device. . Reference numeral 24 denotes a RAM used for temporary storage of image data and image data processing. Reference numeral 25 denotes an operation unit on which a user performs various operations. Reference numeral 32 denotes a display unit such as an LCD for confirming a captured image, an operation menu, and an operation status. , 29 are drivers for controlling a display unit such as an LCD.

  A communication control unit 26 controls communication with an external device that is an image data input unit. When the communicating external device is a BusPowered type device that receives power supply via the communication bus, the requested current information of the external device is acquired. Reference numeral 27 denotes an image data input unit for inputting image data in the printer apparatus. Reference numeral 31 denotes a battery, 30 denotes a battery remaining amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of the battery, and 28 denotes a printing unit that actually performs printing.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a CPU that performs system control and arithmetic processing of the printer apparatus. This CPU reads a system control program from the flash ROM 23 and controls each processing unit from 21 to 30 based on the program.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the print system in the present embodiment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of the printing system according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, description will be given according to this sequence diagram. In S1, it is determined whether or not the printer device is battery driven. When power is supplied to the printer device from the outside by an AC adapter or the like, the sequence does not transit to the sequence shown in S2 and the subsequent steps of this embodiment.

  If it is determined in S1 that the battery is driven, the type of battery built in the printer is determined in S2. This determination is performed because the characteristics of the battery differ depending on the type of battery.

  In S3, it is determined whether or not the external device connected to the printer device and serving as an image data input unit is a BusPowered type. Here, the descriptor is data in which device configuration information and device general information are described. If it is determined in S3 that the external device is of the BusPowered type, the required current value described in the descriptor is acquired in order to calculate the power consumption supplied to the external device in S4. Also, when an external device is connected to the printer device for the first time, it may be confirmed whether or not information on the external device is registered.

  In step S5, it is determined whether information such as a printer job and DPOF for managing print output target image data created by the external device has been transmitted to the printer apparatus. Until transmission is started, it is in a standby state. When transmission is started, the process proceeds to S6.

  In S6, thumbnail information of all JPEG compressed image data to be printed out is acquired and stored in the RAM in the printer apparatus.

  In S7, the thumbnail information is analyzed, and the power consumption required for printing is calculated from parameters such as density values. The thermal transfer printer calculates the standby power consumption required for cooling the thermal head. At the same time, the power consumption supplied to the external device is also calculated from the required current of the external device acquired in S4. Based on the value calculated above, the total power consumption is calculated.

  After calculating the total power consumption, the remaining battery level in the printer is measured by a remaining battery level detection unit using an A / D converter or the like in S8.

  The total power consumption calculated in S9 is compared with the power in the battery measured in S8, and it is determined whether or not all the images to be printed can be printed. When it is determined that all images to be output can be printed, printing is started. Conversely, when it is determined that printing of the print target image cannot be completed, or when it is determined that at least one or a part of the print target image is not printable, a search is made for an alternative image data input unit S10. Transition to.

  In S10, the total power consumption is calculated when image data is transferred using an external device that has been connected and registered as an image data input means or an image data input device built in the printer. If there is a device whose total power consumption is lower than that of the currently connected device, the total power consumption of that device is calculated, compared with the remaining battery power, and all image data to be output is printed. Determine if it is possible.

  Here, a specific example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a device and a printer device serving as image data input means in the print system. External devices A, B, and C are external devices that can be connected to the printer and serve as means for inputting image data. Devices that serve as means for inputting image data built in the printer device are built-in devices D, E, and F. When the external device A is currently used for inputting image data to the printer device, it is determined by the determination in S10 that the amount of power supplied by the printer device is lower when the printer device built-in device F is used. Recommends the built-in device F as an alternative image data input means.

  If it is determined in S10 that printing is possible, the display example of FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit of the printer apparatus in S11, and the user is recommended to connect to an alternative image data input unit.

  If it is determined in S10 that printing is not possible, the number of printable sheets is displayed on the display unit of the printer apparatus in S12 as shown in FIG. 6, and the user substitutes as shown in 61 in FIG. Recommend connection with image data input means and display. Alternatively, as in 62 of FIG. 6, it is confirmed whether or not to start printing with the currently connected device.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image data transfer means to the printer device is selected, and a device with low power consumption supplied from the printer device can be used. As a result, the user can print a larger number of image data within the remaining battery capacity under the same conditions.

[Second Example]
When an image data input device is connected to the printer device, if there is a device with lower power consumption supplied from the printer device to the device, an alternative means is presented to the user and connection is recommended. To do.

  FIG. 7 shows a sequence diagram of this embodiment. In S71, it is determined whether or not the printer device is battery driven. When power is supplied to the printer device from the outside by an AC adapter or the like, the sequence does not transit to the sequence shown in S72 and the subsequent steps of this embodiment.

  If it is determined in S71 that the battery is driven, the type of battery built in the printer is determined in S72. This determination is performed because the characteristics of the battery differ depending on the type of battery.

  In step S73, it is determined whether or not the external device connected to the printer apparatus and serving as an image data input unit is a BusPowered type. When a BusPowered type external device is connected, the requested current of the external device is acquired from the descriptor in S4. Also, when an external device is connected to the printer device for the first time, it may be confirmed whether or not information on the external device is registered.

  In S75, it is determined whether there is an alternative device that has a lower amount of power supplied from the printer device side to the device than the device currently used as the image data input means. In some cases, the display as shown in FIG. 8 is performed to recommend the use of a device with a low electric energy.

  Devices that are connected for communication with the printer device for image data input are set and stored in advance on the printer device before connection with the printer device, so that they are included in the list of devices selected in S10 of FIG. It is.

  Even if the device that is the image data input means to the printer device is a device with a built-in printer device, it has lower power consumption than the built-in device being used, and there is an external device or a built-in device. Displays a recommendation to use the device.

[Other embodiments]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a scanner, a printer, etc.) or an apparatus composed of a single device (for example, a multifunction device). Also good.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included.

  In the above embodiment, a digital camera, a wireless adapter, and a card reader have been exemplified as devices connected to the printer device for inputting image data. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A mobile device that can record and hold images such as a mobile phone, a digital device such as an HDD portable player, a DVD player, or the like may be connected to the printer device.

  Also, when a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied from a recording medium directly to a system or apparatus having a computer that can execute the program using wired / wireless communication, and the program is executed Are also included in the present invention.

  Accordingly, the program code itself supplied and installed in the computer in order to implement the functional processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD- RW etc. can be considered. Further, it may be an optical / magneto-optical storage medium or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

  As a program supply method using wired / wireless communication, the following method can be considered. That is, a computer program itself or a program data file forming the present invention is stored in a server on a computer network, and the program data file is downloaded to a connected client computer.

  Here, the program data file includes a file compressed with a computer program forming the present invention and including an automatic installation function.

  In this case, the program data file can be divided into a plurality of segment files, and the segment files can be arranged on different servers.

  That is, the present invention includes a server device that allows a plurality of users to download a program data file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer.

  In addition, the program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is encrypted, stored in a storage medium, distributed to the user, and the key information to be decrypted is downloaded via the network to the user who satisfies a predetermined condition. It is also possible to use a method that supplies the product. By using the key information, the encrypted program can be executed and installed in a computer to realize the present invention.

  The functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program code supplied by the computer. The program code is also included in the embodiment of the present invention when the function of the above-described embodiment is realized in cooperation with an OS (operating system) or other application software running on the computer. included.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes the case where the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Further, when the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. It goes without saying that it is included in the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the printing system in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image data input device and a printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The user interface screen example in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. The user interface screen example in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the printing system in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. The user interface screen example in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing the appearance of digital camera 1a in one embodiment concerning the present invention. It is a figure showing the user interface of the printer apparatus 2 in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Digital camera 1b Wireless adapter 1c Card reader 2 Printer 3 Printer built-in device 3a Wireless adapter 3b Card reader 4 Digital camera operation member 5 Digital camera liquid crystal screen 6 Printer liquid crystal screen 7 Printer operation member 20 CPU
21 Power Consumption Calculation Unit 22 Image Data Processing Unit 23 Flash ROM
24 RAM
25 Operation unit 26 Communication control unit 27 Image data input unit 28 Print unit 29 Display unit driver 30 Battery remaining amount detection unit 31 Battery 32 Display unit

Claims (8)

A printing apparatus that can be connected to an image input device and that performs printing processing of an image acquired from the image input device,
Battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of battery of the printing apparatus;
Power consumption calculating means for acquiring information for calculating power consumption required for print processing of an image to be printed from an image input device, and calculating power consumption required for print processing;
A comparison means for comparing the remaining battery level detected by the battery detection means with the power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation means;
As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, if there is no remaining battery for printing all the images to be printed, a warning display is performed. The information for calculating the power consumption required for the printing process of the image to be printed acquired from the image input device includes thumbnail image information of the image to be printed,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power consumption calculation unit analyzes the thumbnail image information and calculates power consumption required for printing processing.   The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the power consumption calculation unit calculates power consumption required for a printing process according to density value information obtained as a result of analyzing the thumbnail image information. The information for calculating the power consumption required for the printing process of the image to be printed acquired from the image input device includes the number of prints of the image to be printed,
The power consumption calculating unit calculates standby power consumption required for printing all print target images from the print number information, and calculates power consumption including the standby power consumption. Item 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   When the image input device is a device that receives power supply via a communication bus, the information for calculating the power consumption required for the printing process of the image to be printed acquired from the image input device is the image The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising information on a requested current value acquired from a descriptor of the input device. As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, if there is no remaining battery for printing all the print target images, the print target image is acquired from a second image input device different from the image input device and printed. When the second power consumption is smaller as a result of comparing the second power consumption with the second power consumption calculating means for calculating the second power consumption when executing the process 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display that recommends a method of acquiring an image to be printed by the second image input device and executing a printing process is performed. 7. .   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second image input device is a card reader built in the printing apparatus. A control method of a printing apparatus that can be connected to an image input device and performs a printing process of an image acquired from the image input device,
A remaining battery level detecting step for detecting a remaining battery level of the printing apparatus;
A power consumption calculating step of acquiring information for calculating the power consumption required for the printing process of the image to be printed from the image input device, and calculating the power consumption required for the printing process;
A comparison step of comparing the remaining battery level detected in the battery detection step with the power consumption calculated in the power consumption calculation step;
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising: a warning step of displaying a warning when there is no remaining battery for printing all images to be printed as a result of the comparison in the comparison step.

Images