JP2007196594A - Printer and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of notifying information on printing results to a host computer, and to provide a control method of the printer. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 100 is connected to be able to communicate with the host computer 300, carrying out printing according to a printing job transmitted from the host computer 300. In particular, the printer 100 is equipped with a job information storage part 190 which can store various information related to the printing job, a receiving part 110 which receives the printing job from the host computer 300, a printing control part 150 which carries out printing onto a paper by using ink according to the printing job, a printing result judging part 170 which judges the printing result of printing corresponding to the printing job, and a job information managing part 180 which records relating a job ID of the printing job and the printing result of printing corresponding to the printing job with each other into the job information storage part 190. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer and a printer control method, and more particularly to a printer capable of notifying a host computer of a print result as necessary.

  In general, printers such as inkjet printers and laser printers record images such as characters and pictures on paper by fixing recording materials such as ink and toner on the surface of plain paper and exclusive paper. It is a recording device. A cartridge filled with ink or toner is detachably attached to this type of image recording apparatus. When the ink or toner in the cartridge runs out due to the use of ink or toner for printing or the like, a new cartridge is attached and the ink or toner is replenished.

  In general, from the viewpoint of the user, printing that consumes a large amount of ink or toner is not preferable from the viewpoint of running cost, and it is preferable to perform printing with high expressiveness with as little ink as possible. Here, if image data is selected well, a high quality image may be printed even with a small amount of ink consumption. As an example, even if the background color is changed from a dark color to a light color, the ink consumption can be suppressed while maintaining high print quality without changing the impression of the image so much.

  In order to reduce the cost required for printing, in the printing system described in Patent Document 1, when a print job is received from a host computer, the print job is converted into print data required for printing by a print engine. A total job cost required for printing a print job by the print engine is estimated, and the estimated total job cost is transmitted to the host computer. In this printing system, the host computer side is configured to present the received total job cost to the user and cause the printing system to execute printing only when a printing execution instruction is issued from the user.

JP 2003-228474 A

  Conventionally, a printer executes printing in response to a print job transmitted from a host computer, but since the printer does not notify the host computer of the execution status of the print job or the like, the host computer transmits the print job. It was not possible to determine whether printing was properly executed for the print job.

  In particular, in recent years, in an environment where timely printing such as ticketing on a commercial basis is performed, a billing system that charges the consumption of a recording material such as ink or toner according to the amount of use has also been proposed. In such a billing system, it is a precondition that printing using ink is completed and printed matter is output. However, in some cases, if printing is interrupted halfway due to circumstances on the printer side, there is a possibility that an undesired situation may occur for the user of the charging system, such as charging for a halfway print.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printer and a printer control method that notify a host computer of information about a print result as necessary.

The present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) A printer that is communicably connected to a host computer and executes printing in response to a print job transmitted from the host computer,
A job information storage unit capable of storing various information related to a print job;
A receiving unit for receiving the print job from the host computer;
A print control unit that executes printing on a sheet using a predetermined recording material according to the print job;
A print result determination unit that determines a print result of printing corresponding to the print job;
A printer comprising: a job information management unit that records a job ID of the print job and a print result of printing corresponding to the print job in association with each other in a job information storage unit.
(2) The printer according to (1), wherein the job information management unit transmits the print result to the host computer in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer.
(3) The job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job.
The printer according to (2), wherein the job information management unit transmits a print result of printing corresponding to a job ID of the job ID designation information to the host computer.
(4) The print job includes device identification information for identifying the host computer from other host computers,
The job information management unit associates the job ID of the print job, the print result of printing corresponding to the job ID of the print job, and the device identification information indicating the host computer that has transmitted the print job, with the job information The printer according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the printer records in an information storage unit.
(5) In response to the job information transmission request received from the host computer, the job information management unit displays the device identification information specified in the job information transmission request and the print result of printing associated with the job ID. The printer according to (4), wherein the printer is transmitted to a host computer.
(6) A method for controlling a printer that is communicably connected to a host computer and executes printing in response to a print job transmitted from the host computer,
Receiving the print job from the host computer;
A printing step of performing printing on paper using a predetermined recording material according to the print job;
A determination step of determining a print result of printing corresponding to the print job;
And a recording step of associating the job ID of the print job with a print result of printing corresponding to the print job in the job information storage unit.
(7) The printer control method according to (6), further comprising a transmission step of transmitting the print result to the host computer in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer.
(8) The job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job.
(7) The printer control method according to (7), wherein in the transmission step, a print result of printing associated with a job ID corresponding to the job ID designation information is transmitted to the host computer.
(9) The print job includes device identification information for identifying the host computer from other host computers.
In the recording step, a job ID of the print job, a print result of printing corresponding to the print job, and the device identification information indicating the host computer that has transmitted the print job are associated and recorded in the job information storage unit. The printer control method according to any one of (6) to (8), wherein:
(10) In the transmission step, in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer, device identification information specified in the job information transmission request and a print result of the printing associated with a job ID are stored in the host. The printer control method according to (9), wherein the printer control method is transmitted to a computer.

  The printer of the present invention is communicably connected to a host computer and executes printing according to a print job transmitted from the host computer. In particular, the printer of the present invention prints on a sheet using ink according to a print job, a job information storage unit capable of storing various information related to a print job, a reception unit that receives a print job from a host computer, and the print job. A job information storage unit that associates the print control unit to be executed, the print result determination unit that determines the print result of the print job corresponding to the print job, and the print ID of the print job and the print result of the corresponding print job. And a job information management unit for recording the information.

  Therefore, according to the printer and its control method of the present invention, every time a print job is received and printing according to the print job is performed, a print result indicating whether printing has been executed correctly can be recorded. Therefore, the user of the printer can grasp whether or not the printing has been performed according to the print job by referring to the record in the printer as necessary. For example, when printing the coupon, the coupon Can be ascertained whether or not the ticket is properly issued as instructed.

  According to the printer and the control method thereof of the present invention, the job information management unit transmits the print result to the host computer in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer. Therefore, the user can easily obtain the print result as information by transmitting a job information transmission request from the host computer. Therefore, for example, even if the administrator who issues the ticket is away from the printer, it is easy to determine whether the ticket has been issued at the timing to be issued, and instructing reprinting if necessary. Depending on the situation, you can get a chance to check for printer problems.

  According to the printer and the control method of the present invention, the job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job, and the job information management unit corresponds to the job ID designation information. The printing result corresponding to the job ID is transmitted to the host computer. Therefore, if the user knows the relationship between the print job and the image corresponding to the print job, the user must specify the print job for which the print result is desired and know whether the printing has been performed correctly from the printer. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to confirm from the host computer side whether or not printing has been correctly completed in printing that must be performed with certainty.

  According to the present invention, a job information transmission request specifying device identification information and a job ID is transmitted to the printer, and the printer stores the corresponding print job information in accordance with the device identification information and the job ID. You may comprise so that it may transmit to a computer. In such a case, for example, even when a plurality of host computers send print jobs with the same job ID, the print job information stored in the job information storage unit in the printer has a duplicate number. It can be definitely distinguished from others. Therefore, when a job information transmission request is received from a certain host computer, it is possible to avoid the confusion that the printer notifies a print result corresponding to a print job transmitted from another host computer. It can be operated in the same way below.

  Embodiments of a printer and a printer control method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment uses a plurality of types of color inks as recording materials, performs image recording (multi-color printing) on a sheet as a recording medium, and issues a coupon ticket. An ink jet printing apparatus (image recording apparatus), a so-called ink jet printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 100 according to this embodiment includes a power switch 3, a roll paper cover 5, and a mounting portion opening / closing cover in order from the left side on the front surface of a printer case 2 including a front upper panel 2a and a case cover 2b. 7 is arranged. A plurality of LED lamps 6 for notifying the user of the printer status are provided above the power switch 3. Each of the roll paper cover 5 and the mounting portion opening / closing cover 7 is provided so as to be openable and closable forward via a hinge (not shown) provided in the lower portion.

  The roll paper cover 5 is loaded with roll paper (not shown) as paper, and the roll paper can be exchanged by opening the roll paper cover 5. On the other hand, an ink cartridge (not shown) is mounted inside the mounting portion opening / closing cover 7, and the ink cartridge can be attached and detached by opening the mounting portion opening / closing cover 7.

  In this embodiment, the ink cartridge is a cartridge case in which three color ink packs of yellow, cyan, and magenta are packaged together. The printer 100 rolls using these three color inks. Execute color printing of images such as letters and designs on paper.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer according to the present embodiment.
The printer 100 is communicably connected to the host computer 300 via various interfaces such as serial, parallel, and USB, and operates according to various commands transmitted from the host computer 300. In printing, the host computer 300 transmits a print job including commands for instructing various operations necessary for printing and data corresponding to an image to be printed. The printer 100 issues a single coupon by operating according to the print job.

  Specifically, the printer 100 mainly includes a reception unit 110 that receives various commands and print data transmitted from the host computer 300, and a reception buffer 120 that temporarily stores various commands and print data received by the reception unit 110. Is provided. The data received by the reception buffer 120 is sequentially read and analyzed by the command analysis unit 130, sent to the main control unit 160 in the case of a control command, and transferred to the print buffer 140 by DMA transfer or the like in the case of print data. Transferred and stored temporarily.

  The print data temporarily stored in the print buffer 140 is subjected to data expansion processing by the print control unit 150 and converted, and dot pattern data (print image data) corresponding to a nozzle array of a print head (not shown) is generated. And stored in the print buffer 140. This dot pattern data is, for example, 2-bit gradation information data. (1) No ink is ejected from each nozzle of the print head, (2) Small dots, (3) Medium dots, (4) Large Indicates which of the dots corresponds.

  The print control unit 150 creates a coupon by driving the print head based on the dot pattern data stored in the print buffer 140 and forming an image on the roll paper.

  On the other hand, for various commands read by the main control unit 160, various processes such as paper feeding and paper cutting are executed according to the instructed contents.

Next, the print result determination unit 170 will be described.
The print result determination unit 170 is a determination unit that determines whether printing corresponding to a certain print job has succeeded or failed. The print result determined by the print result determination unit 170 is stored in a job information storage unit 190 described later.

  Here, “successful printing” means that all commands from when a print job start command for starting a print job is received until when a print job end command is received are processed normally, and an image corresponding to the print job is displayed. This refers to the state where all are formed on roll paper and the ticket is issued correctly. On the other hand, when printing fails, a print job end command is issued after receiving a print job start command to start a print job due to roll paper (paper) out, ink out, various cover open, or other fatal errors. It means a state in which a command until reception is not processed at all or processing is interrupted and printing cannot be executed or is interrupted.

Next, the job information management unit 180 and the job information storage unit 190 will be described.
The job information management unit 180 is a control unit that records and manages each print job transmitted from the host computer 300 as a print job information in association with a print result of printing performed corresponding to each print job.
On the other hand, the job information storage unit 190 is a storage area in which the job information management unit 180 records print job information to form a job information history, and can store the value even when the power is turned off, such as an EEPROM or a flash ROM. Is set on a non-volatile storage medium.

FIG. 3 is a table schematically showing print job information stored in the job information storage unit.
The job information management unit 180 records at least a print job ID included in each print job and a print result of printing executed corresponding to the print job in the job information storage unit 190 in association with each other. In the present embodiment, the print result is recorded in association with each print job ID. For example, in the case of FIG. 3, “0” is displayed when successful, and “1” is displayed when failed. It is attached.

  In addition to the print result, the job information management unit 180 may record the amount of ink used in printing corresponding to the print job.

Next, the print job information recording process will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of print job information recording processing.
The printer 100 waits until the receiving unit 110 receives a print job transmitted from the host computer 300 (step S11). When the print job is received, the printer 100 receives dot pattern data as print image data based on the received print job. It is generated in the print buffer 140 (step S12). Thereafter, the print control unit 150 drives the print head according to the generated dot pattern data to perform printing (image formation) on the roll paper and issue a coupon ticket (step S13). Further, the print result determination unit 170 monitors the print processing while referring to the print job, and determines whether the print job has been processed correctly (step S14). If it is determined in step S14 that the print job has been correctly processed, the job information management unit 180 adds a flag (in this case, 0) indicating successful printing to the job ID included in the received print job. Then, it is stored in the job information storage unit 190 as print job information, and the process is terminated (step S15). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the print job has not been processed correctly, the job information management unit 180 sets a flag (in this case, 1) indicating print failure in the job ID included in the received print job. Then, it is stored in the job information storage unit 190 as print job information, and the process is terminated (step S16).

  As described above, in this embodiment, every time printing is performed according to a print job, the print result of printing corresponding to the print job is recorded in the printer 100 together with the print job ID.

Next, processing for transmitting print job information to the host computer 300 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for transmitting print job information to the host computer 300.
The printer 100 waits until the receiving unit 110 receives a print job information request command transmitted from the host computer 300 (step S21). This print job information request command includes job ID designation information in which either (1) designation of a specific print job ID or (2) designation of all print jobs is set. When the printer 100 receives the print job information request command in step S21, the job information management unit 180, according to the job ID designation information in the print job information request command, a specific print job ID and a corresponding print result, Alternatively, all print job IDs and the corresponding print results are searched and read (step S22), and transmitted to the host computer 300 (step S23). The printer 100 may delete the transmitted print job ID and the corresponding print result, or store it as it is and overwrite it in order from the oldest when the storage capacity of the job information storage unit 190 is full. Also good.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in response to the reception of the print job request command, the print result corresponding to the print job specified by the print job request command is transmitted from the printer 100 to the host computer 300.

  As described above, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment is communicably connected to the host computer 300 and executes printing according to a print job transmitted from the host computer 300. In particular, the printer 100 prints on a sheet using ink according to a print job, a job information storage unit 190 capable of storing various information related to a print job, a reception unit 110 that receives a print job from the host computer 300, and the print job. The print control unit 150 for executing the print job, the print result determination unit 170 for determining the print result of the print corresponding to the print job, and the job ID of the print job and the print result of the print corresponding to the corresponding print job And a job information management unit 180 that records in the information storage unit 190.

  According to the printer 100 of this embodiment, each time a print job is received and printing according to the print job is performed, a print result indicating whether printing has been correctly executed can be recorded. Therefore, the user of the printer 100 can grasp whether or not the printing has been performed according to the print job by referring to the records in the printer 100 as necessary. It is possible to grasp whether the coupon is properly issued as instructed.

  Further, according to the printer 100 of the present embodiment, the job information management unit 180 transmits the print result to the host computer 300 in response to the job information transmission request received from the host computer 300. Therefore, the user can easily obtain the print result as information by transmitting a job information transmission request from the host computer 300. Therefore, for example, even if an administrator who issues a ticket is away from the printer 100, it is easily determined whether or not a ticket is issued at the timing to issue a ticket, and if necessary, reprinting is instructed. In some cases, it is possible to grasp an opportunity to check the malfunction of the printer 100.

  Further, according to the printer 100 of the present embodiment, the job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job, and the job information management unit 180 selects a job corresponding to the job ID designation information. The printing result of printing corresponding to the ID is transmitted to the host computer 300. Therefore, if the user grasps the relationship between the print job and the image corresponding to the print job, the user designates the print job whose print result is desired and grasps whether the printing has been performed correctly from the printer 100. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to confirm from the host computer 300 side whether or not the printing is correctly completed in the printing that must be surely performed.

  In the above description, the printer 100 is described in a state where it is communicably connected to one host computer 300. However, the printer 100 may be connected to a plurality of host computers in a network such as a LAN. Can be used.

Hereinafter, as a modification of the present embodiment, processing in a situation where the printer 100 is connected to a plurality of host computers will be described.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a state in which the printer 100 is connected to a plurality of host computers, and FIG. 7 is a table schematically illustrating print job information stored in the job information storage unit 190 according to this modification. is there.

  In this modification, as shown in FIG. 6, the printer 100 is communicably connected to a plurality of host computers 310, 320, 330, and 340 through a network 400 configured by a LAN or the like. Since the basic configuration of the printer 100 of this modification is the same as that described in the previous embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In this modification, each host computer 310, 320, 330, 340 transmits a print job to the printer 100 to print an image or the like. At this time, each host computer 310, 320, 330, 340 Transmits the device identification information indicating the transmission source of the print job in each print job. Here, the device identification information is for identifying the host computer 310 that is the transmission source from the other host computers 320, 330, and 340, for example, when the host computer 310 transmits a print job. Device identification information may be device-specific numbers such as device serial numbers or identification information (such as IP addresses) that can be used to identify others in the network.

  When the printer 100 receives the print job with the device identification information, the job information management unit 180 stores the number of shots in the job information storage unit 190 together with the job ID of the print job as shown in FIG. The apparatus identification information included in the corresponding print job is associated and recorded in the job information storage unit. Thus, when viewed from the printer 100, the host computer that has transmitted the print job can be immediately identified.

  The host computers 310 to 340 also add device identification information that identifies the host computers 310 to 340 to the job information transmission request and transmit the request to the printer 100. Upon receiving this job information transmission request, the printer 100 searches the print job information according to the job ID and device identification information in the job information transmission request via the job information management unit 180, and in the corresponding print job information. The print result is transmitted to any of the host computers 310 to 340 that are the transmission source.

  As described above, in this modification, a job information transmission request specifying the device identification information and the job ID is transmitted to the printer 100, and the printer 100 performs the corresponding printing according to the device identification information and the job ID. Since the job information is searched, for example, even when a plurality of host computers 310 to 340 send print jobs with the same job ID, the print jobs stored in the job information storage unit 190 in the printer 100 are stored. Information can always be identified from others without having duplicate numbers. Therefore, when a job information transmission request is received from a certain host computer, it is possible to avoid the confusion that the printer 100 notifies a print result corresponding to a print job transmitted from another host computer. The same operation can be performed under the environment.

  In the above description, the device identification information and the job ID are described as being different from each other. However, for example, the job ID includes device identification information for identifying the device. When an environment in which job IDs do not overlap is prepared, the print job information may be searched using only the job ID as a key as in the previous embodiment.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. 4 is a table schematically showing print job information stored in a job information storage unit. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of recording processing of print job information. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing for transmitting print job information to a host computer. It is a block diagram which shows the connection condition of the some host computer and printer in a modification. 10 is a table schematically showing print job information stored in a job information storage unit in a modified example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printer 110 Reception part 120 Reception buffer 130 Command analysis part 140 Print buffer 150 Print control part 160 Main control part 170 Print result judgment part 180 Job information management part 190 Job information storage part 300 (310,320,330,340) Host computer

Claims (10)

A printer that is communicably connected to a host computer and executes printing in response to a print job transmitted from the host computer,
A job information storage unit capable of storing various information related to a print job;
A receiving unit for receiving the print job from the host computer;
A print control unit that executes printing on a sheet using a predetermined recording material according to the print job;
A print result determination unit that determines a print result of printing corresponding to the print job;
A printer comprising: a job information management unit that records a job ID of the print job and a print result of printing corresponding to the print job in association with each other in a job information storage unit.   The printer according to claim 1, wherein the job information management unit transmits the print result to the host computer in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer. The job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job,
The printer according to claim 2, wherein the job information management unit transmits a printing result of printing corresponding to a job ID of the job ID designation information to the host computer. The print job includes device identification information for identifying the host computer from other host computers,
The job information management unit associates the job ID of the print job, the print result of printing corresponding to the job ID of the print job, and the device identification information indicating the host computer that has transmitted the print job, with the job information The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is recorded in an information storage unit.   In response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer, the job information management unit sends device identification information specified in the job information transmission request and a print result of printing associated with the job ID to the host computer. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the printer transmits. A control method for a printer that is communicably connected to a host computer and executes printing in response to a print job transmitted from the host computer,
Receiving the print job from the host computer;
A printing step of performing printing on paper using a predetermined recording material according to the print job;
A determination step of determining a print result of printing corresponding to the print job;
And a recording step of associating the job ID of the print job with a print result of printing corresponding to the print job in the job information storage unit.   7. The printer control method according to claim 6, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting the print result to the host computer in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer. The job information transmission request includes job ID designation information for designating a print job,
8. The printer control method according to claim 7, wherein in the transmission step, a print result of printing associated with a job ID corresponding to the job ID designation information is transmitted to the host computer. The print job includes device identification information for identifying the host computer from other host computers,
In the recording step, a job ID of the print job, a print result of printing corresponding to the print job, and the device identification information indicating the host computer that has transmitted the print job are associated and recorded in the job information storage unit. The printer control method according to claim 6, wherein the printer control method is performed.   In the transmission step, in response to a job information transmission request received from the host computer, device identification information specified in the job information transmission request and a print result of the printing associated with the job ID are transmitted to the host computer. The printer control method according to claim 9.

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