JP2008026930A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of carrying out efficient print processing even when inputting a print command of different specifications. <P>SOLUTION: A printing control part 22 of the printer 2 stores print-processable print commands as a print command table 41. When a print command included in a command of print data received from a personal computer 1 is registered in the print command table 41 (Yes in step S5), rendering is carried out (step S6). When a print command not registered in the table 41 is input, it is registered as an uncorresponding command in an uncorresponding command table 42, and no rendering is carried out. Such processing is repeated for one page part (step S10), and print processing is carried out when the processing for the one page part is completed (step S11). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly to a print control technique when a non-compliant command is input.

  A client terminal such as a personal computer can cause the printer to execute print processing by outputting print data to the printer. In order to execute this printing process, a printer driver corresponding to the printer needs to be installed in the personal computer.

  Document data created in a personal computer is converted into print data by a printer driver, and the print data is output to a printer. When the printer receives print data created by a regular printer driver, the printer processes print commands included in the print data one by one and executes print processing.

Japanese Patent No. 3250337

  As described above, the printer can normally execute the printing process by inputting the print data output from the regular printer driver. On the other hand, when print data converted by a printer driver having a different specification is input, the printer cannot execute print processing.

  For example, it is assumed that a printer driver corresponding to a printer manufactured by A company is installed in a personal computer, print data is created using this printer driver, and is printed out and output to a printer manufactured by B company. In this case, the printer manufactured by company B detects an incompatible print command and cannot execute the printing process. For example, an error message such as a print error is printed out.

  Thus, when a print command having a different specification is input, the conventional printer cannot execute the print process. Although the specifications of print data differ from company to company, there are many common specifications. However, in a conventional printer, printing processing is not executed at all because different printing commands are included.

  Patent Document 1 relates to a printer having a plurality of printer emulation functions. This printer can process commands from a plurality of printers, determines a corresponding emulation pattern from input print data, and executes print processing according to each print data. With this method, print data output from various printer drivers is supported. However, it is necessary to provide the printer with functions corresponding to a large number of drivers.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of executing an efficient print process even when print commands having different specifications are input.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is registered in the print command table among the means for inputting print data, the means for storing the print command table, and the print commands included in the print data. Print control means for executing processing related to printing on print commands registered in the print command table, except for print commands that are not printed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the print control means sets, as an unsupported command, a print command that is not registered in the print command table among print commands included in the print data. Means for storing.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, a print command generated by a print driver corresponding to the printer is registered in the print command table. To do.

  The printer according to the present invention executes processing related to printing on a print command registered in the print command table, except for a print command not registered in the print command table among print commands included in the print data. . As a result, it is possible to output a print result to a processable portion even with respect to print data created by a non-compatible printer driver.

  The printer of the present invention stores a print command that is not registered in the print command table as an unsupported command. Thereby, it is possible to obtain a list of unsupported commands input by the printer, which can be used effectively in maintenance.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a computer system according to the present embodiment. This computer system has a configuration in which a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 1 and a printer 2 are connected via a LAN 3.

  The PC 1 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a monitor 13, a storage device 14, and a communication unit 15. The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and performs overall control of the PC 1 by executing various program processes. The operation unit 12 includes a keyboard and a mouse and inputs various instructions to the control unit 11. The monitor 13 is a liquid crystal display panel, for example, and displays various types of information.

  A printer driver 31 is installed in the storage device 14 composed of a hard disk or the like. The printer driver 31 is a printer driver corresponding to the printer 2. That is, the printer driver 31 is software for controlling the printer 2 provided by the printer 2 manufacturer. Normally, when the printer 2 is purchased, the printer driver 31 is provided in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Alternatively, the printer driver 31 can be obtained by downloading from the manufacturer's WEB site.

  The communication unit 15 is a processing unit that transmits and receives data to and from the printer 2 and other computers connected to the LAN 3 using a protocol such as TCP / IP.

  The printer 2 includes a control unit 21, a print control unit 22, a printing unit 23, and a communication unit 24. The control unit 21 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and performs overall control of the printer 2. The print control unit 22 is a processing unit that executes print command analysis, print data rendering processing, and the like.

  Although the control of the printing process can be executed by the control unit 21, the printer 2 according to the present embodiment has the above-described processes (commands) performed by the print control unit 22 in order to reduce the processing load on the control unit 21. Analysis processing, rendering processing, etc.). For example, the print control unit 22 is configured as an option board different from the main board on which the control unit 21 is mounted. By installing this option board, the printer 2 can reduce the load on the control unit 21 on the main board and improve the performance of the printer 2.

  The print control unit 22 also includes a command storage unit 221 and an unsupported command storage unit 222. The command storage unit 221 is composed of a ROM and stores a print command table 41. In the print command table 41, print commands conforming to the specifications of the printer 2 are registered. As described above, the printer driver 31 is print control software corresponding to the printer 2. Accordingly, all print commands generated by the printer driver 31 are registered in the print command table 41.

  The uncorresponding command storage unit 222 is configured by an SRAM and stores an uncorresponding command table 42. In the unsupported command table 42, print commands that are input by the printer 2 and cannot be processed by the printer 2 are recorded. That is, when a print command that is not registered in the print command table 41 is input, the print control unit 22 performs processing for adding the print command to the unsupported command table 42 as an unsupported command.

  The printing unit 23 is a processing unit that prints out print data on printing paper. The printing unit 23 executes a printing process under the control of the control unit 21.

  A flow of printing processing executed in the network system having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the print data generation process in the PC 1 will be described before the print process in the printer 2 is described. For example, the user creates a file to be printed using application software such as word processing software or spreadsheet software. Next, the user issues a print instruction for the created file to be printed.

  For example, when the user operates the operation unit 12 and selects print processing from the operation menu of the application software, the printer driver 31 is called. The printer driver 31 displays a print dialog on the monitor 13. The user performs various print settings in this print dialog and performs a print execution operation. Thereby, the printer driver 31 converts the file to be printed into print data and outputs it. The print data is data described in a print description language.

  The print data output by the printer driver 31 is transmitted from the communication unit 15 and received by the communication unit 24 of the printer 2 via the LAN 3. The print data received by the communication unit 24 is transferred to the print control unit 22 via the control unit 21. As a result, the process proceeds to print processing by the print control unit 22.

  First, the print control unit 22 analyzes a print command included in the received print data (step S1 in FIG. 2).

  Here, the print command has been standardized to some extent. Although there are some differences in specifications among printer manufacturers, the basic format is a common specification. Therefore, by analyzing the contents of the print command, it is possible to determine whether the print data is data related to printing even if the print data is created by a driver of another company's product.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print command. This print command indicates the command format of the PCL 5e. This command has a format in which three characters (Parameterized character, Group character, Termination character) for specifying the command and one parameter (Value Field) are described after the character “ESC” (Escape character). Yes. Like the PCL5e format, the print command format has been standardized to some extent.

  As a result of command analysis, if the command to be processed does not match the command format (NO in step S2), that is, if the format is significantly different from the standardized print command format or cannot be decoded The print control unit 22 discards the print data (step S3) and performs error message print control (step S4). As a result, an error message is printed out from the printing unit 23 and the process ends with an error. For example, a sheet on which a message such as “Could not process print data” is output from the tray.

  As a result of command analysis, if it matches the command format (YES in step S2), that is, if it is determined that the print command is in a decodable range and conforms to the standardized print command format, the print control The unit 22 determines whether the print command is a processable command. Specifically, the print command table 41 stored in the command storage unit 221 is referred to, and it is determined whether or not the same print command as the command to be processed is registered in the print command table 41 (step S5).

  If there is a print command that matches the print command table 41 (YES in step S5), the print control unit 22 executes a rendering process for the print command (step S6).

  If there is no print command that matches the print command table 41 (NO in step S5), the print control unit 22 determines whether there is an unsupported command in the unsupported command table 42 (step S7). That is, after the initial state and contents are cleared, the uncorresponding command table 42 is in a state where no uncorresponding command is recorded, but it is determined whether or not such a state is present.

  If there is an unsupported command in the unsupported command table 42 (YES in step S7), it is determined whether the print command to be processed matches the unsupported command recorded in the unsupported command table 42. If there is a match (YES in step S8), the process directly proceeds to step S10. If there is no match, the command to be processed is added to the unsupported command table 42 (step S9). In step S7, even when there is no unsupported command in the unsupported command table 42, the print command to be processed is added to the unsupported command table 42 (step S9). Note that the fact that an unsupported command has been detected may be displayed on a liquid crystal display unit (not shown) provided in the printer 2. Alternatively, a report indicating that an unsupported command is detected may be printed out.

  In this way, unsupported commands that are input for the first time are sequentially added to the unsupported command table 42. As a result, a LOG indicating what unsupported commands are input by the printer 2 is created, and can be used effectively during maintenance.

  Whether the analyzed command is subjected to rendering processing in step S6, or after being processed as an unsupported command (steps S7 to S9), the print control unit 22 determines whether rendering for one page has been completed. Is determined (step S10). If rendering for one page has not been completed, the process returns to step S1 to execute the next command process. When rendering for one page is completed, the process proceeds to step S11.

  That is, in the processing of steps S1 to S9, rendering is executed for the print command registered in the print command table 41, and rendering is not performed for the unsupported command. In any case, the process proceeds to step S10. . Such processing is repeated for one page for each command. As a result, an unsupported command is skipped, and rendering of only a print command that can be processed is processed for one page.

  When the processing for one page is completed (YES in step S10), the print control unit 22 executes the printing process for one page (step S11). Specifically, the print control unit 22 compresses the rendered print data and outputs it to the control unit 21. The control unit 21 decompresses the print data for one page input from the print control unit 22 and executes print control for the print unit 23. Thus, one page of print output is performed from the printing unit 23. Note that the print control unit 22 may transfer the rendered print data to the control unit 21 without compressing it.

  Here, as described above, since this print data is processed by skipping an unsupported command, only a print command that can be processed is processed. Therefore, even if an unsupported command is included in the print data received from the PC 1, only a processable portion is processed without causing a print error. Conventionally, the user can only obtain an output on which a message such as “cannot print” is displayed, but the printer 2 can obtain a print result for a processable part. As described above, many parts of the print command are standardized. Therefore, even if the user executes print processing using printer drivers having different specifications, the user can obtain a print result with almost no problem depending on the situation.

  After completing the printing process for one page in step S11, the print control unit 22 determines whether or not the process has been completed for all commands included in the print data (step S12), and unprocessed commands remain. In this case, the process returns to step S1 and the above processing is repeated. When processing is completed for all commands, the print job is terminated.

  As described above, by using the printer 2 of the present embodiment, the user can obtain a print result even when using a printer driver of a printer manufactured by another company. For example, if a printer-specific command is used, some of its functions may not be available. However, considering that many of the commands related to drawing are standardized, the printing required for the user is necessary. It is expected that sufficient results will be obtained, and this is an effective function.

  Since the idea is to process only commands that can be processed without giving the printer various emulator functions, print data output from various printer drivers can be output without increasing the cost of the printer itself. It can be processed.

  As described above, the printer 2 according to the present embodiment can use a product of another company as a printer driver. Conversely, when the printer 2 is introduced, the user is forced to change the printer driver. It is no longer necessary. Conventionally, when a new printer is installed in an office, it is necessary to install a corresponding printer driver in all PCs. However, since the work is not absolute in the printer 2 of the present embodiment, the barrier for introducing a new printer can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram of a network system including a printer according to an embodiment. 3 is a flowchart of print processing in a printer. It is a figure which shows the example of a format of a print command.

Explanation of symbols

1 Personal computer (PC)
2 Printer 3 LAN
21 Control unit 22 Print control unit 41 Print command table 42 Unsupported command table 221 Command storage unit 222 Unsupported command storage unit

Claims (3)

Means for inputting print data;
Means for storing a print command table;
Print control means for executing processing related to printing on a print command registered in the print command table, except for a print command not registered in the print command table among print commands included in the print data When,
A printer comprising: The printer according to claim 1.
The print control means includes
Means for storing, as an unsupported command, a print command not registered in the print command table among print commands included in the print data;
Including a printer. The printer according to claim 1 or 2,
A print command generated by a print driver corresponding to the printer is registered in the print command table.

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