JP2011037027A - Printer, printer system, and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which prevents the deterioration of the data transfer efficiency and the printing productivity of the whole system even if an option is attached. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 30 has a printing data receiving means 31, a buffer memory 39, a first storage means 60, a second storage means 70 which stores printing data when the first storage means has no free capacity, a printing control means 40 which prints the printing data to a paper, and a data transmitting means 33 which transmits the printing data from the first or second storage means to the printing control means. The printer has a first storage means control means 35 which overwrites printing data into the first storage means when the discharge of the paper is detected, and a second storage means control means 36 which overwrites printing data into the second storage means on condition that the first storage means has no free capacity. When the second storage control means writes printing data in the second storage means, the printing data are stored in the buffer memory until the discharge of the paper printed with the printing data is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the printing apparatus in which the option can be installed, when the option is installed, the conveyance distance of the sheet becomes long, the print data to be held for reprinting increases, and the memory has insufficient free space. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printer system, and a printing method for reprinting print data in a predetermined procedure.

  There is a printer system in which print data is transmitted from a host PC to a printer, and the printer sequentially prints the print data on paper. In order to absorb the difference between the printing speed of the printer and the transmission speed of the print data, the printer is provided with an image memory for storing the print data. The print data stored in the image memory is rasterized, for example, an electrophotographic method or the like. Print by inkjet method.

  Since the capacity of the image memory is limited, it is released (overwritten) from the image memory in order from the print data that has been printed. However, when a paper jam occurs during printing or a stop instruction is input, printing is actually performed. In some cases, overwriting of print data that has not been completed may occur. In such a case, print data is again transmitted from the host PC to the printer, or reprocessing inside the printer is required, resulting in a decrease in print productivity.

  Conventionally, some proposals for preventing such a decrease in printing productivity have been made (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3). In Patent Document 1, a page memory exceeding the predetermined number of sheets is provided in the interface circuit unit closer to the printer than the general-purpose bus, and the bitmap image of the page memory indicates that the sheet is discharged after printing by the print engine. There has been disclosed a printing apparatus that holds print data in a page memory until it is normally printed and discharged from a print engine by detecting and discarding.

  However, in reality, it is not easy to equip the print engine with page memory for several pages exceeding a predetermined number of sheets because the memory capacity increases and the cost increases.

  The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 receives image data sent from the image sending apparatus by the image processing apparatus, records it in an image buffer having a capacity of several pages, and transmits the image data from the image buffer to the printer. Overwriting is permitted for the page transmitted when a notification of recording completion is returned from the printer, and image data of a new page is received and overwritten from the image transmission apparatus. On the other hand, when an error is reported from the printer, the image forming apparatus can store, on the image buffer, image data corresponding to the image after the next image following the last image among the images formed on the recording medium. In order to recover the stored state as much as possible, data recovery processing is performed so that the image data that needs to be received again from the image transmission apparatus is minimized.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, a part of an image storage area (RAM) is classified as a spare page memory so that image data of a document can be read even if an output error such as a paper jam occurs. An image forming apparatus is disclosed.

  By the way, options such as a staple, a sorter, a paper discharge tray, a Z fold, and a bookbinding unit may be attached to the printer later. When the option is installed, the transport distance of the paper becomes longer, the number of transported paper sheets and the time until paper discharge is completed increase, the print data to be retained for reprinting increases, and the image memory has free space. There is a tendency to run out.

  In order to solve such a problem, a device for controlling the release of the image memory in consideration of mounting of an option has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 4). In Patent Document 4, when the storage capacity of the second storage means (image memory) is smaller than the required storage capacity, the image data of the second storage means is obtained based on the discharge detection from the discharge detection means. An image forming system for erasing and erasing the image data in the second storage means based on the end detection from the post-processing end detection means when the storage capacity of the second storage means is greater than the required storage capacity It is disclosed.

  However, since the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 needs to retransmit the image data of only the page overwritten in the image buffer from the image transmission apparatus again for data recovery processing, it consumes time for retransmission. There is a problem.

  In addition, since the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 3 is based on the premise that the page memory has a sufficient capacity, the reality is not as easy as in Patent Document 1. In addition, no consideration is given to how to deal with the option mounting.

  Further, in the image forming system described in Patent Document 4, since the required storage capacity is calculated based on the maximum number of sheets staying in the image forming system, the reprint data increases due to the number of sheets being conveyed and the storage capacity of the memory is insufficient. In this case, the print data in the memory is erased before the paper is completely discharged. If an error occurs when the storage capacity of the second storage unit is smaller than the required storage capacity, a print job that has not been detected by the discharge detection unit is acquired again from the controller. There is a problem that decreases.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is a printer system that acquires print data from the outside, stores it in a memory, and prints it. Even if an option is installed, a printing apparatus that does not reduce the data transfer efficiency and print productivity of the entire system, It is an object to provide a printer system and a printing method.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a data receiving unit (for example, the print data reception control unit 31) that receives print data transmitted from a host PC via an external controller, and a printing unit that prints print data on paper. A delivery means for delivering the paper to a paper discharge position; a detection means for detecting that an option that applies a predetermined process to the paper and affects the transport time is attached to the printing means; and a discharge means for detecting paper discharge. A printing control unit (for example, the printing mechanism unit 40) including a paper detection unit, an error detection unit for detecting a delivery error, and a buffer memory (for example, temporarily storing print data received from the host PC). A reception data buffer 39), first storage means (for example, a full dot memory 60) for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages; A second storage unit that stores print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages when the detection unit detects that an option is installed and the first storage unit has no free space; For example, a printing apparatus comprising: a print data buffer (PDB) 70; and data transmission means for transmitting print data from the first or second storage means to the print control means, wherein the first storage means When the discharge of the paper on which the print data stored in the print data is detected is detected, the print data received by the data receiving means is used as the first storage means for storing the print data of the paper whose discharge is detected. When a part of the print data stored in the first storage means control means and the second storage means to be overwritten is transmitted to the print control means, there is no free space in the first storage means. thing And a second storage means control means for overwriting the second storage means with the print data received by the data reception means, wherein the second storage means control means is the second storage means. When the print data is written in the means, the print data is stored in the buffer memory until the discharge of the paper on which the print data is printed is detected.

  To provide a printing apparatus, a printer system, and a printing method in which data transfer efficiency and print productivity of the entire system are not lowered even if an option is installed in a printer system that acquires print data from the outside, stores it in a memory, and prints it. Can do.

1 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of a printer system. FIG. It is an example of the figure for demonstrating the data transfer method. 1 is an example of an overall block diagram of a printer system. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state of a DIMM2, development of raster data, and temporal transition of paper discharge. FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the printer system. FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the printer system. FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the printer system.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of a printer system 400 of the present embodiment. The printer system 400 includes a host PC 100 and the entire printer 200. The host PC 100 and the entire printer 200 are connected via a network such as a one-to-one or LAN such as a USB. The entire printer 200 only needs to have an image forming function such as a copying machine or a fax machine, and may be an MFP having one or more of these functions.

  An option 300 can be attached to the entire printer 200 as shown in the figure. The option 300 is a sorter, a collator, an automatic paper feeder, a paper discharge unit, a stapler, a punch device, a bookbinding unit, or the like. The option 300 according to the present embodiment is intended for all options 300 that are attached to the entire printer 200 to increase the paper conveyance distance or conveyance time from the printing apparatus to the paper discharge tray. Note that the data transfer method of this embodiment can be applied regardless of whether the option 300 is installed, and works more effectively when the option is installed.

  The entire printer 200 includes an external controller 20 and a printer 30. As will be described later, the external controller 20 converts print data received from the host PC 100 into job data based on a drawing command, and serves as a buffer between the printer 30 and the host PC 100. The printer 30 is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, and executes a data transfer method described below. The printing mechanism unit 40 is a printing device that forms an image on a sheet.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a diagram for explaining the data transfer method of the present embodiment. The printer 30 has a DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) 2 memory. As is well known, the DIMM 2 becomes a working memory when the CPU executes a program, and becomes a full dot memory 60 for storing raster data obtained by rasterizing print data. The capacity (the number of squares) of the full dot memory 60 is sufficient to store raster data of subsequent pages from when image data is printed on paper to when it is discharged.

  The full dot (data) refers to raster data (bitmap data) obtained by converting all pixel values of image data for one page for printing, and the full dot memory 60 is a storage means for storing the data. . Therefore, the full dot memory 60 does not need to be a DIMM, and the storage means for storing full dot data is the full dot memory 60. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that one page of raster data is stored in one square.

  In this embodiment, a “print data buffer (hereinafter referred to as PDB)” 70 is provided in addition to the full dot memory 60. Similar to the full dot memory 60, the PDB 70 stores one raster data in one square. The PDB 70 is used as a buffer memory for storing raster data when there is no empty page in the full dot memory 60.

  Since the full-dot memory 60 has a sufficient capacity, the PDB 70 is not used in principle even when the option is not installed, even when the number of pages printed continuously is large. On the other hand, when the option is not installed, there is no reason why the PDB 70 cannot be used. Therefore, the PDB 70 may function as a “sixth full dot memory”. As described above, when an option is added, the PDB 70 can be secured in advance as a specific storage area for installing the option without newly installing a memory.

  For example, the PDB 70 may be used when the number of continuously printed pages is large. In addition, when the option 300 is installed in the entire printer 200 and the path length and the conveyance time are extended, the printer is often used. Then, the raster data of the PDB 70 and the raster data of the full dot memory 60 are treated differently thereafter. In other words, since the PDB 70 and the full dot memory 60 are separated, even if a delivery error (refers to all errors in which the paper is not properly discharged) occurs when the PDB 70 is used as a buffer, the printing efficiency is reduced. Can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the raster data processing procedure of the PDB 70 varies depending on whether a delivery error has occurred or not. First, a case where no delivery error occurs will be described.
(I) Since the option 300 is installed and the number of pages of the document is large, raster data (for example, P6) is temporarily stored in the PDB 70.
(II) When no delivery error occurs, there is no time margin for moving raster data from the PDB 70 to the full dot memory 60, so the raster data of the PDB 70 is directly transmitted to the printing mechanism unit 40.

Next, a case where a delivery error has occurred will be described. The present embodiment is characterized when a delivery error occurs.
(I) Since the option 300 is installed and the number of pages of the document is large, raster data is temporarily stored in the PDB 70.
(III) When a delivery error occurs, raster data stays in the PDB 70. However, since the PDB 70 is preferably released early, it is opened earlier than the full dot memory 60. Specifically, for example, the full dot memory 60 holds the raster data until the sheet is discharged, whereas the PDB 70 is released from the start to the end of printing.

For this reason, when raster data stored in the PDB 70 is discarded from the PDB 70 during the conveyance of a sheet and a delivery error occurs, it is necessary for the printer 30 to have the raster data retransmitted from the host PC 100 or the external controller 20. End up.
(IV) Therefore, the printer 30 of the present embodiment holds PDL data corresponding to the raster data stored in the PDB 70 at a place other than the PDB 70 (for example, a print data reception control unit 31 described later).
(V) When a delivery error occurs, the printer 30 re-rasterizes the PDL data corresponding to the raster data once stored in the PDB 70, and the full dot in which the raster data of the page on which the paper has already been discharged is stored. Store (store) in the memory 60.

  In this way, even if a delivery error occurs, the printer 30 can reprint the raster data stored in the PDB 70 without having the PDL data retransmitted from the host PC 100 or the external controller 20. Therefore, the data transfer efficiency and print productivity of the entire system are not lowered.

  Also, by providing the PDB 70 in the same DIMM 2 as the full dot memory, efficient data transfer can be performed without physically adding memory.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an overall block diagram of the printer system 400. In FIG. 3, the same components as those in FIG. The external controller 20 includes a print data reception control unit 21, a print control unit 22, a print data transmission control unit 24, and a hard disk drive 23. The print data reception control unit 21 receives print data from the host PC 100 through serial communication together with the print request. The print data reception control unit 21 stores the print data received from the host PC 100 in the DIMM 1 or the hard disk drive 23 in units of pages. The print data reception control unit 21 sends the print data to the print control unit 22.

  A hard disk drive 23 and a controller memory (DIMM) 25 are connected to the print control unit 22 (hereinafter, the controller memory 25 is referred to as DIMM 1). The hard disk drive 23 stores control software and the like in advance.

  When the print data reception control unit 21 receives the print data, the print control unit 22 performs job data based on a “draw command (page description language PDL = Page Description Language)” that can be developed by the printer for each page without rasterization. The PDL data is transmitted to the printer. The DIMM 1 serves as a working memory when the print control unit 22 performs such conversion and executes a control program.

  For example, the print data transmitted from the host PC 100 is a text document including various fonts, a graph, a character / image mixed document, and the like. The print control unit 22 converts these print images into PDL data.

  The print control unit 22 sends the print data and PDL data to the print data transmission control unit 24 from the completed PDL data while buffering the print data and PDL data in the DIMM 1 if necessary. Note that if the print data sent from the host PC 100 includes bitmap data, the print control unit 22 transmits the bitmap data as well. The print data transmission control unit 24 transmits the PDL data to the printer 30 while performing flow control. Here, when the transmission of the PDL data to the printer 30 is completed, the external controller 20 overwrites the transmitted page with the PDL data of a new page and deletes it. That is, the external controller 20 does not hold the transmitted PDL data. This is an effect peculiar to the present embodiment that is possible because the printer 20 does not need to retransmit the PDL data even if a delivery error occurs.

  Next, the printer 30 will be described. The printer 30 includes a print data reception control unit 31, a print control unit 32, a print data transmission control unit 33, a printing mechanism unit 40, a printer memory (DIMM) 34, an operation panel 37, and a hard disk drive 38. Hereinafter, the printer memory 34 is referred to as DIMM2. The print data reception control unit 31 receives PDL data from the print data transmission control unit 24. The print data reception control unit 31 requests the print data transmission control unit 24 to permit or stop transmission of PDL data while confirming the availability of the DIMM 2.

  Therefore, the print data reception control unit 31 has a reception data buffer 39. The reception data buffer 39 may be provided in the print data reception control unit 31 or the DIMM 2. The received data buffer 39 stores PDL data for each page of the job. The PDL data received by the reception data buffer 39 may be stored in the DIMM 2 or the hard disk drive 38. This case is adopted when the PDL data received once is repeatedly developed in the full dot memory 60 when the printer prints a plurality of copies of the same job.

  The received data buffer 39 stores PDL data, and the PDB 70 stores raster data. Therefore, the data size per page is different even for the same page. The capacity of the reception data buffer 39 may be set as appropriate. For example, if the PDB 70 has a capacity for one page of raster data, the reception data buffer 39 also has a capacity for one page or more of PDL data.

  The print control unit 32 interprets the PDL data and converts it into raster data in accordance with the resolution of the printer 30 (rasterization). For example, if it is a character drawing command, the contour information of the corresponding character is called from the raster pattern and converted into a dot pattern corresponding to the designated position and size. For this reason, the DIMM 2 is used for storing control software, raster patterns, and raster data. The raster pattern is, for example, font data, and is data for converting print data into raster data.

  An operation panel 37, hard disk drive 38, and DIMM 2 are connected to the print control unit 32. The print control unit 32 is a computer to which a CPU, RAM, ROM, ASIC, and the like are connected via an internal bus.

  The operation panel 37 provides an interface between the printer 30 and the user. The operation panel 37 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a touch panel, and key switches, displays various states and operation methods of the printer 30 on the LCD, and detects touches and key switch inputs from the user. The hard disk drive 38 stores a control program executed by the print control unit 32. The hard disk drive 38 may be the same as the hard disk drive 23. The data transfer method of the present embodiment is realized by the CPU of the print control unit 32 executing this control software.

  The DIMM 2 serves as a working memory for the print control unit 32 and is used for mounting the full dot memory 60 and the PDB 70. As will be described later, a capacity of 5 pages is secured as the full dot memory 60 and a capacity of 1 page is secured as the PDB 70. The print control unit 32 uses the full dot memory 60 and the PDB 70 depending on whether or not the option is installed. When the option is not installed, the print control unit 32 uses the PDB 70 as the full dot memory 60. When the option is installed, the print control unit 32 uses the PDB 70 only when there is no space in the full dot memory 60 (uses the PDB 70 as the PDB). The printing mechanism unit 40 detects that the option has been installed in the printing mechanism unit 40 together with its type, and notifies the printing control unit 32 of it.

  The print control unit 32 includes a full dot memory development control unit 35 and a print data buffer development control unit 36. The full dot memory development control unit 35 writes raster data into the full dot memory 60. The print data buffer development control unit 36 writes raster data to the PDB 70. The write rule by the full dot memory development control unit 35 is as follows. The following description is based on the assumption that the option 300 is installed in the entire printer 200.

<Write rule of full dot memory development control unit 35>
(i) The full dot memory development control unit 35 writes one page of raster data in one square of the full dot memory 60.
(ii) When the raster data is written in the full dot memory 60, the print data reception control unit 31 does not hold the corresponding PDL data in the reception data buffer 39 (if written in the full dot memory 60, the print data reception control is performed. The unit 31 discards the PDL data).

By discarding the print data stored in the full dot memory 60 in the print data reception control unit 31, the external controller 20 can transfer the print data without delay, and the printer 30 can be produced without causing intermittent printing. Sex can also be maintained.
(iii) When the raster data written in the full dot memory 60 is printed on a sheet and the sheet is discharged, the full dot memory development control unit 35 displays the full dot in which the printed page has been written. It is determined that the cell 60 in the memory 60 can be overwritten.

  On the other hand, the write rule by the print data buffer development control unit 36 is as follows.

<Write Rule of Print Data Buffer Development Control Unit 36>
(i) The print data buffer development control unit 36 writes raster data to the PDB 70 when there are no empty pages in all the full dot memories 60.
(ii) The print data reception control unit 31 holds the PDL data corresponding to the raster data written in the PDB 70 in the reception data buffer 39.
(iii) When the raster data written in the PDB 70 is transmitted to the print mechanism unit 40 more than half, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines that the first half of the PDB 70 can be overwritten.
(iv) The print data reception control unit 31 discards the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39 when the raster data written in the PDB 70 is printed on the paper and the paper is discharged.
(v) When the print data reception control unit 31 detects the occurrence of a delivery error while the raster data sheet written in the PDB 70 is being transported, the print data reception control unit 31 performs full printing so that the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39 is expanded in the full dot memory 60. This is requested to the dot memory development control unit 35. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the need to retransmit the PDL data corresponding to the raster data written in the PDB 70 from the external controller 20.

  The full dot memory development control unit 35 and the print data buffer development control unit 36 store raster data in the DIMM 2 asynchronously.

  The print control unit 32 manages the page order of raster data written in the full dot memory 60 and the PDB 70. In principle, the print data transmission control unit 33 is instructed to transmit raster data to the print control unit 32 in the order of addresses in the full dot memory 60 and then in the order of addresses in the PDB 70. Exceptionally, when a delivery error occurs, the print control unit 32 specifies the page numbers of one or more pages that have not been ejected, and resumes printing in the page order from the first page (the raster data is sent to the print mechanism unit 40). Send). Since the raster data is stored in the full dot memory 60 from the reception data buffer 39, the print data is transmitted so that the raster data is transmitted to the print control unit 32 in the page order even if the address order and the page order do not match. Command the control unit 33.

  The printing mechanism unit 40 is a print engine having a function of detecting completion of discharge of each sheet and notifying the printing control unit 32. Further, the printing mechanism unit 40 detects a delivery error such as a paper jam from various sensors (foreign matter detection sensors provided in the delivery path) and notifies the print control unit 32 of the delivery error. The printing mechanism unit 40 prints raster data on a sheet using an electrophotographic process using a laser beam. The printing mechanism unit 40 may be an ink jet type that discharges droplets to form an image on a sheet.

[DIMM2 state transition]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the temporal transition of the state of the full dot memory 60 and PDB 70, storage of raster data, and paper discharge. FIG. 4 shows that the time elapses toward the right. For convenience, one horizontal cell is called one unit time. The unit time Tn (n = 1, 2, 3...) Of the external controller 20, the printer 30, the full dot memory 60, the PDB 70, the paper conveyance, and the paper conveyance completion may not be the same. An approximate timing is schematically shown. Each page of the full dot memory 60 is defined as a full dot memory area n (n: 1 to 5).

  The external controller 20 converts the print data received from the host PC 100 into PDL data, and transmits the PDL data to the printer 30 while confirming the status of the DIMM 2 of the printer 30 (in this embodiment, as an example, the print data This will be described in the case where the number of pages is 17 pages (P1 to P17).

  The print data transmission control unit 24 of the external controller 20 sequentially transmits PDL data P1 to P17 to the printer 30 one page at a time. The print data reception control unit 31 of the printer 30 sequentially receives the PDL data P1 to P17 page by page. The print data reception control unit 31 temporarily stores the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39. The print data reception control unit 31 sends the received PDL data to the full dot memory development control unit 35.

  The full dot memory development control unit 35 converts raster data into raster data page by page in the order of addresses of the full dot memory 60 (entire). When the unit time T2 has elapsed, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P1 in the full dot memory area 1. The print data transmission control unit 33 of the printer 30 transmits the raster data stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) to the printing mechanism unit 40 in page order. As a result, the printing mechanism unit 40 prints raster data on a sheet.

  In FIG. 4, printing of P1 is completed when the unit time T3 has elapsed. The printed paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray. The time from the completion of printing until the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray is increased by the installation of the option 300. In the present embodiment, since the P1 sheet is discharged at unit time T12, the time from when printing is completed until the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray is 8 unit hours.

  Until the P1 paper is discharged, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P2 in the full dot memory area 2 when the unit time T4 has elapsed. The printing mechanism unit 40 completes the printing of P2 when the unit time T5 has elapsed.

  Further, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P3 in the full dot memory area 3 when the unit time T6 has elapsed. The printing mechanism unit 40 completes the printing of P3 when the unit time T7 has elapsed.

  Further, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P4 in the full dot memory area 4 when the unit time T8 has elapsed. The printing mechanism unit 40 completes the printing of P4 when the unit time T9 has elapsed.

  Further, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P5 in the full dot memory area 5 when the unit time T10 has elapsed. The printing mechanism unit 40 completes the printing of P5 when the unit time T11 has elapsed.

  When the unit time T10 has elapsed, the full dot memory 60 (entire) has no empty pages. Further, when the unit time T10 has elapsed, the paper on which P1 is printed is not discharged. The raster data stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) is not overwritten until the paper reaches the paper discharge tray in order to cope with an error such as paper jam. Therefore, the full dot memory development control unit 35 cannot store the P6 raster data received by the print data reception control unit 31 in the full dot memory 60 (entire) when the unit time T12 has elapsed.

  Therefore, the print data buffer development control unit 36 stores the P6 raster data in the PDB 70. When the print data buffer development control unit 36 stores raster data in the PDB 70, the print data reception control unit 31 stores the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39. When the raster data is written in the full dot memory 60 (entire), the print data reception control unit 31 discards the PDL data corresponding to the raster data.

  At approximately the same time, the paper on which P1 is printed reaches the paper discharge tray. When the unit time T13 has elapsed, the print data transmission control unit 33 sends the raster data of P6 to the printing mechanism unit 40. Thereby, printing of P6 is completed when unit time T13 passes. Accordingly, when the unit time T13 has elapsed, the number of sheets being conveyed is P2 to P6.

  When the unit time T13 has elapsed due to the completion of printing of P6, overwriting of P6 of PDB 70 is permitted. In the figure, P6 of PDB 70 is erased after unit time T13. However, when the unit time T13 has elapsed, the print data reception control unit 31 holds the PDL data of P6 in the reception data buffer 39.

  Next, when the unit time T <b> 14 has elapsed, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P <b> 7 in the full dot memory area 1. Further, when the unit time T14 has elapsed, the P2 sheet reaches the sheet discharge tray. Therefore, another raster data may be stored in the full dot memory area 2. Thereby, in unit time T14-15, the paper currently conveyed becomes five sheets of P3-P7.

  A delivery error occurs when the unit time T14 elapses. When a delivery error occurs, it is unlikely that the paper being transported will be normally taken out (with a quality that can be used by the user), so the printer 30 prints the raster data of the paper being transported on the paper again. Since the print control unit 32 detects that the discharged pages are P1 and P2 based on the notification from the printing mechanism unit 40, the printing mechanism unit 32 reprints five sheets P3 to P7. Decide that.

  When there is raster data stored in the PDB 70, the full dot memory development control unit 35 receives the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39 from the print data reception control unit 31, and stores it in the full dot memory 60 (entire). In this way, the external controller 20 can reprint the printer 30 without retransmitting the PDL data corresponding to the raster data stored in the PDB 70 to the printer 30.

  Since the raster data up to P7 has already been stored in the full dot memory area 1 when the unit time T14 has elapsed, the full dot memory development control unit 35 converts the P6 PDL data stored in the reception data buffer 39 into raster data. The data is converted and stored in the full dot memory area 2. From the above, when the unit time T16 has elapsed, P7 raster data is stored in the full dot memory area 1, P6 raster data is stored in the full dot memory area 2, and P3-5 raster data is stored in the full dot memory areas 3-5. Is stored.

  After the delivery error is resolved, the print control unit 32 determines a first page that has not been discharged, and notifies the print data transmission control unit 33 of the first page. In FIG. 4, P3 is the first page. Therefore, the print data transmission control unit 33 transmits P3 to the printing mechanism unit 40, and P3 is printed when the unit time T13 has elapsed. Next, P4 and P5 are reprinted.

  Although the print order is P7 and P6 in the address order of the full dot memory 60 (entire), the print control unit 32 stores the PDL data corresponding to the raster data (P6) in the full dot memory area 2 in the received data buffer 39. Is detected when stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire). For this reason, the printing control unit 32 controls the printing order so that printing is performed in the order of P6 and P7. As described above, even if the address order does not correspond to the page number, the print control unit 32 manages the printing order, so the sheets are printed in the page order.

  Since there is no empty page in the full dot memory 60 (entire) until the P3 sheet reaches the paper discharge tray, the P8 raster data is stored in the PDB 70.

[Printing procedure]
The operation of the printer system 400 will be described in detail based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 7 show an example of a flowchart of a procedure in which the printer system 400 prints a page. Hereinafter, each situation (1) to (3) will be described.

(1) When printing proceeds without a delivery error.
A case will be described in which P6 raster data is stored in the PDB 70 and P7 raster data is stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire), but no delivery error occurs.

  5 to 7 are started after the print control unit 32 that has received the print data from the external controller 20 analyzes the print data.

  The print control unit 32 first determines whether any delivery error has occurred (S101). The delivery error is detected because the interrupt line from each sensor becomes a “Hi signal”.

  If no delivery error has occurred (No in S101), in order to store raster data, the full dot memory development control unit 35 determines whether there is an empty page in the full dot memory 60 (entire) (S102).

  When there is an empty page in the full dot memory 60 (entire) (Yes in S102), since the raster data may be stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire), the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data in the full dot memory. 60 (entire) (S103). For example, in FIG. 4, P1 to P5 are stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) in steps S101 to S103.

  Next, the print data reception control unit 31 discards the received PDL data corresponding to the raster data stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) (S104).

  Next, the print data reception control unit 31 determines whether or not all PDL data has been stored in the reception data buffer 39 (S105). Whether or not all PDL data has been stored is notified from the print data transmission control unit 33 of the external controller 20. By repeating steps S101 to S104, the raster data of P1 to P5 are stored in the full dot memory areas 1 to 5, respectively, as in the case where the unit time T10 has elapsed. The print data reception control unit 31 discards the PDL data P1 to P5 from the reception data buffer 39.

  Next, the full dot memory development control unit 35 determines whether or not there is an empty page in the full dot memory 60 (entire) for storing the raster data of P6 (S102). Since there is no empty page in the full dot memory 60 (whole), the determination in step 102 for P6 is No.

  Proceeding to FIG. 6, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not the page (P6) is a page immediately after the page written in the PDB 70 (S301). In other words, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether P6 is continuous with the page written in the PDB 70 or not. With this determination, in the case of continuous pages, the raster data can be stored as much as possible to prevent intermittent printing by transferring it to the printing mechanism unit 40 by half a page as described in (3).

  Since nothing is stored in the PDB 70 at this time (raster data of the previous job remains or is initialized), P6 is not a page immediately after the page written in the PDB 70 (No in S301). ). That is, the raster data stored in the PDB 70 is not P5 immediately before P6.

  Therefore, the print data buffer development control unit 36 temporarily writes raster data for one page in the PDB 70 (S303). In step S303, when a page continuous with raster data stored in the PDB 70 is stored, the first half of the page is stored in the PDB 70.

  Next, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not storage of raster data for one page (P6) in the PDB 70 is completed (S304). When raster data for one page is stored in the PDB 70, the process returns to step S101 to process the next page.

  At this time, the unit time T12 is entered. Since the full dot memory area 1 is now released, the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of P7 in the full dot memory area 1. At the same time, the paper on which P2 is printed reaches the paper discharge tray (unit time T14).

(2) When a delivery error occurs After a P6 raster data is stored in the PDB 70 and a P7 raster data is stored in the full dot memory area 1, a delivery error occurs before the P8 raster data is stored. Explain the case.
<Error handling>
In step S101, the print control unit 32 detects the occurrence of a delivery error. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S401.

  First, the print control unit 32 confirms a page on which paper discharge has been completed, and determines a page (first page) on which reprinting is to be started (S401). The pages that have been discharged are apparent from the number of pages that have reached the discharge tray. For example, since the paper discharge up to P2 is completed, the first page for starting reprinting is P3.

  The print control unit 32 waits until the delivery error is cleared (No in S402). When the delivery error is canceled (Yes in S402), the print data transmission control unit 33 transmits the raster data of P3 to the printing mechanism unit 40 (S403).

  In parallel with the transmission in step S403, the print control unit 32 determines whether there is raster data stored in the PDB 70 but not yet discharged (S404). Since the raster data stored in the PDB 70 can be overwritten after printing (not after paper discharge), it is determined by this determination whether or not the PDL data stored in the reception data buffer 39 is to be used.

  If there is no raster data stored in the PDB 70 but not yet ejected (No in S404), the processing related to the raster data of the PDB 70 is unnecessary, so the print control unit 32 does not store it in the full dot memory 60 (entire). Storage from the page to the full dot memory 60 (entire) is resumed (S405). Specifically, the printing control restarts the storage from P8 to the full dot memory 60 (entire). That is, the delivery error process is completed, and the process is restarted from step S101.

  When there is raster data stored in the PDB 70 but not yet discharged (Yes in S404), the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores the raster data of the page stored in the PDB 70 (PDL data in the reception data buffer 39). The raster data of the discharged paper is stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) in which the raster data is stored (S406). That is, the print data reception control unit 31 reads the P6 PDL data from the reception data buffer 39 and sends it to the full dot memory development control unit 35. The full dot memory development control unit 35 converts the received PDL data into raster data. Store in full dot memory area 2. As a result, a page written in the PDB 70 but not discharged can be printed again.

  The full dot memory development control unit 35 determines whether or not the PDL data in the reception data buffer 39 is stored as raster data in the full dot memory 60 (entire) (S407), and when the storage is completed (Yes in S407), The print control unit 32 resumes storage from the page not stored in the full dot memory 60 (whole) to the full dot memory 60 (whole) (S405). Accordingly, the print control unit 32 resumes the storage from P8 to the full dot memory 60 (entire).

(3) When P1 to P5 have not yet been discharged when P6 is written and P7 is overwritten on PDB 70 As a situation different from FIG. 4, P7 is stored in PDB 70 next to P6. explain.

  From P1 to P5, S101 (YES) to S105 (NO) are repeated and stored in the full dot memory areas 1 to 5, respectively.

  When the full dot memory development control unit 35 stores P6 in the DIMM 2, since the full dot memory 60 (the whole) is not empty, the determination in step S102 is No, and the process proceeds to step S301.

  First, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not P6 is a page having a page number continuous to the page written in the PDB 70 last time (S301). As already described, this determination is No.

  Since P6 is not a page having a page number continuous to the page written to the PDB 70 last time (No in S301), the print data buffer development control unit 36 stores the raster data of P6 in the PDB 70 (S303). In this case, the print data buffer development control unit 36 temporarily writes raster data for one page of P6 in the PDB 70.

  Next, in step S304, since the raster data for one page of P6 is stored in the PDB 70, the determination is “Yes”, and the process returns to step S101. Even if the determination in step S304 is “No”, the storage of P6 is completed and the process returns to step S101.

  First, it is assumed that no delivery error has occurred in step S101.

  Next, the full dot memory development control unit 35 determines whether or not there is an empty page in the full dot memory 60 (entire) in order to store the raster data of P7 (S102). In (1) and (2), there is an empty page in the full dot memory area 1 at the unit time T12. However, for example, since the paper discharge is not completed, an empty page is in the full dot memory area 1 at the unit time T12. Make it not exist. That is, transmission from the full dot memory 60 (entire) to the printing mechanism unit 40 starts when the storage of data for one page of the previous page is completed. On the other hand, the overwriting condition for the full dot memory 60 (entire) is that the paper of the page of the full dot memory 60 (entire) is “completed discharge”. For this reason, after the P6 raster data is stored in the PDB 70, if the P1 paper is not discharged, the full dot memory 60 (the whole) is still empty. Therefore, in this case, P7 is stored in the PDB 70.

Therefore, the determination in step S102 is “No”, and the process proceeds to step S301.
The print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not P7 is a page having a page number continuous to the page written in the PDB 70 last time (S301). The print data buffer development control unit 36 compares the page number of the page stored in the PDB 70 with the page number of P7, and determines that P7 is a page number continuous to the page written in the PDB 70 last time. Therefore, the determination in step S301 is “Yes”.

  For this reason, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not the first half of the raster data of the previous page has been transmitted to the print mechanism unit 40 (S302). When the first half of the raster data of the previous page has not been transmitted to the printing mechanism unit 40 (No in S302), the print data buffer development control unit 36 enters a standby state.

  In this embodiment, the storage condition of the subsequent P7 in the PDB 70 is that the first half of the raster data of the previous page P6 has been transmitted to the printing mechanism unit 40. The storage condition may be that transmission of raster data such as / 5, ¼, and ３ to the print mechanism unit 40 has been completed. In other words, intermittent printing can be prevented by allowing P7 raster data to be written to the PDB 70 at an early stage.

  When the first half of the raster data of the previous page is transmitted to the printing mechanism unit 40 (Yes in S302), the print data buffer development control unit 36 starts storing the raster data of P7 in the PDB 70 of the first half (S303). ). When the process proceeds from step S302 to step S303, the process in step S303 is “however, in the case of continuous pages, print data for the first half page is stored”.

  Next, in step S304, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not raster data for one page of P7 has been stored in the PDB 70. This determination is “No”, and the process is step S306. . Then, the print data buffer development control unit 36 determines whether or not the latter half raster data of the previous page P6 has been transmitted to the print mechanism unit 40 (S306). The print data buffer development control unit 36 waits until the raster data of the latter half of the previous page P6 is transmitted to the print mechanism unit 40 (No in S306) (repetition of determination in S306).

  When the raster data of the latter half of the previous page P6 is transmitted to the printing mechanism unit 40 (Yes in S306), the print data buffer development control unit 36 stores the raster data of the latter half of P7 in the PDB 70 (S305).

  In step S305, the raster data for one page of P7 is stored in the PDB 70, so the determination in the subsequent step S304 is Yes. Therefore, the process returns to step S101. Thereafter, P8 is stored in the full dot memory 60 (entire) or the PDB 70.

  As described above, the printer system 400 according to the present embodiment can store the raster data in the PDB 70 by attaching the option 300 to the printer, extending the sheet conveyance distance. Even if a delivery error occurs before the paper of raster data stored in the PDB 70 is discharged, the host PC 100 holds the PDL data corresponding to the page stored in the PDB 70 in the reception data buffer 39. Can be reprinted without resending the print data. Until the option is installed, the PDB 70 can be used as the full dot memory 60. Therefore, the storage capacity of the DIMM 2 can be used effectively, and there is no need to add the DIMM 2 when the option is installed. Therefore, even if the option 300 is installed, it is possible to prevent the data transfer efficiency and print productivity of the entire system from being lowered.

20 External Controller 30 Printer 31 Print Data Reception Control Unit 32 Print Control Unit 33 Print Data Transmission Control Unit 34 DIMM2
35 Full-dot memory development control unit 36 Print data buffer development control unit 37 Operation panel 38 Hard disk drive 39 Reception data buffer 100 Host PC
200 Entire printer 300 Option 400 Printer system

JP 2001-334704 A JP 2004-194052 A JP 2009-055205 A JP 2008-53791 A

Claims (10)

Data receiving means for receiving print data transmitted from the host PC via an external controller;
Printing means for printing the print data on paper;
A delivery means for delivering the paper to a paper discharge position; a detection means for detecting that an option that applies a predetermined process to the paper and affects the transport time is attached to the printing means; and a paper discharge for detecting paper discharge A print control means comprising: a detection means; and an error detection means for detecting a delivery error;
A buffer memory for temporarily storing print data received from the host PC;
First storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages;
Second storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages when the detection means detects that an option is installed and the first storage means has no free space; ,
A data transmission unit configured to transmit print data from the first or second storage unit to the print control unit;
When the discharge of the paper on which the print data stored in the first storage unit is printed is detected, the print data received by the data receiving unit is stored as the print data of the paper on which the discharge is detected. First storage means control means for overwriting the first storage means;
When a part of the print data stored in the second storage means is transmitted to the print control means, the data receiving means receives it on condition that there is no free space in the first storage means. Second storage means control means for overwriting the second storage means with print data,
When the second storage means control means writes the print data in the second storage means, the print data is stored in the buffer memory until paper discharge on which the print data is printed is detected. Leave
A printing apparatus comprising: If the error detection means detects a delivery error,
The first storage means control means overwrites the print data stored in the buffer memory on the first storage means that has stored the print data of the paper on which paper discharge has been detected;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The first and second storage means are dual in-line memories;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The dual in-line memory includes the first storage unit that stores print data for a first page and the second storage unit that stores print data for a second page that is smaller than the first page. Being
The printing apparatus according to claim 3. The data receiving means includes
When the first storage means control means overwrites the print data in the buffer memory on the first storage means, the print data in the buffer memory is discarded,
When the second storage means control means overwrites the second storage means with the print data in the buffer memory, the print data in the buffer memory is not discarded.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The first storage means control means and the second storage means control means each asynchronously overwrite the print data in the buffer memory on the first storage means and write the print data in the buffer memory to the first memory means. Overwriting the storage means of 2,
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The data transmission means switches the first or second storage means for reading out the print data so that the print data is transmitted to the print control means in page order;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A printer system having an external controller that receives print data from a host PC and a printing device that prints print data received from the external controller,
The printing apparatus includes:
Printing means for printing the print data on paper;
A delivery means for delivering the paper to a paper discharge position; a detection means for detecting that an option that applies a predetermined process to the paper and affects the transport time is attached to the printing means; and a paper discharge for detecting paper discharge A print control means comprising: a detection means; and an error detection means for detecting a delivery error;
A buffer memory for temporarily storing print data received from the host PC;
First storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages;
Second storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages when the detection means detects that an option is installed and the first storage means has no free space; ,
Data transmission means for transmitting print data from the first or second storage means to the print control means;
When the discharge of the paper on which the print data stored in the first storage means is printed is detected, the print data received by the data receiving means is stored as the print data of the paper on which the discharge is detected. First storage means control means for overwriting the first storage means;
When a part of the print data stored in the second storage means is transmitted to the print control means, the data receiving means receives it on condition that there is no free space in the first storage means. Second storage means control means for overwriting the second storage means with print data,
When the second storage means control means writes the print data in the second storage means, the print data is stored in the buffer memory until paper discharge on which the print data is printed is detected. Leave
A printer system comprising: The external controller is
The print data received from the host PC is stored in the third storage means in units of pages, and then transmitted to the printing apparatus. When the transmission is completed, the print data of the new page is overwritten and deleted on the transmitted page.
The printer system according to claim 8. Data receiving means for receiving print data transmitted from the host PC via an external controller;
Printing means for printing the print data on paper;
A delivery means for delivering the paper to a paper discharge position; a detection means for detecting that an option that applies a predetermined process to the paper and affects the transport time is attached to the printing means; and a paper discharge for detecting paper discharge A print control means comprising: a detection means; and an error detection means for detecting a delivery error;
A buffer memory for temporarily storing print data received from the host PC;
First storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages;
Second storage means for storing print data stored in the buffer memory in units of pages when the detection means detects that an option is installed and the first storage means has no free space; ,
A data transmission unit that transmits print data from the first or second storage unit to the print control unit;
When the first storage means control means detects the discharge of the paper on which the print data stored in the first storage means is printed, the discharge of the print data received by the data reception means is detected. Overwriting the first storage means storing the print data of the paper;
When the second storage means control means sends a part of the print data stored in the second storage means to the print control means, the first storage means has no free space. And overwriting the second storage means with the print data received by the data receiving means;
When the second storage means control means writes the print data in the second storage means, the data reception means stores the print data in the buffer memory until the discharge of the paper on which the print data is printed is detected. Storing the print data;
A printing method characterized by the above.

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