JP2012011636A - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that can give a warning when estimating that an external device being a command transmission source makes a command transmission control error, and to provide a program.SOLUTION: A controller 11 of a thermal printer 1 monitors a number of command carrying-out times per unit time determined in advance for each kind of the command, and alarms a host device being the command transmission source when the number of command carrying-out times per unit time determined in advance is equal to or above a threshold.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that monitors commands is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  A thermal printer as an image forming apparatus is used for receipts and records (journals). The thermal printer also has various commands for print setting and print execution. In this type of thermal printer, a host device (for example, a cash register, ATM, handy terminal, or the like) issues a command for each printing or at a certain period to control the thermal printer. When the thermal printer receives the command, the thermal printer executes the commands in the order received.

JP 05-110728 A

  However, if the thermal printer receives a command from the host device and the period in which the command is executed is not appropriate, the life of the thermal printer may be reduced. For example, if a large number of commands are written from the host device to the flash memory of the thermal printer in a short period of time, the number of times the flash memory is written exceeds the number of times that the flash memory can be written, causing the flash memory to fail. As a result, the life of the thermal printer is shortened.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a program capable of notifying a warning when it is estimated that an external device that is a command transmission source has caused a command transmission control error.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus includes a monitoring unit that monitors the number of executions of a command per unit time that is predetermined for each type of command, and a predetermined number of times that the command is executed per unit time. And a notification means for notifying an alarm to an external device that is a command transmission source when the value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. According to this configuration, when it is estimated that an external device that is a command transmission source has caused a command transmission control error, a warning can be notified to the external device.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus includes an ignoring unit that ignores a command to be executed when the predetermined number of executions of the command per unit time is equal to or greater than a threshold value. According to such a configuration, it is possible to correct the execution timing of the command transmitted from the external apparatus at an incorrect timing, and to avoid a decrease in the life of the image forming apparatus.

  More preferably, the image forming apparatus buffers the command to be executed when the predetermined number of executions of the command per unit time is equal to or greater than a threshold and does not ignore the command to be executed. And a delay execution means for executing the buffered command after elapse of an executable period defined in the above. According to such a configuration, it is possible to correct the execution timing of the command transmitted from the external apparatus at an incorrect timing, and to avoid a decrease in the life of the image forming apparatus.

  More preferably, the image forming apparatus includes a setting unit that sets at least one of ON / OFF of the notification unit, ON / OFF of the ignoring unit, and ON / OFF of the delay execution unit for each type of command. It is characterized by that. According to such a configuration, for each type of command, whether to notify an alarm to an external device, whether to ignore a command to be executed, whether to execute a command to be executed with a delay At least one of these settings can be performed.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus further includes setting means for setting the threshold value for each type of command. According to such a configuration, the threshold value can be changed for each type of command.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus is a thermal printer.

  In order to achieve the above object, the program monitors a computer for monitoring the number of executions of a command per unit time determined in advance for each type of command, and the number of executions of the command per unit time determined in advance. When the value is equal to or larger than the threshold value, it is characterized in that it functions as a notification means for notifying an alarm to an external device that is a command transmission source. According to this configuration, when it is estimated that an external device that is a command transmission source has caused a command transmission control error, a warning can be notified to the external device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid a reduction in the life of the image forming apparatus.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the thermal printer and host apparatus which concern on this Embodiment. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a structure of a nonvolatile memory, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a structure of an SRAM. (A) is table information indicating the relationship between the alarm notification target command, the ignore target command, and the delay target command. (B) is a figure which shows the structure of a command. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed with a controller.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a thermal printer and a host device according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a thermal printer 1 as an image forming apparatus includes a controller 11 (monitoring means, notification means, ignoring means, delay execution means, setting means), a drive unit 12, a printing unit 13, a sensor 14, a nonvolatile memory 15, and an SRAM. (Static Random Access Memory) 16, a flash memory 17, an interface 18, and an input unit 19 (setting means) are provided. Note that the thermal printer 1 may not include the input unit 19. The host device 2 is, for example, a cash register, an ATM (Automated Teller Machine), or a handy terminal, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a memory 22, an interface 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25.

  The controller 11 controls the overall operation of the thermal printer 1. Further, the controller 11 executes the command received from the host device 2. When the command is executed, for example, external character data and graphic images included in the command are registered in the flash memory 17 described later. The drive unit 12 is constituted by a stepping motor, for example, and is used for transporting paper used in the thermal printer 1. The printing unit 13 is composed of, for example, a thermal head, and is used when printing characters or figures on paper. The sensor 14 includes, for example, a sensor that detects the presence or absence of paper, a switch that detects opening and closing of a cover, and the like. When receiving a print command from the host device 2, the controller 11 outputs a drive signal to the drive unit 12 and outputs image data to the print unit 13. When the controller 11 receives a signal indicating no paper from the sensor 14, the controller 11 outputs information indicating paper replacement to the display unit 24 of the host device 2. As a result, the user recognizes that the sheet needs to be replaced via the display unit 24. When the controller 11 receives a signal indicating that the cover is open from the sensor 14, the controller 11 outputs information indicating that the cover is open to the display unit 24 of the host device 2.

  The nonvolatile memory 15 stores various setting information and table information described later. The SRAM 16 stores various commands received from the host device 2. The flash memory 17 stores a command expanded in the SRAM 16 and stores data expanded from the command. The interface 18 is an interface such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), Bluetooth, RS-232C, or the like, and is used when various commands are received from the host device 2.

  The input unit 19 is a user interface including a liquid crystal display unit, etc., which is referred to by the controller 11 to set whether or not to notify an alarm to the host device 2 and whether or not to ignore a command received from the host device 2. And the setting of whether or not the controller 11 executes the command with a delay. The controller 11 sets the setting information from the input unit 19 in the nonvolatile memory 15. Further, the user can change or edit the setting information from the input unit 19 or the host device 2 for each type of command. For example, when the user instructs to ignore a certain command at the input unit 19 or the host device 2, the controller 11 reads setting information on whether or not to ignore the command from the nonvolatile memory 15, and the input unit 19 or the host The content of the setting information corresponding to the command is changed according to the instruction from the device 2.

  The CPU 21 of the host device 2 controls the overall operation of the host device 2. The memory 22 stores various programs and data. The interface 23 is an interface such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), Bluetooth, and RS-232C, and is connected to the interface 18 via a cable. Further, the interface 23 transmits a command from the host device 2 to the thermal printer 1. The display unit 24 displays various data and information. The input unit 25 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used when inputting various data and information to the host device 2. The input unit 25 is used when changing the setting information stored in the nonvolatile memory 15 described above.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating the structure of the nonvolatile memory 15, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the structure of the SRAM 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the nonvolatile memory 15 includes a setting information storage area 151 and a table information storage area 152. In the setting information storage area 151, setting information indicating whether or not to notify the alarm to the host device 2, setting information indicating whether or not to ignore the command received from the host device 2, and the controller 11 delays the command. Stores setting information on whether or not to execute. The command information storage area 152 stores table information shown in FIG. The plurality of setting information stored in the setting information storage area 151 and the table information stored in the command information storage area 152 can be changed in accordance with an instruction from the input unit 19 or the host device 2. For example, the user can use the input unit 19 or the host device 2 to change the setting for not reporting the alarm to the host device 2 for each command type to the setting for notifying the host device 2 of the alarm.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the SRAM 16 includes a command expansion area 161, a command storage area 162, and a final time storage area 163. The command expansion area 161 is an area in which the controller 11 expands a command received from the host device 2 and executes processing according to the expanded command. The command storage area 162 is an area for temporarily storing commands received from the host device 2. The last time storage area 163 is an area for storing the time when the controller 11 last executed the command. The controller 11 can grasp the elapsed time from the final time by confirming the final time stored in the final time storage area 163.

  FIG. 3A is table information indicating the relationship between the alarm notification target command, the ignore target command, and the delay target command. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a command structure.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the alarm notification target command includes, for example, an external character registration command for registering an external character in the SRAM 16 and a reset command for resetting the thermal printer 1. When the number of executions of the alarm notification target command per unit time (for example, 10 minutes) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller 11 notifies the host device 2 of an alarm. In addition, when the controller 11 receives an alarm notification target command, the controller 11 executes the command.

  The command to be ignored includes, for example, a graphic registration command for registering a graphic image such as a logo mark in the flash memory 17 and an external character registration command for registering an external character in the flash memory 17. When the number of executions of a command to be ignored per unit time (for example, 10 minutes) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller 11 ignores the command and does not execute the command. In this case, the controller 11 may notify the host device 2 of an alarm.

  Further, the delay target command includes, for example, a paper cut command for instructing cutting of paper. When the number of executions of the delay target command per unit time (for example, 10 minutes) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the controller 11 executes the delay target command after waiting for a predetermined time (for example, unit time). . The table information in FIG. 3 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the paper cut command may be included in the command to be ignored.

  Note that the command to be ignored and the command to be delayed are commands that adversely affect the life and print quality of the thermal printer 1 if executed frequently. For example, when a large number of commands to be ignored and commands to be delayed are written from the host device 2 to the flash memory 17 of the thermal printer 1 in a short period of time, the number of times the flash memory 17 is written exceeds the number of times that the flash memory 17 can be written. The flash memory 17 breaks down and the life of the thermal printer 1 is shortened. In addition, if a command to be ignored or a command to be delayed is frequently executed, printing is interrupted halfway, and if restarted thereafter, the print density varies and the print quality of the thermal printer 1 is degraded.

  In FIG. 3A, the alarm notification target command, the ignore target command, and the delay target command are described, but the commands are not limited to these. For example, a receipt includes data indicating shopping contents in addition to a graphic image such as a logo mark printed at the top of the receipt. The print command including the data indicating the shopping content is a command having no problem even when the number of executions of the command per unit time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, each command includes a header 31 and a data portion 32. The header 31 is composed of, for example, 4 bits that specify the type of command. For example, when the header 31 is “0000”, the command indicates a graphic registration command. When the header 31 is “0001”, the command indicates an external character registration command for registering an external character in the SRAM 16. The controller 11 can determine the type of command received from the host device 2 by checking the header 31 of each command. The data part 32 shows actual data. For example, in the case of a graphic registration command, the data part 32 is a graphic image such as a logo mark. In the case of an external character registration command, the data portion 32 is external character data.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the controller 11.

  First, the controller 11 acquires the number of command executions per unit time (for example, 10 minutes) predetermined for each type of command (step S1). Here, the controller 11 monitors the number of command executions per unit time for each type of command. The controller 11 includes a timer (not shown) and measures time.

  The controller 11 determines whether or not the number of command executions per unit time that is determined in advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S2). Here, the controller 11 determines whether or not the command transmission source host device 2 has caused a command transmission control error. This threshold value is set in advance in the nonvolatile memory 15 or the SRAM 16 via the input unit 19 or the host device 2. For this reason, the user can change the threshold value for each type of command via the input unit 19 or the host device 2.

  If the result of determination in step S2 is NO, the controller 11 acquires a command from the host device 2 (step S3), expands the command on the SRAM 16, and executes processing corresponding to the command (step S4). ). The controller 11 writes the processed data in the flash memory 17 (step S5). Thereafter, the controller 11 increments the command execution count by 1 and stores the last command execution time in the final time storage area 155 of the SRAM 16 (step S6). Then, the procedure returns to step S1.

  When the determination result in step S2 is YES, the controller 11 determines that the command acquired from the host device 2 is a command to be notified of an alarm and the setting information stored in the setting information storage area 151 is the host device. It is determined whether or not it is set to notify the alarm to 2 (step S7).

  If the determination result of step S7 is YES, the controller 11 notifies the host device 2 of an alarm (step S8). Thereby, when it is estimated that the host device 2 has caused a command transmission control error, a warning can be notified to the host device 2. Thereafter, the host device 2 adjusts the command transmission interval to the controller 11 (that is, lengthens the command transmission interval), thereby reducing the frequency of writing to the flash memory 17. As a result, a reduction in the life of the thermal printer 1 can be avoided.

  When the determination result in step S7 is NO, the controller 11 determines that the command acquired from the host device 2 is a command to be ignored and the setting information stored in the setting information storage area 151 is the host device 2. It is determined whether or not the setting is to ignore the command received from (step S9).

  If the result of determination in step S9 is YES, the controller 11 ignores the command acquired from the host device 2 (step S10). At this time, the controller 11 may notify the host device 2 of an alarm. According to step S10, it is possible to correct the execution timing of the command transmitted from the external device at an incorrect timing, and avoid the deterioration of the life of the thermal printer 1 and the print quality.

  If the result of the determination in step S9 is NO, the controller 11 reads the time when the command was last processed from the final time storage area 155, and determines whether or not the executable period of the command has elapsed. (Step S11). Here, the controller 11 determines whether the command can be executed with a delay. Note that the period in which the command can be executed is determined in advance for each type of command. If the determination result in step S11 is NO, the controller 11 stores the command in the command storage area 162 (step S12), and repeats the determination in step S11. If the determination result of step S11 is YES, the process proceeds to step S3, and the controller 11 acquires the command from the command storage area 162. Thereafter, in step S4, the controller 11 expands the command on the command expansion area 161, and executes processing corresponding to the command. When the controller 11 executes the command with a delay, it is possible to correct the execution timing of the command transmitted from the external device at an incorrect timing, and to avoid the life of the thermal printer 1 and the deterioration of the print quality.

  The above-described embodiment can also be realized by supplying a recording medium in which a software program for realizing the function of the thermal printer 1 is recorded to the controller 11, and the controller 11 reading and executing the program stored in the storage medium. Has the same effect as. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program include a CD-ROM, a DVD, or an SD card.

  In addition, the controller 11 executes the software program for realizing the function of the thermal printer 1, and the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal printer 2 Host apparatus 11 Controller 12 Drive part 13 Printing part 14 Sensor 15 Non-volatile memory 16 SRAM
17 Flash memory 18 Interface 19 Input unit 21 CPU
22 Memory 23 Interface 24 Display unit 25 Input unit

Claims (7)

Monitoring means for monitoring the number of executions of a command per unit time predetermined for each type of command;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a notification unit that notifies an alarm to an external apparatus that is a command transmission source when the predetermined number of executions of a command per unit time is equal to or greater than a threshold value.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an ignoring unit that ignores a command to be executed when the predetermined number of executions of the command per unit time is equal to or greater than a threshold value.   When the predetermined number of executions of the command per unit time is equal to or greater than the threshold value and the command to be executed is not ignored, the command to be executed is buffered, and the executable period specified for each command is The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a delay execution unit that executes the buffered command after elapses.   4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising setting means for setting at least one of ON / OFF of the notification means, ON / OFF of the ignore means, and ON / OFF of the delay execution means for each command type. The image forming apparatus described.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set the threshold value for each type of command.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a thermal printer. Computer
Monitoring means for monitoring the number of executions of a command per unit time determined in advance for each command type, and when the number of executions of a command per unit time determined in advance is equal to or greater than a threshold, A program that functions as a notification means for notifying an alarm to an external device.

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