JP2013091214A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer and a printing method capable of performing printing in the course of receiving print data from an external apparatus connected to any of a plurality of kinds of communication interfaces while suppressing throughput degradation of printing.SOLUTION: In this printer, the print data received from the external apparatus by using any of the plurality of kinds of communication interfaces are sequentially accumulated and stored. Based on the stored print data, printing is performed with respect to each print line while conveying a sheet. Based on the communication interfaces used for receiving the print data, a start line k is specified (S81-S91). When conveyance of the sheet and printing are stopped, the conveyance of the sheet and printing are started (S95) if the number of received lines s is larger than the start line k (S93:YES).

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for performing printing based on print data received from an external device.

  2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus that includes a plurality of types of communication interfaces that can be connected to an external device such as a personal computer and performs sequential printing according to print data received from an external device connected to each communication interface is known (for example, a patent) Reference 1). Sequential printing is a printing mode in which print data is sequentially printed on a print medium based on received data while receiving print data from an external device.

  The printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 discloses that printing is temporarily stopped when the amount of accumulated data becomes less than the necessary amount, and printing is resumed when the amount of accumulated data exceeds the necessary amount due to subsequent data reception. Yes. Further, it is disclosed that the printing speed is changed to a low speed when the accumulated data amount becomes less than the necessary amount, and the printing speed is changed to the standard speed when the accumulated data amount exceeds the necessary amount due to subsequent data reception.

JP 2009-73131 A

  However, when the printing is temporarily stopped according to the accumulated data amount during the execution of the sequential printing, it is necessary to perform the continuous printing when the printing is resumed and to reprint the printed portion immediately before the printing is stopped. In splicing printing, the printing medium is once returned to the direction opposite to the normal transport direction and transported in the normal direction again in order to perform printing again on the portion that has been printed once. At this time, there is a possibility that a portion where printing overlaps slightly shifts and print quality is deteriorated.

  Further, when the printing speed is changed according to the accumulated data amount during the execution of the sequential printing, the control of the sequential printing becomes complicated, and the processing load of the printing apparatus may be increased. As described above, the temporary suspension of printing or the increase in processing load during the execution of sequential printing can cause a decrease in printing throughput.

  The present invention provides a printing apparatus and a printing method capable of executing printing while receiving print data from an external device connected to any of a plurality of types of communication interfaces while suppressing a decrease in printing throughput. Objective.

  The printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus provided with a plurality of types of communication interfaces that can be connected to an external device and performs data transmission / reception with respect to the connected external device. Data storage means for sequentially accumulating and storing print data received from the external device using any of a plurality of types of communication interfaces, transport means for transporting a print medium, and stored in the data storage means A printing unit that performs printing on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying unit for each printing line extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the printing medium is conveyed based on the printing data; and for receiving the printing data A data amount specifying means for specifying a necessary data amount, which is a data amount of the print data indicating a printing start condition, based on the communication interface used; When the conveyance of the recording means and the printing of the printing means are stopped, the data amount of the print data stored in the data storage means is greater than the necessary data amount specified by the data amount specifying means A first determination unit that determines whether or not the print data is greater than the necessary data amount by the first determination unit; Printing start means for starting the printing means and starting printing based on the print data stored in the data storage means.

  The printing method according to the second aspect of the present invention is connectable to an external device, and includes any of a plurality of types of communication interfaces that perform data transmission / reception with respect to the connected external device, and the plurality of types of communication interfaces. Based on the print data stored in the data storage means, data storage means for sequentially storing and storing print data received from the external device using A printing method that is executed by a printing apparatus that includes a printing unit that performs printing on each printing line that extends in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the printing medium is conveyed on the printing medium that is conveyed by a conveying unit, Based on the communication interface used for receiving the print data, a necessary data amount that is a data amount of the print data indicating a print start condition is specified. Data amount specifying step, and when the transport of the transport unit and the printing of the printing unit are stopped, the data amount of the print data stored in the data storage unit is specified by the data amount specifying step. A determination step for determining whether or not the data amount is greater than the required data amount, and when the determination step determines that the data amount of the print data is greater than or equal to the necessary data amount, And a printing start step for causing the printing unit to start printing based on the print data stored in the data storage unit.

  According to the first and second aspects, print data received from an external device using one of a plurality of types of communication interfaces is sequentially accumulated and stored. Based on the stored print data, printing is executed for each print line while conveying the print medium. The required data amount is specified based on the communication interface used for receiving the print data. When the conveyance and printing of the print medium are stopped, the conveyance and printing of the print medium are started if the data amount of the stored print data is greater than the specified necessary data amount.

  As a result, when the print data is stored in an amount greater than or equal to the amount of data that satisfies the print start condition, the conveyance and printing of the print medium are started. While printing based on the current print data is being executed, the possibility that reception of the next print data is completed is increased. As a result, at the start of printing based on the next print data, it is difficult to cause a temporary stop of printing due to incomplete reception of the next print data. Therefore, it is possible to execute printing while receiving print data from an external device connected to any of a plurality of communication interfaces while suppressing a decrease in printing throughput.

2 is a perspective view of the printing apparatus 1 with a cover 5 in an open position. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the printing apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printing apparatus 1. It is a flowchart of a main process. It is a flowchart of an initialization process. It is a flowchart of a communication process. It is a flowchart of command processing. It is a flowchart of a printing start determination process. It is a flowchart of a printing process. 3 is a diagram for explaining a printing mode in the printing apparatus 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a printing condition table 220. FIG. It is a flowchart of the printing start determination process which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A schematic configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the following description, the upper right side, lower left side, lower right side, lower left side, upper side, and lower side in FIG. 1 are defined as the rear side, front side, right side, left side, upper side, and lower side of the printing apparatus 1, respectively. 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the printing apparatus 1 in a state where the cover 5 is closed.

  The printing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that prints various characters (characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and the like) on a long roll sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as a sheet) 3. The printing apparatus 1 has a shape in which the upper surface of the cover 5 is rounded in an arc shape. The printing apparatus 1 includes a casing 2 that forms a main body of the printing apparatus 1, and a cover 5 that is pivotally supported by a rear portion of the casing 2 so as to cover a part of the upper surface of the casing 2. On the front surface of the housing 2, a cut lever 9 is provided for the user to cut the printed sheet 3.

  An operation unit 7 including various input buttons such as a power button is provided on the upper surface of the front end portion of the housing 2. A plate-like tray 6 is erected on the rear side of the operation unit 7. When the cover 5 is closed on the rear side of the tray 6, a discharge port 21 (see FIG. 2) that is long in the left-right direction is formed by the front end portion of the cover 5 and the housing 2. The tray 6 receives the printed sheet 3 discharged from the discharge port 21.

  A connector to which a power cord 10 (see FIG. 2) is connected is provided on the back surface of the housing 2. An antenna 15 for performing wireless communication is provided on the side surface of the housing 2. Although not shown, a USB connector to which a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable is connected is also provided on the back surface of the housing 2. The antenna 15 of the present embodiment can be used for both wireless LAN communication based on Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and short-range wireless communication based on Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The printing apparatus 1 can execute data communication with an external device such as a personal computer (PC) wirelessly (Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark)) via an antenna 15. Further, the printing apparatus 1 can execute data communication with an external device through a USB connector in a wired manner. That is, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of types of communication interfaces for connecting to external devices.

  A sheet storage unit 4 is provided at the rear of the housing 2. The sheet storage unit 4 stores the sheet 3. When the cover 5 is closed, the platen roller 26 and the conveying roller 28 press the sheet 3 toward the thermal head 31, and the printing apparatus 1 is ready for printing. The platen roller 26 and the conveyance roller 28 convey the sheet 3 from the sheet storage unit 4 toward the discharge port 21 by rotating in the same direction with the sheet 3 interposed between the platen roller 26 and the conveyance roller 28.

  At this time, the thermal head 31 is transported for each line corresponding to a row of heating elements arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet 3 (that is, for each print line extending in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction). The sheet 3 to be printed is printed. A cutter unit 8 having a fixed blade and a movable blade is provided between the platen roller 26 and the discharge port 21. When the user moves the cut lever 9 in the left-right direction, the sheet 3 is sandwiched and cut between the fixed blade and the movable blade.

  The electrical configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the printing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, and a flash ROM 204 that are connected to each other via a bus. The CPU 201 controls the entire printing apparatus 1. The ROM 202 stores various programs necessary for controlling the printing apparatus 1, such as a program for printing processing described later, and control data necessary for these programs. The CPU 201 performs various calculations and control processes in accordance with programs stored in the ROM 202. Furthermore, the ROM 202 stores a large number of character fonts. The flash ROM 204 is a non-volatile memory and stores various information.

  The RAM 203 temporarily stores various calculation results by the CPU 201. Although not shown, the RAM 203 is provided with storage areas such as a communication buffer, a print buffer, a print setting storage area, and a work area. The communication buffer is an area where data received from an external device is sequentially accumulated and temporarily stored. The print buffer is a storage area for storing printing dot pattern data (hereinafter simply referred to as dot data) based on print data to be printed. The dot data is developed in the print buffer based on the print data received from the external device and the font stored in the ROM 202. The print setting storage area is a storage area in which the print size and print quality of the print data are set. Further, a page p, a page start position q, a page end position r, a received line number s, a print position i, a process permission flag, a job reception completion flag, a print status flag, and a start line k, which will be described later, are also stored in the RAM 203. ing.

  An input / output interface 205 is connected to the CPU 201. The input / output interface 205 includes an operation unit 7, drive circuits 206 and 207, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) interface (I / F) 210, Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface (I / F) 211, and USB An interface (I / F) 212 is connected. A thermal head 31 (more specifically, a heating element) that performs printing on the sheet 3 is connected to the drive circuit 206. The drive circuit 206 controls the heat generation mode of the entire thermal head 31 by controlling whether or not each heating element of the thermal head 31 is energized based on a control signal from the CPU 201. The driving circuit 207 is connected to a platen roller 26 that conveys the sheet 3 and a conveyance motor 209 that rotates the conveyance roller 28 (see FIG. 2). The drive circuit 20 drives and controls the carry motor 209 based on a control signal from the CPU 201.

  An antenna 15 is connected to each of the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) I / F 210 and the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 211 corresponding to each I / F. A USB connector (not shown) is connected to the USB I / F 212. Each of the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) I / F 210 and the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 211 performs data transmission / reception with an external device via the antenna 15 by wireless communication. The USB I / F 212 transmits / receives data to / from an external device via wired communication via a USB connector (not shown). The CPU 201 controls printing according to print data received from an external device via any one of the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) I / F 210, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 211, and the USB I / F 212.

  With reference to FIGS. 4 to 9, main processing executed by the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In the main processing of this embodiment, so-called sequential printing is performed in which a print job is received from an external device, and printing is sequentially performed on the sheet 3 line by line based on the received print job. The main process is executed by the CPU 201 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 202 when the printing apparatus 1 is powered on.

  The print job includes print data that is actual data of an image to be printed, property information related to the data configuration of the print job, and setting information related to print settings. The print data represents one unit image (hereinafter referred to as a page) by one continuous data string. The property information includes the quantity (number of pages) of print data included in the print job, a page completion instruction indicating the end of each print data, a job completion instruction indicating the end of the print job, and the like. The setting information indicates the number of print lines (page length) necessary for printing each print data, the print quality (resolution, etc.) of the print data, the unit length of the print lines (that is, the tape width), and the like. The printing apparatus 1 processes these data included in the print job as commands. Note that the print data of this embodiment is data for creating one label by printing an image for one page with a page length of “500” on the sheet 3.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the main process of the printing apparatus 1, an initialization process for returning the printing apparatus 1 to an initial state is first executed (S1). Next, communication processing (S3) for performing data communication with the external device, command processing (S5) for analyzing data received from the external device, and printing processing (S7) for executing printing on the sheet 3 are executed. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the printing apparatus 1 is powered off (S9). If the power is not turned off (S9: NO), the process returns to step S9. When the power is turned off (S9: YES), the main process is terminated. When the main process ends, the processes started in steps S3, S5, and S7 also end.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the initialization process (S1), first, the hardware of the printing apparatus 1 (for example, the drive parameters of the thermal head 31, the transport motor 209, etc.) is initialized as in the conventional case (S21). . Next, communication is started with the external device connected via the antenna 15 or the USB connector (S23). That is, data communication with an external device is started using any of the plurality of types of interfaces (USB, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark)) described above.

  Further, various information stored in the RAM 203 is initialized (S25). Specifically, the page p being processed, the page start position q, the page end position r, the received line number s, the print position i, the process permission flag, the job reception completion flag, the print status flag, and the start line stored in the RAM 203 k and the like are initialized. Thereafter, the initialization process (S1) is terminated.

  The page p being processed indicates the print data being processed (that is, the page being processed) in ascending order (1, 2, 3,...). The page start position q indicates the position of the print line at which printing of the page p being processed is started by the number of print lines calculated from the start of printing based on the print job. The page end position r indicates the position of the print line where the printing of the page in process p is ended by the number of print lines calculated from the start of printing based on the print job. The reception line number s indicates the data amount of a print line that has been received so far, as the number of print lines necessary to print the data amount. The print position i indicates the current print line position by the number of print lines calculated from the start of printing based on the print job. In step S25, the number of received lines s is set to “0”, the page p being processed, the page start position q, the print position i are set to “1”, and the page end position r is set to “not set”.

  The process permission flag is a flag indicating whether or not to process data (command) stored in the communication buffer (not shown). The job reception completion flag is a flag indicating whether or not reception of the print job is completed. The printing status flag is a flag indicating whether or not the printing apparatus 1 is executing printing. The start line k is a value indicating the data amount (required data amount) of print data that is a print start condition, and more specifically indicates the number of received lines (required line number) at which printing is started. In step S25, the processing permission flag is set to “ON”, the job reception completion flag is set to “OFF”, the printing status flag is set to “OFF”, and the start line k is set to “unlimited”.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the communication process (S3), it is first determined whether or not data is received from an external device (S31). When data is received from an external device (S31: YES), the received data is written to the communication buffer (S33). The print job received from the external device is also written in the communication buffer in step S33. After step 33 or when data is not received from the external device (S31: NO), the process returns to step S31.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the command processing (S5), it is first determined whether or not the processing permission flag is “ON” (S41). When the processing permission flag is “ON” (S41: YES), the data stored in the communication buffer is read as a command (S43).

  It is determined whether the data read in step S43 is print data included in the print job (S45). If it is print data (S45: YES), the dot data is written to the print buffer (S47). Further, “1” is added to the number s of reception lines (S49).

  If it is not print data (S45: NO), it is determined whether or not the data read in step S43 is a page completion instruction (S51). If it is a page completion instruction (S51: YES), the number of received lines s is set at the page end position r (S53). Furthermore, “1” is added to the page p being processed (S55), and a value obtained by adding “1” to the number of received lines s is set as the page start position q (S57).

  If it is not a page completion instruction (S51: NO), it is determined whether or not the data read in step S43 is a job completion instruction (S59). If the instruction is a job completion instruction (S59: YES), the number of received lines s is set at the page end position r as in step S53 (S61). Further, the job reception completion flag is set to “ON” (S63), and the processing permission flag is set to “OFF” (S65).

  If it is not a job completion instruction (S59: NO), it is determined whether or not the data read in step S43 is setting information (S67). If it is setting information (S67: YES), the page length, print quality, tape width, etc. included in the setting information are written in the print setting storage area (S69). If it is not setting information (S67: NO), other processing is executed according to the data read in step S43 (S71). For example, when an initialization command is read, the same initialization process (see FIG. 5) as described above is executed. When inappropriate data is read, the read data is discarded.

  After execution of any of steps S49, S57, and S65, it is determined whether or not the print status flag is “OFF” (S73). For example, immediately after the execution of the main process (FIG. 4), since the driving of the transport motor 209 and the thermal head 31 is stopped, the print state flag is “OFF” (S73: YES). In this case, a print start determination process for determining whether to start printing is executed as described later (S75). After execution of any of steps S69, S71, and S75, the process returns to step S41. In addition, when the process permission flag is “OFF” (S41: NO) or when the print status flag is “OFF” (S73: NO), the process returns to step S41.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the print start determination process (S75), first, the type of communication interface used for data reception in the above-described communication process (FIG. 6) is specified (S81). It is determined whether or not the type of communication interface specified in step S81 is USB (S83). If there is data reception from the USB I / F 212, it is determined that the communication interface is USB (S83: YES), and the start line k is set to “print position i + 100” (S85). For example, immediately after the execution of the main process (FIG. 4), since the print position i is “1”, the start line k is set to “101”.

  If it is not USB, it is determined whether or not the type of communication interface specified in step S81 is Wi-Fi (registered trademark) (S87). If there is data reception from the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) I / F 210, it is determined that the communication interface is Wi-Fi (registered trademark) (S87: YES), and the start line k is set to “print position i + 300”. It is set (S89). On the other hand, when there is data reception from the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 211, it is determined that the communication interface is Bluetooth (registered trademark) (S87: NO), and the start line k is set to "unlimited" ( S91). When “unlimited” is set in the start line k, the print start condition is that all the print data has been received.

  That is, in steps S81 to S91, a smaller start line k is set as the communication interface has a higher data communication speed. When the start line k is small, printing is started when a data amount corresponding to the relatively small number of reception lines is received. In other words, as the start line k becomes larger, printing is not started unless a larger amount of data for the number of received lines is received.

  After execution of any of steps S85, S89, and S91, it is determined whether or not the number of received lines s is greater than or equal to the start line k (S93). If the number of received lines s is equal to or greater than the start line k (S93: YES), the print status flag is set to “ON” because data exceeding the necessary data amount that is the print start condition has been received (S95). ). When the start line k is “unlimited”, it is determined that the number of received lines s is always less than the start line k (S93: NO).

  If the received line number s is less than the start line k (S93: NO), it is determined whether or not page reception is complete (S97). Specifically, if a page completion instruction has been received in step S51 described above (S51: YES), it is determined that page reception has been completed (S97: YES). Also in this case, since the entire page being processed has already been received, the print start condition is satisfied, and the print status flag is set to “ON” (S95). On the other hand, if the page reception is not complete (S97: NO), the print start determination process (FIG. 8) is terminated because the data amount of the received print data does not satisfy the necessary data amount that is the print start condition. Even after execution of step S95, the print start determination process (FIG. 8) is terminated. Thereafter, the process returns to the command process (FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the printing process (S7), it is first determined whether or not the printing status flag is “ON” (S101). If the print status flag is “ON” (S101: YES), it is determined whether or not the number of received lines s is equal to or greater than the print position i (S103). When the reception line number s is equal to or greater than the printing position i (S103: YES), the conveyance motor 209 and the thermal head 31 are driven, and the sheet 3 is printed while being conveyed (S105). Specifically, the print line indicated by the print position i is printed based on the dot data in the print buffer. Then, “1” is added to the printing position i (S107).

  After execution of step S107, it is determined whether or not the print position i is equal to or greater than a value obtained by multiplying the page length stored in the print setting storage area by the page being processed p (S109). If the print position i is equal to or greater than the value obtained by multiplying the page length and the page being processed p (S109: YES), it means that the printing of the page p being processed is completed and one label is created. In this case, it is further determined whether or not the number of received lines s is equal to or greater than a value obtained by multiplying the page length by the value obtained by adding “1” to the page p being processed (S111).

  When the number of received lines s is less than the value obtained by multiplying the page length by the value obtained by adding “1” to the page p being processed (S111: NO), the print data to be printed next (that is, printing the next page) Data) has not been received. In this case, the driving of the transport motor 209 and the thermal head 31 is interrupted, printing is temporarily stopped (S113), and the printing status flag is set to “OFF” (S115). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the job reception completion flag is “ON” (S117). If the job reception completion flag is “ON” (S117: YES), the processing permission flag is set to “ON” because all printing based on the received print job has been completed (S119). Further, information initialization is executed as in step S25 (S121), and the process returns to step S101.

  In the above-described command processing (FIG. 7), when reception of the print job is completed, the processing permission flag is set to “OFF” (S59: YES, S65). In this case, since the processing permission flag is “OFF” until the printing based on the print job is completed (S41: NO), in the next command processing (FIG. 7), the processing after step S43 is not executed. As a result, command processing relating to the next print job is prohibited. On the other hand, in the printing process (FIG. 9), when printing based on the print job is completed, the processing permission flag is set to “ON” (S117: YES, S119). Thereby, in the above-described command processing (FIG. 7), the processing after step S43 is resumed (S41: YES), and the command processing relating to the next print job is executed.

  On the other hand, when the printing position i is less than the value obtained by multiplying the page length and the page being processed p (S109: NO), the printing of the page p being processed is not completed, and thus the transport motor 209 and the thermal head 31 are driven. The process returns to step S101. As a result, line-by-line printing is continuously performed until printing of the page in process p is completed.

  If the received line number s is equal to or greater than the page length and the page p being processed multiplied by “1” (S111: YES), since the reception of the print data of the next page has been completed, The process returns to step S101 while the drive of the motor 209 and the thermal head 31 is continued. Thereby, printing based on the print data of the next page is started, and the next page is continuously printed line by line.

  When the number of received lines s is less than the print position i (S103: NO), the data of the print line to be printed next has not been received. Therefore, as in steps S113 and S115, printing is stopped (S123), and the print status flag is set to “OFF” (S125). After execution of step S125, or when the job reception completion flag is “OFF” (S117: NO), the process returns to step S101 with the driving of the transport motor 209 and the thermal head 31 interrupted.

  When printing based on the print job is paused in this way, it is determined that the print status flag is “OFF” in the above-described command processing (FIG. 7) (S75: YES), and the above-described print start determination processing is performed. (FIG. 8) is executed. As a result, the start line k is set based on the communication interface specified in step S81 as described above (S81 to S91). When the number of received lines s becomes equal to or greater than the start line k, the printing operation is resumed by “ON” of the printing status flag (S93: YES, S95).

  With reference to FIG. 10, an example of the printing operation based on the main process (FIG. 4) will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that two print data “ABCDE” and “FGHIJ” are included in a print job with the number of pages “2”. In the printing apparatus 1, pages “ABCDE” and “FGHIJ” are printed with a page length (number of print lines) “500” based on a print job received from an external device via Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. The case where a fixed length (for example, 10 cm) label is produced continuously is illustrated.

  In the printing apparatus 1, after the initialization process is executed (S1), the received print jobs are sequentially written in the communication buffer (S3). Since the processing permission flag is “ON” in the initial state (S41: YES), the data in the communication buffer is read sequentially (S43) and processed as a command. First, the setting information included in the print job is written in the print setting storage area (S69). Next, the print data “ABCDE” of the first page included in the print job is sequentially written in the print buffer (S47, S49). Since the print state flag is “OFF” in the initial state (S75: YES), the print start determination process is executed (S75). Since the communication interface is “Wi-Fi (registered trademark)” (S87: YES), the start line k is set to “301” (S89).

  When the number of received lines s written in the print buffer is equal to or greater than the start line k “301” (S93: YES), the print status flag is set to “ON” (S95). As a result, printing of the print data “ABCDE” for the first page is started (S101: YES, S105, S107). In the example shown in FIG. 10A, printing is started when the number of received lines s reaches the start line k “301” or more, and printing up to the print position i “10” is completed. Since print data is received in parallel with this printing, the number of received lines s has increased to “320”.

  Thus, even during printing of the first page of print data, reception and writing of the print data continues and the number of received lines s increases. When reception of the print data for the first page is completed (S51: YES), the current reception line number s “500” is set at the page end position r of the first page, and the next page start position q is the next. The print line “501” is set (S53 to S57). In the example shown in FIG. 10B, the printing of the print data “ABCDE” for the first page is completed up to the print position i “150”. As a result of starting reception of print data “FGHIJ” for the second page after reception of print data for the first page is completed, the current number of received lines s is “530”.

  When the print position i is “500” or more (S109: YES), it means that the print data “ABCDE” for the first page is completed and the label for the first page is created. At this time, if the number of received lines s is “1000” or more (S111: YES), since the reception of the print data “FGHIJ” for the second page is completed, the printing operation is continued. In the example shown in FIG. 10C, since the printing position i “500” has been printed, the printing of the print data “ABCDE” for the first page is completed. At this time, since the reception of the print data for the second page has already been completed, the current number of received lines s is “1000”. Therefore, after the printing of the print data “ABCDE” for the first page is completed, the print data “FGHIJ” for the second page is continuously printed.

  On the other hand, if the number of received lines s is less than “1000” (S111: NO), the printing operation of the second page is not completed, and the printing operation is stopped (S113). In the example shown in FIG. 10D, printing of the print data “ABCDE” for the first page has been completed, but since the current reception line number s is “750”, the print data for the second page is received. Is not complete. In this case, since the print state flag is set to “OFF” (S115), the start line k is reset by the print start determination process (S75). Specifically, a value “801” obtained by adding “300” corresponding to the communication interface “Wi-Fi (registered trademark)” to the current print position i “501” is set in the start line k ( S89).

  Thereafter, when the number of received lines s becomes equal to or greater than the start line k “801” (S93: YES), the print status flag is set to “ON” (S95), and printing of the print data “FGHIJ” for the second page is started. (S101: YES, S105, S107). Further, when reception of all print data included in the print job is completed (S59: YES), command processing based on the next print job is temporarily prohibited (S63, S65).

  On the other hand, when the print position i reaches “1000” (S109: YES), it means that the print data “FGHIJ” for the second page is completed and the label for the second page is created. At this time, since print data for the next page is not received (S111: NO), printing is stopped (S113, S115). Furthermore, since all print data included in the print job has been received (S117: YES), command processing based on the next print job is permitted (S119). Thereby, in the subsequent processing, the printing operation is executed in the same manner as described above based on the next print job.

  Note that the data communication speed with the external device may be slower than the printing speed of the printing apparatus 1 due to, for example, the deterioration of the communication environment, and the print position i may catch up with the number of received lines s. In this case, since the number of received lines s is less than the print position i (S103: NO), printing is temporarily stopped (S123). Also in this case, since the print status flag is set to “OFF” (S125), the start line k is reset by the print start determination process (S75).

  For example, assume that printing is temporarily stopped at the print position i “101” during printing based on the print data of the first page. In this case, a value “401” obtained by adding “300” corresponding to the communication interface “Wi-Fi (registered trademark)” to the current print position i “101” is set as the start line k (S89). . Thereafter, when the number of received lines s becomes equal to or greater than the start line k “401” (S93: YES), the print status flag is set to “ON” (S95), and printing of the print data for the first page is resumed (S95). S101: YES, S105, S107).

  As described above, in the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, reception is performed from an external device using any of a plurality of types of communication interfaces (USB, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and Bluetooth (registered trademark)). The printed data is sequentially accumulated and stored. Based on the stored print data, printing is executed for each print line while conveying the print medium (sheet 3). Based on the communication interface used to receive the print data, the required data amount (start line k) is specified. When conveyance and printing of the sheet 3 are stopped, conveyance and printing of the sheet 3 are started if the amount of stored print data (the number of received lines s) is equal to or greater than the specified start line k. .

  As a result, when the print data is stored more than the amount of data (start line k) that satisfies the printing start condition, the conveyance and printing of the sheet 3 are started. While printing based on the current print data is being executed, the possibility that reception of the next print data is completed is increased. As a result, at the start of printing based on the next print data, it is difficult to cause a temporary stop of printing due to incomplete reception of the next print data. Therefore, it is possible to execute printing while receiving print data from an external device connected to any of a plurality of communication interfaces while suppressing a decrease in printing throughput.

  The necessary data amount (start line k) is specified based on the type of communication interface specified in step S81 (S83 to S91). As a result, the optimum start line k can be specified in accordance with the type of communication interface used for receiving print data.

  Further, when the print data is stored more than the number of print lines (start line k) satisfying the print start condition, the conveyance and printing of the sheet 3 are started. Therefore, it is possible to accurately optimize the print start timing based on the number of print lines (the number of received lines s) based on the stored print data.

  In step S105, after printing based on the printing data (page being processed) is started, it is determined whether or not all the data constituting the next printing data (next page) is stored (S111). When all the data is stored (S111: YES), the next page is continuously printed after the printing is completed. As a result, if all the data of the next page has been received when printing based on the page being processed is completed, printing based on the next page is executed without pausing, so that the printing throughput can be improved. Furthermore, since printing is not temporarily stopped during printing of at least one unit page, the print quality can be improved.

  Further, if the reception of all the data constituting the next print data (next page) is not completed when the printing of the printing data (page being processed) is completed, the printing is temporarily stopped (S111: NO, S113). After that, when the amount of data (start line k) that satisfies the printing start condition is stored for the next page, printing is resumed. Therefore, even after printing is temporarily stopped, printing is performed while receiving print data from an external device connected to one of a plurality of communication interfaces while suppressing a decrease in printing throughput in the same manner as described above. Can be executed.

  In the present embodiment, the RAM 203 corresponds to the “data storage unit” of the present invention. The transport motor 209 corresponds to the “transport means” of the present invention. The thermal head 31 corresponds to the “printing unit” of the present invention. The CPU 201 that executes steps S83 to S91 corresponds to the “data amount specifying means” of the present invention. The CPU 201 executing step S93 corresponds to the “first determination unit” of the present invention. The CPU 201 executing step S95 corresponds to the “print start unit” of the present invention. The CPU 201 executing step S81 corresponds to the “type specifying unit” of the present invention. The CPU 201 executing step S111 corresponds to the “second determination unit” of the present invention. The CPU 201 executing step S113 corresponds to the “printing stop unit” of the present invention.

  Steps S83 to S91 correspond to the “data amount specifying step” of the present invention. Step S93 corresponds to the “determination step” of the present invention. Step S95 corresponds to the “print start step” of the present invention. In the modification described later, the flash ROM 204 corresponds to the “table storage unit” of the present invention. Step S201 corresponds to the “speed specifying means” of the present invention. Steps S203 to S211 correspond to the “data amount specifying means” of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the necessary data amount specified based on the communication interface can be freely set according to setting information (tape length, tape width, print quality, etc.), communication environment, and the like. As an example, the necessary data amount may be a received data amount serving as a print start condition instead of the number of received print lines (start line k) serving as a print start condition. In this case, when the printing apparatus 1 receives the necessary amount of print data, printing based on the print data is started.

  Further, the necessary data amount corresponding to the communication interface may be specified by using the printing condition table 220 (see FIG. 11) in which the necessary data amount is defined for each of a plurality of types of communication interfaces. The print condition table 220 illustrated in FIG. 11 defines a start line k corresponding to each combination of the type of communication interface, tape width, and print quality, and is stored in the flash ROM 204. In general, even for print data of the same image, the data amount increases as the tape width of the print medium increases, and the data amount increases as the print quality increases. Therefore, in the printing condition table 220, even with the same type of communication interface, the start line k is larger as the tape width is wider, and the start line k is larger as the print quality is higher.

  When the print condition table 220 is used, the processing content of the print start determination process (FIG. 8) may be changed as follows. That is, in step S81, the tape width and the print quality are specified based on the setting information included in the print job in addition to the type of communication interface. In steps S83 to S91, the start line k corresponding to the combination of the communication interface, the tape width, and the print quality specified in step S81 may be specified with reference to the print condition table 220. As a result, only by changing the definition contents of the printing condition table 220, it is possible to optimize the amount of data that is specified according to the usage environment of the printing apparatus 1, the communication status of the communication interface, and the like.

  Further, the necessary data amount may be specified based on the data communication speed of the communication interface used for receiving the print data by the print start determination process illustrated in FIG. In the print start determination process shown in FIG. 12, first, the data communication speed of the communication interface used to receive print data is measured by a known method (S201).

  When the data communication speed measured in step S201 is “10 Mbps” or more (S203: YES), a value obtained by adding “100” to the printing position i is determined as the start line k as in step S85 (S205). ). When the data communication speed measured in step S201 is less than “10 Mbps” and “1 Mbps” or more (S203: NO, S207: YES), the value obtained by adding “300” to the printing position i is the same as in step S89. The start line k is determined (S209). When the data communication speed measured in step S201 is less than “1 Mbps” (S207: NO), “unlimited” is determined as the start line k as in step S91 (S211). The subsequent processing (S213 to S217) is the same as the above-described steps S93 to S97. Thereby, the optimum required data amount can be specified according to the data communication speed of the communication interface used for receiving the print data.

  In the above embodiment, print data transmitted from an external device is converted into dot data by the printing apparatus 1, but dot data for each line may be transmitted from the external device from the beginning.

1 Printing Device 31 Thermal Head 201 CPU
203 RAM
204 Flash ROM
210 Wi-Fi (registered trademark) interface 211 Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface 212 USB interface

Claims (8)

A printing apparatus comprising a plurality of types of communication interfaces that can be connected to an external device and performs data transmission / reception with respect to the connected external device,
Data storage means for sequentially accumulating and storing print data received from the external device using any of the plurality of types of communication interfaces;
Conveying means for conveying the print medium;
Printing means for printing on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying means for each printing line extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the printing medium is conveyed, based on the printing data stored in the data storage means When,
A data amount specifying means for specifying a necessary data amount that is a data amount of the print data indicating a print start condition based on the communication interface used for receiving the print data;
When the conveyance of the conveyance unit and the printing of the printing unit are stopped, the data amount of the print data stored in the data storage unit is equal to or greater than the necessary data amount specified by the data amount specification unit First determination means for determining whether or not
When the first determination unit determines that the data amount of the print data is greater than or equal to the necessary data amount, the conveyance unit starts conveyance of the print medium and is stored in the data storage unit A printing apparatus comprising: a printing start unit that causes the printing unit to start printing based on the print data. A type specifying means for specifying the type of the communication interface used for receiving the print data;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data amount specifying unit specifies the necessary data amount based on a type of the communication interface specified by the type specifying unit. A speed specifying means for specifying a data communication speed of the communication interface used for receiving the print data;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data amount specifying unit specifies the necessary data amount based on a data communication speed of the communication interface specified by the speed specifying unit. The data amount specifying means specifies the required number of lines, which is the quantity of the print lines that is a printing start condition, as the required data amount,
The first determination unit, when the number of the print lines based on the print data stored in the data storage unit is equal to or greater than the necessary number of lines specified by the data amount specifying unit, The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data amount is determined to be greater than the necessary data amount. The print data is composed of one continuous data string, and is data for causing the printing apparatus to print one unit of page;
After printing of the printing unit is started by the printing start unit, all the data constituting the next print data that is the other print data to be printed in succession to the printing data that is the printing data that is being printed Second determination means for determining whether or not the data is stored in the data storage means;
If it is determined by the second determination means that all the data is stored, the conveyance of the conveyance means is continued after the printing of the printing data is completed, and the next print data is printed by the printing means. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. A printing stop unit that stops conveyance of the conveyance unit and printing of the printing unit after completion of printing of the printing data when the second determination unit determines that at least a part of the entire data is not stored. With
The first determination unit determines that the amount of the next print data stored in the data storage unit is the required data when the conveyance of the conveyance unit and the printing of the printing unit are stopped by the printing stop unit. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein it is determined whether or not the amount is greater than or equal to the amount. Table storage means for storing a printing condition table defining the required data amount for each of the plurality of types of communication interfaces;
7. The data amount specifying unit specifies the necessary data amount corresponding to the communication interface used for receiving the print data based on the print condition table. A printing apparatus according to claim 1. A plurality of types of communication interfaces that can be connected to an external device and transmit / receive data to / from the connected external device, and prints received from the external device using any of the plurality of types of communication interfaces Data storage means for sequentially accumulating and storing data, transport means for transporting a print medium, and based on the print data stored in the data storage means, the print medium transported by the transport means, A printing method executed by a printing apparatus including a printing unit that performs printing for each printing line extending in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the printing medium is conveyed,
A data amount specifying step of specifying a necessary data amount that is a data amount of the print data indicating a print start condition based on the communication interface used for receiving the print data;
When the conveyance of the conveyance unit and the printing of the printing unit are stopped, the data amount of the print data stored in the data storage unit is greater than or equal to the necessary data amount specified by the data amount specifying step A determination step for determining whether or not
When the determination step determines that the data amount of the print data is greater than or equal to the required data amount, the conveyance unit starts conveyance of the print medium, and the print data stored in the data storage unit And a printing start step for causing the printing means to start printing based on the data.

Images