JP2013257805A - Control device, control method of control device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an incorrect barcode from being recorded when an image including a barcode is recorded in a recording device.SOLUTION: When an image including a barcode is recorded in a printer 12, an application execution unit 20 of a host computer 11 outputs image information relating to the barcode without using a GDI 40, and a printer driver execution unit 21 generates control data relating to the barcode on the basis of the image information relating to the barcode output by the application execution unit 20 without using the GDI 40.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device connectable to a recording device, a control method for the control device, and a program for controlling the control device.

  Conventionally, a barcode printing system that records a barcode on a recording medium such as a sheet is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-150211 A

Since the barcode recorded on the recording medium is optically read later and used for predetermined processing, it is necessary to prevent an erroneous barcode from being recorded.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent an erroneous barcode from being recorded when an image including a barcode is recorded on a recording apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a control device connectable to a recording device, wherein the application execution unit generates image information relating to an image to be recorded by the recording device, and outputs the image information; A printer driver execution unit that generates control data for controlling the recording device based on the image information output from the application execution unit, and when the image including a barcode is recorded on the recording device, the application The execution unit outputs the image information relating to the barcode without using the drawing processing interface, and the printer driver execution unit does not pass through the drawing processing interface by the application execution unit. Based on the image information related to the output barcode, Wherein generating the control data that, characterized in that.
Here, generally, data exchange between the application and the printer driver is performed via a software interface provided by the OS. Normally, this interface has a function of outputting a data input from an application to a printer driver after performing a predetermined drawing process according to the specification of the OS.
According to the above configuration, when an image including a barcode is recorded on the recording device, the application execution unit outputs the image information related to the barcode without using the drawing processing interface, and the printer driver The execution unit generates control data related to the barcode based on the image information related to the barcode output by the application execution unit without passing through the drawing processing interface. Therefore, when outputting the image information related to the barcode from the application to the printer driver, the interface function does not cause any modification to the image information related to the barcode, and is caused by the modification of the image information related to the barcode. It is possible to prevent an erroneous barcode from being recorded.

In the present invention, when the image including the barcode is recorded on the recording device, the application execution unit stores the image information on the barcode in a predetermined storage area, and the printer driver execution unit The control data relating to the barcode is generated based on the image information relating to the barcode stored in a predetermined storage area.
According to this configuration, it is possible to output image information related to the barcode from the application to the printer driver without going through the drawing processing interface without adding any function to the drawing processing interface.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured to be connectable to a recording apparatus, and generates and outputs image information relating to an image to be recorded by the recording apparatus, and outputs from the application execution section A control method for a control device, comprising: a printer driver execution unit that generates control data for controlling the recording device based on the image information that has been recorded, wherein the recording device records an image including a barcode The application execution unit outputs the image information relating to the barcode without passing through the drawing processing interface, and the printer driver execution unit sets the drawing processing interface by the application execution unit. The image information relating to the barcode output without passing through Based on, for generating the control data according to the bar code, characterized in that.
According to this control method, when the image information related to the barcode is output from the application to the printer driver, the image information related to the barcode is not modified by the function of the interface without any modification to the image information related to the barcode. It is possible to prevent an erroneous bar code from being recorded due to modification.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a program executed by a control unit that controls a control device that can be connected to a recording apparatus, the image relating to an image that causes the recording apparatus to record the control unit. An application execution unit that generates and outputs information, and a printer driver execution unit that generates control data for controlling the recording apparatus based on the image information output from the application execution unit, When recording an image including a code in the recording device, the application execution unit causes the image information related to the barcode to be output without passing through a drawing processing interface, and the printer driver execution unit Via the interface for drawing processing by the application execution unit Based on the image information according to the Ku barcode is output, thereby generating the control data according to the bar code, characterized in that.
According to this program, when the image information related to the barcode is output from the application to the printer driver, the image information related to the barcode is not modified by the function of the interface, and the image information related to the barcode is modified. It is possible to prevent an erroneous bar code from being recorded due to the error.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an erroneous barcode from being recorded.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a recording system. It is a figure which shows the relationship between each functional block. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a host computer.

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 recording system 1 according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
As shown in FIG. 1, the recording system 1 includes a host computer 11 (control device) and a printer 12 (recording device) connected to the host computer 11 so as to be communicable.
The host computer 11 is a POS terminal that is installed at a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket, and has functions such as a sales registration process and a settlement process, and issues a receipt by the printer 12 for each transaction by a customer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the host computer 11 includes a control unit 13, an input unit 14, a display unit 15, an interface (I / F) unit 16, and a storage unit 17.
The control unit 13 centrally controls the host computer 11, and includes a CPU that executes various programs, a ROM that stores basic control programs executed by the CPU, a program executed by the CPU, data to be processed, and the like. RAM, which forms a work area for temporarily storing data, and other peripheral circuits. The control unit 13 includes an application execution unit 20 and a printer driver execution unit 21, which will be described later. The input unit 14 is connected to a keyboard having various keys such as a sales registration key operated by an operator, various devices such as a barcode scanner, a card reader, etc., detects operations on these devices, and outputs them to the control unit 13 To do. The display unit 15 includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal display, and displays various information on the display panel under the control of the control unit 13. The interface unit 16 performs communication based on the communication standard with the printer 12 under the control of the control unit 13. The storage unit 17 includes a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM and stores various data in a rewritable manner.

In addition, the printer 12 transports a thermal roll paper (recording medium) wound in a roll shape according to the control of the host computer 11 by a transport mechanism (not shown), and a line thermal head on the recording surface of the thermal roll paper. This is a line thermal printer that records characters and images by applying heat (not shown) and issues a receipt by cutting the thermal roll paper at a predetermined position by a cutting mechanism (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 12 includes a printer-side control unit 30, an interface (I / F) unit 31, a print engine 32, and a printer-side storage unit 33.
The printer-side control unit 30 centrally controls each unit of the printer 12 and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and other peripheral circuits. The interface unit 31 performs communication based on the communication standard with the host computer 11 under the control of the printer-side control unit 30. Under the control of the printer-side control unit 30, the print engine 32 monitors the detection values of various sensors such as a paper edge sensor and a paper remaining amount sensor, and in addition to the above-described line thermal head, a platen that conveys thermal roll paper. Operate the conveyance motor for driving the roller and the cutter drive motor for driving the cutter provided in the above-described cutting mechanism, record the image on the thermal roll paper, and cut the thermal roll paper on which the image is recorded. Issue a receipt. The printer-side storage unit 33 includes a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM and stores various data in a rewritable manner. Firmware is stored in the printer-side storage unit 33 so that it can be loaded. The printer-side control unit 30 controls each unit of the printer 12 by the function of the firmware.

Next, basic operations of the recording system 1 when issuing one receipt will be described through the description of the application execution unit 20 and the printer driver execution unit 21.
The application execution unit 20 executes a POS application (predetermined application) installed in advance on the host computer 11 to indicate a product purchased in the transaction, for example, by accessing a predetermined server for each transaction. Information, information indicating the unit price of the product, information indicating the purchase price, etc. is acquired and information on the image to be recorded on the receipt based on the acquired information (related to the image to be recorded on the recording device) Image information) is generated and output to the printer driver execution unit 21.
The printer driver execution unit 21 executes a printer driver installed in advance in the host computer 11, thereby controlling a control command (control data) corresponding to the command specification of the printer 12 based on the image information input from the application execution unit 20. ) And output to the printer 12. This control command includes a command for transporting the thermal roll paper to the transport mechanism, a command for driving the line thermal head to record an image, image data of an image to be recorded on the thermal roll paper, and a thermal roll for the cutting mechanism. Commands to cut the paper are included.
The printer-side control unit 30 to which the control command is input controls the print engine 32 according to the control command by the function of the firmware, and executes various operations related to the receipt issuance.

Next, the relationship between the application execution unit 20 and the printer driver execution unit 21 will be described in more detail, and the operation when a control command is generated by these functional blocks will be described in more detail.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a relationship between the application execution unit 20 and the printer driver execution unit 21 together with related elements.
In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, a function block that exhibits a function by executing a program, a function that is exhibited by executing a program, and a program are represented by blocks of the same level.
In FIG. 2, an OS 39 is an OS provided by Windows (registered trademark), for example. The OS 39 provides a POS application, a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) 40 (drawing processing interface), and a spooler 41 as an API (Application Programming Interface) that can be used by a printer driver. In the present embodiment, the GDI 40 is an interface for drawing processing.
When recording an image on the printer 12, the application execution unit 20 generates the above-described image information, calls the GDI 40, and outputs the image information to the printer driver execution unit 21 via the GDI 40.
The GDI 40 performs predetermined drawing processing related to recording (for example, drawing processing related to adjustment of drawing of straight lines and curves, and drawing processing related to adjustment of line feed position and character spacing) for image information input from the application execution unit 20. The data is replaced with a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function and output to the printer driver execution unit 21. The predetermined drawing process related to recording is, for example, a drawing process related to adjustment of drawing a straight line or a curve, or a drawing process related to adjustment of a line feed position or a character interval.
The printer driver execution unit 21 has a control data generation function 43, which generates a control command corresponding to the command specification of the printer 12 based on image information as a DDI function input from the GDI 40. , Output to the spooler 41.
The spooler 41 temporarily stores the control command input from the printer driver execution unit 21 in a predetermined storage area, and transmits the control command according to the state of the printer 12.

By the way, a barcode may be recorded on the receipt. Since the bar code is optically read later and used for predetermined processing, it is necessary to avoid recording a bar code (wrong bar code) different from the bar code to be recorded on the receipt. Don't be. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the application execution unit 20 outputs image information to the printer driver execution unit 21 via the GDI 40. As described above, the GDI 40 outputs the image information to the input image information. Since it has a function of performing predetermined drawing processing such as drawing processing related to adjustment of a line feed position, there is a possibility that some drawing processing may be performed on image information related to a barcode. For example, the image information relating to the barcode includes a barcode identification code as a character string, but there is a possibility that the identification code may be changed by performing a line feed process in the middle of this identification code. When a drawing process is performed on image information related to a barcode, a barcode different from the barcode to be recorded may be recorded on the receipt. Here, conventionally, when some drawing processing is performed on the image information related to the barcode by the GDI 40, the image information related to the barcode is set so that the recorded barcode is correct by the function of the printer driver. However, in this case, it is necessary to cause the printer driver to implement the function related to the reconfiguration, which may lead to complication of the printer driver.
Based on the above, the host computer 11 according to the present embodiment performs the following operations.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the host computer 11 when an image is recorded on the printer 12.
First, the application execution unit 20 generates image information of an image to be recorded by the printer 12 (Step SA1).
Next, the application execution unit 20 determines whether the generated image information includes image information related to a barcode (hereinafter referred to as “barcode image information”) (step SA2). The fact that barcode image information is included in the image information means that the image to be recorded by the printer 12 includes a barcode. In the present embodiment, in the image information, the barcode image information is represented as a character string (for example, “123456”) representing the barcode identification code of the barcode font. In step SA2, the application execution unit 20 determines whether or not the image information includes barcode image information by determining whether or not the image information includes a character string represented by a barcode font. Is determined.
When the barcode information is not included in the image information (step SA2: NO), the application execution unit 20 moves the processing procedure to step SA4.
When the barcode information is included in the image information (step SA2: YES), the application execution unit 20 stores the barcode identification code (character string) indicated by the barcode image information in the storage unit 17 in advance. It is described (stored) in a predetermined file 17a (predetermined storage area; see also FIG. 2) (step SA3).
In step SA4, the application execution unit 20 outputs the generated image information to the printer driver execution unit 21 via the GDI 40.

When the image information is input, the printer driver execution unit 21 determines whether or not barcode image information is included in the image information (step SA5). If not included (step SA5: NO), the printer driver execution unit 21 generates a control command through normal processing (step SA6), and transmits the generated control command to the printer 12 via the spooler 41 (step SA6). SA7).
On the other hand, when the bar code image information is included in the image information (step SA5: YES), the printer driver execution unit 21 accesses the predetermined file 17a in the storage unit 17 and the bar described in the file 17a. The code identification code is acquired (step SA8).
Next, the printer driver execution unit 21 generates and outputs a control command (step SA9), and outputs (step SA7). The control command (barcode control data) for instructing bar code recording is as follows. To generate a control command.
In other words, the printer driver execution unit 21 does not use the barcode identification code indicated by the barcode image information included in the image information input from the application execution unit 20, but the bar code obtained by accessing the predetermined file 17a in step SA8. Based on the identification code of the code, a control command for instructing recording of a barcode representing the identification code is generated. By performing such an operation, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the barcode image information included in the image information is subjected to some drawing processing by the function of the GDI 40, and some modification may be added to the barcode identification information indicated by the information. On the other hand, the barcode identification information described in the predetermined file 17a of the storage unit 17 in step SA3 has not been subjected to drawing processing by the GDI 40, and therefore some modification is added to the barcode identification information. There is nothing. In step SA8, a control command for instructing barcode recording is generated based on the barcode identification code described in the file 17a, so that a barcode different from the barcode to be recorded due to the GDI 40 is generated. The code is prevented from being recorded.

As described above, in the host computer 11 according to the present embodiment, when the printer 12 records an image including a barcode, the application execution unit 20 determines the barcode identification code (image information related to the barcode). , The printer driver execution unit 21 outputs a control command for instructing to record a barcode based on the barcode identification code output by the application execution unit 20 without passing through the GDI 40. Control data relating to a barcode).
According to this configuration, when the image information related to the barcode is output from the application execution unit 20 to the printer driver execution unit 21, the barcode function does not add any modification to the image information related to the barcode by the function of the interface. It is possible to prevent an erroneous barcode from being recorded due to the alteration of the image information.

In the present embodiment, when the printer 12 records an image including a barcode, the application execution unit 20 describes (stores) the barcode identification code in a predetermined file 17a (predetermined storage area) in the storage unit 17. Then, the printer driver execution unit 21 generates a control command (control data related to the barcode) for instructing barcode recording based on the barcode identification code described in the predetermined file 17a.
According to this configuration, the image information related to the barcode can be output from the application execution unit 20 to the printer driver execution unit 21 without passing through the GDI 40 without adding any function to the GDI 40.

The above-described embodiment is merely an aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the printer 12 is a line thermal printer, but the recording method is not limited to this, and any method such as an ink jet method or a dot impact method may be used. Further, for example, each functional block shown in FIG. 1 can be arbitrarily realized by cooperation of hardware and software, and does not suggest a specific hardware configuration. Further, the function of each functional block of the printer 12 may be provided in another device externally connected to the printer 12. Further, the printer 12 may execute various operations including the operation according to the flowchart of FIG. 3 by executing a program stored in an externally connected storage medium.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording system, 11 ... Host computer (control apparatus), 12 ... Printer (recording apparatus), 13 ... Control part, 17a ... File (predetermined storage area), 20 ... Application execution part, 21 ... Printer driver execution part, 40 ... GDI (interface for drawing processing).

Claims (4)

A control device connectable to the recording device,
An application execution unit that generates image information related to an image to be recorded in the recording device and outputs the image information;
A printer driver execution unit that generates control data for controlling the recording device based on the image information output from the application execution unit, and
When recording an image including a barcode on the recording device,
The application execution unit outputs the image information related to the barcode without using a drawing processing interface,
The printer driver execution unit generates the control data related to the barcode based on the image information related to the barcode output without the drawing processing interface by the application execution unit;
A control device characterized by that. When recording an image including a barcode on the recording device,
The application execution unit stores the image information related to the barcode in a predetermined storage area,
The printer driver execution unit generates the control data relating to the barcode based on the image information relating to the barcode stored in the predetermined storage area;
The control device according to claim 1. An application execution unit configured to be connectable to a recording device, generating and outputting image information related to an image to be recorded by the recording device, and controlling the recording device based on the image information output from the application execution unit A control method of a control device comprising: a printer driver execution unit that generates control data to be
When recording an image including a barcode on the recording device,
The application execution unit outputs the image information related to the barcode without going through an interface for drawing processing,
The printer driver execution unit generates the control data related to the barcode based on the image information related to the barcode output by the application execution unit without going through the interface for the drawing process.
The control method of the control apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A program executed by a control unit that controls a control device connectable to the recording device,
The control unit
An application execution unit that generates and outputs image information related to an image to be recorded in the recording device;
Based on the image information output from the application execution unit, function as a printer driver execution unit that generates control data for controlling the recording apparatus,
When recording an image including a barcode on the recording device,
The application execution unit causes the image information related to the barcode to be output without using a drawing processing interface,
Causing the printer driver execution unit to generate the control data relating to the barcode based on the image information relating to the barcode output by the application execution unit without passing through the interface for the drawing process.
A program characterized by that.

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