JP2019117621A - Driver program and computer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a program capable of instructing a printer of execution of an operation before printing at a proper timing.SOLUTION: A driver program installed in a PC determines whether a printer that print instruction information accepted from an OS indicates is a shared printer managed by an information processor (S31). The driver program, if it is determined that the printer is not a shred printer (S31:No), sets "ON" to a preceding command flag (S32) and determines to transmit a preceding command to the printer. The driver program, if it is determined that the printer is a shred printer (S31:Yes), makes a determination whether the printer is LAN connected to the shared printer(S45) and whether the printer is wireless LAN connected and determines if the program transmits the preceding command or not following the determination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer program that causes a printer to execute a printing operation.

  Conventionally, prior to instructing a printer connected via a communication network to execute a printing operation, there is known a computer program that instructs to execute a pre-printing operation for securing the quality of the printing operation. For example, according to Patent Document 1, the program activated by the OS corresponds to the pre-printing operation according to the fact that the output port of the printer is ready and the elapsed time from the latest data transmission to the printer is equal to or longer than the prescribed time. Send an auto wake up command to the printer to instruct execution.

  Further, there has been known a system in which the number of printed sheets in a printer is managed by an information management server and charging is performed according to the number of printed sheets (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 11-5350 JP, 2017-47590, A

  The program described in Patent Document 1 transmits an auto wake up command to the printer in response to satisfying the above-described conditions regardless of the time from the printer reception of the auto wake up command to the reception of the print data. Do. That is, according to the program described in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the time from the reception of the auto wakeup command to the reception of the print data may become long. If the time is long, the ink may be dried to deteriorate the print quality, or the dried ink may be discharged to waste the ink, or waste power may be consumed.

  In addition, when the program described in Patent Document 1 is used in the system described in Patent Document 2, the information management server determines that the auto wakeup command is printing, and the number of printed sheets increases unintentionally.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a driver program capable of appropriately determining whether to instruct execution of a pre-printing operation.

  The driver program described herein is readable by a computer provided with a communication interface. The driver program causes the computer to execute print instruction acceptance processing for receiving print instruction information including a print instruction from the OS of the computer. The print instruction indicates that an instruction to cause the printer to execute a print operation has been input by the user. The driver program causes the computer to execute determination processing to determine whether start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by preparation instruction information in response to reception of the print instruction in the print instruction acceptance processing. The pre-printing operation is an operation for preparing the printing operation by the printer before the printing operation. The preparation instruction information is information transmitted to the printer prior to the instruction of the printing operation. The driver program instructs preparation operation processing for transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the communication interface, and instructs the pre-printing operation according to the judgment in the judgment processing that the pre-printing operation is instructed. A generation process of generating print data to be a target of the print operation based on the content data designated by the user in response to the determination in the determination process and the execution of the preparation instruction process; The computer is caused to execute a print execution instruction process of transmitting print execution information to the printer. The print execution information is information for instructing execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. The driver program instructs the start of the pre-printing operation by the preparation instruction information using at least one of information included in the print instruction information and a reference communication time indicating a time required for communication with the printer. The computer is caused to execute the determination process of determining whether or not it is determined.

  According to the above configuration, whether start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by the preparation instruction information using at least one of the information included in the print instruction information and the reference communication time indicating the time required for communication with the printer Is judged. Therefore, it can be appropriately determined whether to transmit preparation instruction information instructing the start of the pre-printing operation.

  The computer according to the present embodiment includes a communication interface and a controller. The controller executes a first generation process of generating print instruction information including a print instruction indicating that an instruction to cause the printer to execute a print operation has been input by a user, and is executed by the printer before the print operation. Judgment processing of judging whether start of pre-printing operation which is an operation is instructed by preparation instruction information which is information sent to the printer prior to the instruction of the printing operation, and instructing the pre-printing operation Then, according to the determination in the determination process, the preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the communication interface and the preprint operation when it is instructed in the determination process and the preparation instruction process In response to the execution, based on the content data designated by the user, Print instruction information, which is information for instructing the execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the second generation processing through the second generation processing for generating print data to be a target of the lint operation, and the communication interface Print instruction processing for transmitting the print request to the printer. The controller uses at least one of information included in the print instruction information generated in the first generation process and a reference communication time indicating a time required for communication with the printer to start the pre-printing operation. The determination process is performed to determine whether or not to instruct according to the preparation instruction information.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing connection means between the printer 10 and the PC 50. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram of the printer 10, and FIG. 2B is a functional block diagram of the PC 50. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the queue area 67A in which the print instruction information is stored, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the queue area 67A in which the preceding command is stored. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the print instruction process. FIG. 5A is a flowchart of the preceding command output determination process, and FIG. 5B is a flowchart of the determination process in the case of the shared printer. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of determination processing in the case of the LAN. FIG. 7A is a flowchart of the StartPage process, and FIG. 7B is a flowchart of the StartDoc process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of print processing. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a port setting screen. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of determination processing in the case of the shared printer in the first modification. FIG. 11A is a flowchart of StartDoc processing in the second modification, and FIG. 11B is a flowchart of preceding command processing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is only an example of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the execution order of each process to be described later can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, a driver program 66 (FIG. 2B) installed and executed in a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) 50 will be described.

  The PC 50 in which the driver program 66 is installed can be communicated with the printer 10 by various means. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1A, the PC 50 is connected to the network 11 together with the PC 70. Further, the PC 70 can communicate with the printer 10 via the network 11. In the PC 70, the printer 10 connected to itself is shared in the network 11, and the printer sharing in which the printer 50 can be used from the PC 50 is set, which functions as a so-called server. Hereinafter, the printer 10 managed by the PC 70 is referred to as a shared printer 10. On the other hand, the PC 50 can communicate with the printer 10 via the PC 70, and functions as a so-called client.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the PC 50 is connected to the PC 70 to which the printer 10 is locally connected via the cable 12 in a network, and is communicably connected to the printer 10 through the PC 70. Similarly to FIG. 1A, in FIG. 1B, printer sharing is set in the PC 70, and the printer 10 can be used from the PC 50.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, the PC 50 is connected to the printer 10 using the network 11 and the cable 12 and communicates with the printer 10 via the network 11 and the cable 12. The cable 12 is, for example, a USB cable or a parallel cable. Further, the PC 50 may be connected to a network by a wired LAN or may be connected to a network by a wireless LAN. Also, the PC 50 may be connected to the network 11 by a Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) or the like via an access point (not shown).

  The PC 70 has, for example, a management function of acquiring the number of sheets printed by the printer 10 (hereinafter referred to as the number of printed sheets) from the print job received from the PC 50 and calculating the used amount according to the number of printed sheets. The management of the printer 10 using the PC 70 is performed by, for example, a manufacturer. That is, the printer 10 managed by the manufacturer is provided to the user.

  The maker provides, for example, a set of the printer 10 and the driver program 66 to the user. Alternatively, the manufacturer provides the user with a set of the printer 10, the driver program 66, and a program (not shown) installable on the PC 70. The driver program 66 may be provided, for example, in the form of a CD-ROM or the like bundled with the printer 10, or may be downloadable through a manufacturer's web site.

  In the present embodiment, a driver program 66 capable of appropriately inputting a leading command described later to the printer 10 will be described according to the connection means with the printer 10, the presence or absence of the PC 70, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the printer 10 includes a power supply unit 26, an operation unit 20, a display 23, an input interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F) 24, and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as I). And F) and the control unit 30 are mainly provided. The components constituting the printer 10 are mutually connected through a communication bus (not shown). In the present embodiment, an inkjet printer 10 is described as an example, but the printer 10 is not limited to the inkjet method, and may be another known method such as an electrophotographic method.

  The power supply unit 26 supplies the power supplied from the external power supply through the power plug to each component of the printer 10. More specifically, the power supply unit 26 outputs the power acquired from the external power supply to the operation unit 20 as drive power (for example, 24 VDC) and outputs it to the control unit 30 as control power (for example, 5 VDC). Although not shown, the power supply unit 26 also supplies power to the display 23, the input I / F 24, and the communication I / F 25. The power supply unit 26 includes, for example, an AC / DC converter that converts commercial AC voltage to a DC voltage, and a DC / DC converter such as a switching regulator that steps down the DC voltage output from the AC / DC converter to a predetermined DC voltage. .

  In addition, the power supply unit 26 can switch between the drive state and the sleep state based on the drive signal output from the control unit 30. More specifically, the control unit 30 drives the power supply unit 26 in the sleep state to a driving state by outputting a drive signal for driving the switching elements included in the AC / DC converter and the DC / DC converter.

  The drive state is a state in which drive power is output to the operation unit 20. In other words, the drive state is a state in which the operation unit 20 can operate. The sleep state is a state in which the driving power is not output to the operation unit 20. In other words, the sleep state is a state in which the operation unit 20 is inoperable. On the other hand, the power supply unit 26 outputs control power to the control unit 30 regardless of whether it is in the driving state or in the sleeping state. Although not shown, the input I / F 24 can output an operation signal according to the user's operation regardless of whether the power supply unit 26 is in the driving state or in the sleeping state. Also, the communication I / F 25 can receive information from an external device regardless of whether the power supply unit 26 is in the driving state or in the sleeping state.

  The operation unit 20 executes the printing operation and the pre-printing operation according to the instruction of the control unit 30. The print operation is an operation of printing an image on a sheet. The pre-printing operation is an operation performed prior to the printing operation in order to print an image of a predetermined quality on the sheet in the printing operation. Details of the printing operation and the pre-printing operation will be described later. The operation unit 20 mainly includes a transport unit 21 and a discharge unit 22 as shown in FIG.

  The transport unit 21 transports a sheet supported by a feed tray (not shown) in the transport direction. The transport unit 21 is configured of, for example, a plurality of rollers that are rotated by transmitting a driving force of a motor (not shown). The roller rotated by the motor conveys the sheet supported by the feed tray to a position facing the discharge unit 22, and discharges the sheet on which the image is printed by the discharge unit 22 to the outside of the printer 10. The printer 10 can include multiple feed trays.

  The ejection unit 22 moves in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction at a position where it can face the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit 21. The discharge unit 22 moves in the main scanning direction by transmitting a driving force of a motor (not shown). A nozzle surface on which a plurality of nozzles are formed is formed on the lower surface of the ejection unit 22. The ejection unit 22 ejects an ink droplet from the nozzle.

  An image is printed on the sheet by the discharged ink landing on the sheet in the process of the discharge unit 22 moving in the main scanning direction. An area on the sheet to which the ink ejected from the ejection unit 22 can land during the movement of the ejection unit 22 from one side to the other in the main scanning direction is referred to as a “print area”. The sheet is divided into a plurality of print areas. Then, the ejection unit 22 prints an image in order for each of a plurality of print areas in a printing operation described later.

  The display 23 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and has a display surface for displaying various information.

  The input I / F 24 is a user interface that receives an input operation by the user. Specifically, the input I / F 24 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Furthermore, the input I / F 24 may have a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display surface of the display 23. An operation of designating an object displayed on the display surface of the display 23, and an operation of inputting a character string or a number string are examples of user operation. The “object” is, for example, a character string, an icon, a button, a link or the like displayed on the display 23.

  The input I / F 24 realized as a touch sensor outputs position information indicating the position on the display surface touched by the user. Note that "touch" in the present specification includes all operations for causing an input medium to contact a display surface. Further, even if the input medium does not touch the display surface, bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance to the display surface is very small may be included in the concept of “touch” described above. Furthermore, the input medium may be a finger of the user, a touch pen, or the like. The user operation of tapping the position of the icon displayed on the display 53 is an example of the specification operation of specifying the icon.

  The communication I / F 25 is an interface capable of communicating with the PC 70 or the PC 50 through the network 11 or the cable 12. That is, the printer 10 transmits various information to the PC 70 and the PC 50 through the communication I / F 25, and receives various information from the PC 70 and the PC 50 through the communication I / F 25. The communication I / F 25 may transmit and receive a wireless signal to an access point (not shown) of the network 11 by, for example, a communication procedure according to Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance). It may be an interface to which a cable 12 such as a LAN cable or a USB cable is connected.

  The control unit 30 controls the overall operation of the printer 10. As shown in FIG. 2A, the control unit 30 is a microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an EEPROM 34, and an ASIC 35.

  The ROM 32 stores a program for the CPU 31 to control the operation of the printer 10. The RAM 33 is used as a storage area or a work area for temporarily recording various data used when the CPU 31 executes a program. The EEPROM 34 stores settings and flags that should be held even after the power is turned off. The CPU 31 controls the operation of the printer 10 by reading a program from the ROM 32 and executing the program. The conveyance unit 21, the discharge unit 22, the display 23, the input I / F 24, and the communication I / F 25 are connected to the ASIC 35. The ASIC 35 operates each component of the printer 10 in accordance with an instruction of the CPU 31.

  The ROM 32, the RAM 33, and the EEPROM 34 may be computer readable storage media. The computer readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. The non-transitory medium also includes a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, etc. in addition to the above example. In addition, non-transitory media are tangible media. On the other hand, an electrical signal carrying a program downloaded from a server or the like on the Internet is a computer readable signal medium, which is a type of computer readable medium, but a non-transitory computer readable storage. It is not included in the medium. The same applies to the memory 62 of the information processing terminal 50 described later.

  Device information of the printer 10 is stored in the EEPROM 34. As the device information, a model name of the printer 10, a serial number, a MAC address, and recovery time information are stored.

  The recovery time information is information indicating a recovery time T1 for returning to the standby state when print data is not input after the printer 10 has shifted from the standby state to the print executable state, and is stored in advance in the EEPROM 34. Ru. In the standby state of the printer 10, the power supply unit 26 is in the sleep state, and the nozzle of the discharge unit 22 is covered by a cap (not shown). In the print executable state of the printer 10, the power supply unit 26 is in a driven state, and the nozzle of the ejection unit 22 is not covered by the cap.

  The ASIC 35 outputs a drive signal to the motor. When the motor rotates, the transport unit 21 transports the sheet, and the discharge unit 22 moves in the main scanning direction. The ASIC 35 outputs a drive signal to a drive element such as a piezo element. When the drive element vibrates, the discharge unit 22 discharges an ink droplet from the nozzle. The ASIC 35 outputs an image signal to the display 23 and causes the display 23 to display a screen. The ASIC 35 acquires an operation signal output from the input I / F 24. The ASIC 35 receives information from an external device through the communication I / F 25, and transmits information to the external device through the communication I / F 25.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the PC 50 mainly includes a display 53, an input I / F 54, a communication I / F 55, a CPU 61, a memory 62, and a communication bus 63. The display 53, the input I / F 54, the communication I / F 55, and the CPU 61 included in the information processing terminal 50 have the same configuration as the display 23, the input I / F 24, the communication I / F 25, and the CPU 31 included in the printer 10. The description is omitted. The CPU 61 and the memory 62 are an example of a controller.

  The PC 50 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. The PC 50 is an example of a computer. The input I / F 54 of the PC 50 may be, for example, a combination of a mouse and a keyboard. In this case, the user operation of moving the mouse pointer to the position of an object such as an icon displayed on the display 53 and clicking is an example of a specification operation of specifying the object.

  The memory 62 is configured by, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, a portable storage medium such as a USB memory attached to and detached from the PC 50, a buffer provided in the CPU 61, or the like or a combination thereof. The memory 62 has a program storage area 62A (hereinafter referred to as "area 62A") and a data storage area 62B (hereinafter referred to as "area 62B"). In the area 62A, an OS 64 and a driver program 66 are installed. Each program stored in area 62A may be a single program or a collection of multiple programs. Data or information required to execute each program is stored in the area 62B.

  In the present embodiment, Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System is described as a specific example of the OS 64, but specific examples of the OS 64 are not limited thereto. For example, Android (registered trademark of Google inc.) OS, iOS (Registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.) or the like.

  The driver program 66 is a program for causing the printer 10 to execute print processing in accordance with the print instruction information received from the OS 64. The driver program 66 may be capable of instructing print processing only to the printer 10 of a single model, or may be capable of instructing print processing to the printers 10 of a plurality of models.

  In the driver program 66, a plurality of functions specified by the OS 64 are defined. Then, the driver program 66 can cause the printer 10 to execute the printing operation by the plurality of functions being called by the OS 64 in a predetermined order. The print instruction information according to the present embodiment indicates, for example, that the function defined in the driver program 66 is called by the OS 64 with a predetermined constant as an argument.

  The area 62B includes a first area 62C and a second area 62D. The first area 62C is, for example, a so-called registry which is a database of basic information on the OS 64 or setting information of the driver program.

  The first area 62C stores condition information. The condition information is information for indicating an execution condition of the printing operation to be executed by the printer 10. Condition information includes a secure flag and authentication information.

  The condition information is stored in the first area 62C at the timing when the driver program 66 is installed. Further, the driver program 66 can change the condition information stored in the first area 62C in accordance with the user's instruction. More specifically, the driver program 66 reads the condition information from the first area 62C according to the reference instruction from the OS 64, and causes the display 53 to display the read condition information. Next, the driver program 66 overwrites the condition information stored in the first area 62C with the changed condition information in response to the user operation for changing the condition information being accepted through the input I / F 54.

  The secure flag is information indicating whether to cause the printer 10 to execute so-called secure printing. In the secure flag, "ON" corresponding to an instruction to execute secure printing or "OFF" corresponding to an instruction not to execute secure printing is set. The authentication information is a PIN designated by the user. In the authentication information, a valid value is set only when the secure flag is set to “ON”.

  Secure printing refers to a printing operation that is triggered by the input of valid authentication information. That is, the printer 10 does not immediately start the printing operation in response to the reception of the print execution information instructing the execution of secure printing, and performs the printing operation in response to the reception of the input of the authentication information through the input I / F 24. Start.

  The area 62B also includes one or more queue areas. The queue area is a memory area in which information to be transmitted to the printer 10 is stored. The queue area is associated with a so-called print port that specifies the printer 10. In the driver program 66, for example, a queue area in which information is to be stored is designated from the OS 64 as an argument of a function. Hereinafter, a queue area designated for the driver program 66 may be referred to as a “designated queue”.

  The queue area stores information for instructing the printer 10 to execute various operations. More specifically, in the queue area, the preceding command shown in FIG. 3A, the print execution information shown in FIG. 3B, status transmission instruction information (not shown), and the like are stored. The print execution information is information for instructing the execution of the print operation, and includes feed instruction information, quick start instruction information, transport instruction information, discharge instruction information, and discharge instruction information. The preceding command is a command for instructing execution of the pre-printing operation. Status transmission instruction information (not shown) is information for instructing transmission of status information indicating the status of the printer 10. However, specific examples of the information stored in the queue area are not limited to these.

  The queue area is an area where information transmitted by the OS 64 to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55 is stored by specifying the order of transmission. In other words, the OS 64 checks at a predetermined timing whether or not instruction information is stored in the queue area. Then, in response to having determined that the instruction information is stored in the queue area, the OS 64 transmits the instruction information to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55 in a predetermined transmission order, and transmits the instruction information. Is removed from the queue area.

  More specifically, the job ID is added to the instruction information stored in the queue area, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The job ID is information for specifying instruction information to be continuously transmitted in the queue area. That is, the same job ID may be added to a plurality of pieces of instruction information. The OS 64 transmits a plurality of pieces of instruction information to which the same job ID is added to the printer 10 in the order stored in the queue area. Further, the OS 64 transmits instruction information to which different job IDs are added to the printer 10 in the order of generation of the job IDs.

  For example, in the queue area, the OS 64 first transmits transport instruction information to which the job ID “content data A” is added, ejection instruction information, and ejection instruction information in this order. Next, the OS 64 transmits feeding instruction information to which the job ID “content data B” is added, and cueing instruction information in this order. At this time, even if the feeding instruction information to which the job ID "content data B" is added is written to the queue area earlier than the discharging instruction information to which the job ID "content data A" is added, Is sent first. That is, a plurality of pieces of instruction information to which the same job ID is added are continuously transmitted in the order of writing.

  In addition, since PC70 is the same as that of the structure of PC50, description is abbreviate | omitted.

Print instruction processing
The print instruction process executed by the driver program 66 will be described below with reference to FIG. The driver program 66 executes various processes, but in the following, the driver program 66 determines whether or not to transmit the preceding command, and transmits the preceding command or transmits the preceding command according to the determination. Print instruction processing for transmitting print data will be described. In the following description, processing that is particularly important in the present invention will be described, and descriptions of other processing may be omitted. The preceding command is an example of preparation instruction information.

  The flowchart of this specification basically shows the processing of the CPUs 31, 61 in accordance with the instructions described in the program. That is, the processes of “determination”, “extraction”, “selection”, “control” and the like in the following description represent the processes of the CPUs 31 and 61. The processing by the CPU 61 also includes hardware control via the OS 64. Also, “data” in the present specification is represented by a computer readable bit string. Then, data having the same substantial semantic content but different format is treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in the present specification.

  The driver program 66 receives print instruction information including a print instruction when the function defined in the driver program 66 is called by the OS 64. The driver program 66 determines whether print instruction information has been received (S11). If the driver program 66 determines that the print instruction information has not been received (S11: No), the print instruction process is ended. The process of the OS 64 for generating print instruction information including a print instruction is an example of a first generation process.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the print instruction information has been received (S11: Yes), it determines whether or not print data is already in the designated queue indicated by the print instruction information (S12). The process of receiving print instruction information (S12: Yes) is an example of the print instruction acceptance process.

  If the driver program 66 determines that there is print data in the designated queue (S12: Yes), it skips the processes of steps S13 to S17, S21, and S22 and executes StartPage processing for generating print instruction information (S18) .

[StartPage processing]
The StartPage process is executed for each page data included in the designated content data. The page data to be processed by the StartPage process is specified, for example, by the OS 64 as an argument of a function. The details of the StartPage process will be described with reference to FIG.

  The OS 64 calls a function "DrvStartPage ()" defined in the driver program 66 (S71). In response to the function "DrvStartPage ()" being called, the driver program 66 generates header indication information and stores the generated header indication information in the queue area 67A (S72). The header instruction information is print execution information for instructing an operation to be performed before printing an image on a sheet in a series of operations for recording an image on one sheet. The header instruction information according to the present embodiment is feed instruction information and quick start instruction information.

  Then, the driver program 66 ends the function "DrvStartPage ()" (S73). Next, the OS 64 calls the drawing function defined in the driver program 66. The driver program 66 generates print data from the page data by executing the plurality of drawing functions in a predetermined order (S74). The print data is, for example, raster data obtained by rasterizing page data. Further, the driver program 66 generates print execution information for executing the print operation on the print data, and stores the generated print execution information in the queue area 67A. In step S74, discharge instruction information and transfer instruction information are generated as described later. The process of generating print data in step S74 is an example of a generation process and a second generation process. The details of the process in which the driver program 66 generates print execution information will be described below.

  First, the driver program 66 notifies the OS 64 of unit information indicating a unit of data to be delivered as a target of rasterization. As the unit information, for example, a “page” instructing the delivery in the page data unit or a “band” instructing the delivery in the band data unit is set. Band data is part of page data.

  The OS 64 having acquired the unit information “page” hands over the page data to the driver program 66 in step S 74. The driver program 66 rasterizes the entire page data delivered from the OS 64 to generate raster data. Next, the driver program 66 rotates the raster data expanded in the area 62B by 90 ° in the area 62B. Next, the driver program 66 extracts a plurality of pass data representing an image to be recorded in one of the print areas from the 90 ° -rotated raster data. Then, the driver program 66 generates discharge instruction information and transfer instruction information based on each of the extracted path data, and sequentially writes the generated discharge instruction information and transfer instruction information in the queue area 67A. The driver program 66 continuously executes the extraction of the pass data, the generation of the discharge instruction information and the conveyance instruction information, and the writing of the generated information in the queue area 67A on all the pass data included in the page data.

  On the other hand, the OS 64 that has acquired the unit information “band” delivers one of the plurality of band data included in the page data to the driver program 66 in step S74. The driver program 66 rasterizes the entire band data delivered from the OS 64 to generate raster data. Next, the driver program 66 generates discharge instruction information and transfer instruction information based on raster data, and writes the generated discharge instruction information and transfer instruction information in the queue area 67A. Then, the above-described processing is repeatedly performed on all band data constituting the page data.

  Next, the OS 64 calls a function "DrvEndPage ()" defined in the driver program 66 (S75). In response to the function "DrvEndPage ()" being called, the driver program 66 generates ejection instruction information, and stores the generated ejection instruction information in the queue area 67A (S76).

  The plurality of pieces of print execution information written in the queue area 67A by the StartPage process shown in FIG. 7A are transmitted by the OS 64 to the printer 10 in the order of writing. Typically, the OS 64 sends the feed instruction information, the cue instruction information, the discharge instruction information, the conveyance instruction information, the discharge instruction information,..., The discharge instruction information to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55 in this order. Send. The process of step S72, the process of storing the print execution information in the queue area 67A in step S74, and the process of step S76 are an example of the print execution instruction process of transmitting the print execution information to the printer 10 through the communication I / F 55.

  Then, the driver program 66 ends the function "DrvEndPage ()" (S77). Thus, the StartPage process ends. The print data is transmitted from the print port to the printer 10 by the OS 64 by the StartPage process.

  Next, returning to FIG. 4, when the driver program 66 determines in step S12 that there is no print data in the designated queue (S12: No), the value of the secure flag indicated by the print instruction information is "ON" or not. To judge. That is, in step S12, it is determined whether the print indicated by the print execution information is secure print.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the value of the secure flag is "ON" (S13: Yes), it skips the processes of steps S14 to S17, S21, and S22 and executes the StartPage process of generating print data ( S18).

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the value of the secure flag is "OFF" (S13: No), it executes a preceding command output determination process (S14). Details of the preceding command output determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 5 (A).

  The driver program 66 determines whether the value of the identification flag indicated by the print instruction information is "ON" (S31). The identification flag is a flag in which "ON" is set according to the fact that the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is the shared printer 10, and "OFF" is set according to the fact that the printer 10 is not the shared printer 10. The process of step S31 is an example of the determination process. The identification flag is an example of the first information.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the value of the identification flag indicated by the print instruction information is not "ON" (S31: No), it sets "ON" in the preceding command flag (S32), and ends the preceding command output determination processing. . The preceding command flag is a flag for determining whether the driver program 66 outputs the preceding command. Details will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the value of the identification flag indicated by the print instruction information is "ON" (S31: Yes), the driver program 66 executes determination processing in the case of a shared printer (S33). Details of the determination process in the case of the shared printer will be described with reference to FIG. 5B.

  The driver program 66 reads management information and port setting information from the memory (S41). The management information is information selected by the administrator of the PC 50 from among “output”, “do not output”, and “output according to setting”.

  The port setting information is information input to the PC 50 by the user of the PC 50. Specifically, the driver program 66 causes the display of the PC 50 to display the port setting information input screen shown in FIG. The process of displaying the port setting information input screen on the display 53 of the PC 50 is an example of the display process.

  The port setting information input screen has a character of "port setting" and a character of "print port information for outputting preceding command even when sharing". In addition, the port setting information input screen has the characters “transmit preceding command in case of USB port” and a check box. The characters “transmit preceding command in case of USB port” and the check box are an example of the first object.

  Also, the port setting information input screen has the characters “switching condition in the case of LAN port” and a check box. In addition, the port setting information input screen, the character and radio button of "switch with wired / wireless information", the character and "check if wired" and the check box, and the character "output if wireless" And a check box, and the characters and “radio button to measure and switch the communication speed with the printer”. The character and check box of "switching condition for LAN port", the character and radio button of "switch with wired / wireless information", and the character and check box of "output if wired" are the second It is an example of an object. The characters and check box of "switching condition in case of LAN port", the characters and radio button of "switch with wired / wireless information", and the characters and check box of "output when wireless" are the third It is an example of an object.

  The driver program 66 causes the memory 62 to store port setting information corresponding to the received user operation, when the radio button or the check box through the input I / F 54 receives the user operation.

  Referring back to FIG. 5B, the driver program 66 determines whether the information indicated by the management information is "output", "do not output", or "output according to setting" (S42). ). If the driver program 66 determines that the information indicated by the management information is "output" (S42: output), it sets "ON" to the preceding command flag (S43), and ends the determination processing in the case of the shared printer. If the driver program 66 determines that the information indicated by the management information is "do not output" (S42: Do not output), it sets "OFF" to the preceding command flag (S44), and ends the determination processing in the case of a shared printer. Do.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the information indicated by the management information is "output according to the setting" (S42: output according to the setting), the driver program 66 determines whether the print port is USB or LAN (S42). S45). Specifically, the driver program 66 acquires the port name of the print port from the OS. Here, when the printer 10 is a shared printer, the port name set in the PC 70 is acquired as the port name. When the OS is Windows (registered trademark), the port name and the IP address or node name actually designated as the transmission destination on the network can be set separately, and these information can be set in a predetermined registry of the memory 62. Has been written to. Therefore, when acquiring the port name, the driver program 66 searches the registry to acquire an IP address or a node name from the port name. Then, the driver program 66 determines whether the print port is USB or LAN based on the port name, IP address or node name of the print port. The port name is an example of the second information.

  When the driver program 66 determines that the print port is USB (S45: USB), it determines whether the port setting information is "setting for output with USB" (S46). If the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is not "setting for output with USB", it sets "OFF" in the preceding command flag. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is “setting of output by USB”, it sets “ON” to the preceding command flag.

  When the driver program 66 determines that the print port is a LAN (S45: LAN), the driver program 66 executes a determination process for a LAN (S48). The details of the determination process in the case of the LAN will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the driver program 66 determines whether the port setting information is "switching by wired / wireless information" or "measuring and switching the communication speed with the printer" (S51). When the driver program 66 determines that "the communication speed with the printer is measured and switched" (S51: communication speed), the recovery time T1 stored in the EEPROM 34 by the printer 10 is acquired from the printer 10 (S52). The process of step S52 is an example of an acquisition process.

  Specifically, the driver program 66 generates and transmits request information including a command for causing the printer 10 to return device information and an address (IP address or MAC address) of the printer 10. The printer 10 having received the request information returns the device information to the PC 50. The driver program 66 acquires the recovery time T1 from the device information included in the return. The request information is an example of the first request information.

  Next, the driver program 66 acquires the reference communication time T2 (S53). Specifically, the driver program 66 generates a PING command including the address of the printer 10 and passes it to the OS 64. The OS 64 transmits predetermined request information to the printer 10 according to the PING command, and receives a reply from the printer 10. The OS 64 counts time from transmission of request information to reception of a reply. The OS 64 delivers result information indicating the counted time to the driver program 66. The driver program 66 acquires the time indicated by the result information as the reference communication time T2. The PING command is an example of third information. The predetermined request information generated according to the PING command is an example of second request information.

  The driver program 66 adds the reference communication time T2 and the predetermined time T3 stored in advance in the memory 62, and the time (T2 + T3) obtained as a result of the addition is less than the recovery time T1 acquired in step S52. It is determined (S54). The predetermined time is stored in advance in the memory 62 as a time required to transmit header instruction information to the print job (S72) after transmitting the preceding command. That is, in step S54, it is determined whether the time from reception of the preceding command and transition from the standby state to the print executable state to reception of the header instruction information is shorter than return time T1. Ru. The process of step S54 is an example of the determination process. The time (T2 + T3) obtained as a result of the addition is an example of the time according to the reference communication time.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the time (T2 + T3) obtained as a result of addition is not less than the recovery time T1 (S54: No), it sets "OFF" to the preceding command flag (S56), and determines the case of LAN. End the process. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the time (T2 + T3) obtained as a result of addition is less than the recovery time T1 (S54: Yes), it sets "ON" to the preceding command flag and the direct transmission flag Is set to "ON" (S55), and the determination processing in the case of LAN is ended.

  The direct transmission flag indicates that the printer 10 transmitting the print execution information is the shared printer 10, and the connection with the network 11 is a LAN connection, and the preceding flag is set to "ON". This flag is set to "ON". Although described later in detail, when the driver program 66 determines that the direct transmission flag is set to "ON", print execution information including the print data generated without passing the print data generated in step S74 to the OS 64 The transmission information having the address of the shared printer 10 is generated and transmitted to the shared printer 10. That is, print execution information including print data is sent to the shared printer 10 without passing through the print port. Since the print port is not used, the print execution information is directly received by the shared printer 10 without going through the PC 70.

  If the driver program 66 determines in step S51 that "switch with wired / wireless information" (S51: wired / wireless), the driver program 66 determines whether the print port is wired or wireless (S57). Specifically, the driver program 66 determines whether the print port is wired or wireless based on the port name of the print port.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the print port is wired, it determines whether the port setting information is "output if wired" (S61). If the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is not “output if wired”, the driver command 66 sets “OFF” to the preceding command flag (S56), and ends the determination processing in the case of LAN. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is “output if wired”, it sets “ON” to the preceding command flag (S60), and ends the determination processing in the case of LAN.

  When the driver program 66 determines in step S57 that the print port is wireless (S57: wireless), the driver program 66 determines whether the port setting information is "output when wireless" (S58). If the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is not "output when wireless", the driver command 66 sets "OFF" to the preceding command flag (S59), and ends the determination processing in the case of LAN. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the port setting information is “output when wireless”, it sets “ON” to the preceding command flag and sets “ON” to the direct transmission flag (S60). ), End the determination processing in the case of LAN.

  When the driver program 66 determines that the print port is wired or wireless in step S57 (S57: unknown), the driver program 66 determines whether the setting information is “output if unknown”. (S62). The setting information may be set by the user's input on the port setting screen, or may be set by the administrator of the PC 50.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the setting information is not "output if unknown" (S62: No), the preceding command flag is set to "OFF" (S59), and the determination processing in the case of LAN is ended. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the setting information is "output if unknown" (S62: Yes), the preceding command flag is set to "ON", and the direct transmission flag is set to ON. (S63), the determination process in the case of the LAN is ended.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the preceding command output determination process (S14) is completed, the driver program 66 determines whether the value of the preceding command flag is "ON" (S15). If the driver program 66 determines that the value of the preceding command flag is not "ON" (S15: No), the process of steps S16, S17, S21, and S22 is skipped and the StartPage process of step S18 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the value of the preceding command flag is "ON" (S15: ON), it determines whether the value of the direct transmission flag is "ON" (S16). If the driver program 66 determines that the value of the direct transmission flag is "ON" (S16: Yes), the driver program 66 specifies the address of the shared printer 10 from the port name, node name or IP address acquired earlier, The preceding command transmission information including the address of the shared printer 10 is generated (S21). Then, the driver program 66 transmits the generated preceding command transmission information directly to the shared printer 10 without the print port and the PC 70 (S22). After executing the preceding command transmission process, the driver program 66 executes the StartPage process of step S18.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the value of the direct transmission flag is not "ON" (S16: No), it executes the StartDoc process (S17). Details of the StartDoc process will be described with reference to FIG. 7 (B).

[StartDoc processing]
The OS 64 calls various functions defined in the driver program 66 in a predetermined order. The driver program 66 also executes the process defined in the function called by the OS 64. The details of these processes are omitted.

  The OS 64 calls the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S81). The OS 64 designates the constant "DOCUMENT EVENT_FIRST" as an argument of the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()".

  Next, in response to the first function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" being called, the driver program 66 reads out the condition information stored in the first area 62C, and stores the read out condition information in the second area 62D. (S82), the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" is ended (S83). That is, in step S82, the driver program 66 stores the condition information read from the first area 62C in the second area 62D.

  Next, the OS 64 calls a function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S84). The OS 64 designates the constant "DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTDOCDOC" as an argument of the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()". The process of step S84 is performed after the process of step S81. Next, the driver program 66 from which the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" is called stores the preceding command in the designated queue (S85).

  Next, the driver program 66 ends the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S86). Next, in response to the end of the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S86), the OS 64 calls the function "DrvStartDoc ()" defined in the driver program 66 (S87). The OS 64 designates a designated data ID "content data C" designated as an argument of the function "DrvStartDoc ()" as an argument of the function "DrvStartDoc ()".

  Next, in response to the function “DrvStartDoc ()” being called, the driver program 66 is a queue, which is a designation queue, having a print job having a designated data ID “content data C” designated as an argument as a job ID. An area 67A is generated (S88), and the function "DrvStartDoc ()" is ended (S89). The job ID “content data C” is added to the various types of execution information written to the queue area 67A in the above-described steps S72, S74, and S76. However, the print job identified by the job ID “content data C” does not include instruction information at this time.

  Next, the OS 64 calls the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S90) in response to the end of the function "DrvStartDoc ()" (S89). The OS 64 designates the constant "DOCUMENTEVENT_STARTDOCPOST" as an argument of the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()". Next, in response to the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" being called, the driver program 66 deletes the preceding command from the designated queue (S91).

  Next, the driver program 66 ends the function "DrvDocumentEvent ()" (S92). This completes the StartDoc process. Although not shown in the flowchart, execution of the StartDoc process causes the OS 64 to transmit the preceding command stored in the designated queue from the print port to the printer 10. The StartDoc process is an example of the preparation instruction process.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the driver program 66 executes the above-described StartPage processing after executing the StartDoc processing (S18). Next, the driver program 66 determines whether the StartPage process has been performed on all pages (S19). If the driver program 66 determines that the StartPage process has not been performed on all pages (S19: Yes), it executes the StartPage process on the next page (S18). On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the StartPage process has been performed on all pages (S19: No), it executes the EndDoc process (S20). EndDoc processing is post-processing after the printer 10 executes a printing operation. Since the EndDoc process is a well-known process, the detailed description is omitted.

  Execution of the StartPage process causes the OS 64 to transmit print execution information including print data from the print port to the printer 10. The printer 10 having received the print execution information or the preceding command and the print execution information executes the print process. The details of the print process will be described with reference to FIG.

[Print processing]
The following processes executed by the printer 10 may be realized by the CPU 31 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 32 or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 30. The print process is an example of the print operation.

  The control unit 30 of the printer 10 determines whether the preceding command has been received from the PC 50 through the communication I / F 25 or the print execution information has been received (S101). The preceding command is transmitted to the printer 10 by the OS 64 by execution of the StartDoc process, as described above, or transmitted to the printer 10 by the driver program 66 by the process of step S22. The print execution information is transmitted to the printer 10 by the OS 64 by the execution of the above-described StartPage process. The process of step S22 is an example of the preparation instruction process.

  In response to receiving the preceding command (S101: preceding command), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the power supply unit 26 is in the sleep state (S102). For example, the control unit 30 may store flag information indicating the current state of the power supply unit 26 in the RAM 33 or the EEPROM 34, and may make the determination in step S102 based on the flag information. However, the method of determination in step S72 is not limited to the above-described example.

  Next, in response to determining that the power supply unit 26 is in the sleep state (S102: Yes), the control unit 30 switches the power supply unit 26 from the sleep state to the drive state (S103). More specifically, control unit 30 outputs a power signal of HIGH level to power supply unit 26. On the other hand, in response to determining that the power supply unit 26 is in the driving state (S102: No), the control unit 30 skips the process of step S103.

  Next, the control unit 30 notifies that the preceding command has been received through the display 23 (S104). The control unit 30 may, for example, turn on the backlight of the display 23 only for a predetermined time.

  Next, the control unit 30 causes the operation unit 20 to execute the pre-printing operation (S105). The pre-printing operation is an operation that the printer 10 should execute in order to record an image of a predetermined quality on a sheet in the printing operation. The pre-printing operation includes, for example, an uncapping process of separating the cap covering the nozzle surface from the discharge unit 22, a flushing process of discharging the ink to the discharge unit 22 outside the area where the sheet passes, and a target voltage of the power supply unit 26. Or part or all of the boosting process and the like. The process of step S105 is an example of print pre-processing.

  In addition, the control unit 30 stores flag information corresponding to each of the plurality of pre-printing operations in the RAM 33 or the EEPROM 34. In all the flag information, "OFF" corresponding to the fact that the pre-printing operation is not completed at the start of the pre-printing process is set. Then, in response to the completion of one of the pre-printing operations, the control unit 30 sets “ON” corresponding to the completion of the pre-printing operation as flag information corresponding to the completed pre-printing operation.

  Next, the control unit 30 receives print execution information from the PC 50 through the communication I / F 25 (S101: print execution). That is, the control unit 30 controls the feeding instruction information, the positioning instruction information, the discharging instruction information, the conveying instruction information, the discharging instruction information,..., The discharging instruction information from the information processing terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25 in this order. To receive.

  The feed instruction information is information for causing the conveyance unit 21 to feed a sheet from the feed tray indicated by the tray information of the editing condition information. The cueing instruction information is information for causing the transport unit 21 to transport the sheet to a position where the first recording area of the fed sheet faces the discharge unit 22. The discharge instruction information is information for indicating the discharge timing of the ink by the discharge unit 22 in order to record an image on the recording area of the sheet facing the discharge unit 22. The conveyance instruction information is information for causing the conveyance unit 21 to convey the sheet to a position where a recording area for recording an image next faces the discharge unit 22. The discharge instruction information is information for causing the conveyance unit 21 to discharge the sheet on which the image is recorded.

  Next, the control unit 30 determines the setting value of the secure flag included in the print execution information (S106). Next, in response to having determined that the secure flag is set to "OFF" (S106: OFF), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the pre-print process has been completed (S107). More specifically, the control unit 30 determines that the pre-printing process has ended in response to the fact that "ON" is set to all the flag information associated with the pre-printing operation (S107: Yes). . On the other hand, the control unit 30 determines that the pre-printing process is not completed in response to the fact that "OFF" is set in at least one flag information associated with the pre-printing operation (S107: No) .

  The reception interval between the preceding command and the print execution information varies depending on, for example, the processing amount of the driver program 66 that generates printer data (S74), the state of the network 11, and the like. That is, there is a possibility that the pre-printing process started by using the preceding command as a trigger is not completed when the print execution information is received. Therefore, in response to determining that the pre-print process is not completed (S107: No), the control unit 30 waits for the execution of the subsequent process until the pre-print process is completed. Then, in response to having determined that the pre-print processing has been completed (S107: Yes), the control unit 30 causes the operation unit 20 to execute the printing operation according to the received print execution information (S108 to S112).

  First, the control unit 30 executes a feeding process according to the received feeding instruction information and a cueing process according to the cue instruction information (S108). That is, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to feed the sheet accommodated in the feeding tray indicated by the feeding instruction information. Next, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to convey the sheet fed in the feeding process to the position indicated by the cue instruction information. Note that these processes may be performed in print pre-processing.

  Next, the control unit 30 executes the discharge process according to the received discharge instruction information (S109). That is, the control unit 30 moves the discharge unit 22 from one side to the other in the main scanning direction, and causes the discharge unit 22 to discharge the ink at the discharge timing indicated by the discharge instruction information. Next, the control unit 30 determines whether the image is recorded in all the recording areas of the sheet (S110). In other words, the control unit 30 determines which of the transport instruction information and the discharge instruction information has been received next to the discharge instruction information used in the most recent step S109.

  Next, in response to determining that the image is not recorded in all the recording areas of the sheet (S110: No), the control unit 30 executes the conveyance process according to the received conveyance instruction information (S111) . That is, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to convey the sheet by the conveyance amount indicated by the conveyance instruction information. The control unit 30 repeatedly executes the processing of steps S109 to S111 until the image is recorded in all the recording areas of the sheet (S110: No).

  Then, when it is determined that the image has been printed in all the print areas of the sheet (S110: Yes), the control unit 30 executes the discharge process according to the received discharge instruction information (S112). That is, the control unit 30 causes the conveyance unit 21 to discharge the sheet on which the image is printed out of the printer 10. When a plurality of page data is included in the designated content data, the processes of steps S108 to S112 are repeatedly executed. Thus, the image indicated by the print data generated in step S74, in other words, the image indicated by the designated content data, is printed on the sheet.

  On the other hand, in response to having determined that the secure flag is set to “ON” (S106: ON), the control unit 30 accepts input of authentication information through the input I / F 24. Then, the control unit 30 determines whether the authentication information input through the input I / F 24 matches the authentication information included in the print execution information (S113). Next, in response to determining that the two pieces of authentication information match (S113: Yes), the control unit 30 executes pre-print processing (S114). Then, in response to the end of the pre-printing process, the control unit 30 executes the process after step S108. On the other hand, in response to determining that the two pieces of authentication information do not match (S113: No), the control unit 30 causes the user to input the authentication information again.

[Operation and effect of this embodiment]
In the present embodiment, the start of the pre-printing operation is preceded by using at least one of whether the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is a shared printer and the reference communication time T2 indicating the time required for communication with the printer 10. Whether or not to instruct the printer 10 is determined by the command. Therefore, it can be appropriately determined whether or not to send a preceding command instructing the start of the pre-printing operation.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is estimated that the recovery time T1 from the printer 10 performing the pre-printing process to the state before performing the pre-printing process is longer than the time required for print data generation and transmission. If so, no prior command is sent. Therefore, in the printer 10, it is possible to suppress that the ink is dried and the print quality is degraded, the dried ink is discharged, and the ink is consumed wastefully, or the useless power is consumed.

  In the present embodiment, when the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is the shared printer 10, the print data is directly transmitted to the shared printer 10 without passing through the print port and the PC 70. Therefore, it is prevented that the PC 70 erroneously determines the preceding command as print data and the number of prints unintentionally increases.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the first object, the second object, and the third object that receive the user's input are displayed on the display, and it is determined whether or not the preceding command is transmitted according to the setting of the user input. Therefore, it is determined whether or not to transmit the preceding command, reflecting the user's intention as to whether or not to transmit the preceding command.

[Modification 1]
In the above embodiment, the driver program 66 sets "ON" or "OFF" in the preceding command flag according to the port setting information set by the user on the port setting screen and the management information set by the administrator. An example of determining whether to In this modification, an example will be described in which the driver program 66 determines whether to transmit a preceding command without accepting the setting of port setting information by the user and the setting of management information by the administrator of the PC 40.

  In the present modification, the driver program 66 executes the determination process for the shared printer shown in FIG. 10 in place of the determination process (FIG. 5A) for the shared printer. The other processes are the same as the processes described in the embodiment. In addition, about the process same as embodiment, the code | symbol same as embodiment is attached | subjected and one part description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the determination process in the case of the shared printer shown in FIG. 10, the driver program 66 determines whether the print port set in the shared printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is “USB” or “LAN”. It judges from the name (S45). That is, in step S45, it is determined whether the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is connected by the cable 12 or by the LAN. The process of step S45 is an example of the determination process.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the print port set in the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is "USB" (S45: USB), it sets "ON" to the preceding command flag (S43), and The determination process of the case ends. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the print port set in the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is "LAN" (S45: "LAN"), the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information indicates the network 11 by the wired LAN. It is determined whether it is connected to the network 11 or by the wireless LAN (S57). The process of step S57 is an example of the determination process.

  If the driver program 66 determines that the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is connected to the network 11 by the wired LAN, the processes from steps S52 to S54 are performed as in the embodiment. When the driver program 66 determines that the time obtained by summing the reference communication time T2 and the predetermined time T3 stored in the memory 62 is not less than the recovery time T1 in the process of step S54, the preceding command flag is "OFF". The setting is made (S59), and the determination processing in the case of the shared printer is ended. The process of step S54 is an example of the determination process.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the time obtained by summing the reference communication time T2 and the predetermined time T3 is less than the recovery time T1, the driver program 66 sets the preceding command flag to "ON" and the direct transmission flag. "ON" is set (S55), and the determination processing in the case of the shared printer is ended.

  When the driver program 66 determines in the process of step S57 that it is unclear whether the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is connected to the network 11 by the wired LAN or connected to the network 11 by the wireless LAN ( S57: Unknown), the preceding command flag is set to "OFF", and the determination processing in the case of the shared printer is ended.

[Effect of Modification 1]
In this modification, the driver program 66 determines whether or not to output the preceding command regardless of the setting of the user or the administrator, so that the time for the user or the administrator to input the setting conditions can be reduced. .

  Generally, in the wireless LAN connection, communication retries and reconnection occur more frequently than in the wired LAN connection. That is, wireless LAN connection may take more time to pass data than wired LAN connection. In the present modification, when the printer 10 and the PC 50 are connected by wired LAN, the preceding command is transmitted. On the other hand, when the printer 10 and the PC 50 are connected by wireless LAN, the preceding command is not transmitted. That is, in the wireless LAN connection in which the time from the reception of the preceding command by the printer 10 to the reception of the print data may be long, the preceding command is not transmitted. Therefore, in the printer 10, it is possible to suppress that the ink is dried and the print quality is degraded, the dried ink is discharged, and the ink is consumed wastefully, or the useless power is consumed.

[Modification 2]
The processes of steps S11 to S16, steps S21 and S22 shown in FIG. 4 described in the embodiment, and step S85 shown in FIG. 7B are a part of the StartDoc process described in FIG. May be implemented as In this modification, the StartDoc process shown in FIG. 11A will be described. In addition, about the process similar to embodiment, the code | symbol same as embodiment is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the StartDoc process shown in FIG. 11A, steps S11 to S16, steps S21 and S22 shown in FIG. 4 and steps shown in FIG. 7B are substituted for step S85 (FIG. 7B). This is different from the StartDoc process shown in FIG. 7B in that the preceding command process of step S93, which is a subroutine for executing the process of S85, is executed. The other processes (S81 to S84 and S86 to S92) in the StartDoc process shown in FIG. 11A are the same as the StartDoc process shown in FIG. 7B.

  The preceding command processing in step S93 will be described with reference to FIG. In the preceding command processing, the driver program 66 executes the processing of steps S11 to S15 as in the print instruction processing (FIG. 4) of the embodiment. The driver program 66 determines that a print instruction has not been received (S11: No), or determines that print data exists (S12: Yes), or determines that it is secure print (S13: Yes), Alternatively, if it is determined that the preceding command flag is not "ON" (S15: No), the preceding command processing is ended.

  On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines in step S15 that the preceding command flag is "ON" (S15: Yes), it determines whether the direct transmission flag is "ON" as in the embodiment. (S16). When the driver program 66 determines that the direct transmission flag is "ON" (S16: Yes), the processing of steps S21 and S22 is performed as in the embodiment, and the preceding command processing is ended. On the other hand, when the driver program 66 determines that the direct transmission flag is not "ON" (S16: No), the preceding command is stored in the designated queue (S85) as in the embodiment, and the preceding command processing is ended.

  After executing the preceding command process (S93), the driver program 66 executes the processes of steps S86 to S92 as in the embodiment, and ends the StartDoc process. The driver program 66 executes the processing of steps S18 to S20 described in the embodiment after the execution of the StartDoc processing.

  As described above, the contents of the process executed by the driver program 66 in the second modification are the same as in the embodiment, and the processes of steps S11 to S16 and steps S21 and S22 are performed as part of the StartDoc process. Whether or not it is different from the embodiment. That is, the printer driver 66 may execute the preceding command output determination processing (S14, FIG. 5A) for determining whether to output the preceding command at an appropriate timing. That is, the second modification is another example showing the timing when the printer driver 66 executes the preceding command output determination process.

[Other modifications]
In the above-described embodiment and modification, whether or not the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is the shared printer 10, and whether the time obtained by adding the reference communication time T2 and the predetermined time T3 is less than the recovery time T1. Described an example of setting the value of the preceding command flag. However, only by whether the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is the shared printer 10 or only by whether the time obtained by adding the reference communication time T2 and the predetermined time T3 is less than the recovery time T1 The value of the command flag may be set.

  In the above-described embodiment and modification, direct transmission is performed when the printer 10 indicated by the print instruction information is the shared printer 10 and the preceding command flag is set to "ON" and the preceding command is determined to be transmitted. The example in which the print execution information is transmitted to the shared printer 10 without the print port and the PC 70 by setting the flag “ON” has been described. However, according to the shared printer 10, it is also possible to uniformly set "OFF" in the preceding command flag and decide not to transmit the preceding command.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment and modification, the example which measures communication reference time using a PING command was explained. However, without using the PING command, the driver program 66 may transmit the request information to the address of the shared printer 10 and count the time until the return from the shared printer 10 is received.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment and modification, the port setting information input screen includes the characters "port setting", the characters "print port information for outputting preceding command even when sharing", and "USB port". , Send the preceding command, the check box, the character and check box of "switch condition in case of LAN port", the character and the radio button of "switch with wired / wireless information", and "wired" An example is described that includes the following characters: “output” and the check box, “output when wireless” and the check box, and “character to change the communication speed with the printer and switching” and the radio button. . However, it is not necessary for all of the plurality of radio buttons and check boxes described above to be provided in the port setting screen, and any radio button or check box may be provided in the port setting screen.

10: Printer 23, 53: Display 24, 54: input I / F
25, 55 ··· Communication I / F
30: Control unit 31, 61: CPU
32 ・ ・ ・ ROM
50 ・ ・ ・ PC
62: Memory 66: Driver program 70: PC

Claims (8)

A computer readable driver program comprising a communication interface, the driver program comprising:
The driver program causes the computer to execute print instruction acceptance processing for receiving print instruction information including a print instruction from the OS of the computer, and the user inputs an instruction to cause the printer to execute a print operation. Show,
The driver program causes the computer to execute a determination process of determining whether or not start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by preparation instruction information in response to acceptance of the print instruction in the print instruction acceptance process. The pre-printing operation is an operation for preparing the printing operation by the printer before the printing operation, and the preparation instruction information is information transmitted to the printer prior to the instruction of the printing operation. ,
The driver program is
A preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the communication interface according to the determination in the determination process that the pre-printing operation is instructed;
The print data to be the target of the print operation is generated based on the content data designated by the user according to the judgment that the pre-print operation is instructed in the judgment process and the preparation instruction process is executed. Processing and
In order to cause the computer to execute a print execution instruction process of transmitting print execution information to the printer through the communication interface, the print execution information is for instructing the execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the generation process. Information, and
The driver program instructs the start of the pre-printing operation by the preparation instruction information using at least one of information included in the print instruction information and a reference communication time indicating a time required for communication with the printer. And a driver program for causing the computer to execute the determination process of determining whether or not it is determined.   The driver program is the information included in the print instruction information, and the printer uses the driver program based on first information indicating whether the printer is a shared printer that receives the print data through an information processing apparatus. According to the fact that the printer is not a shared printer, it is determined that the start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by the preparation instruction information, and it is determined that the start of the pre-printing operation is not instructed according to the fact that the printer is the shared printer. The driver program according to claim 1, which causes the computer to execute the determination process.   The driver program is information included in the print instruction information, and based on second information indicating whether the printer is locally connected in a one-to-one correspondence with the printer or connected to a network. The driver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driver makes the computer execute the determination process of determining start of the pre-printing operation according to the preparation instruction information according to determining that the computer is locally connected. program.   The driver program is wire-connected to or wirelessly connected to the printer based on the second information in response to determining that the printer is connected to the printer through the network based on the second information. (S117), and it is determined that the start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by the preparation instruction information according to the determination that the wired connection is established, and the determination is made that the wireless connection is established. 4. The driver program according to claim 3, causing the computer to execute the determination process of determining that the start of the pre-printing operation is not instructed. The driver program is
The printer transmits, to the printer, first request information requesting transmission of a recovery time indicating a time until the printer returns to the standby state after the printer performs the pre-printing operation and shifts from the standby state to the print executable state. Acquisition processing for acquiring the return time;
In response to acceptance of the print instruction information in the print instruction acceptance process, the printer transmits second request information requesting return of a response to the printer, transmits the second request information, and then transmits the response. Generating third information requesting measurement of the reference communication time, which is the time until reception, and outputting the third information to the OS;
After the output of the third information, the reference communication time is acquired from the OS,
It is determined whether a time corresponding to the acquired reference communication time is less than the recovery time acquired by the acquisition process,
It is determined that the start of the pre-printing operation is instructed by the preparation instruction information according to the fact that the time corresponding to the reference communication time is less than the return time,
The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination processing is performed to determine that the start of the pre-printing operation is not instructed according to the time corresponding to the reference communication time being equal to or longer than the recovery time. Driver program described. The driver program is
Whether the printer is the shared printer based on first information which is information included in the print instruction information and which indicates whether the printer is the shared printer that receives the print data through the information processing apparatus Judge whether or not
According to the fact that the printer is determined to be the shared printer and the pre-print operation is instructed in the determination process, and it is determined that the printer is locally connected to the printer in a one-to-one correspondence. Outputting the preparation instruction information to the OS, and transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer via the OS;
If the printer determines that the printer is not the shared printer and instructs the pre-print operation, the determination processing determines that the printer and the network are connected to the network, the preparation is made. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the preparation instruction process of generating transmission information including instruction information and a transmission address of the printer and transmitting the generated transmission information to the printer through the communication interface is executed by the computer. Driver program. The driver program is
A first object that receives a setting as to whether or not to transmit the preparation instruction information when the printer and the computer are connected via USB;
A second object that receives a setting as to whether or not to transmit the preparation instruction information when the printer and the computer are connected via a wired LAN;
A display process for causing a display of the computer to display a setting screen including a third object that receives a setting as to whether or not to transmit the preparation instruction information when the printer and the computer are connected by wireless LAN When,
The driver program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, causing the computer to execute the determination process based on user settings using the first object, the second object, and the third object. A computer comprising a communication interface and a controller,
First generation processing for generating print instruction information including a print instruction indicating that an instruction for causing a printer to execute a print operation has been input by a user;
Whether the start of the pre-printing operation, which is an operation to be executed by the printer, is instructed by the preparation instruction information which is information transmitted to the printer prior to the instruction of the printing operation before the printing operation. Judgment processing to judge
A preparation instruction process of transmitting the preparation instruction information to the printer through the communication interface according to the determination in the determination process that the pre-printing operation is instructed;
The print data to be the target of the print operation is generated based on the content data specified by the user according to the judgment made in the determination processing when instructing the pre-printing operation and the execution of the preparation instruction processing. 2 generation processing,
Executing a print execution instruction process of transmitting print instruction information, which is information for instructing execution of the print operation on the print data generated in the second generation process, to the printer through the communication interface;
The controller uses at least one of information included in the print instruction information generated in the first generation process and a reference communication time indicating a time required for communication with the printer to start the pre-printing operation. A computer that executes the determination process of determining whether or not to instruct based on the preparation instruction information.

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