JP2885951B2 - Print control device and control program selection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print control apparatus and a control program selection method, and more particularly, to a print control apparatus for receiving and analyzing print data and printing output data in a printing section, and analyzing the print data to obtain output data. The present invention relates to a method for selecting a control program to be generated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent devices of this type, a removable program storage medium is prepared in addition to a built-in first control program, and a second control program having an operation different from that of the first control program is stored in the medium. Some programs are stored in the program storage medium and can be used by switching to a built-in program.

In particular, most of the second control program is a program for judging and executing (so-called emulating) data having a command system different from that of the first control program. By using the second control program, it becomes possible to use the existing application program on the host side, which has not been able to use the recording apparatus, without any modification. For example,
This makes it possible to balance the new high-function type command system of the first control program with the low-function but conventionally used command system.

[0004]

In the above conventional example,
When recording and printing based on data that conforms to the second command system supported by the second control program,
In advance, the host computer first sends a switching command of the control program, and then sends data of the second command system to the recording device.

However, since the storage medium storing the second control program is detachable, the storage medium storing the third control program that supports the third command system contrary to the intention is stored in the printing apparatus. Let's assume that it is attached to In this case, the command system supported by the control program stored in the removable storage medium does not match the command system of the print data sent from the host computer, and a desired print cannot be obtained. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and ensures that a correct control program is reliably selected by selecting and executing a corresponding control program according to a control program designating code. If the control program to be selected does not exist, a print control apparatus and a control program for not performing processing on print data received from the subsequent print data until the next control program designation code is received. It seeks to provide a way.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, for example, a print control apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, the printing control apparatus can be provided with a plurality of control programs, analyzes print data received from an external device by one of the plurality of control programs, generates output data, and prints the output data at the printing unit. Receiving means for receiving print data including a control code, based on a control program designation code included in the print data,
Determining means for determining whether a corresponding control program exists from the plurality of control programs; and, when determining that the corresponding control program exists, selecting the control program. Run,
When the determination unit determines that the corresponding control program does not exist, the control unit skips print data received by the reception unit until a next control program designation code is received. Printing control device.

[0008]

In the configuration of the present invention, when it is determined that a control program corresponding to the control program designation code exists, the control program is selected and executed. If there is no corresponding control program, the print data received by the receiving unit is skipped until the next control program designation code is received.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, a laser beam printer will be described as an example of an image recording apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a laser beam printer according to an embodiment. In the figure, 100 is a laser beam printer, and 1000 is a host computer that is a source of recording data.

The laser beam printer 100 is roughly composed of a printing mechanism section 109 and a printing control section 101 which receives print data from the host computer 1000 and controls the printing mechanism section 109. Upon receiving the image signal, the printing mechanism unit 109 performs a series of printing processes of a laser beam printer, such as supply of a recording paper (recording medium), ON / OFF of a laser beam, transfer of an image to paper, and fixing. Here, it is assumed that the printing mechanism unit 109 has a known configuration, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Now, the configuration of the print control unit 101 of the laser beam printer 100 will be described below.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire apparatus. An input interface circuit 103 receives data from the host computer 1000 via the input signal line S11, and this circuit notifies the CPU 102 of the data reception. The input interface circuit 103 sends out various status information of the apparatus via the output signal line S12. 104 is a ROM,
First to realize the recording process of the first printer command system
(A program according to FIG. 6 to be described later), control information used by the first program, a character dot pattern, and the like. Reference numeral 105 denotes a RAM used by the control program.
It is used for an image memory area where bit map data is converted into a bit map image. 106 is a general 7 segment L
The display panel includes an ED, and is used by the CPU 102 to display various states. 107 is RA
An image signal generator for converting bit map image data for one page developed in the image memory area on the M105 into an image signal.
An image signal S22 is output to the printing mechanism unit 109 in synchronization with 21. 108, a print control unit 101 and a print mechanism unit 109
This is an output interface circuit that performs input and output between the input and output. 110 is a program cartridge 112 and control unit 1
The CPU 102 accesses the ROM on the program cartridge via this circuit, or senses the presence or absence of the program cartridge. The program cartridge 112 is a cartridge containing a ROM and a ROM circuit board composed of related elements as a cartridge. A second control program having a command system (which is a program for controlling the laser beam printer 100 as well as the first control program) is stored. One example is the flowchart of FIG.
The program cartridge 112 includes the print control unit 10.
The first cartridge connector 111 has a detachable structure, and can be replaced with another program cartridge storing the third control program.

Hereinafter, the first control program on the ROM 104 is program A, and the control program on the program cartridge 112 is program Bi (i = 1, 2,...).
Call.

FIG. 2 shows the program cartridge 11 described above.
Storage format 200 of program Bi stored in ROM
FIG. In this figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a program identification area for storing a program identification number.
A unique number is given according to the type of control program stored in four bytes (addresses 0 to 3) from the leading 0 number on M. Reference numeral 202 denotes a program area for storing an object code of the program Bi. Here, the program starts from the first four addresses of the ROM. An arbitrary program Bi can be stored in the program cartridge 12, one of which is shown in FIG. 7 (the program according to this flowchart is hereinafter referred to as a program Bj).

FIG. 3 shows a command format of one of the printer commands applied to the program A stored in the ROM 104 and instructing a transition from the program A to the program Bi on the program cartridge 112. .

This command format is a so-called escape sequence command system, and includes a control ESC (1B _H , H indicates a hexadecimal number) indicating the head of the command of 301.
A program identification number 302 is the program identification number of the program Bi to be migrated, and a command terminator “P” 303 is also defined (also serves as a command identification name representing a migration command).

When switching from the program A to the program Bi on the program cartridge 112 side, this command is transmitted from the host computer, and the command is analyzed by the program A.
The control is transferred to the program Bi on the server 12.

Hereinafter, these commands are collectively referred to as a cartridge transfer command 300.

FIG. 4 shows one of the printer commands applied to the program Bj as an example of the program Bi on the program cartridge 112.
It shows a command format of a command instructed to transfer control to the program A stored in the OM 104.
Incidentally, since this is to shift to the original program A stored in the ROM 104 in the main unit, it is hereinafter referred to as a main unit shift command.

Functionally, the command is the same as the command for shifting from the program A to the program Bi in FIG. 3, and has a format according to the command system in each program cartridge 112. Here, the command format is a text format, and 401 is a character code string “$%” of an identifier indicating the beginning of a command, and a command character string follows. Reference numeral 402 denotes a command character string “GOTONATIV” instructing a shift to program A.
E ", and the program Bj is the main body shift command 40
When 0 is detected, the processing is shifted to program A.

FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the main body transfer command table 500 prepared on the ROM 104.

As described above, a plurality of types of program cartridges 112 are detachable from the apparatus. The main body transfer command i in each command system of the program Bi (i = 1, 2,...) Stored in the program cartridge is stored in the ROM 104 of the print control unit 100. 6 is a migration command table 500. This table is composed of three elements 501, 502, and 503, where 501 is an identification number area in which the program identification number i of the program Bi on the program cartridge is set, and 502 is the length l _i (number of bytes) of the main body transfer command. Is a command length area in which is set, and 503 is a code area in which the code string of the body shift command i is inserted. A set of these three elements is prepared for various program cartridges to be provided, and constitutes a table 500. Reference numeral 504 denotes a set of an identification number area, a command length area, and a body shift command corresponding to a program Bj which is an example of the program Bi.

In the laser beam printer of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the control switching operation between the program A, which is a control program on the main body side, and the program Bj, which is a control program on the program cartridge side, are flow charts respectively. This will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the operation of the program A stored in the ROM 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the apparatus is powered on, step S
At 601, a program initialization process is performed, and step S 6 is performed.
In step 02, the input interface circuit 103 is checked to enter a state of waiting for input data from the host computer 1000.

If the data is received, step S603
Then, the input data is extracted from the input interface circuit and the data is analyzed. Here, it is discriminated whether the input data is a command or a character code. If the input data matches the cartridge transfer command 300 in FIG. 3, the flow branches to step S604 to branch to step S60 to be described later.
Proceed to step 8 to enter the program switching process. In the case of other commands or character codes, step S60
The process proceeds to step 5, where a corresponding character dot pattern is selected from the ROM 104, and a dot pattern is developed in an image memory area on the RAM 105 to form an output page image. Then, the process proceeds to step S606, and steps S602 to S606 are repeated until data analysis for one page is completed. When the creation of the image for one page is completed, the process proceeds to step S607, where the information of the image memory area on the RAM 105 is sent to the image signal generator 107.
The printing mechanism 109 prints. Then, the process returns to step S602 to enter the process for the next page.

If the cartridge transfer command 300 is detected in step S604, step S608 is executed.
The process first proceeds to check whether the program cartridge is mounted. If it is attached, step S6
In step 09, it is checked whether the program identification number 302 specified by the cartridge transfer command 300 matches the program identification number set in the program identification area 201 on the program cartridge. Since Bi (here, the program Bj) exists, the program jumps to the beginning of the program area 202 on the program cartridge, and transfers control to the program Bj (that is, to step S701 described later) (step S610).

If it is determined in step S608 that no program cartridge is mounted,
If the program identification numbers do not match in 09, this indicates that the program Bi specified by the host computer does not exist, and the process proceeds to step S611 and subsequent steps.

First, in step S611, a warning mark is displayed on the display panel 106 as an error display.
A message indicating that the specified program Bj does not exist (an error code or the like may be displayed) is displayed. Next, in step S612, the dot pattern of each character constituting the error message is read from the ROM 104,
The image is developed in the image memory area and sent to the image signal generator 107 to print one page of the error message.

Now, on the host computer 1000 side,
After sending the command after the cartridge, the program Bj
Is transmitted. Therefore, first, in step S613, the program identification number 302 of the cartridge transfer command 300 detected in step S602.
The code string of the body shift command corresponding to
Take it out of In the present embodiment, the table element 504 corresponding to the program Bj is selected, and the code string “$% GOTONATIVE” of the body shift command is extracted.

Then, in the next step S614, similarly to step S602, reception of data from the host computer 1000 is waited. Then, in the next step S615, the received data is skipped until it is determined that the received data is the main body transfer command extracted earlier.

When the corresponding code string of the body migration command is detected, the host computer 100
0 means that data based on the command system corresponding to the program A is transmitted, so that the warning mark and the message on the display panel 106 are erased in step S616,
It returns to step S602.

Next, the processing contents of the program Bj on the program cartridge 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This processing is performed as described with reference to FIG.
When the apparatus receives the cartridge transfer command 300 while the apparatus is executing the program A in the ROM 104, the execution starts.

First, in step S701, the program Bj
The initialization process is performed as
Reset the state of the print control unit 100. next,
In step S702, reception of data from the host computer 1000 is waited.

When data has been received, step S
In step 703, data analysis of the input data is performed. Here, a command and a character code are distinguished as data analysis according to a command system supported by the program Bj. If the input data matches the main body transfer command 400 in FIG.
To program A on M104 (that is, in step S6
01), and control is transferred (step S708).

In the case of a dedicated command or a character code of the program Bj, the process proceeds to step S705, where the corresponding character pattern or the like is developed in the image memory area on the RAM 104, and from step S702 until the image of one page is formed in step S706. Step S706 is repeated. If the image of one page is completed, step S707
To the image signal generator 107
To print one page. Then, the process returns to step S702 to continue the processing for the next page.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
If the instructed second control program does not exist, the fact is displayed on the display panel, so that the user can be alerted.

Further, since an error message indicating that the designated control program does not exist is printed out, if there is this recording paper (or if the recording paper is sandwiched), there is no data which has not been recorded since then. It becomes possible to know what to do. Therefore, if this device is equipped with a timer that is backed up by a battery, and the time is printed when the error message is printed, even if the time has elapsed, it is possible to check that no data was printed after any time. It becomes possible to know.

In this embodiment, a warning mark and a message are displayed on the display panel as an informing means when there is no control program of the program identification number designated by the cartridge transfer command. Printing was performed, but the present invention is not limited thereby.

For example, the presence or absence of the designated control program may be transmitted to the host computer via the output signal S12. In this case, the host computer can first transmit a cartridge transfer command, wait for a response signal from the printer, and then transmit print data corresponding to a desired control program. Data transmission can be stopped. Therefore, the data skipping process on the printer side becomes unnecessary, and useless data transmission can be avoided.

Although the embodiment has been described by taking a laser beam printer as an example, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to this only according to the gist of the present invention.

In the embodiment, an example in which only one program cartridge can be mounted on the program cartridge 111 has been described. However, if a plurality of connectors are provided, it is possible to adapt to a plurality of command systems. At this time, in order to permit the transition from each program cartridge to the command system of another program cartridge, not only a command table for transition from each program Bi to the program A but also a table for a combination thereof is prepared. Then, for example, step S61 in FIG.
In step S3, a character string of a command that can be transferred from the designated program Bj is extracted. In step S615, it is determined whether any one of them is matched. If there is a match, it is sufficient to shift to that command system.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, by selecting and executing a corresponding control program according to a control program designating code, it is ensured that a correct control program is selected, and If the control program to be selected does not exist, it is possible to not perform processing on print data received from the subsequent print data until the next control program designation code is received. .

If the control program designated by the control program designation code does not exist, by displaying the fact on the operation panel, it can be confirmed that the print data being output from the external device is not printed. In addition, when the control program does not exist, by outputting to the external device, it becomes possible to stop the operator of the external device from outputting useless print data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a laser beam printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a storage format on a program cartridge in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a command format of a cartridge transfer command in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a command format of a main body transfer command in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of a main body transfer command table in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a program in the apparatus main body.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a program in a program cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 laser beam printer 101 print control unit 102 CPU 103 input interface circuit 104 ROM 105 RAM 106 display panel 107 image signal generator 108 output interface circuit 109 printing mechanism unit 110 cartridge interface circuit 111 cartridge connector 112 cartridge program 201 program identification Area 300 Cartridge transfer command format 400 Main unit transfer command format 500 Main unit transfer command table 1000 Host computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-64-64029 (JP, A) JP-A-1-180621 (JP, A) JP-A-4-43063 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 302815 (JP, A) JP-A-1-314177 (JP, A) JP-A-4-230514 (JP, A) JP-A-4-239315 (JP, A) JP-A-63-29393 (JP, A) JP-A-63-216756 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 5/30 B41J 29/38

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print control which can be provided with a plurality of control programs, analyzes print data received from an external device by one of the plurality of control programs, generates output data, and prints the output data in a printing unit. An apparatus, comprising: receiving means for receiving print data including a control code; and determining whether a corresponding control program is present from the plurality of control programs based on a control program designation code included in the print data. And a determining unit that determines that a corresponding control program exists. If the determining unit determines that the corresponding control program exists, the control unit selects and executes the control program. The determining unit determines that the corresponding control program does not exist. The print data received by the receiving means is skipped until the next control program designation code is received. Print control apparatus characterized by comprising a controls unit. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays a result of the determination by the determination unit on a display panel on the print control device. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit outputs a result of the determination by the determination unit to the external device. 4. The control program according to claim 1, wherein the control program designation code is a code for instructing a transition from the designated control program to another control program different from the control program. Print control device. 5. A print control which can be provided with a plurality of control programs, analyzes print data received from an external device by one of the plurality of control programs, generates output data, and prints the output data in a printing unit. A method of selecting a control program in an apparatus, comprising: determining whether a corresponding control program exists from the plurality of control programs based on a control program designation code in received print data; If it is determined that the control program is to be executed, the control program is selected and executed, and if it is determined that the corresponding control program does not exist, the print program to be received is received until the next control program designation code is received. A control program selection method characterized by skipping data. 6. The control panel according to claim 5, wherein a result of determining whether or not a control program specified by the control program specifying code exists is displayed on an operation panel provided on the print control apparatus. The control program selection method according to the paragraph. 7. The control program selection method according to claim 5, wherein a determination result as to whether or not a control program specified by the control program specification code is present is output to the external device. . 8. The control program according to claim 5, wherein the control program designation code is a code for instructing a transition from the designated control program to another control program different from the control program. Control program selection method.