JP3241902B2 - Print control device and print control method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a host computer
Interface driver that handles the communication protocol between
Printers on the host computer
Print control device and print control method capable of processing a plurality of control languages
It is about the law .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus is configured to support a plurality of types of printer control languages and a plurality of communication protocols.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, even if a plurality of types of printer control languages and a plurality of communication protocols are supported, the switching of the printer control language and the control processing section of the communication protocol are linked. When a printer control language that operates is specified, only the control processing unit of the communication protocol that is compatible with the printer control language can be operated. The host computer or network could not be connected, and the printing process could not be performed.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a user can operate the printer control language independently of the printer control language.
It must be possible to specify a working interface driver.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print control apparatus and a print control method capable of performing print processing by being connected to a host computer or a network having various communication protocols.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of interface drivers for processing a communication protocol with a host computer can be used, and a plurality of printer control languages of the host computer can be processed. a Do print control apparatus, and language selection means for selecting whether to process any of a printer control language, the user
An operation to specify the operating interface driver
Operating means and a printer selected by the language selecting means
Regardless control language, select the specified <br/> interface driver in the operating means, and having a driver selection means Ru is operated. In addition, the present invention
Handles the communication protocol with the host computer
Multiple interface drivers can be used.
That can process multiple printer control languages
Printer control device that processes any printer control language
Language selection means for selecting whether to
Command to specify the interface driver from the host computer
Command receiving means for receiving the command from the
Regardless of the printer control language selected,
The interface specified in the instruction received by the stage
Driver selection means for selecting and operating the interface driver
And characterized in that:

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus capable of using a plurality of interface drivers for processing a communication protocol with a host computer and capable of processing a plurality of printer control languages of the host computer. a printing control method in the printing system
The control device is an interface driver operated by the user
The print control method, comprising an operation means for designating
Includes language selection step of selecting whether to process any of a printer control language, regardless of the printer control language selected in the language selection step, before SL operating means
Select the specified interface driver and run
And having a driver selection step that allowed. Further, the present invention provides communication between a host computer and a computer.
Multiple interface drivers that handle the protocol
Can be used to control the printer control language of the host computer.
A print control method in a print control device capable of performing a plurality of processes.
Select which printer control language to process.
Language selection step and working interface driver
Command from the host computer
The command is selected in the instruction receiving step and the language selecting step.
Said command receiving step regardless of the printer control language
Interface specified in the instruction received at
A driver selection step for selecting and operating a driver
It is characterized by having.

[0007]

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the figure, 100
Reference numeral denotes a printing apparatus main body, which is roughly divided into two sections and includes a controller section 110 and an engine section 120. The controller unit 110 receives print data, control commands, and the like from the outside, creates bitmap information according to the print data,
The information is transferred to the engine unit 120 as a video signal. The engine unit 120 receives the above-described video signal from the controller unit 110, and forms the signal on the paper as a visible image. Further, the controller unit 110 communicates with the engine unit 120, communicates the state of the engine unit 120 to the outside, and also controls the engine unit 120 as a whole.

As shown in FIG.
Are the host interface 111, CPU 112, R
AM113, ROM114, video interface 1
15, an operation panel 116, a card 117, a card slot 118, and a data bus 119. The host interface 111 transmits and receives data to and from an external device (for example, a host computer or a network). C
The PU 112 controls the entire apparatus, analyzes print data, and creates bitmap information. The RAM 113 is used for temporary information storage such as storage of data sent from outside, storage of bitmap information, storage of various registration data, and use as a work area for information processing. R
The OM 114 stores programs executed by the CPU 112, various printer control languages, interface drivers corresponding to the printer control languages, font information, and the like.

[0010] The video interface 115 transmits and receives data to and from the engine unit 120. The operation panel 116 includes keys and a display unit for setting / changing / displaying parameters of the printing environment. The card 117 is a removable external storage device, and holds various information such as character pattern data, print form data, and various programs. Actual devices corresponding to the card 117 include a ROM and a hard disk. The card slot 118 is a connection device for detachably connecting the card 117 and transmitting and receiving information. Data exchanged inside the controller unit 110 flows through the data bus 119.

The control in this embodiment having the above configuration is as follows.
This will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the host computer A that outputs the printer control language A performs communication processing using the communication protocol A, and an interface driver A that can process the communication protocol A exists in the printing apparatus. Further, it is assumed that the host computer B that outputs the printer control language B performs a communication process using the communication protocol B, and an interface driver B that can process the communication protocol B also exists in the printing apparatus.

In the present embodiment, the type of the printer control language operated from the operation panel 116 is switched, and the type of the operating printer control language and the type of the operating interface driver can be set independently. explain. First, in step S21, when the user of the printing apparatus operates the operation panel 116 to specify the type of the printer control language to be operated, the process proceeds to step S2.
Proceed to 2. In this example, it is assumed that the printer control language A is specified.

In step S22, the RAM 11 is operated so that the printer control language specified in step S21 operates.
Then, the contents of the printer control language management table defined in 3 are rewritten, and the process proceeds to step S23. In this example, since the printer control language A is specified in step S21, the printer control language A is set to operate in the printer control language management table.

Next, in step S23, when the user of the printing apparatus operates the operation panel 116 to specify the type of interface driver to be operated, the process proceeds to step S24. In this example, it is assumed that the interface driver B is specified. Then, step S2
In step 4, the host interface 111 is set so that the interface driver corresponding to the interface driver specified in step S23 operates.
In this example, since the interface driver B is specified in step S23, the interface driver B is set to operate.

By performing such control, it is possible to communicate with the host computer B which outputs the printer control language A, for example, using the communication protocol B.
Of course, the reverse can also be specified. Further, in the present embodiment, a method in which the user of the printing apparatus operates the operation panel 116 has been described as a method of designating and switching the type of interface driver to be operated. It is also possible to switch the type.

As described above, the present invention is applicable to a case where the type of interface driver that operates in various ways is switched. <Modification 1> In the above-described embodiment, the number of printer control languages and the number of interface drivers existing in the printing apparatus are the same, but a modification 1 will be described in which the number is different. In the following description, it is assumed that there is a host C that uses the communication protocol C in addition to the components of the above-described embodiment, and that an interface driver C exists in the printing apparatus.

The control flow is exactly the same as that described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. According to the flow of this processing, it is assumed that the printer control language A or B is selected as the printer control language, and that the interface driver C is selected as the interface driver. Will be able to do it.

In the first modification, the description has been made assuming that only the interface driver C exists as an interface driver that does not correspond to the printer control language. The invention is applicable. <Modification 2> In the above-described embodiment, the interface driver always exists in the printing apparatus from the beginning, but a new interface driver can be registered in the printing apparatus from the host computer using the printer control language. It is possible. For example, an interface driver D newly corresponding to the communication protocol D is registered in the printing apparatus from the host computer using data communication, and the interface driver D is selected so as to operate by the above-described method.

By performing such control, the printing apparatus can be connected to a host computer that newly communicates with the communication protocol D. The number of types of interface drivers that can be newly registered from the host computer is not limited, and the present invention can be applied to any number of types. <Modification 3> In order to make a new interface driver function, a control program for the interface driver unit is stored in the card 117,
The information can also be used via the card slot 118.

For example, an interface driver E corresponding to the communication protocol E is stored in the card 117, and the information is controlled to be used via the card slot 118. Then, it is possible to select the interface driver E to operate in the manner described above. By performing such control, the printing apparatus can be connected to a host computer that newly communicates with the communication protocol E.

The card 117 and the card slot 11
8 is described as one, but the present invention is applicable to any number of them. <Modification 4> In the above-described embodiment, a host computer has been described as an example of an external device that communicates via the host interface 111. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where communication is performed via a network environment. is there.

<Modification 5> In the above-described embodiment, the type of the host interface 111 is not specifically described, but the present invention is applicable to any host interface. <Modification 6> In the above-described embodiment, the communication protocol is not specifically described, but the present invention is applicable to any communication protocol.

<Modification 7> In the above embodiment, the number of printer control languages that can be processed has been described as two. However, the present invention is applicable to any number of printer control languages that need to be processed. Applicable. As described above, the interface driver that processes the communication protocol can be freely switched, and the RO can be changed later.
By supplying in the form of an M card, it is possible to support various communication protocols and connect to many types of host computers and networks.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An interface operated by the user regardless of the printer control language.
By enabling the designation of the interface driver, it becomes possible to connect to a host computer or a network having various communication protocols and perform print processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 printing apparatus main body 110 controller unit 120 engine unit 111 host interface 112 CPU 113 RAM 114 ROM 115 video interface 116 operation panel 117 card 118 card slot

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-328934 (JP, A) JP-A-5-41726 (JP, A) JP-A-4-148320 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 287883 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print control device capable of using a plurality of interface drivers for processing a communication protocol with a host computer and capable of processing a plurality of printer control languages of the host computer. Language selection means for selecting the user and the interface driver that the user operates
And operating means for, regardless of the printer control language selected by the language selection means to select the interferon <br/> Eisudoraiba specified in the operating means, that it has a driver selection means Ru is operated Characteristic print control device. 2. A communication protocol for communicating with a host computer.
Can use multiple interface drivers to handle cols
Process multiple host computer printer control languages.
A sense a printing control device, to select whether to process any of a printer control language Language
The selection means and the instruction to specify the operating interface driver
Command receiving means for receiving from a computer for controlling the printer, and a printer control language selected by the language selecting means.
Regardless of the command received by the command receiving means,
Select the specified interface driver and
And a driver selecting means for causing the printer to operate. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a registration unit that receives and registers the interface driver from outside. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driver selecting means selects an interface driver stored in an external storage device detachably connected.
The print control device according to any one of the above. 5. A print control method in a print control device capable of using a plurality of interface drivers for processing a communication protocol with a host computer and capable of processing a plurality of printer control languages of the host computer, the print control device comprising: Is the interface where the user operates.
Operating means for designating a printer driver, wherein the print control method comprises: a language selecting step of selecting which printer control language is to be processed; irrespective of the printer control language selected in the language selecting step. selects interferon <br/> Eisudoraiba specified in the previous SL operation means, printing control method, characterized in that it comprises a driver selection step of Ru is operated. 6. A communication protocol for communicating with a host computer.
Can use multiple interface drivers to handle cols
Process multiple host computer printer control languages.
Print control method in a print control device , wherein a language for selecting which printer control language is to be processed is provided.
Select a step and specify the interface driver to operate.
Receiving a command received from the computer, and the printer control language selected in the language selecting step.
Regardless of the command received in the command receiving step,
Select the specified interface driver and
And a driver selecting step of making the print control. 7. The print control method according to claim 5, further comprising a registration step of receiving and registering the interface driver from outside. 8. The print control method according to claim 5, wherein the driver selecting step selects an interface driver stored in an external storage device detachably connected.