JP3305874B2 - Network printer and communication system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network printer and a communication system, and more particularly, to a network printer having only a printer function or a copy function or a facsimile function. The present invention relates to a network printer and a communication system capable of easily performing various function settings without having to feel troublesome when performing settings.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a network printer having only a printer function or a facsimile function or a copy function is generally configured to set various functions mainly by inputting various keys on an operation panel of a main body. ing. Next, conventionally, for connection of a network printer to which a workstation or the like is connected via a network,
As shown in Fig. 5, multiple printers are connected in parallel using the output port of the workstation (Centronics).
An interface and a serial (RS232C) interface, and a direct connection on a network as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, there are a plurality of codes handled on a workstation, and even if the same code system is used, there are cases where details differ. When printing in an environment where these are mixed, it is usually necessary to prepare at least one printer corresponding to each code system, or to match the printer code system through a filter.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional network printer, various functions must be set by inputting various keys on an operation panel of the main body. For,
There is a problem that the user may feel troublesome and difficult to perform maintenance.

Conventionally, in a workplace where a plurality of network printers have been installed, in order to perform various complicated function settings, various keys of an operation panel of a main body are mainly input for each device. As described above, there is a problem that, similarly to the above, the user may feel troublesome, and it is difficult to perform centralized management. Next, in the above-described conventional network printer shown in FIG. 5, a filter can be passed through a connected workstation, but in the above-described conventional network printer shown in FIG. 6, the filter is built in the printer. Because it has only filters, it is necessary to use a method of dropping each file into a file before printing, printing it through a filter, and then outputting it to a printer in order to perform necessary conversion for various function settings. There was a problem that I could feel.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when setting various functions of one printer, it is possible to easily perform maintenance by performing various function settings without feeling troublesome, and to perform various functions of a plurality of printers. A network that can easily perform centralized management by performing various function settings without feeling cumbersome, and can easily perform conversion processing for various function settings without feeling cumbersome. It is an object to provide a printer and a communication system.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a network printer to which a terminal is connected via a network, a receiving means for receiving various function setting files designated and transmitted by the terminal, and various received functions. Setting means for setting various functions based on the setting file.

The present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned invention has a facsimile function. The present invention relates to a network in which terminals are connected via a network.
In the printer, the specified terminal sends
Receiving means for receiving various function setting files,
Various function settings based on the various function setting files
Invention, a facsimile having setting means for performing
The invention according to any of the inventions having a similiar function, characterized by having a copy function. In the present invention, a terminal is connected via a network.
In a network printer, specify
Receiver to receive the transmitted various function setting files
And various settings based on the received various function setting files.
And setting means for setting functions.
Invention, characterized by having a facsimile function,
In any one of the inventions having a copy function, the various function setting file is at least one of a printer, a facsimile, and a copy. It is a feature.

[0009] The present invention is characterized in that, in the plurality of the above inventions, a network printer is connected to one of the terminals. The present invention relates to a network printer connected to a terminal via a network, a receiving unit for receiving information transmitted from the terminal, and a filter for converting the information transmitted from the terminal into information for setting various functions. Storage means for storing information, and conversion means for reading out filter information corresponding to the received information from the storage means and converting received information into information for setting various functions based on the read out filter information. It is a feature.

According to the present invention, a terminal is connected via a network.
In the connected network printer, from the terminal
Receiving means for receiving the transmitted information; and
To convert the information to be transmitted into information for setting various functions
Storage means for storing filter information, and
Reading the corresponding filter information from the storage means,
Based on the read filter information, the received information is
Conversion means for performing conversion processing to type function setting information.
In the above, the filter information is downloaded from the terminal. The present invention
A network device connected to a terminal via a network
The linter receives the information sent from the terminal
Receiving means for transmitting the information transmitted from the terminal to various devices.
Stores filter information for conversion to function setting information
Storage means and filter information corresponding to the received information
From the storage means, and the read filter
-Converts received information to information for setting various functions based on information
In the invention having conversion means for processing , the filter information is downloaded from an IC card. The present invention is implemented via a network
In a network printer to which a terminal is connected,
Receiving means for receiving information transmitted from the terminal,
Converts information sent from the terminal to information for setting various functions
Storage means for storing filter information for
Filter information corresponding to the read information from the storage means.
And receive based on the read filter information
Conversion means for converting information into various function setting information.
In the invention having the above, the filter information is composed of a simple language.

[0011]

According to the present invention, various functions are set based on the information of the various function setting files designated and transmitted by the terminal. Therefore, when various functions are set for one printer, a conventional operation panel is used. It is possible to easily perform various function settings without any inconvenience compared to a case where various complicated settings are performed by operating the keys or the like, and to easily perform maintenance.

According to the present invention, since the network printer is configured to have a facsimile function, various facsimile function settings can be performed based on information of a facsimile various function setting file specified and transmitted from the terminal. Therefore, similarly to the above-described invention , various facsimile function settings can be performed easily without inconvenience, and maintenance can be easily performed, compared to the case where various complicated settings are performed by operating the keys of the conventional operation panel. It can be carried out.

In the present invention, since the network printer is configured to have a copy function, various copy function settings can be made based on information of various copy function setting files designated and transmitted from the terminal. So on
Similar to the invention described above, it is possible to easily perform various function settings for copying without feeling inconvenience and to easily perform maintenance, as compared with the case where various complicated settings are performed by operating the keys of the conventional operation panel and the like. be able to.

In the present invention, since the various function setting files are configured to be at least one of various function setting files of printer, facsimile and copy, various function settings of print, facsimile and copy are set. As in the above invention , it can be easily performed.
In the present invention, a communication system in which a plurality of the printers are connected to a single terminal via a network is configured. Various print, copy, and facsimile function settings of the printer can be easily performed on a single host computer without inconvenience, and centralized management can be performed.

In the present invention, filter information for converting information transmitted from the terminal into information for setting various functions is stored in the storage means in advance, and the filter information corresponding to the received information is read out from the storage means. Since the reception information is converted into various function setting information based on the read filter information, the reception information is converted into various function setting information based on the filter information stored in advance. Therefore, the conversion processing for setting various functions can be easily performed without feeling cumbersome, as compared with the conventional case where a file is dropped into a single file and then passed through a filter.

In the present invention, since the filter information is configured to be downloaded from the terminal, a cross-development environment on the terminal can be constructed, so that a filter that is not supplied from the manufacturer can be developed. . In the present invention, since the filter information is configured to be downloaded from the magnetic card, the R
AM memory capacity can be saved.

According to the present invention, since the filter information is configured in a simple language and stored in the printer, the filter can be easily input from the operation panel and the filter can be input without purchasing a special development environment or a card. Can be created.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a network printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the network printer shown in FIG. The network printer according to the present embodiment has a CPU 1 for controlling the entire apparatus, and a ROM 2 for storing programs necessary for operating the printer.
And a RAM 3 for temporarily storing data for managing the system. When the network printer receives a control code for normal printer operation transmitted from the host computer 5 through the host I / F 4 such as Centro or RS232C, it operates the printer engine I / F 6 based on the received control code. Then, the printing operation of the normal printer is performed.

The network printer performs a predetermined printing operation by operating the printer engine I / F 6 based on print information transmitted from the host computer 8 through the network I / F 7. The network I /
F7: Appletalk, TCP / IP, IPX /
By using various protocols such as SPX, UNIX
It is connected to a host computer 8 such as a workstation or a personal computer.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the setting change of the operation mode, character type, page format, etc. is performed by the operation panel 9 controlled by the operation panel control circuit 11.
The changes made on the operation panel 9 are changed to NVRA
The data is stored in an NVRAM (nonvolatile memory) 10 controlled by the M control circuit 12. Then, the setting of the network printer is changed on the operation panel 9 and the NVRAM 10 is changed.
The printing operation is performed based on the information stored in.

In this embodiment, the operation panel 9
To change the print conditions and the like, store the changed information in the NVRAM 10, and set the printer mode. Further, through the network I / F 7 of the printer, a file designated and transmitted from the host computer 8 for setting change such as an operation mode, a character type and a page format on the host computer 8 is transmitted.
As shown in FIG. 2, the file is converted into a format for the NVRAM 10 by the file conversion circuit 14 through the communication control circuit 13 and stored in the NVRAM 10.

Then, the network printer
Based on the information stored in the NVRAM 10, the printing operation is performed by changing the setting of the printing conditions and the like. Thus, various setting changes are made on the host computer 8 through the network I / F 7. In this case, on the host computer 8,
Since the file can be handled as a normal ASCII file,
Editing with an editor or the like is possible.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a file transfer sequence of the network printer shown in FIG. First,
At the time of starting the printer, the host computer 8 fetches a file from the host computer 8 into the NVRAM 10 through the network I / F 7, and when updating the file at the printer, the file is transferred from the NVRAM 10 of the printer to the host computer 8. When updating a file on the host computer 8, the file is transferred from the host computer 8 to the NVRAM 10 of the printer via the network I / F 7.

As described above, in this embodiment, various functions of the printer are set on the basis of the information of the various function setting files of the printer designated and transmitted by the host computer 8. The user can easily set various functions of the printer without feeling troublesome, and can easily perform maintenance, as compared with the case where various complicated settings are performed by operating the keys or the like.

In the above embodiment, a description has been given of the case of a network printer having only a printer function from the host computer 8 through the network I / F 7 for setting various printer functions. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the present invention can be applied to a network printer having a facsimile function and a copy function. In the former case of a network printer having a facsimile function, various facsimile function settings, such as telephone directory data, are designated by the host computer 8 and transmitted through the network I / F 7 to transmit the NVRAM 1.
0 may be stored so as to perform various function settings. In the latter case of a network printer having a copy function, various function settings for copying are designated by the host computer 8, transmitted via the network I / F 7, stored in the NVRAM 10, and various function settings are performed. I just need. In any case, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the case where various functions of one printer are set for one host computer 8 connected to the network I / F 7 has been described.
In the present invention, if a communication system in which a plurality of printers are connected to one host computer 8 via a network is configured, a plurality of printers may be provided on one host computer 8 by storing the files described above. Various functions such as printing, copying, and facsimile of one network printer can be easily set on a single host computer without inconvenience, and centralized management can be performed.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 shows Embodiment 2 according to the present invention.
1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a network printer. Printer filters on the network are specified for each printer name. The network printer registers in advance in the storage unit 21 a filter program for converting information transmitted from a workstation corresponding to the printer name and the printer name via the network into information for setting various functions. Then, information transmitted from the workstation is received, a filter program corresponding to the received information is read from the storage unit 21, and the received information is converted into various function setting information by the emulation unit 22 based on the read filter program. After the conversion processing, the printing conditions and the like are changed by the engine control unit 23 based on the converted information, and the printing operation is performed.
In this case, not only one pair of the filter program and the printer name registered in the storage unit 21 but also a plurality of pairs can be registered, and it looks as if the printers are connected by that number.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the filter program transmitted from the workstation through the network is registered in the storage unit 21, and the filter program corresponding to the reception information received from the workstation is stored in the storage unit 21. , And converts the received information into various function setting information by the emulation control unit 22 based on the read filter program.
Since the printing operation is performed by changing the printing conditions and the like by the engine control unit 23 based on the information obtained by the conversion processing, the necessary conversion processing can be easily performed without feeling troublesome.

In this embodiment , since the filter program and the printer name are downloaded from the workstation through the network, a cross development environment on the workstation can be constructed. Can be developed. If a printer interpreter is provided on the printer side, a special development environment is not required.

In the second embodiment, a case has been described in which the filter program and the printer name are configured to be downloaded from a workstation via a network. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be configured to be supplied from an IC card such as an emulation program. In this case, the memory capacity of the RAM to be downloaded can be saved.

The printer name may be specified from the operation panel, or may be determined for each filter program and registered in the IC card. However, the printer name may not be the same as the other printers. Also, in the present invention, the filter program is not downloaded from a workstation or an IC card, but is provided with a simple language interpreter in the printer. It may be configured to register directly from.

[0032]

According to the present invention, when setting various functions of a single printer, it is possible to easily perform maintenance by setting various functions without feeling troublesome, and to set a plurality of printers. When performing various function settings, it is possible to easily perform centralized management by performing various function settings without feeling troublesome, and to easily perform conversion processing for various function settings without feeling troublesome. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a network printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the network printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a file transfer sequence of the network printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a network printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of connecting a printer in a workstation connected to a network.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of connecting a printer in a workstation connected to a network.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Host I / F 5, 8 Host computer 6 Printer engine 7 Network I / F 9 Operation panel 10 NVRAM 11 Operation panel control circuit 12 NVRAM control circuit 13 Communication control circuit 14 File conversion circuit 21 Storage unit 22 Emulation unit 23 Engine control unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-6-110627 (JP, A) JP-A-5-124311 (JP, A) JP-A-6-110625 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 286280 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A small number of facsimile functions and copy functions are provided.
A complex function consisting of at least one function and a printer function
And connected directly to the network,
In a network printer connected to a terminal via a network, the content includes only information for setting the various functions,
Receive and record the setting change file specified in
A receiving storage means for憶, the setting change for the file stored in the receiving storage means
To a file for network printer
File conversion means, and for changing the setting converted by the file conversion means.
A network printer comprising: setting means for performing a function setting by changing only items necessary for setting the various functions based on a file . 2. A communication system, wherein a plurality of network printers according to claim 1 are connected to one terminal. 3. A network printer connected to a terminal via a network, a receiving unit for receiving information transmitted from the terminal, and a device for converting information transmitted from the terminal into information for setting various functions. Storage means for storing filter information, and conversion means for reading out filter information corresponding to the received information from the storage means and converting received information into various function setting information based on the read out filter information. And a network printer. 4. The network printer according to claim 6, wherein the filter information is downloaded from the terminal. 5. The network printer according to claim 6, wherein the filter information is downloaded from an IC card. 6. The network printer according to claim 6, wherein the filter information is in a simple language.