JP4013718B2 - POS system and printer selection method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Each of a POS system that outputs data to a specific printer of a POS terminal device and a method of selecting a specific printer in a POS system in which a host computer and one or more POS terminal devices are connected via a communication line The present invention relates to a program for executing a process.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a POS system in which a printer of a plurality of POS terminal devices installed in each lane of a market and the host computer is connected by a dedicated line, printing is performed on a specific printer of the POS terminal device. When performing, a method for outputting the print data to all printers by adding a code for designating the specific printer or a method for outputting the print data by designating a port of the specific printer has been adopted.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described method, when print data is output to a plurality of printers, the host computer designates these printers. May output data.
[0004]
As a result, there is a problem in that a useless receipt is issued or a receipt is not issued to an operator who needs a print result.
[0005]
In this case, it is necessary to manage the absence of the operator of the printer that is the output destination of the print data by the host computer, which is a complicated system.
[0006]
Further, when the same print data is output to all the printers, there is a problem that unnecessary receipts are issued to unrelated operators and the paper is wasted.
[0007]
In this case, it is necessary for the host computer to perform solid-state management of the printer, and in a system using a plurality of printers of the same model, the printer management processing of the host computer becomes very complicated.
[0008]
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and notifies all printers that print data has been prepared, and then to a specific printer that has received a print request response. An object of the present invention is to provide a POS system capable of outputting necessary print data from a host computer and a printer selection method.
[0009]
Furthermore, there is provided a printer selection method that takes measures such as not generating a print instruction when there is no print request response from all printers and a timeout occurs.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A first embodiment of the present invention is a POS system including a host computer and a plurality of printers, and the host computer generates a print data generation unit that generates print data for the printer, and generates an LED blink command for the printer. A print standby command generation unit that performs the status monitoring unit that monitors the status from the printer, a print command generation unit that generates a print command for printing the print data, and transmits the print data and the print command to the printer. An LED control unit that causes the LED to blink and extinguish based on the LED blinking command and the LED extinguishing command from the host computer; , Including a change in the ON / OFF state of the panel switch of the printer. A status control unit that generates status, a data transmission unit that transmits status to the host computer, and a print data control unit that performs print processing based on print data and a print command from the host computer. When an ON status of the panel switch is received after transmitting an LED blink command to the printer, an LED extinguishing command is transmitted to the printer, and print data and a print command are transmitted to the printer that transmitted the ON status .
[0013]
In another embodiment of the present invention, after a host computer transmits an LED blink command, if a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving a panel switch ON status, printing is performed without transmitting print data and a print command to the printer. A predetermined process is performed to stop printing or to send print data and a print command to a specific printer for printing .
[0014]
Another embodiment of the present invention is a printer selection method in a POS system including a host computer and a plurality of printers ,
(A) a host computer generating print data for the printer ;
(B) the host computer, and transmitting the LED blinking command for the printer,
(C) the printer, and transmitting the status of the printer to the host computer,
(D) a host computer receiving a status from the printer;
(E) when the host computer receives an ON status of the panel switch from at least one of the printers , a step of transmitting an LED turn-off command to all the printers;
(F) the host computer, characterized by comprising the step of transmitting print data and print command for the printer that has transmitted the ON status, the.
[0015]
Another embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the step (b) transmits an LED blinking command having a different blinking pattern depending on the type of print data.
[0016]
According to another embodiment of the present invention, (g) after step (b), determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the ON status of the panel switch; and (h) step (g) ) when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, characterized in that and a step of performing predetermined processing or be printed on or specific printer to stop printing.
[0017]
Another embodiment of the present invention, the step (h), when to stop printing, and transmits the LED off command to all of the printers.
[0018]
In another embodiment of the present invention, when the step (h) causes a specific printer to print , the LED turn-off command is transmitted to all printers, and then the print data and the print command are transmitted to the specific printer. It is characterized by that.
[0019]
Another embodiment of the present invention is a program for executing each step of the printer selection method.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment described below is for description and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, those skilled in the art can employ embodiments in which each or all of these elements are replaced by equivalents thereof, and these embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a POS system. The system configuration example shown in FIG. 1 is a system including a plurality of POS terminal devices 11 to 11-n, a dedicated line 12 such as a USB, and a host computer 10 installed at a supermarket cash register having a plurality of lanes. is there.
[0022]
The host computer 10 of this POS system receives the purchased product name and purchaser information from the POS terminal device 11, transmits the customer information of the purchaser and the price information of the purchased product to the POS terminal device, and manages the status of the POS terminal device 11. Etc.
[0023]
The host computer 10 and each POS terminal device 11 are connected via a dedicated line hub 13.
[0024]
Further, the POS terminal device 11 includes a display device 14, a printer 15, and an input device 16. The printer 15 prints receipts, labels, and the like, and the display device 14 displays purchased product information and the like. The input device 16 includes a bar code scanner that reads a bar code of a product.
[0025]
FIG. 2 shows a system configuration used in a kitchen application, a numbered ticket issuing system at a bank counter, etc., in which a host computer 10 and a plurality of printers 15 are connected. For example, there is a system that issues serial numbers without duplicating numbers in a plurality of printers for issuing numbered tickets at a bank counter.
[0026]
Therefore, a system in which the printers operate in association with each other like the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a system that can effectively use the present invention.
[0027]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration of the printer.
[0028]
The printer 15 receives print document information and various command information from the host computer 10 via the communication interface 20, and transmits various status information to the host computer. The printer 15 also includes a panel board 25 on which a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a printing mechanism 24, an LED, a buzzer, a switch, and the like are arranged, and various sensors 26.
[0029]
The CPU 21 reads and executes necessary information from a ROM 22 that stores programs (including firmware) and data for realizing various functions of the printer 15. The RAM 23 also functions as a storage device for print data and data necessary for controlling each mechanism. Further, various sensors 26 such as a panel board 25, an error sensor, a cover open sensor, and the like are connected to the CPU 21, and the CPU 21 acquires detection results from these information generation sources.
[0030]
In addition, the printing mechanism 24 that involves physical operations such as conveyance, printing, and cutting of printing paper includes a print head, a motor, a cutter, and a print control circuit unit that drives these.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the POS system.
[0032]
FIG. 4 is an example of a functional block diagram showing the relationship between the host computer and the printer of one POS terminal device.
[0033]
The POS system of the present invention efficiently selects a specific printer from the printers of a plurality of POS terminals connected by a dedicated line under the management of the host computer 10 and supplies necessary print data to the printer. A system that transmits and provides information.
[0034]
The host computer 10 includes a host control unit 40 that performs overall data control and a printer selection processing unit 30. On the other hand, the printer 15 includes a printer control unit 50 that performs overall data control, a status control unit 60 that generates a printer status, an LED control unit 70, and a print data control unit 80.
[0035]
The configuration of the printer 15 will be described.
[0036]
The printer control unit 50 includes an interface 51, a data reception unit 52, a data transmission unit 53, and a reception data analysis unit 54.
[0037]
The printer control unit 50 transmits the printer status generated by the status control unit 60 from the data transmission unit 53 to the host computer 10 via the interface 51.
[0038]
In addition, the data reception unit 52 receives transmission data from the host computer 10 via the interface 51 and passes it to the reception data analysis unit 54. The reception data analysis unit 54 analyzes whether the reception data is command data or print data. If the command data is an LED control command, it is transferred to the LED control unit 70, and if it is a print command, it is transferred to the print control unit 81. If the received data is print data, the print data is stored in the print data storage unit 82.
[0039]
The LED control unit 70 controls blinking, extinguishing and lighting of the LED existing on the panel surface in accordance with a command from the host computer 10. The operator is notified by the blinking or lighting of the LED that the print data is ready. Further, the LED is turned off to notify the operator that print data has disappeared due to execution of printing in another printer, timeout, or the like.
[0040]
It is also possible to change the blinking pattern of the LED depending on the type of printing paper. For example, if the blinking pattern of the LED is changed between the receipt and the label, the selection of usable printers can be limited.
[0041]
That is, the receipt printer and the label printer can be managed simultaneously by changing the blinking pattern of the LED between the receipt data and the label data.
[0042]
In addition, although LED is used here, you may use another device. For example, a buzzer may be used, and the same effect as an LED can be obtained by generating and stopping an intermittent sound by the buzzer.
[0043]
The status control unit 60 includes a panel switch monitoring unit 61, a printer status monitoring unit 62, and a status generation unit 63.
[0044]
When the print data is prepared by the host computer 10 and the print standby command generation unit 31 generates an LED blink command and the LED on the panel surface blinks, the operator of the POS terminal device switches the panel surface in response to the print request. It is possible to press. In this case, the panel switch monitoring unit 61 monitors the ON / OFF state of the switch.
[0045]
The printer status monitoring unit 62 collects sensor information such as a paper detector, a remaining ink detector, a cover open / close, and the like, and information on whether or not a printer error has occurred, and monitors whether the printer is ready for printing.
[0046]
The status generation unit 63 generates printer status information from the information of the panel switch monitoring unit 61 and the printer status monitoring unit 62 and transfers the printer status information to the printer control unit 50.
[0047]
Next, the configuration of the host computer 10 will be described.
[0048]
The printer selection processing unit 30 of the host computer 10 includes a print standby command generation unit 31, a print standby release command generation unit 32, a print data generation unit 33, and a print command generation unit 34.
[0049]
Here, the printer selection processing unit 30 specifies and selects a printer to which various commands and print data are to be transmitted. Note that the number of specific printers is not necessarily one, and may be plural.
[0050]
The print standby command generation unit 31 generates a blinking command for LEDs provided on the panel surface of the printer 15 when the print data generation unit 33 completes the print data. That is, it is a command for blinking the LED of the printer 15 to notify the operator that the print data is ready.
[0051]
When the switch on the panel surface of the printer 15 is pressed, or when a predetermined time elapses without a switch being pressed for all the printers, the print standby release command generation unit 32 A command to turn off the LED of the printer and turn it off is generated. That is, it is a command for turning off the LED of the printer 15 to notify the operator that the print data has disappeared.
[0052]
Further, the print command generation unit 34 generates a print command for printing the print data prepared by the print data generation unit 33.
[0053]
The host control unit 40 of the host computer 10 includes an interface 41 with the printer 15, a data transmission unit 42, a data reception unit 43, a received data analysis unit 44, a timeout processing unit 45 and a status monitoring unit 46.
[0054]
The data transmission unit 42 transmits the print data and various commands generated by the printer selection processing unit 30 to the printer via the interface 41.
[0055]
The data receiving unit 43 receives the status from the printer 15, and the received data analyzing unit 44 analyzes what kind of status it is and passes information to each unit.
[0056]
The status monitoring unit 46 changes the status of the printer due to an ASB (Automatic Status Back) status from the printer 15 and other statuses (paper presence, no ink, cover open / close, etc.), BUSY / READY status based on interface signals, and panel It also monitors changes in the ON / OFF state of the switch. These pieces of information are passed to the printer selection processing unit 30.
[0057]
The ON / OFF state change of the panel switch is used for the command generation processing of the print standby release command generation unit 32 and the print command generation unit 34.
[0058]
Further, when the printer is unusable, the printer selection processing unit 30 can easily exclude the unusable printer process from the printer state change. As a result, it is possible to reduce processing time without performing extra processing related to an unusable printer.
[0059]
The time-out processing unit 45, after instructing the printer 15 to blink the LED of the printer 15 by the print standby command generating unit 31, cannot receive a change in the state of the printer panel switch ON even after a predetermined time has elapsed, and has timed out. Then, it is determined whether to forcibly print to a predetermined printer or to cancel printing, and the determination result is passed to the printer selection processing unit 30.
[0060]
According to the time-out processing unit 45, even if the printer 15 is operating normally or the switch on the panel surface is not pressed due to the absence of the operator, the system can proceed to the next process, so that the efficiency of the system can be improved. Good system operation is possible.
[0061]
In this way, even when the printer of the POS terminal apparatus and the host computer are installed at a distance, print data can be output to the printer of the POS terminal apparatus designated by the operator.
[0062]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of the host computer.
[0063]
First, the host computer 10 generates print data for the printers 15 to 15-n of the POS terminal device (S100).
[0064]
Next, it is determined whether the number of operable printers is one or more based on the status indicating the status of the printer (S101), and if more than one (S101; n> 1), In order to notify the printer that the print data is ready, an LED blinking command is output to all operable printers (S102). On the other hand, if there is one active printer (S101; n = 1), the process proceeds to step S106.
[0065]
Next, status confirmation processing from the printer is performed (S103). Here, it is determined whether or not the panel switch has been pressed based on the status from the printer (S104). As a result of the determination, if it is recognized that the panel switch has been pressed (S104; Yes), in step S102, an LED extinguishing output is output to all printers in order to cancel the output LED blinking (S105).
[0066]
Next, based on the printer status, it is determined which printer's panel switch has been pressed, and a specific printer as a print output destination is selected (S106). If the number of active printers is one in step S101, the output destination printer selects this one printer as a specific printer. When there are a plurality of operable printers, the number of printers to be selected need not be one.
[0067]
Further, print data and a print command are output to the selected printer, and the printer is caused to execute print processing (S107).
[0068]
After step S107 ends, a series of host computer processing ends.
[0069]
On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S104 is that the panel switch has not been pressed (S104; No), it is determined whether or not a timeout has occurred (S108). If it is not time-out (S108; No), the process returns to the printer status confirmation process (S103).
[0070]
In the case of time-out (S108; Yes), processing at time-out specified in advance is performed (S109). That is, it is determined whether to perform forced printing or to cancel printing by discarding print data. By adopting such a flow, the system can move to the next process when the operator does not press the panel switch, and the operating rate can be improved.
[0071]
In the case of forced printing (S109; forced printing), the process proceeds to step S105.
[0072]
When printing stop is selected (S109; printing stop), an LED turn-off command is output to all the printers (S110), and a series of processing ends.
[0073]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data reception flow of the printer.
[0074]
First, data from the host computer 10 is received (S200).
[0075]
Next, it is determined whether or not the received data in step S200 is an LED control command (S201). When it is an LED control command (S201; Yes), control of LED is executed (S202). In the LED control (S202), the type of command is determined, and LED blinking, extinguishing and lighting control are executed. On the other hand, if the received data is not an LED control command (S201; No), the process proceeds to the next data analysis process (S203).
[0076]
If the received data in step S200 is a print command (S203; Yes), a print process is executed (S204). In the printing process (S204), the data stored in the print buffer is printed. On the other hand, if the received data is not a print command (S203; No), the process proceeds to the next data analysis process (S205).
[0077]
If the received data in step S200 is print data (S205; Yes), the print data is stored (S206). In storing print data (S206), the received data is stored in the print buffer. On the other hand, if the received data is not print data (S205; No), other processing corresponding to the received data is executed (S207).
[0078]
When the received data processing is completed, the process returns to step S200 to process the next received data. The received data processing of this printer may be executed in one interrupt process.
[0079]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer status transmission flow.
[0080]
The status transmission flow shown in this figure shows a method for collectively transmitting all the states of the detectors, taking as an example four types of printer status changes: paper detector, ink remaining amount, cover open / close, and error occurrence. There is also a method of transmitting a change for each detector.
[0081]
First, various status change flags are reset (S300).
[0082]
Next, a change in the paper detector is determined (S301). The change in the paper detector is, for example, that the remaining amount of paper loaded in the printer has decreased, the paper has been completely removed, the paper has been replenished, or the like. If there is a change in the paper detector (S301; Yes), the status of the paper detector and the status change flag are set (S302). On the other hand, when there is no change in the sheet detector (S301; No) and after the processing of S302 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step.
[0083]
Similarly, a change in the remaining amount of ink is determined (S303). If there is a change in the remaining amount of ink (S303; Yes), the status of the remaining amount of ink and a status change flag are set (S304). On the other hand, when there is no change in the remaining amount of ink (S303; No) and after the process of S304 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step.
[0084]
Similarly, a change in cover opening / closing is determined (S305). If there is a change in the cover opening / closing (S305; Yes), the cover status and status change flag are set (S306). On the other hand, when there is no change in the cover opening / closing (S305; No) and after the processing of S306 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step.
[0085]
Similarly, a change in the error state of the printer is determined (S307). If there is a change in the error state of the printer (S307; Yes), an error status and a status change flag are set (S308). On the other hand, when there is no change in the error state of the printer (S307; No) and after the processing of S308 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step.
[0086]
Similarly, a change in the ON / OFF state of the panel switch is determined (S309). If there is a change in the panel switch ON / OFF (S309; Yes), the status of the panel switch and the status change flag are set (S310). On the other hand, when there is no change in the panel switch ON / OFF (S309; No) and after the processing of S310 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step.
[0087]
Finally, the state of the change flag is determined (S311). If there is a set change flag (S311; Yes), the printer status is generated and the status is transmitted to the host computer (S312). On the other hand, if there is no set change flag (S311; No), the process returns to step S300.
The above status data transmission flow may be executed in one interrupt process.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a POS system.
FIG. 2 is another system configuration diagram to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration of a printer.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a POS system.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of a host computer.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data reception flow of a printer.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer status data transmission flow.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 host computer, 11 POS terminal device, 12 dedicated line, 13 dedicated line hub, 14 display device, 15 printer, 16 input device, 20 communication interface, 21 CPU, 22 ROM, 23 RAM, 24 printing mechanism, 25 panel board , 26 Various sensors, 30 Printer selection processing unit, 31 Print standby command generation unit, 32 Print standby release command generation unit, 33 Print data generation unit, 34 Print command generation unit, 40 Host control unit, 41 interface, 42 Data transmission Unit, 43 data receiving unit, 44 received data analyzing unit, 45 timeout processing unit, 46 status monitoring unit, 50 printer control unit, 51 interface, 52 data receiving unit, 53 data transmitting unit, 54 received data analyzing unit, 60 status control 61 Panel switch Monitoring unit, 62 a printer status monitor, 63 status generation unit, 70 LED control unit 80 the print data control unit, 81 a print control unit, 82 the print data storage unit

Claims (8)

A POS system comprising a host computer and a plurality of printers ,
The host computer
A print data generation unit for generating print data for the printer;
A print standby command generator for generating an LED blinking command for the printer;
A status monitoring unit for monitoring the status from the printer;
A print command generation unit for generating a print command for printing the print data;
A transmission unit for transmitting the print data and the print command to the printer;
A print standby release command generation unit that generates an LED turn-off command for the printer,
The printer is
An LED control unit that causes the LED to blink and extinguish based on the LED blinking command and the LED extinguishing command from the host computer;
A status control unit that generates a status including a change in the ON / OFF state of the panel switch of the printer;
A data transmission unit for transmitting the status to the host computer;
A print data control unit that performs print processing based on the print data and the print command from the host computer,
When the host computer receives the panel switch ON status after transmitting the LED blinking command, the host computer transmits the LED turn-off command to the printer, and transmits the print data and the print command to the ON status. A POS system that transmits to a printer . The host computer stops printing without transmitting the print data and the print command to the printer when a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the ON status of the panel switch after transmitting the LED blinking command. 2. The POS system according to claim 1 , wherein a predetermined process of whether the print data and the print command are transmitted to the specific printer to perform printing is performed . A printer selection method in a POS system including a host computer and a plurality of printers ,
(A) the host computer generating print data for the printer ;
(B) the host computer, and transmitting the LED blinking command for the printer,
(C) the printer, and transmitting the status of the printer to the host computer,
; (D) the host computer, the steps of receiving the status from the printer,
(E) when the host computer receives an ON status of a panel switch from at least one of the printers , a step of transmitting an LED turn-off command to all the printers;
(F) said host computer, and transmitting the print data and print command for the printer which has transmitted the ON status,
A printer selection method comprising: The printer selection method according to claim 3, wherein the step (b) transmits the LED blinking command having a blinking pattern that differs depending on a type of the print data. (G) after the step (b) , determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the ON status of the panel switch ;
(H) if it is determined that the step (g) a predetermined time has elapsed, and performing predetermined processing or to print on or a particular of the printer to stop printing, further comprising a The printer selection method according to claim 3 or 4 , characterized in that: Wherein step (h), when to stop the printing, the printer selection method according to claim 5, characterized in that transmitting the LED off command to all of the printer. In the step (h), when printing on a specific printer, after the LED turn-off command is transmitted to all the printers, the print data and the print command are transmitted to the specific printer. The printer selection method according to claim 5 . The program which performs each process of the printer selection method of any one of Claim 3 to 7 .

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