JP4444590B2 - Recording apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to control method of the transmitted data by receiving a recordable recording apparatus and its from the data supply device. In particular, the present invention relates to control method of the recording apparatus and its possible receiving and recording data comprising a signal image data transmission data supplied device or these such as for example a cellular phone.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventional printers generally use a connected computer as a host device, receive image data transmitted from the host device, and print according to the image data. On the other hand, with the spread of digital cameras in recent years, a slot is provided in a printer that can be attached to a memory card that is attached to and detached from the digital camera and stores image data taken by the camera. The printer can directly read image data that can be printed, or the printer and digital camera can be connected via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or special interface, and the printer can receive the image data of the digital camera shell directly. What is made printable is known. In such a printer configuration, the printer can print an image without going through the host device, and when printing, an instruction of a print format is given using an operation panel provided in the printer, or connected. It was configured to be performed using the operation panel of a digital camera.
[0003]
Furthermore, in recent years, it has been known that a mobile phone has an imaging function similar to that of a digital camera and can capture images with the same number of recording pixels (resolution) as that of a general digital camera.
[0004]
In addition, some mobile phones include an interface for infrared communication for communication with an external device, and those that can communicate with an external device wirelessly using this infrared light have appeared. Some of such mobile phones can be used as a substitute for a TV remote control, and others can exchange data and captured images between mobile phones without using a telephone line.
[0005]
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151561 discloses an ink jet printer having such an infrared interface.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-75765 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 1, a configuration in which a plurality of interfaces including an infrared interface is provided and switching of a plurality of interfaces can be monitored is disclosed. For example, there is no description about a configuration that enables printing of image data transferred using the infrared interface of the mobile phone described above.
[0008]
In the mobile phone described above, data exchange is possible by wireless communication using an infrared interface, but in order to print an image captured by the function of a digital camera provided in such a mobile phone, the following Such a procedure is necessary. That is, image data is transmitted from the mobile phone to the computer via the Internet using a telephone line, stored once in the computer that received the image data, and then transmitted from the computer to the printer for printing. There is a need. This conventional configuration requires complicated and many operations for printing.
[0009]
Further, in a printer for general users connected to a computer, operations and settings for printing are performed by a computer connected to the printer. For this reason, the printer alone is configured so that complicated operations cannot be performed. In addition, the format of image data transmitted by wireless communication using the infrared interface of a cellular phone and the data format differ for each manufacturer. For this reason, even if it is considered that image data is transmitted to a printer having the same infrared interface using the infrared interface provided in these mobile phones, it is convenient and reliable. However, a method for printing an image taken with the mobile phone has not been established.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems described above, and an object thereof is to provide a control method of the recording apparatus and its data can be recorded in various data format received from the data supply device.
[0011]
The object of the present invention is to provide regardless is sent data supply device or al the data format of Lud over data, the control method of the recording apparatus and its can record images.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A recording device that receives and records data from a data supply device,
Recording means for recording according to the recording settings;
Determining means for determining a data format of data received from the data supply device;
A determination unit that determines whether an image file included in the data in the vNOTE format is a predetermined type of image file when the determination unit determines that the data received from the data supply device is in the vNOTE format;
According to the recording setting corresponding to the data format that is determined from the determining means among the plurality of recording setting, have a recording control means for recording an image on said recording unit based on the received data,
When recording an image based on the predetermined type of image file, the recording control unit records the image according to different recording settings depending on whether the predetermined type of image file is extracted from vNOTE format data. It is characterized by making it.
[0013]
In order to achieve the above object, a control method for a recording apparatus of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is,
A control method for a recording apparatus that has recording means for performing recording according to recording settings and receives and records data from a data supply device,
A determination step of determining a data format of data received from the data supply device;
A determination step of determining whether an image file included in the data of the vNOTE format is a predetermined type of image file when the data received from the data supply device is determined to be a vNOTE format in the determination step;
A recording control step of recording an image on a recording unit based on the received data according to a recording setting corresponding to the data format determined in the determining step among a plurality of recording settings;
I have a,
In the recording control step, when recording an image based on the predetermined type of image file, the image is recorded according to different recording settings depending on whether the predetermined type of image file is extracted from data in the vNOTE format. It is characterized by making it.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and a communication form between the camera-equipped mobile phone 200.
[0016]
In the figure, the camera-equipped mobile phone 200 includes an infrared communication interface 205, and is configured to transmit captured image data to an external device via this interface.
[0017]
Next, the configuration of the printer 100 will be described.
[0018]
The printer 100 includes an infrared communication interface 105 and is configured to be able to communicate with the infrared communication interface 205 of the mobile phone 200. A control unit 101 controls the operation of the printer 100. The control unit 101 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores programs executed by the CPU, a RAM that is used as a work area for the CPU, and temporarily stores various data. The data processing unit 110 analyzes the file (data) received via the infrared communication interface 105 by the command analysis unit 112 and extracts an image file by the file extraction unit 114 based on the analysis result. Then, after the extracted image file is decoded by the JPEG processing unit 130, the image data is expanded by the expansion processing unit 132, and the image data is supplied to the print engine unit 150 for printing. In FIG. 1, after the extracted image file is stored in the storage area 120 corresponding to the memory, the JPEG processing unit 130 reads and processes the image file stored in the storage area 120. ing. A USB interface 140 is connected to a PC (computer), a digital camera, or the like, and can receive and print image data input via the interface. The processing in the data processing unit 110 and the processing in the JPEG processing unit 130 may be executed by software by a control program of the CPU of the control unit 101.
[0019]
In this embodiment, the extracted image file is a JPEG file as an example, and the expansion processing unit 132 is configured to decode and expand the compressed image file. Yes.
[0020]
The JPEG processing unit 130 also has a function of enlarging or reducing the image data obtained by the expansion processing unit 132 according to the paper size to be printed, and can be printed on a predetermined paper. As described above, the image data is supplied to the print engine unit 150 after performing the process of converting the image size.
[0021]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a format of data transmitted from the mobile phone 200 according to the present embodiment. Here, a vNOTE format used for data exchange is taken as an example. It is known that this format is expressed by a property indicating a type and a value name, and further, by setting properties unique to the manufacturer, convenience of data exchange between models corresponding to each manufacturer can be achieved.
[0022]
In FIG. 2, the property indicated by 220 and starting with “X-” is a property set by each manufacturer and its value name, and “△△△△” describes the character set by each manufacturer. ing. 230 indicates that the image file is a JPEG encoded code. Reference numeral 231 denotes an image size of 120 (horizontal) × 120 (vertical) [mm], and reference numeral 232 denotes that the data amount of the image file is 3 kbytes. Reference numeral 233 denotes a file name, which is “Picture_001.jpg” JPEG-encoded here. “SUMMARY” indicates the image title, and “DATE” indicates the date of shooting or editing.
[0023]
“BODY” 221 describes the data body of the target image file, and here includes JPEG data encoded in Base64 format (GIF data if 230 indicates GIF). . An image file is extracted based on this description.
[0024]
OBEX is known as a specification for exchanging files themselves using infrared communication or the like. In this OBEX, JPEG-encoded image data itself is transmitted. On the other hand, the above-described vNOTE format is different from OBEX in that an image file is described therein. Since the vNOTE format has a unique description format, a conventionally known printer recognizes the vNOTE format data as simple text even if the vNOTE format data is received. For this reason, the contents of the conventional printer cannot be analyzed, and it is impossible to receive and print image data in the vNOTE format transmitted from the mobile phone 200.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining print processing in the printer 100 according to the present embodiment. Here, the print processing when data in the format shown in FIG. 2 is received is shown. A program for executing this processing will be described when stored in the ROM of the control unit 101.
[0026]
First, in step S1, when data from the mobile phone 200 is received via the infrared communication interface 105, the process proceeds to step S2, the data is analyzed, and the image size is first acquired. This is defined by 231 in the example of FIG. In step S3, the format of image data included in the data is determined. Here, since there is a possibility of receiving data in JPEG or GIF format, it is determined by “TYPE” 230 in FIG. 2 whether it is one of these, and if it is a JPEG code, the process proceeds to step S4. The code image file is extracted and stored in the storage area 120. Here, the image file included in the portion indicated by 221 in FIG. 2 is extracted. In step S5, the image file is decoded and developed into image data.
[0027]
On the other hand, if it is a GIF code, the process proceeds to step S6, and the image file of the GIF code is extracted and stored in the same manner as in step S4, and the image is developed in step S7.
[0028]
When step S5 or S7 is executed in this way, the process proceeds to step S8, and the image data that has been developed is enlarged or reduced as necessary based on the print image size and the received image size. The image data whose image size has been adjusted in this way is output to the print engine unit 150 for printing.
[0029]
As described above, the printer according to the first embodiment directly receives and prints image data transmitted using an infrared interface provided in a commonly used camera-equipped mobile phone. can do.
[0030]
[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the hardware configurations of the printer and the mobile phone according to the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. The program for executing this processing will be described in the case where it is stored in the ROM of the control unit 101 as in the case of the first embodiment.
[0031]
In the second embodiment, the format of the data transmitted from the mobile phone is not limited to the vNOTE format shown in FIG. 2, but can be printed even when transmitted by OBEX, which is the specification relating to the object exchange described above. It is characterized by doing.
[0032]
First, in step S11, when data from the mobile phone 200 is received via the infrared communication interface 105, the process proceeds to step S12, where the format of the received data is determined, and in step S13, whether the format is vNOTE format or not. Determine. The determination of the data format can be made by determining the extension of the file described in the communication information. For example, when a JPEG file itself is transmitted by OBEX, “.JPG” is described in the extension, and in the case of the vNOTE format, for example, “.VNT” is described as the extension. Has been.
[0033]
If the format of the received data is in the vNOTE format, the process proceeds to step S14, and the processing shown in steps S2 to S8 in FIG. 3 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment to print image data for printing. Is created.
[0034]
If an OBEX format JPEG file is received, the process proceeds to step S15, where the received file is stored, and then the expansion process is performed. In step S16, the developed image data is enlarged or reduced as necessary, and output to the print engine unit 150 and printed in step S17.
[0035]
In the vNOTE format, it is possible to determine that the file is an image file transmitted from the mobile phone 200 by acquiring information about the manufacturer's unique property and image size. In this case, by fixing the printing size in the printer 100 to, for example, a business card size or a postcard size, the user's operation for setting printing conditions can be simplified.
[0036]
On the other hand, in the case of OBEX, an image file can be transmitted not only from a mobile phone but also from other devices such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). It may be possible to request printing in size. In that case, the process of step S16 in FIG. 4 may be omitted so that printing at the original size of the image data can be performed.
[0037]
Further, the print size of the image data received via the infrared communication interface 105 may be fixed by setting on the printer 100 side. In this case, it is preferable that the image data after performing the enlargement / reduction process of step S16 according to the print size is supplied to the print engine unit 150 to perform the print process.
[0038]
As described above, according to the second embodiment, image data in the vNOTE format or the OBEX format can be received and printed.
[0039]
[Embodiment 3]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the hardware configurations of the printer and the mobile phone according to the third embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which printing is performed corresponding to various data formats transmitted from a mobile phone of each manufacturer.
[0040]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the processing according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and the program for executing this processing is stored in the ROM of the control unit 101 as in the first embodiment. I will explain it.
[0041]
This process is started by receiving data via the infrared interface 105, as in the flowchart described above. First, in step S21, the extension of the received data (file) is determined. Here, for example, in the case of the above-mentioned vNOTE format data, the image file having the extension “.JPEG” is described in the BODY. On the other hand, for example, the OBEX format data contains the file with the extension itself. Therefore, by determining the file extension, it is possible to determine whether the data is in OBEX format or other data format. If the file has an extension “.JPEG” or “.TXT” (for example, data in OBEX format), the process proceeds to step S22 or S25. More specifically, when the extension is “.JPEG”, the JPEG code is decoded in step S22, and in step S23, the original image size and the paper size to be printed are enlarged or reduced as necessary. Perform reduction. In step S24, an image is printed on a postcard-sized sheet. If the file extension is “.TXT”, the process proceeds to step S25, where the text data is analyzed and printed on A4 size paper in step S26.
[0042]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the extension is not “.JPEG” or “.TXT”, such as “.VCF”, “.VCS”, “.VMG”, “.VNT”, the process proceeds to step S27. Whether the data is in the vNOTE format shown in FIG. If not, that is, if the extension is “.VCF”, “.VCS”, or “.VMG”, the process proceeds to steps S28, S30, and S32. More specifically, in the case of the extension “.VCF” (address book, telephone book), the process proceeds to step S28, the vcard (vCard) is analyzed, and printed in A4 size paper as a telephone book in step S29. To do. If the file extension is “.VCS” (schedule), the process proceeds to step S30, the calendar data is analyzed, and the schedule data is printed on A4 size paper in step S31. If the file extension is “.VMG” (message, mail), the process proceeds to step S32, where the message data is analyzed, and the mail data is printed on A4 size paper in step S33.
[0043]
In step S27, if the data is in vNOTE format (extension is “.VNT”), the process proceeds to step S34, where the data is analyzed, and it is determined in step S35 whether there is an indication that image data is included. . For example, since the mobile phone of Company A includes “X_AAA-TYPE: JPEG” indicating that a JPEG image is attached to the memo pad, it is clearly indicated that the image is included by discriminating this command. Determine whether it has been. If so, the process proceeds to step S39 to check whether the format of the image file is JPEG. Here, since codes other than JPEG cannot be printed, printing is not executed in step S43 in the case of other than JPEG. However, in the case of JPEG code, the process proceeds to step S40, where the JPEG code is analyzed and decoded, and in step S41. The decoded image is enlarged or reduced as necessary, and converted into image data of a business card size and printed in step S42. Here, it is uniquely determined to print on a business card size image.
[0044]
If it is determined in step S35 that the attached image is not specified, the process proceeds to step S36 to check whether an image file is included in other formats. If an image file is included, the process proceeds to step S37 to check whether the format of the image file is JPEG. If it is in the JPEG format, the process proceeds to step S40, and the JPEG code is decoded and printed (because only the JPEG code is decoded and printable here), but if not, the process proceeds to step S38. This step S38 is executed when an image file is not included in step S36 or when it is not a JPEG code in step S37. Here, the text data included in the data and the text data other than the image file are A4. Print as notepad in size.
[0045]
Whether or not it is a JPEG code in steps S37 and S39 is determined by determining a JPEG format start code (0xFF, 0xD8), and if a code matching it is detected, it is determined that the data is in JPEG format.
[0046]
As described above, according to the third embodiment, various types of data such as text data and image files can be received and printed in correspondence with various data formats transmitted from the mobile phones of the respective manufacturers. .
[0047]
In the third embodiment, the paper size to be printed is determined in accordance with the data type and data format. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each user has a desired paper size. Of course, it may be possible to print on.
[0048]
[Other embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the printer 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of interfaces such as the USB interface 140 and the infrared communication interface 105, and can communicate with each other when none of the interfaces is communicating. When communication is started via one of the interfaces, control is performed so that communication via another interface cannot be performed. Further, when the communication is completed and the printing process is completed, for example, when the printing of the last page is completed, the process again enters a standby state. In this way, even if data is transmitted from an external PC via the USB interface 140 during communication via the infrared communication interface 105, printing is performed with priority given to the interface 105 that is communicating first. It is possible.
[0049]
As described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a system or apparatus with a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions according to the present embodiment, and to the computer of the system or apparatus (or CPU or MPU). ) Is also achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM Etc. can be used.
[0050]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code Includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.
[0051]
Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU of the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention described above, it receives and records data from the data supply device.
[0053]
According to the present invention, regardless is sent data supply device or al the data format of Lud over data, there is an effect that an image can be recorded.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and a communication form with a camera-equipped mobile phone.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format transmitted from the camera-equipped mobile phone according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating image data reception and printing processing in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating image data reception and printing processing in a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating image data reception and printing processing in a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (7)

A recording device that receives and records data from a data supply device,
Recording means for recording according to the recording settings;
Determining means for determining a data format of data received from the data supply device;
A determination unit that determines whether an image file included in the data in the vNOTE format is a predetermined type of image file when the determination unit determines that the data received from the data supply device is in the vNOTE format;
According to the recording setting corresponding to the data format that is determined from the determining means among the plurality of recording setting, have a recording control means for recording an image on said recording unit based on the received data,
When recording the image based on the predetermined type of image file, the recording control unit records the image according to different recording settings depending on whether the predetermined type of image file is extracted from the data of the vNOTE format. recording apparatus characterized by causing. Data of the vNOTE form includes text indicating the type of an image file included in the data of the vNOTE form, said determination means according to claim 1, characterized in that to determine the type of the file based on the text The recording device described in 1. Image files included in the data of the vNOTE type recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a text describing the data body of the image file, and the size information of the image file. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the recording control unit scales and records the image data based on the size information and a recording setting corresponding to the image file. Said discriminating means, the recording of any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that to determine the data format of the received data based on the extension of the data received from the data delivery device apparatus. It said data supply device is a mobile phone with a camera, recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 receiving the data is characterized to be performed using infrared light. A control method for a recording apparatus that has recording means for performing recording according to recording settings and receives and records data from a data supply device,
A determination step of determining a data format of data received from the data supply device;
A determination step of determining whether an image file included in the data of the vNOTE format is a predetermined type of image file when the data received from the data supply device is determined to be a vNOTE format in the determination step;
A recording control step of recording an image on a recording unit based on the received data according to a recording setting corresponding to the data format determined in the determining step among a plurality of recording settings;
I have a,
In the recording control step, when recording an image based on the predetermined type of image file, the image is recorded according to different recording settings depending on whether the predetermined type of image file is extracted from data in the vNOTE format. The control method characterized by making it do.

Images