JP6036214B2 - Printer, printer system, and printer setting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer using network communication, and more particularly to a printer that can easily perform information setting adapted to a use environment.

  Usually, when an electronic device such as a printer is installed, various parameters and data must be set in order to adapt the device to the installation environment such as a network. When the installed device is a printer, information setting of network communication, setting of printing conditions suitable for the printing purpose, and the like are performed.

  For example, in a receipt printer used in a POS (Point of Sales) system, it is necessary to perform settings such as network settings for establishing communication with a POS server, etc., logo data used for receipts, parameter information related to printing formats, and the like. .

  The following Patent Document 1 shows that when a peripheral device having a communication I / F is accessed by NFC (near field communication), it determines the authority to connect to its own device or the authority to use an application. Has been.

JP 2011-48483 A

  The above-described electronic device setting operation usually needs to be performed by a person having specialized knowledge, and is a complicated operation. In particular, setting work for a device such as a small printer that does not have a display / input interface is troublesome.

  Moreover, in the said patent document 1, it is not shown clearly other than determination of the said authority.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that uses network communication and that can easily perform information setting adapted to the usage environment.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a printer is set based on a short-range wireless communication unit that receives setting information by short-range wireless communication and the received setting information. A control unit.

  According to the printer of the present invention, the setting work for the printer can be executed using near field communication, and the setting work can be made easier than before.

  Further, in the above invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that the setting information includes network setting information used for setting network communication, and establishes network communication based on the network setting information set in the control unit. And a network communication unit for performing communication processing.

  According to the present invention, complicated network settings can be easily performed.

  Further, in the above invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that the setting information includes print setting information used for print processing, and the print processing is executed based on the print setting information set in the control unit. It has a printing part.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily set image information and parameters necessary for printing processing.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, the preferable aspect is that the control unit acquires the second setting information by the network communication after establishing communication in the network communication unit, and acquires the second setting information acquired. The setting is performed based on the setting information.

  According to the present invention, after the network setting, the printer itself acquires and sets further setting information from the server or the like, so that the setting can be easily performed.

  Furthermore, in the above invention, one aspect is that the short-range wireless communication unit is a reader / writer that communicates with a card equipped with an NFC chip or a mobile terminal device having an NFC function. And

  According to the present invention, the communication using the short-range wireless communication is performed by a general operation between the card or the portable terminal equipped with the NFC chip and the R / W, so that anyone can easily perform the communication. Will be able to.

  In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention provides a printer system in which a short-range wireless communication unit that receives setting information by short-range wireless communication, and a control that is set based on the received setting information And a printer having a printing unit that performs printing based on the control of the control unit, a storage unit that stores the setting information set in the control unit of the printer, and the setting information stored in the storage unit And a terminal device having a setting information providing unit that transmits the information to the short-range wireless communication unit of the printer by short-range wireless communication.

  According to the printer system of the present invention, input of setting information can be performed with a portable terminal having a user interface such as a smartphone, which facilitates operation.

  Further, in the above invention, according to one aspect, the setting information includes network setting information for setting network communication, and the printer is configured to perform networking based on the network setting information set by the control unit. It has a network communication part which establishes communication and performs communication processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, network printer setting information is received by a printer via short-range wireless communication, and the printer is based on the received network communication setting information. The network communication setting is executed, the print setting information of the printer is received via the set network communication, and the print setting is performed based on the received setting information of the printer.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a printer and a printer system to which the present invention is applied. FIG. It is the flowchart which illustrated the process sequence of the setting process.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference symbols.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a printer and a printer system to which the present invention is applied. The printer 3 shown in FIG. 1 is a printer to which the present invention is applied, and the setting information can be acquired by performing short-range wireless communication with the NFC card 2 that stores setting information such as network settings, and the setting information can be used. Set to. Here, near field communication refers to near field wireless communication (NFC: Near Field Communication), and the communication area is a distance of about 1 meter to several centimeters. In the printer 3, after the above setting, communication with the server 6 is established, and further setting information is acquired from the server 6 and set. As described above, the printer 3 can easily perform setting operations such as network settings, which are generally complicated, using short-range wireless communication.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the printer 3 communicates with the server 6 via the router 4, and the printer 3 and the router 4 communicate via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The router 4 and the server 6 communicate via the Internet 5. Note that other communication methods may be used. In addition, the portable terminal 1 is provided to provide the printer 3 with the setting information through short-range wireless communication, and the printer system 100 is configured by the printer 3 and the portable terminal 1. In FIG. 1, the printer 3 and the server 1 have a one-to-one correspondence, but a configuration in which a plurality of printers 3 are connected to one server 6 can be adopted. Further, the printer 3 can be embodied as a receipt printer that constitutes a POS (Point of Sales) system, for example. In this case, the printer 3 can be supplied from a POS terminal (register) or a portable terminal 1 that is not illustrated. A receipt is output according to the instruction, and the server 6 can function as a POS server.

  The mobile terminal 1 is a mobile terminal device having a short-range wireless communication function, and can be embodied by, for example, a smartphone. In addition to the short-range wireless communication function, the mobile terminal 1 has at least an information processing function, an information display function for a user, and a function for acquiring information by a user input operation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 1 includes a setting information acquisition / providing unit 11 (setting information acquiring unit, setting information providing unit) and an NFC communication unit 12 (setting information providing unit) as functional configurations. The setting information acquisition / provision unit 11 is a part that acquires information to be set in the printer 3 by a user input operation or communication, and provides the setting information to the printer 3 via the NFC card 2. . Specifically, the program includes a program for instructing processing contents, a CPU that operates according to the program, a memory, a display device, an input device, and the like. The program can be downloaded and installed as a setting information application (application) from, for example, a website provided by a printer manufacturer.

  The NFC communication unit 12 is a part responsible for the short-range wireless communication function, and can be configured by a general R / W (reader / writer) for NFC. Specifically, a CPU, a memory, an antenna, and the like are provided. In the NFC communication unit 12, the setting information acquisition / providing unit 11 writes the setting information in the memory, and the information is transmitted to the NFC card 2 by short-range wireless communication.

  In the present embodiment, the setting information acquired by the mobile terminal 1 and provided to the printer 3 is the network setting, that is, the setting for the printer 3 to perform wireless LAN communication via the router 4. Necessary information and server 6 location information. Here, the setting information necessary for network communication is referred to as network setting information. In addition, setting information acquired from the server 6 to be described later, and setting information related to an image and print format necessary for printing in the printer 3 is referred to as print setting information here. Note that the mobile terminal 1 can also obtain this print setting information and provide it to the printer 3.

  Next, the NFC card 2 has a so-called NFC chip and reads / writes data with a communication partner by short-range wireless communication. The NFC chip includes a CPU, a memory, an antenna, and the like, and the setting information transmitted from the mobile terminal 1 is stored in the memory. The setting information is transmitted to the printer 3 by short-range wireless communication.

  Next, the printer 3 has a functional configuration as shown in FIG. The control unit 31 is a part that controls the operation of the printer 3, and the print execution unit 32 (printing unit) is a part that executes a printing operation in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 31.

  The control unit 31 includes a print control unit 33 (printing unit), a network communication unit 34, a setting unit 35, and a reception information identification unit 36. The print control unit 33 controls the printing operation, and interprets a print command (print data) received from the host device or the like, and causes the print execution unit 32 to execute print processing. In addition, each piece of information (parameters) related to printing conditions and character and image data used for printing are held at predetermined locations, and these information are referred to as appropriate when controlling the printing operation. The above-described print setting information is stored in the print control unit 33 as these pieces of information.

  The network communication unit 34 is a part responsible for the wireless LAN communication function. Here, communication with the router 4 is executed via the network communication unit 34. The network setting information described above is stored in the network communication unit 34 and is referred to as appropriate.

  The print control unit 33 and the network communication unit 34 are portions corresponding to a controller and a communication device provided in a normal printer, respectively, and are configured by a CPU, a memory, a communication I / F, and the like. The print setting information and the network Each setting information is stored in a predetermined location of the memory.

  Next, the setting unit 35 performs a process of acquiring setting information from the NFC card 2 and the server 6 described above and setting (storing) them in predetermined locations of the print control unit 33 and the network communication unit 34 described above. It is. Specifically, the setting information received via the NFC communication unit 38 and the network communication unit 34 is converted into a predetermined data format, and the setting process is executed.

  The reception information identifying unit 36 is a part that identifies data received from the NFC card 2 via the R / W 37, that is, received via short-range wireless communication, and is identified based on header information of the received data. Process. When the received information is identified as setting information, the information is transferred to the setting unit 35.

The setting unit 35 and the reception information identification unit 36 are configured by each program describing the above-described processing, a CPU that executes processing according to the program, a memory, and the like. These control parts may be integrated into the same board as the above-described print control unit 33, or may be configured as a separate board from the print control unit 33 inside the printer 3. Good,
Further, it may be configured as an apparatus externally attached to the printer 3.

  Next, the R / W 37 is a reader / writer that performs short-range wireless communication, and is connected to the printer 3. Specifically, a CPU, a memory, an antenna, and the like are provided. The R / W 37 reads the setting information from the NFC card 2 and transmits the setting information to the reception information identification unit 36. The R / W 37 may be built in the printer 3.

  The reception information identification unit 36 and the R / W 37 constitute an NFC communication unit 38 (distance wireless communication unit).

  Next, the print execution unit 32 is a part that executes print processing on a medium in accordance with an instruction from the print control unit 33, and prints and outputs a receipt, for example.

  Next, the server 6 is configured by a general server computer, and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an HDD, a display device, an input device, a communication I / F, and the like (not shown). As a functional configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, a communication unit 61, an information providing unit 62, and an information storage unit 63 are provided.

  The communication unit 61 has a communication function via the Internet 5 and performs communication with the printer 3. The information providing unit 62 is a part that provides necessary setting information to the printer 3 in response to an access from the printer 3. The information providing unit 62 includes a program describing processing contents, the CPU operating according to the program, a RAM, and the like. The information storage unit 63 is a part for storing setting information to be provided to the printer 3 and includes the HDD or the like. Here, the above-described print setting information, for example, image data of a logo printed on a receipt output by the printer 3, parameters relating to the print format of the receipt, and the like are held so as to be readable by the identification information of the printer 3. ing. In addition, flag information indicating that such information has been provided to the printer 3 is also stored.

  Regarding the processing of the setting information of the printer system 100 in the present embodiment having the above configuration, the specific processing procedure will be described below. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the setting process. The specific contents of the setting process performed when the printer 3 is installed will be described below with reference to FIG.

  First, setting information is acquired in the mobile terminal 1 (step S1 in FIG. 2). Here, as described above, the network setting information is acquired from the setting information. Specifically, an operator of the mobile terminal 1 (for example, an administrator of the printer 3) starts an application of the setting information acquisition / providing unit 11, and sets each network setting information on an input screen provided by the application. input. Specifically, for example, WiFi SSID (Service Set Identifier), password, IP address, device name, and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information of the server 6 are input.

  When the input operation is completed, the setting information obtaining / providing unit 11 adds predetermined header information and identification information indicating that the information is network setting information to the input network setting information, and the NFC communication unit 12 Store in memory.

  Thereafter, the operator moves the NFC card 2 to a short distance of the NFC communication unit 12 of the portable terminal 1 (contacts the NFC communication unit 12), and transmits the stored network setting information to the NFC card 2 ( Step S2 in FIG. As described above, since the NFC card 2 and the NFC communication unit 12 have a short-range wireless communication function, the transmission is performed by the communication, and the transmitted network setting information is written in the memory of the NFC card 2.

  Next, the NFC card 2 is carried to the side of the printer 3 activated by an operator (for example, a person who receives an instruction from the administrator). Then, the operator moves the NFC card 2 to a short distance of the R / W 37 of the printer 3 (contacts the R / W 37), and transmits the written network setting information to the R / W 37 (step of FIG. 2). S3). As described above, since the NFC card 2 and the R / W 37 have a short-range wireless communication function, the transmission is performed by the communication, and the transmitted network setting information is written in the memory of the R / W 37.

  In this way, when the network setting information is written to the R / W 37, the information is transferred to the reception information identification unit 36, and the information received by the R / W 37 is identified (step S4 in FIG. 2). The reception information identification unit 36 performs the identification process based on the header information included in the received information and the identification information, and delivers the received information to a predetermined processing unit according to the result. Here, since the received information is network setting information, the information is transferred to the setting unit 35.

  Next, the setting unit 35 interprets the header information of the network setting information delivered from the reception information identifying unit 36, and converts the data into a setting file (step S5 in FIG. 2).

  Thereafter, the setting unit 35 stores the setting file in a predetermined location in the memory of the network communication unit 34 (step S6 in FIG. 2).

  With this processing, the network setting information of the printer 3 is set, and the network communication unit 34 can perform communication via the router 4 based on the stored information. Then, the network communication unit 34 establishes communication with the server 6 via the router 4 (step S7 in FIG. 2).

  Next, the setting unit 35 acquires further setting information from the server 6 through the established communication (step S8 in FIG. 2). Specifically, the setting unit 35 notifies the server 6 that the network setting is completed, and the information providing unit 62 that has received the notification via the communication unit 61 accesses the information storage unit 63, The setting information provided to the printer 3, here, the print setting information described above is acquired. Thereafter, the information providing unit 62 transmits the print setting information to the printer 3 via the communication unit 61, and the setting unit 35 receives the print setting information.

  The setting unit 35 that has received the print setting information converts the information as necessary and stores it in a predetermined location in the memory of the print control unit 33 (step S9 in FIG. 2). Thereby, the setting of the printing process is also completed, and the printer 3 can perform desired printing. For example, in receipt printing, the logo data and the format information printed therein are arranged in the print control unit 33, so that the receipt can be printed.

  When the setting process is completed in this way, the setting unit 35 sends a setting completion notification to the server 6 (step S10 in FIG. 2). When the notification is made via the network communication unit 34, the information providing unit 62 of the server 6 writes flag information indicating that the setting information has been provided for the printer 3 in the information storage unit 63. From this information, it is understood that the setting process of the printer 3 is completed.

In addition, after the above-described processing in step S3, that is, after the setting processing in the printer 3 is started, until the setting processing is completed in step S10, the progress status is displayed in the printer 3 by the user (the above operator ) May be notified. In the notification,
An LED lamp or printed output can be used.

  In the above embodiment, the setting information is input to the printer 3 via (using) the NFC card 2, but may be input from the portable terminal 1 to the printer 3 without using the NFC card 2. In this case, the setting information stored in the memory of the NFC communication unit 12 is transmitted to the R / W 37 by short-range wireless communication by bringing the NFC communication unit 12 of the mobile terminal 1 closer to the R / W 37. This method is suitable when the operator who inputs to the portable terminal 1 in the process of step S1 described above also performs setting work on the printer 3.

  As described above, in the printer system 100 according to the present embodiment, the setting operation for the printer 3 can be performed with a simple operation (one touch) using short-range wireless communication, and the setting can be performed more than before. Work can be facilitated.

  Further, when the information to be set is network setting information, complicated network setting can be easily performed.

  Further, when the information to be set is print setting information, it is possible to easily set image information and parameters necessary for the printing process.

  Furthermore, when the print setting information is stored in the server 6, after the network setting, the printer 3 itself obtains and sets the information from the server 6, so that the setting can be easily performed.

  Moreover, since the operation using the short-range wireless communication is performed by a general operation between the card equipped with the NFC chip and the R / W, anyone can easily perform the operation. Therefore, it is possible to leave the work to a person who does not have detailed knowledge about the setting information. Further, since the setting information input work in the portable terminal 1 and the work on the printer 3 side can be separated, division of labor is possible, and in particular, when there are a large number of printers 3 to be set, efficient work is possible.

  In addition, since the setting information is input by the mobile terminal 1 having a user interface such as a smartphone, the operation is also easy.

  Also, when a large amount of setting work occurs, such as when a large-scale POS system is installed or when a device is switched, this setting method is suitable. In addition, since there are many items that are set in advance as printing conditions in the receipt printer, as compared with a printer that outputs various printed materials, the effect of facilitating the setting work is great.

  Note that the printer system can be applied to a label printer of a delivery system in addition to a receipt printer of a POS system.

  The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but covers the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 mobile terminal, 2 NFC card, 3 printer, 4 router, 5 Internet, 6 server, 11 setting information acquisition / providing unit, 12 NFC communication unit,
31 control unit, 32 print execution unit, 33 print control unit, 34 network communication unit, 35 setting unit, 36 received information identification unit, 37 R / W, 38 NFC communication unit, 61 communication unit, 62 information providing unit, 63 information Storage unit, 100 printer system

Claims (5)

A short-range wireless communication unit that receives the first setting information by short-range wireless communication;
A control unit configured to perform settings based on the received first setting information;
A printing unit that performs printing based on the control of the control unit;
Network first setting information before SL is to have a network setting information used to set the network communication, before SL based on the network setting information set by the control unit, and establishes communication processing the network communication A communication unit ,
Before SL controller after establishing communication with the network communication unit, between the computer and by the network communication, it acquires the second setting information to notify that the setting of the network communication is completed, the acquisition The setting is performed based on the second setting information and a setting completion notification is notified. The second setting information includes print setting information used for print processing. After the setting completion notification is notified, A printer that enables print processing based on the print setting information . The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the short-range wireless communication unit is a card equipped with an NFC chip or a reader / writer that communicates with a mobile terminal device having an NFC function. A short-range wireless communication unit that receives first setting information by short-range wireless communication, a control unit that is set based on the received first setting information, and a printing unit that performs printing based on the control of the control unit A printer having
The wireless communication unit of the printer and storage unit, the first setting information stored in the storage unit by short-range wireless communication to store the first setting information to be set in the control unit of the printer A terminal device having a setting information providing unit for transmitting to the computer , and a computer for network communication with the printer ,
First setting information before SL has the network setting information for setting the network communication, before Symbol printer, based on the network setting information set by the control unit to establish the network communication Communication process have a network communication unit that performs,
Before SL controller of the printer, after establishment of communication in the network communication section, to and from the computer by the network communication, the second setting information to notify that the setting of the network communication is completed Obtaining and setting based on the acquired second setting information to notify a setting completion notification, wherein the second setting information includes print setting information used for print processing, and the setting completion notification A printer system capable of performing print processing based on the print setting information . The first setting information is received by the printer via short-range wireless communication,
Executing the setting of the printer based on the received first setting information ;
First setting information before SL has a network setting information used to set the network communication, based on the network setting information is set to establish the network communication,
After establishment of the network communications, said between computer and the network communication, the setting of the network communication acquires the second setting information to notify the completion, based on the acquired second setting information A setting completion notification is made by performing setting, and the second setting information has print setting information used for print processing, and after the notification of setting completion notification, print processing based on the print setting information is possible. how to set the printer to be. The printer setting method according to claim 4 , wherein the short-range wireless communication is communication using NFC.

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