JP6398588B2 - PRINT CONTROL DEVICE, PRINT SYSTEM, AND CONTROL METHOD FOR PRINT CONTROL DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print system, and a control method for a print control apparatus that can perform so-called bypass control, in which a print command is issued to another print apparatus when an arbitrary print apparatus is in an error state.

  Conventionally, patent document 1 is known as this kind of technique. Patent Document 1 discloses an order data management device that outputs output data to a connected kitchen printer based on the order data, and when the kitchen printer that is a regular output destination is in an error state, an alternative kitchen A bypass control for outputting output data to a printer is disclosed. Further, it is also disclosed that the order data management device adds the name of the kitchen printer in an error state to the output data when performing detour control. In this way, by adding the name of the kitchen printer in an error state, the kitchen staff who has seen the cooking instruction slip (printing result) can determine which kitchen data has been bypassed. It is possible to take measures such as bringing a cooking instruction slip to the kitchen.

JP-A-6-35927

  By the way, in the prior art including Patent Document 1, for example, when a kitchen printer is installed in each kitchen for frying, grilling, stove, etc., if the kitchen printer for frying is in an error state, it is used for grilling. Detour control is performed according to a fixed detour route, such as print data being detoured to the kitchen printer. However, even if it is print data that should be output by a kitchen printer for frying, depending on the menu, it may be better to output it by a kitchen printer for grills, or it may be output by a kitchen printer for stoves. There is a good case. For example, if a set menu for fried food and stove food is ordered and the kitchen printer for frying is in an error state, the print data for frying is bypassed to the kitchen printer for grill that has nothing to do with that set. Rather than letting the print data go to the kitchen printer for the stove included in the set menu, it is thought that the overall work efficiency will increase, such as adjusting the finishing time of the dishes among the kitchen staff. In addition, if the print data is bypassed only for a specific kitchen printer, the control load is applied to the printer, and the staff of the kitchen where the printer is installed also sorts the cooking instruction slip by kitchen or puts it in another kitchen. You have to carry it, and the burden is great.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a printing control apparatus, a printing system, and a printing control apparatus control method that can reduce user's work efficiency and control load of the printing apparatus even when detour control is required. The purpose is to provide.

  The printing control apparatus of the present invention is different from the arbitrary printing apparatus when the receiving unit that receives the print data indicating the order contents and the arbitrary printing apparatus that is the printing destination of the printing data are in a non-printable state. A print control unit for performing detour control for transmitting print data to another printing apparatus, wherein the print control unit determines a detour route for the detour control according to the order contents of the print data. .

  The printing system of the present invention is a printing system including a printing data supply device, a printing control device, and a plurality of printing devices, and the printing control device includes a receiving unit that receives print data indicating order contents, and a plurality of printings. When an arbitrary printing device that is a print data printing destination of the devices is in a non-printable state, the print data is transmitted to another printing device that is different from the arbitrary printing device among the plurality of printing devices. A print control unit that performs detour control, and the print control unit determines a detour route for the detour control according to the order contents of the print data.

  The control method of the print control apparatus according to the present invention includes: a receiving step for receiving print data indicating order contents; and an arbitrary printing apparatus when an arbitrary printing apparatus that is a printing destination of the print data is in a non-printable state A print control step for performing detour control for transmitting print data to another printing apparatus different from the print device, and the print control step determines a detour route for the detour control according to the order contents of the print data It is characterized by.

According to the configuration of the present invention, when performing detour control, the detour route is determined according to the order contents of the print data, and therefore, an appropriate one according to the order contents is selected from a plurality of printing apparatuses that are the targets of detour control. The print data can be bypassed by the printing apparatus, and the deterioration of the user's work efficiency due to the bypass control can be reduced. In addition, since the detour destination printing apparatuses can be distributed, it is possible to prevent an increase in the control load of a specific printing apparatus due to detour control.
The “non-printable state” is a concept including an error state and a busy state.
The “detour route” indicates the order of the identification information of the detour destination, such as the first print destination, the first detour destination, and the N th detour destination (N is an integer of 2 or more).

  In the above print control apparatus, a print destination code corresponding to the order contents is added to the print data, and the print control unit determines a bypass path for the bypass control according to the print destination code. .

  The configuration of the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which a print data supply apparatus that supplies print data adds a different print destination code depending on the order contents. For example, in a restaurant, when an order terminal sends information specifying a kitchen printer to print data indicating the contents of an order, the print control device bypasses using the information specifying the kitchen printer. A route can be determined.

  In the above print control apparatus, the bypass path is defined by the order of addresses uniquely assigned to each printing apparatus, a printing apparatus table in which addresses and one or more printing destination codes are associated, and a printing destination code And a detour route table that associates the detour route with each other, and the print control unit determines a detour route for the detour control with reference to the table storage unit.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, for example, the print data supply device is configured to add a different print destination code depending on the order contents, and the address and the print destination code can be associated with only 1: 1. The detour route is fixed, but the address and the print destination code can be associated with one or more, so that the configuration (application) on the print data supply apparatus side is not changed, and the order is not changed. The detour destination can be changed.

  The above print control apparatus further includes a print data storage unit that stores received print data in a nonvolatile manner, and the print control unit is in a state where unprinted data is stored in the print data storage unit when the power is turned on. Thus, when an arbitrary printing apparatus that is a printing destination of the print data is in a state where printing is not possible, detour control is performed.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, even when the power is turned off before the printing process is completed, the printing process can be reliably restarted. Thereby, order omission can be prevented, for example, when an order is received at a restaurant and a cooking instruction slip is printed.

  In the above print control apparatus, when the print control unit performs the bypass control, the print data, the identifier of the printing apparatus serving as the bypass source, and the state are printed on the bypass printing apparatus for the bypass printing apparatus. And additional information for transmitting the information.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, when performing detour control, additional information for causing the detour destination printing apparatus to print the status and identifier of the detour source printing apparatus is transmitted to the detour destination printing apparatus. Therefore, the user can grasp the cause of the bypass control with the bypass printing apparatus from the print result of the bypass printing apparatus. As a result, it is possible to easily specify the detour-source printing apparatus and quickly return the state.

It is a system configuration figure of an order entry system. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a smart printer. (A) is a figure which shows the normal paper cutting method, (b) is a figure which shows the paper cutting method by a paper cutting position reservation function. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the interface board which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the print data which an interface board receives. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job generated by an interface board. It is a sequence diagram which shows a series of printing processes in an order entry system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of detour control of an interface board. (A), (b) is a figure which shows an example of the print job which concerns on the modification 1-1. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the interface board which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing apparatus table. It is a figure which shows an example of a detour route table. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the interface board which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a detour control setting screen. (A) is a figure which shows the paper discharge direction at the time of setting a kitchen printer vertically, (b) is a figure which shows the paper discharge direction at the time of setting a kitchen printer horizontally. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the printing result suitable for front surface discharge | emission, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the printing result suitable for upper surface discharge | emission. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the printing result in the case of an accounting receipt, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the printing result in the case of an order slip. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the interface board which concerns on the modification 3-3.

  Hereinafter, a printing control apparatus, a printing system, and a control method for a printing control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the following embodiments, the print control apparatus of the present invention is realized by an interface board that is a part of a smart printer. Moreover, the case where the printing system of this invention is applied to the order entry system of a restaurant is illustrated.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an order entry system SY. The order entry system SY is an order terminal 1 (print data supply device, two are shown in the figure) used in the hall, an access point 2 installed in the hall, and a smart that issues an order slip installed in the pantry. A printer 3, one or more kitchen printers 4 (printing apparatus, three are shown in the figure) that are arranged in the kitchen and issue cooking instruction slips, a smart printer 5 that is installed at the checkout counter and issues accounting receipts, Is provided.

  The access point 2 is connected to the order terminal 1 via a wireless LAN, near field communication, or the like. The access point 2 is connected to the smart printers 3 and 5 via the network NW1. Furthermore, the smart printer 3 is connected to each kitchen printer 4 via the network NW2. The networks NW1 and NW2 may be wireless networks or wired networks. Further, the networks NW1 and NW2 may be constructed as one network.

  The order terminal 1 receives the order contents (ordered items and quantity, etc.) by the hall staff, print data for the order slip (the slip that the customer presents at the checkout counter at the time of payment) and the cooking instruction slip (provide the cooking instruction to the staff). Print data for a slip to be issued). The smart printer 3 prints the order slip based on the print data for the order slip transmitted from the order terminal 1. In addition, the smart printer 3 transmits the print data for the cooking instruction slip transmitted from the order terminal 1 to the kitchen printer 4 installed in each kitchen. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the kitchen printer 4 is installed in each kitchen for frying, grilling, and stove. On the other hand, the smart printer 5 reads the barcode printed on the order slip with a barcode reader (not shown), performs accounting processing based on the reading result, and prints an accounting receipt as the accounting processing result.

  In addition, when any kitchen printer 4 as a printing destination is in a state in which printing is not possible (error state or busy state), the smart printer 3 transmits print data to be printed by the kitchen printer 4 to other kitchen printers 4. Perform detour control to send to. Hereinafter, the bypass control by the smart printer 3 will be mainly described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the smart printer 3. The smart printer 3 includes a printer main body 3b and an interface board 3a (printing control device) configured to be detachable from the printer main body 3b.

  The interface board 3 a includes a control mechanism 31, an internal memory 32, a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as “communication I / F”) 33, a storage device 34, and a board side I / F 35.

  The control mechanism 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and controls each part of the interface board 3a. The internal memory 32 stores the control program and control data in a nonvolatile manner. As the control program, a print job generation program for generating a print job to be transmitted to each kitchen printer 4 and a bypass control program for performing bypass control are stored. In addition to printer registration information including the address and model (paper cutting method) of the kitchen printer 4 that is subject to bypass control, the bypass route and retry settings are stored as control data. The kitchen printer 4 that is subject to detour control refers to the kitchen printer 4 that can be a detour destination or detour source, and in this embodiment, three kitchen printers 4 are targeted. The paper cutting method will be described later with reference to FIG. The detour route and retry setting will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The communication I / F 33 is connected to the network NW1 and the network NW2, and communicates with the order terminal 1 and the kitchen printer 4. The storage device 34 holds the received print data and the print result, and erases the data in chronological order according to the device capacity. The board side I / F 35 communicates with the printer main body 3b (printer side I / F 37).

  On the other hand, the printer body 3 b includes a control mechanism 36, a printer-side I / F 37, a drawing memory 38, and a printing mechanism 39.

  The control mechanism 36 includes a CPU and a RAM, and controls each part of the printer main body 3b. The printer side I / F 37 communicates with the interface board 3a (board side I / F 35). The drawing memory 38 temporarily stores drawing data (data to be input to the printing mechanism 39) generated based on the order slip print data.

  The printing mechanism 39 includes a print head 45, a paper transport mechanism 46 (including a platen roller 46a), and a paper cutter 47, and performs a series of printing operations including printing, transport, and paper cutting (see FIG. 14). The paper cutter 47 faces the paper discharge port 42 and is located on the downstream side of the print head 45. Each printer 3, 4, 5 of this embodiment uses roll paper (long receipt paper) as a print medium, and issues an order slip, a cooking instruction slip, and an accounting receipt by cutting the paper as appropriate.

  The smart printer 5 has the same hardware configuration as that of the smart printer 3 shown in FIG. 2, and an accounting process is performed by the interface board 3a (the interface board 3a functions as a POS terminal). In addition, the hardware configuration of the kitchen printer 4 is not particularly illustrated, but the configuration is substantially the same as that of the printer body 3b of the smart printer 3. However, the printer side I / F 37 of the kitchen printer 4 is connected to the network NW2 and communicates with the smart printer 3 (communication I / F 33).

  Next, a paper cutting method will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the internal memory 32 of the interface board 3a is in a state in which the address and model of each kitchen printer 4 to be subject to detour control are registered. However, the interface board 3a is connected to the printing destination based on the model. It is determined whether or not the kitchen printer 4 to be compatible with the “paper cut position reservation function”. For models that are compatible with the “paper cut position reservation function”, a reservation cut command is transmitted together with the transmission of cooking instruction print data.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a normal paper cutting method when the kitchen printer 4 as the printing destination does not support the “paper cutting position reservation function”. In this case, the kitchen printer 4 performs sheet cutting after completion of printing of the preceding print data P1 (printing operation by the print head 45) and before starting printing of the subsequent print data P2. For this reason, the head of the subsequent print data P2 has a margin (paper from the front end of the paper to the print start position) corresponding to the paper conveyance distance between the print head 45 and the paper cutter 47 (hereinafter referred to as “head-cutter distance”). Length in the transport direction) occurs.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a paper cutting method in the case where the kitchen printer 4 as the printing destination can support the “paper cutting position reservation function”. The “paper cut position reservation function” realizes margin reduction on the condition that the subsequent print data P2 exists (the subsequent print data P2 is printed following the preceding print data P1).

  As shown in the figure, when the kitchen printer 4 serving as the printing destination can support the “paper cut position reservation function”, the interface board 3a sends a reserved cut command instead of a paper cut command at the end of the preceding print data P1. Send. At the same time, a paper feed amount corresponding to the distance between the head and the cutter is designated. When the subsequent print data P2 exists, the kitchen printer 4 that has received the reserved cut command cuts the paper when printing of the designated paper feed amount is performed after the start of printing. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of a margin corresponding to the head-cutter distance at the head of the subsequent print data P2. When the subsequent print data P2 does not exist, the normal sheet cutting method shown in FIG.

  Next, the functional configuration of the interface board 3a according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The interface board 3a includes a receiving unit 310 and a print control unit 320 as functional configurations.

  The receiving unit 310 receives print data from the order terminal 1 via the access point 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the print data received by the receiving unit 310 is print data for an order slip and print data for a cooking instruction slip. Also, there are three types of print data for cooking instruction slips, and one or more of them are received together with print data for order slips. In addition, a print destination code indicating the kitchen printer 4 as a print destination is added to the print data for each cooking instruction slip. In the case of this embodiment, the combination is the print data for the grill cooking instruction slip, the printing destination code of “printer 1 (kitchen printer 4 installed in the kitchen for grill)”, the print data for the frying cooking instruction slip, and “ Printer 2 (kitchen printer 4 installed in the kitchen for frying) ”, printing data for the stove cooking instruction slip and printing destination code for“ printer 3 (kitchen printer 4 installed in the kitchen for stove) ”, One of them. In the following description, when “print data” is simply written, it indicates print data for a cooking instruction slip. In addition, when simply described as “printer”, the kitchen printer 4 is indicated.

  The print control unit 320 includes a print job generation unit 321 and a bypass control unit 322. The print job generation unit 321 generates the print job shown in FIG. 6 when performing detour control. In other words, the addition indicating that detouring is performed after the print command of the main print data (print data for the grill cooking instruction slip in the figure) that is the print data received by the receiving unit 310 and before the paper cut command. A print job is generated by adding print data and adding a paper cut command between the main print data and the additional print data. In the example shown in the figure, the print job is generated so that the print area E2 of the additional print data is positioned after the print area E1 of the main print data, but the print position may be reversed.

  Note that the paper cut command may be an instruction for not a full cut but a one-point uncut, multi-point uncut, and perforated cut. These paper cut types may be selected and set by the user and registered in the internal memory 32 as part of the printer registration information.

  Here, the additional print data refers to a detour message indicating detour and an identifier of a detour source printer (first printing apparatus, arbitrary printing apparatus), and a detour destination printer (second printing apparatus, other printing). The additional information including the identification information for causing the device to print and the status information for causing the bypass destination printer to print the status of the bypass source printer is represented by characters or images. In the example shown in the figure, the detour message “▼▼▼ Detoured ▼▼▼”, the identification information “printer 1”, and the status information “cannot be connected” are all represented as character strings. These additional information (bypass message, identification information, and status information) may be represented by an image or a combination of a character string and an image.

  In addition, the print job generation unit 321 performs decoration for distinguishing the additional print data from the main print data. The example shown in the figure is a state in which substantially the entire print area E2 of the additional print data is shaded. In addition, the font type, font size, and character color of the character string included in the additional print data may be changed, or character decoration may be added. Further, a frame may be added so as to surround the print area E2 of the additional print data, a background pattern may be printed on the print area E2, or a specific mark may be printed on a part of the print area E2.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The bypass control unit 322 performs bypass control for transmitting print data to other printers other than the arbitrary printer when an arbitrary printer that is a printing destination of the print data is in a state where printing is not possible. At this time, the print job (main print data + additional print data) generated by the print job generation unit 321 is transmitted to the printer serving as a detour destination. If the bypass control is not performed, the print control unit 320 transmits only the main print data to the print destination.

  The “unprintable state” means that the printer is in an error state or a busy state. The error state is “roll paper cover open error: state in which the roll paper cover 43 (see FIG. 15) is open”, “head high temperature error: state in which the print head 45 is hot and a temperature equal to or higher than the threshold is detected”. , “Cutter error: State in which paper cutter 47 is abnormal”, “Memory R / W error: State that does not operate normally after read / write check for internal memory 32”, “Voltage error: Power supply voltage is too high Or “too low”, “CPU execution error: CPU is executing an invalid address”, “internal circuit connection error: internal circuit connection is not normal”, “interface error: interface error has occurred State "etc.

  On the other hand, the printer body 3 b includes a printing unit 330. The printing unit 330 performs printing based on the order slip print data received by the receiving unit 310. In the present embodiment, the printing unit 330 of the printer body 3b is not subject to bypass control.

  The kitchen printer 4 also includes a printing unit 410. The printing unit 410 performs printing based on the print data for the cooking instruction slip received by the receiving unit 310 or the print job generated by the print job generating unit 321. That is, the print job generated by the print job generation unit 321 is printed when the detour destination is reached, and the print data (main print data) for the cooking instruction slip is printed when the detour destination is not reached.

  Next, a flow of a series of printing processes will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an overall operation of the order entry system SY, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation mainly using the interface board 3a. In FIG. 7, it is assumed that a detour route and a retry setting are registered in advance in the interface board 3a as indicated by a dotted frame. For example, when the kitchen printer 4 specified by the printing destination code (see FIG. 5) is “printer 1 (P1)”, the “redirect route” is “printer 2 (P2)”, “printer 3 (P3)” in this order. Bypassing, “Printer 2” is set to bypass “Printer 3” and “Printer 1”, and “Printer 3” is set to bypass “Printer 1” and “Printer 2” in this order. The In addition, as a retry setting, a command transmission interval (interval of 10 seconds in the example of the figure) and a retry count (two times in the example of the figure) are set.

  The detour route and retry setting can be arbitrarily set by the user. As a setting method, a method of accessing and setting the Web server of the interface board 3a with a Web browser, a method of calling the Web API and transmitting setting information to the setting URL of the interface board 3a, and setting to a storage device such as a USB memory A method of storing information and causing the interface board 3a to read the USB memory can be considered.

  As shown in the figure, when the order terminal 1 first transmits main print data (print data for grill cooking instruction slip) to the interface board 3a (S01), the interface board 3a receives the main print data. Then, the spool OK is returned to the order terminal 1 as the transmission source (S02). Further, the interface board 3a attempts to transmit data to the “printer 1” that is the first print destination based on the print destination code added to the received main print data. As a result, for example, when a connection error occurs (S03), retry transmission is performed twice at 10-second intervals according to the retry setting (S04, S05).

  If the print data cannot be transmitted even after the retry, the interface board 3a attempts to transmit data to the “printer 2” serving as the first detour destination (second print destination) according to the detour path. As a result, for example, when a paper out error occurs (S06), retry transmission is performed according to the retry setting (S07, S08). If the print data cannot be sent even after retrying, the printer 3 tries to send data to the second detour destination (third print destination) according to the detour path, and the printer 3 can be printed. If the print job is in the state, the print job generated by the print job generation unit 321 (the main print data added with the additional print data of “printer 1”) is transmitted (S09). As described above, the interface board 3a adds only the additional print data relating to the first print destination “printer 1” to the main print data even when the printer 2 bypasses “printer 2” and “printer 3” twice.

  Next, the operation of the interface board 3a will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the interface board 3a receives the main print data from the order terminal 1 (S11), it returns a spool OK (S12). Further, the kitchen printer 4 to be a printing destination is selected (S13). The first print destination is selected based on the print destination code, and the second and subsequent print destinations are selected based on the detour route.

  In S13, if there is no kitchen printer 4 as a printing destination (S14: No), an error occurs. If there is a kitchen printer 4 as a printing destination (S14: Yes), connect to the kitchen printer 4 (S15), and if it cannot be connected (S16: No), retry according to the retry setting. It is determined whether or not to perform (S17). When retrying (S17: Yes), the process returns to S15. If retry is not performed (S17: No), the process returns to S13 to select a printer as a detour destination.

  On the other hand, when the connection is established in S16 (S16: Yes), the state of the kitchen printer 4 is acquired (S18). Here, when the kitchen printer 4 is in a non-printable state (S19: No), it is determined whether or not to retry according to the retry setting (S17). If the printer is in a printable state (S19: Yes), it is determined whether or not a detour has been made (S20). If it has not been detoured (S20: No), only the main print data received in S01 is printed. Is transmitted to the kitchen printer 4 (S21). Further, when the job is detoured (S20: Yes), the additional print data of the kitchen printer 4 that is the first print destination is added to the main print data received in S01, and is sent to the detour destination kitchen printer 4 (S22). ). After S21 or S22, the print result is acquired from the kitchen printer 4 that transmitted the print data, and stored in the storage device 34 (S23).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when performing detour control, the additional print data indicating the state of the detour-source kitchen printer 4 is transmitted to the detour-destination kitchen printer 4, The cause of the bypass control can be ascertained from the printing result of the bypass kitchen printer 4. Further, since the additional print data includes the identifier of the kitchen printer 4 that is the detour source, even when there are three or more kitchen printers 4 that are subject to detour control, the kitchen printer 4 to be returned to the state can be easily identified. be able to. Moreover, since the print job is generated by the interface board 3a, it is not necessary to change the order terminal 1 (application change or replacement), and the control load of the kitchen printer 4 can be reduced.

In addition, the following modifications can be employed.
[Modification 1-1]
The print job generation unit 321 may generate the print job so that the print length when the additional print data is added to the main print data is the same as the print length when only the main print data is printed. As a print job generation method, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a method of superimposing a print area E2 of additional print data on a print area E1 of main print data is conceivable. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, a blank area is detected from the print area E1 of the main print data, the additional print data is reduced according to the size of the blank area, and the reduced additional print data is displayed. A configuration may be added. As described above, according to the configuration of the present modification, even when additional print data is added (when bypass control is performed), wasteful paper is not consumed for this purpose, which can contribute to resource saving.

[Modification 1-2]
When the detour control unit 322 performs detours a plurality of times (when the first printing device and the second printing device are in a non-printable state), the addition of all the detoured printers to the detour destination printer Print data may be transmitted. According to this configuration, the user can grasp that a plurality of printers are in an unprintable state, and as a result, each printer can be quickly returned to the state.

[Modification 1-3]
The generation of a print job by the print job generation unit 321 may be omitted. In this case, the print control unit 320 (the bypass control unit 322) sends additional information (a status code indicating the status of the bypass source printer and an identification code of the bypass source printer) together with the main print data to the bypass destination printer. Send. The printer (kitchen printer 4) that receives them receives a status message (for example, the character string “cannot be connected”) in which the status code is converted into text or an image, and an identifier (for example, a text string) in which the identification code is converted into text or an image. The additional print data including “printer 1” is generated (additional print data generation unit), and is printed together with the main print data (printing unit). Since only the code and the identification code need to be transmitted, the data transmission amount can be reduced as compared with the case of transmitting the additional print data as in the first embodiment. The data printing form (decoration and printing position) can be customized.

[Modification 1-4]
Regarding the retry setting (see the dotted frame in FIG. 7), whether or not to retry may be determined according to the type of error. For example, a fatal error may be bypassed immediately without retrying. The fatal error refers to “memory R / W error”, “voltage error”, “CPU execution error”, “internal circuit connection error”, “interface error”, and the like.

[Modification 1-5]
In the additional print data, handling information indicating a handling method corresponding to the status information (the status of the bypassing printer) may be included. According to this configuration, even a user who is unfamiliar with the handling of the printer can take appropriate measures.

[Modification 1-6]
The printer main body 3b of the smart printer 3 and / or the printer main body of the smart printer 5 may be included as a printer to be subject to bypass control. Further, not all connected kitchen printers 4 may be used as detour destinations, but only some kitchen printers 4 may be used as detour destinations. In addition, the user may arbitrarily set a printer as a detour source and / or a detour destination. According to this configuration, the printer to be subject to the bypass control can be designated according to the scale of the store and the system configuration, which is convenient.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the detour destination is determined according to the detour route registered in advance in the interface board 3a. In the present embodiment, the detour destination is determined according to the order contents of the print data. If the unprinted data is stored in the storage device 34 when the smart printer 3 is turned on, printing of the unprinted data is resumed. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, the modification applied about the component similar to 1st Embodiment is applied similarly about this embodiment.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the interface board 3a according to the second embodiment. The interface board 3a according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a print data storage unit 350 is added to the configuration of the first embodiment (see FIG. 4), and a table storage unit 324 is further added in the print control unit 320.

  The print data storage unit 350 stores the received print data (print data for cooking instruction slips and print data for order slips) in a nonvolatile manner, and is realized by the storage device 34 (see FIG. 2). Further, the print control unit 320 of the present embodiment is added to the print data when, for example, unprinted data (print data for cooking instruction slips) is stored in the print data storage unit 350 when the power is turned on. Data transmission is attempted to the kitchen printer 4 specified by the print destination code. Further, when the kitchen printer 4 is in a non-printable state, bypass control is performed. When unprinted data for order slips is stored in the print data storage unit 350 when the power is turned on, the unprinted data is transmitted to the printer body 3b.

  On the other hand, the table storage unit 324 stores the printing apparatus table shown in FIG. 11 and the bypass control table shown in FIG. 12 in a nonvolatile manner, and is realized by the internal memory 32 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 11, the printing apparatus table is a table in which, for each printer (kitchen printer 4) that is a target of detour control, an address uniquely assigned to each printer is associated with one or more printing destination codes. is there. As the address, for example, an IP address can be applied, but it is indicated by a number such as “0001” in FIG. The print destination code is associated with the order item (order contents) in the order terminal 1. For example, the print destination code associated with “Grilled dish A” is added to the print data for the cooking instruction slip for the ordered item “Grilled dish A”. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, the bypass control table is a table in which the print destination code and the bypass route are associated with each other. The bypass path is defined by the order of the addresses of each printer (information including the first print destination address, the first bypass destination address,... The last bypass destination address).

  The print control unit 320 (the bypass control unit 322) of the present embodiment determines a printing destination (a bypass route) with reference to the printing device table and the bypass control table. For example, if the “printer 1” is in a printable state, the printing destination code “PRa” is added to the print data for the cooking instruction slip of “Grilled dish A”, and the printing destination is determined from the reference result of the printing apparatus table. Becomes “0001”.

  On the other hand, if “printer 1” is in an unprintable state, the bypass route is determined as follows from the reference result of the bypass route table. For example, when the print destination code “PRa” is added to the print data for the cooking instruction slip of “Grilled food A”, the detour route is “0001 → 0002 → 0003”. For example, when the print destination code “PRb” is added to the print data for the cooking instruction slip of “Grilled dish B”, the detour path is “0001 → 0003 → 0002”. As described above, the first printing destination is “printer 1” having the address “0001”, but since the printing destination codes are different, the detour paths are also different. In this way, the print control unit 320 determines a bypass path (a bypass destination) for the bypass control according to the order contents of the print data.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when performing detour control, a detour route is determined according to the order contents of the print data, and therefore, an order item is selected from a plurality of kitchen printers 4 subject to detour control. The print data can be bypassed by an appropriate kitchen printer 4 according to the above. For example, when “grilled food A” is a set menu of grilled food and fried food and “grilled food B” is a set menu of grilled food and stove food, the print data for the cooking instruction slip of “grilled food A” When the grill “printer 1” is in a state incapable of printing, the grill “printer 2” is bypassed. Also, the print data for the cooking instruction slip of “Grill cooking B” is bypassed to the “Printer 3” for the stove when the “Printer 1” for grilling is in a state where printing is impossible. In this way, by changing the detour destination according to the combination of set menus, the overall work efficiency can be expected to be improved, such as adjusting the finishing time of dishes among the kitchen staff. In addition, since the detour destination printers can be distributed, it is possible to prevent the control load of a specific printer from increasing due to the detour control.

  Further, since a plurality of printing destination codes can be associated with one printer in the printing apparatus table, the detour destination can be changed according to the order contents without changing the configuration (application) of the order terminal 1. can do.

  In addition, since the interface board 3a of the present embodiment includes the print data storage unit 350 that stores the received print data in a non-volatile manner, the print process can be reliably performed even when the power is turned off before the print process ends. You can resume. Thereby, due to an error or trouble of the kitchen printer 4, it is possible to prevent an order failure such that cooking is not started even though there is an order.

In addition, the following modifications can be employed.
[Modification 2-1]
When the order terminal 1 is configured not to add the printing destination code to the print data, the interface board 3a (print control unit 320) determines the order contents by analyzing the print data, and the detour route according to the order contents. May be determined (by changing the detour destination). When the application is applied to other than the order entry system SY, the print contents of the print data (for example, whether or not a specific character string or a specific command is included in the print data, the specific character string or the specific command included in the print data). The detour route may be determined according to the number of items).

[Modification 2-2]
The detour route may be determined according to the state of the detour source as well as the order contents of the print data. For example, if a fatal error that cannot be restored occurs in the detour source printer, the staff used by the shop manager or other staff who is used to handling the printer detours, and if any other error occurs, the order details It is conceivable to perform detour control according to a detour route according to the situation. According to this configuration, since the store manager or the like can notice the fatal error earlier, it is possible to deal with the error quickly and accurately.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is characterized in that the print mode of the additional print data can be set. Only differences from the first and second embodiments will be described below. Also in the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The modification applied to the same components as those in the first and second embodiments is also applied to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the interface board 3a according to the third embodiment. The interface board 3a according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a print setting unit 370 is added to the configuration of the interface board 3a according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 4).

  The print setting unit 370 performs various print settings such as a print direction and a print position for the additional print data added to the main print data when performing bypass control. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bypass control setting screen D1 for performing the print setting. On the detour control setting screen D1, settings are made for five items of “detour message”, “printing direction”, “printing position”, “paper cut”, and “decoration”. “Detour message” selects one candidate from a plurality of message candidates. Note that “detour message” may be text-inputtable.

  “Print direction” sets the direction of the additional print data with respect to the paper discharge direction, and “normal” or “inverted” can be selected. When “normal” is set, the characters are printed in an upright state with respect to the paper discharge direction. When “inverted” is set, characters are printed in an inverted state with respect to the paper discharge direction.

  “Print position” sets the print position of the additional print data with respect to the main print data, and either “front” or “back” can be selected. When “Previous” is set, the additional print data is printed before the main print data. If “after” is set, the additional print data is printed after the main print data.

  “Paper cut” sets whether or not to cut the paper between the main print data and the additional print data, and “Yes” or “No” can be selected. When “Yes” is set, the paper is cut between the main print data and the additional print data. When “No” is set, the paper is cut between the main print data and the additional print data. Is not done. That is, the interface board 3a determines whether or not to add a paper cut command between the main print data and the additional print data in accordance with the setting of “paper cut”. When “Yes” is set, it is also possible to set a paper cut type (full cut, single-point cut, etc.).

  “Decoration” is used to set decorations to be added to the additional print data. In this embodiment, “bold”, “underline”, “horizontal double angle”, “vertical double angle”, and “invert” are used for decoration. The presence or absence can be selected. In addition, the presence or absence of decoration such as addition of a frame to the print area E2 of the additional print data, tint block printing, and printing of a specific image may be selectable.

  These settings are made on the detour control setting screen D1, and the setting content is confirmed by clicking the apply button 51. The bypass control setting screen D1 is displayed by the web browser in the case of setting by accessing the web server of the interface board 3a with a web browser. Further, in the case of a method of calling the Web API and transmitting the setting information to the setting URL of the interface board 3a, the bypass control setting screen D1 is displayed by the Web API. Further, in the case of a method of storing setting information in a storage device such as a USB memory and causing the interface board 3a to read the USB memory, a detour is made depending on an application of a computer (including a PC and a tablet terminal) having a function of writing to the USB memory. A control setting screen D1 is displayed.

  In the present embodiment, all the kitchen printers 4 (in this embodiment, “printer 1” and “printer 2”) that can be the detour source or detour destination of the detour control by the print setting unit 370 (the detour control setting screen D1). , “Printer 3”) collectively. In addition, when performing the bypass control, the print control unit 320 (the bypass control unit 322) of the present embodiment adds the additional print data based on the setting of the print setting unit 370 to the main print data and transmits the additional print data.

  Next, the setting of the print setting unit 370 and the printing result based on the setting will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16A is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result suitable for front side discharge, and FIG. 16B is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result suitable for top surface discharge.

  Here, first, with reference to FIG. 15, the installation direction of the kitchen printer 4 will be described. In the figure, a kitchen printer 4 of a model that can support both vertical installation and horizontal installation is illustrated. The figure (a) is a figure which shows the case where the kitchen printer 4 is installed vertically, and the figure (b) is the figure which shows the case where the kitchen printer 4 is installed horizontally. In both figures, reference numeral 41 denotes a roll paper, reference numeral 42 denotes a paper discharge port, reference numeral 43 denotes a roll paper cover, reference numeral 45 denotes a print head, reference numeral 46a denotes a platen roller, and reference numeral 47 denotes a paper cutter. The platen roller 46a is provided on the roll paper cover 43. After the user opens the roll paper cover 43 and inserts the roll paper 41, the print head 45 and the platen roller 46a face each other by closing the roll paper cover 43. The printer is ready for printing.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when the kitchen printer 4 is placed vertically, the paper is discharged to the front. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16A, when the print direction of the additional print data is “inverted”, the cooking instruction slip is confirmed from the front side of the printer (in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 15A). It is easy for the kitchen staff to see because the characters are upright. Note that the print direction of the main print data is set in the order terminal 1, and therefore is not an editing target of the interface board 3a (print control unit 320). Further, “printing position” and “paper cut” can be set according to the user's needs, but in FIG. 16A, when “printing position: after” and “paper cut: perform” are set. The print result is shown.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15B, when the kitchen printer 4 is installed horizontally, the paper is discharged from the upper surface. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16B, when the printing direction of the additional print data is “normal”, the cooking instruction slip is confirmed from the upper front direction of the printer (the arrow direction indicated by the symbol A2 in FIG. 15B). It is easy for the kitchen staff to see because the characters are upright. In the same figure, the printing results when “printing position: front” and “paper cutting: yes” are set are shown.

  The print setting may be set not only according to the paper discharge direction but also according to the application. For example, FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result in the case of a transaction receipt. Here, a printer (smart printer for accounting receipt 5, see FIG. 1) is installed vertically, and an accounting staff stands on the front side of the printer (in the direction of the arrow A1 in FIG. 15A) and faces it. Assume that customers are standing. In this situation, if the additional print data is printed upside down as shown in the figure, the accounting staff confirming the additional information is easy to see because the characters are upright. On the other hand, since the main print data is normally printed, there is no need to change the direction of the accounting receipt when the accounting receipt is given to the customer. In the drawing, the print results when the additional print data are set to “print position: previous” and “paper cut: perform” are shown.

  On the other hand, FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating an example of a print result in the case of an order slip. Here, the printer (smart printer for order slip 3, see FIG. 1) is installed vertically, and the hall staff is standing on the front side of the printer (in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 15A). Assumed. In this case, the order slip and the additional information are printed upside down, so that the characters are upright, and are easy for the hall staff to visually recognize. In addition, since the “print position” of the additional print data is set to “previous”, it can be confirmed that the bypass control is performed immediately after printing is started. In addition, since it is in a state where “paper cut: not performed” is set, there is also an advantage that separation errors can be prevented.

  Although it is obvious when compared with the example of FIGS. 16A and 16B, as in the example of FIGS. 17A and 17B, in the case of setting “printing position: previous”, reference numeral 53 denotes. The detour message triangle mark (6 marks in total, 3 on the left and right of “▼▼▼ detoured ▼▼▼”) is changed to an upward triangle mark. This is to indicate the position of the print data bypassed by the direction of the triangle mark. In other words, the print control unit 320 changes the downward triangle mark to the upward triangle mark when the set detour message includes a downward triangle mark and the “print position” is set to “front”. I do. Note that the mark to be edited is not limited to the triangle mark, but may be any mark having directionality such as an arrow mark. In addition, when the set detour message includes a mark indicating upward, and the “print position” is set to “back”, editing is performed to change the mark indicating upward to a mark indicating downward. May be.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the print mode of the additional print data can be changed according to the user's needs. For example, the print direction of the additional print data can be matched with the print direction of the main print data, or can be intentionally reversed. Further, the additional print data can be printed before or after the main print data.

  Further, since the print setting unit 370 can perform batch setting for all printers that are targets of bypass control, the print setting can be performed more efficiently as the number of printers increases. In addition, the risk of erroneous setting can be reduced compared with the case where one is set at a time.

In addition, the following modifications can be employed.
[Modification 3-1]
The print setting unit 370 may set the print direction of the additional print data and the print direction of the main print data independently. According to this configuration, the print direction of the additional print data and the print direction of the main print data can be arbitrarily changed according to the user's needs without changing the configuration (application) of the order terminal 1. Note that the decoration setting may be performed for the main print data in the same manner as the additional print data.

[Modification 3-2]
The print setting unit 370 may classify all printers that are subject to detour control by model, and enable print settings for each model. According to this configuration, the appropriate print settings differ depending on the model, such as the print direction suitable for the “front discharge” printer and the print direction suitable for the “top discharge” printer. This is effective when multiple models are mixed in the printer. In the present modification, the print form of the additional print data may be different depending on the detour destination, so it is necessary to regenerate the print job each time the print destination is switched.

[Modification 3-3]
The print setting unit 370 may be omitted. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the interface board 3a according to the present modification. The interface board 3a according to this modification includes a print setting storage unit 326 in the print control unit 320 instead of omitting the print setting unit 370 from the configuration of the third embodiment (see FIG. 13). The print setting storage unit 326 stores print settings suitable for each printer that is a target of bypass control. In this case, the print setting may be stored for each model or may be stored for each printer. Further, the print setting may be stored so as to be rewritable, or may be stored so as not to be rewritable. When performing the bypass control, the print control unit 320 (the bypass control unit 322) according to the present modification refers to the print setting storage unit 326, and adds the additional print data based on the print setting associated with the bypass destination printer. Add to print data and send. According to this configuration, it is possible to save the trouble of manual print setting by the user, and it is possible to appropriately set the print form of the additional print data according to each printer.

  In the case of a printer that can switch the installation direction, the print control unit 320 may perform print settings according to the installation direction. In this case, the installation direction is detected by an acceleration sensor or the like by each printer, and the detection result is output to the interface board 3a. The interface board 3a (print control unit 320) sets the print direction of the additional print data according to the installation direction acquired from each printer. According to this example, the print direction of the additional print data can be appropriately set according to the installation direction of each printer. Further, in combination with the modified example 3-1, not only the additional print data but also the print direction of the main print data may be set according to the installation direction of each printer.

[Modification 3-4]
The additional print data may be added both before and after the main print data, rather than before or after the main print data. According to this configuration, even when a plurality of cooking instruction slips are continuously printed, the bypassed cooking instruction slips can be reliably distinguished.

[Modification 3-5]
If the detour message does not include a directional mark (such as “▼▼▼ detoured ▼▼▼” triangle mark), a position notification image indicating the position of the detoured print data may be added. . Further, the position notification image may be printed as a part of the additional print data regardless of the contents of the bypass message. According to this configuration, even when a plurality of cooking instruction slips are continuously printed, the bypassed cooking instruction slips can be reliably distinguished.

  Although the three embodiments and modifications have been described above, each component of the order entry system SY (particularly the interface board 3a) shown in each embodiment or each modification can be provided as a program. Further, the program can be provided by being stored in various recording media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.). That is, a program for causing a computer to function as each component of the order entry system SY and a recording medium on which the program is recorded are also included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the printing control apparatus of the present invention is applied to the interface board 3a attached to the smart printer 3 is exemplified. However, the printing control apparatus is realized by an apparatus independent from the smart printer 3 for order slips. Also good. When the print data supply apparatus that supplies print data has a printer driver, the print control apparatus of the present invention may be realized by the printer driver. Further, the printing control apparatus of the present invention may be applied to a printing system other than the order entry system SY. Further, the print medium is not limited to a long print medium, and may be a cut sheet. Furthermore, the print control apparatus of the present invention may be realized using cloud computing technology. Other modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  1: Order terminal 2: Access point 3: Smart printer (for order slip) 3a: Interface board 3b: Printer body 4: Kitchen printer 5: Smart printer (for accounting receipt) 41: Roll paper 42: Paper discharge port 43: Roll Paper cover 45: Print head 46: Paper transport mechanism 46a: Platen roller 47: Paper cutter 51: Application button 310: Reception unit 320: Print control unit 321: Print job generation unit 322: Detour control unit 324: Table storage unit 326: Print setting storage unit 330: Printing unit 350: Print data storage unit 370: Print setting unit 410: Printing unit D1: Detour control setting screen E1: Print area for main print data E2: Print area for additional print data NW1, NW2: Network P1 : Predecessor print data P2: Subsequent print data SY: Order entry system

Claims (5)

A receiving unit for receiving print data indicating the contents of the order;
If the arbitrary printing apparatus printing destination to become the print data is impossible state printing, the printing control unit for performing bypass control for transmitting the print data to different other printing devices and said arbitrary printing apparatus And comprising
The print control unit, according to whether or not a specific character string or a specific command is included in the print data, or according to the number of the specific character string or the specific command included in the print data, Determining which of the plurality of bypass routes of the bypass control is the bypass route;
The plurality of bypass paths include two or more bypass paths in which the printing device that is the first printing destination of the print data is the same and the printing device that is the second printing destination is different. Control device. A print data storage unit for storing the received print data in a nonvolatile manner;
The print controller is a case in which a non-print data to the power is turned ON the print data storage portion is stored, to the arbitrary printing apparatus is unprintable state printing destination to become the print data in some cases, the printing control apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the bypass control. The print control unit, when performing the bypass control, causes the bypass printing apparatus to print the print data, the identifier of the printing apparatus serving as the bypass source, and a state to the bypass printing apparatus. the print control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to transmit the additional information and, a. A printing system comprising a printing data supply device, a printing control device, and a plurality of printing devices,
The print control device includes:
A receiving unit for receiving print data indicating the contents of the order;
When in any printing apparatus that is unprintable state printing destination to become the print data among the plurality of printing apparatuses, for different other printing devices and said arbitrary printing apparatus among the plurality of printing devices And a print control unit for performing detour control for transmitting the print data.
The print control unit, according to whether or not a specific character string or a specific command is included in the print data, or according to the number of the specific character string or the specific command included in the print data, Determining which of the plurality of bypass routes of the bypass control is the bypass route;
The plurality of bypass paths include two or more bypass paths in which the printing device that is the first printing destination of the print data is the same and the printing device that is the second printing destination is different. system. A receiving step for receiving print data indicating the order contents;
If the arbitrary printing apparatus printing destination to become the print data is impossible state printing, print control step of performing bypass control for transmitting the print data to different other printing devices and said arbitrary printing apparatus And run
In the print control step, depending on whether or not a specific character string or a specific command is included in the print data, or according to the number of the specific character string or the specific command included in the print data, Determining which of the plurality of bypass routes of the bypass control is the bypass route;
The plurality of bypass paths include two or more bypass paths in which the printing device that is the first printing destination of the print data is the same and the printing device that is the second printing destination is different. Control method of the control device.

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