JPH02132517A - Printer controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable only a subject user to apply the necessary treatments to a printer by adding the identification codes allocated to each host or terminal to a message showing the state of the printer or adding no code to the message. CONSTITUTION:An identification code is allocated to each host or terminal and the state of a printer is transmitted in the form of a message. In such a case, an identification code is added to the message, then sent to a host or a terminal which is using the printer in the case of such an error state where the transmission of the message is required for only such a host or terminal that has a paper jam trouble, etc. However the messages is sent to all hosts or terminals in case of fatal state of the printer like the absence of the toner, the paper, etc. In this respect, no identification code is added to the message and outputted from a communication means. Thus the state of the printer can be judged and no direct check is required to the printer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a printer control device that prints data sent from a data processing device such as a host computer.

(Prior Art) Generally, data sent from a host computer or the like to a printer consists of print data indicating an actual print pattern and control data for controlling the printing method and mode of the print engine. A printer control device (hereinafter simply referred to as a controller) processes this data, converts it into a dot image to be actually printed, and supplies it to a print engine that performs printing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In recent years, electrophotographic printers such as laser printers have become quite popular due to their high printing speed, high quality fonts, and relatively quiet operating noise during printing. On the other hand,
Electrophotographic printers are still quite expensive, and it is impossible for most users to provide a dedicated printer for each host such as a personal computer or word processor. Also, although inkjet printers and wire dot printers are cheaper than electrophotographic printers, it is cost-wise and selfless to provide each host with a dedicated printer when printer availability is low. There are quite a few.

Therefore, in many cases, these printers are not connected to one host at a time, but are shared, such as multiple hosts connected to a single printer via a multiplexer, etc. The current situation is that

Furthermore, in consideration of cost from the beginning, there is a Maltusa compatible system in which a plurality of terminals are provided for one main host in personal computers, word processors, etc. from the beginning.

In this system as well, the printer is connected to the main host, and the users of each terminal use the printer via the main host, so that the printer is shared.

In all of the above usage patterns, each terminal is often far away from the printer, and in order to check the status of the printer, it is necessary to go to the trouble of checking the printer. To solve this problem, a printer control device could be considered that returns a status hood that informs the printer status to the main host, and the main host informs each terminal. Since the multiplexer in the former case and the main host in the latter case cannot distinguish which terminal the status code is for, in the end the status code is for a specific terminal. There was a problem that it was never sent to.

On the other hand, it is desirable that a status code indicating a printer trouble or the like be sent not only to a specific terminal but to all connected terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide multi-user support, in which one or more printers are connected to multiple hosts via a multiplexer, and one or more printers In a system where a printer is connected to a main host and multiple terminals are output from the main host, the status code indicating the printer status is
For one host or terminal that is using a printer,
Alternatively, it is possible to provide a printer control device that selectively sends information to all hosts or terminals depending on the status of the printer.

This printer control device determines whether it is sufficient to notify the status of the printer to only one host or one terminal that is using the printer, or whether it is necessary to notify all hosts or terminals of the printer status. The judgment can be made depending on the condition. Therefore, there is no need to go directly to check the printer.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, a printer control device according to the present invention is provided between one or more hosts or terminals and a printer connected thereto, and is capable of handling print data and , the identification code assigned in advance to each host or terminal and the control data including the print mode setting values necessary to print the print data are selectively input to the printer for each host or terminal, and the printer prints the data. bidirectional communication means for selectively outputting the data to a host or terminal; an identification code storage means for storing an identification code; and a print control means for controlling printing by the printer according to a print mode setting value; A response means for determining the state of the printer and responding to the host or terminal according to the state, and an identification stored in the identification code storage means according to the attributes of the response data from the response means. Determine whether or not to add a code to the response, and if it is necessary to add the identification code, add the identification code to the response and output it from the communication means; if not, output only the response from the communication means. The invention is characterized by comprising a communication control means for controlling to

(Function) In a printer that is shared by multiple hosts or terminals, an identification code is assigned to each host or terminal, and when the printer status is sent as a message, it can be detected only by the compatible hosts or compatible terminals, such as paper jams. If the error condition is sufficient to send to the printer, an identification code is added to the message and sent to the host or terminal that is using the printer.

However, if the printer is in a fatal printer state such as out of toner or out of paper, the message is controlled to be output from the communication means without adding an identification code in order to send the message to all hosts or all terminals.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(a) Configuration of electrophotographic printer First, the schematic configuration of the printer and the control device will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows a printer system 10 which is an embodiment of the present invention.
The configuration of the processing system and its application examples are shown.

Data from the plurality of data processing devices IA, IB, and Ic is temporarily stored in an external file multiplex buffer 2 in order to improve throughput, and then output to the printer system IO. The file multiplex buffer 2 includes a plurality of data processing devices IA, IB,
It also functions as a multiplexer for connecting each IG to one printer.

The printer system 10 includes a bitmap data processing device 3, a print engine 4 using an electrophotographic process and a laser, and accessory devices such as an external paper feed unit 5 and a sorter 6.

FIG. 2 shows the external appearance of the printer system 10. The print engine 4 incorporates the bitmap data processing device 3 described above, and can be connected to an external paper feed unit 5 and a sorter 6 as accessories. In addition, on the upper front side of the print engine 4, there is an operation panel 4 with displays showing the system status and keys for simple operations.
4 is installed.

FIG. 3 shows details of the operation panel 44. Here, 901 to 903 are input keys, and 910 to 918 are display elements. A key 901 is a PAUSE key for temporarily stopping the printing operation. Key 903 is a shift key, and by pressing it at the same time as key 902,
This is the CANCEL key to interrupt printing. key 90
The reason why 2.903 is pressed at the same time to enable interruption is to prevent interruptions due to careless operations.

Figure 4 is a central sectional view showing the paper path of the printing system, showing the three removable paper feed cassettes (5 1.5
2.5 Paper is selectively fed from 3). After the toner is removed by a cleaner 406 in the print engine 4, the photosensitive drum 401 is uniformly charged by a charger 404 and an eraser lamp 405.
Image exposure is received from optical system 409 . A toner image is formed on the photoreceptor drum 401 by the developing device 402, transferred onto the paper fed by the transfer charger 403, conveyed to the paper fixing device 408 by the conveyor belt 407, and transferred to the fixing device 408. After the fixing process in step 408, it is stored in the sorter 6.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of printer system 10.

The bitmap data processing device 3 includes a bitmap control unit (BMC) 30 (see FIG. 6), a bitmap RAM (BM-RAM) 32 for bitmaps, and a bitmap RAM (BM-RAM) 32 for bitmaps.
Bitmap writing section (BM
W) 3 Consists of 1 and a font section 33. The font section 33 consists of a ROM section in which seven predetermined fonts are stored in advance, and a RAM section that can also store fonts downloaded from the outside. Control data (number of sheets, accessory control, etc.) is used for contact with print engine 4.
This is done using bus B3 for image data and bus B4 for image data.

The print engine 4 is mainly composed of three control devices. First, the interface control section (IFC) 40 processes control data from the bitmap control section 30, controls the operation panel, and controls the timing of the entire printer through the internal bus B5. The electrophotographic control section 4l controls the electrophotographic processing section 45 in accordance with data sent from the interface control section 40 through the internal bus B5.

The print head control unit 42 performs printing according to information sent from the interface control unit 40 via the internal bus B5 in order to write image data sent from the bitmap writing unit 3l via the internal bus B4 onto the photoreceptor l. It controls the light emission of the semiconductor laser of the head section 43 and the rotation of the polygon motor (not shown).

In addition, the external paper feed unit 5 and the sorter 6 are also connected to the internal bus B5.
Through the interface system? It is controlled from the a1 section 40.

The printer system 10 described above is a bitmap type laser printer. Data processing device IA
, IB, and IC (mostly represented by codes) are sent to the bitmap processing device 3.
The image is developed as an actual print image on the BM-RAM 32 of the printer, and is output to the print engine 4. The print engine 4 modulates laser light according to the data from the bitmap data processing device 3, records the data on the photoreceptor, and further transfers it onto recording paper.

The data sent from the data processing devices IA, IB, and Ic includes not only print data but also codes for controlling the format and setting the mode of the printer.

The bitmap data processing device 3 analyzes these protocols in addition to the print data, controls the format, and issues instructions for feeding paper to the print engine 4, changing the optional mode, etc. as necessary.

In addition to the above recording control, the print engine 4 performs associated electrophotographic control, recording paper timing control, and other processing in synchronization with paper feeding to other options. Control of the print engine 4 is similar to that of an electrophotographic copying machine except for the scanning system.

(b) Bitmap Control Section FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the bitmap control section 30. The bitmap control unit 30 is composed of several blocks connected by an internal bus B30. BM-CPU
301 is a control unit which is the central part of the bitmap data processing device R3, and is connected to any one of the data processing devices IA, IB, Ic or the file multiplex via the data processing device interface 308. , converts print data, controls the bitmap writing unit 3l through the bitmap writing unit interface 306, and controls the print engine 4 through the print engine interface 307. SYS-ROM 302 stores programs for BM-CPU 301. SYS-RAM303 is BM-C
This is the working storage area of PU301, and is used to store the stack and basic flags.

The R-buffer 304 is connected to an external (data processing device IA, I
B, IC and free Jrema Jretipretas buffer 2
), and its purpose is to enable asynchronous communication between the processing program of the BMCPU 301 and the data processing device 1.

Bucket buffer (hereinafter abbreviated as P-buffer) 305
The data from the data processing devices IA, IB, IG,
It is stored as an intermediate code (hereinafter referred to as a packet) that can be easily drawn on the BM-RAM 32, which is converted from the font attributes.

The actual drawing of the font is done in the bitmap writing section 31, but the information to the bitmap writing section 3l is 7.
font pattern built-in address, BM-RAM3 2
It is necessary to calculate parameters such as the drawing address to. This takes a certain amount of time. Therefore, BM-RAM
By pre-processing the data of the next page while the data of 32 pages is being printed, processing speed is increased.

Therefore, the movement of data in the P-buffer 305 is F
IFO (first in, first out).

The print engine interface 307 is an interface with the print engine 4, and exchanges JOB control commands such as glint commands with the print engine 4 interface via the bus B3.

(c) Flow of Bitmap Control The operation of this system will now be explained with reference to flowcharts.

8 to 18 are flowcharts showing the processing of the bitmap control section 30.

In FIG. 8, first, when the power is turned on (step Sl, hereinafter steps are omitted), internal initialization is performed (S2), and the R-buffer 304, P-buffer 305 and BM-RAM 32 are After clearing (S3),
Parameters are initialized (s4).

The function of each parameter is as follows.

JOBACT: Indicates that a certain page is being printed (printing of the set number of sheets has not been completed).

BMWR ITE: Indicates whether any data has been written to the BM-RAM32.

JOBEJT: Indicates a print start request.

LPWRITE: Indicates that temporary editing of page data (image) has started.

ENBANS: Indicates that sending a message to the data processing device is permitted.

ENB ID: I for message to data processing device
Indicates that a D code is added.

IDCODE: Indicates the ID code setting value.

Also, set initial values for the user table (hereinafter referred to as USERTBL) (S5). USERTBL is the 7th
As shown in the figure, this is a storage area for saving various printer setting values for each user ID. USER
TEL is simply a save area, and when actually used, the contents of USERTBL of each ID code are transferred to the current table (hereinafter referred to as CURRTBL) for use. This is because complex arithmetic processing such as address conversion can be omitted and processing speed can be increased. In this embodiment, this USERTBL is provided in the SYS-RAM 303, and is preferably backed up by a battery so that its contents are retained even when the power of the printer is turned off.

Note that the font mounting information in CURRTBL in Figure 7 is read when the power is turned on, but the cassette mounting information is
If there is a change in the status, the information is sent from the IFC 40 and updated by an interrupt routine (not shown).

Subsequently, interrupts are permitted (S6), and font attributes used for editing print data are read and stored in the SMS-RAM 303 as seven font implementation information (S7). After initial setting of the paper feed cassette (S8), an actual processing loop (39 to S12) is entered.

The actual processing loop can be roughly divided into the following four processes.

0 Received data processing (S9): Processes the received data from the data processing device and converts it into a packet.

01FC command processing (S 1 0): Processes data from the print engine 4.

0 packet processing (Sll): BM-R according to the packet
Performs drawing processing to AM32.

0 print sequence processing (Sl2): IFC4
Process the print sequence with 0.

In order to improve communication efficiency, data sent from the data processing device is sent to the reception buffer by reception interrupt processing, which will be described later.
The data is temporarily stored in the R-buffer 304, which is the main memory.

The received data is processed as R- in reception data processing (s9).
It is taken out from the buffer 304 and converted into a packet, P-
It is stored once in the buffer 7305.

After that, the packet processing (Sll) takes out the corresponding font, and the bitmap writing unit 3l stores the corresponding font in the BM-RAM.
32. When a print request code (PAGE.EJECT) is detected in the received data, actual printing is started by print sequence processing (S l 2, see FIG. 12).

<Received data processing> The flow of received data processing (S9) is shown in FIG. 9(a). (b
).

In FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), received data is converted in advance into packets that can be easily output to the bitmap writing section 31, and stored in the P-buffer 305. This is to improve throughput by converting the received data output from the BM-RAM 32 in parallel even during printing.

First, confirm that there is free space in the P-buffer 305 (
s21), and if the data has been received by the R-X7A 304 (YES in S22), the process continues.

If the received data is a character code to be printed (
870 to S73) convert it into a packet according to the current font code on CURRTBL and the font attribute read at power-on (S72). As a specific conversion procedure, first, the font address of the pattern corresponding to the character code is output to the P-buffer 305, and then the write address to the BM-RAM 32 is sequentially output to the P-buffer 305. , bitmap writing section 3
The write mode to l is output. Finally, depending on the size of the current font, the next font's BM-
Update the write address to RAM32.<(37
3). This process determines the final print result of 7 formats. This processing can be said to be virtual editing, unlike actual editing and drawing to the BM-RAM 32. Also, when drawing the first character of the page (YES in S70),
At the same time, the LPWRITE flag indicating the start of temporary editing is set to 1 (S71).

Interface control unit related code (I
FC related code) (YES in S24), in order to synchronize the processing in the character packet processing (Sll),
P-buffer 305 with packets in a format different from characters.
(S25), CURRTBL is also updated (S26).

IFC related code < (No in S24), PAGE.
If it is an EJECT code (YES in S30), this code indicates the end of one page of data, and is a code that starts printing during packet processing.
When the previous characters are written into the BM-RAM 32, printing is started. This code is also output to the P-buffer 7305 in order to synchronize processing with the preceding and following characters (s3
1).

At this time, in preparation for temporary editing of the next page, LPWRIT
Reset the E flag (S32).

PAGE. EJECT code <(NO),
If it is a format control code (YES in S35), change the write address to BM-RAM32 corresponding to each code, change margin settings, etc.
URRTBL is updated (S36).

If the format control code is not found in S35 (No), and if the cassette is selected (YES in S40), the cassette is selected according to the designated mode (S41, see FIG. 13).

If the cassette selection is not selected at 540 (No), and the font selection is selected (YES at S45), font selection is performed in the same manner as above (S46, see FIG. 14).

Steps 550 to S53 are related to the embodiment of the present invention, and are processes for setting an answer mode for notifying the data processing device of the processing status in the printer system IO. If the answer mode designation code is to be notified to the data processing device (YES in S50), and if the answer mode is specified to be permitted (YES in S51), the ENBANS flag is set to permit sending of the message to the data processing device. set (S52), and if the answer mode is not specified as permission (
No in S51), reset the ENBANS flag (
S53). When this ENBANS flag is set, the answer mode is entered, and the printer status (for example, error status such as paper jam, etc.) is detected by the BM-CP in this embodiment.
The U 30 1 makes a judgment and outputs a code or message according to the state to the outside via the data processing device interface 308 .

The processing in S55 to S69 is performed by the shared printer system lO.
This relates to the processing of identification codes (ID codes) of users who use the .

ID mode using ID code is specified (Y in S55).
ES), if permission is specified (YES in S56), sets the ENB ID flag indicating that the ID mode has been entered (S57); if permission is not specified (No in S56), I
The ENB ID flag is reset to indicate that it is not the D mode (S58). Here, if both the ID mode and the answer mode are specified, an operation of adding an ID to a message sent to an external data processing device according to the present invention is performed. Furthermore, parameters such as editing conditions will be managed for each user.

The processes in S60 to S69 are processes related to setting an ID code and changing parameter setting values according to the set ID code.

If the ID code is specified (YES in S60), the ID mode is not permitted (NO in 561), or even if it is permitted (YES in S61), unless the user changes it. (No in S62), ignored. If there is a change in the user and the data of the user before the change is in a temporary editing state (LPWR ITE-
1) PAGE. E.J.
The ECT code is output to the P-buffer 305 to be forcibly ejected (printed) (S64), and the LPWRITE flag is reset (S65). Regardless of whether the user's data before the change is in a temporary editing state or not, after saving the various parameters of the user before the change from CURRTBL (
S66), change the various parameters of the user to the USERTBL of the corresponding ID code (see Figure 7)
to CURRTBL (S67), and IDCOD
Please update E as well (368). Then, reset processing (S
69, see FIG. 15), and perform various settings such as the printer engine IO for the user after the change.

(IFC Command Processing) FIG. 10 is a flowchart of command processing (SIO) from the interface control unit (IFC) 40.

EXP. The END command (S101) is a command for synchronizing the print sequence with the interface control unit (IFC) 40, and indicates that the print engine 4 has finished laser exposure for one print.

EXP. END: l? (S l Ol
(YES), it is valid only during printing, so JOBA
If it is not CT-1 (No in 5102), it returns as is, and if it is JOBACT-0, it moves to Sl03 (S
1 0 2). In the case of multi-printing for the same image, the BMC 30 sets the next print start flag at this timing (SIO
4). In the case of single print or the last of multi print (No in Sl03), J indicating the print status
The OBACT flag is reset (S105), and the BM-R
Clears AM32 and also clears BMWR ITE indicating the drawing status to BM-RAM32 (SIO
6) Prepare the next image. These two types of judgments are based on EXP. END: 177 (7) Performed by JOBEND flag (S l 0 3). This is because the interface control unit 40 controls the number of sheets for multi-printing, etc.

On the other hand, if the command indicates printer trouble information (YES in SIO 7), if sending the message to the data processing device is permitted (YES in 5108)
), regardless of the ID code addition mode (ENB ID-1 or not), the message is sent to all data processing devices without adding an ID code to the message (S l l l).

Further, if message transmission to the data processing device is not permitted (NO in Sl08), the message is not transmitted and the process returns.

Keys on the operation panel 44 (PAUSE key 90l1CAN
Even if the CEL key (902, 903) is pressed by someone and the printing operation stops, the pressed key information is sent to all data processing devices in the same way as trouble information to notify all users. Do (S 1
1 2~Sll6).

It is preferable to inform all users of the trouble information and key information, rather than just informing the specific users who are currently sharing the printer. This is because these troubles and key operations cannot be canceled via the terminal, but must be done directly to the printer.

<Packet Processing> In the flow of packet processing (S 1 1) shown in FIG. 11, packets stored in the P-buffer 305 are processed. The packets include a packet for characters to be printed and a control packet. Since the BM-RAM 32 cannot be changed until the printout of the previous image is completed, no processing is performed in the printing state (JOBACT-1) (NO in S121). Further, if there is no packet, that is, the P-buffer is empty (YES in S123), no processing is performed.

If the packet is for characters (YES in S124), it is output to the bitmap writing unit 31 (S125).

The bitmap writing section 3l analyzes the packet and draws a pattern corresponding to the font address from the font section 33 into the BM-RAM 32. While one packet is being processed, the next packet cannot be processed (Sl26), so the process returns. If this character is the first (BMW ITE=
0, S1 26: YES), set the BMWWRITE flag (S127).

In the case of a control packet other than a character packet (No in S124), first, JOBSTA indicating the start of a precipit operation is sent.
RT: If it is 1-mode (YES in S130), output the JOBSTART code to IFC (S13
1). The IFC-related code (YES in S135) is mainly used to specify the number of copies printed, the paper feed cassette, and the operation mode of accessories.
(3 1 3 6).

PAGE. E J ECT (YES at Sl 4 0)
indicates a page break, and B before this code
The image drawn in M-RAM32 is output.

To do this, first, the JOBACT flag is set, the state is switched to the copy state, subsequent drawing to the BM-RAM 32 is prohibited, and the print start request flag JOBEJT is set (Sl41).

This flag is used to print the print sequence (see Figure 42).
It was judged that the print command PR to IFC40 was actually executed.
NCMD is output, and a START command requesting startup of the print engine section is output to IFC (S
l 4 2).

JOBEJT is reset (S I 6 5) after being recognized in print sequence processing, but JOBEJT is
The CT is configured to be reset by a command (not shown) sent from the IFC when the print engine section completes copy processing, etc.

In the case of size information (YES in S 1 4 5), it is output to the bitmap writing unit 31 in order to change the mode for writing in the bitmap writing unit 3l to the BM-RAM 32 (s 1 4 6).

The mode changed here includes, for example, the memory capacity per image line.

Print sequence> In row 7 of the print sequence process (S12) shown in FIG. 12, the JOB control flag (J○BEJT),
Depending on the state of the bitmap reading section 31, printing is actually started.

Print startup is performed at the time of print startup request (JOBEJT-
1, YES at S161), but cannot be activated while the bitmap writing unit 31 is processing the last packet (No at S162).

If printing can be started, after switching the bitmap writing unit 3l to print mode (S1.63), the IFC4
0 to request the start of exposure (PRNC
MD) is output (S 1 6 4) and the JOBEJT flag is reset (S 1 6 5).

Cassette Selection> FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the cassette selection process. Cassette selection is valid only at the beginning of each page (specifically, before print data is received, at LPWRITE-0).
5181). This is to ensure the layout of the temporarily edited image. There are two modes for specifying a cassette: specification by paper size and specification by cassette position.

In both modes, if the mode is already the same as the specified value, the process is omitted (YES in Sl83, Sl86) First, in the case of size specification (YES in S182)
, searches for a cassette of the corresponding size from the stored cassette information (SI84). If found (S185
After checking whether paper is also included (3188), Y E'S is updated (S189 to S192).

On the other hand, in the case of specifying the cassette position (N in S l 8 2)
O), check whether the corresponding cassette is installed (S
186), update if available.

At this time, the data processing device is notified whether the command has been processed correctly. If the processing is correct, an ACK processing (5193, see FIG. 16) is performed, and if the processing is not correct, a NAK processing (S194, see FIG. 17) is performed.

<Font selection> FIG. 14 is a processing flow for font selection.

First, analyze the specified font attributes (S20l),
Next, the font implementation information is checked (S202), and if the corresponding font is found (YES in S203), the font in use is updated (S204), and ACK processing is performed (S204).
2 0 5). If there is no corresponding font, NAK processing is performed (S206).

<Resetting> FIG. 15 shows the flow of the resetting process. The resetting process is performed when the printer is switched to a certain user, the settings have been made for that user, and then the CU
The same process as that specified by a normal data processing device is used for line resetting including the print engine, etc., which cannot be done by just restoring the RRTBL. At this time, since the process of notifying the data processing device of the result is included, after saving the current ENBANS flag so that unnecessary messages are not returned to the data processing device,
0 to temporarily prohibit transmission.< (S211,
S212).

Next, the cassette setting values are retrieved from CURRTBL (5213), and cassette selection processing is performed (S21
4).

Regarding the setting of the 7 font, the font attribute is similarly extracted from CURRTBL (S215), and the 7 font selection process is performed (5216).

The current IFC related information can be directly accessed from the P-Bas7A3.
ENB that was output to 05 (5217) and was saved last.
Restore ANS7 lag (8218).

<ACK/NAK Processing> FIGS. 16 and 17 respectively show an ACK process to notify the data processing device that the process was performed correctly, and a NAK process to notify the data processing device that the process was not performed correctly.

In both cases, when the ENBANS flag is 1 (S221.
Only if YES in S231) is the process performed. Also, EN
The BID flag becomes 1 (S222.S232), and the I
In D mode, the current ID code is first sent to the corresponding data processing device (s223, s233), and then, in the case of ACK processing, an ACK message is sent (S224).
), in the case of NAK processing, the NAK message is sent to the corresponding data processing device (S 2 3 4).

<Receiving Interrupt> The flow shown in FIG. 18 is processing of an interrupt request from the data processing device interface 308.
If there is data input (S241), the R-buffer 30
4 (S242).

In this embodiment, the received data is once converted into a packet and then output to the P-buffer 305, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In addition, in this embodiment, it is possible to select whether to add an identification code or not, but this means that even if the system supports multiple users, only one host or terminal is used. If it is clear that
There is no need to add anything, eliminating unnecessary burden on the control device.
;It's me.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims.

(Effect) For printers that are shared by multiple hosts or terminals, by adding an identification code assigned to each host or terminal to a message indicating the printer status, the message can be sent to any host or terminal. Since it is possible to determine whether the printer is working or not, only the target user can take necessary actions on the printer.

Conversely, for messages that should be notified to all users, such as problems with the printer, no identification code is added, and the message is determined to be sent to all hosts or terminals. You can know the status of the printer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an electrophotographic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer system. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the operation panel. FIG. 4 is a central sectional view of the printer system. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the bitmap data processing device and print engine. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the bitmap control section. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a user table and a current table. FIG. 8 is a main flowchart of printer operation. Figure 9(a). (b) is a flowchart of received data processing according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of command processing by the interface control unit. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of packet processing. FIG. 12 is a seven-step diagram of print sequence processing. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the cassette selection process. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of font selection processing. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the resetting process. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of ACK processing. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of NAK processing. FIG. 18 is a 7-row chart of reception interrupts. IA, IB, Ic...Data processing device, 2...File multiplex buffer, 3...Bitmap type data processing device, IO...Printer system, 30...Bitmap control unit, 301...BM-CPU, 302...SMS-ROM, 303...SYS-RAM, 304...R-buffer, 305...P-buffer. Patent Applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Haka Aoyama Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 5 3 Binotmanop data processing device 4 Print engine Figure 8 Figure 12 Figure 14

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Interposes between one or more hosts or terminals and a printer connected to these, and provides print data, an identification code assigned to each host or terminal in advance, and information necessary to print the print data. A two-way communication means for selectively inputting control data including print mode setting values to the printer for each host or terminal, and selectively outputting data from the printer to the host or terminal, and storing an identification code. an identification code storage means for controlling the printer; a print control means for controlling printing by the printer according to the setting value of the print mode; and a print control means for determining the state of the printer and responding to the host or the terminal according to the state. and determining whether or not to add the identification code stored in the identification code storage means to the response according to the attributes of the response data from the response means, and if it is necessary to add the identification code, the identification code is added to the response. A printer control device comprising communication control means for adding a code to the response and outputting it from the communication means, and for controlling the response so that only the response is output from the communication means when the code is not added.