JPH02132518A - 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. 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 and this message is sent to a host or terminal that is using the printer in 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. Thus it is possible to inform a host or a terminal that is using the printer of the state of the printer and to apply the necessary treatments 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 print engine mode. 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 blinkers have become quite popular because they have high printing speeds, high quality fonts, and relatively quiet operation 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. In addition, although inkjet printers and wire dot printers are cheaper than electrophotographic printers, providing a dedicated printer for each host may be wasteful in terms of cost if 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 can be considered that returns a status code indicating the printer status to the main host and sends the status code from the main host to each terminal. The case is not taken into account, and the multiplexer in the former case and the main host in the latter case cannot distinguish which terminal the status code is for. 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 problem, and to support multi-users, when one or more printers are connected to multiple hosts via a multiplexer,
In a system where one or more printers are connected to a main host and multiple terminals are output from the main host, the status code indicating the status of the printer is Another object of the present invention is 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) 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, Print data, an identification code assigned in advance to each host or terminal, and control data including print mode setting values necessary to print the print data are selectively input to the printer for each host or terminal. , a two-way communication means for selectively outputting data from the printer to a host or a terminal, an identification code storage means for storing an identification code, and a print control for controlling printing by the printer according to print mode settings. a response means for determining the state of the printer and responding to the host or terminal according to the state; and storage in the identification code storage means according to the attribute of the response data from the response means. and communication control means for adding either the identified identification code or the common code to the response and outputting it from the communication means.

(Function) In a printer that is shared by multiple hosts or terminals, an identification code is assigned to each host or terminal, and when sending a message about the status of the printer, it can be sent only to the corresponding host or terminal, such as when a paper jam occurs. If the error condition is sufficient to send, an identification code is added to the message and sent to the host or terminal that is using the printer. Furthermore, if the printer is in a fatal printer state such as out of toner or paper, all hosts or all terminals are controlled to add a common code to the message and send it 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 IO which is an embodiment of the present invention.
The configuration of the processing system and its application examples are shown.

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

The printer system IO consists of a bitmap type 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 appearance of the printer system IO. 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 a display showing the system status and keys for performing simple operations.
4 is installed.

FIG. 3 shows details of the operation panel 44. Here, 901 to 903 are input keys, and 91O 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 and 903 are pressed at the same time to function is to prevent interruptions due to careless operations.

FIG. 4 is a central sectional view showing the paper passing path of the printing system, showing three removable paper feed cassettes (51, 52, .
Paper is selectively fed from 53). Within the print engine 4, after the toner is removed by the cleaner 406, the charger 404. Eraser lamp 405
As a result, the photosensitive drum 401 is uniformly charged and receives image exposure from the optical system 409. And the developing device 402
A toner image is formed on the photoreceptor drum 401, transferred onto the paper fed by the transfer charger 403, conveyed to the paper fixing device 408 by the conveyor belt 407, and subjected to the fixing process by the fixing device 408. After that, it is stored in the sorter 6.

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

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 reading part (BM) that draws in M-RAM32
W) 3 Consists of 1 and a font section 33. The font section 33 consists of a ROM section in which predetermined fonts are stored in advance, and a RAM section that can also store fonts downloaded from the outside. Connection with print engine 4 requires control data (number of sheets, accessory control, etc.)
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 41 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 controls the print head according to information sent from the interface control unit 40 via the internal bus B5 in order to write the image data sent from the bitmap writing unit 3l via the internal bus B4 onto the photoreceptor 1. The light emission of the semiconductor laser of the section 43 and the rotation of the polygon motor (not shown) are controlled.

In addition, the external paper feed unit 5 and the sorter 6 are also connected to the internal bus B5.
It is controlled by the interface control section 40 through the interface control section 40.

The printer system IO described above is a bitmap type laser printer. Data processing device IA
, IB, and Ic (mostly represented by codes) are sent to the Bitmamp 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 format control and engine mode setting.

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 recording control described above, the print engine 4 performs associated electrophotographic control, recording paper timing control, and processing synchronized 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 central control unit of the bitmap data processing device 3, and a data processing device interface 3.
08 through the data processing device IA. It communicates with either the IB or IC or the file multiplex buffer 2, converts print data, and controls the bitmap writing unit 3l through the bitmap writing unit Inter7Ace 306. The print engine 4 is controlled through the print engine interface 307. S.Y.
The S-ROM 302 stores programs for the BM-CPU 301. SYS-RAM303 is BM-CPU3
This is a 0-1 working storage area and is used to store the stack and basic flags.

The R-buffer 304 is connected to an external (data processing device IA, I
This is a buffer for communication with B, Ic and the file multiplex buffer 2), and its purpose is to enable asynchronous communication between the processing program of the BM-CPU 301 and the data processing device I.

Bucket buffer (hereinafter abbreviated as P-buffer) 305
The data from the data processing devices IA, IB, Ic,
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 performed by the bitmap writing unit 31, but as information to the bitmap writing unit 31, it is necessary to calculate parameters such as the font pattern built-in address and the drawing address to the BM-RAM 32. There is.

This takes a certain amount of time. Therefore, BM-RAM3
By pre-processing the data for the next page while printing the second page data, 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 print 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 after clearing BM-RAM3 2 (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 BM-RAM32.

JOBEJT: Indicates a print start request.

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

ENBANS Indicates that sending messages 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.

IDCOMN: Indicates the common code setting value (n is a predetermined constant).

The above ID code indicates that the message is for a specific data processing device, and the common code indicates that the message is for all data processing devices. The common code is used when a fatal problem occurs on the printer side (
For example, it is used for toner embodies, etc.).

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
TBL is simply a save area, and when actually used, the contents of USERTBL of each ID code are transferred to a 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 USERTEL 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 SYS-RAM 303 as font implementation information (S7). After initial setting of the paper feed cassette (S8), an actual processing loop (59 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 (510): Processes data from the print engine 4.

0 packet processing (S l l): BM according to the packet
- Perform drawing processing to the RAM 32.

0 print sequence processing (S12): IFC4
Process the print sequence with 0.

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

The received data is processed as R- in the received data processing (S9).
It is taken out from the buffer 304 and converted into a packet, P-
It is stored once in the buffer 305.

Thereafter, the packet processing (Sll) takes out the corresponding font, and the bitmap writing section 31 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 (512, 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 3l, 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 (
521), and if the data has been received by the R-buffer 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 when the W source is turned 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, the write address to the BM-RAM 32 is sequentially output to the P-buffer 305, Focus map 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.<(S7
3). This process determines the final print result format. This process can be said to be virtual editing, unlike actual editing and drawing to the BM-RAM 32. Further, when drawing the first character of the page (YES in S70), the LPWRITE flag indicating the start of temporary editing is set to 1 at the same time (571).

Interface control unit related code (IF
C related code) (YES in S24), the packet is output to the P-buffer 305 in a format different from that of the character in order to synchronize the processing in the character backend processing (Sll) (S25). . Also, please update CURRTBL (32G).

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 305 (53
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 340 (No), and the font selection is selected (YES at S45), the font selection is performed in the same manner as above (846, see FIG. 14).

S50 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 10. If the answer mode designation code is to notify the data processing device (YES in S50), and if the answer mode is specified to be permitted (YES in S51), then the ENBANS7 lag is sent to allow sending the message to the data processing device. set (S52), and if the answer mode is not specified as permission (
No in S51), reset the ENDANS7 lag (
S 5 3). 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
The CPU 301 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, when both the D mode and the answer mode are specified, an operation of adding an ID to a message sent to an external data processing apparatus according to the present invention is performed. Furthermore, parameters such as editing conditions can 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), ID mode is not allowed (NO in S61), or even if it is allowed (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 the temporary editing state (LPWRITE ■ l in S63
), PAGE. EJEC
The T code is outputted 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, after saving the various parameters of the user before the change from CURRTBL (S6
6) Return the changed user parameters from the USERTBL (see Figure 7) of the corresponding ■D code to the CURRTBL (S 6 7), and
Please update E as well (368). Then, reset processing (S
69, see FIG. 15), and perform various settings of the printer engine 10, etc. for the user after the change.

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

EXP. The END:I command (S l 0 1) is a command that synchronizes the print sequence with the interface control unit (IFC) 40.
Indicates that the laser exposure of a print has been completed.

EXP. If it is an END command (YE in SIOl)
S) is valid only during printing, so JOBACT-
If 1-t' is not found (S I O : 2C'No), the process returns as is, and if JOBACT=O, the process moves to 5103 (YES in 5102). In the case of multi-printing for the same image, the BMC 30 sets the next print start flag at this timing (S 1 0
4). In the case of single print or the last of multi print (StQ3-C'NO), reset the JOBACT7 lag indicating the print status (st05), and
- Clear RAM32 and clear BMWRITE indicating the drawing state to BM-RAM32 (S106
) to prepare the next image. These two types of judgments are
EXP. END: Executed by l command (7) JOBEND flag (S I O 3). This is a multi-
This is because the interface control unit 40 controls the number of prints, etc.

On the other hand, if the command indicates printer trouble information (YES in S107), sending the message to the data processing device is permitted (YES in S108). D
If it is code addition mode (YES in SIO 9)
1ENB ID-1), common code IDCOM
Add N to the message (S 1 1 0),
It is transmitted to all data processing devices (S 1 1 1). Furthermore, if message transmission to the data processing device is not permitted (No in 3108), the message is not transmitted and the process returns.

Keys on the operation panel 44 (PAUSE key 90l1CAN
If the CEL key 902 or 903) is pressed by someone and the printing operation stops, the IDCO
The MN is added and the pressed key information is transmitted to all data processing devices (S t i2 to 5116).

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 packet processing (Sll) flow shown in Figure 11,
p-z< The packets stored in the 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). Also, if there is no packet, that is, the P-buffer is empty (
SI 2 3 (YES) also does not process.

In the case of a character packet (YES in S l 2 4), it is output to the bitmap writing unit 31 (S l 2 5
).

The bitmap writing section 31 analyzes the packet and draws a pattern according 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 (5126), so the process returns. If this character is the first (BMW ITE=O
．． If YES at Sl 26), set the BMWWRITE flag (Sl 27).

In the case of a control packet other than a character packet (No in S124), first, JOBSTA indicating the start of a print operation is sent.
If it is an RT code (YES in S130), output the JOBSTART code to IFC (S l 3 1
). The IFC-related code (YES in S135) mainly specifies the number of multi-print sheets, the paper feed cassette, and the accessory operation mode, and is output to the IFC 40 (S136).

PAGE. EJECT (S140TYES) indicates a page break, and before this code the BM-RAM
The image drawn at 32 is output. for that,
First, set the JOBACT flag, switch to the copy state, prohibit future drawing to the BM-RAM32, and set the print start request flag JOBEJT.
141).

This flag is used to control the print sequence (see Figure 12).
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
] 4 2).

JOBEJT is reset (S l 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 Sl 4 5), it is output to the bitmap writing unit 3l in order to change the mode for writing in the bitmap writing unit 31 to the BM-RAM 32 (5 1 4 6).

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

<Print sequence> In the flow of print sequence processing (S12) shown in FIG. 12, the JOB control flag (JOBEJT),
Depending on the state of the bitmap writing section 31, printing is actually started.

Print startup is performed when a print startup request is made (JOBE J
T- 1, S 1 6 1te YES S) 2 rows bh
While the bitmap writing unit 3I is processing the last packet (NO in 5162), it cannot be activated.

If printing can be started, after switching the bitmap writing unit 31 to print mode (S163), the IFC 40
A print command (PRNCM) that requests the start of exposure
D) is output (Sl64) and the JOBEJT7 lag is reset (Sl65).

<Cassette Selection> FIG. 13 is a flowchart of cassette selection processing. Cassette selection is valid only at the beginning of each page (specifically, before print data is received, at LPWRITE-0).
SI81). 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.

For both modes, if the mode is already the same as the specified value, the process is omitted (5183. YES in S186) First, in the case of size specification (YES in S 1 8 2)
, searches for a cassette of the corresponding size from the stored cassette information (S184). If found (S
If YES at 185), update is performed after checking whether paper is also included (5188) (S I 8 9 ~ Sl 9
2).

On the other hand, in the case of specifying the cassette position (N in S l 8 2)
O) and check whether the corresponding cassette is installed (5).
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, ACK processing (Sl93, see FIG. 16) is performed, and if the processing is not correct, NAK processing (5194, see FIG. 17) is performed.

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

First, analyze the specified 7 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 (3204), and ACK processing is performed (s
2 0 5). If there are no corresponding 7 onts, NAK processing is performed (S 2 0 6).

<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
Performs resetting including the print engine, etc., which is impossible by just restoring RRTBL.

The same process as that specified by a normal data processing device is used for resetting. At this time, since the process of notifying the result to the data processing device is included, the current ENBANS flag is saved and sent temporarily as 0 so that unnecessary messages are not returned to the data processing device. (S211, S212).

Next, the cassette setting values are retrieved from CURRTBL (5213), and cassette selection processing is performed (5214).

Regarding font settings, font attributes are similarly retrieved from CURRTBL (5215) and font selection processing is performed (S216).

Then, the current IFC related information is directly stored in the P-buffer 3
05 (s217) and was last evacuated.
Restore the ANS flag (5218).

<A C K/N A K process> Figures 16 and 17 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, E
The NB ID flag becomes 1 (S222, S232
), in the ID mode, the current ID code is first sent to the corresponding data processing device (S223, S233).
, followed by an ACK message (S
224), and in the case of NAK processing, sends a NAK message to the corresponding data processing device (S234).

Reception Interrupt> The flow shown in FIG. 18 is the 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
This is to eliminate unnecessary burden on the control device since there is no need to add it.

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) In a printer 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, a common code is added to a message indicating a status that should be notified to all users, such as a problem with the printer, and the message is sent to all users, so that all users 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) are seven flowcharts of received data processing according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a seven-step flowchart of command processing by the interface control unit. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of packet processing. FIG. 112 is a flowchart of print sequence processing. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the cassette selection process. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of 7 font selection processing. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the resetting process. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of ACK processing. FIG. 18 is a 7-low chart of reception interrupts. IA, IB. IC...Data processing device, 2...File multiplex buffer, 3...Bitmap method data processing device, IO...Printer system, 30...Bitmap control unit, 301... BM-CPU, 302... SMS-ROM, 303... SMS-RAM, 304... R-buffer, 305... P-buffer. Patent applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Representative Patent attorney Aoyama Aoyama Name Figure 17 is:
The flowchart of NAK processing is shown in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 3,...3 Bitmap data processing device, 4 Print engine, Figure 8, Figure 12, Figure 15.

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. control means for adding either the identification code or the common code stored in the identification code storage means to the response and outputting it from the communication means according to the attribute of the response data from the response means; What is claimed is: 1. A printer control device comprising: communication control means for controlling a printer;