JPH0492947A - Control program setting method for peripheral computer equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent misoperation by returning the name of a control instruction system in a peripheral equipment to a computer when data from the computer is received and permitting software to automatically select an appropriate peripheral equipment driver. CONSTITUTION:When the installation (Is) Sw of application (Ap) software (Sw) is started in a host computer (Hc) 1, Is Sw transfers data of one byte to a printer 3 and causes the printer 3 to report the name of the self control instruction system at the time of selecting a printer driver. If the name of the printer control instruction system which the printer 3 itself understands is XYZ, it returns the name by adding CR (carriage return ASCII code 13) after XYZ. Is, Sw in Hcl receives returned information, selects the printer driver which can control the printer control instruction system of XYZ and sets Ap, Sw in such a way that the printer driver is used hereafter. Thus, the selection of the driver can be automated, Is work can be simplified and the erroneous selection of a user can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a control program setting method for computer peripheral equipment connected to a computer.

(Prior Art) A wide variety of computer peripheral devices are available on the market, and at the same time, a wide variety of computer peripheral control command systems are used. Even computer equipment from the same company may have more control commands or even be completely different depending on the grade and optional equipment installed.

For example, Company A's printers and Company 8's printers use different control command systems, and Company A's product X and product Y may use slightly different control command systems. Therefore, when installing application software on a host computer,
Users had to configure peripherals such as printers, modems, monitors, etc. correctly, or the application software could not properly control the peripherals.

Specifically, when a user installs application software, they run the installation software that comes with the application software, and follow the instructions to specify the information necessary to run the application software, such as the type of peripheral devices connected. Was. The installation software installs appropriate peripheral device control programs (hereinafter referred to as peripheral device drivers) so that the application software can properly control the specified peripheral devices.

Some control command systems have a command to return the name of the peripheral device itself, but none of these will operate unless a command determined by that command system is received.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional method of selecting a peripheral device driver described above is difficult because there are various types of computer peripheral devices on the market, and each one has a slightly different control command system. The problem was that it was difficult for users to understand whether the peripheral device driver was appropriate, and there was a high possibility of making the wrong selection.

If this installation software is to be automated, it must be able to determine which peripherals are connected and select the appropriate peripheral driver without human intervention. However, none of the conventional peripheral devices provided such a function.

A peripheral device may have a command to return the name of the peripheral device itself, but to use this function, send a command to the peripheral device to return the name of the peripheral device in all possible command systems, and then The type of peripheral device must be determined based on which command system the peripheral device responds to correctly, but it is unrealistic to send commands of all possible command systems. Another problem is that it is uncertain what kind of operation the peripheral device will perform after sending a command that is not correctly interpreted in that command system.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and allows the installation software of application software to connect connected peripheral devices without requiring the user to specify the connected peripheral devices and without causing the peripheral devices to malfunction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means of communication between a computer and a computer peripheral device that can automatically select an appropriate peripheral device driver through mutual communication with the peripheral device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a computer peripheral device that, when receiving data from a computer via a two-way communication means, ignores the data and uses a control command system for the peripheral device. , or an operating mode that sends the name of the peripheral device or its measurement back to the computer, allowing the installation software on the computer to select the appropriate peripheral device driver.

(Function) Therefore, according to the present invention, since the computer equipment can know the control command system of the computer peripheral equipment,
The selection of peripheral device drivers can be automated, preventing users from making incorrect selections during the installation process, and simplifying the installation process.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a printer in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a host computer that is a computer device, 2 is a printer interface that connects the host computer and the printer, and 3 is a printer that is a type of peripheral device. ROM)12. Random access memory (RAM) 13, panel interface 14 with an operation panel. Option card interface 15. Option interface 1
6. Printer engine interface 17. Printer engine 18. CPU1 that performs all controls within the printer
It has 9 blocks.

Now, when the printer 3 receives print data or a print command from the host computer 1 via the printer interface 2, the CPU 19 converts the command into a specific printer engine control command, and sends it to the printer via the printer engine interface 17. Send to engine 18. The printer engine 18 records characters and the like on a recording medium such as paper based on control commands received from the CPU 19. A processing flowchart of the CPU 19 in the normal printing mode is shown in FIG. That is, if data is received (S, -Y
ES) Convert to printer engine control command (S,)L,,
Issue an engine control command to the printer engine 18 (
S.).

The printer 3 also includes a liquid crystal display (LCD).

It has an operation panel with light emitting diodes (LEDs), switches, etc., and by operating the switches on the operation panel, the user can change printer settings while viewing the setting menu displayed on the LCD panel.

You can also know the status of the printer by looking at the LCD or LED. FIG. 2 shows an example of the operation panel of the printer of this embodiment. In Figure 2, 21
is an LCD (liquid crystal display) that displays messages, 22
is a mode switch for setting the mode, 23 is an enter switch for selecting the displayed setting item, 24 and 25 are movement switches used to search for the desired option in the menu displayed when setting the mode, 26 is an online switch 27 is an online switch that switches between online and offline states; 28 is a test switch that prints a test sheet when offline; 29 is an LED that indicates that the power is on; 30 is an indicator that indicates that data is in the buffer. 31 is an LED that indicates that the printer engine is in a printable state; 32 is a form feed switch that prints and discharges data in the buffer during off-line; and 33 is a reset switch.

In this embodiment, when the user is offline, the printer is placed offline using switch 27, set to mode setting using mode switch 22, moved through the menu using movement switches 24 and 25, and when "Software Installation" is displayed. Press the enter switch 23 to set the printer to software installation mode, and press the online switch 27 to bring the printer online and operate the printer in software installation mode. There are various other ways to switch the printer to software installation mode, such as pressing a switch when turning on the power.

When the printer 3 is operating in this mode, when it receives one byte of data from the host computer 1, it does not interpret it as normal print data or a print command, but as a printer control command system report command. Then, the printer control command system name is returned to the host computer 1. A schematic processing flowchart of the CPU 19 at this time is shown in the fourth section.
As shown in the figure.

In other words, when 1 byte of any data is received, the printer control command system name is reported.

Next, a specific method of installing application software using the software installation mode will be described.

When installing application software necessary to control the printer on the host computer 1, the printer 3 is first switched to a software installation mode using the operation panel of the printer 3 connected via a two-way communication means. Specifically, use the online switch 27 to take the printer offline, press the mode switch 22 to enter the mode setting mode, use the movement switches 24 and 25 to display [Software Installation Mode] on the LCD 21, and press the enter switch. Press 23 to select software installation mode. Next, the online switch 27 is pressed to put the printer in online mode so that it can receive data from the host computer 1.

Then, the installation software of the application software is started on the host computer 1.

When the installation software selects a printer driver (S30), it transfers 1 byte of data to the printer 3 (531) and causes the link 3 to report its own control command system name.

Printer 3 returns the name of the printer control command system that it understands with a string terminator attached (S12).
. A string terminator is a code that indicates the end of a character string, in this case the end of a printer control command system name. For example, the control command system name of this printer is rXYZ.
J, then “CR (Carria) after XYZJ
ge Retutn, ASCII code 13) and send it back. The installation software of host computer 1 should receive the returned information (S32),
A printer driver that can control the rXYZJ printer control command system is selected, and the application software is configured to use that printer driver from now on. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of peripheral device driver installation on the host computer described above.

Although the explanation has been given using a printer as an example, the method of the present invention can also be applied to modems, scanners, and mice.

It can also be applied to computer peripherals, such as joysticks, that are connected to a host computer through a bidirectional interface and that require a peripheral driver on the host computer.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above embodiments, the present invention can easily inform computer equipment of the control command system of computer peripheral equipment, and can automate the complicated selection of peripheral equipment drivers in computer equipment. This has the effect of simplifying the installation work and preventing malfunctions caused by incorrect selections by the user.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel in an embodiment of the printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the printer shown in FIG. 1 during normal printing. A schematic processing flowchart of the CPU,
FIG. 4 is a schematic processing flowchart of the CPU in the software installation mode of the printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of peripheral device driver installation on the computer equipment according to the present invention. l...Host computer, 2...Printer interface, 3...Printer, 11...
Host interface, 12...R○M113...
・RAM, 14...Panel interface, 1
5...Option card interface, 16...
option interface, 17... printer engine interface, 18... printer engine, 1
9...CPU, 21...Liquid crystal display (LCD),
22...Mode switch, 23...Enter switch, 24.25...Movement switch, 26...Online LED, 27...Online switch, 28...
・Test switch, 29...Power-on LED130
...Data in buffer LED, 31...Printer engine ready LED, 32...Form feed switch, 33...Reset switch.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a computer peripheral device that has a two-way communication means with a computer device, when data is received from the computer device via the two-way communication means, the computer peripheral device that received the data uses a computer peripheral device control command system name. A method for setting a control program for a computer peripheral device, characterized in that the program is sent back to the computer device via the two-way communication means. (2) Based on the computer peripheral device command system sent from the computer peripheral device connected by the two-way communication means, the computer device selects a control command system and control program that are adapted to the computer peripheral device. A control program setting method for computer peripheral equipment according to claim (1).