JPH05224836A - Printer and data communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the printer and data communication method which lightens the burden on a user when the printer is used. CONSTITUTION:When the user inputs a printing start instruction to a host computer 102 by operating a keyboard 106, the host computer 102 transfers print data of (n) pages to an LBP 103. The LBP 103 which receives the data sends a printing end command to the host computer 102 each time the printing of one page ends. The host computer 102 once receiving the printing end command (n) times displays the end of the printing of all the pages on a display 105. Consequently, the user knows that the printing operation ends.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a data communication method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional general printing apparatus, the path through which printing is executed on a recording medium by print data transmitted from a host computer to the printing apparatus is shown in FIG.
It is configured as shown in. That is, the print data from the host computer 401 is received by the printing apparatus 402 via the communication cable 405. Then, the received print data is once stored in the data buffer 403 in the printing apparatus, and the data in the data buffer 403 is sequentially printed by the print control unit 404.
This configuration is adopted because the printing speed of the printing device is much slower than the data transfer speed from the host computer to the printing device. For this reason, a large amount of time elapses from the end of the print data transfer from the host computer to the printing apparatus to the actual end of printing.

When printing is performed on print data using the above printing apparatus, the status of the printing apparatus is set by operating the operation panel of the printing apparatus. Therefore, each time the printed document is changed, the status setting must be changed as necessary. If the status of the printing apparatus is not properly set, even if the same print data is printed out, the print data will be printed in different states.

[0004]

The conventional printing device does not have means for notifying the user of the host computer side of the end of printing, and the user directly monitors the printing device when the printing operation of the printing device is completed. Other than that, there was no way to know the end.

This is not so inconvenient when the printing apparatus is located near the host computer and the user can easily monitor the status of the printing apparatus. However, when a printing device is used on a network such as a LAN, an environment in which a plurality of host computers share one printing device is created.
Fewer host computers are adjacent to the printing device.
When a printing apparatus such as the above-mentioned conventional example is used in such an environment, there is a problem that it is a very troublesome work for the user to go to a place where the printing apparatus can be seen and check the end of printing frequently. ..

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional printing apparatus, it is necessary to set the status of the printing apparatus for each document as needed, so that the user needs to manage the status of the printing apparatus for each document. Therefore, if you neglect to manage the setting status, for example, if you print again print data that has been printed before, it will take time to return to the same state as when you printed out before, and there is also an error in setting the status. This was a particularly troublesome task for unfamiliar people. Further, when the printing device is used on the network as described above, it is very troublesome for the user to go to the printing device and operate the operation panel to set the status.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables a user in a place where the printing apparatus cannot be directly monitored to notify the end of printing, and the user can directly determine the printing operation status. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and a data communication method that reduce the burden on the user when the printing apparatus is used, without the need for monitoring.

According to another aspect of the invention, the setting information of the status of the printing apparatus is stored for each document so that the next time printing can be performed in the initially set state without any procedure, It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and a data communication method that do not require the user to manage the status of each document and reduce the burden on the user when using the printing apparatus.

[0009]

A data communication method according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, in a data communication method between a printing device and an external device, a data sending step of outputting predetermined data to the external device corresponding to a printing state of the printing device, and a data sending step of the external device. Determining the printing state of the printing device based on the data sent from the device, and notifying the determination result.

A printer according to another invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, it is provided with a signal output means for outputting a signal when the execution of a predetermined amount of printing is completed, and a radio wave transmitting means for transmitting the signal by the signal output means as a radio wave signal.

Further, a data communication method according to another invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is,
In a data communication method in a print data communication unit between a printing device and an external device, the printing device includes a storage unit that stores status information for setting a printing environment of the printing device for each document. When the print data of the document is transmitted, the data transmission step of transmitting the document including the document identification information for identifying the document, and the status of the corresponding document based on the document identification information transmitted by the data transmission step. A read step of reading information from the storage unit and a print environment setting step of setting a print environment of the printing apparatus based on the status information read by the read step are provided.

Further, a printing apparatus according to another invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, in a printing apparatus capable of setting a plurality of printing environments, a storage unit that stores status information for setting the printing environment for each document, and a document transmitted together with print data from an external device are specified. A reading unit that reads the status information of the corresponding document from the storage unit based on the document specifying information, and a printing environment setting unit that sets the printing environment based on the status information read by the reading unit are provided.

[0013]

With the above configuration, the external device receives the information on the printing state of the printing device from the printing device. Then, the external device notifies the user of the print status of the printing device based on the received print status information.

In the configuration according to another invention, status information for setting the printing environment of the printing apparatus is stored in association with the document data, and the document is specified when the print data is transmitted from the external device. Send with information. As a result, the status information corresponding to the information identifying the document is read out, and the printing environment corresponding to the document is automatically set.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the contents of data communication between a host computer and a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 102 denotes a host computer, which is connected to a printing apparatus and sends print data to the printing apparatus. In addition, the host computer 10
2 includes a display 105 as a display unit and a keyboard 106 as an input unit. Reference numeral 103 denotes a printing device, and in the present embodiment, for example, a laser beam printer (LB)
P). The LBP 103 is connected to the host computer 102 via the communication cable 104. It is assumed that the communication method in this embodiment adopts a communication method capable of bidirectional communication represented by the RS232C method and the like.

When the user gives a print start command to the host computer 102 by operating the keyboard 106, the host computer 102 instructs the LBP 103 to
Transfer print data for n pages. LBP that received this
A print command 103 is sent to the host computer 102 every time printing of one page is completed. When the host computer 102 receives the print end command n times, it displays on the display 105 that the printing of all pages is completed in the LBP 103. This allows the user to know the end of printing.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure on the host computer side in the communication between the host computer and the printing apparatus. When the user gives an instruction to start printing, first in step S22,
Set the internal counter to zero. Then, step S
At 23, the print data is transmitted to the LBP 103.
Here, the number of pages of this print data is n. next,
In step S24, the input of a page print end command from the LBP 103 is awaited. When a page print end command is input from the LBP 103, the internal counter is incremented by "1" in step S25. Then, in step S26,
It is checked whether the contents of the internal counter are equal to n, and if they are not equal, the process returns to step S24 and the above-mentioned processing is repeated. If the content of the counter is equal to n in step S26, the process proceeds to step S27 and a print end display is displayed.

To carry out the above flow chart,
On the LBP 103 side, of course, a corresponding process is required. FIG. 3 shows the LBP 103 in the first embodiment.
5 is a flowchart regarding the transmission process of the page print end command of FIG. In step S31, the host computer 10
When print data is received from 2, 1 is sent in step S32.
Print pages. Then, in step S33, it is determined whether the printing of one page is completed. If the printing of one page is completed, the process proceeds to step S34, and the page printing end command is transmitted to the host computer 102. Succeedingly, in a step S35, it is determined whether or not the printing of all the received print data is completed, and when the printing of all the data is not completed, the process returns to the step S32 and the above-mentioned processing is repeated. If the printing of all print data is completed in step S35, this process is completed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to notify the user on the host computer side of the end of printing by using the existing communication means with the printing apparatus.

The means for notifying the user of the end of printing is not limited to the above-mentioned display, but may be a warning with a buzzer, a voice synthesizer, or the like. Further, the print end display is not limited to the one that is displayed only when all the pages have been printed, and it is also possible to display each time the printing of each page is completed, or to display the currently printed page, etc. is there.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the page print end command is sent and counted every time the printing of one page is completed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to send a print end command only when all printing is completed, or to execute a command with the number of pages added, such as the first page print end command and the second page print end command. Is. Further, not only the command indicating the end of printing but also the command indicating that the page is being printed can be used.

Further, although the LBP is used in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is not limited to this, and it may be applied to, for example, an ink jet type printing apparatus.

Further, when printing is performed line by line like the ink jet system or the thermal system, a print end command may be sent every time one line or a plurality of lines are printed.

[Second Embodiment] Centronics system and RS232C system are typical communication interfaces used between the LBP 103 and the host computer 102. In order to notify the host computer 102 of the end of printing using these interfaces, it can be carried out as in the above-described first embodiment because it is bidirectional for the RS232C system.
In the Centronics system, many host computers support only one direction. Therefore, in the second embodiment, a communication method for notifying the host computer of the end of printing when data transfer in only one direction is possible will be described.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the apparatus according to the second embodiment and the contents of data communication between the host computer and the printing apparatus.
Shown in. Most of the structure of the device is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, and therefore its explanation is omitted. However, the communication cable 301 is for communicating print data by the Centronics system, and the communication interface is the Centronics system.

The communication in the second embodiment is a Centronics system in which the data communication direction is one direction. Therefore,
The Centronics method takes advantage of the fact that a handshake is performed (the transmitting side activates the data strobe line indicating that the data is valid, the receiving side receives the data, and then the receiving side receives the data, and then informs the transmitting side of the completion of reception).
As shown in FIG. 4, the host computer sends a print end check command for declaring to the printer to send the data for knowing the print state to the printer. Next, the host computer sets a timer and transmits dummy data. On the printing device side, the timing of notifying the completion of reception of the dummy data is returned normally fast during printing and slowly after printing (for example, 1
Seconds later), and so on. Then, the host computer determines whether printing is in progress or not based on the response time of the reception completion signal, and notifies the user by the display unit 105.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure on the host computer side in the communication between the host computer and the printing apparatus. When the user inputs a print start instruction to the host computer 102, first, in step S41, the print data is LBP.
103 is transferred. When the transfer of print data is completed, L
The BP 103 starts printing. Next, in step S42, the "print end check command" is sent to the LBP 103.
To the LBP to check the end of printing
Inform 103. Then, in step S43,
Set the timer to t and start this timer. Then, in step S44, the dummy data is transmitted to the LBP 103, and in step S45, the input of the "reception completed" signal from the LBP 103 for this dummy data is awaited.
When the "reception completed" signal is input from the LBP 103,
In step S46, it is checked whether the above-mentioned timer has timed out. If the timer has not expired, it is determined that the printing has not been completed yet, and the process returns to step S42 to repeat the above process. Also,
If the timer has timed out, it is determined that the printing is completed and the process proceeds to step S47 to display the print completion.

To carry out the above flow chart,
On the LBP 103 side, of course, a corresponding process is required. FIG. 6 shows the LBP 10 in the second embodiment.
6 is a flowchart relating to a transmission processing of a reception completion signal for notifying the end of printing of No. 3;

When the "print end check command" is received from the host computer 102 in step S51, it is checked in step S52 whether the LBP 103 is printing. If printing is in progress, the process proceeds to step S53, and if not, the process proceeds to step S55.

If dummy data is input in step S53, "reception completed" within t seconds in step S54.
The signal is returned to the host computer 102. That is, LBP
When 103 is printing, a "reception completed" signal is sent within t seconds in response to the input of dummy data.

If dummy data is input in step S55, a "reception completed" signal is returned to the host computer 102 after t seconds have elapsed in step S56.
That is, when the printing of the LBP 103 is completed, the "reception completed" signal is sent after t seconds have elapsed for the input of the dummy data.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, even in the data communication method compatible only with the data communication in one direction, the control signal such as the reception completion signal is used to make the host It is possible to notify the computer of the end of printing.

In the second embodiment described above, it is only judged whether or not all the print data has been finished, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as in the first embodiment, page units are used. You can also output the end of printing to. This can be performed by making the execution period of the print end check fine. Further, a plurality of transmission timings of the reception completion signal may be prepared, for example, 1 second after the page printing is completed and 2 seconds after all the pages are printed.

Further, the printing state informing means is not limited to the display on the display as in the first embodiment described above, but may be informed by voice synthesis, buzzer or the like.

[Third Embodiment] In each of the above-described embodiments, the end of printing of the printing apparatus is notified to the user via the host computer, but in the present embodiment, an example in which a warning device is newly provided Indicates.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the arrangement of the apparatus according to the third embodiment. A printing device 301 is an LBP in this embodiment. The LBP 301 is provided with a radio wave transmission unit 302 for transmitting a print end signal. Three
Reference numeral 03 denotes a warning device, which receives a print completion signal from the LBP 301 and notifies the user of the end of printing by displaying or voice. The warning device 303 includes a radio wave reception unit 304, and can receive the print end signal transmitted from the radio wave transmission unit 302 of the LBP 301.

As described above, the warning device 302 can be used to notify the user of the end of printing.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 9 shows the arrangement of a printing apparatus and a host computer according to the fourth embodiment. 90
A host computer 1 is connected to the printing apparatus 902 via a communication cable 905. A printing device 902 is, for example, an LBP or the like. A controller 90 that controls the entire LBP 902 is provided inside the LBP 902.
4 and a hard disk 903 for storing status information for setting the printing environment of the LBP 902 for each document.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a storage state of status information of the printing apparatus in the hard disk 903. As shown in FIG. The document No. has an area 1001 and a status information area 1002. Status information of the printing apparatus is stored for each.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the operation process when printing is executed in the LBP 902. When a print start command is received from the host computer 901 in step S61, the document number of the received data in step S62 is received. Is checked, and the document No. corresponding to the received data is stored in the hard disk 903. Check if status information of exists. If the status information exists, the process proceeds to step S63, and the hard disk 903
More relevant document No. Read the status information of
Set the printer environment. Then step S
At 65, the received data is printed.

If the corresponding status information does not exist in the hard disk 903 in step S62, the process proceeds to step S64, in which the current status of the printing apparatus is the document number of the received data. Register with. Then, in step S65, printing of the received data is executed.

In the above-described fourth embodiment, the print data from the host computer includes the document number. Must be included.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, since the printing environment of the printing apparatus is stored for each document, the user does not have to manage the status for each document. Moreover, when past data is printed, fine resetting of the printing apparatus is not necessary.

In the fourth embodiment, the document No. The status information is managed by, but not limited to this, for example, a document file name or the like may be used.

[Fifth Embodiment] In the fifth embodiment described above, the status information of the printing apparatus for each document is registered in the hard disk of the printing apparatus, but in the fifth embodiment, this is stored. It should be stored on the host computer side.

FIG. 12 is a view showing the arrangement of the apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. The host computer 1201 transmits status data together with print data to the printing apparatus 1202. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a document data storage structure in a storage unit (eg, hard disk) (not shown) in the host computer 1201. A status information area 1301 is provided for each document file, and status information is stored for each document. The printer 1202 first reads the status information from the transmitted data, and sets the environment of the printer. Then, when the setting of the printing environment is completed, printing is executed according to the print data.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the host computer stores the printing environment of the printing apparatus for each document, so that the user does not have to manage the status for each document. Moreover, when past data is printed, fine resetting of the printing apparatus is not necessary. Furthermore, the fourth
The storage medium (hard disk) for storing the status on the printing apparatus side as in the above embodiment is not required.

Although a laser beam printer (LBP) is used as a printing device in each of the above-described embodiments, the printing device is not limited to this and can be applied to any other type of printing device. Is.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since it is possible to notify the end of printing to the user who is in a place where the printing device cannot be directly monitored, it is not necessary for the user to directly monitor the status of the printing operation, so the burden on the user when using the printing device is reduced. Is reduced.

According to another aspect of the invention, since the setting information of the status of the printing device is stored for each document, the status setting of the printing device is executed for each document without any procedure, and the setting by the user is performed. It is not necessary to manage the status of each document, which reduces the burden on the user when using the printing apparatus.

[0053]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus according to a first embodiment and contents of data communication between a host computer and a printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure on the host computer side in communication between the host computer and the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart relating to a page print end command transmission process of the LBP 103 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus and contents of data communication between a host computer and a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure on the host computer side in communication between the host computer and the printing apparatus in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart regarding a transmission processing of a reception completion signal for notifying the end of printing of the LBP 103 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of print data from a host computer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configurations of a printing apparatus and a host computer according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a storage state of status information of a printing apparatus in a hard disk 903.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation process when executing printing of the LBP 902 according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus according to a fifth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a document data storage structure in a storage unit of a host computer according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 102,901 Host computer 103,902 Printer 104 Communication cable 105 Display 106 Keyboard 301 Communication cable 903 Hard disk

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A data communication method between a printing device and an external device, comprising: a data sending step of outputting predetermined data to the external device in accordance with a printing state of the printing device; A step of determining a printing state of the printing device based on the data sent from the data sending step, and notifying a result of the judgment. 2. A data communication method between a printing device and an external device, comprising: a data sending step of outputting predetermined data to the print data communication unit when the printing device has finished printing a predetermined amount; In an external device, a counting step of counting the number of times of reception of the data transmitted by the data transmitting step, and a step of notifying the printing state of the printing device based on the number of reception of the end signal counted in the counting step. A data communication method comprising: 3. A data communication method between a printing device and an external device, comprising: a command sending step of sending a predetermined command for confirming a printing state of the printing device from the external device; When a command is received, a reception completion signal transmitting step of changing the transmission timing of the reception completion signal to the external device and outputting the reception completion signal according to the printing state of the printing device; and in the external device, receiving the reception completion signal. Determining the printing state of the printing device according to the timing of performing the notification, and notifying the printing state of the printing device based on the result of the determination. 4. A printing apparatus comprising: a signal output unit that outputs a signal when the execution of a predetermined amount of printing is completed; and a radio wave transmission unit that transmits the signal from the signal output unit as a radio wave signal. .. 5. A data communication method in a print data communication unit between a printing device and an external device, wherein the external device stores status setting information for setting environment setting of the printing device for each document. A step of transmitting the print data of the document from the external device to the printing device, the data transmitting step including the status setting information corresponding to the document, and the status information transmitted from the data transmitting step. An environment setting step of setting a printing environment of the printing device based on the data communication method. 6. A data communication method in a print data communication unit between a printing apparatus and an external device, wherein the printing apparatus includes a storage unit that stores status information for setting a printing environment of the printing apparatus for each document. When transmitting print data of a document from the external device, based on the document specifying information transmitted by the data transmitting step of transmitting including the document specifying information for specifying the document, A read process for reading the status information of the corresponding document from the storage unit; and a print environment setting process for setting the print environment of the printing device based on the status information read by the read process. And data communication method. 7. A printing apparatus capable of setting a plurality of printing environments, a storage unit that stores status information for setting the printing environments for each document, and a document transmitted from an external device together with print data. Read-out means for reading out the status information of the corresponding document from the storage means based on the document specifying information for specifying the print environment, and print environment setting means for setting the print environment based on the status information read by the read-out means. A printing device characterized by the above. 8. When the status information corresponding to the document specifying information is not in the storage means, the storage means further comprises registration means for registering status information of the current printing environment in the storage means as status information for the document. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the printing is executed in the current printing environment. 9. A printing device capable of setting various printing environments, based on status information read by said reading means, which extracts status information transmitted together with print data from an external device. A printing environment setting means for executing the setting of the printing environment.