JPH05307449A - Print system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correspond to various printers without especially changing a host- side. CONSTITUTION:First to N-th personal computers 111-11N transmit data for printing to corresponding first to N-th panel controller parts 121-12N. First to N-th panel operation parts 171-17N are correspondingly connected to the first to N-th panel controller parts 121-12N, and additional information required for a printer controller main body 13 to control a printer engine 15 can be inputted. A program and a font are prepared in the printer controller main body 13 for making them correspond to the respective personal computers 111-11N and they can be selected in accordance with a request.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print system in which a plurality of hosts such as personal computers are connected to a printer, and more particularly to a print system in which various hosts can perform printing without trouble.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, non-impact type printers using xerographic technology have been widely used due to the demand for higher image quality and lower noise. In such a printer, for example, a laser beam is selectively irradiated onto a photoconductor such as a photoconductor drum that is uniformly charged in advance,
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be printed is formed. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner, transferred onto paper and fixed, and a recorded image is obtained.

Such an electrostatic recording type printer can record an image at a recording speed of about 4 to 130 sheets per minute. Of these, for printers with a relatively low speed of about 4 to 20 sheets per minute, there is a strong demand for lower prices. To ensure high performance at a low price,
Post Script (Post Scrip
PDL (Page Description Language:
Languages such as software printing description language) have been developed, and one printer is commonly used by a host as a plurality of print data supply sources.

[0004]

However, as for the host for supplying the print data to the printer, there are not many that can support the PDL, and most of them are intended for the wire dot printer. Wire dot
The print control command of the printer is based on the premise that the wire dot printer is directly connected to the host on a one-to-one basis, and is not devised so that the printer is shared by a plurality of hosts. Therefore, for example, if a parallel interface proposed by Centronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, simply referred to as Centronics) is switched to correspond to these hosts, various problems will occur.

For example, even if a character code registered as an external character is printed and the character code registered as an external character is given to the printer side, the external character pattern corresponding to the host is not selected on the printer side. There was a problem that different characters were printed or that part was printed as blank. Further, even when the reduced character is used for printing, the printer is placed in a state of printing the enlarged character, and the character is printed as the enlarged character. In addition, the number of prints specified by the extended printer command for the page printer,
Information such as paper size may be interpreted as different information, and printing may be performed with unexpected print contents.

Moreover, in the conventional print system,
The control commands added as a wire dot system and its extension are sequentially interpreted, and are fixed to the previously interpreted contents unless the next similar command arrives. For example, assume that one host specifies A4 size paper for printing to the printer, and then another host desires B4 size paper for printing. In such a case, if the latter host cannot newly request the printer to change the paper size, A4 size paper is continuously used as the printing paper and a part of the print data can be printed. It caused the problem of disappearing.

As with PDL, one page of print
If all the printing conditions and external character patterns are sent together with the data from the host to the printer side, there will be no problem in printing. However, there are many types of hosts, and some hosts cannot support the latest software. Therefore, for example, it is often difficult to make a host prepared to correspond to a primitive printer correspond to a printer having an advanced function so that the function of the printer is sufficiently exhibited.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a print system adapted to various printers without changing the host side.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there are provided: (a) a plurality of print data supply sources such as a personal computer; (b) a printer main body having a mechanism for printing; A printer that controls the printer body
Controller and (d) print data supply source 1 each
The panel controller section, which is arranged in a pair, receives the data supplied from the print data supply source and sends it to the printer controller, and (e) is connected to the panel controller section respectively, and is sent from the print data supply source. The printing system is provided with a panel operation unit having additional information input means for inputting additional information to be sent to the printer controller in addition to the incoming information.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a panel operation section is further connected to a panel controller section prepared corresponding to each print data supply source, and this panel operation section is necessary for print control of the printer body. It allows you to enter additional information.

According to a second aspect of the invention, (a) a plurality of print data supply sources such as a personal computer, and (b)
A printer body having a mechanism for printing, and (c) a printer controller for controlling the printer body,
(D) The print data supply sources are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with each other, and these are connected in series with each other to receive the data supplied from the corresponding print data supply source. A panel controller that sends exclusively to the controller,
(E) A panel operation unit connected to the panel controller unit and provided with additional information input means for inputting additional information to be sent to the printer controller in addition to the information sent from the print data supply source, Print
Prepare for the system.

That is, according to the second aspect of the invention, the panel controller units prepared for the respective print data supply sources are connected in series with each other, and at the time of printing, one of the panel controller units is connected to the printer unit. It is exclusively connected to the controller to send print data and additional information.

In a third aspect of the invention, (a) a plurality of print data supply sources such as a personal computer, and (b)
(1) Printer main body equipped with a mechanism for printing and (c) One-to-one arrangement in the vicinity of the print data supply source for inputting additional information to be added to the information sent from the print data supply source. And means for generating ID information for identifying the print data supply source, and output means for adding additional information to the information sent from the print data supply source and outputting it together with the ID information. (D) A panel controller section, (d) a panel operation section that is connected to each of these panel controller sections and has additional information input means for inputting additional information, and (e) ID information for identifying the print data supply source. Information storing means storing unique information for printing corresponding to each of the above, and unique information corresponding to the ID information from the output means of the panel controller unit. A printer controller including a reading means for reading from the information storage means and a control means for controlling the printer body using the read unique information and the additional information supplied from the panel controller section. Prepare for.

That is, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the ID information for identifying each print data supply source is used, and the printer controller reads the corresponding unique information from the information storage means to perform control at the time of printing. I am trying.

[0015]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples.

Overview of the printing system

FIG. 1 shows an outline of the print system of this embodiment. In this print system, _first to _Nth personal computer (personal computer) units 11 _{1 to} 11 _N are prepared as hosts. However, in the figure, only the first and Nth personal computer sections 11 ₁ and 11 _N are illustrated. These personal computer parts 11 _{1 to} 11 _N
Are respectively connected to the corresponding first to Nth panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N. An appropriate number of panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N are connected in series and connected to the printer controller body 13. When the number of panel controllers 12 _{1 to} 12 _N is large or the direction in which the cables 14 connecting these are laid are divided into several directions, a plurality of cables 14 can be accommodated in the printer controller main body 13. There is. In this embodiment, four cables 14 can be laid as shown.

A printer engine 15 is mounted on the printer controller main body 13 to receive supply of print data and control data for printing. Further, panel operation units 17 _{1 to} 17 _N are arranged in the respective panel controller units 12 _{1 to} 12 _N via dedicated cables 16 _{1 to} 16 _N , respectively. The length of the dedicated cables 16 _{1 to} 16 _N is 2 m (meter) in this embodiment. In addition, each personal computer unit 11 _{1 to} 11 _N and the panel controller unit 12 ₁ to _{1 1} corresponding to them are
The cables 18 ₁ to 18 _N connecting 12 _N are also 2 in this embodiment.
It has a length of m. These cables 18 _1-18
N is designed to transfer data in accordance with RS232C specifications (hereinafter simply referred to as RS232C) as a standard for other interfaces that connect a computer and each terminal device, for example, Centronics.

As described above, in the print system according to the present embodiment, the personal computer units 1 arranged on different desks, respectively.
1 ₁ to 11 _N 1 one by panel controller 12 ₁ to 12 _N under the rear or desk desk is located. The panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N are arranged at positions on the desk where they can be easily operated, like the keyboard and mouse (pointing device) (not shown) of the personal computer sections 11 _{1 to} 11 _N.

Panel operation unit

FIG. 2 is a top view of the panel operation unit used in this embodiment. A liquid crystal display 21, a printable lamp 22 indicating a printable state, and an in-printing lamp 23 indicating that printing is in progress are arranged on the inner side of the upper surface of the panel operation unit 17. Also,
A key matrix 24 made up of various keys is arranged on other portions of the upper surface of the panel as described later. Further, a volume 2 for adjusting the contrast of the liquid crystal display 21 is provided on the side of the main body of the panel operation unit 17.
5, a reset button 26 for forcibly resetting the circuit operation of the panel operation unit 17, and a setting lock switch 27 for prohibiting or permitting reception of key input by operating the key matrix 24. There is.

Of the information currently displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 in FIG. 2, "201H" represents the mode set by the panel operation unit 17 side which is causing the printer engine 15 to execute printing. There is. By sequentially pressing the printer mode key in the key matrix 24, the printer mode suitable for the personal computer section 11 _X can be set. The information "01" displayed above "201H" in the liquid crystal display 21 indicates the number of prints (the number of copies). In the print mode where the number of sheets cannot be set, no numerical value is displayed here.

The "1 tray" displayed on the right side of the table means that the first tray is used as the recording sheet. Furthermore, "A3 → A4" displayed on the right is A
This indicates that A4 size printing is performed from a 3 size document. The “vertical” below the sheet indicates the sheet direction, and the “chew” indicates the position of the recording sheet. "10
“0/100%” represents a reduction ratio. These can be set by operating the corresponding keys.

As described above, in the print system according to the present embodiment, for example, when the print data created by the _first personal computer section 11 ₁ is printed out by the printer engine 15, the print engine 15 is sent to the printer engine 15. Thus, print conditions that cannot be preset in the first personal computer section 11 ₁ can be additionally input in the first panel operating section 17 ₁ . For example, even when it is not assumed that the first personal computer section 11 ₁ sorts the paper to be printed out, or when it is not expected that the paper can be printed out in a reduced size, the printer engine 15 or This and the printer
These conditions can be added or adapted to the required conditions by utilizing the function provided in the controller main body 13.

Circuit configuration of each part

FIG. 3 shows how signals are transmitted between the panel operation section, the panel controller section and the printer controller main body. The printer controller main body 13 supplies the chopper power supply 31 of the panel controller unit 12 with 36V (volt) from a power supply unit (not shown). The chopper power supply 31 is a panel
Controller unit 12 and printer controller body 13
Panel controller 12 even if the distance between
It is provided in order to obtain a stable + 5V power supply without causing a voltage fluctuation on the side. Chopper power supply 31
The + 5V power source obtained by the above is used for the circuit operation of each unit of the panel controller unit 12. Also, this +
The power of 5V is sent from the panel controller unit 12 to the panel operation unit 17.
The circuit operation 7 is also performed by this.

The panel operating section 17 has a structure that can be easily removed from the panel controller section 12.
Inside the panel operation unit 17, a one-chip CPU 33 is arranged for various controls. .. 1-chip CPU3
3 is a C which has a central function in the panel operation unit 17.
In addition to PU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores control programs, RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores various data, or input / output port (I / O) ) And a serial interface controller (UART). The one-chip CPU 33 is connected to the liquid crystal display 21, the printable lamp 22 and the printing-in-progress lamp 23 which are composed of LEDs (light emitting diodes), and the key matrix 24.

The setting lock switch 2 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 7 is a switch for prohibiting or permitting key reception. The one-chip CPU 33 judges the input level by the operation of this switch, and controls whether to send the key information obtained from the key matrix 24 to the panel controller unit 12 according to the judgment result. There is.

The panel controller section 12 has its own C
An R provided with a PU 41 and backed up by a ROM 43 and a battery 44 via a bus 42 such as a data bus.
Non-volatile memory by AM45, RAM46 as working memory, first and second serial interface controllers 47, 48, DMA (direct
It is connected to a memory access controller 49, a Centronics RS232C transmission control circuit 51, and an input / output port 52.

A line busy control circuit 53 is connected to the input / output port 52. The line / busy control circuit 53 transmits the line / busy control line 54 connected between the line / busy control circuit 53 and the printer controller main body 13.
Each panel controller unit 1 processes busy signals.
Care is taken so that the signals output from 2 _{1 to} 12 _N do not collide. Therefore, the line / busy control line 54 drawn into the printer controller main body 13 is connected to a 36V line / busy power supply through a pull-up resistor. When sending a command to the printer controller body 13, this line goes high (HI
GH) and drive to LOW.

Further, since a plurality of panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N are used in this print system, there is a possibility that any one of them will access at the same time. In order to avoid such simultaneous access, in the present embodiment, the following Line Busy 36V line is set to +
It is designed to drive to 36V. This will be described in detail later.

The first serial interface controller 47 is connected to the printer controller main body 13 by four sets of lines 55 _{1 to} 55 ₄ . These lines 551 _to 554 _4, the clock signal, the command signal, the busy signal and the status signal is adapted to be transmitted. The second serial interface controller 48 is the one-chip CPU 33.
Connected with. By sending serial display data from the panel controller unit 12 to the one-chip CPU 33 side, lighting control of the printable lamp 22 and printing lamp 23 and display control of the liquid crystal display 21 are performed. When each key of the key matrix 24 is pressed, serial data representing the number of the pressed key is sent from the 1-chip CPU 33 to the second serial interface controller 48.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit configuration of the printer controller main body. The printer controller main body 13 includes a 32-bit master CPU 61 that operates at 16 MHz (megahertz). Master CPU
Reference numeral 61 is connected to various circuits via a data bus 62 and an address bus 63. Of these, boot ROM 6
Reference numeral 4 has a capacity of 256 KB (kilobytes), and stores a program for controlling the printer controller main body 13. The page buffer 65 is
A memory for expanding print data for one page and is controlled by a gate array (ASIC) having a line drawing function, a DRAM control function, and the like. DR
The AM 66 is a memory used for caching fonts, storing programs, and temporarily storing other data. The DMA controller 67 is a circuit for directly accessing the memory such as the page buffer 65.

The interface (I / F) controller 68, panel controller 12 ₁ shown in FIG. 1
It is connected to 12 _N by four cables 14,
The control is performed. Disk controller 7
2 is a hard disk with a storage capacity of 40 MB (H
D) Read / write control for 73 is performed. The hard disk 73 stores a program and the like for processing print data sent from the personal computer units 11 _{1 to} 11 _N (see FIG. 1). The hard disk 73 is controlled by the DMA controller 67 for data transfer.

The slave CPU 75 is connected to the printer engine 15 via the _first interface controller 76 ₁ and inputs / outputs various control information. The slave CPU 75 incorporates a dual port RAM, interfaces with the master CPU 61, and performs serial communication with the printer engine 15. It should be noted that the printer engine 15 uses the DMA via the _second interface controller 76 _2.
It is connected to the controller 67 and takes in video data.

Line / busy control

FIG. 5 shows the details of the line busy control circuit in the panel controller section. Figure 1
As shown in the above, the panel controller section 12 ₁ to 1
2 _N is connected in series to the printer controller main body 13 by a cable 14 so that the serial communication line is shared and used. This Figure 5
Then, the line of the first panel controller unit 12 ₁
Busy control circuit 53 and printer controller main body 1
Only the part related to this in 3 is shown.

The status information 81 from the printer controller body 13 is sent from the line 55 ₄ for each panel controller unit 12 ₁ to 12 _N, from these panel controller 12 ₁ to 12 _N, line 5
5 ₂ through a command 82 is sent to the printer controller body 13. Line busy control line 54 is 36
This is a line for controlling the transmission of the V ₃ line busy control signal 84.

By the way, the printer controller body 1
The status information 81 sent from No. 3 and received by the receiving circuit 80 does not cause any particular problem because it is a signal sent from a single sending source, but the command 82 sent from each panel controller section 12 _{1 to} 12 _N For, the measures to prevent these collisions are necessary. Line busy control line 54 and line busy control signal 83 are provided for this purpose. The line / busy control line 54 is pulled up by a resistor 85 of, for example, 10 KΩ on the printer controller main body 13 side as shown in FIG. Each panel controller section 12 ₁ to 1
2 _N is a command 82 to the printer controller main body 13
Is transmitted, it is confirmed that the line / busy control line 54 is at H (high) level. Then, it is lowered to the L (low) level to notify that the line 55 ₂ has been occupied for the transmission of the command 82.

However, the panel controller unit 1
A plurality of 2 _{1 to} 12 _N are line busy control lines 54 at the same time.
There is a possibility to access to. In order to prevent the command 82 from colliding in such a case, the following procedure for collision avoidance is adopted in this embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows collision avoidance when sending a command.
Is a procedure for. With this flow chart
The circuit operation in FIG. 5 will be described. Send command 82
Access to the panel controller
(Here, the first panel controller section, the details of which are shown
12₁Command access)
Line for₂Whether the line is proprietary
Line / busy discrimination circuit connected to the busy control line 54
It is checked by the signal state of 86 (step S101).
That is, + 36V is supplied from the line / busy control line 54.
If the line / busy discrimination circuit 86 detects the H level,
If line 55₂Is not occupied until then
(N). However, as mentioned above, the panel controller
Part 12₁~ 12 _NMay be accessed simultaneously by multiple
Yes, command 8 only based on the result of this judgment step
When 2 is sent, another panel controller unit 12₂~
12_NConflict with a command sent from one of the
May occur.

Therefore, the first panel controller unit 1
2 ₁ is the first and second line request circuits 87 ₁ ,
87 ₂ is driven (step S102). The first line request circuit 87 ₁ is composed of a switching transistor, and the collector and emitter of the first line request circuit 87 ₁ are brought into conduction, and the signal state of the line / busy control line 54 falls to L level.

Second line request circuit 87₂Is emi
The switching tiger is connected to the + 36V power supply.
Engine 87_2TAnd this transistor 87_2TCollector of
Is connected to the anode and the cathode is connected to the line / busy control line 5
Diode 87 connected to 4 _2DIt consists of and. La
This diode 87 on the in-busy control line 54 _2D
Cathode side of the first line request circuit 87₁Between
A diode 88 for preventing backflow is connected to.

Therefore, when the second line request circuit 87 ₂ is driven in step S102,
The line / busy control line 54 after the diode 88 of the panel controller 12 ₁ changes to the H level.

Therefore, the first panel controller unit 1
2 ₁ is when 10 mS has elapsed (step S103;
Y), the logically inverted output of the line / busy discrimination circuit 86 is checked, and as a result, it is checked whether or not the command transmission line 55 ₂ is occupied (step S104). If the output of the line / busy discrimination circuit 86 is at the L level (Y), the line 55 ₂ is occupied, so the command transmission circuit 89 is set to the enable (ENB) state and the command 82 is transmitted to the line 55 _2. Will be sent to (end). The driving of the first and second line request circuits 87 ₁ and 87 ₂ by the first panel controller unit 12 ₁ is performed until the command transmission is completed.

Next, the first panel controller section 12
_The description will be continued on the assumption that ₁ and the second panel controller unit 12 ₂ simultaneously access for sending a command. And performing the same control as shown in the second panel controller section 12 ₂ also FIG. In the second panel controller section 12 ₂ , as a result of supplying + 36V to the line busy control line 54 by the drive of the second line request circuit 87 ₂ of the first panel controller section 12 ₁ (step S102). The line / busy discrimination circuit 86 detects the H level.

[0047] Therefore, (step S103) When the time has elapsed for the second panel controller unit 12 ₂ Any 10 mS, checks the discrimination result of the line-busy discriminating circuit 86. However, in this case + 36V
Since the power source of the line is directly supplied from the diode 87 _2D without passing through the pull-up resistor, even if the first line request circuit 87 ₁ of the _second panel controller section 12 ₂ is driven, the line busy control line 54 Does not drop to L level.

That is, in this situation, the second panel controller section 12 _{2 determines} that the line 55 ₂ is not occupied by itself (step S104; N). Therefore, the second panel controller unit 12 ₂ turns off its own first and second line request circuits 87 ₁ and 87 ₂ (step S105). Then, step S10
Returning to step 1, until the signal level of the line / busy control line 54 falls to the L level at the stage of step S104, that is, the monopolization of the first panel controller section 12 ₁ is released, so that the access is awaited. ..

In this way, the panel controller unit 12 ₁
As for 12 _N , while the side closer to the printer controller body 13 has higher priority, control for collision avoidance for command transmission is performed.

Description of printing operation

FIG. 7 shows the printout of this embodiment.
It shows a state of a handshake between each component in the system. It is assumed that the first panel controller unit 12 ₁ can occupy the command transmission line 55 ₂ by the procedure described in FIG. In this case, the print instruction is issued from the first personal computer 11 ₁ prior to this (step S201). Based on this, the first personal computer 11 ₁ sends the print data to the first panel controller 12 ₁ (step S202). In this state, the first panel controller unit 12 ₁ succeeds in acquiring the line 55 ₂ for sending a command, and sends a print request to the printer controller body 13 (step S203).

If the printer controller body 13 is in a printable state, the printer controller body 13 returns ACK (acknowledge) in response to this command (step S204). 1st panel
The controller unit 12 ₁ receives this and sends control panel (control panel) setting information to the printer controller body 13 (step S205). The control panel setting information is previously stored in the RAM 45 (nonvolatile memory) shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows such control panel setting information. In this embodiment, the control panel setting information consisting of 18 items from "0" to "17" is sent out, whereby various initial states for printing to the printer engine 15 are set. That is,
The printer controller main body 13 is a wire dot printer type printer based on the control panel ID and having no corresponding user-defined character, form information, or page concept stored in the hard disk 73 (see FIG. 4). Information such as the virtual line column (vertical / horizontal) position and current character to be used is read out and prepared for printing, and the printer mode control program is read out.

Further, the first panel controller section 12
It returns an ACK indicating that the control panel setting information is received for _one (step S206). Based on this, the first panel controller unit 12 ₁ sends the print data of the first page by a predetermined unit amount to the printer controller main body 13 (step S207), and receives the return of ACK (step S208).

In the printer controller main body 13, pages based on the predetermined amount of print data sent
The print data is sequentially expanded in the buffer 65 (FIG. 4), and when the processing for one page is completed, a page output instruction is issued to the slave CPU 75 of the printer engine 15 (FIG. 1) (step S209). At this stage, the first personal computer 11 ₁ displays the end of printing on its display (step S210).

The printing process is performed in this way.
However, during this period, each panel controller shown in FIG.
Lens section 12₁~ 12_NAre independent of each panel operation unit 17₁
~ 17 _NAccept menus from
Section 11₁~ 11_NStart receiving print data from
can do.

Further, in the printer controller main body 13, since the program of the mode corresponding to various printers can be stored in the hard disk 73, it is sent from the respective panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N. The program can be switched according to the information. In a conventional printer, some cards in which programs and the like are individually stored are prepared, and the programs and the like are switched by inserting the cards into a card connector prepared in the main body of the printer. For this reason, in the related art, the program and the like can be automatically switched only between the cards which are inserted in the card connector in advance, but in the present embodiment, the large capacity hard disk 73 is prepared. Doesn't cause a problem.

By the way, in the print system of the present embodiment, the DMA controller 49 is arranged in the panel controller section 12, and the reception of the print data sent from each of the personal computer sections 11 _{1 to} 11 _{N is} processed by hardware. I try to do it at high speed. Thus, for example, in a synchronization system using Centronics, the printer side that receives the data sends a busy signal to the host side and waits for the start of the next data transmission. Compared with the case where similar data processing is performed by the interrupt processing by the master CPU 41, the waiting time until data transmission can be minimized.

As a result, the processing of data is speeded up. Also, during serial reception, the status and data are set and stored. As a result, there is no risk of data overrun, unlike processing by software, even during high-speed transfer using the DMA controller 67.

Returning to FIG. 7, the description will be continued. The first panel controller unit 12 ₁ monitors the data transmission interval from the _first personal computer unit 11 ₁ . And
For example, if the next print data is not received even if the interval T exceeds the predetermined time after the print data is received in step S211, a print end instruction is forcibly output to the printer controller main body 13. ,
It is designed to force printing. Interval T
Can be freely set in advance, for example, from 10 seconds to 250 seconds. It is also possible to wait for print data without performing forced printing. However, the waiting time becomes longer in this case and other personal computer unit 11 ₂ -
This causes a problem that the processing of 11 _N is delayed.

In the case of the present embodiment, since the print end instruction is given in step S215, the printer controller main body 13 issues a page output instruction to the slave CPU 75 (step S216). And slave C
When the page output completion status is sent from the PU 75 to the printer controller main body 13 (step S217), ACK is returned in response to the print end instruction (step S first panel controller unit 12 ₁
It is supposed to finish the printing work with. The page output completion status of step S217 sent prior to step S217 in FIG. 7 indicates that printing of all pages has been completed in the normal procedure.

Although not shown in FIG. 7, a stop key (not shown) on the keyboard of the personal computer sections 11 _{1 to} 11 _N or a key matrix 24 of the panel operation sections 17 _{1 to} 17 _N for forcibly ending the printing. The stop / clear key in (Fig. 3) may be used.
That is, for example, when the Stop / Clear key is pressed, the personal computer units 11 _{1 to} 11 _N move to the panel controller unit 1.
It is also possible to perform idle reading of the print data sent to 2 _{1 to} 12 _N and stop the transmission to the printer controller main body 13. The blank reading is made to continue for a time not exceeding, for example, 3 seconds. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the host side hangs up (stops) waiting for ready (Ready) or nots busy (Not Busy) in a data transmission state.

Further, a print start instruction by transmitting print data to the printer controller main body 13
Panel controller section 12 _{1 to} 12 _N is PC section 1
And go when the 1 ₁ to 11 interval print data received from the _N has exceeded the predetermined time may be performed when the buffer amount exceeds a predetermined value. As a result, the printer controller main body 13 can be used more efficiently, and more panel controller sections 12 _{1 to} 12 _N can be shared.

Panel operation section and panel controller section
Communication

Next, the communication protocol between the panel operation unit 17 and the panel controller unit 12 will be described.
Communication between them is performed at 9600 BPS (bits / second), and an asynchronous method is adopted. The data length is 8 bits, the parity is ODD (odd number) system, the stop bit length is 1 bit, and the LSB is at the top.

FIG. 9 shows a state of data transmitted from the panel operation section to the panel controller section. A key matrix 24 is arranged in the panel operation unit 17 as shown in FIG. 2, so that key information indicating the number of the corresponding key is sent to the panel controller unit 12 each time the key is pressed. It has become.

In this example shown in FIG. 9, first, the key "1"
The information 91 is output, then the key "2" information 92 is output, and finally the delimiter 93 indicating the end of the output of information is output. As can be seen from FIG. 9, it is possible to know the timing of inputting data by using the delimiter 93, whereby the correct value can be displayed on the liquid crystal display 21 or the key input from the key matrix 24 can be performed.

In FIG. 9, as for the key "1" information 91 and the key "2" information 92, "00" indicates that no key is pressed. Also, "1" to "7"
FH "represents the ID number of the pressed key. In this example, the delimiter 93 has a code system that can be distinguished from each ID number of the key, such as" 0FFh ". From the panel operation unit 17, such information is serially transmitted to the panel controller unit 12.

FIG. 10 shows the format of data transmitted by the panel controller section to the panel operation section. In the panel controller section 12, the LCD display information 94 and the LED display information 95 are connected and serially sent out in order to control the lighting of the printable lamp 22 and the in-printing lamp 23 of the panel operation section 17 and the display control of the liquid crystal display 21. Then, the same transmission is repeated with a time of 100 mS ± 10 mS. That is, in this transmission mode, 10
The transmission pause time of 0 mS ± 10 mS is a delimiter.

Panel controller and printer controller
Communication with the tracker body

FIG. 11 shows a state of serial communication performed between the panel controller section and the printer controller main body. Panel controller 1
Between the first serial interface controller 47 of No. 2 and the serial interface controller 101 of the printer controller main body 13, four sets of lines 55 _{1 to} 55 ₄ are arranged as described in FIG. There is. The line 55 ₂ for transmitting the command realizes high speed communication of 1 MBPS (megabit / second).

In order to realize such high speed processing, the command clock is sent in parallel from another line 55 ₁ . In addition, measures are taken to allow a delay in software processing of the printer controller main body 13. That is, the serial interface controller 101 outputs the "RXRDY" signal when the receiving buffer is full, and this signal is sent out through the command busy line 55 ₃ to the first serial interface.・ Controller 4
It is designed to be input to the 7 CTS ^* (clear to send) terminal. As a result, when the reception buffer becomes full, the transmission from the panel controller unit 12 is stopped by hardware, and data overrun is prevented even if the software processing is delayed. In this specification and the drawings, an asterisk * is used to indicate negative logic.

[0073] For reception of the status by the line 55 _4, since the amount of data is small, asynchronous communication 9600BPS is performed. During this communication, the CPU 41 (FIG. 3) of the panel controller unit 12 is interrupted.

FIG. 12 shows the timing of communication between the two serial interface controllers shown in FIG. FIG (a) is a serial printer controller body 13 side by the line 55 ₂
It shows a state of data transmitted to the interface controller 101. A predetermined amount of data D ₁ , D _2, ... Is transmitted between the start signal 103 and the stop signal 104. FIG. 7B shows the signal state of the line 55 ₃ , and when the receiving buffer on the printer controller main body 13 side becomes full, the “RXRDY” signal 10
5 is sent to the panel controller unit 12 side. When the transmission of the "RXRDY" signal 105 is stopped, the panel controller unit 12 transmits the next data D.

FIG. 12C shows the timing of reading the status 106 and the data 107 on the printer controller main body 13 side for reference.

Printer controller body and printer
Communication with engine

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the manner of communication between the slave CPU in the printer controller main body and the printer engine. The slave CPU 75 in the printer controller main body 13 is connected to the DMA controller 67 via the data bus 62 and the address bus 63. A page synchronization signal 111 and a line synchronization signal 1 output from the printer engine 15 shown in FIG.
12 and the video clock 113 respectively correspond to 2
It is adapted to be supplied to one input terminal of the input AND gates 114, 115 and 116. A read control signal 118 is supplied from the slave CPU 75 to the other input terminals of these two-input AND gates 114, 115, 116. The signals 121 to 123 output from the output terminals of the two-input AND gates 114, 115 and 116 are input to the DMA controller 67.

As described above, the slave CPU 75 and the printer engine 15 serially transmit and receive commands and statuses, and also perform gating of the video data reading circuit (not shown). That is, when the slave CPU 75 outputs the H level (“1”) read control signal 118, the video data can be read, and the L level (“0”) read control signal 11 is output.
When 8 is output, reading of video data is prohibited.

For example, it is assumed that the printer engine 15 is provided with a double-sided printing mechanism for printing on both sides of a recording sheet. If the recording paper is accommodated in the double-sided printing mechanism to perform the double-sided printing after the printing on one side is completed, and then the operator presses the stop button or the like to forcibly discharge the recording paper, the slave CPU 75 causes L The level (“0”) read control signal 118 is output. As a result, the two-input AND gates 114, 115, and 116 are closed, so that the video output is disabled on the other surface, and the recording paper is discharged in a blank state.

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to reserve a page memory for discharging a blank sheet. Therefore, the process of expanding the image information on the subsequent pages can be performed faster.

Control panel controller, main body and printer
・ Communication with the controller body

FIG. 14 shows a communication format between the panel control and the printer controller main body. Between the panel controller unit 12 and the printer controller main body 13, first, data 131 indicating the start of transmission is transmitted, and subsequently, type data 132 indicating a command or status ID is transmitted.
After that, the transmission byte number data 133 representing the number of bytes of the data to be transmitted is transmitted, and finally the transmission data 134 of that number of bytes is transmitted. As described above, in this embodiment, the amount of data to be transmitted can be freely set according to the length of the transmission data 134, and various signal forms can be adopted.

Overall operation of the printing system

Now, the operation of the print system will be described with the passage of time.

A. Power on

When the system is powered on, the slave CPU 75 reads the configuration of the printer engine 15 by sending a command. The read configuration is notified to the master CPU 61 via the built-in dual port RAM.

When the power is turned on, the master CPU 61 initializes peripheral ICs (integrated circuits) and then the slave CPU 61
A printer configuration is created according to the contents of the U75 and the hard disk 73.

FIG. 15 shows an example of such a printer configuration. In this example, the presence / absence of a sorter for sorting recording sheets, the presence / absence of a double-sided printing function, the number of cassette trays for storing recording sheets, the font type currently set, and the program type currently set are shown. There is.

The panel controller unit 12 is a printer
Commands and statuses are transmitted / received to / from the controller body 13 to read the printer configuration created by the master CPU 61. Then, after that, the key input is independently accepted from the panel operation unit 17.

B. Print

Print data is sent from the panel controller section 12 to the printer controller main body 13 with the control panel setting information such as the printer mode at the head. The data format is as shown in FIG. After that, the printer controller main body 13 is the serial interface controller 101.
Only one line 55 ₂ of the line can be received, and the connection of the other line is prohibited by the status.

In this state, the printer controller main body 13 reads out necessary programs, form information and the like from the hard disk 73 based on the printer mode and control panel ID and loads them into the DRAM 66. Then, the received print data is transferred to the page buffer 65.
Expand to.

When the expansion of one page is completed, the printer
The controller main body 13 delivers information such as the number of copies, the tray number to be used, and whether or not the sorter is used to the slave CPU 75 via the dual port RAM described above. Then, the printer engine 15 is activated by an interrupt process for the slave CPU 75. The slave CPU 75 controls the printer engine 15 according to the information in the dual port RAM until printing of the designated number of copies is completed. When the printing is completed, the slave CPU 75 turns the master CPU 6
Notify 1 that printing is completed by interrupting. As a result, the master CPU 61 concentrates on the expansion processing of the next page.

In the print system of this embodiment, the master CPU 6 sets the start of reading from the page buffer 65 to the printer engine 15 and the setting of addresses and the like.
1 is supposed to do. If the slave CPU 75 is configured to perform such a setting, a jam recovery (Jam Recovery) required when a jam occurs when printing on both sides of a recording sheet
Also, the intervention of the master CPU 61 is not necessary.

That is, when a jam occurs on the back surface of the recording paper when printing on both sides, the recording paper is discarded, so it is necessary to read the page from the front surface again. Since the slave CPU 75 also performs the control in this case, the master C
The intervention of the PU 61 is completely unnecessary.

When all the printing is completed, the information such as the user-defined character form information, the virtual line position (vertical / horizontal) position, the current character, etc. is stored in the hard disk 73 as the information peculiar to the panel and the printing operation is completed.

As described above, in the print system of this embodiment, one printer controller main body 13 can be shared by a large number of users (personal computer sections 11 _{1 to} 11 _N ) in completely independent modes. In particular, even in the wire dot printer mode in which the data for each unit job is not independent, the problem caused by sharing one printer does not occur. In other words, in a wire dot printer, virtual line digit position designation is not generally performed for each job. Therefore, if a single printer is shared by switching inputs, an unintended print result may result. In the print system of this embodiment, necessary programs, form information, etc. are read from the hard disk 73 of the printer controller main body 13 and set,
Such a problem can be solved.

In the embodiment described above, Centronics and RS232C are described as the interface for receiving data on the host side, but it goes without saying that another interface such as SCSI or TCP / IP may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the line / busy control, the command sending right is preferentially given to the panel controller unit 12 on the side closer to the printer controller main body 13, but if there is a conflict, another logic is used. Of course, the priority order may be determined.

[0100]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the panel operation section is arranged in each of the panel controller sections arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of print data supply sources. Therefore, there is an effect that not only additional information can be input from the panel operation unit, but also it can be used for creating a document as an auxiliary input means of a print data supply source such as a personal computer. ..

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the panel controller units are connected in series with each other, compared with the case where each panel controller unit is directly connected to the printer controller, the printer controller unit The number of cables laid between them can be reduced.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the ID information for identifying each print data supply source is used, and this ID information is sent to the printer controller when printing is performed. Further, since the printer controller is made to store information such as programs and fonts corresponding to these ID information in the information storage means, it is necessary to select appropriate information based on the ID information and perform print control. You can Also, at the time of the next print, the ID sent to the printer controller side last time.
There is also an advantage that the information and the ID information sent this time are compared, and if they match, it is possible to immediately control printing by using the information currently set.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of a print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a panel operation unit used in this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining how signals are transmitted among the panel operation unit, the panel controller unit, and the printer controller main body in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a printer controller main body in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing details of a line busy control circuit in a panel controller section in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for avoiding a collision when sending a command in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a handshake between each component in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a list of control panel setting information used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of data transmitted from the panel operation unit to the panel controller unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a format of data transmitted by the panel controller unit to the panel operation unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a state of serial communication performed between the panel controller unit and the printer controller main body in the present embodiment.

12 is a timing chart showing the timing of communication between the two serial interface controllers shown in FIG. 11 in the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram for explaining a communication state between a slave CPU in the printer controller main body and the printer engine in the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication format between a panel control and a printer controller main body in the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a printer configuration in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11₁~ 11_N… 1st to Nth personal computers, 12₁~ 12
_N... 1st to Nth panel controller section, 13 ... Pre
Controller controller body, 14, 18₁~ 18 _N… K
Bull, 15 ... Printer engine, 16₁~ 16_N… Exclusive
Cable, 17₁~ 17_N... First to Nth panel operation
Part, 21 ... Liquid crystal display, 24 ... Key matrix
33 ... 1-chip CPU, 41 ... CPU, 43 ... RO
M, 45 ... RA (backed up by batteries)
M, 46 ... RAM (as working memory), 53 ... LA
In-busy control circuit, 54 ... Line-busy control line,
55₁~ 55_Four... Line, 61 ... Master CPU, 64 ...
Boot ROM, 65 ... Page buffer, 66 ... DR
AM, 67 ... DRAM controller, 68 ... Interface
Ace controller, 73 ... Hard disk, 75 ...
Slave CPU, 86 ... Line / busy discrimination circuit, 87
₁… First line request circuit, 87₂... the second lie
Request circuit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Ikemoto 4-9-17 Nakamachi, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Harada Center Building (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Yamazaki 4-9-17 Nakamachi, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Harada Center Building (72) Inventor Katsuyuki Asai 4-9-17 Nakamachi, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Harada Center Building (72) Inventor Masahiro Obata 4-9-17 Nakamachi, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Harada Center Building (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ota Kanagawa 4-9-17 Nakamachi, Atsugi-shi, Japan Harada Center Building

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printer main body having a plurality of print data supply sources, a mechanism for performing printing, a printer controller for controlling the printer main body, and the print data supply sources are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with each other. A panel controller unit that receives the data supplied from the print data supply source and sends it to the printer controller, and is connected to the panel controller unit, and is added to the information sent from the print data supply source. A printing system comprising: a panel operation unit having additional information input means for inputting additional information to be sent to the printer controller. 2. A printer main body having a plurality of print data supply sources, a mechanism for performing printing, a printer controller for controlling the printer main body, and the print data supply sources are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence. And a panel controller unit that is connected in series with each other, receives data supplied from a corresponding print data supply source, and sends out the received data exclusively to the printer controller during printing, A panel operation unit that is connected to each of the controller units and that has additional information input means for inputting additional information to be sent to the printer controller in addition to the information sent from the print data supply source. A printing system characterized by. 3. A plurality of print data supply sources, a printer main body having a mechanism for performing printing, one-to-one arrangement in the vicinity of the print data supply sources, and information sent from the print data supply sources. Additional information input means for inputting additional information to be added to the print data, ID information generating means for generating ID information for identifying the print data supply source, and additional information added to the information sent from the print data supply source. A panel controller section having output means for outputting together with the ID information, a panel operation section provided with additional information input means respectively connected to these panel controller sections and for inputting the additional information, and a print data supply source. Information storage means for storing unique information for printing in association with ID information for identification, and an output device of the panel controller section. Read-out means for reading out the unique information corresponding to the ID information from the information storage means, and control means for controlling the printer main body using the read-out unique information and the additional information supplied from the panel controller section. And a printer controller having: