JPH0577578B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer having a plurality of paper feeding means, such as cassette paper feeding and manual paper feeding.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

Conventional printer devices are broadly classified into line printers, which were developed as output devices for electronic computers, and serial printers, which were developed from typewriters, which were used as document output devices. Line printers are characterized by their ability to output documents at high speed and in large quantities, and are generally cassette-fed, whether using continuous paper or pine needle paper.

On the other hand, serial printers are characterized by outputting documents at low speed, in small quantities, and with high quality, and printers that can be fed either from a cassette or manually have been devised. However, such printers
When trying to print, if recording material is being fed manually, manual paper feeding will be given priority over cassette feeding.
If paper is not being fed manually, feed it from the cassette. Therefore, even if you try to print using manual paper feeding, if manual paper feeding is not completed before sending the print data, the paper will automatically be printed using cassette paper feeding.

In addition, manual paper feeding requires the operator to go back and forth between the host computer and the printer, so the printer must be installed near the host computer. Furthermore, when one printer is shared by multiple host computers, it is difficult to manually feed the recording material in time with the recording timing of the print data that should be fed by manual paper feed from among the print data from each host computer. As a result, there were drawbacks such as the inability to print by manually feeding paper.

On the other hand, if there is a manual paper feeding mode and a cassette paper feeding mode, and the former is selected, it is possible to consider a method in which printing does not start until the recording material is manually fed even if printing data is received. If a person does not quickly manually feed paper by the side of the printer, there is a drawback that printing of print data to be printed by subsequent cassette feeding is unnecessarily forced. This is especially true when a single printer is shared by multiple host computers, or when printing data is stored all at once on the host computer (called a spooler).
When receiving and printing print data one after another,
A large amount of print data to be printed is accumulated by subsequent paper feeding from the cassette.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and after specifying the printing mode on the recording material fed by the first paper feeding means, the subsequent second
To provide a print that can be efficiently printed on a recording material fed from a desired paper feeding means without making printing data to be printed on the recording material fed by a paper feeding means wait unnecessarily. The purpose is to

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a printer that prints based on data from an external host computer, which includes first and second feeding means (upper and lower rollers 3, 4, and (corresponding to the paper feed roller 5 (FIG. 1)); a first mode for printing on the recording material fed by the first feeding means; and a first mode for printing on the recording material fed by the second feeding means. Specified data that specifies one of the second modes for printing, and print data that should be printed in the mode specified by the specified data,
An input means for receiving input from the external host computer (corresponding to the input I/F circuit 21 (FIG. 2) of the embodiment), and an analysis means for analyzing specified data input by the input means (corresponding to the input I/F circuit 21 (FIG. 2) of the embodiment). CPU22 (Figure 2)
), and if the analysis means analyzes that the specified data specifies the first mode, prints in the first mode, and if the specified data is analyzed as specifying the second mode. control that allows printing in the second mode and, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the input of specified data specifying the first mode, before starting printing in the first mode, to print in the second mode. (also corresponding to the CPU 22).

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electrophotographic laser beam printer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, 1 is the paper cassette of the cassette paper feed system, 2 is the manual paper feed tray of the manual paper feed system, 3 is the upper roller that feeds the paper manually, 4 is the lower roller that is also used for manual paper feed, and 5 is the paper feed tray of the manual paper feed system. is a paper feed roller for feeding the paper in the paper feed cassette 1; 6 is a transport roller for transporting the fed paper; 7 is for temporarily transporting paper fed by cassette feeding or manual paper feeding. 8 is a conveyance roller, 9 is a paper feed sensor that detects the passage of manually fed print paper, 10 is a scan laser unit, 11 is an electrophotographic developing unit, 12 is a photosensitive drum. The flow of print paper will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The print paper is continuously conveyed from the paper feed cassette 1 through the paper feed roller 5 and the conveyance roller 6, and is then transferred to the scan laser unit 10 and the photosensitive drum 12.
In order to synchronize with the photosensitive drum 12, the print paper is temporarily stopped by the registration shutter 7, and after synchronization, the print paper is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 12 via the paper feed roller 8.

Note that the conveyance of print paper by manual paper feeding also uses upper roller 3 and lower roller 4 from manual paper feed tray 2.
After that, the print paper is continuously conveyed, and from then on, it is conveyed in the same manner as when the paper is fed by the paper feed cassette 1.

Next, the control configuration of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 21 is a print data input I/F circuit;
2 is a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU), 23 is a display section, 23a is an indicator lamp on the display section 23 that indicates manual paper feeding, 23b is an indicator lamp that indicates cassette paper feeding on the display section 23, and 23c is a manual paper feeder. This is a manual feed/cassette switching switch that switches between paper feeding and cassette feeding. 24 is a driver that is driven when cassette paper feed is specified; 25 is a driver that is driven when manual paper feed is specified; 26 is a motor that is operated by the driver 24; 27 is a motor that is operated by the driver 25;
28 is a timer.

Figure 3 is a structure diagram of print data, where 31 is a paper feed specification code, 32 is a cassette paper feed specification code,
33 is a print data code group, and 34 is a manual paper feed designation code, each print data being configured by these. The operation of each part will be explained below with reference to print control flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, a system is designated to drive either the motor 26 or the motor 27 depending on whether the paper is manually fed or cassette fed. This includes cases where the paper feeding method is specified from the host side sending the data, and manual feed/cassette switching switch 23c on the printer side.
There are two ways to specify. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 4, a description will be given of the case in which the paper feeding method is specified from the host side. In addition, in Figure 4, 41 to 57
represents each step.

A print data code group 33 having a cassette paper feed specification code 32 or a manual paper feed specification code 34 is sent to the CPU 22 via the input I/F circuit 21.
When input 41, the CPU 22 determines whether it is print data 42, and if it is print data, processes the print data. If it is not print data in step 42, it is determined from the paper feed specification code 31 whether or not it is determined 43, and if it is not the paper feed specification code 31, other codes are analyzed,
In step 43, if the paper feed designation code is 31, it is determined whether the next code following it is the cassette paper feed designation code 32 or the manual paper feed designation code 34. Turn off the lamp 23b 51 and turn on the indicator lamp 23a.
Turn on 52, check if there is print paper 53,
If there is no print paper, display 54 and wait for print paper. If there is print paper in step 53, determine whether printing is in progress or not 55, and if printing is in progress, wait until printing is finished. death
56, if printing is not in progress in step 55, the motor 26 that drives the paper feed roller 5 and the conveyance roller 6;
The CPU 22 outputs a drive signal to the driver 24.
57. When the paper feed roller 5 and the conveyance roller 6 start driving, the print paper is conveyed, and in order to synchronize with the photosensitive drum 12 and the scan laser unit 10, the print paper is stopped once by the resist shutter 7, and after synchronization, the print paper is exposed. Start. Meanwhile, step 44
If the code following the paper feed specification code 31 is the manual paper feed specification code 34, the display lamp 2 on the display section 23
Turn off 3a 45, turn on indicator lamp 23b 46,
Next, it is checked whether printing is in progress 47, and if printing is in progress, it waits until the end of printing 48, and if printing is not in progress in step 47, the upper roller 3
The CPU 2 is connected to the motor 27 that drives the lower roller 4.
2 outputs a drive signal to the driver 25 49 , after outputting the drive signal, the paper feed sensor 9 detects the passage of the print paper 50 , and in order to synchronize with the photosensitive drum 12 and scan laser unit 10 , the resist shutter 7 outputs the drive signal. The print paper is stopped once and exposure is started after synchronization. In this way, the operator can distinguish whether cassette paper feeding is specified or manual paper feeding is specified by the paper feeding specification code 31 specified by the host side by lighting the display lamps 23a and 23b. .

Next, the case where the paper feeding method is designated by the manual feed/cassette changeover switch 23c on the print side will be explained with reference to the print control flowchart of FIG. Note that 61 to 74 represent each step.

Manual feed/cassette switch 2 on the printer side
The paper feed designation in step 3c is necessary when the host side fails to insert or cannot insert the paper feed designation code 31, cassette paper feed designation code 32, or manual paper feed designation code 34 when creating print data.

An interrupt is given to the CPU 22 by turning on the manual feed/cassette changeover switch 23c. At this time, it is determined whether the paper is being fed manually or from a cassette 61, and if the paper is being fed manually, the CPU 22 outputs a cassette paper feeding off signal to turn off the display lamp 23a 62.
A manual paper feed ON signal is outputted to turn ON the display lamp 23b 63. After outputting the manual paper feed ON signal, the motor 27 checks whether printing is in progress or not, and if printing is in progress, waits until the end of printing 65, and if printing is not in progress and can start printing, the motor 27 drives the upper roller 3 and lower roller 4. Then, the CPU 22 outputs a drive signal to the driver 25 66 and waits for paper feeding.
After the drive signal is output, when manual paper feeding is performed, the paper feed sensor 9 determines whether the print paper has passed 67, and when it is detected, the resist shutter 7 is activated to synchronize with the photosensitive drum 12 and scan laser unit 10.
The print paper is stopped once, and exposure is started after synchronization. On the other hand, if NO in step 67, print paper is placed on standby.

In addition, when switching to cassette paper feeding by turning on the manual feed/cassette switch 23c in step 61, turn off the display lamp 23b 68, turn on the display lamp 23a 69, and check the presence or absence of print paper 70. If there is no printing paper, a paper out message is displayed 71, and paper feeding from paper cassette 1 is waited for. If there is printing paper in step 70, it is determined whether printing is in progress or not. If printing is in progress at step 72, the process waits until the end of printing, and if printing is not in progress and printing can be started, the transport roller and paper feed roller 5 are driven. The CPU 22 outputs a drive signal to the motor 26 74, and after outputting the drive signal, the photosensitive drum 1
2. In order to synchronize with the scan laser unit 10, the print paper is stopped once by the resist shutter 7, and after synchronization, exposure is started.

Next, an application example of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

When manual feeding is specified by the host side paper source specification, if the operator is not near the print unit or if you forget to manually feed paper, you can use the host side to print the print data for the subsequent cassette feeding specification. In order to restore the manual paper feed designation to the cassette paper feed designation, the control shown in FIG. 6 is added after step 49 of the print control flow chart of FIG. 4 shown in the above embodiment.

In this figure, a to d represent each step, and the other steps are the same as in FIG. 4.

After outputting the drive signal in step 49, tire 2
(a) After the timer 28 is activated, the paper feed sensor 9 detects the passage of manually fed print paper (b);
If it passes, printing starts; if not, it judges whether the timer 28 has timed up (c), and if the timer 28 is still counting, it waits for paper feeding;
When the time is up, it is determined whether print data specified for cassette feeding has been received (d), and if print data specified for cassette feeding has been received, step 51 is executed.
If not, return to step (a) and start counting with timer 28. in this way,
If print paper is not supplied by manual paper feed even after the set time has elapsed, the paper feeding mechanism is switched from manual paper feed designation to cassette paper feed designation, and subsequent printable print data with cassette paper feed designation is printed.

Note that this printer is a page printer and can store several pages worth of print data in its internal buffer, so step (d) is executed in the above application example.

Furthermore, when jumping from step d to step 51, the above embodiment deletes the print data specifying manual feed from the internal buffer, and prints the subsequent print data specifying cassette feed, but the buffer is filled with the print data specifying manual feed. Store the print data without deleting it,
When the paper feed sensor 9 detects manual paper feed, print data specifying manual paper feed is printed, and the paper feed sensor 9
Before manual paper feeding is detected, it is possible to give priority to print data specified for cassette paper feeding.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the first
After specifying the printing mode on the recording material fed by the paper feeding means, the desired printing mode can be set without unnecessarily waiting for the print data to be printed on the recording material fed by the subsequent second paper feeding means. Efficient printing can be performed on the recording material fed from the paper feeding means.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an electrophotographic laser beam printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of print data. , FIGS. 4 to 6 are flowcharts showing print data control. In the figure, 1 is a paper feed cassette, 2 is a manual paper feed tray, 3 is an upper roller, 4 is a lower roller, 5 is a paper feed roller, 6 is a transport roller, 7 is a registration shutter,
8 is a conveyance roller, 9 is a paper feed sensor, 10 is a scanning laser unit, 11 is a developing unit, 1
2 is a photosensitive drum, 21 is an input I/F circuit, 22 is a
CPU, 23 is a display unit, 23a, 23b are display lamps, 23c is a manual feed/cassette switching switch,
24, 25 are drivers, 26, 27 are motors, 2
8 is a timer, 31 is a paper feed designation code, 32 is a cassette paper feed designation code, 33 is a print data code group, and 34 is a manual paper feed designation code.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A printer that prints based on data from an external host computer, comprising: first and second feeding means for feeding a recording material; and a recording material fed by the first feeding means. designation data that specifies either a first mode for printing on the recording material fed by the second feeding means and a second mode for printing on the recording material fed by the second feeding means, and printing to be printed in the mode specified by the designation data. data and
an input means for receiving input from the external host computer; an analysis means for analyzing specified data input by the input means; and when the specified data is analyzed by the analysis means as specifying a first mode. , print in the first mode, and if the specified data is analyzed as specifying the second mode, print in the second mode, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the input of the specified data specifying the first mode. , a control means for allowing selection to a second mode before starting printing in the first mode.