JPH0691957A - Method and device for controlling printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the lowering of access speed due to loss of the content of a cash memory upon resupply of electric power by storing and retaining the content of the cash memory in a nonvolatile memory upon power source shut-off. CONSTITUTION:Font data is obtained from any one of a cash memory 106, a memory card 103 and a hard disk 116 based on the printing data received from a host computor 117. The font data thus obtained is stored in the cash memory 106 according to frequency in its use and, upon power source shut-off, the content of the cash memory 106 is supplied to the memory card 103 and is retained therein. Therefore, when the font data is obtained based on the printing data, access time is shortened and the lowering of access speed is prevented by access to the cash memory 106, the memory card 103 and the hard disk 116 in that order.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control method and apparatus capable of reading a font from a memory and printing it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional print control apparatus, as a storage medium for storing font data, a memory having a certain capacity is built in, a hard disk is shared with another print control apparatus, or a non-erasable memory is used. I used at least one means of having a built-in card type as an option. The frequently used font data is stored in the cache memory in the print control device to improve the access speed to the font data.

[0003]

In the print control device in the above-mentioned conventional example, a frequently used font is stored in the cache memory in the print control device, and the data is saved while the power is turned on. However, when the power is turned off, the data in the cache memory will be lost. For this reason,
When the power is turned on again, there will be no data in the cache memory, so the hard disk must be accessed. Therefore, there is a problem in that there is a difference in access time from when the font is read and when the font is printed when the power is turned on and when the power is turned on again.

If the standard memory of the print control device is small, fonts that do not exist in the memory have an optional card or are externally shared with another print control device. The only way to read the font is to have a hard disk. When a font is supplied by a card, the memory capacity of the card is small, so that it is limited to provide one type of font data. Also, if a hard disk is used, multiple types of fonts can be acquired, but there is a problem in terms of access speed and cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the content of the cache memory is stored and held in the non-volatile memory at a predetermined timing to reduce the access speed when the power is turned on again. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control method and apparatus for preventing the print control.

Further, by selectively storing in the storage medium fonts and characters that are frequently used according to the user, it is possible to efficiently store the font data in the storage medium having a small capacity. And to provide a device.

[0007]

A print control apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration.
That is, a print control device that acquires font data from a font storage medium based on print data input from an external device or the like, wherein a cache memory, a non-volatile memory, and the font storage device when acquiring font data based on the print data. Access means for accessing the medium in order, storage means for storing the font data in the cache memory based on the usage frequency of the acquired font data, and transfer of the contents of the cache memory to the non-volatile memory at a predetermined timing. And a storage means for storing the data.

Further, the printing control method according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises the following steps.
That is, a print control method for acquiring font data from a font storage medium based on print data input by an external method, wherein the cache memory, the non-volatile memory, the font are acquired when the font data is acquired based on the print data. An access step of accessing the storage medium in order, a storage step of storing the font data in the cache memory based on the usage frequency of the acquired font data, and a transfer of the contents of the cache memory to the non-volatile memory at a predetermined timing. And a transfer storing step of storing.

[0009]

With the above configuration or process, the font data based on the print data is obtained from any one of the cache memory, the non-volatile memory and the font storage medium, and the font data is stored in the cache memory according to the frequency of use. . Then, when the power is cut off, the contents of the cache memory are transferred to and held in the nonvolatile memory.
Therefore, when the font data is obtained based on the print data, the access time can be shortened by accessing the cache memory, the non-volatile memory, and the font storage medium in this order, and the access speed can be prevented from lowering. I can.

Further, since the font data stored in the cache memory can be controlled by the print data, it is possible to store the desired font data in the non-volatile memory.

[0011]

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 block diagram showing the control arrangement of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the figure, 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a video controller unit, which is an engine unit 1 based on print data received from the host computer 117.
02 to the video signal. 102 is an engine part,
The video signal input from the video controller unit 101 is printed on recording paper or the like. 103 is a memory card unit, 10
A hard disk unit 4 is externally connected to the video controller 101 and provides font data.

Next, the configuration of the video controller section 101 will be described. A CPU 105 controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus. A cache memory 106 stores fonts that are frequently used. A flash EEPROM controller 107 controls the flash EEPROM 115 in the memory card unit 103. A SCSI controller 108 controls the hard disk 116 in the hard disk unit 104. 1
Reference numeral 09 denotes a gate array, which has a decoder for decoding an address signal in order to operate each memory (cache memory 106, flash EEPROM 115, hard disk 116) independently and a buffer for forming a local bus connected to each memory. Prepare

Reference numeral 110 denotes a host I / F, which is an interface for exchanging data and control signals between the host computer 117 and the video controller unit 101. 111 is a video controller,
The data from each memory is converted into a video signal. A video I / F 112 is an interface for exchanging data and control signals between the video controller 111 and the DC controller 114. A system bus 113 connects the components.

Further, the engine unit 102 has a video I /
There is a DC controller 114 that processes the video signal sent from F112. The memory card unit 103 also has a flash EEPROM 115 that is a rewritable memory for each block. The hard disk unit 104 has a hard disk 116 for storing fonts shared with other print control devices. A host computer 117 sends print data to the video controller unit 101.

FIG. 2 shows the CPU 105 and the gate array 10.
9, each memory (cache memory 106, flash E
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of connections and configurations between the EPROM 115 and the hard disk 116). Reference numeral 201 denotes a decoder, which is a control signal A205 for selecting one of the memories according to an address signal from the CPU 105.
To generate. The font data is fetched from the memory selected by the control signal A and stored in the buffer 202. Thus, the CPU 105 can access a desired memory by the address signal and acquire the font data.

The operation of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment having the above-described structure will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a font data acquisition procedure in the printing apparatus of the first embodiment.

First, in step S11, the print data transmitted from the host computer 117 is received by the video controller section 101. Next, step S1
In step 2, first, the cache memory 106 is accessed to check whether or not the font data corresponding to the received print data exists in the cache memory 106.
If there is font data, the process proceeds to step S13, the font data is acquired from the cache memory 106, and the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S12, if the target font data does not exist in the cache memory 106, the process proceeds to step S14, and the flash EEPROM 115 of the memory card 103 is accessed. Then, it is checked whether or not the target font data exists in the flash EEPROM 115, and if it exists, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, font data is acquired from the flash EEPROM 115, and the process proceeds to step S17.

On the other hand, if the target font data does not exist in the flash EEPROM 115 in step S14, the process proceeds to step S16. Step S1
In 6, access the hard disk 116,
Get the desired font data. Then, in step S17, the usage frequency of the acquired font data is checked and registered in the cache memory 106.
If the font data is acquired from the cache memory 106, the usage frequency is updated. Then, the font data acquired in step S18 is transferred to the video controller 111.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a control procedure at the time of power-off processing of the printing apparatus of the first embodiment.

In step S21, it is detected that the power switch is off. In this system, the power supply for control does not turn off immediately even if the power switch is turned off. In step S22, it is checked whether or not there is a free block in which data can be written in the flash EEPROM 115. If the empty block is not damaged,
In step S23, the contents of flash EEPROM 115 are erased. Then, in step S24, the contents (font data) stored in the cache memory 106 are transferred to the flash EEPROM 115. Step S
At 25, it is determined whether or not the transfer of all the data in the cache memory is completed, and if the transfer of all the data is not completed yet, the process returns to step S24. If transfer of all data is completed, the process proceeds to step S26. Then, in step S26, the control power supply is turned off, and this processing ends.

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the first embodiment, by mounting the memory card section 103 including the flash EEPROM 115, the power switch is turned off and the system is shut down. The font data in the cache memory 106 is written in the flash EEPROM 115 as it is. Therefore, even if the power is turned off, the cache memory 1
There is an effect that the font data stored in 06 is not lost.

As described above, the contents of the cache memory 106 are stored in the flash EEPROM 1 when the power is turned off.
If it is written in 15, the fonts used to some extent when the power is turned on are stored in the flash EEPROM 115. Therefore, by changing the order of access from the cache memory 106 to the flash EEPROM 115 to the hard disk 116, the efficiency of reading and printing the font is improved, and the access speed is increased.

<Embodiment 2> This embodiment is a modification of Embodiment 1 and its operation will be described below. still,
The printing apparatus according to the second embodiment also has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

The fonts which are frequently used in the transmitted print data are stored in the cache memory 106. In this embodiment, the cache memory 106 is divided into a plurality of areas, and the cache memory 1 is stored according to the frequency of use.
Change the area of 06. Therefore, first, the data structure of the cache memory 106 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration in the cache memory 106 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the cache memory 1
06 is divided into a plurality of areas (A, B, C). And the hard disk 116 or flash EEP
The font read from the ROM 115 is stored in the area A. Here, one font data is composed of bitmap data 51 and access counter 52. Next, when the same font is used again, it is read from the cache memory 106, and at this time, the access counter 52 is incremented. In this way, when the same font data is used more than the predetermined number of times, the content of the access counter 52 exceeds the predetermined value, so that the font data moves to area B. Similarly, when the font data is used in area B a predetermined number of times or more, the font data moves to area C. The access order in the cache memory is area C → area B → area A.

Next, the operation of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of font data acquisition according to the second embodiment.

When print data is received from the host computer 117 in step S31, the cache memory 106 is accessed in step S32 to check whether or not font data corresponding to the print data exists. Here, accessing the cache memory 106 in the order of area C → area B → area A is as described above. Then, if the target font data exists, the process proceeds to step S33, and the font data is acquired from the cache memory 106. Then, in step S34, the cache memory 106
Update. This is to increment the value of the access counter 52 and change the area for storing font data according to the value of the access counter 52.
The details are as described above in the description of FIG.

On the other hand, if the target font data does not exist in the cache memory 106 in step S32, the process proceeds to step S35, and the flash EEPROM 11 provided by mounting the memory card 103.
5 is accessed, and it is checked whether or not the target font data exists in this. If the target font data exists, the process proceeds to step S36 to acquire the font data from the flash EEPROM.

If the desired font data does not exist in the flash EEPROM 115 in step S35, the process proceeds to step S37. Step S3
At 7, the target font data is acquired from the hard disk. Then, in step S38, the font data acquired from the hard disk or the flash EEPROM is additionally registered in the area A of the cache memory 106. Further, in step S39, the acquired font data is transferred to the video controller 111, and this processing ends.

Next, the processing when the power is cut off will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When it is detected in step S41 that the user has turned off the power switch, the process proceeds to step S42. Then, it is checked whether or not there is an empty block in which data can be written in the flash EEPROM 115 provided by the memory card 103. Here, if there is an empty block, the process proceeds to step S44, and if not, the process proceeds to step S43. Step S43
Then, the contents of the flash EEPROM 115 are erased. In step S44, the font data stored in the area C of the cache memory 115 is transferred to the flash EEPROM. In step S45, it is checked whether or not the data transfer is completed. If not completed, the process returns to step S44, and if completed, step S4.
Go to 6. Then, in step S46, the control power supply is shut off, and the present process is terminated.

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the second embodiment, the frequently used fonts are stored in the area C, and the less frequently used fonts are stored in the area A. Is divided and the font data is stored. Then, when the power is turned off, only the font data stored in the area C in the cache memory 106 is written in the flash EPROM 115. Therefore, the memory capacity does not mean that all is written as in the first embodiment. In contrast, there is an effect that only a small capacity is required, and the more frequently used ones can be selected.

<Third Embodiment> This embodiment is a modification of the second embodiment, and its operation will be described below. The printing apparatus according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as that of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here. The data structure of the cache memory 106 and
The font acquisition procedure is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of the second embodiment.
The description is omitted here.

The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the processing procedure when the power is cut off. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when the power of the printing apparatus of the third embodiment is cut off, which will be described below with reference to this flow chart.

In step S51, if the power switch off operation is detected, the process proceeds to step S52. Step S5
In step 2, it is checked whether or not there is a free block for storing font data in the flash EEPROM 115. Here, if there is an empty block, the process proceeds to step S56, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S53.

In step S53, the flash EEPR
It is checked whether all the blocks in the OM 115 are data in the area C of the cache memory. Then, if all the blocks are not the font data of the area C, the process proceeds to step S54, and the block storing the data other than the area C is erased. On the other hand, if the data of all blocks is the font data of area C in step S5, all blocks of the flash EEPROM are erased in step S55.

Then, in step S56, the font data stored in the cache memory is flashed by EEPR.
Transfer to OM115. Then, in step S57, the area information of the transferred font data is stored for each block. In step S58, all areas (areas C to A)
It is checked whether the transfer of the font data has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the process returns to step S56. If the transfer of all font data has been completed, the process proceeds to step S59, the system power is cut off, and this process ends.

As described above, in the third embodiment, when there are no free blocks in the flash EEPROM 115, the block corresponding to the area A of the cache memory 106 in the flash EPROM 115 is erased preferentially. By doing so, it becomes possible to appropriately leave a necessary font (a frequently used font). Further, since the size relationship of the areas in the cache memory 106 is area A> area B> area C in FIG. 5, block erasing of the flash EEPROM can be performed in a manner similar to erasing all areas.

<Embodiment 4> It is possible to execute the operation described below by using the printing apparatus described in Embodiment 1. In the configuration of the first embodiment, the contents of the flash EEPROM 115 are not erased as long as there are empty blocks.

For example, in FIG. 1, the hard disk 1
The print data (character code) is sent from the host computer 117 to the video controller unit 101 so that only the necessary font data is extracted from 16 and written in the cache memory 106. In this way, desired font data is stored in the cache memory 106. Then, when the power is turned off, the data is written in the flash EEPROM 115 in the memory card unit 103. In this way, the video controller unit 10
By controlling the stored contents of the cache memory 106 by the character code from the external host computer 117, not by controlling the CPU 105 in 1, the partial copy of the hard disk 116 becomes possible.

Therefore, if the above operation is performed a plurality of times and only the capacity of the flash EEPROM 115 is written, only the font required by the user will be stored in the content.
Using it as a private card, another print control device,
In particular, when used in a print control device having a small standard memory capacity, it has an effect of efficiently storing fonts with a smaller capacity than before.

As described above, a private card relating to font data can be created by the configuration of the first embodiment, but in the fourth embodiment, a printing apparatus provided with a dedicated mode for creating a private card. Will be described.

Since the printing apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted, but it is assumed that the private card creation mode can be designated on the operation panel of the printing apparatus. The operation when data is received from the host computer 117 in the private card creation mode will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure for creating a private card in the fourth embodiment. When print data is received from the host computer 117 in step S62, the process proceeds to step S63, and it is checked whether or not font data corresponding to the print data exists in the cache memory 106. If it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S64, and the target font data is read from the hard disk 116. Then, in step S65, the font data is stored in the cache memory 106, and the process proceeds to step S66. On the other hand, if the font data corresponding to the print data already exists in the cache memory 106 in step S63, the process directly proceeds to step S67. In step S66, it is checked whether or not there is any unprocessed print data received from the host computer 117, and if any, it returns to step S62 and repeats the above processing.

If the processing for all print data is completed in step S66, the process proceeds to step S67. In step S67, the flash EEP in the card memory 103
It is determined whether or not there is an empty block in the ROM 115,
If there is an empty block, the process proceeds to step S68. In step S68, the font data stored in the cache memory 106 is transferred to the flash EEPROM 115. On the other hand, in step S67, the flash EEP
If there is no empty block in the ROM 115, the process directly proceeds to step S69. In step S69, the cache memory is cleared.

By repeating the processing from step S62 to step S69 described above, it becomes possible to register desired font data in the memory card, and a so-called private card can be created.

As described above, in the printing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the font data storage medium such as a hard disk is controlled by the print data from the host computer 117, not by the CPU 105 in the print control apparatus. It becomes possible to partially copy. Therefore, it is possible to create an efficient font card that stores only desired font data.

Although the external hard disk unit 104 is used in each of the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a font storage ROM or the like built in the video controller unit 101 may be used, and the effects of each embodiment can be obtained.

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.

[0053]

As described above, according to the print control method and apparatus of the present embodiment, the contents of the cache memory are stored and held in the non-volatile memory at a predetermined timing, so that when the power is turned on again. It is possible to prevent a decrease in access speed.

Further, by selectively storing frequently used fonts and characters in the storage medium, it is possible to efficiently store the font data in the storage medium having a small capacity.

[0055]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a printing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of connections and configurations between a CPU, a gate array, and memories.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a font data acquisition procedure in the printing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure at the time of power-off processing in the printing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration in a cache memory.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for acquiring font data in the printing apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure at the time of power-off processing in the printing apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when the printing apparatus according to the third exemplary embodiment is powered off.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for creating a private card in the printing apparatus according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Video Controller Section 102 Engine Section 103 Memory Card Section 104 Hard Disk Section 105 CPU 106 Cache Memory 107 Flash EPROM Controller 108 SCSI Controller 109 Gate Array 110 Host I / F 111 Video Controller 112 Video I / F 113 System Bus 114 DC Controller 115 Flash EEPROM 116 Hard disk 117 Host computer

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A print control device for acquiring font data from a font storage medium based on print data input from an external device or the like, wherein a cache memory, a non-volatile memory, when acquiring font data based on the print data, Access means for accessing the font storage medium in order, storage means for storing the font data in the cache memory based on the frequency of use of the acquired font data, and contents of the cache memory for the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing. A print control device comprising: a transfer storage unit that transfers and stores the data in a memory. 2. The storage means divides the cache memory into a plurality of areas and stores the font data in an area selected based on the frequency of use of the acquired font data, and the transfer storage means comprises: The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content of an area that is frequently used in the cache memory is transferred to and stored in the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing. 3. The non-volatile memory can be erased for each block, and the transfer storage means transfers and stores the contents of the cache memory in the non-volatile memory for each block for each area at a predetermined timing. When there is no empty block in the non-volatile memory when the transfer storing of the data by the transfer storing means is executed,
The print control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an erasing unit that erases a block that stores data in an area of low usage in the nonvolatile memory. 4. The transfer storage means is executed at the timing of a power shutoff operation.
The print control device according to any one of 1. 5. A print control method for acquiring font data from a font storage medium based on print data input by an external method or the like, wherein the cache memory and the non-volatile memory are used when acquiring font data based on print data. An access step of accessing the font storage medium in order, a storage step of storing the font data in a cache memory based on the frequency of use of the acquired font data, and a content of the cache memory in the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing. A print control method comprising: a transfer storing step of transferring and storing in a memory. 6. The storing step divides the cache memory into a plurality of areas, and stores the font data in an area selected based on the usage frequency of the acquired font data. The print control method according to claim 5, wherein the contents of the frequently used area in the cache memory are transferred to and stored in the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing. 7. The non-volatile memory can be erased for each block, and in the transfer storing step, the contents of the cache memory are transferred and stored in the non-volatile memory for each block for each area at a predetermined timing, When there is no empty block in the non-volatile memory when executing the transfer and storage of data in the transfer and storage step,
7. The print control method according to claim 6, further comprising an erasing step of erasing a block storing data of an infrequently used area in the non-volatile memory. 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the transfer storing step is executed at a timing of a power shutoff operation.
The print control method according to any one of 1.