JPH08142452A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a printer which can set print modes efficiently in host interfaces under the condition that the printer has a plurality of the host interfaces which can receive simultaneously. CONSTITUTION: In the printer device, when print modes to be set are inputted in interface parts 10-13 from an operating panel 17, the print modes are stored in a storage part 19 and, at the same time, a print mode setting part 18 sets the print modes stored in the storage part 19 to respective interface parts 10-13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device capable of receiving print information set in a plurality of different print modes from a plurality of host devices at the same time, and more particularly to a plurality of printer devices provided respectively corresponding to a plurality of host devices. The printer device is configured so that the print mode setting for the host interface can be performed at a time by a single operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent printers, not only when a control code and print data are received from a host computer to perform print processing, but also "Interpress" developed by Xerox Co., Ltd. "PostScript" developed by the company
Page Description Languag
Print processing is often performed using e).

For this reason, recent printers have been constructed so as to be compatible with such various print modes.

For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-104826, the head portion of print information is checked, and an emulation program for processing a print control language is selected from a plurality of print modes based on the check result. A printer control device configured to do so is disclosed.

As represented by this prior art, in such a printer device, a print mode used by the host computer is selected from among a plurality of print modes and printing processing is performed.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a general configuration of a conventional printer device.

As shown in FIG. 5, this printer device 51 is provided.
Is an interface unit 51a that receives print information output from the host computer 50, and a selection unit 51b that selects a print processing unit that matches the print information.
And three print processing units 51a to 51c that operate in different print modes, and an output unit 51f that outputs the processing result.
And an operation panel 51g for inputting an instruction for switching the interface conditions of the interface unit 51a.

Before the print information is transmitted from the host computer 50 to the printer device 51, the interface condition to be set in the interface section 51a is set in advance from the operation panel 51g.

The interface conditions include print modes corresponding to the print processing units 51c to 51e.

That is, this interface section 51a
Then, in order to facilitate the selection process of the selection unit 51b, the print mode corresponding to the print information is selected by the selection unit 5
The print mode is set in the interface unit 51a because it is necessary to notify 1b and to remove the data not used for the print mode from the print information when the print information is received.

For example, the print processing unit 51c performs print processing based on an escape code (hereinafter referred to as "ESC mode"), and the print processing unit 51d performs print processing based on PostScript (hereinafter referred to as "PS mode"). Then, the print processing unit 51e causes the interpress (hereinafter, "IP
"Mode". ) Based on the print processing,
PS from the operation panel 51g to the interface unit 51a
When the mode is set, the interface unit 51
If the control code which is not used in the PS mode is received during the receiving process, the control code a is regarded as a data error and is eliminated.

After that, when outputting the print information to the selection unit 51b, the interface unit 51a notifies the selection unit 51b that the print information is in the PS mode.

Then, the selection unit 51b selects the print processing unit 51d operating in the PS mode, so that the print information is normally processed in the PS mode.

As described above, when the conventional printer having a plurality of print modes is used, it is necessary to input the print mode from the operation panel 51g and set the print mode in the interface section in advance before transmitting the print information. There is.

[0015]

However, as in the prior art, if the print mode is set in the interface section each time before the print information is output, the setting operation becomes complicated.

In particular, when considering a printer device having a plurality of interface units that can operate simultaneously, it is necessary to set the print mode while sequentially switching a plurality of interface units, so that the print mode setting procedure is performed. Is a big problem.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a printer device which solves the above problems and is capable of efficiently setting a print mode for each host interface when it has a plurality of host interfaces capable of simultaneously performing reception processing. The purpose is to

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention sets a plurality of different print modes through a plurality of host interfaces provided corresponding to a plurality of host devices. In a printer device that receives print information at the same time, a storage unit that stores print mode information corresponding to each of the plurality of host interfaces, and a plurality of host interfaces by using the print mode information stored in the storage unit On the other hand, a print mode setting means for setting the print mode at one time is provided.

A second aspect of the invention is characterized in that the print mode information includes a hexadump mode for setting a hexadump for performing test printing.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the print mode information is stored in the storage means in correspondence with each of the plurality of host interfaces, and the print mode setting means is used by using the print mode information stored in the storage means. Configures print modes for multiple host interfaces at once.

Therefore, it is possible to efficiently set the print mode for a plurality of host interfaces capable of simultaneously performing the reception processing.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the print mode information includes the hex dump mode for setting the hex dump for performing the test print.

Therefore, the hexadump mode can be set for a specific host interface.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printer device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the printer device used in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, this printer device 1
Are four interface units 10 to 13, a print control unit 14, print processing units 15a to 15c, a test printing unit 15d, an output unit 16, an operation panel 17, a print mode setting unit 18, and a storage unit. 19, and the interface units 10 to 13 are configured to operate simultaneously.

The interface units 10 to 13 are processing units that receive and process the print information output from the host computers C1 to C4, and have buffers 10a to 13a for temporarily storing the print information, respectively.

The buffers 10a to 13a are dedicated memory areas provided for each interface unit so that the interface units 10 to 13 can simultaneously perform the receiving process.

The interface units 10 to 13
In this case, the print mode setting unit 18 sets the print mode corresponding to each of the host computers C1 to C4.

The print control unit 14 is a control unit for sequentially outputting the print information temporarily stored in the buffers 10a to 13a provided in each interface unit to a compatible print processing unit.

For example, when processing the print information temporarily stored in the buffer 11a of the interface section 11, it is first confirmed that the print mode of the interface section 11 is the PS mode, and the print processing is performed in the PS mode. The movable state of the print processing unit 15b is confirmed. If the print processing unit 15b is in an empty state, the print information is output to the print processing unit 15b.

The print processing units 15a to 15c are processing units for performing print processing in a predetermined print mode. In this embodiment, the print processing unit 15a performs print processing in ESC mode and the print processing unit 15b in PS mode. The print processing unit 15c performs print processing in the 201 mode.

The test print section 15d prints the print information 1
A printing unit that performs dump output in hexadecimal notation (hereinafter referred to as "HEX dump"), and is mainly used when performing maintenance.

That is, in the present embodiment, since a plurality of print processes can be performed, this HEX dump is also regarded as a kind of print mode, and the test print section 15d corresponds to the print processing sections 15a to 15c. It is treated as a thing.

Therefore, when performing the HEX dump of the print information using the test print unit 15d, the HE mode is set as the print mode of the interface units 10 to 13.
X dump must be specified.

The output unit 16 includes print processing units 15a to 15a.
c is a processing unit that prints out the processing results of the test printing unit 15d.

The operation panel 17 has an L display for displaying various states.
It is composed of a CD and an input key for inputting data, and a print mode or the like corresponding to the interface units 10 to 13 is input using this input key.

The print mode setting unit 18 sequentially stores each print mode input from the operation panel 17 in the storage unit 19.
Further, the print mode is set in each of the interface units 10 to 13 when the input of all the print modes is completed or when the power of the printer device is turned on.

In the present embodiment, the case where the print mode setting unit 18 sets the print mode in each interface unit will be described. However, each interface unit 10 to 13 retrieves the print mode from the storage unit 19, respectively. It can also be configured as follows.

The storage unit 19 is a non-volatile memory that stores each print mode input from the operation panel 17, and is accessed by the print mode setting unit 18.

By using the printing apparatus having the above structure, the print mode input from the operation panel 17 can be collectively set without switching the interface units 10 to 13.

Next, a schematic hardware configuration of the printer device 1 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printer device 1 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, this printer device 1
Are interface circuits (I / F circuits) 21 to 24 connected to the host computers C1 to C4 by a parallel interface such as Centronics or a serial interface such as RS232C, and an operation panel 25 used for inputting a printer mode, A RAM 27 used as a working memory, a character pattern memory 28 for storing character fonts, a program memory 29 for storing various programs, a bitmap controller 30 for controlling image transfer, and a bitmap data printing process. Recording unit 31 and CPU 3 that controls various controls
2 and a non-volatile memory (NVM) 33 backed up by a battery.

The four buffer areas 27a to 27d provided in the RAM 27 are respectively I / F circuits 21 to 2 respectively.
4 is a memory area provided corresponding to each I / F circuit 2
The print information received by 1 to 24 is stored.

The program memory 29 stores emulation programs corresponding to various print modes, and the CPU 32 can process multitask.

Next, the correspondence relationship between each functional block shown in FIG. 1 and each section shown in this figure will be described.

First, the interface section 10 shown in FIG.
1 to 13 correspond to the I / F circuits 21 to 24, respectively.
The buffers 10a to 13a shown in FIG.
It corresponds to 27d.

The storage unit 19 shown in FIG.
The print control unit 14 and the print processing unit 15 shown in FIG.
The a to 15c, the test printing unit 15d, and the print mode setting unit 18 correspond to the processing performed by the CPU 32 that loads the corresponding program from the program memory 29.

That is, by providing the buffer areas 27a to 27d corresponding to the respective I / F circuits 21 to 24,
Each I / F circuit 21-24 can operate simultaneously,
In addition, the print mode input from the operation panel 25 is set to N
The print mode is stored in the VM 33 and the print mode is
By setting the F circuits 21 to 24, the operation panel 2
The print mode input from 5 is set to the I / F circuit 21
It is possible to collectively set up to 24.

Next, the print mode setting operation using the operation panel will be specifically described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the operation panel 17.

As shown in FIG. 3, this operation panel 17
Indicates an LED 17a indicating a data reception state, an LED 17b indicating a print processing state, and an LE indicating an error state.
D17c, LCD17d for displaying characters, LCD1
An arrow key 17e for changing the display contents of 7d, a mode key 17f for shifting to the setting mode, and a pause (PAUSE) key 17 for temporarily stopping the printing operation.
Menu key 17h to switch between g and various menus
And a setting key for setting the print mode.

When operating the operation panel to set the print mode in each of the interface sections 10 to 13,
First, the mode key 17f is pressed down to shift to the setting mode.

After shifting to the print setting mode, the print modes are sequentially set using the arrow keys for each of the interface units 10 to 13.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the print mode setting operation.
The case where the S mode is set is shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the mode key 17f is pressed down, the display "Interface setup interface 10" appears on the LCD 17d (step 401), and the setting mode is entered.

If the down key of the arrow key 17e is pressed and the type of the interface section is changed, pressing the down key causes the display on the LCD 17d to change to "interface interface interface 1".
If the down key is pressed again instead of "1" (step 402), "interface setup interface 12" is displayed (step 403), and the mode of the interface unit 12 can be set.

Then, when the rightward key of the arrow key 17e is pressed, the display of the LCD 17d is displayed as "interface 12 print mode no." (Step 40).
4) It becomes possible to specify the print mode of the interface unit 12.

When the rightward key is continuously pressed, "PRINT MODE NOISE HEX DUMP" is displayed (step 405), and the print mode to be set is HE.
It is asked whether or not it is an X dump.

When the down key is pressed continuously, the message "PRINT MODE NOSTY ESC MODE" is displayed (step 4
06), and then press the down key, "Print mode
"Nosy PS mode" is displayed (step 40
7).

That is, by shifting to such a display state, it becomes possible to set the PS mode in the interface section 12. Therefore, the setting key 17i is pressed to set the print mode.

When the above series of inputs is made, data indicating that the interface section 12 is in the PS mode is stored in the storage section 1.
9 is stored.

In this operation example, the case where only the interface section 12 is set has been described, but the print mode can be continuously set to the other interface sections 10, 11 and 13.

When this mode setting is completed, the print mode setting section 18 sets the print mode in each of the interface sections 10 to 13.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the print mode to be set in each interface section is input from the operation panel 17, the print mode is stored in the storage section 1.
Since the print mode control unit 18 is configured to set the print mode stored in the storage unit 19 to the interface units 10 to 13,
Interface units 10 to 1 capable of simultaneously performing reception processing
3, the print mode can be set efficiently.

Further, in this embodiment, since the HEX dump is handled as a kind of print mode, the HEX dump can be performed for each interface section.

In this embodiment, the case where the print mode is sequentially set in each interface section has been described. However, a predetermined print mode is set in each interface section in advance, and the interface section for changing the print mode is described. It is also possible to set the print mode only.

[0069]

As described above in detail, in the first aspect of the invention, the print mode information is stored in the storage means in correspondence with each of the plurality of host interfaces, and the print mode stored in the storage means is stored. Since the print mode is set to a plurality of host interfaces at once by using the information, it is possible to efficiently set the print mode to a plurality of host interfaces that can perform reception processing at the same time. .

Further, in the second invention, the hexadump mode for setting the hexadump for performing the test print is included in the print mode information, so that it is possible to set the hexadump mode for a specific host interface. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a printer device used in this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printer device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operation panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a case where a print mode is set by operating the operation panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a general configuration of a conventional printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

C1, C2, C3, C4 host computer, 1
Printer device 10, 11, 12, 13 Interface unit, 10a, 11a, 12a, 13a Buffer,
14 print control unit, 15a, 15b, 15c print processing unit, 15d test print unit, 16 output unit, 17
Operation panel, 18 Print mode setting section, 19
Storage unit 21, 22, 23, 24 I / F circuit, 26
CPU bus, 27 RAM, 27a, 27b, 27
c, 27d buffer area, 27e bitmap memory, 28 character pattern memory, 29 program memory, 30 bitmap controller, 31 recording unit, 32 CPU, 33 NVM

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A printer apparatus for simultaneously receiving print information set in a plurality of different print modes via a plurality of host interfaces provided respectively corresponding to a plurality of host apparatuses, wherein each of the plurality of host interfaces is provided. Storage means for storing print mode information corresponding to the print mode information, and print mode setting means for setting print modes for the plurality of host interfaces at once using the print mode information stored in the storage means. A printer device characterized by: 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the print mode information includes a hexadump mode for setting a hexadump for performing test printing.