JPH08324071A - Printing control device, data receiving method thereof and sleep releasing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To continue data receiving processing without resuming the supply of power to the respective parts of a printing main body every time even if data is received from a host device when the supply of power to the respective parts of the printer main body excepting communication function is stopped. CONSTITUTION: In such a state that a power consumption control part 11 is transited to a sleep mode stopping the supply of power to the respective parts of a printer main body excepting the communication function with a host device, a control part 10 analyzes the data stored in a receiving buffer 9 storing the data received from host computers 1-5 to discriminate whether the data having to resume the supply of power to respective parts of the printer main body is received and a communication control part 14 controls the receiving processing of data corresponding to the discrimination result so as to continuously store the data in the receiving buffer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print control device for analyzing print information received from a host device and controlling the main body of the print device, a data receiving method of the print control device, and a sleep release method of the print control device. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a network computer system (including a stand-alone system), a printer connected to a network suppresses power consumption of the entire printer to save power when data is not received for a certain period of time. State (hereinafter called sleep mode)
In addition, the printer state is shifted to the print ready state (hereinafter referred to as a normal state) immediately after receiving the data.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the data sent includes print data and data that need not be printed, such as printer settings.

Therefore, even if data other than print data is received, the printer returns to the normal state, and the effect of power saving control is diminished.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the first to sixth inventions according to the present invention is to supply power to each part of the printing apparatus main body except for the communication function. By determining whether or not the information to restart the power supply is received from the host device while the power supply is stopped, and controlling the continuous reception of the information or the restart of the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body. , Information is received without restarting the power supply to each part of the printing device body every time even if the information is received from the host device while the power supply to each part of the printing device body except the communication function is stopped. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control device, a data reception method of the print control device, and a sleep release method of the print control device, which can efficiently perform control for continuing the processing and restarting the power supply.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power consumption control means for controlling power consumption from a power source to a printing apparatus main body, and the power consumption control means is a higher-level device. When a transition is made to a sleep mode in which power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body excluding the communication function is suspended, a reception buffer that stores information received from a higher-level device, and the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed. Discriminating means for discriminating whether or not information for resuming power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the information is continuously stored in the receiving buffer according to the discrimination result of the discriminating means. And a control means for controlling the information reception process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power consumption control means for controlling power consumption of a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power supply, and the power consumption control means excluding a communication function with a higher-level device. Whether the reception buffer that stores the information received from the host device and the accumulated amount of the information that has been accumulated in the reception buffer have exceeded a certain amount during the transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the device main body is suspended. And a reception amount determination means that determines that the storage amount of the information exceeds a certain amount,
A discriminating means for retrieving information in a predetermined amount stored in the reception buffer and discriminating whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the discrimination result of the discriminating means. Accordingly, the control means controls the reception process of the information so that the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the determining means determines that the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, the power consumption controlling means is in the idle state. The control of restarting the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the information includes a print control code, a print character code and the like.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power consumption control means for controlling power consumption of a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power supply, and the power consumption control means excluding a communication function with a host apparatus. In a data receiving method of a print control device having a receiving buffer for storing information received from a higher-level device in a state of transition to a sleep mode in which power supply to each unit of the apparatus main body is suspended, the information stored in the receiving buffer And a data storage for continuously storing the information in the reception buffer according to the determination result by analyzing whether the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus is received or not. And a process.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in a sleep release method for a print control apparatus having a reception buffer for storing information received from a higher-level device, each part of the main body of the printing device except for the communication function with the higher-level device is provided. During the pause step of stopping the power supply, and while the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is stopped, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed to restart the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body. And a resuming step in which the power consumption control means restarts the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body which are in the suspended state, according to the result of the discrimination. is there.

[0012]

In the first aspect of the present invention, when the power consumption control means makes a transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus except for the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended, the determining means determines The information stored in the reception buffer that stores the received information is analyzed to determine whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the control unit determines whether the information is received. The reception processing of the information is controlled so that the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer, and it is possible to continuously analyze the information from the higher-level device in the state of transition to the sleep mode.

In the second invention, when the power consumption control means is in a sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus except the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended, the reception amount determination means is the higher level. When the storage amount of the information stored in the reception buffer that stores the information received from the device exceeds a certain amount, and when it is determined that the storage amount of the information exceeds the certain amount, the determining unit determines the host device. It is determined whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus is analyzed by analyzing a certain amount of the information stored in the reception buffer that stores the information received from
The control means controls the reception processing of the information so that the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer in accordance with the result of the determination, and in the state of transitioning to the sleep mode, every time a predetermined data amount is received. It is possible to continuously analyze the information from the host device.

In a third aspect of the present invention, when the determining means determines that the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, the power consumption controlling means causes the printing apparatus to be stopped. It is possible to control the restart of power supply to each unit of the main body, release the sleep state, and transition to a printable state.

In the fourth invention, the reception buffer stores information including a print control code, a print character code, etc.,
When the determination unit determines that the information is the print character code to be printed, the power consumption control unit controls the restart of the power supply to each unit of the main body of the printing apparatus in the idle state,
It is possible to cancel the sleep state and transition to the printable state.

In the fifth invention, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed to determine whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus is received, and the determination result is obtained. Accordingly, it is possible to program-control the process of continuously storing the information in the reception buffer and continuously analyzing the information from the host device in the state where the sleep mode is entered.

In the sixth invention, while the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus except for the communication function with the host apparatus is suspended, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed and the printing is performed. It is determined whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the apparatus main body is received, and the power consumption control unit restarts the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body in the idle state according to the determination result. , It becomes possible to program-control the process of releasing the sleep state and transiting to the printable state.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the outline of a printing system to which the present invention can be applied.

As shown in the figure, in the printing system on the network according to this embodiment, host computers 1 to 5 and a printer 6 are connected via a network 7.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a printing system showing an embodiment of the present invention, and the printer 6 is composed of a print control unit 17 and an output unit 15.

In the print control unit 17, 10 is a control unit which has a CPU including a ROM and a RAM and controls the entire apparatus. Reference numeral 8 is an interface used for receiving data with the host computers 1 to 5, and 14 is a communication control unit, which manages data transmission / reception based on a communication protocol with the host computer via the network 7. A command interpreting unit 12 analyzes data (such as print data and print control code) sent from the host computer. Reference numeral 9 is a reception buffer.

A pattern development unit 13 develops print data such as characters and figures. A power consumption control unit 11 manages and controls the power consumption of the entire printer. Reference numeral 16 denotes an internal bus, and the control unit 10 controls each unit via the internal bus 16. The output unit 15 prints the expanded print datum.

Correspondence between this embodiment and each means of the first, third, and fourth inventions and their operation will be described below with reference to FIG.

A first aspect of the present invention is a power consumption control means (power consumption control section 11) for controlling power consumption to a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power source (not shown), and the power consumption control means is a higher-level device (host). The reception buffer 9 for storing the information received from the higher-level device and the reception buffer 9 in the state where the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body except for the communication function with the computers 1 to 5) is suspended Determining means (control section 10) for analyzing the stored information and determining whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the determination result of the determining means. A power consumption control unit 1 having a control unit (communication control unit 14) for controlling the reception process of the information so as to continuously store the information in the reception buffer.
A reception buffer 9 for storing information received from the host computers 1 to 5 by the control unit 10 when the control unit 10 stores the information received from the host computers 1 to 5 when the control unit 10 makes a transition to a sleep mode in which the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body except the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended. Is analyzed to determine whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the communication control unit 14 receives the information according to the determination result. The reception processing of the information is controlled so that the information is continuously stored in the buffer, and the information from the higher-level device can be continuously analyzed in the state of transition to the sleep mode.

In a third aspect of the invention, when the determining means (control unit 10) determines that the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body is received, the power consumption control unit 11 suspends the operation. It is possible to control the restart of the power supply to the respective parts of the main body of the printing apparatus, cancel the sleep state, and transition to the printable state.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, information including a print control code, a print character code, etc. is stored in the reception buffer 9, and when the discriminating means discriminates that the information is the print character code to be printed, the power consumption is reduced. The control unit controls the restart of the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body which is in the idle state, cancels the sleep state, and makes a transition to the printable state.

Next, the print control operation of the print controller 17 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the printing control method of the printing system of the present invention. In addition,
(1) to (7) show each step. Further, the printer 6 shown in FIG. 2 is assumed to have a function of shifting to a sleep mode when data is not sent from the host computer for a fixed time.

When data is transmitted from the host computer in the sleep mode, the printer controls the communication controller 1
The interface 8 is used under the control of 4 to receive the above data (1). The received data is stored in the reception buffer 9 (2).

Next, the command analysis unit interprets the control codes received in order from the beginning of the received data (3), and determines whether there is a control code that the printer needs to shift to a printable state (4).

If it is determined that the printer has found a control code that requires the printer to shift to the printable state, the process proceeds to step (6) and the printer can print from the sleep mode based on the control of the power consumption controller 11. Restore the condition.

Then, the printer is controlled under the control of the command analysis section and the control section (7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the received data is not the print data, the command analysis unit 12 and the control unit 10 remain in the sleep mode.
The printer is controlled under the control of (5), and the process returns to step (4). If the printer 6 is in the normal state,
The control for making the above determination is not performed.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and each step of the fifth and sixth inventions and their actions will be described below with reference to FIGS.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a power consumption control means (power consumption control section 11) for controlling power consumption to the printing apparatus main body supplied from a power source, and the power consumption control means has a communication function with the host apparatus. Except for the state of transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is suspended,
In a data receiving method of a print control device having a receiving buffer 9 for storing information received from a higher-level device (host computers 1 to 5), the information stored in the receiving buffer 9 is analyzed and is sent to each part of the main body of the printing device. Determination step (steps (3) and (4) in FIG. 3) for determining whether or not the information for restarting the power supply is received, and the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer according to the determination result. It is possible to program-control the process of continuously analyzing the information from the host device by executing the data storage step of storing (step (2) in FIG. 3).

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in a sleep release method for a print control apparatus having a reception buffer for storing information received from a higher-level device, power supply to each part of the main body of the printing device other than the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended. During the suspension step (preceding step of step (1) in FIG. 3) and during the suspension of the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed to analyze the printing apparatus. A determination step of determining whether or not the information to restart the power supply to each part of the main body is received (step (3) in FIG. 3,
(4)) and a restarting step (step (6) in FIG. 3) in which the power consumption control means restarts the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body which have been suspended, according to the determination result, It is possible to program-control the process of releasing the sleep state and shifting to the printable state.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, in the sleep mode, the received data is discriminated indefinitely until the control code that the printer needs to shift to the printable state is found. If the printer cannot find the control code that requires the printer to shift to the printable state for a certain amount of received data by adding the number of data to the judgment criteria of the state transition, the printer receives a series of received data There is also a method in which it is determined that the mode can be maintained and the determination is started again from the next received data.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and each means of the second invention and its operation will be described below with reference to FIG.

A second aspect of the invention is a power consumption control means (power consumption control section 11) for controlling the power consumption to the printer body supplied from a power source, and the power consumption control means has a communication function with the higher-level device. Except for the state of transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is suspended,
A reception buffer 9 for accumulating information received from higher-level devices (host computers 1 to 5), and a reception amount judgment means (control unit) for judging whether or not the accumulation amount of the information stored in the reception buffer 9 exceeds a certain amount. 10)), when the reception amount determination means determines that the storage amount of the information has exceeded a certain amount, the information in the certain amount stored in the reception buffer is searched to send the information to each unit of the printing apparatus main body. Discrimination means (by the control unit 10) for discriminating whether or not the information for resuming the power supply is received, and the above-mentioned information is stored in the reception buffer 9 continuously according to the discrimination result of the discrimination means. The power consumption control unit 11 supplies power to each unit of the printing apparatus main body except for the communication function with the host computers 1 to 5, and a control unit (communication control unit 14) for controlling the information reception process. Resting at a state of being transitioned to a sleep mode in which the control unit 10 is a host computer 1-5
It is judged whether or not the accumulated amount of the information stored in the receiving buffer 9 for storing the information received from
When it is judged that the accumulated amount of the above information exceeds a certain amount,
Further, the control unit 10 analyzes a certain amount of the information stored in the reception buffer 9 that stores the information received from the host computers 1 to 5 and receives the information to restart the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body. To determine if
The communication control unit 14 controls the receiving process of the information so as to continuously store the information in the receiving buffer 9 according to the determination result, and receives a predetermined amount of data in a state of transitioning to the sleep mode. Each time, the information from the host device can be continuously analyzed.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one 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.

[0042]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention
According to the invention, when the power consumption control means makes a transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body excluding the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended, the determination means displays the information received from the higher-level device. The information stored in the receiving buffer for storage is analyzed to determine whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the control unit stores the information according to the determination result. Since the reception processing of the information is controlled so as to be continuously stored in the reception buffer, it is possible to continuously analyze the information from the host device in the state of transition to the sleep mode.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the power consumption control means makes a transition to the sleep mode in which the power supply to each part of the main body of the printing apparatus except for the communication function with the higher-level device is suspended, When the storage amount of the information stored in the reception buffer that stores the information received from the higher-level device exceeds a certain amount, it is determined that the determination means is higher than the above when the storage amount of the information exceeds a certain amount. By analyzing a certain amount of the information stored in the receiving buffer that stores the information received from the device, it is determined whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the determination result is obtained. Accordingly, the control means controls the reception processing of the information so that the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer, so that the predetermined amount of data is received in the sleep mode. Each time, can be analyzed continuously processed information from the host device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the determining means determines that the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, the power consumption controlling means performs the printing during the suspension. Since the restart of the power supply to each unit of the apparatus main body is controlled, the sleep state can be released and the state can be changed to the printable state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, information including a print control code, a print character code, etc. is stored in the reception buffer, and when the determining means determines that the information is the print character code to be printed, the power is supplied. Since the consumption control means controls the resumption of the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body which is in the idle state, it is possible to cancel the sleep state and shift to the printable state.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed to determine whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the determination is made. Since the information is continuously stored in the reception buffer according to the result, it is possible to program-control the process of continuously analyzing the information from the host device in the state where the sleep mode is entered.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the information stored in the reception buffer is analyzed while the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body excluding the communication function with the upper apparatus is suspended, and the above-mentioned information is analyzed. It is determined whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body is received, and the power consumption control means restarts the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body in the idle state according to the judgment result. Therefore, the process of releasing the sleep state and transitioning to the printable state can be program-controlled.

Therefore, even if the information is received from the host device while the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body other than the communication function is stopped, the power supply to the respective parts of the printing apparatus main body is restarted every time. Without receiving information,
There is an effect that the control for restarting the power supply can be efficiently performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a printing system to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a print control method of the printing system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 host computer 2 host computer 3 host computer 4 host computer 5 host computer 6 printer 7 network 8 interface 9 receive buffer 10 control unit 11 power consumption control unit 12 command analysis unit 13 pattern expansion unit 14 communication control unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A power consumption control means for controlling power consumption to a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power source, and a power supply for each section of the printing apparatus main body except the power consumption control means for communicating with an upper apparatus. A reception buffer that stores information received from a higher-level device and information that should restart power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body by analyzing the information stored in the reception buffer when transitioning to a sleep mode in which it sleeps A print control having a judging means for judging whether or not the information is being received, and a controlling means for controlling the receiving process of the information so as to continuously store the information in the reception buffer according to the judgment result of the judging means. apparatus. 2. A power consumption control means for controlling power consumption to a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power source, and a power supply for each section of the printing apparatus main body except the power consumption control means for communicating with a higher-level device. A receiving buffer that stores information received from a higher-level device in a state of transitioning to a sleep mode in which it sleeps, and a reception amount determination unit that determines whether or not the amount of storage of the information stored in the reception buffer exceeds a certain amount. When the reception amount determination means determines that the accumulated amount of the information exceeds a certain amount, the information in the certain amount stored in the reception buffer is searched and the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body is restarted. Determining means for determining whether or not the information to be received is received, and a receiving process of the information so as to continuously store the information in the receiving buffer according to the determination result of the determining means. A printing control apparatus having a control unit for controlling. 3. The power consumption control means sends the information to the rest of the printing apparatus main body when the determination means determines that the information to restart the power supply to the respective portions of the printing apparatus main body is received. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein restart of power supply is controlled. 4. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information includes a print control code, a print character code, and the like. 5. A power consumption control means for controlling power consumption to a printing apparatus main body supplied from a power source, and a power supply for each section of the printing apparatus main body except the power consumption control means for communicating with a higher-level device. In a data receiving method of a print control device having a reception buffer for storing information received from a higher-level device in a state of transitioning to a sleep mode for rest, the printing device body is analyzed by analyzing the information stored in the reception buffer. The method further comprises a determination step of determining whether or not the information for restarting the power supply to each unit is received, and a data storage step of continuously storing the information in the reception buffer according to the determination result. Receiving method of print control device. 6. A sleep release method for a print control device having a reception buffer for storing information received from a higher-level device, comprising a pause step of suspending power supply to each part of the main body of the printing device excluding the communication function with the higher-level device. While the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body is stopped, is the information stored in the reception buffer analyzed to receive the information for restarting the power supply to each part of the printing apparatus main body? A sleep of the print control apparatus, comprising: a determination step of determining whether or not the power consumption control section restarts power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus main body that has been suspended based on the determination result. How to release.