JPH0876944A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To automatically set receiving time-out time into a suitable value without manually setting it even if the load state of a network or a host device is varied. CONSTITUTION: At the time of receiving data, a host communication control part 11 records its receiving time or receiving interval as a receiving log in each packet of the received data. On the other hand, a printing control part 15 updates receiving time-out time data based upon the receiving log. Since the receiving time-out time data are set gr in accordance with the past receiving log, the data become an always optimum value. The control part 11 detects the end of the received data in accordance with the receiving time-out time data. A decomposer part 12 convers received data stored in an input buffer into bit map data and stores the data in a page buffer. A picture recording control part 13 reads out the bit map data stored in the page buffer and prints the data by a picture recording part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device for printing received data supplied from a host device via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printer that prints received data supplied from a host device via a network, if the end of the received data cannot be detected by the received data or a communication protocol, this received data is output. There was a problem that it stopped when it was not completed. Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11945/1993, the exclusive state of the printer device is canceled unless the received data from the host device which is the transmission source is received for a certain time (reception timeout time). The technology to do is known.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional printer device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-11945, the load on the network is high or the load on the host device is high. Even in such a case, the reception interval of the reception data becomes long, and the reception interval may exceed a certain time (reception timeout time) even though it is not the end of the reception data. Therefore, there is a problem that the exclusive state is canceled even though it is not the end of the received data, and the printing is interrupted.

Therefore, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-309917, there is known a technique for variably setting the time from the end of printing the received data to the return to the initial state. According to this conventional technique, if the time from the end of printing to the return to the initial state is set in advance, even if the network or the host device has a high load, if the reception interval of the received data is within the set time described above. , Printing is not interrupted. However, in the above-described conventional printer device, since the load state of the network or the host device dynamically changes, the setting must be changed according to the load state of the network or the host device, and the operation becomes complicated. There was a problem of becoming.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and even if the load condition of the network or the host device changes, the reception timeout time can be automatically set to a suitable value without manually setting it. It is intended to provide a printer device.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a printer device determines that the received data from at least one host device has not been received for a reception time-out period or longer and that the received data is the end. In each of the at least one host device, a measuring unit that measures the reception time of the received data in the minimum block unit, and a history of the reception time measured by the measuring unit are stored for each of the at least one host device. Storing means for storing the received time stored in the storing means, and for each of the at least one host device,
An arithmetic means for calculating the reception timeout time for determining the end of the reception data is provided.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the reception time of the minimum block unit of the reception data is measured by the measuring means for each at least one host device, and the history of the reception time is stored in the storage means for each at least one host device. Remember. And
By the computing means, for at least one host device,
A reception time-out time for determining the end of the received data is calculated based on the history of reception times stored in the storage means. In this way, the reception timeout time is calculated based on the reception time of the smallest block unit in the past reception data for at least one host device.
Even when the load of the host device changes, the optimum reception timeout time can be set automatically.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A. Configuration of Example A-1. Configuration of Printer Device FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer device according to the present invention. In the figure, 1-1 to 1-n are host communication units, which are connected to a host device (computer) via a printer cable or to a host device via a network or a communication line and receive from the host device. The data is received and supplied to the memory unit 4. The operation unit 2 receives a user operation from an operation panel (not shown), displays information on the operation panel, and the like. The timer unit 3 generates an interrupt after a preset time has elapsed.

The memory unit 4 is used as an input buffer for temporarily storing received data, a page buffer for temporarily storing image data, and other work areas used by software. Moreover, a part of the memory unit 4 is non-volatile using a battery. The image processing unit 5 converts the received data stored in the input buffer of the memory unit 4 into a bitmap image image and stores it in the page buffer of the memory unit 4. The image recording unit 6 prints the bitmap image image stored in the page buffer of the memory unit 4 on paper and discharges it.

A-2. Software Configuration Next, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the printer device described above. In the figure, each component is software executed as at least one task. An operation control unit 10 controls the operation unit 2 described above. The host communication control unit 11 controls the above-mentioned host communication units 1-1 to 1-n and stores the received data received by the host communication units 1-1 to 1-n in the input buffer of the memory unit 4. The host communication control unit 11 is composed of a number of programs corresponding to the types of the host communication units 1-1 to 1-n, and has a number of tasks corresponding to the number of mounted host communication units 1-1 to 1-n. It is supposed to be started.

Next, a decomposer unit 12 reads the received data from the input buffer of the memory unit 4, converts the received data into a bit map, and stores it in the page buffer of the memory unit 4. In addition, the image recording control unit 13
By controlling the image recording unit 6 described above, the image image stored in the page buffer of the memory unit 4 is sent to the image recording unit 6. Next, the timer control unit 14 controls the timer unit 3, and in response to a request from the operation control unit 10, the host communication control unit 11, and the image recording control unit 13, which are other tasks, after the requested time elapses. Notify the requesting task. The print control unit 15 activates each task of the operation control unit 10, the host communication control unit 11, the decomposer unit 12, and the image recording control unit 13, manages print job execution, and manages the entire printer device.

A-3. Configuration of Reception Timeout Time File and Reception Log Next, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the reception timeout time file stored in the memory unit. In the figure, a reception time-out time file 20 indicates a reception time-out time calculated by a process to be described later by the print controller 15 for each host device that is a supply source of the received data, the host communication unit that received the received data, and the communication protocol of the received data. Is a file that stores. The host communication unit identifier 21 is an identifier assigned to each of the host communication units 1-1 to 1-n, and indicates which host communication unit received the received data. The protocol identifier 22 is an identifier assigned to each communication protocol and indicates a protocol of received data. The host identifier 23 is an identifier that indicates a host device that transmits received data. Further, the reception timeout time data 24 includes the host communication unit identifier 21,
It is a reception time-out time specified by the protocol identifier 22 and the host identifier 23. Therefore,
When the reception data from a certain host device is received, the host device, the network, etc. are specified by referring to the identifier of the reception time-out time file 20, and the past reception time-out data 2
4 can be obtained. When data is received by RS-232C or a Centronics interface, a combination of communication parameters such as communication speed is used as the protocol identifier 22, and the item of the host identifier 23 is blank.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the reception log. The reception log 25 is a file in which the reception time 26 of each packet of the reception data is recorded when the reception data is stored in the input buffer of the memory unit 4. The reception log 25 includes the host communication unit identifier 21 and the protocol identifier 2
2, a host identifier 23, and a reception time 26. The meanings of the host communication identifier, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 are the same as those of the reception timeout time file 20 described above. This reception log 2
5 is recorded for each packet of received data, and the minimum reception interval is obtained from the reception time 26 of the adjacent packet. A numerical value obtained by multiplying the minimum reception interval by a constant coefficient is recorded in the reception timeout time file 20 as the reception timeout time data 24 described above. Further, the reception log 25 is deleted after the reception timeout time data 24 is calculated. The reception log 25 may store the reception interval 27 between the packets of the reception data, as shown in FIG. In this case, it is necessary to store the last received time for each host.

B. Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the host communication controller according to this embodiment. The host communication control unit 11 waits for a reception interrupt from any of the host communication units 1-1 to 1-n in step S1. When the reception interrupt is received, the process proceeds to step S2, and a print job start instruction is issued to the print controller 15. In this print job start instruction,
The host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 are added to clarify the transmission source of the received data.

Next, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the input buffer is fully used for the received data, that is, whether or not there is a free space. If the input buffer has a free space, the result of the determination in step S3 is "NO", and the flow advances to step S5. In step S5, it is determined whether or not the received data remains, that is, the data not stored in the input buffer (partial data of the packet).
Determine if there is. For example, immediately after the head packet of the received data or the data for one packet is stored in the input buffer, there is no unstored data in the packet, so the determination result in step S5 is "NO", and the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, a timer is set before reading data from the host communication units 1-1 to 1-n. At this time, referring to the reception time-out time file 20 shown in FIG. 3, the host device identifier that is the transmission source of the reception data, the host communication unit identifier 21 that received the reception data, and the protocol identifier 22 of the reception data
Then, the reception timeout time data 24 in the past is obtained and set in the timer control unit 14.

The timer control unit 14 counts down the reception time-out time data 24. Further, when the timer is set, a serial number is set as an identifier of the timer event. This is because the printer device according to the present embodiment is capable of sequentially spooling the received data from a plurality of host devices, and when setting the timer for each host device, which host device the timer is set to is This is to distinguish. Then, it is determined whether or not the sequence number obtained at the time-out matches the set sequence number. If they do not match, the time-out event is ignored. Then, the process proceeds to step S7, and the host communication unit 1-1-
Received data is read from any one of 1-n.

Next, in step S8, it is determined whether or not a timeout has occurred. Then, if it is not time-out, that is, if the data is read before the time-out, the determination result in step S8 is "NO", and the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the reception time 26 is acquired by the timer control unit 14, and is written in the reception log 25 shown in FIG. 4 together with the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 described above, and the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10,
Cancel the timer. Further, after the read data is stored in the input buffer in step S11, the process returns to step S3. Hereinafter, steps S3 to S11
Then, the received data is sequentially read in packet units and stored in the input buffer.

At this time, when the input buffer is full, the determination result in step S3 becomes "YES", and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, a read request from the decomposer unit 12 is waited for. The decomposer unit 12 operates in response to the print job start instruction sent to the print control unit 5 in step S2 described above, and asynchronously asynchronously reads the received data from the input buffer and converts it into image data. Image data is stored in the page buffer. In this process, the decomposer unit 1
2 outputs the read request when there is no received data stored in the input buffer. When the read request is supplied, that is, when the input buffer becomes empty, the host communication control unit 11 proceeds from step S4 to step S5 and continues the above-described processing.

If there is data that has not been stored in the input buffer for one packet, that is, if there is remaining data, the determination result in step S5 is "Y".
ES ”, and the process proceeds to step S11. Step S11
Now, store the data in the input buffer and proceed to step S3.
Return to. That is, for the data in one packet,
Sequentially store in the input buffer.

When the received data of one packet is stored in the input buffer and the received data of the next packet is read in step S7, if a time-out occurs, the determination result in step S8 is "YES". Then, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the end of file (EOF) is stored in the input buffer. Next, in step S13, the print controller 15 waits for a print job completion notification. In addition,
The processing in the print controller 15 will be described later. When the print control unit 15 notifies the print job completion notice, the process proceeds to step S14. Step S14
Then, it is determined whether or not there is remaining data in the input buffer. If there is no remaining data, step S1
The determination result in 4 is “YES”, and step S1
Return to. On the other hand, when there is remaining data in the input buffer, the determination result in step S14 is "NO", and the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the data in the input buffer is cleared, and the above-mentioned step S1 is executed.
Return to. Hereinafter, steps S1 to S15 are repeatedly executed.

Next, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the print controller according to this embodiment. The print control unit 15 first waits for an event from another task in step S20. Then, if any event is supplied, the process proceeds to step S21. In step S21, it is determined whether or not the event is a print job start instruction from the host communication control unit 11. The print / auxiliary unit start instruction is sent in step S2 shown in FIG. Here, when the print job start instruction is notified from the host communication control unit, the determination result in step S21 is "YES", and the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the decomposer unit 12 is notified of the print job start instruction, and then the process returns to step S20. As described above, the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 are added to the print job start instruction.

In the decomposer section 12, the print
When the job start instruction is received, as described above, the received data is sequentially read from the input buffer, converted into a bit map, and stored in the page buffer of the memory unit 4. Then, the bitmap data stored in this page buffer is read by the image recording control unit 13, sent to the image recording unit 6, and printed. The decomposer unit 12
When the conversion of the received data in the input buffer is completed, the print controller 15 is notified of the end of the print job.

On the other hand, in the print control unit 15, when the finisher unit notifies the end of the print job, the determination result in step S21 becomes "NO", and the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, it is determined whether the event from another task is the end of the print job.
In this case, since this is a print job end notification, the result of the determination in step S23 is "YES", and the flow advances to step S24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the number of log data items corresponding to the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 for the received data currently being processed is equal to or more than a specified number. That is,
In the present embodiment, based on the reception time 26 of each packet recorded as the reception log 25, it is determined whether or not a statistically sufficient reception time 26 is recorded in order to calculate the reception timeout time. And if there is enough data, that is, if the number of data is more than the specified number,
The determination result in step S24 is “YES”,
It proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, by referring to the reception log 25 shown in FIG. 4, the reception timeout time is calculated from the log corresponding to the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22 and the host identifier 23 of the reception data currently being processed. To do. The calculation of the reception timeout time is performed as follows. The minimum reception interval is obtained from the reception time 26 of each adjacent element in the log shown in FIG. 4, and the numerical value obtained by multiplying this minimum reception interval by a constant coefficient is used as the reception timeout time data 24. Next, in step S26, the corresponding reception timeout time data 24 of the reception timeout time file 20 shown in FIG. 3 is updated. The reception timeout time data 24 is updated by the host communication control unit 11
However, it may be performed when the end of received data (EOF) is written in the input buffer or when a print job completion notification is received from the print control unit 15. Or
It may be performed by the host communication control unit 11 or the print control unit 15 when a predetermined number or more of logs for a certain host device are accumulated after a certain period of time. Immediately after the host communication control unit 11 writes the reception log 25, the reception timeout data 24 for the host device is calculated when a certain number or more of the written reception logs 25 are accumulated for the host device. You may update it.

Further, as another method for calculating the reception time-out time, the following equation may be used. Reception interval = (Σ reception interval) ÷ number of logs Standard deviation of reception interval = {Σ (reception interval-average of reception interval) ² } / number of logs Reception timeout time = average of reception interval + (n × standard deviation of reception interval) ) Here, n is a constant coefficient. The distribution timeout may be used to calculate the reception timeout time. After the reception time-out time data 24 is updated as described above, the process proceeds to step S27.

On the other hand, when the number of logs corresponding to the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 for the received data being processed is less than the specified number, the determination result in step S24 is "NO", and the reception The process proceeds to step S27 without calculating the timeout time and updating the reception timeout time data 24.

In step S27, the reception log 25 corresponding to the host communication unit identifier 21, the protocol identifier 22, and the host identifier 23 for the received data that has been processed is deleted. Then, in step S28, a print / job end notification is sent to the host communication controller 11, and then the process returns to step S20. Hereinafter, step S20 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed.

When an error is instructed, the result of the determination in step S29 is "YES", and the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, after displaying an error, the process returns to step S21. On the other hand, if there is no error, the determination result in step S29 is "NO", and the process returns to step S20 without doing anything. Hereinafter, step S20 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed.

As described above, in this embodiment, each time the received data is received, the reception time 26 or the reception interval of the received data is recorded as the reception log 25, and the reception time-out time data is recorded based on the reception log 25. Update 24. And this reception timeout time data 2
4, the end of the received data is detected. Further, the reception time-out time data 24 is managed separately for each host device that is the transmission source of the reception data, the host communication unit that received the reception data, and the protocol of the reception data.
Therefore, the optimum reception time-out time data 24 is always set for each host device, network, etc. Even if the load condition of the host device, network, etc. changes and the interval of reception data changes, the reception data It is possible to eliminate problems such as missing items.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the load condition of the network or the host device changes, the reception timeout time is automatically set to a suitable value without manually setting it. Since the setting can be made, there is an advantage that the problem of dropping the received data can be solved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of main software according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a timeout time file according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a reception log according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another configuration of a reception log according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the host communication control unit according to this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the print control unit according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 to 1-n host communication unit 2 operation unit 3 timer unit 4 memory unit (storage unit) 5 image processing unit 6 image recording unit 10 operation control unit 11 host communication control unit 12 decomposer unit 13 image recording control unit 14 timer Control unit (measurement unit) 15 Print control unit (calculation unit) 20 Reception timeout time file 21 Host communication control unit identifier 22 Protocol identifier 23 Host identifier 24 Reception timeout time 25 Reception log (history of reception time) 26 Reception time 27 Reception interval

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printer apparatus that determines the end of received data when received data from at least one host apparatus is not received for a reception time-out period or longer, wherein a minimum block unit of received data is set for each at least one host apparatus. Measuring means for measuring a reception time, storage means for storing the history of the reception time measured by the measuring means for each of the at least one host device, and history of the reception time stored in the storage means. A printer unit for calculating the reception time-out time for determining the end of the received data for each of the at least one host device.