JPH0958068A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which does not wastefully consume papers as much as possible through simple operation, if printing parameters for the printer are erroneously set. SOLUTION: If a request for printing is made, a bit map image for an assigned document is retrieved from a secondary storage device 28 through a secondary storage I/F(interface) 27, and is sent to a printer engine 22 through an engine I/F 21 to perform the printing. If the printing process is once initiated, and is underway, a request for document deletion is valid on a control panel 20. If the request is made, a page now in the process of printing is treated as a final page and the printing is ended, and the bit map image for the assigned document on the secondary storage device 28 is deleted. Unless the request for document deletion is made, the printing process is continued until a final page. If an operator is aware of an error in the setting of printing parameters during printing, it is possible to stop the printing at the time of detecting the error, without continuing the printing wastefully.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device which does not immediately print data received from a host device but temporarily stores it and then starts printing in response to a user's print request.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are the following printer devices that do not immediately print data received from a host device but temporarily store the data and then start printing in response to a print request from a user. First, in JP-A-5-165589,
There is disclosed a printing apparatus in which data sent from a host device can be selected to be spooled or to be printed immediately, and when spooled, printing is performed by designating a print document and print time from an operation unit. An object of the present invention is to prevent the printer from being used exclusively for printing a large document.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 35628/1993,
In a hot-melt type ink jet printer, a printing apparatus is disclosed which develops a print image during warm-up and stores it in a hard disk to increase the printing speed after completion of warm-up.

Generally, when printing with a printer, the setting of the printing conditions of the printer is different from what the operator had in mind, and it often happens that a desired printing result cannot be obtained. In such a case, it is necessary to stop the printing once, and the following methods can be considered as the stopping method. The first is a method of ending a print job on the host computer side. Usually, it is often before the printer that the operator notices that the printing conditions of the printer are set incorrectly. Therefore, the operator must return to the position of the host computer in a hurry to finish the job. In the meantime, printing will be continued. In particular, when the printer is used in the network environment, the physical distance between the host computer and the printer is often large, and it takes more time to stop the print job.

Further, if there is a buffer between the printer body or between the printer and the host computer, it is necessary to clear the buffer to stop printing. Then, while such a print job cancel operation is being performed, the printing operation is executed one after another against the operator's will, and the paper is wastefully consumed.

A second method is to clear the reception buffer in the printer by resetting the printer or turning off the power. If the data transfer is not completed at the time of resetting the printer, even if the reception buffer is cleared, the subsequent data is accumulated in the buffer again, and the same operation needs to be repeated many times. In addition, printing is performed between reset operations, and paper is wasted.

The third method is to remove the printer cable from the printer body. If the host computer is checking the printer status with the signal line of the cable, the host computer side interrupts the data transfer when the cable is unplugged and restarts the data transmission after connecting the cable, so the data may be discarded. Can not. In such a case, it is necessary to use the first or second method.

[0008]

As described above, any method of stopping printing in the middle is troublesome, and the paper is wasted until the printing is completely stopped. Will end up.

Further, recently, it has been increasing that a plurality of people share a printer device and use it by sharing it. When using the printer in such an environment, the following inconvenience may occur. First, the printed document is exposed to the public. When printing a document that needs to be kept confidential, you must wait in front of the printer. Secondly, documents from other users may be mixed in the output tray,
You may accidentally take part of another user's document. Thirdly, when a print request overlaps with that of another user, it may take longer than expected to finish printing, and printing may not be finished even when a user picks up a printed matter.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a printer device which consumes as little waste paper as possible by a simple operation when the printing conditions of the printer are set incorrectly. A second object of the present invention is to provide a printer device that can easily grasp the contents of stored data and can prevent erroneous printing due to setting mistakes.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a printer device capable of printing only a required portion. A fourth object of the present invention is to prevent the printing of the received data immediately and to start the printing for the first time according to the instruction of the operator, thereby keeping the confidentiality of the document and preventing the document from being mixed with other documents. Is to provide. A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a printer device which can easily grasp the contents of stored data and can issue a printing instruction after confirming the contents accurately.
A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a printer device that can easily grasp the time until printing is completed.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a holding device is provided in which the printer device expands the image data received from the host device into a bitmap and holds it.
Storage means for storing the bitmap image data stored by the storage means, printing means for printing the bitmap image data stored in the storage means, and printing the bitmap image data stored in the storage means. The above-mentioned first object is achieved by including a selecting means for selecting whether to print or discard.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the printer device stores the image data received from the host device by expanding the image data into a bitmap and holding the image data, and a storage that stores the bitmap image data held by the holding device. Means, printing means for printing the bit map image data stored in the storage means, and setting information such as paper size, paper orientation, and page number of the bit map image data stored in the storage means to the operator. The second object is achieved by providing the notifying means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the printer device expands the image data received from the host device into a bit map and holds it, and a storage device that stores the bit map image data held by the holding device. Means, a printing means for printing the bitmap image data stored in the storage means, and a designating means for printing only a designated page of the bitmap image data stored in the storage means by the printing means. The third purpose is achieved by the provision. According to another aspect of the invention, the printer device expands the image data received from the host device into a bit map and holds it, and a storage part that stores the bit map image data held by the holding part. The fourth object is achieved by including a printing unit for printing the bitmap image data stored in the storage unit and an instruction unit for instructing printing by the printing unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the printer device according to the fourth aspect can print the image data expanded in the bitmap held by the printing means by the holding means. The fourth object can be achieved by being able to select whether to print the image data expanded in the bit map held in the holding means or save it in the storage means. Claim 6
In the invention described above, the printer device according to claim 4 further includes a display means for displaying the bitmap image data stored in the storage means, thereby achieving the fifth object.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the printer apparatus according to the sixth aspect can add the identifier to each document of the bitmap image data stored in the storage means, thereby achieving the fifth object. . According to an eighth aspect of the invention, the printer device according to the fourth aspect further includes a time display means for displaying a time until the printing is completed when the printing is performed by the printing means. To achieve.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the data received from the host device is not immediately printed, but is expanded into a bit map, stored in the storage means, and then printed by the printing means. Therefore, even if printing is started with an erroneous setting, wasteful printing will not be continued if the file is discarded by the selecting means. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the notification information is notified of the setting information such as the paper size, the paper direction, and the number of pages of the bitmap image data, it is possible to prevent wasteful printing due to an operator's setting error. According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to perform printing by designating only the necessary pages by the designating unit, so that wasteful printing can be prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the printing is started after the printing is instructed by the instructing means. Therefore, the printed document does not accumulate in the discharge tray of the printer, so that confidentiality can be maintained and mixing with other documents can be prevented. In the invention according to claim 5, it is possible to select whether to print the received data immediately or to temporarily store it in the storage means. Therefore, it is possible to select an appropriate process depending on the form of the document to be printed.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the bitmap image data stored in the storage means is displayed on the display means, it is possible to prevent a printing error due to an erroneous recognition of the document. In the invention according to claim 7, since an identifier can be attached to each document of the bitmap image data, it is possible to prevent a printing error due to an erroneous recognition of the document. In the invention described in claim 8, since the time display means displays the time until the printing is completed, the operator can immediately know when the printing is completed.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a printer device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a control board of a printer 10 of the present invention. CP
The U (central processing unit) 11 operates according to a program stored in a ROM (read only memory) 12. Data from the host computer 26 is accumulated in a reception buffer 18 in a RAM (random access memory) 15 through a host I / F (interface) 25,
It is processed sequentially. This CPU 11 has a Phato CG1
3 and NV-RAM are also connected.

Panel control is performed through the operation panel I / F 19, and the engine I / F 21 sends a video signal to the engine. Further, the option I / F 23 receives data from the option device 24 such as a font cartridge. The secondary storage I / F 27 transmits / receives data to / from a secondary storage device (for example, a hard disk) 28. When print data is received from the host computer 26, one page of bitmap 1
Take 7 and write a print image according to the print data. When the page break code is received or the predetermined page break condition is satisfied, the bitmap image on the RAM 15 is sent to the secondary storage device 28 through the secondary storage I / F 27 and saved. Then, the above operation is 1
Repeated until the end of the document. The bitmap on the secondary storage device 28 is managed collectively for each document.

The operation panel 20 displays a list of document files existing on the secondary storage device 28. The following operations are performed in response to an operator's request for document designation, document printing or document deletion on the operation panel 20. First, when there is a print request, the bitmap image of the designated document is taken out from the secondary storage device 28 via the secondary storage I / F 27 and sent to the printer engine 22 via the engine I / F 21 to perform printing. Even if printing is started once and printing is in progress, the document deletion request from the operation panel 20 is valid, and if there is a request, printing is ended with the currently printing page as the last page, and the secondary storage device 28 Delete the bitmap image of the above specified document. If there is no document deletion request, printing is continued until the last page. If the operator notices a setting error during printing, printing can be stopped at that point without continuing wasteful printing.

Next, a mode of the second embodiment will be described. First, the operation panel 20 displays a list of document files existing on the secondary storage device 28 and bitmap image setting information (paper size, paper direction, number of pages, etc.). Then, looking at this display, the operator designates a document from the operation panel 20 and requests printing, and the bitmap image of the designated document is taken out from the secondary storage device 28 via the secondary storage I / F 27. The image is sent to the printer engine 22 through the engine I / F 21 to perform printing. Since the operator issues a print request after observing the setting information of the bitmap image, wasteful printing due to a setting error can be avoided.

In the third embodiment, the operation panel 20 displays a list of document files existing on the secondary storage device 28 and the number of each document page. Then, when the operator designates a document and a page on the operation panel 20, a bitmap image of the designated page of the designated document is taken out from the secondary storage device 28 via the secondary storage I / F 27, and the printer is output via the engine I / F 21. Engine 2
Send to 2 and print. Here, the operator can specify only the required pages of the required documents.

In the fourth embodiment, the operation panel 20 displays a list of document files existing on the secondary storage device 28. When the operator specifies a document on the operation panel 20 and makes a print request, the bitmap image of the document is displayed in the secondary storage device I / F 27 and the engine I / F 27.
It is sent to the printer engine 22 via F21 and is sequentially printed from the first page. In this embodiment, since printing is started in response to a print instruction from the operator, the confidentiality of the document can be maintained, and it is possible to prevent the document of another person and the own document from being mixed and confused. In addition, when the printer 10 is used in a network environment, it is difficult to predict when the printing of the own document will be completed, and even if the printed document is sent to the printer, the printing may not be completed and may be kept waiting. . In this embodiment, printing has already been performed on the bitmap, so printing can be performed at high speed, and the end of printing can be easily predicted.

In the fifth embodiment, the printer 10 is
Immediate print mode is always set to either image save mode. The mode can be switched by receiving a command from the operation panel 20 or the host computer 26. Then, in the image save mode, the same operation as in the fourth embodiment is performed. On the other hand, in the immediate print mode, the bitmap image expanded on the RAM 15 is sent to the printer engine 22 through the engine I / F 21 and printed when a page break occurs.

In the sixth embodiment, the following operation is added to the operation of the fourth embodiment. First, a list of document files existing in the secondary storage device 28 is displayed on the operation panel 20. Then, the operator operates the operation panel 2
When a document is specified from 0 and an image display request is made, the document image is displayed on the operation panel. Since the operator issues a print instruction after seeing this, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous instructions.

In the seventh embodiment, the following operation is added to the operation of the fourth embodiment. First, the printer 10
It has a command to set the document identifier. And
A document identifier setting command is sent to the beginning of the data received from the host computer 26. The sent document identifier is saved in the area for it. When the document list is displayed on the operation panel 20, it is displayed together with this document identifier. The operator can issue a print instruction after seeing the display including this document identifier.

In the eighth embodiment, the following operation is added to the operation of the fourth embodiment. The printer 10 has one page printing time in a table for each paper size. The document printing time is calculated by taking the product of the 1-page printing time and the number of pages of the document and adding the paper transporting time of the first page and the last page. When the document list is displayed on the operation panel 20, the time is displayed to inform the operator. Further, during printing of the document, the time until the end of printing is counted down and sequentially displayed on the operation panel 20. Thereby, the operator can grasp the time until the end of printing.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the developed bitmap is not immediately printed, but is saved in the storage means and printing is started for the first time in response to a print request from the operator's panel. Therefore, if a mistake is made in the setting before printing is started, the saved document bit map file is discarded so that no sheet is wasted. Further, since the operator is in front of the printer even when printing is started, it is easy to notice a mistake in setting, and if the document bitmap file is discarded at that time, waste of paper can be minimized. In the printer device according to claim 2, since the operator can start the printing after confirming the setting information of the bitmap notified by the notifying unit and the setting of the printer, it is possible to suppress the printing failure due to the setting mistake. You can

In the printer device according to the third aspect, when the data of all pages are sent from the host even though several pages out of all the documents are required, only the required pages are designated by the designating means. It is possible to print by printing, and it is possible to avoid wasteful printing. In the printer device according to the fourth aspect, the expanded bitmap is not immediately printed, but is saved in the storage means and printing is started for the first time in response to a print request from the operator's panel. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the printed document from being left behind in the paper discharge tray of the printer and being easily exposed. Also, a plurality of documents will not be accumulated in the discharge tray of the printer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from mistakenly carrying the other document with him / her. On the contrary, it is possible to prevent the self-document from being taken by another person. Furthermore, it is possible to avoid waiting for the document output.

In the printer device according to the fifth aspect, when the document to be printed is very large (the number of pages is large), it is possible to select whether or not to use the function of the fourth aspect, thereby making each situation different. You can use it more comfortably. In the printer device according to claim 6, when there are two or more documents saved in the storage means, it is necessary to have a means for determining which is the own document, and a part of the document is displayed on the display means. By doing so, the document can be specified.

In the printer device according to the seventh aspect, when there are two or more documents saved in the storage means, it is necessary to have a means for determining which is the own document, and the print data sent from the host includes the document. By identifying the identifier (document ID, user name, document name, etc.) and displaying it on the display means when selecting the print document, the document can be specified.
In the printer device according to the eighth aspect, by displaying the time until the completion of printing on the time display means, the operator can be notified, the operator's discomfort can be eliminated, and a comfortable use environment can be provided.

[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.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Printer 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 Font CG 14 NV-RAM 15 RAM 16 CD Area 17 Bitmap 18 Receive Buffer 19 Operation Panel I / F 20 Operation Panel 21 Engine I / F 22 Engine Printer 23 Option I / F 24 Option 25 Host I / F 26 Host computer 27 Secondary storage device I / F 28 Secondary storage device

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Holding means for expanding and holding image data received from a host device into a bitmap, storage means for storing the bitmap image data held by this holding means, and storage means for storing the bitmap image data. A printer comprising: a printing unit that prints bitmap image data; and a selection unit that selects whether the bitmap image data stored in the storage unit is printed or discarded by the printing unit. apparatus. 2. A holding means for expanding and holding the image data received from the host device into a bitmap, a storing means for storing the bitmap image data held by the holding means, and a storing means stored in the storing means. A printing unit for printing the bitmap image data; and a notifying unit for notifying the operator of setting information such as the paper size, the paper orientation, and the number of pages of the bitmap image data stored in the storage unit. Printer device. 3. A holding means for expanding and holding the image data received from the host device into a bitmap, a storing means for storing the bitmap image data held by the holding means, and a storing means stored in the storing means. A printer apparatus comprising: a printing unit that prints bitmap image data; and a designating unit that prints only a designated page of the bitmap image data stored in the storage unit by the printing unit. 4. A holding means for expanding image data received from the host device into a bitmap and holding the bitmap, a storage means for storing the bitmap image data held by the holding means, and a storage means stored in the storage means. A printer apparatus comprising: a printing unit that prints bitmap image data; and an instruction unit that instructs printing by the printing unit. 5. The image data expanded in the bitmap held in the holding means by the printing means can be printed, and the image expanded in the bitmap held in the holding means from the instructing means. 5. The printer device according to claim 4, wherein it is possible to select whether to print the data or save the data in the storage means. 6. The printer device according to claim 4, further comprising display means for displaying the bitmap image data stored in the storage means. 7. The printer device according to claim 6, wherein an identifier can be attached to each document of the bitmap image data stored in the storage means. 8. The printer device according to claim 4, further comprising a time display unit for displaying a time until the printing is completed when the printing is performed by the printing unit.