JPH096550A - Printer controller and printer control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To inform an operator about which page is being printed at present by a printer by receiving and storing an identification(ID) code specifying a printing page from a host computer and returning the stored ID code in accor dance with an inquiry. CONSTITUTION: An interface control part 21 receives a printer command from a host computer 10 through a line 31. The command includes all control information and data for printing and page number specifying formation. Respective commands are successively queued in a receiving buffer 22. When printing one page, a command processing part 23 interpretes the command and defines a page number. After sending data for one page to a printing mechanism part 24, a page monitoring part 50 stores the printing of the page expressed by a flag memory 52. The host computer 10 inquires the page being printed out at present through a line 32. In response to the inquiry, the printer returns the page ID number of the page being printed at preset to the computer 10 through a line 33.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer control apparatus and method for a printer which receives data from a host computer or a word processor and prints the data so that the printing progress of the printer can be monitored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a printer command including print data is sent from a host computer to a printer for printing, the printer first receives the received data in a receiving buffer, and sequentially retrieves the received data for processing. For further processing, the image is expanded in the drawing memory or the print buffer and then printing is started. When viewed from the host computer side, after the print data is transmitted, the data is printed after a certain time has elapsed. The host computer cannot know the time. For this reason, with the conventional technology, it was not possible for the host computer side to know which page the printer is currently printing.

In recent years, when printing from a host computer, there are many systems in which print data is sent out by a spooler program in order to enable the next computer work even if the printer is printing. In such a system, when sending print data to the printer, the total number of pages to be printed is already known. So if the printer has a way of knowing which page is currently printing, the host computer can inform the operator how many pages are left to print, and how soon the operator will finish. It is possible to judge whether the paper supply is sufficient.

Further, when printing is interrupted during printing due to a paper jam of the printer or the like, it is still impossible to know which page was being printed, so the host computer must decide which page should be reprinted. I can't judge. For this reason, until now, the operator has to end the print job that caused the jam, count the number of the jammed page, and print a new job after that page. There was an inconvenience.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above drawbacks. The host computer inquires which page the printer is currently printing, and in response thereto, the printer prints the page number being printed. By returning, the host computer can always know the page being printed.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system capable of informing an operator of which page of a whole document the printer is currently printing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system in which when a printer stops due to an error during printing, the host computer can automatically know the abnormal page and automatically reprint from the top of the page. To provide.

To achieve the above object, the printer control apparatus of the present invention is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information, and controls a printer which receives print data from the host computer and performs printing. In the printer control device, in response to a page to be printed, a means for receiving an identification code for specifying the page from the host computer, a means for storing the page identification code of the page being printed, and an inquiry request from the host computer. And a means for returning the page identification code being printed.

To achieve the above object, the printer control device of the present invention is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information.
In a printer control device that controls a printer that receives print data from a host computer and performs printing,
A means for recognizing the start of printing of a document by a command received from a host computer, a means for recognizing a page break by a command received from a host computer, a means for associating a number to a separated page, and a correspondence for each page being processed. It is characterized by having means for storing the page number and its processing state, and means for returning the page number and processing state of each page being processed in response to an inquiry request from the host computer.

In order to achieve the above object, the printer control method of the present invention is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information.
In a printer control method for controlling a printer that receives print data from a host computer and performs printing,
Corresponding to the page to be printed, receiving an identification code identifying the page from the host computer, storing the page identification code of the page being printed, and printing the page in response to an inquiry request from the host computer. And a step of returning the identification code.

To achieve the above object, the printer control method of the present invention is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information.
In a printer control method for controlling a printer that receives print data from a host computer and performs printing,
The step of recognizing the printing start of the document by the command received from the host computer, the step of recognizing the page break by the command received from the host computer, the step of associating the divided page with a number, and the correspondence with each page being processed The present invention is characterized by including a step of storing the page number and the processing state thereof, and a step of returning the page number and the processing state of each page being processed in response to an inquiry request from the host computer.

With the above configuration, the host computer inquires which page the printer is currently printing, and in response to this, the printer returns the page number being printed, so that the host computer always prints the page being printed. You can know.

Therefore, it is possible to inform the operator how many pages in the entire document the printer is currently printing.

When the printer stops due to an error during printing,
The host computer can automatically know the page in which the abnormality has occurred, and can automatically reprint from the top of the page.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows an example of a printer command sent from a host computer to a printer in the present invention. This is a configuration example of a command group corresponding to one page.
Generally, the host computer, before sending the print data of each page to the printer, sends information relating to the print format of the page. These pieces of information include information indicating the print range on the paper and information indicating the print resolution. It includes information for selecting a print mode, which means a level of print quality, designation of a format for sending print data, and the like. According to the present invention, the host computer, in addition to the above information,
Information specifying the page number of the print page, generally a page identification code, is sent together with these. The printer manages the page identification code in comparison with the page and uses this code when transmitting the page number to the host computer. That is, it is used as a page identification code common between the host computer and the printer.

FIG. 1 shows one structural example of the present invention. 10 is a host computer. A printer device 20 is connected to a host computer via an interface control unit 21. Reference numerals 31, 32, and 33 are in interface cables that continue the two and transmit functionally different information, but they do not have to be physically separated into three types. The interface control unit 21 receives a printer command from the host computer via the line 31. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 and contains all control information and data for printing the printer. It also includes the page number designation information described above. These commands are queued in 22 reception buffers in the order in which they are received, and are a microcomputer, a ROM storing a command processing program, and an RA used for command processing.
It is processed by the command processing unit 23 composed of M and printed by a printing mechanism unit such as an inkjet printer or a laser beam printer. In the page monitoring unit 50 in this embodiment, the command processing unit 23 instructs the printing mechanism unit 24 to feed the next page after the printing mechanism unit 24 finishes printing one page and completely ejects the paper. Applicable to Puritan. As shown in the figure, a page monitoring unit 50 including a microcomputer and a ROM that stores a page monitoring processing program shows a memory 52 that records a page number being printed in a page monitoring memory 51 and a paper feeding state of the page. The 1-bit flag memory 53 is provided to monitor the printing state. That is, the page number being printed is recorded in the memory 52, and the progress status of the page is recorded as the flag memory 53.
A value of 1 indicates that the page is being fed, and a value of 0 indicates that the page has been printed and the page has been ejected.

When printing one page, the command processing section 23 first interprets the information in the control information section 100 in FIG. 2 and determines the page number. The command processing unit 23 is the printing mechanism unit 2.
4 is instructed to feed the paper. When feeding is completed correctly,
The printing mechanism unit 24 notifies the command processing unit 23 to that effect. The command processing unit 23 attaches the page number to the page monitoring unit 50 to notify that the paper feeding is completed. The page monitoring unit 50 writes the page number received in the memory 52 and 1 in the flag memory 53 to record that printing of a new page has started. After that, the command processing unit 23 sends all the data for one page to the printing mechanism unit 24, and then sends a paper discharge command. The printing mechanism unit 24 notifies the command processing unit 23 of the completion of the paper discharge correctly. Upon receiving this notification, the command processing unit 23 notifies the page monitoring unit 50 of the completion of paper discharge. The page monitor 50 stores 0 in the flag memory 52.
To store the fact that the paper on which the page represented by the memory 52 is printed is finished.

The host computer inquires through the line 32 about the page currently being printed. Generally, the host computer can specify various information to the printer and inquire, and can send various commands. Hereinafter, the command sent through the line 32 is called an emergency command,
It is distinguished from the printer command sent through the line 31. In this way, in general, if an emergency command is sent, the line 32 needs a function capable of sending a code. One signal line may be used for the purpose of inquiring only the identification number of the page being printed. In response to this inquiry, the printer returns the identification number of the page being printed to the host computer through the line 33.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the interface control unit of the present invention. The function of the line 32 is a general embodiment in which an arbitrary emergency command can be sent.

A case where a Centronics interface that is standardly used in a printer is used as a physical interface will be described as an example. Originally, the Centronics interface was used for one-way data transmission, but according to the IEEE standard P1284, a method of using this interface for two-way data transmission is proposed. FIG. 3 is based on the usage in the ECP mode in the above standard proposal, but only the signals related to the present invention are described.

From the broken line in the figure, the left side is the host computer and the right side is the printer. Reference numeral 200 corresponds to the interface control unit 21 on the printer side. The DATA line 201 is an 8-bit parallel bidirectional data signal line. All commands and status information are sent and received via this signal line. The REV line of 202 determines the direction of the DATA line by the signal from the host. A circuit portion 210 is a DATA line direction switching circuit, and when REV is 0, the DATA line is effective from the host to the printer, and when REV is 1, the direction from the printer to the host is effective. The COM line 203 is a signal from the host, and specifies whether DATA from the host is a printer command or an emergency command. Host of 204
Clk is a so-called strobe signal and DAT from the host.
Specifies the period during which A and COM are valid. When this signal once falls and rises again, DATA and COM are taken into the latches 221 and 220, respectively, and the printer has received them. Reference numeral 230 is a microcomputer on the printer side, which is a signal from the host and is a RE of 202.
COM and Hos received on V, 220 and 221
t Data can be read. When the Host Data is latched, an interrupt signal informs the microprocessor accordingly. On the other hand, when sending data from the printer to the host, make sure that the REV signal is 1.
Data is written in the transmission latch 222. When data is written, the strobe signal Periph is automatically generated.
A pulse signal is generated in Clk 205, and D is sent to the host.
Notify when to receive ATA.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the printer for the number inquiry command. The operation shown in the flow chart is activated by an interrupt upon reception of Host Data described with reference to FIG. 3, and is executed each time a 1-byte code is received from the host computer (step 400). The microcomputer 230 uses the 220 COM and 2 described in FIG.
Read out 21 Host Data. When COM is 0, the Host Data is judged to be a printer command, and when 1 is judged to be an emergency command (step 401). If it is a printer command, it is packed in the reception buffer 22 (step 402). If it is an urgent command, the codes of the urgent command are compared and classified and assigned to each process (step 403). In this embodiment, all emergency commands are represented by 1 byte. If the type of the emergency command is the page number inquiry command being printed, the process proceeds to step 404. The microcomputer 230 is the page monitoring unit 50.
Inquire about the page number being printed and the paper feed status. The page monitoring unit 50 reads the page number of the page being printed from the memory 52, reads the paper feed status bit from the memory 53, combines the bits, and delivers them as one code to the interface control unit. The interface control unit returns this status information to the host computer through 33. One code is, for example, a 1-byte code and has bits 0 to 0.
A page identification number can be assigned to 6 and a paper feeding status bit can be assigned to bit 7. If it is determined in step 403 that the command is not a page inquiry command, a command (print job forced termination command, head cleaning command, etc.)
The process corresponding to is performed (step 406).

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the page monitoring section in FIG. In this example, when the printing mechanism unit 24 has a mechanism for queuing the command received from the command processing unit 23 and can receive the instruction to print the next page before the printing of one page is completed and finished. Applicable to Further, it can be applied to a printing mechanism such as LBP in which there is a process such as fixing even after printing is completed, and information about which process is completed is important for reprinting.

In this embodiment, the page monitor 60 has a mechanism for simultaneously monitoring a plurality of continuous pages. In the page monitoring memory 61, memories 62-1, 62-2, 6 which store the page identification number of each page for three pages being processed.
2-3, and memories 63-1, 63-2, 63-3 holding the processing state information of the page. The processing state memory 63-X indicates that the data processing of the page is started when the value is 1, the printing is started when the value is 2, and the printing is ended when the value is 3. When the fixing is completed, the time is 0, and the discharging is completed. When printing one page, the command processing unit 23 first interprets the information in the control information unit 100 in FIG. 2 and determines the page number.
This is the start of data processing of a new page, and the command processing section 23 notifies the page monitoring section 60 of the page number. The page monitoring unit writes the page number in an empty space from the beginning of the page identification number memory, and further writes 1 in the corresponding processing state memory to start processing. Subsequent processing is greatly different from the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the progress of each page is monitored based on the processing completion information from the printing mechanism unit 24. Subsequent processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows the processing after the command processing section 23 notifies the page monitoring section 60 of the new page number. When the page processing unit 60 receives a new page identification number (step 600), it first searches the page monitoring memory 61 for an unused page identification number memory (step 60).
1). If found, the first unused memory (62-
X, 63-X, whichever is the smallest of X) is used (step 602). If no unused memory is found in step 601, the memory of the processing state information 0, that is, the memory of the page for which the paper discharge is completed is selected (step 603). Because it doesn't require any administration already. Step 602
Alternatively, the page identification number is written in the memory selected in step 603, and 1 or data processing start is written in the processing state information (step 604).

FIG. 7 shows the processing after the page monitor 60 receives the processing completion information from the printing mechanism 24. When the page monitoring unit 60 receives the processing completion information from the printing mechanism unit 24 (step 700), it first classifies the processing completion information (step 701).

If the completion information indicates that the paper feed is completed, the processing state memory 1 is searched for a page in which data is being processed (step 7).
10) Then, this is recorded as 2, that is, the fact that the printing is in progress (step 11).

If the completion information is printed, the processing state memory 2 is searched for a page being printed (step 72).
0), this is recorded as 3 (that is, the transition during fixing) (step 721).

If the completion information indicates that the fixing is completed, the processing state memory 3 is searched for a page which is undergoing fixing (step 73).
0), 4 is recorded, that is, the shift to the printing is recorded (step 731).

If the completion information indicates that the paper has been discharged, the processing state memory 4 is searched for a page that is undergoing data processing (step 7).
40), it is recorded as 0, that is, the completion of paper discharge is recorded (step 741).

In this embodiment, when there is an inquiry about a page being processed from the host computer, the page monitoring unit 60 reads all of the page monitoring memory 61 and returns it to the host computer through the interface control unit 21. Is the same as the embodiment described above. However, in this case, the returned information consists of multiple bytes.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of another embodiment, which is the same as FIG.

FIG. 9 shows an example of printer commands sent from the host computer to the printer in this embodiment. This is a configuration example of a command group corresponding to one document or print job. 900 is the first command sent, which means the start of a job. Reference numeral 901 denotes a command sequence having a plurality of document pages and realizing the actual print content. However, the page number designation is not included in the control information section 901. A command 902 indicates the end of the print job, but it does not have to be provided.

The operation of FIG. 8 is almost the same as the description of FIG. When the command processing unit 23 receives the print job start command, it notifies the page monitoring unit 25 that the job has started. The page monitoring unit clears the page counter 70, which has cleared all page monitoring memories, and prepares for a new job. When the command processing unit starts the processing of the control information unit of the new page, it notifies the page monitoring unit of the start of the processing of the new page. However, since the page number is not specified in the control information section, the page number is not notified. Upon receiving this notification, the page monitoring unit sets the page counter 70 to 1
Just go ahead and make this the page number. That is 1, 2, 3, 4
The page number that becomes ... is automatically assigned. The operation is exactly the same as described with reference to FIG. 5, except that the page numbers are as described above. At this time, the host computer also counts each page according to the same rule as the printer, that is, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... In this case, the host computer and the printer identify the page with the same page number. It will be a matter.

Next, the jam recovery process on the host computer side in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The program according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 is stored in the ROM in the host computer and processed by the CPU in the host computer.

First, when a notification of paper jam error information is received from the printer in step 1001, step 1002
Then, COM is set to 1 and a page inquiry command is transmitted to the printer. Then, in step 1003, the page number being printed and its processing state are received from the printer. Next, in step 1004, the page number is displayed on the CRT of the host computer based on the received information. Next, the operator instructs reprinting (step 10).
Based on (05), it is determined whether or not the printer side is in a state in which normal printing is possible (step 1006), then in step 1007, COM is set to 1 and a print job forced termination command is transmitted to the printer. The printer side is the receive buffer,
The command processing unit and the printing mechanism unit are cleared. Next, in step 1008, print data including a character code, a command, image data, and the like of the corresponding page is transferred based on the page number received in step 1003 and the processing state thereof.

Although the page inquiry command is transmitted based on the notification of the error information in steps 1001 and 1002, the page inquiry command may be executed at an arbitrary timing so that the page which is always printed by the host can be displayed.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the printer monitors the operating state of a page which is being printed or is being processed, identifies a page with a number common to the host computer in response to an inquiry from the host computer, and processes the page. I was able to return the situation.

By using this information, the host computer can know which page the printer is printing and can notify the operator.

By reading this information when the printer stops due to an error, it is possible to know which page has failed in printing, and it is possible to automatically perform reprinting from the failed page.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a printer command used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface control unit 21.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an operation of returning a page number in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an operation in another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining the operation in another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is one of printer commands used in another embodiment.
It is a figure showing an example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining the operation of the host computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 host computer 20 printer device 21 interface control unit 22 reception buffer 23 command processing unit 24 printing mechanism unit 31 conventional interface 32 bidirectional interface 33 bidirectional interface 50 page monitoring unit 51 page monitoring memory 60 in another embodiment Page monitoring unit 61 Page monitoring memory in another embodiment

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A printer control device, which is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information and controls a printer that receives print data from the host computer and performs printing, in response to a page to be printed, A means for receiving an identification code for specifying a page from the host computer, a means for storing the page identification code being printed, and a means for returning the page identification code being printed in response to an inquiry request from the host computer. Characteristic printer control device. 2. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry from the host computer is input prior to the input of print data. 3. The printer control device according to claim 1, further comprising a host computer that displays a page number based on the returned page identification code. 4. A means for receiving error information from a printer, a means for inquiring a page being printed when an error occurs in the printer, a means for receiving a page identification code of the page being printed from the printer, and a printer A host computer comprising: an instruction unit for instructing reprinting, a unit for transmitting a command for initializing the printer, and a unit for transmitting corresponding print data to the printer based on the received page identification code. The printer control device according to claim 1. 5. The printer control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the page identification code includes a page number and processing state information of a page of the page number. 6. A printer control device, which is connected to a host computer by an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information and controls a printer for receiving print data from the host computer and performing printing, prints a document by a command received from the host computer. The means for recognizing the start, the means for recognizing page breaks by the command received from the host computer, the means for associating numbers with the separated pages, and the page numbers and their processing statuses associated with each page being processed. A printer control device comprising means for storing and means for returning the page number and processing state of each page being processed in response to an inquiry request from a host computer. 7. The printer control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the inquiry from the host computer is input prior to the input of print data. 8. The printer control apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a host computer that displays a page number based on the returned page identification code. 9. A means for receiving error information from a printer, a means for inquiring about a page being printed when an error occurs in the printer, a means for receiving a page identification code of the page being printed from the printer, and a printer A host computer comprising: an instruction unit for instructing reprinting, a unit for transmitting a command for initializing the printer, and a unit for transmitting corresponding print data to the printer based on the received page identification code. The printer control device according to claim 6. 10. A printer control method for controlling a printer, which is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information, and receives print data from the host computer and performs printing, in accordance with a page to be printed, It has a step of receiving an identification code for specifying a page from the host computer, a step of storing the page identification code of the page being printed, and a step of returning the page identification code being printed in response to an inquiry request from the host computer. A printer control method characterized by the above. 11. The printer control method according to claim 10, wherein the inquiry from the host computer is input prior to the input of print data. 12. The printer control method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of displaying a page number based on the returned page identification code. 13. A method of receiving error information from a printer, inquiring of a page being printed when an error occurs in the printer, receiving a page identification code of the page being printed from the printer, 7. A method comprising: an instruction step of instructing reprinting, a step of transmitting a command for initializing the printer, and a step of transmitting corresponding print data to the printer based on the received page identification code. 10. The printer control method according to item 10. 14. The printer control method according to claim 10, wherein the page identification code includes a page number and processing state information of a page of the page number. 15. A printer control method for controlling a printer, which is connected to a host computer through an interface capable of bidirectionally exchanging information and receives print data from the host computer to perform printing, wherein a document is printed by a command received from the host computer. The step of recognizing the start, the step of recognizing the page break by the command received from the host computer, the step of assigning a number to the separated page, and the page number and the processing status associated with each page being processed. A printer control method comprising a step of storing and a step of returning the page number and the processing state of each page being processed in response to an inquiry request from a host computer. 16. The printer control method according to claim 15, wherein the inquiry from the host computer is input prior to the input of print data. 17. The printer control method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of displaying a page number based on the returned page identification code. 18. A step of receiving error information from the printer, a step of inquiring of the printer about a page being printed when an error occurs, a step of receiving from the printer a page identification code of the page being printed, and the printer 7. A method comprising: an instruction step of instructing reprinting, a step of transmitting a command for initializing the printer, and a step of transmitting corresponding print data to the printer based on the received page identification code. 15. The printer control method according to item 15.