JPH096556A - Printing data transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a printing data transfer system capable of preventing data from being transmitted from a host computer to a printer in its differently set state and efficiently executing printing. CONSTITUTION: When the printing of an application software printing execution file is executed at the time of receiving a printing instruction, a mode setting instruction for commanding a printing condition is converted into a transmission code in accordance with a mode setting device driver file and the converted code is transmitted-In a printer 10, CPU 14 inputs the received data to a memory through a buffer, and while setting up a printing condition mode or after the end of setting of the mode, develops a bit map for picture code data and sends dot data to a printer engine 30 to execute image formation. Thereby the printer 10 can be automatically set up at the time of printing out data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print data transfer system mainly composed of a host computer and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an important technique is how to smoothly transfer data between a computer and a page printer connected as a printer server, particularly when these are connected via a network. It was a challenge. To solve this problem, in the past, Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-4428
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7, there is one in which when a program list is output, the print format is switched based on the file name given to the program. In this example, since a special switch operation for switching the print format is not required, the operation can be easily performed.

Further, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-328934, in a printing apparatus provided with a plurality of escape sequences, the connection conditions are changed according to the connection interface of each host computer to be connected. In addition, there is provided a system in which an interface function for selecting an escape sequence according to the setting change of the connection condition is provided to easily change the emulation of the printer from the host computer.

[0004]

By the way, when outputting a document or the like created on the host computer to the printer, the printer needs to receive data by emulation corresponding to the data format. In addition, as the setting of printing conditions on the printer side, there are tray designation, size designation, print position designation, etc. These designations are usually made by operating the operation panel of the printer, and software is installed in the host computer. You can also set from the host computer.

However, the software for executing the setting from the host computer is independent of the software of the application, and it is necessary to start a dedicated program for the setting. For example, before opening application software such as a word processor or when executing printing, it is necessary to exit the application once, set the settings, and send the settings. In particular, when using on a network, another user may change the setting between setting and printing, or a plurality of users may print simultaneously. Therefore, printing may be executed with different settings.
Each time printing is performed, resetting, retransmitting, data clearing, or the like must be performed, which is cumbersome and wastes paper. Furthermore, even on the same host computer, the printer settings must be changed depending on the application software being executed, and in this case as well, the printer settings must be changed every time the application software changes, so the same problem occurs. Was occurring.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print data transfer system capable of efficiently executing printing by preventing image data from being transmitted from a host computer to a printer with different settings. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing and a print data transfer system for transmitting image data such as a character code from the host computer to the printer for printing. The host computer includes the setting condition changing means for changing the printing condition set in the printer by transmitting a predetermined printing condition prior to the image data when the printing is executed. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the print data transfer system according to the first aspect is provided with print condition storing means for storing print conditions corresponding to respective application software used in the host computer, and the setting condition change is performed. The means is
The above-mentioned object is achieved by selecting a printing condition corresponding to the application software for executing printing from the printing conditions stored in the printing condition storage means and transmitting the selected printing condition to the printer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print data transfer system according to the second aspect, the setting condition changing means has already changed the printing condition set in the printer in accordance with application software. In this case, the object is achieved by transmitting the image data without transmitting the printing condition. Claim 4
According to the described invention, in the print data transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, the host computer is
The printing condition recognition means for recognizing the printing conditions set in the printer is provided, and the setting condition changing means is such that the printing conditions recognized by the printing condition recognition means are the printing conditions used in the next printing execution. If they match, the above object is achieved by transmitting the image data without transmitting the printing condition.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the print data transfer system according to any one of the first, second, third and fourth aspects stores a predetermined printing condition that is frequently used. The setting condition changing unit is provided with a frequency condition storing unit, and the setting condition changing unit achieves the object by changing the printing condition of the printer to the printing condition stored in the high frequency condition storing unit after printing is completed. According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the print data transfer system according to the first or second aspect, an input means for inputting a registration number set for each user, and a user who stores printing conditions corresponding to the registration number A print condition storage means,
The setting condition changing unit achieves the object by searching the user printing condition storage unit for a printing condition corresponding to the registration number input to the input unit and transmitting the printing condition to the printer when printing is performed. To do.

[0010]

In the print data transfer system according to the present invention, the setting condition changing means of the host computer transmits the predetermined printing conditions prior to the image data when executing the printing, and the printing conditions set in the printer are set. change. In the print data transfer system according to the second aspect, the print condition storage means stores the print condition corresponding to each application software used in the host computer. The setting condition changing unit selects, from the printing conditions stored in the printing condition storage unit, a printing condition corresponding to application software for executing printing, and sends the selected printing condition to the printer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print data transfer system, when the print condition set in the printer is already changed corresponding to the application software, the print condition is changed by the print condition transfer means. The image data is transmitted without transmitting the condition. 5. The print data transfer system according to claim 4, wherein the print condition recognition means of the host computer recognizes the print condition set in the printer, and the setting condition change means prints the print condition recognized by the print condition recognition means. When the condition matches the print condition used in the next print execution, the image data is transmitted without transmitting the print condition.

In the print data transfer system according to the present invention, the high-frequency condition storage means stores a predetermined print condition that is frequently used, and the setting condition changing means sets the print condition of the printer to the high-frequency condition after the printing is completed. The printing conditions stored in the frequency condition storage means are changed. In the print data transfer system according to the sixth aspect, the registration number set for each user is input to the input means. The user print condition storage means stores the print condition corresponding to the registration number. The setting condition changing unit retrieves a printing condition corresponding to the registration number input to the input unit from the user printing condition storage unit and sends it to the printer when printing is performed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the print data transfer system of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a printer used in the print data transfer system according to the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the printer 10 connected to a host computer that outputs image data such as character codes includes a print control device 12. The print control device 12 is provided with a CPU (central processing unit) 14 that performs various processes.
ROM (Read Only Memory) via U Bus 16
18, RAM (random access memory) 20, non-volatile memory 22, optional interface 24,
A host interface 26, a video interface 28, and a panel interface 32 are connected.

Further, the printer 10 is provided with a printer engine 30 for printing and an operation panel 34 for performing various operations for designating printing conditions such as mode designation and number of prints. The printer engine 30 has a video interface. 28, the operation panel 34 is connected to the panel interface 32, respectively. The printer 10 and the host computer have a host interface 26.
Connected by As the host interface 26, for example, a parallel interface Centronics or a serial interface RS232C is used.

The ROM 18 is adapted to store a control program, character font data and the like necessary for printing processing and the like, and the RAM 20 has a storage area for temporarily storing various data necessary for printing processing. The CPU 14 sets R
According to the control program in the OM 18 and the control program downloaded to the RAM 20, data processing from the host computer, bitmap development of image data, control of the operation panel 34, etc. are performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the software and hardware configurations of the print control device 12. In the print control device 12 of the present embodiment, the software part of the emulation programs # 1 and # 1 corresponds to a plurality of host computers as an escape sequence.
2 ,. . . , #N for storing emulation section 40
And a printer system unit 42 that performs emulation selection from the received data according to an internal program, exchanges data with hardware, and executes print processing and interface connection processing. In particular, the interface connection program is
It is stored in the driver 44 in the printer system unit 42. Further, the hardware 46 represents the printer engine 30, the operation panel 34, and the like other than the software part.

The emulation switching method by the host computer is provided with a memory switch for determining the interface connection form and setting the emulation, and switching to the emulation corresponding to the connection form. It is necessary to open the mode set file in order to set the mode for setting the printing conditions of the printer with the host computer. Then, on the work screen of the file displayed on the display of the host computer,
Emulation, font, paper size, paper feed / eject port, print position, reduction ratio, and image processing mode are specified. Data is saved after these specifications are completed. In this save execution, at the same time as writing to this file, a dedicated read / write device driver file is opened for writing.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of print execution processing by the application software. When the print command is received, the print execution file of the application software converts the mode set command for instructing the print condition into a transmission code and transmits it according to the device driver file of the mode set when the print is executed (step 2). At this time, the first data to be sent is the data for setting the emulation. In the printer 10, the data received by the CPU 14 is loaded into the memory via the buffer, and while the mode setting of the printing condition is being executed, or after the completion, the bit map expansion of the image code data is performed (step 3), and the printer engine 30 is provided. The dot data is transmitted (step 4) to form an image.
In the present embodiment, when the image data is transmitted at the time of print output, the printer 10 is automatically set, so that the print data is transmitted with different emulation or settings and improper printing is performed to waste paper. It is possible to avoid re-transmission of data.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. Since the basic configuration of the printer 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used and detailed description thereof is omitted. The same applies to the other embodiments described below. In this embodiment, in the mode set work file, a device driver file for storing a mode set instruction is created for each application software, and names are distinguished and saved. When printing of each application software is performed, the setting mode is read from the device driver file designated corresponding to each application software, and the mode setting of the printer 10 is performed, thereby performing the printer setting corresponding to the application software. As a result, even if the printer settings are different for each application software, the settings corresponding to the application software are automatically and promptly changed when printing is performed, and the user does not have to redo the printer settings each time the application software changes.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a print execution process in this embodiment. When the first print command is issued after the work screen is opened by the application software, the device driver of the mode set is incorporated as described above (step 5), and the history is read at a predetermined address (step 6). ). If there is no history (step 7; N), the mode set command for instructing the printing conditions is converted into a transmission code and transmitted (step 8). Next, the fact that printing has been executed is written in a designated address in the memory (step 9). Then, the received data is fetched into the memory via the buffer, and while the mode setting is being executed, or after the completion, the bit map of the image code data is expanded (step 10) and the dot data is transmitted to the printer engine 30 ( Step 1
1), image formation is performed. On the other hand, if there is a history (step 7; Y), the process proceeds to step 10 to perform data conversion and image data transmission without transmitting the printer setting code. In this embodiment, since the setting code is not transmitted every time, it is possible to suppress the time loss when executing printing.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a print execution process in this embodiment. In this embodiment, bidirectional communication is possible between the printer 10 and the host computer, and the hardware configuration of the print control device 12 is that the host interface 26 bidirectionally communicates with the host computer. I am supposed to do it. For example, RS232C or Bicentro is used.

When the mode setting is performed from the operation panel 34 of the main body or the host computer (step 12), the print control device 12 transmits the mode information of the set printing conditions (step 13). The host computer stores this mode information in a buffer. Then, when the print command is issued, the mode is compared with the mode set on the host computer side (step 14), and if they match (step 15; Y), a match flag is set to the designated address of the memory. A flag is prepared for each mode, and when there is a partial match, only the relevant flag is set.

On the other hand, if they do not match (step 1
5; N), the instruction code that is all set is transmitted (step 16). If the match flag is in some modes (step 15; Y), a code that sets only the mismatch mode is transmitted. When the application software is started up and the mode is set, the printer 10 communicates with the printer 10 to receive the set mode information and store it in the buffer. After that, the printer data is changed (step 17) and the image data is changed (step 18) as in the above-described embodiment, and the process is ended. In the present exemplary embodiment, since the number of setting commands to be transmitted is small, it is possible to suppress the time loss during print execution.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the operation of the print control device 12 in executing printing. In this embodiment, first,
The interrupt change mode is set on the printer 10 side. In this case (step 19; Y), when a mode set command is received from a certain one host computer, the current setting is saved to the designated address (step 20) and the mode is set based on the transmission code (step 21). ). Then, the printing process is executed (step 22), the process is waited for (step 23), and it is judged whether or not there is saved data (step 24). If there is save data (step 24; Y), the save data is read from the specified address and the mode is set again (step 2).
5).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 19 that the mode is not the interrupt change mode (step 19; N), the print process (step 22) is performed without changing the setting.
If there is no save data in step 24 (step 24; N), the process is terminated without resetting the mode. It should be noted that the host computer side can be set as the single-shot set mode, the printer 10 side can be kept in the single-shot mode by an arbitrary means, and when the printing is completed, the save data can be read and reset. .

In this embodiment, the mode that was initially set is restored immediately after printing is completed in response to the change command. Therefore, if special settings are made, for example,
Even when multiple hosts of different manufacturers are used together in the network and there are settings that are inevitably unused due to the type of bias, return to the frequently used settings immediately after printing. Can be This reduces the transmission of change commands. That is, it is not necessary to send a setting command when another user performs printing, and it is possible to suppress time loss when performing printing. Also, if there is a user who is using a host computer that does not support this function, the frequency of that user's run-time resetting is reduced.

Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the procedure for executing printing in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is possible to register the user's ID number on the host computer side and define and register the device driver file for setting the printing condition mode for each ID number. By inputting the ID number when using the application software (step 26), the device driver file based on the ID number is accessed at the time of printing (step 27).

As a result of the access, if there is setting registration by the ID number (step 28; Y), the set mode is read and mode set transmission is performed (step 2).
9), as described above, printer data conversion (step 3
0) and image data transmission (step 31) are performed, and the process ends. On the other hand, in step 28, if there is no setting registration by the ID number (step 28;
N), send the normal mode set (step 3
2) Go to step 30. In this embodiment, since the setting corresponding to the ID number of each user is performed at the time of executing printing, when a single host computer is jointly used by several people and printing is performed with the setting limited by the user, There is no need to reset each time it changes.

[0029]

According to the print data transfer system of the first aspect, the printer is automatically set when transmitting the image data when the print output is executed, so that the print data can be transmitted with different emulation and settings. It is possible to avoid improper printing, waste of paper, and data transmission. According to the print data transfer system of the second aspect, even when the user does not redo the printer setting when the application software is changed, the setting corresponding to the application software can be promptly changed at the time of printing.

According to the print data transfer system of the third aspect, the setting code is not transmitted every time, and the time loss at the time of executing the print can be suppressed. According to the print data transfer system of the fourth aspect, the number of setting commands to be transmitted is reduced, and the time loss at the time of executing printing can be suppressed. According to the print data transfer system of claim 5, for example, even when a special setting is made by using it on a network, another user can execute the printing by returning to the frequently used setting immediately after the end of the printing. There is no need to send a setting command at the time of printing, and it is possible to suppress time loss during printing. Further, when there is a user who is using a host computer to which this function is not supported, the frequency with which that user performs the runtime resetting can be reduced.

According to the print data transfer system of the sixth aspect, when one host computer is shared by several people and printing is performed with the setting limited by the user, it is necessary to reset the setting each time the user changes. Disappears.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print data transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a block diagram of software and hardware configurations in the printer of the system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a printing execution procedure in the system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a print execution procedure in the print data transfer system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a print execution procedure in the print data transfer system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a printing execution procedure in the print data transfer system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a print execution procedure in a print data transfer system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Printer 12 Print Control Device 14 CPU 16 CPU Bus 18 ROM 20 RAM 22 Nonvolatile Memory 24 Option Interface 26 Host Interface 28 Video Interface 30 Printer Engine 32 Panel Interface 34 Operation Panel 40 Emulation Unit 42 Printer System Unit 44 Driver 46 Hardware

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printer for printing, and a print data transfer system for transmitting image data such as a character code from the host computer to the printer for printing, wherein the host computer executes the image processing when printing is performed. A print data transfer system comprising: setting condition changing means for transmitting a predetermined printing condition prior to data to change the printing condition set in the printer. 2. A print condition storage unit for storing print conditions corresponding to respective application software used in the host computer, wherein the setting condition change unit is based on the print conditions stored in the print condition storage unit. 2. The print data transfer system according to claim 1, wherein a print condition corresponding to application software for executing printing is selected and transmitted to the printer. 3. The setting condition changing means, if the printing condition set in the printer is already changed corresponding to application software, the image is sent without transmitting the printing condition. The print data transfer system according to claim 2, wherein data is transmitted. 4. The host computer has a print condition recognition means for recognizing a print condition set in the printer, and the setting condition change means is a print condition recognized by the print condition recognition means. The print data transfer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image data is transmitted without transmitting the print condition when the print condition matches the print condition used in the print execution. system. 5. A high-frequency condition storage means for storing a predetermined frequently-used print condition is stored, and the setting condition changing means stores the print condition of the printer in the high-frequency condition storage means after printing is completed. The print data transfer system according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4, wherein the printing conditions are changed. 6. An input unit for inputting a registration number set for each user, and a user print condition storage unit for storing print conditions corresponding to the registration number, wherein the setting condition changing unit is the input unit. 3. The print data transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the print condition corresponding to the registration number input to the printer is retrieved from the user print condition storage means and transmitted to the printer when printing is performed. .