JPH10226138A - Apparatus and method for controlling printer and printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print an image of high quality. SOLUTION: A printer processor 106 forms printing data as respectively independent pages on the basis of bit map data and other data. The bit map data is outputted by an ink jet printer engine 117 and the other data is outputted by a laser printer engine 118 to send the data corresponding to the respective data to a printer 111. In the printer 111, the data corresponding to the respective engines are printed by the respective engines. At this time, if one page is divided into a plurality of pages according to the kind of an object, the paper printed by one engine is sent to the other engine by a double-side unit 120 to perform printing on the same page. If there is an engine out of order, a normal engine is used to print all of data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printer control apparatus and method and a print system, and more particularly to a print system for printing a drawing object generated by an application program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, only one printer can be connected to one host. Therefore, the print data can be output only from one printer connected to the host. For this reason, only one print job can be processed according to the connected printer, so that detailed processing cannot be performed in accordance with the content of the print job.

Generally, the host repeats the following processing until the print job is completed.

[0004] An application program issues print data as a drawing control system function, and the drawing control system converts the data into a function that can be understood by a printer driver. After the printer driver converts the data into print data, the printer driver transfers the data to the printer.

[0005] In order to perform printing in accordance with the purpose, for example, a color original is sent to a color printer such as an ink jet printer.
The monochrome original has been dealt with by dividing the target original into LBPs or the like into originals for respective printers one by one, and printing by switching the output destination printer for each original.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since data for printer output is determined by the processing of the printer driver, the print job is processed by one type of current printer driver.
It has been difficult to perform processing in accordance with a plurality of or different printer outputs according to the contents.

In addition, if the amount of data to be processed increases, the number of output destinations is one, so that it takes a long time for printing. Even if the printer driver finishes image processing and generates data for output, the waiting time is long. Therefore, there is a problem that the total print processing time becomes long.

In general, since only a page can be separated, when printing a compound document including objects such as text, graphics, and images in the same print job, processing is performed according to the contents of the print job. Switching and outputting cannot be performed, and image quality may be degraded by performing the same processing on each object. Although it is possible to edit the original by manually switching the printer as described in the above-mentioned conventional example, the editing operation is complicated and time-consuming. In addition, even with such operations, it is difficult to obtain a good output result because the alignment is not good because the same paper is output by different printers.

In general, an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus is expensive, and an ink jet printer is currently most widely used for color images or high gradation images. However, in this printer, the ink itself is used. High-speed printing is difficult compared to LBP or the like due to the problem that the output paper gets wet because it contains a lot of water.
As a result, it was difficult to perform double-sided printing with an inkjet printer unless a fixing device or the like was attached.

Recently, USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Although new printers such as IEEE and IEEE 1394 have created an environment where multiple printers can be connected to a single host, multiple printers can be used from the host simply by adopting these new interfaces. However, the above-mentioned problem is not solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and when printing a compound document including objects such as text, graphics, and images, the contents of the print job are analyzed and the print job is analyzed. A printer control device that performs high-speed printing or two-sided printing with little deterioration in image quality by performing processing according to the content of each page or for each object in a page, and printing from a printer having a plurality of printer engines. It is an object to provide a method and a printing system.

[0012]

The present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, a printer control device connected to a printer having a plurality of engine units, a generation unit that determines an optimal type of engine unit according to the content of print data, and generates data to be transmitted for each engine unit. Sending means for sending the generated data for each corresponding engine unit.

[0013] Alternatively, a plurality of engine units, a means for determining an optimum type of engine unit in accordance with the content of print data, and generating data for each engine unit, and generating the data from the corresponding engine unit. Output means for outputting.

[0014] Alternatively, in a printer system including a printer having a plurality of engine units, a generation means for determining an optimum type of engine unit according to the content of print data and generating data to be transmitted for each engine unit; A sending unit for sending the generated data for each corresponding engine unit, and an output unit for printing out the data sent by the sending unit by the corresponding engine unit.

Alternatively, there is provided a printer control method for controlling a printer having a plurality of engine units, wherein an optimum type of the engine unit is determined according to the content of the print data.
The method includes a generation step of generating data to be transmitted for each engine unit, and a transmission step of transmitting the generated data to each corresponding engine unit.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <Configuration of Printer System> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the hybrid print system according to the first embodiment.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a host computer (PC). In this embodiment, the host also serves as a host of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) system.
2 to 107).

Reference numeral 102 denotes an application program (client software) that operates on the host computer. The user performs a print data output request to the printer body, various print output settings, and operation of image data transmitted via USB.

Reference numeral 103 denotes an output management printer driver. The output management printer driver sets the output destination printer, sets the contents of the print job, determines the output destination printer engine, displays the output destination, and the like.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a spool file for spooling the contents of a print job in a data format independent of the printer, not in a data format unique to the printer.
The output management printer driver determines the contents of this spool file, selects the output destination printer engine,
Switch.

Reference numeral 105 denotes a driver of a hybrid printer connected to the host, and includes a module for performing a process for each output engine. In this example, an ink jet printer and a laser beam printer are assumed.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a printer processor, which generates print output data for each output engine by a printer driver according to the content of a print job.

A USB 107 controls communication with the USB.
B host control unit. The USB host control unit uses the USB
Connected to the interface.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a display unit such as a CRT or LCD connected to the host computer. In addition to displaying output image data (preview) and displaying applications, various settings at the time of printing and the progress of printing are displayed.

An operation unit 109 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like connected to the host computer. Thus, various settings and application operations are performed.

The application program 102, the output management printer driver 103, the printer driver 105, and the printer processor 106 can be realized as software modules executed by a CPU (not shown) that controls the host computer 101. , USB host control unit 107, display unit 108, operation unit 109, etc. can be realized by hardware resources controlled by the CPU.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a USB interface cable. With this interface, it is easy to connect a hybrid printer having a plurality of printer engines to one host, and the host can recognize each printer engine. An interface having such a function such as IEEE1394 may be used instead.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a hybrid printer main body having a plurality of printer engines. In this example, the printer has two different output engines, an ink jet printer engine and a laser beam printer engine.

A USB 112 controls communication with the USB.
The B-device control unit is a system interface logic unit that has an interface with a CPU among hybrid printers. Here, SIE (Serial
It is responsible for the interface function between the CPU and the interface engine, and is composed of SIE, FIFO, and system interface logic. The SIE is logic that performs basic USB operations, and the FIFO is connected to the system interface logic and is configured as a transmission / reception buffer of a USB endpoint.

Reference numeral 113 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire hybrid printer 111.

A ROM 114 stores a program executed by the CPU 113.

Reference numeral 115 denotes a RAM for storing data used by the CPU 113 and various types of image data for the respective engines transmitted from the host.

Reference numeral 116 denotes a system bus connecting the constituent blocks 112 to 115 of the apparatus.

Reference numeral 117 denotes an engine of the ink jet printer. It is mainly used for outputting color images and high gradation images.

Reference numeral 118 denotes an engine of the laser beam printer. It is mainly used for outputting monochrome images and high-resolution images.

Reference numeral 119 denotes a fixing device provided in the laser beam printer engine. It is composed of a pressure roller and a fixing roller or a fixing film, and fixes toner by heat and pressure. Further, the paper can be dried by passing the wet output paper after the output of the ink jet printer engine.

Reference numeral 120 denotes a double-sided unit. It has a function to enable double-sided printing by inverting the printing surface after output by each printer engine. The first side and the second side may be output by different printer engines or may be the same. Also, it is possible to print the same side twice without reversing, so that printing by a plurality of printer engines can be performed on the same side of the paper.

For example, when printing a document in which an image image and text are mixed in one page, first, the text is printed by a laser beam printer engine, and then the document is printed.
This time, the same surface is printed by the inkjet printer engine (printing with the inkjet printer engine is an image image). Thus, the order of printing in which desired printing can be performed may be reversed.

Further, even if a trouble occurs in any of the plurality of printer engines of the hybrid printer main body, the operable engine can perform printing in place of the troubled engine.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the hybrid printer according to the present embodiment. The paper supplied from the paper feed tray 701 is transported along a transport path by a roller 702, and the LBP engine 7
05 or to the inkjet engine 704. The paper on which an image has been recorded by one of the engines passes through the heat fixing unit 706. Therefore, when recording is performed by LBP, the toner image is fixed, and when recording is performed by inkjet, the ink is dried.

After that, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge unit 708 by the switching plate 707 or sent to the duplex unit via the conveyance path 709. Reference numerals 709 to 713 are double-sided units. The sheet passing through the transport path 709 is sent to the double-sided tray 713 or the transport path 711 by the switching plate 710. After being sent to the conveyance path 711, the sheet is sent to the engine again through the conveyance path 712 with the same surface as when it is placed on the paper feed tray 701 facing up. On the other hand, in the double-sided tray 713, the paper that has once entered the tray 713 is conveyed in the reverse direction, passes through the conveyance path 712 with the surface opposite to the side where it was placed on the paper feed tray 701 facing up, and is re-engineered. Sent to. In this manner, the present hybrid printer enables recording on one sheet by two engines.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of data when the output engine destination of the hybrid printer is changed by the printer driver in accordance with the contents of the print job.

In step 201, the output management printer driver sets various printers according to the contents of the print job.

In step 202, the application program executes a print start command (the print start command may be executed from the printer driver).

In step 203, print data is issued by a function call (such as a GDI function) performed from the application to the drawing control system.

In step 204, the issued print data is spooled in a spool file. The print data to be spooled is in a printer-independent data format,
That is, it is constituted by a data format including a function call of a drawing control system which is a display / printing interface of the system. Spooling is performed for each page, and the output management printer driver scans the contents of the spool file, and determines the output destination printer engine as a result of determining the contents of the spool file.

At step 205, the scanned print data for one page is transferred from the spool file to the printer processor.

In steps 206 and 207,
The module of the printer driver corresponding to the scanned content is called by the printer processor, and is converted into printer output data corresponding to each engine.

In step 208, the print output data is transferred to the USB host control unit.

In step 209, the transferred print output data is transferred to the USB control unit of the printer (device) via the USB interface.

In step 210, the print output data is temporarily stored in the RAM.

In steps 211 and 212,
The data for print output is transferred to a print engine corresponding to each content and printed.

In this way, the printer engine which is the output destination of the printer can be selected and switched according to the contents of the print job.

The content of a print job which is a judgment item when the printer driver selects and switches the output destination printer engine is color or monochrome, and what kind of object (eg, text, graphics, image) is Or two-sided printing or one-sided printing.

In this embodiment, color print data is output to an ink jet printer engine, and monochrome print data is output to a laser beam printer engine.

The high gradation print data is output to an ink jet printer engine, and the high resolution print data is output to a laser beam printer engine.

The image objects are output to an ink jet printer engine, and the text and graphics objects are output to a laser beam printer engine.

In the case of double-sided printing, output can be performed by either an ink jet printer engine or a laser beam printer engine. However, when an output from the ink jet printer engine is obtained, a fixing device provided in the laser beam printer engine is passed. . <Print Control Procedure> FIG. 3 shows the flow of processing in the case where the output destination printer engine is selected and switched depending on whether the content of the print job is color or monochrome, or has high gradation or high resolution. FIG.

Here, the configuration of the host and the printer is, as shown in FIG. 1, one host computer (PC).
First, consider the case where one hybrid printer is connected. The hybrid printer has an ink jet printer engine for printing color and high gradation data and a laser beam printer engine for printing monochrome and high resolution data.

An operating system (system) of a host computer (PC) described in this embodiment.
May be a commonly used one such as Microsoft Windows95.

In step 301, in the color / monochrome mode, the output management printer driver uses an ink jet printer engine as an output destination printer engine when the print job is in color, and
The output destination printer engine is set to be a laser beam printer engine. In the case of performing determination for each object, when the print job is text or graphics, a laser beam printer engine is used as a printer engine of an output destination, and when the image is an image,
The output destination printer engine is set to be the ink jet printer engine.

In step 302, when the user executes a print command from the application, the application issues a print start command.

In step 303, the printer driver passes various setting information to the system.

At step 304, the system requests the application for print data.

At step 305, the application displays GD which is a display / print interface of Windows.
Print data is issued to I (grahics device interface) by a GDI function call (GDI call).

In step 306, the issued print data is stored in, for example, an EMF (enhanced meta data) of Windows 95.
file format). EMF is GD
This is a data format consisting of an I function call.
Spooling handles one page of data. Here, the data may be stored, and another format may be used.

Here, when the mode of determination in step 308 described later is not the color / monochrome mode, when a plurality of types of objects are included in the same page, the objects are classified by object type. The method of division is based on which engine is used in step 319 to be described later. In other words, a bitmap image is reconstructed into two pages by dividing one page for each high-resolution printer engine as an output for the high-resolution printer engine except for the bitmap.
That is, data for printing the same side of the sheet twice by different print engines is generated. This classification can also be performed in the color / monochrome mode, depending on the color / monochrome of the image. However, when one page is reconstructed into two pages, it is necessary to store that fact and control the duplex unit of the printer.

In step 307, after spooling the data for one page, the output management printer driver
Scan the spooled content.

In step 308, whether the determination of the scan content is in the color / monochrome mode or in each object is selected. This content is set in advance by the operator.

If the determination of the scan content is in the color / monochrome mode, the flow proceeds to step 311;

If the scan content is determined to be in the color / monochrome mode, in step 311 it is determined from the scanned content whether the data for one page is color or monochrome. When the determination of the content of the spooled data is completed, the data is sent to the print processor.

In the print processor, the driver module to be called differs depending on whether the content of the data is color or monochrome.

If the data content is monochrome, the print processor calls the printer driver module for the monochrome engine in step 312.

At step 313, the print data is converted into print data for a monochrome engine.

At step 314, the print data is
Transferred to monochrome engine.

If the data content is color, the printer processor calls the printer driver module for the color engine in step 315.

At step 316, the print data is converted into print data for a color engine.

At step 317, the print data is
Transferred to color engine.

In this example, the monochrome engine is an LBP engine, and the color engine is an ink jet engine.

Next, a case where the output destination printer engine is switched for each object (text, graphics, image) will be described.

The following example is considered for the configuration of the host and the printer. For text and graphics printers, a laser beam printer engine that is a high-resolution printer engine with less noticeable jaggies at the edges, and for an image printer, a high-gradation printer engine that can express high gradation. An inkjet printer engine is used.

If the determination of the scan content in step 308 is a determination for each object, step 319
Then, the type of the object of the data for one page is determined from the scanned content. The type of object is G
Judgment is made based on the type of DI function call. For example, the function of GDI is Ext_TextOu
Text for text-based functions like t, Out
For graphics-related functions such as put, graphics, StretchDIBits and BitBl
In the case of a bitmap function such as t, the image is determined to be an image. Of course, when printing is performed not only by the GDI function call but also by a drawing command for each object, the type of this type of object can be determined.

Then, vector data such as text and graphics are output from a high resolution printer, and bitmap data such as images are output from a high gradation printer.

When the determination of the content of the spooled data is completed, the data is sent to the print processor.

In the print processor, the driver module to be called differs depending on the type of the object which is the content of the data.

If the data content is an image, at step 320, the print processor calls the printer driver module for the high gradation engine.

At step 321, the print data is converted into print data for a high gradation engine.

At step 322, the print data is transferred to the high gradation engine.

If the data content is text or graphics, in step 323, the printer processor calls the printer driver module for the high resolution engine.

In step 324, the data is converted into print data for a high-resolution engine.

At step 325, the print data is
Transferred to high resolution engine.

Here, if one page contains data determined to be of a different type in step 319, as described above, one page is divided into two pages for each printer engine according to the object. Has been restructured. In this case, two pages must be actually recorded on one sheet. Therefore, it is necessary to control whether the sheet is discharged in step 322 or step 325, or the sheet is sent to the duplex unit to record the image again in the engine unit, or the switching plate is controlled.

In step 327, it is determined whether all data for one page has been recorded on one page. If there are any objects left to be written on that page,
Repeat from step 307 again. In this case, in step 322 or step 325, the paper sheet partially recorded should have been sent again to one of the engine units via the duplex unit.

As described above, different types of data can be printed by using a suitable engine. Therefore, image quality can be improved.

Step 311 or step 3
At 19, it is first determined whether both engines can be used. If only one of them can be used, all data is printed by the available engine, thereby improving the fault tolerance of the printing system.

In this example, the number of printer engines possessed by the hybrid printer is one for each of the LBP and the ink jet, but it is possible to have more engines.

Although only one hybrid printer is considered as a printer connected to the host, it is also possible to connect another hybrid printer or an ordinary inkjet or laser beam printer, that is, a plurality of printers. Thus, the waiting time for data processing of the printer can be further reduced, and it is possible to determine whether the printing time is reduced.

A sublimation printer may be used as a high gradation printer other than the ink jet printer.

With the above arrangement, when printing a compound document including objects such as text, graphics, and images, the contents of the print job are analyzed, and the processing corresponding to the contents of the print job is performed on a page basis or within a page. By printing from a printer with multiple printer engines,
It enables high-speed printing and double-sided printing with little deterioration in image quality. (Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the digital I / F connecting the host computer and the printer is connected to the IEEE 1
Since the 394 Serious Bus is used, IEEE 139
The four serious buses will be described in advance. <Overview of IEEE 1394 Technology> Digital VT for Home Use
With the advent of R and DVD, it is necessary to support real-time and high information amount data transfer of video data and audio data. In order to transfer such video and audio data in real time, and to transfer them to a personal computer (PC) or other digital devices, an interface capable of high-speed data transfer with the necessary transfer functions is required. The interface developed from such a viewpoint is IEEE 1394-1995 (High Performance Serial
Bus) (hereinafter, 1394 serial bus).

FIG. 8 shows an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system is provided with devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. A-B, A-C, B-D, D-E, C-F
, CG, and CH are connected by a twisted pair cable of a 1394 serial bus.
The devices A to H are, for example, PC, digital VTR, DV
D, digital camera, hard disk, monitor, etc.

The connection method between the devices is such that the daisy chain method and the node branch method can be mixed.
A highly flexible connection is possible.

Each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, forms a single network in a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. One 1394 connection between each digital device
Just by sequentially connecting with a serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay, and constitutes one network as a whole. In addition, a plug-and-play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus, has a function of automatically recognizing the device and recognizing the connection status when a cable is connected to the device.

In the system shown in FIG. 8, when a device is deleted from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset, and the network configuration up to that point is reset. From
Rebuild a new network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer rate is 100/200/4
It has a transmission rate of 00 Mbps, and a device having a higher transfer rate supports a lower transfer rate and is compatible.

As a data transfer mode, asynchronous data such as control signals (Asynchronous data: A
Asynchronous transfer mode for transferring sync data)
Synchronous data such as video data and audio data in real time (Isochronous data: hereafter Iso data)
There is an Isochronous transfer mode for transferring data. This Asy
In each cycle (usually 125 μS per cycle), the nc data and the Iso data follow the transfer of a cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of the cycle, and
The so data is transferred in a mixed manner within the cycle while giving priority to the transfer of the so data.

Next, FIG. 9 shows the components of the 1394 serial bus.

The 1394 serial bus has a layer (hierarchical) structure as a whole. As shown in FIG. 9, a 1394 serial bus cable is the hardest and a connector port to which a connector of the cable is connected. There are a physical layer and a link layer as hardware on top of this.

The hardware part is a substantial part of an interface chip, of which the physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and control of cycle time.

The transaction layer of the firmware section manages data to be transferred (transacted), and issues commands such as Read and Write. The management layer is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the configuration of the network.

The hardware and firmware are the actual configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The software part application
The layer differs depending on the software used, and is a part that defines how data is placed on the interface.
It is specified by a protocol such as the V protocol.

The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a diagram of the address space in the 1394 serial bus.

Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus always has a 64-bit address unique to each node. By storing this address in the ROM, the node address of the user or the other party can always be recognized, and communication specifying the other party can be performed.

Addressing of the 1394 serial bus is based on the IEEE 1212 standard, and the address setting is performed in such a manner that the first 10 bits specify the bus number.
The next 6 bits are used for specifying the node ID number. The remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the device,
Each can be used as a unique address space. The last 28 bits store information such as identification of each device and designation of use conditions as a unique data area.

The above is the outline of the technology of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the technical portion which can be said to be a feature of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail. <Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus> FIG.
4 shows a sectional view of a serial bus cable.

In the 1394 serial bus, a power supply line is provided in a connection cable in addition to two twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply, a device whose voltage has dropped due to a failure, and the like.

The voltage of the power supply flowing in the power supply line is 8 to 40.
V and the current are specified as the maximum current DC 1.5A. <DS-Link encoding> DS-Link of data transfer format adopted in the 1394 serial bus
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the encoding method.

In a 1394 serial bus, DS-Lin
The k (Data / Strobe Link) coding method is adopted. This DS-link coding method is suitable for high-speed serial data communication, and its configuration requires two signal lines. The main data is sent to one of the twisted pairs, and the strobe signal is sent to the other twisted pair.

On the receiving side, the clock can be reproduced by taking the exclusive OR of the transmitted data and the strobe.

The advantages of using the DS-Link coding method include that the transfer efficiency is higher than other serial data transfer methods, and that the circuit scale of the controller LSI can be reduced because a PLL circuit is not required.
Since there is no need to send information indicating the idle state when there is no data to be transferred, it is possible to reduce the power consumption by putting the transceiver circuit of each device into the sleep state. <Sequence of Bus Reset> In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and recognized as a network configuration.

When there is a change in the network configuration, for example, a change occurs due to an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to insertion / removal of a node or power ON / OFF, etc., and it is necessary to recognize a new network configuration. Each detected node sends a bus reset signal on the bus,
Enter the mode to recognize the new network configuration. The method of detecting the change at this time is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage on the 1394 port substrate.

When a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer at the same time as receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. . After all the nodes finally detect the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated.

The bus reset is also started by the above-described start-up due to hardware detection due to cable insertion / removal, network abnormality, or the like, and also by directly issuing a command to the physical layer by host control from a protocol.

Further, when the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is suspended, the data transfer during this period is waited, and after the end, the data transfer is resumed under a new network configuration.

The above is the bus reset sequence. <Sequence of Node ID Determination> After the bus reset, each node starts an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 20, 21, and 22.

The flowchart of FIG. 20 shows a series of bus operations from the occurrence of a bus reset to the determination of the node ID and the start of data transfer.

First, as step S101, the occurrence of a bus reset in the network is constantly monitored. If a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of a node, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of the new network after the network is reset. As step S103,
When the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, step S
One route is determined as 104. Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

When the route is determined in step S104, the operation of setting a node ID for giving an ID to each node is performed in step S105. Node IDs are set in a predetermined node order, and I
The setting operation is repeatedly performed until D is given. When the IDs are finally set in all the nodes in step S106, the new network configuration is recognized in all the nodes. And data transfer is started.

In the state of step S107, a mode for monitoring the occurrence of a bus reset again is entered.
When the bus reset occurs, the setting operation from step S101 to step S106 is repeatedly performed.

The flow chart of FIG. 20 has been described above. The flow chart of FIG. 20 shows the portion from the bus reset to the route determination and the procedure from the route determination to the end of the ID setting in a more detailed flow chart. Are shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, respectively.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 21 will be described.

When a bus reset occurs in step S201, the network configuration is reset once. The occurrence of a bus reset is constantly monitored in step S201.

Next, as a first step of re-recognizing the network connection status reset in step S202, a flag indicating a leaf (node) is set for each device. Further, in step S203, each device checks how many ports it has are connected to other nodes.

According to the result of the number of ports in step S204, the number of undefined (parent-child relationship is not determined) ports is checked in order to start the declaration of the parent-child relationship. Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports = the number of undefined ports. However, as the parent-child relationship is determined, the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 changes.

First, immediately after the bus reset, only the leaves can declare the parent-child relationship first. A leaf can be known by checking the number of ports in step S203. In step S205, the leaf declares "I am a child and the other is a parent" to the node connected thereto, and ends the operation.

A node which has a plurality of ports in step S203 and is recognized as a branch has a number of undefined ports> 1 in step S204 immediately after the bus reset.
Moving to step S206, a flag of branch is first set, and in step S207, the process waits for acceptance of "parent" in the parent-child relationship declaration from the leaf.

The leaf declares a parent-child relationship, and the branch that has received the declaration in step S207 appropriately returns to step S20.
Confirm the number of undefined ports of 4 and find that the number of undefined ports is 1
If it becomes, it becomes possible to declare “I am a child” in step S205 for the node connected to the remaining port. After the second time, step S204
Even if the number of undefined ports is confirmed in step S207, for a branch having two or more ports, the process waits again in step S207 to accept a "parent" from a leaf or another branch.

Finally, if any one branch or exceptional leaf (because it did not operate quickly enough to make a child declaration) becomes zero as a result of the number of undefined ports in step S204, And the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become zero (all are determined as parent ports) is flagged as a root in step S208,
In step S209, the route is recognized.

Thus, the process from the bus reset shown in FIG. 21 to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between all the nodes in the network is completed.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 22 will be described.

First, in the sequence up to FIG.
Since the information of the flag of each node such as branch and route is set, it is separated based on this information in step S301.

As a task of assigning an ID to each node, the ID can be set first from the leaf. The IDs are set in ascending order of leaf → branch → route (node number = 0).

In step S302, the number N (N is a natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S303, each leaf requests the root to give an ID. If there are a plurality of such requests, the route performs arbitration (operation of arbitration into one) in step S304, and proceeds to step S3.
As 05, an ID number is given to one winning node, and a failure result is notified to the losing node. In step S306, the leaf whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again, and repeats the same operation. In step S307, the ID information of the node is transferred to all the nodes by broadcasting from the leaf whose ID has been acquired. One node I
When the broadcasting of the D information is completed, step S30
As 8, the number of remaining leaves is reduced by one. here,
In step S309, when the number of the remaining leaves is one or more, the operation from the ID request in step S303 is repeatedly performed, and finally, when all the leaves broadcast the ID information, N = 0 in step S309, and the next Moves to the branch ID setting.

The setting of the branch ID is performed in the same manner as in the leaf setting.

First, as step S310, the number M of branches existing in the network (M is a natural number) is set. Thereafter, in step S311, each branch requests the root to give an ID. On the other hand, the root performs arbitration as step S312, and gives the branch in order from the winning branch to the next youngest number that has been given to the leaf. In step S313, the root notifies the branch that issued the request of ID information or a failure result, and in step S314, the branch whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation. In step S315, the ID information of the node is broadcast and transferred to all the nodes from the branch where the ID has been obtained. When the broadcast of the one node ID information ends, the number of remaining branches is reduced by one in step S316. Here, step S
If the number of the remaining branches is 1 or more as 317, the operation from the ID request in step S311 is repeated.
The process is performed until all the branches finally broadcast the ID information. When all the branches have acquired the node IDs, M = 0 in step S317, and the branch ID acquisition mode ends.

At this point, since only the root node has not acquired the ID information at the end, step S
318 is set as the own ID number among the unassigned numbers, and the root I
Broadcast D information.

As described above, the procedure from the determination of the parent-child relationship to the setting of the IDs of all the nodes is completed as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation in the actual network shown in FIG. 13 will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

As an explanation of FIG. 13, (root) node B
Are directly connected to node A and node C,
Further, a node D is directly connected below the node C, and a node E and a node F are directly connected below the node D in a hierarchical structure. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, the root node, and the node ID will be described below.

After the bus reset, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node in order to recognize the connection status of each node. The parent and child can be said to be such that the parent is higher in the hierarchical structure and the child is lower.

In FIG. 13, it is the node A that first declared the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Basically, a node (called a leaf) having a connection to only one port of the node can declare a parent-child relationship. Since the user can first know that the connection is only one port, he / she recognizes that this is the edge of the network, and the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that has operated earlier in the network. In this way, the port on the side that has declared the parent-child relationship (node A between AB) is set as a child,
The port on the other end (node B) is set as the parent. Thus, the child-parent between the nodes AB and the child-parent between the nodes E-D.
The parent and the node FD are determined as child-parent.

[0156] Further, the layer goes up once more, and among nodes having a plurality of connection ports (referred to as branches), the parent-child relationship declaration is sequentially placed further higher than the node that received the parent-child relationship declaration from another node. I will go. In FIG. 13, first, after the parent-child relationship between the node D is determined between DE and between DF,
The parent-child relationship is declared for node C, and as a result, child-parent is determined between nodes D and C.

The node C which has received the parent-child relationship declaration from the node D becomes the node B connected to another port.
Declare a parent-child relationship. As a result, a child-parent is determined between the nodes C and B.

Thus, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 13 is formed, and the node B which has become the parent in all finally connected ports is determined as the root node. There is only one route in one network configuration.

In FIG. 13, node B is determined to be the root node. This is because node B, which has received a parent-child relationship declaration from node A, makes a parent-child relationship declaration to other nodes at a quick timing. If so, the root node may have moved to another node. That is, any node may become a root node depending on the transmission timing, and the root node is not always constant even in the same network configuration.

When the root node is determined, the process enters a mode for determining each node ID. Here, all nodes notify their determined node IDs to all other nodes (broadcast function).

The self ID information includes its own node number, information on the connected position, the number of ports it has, the number of ports it has connected, information on the parent-child relationship of each port, and the like.

As a procedure for assigning node ID numbers, first, nodes can be started from nodes (leaves) connected to only one port, and node numbers = 0, 1, 2,... .

The node that has obtained the node ID broadcasts information including the node number to each node. Thereby, it is recognized that the ID number is “assigned”.

When all the leaves have obtained their own node IDs, the next step is to move to a branch, and the node ID number following the leaf is assigned to each node. Similarly to the leaf, the node ID information is broadcast sequentially from the branch to which the node ID number is assigned, and finally, the root node broadcasts its own ID information. That is, the root always owns the maximum node ID number.

As described above, the assignment of the node IDs of the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization is completed. <Arbitration> In the 1394 serial bus, arbitration (arbitration) of the right to use the bus is always performed prior to data transfer. Since the 1394 serial bus is a logical bus network, each individually connected device relays the transferred signal to transmit the same signal to all devices in the network.
Arbitration is necessary to prevent packet collisions. This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

As a diagram for explaining arbitration, FIG. 14 (a) shows a diagram of a bus use request, and FIG. 14 (b) shows a diagram of a bus use permission, which will be described below.

When the arbitration starts, one or more nodes issue a bus use request to the parent node. Nodes C and F in FIG. 14A are nodes that have issued a bus use right request. The parent node (node A in FIG. 14) that has received the request further issues (relays) a bus use request toward the parent node. This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route.

The root node that has received the bus use request determines which node is to use the bus. This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node, and the node that has won the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG.
In (b), use permission is given to the node C, and use of the node F is rejected. A DP (data prefix) packet is sent to the node that lost the arbitration to notify that the node has been rejected. The rejected node use request waits until the next arbitration.

As described above, the node which has won the arbitration and obtained the bus use permission can start transferring data thereafter.

Here, a series of arbitration flows will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

In order for a node to be able to start data transfer, the bus must be idle. In order to recognize that the data transfer that has been performed earlier is completed and that the bus is currently idle, a predetermined idle time gap length that is individually set in each transfer mode (eg, an idle time gap length).
Sub-action gap)
Each node determines that its own transfer can be started.

In step S401, it is determined whether a predetermined gap length corresponding to each data to be transferred, such as Async data and Iso data, has been obtained. Unless the predetermined gap length is obtained, the request for the right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be made, so the process waits until the predetermined gap length is obtained.

If a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether there is data to be transferred. If so, a request for a bus use right is issued in step S403 to secure a bus for transfer. Emit to the route. At this time, the transmission of the signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while relaying each device in the network, as shown in FIG. If there is no data to be transferred in step S402,
Wait as it is.

Next, at step S404, when the route receives one or more bus use requests at step S403, the route checks the number of nodes that have issued use requests at step S405. If the selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes = 1 (the number of nodes that issued the use right request is one), the immediately subsequent bus use permission is obtained for that node. If the selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes> 1 (the number of nodes that have issued use requests), the root performs arbitration work in step S406 to determine one node to which use permission is given. This arbitration work is fair, and it is configured such that the same node is not always granted permission, but rights are equally given.

As step S407, step S40
At step 6, the node arbitrates the route from among the plurality of nodes that have issued the use request and selects one node whose use has been granted and another node that has lost. Here, for one node that has been arbitrated and has obtained use permission, or a node that has obtained use permission without arbitration with the number of use request nodes = 1 from the selection value in step S405, the route is set to that node as step S408. A permission signal is sent to it. The node that has received the permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately after receiving the permission signal. Further, the nodes for which the arbitration in step S406 has been defeated and the bus use has not been permitted are provided in step S406
At step 409, a DP (data prefix) packet indicating an arbitration failure is sent from the root, and the node that has received the packet returns to step S401 to issue a bus use request for performing transfer again, until the predetermined gap length is obtained. stand by.

The flow of arbitration has been described above with reference to the flowchart of FIG. <Asynchronous transfer> Asynchronous transfer is asynchronous transfer. FIG. 15 shows a temporal transition state in the asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in FIG. 15 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a fixed value, the node desiring to transfer determines that the bus can be used, and executes arbitration for acquiring the bus.

When the use of the bus is obtained by arbitration, data transfer is executed in the form of a packet.
After the data transfer, the receiving node sets ack (reception confirmation return code) of the reception result for the transferred data to a.
After a short gap of ck gap, the transfer is completed by returning and responding or sending a response packet. The acK is composed of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, and includes information such as success, busy status, and pending status, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, FIG. 16 shows an example of the packet format of the asynchronous transfer.

The packet has a header in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction. The header part has a destination node ID, a source node ID, a transfer data length and various data as shown in FIG. Code etc. are written,
A transfer is performed.

Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from a self-node to a partner node. The packet transferred from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but the address other than the address for itself is ignored, so that only one destination node reads the packet.

The above is the description of the asynchronous transfer. <Isochronous (synchronous) transfer> Isochronous transfer is synchronous transfer. This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is
This transfer mode is suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as O video data and audio data.

When the asynchronous transfer (asynchronous) is 1
Unlike the one-to-one transfer, the isochronous transfer is uniformly transferred from one transfer source node to all other nodes by the broadcast function.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in isochronous transfer.

The isochronous transfer is executed on the bus at regular intervals. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μS. The cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. A node called a cycle master transmits a cycle start packet, and after a transfer in a previous cycle is completed, a predetermined idle period (subaction gap) is passed, and then the start of this cycle is announced. Send a cycle start packet. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μS.

FIG. 17 shows channel A, channel B,
As indicated by the channel C, a plurality of types of packets can be separately transferred by being given channel IDs in one cycle. This allows real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node fetches only the data of the channel ID desired by itself. The channel ID does not represent the address of the transmission destination, but merely gives a logical number for the data. Therefore, the transmission of a certain packet is 1
From one source node to all other nodes,
It will be transferred by broadcast.

Prior to packet transmission in isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in asynchronous transfer. However, since the communication is not one-to-one communication as in the asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (reception confirmation reply code) in the isochronous transfer.

The iso gap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 17 indicates an idle period necessary for recognizing that the bus is empty before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free, and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, FIG. 18 shows an example of the packet format of the isochronous transfer, which will be described.

Each packet divided into each channel has a header in addition to a data portion and data CRC for error correction, and the header portion has a transfer data length and a channel number as shown in FIG. , And other various codes and a header CRC for error correction are written and transferred.

The above is the description of the isochronous transfer. <Bus Cycle> In an actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can coexist. FIG. 19 shows a temporal transition of the transfer state on the bus in which the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are mixed at that time.

The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. . Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 19, at the start of cycle #m, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node. As a result, each node adjusts the time, and after waiting for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), the node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 19, the channel e, the channel s, and the channel k are sequentially isochronously transferred.

After the operations from the arbitration to the packet transfer are repeatedly performed for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed.

When the idle time reaches the subaction gap where asynchronous transfer is possible, it is determined that the node wishing to perform asynchronous transfer can shift to execution of arbitration.

However, during the period in which the asynchronous transfer can be performed, there is a sub-action gap for starting the asynchronous transfer until the end of the isochronous transfer and the time (cycle synch) at which the next cycle start packet should be transferred. Only when they are given.

In cycle #m of FIG. 19, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) of the isochronous transfer for three channels and then the asynchronous transfer (including ack) are transferred. After this asynchronous packet 2, the time to start cycle m + 1 (cycle syn.
ch), the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

However, the time (cyc) at which the next cycle start packet should be transmitted during the asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation
If le synch) is reached, the cycle start packet of the next cycle is transmitted after waiting for an idle period after the transfer is completed, without forcibly interrupting the transfer. That is, when one cycle continues for 125 μS or more, it is assumed that the next cycle is shortened by that much from the reference 125 μS. Thus, the isochronous cycle is 125 μS
Can be exceeded or shortened based on the standard.

However, the isochronous transfer is always executed if necessary every cycle in order to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be transferred to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time. <Configuration of Printer System> FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a hybrid print system using the above-mentioned IEEE 1394 interface in the second embodiment.

Reference numeral 401 denotes a host computer (PC). In this embodiment, the host also serves as the host of the IEEE 1394 system, and is configured by the following (402 to 406).

Reference numeral 402 denotes an application program (client software) executed on the host computer. The user performs a print data output request to the printer body, various print settings, and operation of image data transmitted via IEEE 1394.

A spool file 403 spools the contents of the print job.

Reference numeral 404 denotes a driver of the hybrid printer connected to the host.

Reference numeral 405 denotes a printer processor, and a print driver generates print output data.

Reference numeral 406 denotes an IEEE 1394 host control unit for controlling communication with IEEE 1394. IEEE
The 1394 host control unit is connected to the IEEE 1394 interface.

Reference numeral 407 denotes a display unit such as a CRT or LCD connected to the host computer. In addition to displaying output image data (preview) and displaying applications, various settings at the time of printing and the progress of printing are displayed.

Reference numeral 408 denotes an operation unit including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like connected to the host computer. Thus, various settings and application operations are performed.

Reference numeral 409 denotes an IEEE1394 interface cable. This interface is prepared to connect a hybrid printer having a plurality of printer engines to one host, and the host can recognize each printer engine. USB, which is an interface having such a function, may be used instead.

Reference numeral 410 denotes a hybrid printer main body having a plurality of printer engines. This example has two different output engines, an ink jet printer engine and a laser beam printer engine.

Reference numeral 411 denotes an IEEE 1394 device control unit that controls communication with the IEEE 1394, and is a system interface logic unit that functions as an interface with the CPU, especially among hybrid printers.

[0210] A CPU 412 controls the entire hybrid printer 410.

[0211] A ROM 413 stores a program to be executed by the CPU 412.

Reference numeral 414 denotes a RAM for storing data used by the CPU 412 and various kinds of image data for each engine transmitted from the host.

A logic unit 415 generates print data for each engine (in this example, an ink jet printer and a laser beam printer) from the received data. In the first embodiment, this processing is performed by the printer driver of the host computer. In this example, the configuration is made by hardware logic.
It is also possible to perform software processing by a program stored in the OM. The details of the processing are the same as the processing in the driver according to the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A system bus 416 connects the constituent blocks 411 to 415 of the apparatus.

Reference numeral 417 denotes an engine of the ink jet printer. It is mainly used for outputting color images and high gradation images.

Reference numeral 418 denotes a laser beam printer engine. It is mainly used for outputting monochrome images and high-resolution images.

A fixing unit 419 is provided in the laser beam printer engine. It is composed of a pressure roller and a fixing roller or a fixing film, and fixes toner by heat and pressure generated. Further, the paper can be dried by passing the wet output paper after the output of the ink jet printer engine.

Reference numeral 420 denotes a double-sided unit. A mechanism is provided to enable double-sided printing by inverting the printing surface after output by each printer engine. The first side and the second side may be output by different printer engines or may be the same. Also, it is possible to print the same side twice without reversing, so that printing by a plurality of printer engines can be performed on the same side of the paper.

For example, when printing a document in which an image and a text are mixed in one page, first, the text is printed by a laser beam printer engine, and then the document is printed.
This time, the same surface is printed by the inkjet printer engine (printing with the inkjet printer engine is an image image). Thus, desired printing can be performed, but the order of printing may be reversed.

Further, even if a trouble occurs in any one of the plurality of printer engines of the hybrid printer body, the operable engine can perform printing by taking the place of the troubled engine.

The flow of data and the flow of processing are different from those of the first embodiment in that the selection of an output destination engine and the creation of print data for the engine are realized by a printer driver in the host computer. In the embodiment, this is realized on the printer side. That is, the operation of the host is up to step 307 in FIG. 3. After the spooling content is scanned, the data is sent to the printer as it is. On the printer side, instead of printing the data as it is, step 30 is performed on the received data.
The processing after 8 is performed in place of the printer processor, and printed out.

In this case, instead of spooling the data as a different page for each object in step 306, the object may be divided by a printer and printed as two pages. By doing so, the host does not need to be conscious of switching the engine depending on the object type, and can use the conventional printer driver.

With the above configuration, when printing a compound document including objects such as text, graphics, and images, as in the first embodiment,
The printer analyzes the contents of the print job, performs processing in accordance with the contents of the print job on a page-by-page basis or for each object in the page, and prints from a printer that has multiple printer engines. Printing and double-sided printing are possible.

[0224]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
Or MPU) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, and CD.
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) Performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The case where the CPU of the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing.

[0230]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Printing can be performed using an engine suitable for the content of the print data. For this reason, an image can be formed with high quality image quality, and high-speed printing that shortens the total printing time can be realized.

Further, according to the present invention, the user can be released from complicated operations to obtain a desired output, and can be realized by simple operations.

In addition, double-sided printing is possible, and by passing through a fixing device, it is possible to print out without paper wetness even at the time of output from an ink jet printer engine.

Further, since a plurality of printer engines are provided in one main body, even if some of the engines have troubles, the output by the remaining engine is possible.

[0234]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a hybrid print system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data flow of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a hybrid print system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an address space in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a DS-Link encoding system of a data transfer format adopted in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical structure of nodes.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating arbitration of a bus.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an asynchronous transfer packet format.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a temporal transition state in isochronous transfer.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of a packet format for isochronous transfer.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state of a temporal transition of a transfer state on a bus in which isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer are mixed.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a procedure from bus reset to data transfer.

FIG. 21 is a detailed flowchart of a procedure from bus reset to route determination.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a procedure from route determination to completion of ID setting.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an arbitration procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Host Computer 102 Application Program 103 Printer Driver for Output Management 104 Spool File 105 Printer Driver 106 Printer Processor 107 USB Host Control Unit 108 Display Unit 109 Operation Unit 110 USB Interface 111 Hybrid Printer 112 USB Device Control Unit 113 CPU 114 ROM 115 RAM 116 Bus 117 for connecting the constituent blocks 112 to 115 of this apparatus 117 Inkjet printer engine 118 Laser printer engine 119 Fuser 120 Double-sided unit (mechanism)

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A printer control device connected to a printer having a plurality of engine units, wherein an optimum type of engine unit is determined according to the content of print data, and data to be sent for each engine unit is generated. A printer control device, comprising: a generating unit; and a transmitting unit that transmits generated data to each of the corresponding engine units. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates data to be sent to the engine unit in units of pages. If one page includes data optimal for different types of engine units, the unit generates the data. 2. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the data is generated as an independent page for each of the data optimal for the engine unit of the type (1). 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates data for each type of engine unit optimal for the print data in monochrome or color. Printer control device. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates data for each type of engine unit optimal for the print data in accordance with which object among text, graphics, and images. Item 2. The printer control device according to Item 1. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recognition unit that recognizes a type of an engine unit of the printer, wherein the generation unit generates data in accordance with the engine type recognized by the recognition unit. 5. The printer control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generating means generates data suitable for other engine units when there is a malfunctioning engine among said plurality of engine units. The printer control device according to any one of the above. 7. A plurality of engine units, generating means for determining an optimum type of engine unit according to the content of print data and generating data for each engine unit, and generating the generated data from a corresponding engine unit. A printer device comprising: output means for outputting. 8. The generating means generates data to be sent to the engine unit in page units. If one page includes data optimal for different types of engine units, the page unit generates the data. 8. The printer device according to claim 7, wherein each of the data optimum for the engine unit of the type is generated as an independent page. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the generation unit generates data for each type of engine unit optimal for the print data in accordance with whether the print data is monochrome or color. Printer device. 10. The printing device according to claim 8, wherein the print data is
8. Data is generated for each type of engine unit that is optimal for the object according to which object among text, graphics, and images.
The printer device according to 1. 11. The printer according to claim 7, further comprising a recognition unit that recognizes a type of an engine unit of the printer, wherein the generation unit generates data according to the engine type recognized by the recognition unit. 11. The printer according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. The system according to claim 7, wherein said generating means generates data suitable for other engine units when there is a malfunctioning engine among said plurality of engine units. The printer device according to any one of the above. 13. The printer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of engine units include an electrophotographic engine unit and an ink jet engine unit. 14. A printer system including a printer having a plurality of engine units, comprising: a generation unit that determines an optimum type of engine unit according to the content of print data, and generates data to be sent for each engine unit. A printer system, comprising: sending means for sending generated data for each corresponding engine unit; and output means for printing out the data sent by the sending unit by a corresponding engine unit. 15. The generating means generates data to be sent to the engine unit in page units. If one page includes data optimal for different types of engine units, the page unit generates the data. 15. The printer system according to claim 14, wherein the data is generated as an independent page for each of the data optimal for the engine unit of the type (1). 16. The printer system according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of engine units include an electrophotographic engine unit and an inkjet engine unit. 17. A printer control method for controlling a printer having a plurality of engine units, comprising: determining an optimum type of engine unit according to the content of print data; and generating data to be transmitted for each engine unit. And a sending step of sending the generated data to each of the corresponding engine units. 18. The generating step generates data to be sent to the engine unit on a page basis. If one page includes data optimal for different types of engine units, the page is converted to the page. 18. The printer control method according to claim 17, wherein the data is generated as an independent page for each piece of data optimum for the engine unit of the type. 19. The method according to claim 19, wherein the generating step includes:
18. The printer control method according to claim 17, wherein data is generated for each type of engine unit optimal for monochrome or color. 20. The printing method according to claim 19, wherein the print data includes:
The data is generated for each type of engine unit that is most suitable for the object, which is one of text, graphics, and an image.
8. The printer control method according to 7. 21. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising a recognition step of recognizing a type of an engine unit of the printer, wherein the generation step generates data according to the engine type recognized in the recognition step. 21. The printer control method according to any one of claims 20 to 20. 22. The method according to claim 17, wherein in the generating step, when there is a malfunctioning engine among the plurality of engine units, data suitable for the other engine units is generated. The printer control method according to any one of the above.