JPH10322373A - Data transfer device, data transfer system/method, picture processor and record medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer data by means of a 1394 serial bus by providing a transfer means transferring data of a prescribed unit with a target device based on buffer information contained in a response and retransmitting a part of data in the prescribed unit during transfer at the generation timing of bus resetting when bus resetting is generated. SOLUTION: The 1394 serial bus is constituted of layer structure. A cable 813 for the 1394 serial bus is connected to a connector port 810 and a physical layer 811 and a link layer 812, which are constituted of a hardware part 800, exist on the port. A bus reset signal is transmitted from the prescribed node, the physical layers 811 of the respective nodes receive the signal and transmit the generation of bus resetting to the link layer 812 and transmit the signal to the other node. All the nodes receive the bus resetting signal and the sequence of bus resetting is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a data transfer device, a data transfer system and method, an image processing device, and a recording medium, for example, a digital camera such as a digital camera via a serial interface defined by IEEE1394 or the like. The present invention relates to a data transfer device, a data transfer system and its method, an image processing device, and a recording medium when an image supply device is directly connected to an image processing device such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer is a personal computer (PC) as a host device through a parallel or serial interface such as Centronics or RS232C.
Is connected to

[0003] Digital equipment, which is an image supply device such as a scanner, a digital still camera, and a digital video camera, is also connected to the PC. The image data captured by each digital device is temporarily captured to a hard disk on a PC, processed by application software on the PC, converted to print data for a printer, and passed through the above interface. And sent to the printer.

In the above-described system, driver software for controlling each digital device, printer, and the like exists independently on the PC, and image data output from the digital device is used on the PC by the driver software. It is stored as data in a format that is easy and easy to display. The stored data is converted into print data by an image processing method that takes into account the image characteristics of the input device and the image characteristics of the output device.

[0005] Today, with a new interface such as the interface defined by IEEE1394 (hereinafter referred to as "1394 serial bus"), it is also possible to directly connect an image supply device and a printer. When connecting an image supply device and a printer directly via the 1394 serial bus, the FCP
A method of including print data in the operand of (Function Control Protocol) is conceivable. In the 1394 serial bus, a method of providing a register area for data transfer and writing data in the register area to perform data transfer may be considered.

When a node is added or deleted from the 1394 serial bus, a bus reset for reconfiguring the bus is performed.

[0007]

However, the above technique has the following problems. As described above, the image data output from the image supply device is
Therefore, even if the image supply device is directly connected to the printer, printing cannot be performed without a PC. There is a printer called a video printer that prints image data output from a digital video camera directly.However, a general-purpose video printer that can only be connected between specific models and can be used directly with many image supply devices is available. Absent. That is, it is not possible to directly send image data from an image supply device to a printer and print it by utilizing a function of directly connecting devices, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus or the like.

The above-described method in which the image supply device and the printer are directly connected by the 1394 serial bus and the print data is included in the operand of the FCP has a problem that the control command and the print data cannot be separated. There is also a problem that the transfer efficiency is low because a response is always required. In the above-described method of providing a register area for data transfer, a process for determining whether data can be written to the register area is required for each data transfer. Therefore, there is a problem that the overhead of this determination processing is increased and the transfer efficiency is also lowered.

Further, when the above-described bus reset occurs, there arises a problem that data being transferred is lost and information indicating that the data has been received cannot be transmitted correctly.

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems individually or collectively, and directly connects a host device and a target device by a 1394 serial bus or the like, and converts image data sent from the host device directly to the target device. An object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system and a method thereof, an image processing device, and a recording medium suitable for causing a target device to perform processing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system and its method, an image processing device, and a recording medium which can separate a control command and data and have high transfer efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system and a method thereof, an image processing device, and a recording medium that can perform correct data transfer even when a bus reset occurs.

[0013]

The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

[0014] A data transfer device according to the present invention is a data transfer device connected to a serial bus, wherein command transmission means for transmitting a command to a target device, and reception for receiving a response to the command returned from the target device. Means, transfer means for transferring a predetermined unit of data to and from the target device based on buffer information included in the response, and when a bus reset occurs, the data is being transferred at the bus reset occurrence timing. Retransmitting means for retransmitting a part of the data of the predetermined unit.

A data transfer device connected to a serial bus, the command receiving device receiving a command sent from a host device; a sending device sending a response to the command to the host device; Based on the buffer information contained in
A transfer unit configured to transfer a predetermined unit of data to and from the host device; and, when a bus reset occurs, re-receiving a part of the predetermined unit of data that was being transferred at the timing of the bus reset. Re-receiving means.

A data transfer method according to the present invention is a data transfer method used between a host device directly connected to a serial bus and a target device, wherein a command is sent from the host device to the target device. A response to the command is returned from the target device to the host device, and a predetermined unit of data is sent from the host device to the target device based on buffer information included in the response. A part of the data of the predetermined unit which was being transferred at the generation timing is retransmitted.

A data transfer system according to the present invention is a data transfer system for transferring data via a serial bus, in which a command is transmitted from a host device to a target device, and the target device transmits the command to the host device in response to the command. Communication means for returning a response, transfer means for performing transfer of a predetermined unit of data between the host device and the target device based on buffer information included in the response, and when a bus reset occurs, Retransmitting means for retransmitting a part of the data of the predetermined unit which was being transferred at the timing of the occurrence of the bus reset.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention is a data transfer method used between a host device and a target device directly connected by a serial bus, wherein the host device sends a command from the host device to the target device, A response to the command is returned from the target device to the host device, and a predetermined unit of data is sent from the host device to the target device based on buffer information included in the response. The image data of the predetermined unit is transmitted to the target device by a data transfer method for retransmitting a part of the data of the predetermined unit which was being transferred at the generation timing.

A data transfer method used between a host device and a target device directly connected by a serial bus, wherein a command is sent from the host device to the target device, and the command is transmitted from the target device to the host device. A response to the command is returned, a predetermined unit of data is sent from the host device to the target device based on the buffer information included in the response, and when a bus reset occurs, the data is being transferred at the timing of the bus reset. Processing the predetermined unit of image data received from the host device by a data transfer method of retransmitting a part of the predetermined unit of data.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a data transfer method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a general configuration example of a system to which the present invention is applied, in which a PC 103, a printer 102 and a digital video camera (DVC) 101 are connected using a 1394 serial bus. Therefore, the outline of the 1394 serial bus will be described in advance.

[0022]

[Overview of IEEE1394] With the advent of home digital VTRs and digital video discs (DVDs), video data and audio data (hereinafter collectively referred to as "AV data")
For example, there is a need to transfer data with a large amount of information in real time. To transfer AV data to a PC or other digital devices in real time, an interface having a high-speed data transfer capability is required. 13 interfaces developed from such a viewpoint
94 serial bus.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system is equipped with devices A to H, between AB, AC, BD, DE, CF
, CG, and CH are connected by a 1394 serial bus twisted pair cable. Examples of these devices A to H include a host computer device such as a personal computer, and computer peripheral devices. Computer peripherals include digital VCRs, DVD players, digital still cameras, storage devices using media such as hard disks and optical disks, CRT and LCD monitors, tuners, image scanners, film scanners,
It covers all computer peripherals such as printers, MODEMs, and terminal adapters (TAs). The recording method of the printer may be any method such as an electrophotographic method using a laser beam or an LED, an inkjet method, an ink melting type or sublimation type thermal transfer method, and a thermal recording method.

The connection between the devices can be a mixture of the daisy chain system and the node branching system, and a highly flexible connection can be made. Each device has an ID, and recognizes each other to form one network within a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. For example, a single 13
By simply daisy-chaining with a 94 serial bus cable, each device plays the role of relay, so that one network can be configured as a whole.

The 1394 serial bus uses Plug and Play.
It has a function that automatically recognizes the device by simply connecting the 1394 serial bus cable to the device and recognizes the connection status. Also, in the system shown in FIG. 2, when a device is removed from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset (the network configuration information up to that point is reset) and the bus is automatically reset. Rebuilding a good network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer speed of the 1394 serial bus is defined as 100/200/400 Mbps, and the device having the higher transfer speed supports the lower transfer speed.
Compatibility is maintained. As the data transfer mode, asynchronous (A
synchronous) transfer mode (ATM) and synchronous (Isochronous) transfer mode for transferring synchronous data such as real-time AV data. In each cycle (usually 125 μs / cycle), the asynchronous data and synchronous data follow the transfer of the cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of the cycle,
Synchronous data is transferred in a mixed manner within a cycle while giving priority to the transfer of the data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the 1394 serial bus. The 1394 serial bus has a layer structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector port 810 is connected to a connector at the end of a cable 813 for a 1394 serial bus. Above the connector port 810, the hardware section 8
00 physical layer 811 and link layer 812
There is. The hardware unit 800 is configured by an interface chip, of which the physical layer 811 performs coding and connection-related control and the like, and the link layer 812 performs packet transfer and cycle time control and the like.

The transaction layer 814 of the firmware unit 801 manages data to be transferred (transacted), and issues Read, Write, and Lock commands. The management layer 815 of the firmware unit 801 manages the connection status and ID of each device connected to the 1394 serial bus, and manages the network configuration. The above hardware and firmware are the substantial configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The application layer 816 of the software unit 802 differs depending on the software used.
How data is transferred on the interface is defined by a protocol such as a printer or an AV / C protocol.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an address space in the 1394 serial bus. Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus must have a unique 64-bit address for the node. This address is stored in the memory of the device, and by constantly recognizing the node address of itself or the other party, it is possible to perform data communication specifying the other party.

The addressing of the 1394 serial bus is based on the IE
The address is set according to the EE1212 standard. In the address setting, the first 10 bits are used for specifying a bus number, and the next 6 bits are used for specifying a node ID.

The 48-bit address used in each device is also divided into 20 bits and 28 bits.
It is used with a structure of 256 MB. 0 to 0xFFFFD of the first 20-bit address space is memory space, 0x
FFFFE is called a private space, and 0xFFFFF is called a register space. The private space is an address that can be used freely within the device, and the register space stores information common to devices connected to the bus and is used for communication between the devices.

The first 512 bytes of the register space have a CSR
The register (CSR core), which is the core of the architecture,
The next 512 bytes contain serial bus registers, the next 1024 bytes contain configuration ROMs, and the rest contain unit-specific registers in unit space.

In general, to simplify the design of heterogeneous bus systems, nodes should only use the first 2048 bytes of the initial unit space, which results in the CSR core, serial bus registers, configuration ROM and It is desirable that the first 2048 bytes of the unit space be composed of 4096 bytes.

The above is the outline of the 1394 serial bus.
Next, the features of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

[0036]

[Details of 1394 Serial Bus] [Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a cross section of a cable for the 1394 serial bus. The 1394 serial bus cable has a power supply line in addition to the two twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply or a device whose voltage has been reduced due to a failure or the like. The voltage of the DC power supplied from the power supply line is regulated to 8 to 40 V, and the current is regulated to a maximum current of 1.5 A. In the standard called DV cable, it is composed of four wires omitting a power supply line.

[DS-Link Method] FIG. 6 shows a data transfer method of DS-Link (Data / Strob) adopted in the 1394 serial bus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an (e Link) method.

The DS-Link system is suitable for high-speed serial data communication and requires two sets of signal lines. In other words, the data signal is transmitted by one of the two pairs of twisted pairs, and the strobe signal is transmitted by the other pair. The receiving side has a feature that a clock can be generated by taking an exclusive OR of this data signal and the strobe signal. Therefore, when using the DS-Link method, there is no need to mix a clock signal into the data signal, so transfer efficiency is higher than other serial data transfer methods, and a clock signal can be generated, so a phase locked loop (PLL)
The circuit becomes unnecessary, and the circuit size of the controller LSI can be reduced accordingly. Further, since there is no need to send information indicating the idle state when there is no data to be transferred, the transceiver circuit of each device can be put into the sleep state, and power consumption can be reduced. .

[Bus Reset Sequence] Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus has a node ID.
Are given, and are recognized as nodes constituting the network. For example, when the number of nodes increases or decreases due to connection / disconnection of network devices or power on / off, that is, there is a change in the network configuration, and when it is necessary to recognize a new network configuration, each node that detects the change will be To a mode for recognizing a new network configuration. The detection of the change in the network configuration is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage at the connector port 810.

When a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer 811 of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer 812 upon receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. To communicate. After all the nodes finally receive the bus reset signal, the bus reset sequence is started. Note that the bus reset sequence is started when a cable is connected or disconnected, or when hardware detects a network error or the like, and is also provided by directly giving an instruction to the physical layer 811 such as host control using a protocol. Is activated. When the bus reset sequence is activated, the data transfer
The bus is temporarily suspended, waited during the bus reset, and resumed under the new network configuration after the bus reset is completed.

[Node ID Determination Sequence] 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 shown in FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence from when the bus reset signal is generated until the node ID is determined and data transfer can be performed. Each node constantly monitors the occurrence of a bus reset signal in step S101, and when a bus reset signal is generated, moves to step S102, and is directly connected to each other to obtain a new network configuration in a state where the network configuration is reset. A parent-child relationship is declared between nodes. Step S102 is repeated until it is determined in step S103 that the parent-child relationship has been determined between all nodes.

When the parent-child relationship is determined, the process proceeds to step S104, where a root node is determined. In step S105, a node ID setting operation for giving an ID to each node is performed. Node IDs are set in order from the root node to the specified node,
Step S105 is repeated until it is determined in step S106 that IDs have been assigned to all nodes.

When the setting of the node ID is completed, the new network configuration is recognized by all the nodes, so that data transfer between the nodes can be performed.
The data transfer is started in step S107, and the sequence returns to step S101, and the occurrence of the bus reset signal is monitored again.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed example from the monitoring of the bus reset signal (S101) to the determination of the root node (S104), and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the node ID setting (S105, S106).

In FIG. 8, the generation of a bus reset signal is monitored in step S201, and when the bus reset signal is generated, the network configuration is reset once. Next, in step S202, as a first step of re-recognizing the reset network configuration, each device resets the flag FL with data indicating a leaf node. Then, in step S203, each device checks the number of ports, that is, the number of other nodes connected to itself, and in step S204,
In accordance with the result of step S203, the number of undefined (parent-child relationship is not determined) ports is checked in order to start declaring the parent-child relationship. Here, the number of undefined ports is
Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports is equal to the number of ports. However, as the parent-child relationship is determined, the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 decreases.

Only the actual leaf node can declare the parent-child relationship immediately after the bus reset. Whether the node is a leaf node can be known from the result of checking the number of ports in step S203. That is, if the number of ports is "1", the node is a leaf node. Leaf node, step S205
Then, a parent-child relationship declaration is made for the connection partner node, "I am a child, and the partner is a parent," and the operation ends.

On the other hand, the node whose number of ports is "2 or more" in step S203, that is, the branch node, is "undefined port number>1" immediately after the bus reset, so that the process proceeds to step S206 and branches to the flag FL. The data indicating the node is set, and the process waits for the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node in step S207. A parent-child relationship is declared from another node,
The branch node receiving it returns to step S204 and checks the number of undefined ports, but if the number of undefined ports is “1”, the other nodes connected to the remaining ports are checked in step S205. You can declare a parent-child relationship of "I am a child and my partner is a parent." Further, the branch node having the number of undefined ports “2 or more” is determined in step S207.
And wait for another node to declare the parent-child relationship again.

When the number of undefined ports of any one of the branch nodes (or, in exceptional cases, a leaf node that has been able to declare a child but did not operate quickly) becomes “0”, the parent-child relationship of the entire network is reached. Is the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become "0", that is, the node that has been determined to be the parent of all nodes, sets data indicating the root node to the flag FL in step S208, In step S209, it is recognized as a root node.

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

Next, a procedure for assigning an ID to each node will be described. First, an ID can be set at a leaf node. Then, an ID is set in the order of leaf → branch → root in ascending order (node number: 0).

In step S301 of FIG. 9, the process branches to processing according to the type of node, that is, leaf, branch, and route, based on the data set in the flag FL.

First, in the case of a leaf node, step S302
After setting the number (natural number) of leaf nodes existing in the network in the variable N, in step S303, each leaf node requests a node number from the root node.
If there are multiple requests, the root node determines in step S304
In step S305, a node number is given to one node, and the other nodes are notified of a result indicating that acquisition of the node number has failed.

The leaf node from which the node number could not be obtained by the determination in step S306 repeats the request for the node number again in step S303. On the other hand, in step S307, the leaf nodes that have been able to obtain the node numbers notify all the nodes by broadcasting ID information including the obtained node numbers. When the broadcast of the ID information ends, in step S308, the variable N indicating the number of leaves is decremented. Then, the procedure of steps S303 to S308 is repeated until the variable N becomes “0” by the determination of step S309, and after the ID information of all leaf nodes has been broadcasted, the process proceeds to step S310, where the branch node
Move on to ID setting.

The setting of the ID of the branch node is performed in substantially the same manner as that of the leaf node. First, in step S310, the number (natural number) of branch nodes existing in the network is set as a variable M
After that, in step S311, each branch node requests a node number from the root node. In response to this request, the root node performs arbitration in step S312, assigns a small number following the leaf node to one branch node in step S313, and indicates that the branch node that could not obtain the node number indicates an acquisition failure Notify.

The branch node that has determined that the acquisition of the node number has failed in step S314 repeats the request for the node number again in step S311. On the other hand, in step S315, the branch node that has obtained the node number
All nodes are notified by broadcasting ID information including the acquired node number. When the broadcast of the ID information ends, in step S316, a variable M representing the number of branches
Is decremented. Then, according to the determination in step S317, the procedure from steps S311 to S316 is repeated until the variable M becomes “0”, and after the ID information of all branch nodes is broadcast, the process proceeds to step S318, where the ID of the root node is Move on to settings.

At this point, since the root node is the only node that has not finally obtained an ID, step S3
At 18, the lowest number not assigned to other nodes is set as its own node number, and at step S319 the root node
Broadcast ID information.

Thus, the procedure up to setting the IDs of all the nodes is completed. Next, a specific procedure of a sequence for determining a node ID will be described using the network example shown in FIG.

In the network shown in FIG. 10, a node A and a node C are directly connected below a node B which is a root, a node D is directly connected below a node C, and a node E and a node D are directly below a node D. F has a directly connected hierarchical structure. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, the root node, and the node ID is as follows.

After the bus reset occurs, in order to recognize the connection status of each node, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node. Here, the parent and child means that the upper level of the hierarchical structure is “parent” and the lower level is “child”. In FIG. 10, it is the node A that first declared the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. As described above, the declaration of the parent-child relationship can be started from a node (leaf) to which only one port is connected. This means that if the number of ports is "1", the end of the network tree, that is, the leaf node is recognized, and the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that operates first among those leaf nodes. Become. In this way, the port of the node that has declared the parent-child relationship is set as the “child” of the two nodes connected to each other, and the node of the partner node is set as the “parent”.
Is set. Thus, between nodes AB, between nodes ED,
A "child-parent" relationship is set between the nodes FD.

Further, the hierarchy goes up by one, and the parent-child relationship is declared to the higher-order node sequentially from the node having a plurality of ports, that is, the node that has received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node among the branch nodes. In Figure 10, first the node
After the parent-child relationship between DE and DF is determined, node D declares a parent-child relationship to node C, and as a result, node DC
A "child-parent" relationship is set between them. Node C, which has received a parent-child relationship from node D, declares a parent-child relationship to node B connected to another port, thereby establishing a "child-parent" relationship between nodes CB. You.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 10 is formed, and the parent node B in all finally connected ports is determined as the root node. Note that there is only one root node in one network configuration. In addition, if the node B that has declared the parent-child relationship from the node A promptly declares the parent-child relationship to another node, there is a possibility that another node such as the node C becomes the root node. . That is, depending on the timing at which the declaration of the parent-child relationship is transmitted, there is a possibility that any node may become the root node, and even if the network configuration is the same, a specific node does not always become the root node.

When the root node is determined, each node ID
Enter the decision mode. All nodes have a broadcast function of notifying the determined ID information to all other nodes. Note that the ID information is broadcast as ID information including a node number, information on a connected position, the number of ports having the number, the number of connected ports, information on the parent-child relationship of each port, and the like.

The assignment of the node numbers starts from the leaf nodes as described above, and the node numbers are 0, 1, 2,.
Is assigned. Then, by broadcasting the ID information, it is recognized that the node number has been assigned.

When all the leaf nodes have acquired the node numbers, the process moves to the branch node, and the node numbers following the leaf nodes are assigned. Like the leaf node, the branch node to which the node number is assigned is
The ID information is broadcast, and finally the root node broadcasts its own ID information. Therefore, the root node always owns the highest node number.

As described above, the ID setting of the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is constructed, and the bus initialization operation is completed.

[Control Information for Node Management] As a basic function of the CSR architecture for performing node management, a CSR core shown in FIG. 4 exists on a register. The locations and functions of these registers are shown in FIG. 11, where the offsets are relative to 0xFFFFF0000000.

In the CSR architecture, 0xFFFFF0000200
And registers related to the serial bus.
FIG. 12 shows the locations and functions of these registers.

[0069] Information about the node resources of the serial bus is arranged at a location starting from 0xFFFFF0000800. FIG. 13 shows the positions and functions of these registers.

The CSR architecture has a configuration ROM to represent the function of each node.
This ROM has a minimum format and a general format, 0xFFFFF000040
Arranged from 0. In the minimum format, only the vendor ID is represented as shown in FIG. 14, and this vendor ID is a globally unique value represented by 24 bits.

The general format has information on nodes in the format as shown in FIG. 15. In this case, the vendor ID can be stored in a root directory (root_directory). Also, a bus info block
And the root leaf have a 64-bit globally unique device number, including the vendor ID. This device number is used for continuously recognizing a node after a reconfiguration such as a bus reset.

[Serial Bus Management] The protocol of the 1394 serial bus is, as shown in FIG.
11, link layer 812 and transaction layer 814
It is composed of Among them, bus management provides basic functions for node control and bus resource management based on the CSR architecture.

A node that performs bus management (hereinafter referred to as a “bus management node”) exists solely on the same bus and provides a management function to other nodes on the serial bus. Control, performance optimization, power management, transmission speed management, configuration management, etc.

The bus management function is roughly divided into three functions: a bus manager, a synchronous (isochronous) resource manager, and a node control. Node control is CS
R is a management function that enables communication between nodes in the physical layer 811, the link layer 812, the transaction layer 814, and the application. The synchronous resource manager is a management function necessary for performing synchronous data transfer on the serial bus, and manages the transfer bandwidth of synchronous data and the assignment of channel numbers. To perform this management, a bus management node is dynamically selected from nodes having a synchronous resource manager function after the bus is initialized.

In a configuration in which a bus management node does not exist on the bus, a node having a synchronous resource manager function performs part of the bus management such as power management and cycle master control. Further, the bus management is a management function for performing a service of providing a bus control interface to an application. The control interface includes a serial bus control request (SB_CONTROL.request) and a serial bus event control confirmation (SB_CONTROL.confirmation). ), And serial bus event notification (SB_EVENT.indication).

The serial bus control request is used when an application requests the bus management node from the application for bus reset, bus initialization, bus status information, and the like. The serial bus event control confirmation is notified to the application from the bus management node as a result of the serial bus control request. The serial bus event notification is for notifying an event generated asynchronously from the bus management node to the application.

[Data Transfer Protocol] In the data transfer of the 1394 serial bus, synchronous data (synchronous packets) that need to be transmitted periodically and asynchronous data (asynchronous packets) for which data transmission / reception at an arbitrary timing is allowed are simultaneously performed. It exists and guarantees the real-time property of synchronous data. In data transfer, prior to the transfer, a bus use right is requested, and bus arbitration for obtaining a bus use permission is performed.

In the asynchronous transfer, the transmitting node ID and the receiving node ID are transmitted as packet data together with the transfer data. When the receiving node confirms its own node ID and receives the packet, it returns an acknowledge signal to the transmitting node, thereby completing one transaction.

In the synchronous transfer, the transmitting node requests a synchronous channel together with the transmission speed, and the channel ID is sent as packet data together with the transfer data. The receiving node confirms the desired channel ID and receives the data packet. The required number of channels and transmission speed are determined by the application layer 816.

These data transfer protocols are defined by three layers: a physical layer 811, a link layer 812, and a transaction layer 814. The physical layer 811 performs a physical / electrical interface with a bus, automatic recognition of node connection, bus arbitration of a bus use right between nodes, and the like. Link layer 81
2 performs cycle control for addressing, data check, packet transmission / reception, and synchronous transfer. The transaction layer 814 performs processing related to asynchronous data. Hereinafter, processing in each layer will be described.

[Physical Layer] Next, bus arbitration in the physical layer 811 will be described.

The 1394 serial bus always performs arbitration of the right to use the bus prior to data transfer. 13
94 Each device connected to the serial bus forms a logical bus network that transmits the signal to all devices in the network by relaying the signals transmitted on the network. Bus arbitration is necessary in order to prevent this. This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a request for the right to use the bus.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating permission to use a bus. When the bus arbitration starts, one or a plurality of nodes respectively request the right to use the bus toward the parent node.
In FIG. 16, nodes C and F request a bus use right. The parent node that received this request (the node
A) further requests the right to use the bus toward the parent node, thereby relaying the request for the right to use the bus by the node F. This request is finally delivered to the arbitrating root node.

The root node having received the request for the right to use the bus determines which node is to be given the right to use the bus. This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node, and the node that wins the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG. 17 shows a state in which the node C is given a bus use permission, and the node F request for the bus use right is rejected.

The root node sends a DP (data prefix) packet to the node that has lost the bus arbitration to notify that the request for the right to use the bus has been rejected. The request for the right to use the bus of the node that has lost the bus arbitration is kept waiting until the next bus arbitration.

As described above, the node that has won the arbitration and obtained the permission to use the bus can thereafter start data transfer. Here, a series of flows of the bus arbitration 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 confirm that the data transfer started earlier has been completed and the bus is currently in an idle state, a predetermined idle time gap length (for example, a subaction gap) that is individually set in each transfer mode is required. , And when a predetermined gap length is detected, each node determines that the bus is in an idle state. Each node performs step S4
At 01, it is determined whether or not a predetermined gap length corresponding to data to be transferred, such as asynchronous data and synchronous data, has been detected. Unless a predetermined gap length is detected, it is not possible to request the necessary bus right to start the transfer.

When a predetermined gap length is detected in step S401, each node determines whether there is data to be transferred in step S402, and if so, in step S403, routes a signal requesting the right to use the bus to the root. Make an outgoing call. The signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the root node while being relayed to each device in the network, as shown in FIG. If it is determined in step S402 that there is no data to be transferred, the process returns to step S401.

When the root node receives at least one signal requesting the right to use the bus in step S404, the root node proceeds to step S4.
Check the number of nodes that requested the usage right in 05. Step S4
As a result of the determination at 05, if there is only one node that has requested the right to use, that node is given the bus use permission immediately after that. If there are a plurality of nodes that have requested the use right, an arbitration operation is performed in step S406 to immediately reduce the number of nodes to which the bus use permission is immediately made to one. This arbitration work does not always grant the bus use permission only to the same node, but equally gives the bus use permission (fair arbitration).

The processing of the root node is as follows in step S407.
The process branches depending on one node that has won the arbitration in step S406 and another node that has lost the arbitration. If one node has won the arbitration or one node has requested the right to use the bus, a permission signal indicating permission to use the bus is sent to the node in step S408. The node receiving this permission signal starts transferring data (packet) to be transferred immediately (step S41).
0). In addition, the node that has lost the arbitration indicates in step S409 that the request for the right to use the bus has been rejected.
A DP (data prefix) packet is sent. The processing of the node that has received the DP packet returns to step S401 again to request the right to use the bus. The process of the node that has completed the data transfer in step S410 also returns to step S401.

[Transaction Layer] There are three types of transactions: read transactions, write transactions, and lock transactions.

In a read transaction, an initiator (request node) reads data from a specific address in a memory of a target (response node). In a write transaction, an initiator writes data to a specific address of a target memory. In the lock transaction, reference data and update data are transferred from the initiator to the target. The reference data is combined with the data of the target address to become a designated address indicating a specific address of the target. Then, the data at the specified address is updated with the update data.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a request / response protocol for each command of read, write and lock based on the CSR architecture in the transaction layer 814. The request, notification, response and confirmation shown in FIG. Is a unit.

Transaction request (TR_DATA.request)
Is the transfer of the packet to the response node, the transaction notification (TR_DATA.indication) is the notification that the request has arrived at the response node, the transaction response (TR_DATA.response) is the transmission of the acknowledgment, and the transaction confirmation (TR_DATA.confirmation) is the reception of the acknowledgment It is.

[Link Layer] FIG. 20 shows the link layer 812.
Is a link request (LK_DATA.requeue) requesting transfer of a packet to a response node.
st), a link notification (LK_DATA.indication) that notifies the response node of packet reception, and a link response (LK_DATA.respons) for acknowledgment transmission from the response node.
e), link confirmation of acknowledgment transmission of request node (LK_DA
TA.confirmation) is divided into service units. One packet transfer process is called a subaction, and there are two types of asynchronous subactions and synchronous subactions. Hereinafter, the operation of each sub-action will be described.

[Asynchronous Subaction] The asynchronous subaction is an asynchronous data transfer. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing temporal transition in asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap shown in FIG. 21 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a predetermined value, a node desiring data transfer requests a bus use right, and bus arbitration is executed.

When the use of the bus is permitted by the bus arbitration, the data is then transferred to a packet, and the node receiving this data returns a return code ACK for acknowledgment after a short gap called an ACK gap. Alternatively, the data transfer is completed by returning the response packet. The ACK is composed of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, and includes information indicating success, busy status, or pending status, and is immediately returned to the data transmission source node.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the format of an asynchronous transfer packet. The packet has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the destination part ID, the source node ID, the transfer data length and various codes are written in the header part.

The asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from the transmitting node to the receiving node. The packet sent from the source node is distributed to each node in the network, but each node ignores packets other than its own, so that only the node designated as the destination receives the packet.

[Split Transaction] The service in the transaction layer 814 is performed by a set of a transaction request and a transaction response shown in FIG. Here, if the processing in the link layer 812 and the transaction layer 814 of the target (response node) is sufficiently fast, the request and the response are not processed by independent subactions of the link layer 812, but are processed by one subaction. It becomes possible. However, if the processing speed of the target is slow, it is necessary to process the request and response in separate transactions. This operation is called a split transaction.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an operation example of a split transaction. In response to a write request from the controller of the initiator (request node), the target returns a pending status. As a result, the target can return confirmation information for the write request from the controller, and can gain time for processing the data. And
After sufficient time for data processing, the target
A write response is notified to the controller to end the write transaction. At this time, the operation of the link layer 812 by another node is possible between the request and the response sub-action.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a temporal transition of the transfer state when a split transaction is performed. Sub-action 1 represents a request sub-action, and sub-action 2 represents a response sub-action.

In sub-action 1, the initiator sends a data packet indicating a write request to the target, and the target that has received the data packet returns the above-mentioned pending indicating the confirmation information by an acknowledge packet, thereby completing the request sub-action.

Then, after the sub-action gap is inserted, in sub-action 2, the target sends a write response in which the data packet is no data, and the initiator receiving the response returns a complete response in an acknowledgment packet, so that the target responds. The action ends.

The minimum time from the end of sub-action 1 to the start of sub-action 2 is a time corresponding to the sub-action gap, and the maximum can be extended to the maximum waiting time set in the node. .

[Synchronous Subaction] This synchronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is particularly
It is suitable for transferring data such as AV data that requires real-time transfer. In contrast to the asynchronous transfer, which is a one-to-one transfer, the asynchronous transfer can uniformly transfer data from one source node to all other nodes by a broadcast function.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a temporal transition in the synchronous transfer. The synchronous transfer is executed at regular intervals on the bus, and this time interval is called a synchronous cycle. The synchronization cycle time is
125 μs. A cycle start packet (CSP) 2000 indicates the start of the synchronization cycle and synchronizes the operation of each node. The node that transmits CSP2000 is a node called the cycle master. After the transfer in the previous cycle has been completed and a predetermined idle period (subaction gap 2001) has passed, CSP2000 indicating the start of this cycle is transmitted. I do. That is, the time interval at which the CSP2000 is transmitted is 125 μS.

Also, as shown in FIG. 25 as channel A, channel B and channel C, by assigning channel IDs to a plurality of types of packets in one synchronization cycle, it is possible to transfer these packets in a distinguished manner. it can. Thereby, real-time transfer can be performed substantially simultaneously between a plurality of nodes, and the receiving node need only receive data of a desired channel ID. This channel ID does not represent the address of the receiving node or the like, but is merely a logical number for data. Therefore,
Certain transmitted packets will be broadcast from one source node to all other nodes, ie, broadcast.

Prior to packet transmission by synchronous transfer, bus arbitration is performed as in asynchronous transfer. However, since it is not one-to-one communication as in asynchronous transfer, there is no ACK of a return code for acknowledgment in synchronous transfer.

The iso gap (synchronous gap) shown in FIG. 25 indicates an idle period necessary for confirming that the bus is in an idle state before performing synchronous transfer. The node that detects the predetermined idle period determines that the bus is in the idle state, and requests the right to use the bus when performing synchronous transfer, so that bus arbitration is performed.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format for synchronous transfer. Each packet divided into each channel has a data part and data for error correction.
In addition to the CRC, there is a header, in which the transfer data length, channel number, other various codes, a header CRC for error correction, and the like are written as shown in FIG.

[Bus Cycle] In a 1394 serial bus, synchronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can be mixed.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a temporal transition of a transfer state when synchronous transfer and asynchronous transfer are mixed.

Here, as described above, synchronous transfer is executed prior to asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after CSP,
This is because synchronous transfer can be started with a gap (isochronous gap) shorter than the idle period gap (subaction gap) required to start asynchronous transfer. Therefore, synchronous transfer is performed with priority over asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 28, CSP is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. The operation of each node is synchronized by the CSP, and a node that intends to perform synchronous transfer after waiting for a predetermined idle period (synchronization gap) participates in bus arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 28, channel e, channel s, and channel k are sequentially transferred synchronously.

After the operations from the bus arbitration to the packet transfer are repeatedly performed for the given channel, when all the synchronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed. That is, when the idle time reaches a subaction gap where asynchronous transfer is possible, a node that wants to perform asynchronous transfer participates in bus arbitration. However, asynchronous transfer can be performed only when a sub-action gap to start asynchronous transfer is detected between the end of synchronous transfer and the time to transfer the next CSP (cycle synch). .

In cycle #m shown in FIG. 28, after synchronous transfer for three channels, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) including ACK are transferred by asynchronous transfer. After the asynchronous packet 2, the time to start the cycle m + 1 (cycle synch) is reached, and the transfer in the cycle #m ends here. However, if it is time to send the next CSP during asynchronous or synchronous transfer (cycle synch), the transfer will not be forcibly interrupted, and after the transfer is completed, the CSP of the next synchronous cycle will be sent after an idle period. I do. That is, when one synchronization cycle lasts for 125 μs or more, the next synchronization cycle is shortened by the extension from the reference 125 μs. In this way, the synchronization cycle exceeds 125 μs,
It can be shortened.

However, synchronous transfer is executed every cycle if necessary in order to maintain real-time transfer, and asynchronous transfer may be postponed to the next and subsequent synchronous cycles due to the shortened synchronous cycle time. The cycle master also manages such delay information.

[FCP] The AV / C protocol uses the function control protocol FC to control devices on the 1394 serial bus.
P (Functional Control Protocol) is prepared. FC
An asynchronous packet defined by IEEE1394 is used for transmission and response of the P control command. In FCP, the controlling node is called a controller, and the controlled node is called a target.An FCP packet frame sent from the controller to the target is an AV / C command frame, and an FCP packet frame returned from the target to the controller is called an AV. Called the / C response frame.

FIG. 29 shows that node A is a controller and node B
Indicates the target, and 512 bytes from address 0x0000B00 are the command register and 512 bytes from address 0x0000D00 are the response registers, respectively. Data is written to the register at the designated address. At this time, the controller sends the AV / C command frame and the target
The relationship between the responses of the AV / C response frame is called an AV / C transaction. In a general AV / C transaction, the target needs to respond to the controller with a response frame within 100 ms after receiving the command frame.

FIG. 30 shows a packet format of an asynchronous transfer including an FCP packet frame. A command frame or a response frame is inserted into the data area of the asynchronous data packet shown in FIG. Be executed.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the structure of an AV / C command frame, and FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the structure of an AV / C response frame.
Ctype and response of header as FCP packet frame
The structure is such that the data part of FCP is connected after e, subunit_type, and subunit_ID.

Ctype indicates the command type in the command frame, and includes CONTROL, STATUS, INQUIRY, NOTIFY
Each state is shown.

Response indicates a response code in the response frame, and is ACCEPTED, REJECTED, IN_TRA
Each state such as NSITION, IMPLEMENTED, CHANGED, INTERIM is shown.

Further, subunit_type is the classification of the device, su
bunit_ID indicates an instance number.

The data portion of the FCP has a structure of an operation code + operand, and can control a target using various AV / C commands and can provide an AV / C response.

An operation code (opc) in the command frame
ode) is one of the command groups shown in the command column shown in FIG. 50, and each command is executed according to the command type set in ctype.

A command in which "CONTROL" is designated by ctype means a control command, which controls a target device or sets a target with contents set after an operand (oprand). Commands for which “STATUS” is specified by ctype are for obtaining the status corresponding to the command. Commands for which "INQUIRY" is specified by ctype are for inquiring about the contents that can be set by the command. ctype "NOTIF
The command designated with "Y" is for confirming the command.

As for each command, the contents required for each command are set in the operands and written in the command frame.

The response code shown in the response column of FIG. 50 is set as the operation code in the response frame. Each response has an operand corresponding to each response. In the response operand, information indicating whether the execution of the command has been normally completed or ended in error is set, so that error processing can be performed according to this operand.

[0130]

[LOGIN protocol]

[Communication Using LOGIN Protocol] FIG. 33 is a diagram in which the interface of the 1394 serial bus is compared with each layer of the OSI model often used in LAN. The physical layer 1 and the data link layer 2 of the OSI model correspond to a physical layer 811 and a link layer 812, which are lower layers 4 of the interface of the 1394 serial bus. The transport protocol layer 5 and the presentation layer 6 in the interface of the 1394 serial bus existing on the lower layer 4 correspond to the upper layer 3 including the network layer, the transport layer, the session layer, and the presentation layer of the OSI model. Also, L
The OGIN protocol 7 operates between the lower layer 4 of the 1394 serial bus interface and the transport protocol layer 5.

In the example 1 shown in FIG. 33, a device conforming to the serial bus protocol (SBP-2) 8 for peripheral devices such as a printer is provided with the LOGIN protocol 7 so that the device of the other party can communicate with the SBP-2. It is possible to notify that data exchange is desired using a compliant protocol.

In Example 2 shown in FIG. 33, a device protocol specialized on the interface of the 1394 serial bus is used.
Also for the device 9, by providing the LOGIN protocol 7, the devices can determine whether or not the devices support each other's protocol.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the basic operation of the LOGIN protocol 7. When a printer device executes a print task 10 from a host device, first, a printer protocol A prepared for the printer, LOGI selects which of B and C to exchange print data
The print data is determined based on the communication according to the N protocol 7, and thereafter, the print data is exchanged according to the determined printer protocol. That is, when connecting to a host device, a printer device that supports several printer protocols first determines the transport protocol 5 prepared in the host device by the LOGIN protocol 7, and determines the transport protocol of the host device. Five
The print task 10 is processed by selecting a printer protocol suitable for the printer and exchanging print data and commands according to the selected printer protocol.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a connection form in the 1394 serial bus, which supports a plurality of printer protocols (m
LOGIN for printer 11
Devices implementing protocol 7 (PC12, scanner 13, D
VC14 etc.) are connected. Printer 11
By switching the printer protocol according to the transport protocol 5 of the partner device requesting the connection determined by the LOGIN protocol 7, it is possible to process the print task from each device without any problem.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing the flow of the login operation. In step 1: The host device locks the target device (in this case, a multi-protocol printer). The target device checks the capabilities (including the transport protocol) of the host device, and the capabilities are stored in a register 503 described later.

In step 2: Communication of print data is performed according to the protocol set in step 1.

In step 3: the host device:
Disconnect the connection with the target device.

FIG. 37 shows a 1394 serial bus provided in a printer as a target device for LOGIN protocol 7.
Indicates CSR, lock register (lock) 501, protocol register (protocol) 502, capability register (capabili
ty) 503. These registers are arranged at predetermined addresses in the initial unit space in the address space of the 1394 serial bus. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 4, of the 48-bit address width given to the device, 0xFFFFF in the first 20 bits is called a register space, and the first 512 bytes of the register (the core of the CSR architecture) CSR core) is located.

The lock register 501 indicates a locked state of the resource, and a value “0” indicates a log-in state,
A value other than “0” indicates that the user has already logged in the locked state. The capability register 503 indicates a protocol that can be set for each bit, and indicates that the protocol corresponding to the bit of the value '1' is settable, and '0'
Indicates that the protocol corresponding to cannot be set.
The protocol register 502 indicates the currently set protocol, and the value of the bit corresponding to the bit of the capability register 503 corresponding to the set protocol becomes “1”. FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing a login process in the host device.

In order to start login, first, data of a lock register 501, a protocol register 502, and a capability register 503 of a target device to be logged in, for example, a printer are confirmed by a read transaction. Where the capability register
From the data of 503, it is confirmed whether or not the target device supports the protocol used by the host device for communication (step S601).

If the protocol of the host device is not supported by the target device, the login is stopped in the next step S602. If the data of the lock register 501 is other than “0”, it is regarded that another device is logging in and the login is stopped. Login register 50
If the data of 1 is "0", it is determined that the current login is possible (step S602).

If the login is possible, the process proceeds to the resource lock process, and for example, “1” is written into the lock register 501 of the printer using a lock transaction, and login is set (step S603). In this state, the target device is locked, control from other devices is not possible, and register change is also impossible.

With the resources of the target device locked as described above, the protocol is set next. The printer of the present embodiment, which is the target device,
To support multiple printer protocols, the host device must know which protocols can be used before receiving print data. In this embodiment, by setting the corresponding bit of the protocol register 502 of the printer by the write transaction of the host device, the protocol to be used is notified to the printer (step S604).

At this point, the protocol used by the host device for communication is notified to the target device, and since the target device is in the locked state, the host device currently logged in to the target device transmits data, in this case, print data. Do (step
S605).

When the data transmission is completed, the host device logs out of the printer by clearing the lock register 501 and the protocol register 503 of the target device (step S606).

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the login processing of the printer as the target device. A printer is usually in a state of waiting for a login from a host device. Since a print request from the host device is started by reading the lock register 501, the protocol register 502, and the capability register 503 of the printer, the register needs to be always readable from another device.

Now, it is assumed that the printer is locked by the host device that intends to execute printout (step S701). The printer waits for the next notification of the used protocol from the host device (step S702).
The reason why the printer waits for the notification of the used protocol after the printer is locked is to prevent the protocol register 503 from being rewritten by a request from another device during login.

When the printer is notified of the used protocol (step S703), the printer switches its own protocol to the notified used protocol (steps S704, S706 and S708), and performs communication in accordance with the protocol of the host device. (Step S705, S707 or S709).

When the communication is completed, the printer confirms that the lock register 501 and the protocol register 503 have been cleared (step S710), and returns to a state of waiting for login (step S701).

[Example Considering Device Not Having LOGIN Protocol] FIG. 40 is a diagram for explaining an example considering a device not implementing the LOGIN protocol 7. Compared to the first example shown in FIG. The feature is that devices that do not have LOGIN protocol 7 but have protocol D are also supported. That is, not only devices with LOGIN protocol 7 but also existing protocols D (for example, AV / C protocol)
For example, in order to guarantee a printing operation for a device that supports only the printer, a printer protocol corresponding to a device that does not have the LOGIN protocol 7 is added to the printer side.

To explain this operation, when the printer recognizes that the host device does not support the LOGIN protocol 7 by a print request made at the beginning of the connection, the printer communicates with the host device using the protocol D. If the communication is established, the print task 10 is executed according to the protocol D.

FIG. 41 is a diagram comparing the configuration shown in FIG. 40 with each layer of the OSI model. Example 3 shows an AV device 15 based on the current AV / C protocol in which the LOGIN protocol 7 is not mounted. Is a model. Example 4 uses the LOGIN protocol
The model is a scanner 16 in which a non-standard protocol for a scanner in which 7 is not implemented is implemented.

That is, even for a device having a protocol that does not implement the LOGIN protocol 7, if the printer can support the protocol of the device, the types of devices that can use the printer can be expanded. .

[0154]

[Direct Print Protocol] In the following, a printing procedure between the printer and the image supply device according to the present invention will be described. However, the printer and the image supply device are directly connected, and an image is formed based on image data supplied from the image supply device. The protocol for the printer to perform is called "direct print protocol (DPP)".

The DPP is basically based on a command register (command) for writing a command in an initial unit space (shown as a unit space in FIG. 4) of the 1394 serial bus, and a response register (response) for writing a response to the command. ), A data register (data) for writing transfer data, and a format register (format) for handling format information corresponding to the data format of each transfer data.

FIG. 42 shows this register map. The command register and the response register are the same as those described with reference to FIG. In the following description, an example will be described in which an image supply device is a controller and a printer is a target, and image data is supplied from the image supply device to the printer to print an image.

The command register 42-1 stores 0x on the printer side.
It is located at a fixed address of FFFFF0000B00, has a memory space of 512 bytes, and is used by the image supply device to write various commands to the printer. Of course, if the command register is also on the image supply device side, it is possible to write commands from the printer. The command written in the command register 42-1 is called a command frame.

The response register 42-2 is located at a fixed address of 0xFFFFF0000D00 on the image supply device side.
It has a 2-byte memory space, in which responses to various commands written from the image supply device to the printer are written. Of course, if a response register is also provided on the printer side, it is possible to write a response from the image supply device. The response written in the response register 42-2 is called a response frame. In FIG. 29, the upper 0xFF of the address
FF is abbreviated and described.

The data register 42-3 uses FFFFFF0003000h as the default address, and uses the BlockAddress, BufferConfig
It is set to any valid address by a command (a command that defines the address of the data register). The memory space of the data register 42-3 is BlockSize, BufferConfi
It is set within the range determined in advance by the g command (command that defines the memory space of the data register). The data register 42-3 is a register for transferring data between the image supply device and the printer. When printing is performed, print data is written from the image supply device to the printer. In the print data, data written in the data register 42-3 according to a data format of a preset image format is called a data frame.

The format register 42-4 is a group of registers corresponding to each data format described later. Each register is a register for setting format information necessary for each data format.
That is, the format register 42-2 is a register for writing format information from the image supply device to the printer. The format information written in the format register 42-2 is called a format frame.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the flow of frames from the image supply device to the printer, showing the flow of command frames, response frames, data frames, and format frames. The printer performs printing in accordance with the frames output from the image supply device. Do.

The command sent from the image supply device to the printer is written into the command register 43-4 of the printer as a command frame. This command is a command for performing the printing shown in FIG. The response to this command is written into the response register 43-2 of the image supply device by the printer. This response includes information indicating whether the command was executed correctly, a return value for the command, and the like. The print data sent from the image supply device to the printer is
The data is written to the data register 43-6 of the printer as a data frame. The format information sent from the image supply device to the printer is written into the format register 43-7 of the printer as a format frame.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the format register 43-7. The format register 43-7 includes a read-only register INQUIRY 44-1 for inquiry and a read / write register CONTROL / STATU for setting and information acquisition.
S 44-2. INQUIRY 44-1 and CONTROL / ST
ATUS 44-2 is composed of register groups having the same configuration. That is, the registers 44 forming the register group
-3 to 44-7 and registers 44-9 to 44-13.

More specifically, a format register group is a common register group (print commo
n register group) registers 44-3 and 44-4
(44-9 and 44-10), and registers 44-5 to 44-7 (44-11 to 44-13) constituting a printer format register group.

The common register group is a register group in which registers common to all data formats are collected, and registers GLOBAL 44-3 (44
-9) and registers LOCAL 44-4 (44
-10).

The printer format register group is a group of registers in which information unique to each data format is collected. The register format [1] 44-5 (44-11) to forma
t [n] Consists of n register groups up to 44-7 (44-13). The registers format [1] to format [n] correspond to a data format described later, and one printer format register group is assigned to each data format to be mounted.

The address of each format register is provided to the image supply device as a response to a command for setting a data format.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the status register 44-8 of the common register group. The status register 44-8 is a 32-bit common status register (common status register) 45-1 that holds the status common to the printers of each vendor.
And the vendor specific status registry that holds the status defined by each vendor
r) 45-2. Also, the v flag (vendor status avai) in the 31st bit of the common status register 45-1
lable flag), the vendor-specific status register 45-
The extension to 2 is defined as follows:

The information held in the common status register 45-1 is as follows. error.warning: Status such as error and warning paper state: Status related to recording paper print state: Status related to printing status

FIG. 46 shows registers GL of the common register group.
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a detailed example of information held in OBAL 44-3 (44-9). The register GLOBAL 44-3 (44-9) holds information common to all printers equipped with the DPP (Direct Print Protocol), that is, registers which collect information having no difference depending on the type of the printer. FIG. 46 shows an example of such a case, in which media-type 46-1 indicates the type of recording medium, paper-size 46-2 indicates the size of the recording paper, page-margin 46-3 indicates the margin value of the page, Page-len indicating the length
gth 46-4, page-offset 46- indicating the page offset
5, print-unit 46-6 indicating the unit information of the printer, color-type 46-7 indicating the color type of the printer, bit-order 46-8 indicating the bit order of the data, and the like.

FIG. 47 shows the register LO of the common register group.
It is a figure showing the detailed example of the information held in CAL44-4 (44-10). The registers LOCAL 44-4 (44-10) hold information unique to each printer model equipped with the DPP, that is, registers that collect different information depending on the type of the printer. Fig. 47 shows an example of this, paper 47-1 indicating the type of recording paper unique to the printer, and the color matching method.
The CMS 47-2 includes, for example, ink 47-3 indicating the type of ink for an ink jet printer.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the register format [1] 44-5, which is an example in which information on EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) which is one of image data formats is held. . In this case, the input rate in the X direction inX-rate 48-1, the input rate in the Y direction inY-rate 48-
2. Includes the output ratio in the X direction outX-rate 48-3 and the output ratio in the Y direction outY-rate 48-4. In this case, the given EXIF
Printing is possible by scaling the image data in the format in the X and Y directions according to the contents of each register.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the register format [2] 44-6, which is an example in which information on the Raw RGB format, which is one of the image data formats, is stored. Raw RGB format uses R (r
ed), G (green), and B (blue) data. In this case, the ratio of the input in the X direction inX-rate
49-1, input Y-direction rate inY-rate 49-2, output X-direction rate outX-rate 49-3, output Y-direction rate outY-rate 4
9-4, XY-size 49-5 indicating the fixed pixel size of XY, bit-pixel 49-6 indicating the number of bits per pixel, X-size 49-7 indicating the number of pixels in the X direction, number of pixels in the Y direction Show
Y-size 49-8, plane 49-9 indicating the number of color planes, X-resolution 49-10 indicating the resolution in the X direction, Y-resolution 49-11 indicating the resolution in the Y direction, pixel- indicating the pixel type fo
rmat 49-12 and others. In this case, given Raw RGB
The image data in the format is subjected to scaling in the XY direction and resolution conversion in accordance with the contents of each register, and is further processed based on information relating to the image size, thereby enabling printing.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a list of commands and responses to the commands. Commands are classified into several types. Classification includes "status" related to status, "control" for printer control,
"Block / Buffer" for data transfer setting, "Channel" for channel setting, "Transfer" for transfer method, "Format" for format setting, "Login" for login, "Data" for data transfer, etc. .

More specifically, “Status”
GetS command to get printer status as
tatus and its response GetStatusresponse 50-1.

The “control” includes a command PrintReset for resetting the printer and its response.
PrintResetResponse 50-2, Print that instructs to start printing
Start and its response PrintStartResponse 50-3,
PrintStop instructing to stop printing and its response P
rintStopResponse 50-4, Inserter to instruct supply of recording paper
tPaper and its response InsertPaperResponse 50-
5. EjectPaper instructing ejection of recording paper and its response EjectPaperResponse 50-6, CopyStart instructing to start copying image data, and its response CopySta
rtResponse 50-7, CopyEnd for instructing the end of image data copy, and its response CopyEndResponse
50-8 and others.

As “block / buffer”, BlockSize for designating the size of a block and its response B
lockSizeResponse 50-9, BlockAddress specifying the address of the block and its response BlockAddressResp
onse 50-10, FreeBlock to get the number of free blocks and its response FreeBlockResponse 50-11, WriteBlocks to instruct data writing to the block and its response WriteBlocksResponse 50-12, BufferConfig to specify buffer information and its response Buff
erConfigResponse 50-13, SetBuffer for designating the start of data acquisition from the buffer, and its response SetBufferResponse 50-14.

The “channel” includes OpenChannel for opening a channel and its response OpenChannelRes.
sponse 50-15 and CloseC to close the channel
hannel and its response CloseChannelResponse 50-
16 and others.

[0179] As "Transfer", a TransferMethod for designating a data transfer method and its response TransferMethod
Response 50-17 and others.

As the “format”, SetFormat for setting a format and its response SetFormatResp
onse 50-18 and others.

[0181] As "login", Lo
gin and its response LoginResponse 50-19, Logout to log out and its response LogoutResponse
50-20, Reconnect for performing reconnection and its response ReonnectResponse 50-21, and the like.

The above commands are written in the command frame.

Further, the "data" includes a WriteBlock 50-22 for writing data, a WriteBuffer 50-23, and a PullBuffer 50-24 for reading data. These commands are for writing and reading data frames, and there is no corresponding response.

The image supply device sets the value corresponding to each command shown in FIG. 50 in the operation code (opcode) of the command frame shown in FIG. 31 and writes the value in the command register 43-4 of the printer. Executes the command. The response to the command has the same value as the command. The printer sets the response in the operation code of the response frame shown in FIG. 32 and writes the response in the response register 43-2 of the image supply device. With this response, the image supply device can receive the execution result of each command.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing an example of an image data format supported by DPP. The printer must support at least one of these formats. Optionally, other formats can be supported.

FIG. 52 is a diagram showing the flow of the format setting process. First, in step S500, the image supply device
A SetFormat (INQUIRY) command is sent to the printer, and the printer returns a SetFormat response in step S501. Depending on the response returned, the image supply device
Know the address of the INQUIRY register.

Next, the image supply device executes step S502.
Sends a SetFormat (CONTROL / STATUS) command to the printer, and the printer returns a SetFormat response in step S503. Based on the returned response, the image supply device knows the address of the CONTROL / STATUS register of the printer.

The image supply device starts from step S504-1.
In S504-m, read the printer's INQUIRY register to know the formats supported by the printer and the format setting items. Next, the image supply device performs step S505
From -1 to S505-n, read the printer's STATUS / CONTROL register to know the format settings, and
From 06-1 to S506-n, write data to the STATUS / CONTROL register of the printer and set the format.

For data transfer in DPP, the following two types of packets are used.・ Control command packet for flow control ・ Packet for data transmission

In the present embodiment, five types of data transfer methods are listed below according to the difference between the flow control and the data transmission method. In any of the methods, the control commands for flow control conform to FCP. . Transfer method 1: Response model (Response Model) Transfer method 2: Simple response model (Simplifed Response
Model) Transfer Method 3: Push Large Buffer Model (PUSH Large
Buffer Model) Transfer Method 4: Pull Buffer Model Transfer Method 5: Synchronous Model

In the actual transfer, one of the above methods is selected and set, and the procedure is the same as the format setting procedure shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 53, TransferMethod is used for the command, and TransferMethod is used for the response.
Use MethodResponse.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for setting the data transfer method. The image supply device has the command type IN
The currently available printer data transfer method is acquired by the QUIRY TrasferMethod command and response (S600-1 and S600-2), and the command type is CONTROL / STAT.
By US TransferMethod command and response,
The data transfer method currently set for the printer is acquired and set (S600-3 and S600-4).

By the way, in any of the above five types, the control command for the flow control is an FC which is a protocol for controlling a device on the 1394 serial bus.
P compliant. Transmission of FCP control command
The response is always performed by an asynchronous write transaction.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a register map in the address space of the 1394 serial bus of the registers required for the transfer methods 1 and 2. In the present embodiment, the controlling node is an image supply device (corresponding to a controller in FCP), and the controlled node is a printer (corresponding to a target in FCP).

For both the image supply device and the printer, the command register (601-1 and 601-7) of 512 bytes from offset 0x0B00 of the register space, and the offset from 0x0D00
512-byte response register (601-2 and 601-8)
With. These registers conform to the FCP protocol and AV / C commands.

The flow control is based on the command register (601-1 and 601-7) and the response register (601-
2 and 601-8) by writing the command frame 601-4 and the response frame 601-5. For transfer of print data, a dedicated data frame is defined. In other words, register space offset 0x3000
From the data register for the block size (601-3 and 6
01-9), and print data is transferred by writing the data frame 601-6 in the data registers (601-3 and 601-9). The block size is, for example, 512 bytes.

FIG. 55 shows an example of a data packet frame, which comprises a data header 602-1, a data payload 602-2, and the like.

FIG. 56 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the data header 602-1. The upper 8 bits are a block count area 603-1 and the lower 8 bits are a reserved area S603-2 for the future. The block count area 603-1 is used internally by the target (printer), and is a counter that counts the number of blocks transferred by one block transfer. Since the block count area 603-1 is 8 bits, it can take a value from 0 to 255.

FIG. 57 is a diagram showing data packet frame processing in the printer in block transfer. The data packet received by the printer is first written into the data register 604-1 of the printer. The printer has buffers (604-2 to 604-5) of the same size as the data packets, and the data packets written to the data register 604-1 are sequentially stored in these buffers (604-2 to 604-5). Moved. The number of these data buffers is desirably 255, which is equal to the maximum value of the block count, but may be less. Here, each buffer corresponds to a block count value, and a data packet with a block count of “0” is stored in a buffer of Block [0], and a data packet with a block count of “1” is stored in a buffer of Block [1]. Is stored. The data packets stored in the buffers (604-2 to 604-5) are developed in the printer memory space 604-6 after the data header 602-1 is removed.

[Transfer Method 1] In the transfer method 1, which is a response model, a data packet frame is defined for data transmission, a data register is provided, and print data is transferred by a write transaction while performing flow control by a control command. It is a method to do.

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a FreeBlock command and response in the transfer method 1. In the transfer method 1, prior to data transfer, a FreeBlock command and a response are used to obtain information indicating how many data packets the image supply device transfers.

The image supply device transfers the FreeBlock command by a write transaction (S605-1), and the printer returns an ACK packet indicating confirmation of the transaction (S605-2). Printer is currently available FreeBl
A FreeBlock response is returned to notify the ockCount (S605-3), and the image supply device returns an ACK packet indicating confirmation of the transaction (S605-4).

FIG. 59 is a diagram showing an example of a data transfer flow in the transfer method 1. Image supply device is DPP L
The user logs in to the printer using the ogin command and response (S606-1 and S606-2), and sets the format used for data transfer using the format register group (S606-3). After that, the logical channel is opened by the OpenChannel command and response (S606
-4 and S606-5). Then the data transfer starts,
The print data is transferred in the data packet format shown in FIG. In addition, the transfer of the packet is shown in FIG.
The transfer for one block equal to the number of data buffers on the printer side shown in 04-5 is performed in one cycle.

The transfer of print data in the transfer method 1 is performed as follows. The image supply device obtains the number of FreeBlocks of the printer based on the FreeBlock command and response (S606-6 and S606-7), and sequentially transfers the same number of data packets as the number of FreeBlocks using WriteBlock (S606-8). WriteBlock is a command for transferring a packet for print data from the data register 601-3 shown in FIG. 54 to the data register 601-9. However, WriteBlo
The ck command has no response and the data register 601-
ACK to confirm that data packet was stored in 9
The packet is returned from the printer (S606-9).

Then, the number of Writes equal to the number of FreeBlocks
The block transfer consisting of the packet transfer by the Block command and the return of the corresponding ACK packet is repeated until all of the series of print data is output from the image supply device.
Printer FreeB by Block command and response
The number of locks is obtained.

When the transfer of the print data is completed, the image supply device closes the logical channel by the CloseChannel command and the response (S606-10 and S606-11),
The user logs out from the printer using the P Logout command and response (S606-12 and S606-13).

[Transfer Method 2] Simplified Response Model
Transfer method 2 performs data transfer in the same procedure as transfer method 1 except for the method of acquiring the number of FreeBlocks.

FIG. 60 is a diagram showing an example of a data transfer flow in the transfer method 2. Image supply device is DPP L
The user logs in to the printer using the ogin command and response (S607-1 and S607-2), and sets the format used for data transfer using the format register group (S607-3). After that, the logical channel is opened by the OpenChannel command and response (S607).
-4 and S607-5). Then the data transfer starts,
The print data is transferred in the data packet format shown in FIG. In addition, the transfer of the packet is shown in FIG.
The transfer for one block equal to the number of data buffers on the printer side shown in 04-5 is performed in one cycle.

The transfer of the print data in the transfer method 2 is performed as follows. Image supply device is WriteBlocks
FreeBlock of printer by command and response
Get the numbers (S607-6 and S607-7). However, step S6
The response of 07-7 is used to obtain the number of FreeBlocks thereafter only by the response from the printer side.
TERIM (provisional) type. The image supply device sequentially transmits the same number of data packets as the obtained number of FreeBlocks to W
The data is transferred by the riteBlock (S607-8), and the ACK packet described above is returned from the printer (S607-9). And Fre
The block transfer including the repetition of the packet transfer by the WriteBlock command and the return of the corresponding ACK packet of the number equal to the number of eBlocks is repeated until all the series of print data is output from the image supply device. However, the number of FreeBlocks in the block transfer after the second round is notified to the image supply device by a WriteBlocks response sent from the printer at the end of each block transfer cycle (S607-10). This WriteBlocks response is a CONTINUE type in order to continue obtaining the number of FreeBlocks only by the response of the printer.

When the transfer of the print data is completed, the image supply device closes the logical channel by the CloseChannel command and the response (S607-11 and S607-12),
Log out from the printer using the P Logout command and response (S607-13 and S607-14).

[Method of Obtaining Number of FreeBlocks] Hereinafter, a method of obtaining the number of FreeBlocks, which is the difference between the transfer methods 1 and 2, will be described in detail.

FIG. 61 shows steps S606-6 and S of the transfer method 1.
FIG. 59 is a diagram showing the details of the FreeBlock command and response in 606-7, including the ACK packet of the write transaction omitted in FIG. 59. Both the initiator device (image supply device) and the target device (printer) are linked layers. And the case where the processing speed of the transaction layer is relatively low.

When the image supply device writes the FreeBlock command to the command register by the write transaction (S608-1), the ACK packet indicating the above-mentioned pending is returned from the link layer of the printer (S608-2). next,
The image supply device sends a FreeBlock command with no data (S608-3), receives an ACK packet (S608-4) indicating complete from the printer, and ends one write transaction.

Subsequently, the printer returns a FreeBlock response, which is also written in the response register as a FreeBlock response including the number of FreeBlocks, similarly to the FreeBlock command in step S608-1 (S608-5). From the link layer of the image supply device, an ACK packet indicating pending is returned (S608-6), a FreeBlock response with no data is sent (S608-7), and an ACK packet indicating complete is received (S608-8) , One write transaction ends.

On the other hand, the method of acquiring the number of FreeBlocks in the transfer method 2 uses only the FreeBlock response from the printer in the second and subsequent cycles of the block transfer cycle of the print data. Therefore, only the steps S608-5 to S608-8 are performed. so
You can get the number of FreeBlock.

Obtaining the number of FreeBlocks is necessary for each cycle of block transfer. Therefore, the transfer method 2 can reduce the number of packets transferred on the bus than the transfer method 1.

FIG. 62 shows WriteB of transfer method 1 and transfer method 2.
It is a figure showing lock in detail. Since WriteBlock does not require a response, WriteBlock (S609-1), ACK packet indicating pending (S609-2), and WriteBlock (S609-
3) and the procedure of ACK packet (S609-4) indicating complete, data can be transferred in half the procedure compared to the case of transferring command and response, and processing of link layer and transaction layer is relatively Even at a low speed, relatively high-speed data transfer can be performed.

FIG. 63 shows WriteB of transfer method 1 and transfer method 2.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing lock in detail, in a case where processing of a link layer and a transaction layer is sufficiently fast. In this case, the procedure is a WriteBlock (S610-1) and an ACK packet (S610-2) indicating complete, so that more efficient data transfer can be performed.

FIG. 64 shows Writ when a bus reset occurs.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining error processing of an eBlock, and shows a case where a bus reset occurs at the time of transferring an n-th (= 0 to 255) packet in a certain block transfer cycle. In the write transaction, the failure of the normal data packet transfer can be detected by the ACK packet, but the error at the time of the bus reset cannot be detected. Therefore, in the present embodiment, error processing is executed in the following procedure. That is, the number of FreeBlocks is acquired (S611-1), and WriteBlock is performed n times (from S611-2 to S611-S).
6) If a bus reset occurs here (S611-7), the image supply device sends the WriteBlock immediately before the bus reset occurs.
[n] is performed again (S611-8), and thereafter the normal processing is continued (S611-9 to S611-14).

[Transfer Method 3] FIG. 65 shows a PUSH Large Buffer M
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image supply device and a command register, a response register, and a data register of a printer in odel.

The command and response between the image supply device and the printer conforming to the FCP are written in a command frame 65-7 as command request data from the command register 65-1 of the image supply device to the command register 65-4 of the printer. Operation and the response register 65-5 of the image supply device from the response register 65-5 of the printer.
This is executed by writing the response frame 65-8 as response data in -2.

The data frame 65-9 has the FCP
Unlike this, the data frame 65-9 is used for a one-way operation of writing image data from the data register 65-3 of the image supply device to the data register 65-6 of the printer using a write transaction.

FIG. 66 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the push buffer model between the image supply device and the printer. Login, Logout, OpenChannel, CloseChann in command frame and response frame
The operations for el and format setting are the same as those in the above-described transfer method 1, and therefore detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 66, the image supply device is Buff
An inquiry is made about the buffer area of the printer by the INQUIRY of the erConfig command (S701). On the other hand, the printer returns a buffer size and a buffer address in a BufferConfig response (S702).

Next, the image supply device is BufferConfig
The command CONTROL sets the buffer size and buffer address of the printer to which data is written (S70
3). In response, the printer returns a completion of the setting by a BufferConfig response (S704).

Subsequently, the image supply device is the SetBuffer
The printer notifies the printer of the start of data transfer by the command NOTIFY (S705). On the other hand, the printer returns, by the INTERIM of the SetBuffer response, that it is ready to receive the data (S706), and starts the data transfer. And the printer is SetBuffe
The image transmission device is notified that the data transfer to the initially set buffer area is completed by the CONTINUE of the r response (S709).

WriteBuffer in step S707 indicates a data frame writing operation by the image supply device, and performs an operation of sequentially writing data to a buffer address set in the printer.

[0228] WriteTransactionResponse in Step S708
Indicates a response packet when a data frame is synchronously transferred. As described above, if the data capture speed of the printer is fast enough, the processing can be completed using the acknowledgment of one write transaction, but if the data capture takes a long time, an independent response as a split transaction will be sent. Will happen.

Step S710 shows a process of transferring a plurality of data frames. That is, data is transferred by a continuous write transaction for the buffer size set by the BufferConfig command. Such a data transfer method using a continuous write transaction is referred to as a “PUSH data transfer method” or “PUSH method” for short.

FIG. 67 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data packet in a data frame. Since data can be written by directly addressing the buffer of the printer, the data packet 67-1 does not include a header or the like. be able to.

FIG. 68 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the data register and the buffer of the printer. The data written in the data register 68-1 is stored in the memory space 68-2 of the printer indicated by the BufferAddress determined by the offset Destination_Offset.
Is written directly to the address. Since the offset value is incremented by the data length Data_Length, by repeatedly writing data to consecutive buffer addresses, data can be continuously written in the area indicated by the buffer size BufferSize.

[Transfer Method 4] FIG. 69 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a command register, a response register, and a data register of an image supply device and a printer in the PULL Buffer Model.

The command and response between the image supply device and the printer conforming to the FCP are written in a command frame 69-7 as command request data from the command register 69-1 of the image supply device to the command register 69-4 of the printer. And the response register 69 of the image supply device from the response register 69-5 of the printer.
This is executed by writing the response frame 69-8 as response data to -2.

The data frame 69-9 has the FCP
Unlike this, the data frame 69-9 is used for a one-way operation of reading image data from the data register 69-3 of the image supply device to the data register 69-6 of the printer using a read transaction.

FIG. 70 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the pull buffer model between the image supply device and the printer. Login, Logout, OpenChannel, CloseChann in command frame and response frame
The operations for el and format setting are the same as those in the transfer method 1 described above, and the commands and responses (S711 to S714) of BufferConfig and SetBuffer are the same as those in the transfer method 3 described above, so detailed description will be omitted.

In FIG. 70, the image supply device is SetB
It notifies the printer that data transfer can be started by NOTIFY of the buffer command (S715). On the other hand, the printer returns, by the INTERIM of the SetBuffer response, that it is ready to receive the data (S716), and starts the data transfer. And the printer, SetBuffer
The image supply device is notified by the response CONTINUE that the data transfer to the initially set buffer area has been completed (S719).

The printer requests a read transaction by a PullBuffer request (S717). On the other hand, the image supply device transfers data by a PullBuffer response packet (S718), and the data is sequentially written to the buffer address set in the printer.

Step S720 shows a process of transferring a plurality of data frames. That is, data is transferred by a continuous read transaction for the buffer size set by the BufferConfig command. Such a data transfer method using a continuous read transaction is referred to as a “PULL data transfer method” or abbreviated “PULL method”.

FIG. 71 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the data register and the buffer of the image supply device. The memory space 72-2 of the image supply device indicated by the BufferAddress determined by the offset Destination_Offset set in the data register 71-1. The data at the address is read by a read transaction. Since the offset value is incremented by the data length Data_Length, data can be read continuously from the area indicated by the buffer size BufferSize by repeatedly reading data for successive buffer addresses.

[Transfer Method 5] Transfer method 5, which is an isochronous model, is obtained by replacing the transfer of print data using the asynchronous write transaction of transfer method 1 described above with the transfer of print data using a synchronous write transaction. is there. The configuration of the data packet is the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 55 and 56. The data packet frame processing in the printer in the block transfer is shown in FIG.
This is the same as the processing shown in FIG.

According to this transfer method, data can be transferred at a fixed time by using a synchronous write transaction.

In addition, if an error occurs when block data is transferred and, for example, one page of print data is transferred together, one page of print data is retransmitted, which takes time. However, if the print data is transferred in finer block units, for example, in print band units in an ink jet printer or the like, the print data can be retransmitted efficiently when an error occurs.

FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a command frame and a response frame for flow control. The image supply device writes a command frame to the command register 75-3 of the printer by an asynchronous write transaction. On the other hand, the printer writes a response frame for the command to the response register 75-2 of the image supply device by an asynchronous write transaction.

FIG. 73 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of the printing process. First, similarly to the transfer method 1 described above, the image supply device sends a Login command to the printer (S507). In response, the printer returns a Login response (S508), and the connection is established.

Next, similarly to the above-described transfer method 1, the image supply device performs format setting (S509), and
A Channel command is sent to the printer (S510). In response, the printer returns an OpenChannel response (S511),
The logical channel is opened.

Then, the image supply device is a FreeBlock
The command is sent to the printer (S512). In response, the printer returns a FreeBlock response (S513). This FreeBlo
The ck response includes the number of FreeBlocks and ErrorStatus. The number of FreeBlocks is the number of block buffers secured in block units in the printer's memory space.
rStatus is for notifying the image supply device of error information in the previous block transfer. Note that the printer uses the first Fr after the logical channel is opened.
Normal is always returned in ErrorStatus for the eeBlock command.

Subsequently, the image supply device performs block transfer of print data by a synchronous transaction (S51).
Four). At this time, the image supply device sends out data packets for the number indicated by the number of FreeBlocks.

Next, the image supply device sends a FreeBlock command to the printer (S515). In response, the printer returns a FreeBlock response (S516). If the ErrorStatus of this response indicates an error, that is, if an error has occurred in the previous block transfer, the image supply device retransmits the data transferred in step S514 (S517). After this,
Until the data transfer ends normally, steps S515 and S516
And the processing of S517 are repeatedly executed. Also, ErrorStatu
If s indicates normal, the image supply device sends out data packets of the FreeBlock number included in the FreeBlock response (S517).

The printer can recognize whether or not an error has occurred by referring to the block count (FIG. 73) of the header portion of the transferred data. When the number of FreeBlocks is larger than the number of blocks of data to be transferred, the image supply device sends out dummy packets corresponding to the larger number.

Thereafter, the data transfer by the synchronous transaction is repeated until all the series of print data is output from the image supply device.

When the data transfer is completed, the image supply device closes the logical channel by the CloseChannel command and the response as in the transfer method 1 described above (S518).
And S519), log out of the printer using the DPP Logout command and response (S520 and S52)
1).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image supply device is directly connected to the printer via the 1394 serial bus or the like, the image data of the image supply device is directly sent to the printer, and the image based on the image data is sent to the printer. Can be printed.

Further, since the control command and the print data can be separated, an efficient data transfer method in a 1394 serial bus or the like can be provided.

Further, it is possible to provide a data transfer method capable of recovering a transfer error in a 1394 serial bus.

Further, by notifying the number of free blocks related to the data transfer register area, it is not necessary to determine whether or not writing is possible when writing data to the register area, and the data transfer in which the overhead required for the determination is eliminated. A scheme can be provided. Furthermore, since the data for the notified number of free blocks is transmitted and received at a time, a data transfer method with high transfer efficiency can be provided.

Further, it is possible to provide a data transfer method capable of selecting a data transfer method suitable for a transfer destination device from a plurality of data transfer methods.

When data is transferred from the host device to the target device, the exchange of a command and a response to the command is limited to a command for instructing the start of data transfer and a response to the command, that is, the start of data transfer. Thereafter, by not transmitting the command, it is possible to provide a data transfer method that avoids a decrease in transfer efficiency due to the transmission of the command.

When data is transferred between the host device and the target device, a data transfer method based on the PUSH method or the PULL method can be provided.

Further, it is possible to provide a data transfer method capable of performing synchronous transfer and asynchronous transfer in the same transfer procedure when performing data transfer between a host device and a target device.

Further, a data transfer method is provided in which, when data transfer is performed between a host device and a target device, if a transfer error occurs in a certain data unit in synchronous transfer, the data unit can be re-transferred. can do.

In addition, it is possible to provide a data transfer method capable of performing correct data transfer even when a bus reset occurs when performing data transfer between the host device and the target device.

Further, a peripheral device such as a printer using the above data transfer method can be provided.

[0263]

[Modification] In the above embodiment, a command based on the FCP and a response to the command are used.
Although an example of using the method of setting information in the response and notifying the host device has been described, a method of mapping registers on a memory, which is a feature of the IEEE1394 memory bus model, is also conceivable.

In this case, a command is executed by writing command data to a command register assigned to a specific address of the memory. Similarly, a response is indicated by reading data in a response register assigned to a specific address in the memory.

Therefore, when the target device recognizes that the command has been written in the command register,
Execute the command, and then write the result and information to the response register. After writing the command in the command register, the host device can obtain the execution result and information of the command by reading the response register of the target device.

As described above, the present invention can be realized by using the registers in the memory bus model.

In the above-described embodiment, IEEE19
Although an example in which a network is configured using the serial interface specified in 34 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary serial interface such as a serial interface called Universal Serial Bus (USB) may be used. The present invention can also be applied to networks configured using faces.

[0268]

[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 supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus.
Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the PU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements 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, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM,
CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program codes, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program codes. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize 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 card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0272]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Data transfer device, data transfer system and method, image processing suitable for directly connecting a host device and a target device by a 1394 serial bus or the like and causing the target device to process image data sent directly from the host device to the target device An apparatus and a recording medium can be provided.

Further, it is possible to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system and its method, an image processing device, and a recording medium which can separate control commands and data and have high transfer efficiency.

Further, it is possible to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system and its method, an image processing device, and a recording medium that can perform correct data transfer even when a bus reset occurs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a general configuration example of a system to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network using a 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an address space in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a cross section of a cable for a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link system of a data transfer system adopted in a 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a series of sequence examples from generation of a bus reset signal to determination of a node ID and data transfer;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed example from monitoring of a bus reset signal to determination of a root node;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of node ID setting,

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a network operation example of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing functions of a CSR architecture of a 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing registers related to a 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing registers related to node resources of the 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 14 shows a configuration of a 1394 serial bus.
Diagram showing the minimum format of ROM,

FIG. 15 shows the configuration of a 1394 serial bus.
Diagram showing the general format of ROM,

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a request for a bus use right;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating permission to use a bus.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of arbitration in the 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a request / response protocol of each command of read, write, and lock based on the CSR architecture in the transaction layer,

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a service in a link layer;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing temporal transition in asynchronous transfer;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a format of an asynchronous transfer packet.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an operation example of a split transaction.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a temporal transition of a transfer state when performing a split transaction;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing temporal transition in synchronous transfer;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format for synchronous transfer;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing details of a field of a packet format of the synchronous transfer in the 1394 serial bus;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a temporal transition of a transfer state when synchronous transfer and asynchronous transfer are mixed.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an operation of an AV / C transaction on the 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a packet format of an asynchronous transfer including an FCP packet frame;

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the structure of an AV / C command frame.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a structure of an AV / C response frame.

FIG. 33 is a diagram in which the interface of the 1394 serial bus is compared with each layer of the OSI model;

FIG. 34 shows the basic operation of the LOGIN protocol;

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a connection form in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a flow of a login operation;

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a CSR of a 1394 serial bus provided in a printer which is a target device for a LOGIN protocol;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing a login process in the host device;

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing a login process of a printer as a target device;

FIG. 40 is a view for explaining an example in which a device not implementing the LOGIN protocol is considered;

41 is a diagram comparing the configuration shown in FIG. 40 with each layer of the OSI model,

FIG. 42 is a view showing a register map;

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a flow of frames from the image supply device to the printer.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a format register.

FIG. 45 shows a status register of a common register group.
Diagram showing a detailed configuration example of status register,

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a detailed example of information held in a register GLOBAL of a common register group;

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a detailed example of information held in a register LOCAL of a common register group;

FIG. 48 is a view showing an example of information held in a register format [1];

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing an example of information held in a register format [2];

FIG. 50 is a view showing a list of commands and responses to the commands;

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing an example of an image data format supported by DPP;

FIG. 52 is a view showing a flow of a format setting process;

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing an example of a data transfer method setting procedure;

FIG. 54 is a view showing a register map in a 1394 serial bus address space of registers necessary for the transfer method 1 and the transfer method 2;

FIG. 55 is a view showing an example of a data packet frame;

FIG. 56 is a view showing a configuration example of a data header;

FIG. 57 is a view showing data packet frame processing in the printer in block transfer.

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a FreeBlock command and a response in the transfer method 1,

FIG. 59 is a diagram showing an example of a data transfer flow in the transfer method 1;

FIG. 60 is a view showing an example of a data transfer flow in the transfer method 2;

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing in detail a FreeBlock command and a response in the transfer method 1,

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing in detail WriteBlocks of the transfer method 1 and the transfer method 2,

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing WriteBlocks of the transfer method 1 and the transfer method 2 in detail;

FIG. 64 is a view for explaining error processing of WriteBlock when a bus reset occurs;

FIG. 65 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a command register, a response register, and a data register of an image supply device and a printer in a PUSH Large Buffer Model;

FIG. 66 shows a state between an image supply device and a printer.
A diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the PUSH buffer model,

FIG. 67 is a view showing a configuration example of a data packet in a data frame;

FIG. 68 is a view showing an example of the relationship between a data register and a buffer of the printer.

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a command register, a response register, and a data register of an image supply device and a printer in a PULL Buffer Model;

FIG. 70 shows the operation between an image supply device and a printer.
A diagram showing an example of an operation flow of a PULL buffer model,

FIG. 71 is a view showing a relationship example between a data register and a buffer of the image supply device;

FIG. 72 is a view showing a command frame and a response frame for flow control;

FIG. 73 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a printing process.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naohisa Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Jiro Tateyama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Atsushi Nakamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (37)

[Claims] 1. A data transfer method used between a host device directly connected to a serial bus and a target device, wherein a command is sent from the host device to the target device, and the command is transmitted from the target device to the host device. A response to the command is returned, and a predetermined unit of data is transmitted from the host device to the target device based on the buffer information included in the response.If a bus reset occurs, the data is being transferred at the timing of the bus reset. And retransmitting a part of the data of the predetermined unit. 2. The bus reset is a process for performing initialization of a communication system configured using the serial bus, and the host device transmits the data of the predetermined unit after the completion of the initialization. 2. The data transfer method according to claim 1, wherein a part of the data is retransmitted. 3. The data transfer method according to claim 2, wherein the initial setting is a process of recognizing a connection configuration of a device connected to the serial bus. 4. The data transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined unit of data is constituted by one or more predetermined block units of data. 5. The host device according to claim 1, wherein, when the bus reset occurs, the host device retransmits the data of the predetermined block unit transferred or transferred immediately before the occurrence timing. 5. The data transfer method according to claim 4. 6. The target device according to claim 4, wherein the target device has a buffer capable of holding the data in the predetermined unit transferred from the host device in the predetermined block unit. Data transfer method. 7. The data transfer method according to claim 6, wherein the buffer information is information indicating the number of data blocks in a predetermined block unit that can be received by a buffer included in the target device. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the host device is a device capable of generating image data, and transfers the generated image data by dividing the generated image data into data of a predetermined unit. The data transfer method described in any one of the above. 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the target device is a device capable of forming a visible image based on image data transferred from the host device. Data transfer method described. 10. The serial bus has a first transfer method for synchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data every predetermined communication cycle, and a second transfer method for asynchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data as needed. 10. The data transfer method according to claim 1, wherein a corresponding transfer is possible. 11. The data transfer method according to claim 10, wherein the host device asynchronously transfers the predetermined unit of data as needed. 12. The serial bus is an IEEE1394-1995
11. The data transfer method according to claim 10, wherein the bus conforms to or conforms to a standard or a USB standard. 13. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined unit of image data is transmitted to said target device by the data transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 12. 14. An image processing apparatus, wherein the predetermined unit of image data received from the host device is processed by the data transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 12. 15. A data transfer device connected to a serial bus, comprising: a command transmitting unit for transmitting a command to a target device; a receiving unit for receiving a response to the command returned from the target device; Transfer means for transferring a predetermined unit of data to and from the target device based on the buffer information to be transferred, and when a bus reset occurs, the transfer of the predetermined unit of data being transferred at the bus reset occurrence timing. A data transfer device comprising: retransmission means for retransmitting a part. 16. The bus reset is a process indicating that initialization of a communication system configured by using the serial bus is performed, and the data transfer device performs the predetermined unit of data after the completion of the initialization. 16. The data transfer device according to claim 15, wherein a part of the data transfer is retransmitted. 17. The data transfer device according to claim 16, wherein the initial setting is a process of recognizing a connection configuration of a device connected to the serial bus. 18. The data transfer device according to claim 15, wherein said predetermined unit of data is constituted by one or more predetermined block units of data. 19. When the bus reset occurs,
19. The data transfer device according to claim 18, wherein the data of the predetermined block unit transferred immediately before the occurrence timing or being transferred is retransmitted. 20. The target device according to claim 18, wherein the target device has a buffer capable of holding the data of the predetermined unit transferred from the host device in the predetermined block unit. Data transfer device. 21. The data transfer device according to claim 20, wherein the buffer information is information indicating the number of data blocks in a predetermined block unit that can be received by a buffer provided in the target device. 22. The data transfer device according to claim 15, wherein the data transfer device is a device capable of generating image data, and transfers the generated image data by dividing the generated image data into data of a predetermined unit. 22. The data transfer device according to any one of 21. 23. The serial bus has a first transfer method for synchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data every predetermined communication cycle, and a second transfer method for asynchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data as needed. 23. The data transfer device according to claim 15, wherein a corresponding transfer is possible. 24. The data transfer device according to claim 23, wherein the predetermined unit of data is asynchronously transferred as needed. 25. The serial bus is an IEEE1394-1995
24. The data transfer device according to claim 23, wherein the data transfer device is a bus that conforms to or conforms to a USB standard or a USB standard. 26. A data transfer device connected to a serial bus, comprising: command receiving means for receiving a command sent from a host device; transmitting means for sending a response to the command to the host device; A transfer unit for transferring data in a predetermined unit with the host device based on the buffer information included in the predetermined unit; and when a bus reset occurs, the transfer of the predetermined unit being performed at the timing of the occurrence of the bus reset. A data transfer device, comprising: re-receiving means for re-receiving a part of data. 27. The bus reset is a process indicating that initialization of a communication system configured by using the serial bus is performed, and the data transfer device performs the initialization of the predetermined unit of data after the initialization. 27. The data transfer device according to claim 26, wherein a part of the data is retransmitted. 28. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said initial setting is a process of recognizing a connection configuration of a device connected to said serial bus. 29. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the data of the predetermined unit is constituted by data of one or more predetermined blocks. 30. When the bus reset occurs,
30. The data transfer device according to claim 29, wherein the data transferred in a predetermined block unit immediately before or before the occurrence timing is retransmitted. 31. The data transfer device according to claim 30, wherein the buffer information is information indicating the number of data blocks in a predetermined block unit that can be received by a buffer provided in the data transfer device. 32. The data transfer device according to claim 26, wherein the data transfer device is a device capable of forming a visible image based on image data transferred from the host device. A data transfer device according to claim 1. 33. The serial bus has a first transfer method for synchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data every predetermined communication cycle, and a second transfer method for asynchronously transferring a predetermined unit of data when necessary. 33. The data transfer device according to claim 26, wherein corresponding transfer is possible. 34. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the host device asynchronously transfers the predetermined unit of data as needed. 35. The serial bus is an IEEE1394-1995
34. The data transfer device according to claim 33, wherein the data transfer device is a bus conforming to or conforming to a USB standard or a USB standard. 36. A data transfer system for transferring data via a serial bus, comprising: communication means for transmitting a command from a host device to a target device, and returning a response to the command from the target device to the host device. A transfer unit configured to transfer a predetermined unit of data between the host device and the target device based on buffer information included in the response; and when a bus reset occurs, transfer is performed at a timing when the bus reset occurs. Retransmitting means for retransmitting a part of the predetermined unit of data in the data transfer system. 37. A recording medium storing a program code of a data transfer method used between a host device and a target device directly connected by a serial bus, wherein the command code is transmitted from the host device to the target device, A code of a communication step for returning a response to the command from the target device to the host device, and transfer of data in a predetermined unit between the host device and the target device based on buffer information included in the response. And a code of a retransmission step for retransmitting a part of the data of the predetermined unit which has been transferred at the timing of the occurrence of the bus reset when a bus reset occurs. Recording medium characterized by the following: .