JPH11306097A - Terminal control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To block illegal utility of a terminal by having the terminal accept no commands other than control by a normal driver. SOLUTION: When a driver 4 transmits a group of commands to a terminal 5, continuous commands C1 and C2 or a temporal gap between the C2 and a C3 are set to be T1 and T2. A command reception part 6 of the terminal 5 receives only command received in these temporal gaps T1 and T2 and activates a control part T when the command is normally received. The command received in a different temporal gap is ignored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention allows a computer equipped with a predetermined driver to use a terminal device connected to the computer, even if the computer is operated by an operating system having a common specification, for example. It relates to a terminal control system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A system in which a large number of personal computers are connected to a network and each personal computer shares a printer connected to the network has been widely adopted. Not only print function,
A terminal device having both a facsimile function and a scanner function can be connected to a network and shared by many host devices.

A terminal device such as a printer is controlled by sending a predetermined command group by a dedicated driver software installed in a personal computer. The personal computer and the terminal device are connected by a serial interface or a parallel interface. This interface and control method are standardized.

Therefore, even if there is no driver software, the terminal device can be controlled by directly sending a command supplied by the operating system of the personal computer to the terminal device.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems to be solved. There is a case where a terminal device connected to a network is used only for a special purpose, and there is a case where it is desired to restrict use so that the terminal device can be controlled only by a specific personal computer. In this case, the driver software may be installed only on the personal computer permitted to use the terminal device. However, for the above reason, control by another personal computer cannot be prohibited.

In order to use the terminal device with a plurality of personal computers, a sales method may be adopted in which driver software for each personal computer is optionally purchased. Also in this case, if the terminal device can be used without necessarily using the driver software, the benefit of the driver software developer cannot be secured.

[0007]

The present invention employs the following structure to solve the above problems. <Configuration 1> A driver for transmitting a command group for controlling a terminal device generated by an operating system of a higher-level device to the terminal device, and a command receiving unit for receiving the command group from the driver in the terminal device And a control unit of the terminal device, wherein the driver includes:
The command group is transmitted to the terminal device at a preset time interval, and the command receiving unit measures a reception time interval of the received command group, and each command is received at a preset time interval. A terminal control system characterized in that the command is transferred to the control unit only when necessary.

<Structure 2> A driver for transmitting a command group for controlling the terminal device generated by the operating system of the host device to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the command group from the driver. A command receiving unit, comprising a control unit of the terminal device, wherein the driver transmits a plurality of specific commands included in the command group to the terminal device at a preset time interval, the command receiving unit The reception time interval of the plurality of specific commands received at the start of the operation of the terminal device is measured, and only when each command is received at a preset time interval, each command is included, and the subsequent reception is performed. A terminal control system, wherein a command to be transmitted is transferred to the control unit.

<Configuration 3> In the terminal control system according to configuration 1 or 2, when controlling the time intervals of three or more commands, a time interval setting unit for setting the time intervals of each command to different values is provided. A terminal control system, characterized in that:

<Structure 4> In the terminal control system according to structure 1 or 2, the command receiving section holds time data for controlling a time interval of the command, and converts the time data into a command before starting the terminal control. A terminal control system for transmitting a signal from a receiving unit to a driver.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using specific examples. <Specific Example 1> In the present invention, the contents of a command group received from a higher-level device to a terminal device through an interface are the same as in the related art. However, the difference is that the control of the terminal device is started only when a plurality of commands are received at predetermined time intervals, assuming that the control is performed by a valid driver. Since only the driver and the terminal device know this time interval, the terminal device cannot be controlled without this driver.

The time interval of the command may be controlled at any time from the start of the operation of the terminal device to the end thereof. Also, only when the operation of the terminal device is started, the time interval of the command is controlled, and after it is determined that the control is performed by the normal driver, the command is transmitted at the normal time interval and the operation of the terminal device is performed. You may make it control. In this specific example, the latter case will be described. To perform such an operation, the system of the present invention is configured as follows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal control system according to the present invention. This system is controlled by a host device 1 such as a personal computer. A processor is mounted on the main body 2 of the host device 1, and an environment in which the general-purpose operating system 3 operates is provided. Driver 4 is operating system 3
It is an application that operates on the above and is a dedicated program for controlling the terminal device 5.

The terminal device 5 is provided with a command receiving unit 6 for receiving, interpreting and processing a command group received from the driver 4. Terminal device 5 shown in this example
Has a printer, facsimile, and scanner function, for example. The host device 1 and the terminal device 5 have I
They are connected by a Bi-Centro interface cable 8 conforming to the EEE1284 standard. The command receiving unit 6 has a function of transferring the received command to the control unit 7.

FIG. 2 shows a command receiving unit 6 of the terminal device 5.
And a detailed block diagram of the control unit 7. The command receiving unit 6 includes a BIC task 11, a switch 12, and an MFP task 13. The BIC task 11 uses the Bi-
This is an interface program for transmitting and receiving commands on the Centro interface in a procedure based on the IEEE1284 standard. The switch 12 switches from the BIC task 11 to the MFP task 1 according to control conditions described later.
3 that physically connects or disconnects a path for transferring a command to the MFP 3 or software that has a switch-like function of invalidating a command transferred from the BIC task 11 to the MFP task 13 according to control conditions. Be composed.

The MFP task 13 is constituted by a program having a multi-function peripheral interface function for transferring commands transferred from the BIC task 11 to the control unit 7 of a subsystem having various functions. In this example, the scanner subsystem 16, the printer subsystem 17,
The facsimile subsystem 18 has been illustrated. of course,
Both the BIC task 11 and the MFP task 13 can be realized by hardware.

The BIC task 11 includes a command analysis unit 14 and a command interval measurement unit for analyzing and processing commands received from a personal computer. Normally, the operating system 3 of the host device generates and outputs a general-purpose command group for controlling the terminal device 5. Upon receiving the command group, the terminal device 5 sequentially executes the corresponding processes. For example, when a print command is received, the requested printing is executed.
Each command is normally input to the terminal device at a constant speed in accordance with a predetermined transfer clock.

However, according to the present invention, the transmission time interval is changed when the driver 4 of the host device 1 transmits a specific command included in the command group. For example, after transmitting the first command C1 shown in FIG.
The control of transmitting the second command C2 is performed. The command receiving unit 6 of the terminal device 5 measures the command reception time interval T1, and when the second command is received three clocks after the first command is received, the command group is transmitted from the normal driver. Assuming that the terminal device has been transmitted, the subsequent original operation of the terminal device is started. This time interval T
1 is a key for distinguishing a command group from a normal driver or a command group transmitted directly from a general-purpose operating system.

In order to realize such an operation, the command analysis unit 14 detects a command transmitted by the driver 4 to control the activation of the terminal device 5 and notifies the command interval measurement unit 15 of the reception timing. have. The command is a series of commands received when the terminal device 5 starts operating. The command interval measuring unit 15 is configured such that the command analyzing unit 14
When 1 is detected, time measurement is started. Then, a time T1 until the command analysis unit 14 detects the second command is measured. When this time matches the preset time, time measurement is started again.

For example, when the first command C1 is received, the command C1 is stored in a buffer, a clock counter is started, and only the command input when the counter indicates 3 is stored again in the buffer. For example, when a set of three commands is received at a predetermined timing, the command group stored in the buffer is
An operation such as transfer to the FP task 13 is performed.

FIG. 3 shows a sequence chart of the terminal control system. First, the driver 4 of the host device 1 first transmits an “ABC” command to activate the terminal device 5. In this example, characters A, B, and C are transmitted in order in steps S1, S2, and S3, and one transmission is performed three times.
Complete the transmission of one command. The time when this “ABC” command is received by the terminal device 5 is defined as t1. The command analyzer 14 of the command receiver 6 shown in FIG. 2 analyzes the command. The command interval measurement unit 15 starts measuring time until the next command is received.

After that, the higher-level device 1 transmits a "DE" command. In this case, D and E are transmitted to the terminal device 5 twice in steps S4 and S5. The terminal device 5 reads the command interval T1 by comparing the time t2 at which the reception of the command is started with the time t1. If this is equal to a value preset as a time interval between the “ABC” command and the “DE” command, B
The IC task 11 starts measuring time until the next command is received.

Similarly, when the “FG” command is subsequently received by the terminal device 5, the time from the time t 3 at which the reception of the “DE” command is completed to the time t 4 at which the reception of the “FG” command is started Read T1. If this is a predetermined time, the command interval measuring unit 15 turns on the switch 12. Thus, the command received by the BIC task 11 is transmitted from the BIC task 11 to the MFP task 13, and the corresponding subsystem of the control unit 7 is activated.

FIG. 4 shows an operation flowchart of the terminal control system. As shown in the figure, the above system
First, in step S1, it is determined whether an "ABC" command has been received. The command analysis unit 14
When it is determined that the “ABC” command has been received, the command interval measuring unit 15 is started next. And step S
In step 2, after receiving the “ABC” command,
Wait for the time to elapse. Any commands received during this time are ignored.

After a lapse of time T1, step S
At 3, it is determined whether a "DE" command has been received. In this process, when the “DE” command is received after the lapse of the time T1 or more, all of them are normally received. However, an appropriate time limit TL of, for example, T1 time or more is provided, and this TL
If the "DE" command is not received even after the elapse of the time, a method of terminating the receiving process may be adopted.

In step S4 of FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the time T1 has elapsed since the reception of the "DE" command. Then, in step S5, it is determined again whether the "FG" command has been received. When the "FG" command is received, the process proceeds to step S6, and the switch 12
Is turned on. Thus, the command is sent to the BIC task 11
Is transferred to the control unit 7 through the MFP task 13.
As a result, any specified subsystem is started.
That is, in step S7, the operation of the terminal starts.

In the above example, for example, when two or three commands are successively input when the terminal is started, the time interval is set to a constant T1 and received at other time intervals. Command is ignored. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the time interval between the first command C1 and the next command C2 is T1.
The time interval between the next command C2 and the next command C3 may be set to T2. The combination of the command type and the command reception interval may be further complicated.

Further, among several commands received when the terminal device is started, only a command interval of a pair of a specific arbitrary command and a command received next is set to a predetermined time interval. It is also possible to use such a method. That is, a method of receiving other commands at the usual timing may be adopted.

<Effect of Specific Example 1> According to the example described above, the driver transmits a command to the terminal device at a constant time interval, and the terminal device transmits the command only when the command is received at a predetermined time interval. Now that the terminal is working,
When a command is received at an arbitrary prescribed interval by a general-purpose operating system or the like, the control can be rejected. Therefore, only the person who uses the specific driver can use the terminal device.

Although the above example focuses on the command for activating the terminal device, the present invention can be applied to a case where only a special function of the terminal device is restricted from being freely used. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to adopt a method in which only commands necessary for controlling the special function are transmitted at fixed time intervals.

<Specific Example 2> If a time interval longer than a certain standard is set for transmission of all commands, a substantial transfer speed of the commands is reduced. In addition, the operation analysis of the driver is easy, and unauthorized use is permitted. Therefore, when three or more commands are successively transmitted from the driver to the command receiving unit, the time intervals of the commands may be set to different values. This is as described in the first embodiment. In this specific example, a case in which the control is performed according to an instruction from a command receiving unit will be described.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of a command time interval. (A) shown in this figure shows commands C1, C2,
When C3 is input sequentially, a fixed time interval T1 is set, and the operation shown in the specific example 1 is performed.

(B) shows a case where the time interval between commands C1 and C2 is T1, and the time interval between commands C2 and C3 is T1.
2, and the time interval between the command C3 and the command C4 is T1.
It is set to be. If such a combination is complicated, the control by the driver 4 cannot be easily analyzed. Here, the time intervals of such commands are set on the terminal device side, not on the driver side.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the BIC task. In this example, a command interval setting unit 19 is added to the BIC task 11. The configuration of other parts is the same as that described above. In this example, the command interval setting unit 19 holds time data for controlling the command time interval. This time data is data that instructs, for example, that the interval between the first command and the second command is 5 clocks and the interval between the second command and the third command is 2 clocks.
The time data may be set by using a dip switch or the like when the terminal device 5 is manufactured, or may be input and set to the command interval setting unit 19 at an arbitrary timing by operating a console or the like by a maintenance manager.

The time data is transmitted from the command receiving unit 6 shown in FIG. This time data may be transmitted in a fixed sequence at the start of the terminal control, or may be transmitted when the host device and the terminal device are connected via a network.

This specific example is exactly the same as the specific example 1 described above, except that the command interval is stored in various forms in the command interval setting section 19 and transmitted to the driver of the host device. Perform the operation.

<Effect of Specific Example 2> By setting the time interval of the command to be not less than two and two or more, the control of the driver cannot be easily recognized. Also, on the terminal device side,
If the configuration is such that the command interval is freely set and sent to the higher-level device, more secure control is possible. In the above example, an example in which a Bi-Centro cable is used has been described. However, the same can be applied to a configuration using an RS232C interface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of the terminal control system.

FIG. 3 is an operation sequence chart of the terminal control system.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the terminal control system.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of a command time interval.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the BIC task.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 upper device 3 operating system 4 driver 5 terminal device 6 command receiving unit 7 control unit C1, C2, C3, C4 command T1 time interval

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A command group for controlling a terminal device generated by an operating system of a host device,
A driver that transmits the command group to the terminal device; a command receiving unit that receives a command group from the driver in the terminal device; and a control unit of the terminal device, wherein the driver transmits the command group to a preset time interval. The command receiving unit measures a reception time interval of a received command group, and only when each command is received at a preset time interval, transmits the command to the control unit. A terminal control system for transferring to a terminal. 2. A command group for controlling a terminal device generated by an operating system of a host device,
A driver that transmits to the terminal device; a command receiving unit that receives a command group from the driver in the terminal device; and a control unit of the terminal device, wherein the driver includes a plurality of drivers included in the command group. The command receiving unit transmits the command to the terminal device at a preset time interval, and the command receiving unit measures a reception time interval of the specific plurality of commands received at the start of the operation of the terminal device, and is set in advance. A terminal control system wherein only when each command is received at a time interval, a command to be subsequently received including the command is transferred to the control unit. 3. The terminal control system according to claim 1, further comprising a time interval setting unit for setting the time intervals of each command to different values when controlling the time intervals of three or more commands. A terminal control system characterized by the following. 4. The terminal control system according to claim 1, wherein the command receiving unit holds time data for controlling a time interval of the command, and receives the time data before starting the terminal control. A terminal control system, wherein the terminal control system transmits the information to a driver from a unit.