JPH11348390A - Printer, method for dealing with failure and memory medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which a failed extension controller board can be removed automatically even if it is connected, before printing is performed. SOLUTION: An extension controller section executes a self-diagnostic program at the time of starting and makes a decision whether a failed part is present or not. When a failed part is found, it is notified to a basic control section and power supply is interrupted if possible. If it is not possible, the controller section enters into sleep state and a printer is operated as if an extension controller board is not present. When a failed part is not found, normal processing is resumed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for analyzing print data received from a host computer or the like and performing printing, a failure processing method, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this type of printing apparatus, there has been known a printing apparatus in which a plurality of expansion controller boards can be arbitrarily added as expansion boards. In such a printing apparatus, when a failure of the expansion controller or the like is found by self-diagnosis at the time of startup, it is usual that the fact is displayed on a panel or the like at that time, and the printing apparatus is not used at all.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional printing apparatus, if at least one of the expansion controllers has failed, it cannot be used as a printing apparatus at all, which is very inconvenient.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a printing apparatus, a failure processing method, and a storage medium that can automatically perform a printing process by automatically removing a failed extended controller board even if it is connected. With the goal.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus having a plurality of control units for controlling data printing. Failure determination means for determining whether or not a failure has occurred, and limiting means for limiting the control unit in which the failure has occurred to an unusable state when it is determined that the failure has occurred. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the failure determining means provided in the control unit together with the limiting means determines whether or not the control unit has a failure. Self-diagnosis means for performing a self-diagnosis, wherein the control unit includes a notification means for notifying another control unit of the fact that the faulty part is diagnosed, and after the notification, the control unit performs the self-diagnosis. It is characterized in that the control unit is restricted to a state where it cannot be used.

[0007] A printing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising connection confirmation means for confirming the connection of the control unit, and wherein the failure determination means comprises the control unit having confirmed the connection. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not at least one of them has a failure.

[0008] In the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the first aspect.
Wherein the control section is an extension controller section which is scalably connected to the apparatus main body, analyzes print data received from a host computer, and transfers the data to the printing section.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the failure processing method provided in a printing apparatus for performing a failure process of a control unit that controls data printing, it is determined whether a failure has occurred in the control unit. And if it is determined that the failure has occurred, the control unit in which the failure has occurred is limited to a state where it cannot be used.

A storage medium according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a storage medium in which a plurality of storage media are provided in a printing apparatus and in which a program for performing a failure process of a control unit for controlling data printing is stored.
The program executed by the PU includes a procedure for determining whether or not a failure has occurred in the control unit, and a procedure for determining whether or not the failure has occurred, the control unit in which the failure has occurred. And a procedure for restricting use to an unusable state.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a printing apparatus, a failure processing method, and a storage medium according to the present invention will be described.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser beam printer according to an embodiment. In this laser beam printer (hereinafter, referred to as LBP), it is possible to register a character pattern and a fixed format (form data) from a data source (not shown).

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes an LBP main body, which includes character information (character code), form information, and the like supplied from an externally connected host computer (not shown).
In addition to inputting and storing a macro command and the like, a corresponding character pattern or form pattern is created according to the information, and an image is formed on a recording paper as a recording medium.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an operation panel on which operation switches and LED indicators are arranged, and 1 denotes a printer control unit for controlling the entire LBP and analyzing character information supplied from a host computer. The printer control unit 1 mainly converts character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern and outputs the video signal to the laser driver 2.
The printer control unit 1 has a basic controller unit and an extended controller unit, which will be described later.

The laser driver 2 is a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 3, and switches on / off the laser light 4 emitted from the semiconductor laser 3 according to the input video signal.

The laser beam 4 is swung right and left by a rotary polygon mirror 5 to scan on an electrostatic drum 6. Thus, an electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 6. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 7 arranged around the electrostatic drum 6 and then transferred to a recording sheet. Cut sheet recording paper is used as recording paper. The cut sheet recording paper is stored in a paper cassette 8 mounted on the LBP main body 20 and includes a paper feed roller 9 and transport rollers 10 and 1.
1 and is supplied to the electrostatic drum 6 by being taken into the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the LBP main body 20. The LBP body 20 is roughly divided into three parts, a basic controller unit 100 and an engine unit 20.
0 and extended controller units 110, 120, and 130.

The basic controller unit 100 receives bitmap information, control commands, and the like created by the extended controller units 110, 120, and 130 via the extended controller interfaces 21a, 21b, and 21c, and transmits the information to the engine unit 200 as a video signal. Or as
It performs arbitration between the extended controller units, stores bitmap information, control information, macros, overlay information, and the like in the RAM 160 and the secondary storage device 180 in the basic controller unit 100, and displays the state of the LBP main body 20 on the operation panel 12 To be displayed.

The basic controller unit 100 communicates with the engine unit 200, and
The status of the engine unit 200 is notified to 0, 120, and 130, and overall control of the engine unit 200 is performed.

Extended controller units 110, 120, 13
0 receives print data, control commands, and the like from the outside via the host interface 112, creates bitmap information in accordance with the print data and control instructions, and transfers the information as a video signal to the engine unit 200 according to the instruction of the basic controller unit 100.

The engine unit 200 receives a video signal transmitted from the extended controller units 110, 120, and 130, and forms a visible image on paper according to the signal.

The extended controller units 110 and 12
Reference numerals 0 and 130 perform direct communication with the engine unit 200 in accordance with instructions from the basic controller unit 100, communicate the state of the engine unit 200 to the outside, and perform overall control of the engine unit 200 and the like.

Next, the basic controller unit 100 will be described in detail. The basic controller unit 100 includes a CPU 1
70, secondary storage device 180, video interface 1
40, ROM 150, flash ROM 151, RAM
160, an operation panel 12, and extended controller interfaces 21a, 21b, 21c.

The CPU 170 controls the entire apparatus, arbitrates the extended controller, reads and writes information in the secondary storage device 180, and temporarily stores bitmap information. The video interface 140 transmits and receives data to and from the engine unit 200.

The ROM 150 stores programs for controlling the apparatus, various printer control languages, font information, and the like. The flash ROM 151 stores a main program for controlling the apparatus, various printer control languages, font information, and the like. The RAM 160 is used for temporarily storing information such as a work area for information processing, a temporary storage area for data from the host interface, and an input / output buffer area for a secondary storage device.

The operation panel 12 sets, changes or displays parameters of the printing environment. The extended controller interfaces 21a, 21b, 21c transmit and receive data to and from the extended controller units 110, 120, 130.

The secondary storage device 180 is a hard disk whose reading and writing speed is lower than that of the RAM 160,
An MO (magneto-optical disk), FD, or the like.

The extended controller section 110 will be described in detail. Since the extended controller units 120 and 130 have the same configuration as the extended controller unit 110, only the extended controller unit 110 will be described. The extended controller unit 110 includes a host interface 112, a CPU 11
1, ROM 114, flash ROM 115, RAM1
13 and the like.

The host interface 112 transmits and receives data to and from a host computer (not shown).
The CPU 111 controls the entire apparatus, analyzes a page description language, creates bitmap information, and the like. ROM114
Stores a program for controlling the extended controller unit 110, various printer control languages, various page description language processing programs, font information, and the like. Flash ROM 11
Reference numeral 5 stores a main program for controlling the apparatus, various printer control languages, font information, and the like. RAM11
3 is a work area for information processing, host interface 1
12 is used for temporary storage of information such as use as a temporary storage area of data. Note that the extended controller unit can be similarly applied without having a host interface, a RAM, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a failure processing procedure in the extended controller unit. This processing program is stored in the ROM 114 in the extended controller unit 110, and is stored in the CPU 11 in the extended controller unit 110.
1 is performed.

First, a self-diagnosis program is executed at the time of startup (step S1), and it is determined whether or not there is a failure (step S2). If a failure is found, the failure is notified to the basic controller unit 100 (step S3). Thereafter, if possible, the power supply is cut off to stop the power supply, or if it is impossible to cut off the power supply, a sleep state is entered (step S4), and the process is terminated. On the other hand, step S
If no failure point is found in step 2, the process proceeds to the normal process (step S5), and the process ends.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when the extension controller having the self-diagnosis function is broken,
The extended controller unit itself can be eliminated from the system, and operation can be performed as if the extended controller unit does not exist. Therefore, the inconvenience that the printing apparatus cannot be used at all can be solved.

[Second Embodiment] The mechanical and electrical configuration of the LBP according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a failure processing procedure in the basic controller unit 100. This processing program is stored in the ROM 150 in the basic controller unit 100, and is executed by the CPU 170 in the basic controller unit 100.

First, the connected expansion controller board is checked at the time of startup (step S11), and it is determined whether or not a failure has been notified from the connected expansion controller unit (step S12). If a failed extended controller unit is found, the extended controller unit is removed from the system (step S13), and the process proceeds to normal processing assuming that the extended controller unit is not connected (step S14), and the process ends. . On the other hand, if the failed extended controller unit is not found in step S12, the process directly proceeds to the normal process (step S14), and the process ends.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the extended controller units connected by the basic controller unit can be managed collectively, and the extended controller board can be used with the same configuration as the conventional one.

The failure processing program shown in FIG. 4 may be executed by the extended controller.
The basic controller unit 100 can be used with the same configuration as the conventional one.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the extended controller has a faulty part has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the basic controller has a faulty part. Can be dealt with by eliminating

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where three extended controller units are provided has been described. However, the number is not particularly limited to three and may be any number. Further, the extension controller unit may be retrofitted so that the user can freely extend the extension controller unit, and the present invention is similarly applicable.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the extended controller unit is the same in all the extended controller units. However, different types of extended controller units may be provided. Can be configured in various modes such as those in the extended controller section.

Further, in the first embodiment, the notification is made only to the basic controller unit. However, the notified basic controller unit notifies the host computer using the host interface or displays the information on the operation panel. It may be.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the LBP is shown. However, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet printer which is another printing method. Further, the present invention is not limited to a printer, and can be applied to a copying machine.

It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to an apparatus. In this case, by reading a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the device, the device can enjoy the effects of the present invention. As a storage medium, R
Not limited to OM, for example, floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
A DR, a DVD, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like can be used.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, and similar effects can be obtained.

[0044]

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus provided with a plurality of control units for controlling data printing, it is determined whether or not a failure has occurred in the control units. A failure determining means for determining, and a limiting means for limiting the control unit in which the failure has occurred to an unusable state when it is determined that the failure has occurred. Even if it is connected, it is possible to automatically exclude it and perform printing processing. Therefore, the inconvenience that the printing apparatus cannot be used at all can be solved. The same effect can be obtained in the printing method according to the fifth aspect and the storage medium according to the sixth aspect.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, the failure judging means provided in the control unit together with the limiting means is a self-diagnosis means for self-diagnosing whether or not the control unit has a failure. When the control unit is diagnosed as having the fault location, the control unit includes a notification unit that notifies the other control unit of the diagnosis. After the notification, the control unit cannot use the control unit due to the restriction unit. If the controller such as the expansion controller board is broken, the power of the expansion controller can be cut off or the expansion controller can be put into a sleep state and removed from the system, and it can be operated as if the expansion controller does not exist. it can. By providing the control unit with the self-diagnosis function in this manner, the effects described in claim 1 can be obtained regardless of the configuration of the connected apparatus main body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printing apparatus further comprising connection confirmation means for confirming the connection of the control unit, wherein the failure determination means includes a failure detection unit in at least one of the control units whose connection has been confirmed. It is possible to collectively manage the connected control units such as the extended controller board, so that the extended controller board can be used with the same configuration as that of the related art.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control unit is an extension controller unit which is scalably connected to the apparatus main body, analyzes print data received from the host computer, and transfers the data to the printing unit. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to an extended controller board that has little effect on the apparatus main body even when it cannot be used.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium which is provided in a printing apparatus and stores a program for performing a failure process of a control unit for controlling data printing, wherein the program is executed by a CPU. A program for determining whether a failure has occurred in the control unit;
If it is determined that the failure has occurred, the procedure includes a step of restricting the control unit in which the failure has occurred to an unusable state, so that the expandability and versatility of the printing apparatus can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a laser beam printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the LBP main body 20.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a failure processing procedure in an extended controller unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a failure processing procedure in the basic controller unit 100.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Basic controller unit 110, 120, 130 Extended controller unit 111, 170 CPU 113, 160 RAM 114, 150 ROM 200 Engine unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus provided with a plurality of control units for controlling data printing, wherein: a failure determination unit configured to determine whether a failure has occurred in the control unit; A printing device, comprising: a determination unit configured to limit the control unit in which the failure has occurred to an unusable state when the determination is made. 2. The failure judging means provided in the control unit together with the limiting means is a self-diagnosis means for self-diagnosing whether or not the control unit has a failure part. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies another control unit of the fact that there is a location, and after the notification, the control unit limits the use of the control unit to an unusable state. The printing device according to 1. 3. A connection confirmation unit for confirming connection of the control unit, wherein the failure determination unit determines whether a failure has occurred in at least one of the control units whose connection has been confirmed. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is an expansion controller unit that is scalably connected to the apparatus main body, analyzes print data received from a host computer, and transfers the data to a printing unit. Printing device. 5. A failure processing method provided in a printing apparatus for performing failure processing of a control unit that controls data printing, comprising: determining whether a failure has occurred in the control unit; If it is determined that the failure has occurred, a failure processing method is characterized in that the controller in which the failure has occurred is limited to a state in which it cannot be used. 6. A storage medium, which is provided in a printing apparatus and stores a program for performing a failure process of a control unit that controls data printing, wherein the program executed by a CPU has a failure in the control unit. A procedure for determining whether the failure has occurred, and a procedure for, when it is determined that the failure has occurred, limiting the control unit in which the failure has occurred to an unusable state. Medium.