KR20060023780A - Photo printer and method for setting pringing option thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A photo printer and a printing option setting method thereof are disclosed. The slot is equipped with a removable memory card storing print data, the first storage medium stores the setting value of the print option for the print data, and the print engine prints the print data stored in the removable memory based on the setting value of the print option. The USB module supports data communication with the computer, and the controller is connected to the computer through the USB module so that the computer recognizes the first storage medium as a removable disk by the mass storage class, and the stored settings are stored in the user of the computer. When changed by the interface, the first storage medium is controlled to store the changed setting value. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to change the print option by using the mass storage class of USB communication.

Photo printer, mass storage class, USB

Description

Photo printer and method for setting pringing option

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a photo printer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a window explorer screen displayed on an external computer connected to FIG. 1;

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print option setting screen displayed on an external computer by a file stored in the first storage medium of FIG. 1, and

4 is a flowchart for schematically describing a printing option setting method of FIG. 1.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

100: photo printer 110: card slot

120: USB module 130: the user control panel

140: first storage medium 150: second storage medium

160: data processing unit 170: print engine unit

190: control unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photo printer and a printing option setting method thereof, and more particularly, to a photo printer and a printing option setting method thereof in which a printing option can be changed using a mass storage class of USB communication.

With the recent spread of digital cameras, more and more users want to store images captured by digital cameras on a storage medium such as a hard disk drive of a computer and directly output them on paper.

Photo Printer has been developed for this purpose. Photo printers are digital photo-only printers that print images stored on a digital camera connected by PictBridge or print images stored on a removable memory card. Such a photo printer outputs a photograph having a quality similar to that of a general film photograph when using a photograph-only paper.

However, the conventional photo printer does not provide a UI (User Interface) for printing an image according to the set print option after the user sets a desired print option. In other words, the conventional photo printer only prints the image stored in the digital camera or the removable memory card as it is, and does not provide a function for changing the printing option of the stored image or editing the image. Thus, if the user wants to print an image after changing the print option, the user can change the print option by using a separate application such as Photoshop or a function provided by the digital camera itself (for example, switching to black and white mode). Or it must involve cumbersome tasks that require editing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a photo printer and a printing option setting method thereof in which a printing option can be easily set using a mass storage class of USB communication.

In order to solve the above technical problem, a photo printer according to the present invention includes at least one slot in which a removable memory card in which print data is stored; A first storage medium for storing a setting value of a print option for the print data; A print engine unit for printing the print data stored in the removable memory based on a setting value of the print option; A USB module for supporting data communication with a computer; And after the computer recognizes the first storage medium as a removable disk by a mass storage class through the USB module and the USB cable, and the stored setting value is changed by the user interface of the computer, And a controller configured to control the first storage medium to store the changed set value.

Preferably, the storage medium further comprises a second storage medium storing the initial value of the print option, wherein the control unit, when the setting value of the print option is deleted by the user interface, the initial storage stored in the second storage medium The value is stored in the first storage medium.                     

The apparatus may further include a user manipulation unit which requests a print job of the print data, wherein the controller is configured to perform a print job corresponding to the changed setting value stored in the first storage medium when the print job is requested. Control the engine unit.

On the other hand, to solve the above technical problem, the printing option setting method of the photo printer according to the present invention, the step of being connected to communicate with the computer via a USB cable; Recognizing, by the mass storage class of the computer, the storage medium storing the setting values of the print options for the print data as a removable disk; Changing and transmitting the setting values stored in the storage medium by a user interface of the computer; Updating the changed setting value in the storage medium; Mounting a removable memory card storing the print data in a slot; Requesting a print job for the print data; And performing the print job based on the changed and stored setting values.

Preferably, in the modified and transmitted step, if the setting value of the print option is deleted and transmitted by the user interface of the computer, the previously stored initial value of the print option is stored in the storage medium. It includes more.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described the present invention in more detail. However, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a photo printer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a photo printer 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a card slot 110, a universal serial bus (USB) module 120, a user manipulation unit 130, and a first storage medium 140. And a second storage medium 150, a data processor 160, a print engine 170, a ROM 180, a RAM 185, and a controller 190.

The photo printer 100 is a printer that prints print data as a real picture using a photograph-only paper, and is connected to enable data communication with the external computer 200 by a USB cable 100a. When the photo printer 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is connected to the external computer 200, the setting value of the print option may be changed by using a mass storage class supported by USB communication.

The printing option is at least one printing condition supported by the photo printer 100 when printing the print data using the photo printer 100. Examples of print options include black and white printing, color printing, therapy printing, business card size, and borders.

First, the card slot 110 is a slot in which the removable memory card 110a is mounted, and a plurality of card slots 110 may be provided. The removable memory card 110a stores at least one print data captured by an imaging device such as a digital camera (not shown) as a flash memory.

The types of the removable memory card 110a are various, such as a multimedia card (MMC), a smart media (SM) card, a memory stick (MS), a secure digital (SD) card, a compact flash (CF) card, and a micro drive (MD) card. Do.                     

The USB module 120 is connected to the external computer 200 by the USB cable 100a and supports USB communication with the external computer 200.

The user manipulation unit 130 is provided with a plurality of manipulation keys (not shown) as a user interface for outputting a signal for manipulating or requesting a function supported by the photo printer 100 to the controller 190. In the present invention, the user operation unit 130 requests a print job of the print data stored in the removable memory card 110a.

The first chapter medium 140 is a memory that stores a setting value of a print option for print data in a predetermined file. The set values of the stored print options can be changed by the user interface of the external computer 200, and the changed set values are updated in a predetermined file of the first chapter medium 140. The first medium 140 uses a flash memory and is embedded in the photo printer 100.

The second storage medium 150 is a memory that stores initial values of print options for print data. That is, when the initial value of the print option stored in the second storage medium 150 is stored in the first medium 140 or the initial value of the print option is changed by the external computer 200, the changed value, that is, the print option The set value of is stored.

The data processor 160 signals the print data stored in the removable memory card 110a into printable image data. In detail, the data processor 160 generates image data by performing digital signal processing such as scaling, gamma conversion, and error diffusion on the print data.

The print engine unit 170 prints the image data generated by the data processor 160 based on the setting values of the print options stored in the first storage medium 140. At this time, when printing on the photograph-only paper, the user can obtain a printed matter that is almost similar to the actual photograph.

The ROM 180 is a nonvolatile memory device, and stores various control programs necessary to implement the functions of the photo printer 100.

The RAM 185 is a volatile memory device in which a program to be executed by the controller 190 is loaded and stored from the ROM 180, or various data generated while an operation of the photo printer 100 is performed.

The controller 190 controls the overall operation of the photo printer 100 according to the control program stored in the ROM 180.

In the present invention, when the USB module 120 and the external computer 200 is connected through the USB cable 100a, the external computer 200 performs mass storage class setup by USB communication with the USB module 120. do. When the setup of the mass storage class is performed, the controller 190 controls the USB module 120 to allocate a logical unit number (hereinafter, referred to as "LUN") and transmit it to the external computer 200.

The LUN is a number assigned to a removable disk and is assignable to a removable memory card 110a mounted in the first medium 140 or the card slot 110 in the present invention. For example, when one removable memory card 110a is mounted in the card slot 110, when the mass storage class is set up, the controller 190 may include LUN 1 and removable 1 in the first storage medium 140. After the LUN 2 is allocated to the memory card 110a, the USB module 120 is controlled to transmit the number '2' to which the LUN is allocated to the external computer 200.                     

On the other hand, the external computer 200 after the setup of the mass storage class is performed, if the number of LUNs are transmitted from the photo printer 100, the first disk 140 and the removable memory card 110a to move the removable disk To be recognized. The external computer 200 displays the window explorer screen shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the external computer 200 uses the first removable medium 140 and the removable memory card 110a which are recognized as a removable disk, respectively, such as "removable disk (N :) 210" and "removable disk (O). :) 220 ".

In this case, after the window explorer screen shown in FIG. 2 is displayed, when the removable disk (O :) 220 is selected by a mouse or a keyboard provided in the external computer 200, the controller 190 of the photo printer 100 is It can be seen that the user wants to access the removable memory card 110a by the LUN allocated to the removable disk (O :) 220.

In addition, when the removable disk (N :) 210 is selected by a mouse or a keyboard provided in the external computer 200, the controller 190 of the photo printer 100 corresponds to the removable disk (N :) 210. It can be seen that the user wants to access the first chapter medium 140 by the assigned LUN.

In detail, when the user selects the removable disk (N :) 210 using the mouse, a file (print option.abc) as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the right side of the window explorer screen. When the user selects a file (print option.abc) by using a mouse, a print option setting screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on a monitor (not shown) of the external computer 200. The print option setting screen is generated by a predetermined application that can execute the 'print option.abc' file.

After the print option setting screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, and after the print option setting value is changed by the user (for example, from color to black and white), when the 'OK' button is selected, the external computer 200 changes the changed setting value. To the USB module 120 using the USB communication.

When the changed setting value is transmitted from the external computer 200, the controller 190 controls the first sheet medium 140 to store the changed setting value of the printing option. That is, the controller 190 processes the changed setting value to be updated in the 'print option.abc' file in which the setting value of the print option is stored.

In addition, when the 'print option.abc' file displayed on the right side of the Windows Explorer screen is deleted by the user, the external computer 200 transmits a command to the USB module 120 indicating that the 'print option.abc' file has been deleted. .

When a command for notifying that the file has been deleted is transmitted from the external computer 200, the controller 190 processes the initial value of the print option stored in the second storage medium 150 to be stored in the first storage medium 140. That is, the controller 190 processes the initial value of the print option stored in the second storage medium 150 to be stored in the first chapter medium 140 as a file called 'print option.abc'.

On the other hand, after the setting value of the printing option changed by the external computer 200 is updated on the first medium 140 and the removable memory card 110a in which at least one print data is stored in the card slot 110 is mounted. When a print job is requested from the user manipulation unit 130, the controller 190 performs image processing on the print data stored in the removable memory card 110a and based on the setting values of the print options stored in the first medium 140. The data processing unit 160 and the print engine unit 170 are controlled to print.

4 is a flowchart for schematically describing a printing option setting method of FIG. 1.

1 to 4, when the USB module 120 and the external computer 200 are connected through the USB cable 100a, the controller 190 may communicate the command between the USB module 120 and the external computer 200. To perform the mass storage class setup to perform (S400, S410).

When step S410 is performed, the controller 190 controls the USB module 120 to transmit the number of allocated LUNs to the external computer 200 (S420). For example, the controller 190 allocates the LUN 1 to the first medium 140, and then controls the USB module 120 to transmit the number '1' assigned to the external computer 200.

After the step S420 is performed, if the setting value of the print option stored in the first medium 140 is changed and transmitted by the user interface (for example, a mouse) of the external computer 200, the USB module 120 The set value of the changed print option is received (S430). Here, the process of changing the setting value of the print option in the external computer 200 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 and will be omitted.

When the step S430 is performed, the controller 190 controls the first sheet medium 140 to store the changed setting value of the print option on the first sheet medium 140 (S440). In detail, when the setting value of the print option is stored in a file named 'print option.abc' of the first chapter medium 140, the controller 190 may change the print option setting value to 'print option.abc'. Process to be updated / stored in the file                     

After a predetermined time has elapsed, and after the removable memory card 110a in which the print data is stored is mounted in the card slot 110, when a print job of the print data is requested from the user operation unit 130, the control unit 190 controls the removable memory card ( The data processing unit 160 is controlled to signal-process print data stored in 110a) to generate image data (S450, S460, and S470).

When step S470 is performed, the controller 190 controls the print engine unit 170 to print the generated image data based on the setting value of the print option updated on the first sheet medium 140 in step S440 (S480). ).

On the other hand, after the step S420 is performed, if the setting value of the print option stored in the first sheet medium 140 is deleted by the user interface (for example, a mouse) of the external computer 200, the USB module 120 is A command for notifying that the deletion has been received is received from the external computer 200 (S490). Here, the process of deleting the setting value of the print option from the external computer 200 has been described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

When the step S490 is performed, the controller 190 deletes the 'print option.abc' file in which the setting value of the print option is stored, and then the initial value of the print option stored in the second storage medium 150 is the first sheet medium. Process to be stored in 140 (S495). That is, the controller 190 processes the initial value of the print option stored in the second storage medium 150 to be stored in the first chapter medium 140 as a file called 'print option.abc'.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above, the photo printer 100 which cannot change the setting value of the printing option by itself stores the setting value of the printing option in the first storage medium 140 such as a flash memory. The setting value of the print option may be changed using the external computer 200. At this time, the first storage medium 140 in which the setting values of the print options are stored is recognized as a removable disk by the external computer 200 by the mass storage class of the USB communication.

In addition, in the above-described preferred embodiment of the present invention, the external computer 200 implements a file called 'print option.abc' in which a setting value of the print option is stored as a graphic user interface screen using a predetermined application. In addition, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention by storing the setting value of the print option as a text file, the user can be displayed after the display on the screen of the external computer 200 without a separate application.

As described so far, according to the photo printer according to the present invention and the printing option setting method thereof, the printing option without adding a separate operation panel by changing the setting value of the printing option stored in the flash memory in the external computer by the mass storage class. It is possible to change. This allows the user to print the printout as desired by the user.

Although the present invention has been described in detail through the representative embodiments, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention with respect to the embodiments described above. Will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

Claims (5)

At least one slot in which a removable memory card storing print data is mounted; A first storage medium for storing a setting value of a print option for the print data; A print engine unit for printing the print data stored in the removable memory based on a setting value of the print option; A USB module for supporting data communication with a computer; And After the computer recognizes the first storage medium as a removable disk by a mass storage class through the USB module and the USB cable, the stored setting value is changed by the user interface of the computer. And a control unit controlling the first storage medium to store the changed setting value. The method of claim 1, And a second storage medium storing an initial value of the print option. And when the setting value of the print option is deleted by the user interface, the controller processes the initial value stored in the second storage medium to be stored in the first storage medium. The method of claim 1, And a user manipulation unit which requests a print job of the print data. And the control unit controls the print engine unit to perform a print job corresponding to the changed setting value stored in the first storage medium when the print job is requested. Connected to be in communication with the computer via a USB cable; Recognizing, by the mass storage class of the computer, the storage medium storing the setting values of the print options for the print data as a removable disk; Changing and transmitting the setting values stored in the storage medium by a user interface of the computer; Updating the changed setting value in the storage medium; Mounting a removable memory card storing the print data in a slot; Requesting a print job for the print data; And And performing the print job based on the changed and stored setting values. The method of claim 4, wherein In the changed and transmitted step, if the setting value of the print option is deleted and transmitted by the user interface of the computer, And storing the initial values of the pre-stored print options in the storage medium.

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