METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING PRINTER APPARATUS OF MOBILE PHONE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for enabling printing by a mobile communication terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for printing by a mobile communication terminal, by which the mobile communication terminal can be directly connected to a small portable printer apparatus, so that the mobile communication terminal can output image data photographed and/or stored therein without using an intermediate terminal such as a computer.
Background Art
Information communication technology represented as Internet and mobile communication has changed the life pattern of the modern people. Only a few years ago, users used only voice communication-centered mobile communication services by means of mobile communication terminals. However, recently wireless Internet services have emerged, which can provide users with data communication services, which are equal to those provided in wired Internet, by means of mobile communication terminals. With the development of a mobile communication system,
mobile communication terminals have evolved. That is, mobile communication terminals have escaped from the initial voice communication-centered portable phone concept and thus have provided users with the creation of text messages as well as various services, such as photograph and moving image photographing services, mobile finance services, Home Automation services, etc., by means of only one mobile communication terminal. In the prior art, in order to store data in a mobile communication terminal or read data stored in a mobile communication terminal, it is necessary to connect a separate data cable between a computer and a mobile communication terminal and then perform data communication through the connected data cable. However, with the rapid spread of peripheral devices, such as digital cameras, memory cards, Personal Digital Assistant (hereinafter, referred to as PDA), etc., which can inter-work with a mobile communication terminal, the demand for transmitting data through direct connection with a mobile communication terminal is increasing more and more. Moreover, from among functions of a mobile communication terminal, a camera function has become popular. Therefore, the requirements for outputting image data, photographed and/or stored by means of a camera provided in a mobile communication terminal is increasing more and more. In the prior art, in order to output image data stored in a
mobile communication terminal, there are inconveniences of connecting a separate data cable between a computer and a mobile communication terminal, transmitting the image data to the computer through the connected data cable, and outputting the transmitted image data through a printer apparatus connected to the computer.
Disclosure of the Invention Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for enabling printing by a mobile communication terminal, by which the mobile communication terminal can be directly connected to a printer apparatus through a connection means and communicate with the printer apparatus using a data communication method, so that the mobile communication terminal can output image data photographed and/or stored therein without connecting the mobile communication terminal to a computer. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for outputting image data of a mobile communication terminal, the apparatus comprising: the mobile communication terminal including an input/output terminal connection means, a first interface for interfacing and communicating data with a printer apparatus through the
input/output terminal connection means, and a print controller for transmitting a print command to the printer apparatus through the first interface by means of a predetermined protocol, receiving a response signal according to the print command from the printer apparatus through the first interface, and controlling information stored in the mobile communication terminal or downloaded information to be printed; and the printer apparatus including a printer connection means having a structure corresponding to the input/output terminal connection means of the mobile communication terminal, a second interface for interfacing data inputted/outputted through the printer connection means, a communication controller for performing data communication with the mobile communication terminal through the second interface by means of the predetermined protocol, responding to the print command, receiving print information, and performing print control through a printer control module, and a power source for supplying operation power for the printer apparatus, wherein the mobile communication terminal and the printer apparatus communicate with each other using either a wire data communication scheme or a wireless data communication scheme. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for performing a print output by directly connecting a small portable printer apparatus to a mobile communication terminal without using an intermediate
terminal including a computer, the method comprising: a first step of installing control programs "communicating by a predetermined data communication protocol in the mobile communication terminal and the printer apparatus, employing the mobile communication terminal as a master and the printer apparatus as a slave, performing a print output, requesting device information by the mobile communication terminal, and transmitting the device information from the printer apparatus; a second step of transmitting a command for a format of image data from the mobile communication terminal to the printer apparatus, and receiving a check response regarding whether or not the format is correct from the printer apparatus; a third step of transmitting a transmission start command of the image data from the mobile communication terminal to the printer apparatus, and receiving a check response regarding whether or not the transmission start command has been normally received from the printer apparatus; a fourth step of transmitting an image data file from the mobile communication terminal to the printer apparatus, and receiving a check response regarding whether or not the image data file is correct from the printer apparatus; a fifth step of transmitting an output command of divided screens from the mobile communication terminal to the printer apparatus, and receiving a check response regarding whether or not the output command has been normally received from the printer
apparatus; and a sixth step of transmitting a print output command from the mobile communication terminal to the printer apparatus, and receiving a check response for a print result from the printer apparatus, wherein the image data of the mobile communication terminal are printed through the printer apparatus . According to further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile printing method for controlling a process of transmitting photographed and stored image data from a mobile communication terminal to a portable printer apparatus and outputting the image data, the mobile printing method comprising the steps of: (a) executing an application program; (b) displaying a list of the image data; (c) checking whether or not normal data communication with the printer apparatus is possible; (d) transmitting image data selected from the image data to the printer apparatus; and (e) outputting the selected image data.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram briefly showing a mobile
communication terminal and a printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram briefly showing the format of data exchanged between a mobile communication terminal and a printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram briefly showing the flow of data exchanged between a mobile communication terminal and a printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation process of an application program stored in a mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an application program displayed in a mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals are used to designate the same elements as those shown in other drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known configurations and functions incorporated herein will be
omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. FIG. 1 is a block diagram briefly showing a mobile communication terminal and a printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the mobile communication terminal 100 includes a PDA having a camera function, a cellular phone, a Personal Communication Service (PCS) phone, a Global System for Mobile (GSM) phone, a Wideband Code Division Multiplexing Access (W-CDMA) , a CDMA-2000 phone, a Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phone, etc. Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile communication terminal 100 includes a mobile communication terminal module 110, a print controller 120, an interface unit "A" 130, a power source "A" 140, a connector "A" 150, etc. The mobile communication terminal module 110 represents hardware including a microprocessor for controlling the general operation of the mobile communication terminal 100 and a memory. Image data photographed by a camera provided in the mobile communication terminal 100 or a camera separately mounted on the mobile communication terminal 100 are stored in the mobile communication terminal module 110 and then transmitted to the print controller 120 under the control of the microprocessor. The print controller 120 represents software, which
includes a communication program for performing data communication with the printer apparatus 200, a print program for outputting the image data stored in the mobile communication terminal module 110 through the printer apparatus 200, etc., and hardware for storing the software. Further, the print controller 120 may be constructed as one of elements included in the mobile communication terminal module 110 or a separate element. The print controller 120 controls a labor for checking the state of data exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 and confirming the connection state between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200, a labor for encoding the image data to be transmitted to the printer apparatus 200, etc. The interface unit "A" 130 represents an apparatus for controlling the flow of the data to be transmitted to the printer apparatus 200 through the connector "A" 150 or data transmitted from the printer apparatus 200. The power source " " 140 represents an apparatus for providing power necessary for the general operation of the mobile communication terminal 100. The connector VA" 150 and a connector λB" 260 are connectors having the same standard or standards corresponding to each other. That is, the connectors do not have the differentiation of female and male and represent
terminals for connecting the mobile communication terminal 100 to the printer apparatus 200 through a data cable 300 including an input terminal and an output terminal corresponding to the connectors. Further, cable connectors 310 and 320 are elements for connecting the mobile communication terminal 100 to the mobile printer apparatus 200, are included in the data cable 300, and represent terminals connected to the connector " " 150 and the connector "B" 260. In the present specification, a data transmission scheme between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 employs a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (hereinafter, referred to as UART) communication scheme of wire communication schemes. However, the data transmission scheme is not limited to the UART communication scheme. That is, the data transmission scheme between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 may employ a wireless communication scheme such as an Infrared Data Association (hereinafter, referred to as IrDA) and a Bluetooth or a wire communication scheme such as a Universal Serial Bus (hereinafter, referred to as USB) communication and a Pictbridge. The printer apparatus 200 includes a printer control module 210, an engine and mechanism unit 220, a communication controller 230, an interface unit λB" 240, a power source "B" 250, the connector "B" 260, etc.
The printer control module 210 represents hardware including a microprocessor for controlling the general operation of the printer apparatus 200 and a memory. Further, the printer control module 210 controls a labor for receiving the image data from the mobile communication terminal 100, driving the engine and mechanism unit 220, and outputting the image data in a printing paper. The communication controller 230 represents software, which includes a communication program for performing data communication with the mobile communication terminal 100 and a print program for outputting the image data received from the mobile communication terminal module 110, and/or hardware for storing the software. Further, the communication controller 230 controls a labor for checking the state of data exchanged between the printer apparatus 200 and the mobile communication terminal 100 and confirming the connection state between the printer apparatus 200 and the mobile communication terminal 100, a labor for decoding the image data transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100, etc. The interface unit "B" 240 represents for interfacing the flow of data to be transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 100 through the connector ΛΛB" 260 or data transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100. The power source "B" 250 represents an apparatus for providing power necessary for the operation of the printer
apparatus 200. Further, the power source "B" 250 includes an independent power source and/or an external power source. In a case of the external power source, the power necessary for the operation of the printer apparatus 200 is provided through a power supply of direct current or alternating current for supplying power for the power supply of the mobile communication terminal 100. In the following description, it is assumed that a data communication method between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 employs a UART communication method of wire communication methods . FIG. 2 is a diagram briefly showing the format of data exchanged between the mobile communication terminal and the printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Herein, a data communication method between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 uses a Master-Slave scheme. That is, when the mobile communication terminal 100 generates a control command for controlling the operation of the printer apparatus 200 and transmits the control command to the printer apparatus 200, the printer apparatus 200 recognizes the control command, generates a response command according to the recognized control command, and transmits the response command to the mobile communication terminal 100.
When a UART communication method is used as a data communication method between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200, the format of the data exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 includes a Start Bit of one bit, data bits (from LSB to MSB) of eight bits and a Stop Bit (No Parity Bit) of one bit as shown in FIG. 2. A data communication between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 has a speed of 115.2 Kbps and is performed through the UART communication method. Herein, it is assumed that the aforementioned data communication method employs the UART communication method of the wire communication methods. In addition, when a USB, an IrDA, a Bluetooth or a Pictbridge is used, the data communication method complies with the standard of each communication method. Table 1 is a table of commands according to the aforementioned data format, which are exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200. Table 1
It is possible to allow each command to have other functions as the situation requires. A byte size and a term (spelling) of the command and the error code (ACK signal) may change. The above command table defines protocols exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200. Hereinafter, main commands will be described. The command "Devicelnfo" represents device information, that is, information of the printer apparatus 200 to be transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 100. The printer apparatus 200 responds to the command "Devicelnfo" by means of a return value of 12 bytes . The return value of 12 bytes includes a model name of eight bytes and a version of four bytes of the printer apparatus 200. The command "print" represents a print output command for outputting image data through the printer apparatus 200. Herein, the N denotes the number of printing papers to be outputted. The command "print4Div" represents an Output command of 4 divided screens. That is, the command "print4Div" represents the number of image data outputted in a printing
paper. The command "KindofImage" represents the format of the image data transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the printer apparatus 200. The command "PrintDump" represents a transmission start command of the image data transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the printer apparatus 200. When favorable image data are transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100, the printer apparatus 200 returns a value 0x00 to the mobile communication terminal 100. In contrast, when unfavorable image data are transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100, the printer apparatus 200 generates 1 Byte Error Code and returns the generated 1 Byte Error Code to the mobile communication terminal 100. The connection state between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 is examined through transmission of the command "Devicelnfo" from the Application Program of the mobile communication terminal 100 and then reception of the device information from the printer apparatus 200. FIG. 3 is a diagram briefly showing the flow of data exchanged between the mobile communication terminal and the printer apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the flow of the data as shown in FIG. 3, the
command "Devicelnfo" requesting the information of the printer apparatus 200, the format command "Kindoflmage" of image data to be transmitted, the transmission start command "PrintDump" of image data, an image data transmission and reception check command "Checksum", the print command "print4Div" (option) of divided screens, and the print command "print" are sequentially exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200. In such a case, it is possible to change a sequence between commands and omit a command. When the application program stored in the mobile communication terminal 100, that is, the program for controlling the mobile printer apparatus 200 selects an output mode, the mobile communication terminal 100 requests device information, and the printer apparatus 200 transmits the device information to the mobile communication terminal 100 in response to the request (first step) . Then, the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits information on the format of image data, which will be transmitted to the printer apparatus 200, to the printer apparatus 200, and the printer apparatus 200 sends a check response to the mobile communication terminal 100 (second step) . Then, the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits the transmission start command of the image data to the printer apparatus 200, and the printer apparatus 200 sends a check response to the mobile communication terminal 100 (third step) . Then, the
mobile communication terminal 100 transmits an image data file to the printer apparatus 200, and the printer apparatus 200 sends a check response to the mobile communication terminal 100 (fourth step) . Then, the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits the output command of divided screens to the printer apparatus 200, and the printer apparatus 200 sends a check response to the mobile communication terminal 100 (fifth step) . Last, the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits the print output command to the printer apparatus 200, and .the printer apparatus 200 sends a check response to the mobile communication terminal 100 (sixth step) . In this way, the image data stored in the mobile communication terminal 100 are printed through the printer apparatus 200. Accordingly, in the present invention, it is possible to directly connect the mobile communication terminal 100 to the printer apparatus 200 by means of the commands as shown in table 1. In addition, it is possible to print the image data stored in the mobile communication terminal 100 through the printer apparatus 200 according to the data flow as shown in FIG. 3. The format of an image supported by the printer apparatus 200 conforms to the format of an image capable of being stored in the mobile communication terminal 100 and representatively includes a JPEG and a BMP. In a case of the BMP, an RGB separated BMP format is additionally
supported. The JPEG and the BMP (BMPO) conform to a general format. The RGB separated BMP format (BMPl) represents an image format in which an R, a G and a B are separated by the page according to the output of the printer apparatus 200. In the JPEG and the BMP, raw data are transmitted to the printer apparatus 200 without a separate processing for data. Herein, the image format and the image size described in the present specification are used only for describing the embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the image format and the image size. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation process of an application program stored in the mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an application program displayed in the mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, it is assumed that the mobile communication terminal 100 includes a camera and image data photographed and/or stored by means of the camera are outputted through the printer apparatus 200 as shown in FIG. 1. Further, for convenience of description, a driver program for driving the printer apparatus 200, which is stored in the mobile communication terminal 100, and a program for providing a user interface are defined as an
application program. The application program may be basically stored in the mobile communication terminal 100 by a manufacturing company and may be provided from a wireless data program or a computer providing the application program. The application program controls a pop-up message to be displayed in the LCD display unit of the mobile communication terminal 100 according to the events as shown in table 2. Table 2
The application program stored in the mobile communication terminal 100 is executed through the operation of the key input unit of the mobile communication terminal 100 (S500) , the application program controls a list on the photographed and/or stored image data to be displayed as shown in FIG 4a (S502) . When image data to be printed through the printer apparatus 200 are selected from the displayed list, the application program controls a message "Please check the printer power source and the cable. Start an output" to be displayed as shown in FIG 4b (S504) . That
is, in step S504, the application program checks whether or not data communication is possible between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 and checks it through exchange of the command "Devicelnfo" of table 1. In step S504, when the data communication is abnormal between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200, that is, when data cable is not normally connected between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 or power is not normally supplied for the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200, the application program controls an error message to be displayed as shown in FIG 4c (S512) . In contrast, when the data communication is normal between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200 in step S504, the application program controls a message "Preparing printing and please wait a moment" to be displayed as shown in FIG 4d and transmits the image data to the printer apparatus 200. That is, after the command "PrintDump" of table 1 is exchanged between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the printer apparatus 200, the image data of the mobile communication terminal 100 are transmitted to the printer apparatus 200 (S506) . In the course of transmitting the image data from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the printer apparatus 200, the application program controls a transmission progress state
of the image data to be displayed as shown in FIG 4e. Then, the application program controls a message "Please insert a printing paper" to be displayed as shown in FIG 4f. The application program controls the format of the image data transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100 to be checked by the printer apparatus 200 by means of the command "KindofImage" of table 1 as shown in FIG 4g, and controls whether or not a printing paper has been normally inserted the printer apparatus 200 to be checked when the check on the format of the image data is ended (S508) . In step s508, when the printing paper has not been normally inserted the printer apparatus 200, the application program controls an error message to be displayed as shown in FIG 4h (S514) . In contrast, when the printing paper has been normally inserted the printer apparatus 200, the application program controls an output progress state to be displayed together with a message reporting the image data are outputting as shown in FIG 4i (S510) . While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and the drawings, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
Industrial Applicability
According to the present invention as described above, in order to output image data stored in a mobile communication terminal, a printer apparatus is directly connected to the mobile communication terminal instead of connecting the mobile communication terminal to a computer having a separate printer apparatus. Therefore, the image data stored in the mobile communication terminal can be immediately outputted through the printer apparatus . Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily output image data stored in a mobile communication terminal, so that the usefulness of the camera function of the mobile communication terminal can be maximized. Furthermore, according to the present invention, power necessary for a printer apparatus is supplied by means of a direct current power supply for providing power to the power supply of a mobile communication terminal, so that a separate power supply is not necessary. Therefore, the material cost can be reduced in view of production.