WO2018145456A1

WO2018145456A1 - Thermal printer print method, printer, and computer-readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2018145456A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/101624
Authority: WO
Inventors: 刘伟; 李鑫
Original assignee: 百富计算机技术（深圳）有限公司
Priority date: 2017-02-13
Filing date: 2017-09-13
Publication date: 2018-08-16
Also published as: CN106919350B; CN106919350A

Abstract

Provided are a thermal printer print method, printer, and computer-readable storage medium, said method comprising: obtaining to-be-printed data, and backing up said to-be-printed data to a storage device (102); starting to print and, during the printing process, obtaining the line number corresponding to the current print position, and backing up said line number to the storage device (104); after an exception occurs and the printer restarts, obtaining the line number corresponding to the current print position, as well as the to-be-printed data, backed up in the storage device, and starting to continue printing said to-be-printed data from the line number corresponding to the current print position (106).

Description

Thermal printer printing method, printer and computer readable storage medium

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application, filed on Jan. 13, 2017, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this application.

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of printer technology, and in particular, to a printing method of a thermal printer, a printer, and a computer readable storage medium.

Background technique

When a thermal printer prints a file, sometimes the printer restarts due to an abnormal cause, causing the printer to stop running. In this case, the data to be printed is lost, or half of the printed data is discarded, which wastes resources. The conventional technology solves the above problems by installing a backup power source. However, the backup power source is expensive and is not suitable for widespread use.

Summary of the invention

According to various embodiments of the present application, a printing method, a printer, and a computer readable storage medium of a thermal printer are provided.

A printing method for a thermal printer, comprising:

Obtaining data to be printed, and backing up the data to be printed into a memory;

Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during the printing process, and back up the number of lines to the memory;

After the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.

A printer comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing computer readable instructions, the instructions being executed by the processor, causing the processor to perform the following steps:

Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during printing, and back up the number of lines to the memory; and

One or more non-volatile readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following steps:

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only It is a certain embodiment of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without any creative work for those skilled in the art.

1 is a flow chart showing a printing method of a thermal printer in an embodiment;

2 is a flow chart of a printing method of a thermal printer in another embodiment. It should be understood that although the steps in the flowchart of FIG. 2 are sequentially displayed as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily indicated by arrows. The order is executed in order. Except as explicitly stated herein, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited, and may be performed in other sequences. Moreover, in Figure 2 At least some of the steps may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, which are not necessarily performed at the same time, but may be executed at different times, and the order of execution is not necessarily sequential, but It may be performed alternately or alternately with at least a portion of other steps or sub-steps or stages of other steps;

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of a printer in an embodiment;

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of a printer in another embodiment;

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of a printer in one embodiment.

detailed description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the application and are not intended to be limiting.

As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a printing method of a thermal printer is provided, including:

Step 102: Acquire data to be printed, and back up the data to be printed into the memory.

In this embodiment, the backup refers to copying the data in the device to the storage device in response to an unexpected situation such as data loss or damage. In this embodiment, the data to be printed is copied into the memory.

Step 104: Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position during the printing process, and back up the number of lines to the memory.

In this embodiment, the printer is an output device for outputting data on a related medium such as paper. According to the working principle of the printer, the selected printer includes but is not limited to a dot matrix printer, an ink jet printer, a laser printer, and a thermal printer. Printer, word mode printer, thermal transfer printer, LED (Light Emitting Diode) printer, LCS (LCS) printer, electrocautery printer, magnetic printer and fluorescent printer, among them, A thermal printer refers to a semiconductor heating element mounted on a printhead of a printer. By heating the semiconductor original, text or a pattern can be printed on the thermal printing paper, such as a printer, a printer in a banking system, and a medical doctor. The printer in the instrument. The number of lines is a number for identifying the data being printed, and the number of lines can be used to find the print position corresponding to the data being printed.

Step 106: After the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are obtained, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.

In this embodiment, the abnormal condition that occurs in the printer refers to any situation that causes the printer to stop working and does not restart, and cannot be reworked, including but not limited to printer power failure, printer downtime, human cause, mechanical failure, or printer card. Paper, etc.

The printing method of the above thermal printer saves the data to be printed in the memory, grasps the printing progress by acquiring and updating the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position, and pauses printing when the thermal printer is restarted due to an abnormal reason, waiting for the abnormal reason After the elimination, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the printing is continued according to the number of lines corresponding to the current print position and the data to be printed.

As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, a printing method of a thermal printer is provided, including:

Step 202: Acquire data to be printed, and back up the data to be printed into the memory.

In this embodiment, the memory is a memory device for storing information in modern information technology. The memory can be a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory refers to all forms of solid-state memory. It does not need to periodically refresh the memory contents, and the stored contents are not lost when the device is powered off. Non-volatile memory includes, but is not limited to, programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable read only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory. The flash memory can be a data storage type flash memory (NAND Flash), and the NAND flash is a kind of Flash Memory. The internal non-linear macro cell mode provides a very high cell density, can achieve high storage density, and has a large storage capacity. , reading and writing speed is fast.

Step 204, start printing.

In the present embodiment, starting printing means that the printer receives an instruction to print, and according to the instruction, a process of outputting data on a related medium such as paper is performed. Specifically, the printer is performing print jobs. When the data to be printed is first obtained, the data to be printed is saved in the memory of the device motherboard, and the data is printed according to the data in the memory during the printing process. It should be noted that the memory of the device motherboard is a volatile memory, and the data in the memory is lost after an abnormal restart of the device. Normal data processing does not use the data to be printed back to the non-volatile memory. Only when the data in the memory is lost, it is necessary to obtain the backup data in the non-volatile memory to complete the printing work. .

Step 206: Obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position according to a preset time interval during the printing process of the printer, and back up the number of lines to the memory.

In this embodiment, the preset time interval and the printing speed of the printer can be adjusted through the system settings. In general, the preset time interval is smaller than the time taken by the printer to print one line of data, so that the data that the printer is printing can be accurately obtained. Corresponding print position to prevent the occurrence of missing lines. For example, in the case of printing a voucher using a thermal printer, the time taken to print one line of data is 300 MS (Millisecond, milliseconds), and the time interval for obtaining the number of lines can be set to 100 MS, as much as possible to ensure that each line of data is played. At that time, you can get the new number of rows and back up the new rows to the memory.

In step 208, it is determined whether the number of rows is the last row. If yes, step 212 is performed, otherwise steps 206 and 210 are performed.

In this embodiment, during the printing process, the printer needs to determine whether the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is the last line according to the data to be printed, and if not, continue printing and continue to obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position according to the preset time interval. , back up the number of lines to the memory; if so, stop printing.

In step 210, printing continues.

In this embodiment, when the printer determines that the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is not the last line, the printer continues to print until the printing of the data to be printed is completed.

In step 212, the printing is stopped, and the number of lines is no longer backed up to the memory.

In this embodiment, when the printer determines that the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, the printer stops printing, and stops acquiring the number of lines corresponding to the current print position according to the preset time interval. Back up the number of rows to memory. Specifically, after the printer completes the printing work, the number of rows corresponding to the current print position acquired is the same as the number of rows stored in the memory, and the number of rows corresponding to the current print position is stopped according to the preset time interval, thereby avoiding printer duplication. Meaningless operation to save system resources.

Step 214: Delete the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current print position; turn off the printer power.

In this embodiment, after the printer completes the printing work, the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position are automatically deleted, so that when the printer uses the printer to print data, the memory has enough space to back up the data, thereby avoiding insufficient storage space. The resulting data is lost. Avoid unnecessary energy waste by turning off the printer. For example, when using a POS machine (point of sales terminal), when a user conducts a transaction through a POS machine, the corresponding certificate needs to be printed by the POS machine to obtain the signature of the user, and when the POS prints the certificate. First, the data of the document to be printed is backed up into the memory, the printing is started, and the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is obtained according to the preset time interval during the printing process, and the number of lines is backed up into the memory; then each dozen in the printing process After a line of data determines whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line of the voucher, if not, continue to print and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current position, and if so, stop printing, and no longer back the number of lines to the memory; Delete the data of the document to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current print position, disconnect the power supply from the POS machine to the printer, and put the POS machine into the standby state.

Since the voucher printed by the POS machine belongs to the ticket used once, and after the transaction is completed, the transaction data and the print data generated by the POS device are uploaded to the corresponding server, so the printer on the POS machine does not need to keep the data all the time after the printing is completed. In the memory of the POS machine, the backup data is deleted, which can save storage space of the memory. In other printer scenarios, the data to be printed is generally pre-stored in the smart terminal, and does not need to be stored for a long time through the memory. In addition, the function of deleting the data backed up in the memory and turning off the power of the printer in this embodiment can be turned on or off by the system setting of the printer.

In one embodiment, if the printer is in a power-off state before acquiring data to be printed The printer's power can be turned on by the smart power switch module in the printer.

In this embodiment, the smart power switch module may be a unit that utilizes a combination and compilation of a control board and electronic components to implement control of turning the printer power on and off.

In one embodiment, after the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.

In this embodiment, the abnormal condition that occurs in the printer refers to any situation that causes the printer to stop working and does not restart, and cannot be re-worked, including but not limited to printer power failure, printer downtime, human cause, mechanical failure, and printer card. paper. Printer power-off is the most common abnormal condition, which causes data loss in the file being printed, and the file in the print is invalid. For example, in the process of using the POS machine, if the POS machine suddenly loses power, it will make the transaction in progress. Interrupted, if the user has already swiped the bank card and entered the password, but the corresponding voucher is not printed, the user cannot sign the voucher. In this case, even if the POS machine is reconnected to the power supply, if there is no corresponding data loss prevention The mechanism does not work again to print out the corresponding credentials. In this case, the user's funds have been removed from the bank account, the user will not agree to pay again, and the merchant does not obtain a legal right certificate, making the transaction relationship unstable.

Printer down refers to the phenomenon that the printer has to restart the system because the system cannot recover from a system error or there is a problem at the hardware level of the system, so that the system does not respond for a long time. The human reason refers to the operator's misoperation causing the printer to be turned off or restarted, or the operator actively turns off the printer due to a lack of paper for a long time. Printer jam refers to a serious jam, and the problem of jams cannot be solved without turning off the power. Mechanical failure refers to the abnormality of the printer hardware during use, which makes the printer malfunction and cannot complete the printing work. In this case, the corresponding repair is required. Generally, the power needs to be turned off. In the case of no configuration to prevent data loss, Will cause data loss.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, a printer is provided, the internal structure of which may correspond to the structure shown in FIG. 5, and each of the following modules may be wholly or partially passed by software, hardware or a combination thereof. to realise. Includes:

The data backup module 302 is configured to acquire data to be printed, and back up the data to be printed into the memory;

The printing module 304 is configured to start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position during the printing process; the data backup module 302 is further configured to back up the number of lines into the memory.

The data obtaining module 306 is configured to: after the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, acquire the number of rows corresponding to the current print position and the data to be printed backed up in the memory, and continue to print the data to be printed starting from the number of rows corresponding to the current print position.

As shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the printer further includes:

The determining module 308 is configured to determine, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is the last line, and if so, stop printing, otherwise continue printing.

The deleting module 310 is configured to delete the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position;

The power switch module 312 is configured to control the printer power switch.

In this embodiment, the power switch module 312 can select an intelligent power switch module for controlling whether the printer power is turned on or off.

In one embodiment, the data backup module 302 is further configured to obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position according to a preset time interval during the printing process of the printer, and back up the number of lines into the memory.

In one embodiment, the determining module 308 is further configured to: when it is determined that the number of rows corresponding to the current printing position is the last row, the number of rows is no longer backed up into the memory.

In one embodiment, a printer includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores computer readable instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor causes the processor to perform the following steps: acquiring data to be printed, and the data to be printed. Backing up to the memory; starting to print and obtaining the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during the printing process, backing up the number of lines to the memory; and acquiring the line corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory after the abnormal restart of the printer The number and the data to be printed continue to print the data to be printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.

In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to: obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position according to a preset time interval during the printing process of the printer, and back up the number of lines into the memory.

In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to: determine, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, and if yes, stop printing, otherwise continue printing.

In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to: when it is determined that the number of rows corresponding to the current print location is the last row, the number of rows is no longer backed up into the memory.

In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to: delete the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current print position; and turn off the power of the printer.

In one embodiment, one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media storing computer readable instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more processors to perform the following Step: obtaining data to be printed, backing up the data to be printed into a memory; starting printing and obtaining the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position during the printing process, backing up the number of lines to the memory; and restarting when the printer is abnormally Then, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are obtained, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.

In one embodiment, when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps may also be implemented: the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is acquired at a preset time interval during the printing of the printer, and the number of lines is backed up into the memory.

In one embodiment, when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps may be further implemented: determining, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, and if so, stopping printing, otherwise continuing print.

In one embodiment, when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the following steps may be further implemented: when it is determined that the number of rows corresponding to the current print position is the last row, the number of rows is no longer backed up into the memory. .

In one embodiment, the computer readable instructions are further executable by the processor to: delete the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the number of lines corresponding to the current print position; and turn off the printer power.

As shown in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the printer is provided. The printer includes a processor connected via a system bus, a non-volatile storage medium, an internal memory, and a network interface. The non-volatile storage medium of the printer stores an operating system, a database, and computer readable instructions for implementing a method for automatically generating a Chinese ontology library based on structured network knowledge. The printer's processor is used to provide computing and control capabilities to support the operation of the entire device. The computer's internal memory can store computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a method for automatically generating a Chinese ontology library based on structured network knowledge. The network interface of the printer is used to communicate with external terminals via a network connection. The structure shown in FIG. 6 is only a block diagram of a part of the structure related to the solution of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the printer to which the present application is applied. The specific printer may include more or as shown in the figure. Fewer parts, or some parts, or different parts.

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. For the sake of brevity of description, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of these technical features, All should be considered as the scope of this manual.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative of several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. It should be noted that a number of variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

A printing method for a thermal printer, comprising:

Obtaining data to be printed, and backing up the data to be printed into a memory;

Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during printing, and back up the number of lines to the memory; and

After the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the number of rows corresponding to the current print position, and backing up the number of rows to the memory comprises:

During the printing process of the printer, the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is obtained according to a preset time interval, and the number of lines is backed up into the memory.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

Determining, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, and if so, stopping printing, otherwise continuing printing.
The method of claim 3, further comprising:

When it is determined that the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, the number of lines is no longer backed up into the memory.
The method according to claim 3, further comprising, after said stopping printing, further comprising:

Deleting the number of lines corresponding to the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the current print position; and

Turn off the printer.
A printer comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing computer readable instructions, the instructions being executed by the processor, causing the processor to perform the following steps:

Obtaining data to be printed, and backing up the data to be printed into a memory;

Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during the printing process, and prepare the number of lines Share to memory; and

After the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.
The printer according to claim 6, wherein said processor is further configured to:

During the printing process of the printer, the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is obtained according to a preset time interval, and the number of lines is backed up into the memory.
The printer according to claim 6, wherein said processor is further configured to:

Determining, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, and if so, stopping printing, otherwise continuing printing.
The printer according to claim 8, wherein said processor is further configured to:

When it is determined that the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, the number of lines is no longer backed up into the memory.
The printer according to claim 8, wherein said processor is further configured to:

Deleting the number of lines corresponding to the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the current print position; and

Turn off the printer.
One or more non-volatile readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following steps:

Obtaining data to be printed, and backing up the data to be printed into a memory;

Start printing and obtain the number of lines corresponding to the current print position during printing, and back up the number of lines to the memory; and

After the abnormal restart of the printer occurs, the number of lines corresponding to the current print position backed up in the memory and the data to be printed are acquired, and the data to be printed is continuously printed starting from the number of lines corresponding to the current print position.
A non-volatile readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein said said The processor is also used to perform the following steps:

During the printing process of the printer, the number of lines corresponding to the current printing position is obtained according to a preset time interval, and the number of lines is backed up into the memory.
The non-volatile readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following steps:

Determining, according to the data to be printed, whether the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, and if so, stopping printing, otherwise continuing printing.
The non-volatile readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following steps:

When it is determined that the number of lines corresponding to the current print position is the last line, the number of lines is no longer backed up into the memory.
The non-volatile readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following steps:

Deleting the number of lines corresponding to the data to be printed backed up in the memory and the current print position; and

Turn off the printer.