JP2005111845A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus which can print by any timing and can make printing processing efficient. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving receive data from a PC 23 by a host I/F 45, a printer 1 analyzes the received data by a job unit analysis part 41a, and stores an ESC/P raster command included in the received data in units of printing jobs into a storage region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus suitable for application to an ink jet printer or the like.

  Conventionally, when printing is performed by connecting a printer to a host device such as a personal computer (PC), generally, a printer driver suitable for the printer is incorporated in the PC and based on print data output via the printer driver. Printing is performed. That is, the printer driver converts image data to be printed by the printer into print data specific to the printer model, the print data is transmitted from the PC to the printer, and the printer performs printing based on the received print data. Yes.

  In recent years, image data stored in a storage medium such as a memory card or a storage medium attached to a digital camera or the like is directly taken into a printer without using a PC, and the image data is converted into print data inside the printer. A so-called stand-alone printer that can perform printing (direct printing) has also been proposed. This type of printer has an image processing function, and can perform image processing on image data acquired from a memory card or the like to generate print data inside the printer and perform printing.

  By the way, since a printer without an image processing function cannot generate print data from image data by itself, as described above, at the time of printing, a printer and a PC equipped with a printer driver suitable for the printer are installed. Must be connected. That is, when printing is performed with this type of printer, it is necessary to convert the image data to be printed into print data that can be processed by the printer using the printer driver of the PC. For this reason, the printer cannot perform printing without receiving print data from the PC, and cannot perform printing at an arbitrary timing.

  On the other hand, a stand-alone printer equipped with an image processing function can perform printing on its own, and therefore does not necessarily have to be connected to a PC at the time of printing. However, even in this stand-alone printer, at the time of printing, it is necessary to convert image data acquired from a memory card or the like into print data each time. That is, even when image data that has been printed in the past is to be printed again, conversion from image data to print data is required again. For this reason, the printing process in the printer is inefficient.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of printing at an arbitrary timing and improving the efficiency of printing processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a printing apparatus that is connected to a host device that generates image data by performing image processing on image data to be printed, The gist includes a receiving unit that receives received data from a host device, and a storage processing unit that analyzes the received data and stores print data included in the received data in a storage area designated in advance.

  According to this, when printing is performed based on the print data stored in the storage area, printing can be performed at an arbitrary timing even if the host device is not connected to the printing device. In addition, since a series of image processing can be eliminated at the time of printing, the processing in the printing apparatus can be reduced, the efficiency of the printing processing can be improved, and the printing time can be shortened.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the received data includes a first remote command, a second remote command, a print control command sandwiched between the first remote command and the second remote command. The storage processing means stores the print data in the storage area in the form of the print control command.

According to this, when printing is performed based on the stored print control command, the processing in the printing apparatus can be only command analysis.
In the printing apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the first remote command includes a job start code, the second remote command includes a job end code, and the storage processing unit includes the job start code and the job end code. Based on the above, the gist is to store the print control command in the storage area in units of print jobs.

  According to this, when storing the print control command transmitted from the host device, the printing apparatus receives the print control command for each print job without being restricted by the operation of the printer head.

  The gist of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that the storage area is an external interface, an external storage medium attached to the external storage device, or an internal memory provided inside.

  According to this, the printing apparatus can share the print data between printing apparatuses compatible with the command specifications by storing the print control command in the external storage medium. Thereby, a user's convenience can be improved.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when the printing process is performed based on the print data stored in the external storage medium, a message for prohibiting the removal of the external storage medium is displayed on the display unit until the printing process is completed. The gist is to output.

According to this, it is possible to prevent a printing error from occurring due to the removal of the external storage medium storing the print data during printing.
The gist of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is further provided with image processing means for generating the print data based on the image data, and storing the print data generated by the image processing means in the storage area. .

  According to this, the printing apparatus can perform printing based on the saved print data at the time of subsequent printing by saving the print data generated based on the image data directly taken from the digital camera or the like.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a printer according to the present embodiment. 1A is a perspective view of the printer as viewed from the front, and FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of the printer.

  The printer 1 as a printing apparatus in the present embodiment is connected to a storage medium such as a memory card or a storage medium inserted into an external storage device without being connected to a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) as a host apparatus, or It has a function of a so-called stand-alone printer that can directly read and print an image from a digital camera or the like. That is, when the printer 1 of the present embodiment is connected to a host device and used as a peripheral device of the host device, the printer 1 performs printing based on print data received from the host device. On the other hand, when operating as a stand-alone printer, printing is performed based on print data generated by performing predetermined image processing on image data directly read from the memory card or the like. In this embodiment, a stand-alone printer having an image processing capability is illustrated, but a printer without an image processing capability may be used.

  The printer 1 is an ink jet printer having a control panel 3 functioning as a user interface (UI) on the upper right side of the main body 2. The user can give the printer 1 various instructions such as a print instruction by operating the control panel 3. A paper supply device 4 is provided on the back side of the main body 2, and the paper set in the sheet feeder 4 a or the roll paper set in the roll paper support portion 4 b is fed into the main body 2 (hereinafter, referred to as “sheet feeding device”). In this embodiment, a print medium such as paper or roll paper is simply referred to as “paper”). A printing mechanism (not shown) is provided below the cover 5 provided in the center of the main body 2, and a paper discharge port provided with a sheet 6 printed by the operation of the printing mechanism is provided at the lower front side of the main body 2. 7 is discharged.

  The control panel 3 is provided with a display panel 8 as display means and an operation panel 9 as operation means. The display panel 8 has a display screen 8a such as a liquid crystal monitor. The display screen 8a is, for example, a screen for setting paper size, paper type, layout, photo selection, number of printed sheets, and various message screens. Is displayed. The operation panel 9 includes a plurality of operation switches such as a power switch 9a and a print start switch 9b.

  In this stand-alone printer, for example, when an image stored in a memory card is selected and printed, the image cannot be confirmed on the screen of the host device because it is not connected to the host device. For this reason, a display device 10 for displaying an image read from a storage medium such as a memory card is provided on the upper portion of the main body 2 of the printer 1, and even if the printer 1 is not connected to a host device, You can check the image before printing. The display device 10 is attached as an option and is not always necessary.

  A plurality of storage media, in the present embodiment, a first storage medium 11, a second storage medium 12, and a third storage medium 13 can be mounted on the front right side of the main body 2 of the printer 1, respectively. A slot 14, a second slot 15, and a third slot 16 are provided. The LEDs 14a to 16a are arranged in the vicinity of the slots 14 to 16, and each of the LEDs 14a to 16a has a corresponding slot 14 to 16 as an effective slot (a slot in which access to a storage medium is permitted). It is configured to light up when That is, the slots that can be accessed for direct printing among the slots 14 to 16 are limited to one at any given time.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, for example, USB ports 21 and 22 are provided on the lower side of the main body 2 of the printer 1 as connection means for connecting to an external device. For example, the USB port 21 connects the printer 1 and a PC 23 as a host device via a cable 24. In this case, the printer 1 operates as a peripheral device of the PC 23 and performs printing based on the print data transmitted from the PC 23. On the other hand, the USB port 22 connects, for example, the printer 1 and an external storage device 26 (for example, MO) via a cable 27. A storage medium 26 a (for example, an MO disk) is inserted into the external storage device 26. In the present embodiment, the storage medium 26 a and the first to third storage media 11 to 13 described above are used as external storage media for storing print data transmitted from the PC 23.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the printer 1. Components similar to those in FIG. 1 are described with the same reference numerals.
The printer 1 includes a ROM 31, a RAM 32, a printer head 33, and a CPU built-in ASIC 34. The ROM 31 stores a control program and various application programs necessary for the CPU 41 of the CPU embedded ASIC 34 described later to execute processing. The RAM 32 is used as a working memory when the CPU 41 executes processing. In the present embodiment, the RAM 32 is also used as an internal memory for storing print data transmitted from the PC 23.

  The printer head 33 is provided at the lower end of a carriage (not shown) that reciprocates in the main scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction), and has a number of nozzles for each color on the surface facing the paper conveyance path. Have. The printer head 33 discharges ink droplets of each color from nozzles corresponding to the respective colors while reciprocating in the main scanning direction based on the control of the head control circuit 42 of the CPU built-in ASIC 34 described later. An image is formed on a sheet of paper.

  The CPU built-in ASIC 34 includes a CPU 41, a head control circuit 42, an image processing circuit 43, a USB host circuit 44, a host interface circuit (hereinafter referred to as “host I / F”) 45, and first to third card interface circuits (hereinafter referred to as “card I / F”). / F ”) 46a to 46c, which are connected to each other via an internal bus 47. The internal bus 47 is also connected to the ROM 31, RAM 32 and control panel 3 described above.

  The CPU 41 reads out a program stored in the ROM 31 and executes processing according to the program, thereby controlling the printer 1 in an integrated manner. For example, the CPU 41 controls color conversion processing, halftone processing, microweave processing, and carriage motor drive control in the head control circuit 42, which will be described later. In the present embodiment, the CPU 41 is configured to function as a job unit analysis unit 41a (storage processing means) and a command analysis unit 41b (see FIG. 3). As will be described later, when the CPU 41 operates as the job unit analysis unit 41a, the print data described in the print control command is output to the print job based on the job start code and job end code included in the received data received from the PC 23. Get in units. When the CPU 41 operates as the command analysis unit 41b, the CPU 41 analyzes the print control command received from the PC 23 and generates print data.

  The image processing circuit 43 has functions as a color conversion unit, a halftoning unit, and a microweave unit. More specifically, the color conversion unit performs color conversion processing on RGB multi-tone image data, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), and light cyan (LC). , Light magenta (LM), light yellow (LY), 7-color multi-gradation image data is generated. The halftoning unit performs halftone processing on the image data after the color conversion processing, and generates print image data (color plane) in which multi-tone image data is binarized for each color. The microweave unit rearranges the raster lines of each color plane after the halftone process based on the number of nozzles, the number of head scans, the paper feed amount, and the like to generate print data.

  The head control circuit 42 controls the driving of a carriage motor that reciprocates the printer head 33, and whether or not ink droplets are ejected based on the print data of each color generated by the image processing circuit 43, and the ink droplets to be ejected. The amount of control is controlled.

  The USB host circuit 44 is connected to the external storage device 26 (MO in the present embodiment) via the cable 27, and performs bidirectional data communication with the external storage device 26 based on the control of the CPU 41. The first to third card I / Fs 46a to 46c function as interface circuits when the first to third storage media 11 to 13 are mounted in the corresponding first to third slots 14 to 16, respectively.

  The host I / F 45 is connected to an interface circuit (hereinafter referred to as “I / F”) 51 of the PC 23 via the cable 24 and controls bidirectional data communication with the PC 23. The PC 23 incorporates a printer driver 52 (software) adapted to the printer 1 of the present embodiment, and print data output through the printer driver 52 (specifically, can be interpreted by the printer 1). Based on a dedicated print control command), the printer 1 performs print processing.

Next, print processing (print processing mode) and storage processing (storage processing mode) executed in the printer 1 will be described.
The printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a mode (print processing mode) for printing the print data generated by the printer driver 52 of the PC 23 as it is, and a storage medium in which the print data is inserted into the RAM 32 or the external storage device 26 inside the printer 1. 26a, or a mode for saving in the first to third storage media 11 to 13 (save processing mode). The switching between the print processing mode and the storage processing mode can be set from the PC 23 using the function of the printer driver 52, or can be set on the control panel 3 of the printer 1.

First, the storage processing mode will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer driver 52 of the PC 23 functions as a print data generation unit 53 and a command conversion unit 54. The print data generation unit 53 takes in image data to be printed, performs a series of image processing (color conversion processing, halftone processing, microweave processing) on the image data, and print data (1 in this embodiment). Raster data described for each line). The command conversion unit 54 converts the raster data into a description language that can be interpreted by the printer 1 and generates a print control command (ESC / P raster command in the present embodiment).

  The PC 23 transmits the ESC / P raster command generated via the printer driver 52 (print data generation unit 53, command conversion unit 54) to the printer 1 through the I / F 51. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the PC 23 uses the first remote command 61 including the job start code (shown as “JS” in the figure) and the job end code (shown as “JE” in the figure). Is added to the ESC / P raster command 63, and the ESC / P raster command 63 is transmitted to the printer 1. That is, the received data received by the printer 1 has a structure in which the ESC / P raster command 63 is sandwiched between the first remote command 61 and the second remote command 62.

  The specific data content of the received data will be described in detail. The ESC / P raster command 63 includes raster data (indicated by “ESCi” in the drawing) included in one print job and various control information in the print job. It is included. The control information includes, for example, page information (indicated by “ESC (c” in the drawing) for designating the print start / end positions for the print medium, the print medium according to the number of nozzles of the printer head 33, and the like. Vertical position information (designated by “ESC (v” in the figure)) for specifying the paper feed amount is included.

  In the first remote command 61, in addition to the above-mentioned job start code “JS”, for example, mechanical setting information (“SN” in the figure) for setting the operation speed of the printer head 33, cleaning information of the printer head 33, and the like. ”).

  In addition to the job end code “JE”, the second remote command 62 includes, for example, initialization information (indicated by “LD” in the drawing) for initializing operation settings for the printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the printer 1 receives the received data from the PC 23 via the host I / F 45, the printer 1 analyzes the received data by the job unit analysis unit 41a. The job unit analysis unit 41a detects the job start code “JS” of the first remote command 61 and the job end code “JE” of the second remote command 62 included in the received data, and raster data for each print job. The ESC / P raster command 63 in which is described is acquired. Then, the job unit analysis unit 41a stores the received data including the ESC / P raster command 63 and the first remote command 61 and the second remote command 62 added thereto in advance in a storage area designated by the user. Save to.

  The storage area refers to an internal memory and an external storage medium used for storing received data. Specifically, in this embodiment, the storage area is inserted into the RAM 32 and the external storage device 26 inside the printer 1. The storage medium 26a (MO disk in this embodiment) and the first to third storage media 11 to 13 inserted in the first to third slots 14 to 16 are referred to.

  Here, for example, when the first storage medium 11 is selected as the storage area of the data storage destination, as shown in FIG. 3, the job unit analysis unit 41a of the printer 1 receives the received data received from the PC 23 as the first storage data. The first card I / F 46 a accesses the first slot 14 and stores the received data in the first storage medium 11.

Next, the print processing mode will be described.
In the print processing mode, the printer 1 analyzes the ESC / P raster command 63 transmitted from the PC 23 by the command analysis unit 41 b to generate raster data, and transfers it to the head control circuit 42. The head control circuit 42 drives the printer head 33 based on the raster data sequentially transferred from the command analysis unit 41b, and prints on the print medium.

  In this print processing mode, the printer 1 can also perform printing based on the received data saved in the storage area in the save processing mode. In this case, the printer 1 reads the ESC / P raster command 63 from the received data stored in the storage area, and analyzes the ESC / P raster command 63 by the command analysis unit 41b in the same manner as described above to obtain raster data. It is generated and transferred to the head control circuit 42. Then, the head control circuit 42 drives the printer head 33 based on the raster data sequentially transferred from the command analysis unit 41b, and prints on the print medium.

  As described above, in the storage processing mode, the entire reception data received from the PC 23 is stored in the storage area. However, when the printer 1 performs printing based on the reception data stored in the storage area, Printing is performed with reference to only data directly related to the printing process. For example, the printer 1 ignores data not directly related to the printing process, such as cleaning information included in the first remote command 61. Thereby, when printing is performed based on the stored data, the printing process can be made more efficient.

  Further, when printing is performed based on the ESC / P raster command 63 stored in an external storage medium such as a memory card or an MO disk, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment stores the external storage until the printing process is completed. A message for prohibiting the removal of the medium is output to the display screen 8a of the control panel 3.

  In the printer 1 as described above, since the ESC / P raster command 63 of the raster data generated via the printer driver 52 of the PC 23 is stored in the memory card, the MO disk or the like in the storage processing mode, When printing is performed based on the stored data, the PC 23 does not need to be connected to the printer 1. That is, by storing the ESC / P raster command 63, the user can perform printing at an arbitrary timing even if the PC 23 is not connected to the printer 1 thereafter. Further, by storing the ESC / P raster command 63, when printing is performed based on the stored data, a series of image processing such as color conversion processing in the printer 1 can be made unnecessary, and ESC / P Printing processing can be executed only by analyzing the raster command 63.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Raster data (ESC / P raster command 63) generated via the printer driver 52 of the PC 23 is stored in the RAM 32 in the printer 1, the storage medium 26a (MO disk or the like) inserted in the external storage device 26, or It was made to preserve | save to the 1st-3rd storage media 11-13. According to this, when printing is performed based on the stored ESC / P raster command 63, connection of the PC 23 can be made unnecessary, and thereafter, the user can perform printing at an arbitrary timing.

  (2) Since the ESC / P raster command 63 is stored, when printing is performed based on the stored data, a series of image processing such as color conversion processing, halftone processing, and microweave processing is not performed at all. It can be unnecessary. In other words, the processing in the printer 1 can be only command analysis. As a result, the processing in the printer 1 can be reduced to increase the efficiency of the printing process, and the printing time can be shortened.

  (3) Analyzing the data received from the PC 23, the first remote command 61 including the job start code “JS” and the second remote command 62 including the job end code “JE” are detected, and the first And a job unit analysis unit 41a for acquiring an ESC / P raster command 63 in units of print jobs sandwiched between the second remote commands 61 and 62. According to this, when the printer 1 stores the ESC / P raster command 63 transmitted from the PC 23 in the storage processing mode, the printer 1 is restrained by the operation of the printer head 33. Can be received in units of print jobs.

  (4) In this embodiment, when printing is performed by reading the ESC / P raster command 63 from a storage medium such as a memory card or an MO disk, the storage medium from the printer 1 is used until the printing process is completed. A message for prohibiting the removal of the image is output to the display screen 8a of the control panel 3. According to this, it is possible to prevent a printing error from occurring due to a user inadvertently removing a memory card or the like in which data being printed is stored.

  (5) In the present embodiment, by storing the ESC / P raster command 63 in an external storage medium such as a memory card or an MO disk, data can be shared between printers compatible with the command specifications. Become. Thereby, a user's convenience can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment, a modified example changed to the following aspect may be adopted.
(Modification 1) In the above-described embodiment, the ESC / P raster command 63 is stored in the storage area. However, this may be stored in raster data before command conversion.

  (Modification 2) In the above embodiment, the entire reception data received from the PC 23 is stored in the storage area. However, at least the ESC / P raster command 63 is stored in the storage area based on the analysis result of the reception data. (Or raster data) may be stored.

  (Modification 3) In the above embodiment, the configuration of the printer 1 (so-called stand-alone printer) including the image processing circuit 43 has been described as an example, but the present invention may be applied to the configuration of a printer that does not include the image processing circuit 43. . This is because the printer according to the present invention stores raster data and the ESC / P raster command 63, and therefore image processing is not required when printing is performed based on the stored data.

(Modification 4) In the above embodiment, the ESC / P raster command 63 is stored in units of print jobs. However, it is not always necessary to store in units of print jobs.
(Modification 5) As the external storage medium for storing the ESC / P raster command 63, the first to third storage media 11 to 13 similar to the memory card or the like as exemplified in the above embodiment, It is not limited to the storage medium 26a such as an MO disk. For example, it may be stored in a hard disk connected to the printer 1.

  (Modification 6) In the above embodiment, the PC 23 is used as the host device connected to the printer 1, but other host devices such as a digital camera equipped with a printer driver may be used.

  (Modification 7) In the above embodiment, the PC 23 is connected to the printer 1 equipped with the image processing function, and the ESC / P raster command 63 output from the PC 23 is saved. Alternatively, image data acquired from a digital camera, a mobile phone, a memory card, or the like connected to the printer 1 is subjected to image processing, and raster data and ESC / P raster commands generated inside the printer 1 are stored. Good. Further, in a multi-function printer having a scanner function, raster data generated based on scanned image data and ESC / P raster commands may be stored.

  (Modification 8) In the above embodiment, the printer 1 and the PC 23 are connected to each other via the USB cable 24. However, other wired communication modes or wireless communication modes using Bluetooth or the like are used. Of course, application is also possible.

  (Modification 9) In the above embodiment, the data format of the print data and the print control command generated via the printer driver 52 is not necessarily limited to the raster data or the ESC / P raster command 63.

  (Modification 10) In the above embodiment, the ESC / P raster command 63 is read from an external storage medium such as a memory card or an MO disk, and printing is performed. Then, the printed data is erased. You may do it. In this way, the capacity of the data storage destination storage medium can be effectively utilized.

1A and 1B are schematic views of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the printer as viewed from the front, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining printing processing and storage processing executed by a printer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the reception data received with a printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer as printing apparatus, 8 ... Display panel as display means, 11-13 ... First to third storage media as external storage media, 23 ... Personal computer (PC) as host device, 26 ... External Storage device 26a ... Storage medium as external storage medium, 32 ... RAM as internal memory, 41a ... Job unit analysis unit as storage processing means, 43 ... Image processing circuit as image processing means, 45 ... As reception means Host interface circuit (host I / F), 46a to 46c, first to third card interface circuits (card I / F) as external interfaces, 61, first remote command, 62, second remote command, 63 ... ESC / P raster command as a print control command.

Claims (6)

In a printing apparatus that is connected to a host device that generates image data by performing image processing on image data to be printed, and performs printing processing based on the print data.
Receiving means for receiving received data from the host device;
A storage processing means for analyzing the received data and storing print data included in the received data in a storage area designated in advance;
A printing apparatus comprising: The received data includes a first remote command, a second remote command, and a print control command sandwiched between the first remote command and the second remote command,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage processing unit stores the print data in the storage area in the form of the print control command. The first remote command includes a job start code; the second remote command includes a job end code;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the storage processing unit stores the print control command in the storage area in units of print jobs based on the job start code and the job end code. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage area is an external interface or an external storage medium attached to the external storage device, or an internal memory provided inside. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when printing processing is performed based on print data stored in the external storage medium, a message prohibiting removal of the external storage medium is output to the display unit until the printing process is completed. 4. The printing apparatus according to 4. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image processing unit that generates the print data based on the image data, wherein the print data generated by the image processing unit is stored in the storage area. The printing apparatus according to item.

Images