JP2006301797A - Data communication controller, data communication control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data communication controller, a data communication control method, and a program for suppressing occurrence of the delay in data transfer. <P>SOLUTION: In a data communication controller, when it is decided that the storage of a packet in a memory is completed, a memory management table is updated with color information of a packet, packet size information, and reception order information in which a reception order from a computer is decided to be the last (step S505), and when the transmission of the packet to a printer is completed, a memory management table for managing a region where the transmitted packet is stored is updated as necessary, as a management table for managing a free space whose storage order is the last, and the reception order information of the table for managing the region where the packet received prior to the last transmitted packet is stored among the tables for managing the region where the packet is stored is updated (step S509). Also, a data communication control method and program are disclosed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data communication control device, a data communication control method, and a program for executing control when buffering print image data received from a host computer and transmitting it to a printing device.

  When there is a print instruction from a computer connected to the printer, a conventional printer converts print image information into print data described in a page description language in the computer, and transfers the print data to the printer. In the printer, the print data is rendered by a dedicated hardware circuit incorporated in the printer, and the formed dot image data is transferred to the semiconductor laser unit in synchronization with the paper transport of the print engine. The drum is charged, and charged toner is attached to a different pole, transferred onto the conveyed paper, and fixed with heat from a heater, and an image is printed out.

  In a laser printer using an electrophotographic system, there is a technique called a host base. In the host base printer, rendering processing is executed by software of the host computer. In the host computer, after performing rendering processing, image processing, and high compression processing, the print image data is transferred to the host base printer in the order of data irradiated to the photosensitive drum by the semiconductor laser unit of the print engine. The host-based printer has a buffer and expansion circuit with an appropriate capacity, and transfers the dot image data to the laser unit by FIFO in synchronization with the print engine while expanding the print image data transferred from the host computer. .

  In the case of a host-based printer, since rendering processing and necessary image processing are performed by software on the host computer side, hardware resources on the host-based printer side can be reduced. In addition, since the host base printer has a mechanism for expanding the print image data and transferring the dot image data to the print engine simultaneously with the reception of the print image data from the host computer, the built-in buffer is one. It is not necessary to hold the data for all the pages, and a small buffer is sufficient. However, once printing is started, data transfer is not allowed to be delayed, and particularly in the case of a print engine having a high printing speed, high-speed transfer of print image data is required. Therefore, recently, host-based printers that use USB 2.0 HS mode are increasing.

  In recent years, 4D color engines have begun to be adopted in host-based printers. This 4D color engine has a laser and a photosensitive drum for each color of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black), and attaches toner to the conveyed paper. The toner is transferred from the photosensitive drum and finally fixed at once. The host-based 4D color printer has a print data path in which a buffer and an expansion circuit are prepared for each color, and print image data transferred from the host computer is stored in each buffer for each color. The sorting, the expansion of the print image data, and the transfer of the dot image data to the laser unit are executed independently for each color.

On the other hand, in addition to the low cost of host-based printers, the demand for business scenes such as offices is increasing as the printing speed increases. Printer usage in the office is generally connected via a LAN cable, so it is desirable to make the printer compatible with the network. Printer network printing requires a print server that combines network protocol processing and processing for receiving print data from a host computer and transferring it to the printer. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)
JP 2001-092604 A

  In the case of a host-based printer, once printing is started as described above, if printing image data transfer is delayed with respect to the paper transport speed of the print engine, correct printing is not executed. Therefore, it is desirable that the network printing in the host-based printer is configured so that the print server does not become a bottleneck as much as possible.

  However, with respect to network printing by a host-based printer of a 4D color engine, there is a problem that a delay occurs in the data transfer of the system even if the print image data of the print server is transferred by a simple FIFO. For example, when the buffer of the host base printer is in a saturated state and the buffer for yellow holds only a small amount of data, the print image data for cyan is at the head of the FIFO. In this case, there is a possibility that the cyan print image data is clogged at the head of the FIFO, and the data transfer of the yellow print image data is not in time. In particular, in the case of a print engine having a high printing speed, it is desired to further increase the speed of data transfer. Further, the reason why the buffer clogging differs depending on the color is because the compression rate of the compression performed by the host computer may differ for each color.

  In such a case, if the print server has a mechanism for sending print image data of a color other than cyan first, the printer is less likely to cause an overrun. Since the printer side is configured so that the print data path to the print output is divided for each color and processed independently, the problem is that the order of the print data transferred from the host computer is kept for each color. Absent.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to perform the order of print data transferred from a host computer even in the case of network printing in a host-based printer employing a 4D color engine, even if the difference in compression rate of print image data is large for each color. Is to provide a data communication control device, a data communication control method, and a program capable of suppressing the occurrence of a data transfer delay in order to enable the printer to perform data transfer for each color.

  To achieve the above object, a data communication control device according to claim 1 is a data communication control device that controls data communication between an information processing device and an image forming device, and receives data from the information processing device. Means, storage means for storing data received by the receiving means in any of a plurality of areas, transmission means for transmitting the stored data to the image forming apparatus, and data storage status in the storage means The management table means for storing data, the device information acquisition means for acquiring the device information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus, and the storage of the data in the storage means by referring to the management table means According to the situation, determining the area for storing the data received by the receiving means, and updating the management table means according to the determination of the area In addition, by referring to the management table means and the apparatus information acquired by the apparatus information acquisition means, the transmission means transmits the data according to the data storage status in the storage means and the status of the image forming apparatus. Control means for determining an area for storing data and updating the management table means in accordance with the determination of the area.

  The data communication control method according to claim 10, wherein the data communication control method is executed by a data communication control device that controls data communication between the information processing device and the image forming device, and receives the data from the information processing device. A reception determination step for determining whether or not the data has been received, and if it is determined that the data has been received in the reception determination step, information on the received data is retained and a memory address of a memory for storing the received data is generated. In the reception procedure step, the reception end determination step for determining whether or not the storage of the data for which the memory address was generated in the reception procedure step has been completed, and the reception end determination step, the received data If it is determined that the storage in the memory has been completed, A first memory management table update step for updating the memory management table with the information on the received data and the reception order information indicating that the reception order from the information processing apparatus is the slowest, and is acquired from the memory management table and the image forming apparatus. When it is determined that there is data that can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus according to the device information, and when there is data that can be transmitted in the transmission determination step, the memory management table is Originally, a transmission procedure step for determining data to be transmitted and generating a memory address of a storage area storing the data, and in the transmission procedure step, the data for which the memory address has been generated is sent to the image forming apparatus. A transmission end determination step for determining whether or not transmission has ended, and a transmission end determination step. If it is determined that the transmission of the data to the image forming apparatus has been completed, the data in the empty area that has the latest data reception order with respect to the information on the storage area in which the data is stored in the memory management table And a second memory management table update step for updating by clearing the color information and the data size information, and transmitting all the one print job data composed of the plurality of data to the image forming apparatus. The plurality of steps are repeated until the above.

  The program according to claim 11 is a program executed by a computer that controls communication of data between the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus, and a reception determination for determining whether or not the data is received from the information processing apparatus. A reception procedure module that holds information of the received data and generates a memory address of a memory that stores the received data when the reception determination module determines that the data has been received; and the reception procedure module In the reception end determination module for determining whether or not the storage of the data generating the memory address in the memory is completed, and in the reception end determination module, the storage of the received data in the memory is completed If it is determined, the data held in the reception procedure module And a first memory management table update module for updating a memory management table with the reception order information indicating that the reception order from the information processing apparatus is the latest, and an apparatus acquired from the memory management table and the image forming apparatus Based on the information, if it is determined that there is data that can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and the transmission determination module determines that there is data that can be transmitted, the memory management table is used as a basis. A transmission procedure module that determines data to be transmitted and generates a memory address of a storage area in which the data is stored, and the transmission procedure module transmits data to the image forming apparatus that has generated the memory address. A transmission end determination module for determining whether or not the transmission has ended, and the transmission end determination module. If it is determined that the transmission of the data to the image forming apparatus is completed in the data storage area, the empty area of the memory management table in which the data reception order is the latest is stored in the memory management table. A second management table update module that updates data by clearing data reception order information and color information and data size information, and transmits all the print job data composed of the plurality of data to the image forming apparatus. The processing of the plurality of modules is repeatedly executed by the computer.

  According to the present invention, an area for storing data and an area for storing data to be transmitted are determined according to the storage state of the packet of data stored in the storage unit or the state of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, occurrence of data transfer delay can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the management table storing the data storage status is updated every time a data packet is transmitted / received, the occurrence of a data transfer delay can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network printing system to which a data communication control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  The network printing system includes a printing apparatus 400 having host computers 100 to 102, a LAN 200, and a network card 300.

  The host computers 100 to 102 are connected to a printing apparatus 400 having a network card 300 as a data communication control apparatus via a network such as a LAN 200. The host computer 100 first occupies the printing apparatus 400 when performing printing. Then, rendering processing and compression processing are performed on the print image data to generate print image data packets to which color information and packet size information are added, and the packets are transmitted to the network card 300 one after another. The network card 300 transfers the packet to the printing apparatus 400 as appropriate while buffering the packet. The printing apparatus 400 is occupied until printing of one job is completed.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the network card 300.

  The network card 300 includes a protocol control unit 301, a CPU 302, a print image data control unit 303, a memory management table 304, a memory controller 305, a memory 306, and a printer I / F control unit 307.

  The network card 300 receives a packet of print image data transferred from the host computer 100 via the LAN 200 by the protocol control unit 301 and executes protocol processing.

  At this time, the CPU 302 performs processing such as a print control command and a network management application without being involved in the protocol processing. When the print image data control unit 303 receives the reception notification from the protocol control unit 301, the print image data control unit 303 refers to the memory management table 304 that manages the packet storage status of the memory 306, and receives if there is an empty area in the memory 306. Is allowed to generate the storage destination address. The packet of print image data permitted to be received is stored in the memory 306 via the memory controller 305. The printer I / F control unit 307 periodically acquires free information in the print image data buffer area of the printing apparatus 400 and notifies the print image data control unit 303 as necessary. The print image data control unit 303 refers to the empty information in the print image data buffer area of the printing apparatus and the memory management table 304. If there is a packet that can be transmitted, the storage destination address of the memory 306 in which the packet is stored To the printer I / F control unit 307. The printer I / F control unit 307 reads the packet stored at the address received via the memory controller 305 and transfers it to the printing apparatus 400. The print image data control unit 303 always updates the information in the memory management table 304 when storage of the print image data packet in the memory 306 is completed or when reading from the memory 306 is completed. The storage status of packets in the memory 306 is held.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus 400.

  The printing apparatus 400 includes a NIC I / F 401, a CPU 402, an operation panel 403, a memory controller 404, a memory 405, a data expansion unit 406, an engine I / F control unit 407, and a print engine 408.

  The NIC I / F 401 receives the packet transferred from the network card 300. The CPU 402 analyzes the received packet, strips the header, and passes only the compressed image data to the memory controller 404. The operation panel unit 403 is also controlled. The memory controller 404 buffers the compressed image data in the memory 405 and sequentially passes it to the data decompression unit 406. A data decompression unit 406 decompresses compressed image data received from the host computer 100. The engine I / F control unit 407 exchanges control signals with the print engine 408 and transfers print image data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a packet of print image data.

  The print image data packet is generated by rendering and compressing the print image data in the host computer 100 and then adding a header including color information and packet size information to the print image data subjected to these processes. The The maximum packet size is preset and never exceeds that value. Each packet is transmitted from the host computer 100 to the network card 300 in the order in which the printout is performed for each color. Therefore, the network card 300 is sent to the printing apparatus 400 in the order received from the host computer 100 for each color. Need to transfer.

  FIG. 5A is a conceptual diagram showing the data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306. In particular, the initial state of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306 when the printing apparatus 400 is occupied by the host computer 100 is shown. (Hereinafter, this initial state is referred to as “initial state”). That is, before the transfer of the print image data packet starts from the host computer 100. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and FIG. 5C is a diagram showing a configuration of the free area management register 3032.

  Here, it is assumed that the maximum value of a packet of print image data is 64 Kbytes, and the memory 306 has a size capable of storing a maximum of 96 packets. That is, the buffer area of the packet is 6M bytes.

  A memory management table 304 is table data for managing information stored in the memory 306. As shown in the figure, the leading addresses 0x0000_0000 to 0x005F_0000 of each of the 96 packet storage areas of the memory 306 correspond to the address information 1 to 96 of the memory management table 304, and each table (row) of the memory management table 304 By referring to (data), the information of the storage area of the memory 306 indicated by the address information of the table can be known. This address information is written by the print image data control unit 303 when the network card 300 is activated and is not changed.

  Each table includes address information, color information, packet size information, and reception order information. These items are updated as necessary every time one packet is transmitted / received. By doing so, it is possible to always manage the latest information in the memory 306.

  The color information and the packet size information indicate the color and packet length of the packet stored in the storage area of the memory 306 corresponding to the table. As shown in FIG. 5, when no packet is stored, the color information and the packet size information are set to “0”.

  In the reception order information, when a packet is stored in the storage area of the memory 306 indicated by the address information of the table, the area in which the packet received from the host computer 100 is stored next to the packet is managed. Table in which the address information of the existing table is written, and in the case of a free area in which no packet is stored, the free area where the packet received from the host computer 100 is to be stored next to the free area is managed Address information is written.

  Also, when the reception order information is “0”, if the packet is stored in the storage area of the memory 306 corresponding to the table, the packet has been received most at the present time in the area storing the packet. Indicates that it is a slow region, and if it is a free region that does not store packets, it indicates that it is the slowest region in the free region that currently receives packets.

  Further, among the tables managing the areas where packets have been received, the table managing the areas where the packet reception order is the earliest and the latest is managed by the packet reception area management register 3031 and the free areas are managed. The free area management register 3032 always holds a table that manages the area where the packet reception order is the earliest and the area where the packet is received most slowly. The packet reception area management register 3031 and the free area management register 3032 are included in the print image data control unit 303.

  The upper part of the packet reception area management register 3031 in FIG. 5B is a table that manages the packet storage area with the earliest reception order, and the lower part is a table that manages the latest packet storage area. Further, the upper part of the free area management register 3032 is a table that manages the empty area with the earliest reception order, and the lower part is the table that manages the latest empty area.

  Since these registers manage the beginning and end of the order of the packet storage area and the free area, together with the address information and the reception order information of the memory management table 304, the packet storage area and the free area of the memory 306 are stored. Order management can be performed.

  Since FIG. 5 shows an initial state, the storage area of the memory 306 is naturally an empty area.

  As the reception order information, a value obtained by adding 1 to “address information” is written by the print image data control unit 303 as shown in FIG. However, “0” is written in the reception order information of the table whose address information is “96”, and in the initial state, the table managing the area where the packet reception order is the slowest. In the packet reception area management register 3031, since an area for receiving a packet does not exist in the memory 306, “0” is written in all items at the time of activation. Further, in the upper part of the free area management register 3032, a table that manages the free area with the earliest reception order, that is, a table whose address information is “1”, and in the lower part of the free area management register 3032, the reception order is A table managing the latest free space, that is, a table with address information “96” is written at the time of activation.

  As described above, at startup, the memory management table 304, the packet reception area management register 3031, and the free area management register 3032 are set as shown in FIG. The address information is stored in the memory 306 in the order of “1” → “2” →... → “96”.

  In the above description, the memory management table 304 is used together with the packet reception area management register 3031 and the free area management register 3032 to manage the order of packet storage areas and free areas in the memory 306. Hereinafter, a specific method for updating the memory management table 304 accompanying packet transmission / reception will be described. Before that, the reason for performing the order management will be described.

  In the network printing system of FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 400 includes a 4D color engine, provides a channel for processing each color, and performs parallel processing of packets of print image data. Since the packet originally compressed by the host computer 100 is expanded by the printing apparatus 400, the data processing amount differs for each color due to the difference in compression rate. If the network card 300 has a FIFO structure, then If the color corresponding to the packet to be transferred to the printing apparatus 400 is a color in which the channel buffer is saturated in the printing apparatus 400, the data transfer temporarily stops there, which becomes a system bottleneck.

  Therefore, in order to improve the transfer performance of the system, packet transmission from the network card 300 to the printing apparatus 400 can be performed sequentially from colors that can be transmitted. Since the printing apparatus 400 has no problem as long as the transfer order from the host computer 100 is observed for each color, the network card 300 has a FIFO structure for each color and maintains performance when considering the system status. Most preferred for doing so.

  Order management is for that purpose. For example, among the packets stored in the network card 300 at a certain point in time, even when a color other than cyan cannot be transmitted to the printing apparatus 400, the packet reception order is managed, so that It is possible to search for an area where an early cyan packet is stored.

  The outline of the order management is as follows. Regarding the reception of packets, the packets are stored in the order of the managed free areas. However, as described above, packet transmission is not performed in the order of packet reception in the managed packet storage area. Basically, the control is performed so as to be performed in the order, but depending on the situation of the printing apparatus 400, there is a possibility of transmission in a random order. Even in such a case, the memory management table 304 is updated so that a firm order management can be performed in order to realize a FIFO structure for each color.

  As a rule of update, in the case of packet reception, the packet is stored in the earliest area in the free area, and then the order is managed as the latest order in the packet storage area. Manages the order in which the transmitted packet is stored as the latest order in the free area, while the order in the packet storage area is under the control before transmission.

  FIG. 6A shows a conceptual diagram of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306 after packet transmission / reception is performed to some extent. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a configuration of the free area management register 3032.

  Within the packet storage area in the memory 306, the order in which packets are received at this time is “1” → “2” → “3” → “4” → “6” → “7” indicated by the address information in the memory management table 304. ”→“ 8 ”→... →“ 95 ”, and within the empty area in the memory 306, the order of receiving packets at this time is 96 in the order“ 96 ”→“ 5 ”indicated by the address information. It can be seen that there are only two of the regions.

  Hereinafter, the control of the print image data control unit 303 and the update method of the memory management table 304 when transmitting / receiving packets will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5 to 9.

[When receiving a packet]
In FIG. 2, the protocol control unit 301 of the network card 300 receives a print image data packet from the host computer 100 and issues a reception notification to the print image data control unit 303.

  When the print image data control unit 303 confirms that an empty area exists in the memory 306, the print image data control unit 303 requests a packet header, that is, packet color information and packet size information. And the area of the memory 306 corresponding to the upper table of the empty area management register 3032 (that is, the area with the earliest packet reception order among the empty areas of the memory 306. In FIG. 1) is generated in the protocol control unit 301. The received packet is stored in the designated address in the memory 306 from the protocol control unit 301 via the memory controller 305.

  When the received packet is stored in the memory 306, a notification of reception completion is sent from the protocol control unit 301 to the print image data control unit 303. When the print image data control unit 303 recognizes this notification, it updates the memory management table 304.

  In this update, with respect to the area where the received packet is stored, the area that has been managed as the area with the earliest packet reception order in the empty area until immediately before the storage, the packet reception order is the highest among the areas that have received the packet. It is to manage as a slow area.

  Specifically, in FIG. 7, the shaded portion is a location updated by packet reception from the state of FIG. In this example, the color of the print image data of the received packet is black (K) and the packet length is the maximum value of 64 Kbytes.

  When the print image data control unit 303 receives the packet reception completion notification, the print image data control unit 303 first looks at a table that manages an area of the memory 306 that has the earliest packet reception order. That is, the reception order information, color information, and packet size information of the table whose address information of the memory management table 304 corresponding to the upper table of the free space management register 3032 in FIG. 6 is “96” are updated.

  Since the table of the address information “96” in FIG. 7 is the slowest receiving area in the packet received area of the memory 306, “0” is written in the receiving order information of the table. The retained “K” and “64K” information is written in the color information and the packet size information, respectively.

  Next, before receiving a packet, a table that manages an area in the memory 306 where the packet reception order is the slowest in the packet reception area, that is, a table held in the lower stage of the packet reception area management register 3031 is stored. It is necessary to update the “reception order information” of the address information “95” in the corresponding memory management table 304. Here, “0” was obtained before the packet was received, but since the table “96” received the packet, “96” is written to connect the packet reception order.

  Finally, the packet reception area management register 3031 and the free area management register 3032 are updated to the latest information.

  By following the above procedure, the update of the memory management table 304 when a packet is received is completed.

[When sending a packet]
Since the data decompression unit 406 and the engine I / F control unit 407 in the printing apparatus 400 of FIG. 3 are configured for each color of C, M, Y, and K, the data decompression unit 406 if the compression rate of each data is different. The amount of processing data varies depending on each color. For this reason, the degree of data reduction in the buffer (that is, the memory 405) provided in the preceding stage of the data decompression unit 406 differs for each color. Therefore, the printer I / F control unit 307 in the network card 300 in FIG. 2 periodically acquires information on the availability of the buffers for each color (printing device information) from the printing device 400, and the print image data control unit 303 acquires the information. Based on the printing apparatus information and the memory management table 304, the packet to be transmitted is determined.

  The condition of the packet determined to be transmitted is that the buffer of the printing apparatus 400 has a vacant color, and the reception from the host computer 100 is the earliest at that time. Accordingly, the transfer of the print image data from the network card 300 to the printing apparatus 400 is in a form in which the FIFO structure is protected for each color, and from the colors that can be transmitted one after another according to the availability of the buffer of each color of the printing apparatus 400. Will be done.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the data structure of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306. In the state of the memory management table 304 shown in FIG. 6, a printing apparatus showing the number of empty storage areas of buffers for storing packets of each color After sending a packet when the information indicates that there are 8 areas for C (cyan), 6 areas for M (magenta), 2 areas for Y (yellow), and 3 areas for K (black) The update status of the memory management table 304 is shown. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and FIG. 8C is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032.

  The printing apparatus information in FIG. 8 indicates that all colors can be transmitted. Therefore, the area storing the packet with the earliest reception order from the host computer 100 is the table “1” held in the upper stage of the packet reception area management register 3031 in FIG. 6. Packet to be transmitted is determined.

  After determining the transmission packet, the print image data control unit 303 causes the printer I / F control unit 307 to generate an address of the memory 306 in which the packet is stored. Based on the address, the printer I / F control unit 307 transmits a packet to the printing apparatus 400 via the memory controller 305.

  When the packet transfer to the printing apparatus 400 is completed, a notification of transmission completion is sent from the printer I / F control unit 307 to the print image data control unit 303. Upon receiving this notification, the print image data control unit 303 updates the memory management table 304.

  In this update, the area in the memory 306 in which the transmitted packet was stored was managed as a packet storage area until before transmission, but the area in which the order of receiving packets was the slowest in the free area was Is to manage.

  Specifically, in FIG. 8, the shaded portion is a location updated by packet transmission from the state of FIG. The table that manages the transmitted packets as described above is a table with address information “1”. “0” is written in the color information and packet size information of the table, and in “reception order information”, the area managed by the table is the slowest packet reception area in the free area. Therefore, “0” is written. Further, from FIG. 6, the areas that became free areas by the current packet transmission are managed in the next order of the table “5” that manages the free areas whose reception order was the latest before the packet transmission. In order to connect the existing table “1”, “1” is written in the reception order information of the table “5”. Finally, the packet reception area management register 3031 and the free area management register 3032 are updated to the latest information.

  8 shows an update case of the memory management table 304 when it is possible to transmit all the color packets to the printing apparatus 400 side, but FIG. 9 shows a case where the color packets that can be transmitted are limited. An update case of the memory management table 304 will be described.

  FIG. 9A is a conceptual diagram showing the data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306. In FIG. 6, the printing apparatus information is 0 area for C (cyan), 0 area for M (magenta), Y The update status of the memory management table 304 in the case of indicating three areas for (yellow) and zero area for K (black) is shown. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and FIG. 9C is a diagram showing a configuration of the free area management register 3032.

  First, regarding the determination of the transmission packet, since the color packets that can be transmitted from the printing apparatus information are limited to Y, the area storing the Y packet with the earliest reception order from the host computer 100 is managed. Search the table that is. As a method, first, a table managing the area storing Y in order is searched from the table held in the upper stage of the packet reception area management register 3031. By tracing the reception order information in the memory management table 304, it can be seen that Y is stored for the first time in the table “4”, so the packet stored in the area managed by this table is transmitted packet. And the printer I / F control unit 307 generates an address.

  When the packet transfer to the printing apparatus 400 is completed, the memory management table 304 is updated as indicated by the shaded portion in FIG. In this update, the area managed by the table “4” is changed from the order management as the packet storage area to the order management as the area where the packet reception order is the slowest among the free areas, and at the same time, the table “4” is updated. Since the area to be managed is left in the middle of the order of the packet storage areas, before the packet transmission in FIG. 6, the packet reception order in the memory 306 is one packet reception order from the area managed by the table “4”. The management is to connect the order of the previous one and the next one, that is, the table “3” and the table “6”.

  Specifically, first, before transmitting a packet, the reception order information of the table “3” managing the area where the reception order of the packet is one area before the area managed by the table “4” is changed. Write “6”. Subsequently, “0” is written in the color information and the packet size information of the table “4”, and the reception order information includes the area managed by the table as the area with the slowest packet reception order among the free areas. Therefore, “0” is written. Furthermore, the table “5” that manages the free area that was considered to be the latest in the receiving order before the packet transmission is followed by the table “ In order to connect “4”, “4” is written in the reception order information of the table “5”. Finally, the packet reception area management register 3031 and the free area management register 3032 are updated to the latest information.

  By following the above procedure, the update of the memory management table 304 when the packet is transmitted is completed.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart executed by the print image data control unit 303.

  When the print job is thrown to the printing apparatus 400, the memory management table 304 is initialized (step S501).

  It is determined whether or not the protocol control unit 301 has received the packet or whether or not the packet can be stored in the storage area for the print image data packet (step S502).

  If it is determined in step S502 that the packet can be received, the color information and the packet size information of the print image data packet are held, and the memory management table 304 is referred to and the packet storage order is the earliest in the free area of the memory. Based on the address information of the table managing the area, the memory address of the packet storage destination is generated for the protocol control unit 301 (step S503). The protocol control unit 301 stores the packet at a specified memory address in the memory 306 via the memory controller 305.

  It is determined whether or not the packet of the print image data that has generated the storage destination memory address in step S503 is stored in the memory (step S504).

  If it is determined in step S504 that the storage of the packet in the memory is complete, the memory uses the packet color information and packet size information held in step S503 and the reception order information that indicates that the reception order from the computer 100 is the latest. The management table 304 is updated (step S505).

  Whether or not there is an area that can be transmitted to the printing apparatus 400 by referring to the free area information of the data buffer of the printing apparatus 400, or a packet of print image data stored in the memory 306 by referring to the memory management table 304 It is determined whether or not it exists (step S506).

  If it is determined in step S506 that there is a free data buffer area that can be transmitted to the printing apparatus 400 and a packet exists in the memory 306, the memory management table 304 is referred to and the most received color is received. A packet with an earlier order is set as a packet to be transmitted, and a memory address is generated in the printer I / F control unit 307 based on address information in a table managing an area in which the packet is stored (step 507).

  Next, in step S506, it is determined that there is an empty data buffer area that can be transmitted to the printing apparatus and that there is a packet in the memory 306, and in step S507, a memory address in which the packet to be transmitted is stored is generated. If YES in step S508, it is determined whether transmission of the packet to the printing apparatus 400 has been completed (step S508).

  When transmission of the packet to the printing apparatus 400 is completed, a table that manages the area in which the transmitted packet is stored in the memory management table 304 is required as the management table having the slowest storage order in the free area. (For example, clearing color information and packet size information), and the received packet is stored immediately before the transmitted packet in the table managing the area storing the packet. The reception order information of the table managing the area is updated (step S509).

  Finally, it is determined whether or not all received print image data packets for one job have been transmitted to the printing apparatus 400 (step S510). When all packets have been transmitted to the printing apparatus 400, the present process is terminated, but there are still packets in the memory 306, or there are no packets in the memory 306, but the print job is not yet terminated. Returns to step S502.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the print image data control unit 303 refers to the memory management table 304 to store the print image data packet stored in the memory 306. Accordingly, the protocol control unit 301 determines to store the received print image data packet in the memory 306, and the protocol control unit 301 finishes storing the received print image data packet in the memory 306 via the memory controller 305. The memory management table 304 is updated, and the memory management table 304 and the printer I / F control unit 307 refer to the information on the availability of the buffers of the respective colors, which are stored in the memory 306. Depending on the storage status of the print image data packet and the status of the printing apparatus 400, the printer I The packet of the print image data transmitted by the F control unit 307 is determined, and the printer I / F control unit 307 transmits the print image data packet read from the memory 306 via the memory controller 305 to the printing apparatus 400. Since the memory management table 304 is updated after confirming the completion, the memory management table 304 is updated one by one according to the storage status of the packet in the memory 306 and the status of the printing apparatus 400. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a data transfer delay and prevent overrun even for print image data having a low compression rate.

  When the print image data control unit 303 receives the print image data packet and determines that the packet has been stored in the memory 306, the print image data control unit 303 receives the packet color information and the packet size information and the reception order from the computer 100. The memory management table 304 is updated with the reception order information that is the latest (step S505), and when the transmission of the packet to the printing apparatus 400 is completed, the transmitted packet is stored in the memory management table 304. Update the necessary table as the management table with the slowest storage order in the free area (for example, clear color information and packet size information), and manage the area storing the packet. Packet received in the table before the transmitted packet Update received order information table which manages the area stored so (step S509), for each of transmission and reception of a packet of the print image data, a memory management table 304 will be updated one by one. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a data transfer delay and prevent overrun even for print image data having a low compression rate.

  In addition, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus as a storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the stored program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. -RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network printing system to which a data communication control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network card 300. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus 400. It is a figure which shows the structure of the packet of print image data. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing the data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306, and particularly indicates the initial state of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306 when the printing apparatus 400 is occupied by the host computer 100. (B) is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing a data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306 after packet transmission / reception is performed to some extent. (B) is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing a data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306, and shows a state updated by packet reception from the state of FIG. (B) is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing the data configuration of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306. In the state of the memory management table 304 shown in FIG. When the device information indicates that there are 8 areas for C (cyan), 6 areas for M (magenta), 2 areas for Y (yellow), and 3 areas for K (black) The update status of the subsequent memory management table 304 is shown. (B) is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing the data structure of the memory management table 304 and the memory 306. In FIG. 6, the printing apparatus information is 0 area for C (cyan), 0 area for M (magenta), and Y (yellow). The update status of the memory management table 304 in the case of 3 areas for K and 0 area for K (black) is shown. (B) is a diagram showing the configuration of the packet reception area management register 3031, and (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of the free area management register 3032. 6 is a flowchart executed by the print image data control unit 303.

Explanation of symbols

100 to 102 Host computer 200 LAN
300 Network Card 301 Protocol Control Unit 302 CPU
303 Print Image Data Control Unit 304 Memory Management Table 305 Memory Controller 306 Memory 307 Printer I / F Control Unit 400 Printing Device

Claims (11)

In a data communication control device that controls data communication between an information processing device and an image forming device,
Receiving means for receiving data from the information processing apparatus;
Storage means for storing the data received by the receiving means in any of a plurality of areas;
Transmitting means for transmitting the stored data to the image forming apparatus;
Management table means for storing data storage status in the storage means;
Device information acquisition means for acquiring device information indicating the status of the image forming device from the image forming device;
By referring to the management table means, according to the storage status of the data in the storage means, determine an area for storing the data received by the receiving means, and update the management table means according to the determination of the area, By referring to the management table means and the apparatus information acquired by the apparatus information acquisition means, the data transmitted by the transmission means is determined according to the storage status of the data in the storage means and the status of the image forming apparatus. A data communication control device comprising: a control unit that determines a storage area and updates the management table unit according to the determination of the region.   The data communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the data is print image data. The storage means stores the packet including the data in any of a plurality of areas,
3. The data communication control according to claim 1, wherein the packet is a packet including color information, packet size information, and print image data, and a maximum packet size is predetermined by the information processing apparatus. apparatus.   The image forming apparatus includes a buffer configured by dividing the storage area for each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and other data, and the apparatus information acquired by the apparatus information acquisition unit is respectively 4. The data communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the data communication control device includes empty information in the buffer area. 5.   The management table means manages information on an area in which data is stored and information on an area in which no data is stored. As information on an area in which the data is stored, a start address of a storage destination of the data Information, reception order information of the data from the information processing apparatus, color information, and data size information, and further, as information of the area in which the data is not stored, start address information of the free area, reception order of the free area 5. The data communication control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising information.   The control means refers to the management table means when the receiving means receives the data, and if there is information on an area where the data is not stored, based on the reception order information of the empty area, 6. The data communication control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an area for storing the data is determined by passing the top address information of the empty area with the earliest packet reception order to the receiving means.   When the receiving means receives the data, the control means holds the color information and data size information of the data, and after confirming that the data is stored in the storage means, in the management table means The information of the area where the data is stored is updated as the information of the area where the data is stored from the information of the area where the data is not stored. At this time, the reception order information from the information processing device is the latest order. 6. The data communication control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the stored information is written in the color information and the data size information.   The control means refers to the management table means, and if there is information on the area where the data is stored, the control means obtains the reception order information from the information processing apparatus and the apparatus information acquired by the apparatus information acquisition means. Originally, the data having the earliest reception order and having color information that can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus is determined, and the head address information of the storage destination of the data is transmitted to the transmitting unit, and transmitted to the image forming apparatus. 6. The data communication control device according to claim 5, wherein an area for storing data to be determined is determined.   When the transmission means transmits the data, the control means stores information on the area where the data is stored in the management table means from the information on the area where the data is stored. 6. The data communication control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information is updated as area information, and the reception order information of the empty area is assumed to be the latest order, and the color information and the data size information are deleted. In a data communication control method executed by a data communication control device that controls data communication between an information processing device and an image forming device,
A reception determination step of determining whether or not the data has been received from the information processing apparatus;
A reception procedure step of holding information on the received data and generating a memory address of a memory for storing the received data when it is determined in the reception determination step;
A reception end determination step of determining whether or not storage of the data that generated the memory address in the reception procedure step is completed in the memory;
In the reception end determination step, when it is determined that the storage of the received data in the memory has ended, the data information held in the reception procedure step and the reception order from the information processing device are the latest A first memory management table update step for updating the memory management table with the received reception order information;
A transmission determination step of determining whether there is data that can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus according to the memory management table and apparatus information acquired from the image forming apparatus;
A transmission procedure step for determining data to be transmitted based on the memory management table and generating a memory address of a storage area storing the data when it is determined that there is data that can be transmitted in the transmission determination step; ,
In the transmission procedure step, a transmission end determination step for determining whether or not the transmission of the data that has generated the memory address to the image forming apparatus has ended.
When it is determined in the transmission end determination step that the transmission of the data to the image forming apparatus has been completed, the data reception order is the latest with respect to the storage area information in which the data is stored in the memory management table. And a second memory management table update step for updating by clearing the color information and the data size information.
A data communication control method characterized in that the plurality of steps are repeated until one print job data composed of a plurality of the data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. In a program executed by a computer that controls data communication between an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus,
A reception determination module that determines whether or not the data is received from the information processing apparatus;
A reception procedure module that holds information of the received data and generates a memory address of a memory that stores the received data when it is determined that the reception is received by the reception determination module;
A reception end determination module that determines whether or not storage of the data that has generated a memory address in the reception procedure module is ended in the memory;
In the reception end determination module, when it is determined that the storage of the received data in the memory has ended, the information of the data held in the reception procedure module and the reception order from the information processing device are the latest A first memory management table update module for updating the memory management table with the received reception order information;
A transmission determination module that determines whether there is data that can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus according to the memory management table and apparatus information acquired from the image forming apparatus;
A transmission procedure module for determining data to be transmitted based on the memory management table and generating a memory address of a storage area storing the data when the transmission determination module determines that there is data that can be transmitted; ,
In the transmission procedure module, a transmission end determination module that determines whether transmission of data that has generated a memory address to the image forming apparatus has ended;
When the transmission end determination module determines that transmission of the data to the image forming apparatus has ended, the data reception order is the latest with respect to the storage area information in which the data is stored in the memory management table. And a second management table update module that updates by clearing the reception order information of the data in the empty area and clearing the color information and the data size information,
A program for repeatedly executing the processing of the plurality of modules by the computer until one print job data composed of a plurality of the data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus.

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