JPH08152985A - Printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To suppress the cost up or the extension of installation space by using a printing system with plural different host devices by selecting and starting a correspondent printer driver by receiving the print information of different constitution. CONSTITUTION: A print part 1 for forming characters or images on recording paper is provided by an ink jet system or an electrographic system. Besides, this system is provided with a printer control circuit 2 for controlling the print part 1 and plural printer drivers 3 for driving the printer control circuit 2 and at the same time, printer drivers 3a-3c are different types of drivers. Then, a receiving part 4 receives the print information of different constitution from any one of plural host devices through a transmission line C, and any one of suitable printer drivers 3a-3c is selected and started. Thus, the host device can output data to the shared printer just like outputting them through its own printer drivers 3a-3c to the printer in its own device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device shared by a plurality of host devices via a network,
In particular, the present invention relates to a printing device that can print out even when print information having a unique configuration is transferred to a host device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers are less frequently used (occupied time) than personal computers or workstations. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, a system in which a plurality of host devices (personal computers, workstations, etc.) 20 share one or several printer devices 22 via a transmission path C,
That is, systems having a printer sharing environment are becoming widespread. However, since a host device such as a personal computer is provided with a printer driver unique to the host device and is configured to use a specific printer device, a plurality of host devices connected to a transmission line can be different models. If it is attempted to configure it, there is a problem in that it cannot be easily connected to a common printer device.

In order to solve such a problem, the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-36415 discloses a new control device and a plurality of types of printer devices on a network in addition to a host device and a printer device. The control device is provided with associating means for associating each host device with a printer device compatible with the host device, so that output from a plurality of host devices connected to the transmission path to the printer device compatible with each host device. It is something to do.

[0004]

However, in the conventional method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-36415, a new control device is required in addition to the host device and the printer device, and the printer device also includes each host device. Therefore, there is a problem in that a plurality of printer devices adapted to the above are required, resulting in an increase in cost or an extra installation space.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and executes printing from a plurality of host devices that require different types of printer drivers without increasing the cost or increasing the installation space. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer device capable of performing shared settings.

[0006]

As a first means for solving the above problems, a printer device capable of performing print output based on print information received from any one of a plurality of host devices via a network is used for print output. A printer control circuit for controlling a printer control circuit, a plurality of types of printer drivers for driving the printer control circuit, and print information of different configurations from any of a plurality of host devices, and selects and starts the corresponding printer driver. And a receiving unit that operates. As a second means, in addition to the first means, the receiving section is provided with a driver selection table for associating the network address of each host device with a compatible printer driver.

As a third means, in addition to the second means, the network address of the host device and the compatible printer driver identification code are registered from the operation unit of the printer device or the host device. As a fourth means, a printer control circuit for controlling print output and a printer control circuit are driven in a printer device capable of performing print output based on print information received from any of a plurality of host devices via a network. When print information including printer mode information is received from any of a plurality of types of printer drivers and a plurality of host devices, the printer driver corresponding to the printer mode identification code is instructed to perform printer control corresponding to the printer mode identification code. And a receiving unit that operates.

As a fifth means, in the second or the fourth means, when the receiving unit cannot correspond to the network address or the printer mode identification code received, the print information including the network address or the printer mode identification code is sent to another. The printer is configured to have a forwarding unit that forwards to the printer device. As a sixth means, in the second or fourth means, the network address and the corresponding printer driver identification code or printer mode identification code is output as a report.

[0009]

According to the first means, a printer control circuit for controlling print output, a plurality of types of printer drivers for driving the printer control circuit, and print information of different configurations are received from any of a plurality of host devices. Since the corresponding printer driver is selected and the receiving unit which is activated is provided, the host device can output to the shared printer by using a unique printer driver to output to the printer in its own device. According to the second means, in the first means, the receiving unit is provided with the driver selection table for associating the network address of each host device with the compatible printer driver. Even if you do not specify a compatible printer driver, you can print out with a compatible printer driver simply by notifying your network address.

In the third means, in the second means, the network address of the host device and the compatible printer driver identification code are registered from the operation unit of the printer device or the host device. You can create a driver selection table that meets the conditions.
According to a fourth means, when print information including printer mode information is received from any one of a printer control circuit that controls print output, a plurality of types of printer drivers that drive the printer control circuit, and a plurality of host devices,
Since the printer driver corresponding to the printer mode identification code is provided with the receiving unit for instructing the printer control corresponding to the printer mode identification code, the host device uses the unique printer driver to control the printer in its own device. It can be output to a shared printer as it is output, and can be printed out in various print modes.

The fifth means is provided with a forwarding section for forwarding print information including the network address or printer mode identification code to another printer when the receiving section cannot handle the received network address or printer mode identification code. With this configuration, even if one printer device cannot support print output to all host devices, it can be supported by a plurality of printer devices. In the sixth means, since the network address and the corresponding printer driver identification code or printer mode identification code are output as a report, it is possible to refer to them when they are forgotten.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a print unit that forms characters and images on a recording sheet, and is realized by an inkjet method, an electrophotographic method, or the like. Reference numeral 2 is a printer control circuit for controlling the printing unit 1, 3 is a printer driver for driving the printer control circuit 2, and a plurality of printer drivers are provided as shown in FIG.
b and 3c are different types of drivers. Further, 4 is a receiving unit, which among the plurality of host devices via the transmission path C,
The print information having a different configuration is received from any of the host devices, and the compatible printer drivers 3a, 3b, 3
Select any one of c and start. The system configuration including this printer is the same as that shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the receiving unit 4 includes a driver selection table 11 for associating the network address of the host device with a compatible printer driver in the receiving unit 4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the driver selection table 11 in which printer driver identification codes are assigned corresponding to the network addresses of the hosts. That is, each host device adds the header information as shown in FIG. 4 to all the print information to be transferred to the printer device and transmits it. In the figure, the printer device network address is the destination network address to which the message is delivered, and the host device network address is the source network address. The network address is managed and given by the system administrator so that a duplicate number is not given to each device (terminal) connected to the network.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when registering the network address of each host device and the corresponding printer driver in the driver selection table, the network address and the printer driver identification code are input from the operation unit 6 of the printer device shown in FIG. It is realized by inputting. That is, when the registration menu is selected according to the built-in program, the control unit 5 displays a message requesting the network address and the printer driver identification code corresponding to the network address on the display unit constituting the operation unit 6. When the network address and the printer driver identification code are input from the operation unit 6, they are acquired and passed to the reception unit 4. Then, the receiving unit 4 writes in the driver selection table as shown in FIG.

Further, the registration in the driver selection table can be performed from the host device. In this case, the printer driver identification code input from the operating unit of the host device is given to the receiving unit 4 of the printer device in the format shown in FIG. When the receiving unit 4 receives the signal from the host device, it knows from the contents of the'registration request 'field that this message is a request to register in the driver selection table, and further detects the host device network address included in the message. The printer driver identification code is acquired and registered in the driver selection table.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow chart of the printer device at the time of print output of this embodiment. The operation at the time of print output will be described below. First, the receiver 4 sends a message (see FIG.
(Reference) is received (S1). The receiving unit 4 knows from the destination information indicated in the header information unit that this message is addressed to the printer device. Here, the content of the print information in the message addressed to the printer device varies depending on the host device that has sent this message, and the information included in the message sent from the host device to the printer device as in the case of the registration request described above. If the predetermined fixed request information is not detected at the beginning of the field, this message is determined as print information, the host device network address is acquired from the header information, and the corresponding network address is registered in the driver selection table 11. Check if there is. Then, if the corresponding network address is registered in the driver selection table 11, the received print information is selected as a printer driver that can accept it (S2).

At this point in time, the printer driver has not been activated yet, so the process proceeds to S4 (S3), and the receiver 4 activates the selected printer driver (S4). For example, if the network address of the host device is 102 (see FIG. 3) and the printer driver 3a is the printer driver with the identification code A (see FIG. 1), the printer driver 3a is activated. The printer driver 3a can receive print information output from the host device or the like having the network address 102, and performs predetermined data processing (S).
5). For example, print conditions and the like are passed in the print information that is received first, and condition settings and the like are executed. This information does not include information on characters or images formed on the recording paper, and depending on the type of print driver, the next print information transfer request or the like is sent to the host device in the above process.

In this way, the print information is continuously received from the host device (S1), and the printer driver is selected as described above (S2). At that time, the printer driver has already been started (S3). The received print information is passed to the printer driver, and the received data is processed by the printer driver (S6). When the received data is processed by the printer driver, the print section 1 prints out on the recording paper via the printer control circuit 2 (S7), and by such an operation, the print information is sequentially repeated until all the print information is received. It is returned (S8).

As described above, according to the present invention, since the host device can print out using the unique printer driver, it is connected to the host device using the printer driver in the host device as if it were not through the network. Print information can be output by outputting print information as if it were output to a printer device. A description will be given of another embodiment in which not only the same purpose as that of the above-described embodiment can be achieved by receiving the printer mode identification code from the host device but also print output in various printer modes can be realized.

The operation of another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the operation flow chart shown in FIG. First, the receiver 4a receives a message (see FIG. 9) (S11).
Of the data included in the message, the source host device network address is not necessary for selecting the printer driver, but it is necessary for replying to the source host device and requesting the next print information. Become. Upon receiving such a message, the receiving unit 4a learns that the message is a print output request, and acquires the contents of the'printer mode information 'field following the'print output request' field of the message.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the'printer mode information 'field. As shown in (a), for example, a printer driver identification code, recording paper size, recording paper direction,
Rotation output information etc. are included. "Rotation output" rotates the received print image information 90 degrees and outputs it on the recording paper in the direction specified by "Recording paper direction". It is the printer control circuit 2a that performs this rotation processing. Further, as shown in (b), it is also possible to set simply as “A1”, for example. The "A1" means that "A" means a printer driver identification code "A", and "1" means, for example, "recording paper size" A4, "recording paper direction", and no "rotation output". There is. The definition such as the printer mode “1” may be registered in advance in the RAM or the like assigned to the receiving unit 4.

Upon receiving the printer mode information, the receiving unit 4a recognizes the instructed printer driver, selects it (S12), and activates it (S13). Subsequently, the activated printer driver 3 acquires the printer mode set in the'printer mode information 'field from the receiving unit 4a (S14), and sets the printer mode accordingly. For example, for the printer control circuit 2a, A
Instruct to feed 4-size recording paper.

Thereafter, the printer driver 3 requests the host device to transfer the next message (character information or image information to be output on the recording paper) via the transmission unit (not shown), and the reception unit 4a When the next message is received (S16), it is passed to the printer driver 3 which has already been selected and activated (S17). This information is processed by the printer driver 3 and printed out as described above via the printer control circuit 2a (S18). After that, the process is repeated until the reception of the print information is completed (S19).

As shown in FIG. 11, in a system configuration having a plurality of printer devices, the host device 20 always makes a print output request to the printer device 22a, and the printer device 2
When 2a cannot handle the received network address or printer mode identification code, the print output request can be forwarded to another printer device 22b or the like.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of such an embodiment, which is provided with a forwarding section 7 as shown in the figure. The forwarding unit 7 holds the network address of another printer device in the assigned RAM, and, for example, the receiving unit 4
The printer device network address of the message shown in FIG. 4 passed from the device is rewritten to the network address of the other printer device and sent to the transmission line. Also, FIG.
3 is provided with the printer driver location printer table as shown in FIG. 3, and when the message as shown in FIG. 4 is received, the reception section 4 refers to the printer driver location printer table, and the network address of the source host of the message. If a printer device equipped with a printer driver conforming to the above is known, and if it is the own printer device, the above processing is performed, and if it is another printer device, the printer device network address of FIG. The printer device network address may be rewritten and passed to the forwarding unit 7 to request forwarding, or the forwarding unit 7 may be provided with a printer driver location printer table. In this case, the data related to the printer device itself is deleted from this table. The communication after the message is forwarded to another printer device is directly performed between the host device and the printer device (forward destination printer device).

It is also possible for each host device to directly communicate with the printer device having the network address from the beginning by holding the network address of the printer device having the printer driver of the host device. In this case, the registration of the printer device network address to each host device is performed by the system administrator via the operation unit of each host device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the driver selection table shown in FIG. 2 and the printer mode table shown in FIG. 14 can be output as a report on recording paper in the formats shown in FIGS. FIG. 15 is a configuration block diagram of this embodiment. In the printer device having such a configuration, when a report output instruction (including an output report name) is input from the operation unit 6, the control unit 5a acquires the instruction content, and the control unit 5a accordingly receives the reception unit. 4 or all data of the driver selection table or the printer mode table held in the RAM allocated to the printer driver 3 is obtained, an output report of the format as shown in FIG. 2 or 14 is created, and the printer control circuit 2 The print unit 1 outputs the data on the recording paper via the. According to the present embodiment, since the contents of each table are output on the recording paper in this way, the user can refer to the contents to check whether print output is possible from a predetermined host device or a desired printer. This is convenient for knowing the mode identification code.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
First, a printer control circuit that controls print output, a plurality of types of printer drivers that drive the printer control circuit, and print information of different configurations from any of a plurality of host devices are received, and the corresponding printer driver is received. The host device can output to the shared printer as it outputs to the printer in its own device by adopting the configuration including the receiving unit to start and to select. It is possible to realize a shared printer device that can be used by the device and that does not increase the cost or the installation space easily.

Secondly, in the above-mentioned printer device, in the configuration in which the receiving section is provided with a driver selection table for associating the network address of each host device with a compatible printer driver, each host device is adapted at the time of printer output. Even if the printer driver to be used is not designated, the print output can be performed by the compatible printer driver by notifying the user's network address. Therefore, even if the printer is shared, the host device can easily perform the print output.

Thirdly, in the above-described printer device, in the configuration in which the network address of the host device and the compatible printer driver identification code are registered from the operation unit of the printer device or the host device, the user selects a driver that meets the usage conditions. Since you can create a table, you can easily respond to changes in the system configuration.

Fourth, when print information including printer mode information is received from any one of a plurality of host devices, a printer control circuit that controls print output, a plurality of types of printer drivers that drive the printer control circuit, In a configuration including a receiving unit that instructs the printer driver corresponding to the printer mode identification code to control the printer corresponding to the printer mode identification code, the host device outputs to the printer in its own device by a unique printer driver. Since it can be output to a shared printer and can be printed in various print modes, it can be used by multiple host devices of different types, and easily,
Not only can a shared printer device that does not increase costs and installation space be realized, but convenience is also improved.

Fifth, in the configuration provided with a forwarding unit for forwarding print information including the network address or the printer mode identification code to another printer when the receiving unit cannot deal with the received network address or printer mode identification code. Even if one printer device does not support print output to all host devices, a plurality of printer devices can handle it, so that the scale can be easily expanded.

Sixth, in the configuration for outputting the network address and the corresponding printer driver identification code or printer mode identification code as a report, it is possible to refer to them when they are forgotten.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a printer device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a main part of a printer device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a table included in the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of information received by a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow diagram of the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another configuration block diagram of the main part of the printer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of information received by a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation flow diagram of a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of information received by a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10A and 10B are configuration diagrams of information received by a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram including a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a configuration block diagram of a printer device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a table included in a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a table included in a printer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a configuration block diagram of a printer device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a system configuration diagram including a printer device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Printing unit, 2 ... Printer control circuit, 3 ... Printer driver, 4 ... Reception unit, 5 ... Control unit, 6 ... Operation unit, 7 ...
Forwarding unit, 11 ... Driver selection table.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printer device capable of performing print output based on print information received from any of a plurality of host devices via a network, a printer control circuit for controlling print output, and a plurality of printer control circuits for driving the printer control circuit. A printer device comprising: a printer driver of a type; and a receiving unit that receives print information having a different configuration from one of a plurality of host devices, selects the corresponding printer driver, and activates the printer driver. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit has a driver selection table that associates the network address of each host device with a compatible printer driver. 3. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein the network address of the host device and the compatible printer driver identification code are registered from the operation unit of the printer device or the host device. 4. A printer device capable of performing print output based on print information received from any of a plurality of host devices via a network, a printer control circuit for controlling print output, and a plurality of printer control circuits for driving the printer control circuit. When print information including printer mode information is received from one of a plurality of types of printer drivers and a plurality of host devices, the printer driver corresponding to the printer mode identification code is instructed to perform printer control corresponding to the printer mode identification code. And a printer unit. 5. A configuration including a forwarding unit that forwards print information including the network address or the printer mode identification code to another printer when the receiving unit cannot support the network address or the printer mode identification code received by the receiving unit. The method according to claim 2, wherein
Alternatively, the printer device according to item 4. 6. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein the network address and the corresponding printer driver identification code or printer mode identification code are output as a report.