JPH08295068A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a printer facilitating panel operation of an efficient printer without generating dead time. CONSTITUTION: When an operator carries out a panel operation (101) with a printer, the number of times for a wrong operation is discriminated (103). When at least a specific number of wrong panel operations are carried out within a specific time, an operator guidance is automatically outputted (104). Thereby, a right panel operation can be carried out without spending dead time by the operator. Further, when switching of whether an operator guidance print output function is validated or invalidated is carried out by panel operation or a command from a host computer, a printer of a further better convenience for service can be realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a panel function including a panel operation section for setting or executing a printing function and a display section for displaying a set printing function or a state corresponding to the panel operation. The present invention relates to a printing device provided with.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printing apparatus, print data is received from a host computer, character codes and graphic data transmitted from the host computer are expanded into a bitmap, and image data transmitted from the host computer is converted. The printout is performed by expanding or expanding the external character font or logo.

For this purpose, the printing apparatus receives a controller for receiving and processing print data from the host computer, converting the print data into a video signal, and transmitting the video signal, and a video signal transmitted from the controller section. ,
It has a printing mechanism unit (printer engine) that forms and outputs a visible image on a sheet (plain paper) using an electrophotographic process.

Further, this type of printing apparatus has a panel mechanism, which is controlled by the controller section, and which is unique to the printing apparatus and includes a panel operation section and a panel display section. The panel operation unit of the panel mechanism is for transmitting the operation of the operator to the controller unit, and is composed of keys and a touch panel. The panel display unit displays the status (status) of the printing apparatus. , Has a function of displaying various information associated with panel operation, and is composed of an LED, an LCD, and the like. This panel mechanism controls the printing environment for each printing device, the printing operation (test printing, etc.) peculiar to the printing device, the printing device resetting operation, and the form feeding operation. Therefore, various print functions can be set or executed by a panel operation through the panel operation unit, and the status of the print function or the panel operation is displayed on the display unit.

[0005]

By the way, in the printing apparatus as described above, the panel operation has become diversified and complicated as the functions of the printing apparatus have become higher. Therefore, for an inexperienced operator, the panel operation of such a printing apparatus is complicated and causes various erroneous operations. For example, when trying to change the printing environment of a printing device, an operator with little experience is currently performing trial and error, and during that time, a large number of erroneous operations occur, resulting in wasted time and effort. The problem is occurring.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that enables efficient panel operation of the printing apparatus without generating dead time.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, according to the present invention, in a printing apparatus having a panel mechanism for setting or executing a printing function by a panel operation, a means for determining the number of erroneous panel operations is provided. The output means for outputting the operator guidance when the erroneous operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time is adopted.

[0008]

With such a configuration, when the operator makes an erroneous operation a certain number of times or more within a certain time, the printing apparatus automatically prints out operator guidance regarding panel operation, which is wasteful for the operator. Without spending a lot of time
Correct panel operation can be performed.

In this case, it is troublesome for a skilled operator to print out the operator guidance by a simple erroneous operation of the panel, so that the operator guidance printout function is executed (enabled) or not (disabled). Is switched by an operator's panel operation or a command from the host computer, and the information for enabling or disabling is stored in a non-volatile memory or the like. With such a configuration, it is possible to realize a printing device that is more convenient for the operator.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a panel mechanism of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a panel operation unit that receives a panel operation (key operation) from an operator. Various printing functions such as setting the printing environment for each printing device, executing printing operations specific to the printing device (test printing, etc.), executing the resetting operation of the printing device, and performing the form feed operation by panel operation Can be set or run. As the man-machine interface of the panel operation unit, a plurality of keys as shown in FIG. 2 described later are used.

Reference numeral 102 represents a panel display means of the panel operation unit. With this panel display means, it is possible to display various information associated with the functional state (status) of the printing apparatus being set or being executed or the panel operation. The panel display means is composed of, for example, an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal), or the like.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a panel operation unit 101.
This is an erroneous operation number determination means for determining how many erroneous operations (operation mistakes) the operator has made within a certain period of time.
The erroneous operation number determination means 103 instructs the operator guidance print output means 104 to print the operator guidance and outputs the operator guidance to the panel display means 102 when the operator performs the erroneous operation more than a certain number of times within a certain time. Instructs to display a message during output. Operator guidance print output means 10
When the erroneous operation number determination means 103 instructs the operator to print out the operator guidance, the reference numeral 4 prints out the operator guidance.

Here, the panel operating section 101 and the panel display means 102 are functions within the panel mechanism of the printing apparatus,
It is controlled by the controller unit of the printing apparatus. Also,
The erroneous operation number determination means 103 and the operator guidance print output means 104 are functions inside the controller of the printing apparatus.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a general example of a panel mechanism. The panel is composed of a plurality of keys, a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diode lamps), and an LCD (liquid crystal display section). , A lamp 1 that informs that the printer is ready to print, a display unit 2 that displays the status of the printing device, a manual paper feed lamp 3 that lights when you manually feed paper, and a light when you feed paper in a paper cassette Cassette feed lamp 4, paper feed selection key 5 for switching between cassette paper feed and manual paper feed, menu key 6 for selecting a menu mode, reset key 7 for resetting the printing apparatus, test / font key 8 for executing test printing , An error skip key 9 for canceling the error and continuing printing when an error occurs, a discharge key 10 for forcibly printing the data in the printer and discharging the paper, A discharge lamp 11 for indicating the discharge state of paper, an online key 12 for switching between online and offline, an online lamp 13 for indicating the online and offline states, a data lamp 14 for indicating the presence / absence of data in the printing apparatus, a paper out or paper jam, and A message lamp 15 for notifying that printing is impossible due to an error or the like is provided.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the printing apparatus of the present invention, and 301 represents a host computer for transmitting various print data to the printing apparatus. Also, 3
Reference numeral 02 denotes a printing apparatus according to the present invention, and in this embodiment, it is exemplified as a laser beam printer using a laser beam as a light emitting element. Printing device 302
Has a controller unit 303 and a printing mechanism unit (printer engine) 304.

A control unit 305 controls the entire printing mechanism unit 304, receives a video signal from the controller unit 303, and controls the controller unit 3.
03, which receives a control command from the control unit 03 and sends the status of the engine to the controller unit 303, and a unit which controls the electrophotographic process, the sheet feeding / conveying system and the optical system.

Reference numeral 306 represents an optical system in the printing mechanism unit 304, and 307 represents an electrophotographic process and a paper feeding / conveying system in the printing mechanism unit 304. Further, 308 represents an operation panel in the printing apparatus.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the controller unit 303. In the figure, reference numeral 401 represents a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire controller unit, and 402 represents a program memory in which a program for controlling the controller unit 303 is stored, which is composed of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory). It Operation panel mechanism 3
A program for controlling 08 is also stored in the memory 402.

Reference numeral 403 represents a memory in which font information for expanding a character code into a bit map is stored, and is composed of, for example, a ROM (read only memory). Reference numeral 404 represents a hardware circuit for transferring a bitmap image in which print data is expanded to the printing mechanism unit, and is composed of, for example, a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller) or a FIFO.

Reference numeral 405 represents a data input interface circuit for connecting the host computer 301 and the controller unit 303. Reference numeral 406 represents a work memory necessary for the program of the memory 402 to operate, and is composed of, for example, a RAM (random access memory). A storage area for input data, a print data expansion area, and the like are also provided in this work memory.

Reference numeral 407 represents a non-volatile memory for storing various printing environments. Information that the operator guidance printout function is executed (valid) or not (invalid) is also stored in the non-volatile memory 407.

Reference numeral 408 represents a data input / output interface circuit for connecting the controller unit 303 and the printing mechanism unit 304. Reference numeral 409 represents an image signal generator for generating a video signal from the bitmap expanded in the print data expansion area 406 in the work memory in synchronization with the printing mechanism unit 304. Reference numeral 410 represents a panel interface circuit for connecting the operation panel mechanism 308 and the controller unit 303. Reference numeral 411 represents an internal bus connecting each memory or circuit and the central processing unit.

Next, FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of the operator guidance printed out by the operator guidance printout means 104 of FIG.
Shows an example of the message 701 displayed on the panel display unit during the printing of the operator guidance.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9.

First, in step S801, it is determined whether the operator guidance print output function stored in the non-volatile memory 407 of FIG. 4 is valid or invalid, and if the print output function is invalid (OFF), the process ends. On the other hand, if the print output function is valid (ON), step S80
Go to 2.

Next, it waits for the operator to actually perform some panel operation (key input) (step S802). When any key input is performed, it is determined whether or not the key input is correct (step S803). If the key input is correct, this process is ended with the key input value, and the original key input process is performed. If the key input is incorrect (erroneous operation), the process proceeds to step S804.

Then, in step S804, it is determined whether or not the current erroneous operation is the first erroneous operation in this process. If not, the process proceeds to step S901 in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S804 that this is the first erroneous operation, the time counter is initialized in order to monitor the elapse of a certain time from this point (step S804).
805). Here, generally, the time counter is automatically modified by a timer interrupt.

Next, the count value of the number of erroneous operations is initialized (= 1) (step S806), and the process returns to step S802.

Next, when it is determined in step S804 of FIG. 8 that the operation is not the first operation error, the count value of the number of operation errors is incremented by 1 as shown in step S901 of FIG.
To do.

Next, it is checked whether or not a fixed time has elapsed by referring to the value of the time counter (step S902).
When the fixed time has elapsed, the number of erroneous operations was small, so this processing is ended as it is.

When it is determined in step S902 that the fixed time has not elapsed, it is determined whether the number of erroneous operations exceeds a fixed value (step S903). If it has not exceeded, the process returns to step S802 in FIG. On the other hand, if it exceeds, the operator guidance is printed out (step S904), and this processing ends.

Next, a method of switching the valid / invalid of the operator guidance printout of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, in the process of FIG. 10, a command for validating or invalidating the operator guidance print output is received from the host computer, and in accordance with the command, the validity / invalidity information of the operator guidance print output is stored in the nonvolatile memory. 407 (step S100)
1).

On the other hand, in the process shown in FIG. 11, the valid / invalid information of the operator guidance print output is stored in the non-volatile memory 407 in accordance with the operation of validating or invalidating the operator guidance print output by the panel operation ( Step S1101).

In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the language of the text displayed on the panel (Japanese,
(English, German, French, etc.) can be switched and displayed.

In such a printing apparatus, it is possible to print out the operator guidance according to the panel display language. That is, the operator guidance text for each country as shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the program memory 402 of FIG. 4, and when the operator guidance printout is actually needed, the current panel display language is used. In addition, the corresponding text is extracted from the operator guidance text in FIG. 12 and printed out according to each language.

Although the operator guidance text is secured in the program memory 402 of FIG. 4 here, in the case of a printing device to which a secondary storage device such as a hard disk can be connected, the operator guidance text is stored in the secondary storage device. It is also possible to secure it inside.

The above-mentioned panel operation generally has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. That is, online /
The general operation 1301 which controls the offline switching / reset operation and the form feed operation is located at the upper level, and the printing environment setting step 1302 below which sets the environment such as font and paper size, the test print and the printout of the font list are output below the general operation Off-line printing execution stage 1
303, various mode setting steps 1304 and the like for setting various modes such as emulation mode, and further below, there are individual setting operations such as font selection step 1305 and interface setting step 1306.

In the printing apparatus having a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 13, operator guidance text is stored in the program memory 402 for each panel operation unit (general operation, printing environment setting, offline printing execution, etc.).
It is possible to print out the operator guidance corresponding to the panel operation that the operator made an erroneous operation, by securing it inside. This makes it possible to output more convenient operator guidance to the operator.

In the present invention, the printing apparatus using the electrophotographic process is exemplified as the printing mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to the printing mechanism, and various printers can be used as long as the printing apparatus has a panel mechanism. Needless to say, it is also effective for inkjet printers, serial printers, etc.).

The present invention can be applied to a printing apparatus such as an offline printer which prints standalone without connecting to a host computer, as long as it has a panel mechanism. There is no end.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the operator guidance is printed out, but instead of this, it may be displayed on the display device of the host computer or a separately provided display section, or may be output in another format. .

[0044]

As described above, in the present invention, when the operator makes an erroneous operation a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time, the printing apparatus automatically outputs the operator guidance regarding the panel operation. Since it is configured as
Correct panel operation can be performed without wasting time on the operator.

Further, the operator guidance output function is switched (executed) or not (disabled).
When the information is stored in the non-volatile memory or the like by the panel operation or the command from the host computer, it is possible to realize a printing device which is more convenient for the operator.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a panel mechanism of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a general panel configuration of a printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a general configuration of a printing apparatus.

4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a controller unit 303 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of printout of operator guidance.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of printout of operator guidance.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a message indicating that an operator guidance is being printed is displayed on the panel.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operator guidance printing process in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operator guidance printing process according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a method for setting whether the operator guidance print is valid or invalid.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another method for setting the operator guidance print valid / invalid.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a text when the operator guidance is printed in each language.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a hierarchical structure of panel operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Panel Operation Unit 102 Panel Display Means 103 Misoperation Number Discrimination Means 104 Operator Guidance Print Output Means 301 Host Computer 302 Printing Device 303 Controller Unit 304 Printing Mechanism Unit 305 Control Unit 306 Optical System

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus having a panel mechanism for setting or executing a printing function by panel operation, and means for determining the number of erroneous panel operations and operator guidance when the number of erroneous operations is more than a certain number within a predetermined time. A printing apparatus comprising: an output unit for outputting. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit can be set to be valid or invalid according to a panel operation or an instruction from a host computer. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operator guidance is output in a predetermined language. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operator guidance corresponding to each functional step of panel operation is output for each functional step. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit prints out an operator guidance.