JPH10333856A - Communication terminal and its control method, and computer readable recording medium recorded with control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication equipment capable of executing the processing after causing an error or holding by application software operable on an operating system provided with a general purpose driver or the like. SOLUTION: A mode 1 that outputs a busy signal by an error factor 62a, hold factor 62b, and buffer full 59a, and indicates the impossibility of a data processing to a host side, and a mode 2 that does not output the busy signal by the error factor 62a or the hold factor 62b, and can receive a command dealing with those factors from the host side, are provided in a busy factor selecting part 82. The mode 2 is set in application soft 5 corresponding to a real command so that the application soft 5 can contribute to the problem solution of a communication equipment 10 in the case of causing error or off- run.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal such as a terminal printer applicable to a POS system.
In particular, it relates to an offline process for stopping communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers).
Abbreviated as PC. 2. Description of the Related Art In a POS information processing system, various types of data processing terminals such as a customer display, a drawer, a printer, a plotter, a modem, and a barcode reader are used. Many of these data processing terminals use serial communication ports (RS-2
32C), and data including commands and data for processing are transferred between the PC and the data terminal using the PC as a host. The interface is provided with a signal line for controlling communication. For example, a data terminal ready (DTR) signal can indicate to the host whether or not the terminal is ready to receive data. When the DTR signal becomes active, the host can send a data set ready (DSR) signal. The signal is made active, and after confirming that both are operable, data is transmitted, thereby preventing data loss.

In a terminal printer which is frequently used in a POS system, hold of the receiving buffer is temporarily stopped due to a state where the receiving buffer is full, an error state such as a paper jam or a cover open. In the case of the state, the DTR signal becomes inactive, indicating that the communication terminal is in the busy state. In response, the host-side printer driver suspends data transmission until the DTR signal becomes active.

In recent years, a terminal printer for a POS system has a plurality of functions such as a function of performing slip printing using cut-sheet paper and a function of reading magnetic ink characters, in addition to a function of performing receipt printing using roll paper. Printers equipped with. In a printer having such a complex function, if slip printing is erroneously selected and the DTR signal becomes inactive due to a cut-sheet waiting state for performing the slip printing. Thereafter, a situation occurs in which the printing process does not proceed even though the data for receipt printing is prepared on the host side. When an error such as a paper jam occurs on the printer side, the DTR signal becomes inactive, requesting to stop data transfer. Thereafter, when the operator resolves the error and resets the printer, a situation such as loss of unprinted data received by the printer occurs.

[0005]

In these situations, for example, the fact that the printer is in a paper waiting state or the type of error that has occurred in the printer is detected by software, and the unprocessed data in the buffer is erased correspondingly. Such a problem can be solved by transmitting a command (hereinafter, referred to as a real-time command) for immediately performing a predetermined process such as the above. However, a general-purpose serial port driver or printer driver cannot transfer commands when the DTR signal becomes inactive, and therefore cannot be handled by host-side software. In other words, in order to cope with the host software, it is necessary to create a special driver that can access the serial terminal ignoring the DTR signal. In this case, an information processing system using a general-purpose operating system is required. Can not be built.

Further, when commands and data are sent simply by ignoring the DTR signal, there is a risk that data transferred to the terminal may be lost due to overflow of the reception buffer on the terminal side, and the reliability of the system is reduced. I will. Therefore,
It cannot be used for systems requiring data reliability, such as POS systems.

On the other hand, some terminals have a function of notifying a host of a change in the state of the terminal without using a DTR signal. In such a terminal, when the function is selected in advance by a command from the host device, when a predetermined state change occurs, status data is transmitted to the host to notify the host of the change. Hereinafter, this function is referred to as an automatic status return function (ASB). In this case, D
The TR signal is an auxiliary signal, and the host can know the so-called offline state of the terminal without relying on the DTR signal.

Therefore, in the present invention, the above-mentioned ASB
A communication terminal capable of coping with a hold state or an error state by software on the host side without changing standardized or standardized specifications in serial transfer between the host side and the communication terminal side using the function. It is intended to provide.

[0009]

According to the above object,
The communication terminal according to the present invention includes: an interface unit for performing data communication with a host device; a reception data storage unit for storing the data received by the interface unit; and the data stored in the reception data storage unit. First data processing means for processing the data in the order stored, and analyzing the data received by the interface means,
If the data is the first predetermined data, the second data processing means for recovering the data processing disabled state of the first data processing means based on the data, the first data processing means and the second data processing means. Status transmission means for transmitting the state of the reception data storage means to the host device; and a host device corresponding to the full state of the reception data storage means and the data processing disabled state of the first data processing means. On the other hand, a first means for requesting a stop of the data transmission via the interface means, wherein the first data processing means requests a stop of the data transmission in response to the data processing disabled state of the first data processing means. Transmission comprising a mode and a second mode in which the first data processing means is not required to stop transmitting the data in response to the data processing disabled state. And having a stop request means, and a mode setting means for setting in accordance with the mode of the transmission stop request means to the function of the host device.

[0010] The communication terminal of the present invention has the above configuration,
If the host device cannot transmit data in response to the data transmission stop request, the second mode can be set by the mode setting means accordingly. When the device transmits the first predetermined data, it becomes possible to recover the data processing disabled state of the data processing means.

In this case, when the first data processing means is in the data processing disabled state,
Transmission start means for starting transmission of the state by the status transmission means, and transmission start control means for selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission start means,
It is preferable that the transmission activation control unit is configured to permit the operation of the transmission activation unit when the second mode of the transmission stop request unit is selected by the mode setting unit.

Thus, when the second mode is set and a data transmission stop request is not sent to the host device, the status is notified to the host device by the status transmitting means instead. Therefore, the host device can immediately and surely know the state of the communication terminal, and can more reliably protect communication data.

[0013] On the other hand, in the above case, transmission activation means for activating the transmission of the state by the status transmission means in response to the first data processing means being in the data processing disabled state; First and / or second
Transmission activation control means for selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission activation means based on the second predetermined data processed by the data processing means. It is preferable that the second mode is selected when the operation of the transmission activation unit is permitted by the activation control unit.

This makes it possible for the host device to indirectly control the generation of a data transmission stop request using the second data according to its function. That is, when the transmission of the status to the host device is permitted according to the stop state of the communication terminal, the data transmission stop request is not transmitted, so that the host device can instruct a necessary recovery operation. In addition, the stop state of the communication terminal is immediately and reliably notified to the host device by transmitting the status or transmitting the data transmission stop request. Therefore, communication data can be more reliably protected and the communication terminal can be recovered from a stopped state.

In these cases, the first data processing means enters the data processing disabled state on the basis of a plurality of factors, and the transmission start control means sets the plurality of data on the basis of the second predetermined data. For each factor, the operation of the transmission activation means is selectively inhibited or permitted, and the mode setting means determines whether the operation of the transmission activation means is permitted by the transmission activation control means in the second mode. And it is desirable to select the first mode for the other factors not permitted.

With this configuration, the output of the data transmission request can be prohibited for each of the factors by selecting the host device.
The host device can select a factor capable of recovering from the processing inability due to the factor by the first data, and prohibit transmission of the data transmission stop request. In this case, when the selected factor is generated, the communication terminal transmits status information including the selected factor to the host device. Also,
For factors not selected,
When that occurs, a transmission stop request is output. Therefore, it is possible to select an optimal setting according to the function of the host device.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a terminal printer suitable for constructing a POS system as an example of a communication terminal according to the present invention. The terminal printer 10 of this example is a printer that can print slip paper 19, journal paper 18, and receipt paper 17 as recording paper.
The slip paper 19 is a cut sheet such as an irregular-shaped slip paper. When the slip paper 19 is inserted in the direction of arrow 19A from the slip paper insertion port 21 in front of the printer 10, a paper detector (not shown) detects the slip paper, and 15 to the print head 1 through a paper path. Then, the print head 1 moves in the left-right direction 1A to perform printing, and the slip paper 19 is further transported in the direction of arrow 19B and discharged. The printer 10 of this example employs a print head 1 of a wire dot type, and a slip paper 19 via an ink ribbon 3.
Alternatively, printing is performed on journal paper 18 and receipt paper 17, which will be described later.

The journal paper 18 and the receipt paper 17 are both continuous paper, and are supplied in the form of roll paper in the printer 10 of this embodiment. These continuous papers 17, 18
Is guided to the print head 1 through the case 15 from the direction opposite to the slip sheet 19 with respect to the print head 1. After the information as a receipt is printed on the receipt paper 17,
It is guided by the cutter unit 14 to be cut and passed to the customer. Predetermined information to be stored at the store is printed on the journal paper 18 and wound up and stored by a winding device (not shown). A near-end detector 20 for detecting that the roll paper is running low is attached to each of the roll papers 17 and 18. The near-end detector 20 includes a detection lever 20a that contacts the side surface of the roll paper and swings in the direction of an arrow 20A according to the outer diameter thereof, and a switch 20b that is turned on and off by the detection lever 20a.
It has. When the outer diameter decreases as the roll paper approaches the end, the detection lever 20a swings inward, and as a result,
The switch 20b is turned off, and it can be detected that the end of the roll paper is approaching.

A cover (not shown) is attached to the case 15 of the printer 10, and the cover is put on the case 15 except when the roll paper 17 or 18 or the ink ribbon 3 is replaced. Printing is performed. For this reason, a cover detector 22 for detecting the opening and closing of the cover is mounted on the case 15, and when the cover is opened, the cover state is automatically set to a hold state and processing such as temporarily stopping the printing function is performed. Has become.

FIG. 2 shows a PO having the PC 30 as a host and the terminal printer 10 of the present embodiment as a communication terminal.
An example of the S system is shown. In this POS system, a serial communication port (RS-23) of the PC 30 is used.
2C) Customer display 4 via driver 31
0, terminal printer 10 and cash drawer 4
5 are logically connected. Further, the PC 30, the customer display 40, and the printer 10
Physically connected via a 232C interface,
It is designed to send and receive data. The cash drawer 45 is connected to the printer 10, and is connected to a PC.
30 can control the cash drawer 45 by transmitting a required command to the printer 10. Note that the customer display 40 has a pass-through function, and the display processing unit 42 processes commands and data received from the PC only when the customer display 40 is selected by a command from the PC. The printer 10 also has a similar function, and processes commands and data from the PC only when it is selected. Note that D from the customer display 40
The TR signal is input to the CS signal terminal of the PC 30 so as not to compete with the DTR signal from the printer 10. The customer display 40 is a PC
Since there is no case where data such as status is transmitted to the printer 30, there is no conflict with status data from the printer 10.

Because of this connection form, the PC 3 of this example
In addition to the serial communication port driver 31, the operating system 32 is a POS operating system (OS) 33 and a basic OS that controls devices that generally configure the PC 30 such as a keyboard and a display and application software that controls them.
34. The POS OS 33 includes an OS 35 for controlling the printer 10, the customer display 40 and the cash drawer 45, a receipt printing driver 36 for printing the printer 10 on continuous paper such as receipts or journal paper, and a slip paper A driver 37 for slip printing for printing, a driver 38 for controlling the customer display 40, and a driver 39 for controlling the cash drawer 45 are provided.

The POS application software 5 of the PC 30 and other application software 6 such as spreadsheets operate under the control of the basic OS 34 and the POS OS 33. In addition, the customer display 40,
Data transmission between the terminal printer 10 and the cash drawer 45 is performed via the drivers 36 to 39, the port driver 31, and the other general-purpose OS 33.

In the printer 10, when data is received by the interface 51, an interrupt occurs,
The data receiving unit 52 extracts data from the interface 51. The data extracted from the interface 51 is stored in the reception buffer via the real-time command analyzer 53 in the same interrupt processing. When recognizing the real-time command included in the data sent from the data receiving unit 52, the real-time command analyzing unit 53 performs a predetermined process according to the command. Receive buffer 54 through real-time command analyzer 53
Are extracted in the order in which they are stored by the command analysis unit 55, and the data code is analyzed. If the data is command data, the control unit 57 performs processing according to the command. If the data is print data, the data is stored in the print buffer 56. Next, the control unit 57
Controls the print processing unit 60 according to the command, sends the print data stored in the print buffer 56 to the print processing unit 60, and controls the print data to perform printing.

The control section 57 has a function of monitoring the status of each section of the printer 10 in addition to setting and controlling the print processing section 60, managing print data, and the like. Is output to For example, if the receiving buffer 54 is almost full or is waiting for a cut sheet, the status is given to the common status detector 59. Also in the print processing unit 60, the state of the printer mechanism 61, for example, a hold state in which the cover is opened and data processing is temporarily stopped, an error state such as paper jam, or a status such as detection of near end of roll paper is performed. Is provided to the status detection unit 62.

The statuses detected by the common status detection unit 59 and the status detection unit 62 of the printer mechanism are supplied to the status data generation unit 72 of the status transmission unit 70. The status transmission unit 70 transmits the status of the printer mechanism 61 and the status of the reception buffer collected by the status data generation unit 72 to the printer 1.
The automatic status transmission unit 71 has a function of transmitting other statuses relating to 0 to the host. The automatic status transmission unit 71 transmits the status data when the status of the predetermined status changes under the control of the control unit 57, and the status changes and becomes a trigger for transmitting the status data. The status can be selected by a predetermined command from the PC 30 as a host.

The status data output from the automatic status transmission unit 71 is supplied to the interface 51 via the data transmission unit 58 and transmitted to the RS-232C port driver 31 on the host side. Then, it is transmitted to the application software 5 via the POS OS 33 having a printer driver and the like, so that the application software 5 can select a process suitable for a situation occurring in the printer 10 and instruct the printer 10.

By providing such a status transmission unit 70, the printer mechanism and the terminal printer 1
When the status of 0 changes, the status data is transmitted to the application 5 side, so that the entire status of the terminal printer 10 can be grasped on the application side. Also, since status data can be transmitted only when the situation changes, the processing load on the host and terminal printers involved in transmitting and receiving status data can be reduced, and the throughput in serial transfer can be improved.

A status (hereinafter referred to as a buffer full status) 59a indicating that the receiving buffer is full in the common status detecting section 59, and a printer mechanism 61
The error factor (error status) 62a and the hold factor (hold status) 62b in the status detection unit 62 of FIG.
2 is also supplied. When any of the buffer full 59a, the error 62a and the hold 62b is detected, the busy setting unit 83 sets the
Output a busy signal to the host 30 to instruct the host 30 to prohibit data transmission, thereby preventing the transmitted data from being lost in the data terminal side, that is, the terminal printer 10 without being stored in the reception buffer. ing. That is,
In the RS-232C, a DTR (data terminal ready) signal is prepared to fulfill a busy signal function, and the RS-232C port driver 3 on the host side is provided.
1 or the printer drivers 36 and 37 are DT
Data transmission is performed only when the R signal is active, and the data transmission is stopped when the terminal printer 10 is in a busy state and the DTR signal becomes inactive.

When a predetermined status such as near-end detection is changed and status data is transmitted, a command for confirming the status from the application 5 to the terminal printer 10 or a status of the printer other than the transmitted status is grasped. It can be configured to output a command instructing transmission of all status data. In a conventional terminal printer, this command is stored in the reception buffer 54 together with the print data.
When the data processing advances and the command is analyzed, the processing according to the command is performed. For this reason, if a large amount of data preceding the command is stored in the reception buffer 54, it may take a very long time to start processing the command.

Therefore, the terminal printer 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a real-time command analyzing section 53, and when a real-time command is transmitted, the real-time command is analyzed before being transferred to the receiving buffer 54, and the real-time command is followed. Processing can be performed. The real-time command is determined by, for example, two-byte received data of “GS” + “R”, and the content of processing to be executed in the printer is indicated by a one-byte value n following the two bytes. The processing contents indicated by n include, for example, those shown in Table 1 below.

[0031]

[Table 1]

As described above, unlike the command analysis unit 55, the real-time command analysis unit 53 can directly analyze and process the command received by the data reception unit 52. Therefore, the processing specified by the real-time command is performed in real time irrespective of the order of data or commands waiting for processing in the reception buffer 54. Further, even in a situation where the received buffer 54 is full and the received data or command cannot be stored in the received buffer 54, the real-time command is not analyzed and lost without being analyzed. The processing is surely executed in the terminal printer 10. For example, the real-time command of n = 0 is a printer status transmission request, and the real-time command analysis unit 53 transmits the status data collected by the status data generation unit 72 to the application 5 of the host 30 via the data transmission unit 58. Send to As described above, in this example, it is possible to control the terminal printer 10 using the real-time command, and to perform the same processing as the command analyzed by the command analysis unit 55 via the reception buffer 54 without time delay. Can be.

Further, the real-time command is processed in the terminal printer 10 without a time delay caused by the reception buffer 54, so that the error cause is canceled or the hold state is set because no slip sheet is set. It is possible to control flexible processing such as releasing slip printing and starting receipt printing when the application 5 is in operation.

However, if an error occurs in the terminal printer 10 or the terminal printer 10 enters the hold state, the busy factor selection unit 82 of the communication permission unit 80 determines that the terminal is busy. For this reason, in the communication permission unit 80, the DTR signal becomes low in the busy signal setting unit 83. Therefore, since the OS 32 on the host side stops the data transfer to the terminal printer 10, even if the host application 5 attempts to transmit a real-time command to the terminal printer 10, the real-time command is prohibited by the OS 32 and is not transmitted to the terminal printer 10. Therefore, even if the application 5 has a function of using a real-time command and the terminal printer 10 has a function of analyzing the real-time command, the processing using the real-time command cannot be performed if the busy factor overlaps as described above. However, the real function of real-time commands is limited.

The application 5 directly controls the serial port without using the OS 32 on the host side, or uses the real-time command.
For this purpose, it is also possible to create a dedicated OS (such as a printer driver) and introduce it into a PC. However, O
Creating the application 5 without using S32 is a very laborious and time-consuming operation. In particular, when the functions of the OS32 are not used, it is necessary to develop a unique program for each manufacturer's PC. In addition, if functions such as a driver are incorporated, the application 5 itself becomes very large and expensive. Therefore, it is not realistic to create POS application software for real-time commands that runs on each manufacturer's PC without using the OS 32. In addition, if a special OS is introduced, other general-purpose application software such as a spreadsheet may not be used in some cases. Therefore, the expandability of the system is lost, and it is difficult to customize the system according to the user's environment and purpose.

Therefore, in the terminal printer 10 of the present embodiment, the factor for outputting the busy signal can be selected by the busy factor selecting section 82 of the communication permitting section 80, and any one of the error 62a, the hold 62b and the buffer full 59a can be selected. In this case, it is possible to select one of the mode 1 in which it is determined that the bus is busy and the mode 2 in which only the buffer full 59a is a busy factor without determining that the error 62a and the hold 62b are busy.

In the case of buffer full, there is a possibility that data transmitted thereafter may be lost, so this is left as a busy factor. However, the buffer full is transmitted to the application side of the host by the automatic status transmitting section 71, and the application concerned is When the transmission of data other than the real-time command is stopped, the busy signal (DTR signal inactive state) may not be output in mode 2 in any case.

In the terminal printer 10 of this embodiment, the mode 1 and the mode 2 can be set by the switch section 81 using a dip switch. Further, in the terminal printer 10 of the present embodiment, when the mode 2 is selected by the DIP switch 81, the status data is transmitted to the automatic status transmitting unit 71 even if it is not specified by the above-mentioned control command, when any busy factor occurs. Is set to be sent. Accordingly, when a busy factor occurs, even if the DTR signal does not become inactive, the host application 5 can recognize from the status data that the printer 10 is busy. A process for ensuring the reliability of the data transfer can be performed.

As described above, the terminal printer 1 of this embodiment
0 indicates that the DIP switch 81 sets the busy factor selection unit 82 to mode 2 under the application corresponding to the real-time command, and the DTR signal is not inactive in the busy signal setting unit 83 in a busy state such as hold or error. It is possible to do so. Therefore, it is possible to transmit a real-time command even during a hold or an error, and the application 5 can be provided with a more flexible processing function by effectively utilizing this. On the other hand, if the host OS 32 can transmit a real-time command even when the DTR signal is active, the dip switch 81 switches the busy factor selection unit 82 to the mode 1 mode.
And making the DTR signal inactive due to normal factors such as hold, error and buffer full, it is possible to protect the transfer data without using the function of the automatic status transmission unit 71.

FIG. 3 shows a process of outputting a busy signal using the communication permission section 80 of the terminal printer 10 of the present embodiment. In the communication permission unit 80, step 91,
At 92 and 93, an error factor, a hold factor and a buffer full are detected, respectively. When the error factor and the hold factor are detected in steps 91 and 92, the mode set in the mode selection unit 81 is determined in step 94. When the mode 2 is set in the mode selection unit 81, an error factor or a hold factor is sent to the host using the automatic status transmission unit 71 in step 96. However, no busy signal is generated. On the other hand, in step 94, mode 1
Is set, or when buffer full is detected in step 93, the process proceeds to step 95,
A busy signal is generated and transmitted to the host, and the transfer of data from the host is stopped.

In the above example, when a mode (mode 2) in which no busy signal is transmitted is selected by the mode selection unit 81 realized by a DIP switch or the like, the automatic status transmission function is selected in conjunction with this. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, even when mode 2 is selected, the automatic status transmission function does not always have to be selected. The host side receives the reception buffer 54
If the host sends a real-time command that instructs “printer status transmission” at a sufficiently short interval so that the printer does not overflow, the host will keep the printer busy even if neither a busy signal nor automatic status transmission is performed. This is because it is possible to detect and safely instruct a recovery operation.

Second Embodiment Switching between mode 1 and mode 2 can of course be performed by a so-called soft switch.
Mode selection unit 81 depending on the application using
Can also be set. Further, it is also possible to change the busy factor by changing the setting of the busy factor selecting unit 82 from the host side at any time according to the application. An example is shown below.

In FIG. 2, the printer interface 5
1 receives a command for enabling the automatic status transmission function from the host (hereinafter, an automatic status back (ASB) command), the ASB command is analyzed by the command analysis unit 55, and the automatic status transmission unit 71 performs the processing. Set to state. It is to be noted that the validity / invalidity of the automatic status transmission function and the activation factor thereof can be individually designated by the ASB command. For example,
When an error factor is set as the activation factor, the ASB function is activated and a status is transmitted to the host when any error factor occurs.

In this example, at this time, mode 2 is simultaneously selected by the command analysis unit 55 and given to the busy factor selection unit 82. Further, the designated activation factor is input to the busy factor selection unit 82, and the factor designated as the activation factor is excluded from the busy factors. For example, when an error factor is specified as an ASB activation factor,
Since the error factor is excluded from the busy factors, a busy signal is not sent even when the error factor occurs, and the printer status is transmitted to the host instead. Therefore, the transmission of the busy signal can be prohibited by designating all the factors as the activation factors by the ASB command.

In the first and second embodiments, the control circuit of the communication terminal can be constituted by using a microcomputer. That is, from the description of the embodiment, according to those skilled in the art, the data transmission unit 52, the real-time command analysis unit 53, the command analysis unit 55, and the control unit 5 in FIG.
7. The data transmission unit 58, the status transmission unit 70, the status detection unit 59, and the busy signal transmission unit 80 are sufficiently realized by a microcomputer and a program stored in a memory element such as a ROM connected thereto. Is possible.

The above program can be read into a well-known storage element such as an EEPROM or a flash memory connected to the microcomputer via the printer interface 51 to realize the above configuration of the communication terminal. In this case, the program is transmitted from the host device to the communication terminal. As a medium for supplying the program to the host device, a well-known recording medium such as a floppy disk, an optical disk, and a memory card can be used. Needless to say. Further, the program can be supplied via a wide area computer network such as the Internet.
In this case, the program is not stored in a specific recording medium during the supply process, but substantially the same result as when the specific recording medium is transferred can be obtained.

As described above, the terminal printer 10 of this embodiment transmits a busy signal when the data transmitted through the RS-232C and stored in the reception buffer 54 cannot be processed by the print processing unit 60. A mode in which the DTR signal is made inactive (mode 1);
A mode in which the R signal is not made inactive (mode 2) can be switched. Accordingly, if the application software on the host side has the function of a real-time command, but cannot transmit data when the terminal printer 10 is transmitting a busy signal, the terminal printer is set to mode 2. Keep it. As a result, even if the printer 10 becomes busy due to an error factor or a hold factor, the terminal printer 10 can be operated by the application software, so that a measure corresponding to the error factor or the hold factor can be performed safely by the application software, and It can be done reliably. Therefore, the labor of the operator can be reduced, and the security of various data such as sales data managed by the POS can be secured. on the other hand,
When a terminal printer is connected to a host that can transmit data such as real-time commands even when a busy signal is transmitted, use the automatic status transmission function by setting the printer to mode 1. Instead, the communication with the host can be managed by using the DTR signal to secure data security, and the printer can be safely recovered from an error state or the like.

Further, by enabling the terminal printer to set the factor causing the DTR signal to be inactive, the function of the real-time command as described above can be performed without changing the specifications of the host OS related to the DTR signal. Can be fully utilized. Therefore, POS
When constructing a system such as a system, it is possible to recover the error or hold status of the terminal printer from the application software to the normal state without impairing the versatility of the application software and the versatility of the printer A system can be built.

In the above description, the present invention has been described with the terminal printer 10 suitable for constructing a POS system as an example of a communication terminal. However, the communication terminal is not limited to the terminal printer. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a communication terminal that can be connected to a serial interface such as a scanner, a scanner, and a modem, and a printer that is connected to a parallel interface. By applying the present invention to these communication terminals, even when the transmitted and stored data cannot be processed, the problem of the communication terminals can be solved by the application program on the host side. become. Therefore, when an error occurs on the communication terminal side, the processing can be dealt with by the application program instead of leaving it to the operator. By reducing the labor of the operator and eliminating the risk of erroneous operation, a more secure and highly reliable system is constructed using highly versatile, easily customizable and inexpensive hardware and software such as a PC and a general-purpose OS. It becomes possible.

[0050]

As described above, the communication terminal of the present invention outputs a busy signal due to standard factors such as an error factor, a hold factor, and a buffer full condition, so that the host cannot perform data processing. And a second mode in which a busy signal is not output for the error factor and the hold factor, and a command corresponding to these factors can be received from the host. For this reason, the communication terminal of the present invention enables application software capable of appropriately coping with an error state or a hold state occurring in the communication terminal using a general-purpose OS having a driver for a standard communication terminal. It can be operated and its functions can be fully exhibited. Furthermore, by adopting an automatic status transmission function that can notify the application software when a hold factor or the like occurs instead of a busy signal,
Even when the second mode is selected, the security of data transferred from the host and the reliability of the system can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a terminal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a POS system using the terminal printer and the PC shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of outputting a busy signal using the communication permission unit of the terminal printer according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, print head 5, 6, application program 3, ribbon cassette 10, terminal printer 17, receipt paper 18, journal paper 19, slip paper 20, near-end detector 22, cover detector 30 PC (host) 31 Serial port driver 32 Operating system 33 OS for POS 34 Basic OS 36 to 39 Driver 40 Customer display 41, 46 Interface 42, 47 Processing unit 45, cash drawer 51, printer interface 52, data receiving unit 53, real-time command analyzing unit 54, receiving buffer 55, command analyzing unit 56, print buffer 57, control unit 58, data Transmitter 59-common stator Detecting unit 59a Buffer full factor 60 Print processing unit 61 Printer mechanism 62 Status detecting unit 62a Error factor 62b Hold factor 70 Status transmitting unit 71 Automatic status transmitting unit 72 Status data generation section 80 communication permission section 81 mode selection section (switch section) 82 busy factor selection section 83 busy signal setting section

Claims (15)

[Claims] An interface unit for communicating data with a host device; a reception data storage unit for storing the data received by the interface unit; and a storage unit for storing the data stored in the reception data storage unit. First data processing means for processing in the order given, and analyzing the data received by the interface means, and if the data is the first predetermined data, the first data processing based on the data. Second data processing means for restoring a data processing disabled state of the means, status transmission means for transmitting the states of the first data processing means and the reception data storage means to the host device, and the reception data storage In response to the full state of the means and the data processing disabled state of the first data processing means, the host device is A first mode for requesting a stop of the data transmission in response to the data processing disabled state of the first data processing means; A transmission stop request unit comprising a second mode not requesting a stop of the data transmission in response to the data processing disabled state of the first data processing unit; A communication terminal comprising: a mode setting unit for selecting a mode according to a function of the host device. 2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein, in response to the first data processing unit being in the data processing disabled state, transmission start unit that starts transmission of the state by the status transmission unit. And transmission start control means for selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission start means, wherein the transmission start control means sets the second mode of the transmission stop request means by the mode setting means. When selected, the communication terminal permits the operation of the transmission activation unit. 3. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein, when the first data processing unit is in the data processing disabled state, the status transmission unit starts transmitting the state. And transmission activation control means for selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission activation means based on second predetermined data processed by the first and / or second data processing means. The communication terminal, wherein the mode setting means selects the second mode when the transmission activation control means permits the operation of the transmission activation means. 4. The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein said first data processing means enters said data processing disabled state based on a plurality of factors, and said transmission start control means sets said second predetermined data to said second predetermined data. Based on each of the plurality of factors, selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission activation unit, and the mode setting unit determines whether the operation of the transmission activation unit is permitted by the transmission activation control unit. The communication terminal selects the second mode, and selects the first mode for the other factors not permitted. 5. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said mode setting means has a switch for an operator to perform initial setting of said communication terminal. 6. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said first data processing means has a printing means for printing said data stored in said received data storage means on a recording medium. Terminal. 7. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said interface means has a serial interface for serially carrying said data. 8. A control method for a communication terminal, comprising: an interface unit for performing data communication with a host device; and a reception data storage unit for storing the data received by the interface unit. A first data processing step of processing the data stored in the order in which they are stored; a step of disabling the first data processing step based on a predetermined factor; Analyzing the data and, if the data is the first predetermined data, a second data processing step of restoring the disabled state of the first data processing step based on the data; Transmitting the status of the received data storage means to the host device; and filling up the received data storage means and the first data. In response to disabled state of physical processes, to said host device, comprising the steps of: requesting a transmission stop of the data, in response to said disabled state of said first data processing step,
A first mode for requesting a stop of the data transmission; and a step including a second mode for not requesting a stop of the data transmission in response to the disabled state of the first data processing step. A step of selecting the mode of the transmission stop request step according to a function of the host device. 9. The communication terminal control method according to claim 8, wherein, in response to the first data processing step being in the disabled state, activating the status transmission step; And a step of selectively prohibiting or permitting execution. In the transmission start prohibition / permission step, when the second mode of the transmission stop request unit is selected in the mode setting step, A control method, wherein the operation of the transmission starting means is permitted. 10. The communication terminal control method according to claim 8, further comprising: activating said status transmission step in response to said first data processing step being in said disabled state; Or a step of selectively prohibiting or permitting the execution of the transmission activation step based on second predetermined data processed in the second data processing step. A control method, wherein when the execution of the transmission activation step is permitted in the transmission activation prohibition / permission step, the second mode is selected. 11. The communication terminal control method according to claim 10, wherein in the first data processing step, the data processing is disabled based on a plurality of factors, and in the transmission start prohibition / permission step, 2, the execution of the transmission activation step is selectively prohibited or permitted for each of the plurality of factors based on the predetermined data of the second step. The control method is characterized in that the second mode is selected for the factor for which the execution of is permitted, and the first mode is selected for the other factor that is not permitted. 12. A program used for a communication terminal comprising: interface means for communicating data with a host device; reception data storage means for storing the data received by the interface means; and a computer for controlling the data. A first data processing function for processing the data stored in the received data storage means in the order in which the data is stored; and a first data processing function for analyzing the data received by the interface means. If the data is predetermined data, a second data processing function for restoring a data processing disabled state in the first data processing function based on the data, the first data processing function and the received data storage A status transmission function for transmitting the status of the means to the host device; and the received data storage means. In response to in the data processing disabled state to the full state and the first data processing function,
A function of requesting the host device to stop transmission of the data using the interface function, wherein the transmission of the data is performed in response to the data processing disabled state in the first data processing function. First to request suspension
A transmission stop request function comprising: a second mode in which the first data processing function does not request a data transmission stop in response to the data processing disabled state in the first data processing function; A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for realizing a mode setting function for selecting the mode of the stop request function according to a function of the host device. 13. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the program causes the computer to execute the status transmission function in response to the first data processing function being in the data processing disabled state. And a transmission activation control function for selectively prohibiting or permitting the operation of the transmission activation function. The transmission activation control function further comprises: A computer-readable recording medium having a function of permitting an operation of the transmission activation function when the second mode of the transmission stop request function is selected as a function. 14. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the program causes the computer to execute the status transmission function in response to the first data processing function being in the data processing disabled state. And a transmission activation function for activating the transmission of the state according to the first and / or second data processing functions. Or a transmission start control function to be permitted, and the mode setting function selects the second mode when the operation of the transmission start function is permitted by the transmission start control function. A computer-readable recording medium having a function. 15. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 14, wherein in the function realized by the program by the computer, the first data processing function is in the data processing disabled state based on a plurality of factors, The transmission activation control function selectively inhibits or permits the operation of the transmission activation function for each of the plurality of factors based on the second predetermined data. A computer-readable recording medium that selects the second mode for the factor for which the function of the transmission activation function is permitted by the function and selects the first mode for the other factor that is not permitted; .