JP3513263B2 - Printing system and printing control method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing system having a serial printer or a page printer and a printing control method therefor, and more particularly to preventing loss of character / symbol data or duplicate printing at the time of interruption and resumption of printing operation. The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printer control device for outputting print data to a printer while confirming the operating state of the printer, and print data transmitted while answering an inquiry about the printer state from the printer control device at a predetermined amount. A printing system including a serial printer that sequentially outputs is widely known.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional printing system and the exchange of print data in time series.

The printing system 11 shown in FIG. 3 comprises a printer controller 12 and a printer 13. Printing system 1
1 is a print data editing unit 14 for editing print data,
It comprises a printer controller 15 for giving a control signal such as a line feed and a page break to the print data, and an OS parallel port driver 16 which is a printer controller communication means for transmitting the print data to the printer 13 for each transmission. .

On the other hand, the printer 13 manages the entire printer 13, and a printer adapter 17 which is a communication means on the printer side, a print data output means 18 which sequentially outputs the print data received from the printer adapter 17 for each predetermined amount. And device control means 19 for controlling.

The print data editing unit 14 and the printer controller 15 display characters such as "A", "B", ...
Edit the print data consisting of the symbol data and the print trigger LF that indicates line breaks, page breaks, data breaks, etc., and print the print data "A BC LF D E LF" for each transmission.
Output to the parallel port driver 16.

The OS parallel port driver 16 transmits print data to the printer adapter 17 byte by byte while confirming the blocked state of the printer 13.

The printer adapter 17 outputs the received print data to the print data output means 18, and the print data output means 18 prints / executes the print data / control code received from the print data output means 18.

In this conventional printing system 11, the print data "A" and "B" are temporarily transmitted to the printer 13,
Immediately after confirming the printer blockage state before transmitting the next print data "C", it is assumed that the printer 13 is blocked by the user operation.

At this time, the printer controller 12 sends the print data "C" to the printer 13 after confirming that the print data "C" may be sent.

However, the print data "C" is the printer 13
When sent to, the print data "C" may be lost because the printer has already been closed.

The printer control unit 12 determines the next printing timing L
Check for printer blockage for the first time when sending F. On the other hand, depending on the system, the printer control device 12 returns the print data “C” to the printer controller 15 as untransmitted print data or print data “C”.
Although C "is returned to the printer controller 15 as the transmitted print data, the print data" C "may not be printed or may be duplicated when the printing is restarted.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional printing system, one character 1 such as a form is used.
This is inconvenient for printing in which the presence or absence of printing of characters has an important meaning.

When printing a form such as a form, the disappearance of print data and duplicate printing result in a difference in the digit of the amount of money. Therefore, in the conventional printing system, when the printer is blocked or the printing is restarted, the operator confirms that there is no loss of print data or duplicate printing.

In such a method, there is a problem that it takes time and labor for correct printing confirmation and the reliability is low.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional printing system and to prevent the loss of character / symbol data or duplicate printing when the printing of the printer is interrupted / restarted. A print control method is provided.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, a printing system according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a printer control device for controlling a printing operation of a printer and a printer controlled by the printer control device. In the printing system, the printer control device has a print data editing means, a printer controller and a printer control device side communication means, and the print data editing means obtains a printing signal from the outside and controls the printing. Print timing and characters
When the print data including the symbol data is edited and output to the printer controller, and the printer controller receives the print data from the print data editing means, the printer controller outputs a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger. Before and after each of the printing triggers, the block hold start control code is added, and the block hold release control code is added to the end of one transmission and output to the printer control device side communication unit. If you receive untransmitted print data from the printer controller communication means,
When a blockage hold start control code is added to the head of untransmitted print data, and when the blocked state of the printer is released, the printout data is retransmitted to the printer control device side communication means, and the printer control device side communication means When the print data for one transmission is received from the printer controller and the blocked state of the printer is confirmed, the print data is transmitted for each transmission unit. If the printer becomes blocked during printing, the current transmission The untransmitted print data of the print data of the above is returned to the printer controller, and the printer is
The printer-side communication unit, the print data output unit, and the device control unit are provided, and the printer-side communication unit receives the print data while answering the inquiry about the printer blockage state from the printer control unit-side communication unit, and receives the print data. When the printer output signal is output to the data output unit and the printer block signal is received from the device control unit, the printer block signal is returned in response to the inquiry from the printer control device side communication unit, and the print data output unit is the printer side. The print data or control code received from the communication means is printed or executed, and the device control means
If the printer becomes blocked while receiving print data, output of the printer block signal to the printer communication unit is suspended until the printer communication unit receives the next print trigger. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system including: a printer control device that controls a printing operation of a printer; and a printer that is controlled by the printer control device. It has a print data editing means, a printer controller, and a printer control device side communication means, and the print data editing means obtains a print signal from the outside and prints a print trigger for print control and character / symbol data. The data is edited and output to the printer controller, and the printer controller uses the print data editing means. If you receive al print data,
Before the series of character / symbol data separated by the printing trigger and after each of the printing triggers, a blocking hold start control code is added and output to the printer control device side communication means, and the printer control device side When untransmitted print data is received from the communication means, a blockage hold start control code is added to the beginning of the untransmitted print data, and when the blocked state of the printer is released, the printer control device side communication means is sent. Retransmitting, the printer control device side communication means receives the print data for one transmission from the printer controller, transmits the print data for each transmission unit while confirming the blocked state of the printer, and during printing. When the printer is blocked by, the untransmitted print data of the print data for the current transmission is returned to the printer controller. The printer includes a printer communication means and print data output means and device control means,
The printer-side communication means receives print data and outputs it to the print-data output means while answering the inquiry about the printer blockage state from the printer control device-side communication section, and receives a printer blockage signal from the device control section. At this time, a printer block signal is returned in response to an inquiry from the printer control device side communication means, and the print data output means prints or executes the print data or control code received from the printer side communication means, When the printer is blocked while receiving print data, the device control means outputs the printer block signal to the printer side communication means until the printer side communication means receives the next print trigger. It is characterized by holding. A printing system according to claim 3 of the present application is the printing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the printer control device is built in an information processing device connected to the printer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first or second aspect, the printer control device is built in the printer.

The print control method according to claim 5 of the present application obtains a signal for printing, edits print data including character / symbol data and a print trigger, and prints a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger. Before and after the printing trigger,
The block hold start control code is added, and the block hold release control code is added to the end of the print data for one transmission, and the print data is sent to the printer for each transmission unit while checking the printer block status. , When the printer is blocked in the middle of receiving and transmitting print data, the output of the printer block signal is suspended until the printer receives the next print trigger, and when the printer block signal is output, it is not transmitted. The block hold start control code is added to the head of the print data, and when the block status of the printer is released, the untransmitted print data is retransmitted to the printer. The print control method according to claim 6 of the present application obtains a signal for printing, edits print data including character / symbol data and a print trigger, and deletes the data before the series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger. After the printing trigger,
A block hold start control code is added, print data is transmitted to the printer in units of transmission while checking the blockage status of the printer, and when the printer is blocked in the middle of receiving and transmitting print data, the printer Until the print trigger is received, the output of the printer block signal is suspended, and when the printer block signal is output, the block hold start control code is added to the beginning of the untransmitted print data, and the block state of the printer is released. In this case, the untransmitted print data is retransmitted to the printer.

[0020]

According to the printing system and the printing control method of the present invention, when the printer is in the blocked state, the printer blocking signal is held until the device control means receives the next printing trigger. As a result, the character / symbol data up to the timing of printing can be reliably transmitted to the printer while the print data is being received / transmitted.

Further, in the printing system and the printing control method of the present invention, the blocking hold start control code is arranged after the printing trigger when the printing data is edited. Since this blocking hold start control code is not printed, even if it is sent to the printer side and disappears, there is no effect on the actual printing of characters and symbols.

Further, according to the printing system and the printing control method of the present invention, untransmitted printing data is returned to the printer controller, and a new block pending start control code is added to the head of the printing data.

This blocking hold start control code is not printed even if it is transmitted in duplicate when printing is restarted, so that actual printing of characters and symbols has no effect.

That is, according to the printing system and the printing control method of the present invention, by placing the blockage hold start control code at the position where the print data is erased / duplicated, the characters / symbols are erased / duplicated. Can be prevented.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention and a data flow of printing control in time series.

The printing system 1 of the present embodiment comprises a printer control device 2 for controlling the printing operation of the printer, and a printer 3 whose printing is controlled by the printer control device 2. The printer control device 2 includes print data editing means 4
A printer controller 5 and an OS parallel port driver 6 which is a communication means attached to the printer controller 2.
Consists of. On the other hand, the printer 3 comprises a printer adapter 7 which is a communication means attached to the printer, a print data output means 8, and a device control means 9 which controls the printer adapter 7 and the print data output means 8.

The print data editing means 4 receives a print signal including a control signal such as a print command and print data such as characters and symbols from a host computer or a communication network, and the printer 3 can output the print data. The data is edited and output to the printer controller 5.

In addition to character / symbol data (“A, B, ..., E” illustrated in FIG. 1), this print data includes line feeds, page breaks, data delimiters, and device block signal suspension signals. Print trigger for instructing cancellation (see "1"
LF ”).

The print data editing means 4 edits the print data and outputs it to the printer controller 5.

The printer controller 5 triggers printing on the print data received from the print data editing means 4.
A series of character / symbol data separated by LF ("A
Blocking hold start control code CC (device control means 9) before "BC" or "DE") and after each print trigger LF
A control code that instructs the start of the block signal hold for and is neither printed nor shifted. 1 is shown with hatching).

Further, the printer controller 5 divides the print data into predetermined lengths and transmits them to the OS parallel port driver 6. At the end of the print data for each transmission, the blocking hold release control code EC (see the network in FIG. 1). (Shown with a line of sight)
Is given.

The OS parallel port driver 6 transmits the print data to the printer 3 one transmission unit (one byte in this embodiment, that is, one character) while confirming the closed state of the printer 3.

The printer adapter 7 receives the print data from the OS parallel port driver 6 while answering the inquiry about the printer blockage state, and print data output means 8 for each predetermined length / print amount via a memory buffer (not shown). Output to.

The print data output means 8 sequentially outputs or executes the print data received from the printer adapter 7.

On the other hand, the device control means 9 includes the printer 3
It manages the entire printing operation, stores print data in a memory buffer, executes printing, outputs a printer block signal to the printer adapter 7, and so on.

The printing system 1 of the present invention is characterized by the printing control when the printer 3 is closed during the printing operation. The print control will be described below.

When print data reception / transmission is started, the block hold start control code CC is first transmitted to the printer adapter 7. The blocking hold start control code CC is sent to the device control means 9.

When the printer 3 is in the closed state by the command of the block hold start control code CC, the device controller 9 closes the printer adapter 7 until the printer adapter 7 receives the next print trigger LF. Suspend signal output. Print trigger LF releases the blocking hold.

As shown in FIG. 1, the OS parallel port driver 6 transmits the print data to the printer adapter 7 while checking the blocked state of the printer for each byte.
Now, it is assumed that the printer 3 is blocked by the user's operation or the like when the print data "CC" and "A" are transmitted. The device control means 9 immediately detects the blocked state of the printer 3, but suspends the output of the printer blocked signal to the printer adapter 7 until the printer adapter 7 receives the next print trigger LF.

As a result, the printer adapter 7 causes the print data "CC A" already received to be followed by "BC L".
F "is received. When the printer adapter 7 receives the print trigger LF, the device control means 9 detects this and outputs a printer block signal.

FIG. 1 shows a case where the print data is not lost due to the printer 3 being in the closed state.

That is, in the example of FIG. 1, immediately after the printer adapter 7 receives the print trigger LF, the device control means 9 outputs a printer block signal, and the next OS parallel port driver 6 inquires about the printer block state. On the other hand, the printer adapter 7 responds with a "printer block" signal. As a result, the OS parallel port driver 6 returns the untransmitted print data “CC D E LF CC EC” at this time to the printer controller 5 without sending any more print data. In this case, the print data does not disappear.

The printer controller 5, which has received the untransmitted print data, sends the untransmitted print data “CC D E L
Add one blocking hold start control code CC before "F CC EC" and enter the state of waiting for the next print restart signal.

In this state, when the user releases the blockade of the printer, the device control means 9 detects the printer blockage release and feeds back the signal to the printer controller 5.

By releasing the blockage of the printer, the printer controller 5 retransmits the untransmitted print data "CC CC D E LF CC EC" to which the block hold start control code is added to the OS parallel port driver 6, and the OS parallel port driver 6 Check the blocked status of the printer again 1
The print data is transmitted byte by byte, and the printer 3 restarts printing.

The blockage hold start control code CC at the head of the retransmitted print data is not actually printed or shifted. Therefore, "DELF" is printed or executed after the print data "ABCLF" transmitted before the printer is blocked, and the disappearance of character / symbol data or duplicate printing does not occur.

The example of FIG. 1 shows the case where the block hold start control code CC following the print trigger LF is not transmitted. However, depending on the output timing of the printer block signal, the printer block signal may be output after the printer block status is confirmed, and the block hold start control code CC may disappear. Fig. 2 shows this blocking hold start control code C
It shows the flow of print control processing when C disappears.
This case will be described below.

In FIG. 2, the OS parallel port driver 6 is the same as FIG. 1 until the print data ““ CC A BC LF ”is transmitted to the printer adapter 7. Therefore, the duplicated description will be omitted here.

However, in the example of FIG. 2, when the blocking hold start control code CC following the print trigger LF is transmitted, the OS
In response to the inquiry from the parallel port driver 6, the printer control signal from the device control means 9 is output thereafter. Therefore, the OS parallel port driver 6
Sends the block hold start control code CC without recognizing the printer block. However, when the blocking hold start control code CC is transmitted, the blocked hold start control code CC sent is lost because the printer side has already been blocked.

Even when the print data is lost, the print system 1 of the present embodiment can prevent the print data from being lost and the duplicate printing.

That is, when transmitting the print data "D" next to the block hold start control code CC, the OS parallel port driver 6 obtains the reply "printer block". As a result, the untransmitted print data “D E LF CC EC” is returned from the OS parallel port driver 6 to the printer controller 5.

The printer controller 5 adds the block hold start control code CC to the head of this untransmitted print data "D E LF CC EC", and waits for the block release of the printer.

When the user releases the blocked state of the printer, the device control means 9 detects it and sends a signal for restarting printing to the OS parallel port driver 6.
In response to this printer blockage release signal, the OS parallel port driver 6 sequentially transmits the untransmitted print data "CC D E LF CC EC" to which the blockage hold start control code CC is newly added to the printer adapter 7.

Since the block-holding start control code CC at the head of the retransmitted untransmitted print data does not actually print or shift digits, it follows the print data "AB C LF" transmitted before the printer block. "D E LF" is printed or executed, and there is no loss of character / symbol data or duplicate printing.

As described above, according to the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, regardless of the output timing of the printer block signal, the same processing ensures the disappearance of the character / symbol data or the duplicate printing due to the interruption of the printing. Can be prevented.

As a result, in the printing of a form in which one digit of a number is lost or duplicate printing is not permitted, the operator can save time and effort to confirm when printing is interrupted / restarted, which is efficient and highly reliable. Printing can be performed.

The printer control device 2 may be arranged in any one of the printing systems 1 and is not limited to a hardware form. That is, the printer control device 2 may be built in the information processing device connected to the printer, or may be built in the printer or the printer buffer device, or may be an independent printer control device. Good.

When the printer control device is built in the printer or the printer buffer device or when the printer control device is independent, a printer that receives data from a communication network such as a LAN and prints sequentially can be considered. In this case, the print data editing means 4
Accepts data directly from the communication network and edits it as print data. The subsequent processing is as described above.

Further, in the above embodiment, in consideration of printing by the line printer, after the printer is closed, until the printer receives the next print trigger LF (line feed signal).
Although the case where the output of the printer block signal is suspended has been described, the printing system and the printing control method described above can be directly applied to the page printer.

That is, in the page printer, print data is sent to the printer every page, but if the page printer is blocked during reception, the printer block signal is output and the next page feed signal ( Printing opportunity LF)
Just hold until you receive. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the loss of the character / symbol data at the beginning of each page or the duplicate printing.

[0061]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the printing system and the printing control method of the present invention, the output of the printer block signal is reserved until a segment of character / symbol data is completely received, and this printer block is blocked. The blocking pending start control code is placed at the timing of the signal output. This prevents the loss of characters and symbols, and
Since the blocking hold start control code is applied to the location where duplicate printing occurs, it is possible to prevent duplicate printing or disappearance of characters and symbols due to interruption / restart of printing.

As a result, it is possible to obtain a highly efficient and highly reliable printing system and printing control method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing system according to the present invention, which also shows the flow of print control when print data that is received and transmitted does not disappear due to a print interruption.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a printing system according to the present invention, which also shows a flow of print control when print data received and transmitted is lost due to print interruption.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional printing system that also shows the flow of print data when printing is interrupted.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 printing system 2 Printer control device 3 printers 4 Print data editing means 5 Printer controller 6 OS parallel port driver 7 Printer adapter 8 Print data output means 9 Device control means LF printing opportunity CC shutdown hold control code EC blocking hold release control code

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Matsuda, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd., 134, Kobe-cho, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (56) Reference JP-A-5-221093 (JP, A) ( 58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/00

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printing system having a printer control device for controlling a printing operation of a printer and a printer controlled by the printer control device, wherein the printer control device comprises print data editing means, a printer controller and a printer control device. The print data editing means acquires a print signal from the outside, edits print timing for print control, print data including character / symbol data, and outputs the print data to the printer controller. When the print data is received from the print data editing unit, the printer controller receives a block hold start control code before a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger and after each print trigger. And add the block hold release control code to the end of one transmission. When the untransmitted print data is received from the printer control device side communication means and is output to the printer control device side communication means, a blockage hold start control code is added to the head of the untransmitted print data, and the printer is blocked. Is canceled, the data is retransmitted to the printer control device side communication means, and the printer control device side communication means receives the print data for one transmission from the printer controller and confirms the blocked state of the printer. However, the print data is transmitted for each transmission unit, and if the printer is blocked during printing, the printer controller returns untransmitted print data of the print data for the current transmission, and the printer A printer-side communication unit, a print data output unit, and a device control unit, wherein the printer-side communication unit is the printer. While answering the inquiry about the printer blocking state from the device side communication means, the print data is received and output to the print data output means, and when the printer block signal is received from the device control means, the printer control side communication is performed. A printer block signal is returned in response to an inquiry from the means, the print data output means prints or executes the print data or control code received from the printer side communication means, and the device control means receives the print data. If the printer becomes blocked during the operation, the output of the printer block signal to the printer communication unit is suspended until the printer communication unit receives the next print trigger. system. 2. A printing system having a printer control device for controlling a printing operation of a printer and a printer controlled by the printer control device, wherein the printer control device comprises print data editing means, a printer controller and a printer control device. The print data editing means acquires a print signal from the outside, edits print timing for print control, print data including character / symbol data, and outputs the print data to the printer controller. When the print data is received from the print data editing unit, the printer controller receives a block hold start control code before a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger and after each print trigger. Is output to the communication means on the printer control device side, and the communication on the printer control device side is performed. When the untransmitted print data is received from the printer, the block hold start control code is added to the head of the untransmitted print data, and when the blocked state of the printer is released, the print data is sent to the printer controller communication means again. The printer control device side communication means receives the print data for one transmission from the printer controller, transmits the print data for each transmission unit while confirming the blocked state of the printer, and during the printing process. When the printer is in the blocked state, it returns untransmitted print data of the print data for the current transmission to the printer controller, and the printer includes a printer-side communication unit, a print data output unit, and a device control unit. The printer-side communication means does not answer the inquiry about the printer blocking state from the printer control device-side communication means. Receiving print data, outputting the print data to the print data output means, and receiving a printer block signal from the device control section, returning a printer block signal in response to an inquiry from the printer control device side communication section, The data output means prints or executes the print data or the control code received from the printer side communication means, and the device control means, when the printer is blocked while receiving the print data, A printing system, wherein output of a printer block signal to the printer-side communication means is suspended until the printer-side communication means receives a next print trigger. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printer control device is incorporated in an information processing device connected to the printer. 4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printer control device is built in a printer. 5. A print signal is acquired to edit print data including character / symbol data and a print trigger, before a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger and after the print trigger. In addition to the block hold start control code, the block hold release control code is added to the end of the print data for one transmission, and the print data is sent to the printer for each transmission unit while checking the printer block status. However, when the printer is blocked in the middle of receiving and transmitting print data, the printer block signal output is suspended until the printer receives the next print trigger, and when the printer block signal is output, it is not transmitted. The block hold start control code is added to the beginning of the print data of the above, and the untransmitted print data is retransmitted to the printer when the blocked state of the printer is released. Print control method. 6. A signal for printing is acquired to edit print data including character / symbol data and a print trigger, before a series of character / symbol data separated by the print trigger and after the print trigger. , Blocking hold start control code is added, print data is sent to the printer for each transmission unit while confirming the blocked status of the printer, and when the printer is blocked in the middle of receiving and transmitting print data, the printer Output of the printer block signal is suspended until the print trigger is received, and when the printer block signal is output, the block hold start control code is added to the beginning of the untransmitted print data, and the block state of the printer is released. A printing control method, wherein the untransmitted print data is retransmitted to the printer when the printing is performed.