JP2001228996A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system which can produce a driver that is optimum to each image forming device and also can reduce the labor and time required for developing the driver. SOLUTION: An acquisition part 38 of a printer driver 33 acquires the information on performance of a printer 35 which is stored in a nonvolatile memory 37 of the printer 35. On the basis of the acquired information, the driver 33 declares the plotting capability of the printer 35 to an OS 31. The OS 31 transmits a GDI command 32 to the driver 33 in response to the declaration of the driver 33. The driver 33 converts the command 32 into a page description language 34 according to the information stored in the memory 37.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming system having a host computer and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming system for generating a command to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus on the host computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a host computer uses a connected printer, it has been necessary to prepare a dedicated printer driver corresponding to the printer. In many cases, different printer drivers must be prepared for printers having the same page description language and printers of the same manufacturer.

As described above, a driver must be prepared for each printer because there is a difference in performance and functions between printers, and it is difficult for one driver to exhibit the performance and functions of the printer. . Therefore, it is extremely difficult to use a common printer driver.

However, not all printers have a unique printer driver. That is, printers having similar capabilities often use the same printer driver. This is because, if a printer driver is created for each printer, a lot of effort and time is required for this development time, and as a result, the cost of the printer increases.

[0005] As described above, obtaining the best performance by creating a printer driver optimized for each printer and reducing the labor and time required for developing the printer driver are compatible. There is a difficult relationship. Therefore, there is a need to balance these requirements, create a printer driver optimized for each printer, and reduce the labor and time required for developing the printer driver.

As a first prior art relating to a printer driver output method capable of shortening the time required for opening the host computer, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-66648.

According to the first prior art, the mode is internally shifted to an emulation mode, emulation data is created, and printing is performed by an emulation command.

According to this, conventionally, in a serial printer, in native mode output, only rasterized raster data is received as output data and output, so that regardless of the data to be printed, the data amount is large. And the time it takes to open up the host computer is no longer necessary.
The time required for opening the host computer can be reduced.

[0009] As a second prior art relating to an information processing apparatus which makes it possible to construct a low-cost printer network using an existing public network, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-27255 is disclosed.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 9-No.

According to the second conventional technique, information about an interpreter is obtained from a printer, and it is determined whether or not the printer has a PDL interpreter according to the information. As a result, if the printer has a PDL interpreter, the print data is converted to PDL data and supplied to the printer. If the printer has a GDI interpreter, the print data is
The data is converted and supplied to the printer.

[0011]

However, the first prior art is aimed at increasing the speed, but a printer driver created by using this method is not suitable for a printer having a specific feature. This is particularly effective only when the printer has a plurality of printers with completely different performances. For this reason, many drivers need to be developed. That is, regarding the above problems,
It does not indicate any countermeasures. In addition, the second
The prior art described above cannot be said to indicate any countermeasure against the above problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. The purpose is to provide a system.

[0013]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system having an image forming apparatus and a host computer, wherein the image forming apparatus stores information relating to performance. An information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the performance of the image forming apparatus from the performance storage unit of the image forming apparatus; and a host computer based on the performance of the image forming apparatus acquired by the information acquisition unit. , OS (operating sy
stem), a drawing capability declaration unit for declaring the drawing capability of the image forming apparatus, and a GDI corresponding to the declaration of the drawing capability transmitted from the OS based on the information on the performance of the image forming device acquired by the information acquiring unit. (Graphics device
interface) into a page description language conversion means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the system according to the first aspect, the information relating to the performance is a performance relating to image formation of the image forming apparatus, and the drawing capability declaration means declares based on the performance relating to image formation of the image forming apparatus. The page description language conversion unit is characterized in that a page description language optimal for the image forming apparatus is created based on information related to image formation of the image forming apparatus.

The third aspect of the present invention provides the first or second aspect.
In the system of the above, the information on the performance is information on the function of the image forming apparatus, the host computer,
Based on the information on the function of the image forming apparatus,
It is characterized in that a function used in the image forming apparatus is selected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the information on performance is:
Information on a combination of functions of the image forming apparatus,
The host computer is for notifying a user of a combination of functions of the image forming apparatus that reduces the image forming capability of the image forming apparatus.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the system of the fourth aspect, after the user selects a function to be used in the image forming apparatus, the host computer selects an image forming capability of the image forming apparatus by combining the function with the function. This is characterized in that the user is not required to select the function of lowering the value.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the host computer further includes an acquisition information storage unit for storing information relating to the performance acquired by the information acquisition unit. When an image is formed in an image forming apparatus that has performed image formation, the information acquisition unit is not used, and the information about the performance stored in the acquired information storage unit is used.

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a laser printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to FIG. 1, the laser printer 100 includes a controller 110, an operation panel 120, and a printer engine 130. The controller 110 is a host I
/ F111, program ROM112, font ROM
113, panel I / F 114, CPU 115, RAM1
16, an NV-RAM 117, an engine I / F 118, and a RAM 119.

The controller 110 converts print data input from the host device 200 into video data according to the set control mode and the control code input from the host device 200, and
This is a general term for the control mechanism that outputs to.

The host I / F 111 is connected to the host device 200
This is an interface for receiving control signals and print data input from the printer to the laser printer 100. The host I / F 111 is an interface that outputs a status signal from the laser printer 100 to the host device 200.

The program ROM 112 stores a program for managing data in the controller 110 and controlling peripheral modules. Font ROM 11
Reference numeral 3 stores various types of fonts used for printing.

The panel I / F 114 is a laser printer 1
This is an interface for transmitting and receiving a signal for switching the state, mode, font, etc. of 00 to and from the operation panel 120. The operation panel 120 includes a display unit that indicates the state of the laser printer 100 and the laser printer 1.
This is a switch unit for switching the mode of 00, fonts and the like.

The CPU 115 includes a program ROM 112
The data (print data, control data) input from the host device 200 is processed according to the program stored in the. The RAM 116 and the RAM 119 are the CPU 11
Reference numeral 5 denotes a work memory used for performing the above processing, a buffer for managing and temporarily storing data input from the host device 300 in page units, and a video data obtained by converting the stored data into an actual print pattern. It is used as a bitmap memory for storing.

The NV-RAM 117 stores the laser printer 1
Non-volatile RA that stores data even when the power of 00 is turned off
M.

The engine I / F 118 is connected to the controller 1
An interface for transmitting control signals and video data from the printer engine 10 to the printer engine 130. The engine I / F 118 is a printer engine 130
Is an interface for receiving the status signal of the printer engine 130 sent from the printer.

The printer engine 130 creates an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor based on the video signal and the control signal input by the controller 110, and reduces and increases the capital.
The image is transferred and fixed onto a transfer sheet fed from a sheet feeding unit to form an image.

Next, the operation of the laser printer 100 for printing the print data input from the host device 200 on transfer paper will be described with reference to FIG.

The data input via the host I / F 111 is divided by the CPU 115 into print data, print control data (SP, CR, LF, HT, VT, etc.), and other data. The print data and print control data are converted into control codes and stored in a buffer (R
AM 116).

When the print command from the host device 200 or the data received from the host device 200 exceeds one page, the controller 110 converts the intermediate code into video data, and after the conversion, converts it into the engine I / F 118.
, A print start command is issued to the printer engine. Thus, the print data is printed on the transfer paper.

FIG. 2 shows an OS, a printer driver, and a printer that send drawing information from an application to a printer driver in the form of a GDI based on printer capability information obtained from the driver and perform print processing. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional print system.

As shown in FIG.
When the user receives a print execution instruction from the user, the API
OS using (application program interface)
The information to be drawn is transmitted to 21.

The OS 21 receives a message from the printer driver 23
A declaration regarding the drawing capability of the printer 25 is obtained. That is, according to this prior art, the printer driver 23
Has a declaration regarding the drawing capability of the printer 25. Therefore, the host computer is connected to a plurality of printers 25.
If the printer driver 23 is not prepared for the number of printers 25 to be used,
Cannot demonstrate their abilities.

The OS 21 selects the GDI 22 to be used according to the contents of the declaration, and transmits the GDI 22 to the printer driver 23. The printer driver 23 converts the sent GDI command into a page description language 24 that can be understood by the printer. The printer driver 23 transmits the page description language 24 to the printer 25. Printer 25
Performs print processing based on the transmitted page description language 24.

As described above, the conventional printer system shown in FIG. 2 requires the printer driver 23 for each of the plurality of printers 25. Therefore, much time and effort are required to develop the printer driver 23. Also, a small number of printer drivers 23
When performing this process, each printer 25 cannot exhibit its maximum capability.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows that the drawing information from the application according to the embodiment of the present invention is based on the GD based on the capability information of the printer obtained from the driver.
O to send to printer driver in I form and print
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a first print system including an S, a printer driver, and a printer. Hereinafter, the first printing system will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The difference between the first print system shown in FIG. 3 and the conventional print system shown in FIG. 2 is that the first print system includes an acquisition unit 38 in the printer driver 33 and a printer 35 in the printer 35. Non-volatile memory 37
It is a point which has.

The nonvolatile memory 37 in the printer 35
Information on the printing performance of the printer 35 is stored. The information on the printing performance is, for example, a command that the printer 35 is good at (when drawing a certain figure, the command A is faster than the command B), or a command that the printer 35 is not good at. Etc.

The acquisition unit 38 in the printer driver 33
From the non-volatile memory 37, information on the printing performance of the printer 35 is obtained. Thus, the printer driver 33 can grasp detailed information on the processing capacity of the printer 35.

When the user 36 issues a print start command to the application 30, the application 30
The information to be drawn is transmitted to the OS 31 using the PI.

Here, the printer driver 33 uses the acquisition unit 38 to acquire information on the printing performance of the printer 35 from the nonvolatile memory 37 of the printer 35 designated by the user. Printer driver 33
Transmits a declaration regarding the drawing capability of the printer 35 to the OS 31 based on the information regarding the printing performance of the printer 35.

The user 36 designates a function to be used at the time of printing based on the declaration about the drawing capability of the printer 35 presented to the printer driver 33. That is, the user 36 sets items that can be set at the time of printing by the printer 35.

The above-mentioned declaration is, for example, information on a command that the printer 35 is good at. Therefore, based on this information, the user can select a command that allows the printer 35 to print efficiently.

Further, the printer driver 33 may allow the user to limit available commands and to select them. According to this, the user can more easily select a command that can be efficiently printed by the printer 35.

The OS 31 creates the GDI 32 based on the declaration regarding the drawing capability of the printer 35 and the command specified by the user, and transmits the GDI 32 to the printer driver 33.

Here, the GDI 32 is defined as a page description language 3
4, when there are a plurality of replacement command candidates for the GDI command, the printer driver 33
Which command to select is determined based on the information on the printing performance of the printer 35. As a result, it is possible to transmit an optimal command to the printer 35.
That is, using a command that the printer 35 is good at,
By creating a page description language so as not to use a command that the user is not good at, the printer driver 33 can create an optimal page description language for the printer 35.

The page description language 34 optimized for the printer 35 is transmitted to the printer 35. The printer 35
Print processing is performed based on the page description language 34.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, without preparing a printer driver 33 optimized for each printer 35, the printer driver 33 uses a page description language optimized for the printer 35. Can be created.

Thus, for example, when there are a plurality of printers having the same page description language, by preparing one printer driver,
Optimal operation can be performed. Further, when a new printer is connected, it is not necessary to prepare a printer driver optimized for this printer.

That is, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to eliminate a model-dependent portion from the printer driver. Therefore, even if a printer function is added, a new printer driver is required. Has to be redesigned.

Further, according to the first embodiment,
By investigating the performance of the printer and rewriting the printer information stored in the non-volatile memory,
More optimal operation can be performed.

(Second Embodiment) A second printing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between the second print system and the first print system is that functional information is added to the nonvolatile memory 37.

The information on the functional aspect is information on the functions of the printer 35, such as information on whether or not the printer 35 has a staple function or whether or not the printer 35 can perform double-sided printing. It is.

Then, the printer driver 33 presents only the functions available at the time of printing to the user 36. The user 36 selects a function to be used for printing from the available functions.

According to the second embodiment, even if the print system does not have the printer driver 33 for each printer 35, it can present the functions of the usable printer 35 to the user 36. Will be possible.

(Third Embodiment) A third printing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between the third print system and the second print system resides in that information relating to compatibility of functions is added to the nonvolatile memory 37.

The information on the compatibility of the functional aspects is information such that the performance of the printer 35 is reduced when a plurality of functions are combined. For example, such information is that when a large image is handled collectively during double-sided printing, the operation becomes slow.

When a function to be used at the time of printing is selected, the printer driver 33 provides the user 36 with a function that is incompatible with the selected function (the performance of the printer 35 is reduced). Notify to

As a result, the user can select a function according to the characteristics of the printer 35. That is, the operation performance of the printer 35 is improved.

In addition, in addition to the notification to the user 36, when the predetermined function is selected, the user 36 may not be able to select a function incompatible with this function. According to this, the user 36 cannot select a combination of incompatible functions. That is, the operation performance of the printer 35 is improved.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth printing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between the fourth print system and the third print system is that an external storage device (such as an HDD) 49 is added.

The fourth print system performs the same operation as the first print system, the second print system, or the third print system when there is a printer 45 connected for the first time.

However, the information obtained from the non-volatile memory 47 is stored in an external storage device (such as an HDD) 49.

When the printer 45 is used for the second time or later, the obtaining unit 48 of the printer driver 43
Instead of acquiring information from the non-volatile memory 47, the operation is performed based on information stored in an external storage device (such as an HDD) 49.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment,
In the second and subsequent uses, it is not necessary to acquire information from the nonvolatile memory 47. Then, by acquiring this information from the external storage device (HDD or the like) 49, the time required for acquiring this information can be significantly reduced. As a result, the print system can perform higher-speed processing.

[0067]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, information on the performance of the image forming apparatus is acquired from the image forming apparatus, and G is obtained based on this information.
Since a DI and a page description language can be created, it is not necessary to prepare a driver for each image forming apparatus. In particular, an image forming apparatus having the same page description language can be handled by one driver.

Further, since it is not necessary to include a part which depends on the image forming apparatus in the driver, even when a new function is added to the image forming apparatus, only the information on the performance in the image forming apparatus is stored. You only have to change it. Further, if only the information on the performance is changed, the image forming apparatus can perform more optimal operations.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to create a driver for each image forming apparatus, and a driver optimized for each image forming apparatus is created to obtain the highest performance. And reducing the labor and time required for the development of this driver.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the system according to the first aspect, the information relating to the performance is the performance relating to the image formation of the image forming apparatus. Image formation can be performed.

The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In the above system, the information on the performance is the information on the function of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, even if the image forming apparatus has a different function, it is not necessary to recreate the driver. Further, even when a new function is added, it is not necessary to recreate the driver.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the information on the performance is:
Since the information is related to a combination of functions of the image forming apparatus, the user does not need to adopt a combination of functions whose performance is degraded. Therefore, the operation performance of the image forming apparatus is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the system of the fourth aspect, after the user selects a function to be used in the image forming apparatus, the host computer determines the image forming capability of the image forming apparatus by combining the function with the function. By preventing the user from selecting a function that lowers the performance, the user does not need to adopt a combination of functions that degrades the performance. Therefore, the operation performance of the image forming apparatus is improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the host computer further includes an acquisition information storage unit for storing information on the performance acquired by the information acquisition unit. When performing image formation in an image forming apparatus that has performed image formation, information is used from the image forming apparatus by using information relating to performance stored in the acquired information storage unit without using the information acquisition unit. The speed of the system is increased because it does not need to be acquired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation of transmitting a page description language to a laser printer by a host computer in the related art.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a first operation in which a host computer transmits a page description language to a laser printer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second operation in which the host computer transmits a page description language to the laser printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20, 30, 40 Application 21, 31, 41 OS 22, 32, 42 GDI 23, 33, 43 Printer Driver 24, 34, 44 Page Description Language 25, 35, 45 Printer 26, 36, 46 User 37, 47 Non-volatile Memory 38, 48 Acquisition unit 49 External storage device (HDD, etc.)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system having an image forming apparatus and a host computer, wherein the image forming apparatus has a performance storage unit for storing information relating to performance, and the host computer comprises: An information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the performance of the image forming apparatus from a performance storage unit; and an operating system (OS) based on the performance of the image forming apparatus acquired by the information acquisition unit. And a GDI (graphics device i) corresponding to the declaration of the drawing capability transmitted from the OS based on the information on the performance of the image forming apparatus acquired by the information acquiring unit.
nterface) into a page description language conversion means. 2. The information related to the performance is performance related to image formation of the image forming apparatus, and the drawing capability declaration unit declares based on the performance related to image formation of the image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the language conversion unit creates a page description language optimal for the image forming apparatus based on information related to image formation of the image forming apparatus. 3. The information on the performance is information on a function of the image forming apparatus, and the host computer selects a function to be used in the image forming apparatus for a user based on information on a function of the image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein 4. The information relating to the performance is information relating to a combination of functions of the image forming apparatus, and the host computer lowers the image forming ability of the image forming apparatus among the combinations of functions of the image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein a combination to be performed is notified to a user. 5. The host computer provides a user with:
After selecting a function to be used in the image forming apparatus,
5. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein a function of lowering the image forming ability of the image forming apparatus is prevented from being selected by a user in combination with the function. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the host computer further includes an acquisition information storage unit configured to store information regarding the performance acquired by the information acquisition unit. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information on the performance stored in the obtained information storage unit is used without using the information acquisition unit.