Printing apparatus with a cash drawer control function, and a control method therefor

• US 20010001130A1
• Filed: 01/11/2001
• Published: 05/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1993
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masayo Miyasaka, Mitsuaki Teradaira, Naohiko Koakutsu, Takaaki Akiyama, Takuya Hyonaga
• Original Assignee: Masayo Miyasaka, Mitsuaki Teradaira, Naohiko Koakutsu, Takaaki Akiyama, Takuya Hyonaga
• Inventors: Teradaira, Mitsuaki, Miyasaka, Masayo, Akiyama, Takaaki, Koakutsu, Naohiko, Hyonaga, Takuya
• Granted Patent: US 6,697,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/121 Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1284 Local printer device
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0005 Accepting output data; Preparing data for the controlling system
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0011 characterised by a particular command or data flow, e.g. Page Description Language, configuration commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0017 Preparing data for the controlling system, e.g. status, memory data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

A printing apparatus comprises a real-time command interpreter that functions even when the printing apparatus is off-line, and interprets control commands simultaneously with receiving data. The printing apparatus can therefore output pulses to the external devices even when printing is in progress or the printer is off-line. Such printing apparatus comprises a command detector for directly detecting predetermined command data from the received command data. An external controller controls an external device in accordance with predetermined command data detected by the command detection.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

a data receiver to receive command data from a host device;

a memory to store the command data received by the data receiver;

a printer controller to read out the command data stored in the memory in a first-in-first-out order and control the printing apparatus in accordance with the command data;

a command detector to directly detect predetermined command data within the command data received by the data receiver;

a status data selector to select one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector; and

a status data transmitter to send to the host device the status data selected by said status data selector in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector.

2. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

3. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the status data transmitter sends to the host device the status data substantially simultaneously to the printer controller controlling the printing apparatus.

4. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the status data transmitter sends to the host device the status data with a higher priority than a priority of the printer controller controlling the printing apparatus.

5. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

,

wherein the predetermined command data comprise plural data units of a predetermined size,

wherein the command detector comprises:

a data counter for counting a number of data units, and

a comparator to compare the data unit received by the data receiver with a command pattern representing the predetermined command data in accordance with the data counter.

6. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein one of the data receiver and the command detector, while the printing apparatus control process controlled by the printer controller is interrupted, one of

(1) receives data from the host device, and

(2) detects predetermined command data from the data received by the data receiver.

7. A printing apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein said status data transmitter combines the status data selected by said status data selector with predetermined code data.

8. A method for controlling a printing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving command data from a host device;

(b) storing the command data received in step (a);

(c) reading out the command data stored in step (b) in a first-in-first-out order and controlling a printing apparatus in accordance with the command data;

(d) directly detecting predetermined command data within the command data received in step (a);

(e) selecting one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d); and

(f) transmitting the status data selected in step (e) in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d).

9. A control method according to

claim 8

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

10. A control method according to

claim 8

, wherein step (f) is executed substantially simultaneously to step (c).

11. A control method according to

claim 8

, wherein step (f) has priority over step (c).

12. A control method according to

claim 8

,

wherein in step (d) the predetermined command data from the host device comprises plural data units of a predetermined size, and

wherein step (d) comprises the steps of:

counting a number of data units; and

comparing the data unit received in step (a) with a command pattern representing the predetermined command data in accordance with the data count value.

13. A control method according to

claim 8

, wherein at least one of step (a) and step (d) executes while step (c) is interrupted.

14. A control method according to

claim 8

, wherein said transmitting step further comprises the step of combining the status data selected in step (e) with predetermined code data.

15. A printing apparatus comprising:

a data receiver to receive command data from a host device;

a memory to store the command data received by the data receiver;

a printer controller to read out the command data stored in the memory in a first-in-first-out order and control the printing apparatus in accordance with the command data;

a command detector to detect predetermined command data within the command data upon reception of the command data by the data receiver;

a status data selector to select one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector; and

a status data transmitter to send to the host device the status data selected by said status data selector in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector.

16. A printing apparatus according to

claim 15

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

17. A printing apparatus according to

claim 15

, wherein the status data transmitter sends to the host device the status data in accordance with the predetermined command data while the printer controller controls the printing apparatus.

18. A method for controlling a printing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving command data from a host device;

(b) storing the command data received in step (a);

(c) reading the command data stored in step (b) in a first-in-first-out order and controlling the printing apparatus according to the command data;

(d) detecting predetermined command data within the command data received in step (a) upon reception of the command data in step (a); and

(e) selecting one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d); and

(f) transmitting the status data selected in step (e) in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d).

19. A control method according to

claim 18

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

20. A printing apparatus comprising:

(a) a data receiver to receive command data from a host device;

(b) a memory to store the command data received by the data receiver;

(c) a command interpreter to interpret predetermined command data within the command data received by the data receiver before storing the command data in the memory;

(d) a status data selector to select one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data interpreted by the command interpreter;

(e) a status data transmitter to send to the host device the status data selected by said status data selector in accordance with the predetermined command data interpreted by the command interpreter; and

(f) a printer controller to read the command data stored in the memory in a first-in-first-out order and control the printing apparatus in accordance with the command data.

21. A printing apparatus according to

claim 20

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

22. A method of controlling a printing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving command data from a host device;

(b) storing the command data received in step (a);

(c) interpreting predetermined command data within the command data received in step (a) before storing the command data in step (b);

(d) selecting one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data interpreted in step (c);

(e) transmitting the status data selected in step (d) in accordance with the predetermined command data interpreted in step (c); and

(f) reading the command data stored in step (b) to control the printing apparatus.

23. A control method according to

claim 22

, wherein each of the plurality of status data includes common code data embedded therein.

24. A printing apparatus comprising:

a data receiver to receive command data from a host device;

a memory to store the command data received by the data receiver;

a printer controller to read out the command data stored in the memory in a first-in-first-out order and control the printing apparatus in accordance with the command data;

a command detector to directly detect predetermined command data within the command data received by the data receiver;

a status data selector to select one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector; and

a status data transmitter to send to the host device a combination of the status data selected by said status data selector and the status data with predetermined code data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected by the command detector.

25. A method for controlling a printing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving command data from a host device;

(b) storing the command data received in step (a);

(c) reading out the command data stored in step (b) in a first-in-first-out order and controlling a printing apparatus in accordance with the command data;

(d) directly detecting predetermined command data within the command data received in step (a);

(e) selecting one of a plurality of status data in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d);

(f) combining the status data selected in step (e) with predetermined code data; and

(g) transmitting, in accordance with the predetermined command data detected in step (d), the status data combined with the predetermined code data in step (f).