Print control method, print control device, and storage medium

• US 9,111,198 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2014
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Oyama, Hitoshi, Takamoto, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US14/204,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20140285844A1
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: 358/412, 358/1.15, 358/1.5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1208 resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1209 resulting in adapted or bridged legacy communication protocols, e.g. emulation, protocol extension
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1244 Job translation or job parsing, e.g. page banding
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1275 Print workflow management, e.g. defining or changing a workflow, cross publishing
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1806 Receiving job control commands

Abstract

A print control method executes a process of adding a command to print data output from an application to a communication port in a computer having a communication port and executing a specific process by an application installed on an application layer and operating under an operating system on the OS kernel layer, the method including: the computer acquiring the print data at the OS kernel layer before the print data is received by the communication port; determining on the application layer if each command of the acquired print data is a print instruction command for an object that should be printed at a different print speed than the standard speed; and adding and outputting to the communication port a command that changes the print speed before the print instruction command when the command is determined to be a print instruction command for printing an object at a different speed.

Claims

1. A print control method that executes a process of adding a command to print data output from an application to a communication port in a computer having a communication port and executing a specific process by an application installed on an application layer and operating under an operating system on the operating system kernel layer, whereby the computer executes steps including:

a data acquisition step of acquiring the print data at the OS kernel layer before the print data is received by the communication port;

a data interpreting step of determining on the application layer if each command of the print data acquired in the data acquisition step is a first command instructing printing a print object that should be printed at a different print speed than the standard speed; and

a data processing step of executing on the application layer a command addition process of adding a command changing the print speed before the first command when the command interpreted in the data interpreting step is determined to be a first command, and not adding a command when the command is not a first command, and then outputting the processed print data to the communication port.

2. The print control method described in claim 1, wherein:

the data processing step includes adding a command that returns the print speed to the standard speed after the first command when the command is a first command.

3. The print control method described in claim 1, wherein:

when the print speed can be changed to two or more speeds different from the standard speed, the command added when a first command is detected is a command changing to a print speed appropriate to the print object instructed to be printed by the first command.

4. The print control method described in claim 1, wherein:

the first command is a command instructing printing a code expressing text or numeric information as a graphic pattern.

5. The print control method described in claim 4, wherein:

the code is a linear code or a two-dimensional code.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program causing a computer to execute the steps in the print control method described in claim 1.

7. A print control device that executes a process of adding a command to print data output from an application to a communication port in a computer having a communication port and executing a specific process by an application installed on an application layer and operating under an operating system on the operating system kernel layer, comprising:

a data acquisition unit that acquires the print data at the OS kernel layer before the print data is received by the communication port;

a data interpreting unit that determines on the application layer if each command of the acquired print data is a first command instructing printing a print object that should be printed at a different print speed than the standard speed; and

a data processing unit that executes on the application layer a command addition process of adding a command changing the print speed before the first command when the command interpreted in the data interpreting step is determined to be a first command, and not adding a command when the command is not a first command, and then outputting the processed print data to the communication port.

8. The print control device described in claim 7, wherein:

the data processing unit adds a command that returns the print speed to the standard speed after the first command when the data interpreting unit determines the command is a first command.

9. The print control device described in claim 7, wherein:

when the print speed can be changed to two or more speeds different from the standard speed, the command added when a first command is detected is a command changing to a print speed appropriate to the print object instructed to be printed by the first command.

10. The print control device described in claim 7, wherein:

the first command is a command instructing printing a code expressing text or numeric information as a graphic pattern.

11. The print control device described in claim 10, wherein:

the code is a linear code or a two-dimensional code.