JP2003304367A - Recording control apparatus and control method in the apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] When a main control unit of a multi-function facsimile apparatus attempts to locally perform an operation that requires hardware resources such as a scanner and a printer, a hardware operation is performed between the main control unit and an instruction from an information processing terminal. There is a possibility that a trouble may occur due to the competition of the wear resources. A USB interface having a plurality of logical channels, receiving recording data from an external processing device using a first logical channel of the plurality of logical channels, and recording an image based on the recording data. A recording unit 115, a USB interface 114 for connecting to the recording unit, and transmitting and recording the recording data to the recording unit 115 via the USB interface 114, and the USB interface 1 during the recording operation.
13 is prohibited from receiving the recording data from the external processing device 141.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording control apparatus for controlling a recording process in a recording section and a control method in the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a facsimile apparatus connectable to an information processing terminal such as a personal computer, a bidirectional parallel port (IEEE12) such as Centronics, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-288625, is disclosed.
84) or Universal Serial Bus (Universa
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a facsimile device that can be connected to an information processing terminal that is a computer device via a serial bus (USB). In the image processing system including the facsimile device and the information processing terminal connected to each other in this way,
The connection form between the facsimile device and the information processing terminal is such that only a single logical interface is provided on a single physical interface. For this reason, when a complex facsimile apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a printer, a scanner, and facsimile communication is controlled by the information processing terminal, it is not possible to simultaneously operate the plurality of functions of the facsimile apparatus. Since it is possible, the merit of the compound facsimile apparatus has not been fully utilized. Further, in order to force the simultaneous operations, the following work was required.

The information processing terminal adds header information specifying the functions of a printer, a scanner, facsimile communication, etc. to the head of the control command in addition to the original control command,
It was necessary to edit, packetize, and send the packetized data to the composite facsimile apparatus. Therefore, there was a big problem in terms of load of modification work of the driver installed in the information processing terminal, complexity of control, and throughput.

Further, in the compound facsimile apparatus that receives packetized data from the information processing terminal, it is specified whether the data is data for using a printer, data for using a scanner, or data for facsimile communication. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the packetized data, and it is also necessary to delete and edit the header information added to the beginning of the control command, which is significant in terms of control complexity and throughput. There was a problem.

Therefore, in recent years, USB has been adopted as a physical interface between an information processing terminal and a facsimile machine, and
A method has been proposed in which a plurality of logical channels defined by the standard are provided (USB composite device) to easily realize simultaneous operation of functions such as a printer, a scanner, a digital camera, and facsimile communication. In this case, by providing a plurality of logical channels, it is not necessary to add header information indicating the function to the control command, so that simplification of control and improvement of throughput can be expected.

[0006]

However, the physical interface between the information processing terminal and the facsimile machine is not connected to the U interface.
A new problem has also arisen by adopting SB and providing a plurality of logical channels defined by the USB standard. That is,
In a conventional compound facsimile machine having only a single logical interface, an information processing terminal adds header information specifying a function of a printer, a scanner, facsimile communication, etc. to the head of a control command and edits the original control command. Then, the packetized data is transmitted to the compound facsimile apparatus. As a result, the compound facsimile machine analyzes the packetized data in order to identify whether the data received from the information processing terminal is printer-related data, scanner-related data, or facsimile communication-related data. Since the operations have been started, all operations are managed by the main control unit inside the compound facsimile apparatus, and troubles due to competition between operations requiring the same hardware resource did not occur.

However, by using a plurality of logical channels, the control command from the information processing terminal is directly transferred to each operation unit without being analyzed by the main control unit inside the compound facsimile apparatus. In this way, each operation unit of the compound facsimile apparatus can operate independently according to an instruction from the information processing terminal. Therefore, when the main control unit of the compound facsimile apparatus tries to perform an operation that requires hardware resources such as a scanner and a printer locally,
Trouble may occur due to competition of hardware resources with the instruction of the information processing terminal. For example, it is expected that there will be a situation in which the printing process instructed by the information processing terminal and the printer process in the copying operation of the single compound facsimile machine compete with each other.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and when the recording control by the recording unit is performed based on the recording data from the different data source including the external processing device, the data is transmitted from the data source other than the external processing device. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording control device and a control method in the recording control device which prevent the recording data from being conflicted with each other by prohibiting the reception of the recording data from the external processing device during the recording based on the recording data.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the recording control apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, a first interface unit having a plurality of logical channels and receiving recording data from an external processing device using the first logical channel of the plurality of logical channels, and recording for recording an image based on the recording data. Section, second interface means for connecting to the recording section, and first recording control means for transmitting and recording the recording data received by the first interface means to the recording section via the second interface means. And a second recording control for transmitting and recording the recording data to the recording unit through the second interface unit, and prohibiting the recording data from the external processing device by the first interface unit during the recording operation. And means.

In order to achieve the above object, the recording control method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, the print data received through the first interface having a plurality of logical channels and receiving the print data from the external processing device using the first logical channel of the plurality of logical channels is based on the print data. A first recording control step for transmitting and recording to the recording section through a second interface for connecting to a recording section for recording an image, and transmitting and recording recording data to the recording section through the second interface. And a second recording control step of prohibiting reception of recording data from the external processing device by the first interface during the recording operation.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a composite type facsimile apparatus 100 which is an example of a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, in the present embodiment, a case of a composite type facsimile device will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a printer unit is provided, and a printing process using the printer unit is generated by the own device. As long as it is an apparatus or system that is executed based on the recorded data that is recorded, can connect a computer device through an interface, and can perform recording by the recording unit based on the recorded data from the computer device, Included in the invention.

In the figure, a CPU 101 is a ROM 10
This is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire facsimile apparatus 100 according to the control program stored in No. 2. The ROM 102 stores a control program executed by the CPU 101, an embedded operating system (OS) program, and various data. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 102 performs software control such as scheduling and task switch under the control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 102, and also executes various controls described later. ing. The RAM 103 is composed of, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM, and stores variables for program control, setting values registered by an operator, management data of the apparatus 100, and the like, and also for storing various work data during control operation by the CPU 101. A buffer area is provided. The image memory 104 is composed of a DRAM or the like, and stores image data read by the reading unit 107 such as a scanner and image data received via the communication line 131. The data conversion unit 105 analyzes a page description language (PDL) or the like input from the external processing device 141 and develops it into image data, develops character data into image data, and converts image data. . Reading unit 1
A CIS image sensor (contact image sensor) 07 optically reads a document and outputs an image signal converted into electrical image data. Read control unit 106
Receives the image signal, performs various image processing such as binarization processing and halftone processing, and outputs high-definition image data. In this embodiment, the reading control unit 106 corresponds to the reading unit 107 of both the sheet reading control system that performs reading while conveying the document and the book reading control system that scans the document on the document table. is doing.

The operation display unit 108 includes a numerical value input key, a character input key, a one-touch telephone number key, a mode setting key,
An operation unit for allowing the operator to determine the destination data for image transmission and register setting data, various keys, LED (light emitting diode) and LCD (liquid crystal display), including a decision key and a cancel key. And various other input operations by the operator and the facsimile machine 100.
The display unit and the like for displaying the operating status and status status are provided. The communication control unit 109 includes a modem (modulation / demodulation unit), NCU (network control unit), etc., and is connected to an analog communication line (PSTN) 131, and performs communication control by the T30 protocol, calling and receiving calls to the communication line. The line is controlled. However, the control by the communication control unit 109 is not limited to the communication control with the analog line, and it goes without saying that a communication control function with the digital line may be provided. The resolution conversion processing unit 110 is capable of performing conversion control such as resolution conversion of image data from millimeters to inches, and enlarging / reducing image data.

The encoding / decoding processing unit 111 encodes image data (MH, M) handled by the facsimile apparatus 100.
R, MMR, JBIG, JPEG, etc.) and decoding processing,
Enlarge / reduce processing. The recording control unit 112 performs various types of image processing such as smoothing processing, recording density correction processing, and color correction on the image data printed by the recording unit 115 such as a printer through an image processing control unit (not shown), and performs high-level processing. The USB host controller 114 converts the image data into fine image data.
(To be described later). In addition, the USB host controller 114
By also controlling, the operation status data of the recording unit 115 is periodically acquired. The USB function control unit 113 controls communication of the USB interface 116, performs protocol control according to the USB communication standard, converts data from the USB control task executed by the CPU 101 into packets, and transmits the packets to the external processing device 141. Then, the USB packet is transmitted, or conversely, the USB packet from the external processing device 141 is received, converted into data, and transmitted to the CPU 101. The USB host control unit 114 is a control unit for performing communication according to the protocol defined by the USB communication standard.
The USB communication standard in the USB host control unit 114 is a standard that enables high-speed bidirectional data communication, and a plurality of hubs or functions (slaves) should be connected to one host (master). You can The USB host control unit 114 has a host function in USB communication. The recording unit 115 is a printing device such as a laser beam printer or an inkjet printer, and prints an image on a recording medium based on color image data or monochrome image data. The recording unit 115 and the USB host control unit 114 communicate with each other according to the protocol defined by the USB communication standard.
Reference numeral 15 has a function function.

In this embodiment, the USB communication of the recording function uses a one-to-one connection form. The components 101 to 106 and 108 to 114 described above are the CPU 1
01 are connected to each other via a CPU bus 121.

Next, the USB function controller 113
The configuration of the USB interface will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the USB interface of the USB function control unit 113 according to this embodiment.

The device indicated by the largest frame (Devic
Only one e) 201 can be defined in the USB communication standard and indicates the attributes of the entire apparatus 100. The attribute of this device 201 is the device description (Devi
ce Descriptor), and this device description
The device manufacturer ID, product ID, release number, number of configurations, and the like are included. In the present embodiment, this number of configurations is "1".

One configuration (Cofiguration 1 (202)) is defined for this device 201. The attributes of this Cofiguration1 (202) are expressed by a configuration description (Configuration Descriptor), and this configuration description includes the number of interfaces of that configuration. In this embodiment, the number of interfaces is “3”.

This Cofiguration1 (202) has three interfaces (Interface0 to Interface2 (20).
4, 207, 211)) is defined. These three interfaces (Interface0 to Interface2 (204,
207, 211)) is represented by an interface description (Interface Descriptor), and the interface description includes the number of endpoints (Endpoint) of each interface and a class code. In the present embodiment, Interface0 (204) is for the recording unit 115, and the number of endpoints of this Interface0 (204) is “2”. Also, Interface1 (207)
Is for the reading unit 107, and the number of endpoints in this Interface 1 (207) is “3”. Also, Interfac
e2 (211) is used for facsimile transmission and reception.
The number of endpoints of Interface2 (211) is “3”.

Here, the Interf used for the recording unit 115
In ace0 (204), there are two endpoints (Endp
oint1, Endpoint2 (205, 206)) are defined, and these two Endpoint1, Endpoint2 (205, 20)
Each attribute of 6) is an endpoint description (Endpoint Descr
This endpoint description includes the endpoint number, communication direction, transfer type, packet size, etc. And Endpoint1 (2
05) is mainly used for receiving control data and print data transmitted from the external processing device 141 to the recording unit 115, and Endpoint2 (206) mainly indicates the operation status based on the received print data. , Is used for transmission from the recording unit 115 to the external processing device 141.

Interface 1 used for the reading unit 107
In (207), there are three endpoints (Endpoint
3, Endpoint4, Endpoint5 (208, 209, 21
0)) is defined. These Endpoint3, Endpoint4,
Each attribute of Endpoint5 (208, 209, 210) is expressed by an endpoint description, and this endpoint description includes the endpoint number, communication direction, transfer type, packet size, and the like. And Endp
oint3 (208) is used mainly for transmitting read data from the reading unit 107 to the external processing device 141, and Endp
The oint4 (209) is mainly used to receive control data from the external processing device 141. See also Endpoint5
(210) is mainly used for notifying the external processing device 141 from the reading unit 107 that the reading unit 107 has started scanning.

Further, In used for sending and receiving facsimile
terface2 (211) has three endpoints (Endp
oint6, Endpoint7, Endpoint8 (212, 213, 21
4)) It is defined. These Endpoint6, Endpoint7,
Each attribute of Endpoint8 (212, 213, 214) is expressed by an endpoint description, and the endpoint description includes the endpoint number, communication direction, transfer type, packet size, and the like. Where Endpoi
The nt6 (212) is mainly used for receiving control data from the external processing device 141 and receiving facsimile transmission data. The Endpoint 7 (213) is mainly used for transmitting facsimile reception data and communication status of facsimile transmission / reception to the external processing device 141. Further
Endpoint8 (214) is mainly used for notifying the external processing device 141 that the facsimile reception has been completed.

Next, the configuration of the USB interface of the recording unit 115 will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the USB interface of the recording unit 115 in the facsimile apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.

The device indicated by the largest frame (Devic
Only one e) 301 can be defined in the USB communication standard and indicates the attributes of the entire apparatus 100. The attributes of this device 301 are device description (Devi
ce Descriptor), and this device description
The device manufacturer ID, product ID, release number, number of configurations, and the like are included. In this embodiment, the number of configurations is "1". One configuration (Configuration 1 (302)) is defined in the device 301. The attribute of this Configuration1 (302) is
Configuration description (Configuration Descripto
r), and this configuration description
It includes the number of interfaces in the configuration. In this embodiment, the number of interfaces is “1”.

One interface (Interface0 (304)) is defined in this Configuration1 (302), and the attributes of this Interface0 (304) are expressed by an interface description (Interface Descriptor). , The number of endpoints in the interface, class code, etc. are included. In the first embodiment, the number of endpoints in Interface 0 (304) used for printing is “2”. This Configuration1 (302)
In the above, Endpoint 0 (403) is used for controlling the device 100, and serves as a transmission path for the device configuration data. Further, in this facsimile apparatus 100, the CPU 101 is also used for transmitting the operation status of the recording unit 115.

There are two endpoints (Endpoint1, Endpoint2) in Interface0 (304) used for printing.
(305, 306)) Defined and these Endpoint
Each attribute of 1, Endpoint2 (305, 306) is expressed by an endpoint description (Endpoint Descriptor), and this endpoint description includes the endpoint number, communication direction, transfer type, packet size, etc. of the endpoint. Has been. Of these, Endpoint1 (305)
Is mainly used for receiving control data and print data from the CPU 101 or the external processing device 141. The Endpoint2 (306) is mainly used for transmitting the operation status based on the received print data to the CPU 101 or the external processing device 141.

Next, the basic operation of the composite type facsimile apparatus 100 having the above-described structure will be described.

The facsimile device 100 is connected to an external processing device 141 such as a PC via a USB interface 116. In the facsimile machine 100, U is in charge of communication processing with the external processing device 141.
This is the SB function control unit 113, and this USB function control unit 113 has a plurality of interfaces (Interface0 to Interface2 (20) as shown in FIG.
4, 207, 211)) (first interface means). Among these multiple interfaces,
Interface0 (204) used for the recording unit 115 is the first logical channel, and Endpoint1 (205) for receiving control data and print data is for transmitting the first endpoint and operation status (print status). Endpoint2 (20
6) is the fourth endpoint.

On the other hand, the recording unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus 100
15 also includes the CPU 101, the USB host controller 114,
It is controlled via the USB interface (second interface means).

In the facsimile device 100, the recording unit 11
The USB host control unit 114 is responsible for communication with the communication device 5, and the facsimile apparatus 100 has only one interface (Interface 0) as shown in FIG. Interface0, the only interface
(304) is the second logical channel, Endpoint 1 (305) for receiving the control data and print data is the second endpoint, and Endpoint for transmitting the operation status (print status).
2 (306) is the third endpoint.

CPU 10 of this facsimile apparatus 100
Reference numeral 1 denotes the USB host control unit 11 that receives the control data and print data received from the external processing device 141 via Endpoint 1 (205) of the USB function control unit 113.
4 to the recording unit 115 via Endpoint 1 (305). At this time, the data to be transferred is not edited at all.

Similarly, Endp of the USB host control unit 114
The operation status in the recording unit 115 received via oint2 (306) is displayed in the USB function control unit 113.
Transfer to the external processing device 141 via Endpoint2 (206). Also in this case, the data to be transferred is not edited at all.

As a result, since the data is transmitted completely transparently, the external processing unit 141 freely controls the recording unit 115 to perform printing as if it is directly connected to the recording unit 115, and You can know the operation status.

The operation status (print status) is acquired by the external processing device 141 according to the following procedure.

When the external processing device 141 gives an In token to the Endpoint2 (206) of the USB function control unit 113, the CPU 101 issues an In token to the Endpoint2 (306) of the USB host control unit 114. Upon receiving this In token, the recording unit 115 transmits information indicating a predetermined operation status via the Endpoint2 (306) of the USB host control unit 114. The CPU 101 that has received the information passes the Endpoint 2 (206) of the USB function control unit 113 to the recording unit 1
The information indicating the operating status received from the external processing device 1
41 to 41.

With the above configuration, the CPU 101 does not need to analyze the print data, so the processing load is reduced. Further, since the operation of the CPU 101 is not affected even if the recording unit 115 is changed, the printer used in the recording unit 115 can be freely selected. In addition, since the printer driver that is the base can be used as it is also in the external processing device 141, there is an advantage that the trouble and burden of newly developing or mounting the driver can be eliminated.

The recording operation of the composite facsimile apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.
In the first embodiment, the CPU 101 of the facsimile apparatus 100 also uses the Endpoint2 (306) used to acquire the operation status for the external processing apparatus 141.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing in the case of locally recording by copying or report output, recording the received image, etc. in the composite type facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The program that executes this process is stored in the ROM 102.

When the facsimile apparatus 100 locally starts the recording process, first in step S401, U
Information (operation status information) indicating the operation status of the recording unit 115 is acquired via the Endpoint2 (306) of the SB host control unit 114. The operation status thus obtained is stored in the RAM 103.
Stored in. As described above, the acquisition of the information indicating the operation status is performed by the Endpoint2 (30
This is done by issuing an In token to 6). Upon receiving this In token, the recording unit 115 transmits the operation status information at that time to the CPU 101 via Endpoint2 (306).

Next, in step S402, the operation status information acquired and stored in the RAM 103 is searched to determine whether the recording unit 115 is printing. The operation status information includes operation status, busy status, warning status, operator call status, service call status, etc. in the recording unit 115. In the first embodiment, each of these status information is described by an ASCII code of several characters, and these status information are respectively “DJS (operation status)”, “DBS (busy status)”, and “DWS”.
(Warning status) ”,“ DOC (operator call status) ”, and“ DSC (service call status) ”. As described above, the format of the operation status information returned from the recording unit 115 is “command: status code” and all are described in ASCII code, so that the search is easy. Here, the recording unit 1
Since it is determined whether or not 15 is printing, the DJS
By reading a status code that follows (operation status), it is possible to determine whether the recording unit 115 is printing.

In step S402, if the recording unit 115 is printing, the recording is being performed according to the instruction of the external processing device 141, so that the recording ends in error without starting the recording locally.

On the other hand, if printing is not in progress in step S402, the flow advances to step S403 to start local recording processing. Here, first, for the USB function control unit 113, Endpoint 1 (20) used for receiving control data and print data from the external processing device 141 is received.
Set to prohibit reception of 5). The USB function control unit 113 has a plurality of endpoints as shown in FIG. 2, and each endpoint is
Whether to transmit and receive can be set independently. Each endpoint has a corresponding send / receive buffer (not shown). When reception is permitted, the received data is automatically stored in that buffer, but when it is prohibited, The received data is not stored in the buffer, and NAK (negative acknowledgment) is returned to the host (here, the external processing device 141) when the packet transfer ends. By setting the reception prohibition, it is possible to prevent the instruction from the external processing device 141 from being transmitted to the recording unit 115 during the local recording in the facsimile apparatus 100.

Next, in step S404, local recording such as copying, report output, and recording of received image is performed. This local recording is performed by the CPU 101 via the Endpoint 1 (305) of the USB host control unit 114 and the recording unit 1
It is executed by transmitting the control data and the print data to 15.

Then, all the recording data is output to the recording section 115, and when this local recording is completed, step S4
05, Endp of the USB function control unit 113
Cancels the reception inhibition of oint1 (205) and terminates normally.

The above is the flow chart showing the control processing when the composite type facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention performs local recording.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the facsimile apparatus, when the recording (printing) process is being executed by the recording unit 115, the computer device or the like connected via the USB interface is used. Since it is possible to prohibit reception of control data and print data from the external processing device 141, it is possible to prevent contention between local print data and print data from the external processing device in the recording unit 115.

[Second Embodiment] Next, the recording operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In the second embodiment, the USB host control unit 114 used for acquiring the operation status for the external processing device 141
In addition to the Endpoint2 (306), a logical channel for the CPU 101 to acquire the operating status is provided.
In the second embodiment, the state of the recording unit 115 is set to the CPU 10
As a fifth endpoint for notifying
Use Endpoint0 (303).

This Endpoint0 (303) is normally used for bidirectional command transmission, and the CPU 101 (host side) issues a command called a device request to the target (recording unit 115). As a result, the recording unit 115 processes the command and returns the data to the CPU 101 as needed. This device request is an 8-byte command and is roughly divided into those common to all USB devices (standard request: Standard Reques
t), what is determined for each device class (class request: Class Request), and what each vendor may freely decide (vendor request: Vendor Request).

In the second embodiment, the CPU 101 uses this vendor request to send to the recording unit 115 a command requesting information regarding the operating status of the recording unit 115. Accordingly, the recording unit 115 obtains the operation status of the recording unit 115 by returning the information from the recording unit 115 corresponding to this command.

Hereinafter, the processing when the composite facsimile apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention performs local recording such as copying or outputting a report and recording a received image will be described with reference to the flow of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a process in the case of performing local recording by copying or report output, recording a received image, etc. in the composite facsimile apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The program that executes this process is stored in the ROM 102.

To start recording locally, first in step S501, the endpoint of the USB host control unit 114
The operation status information of the recording unit 115 is acquired via 0 (303). This operation status information is acquired by the recording unit 1 as described above.
Endpoint0 of the USB host controller 114 for 15
This is done by issuing a command requesting information in the recording unit 115 using the vendor request via (303). Upon receiving this command, the recording unit 115 displays the operation status information.
It transmits to CPU101 via Endpoint0 (303).

Next, in step S502, the received operation status information is searched to determine whether the recording unit 115 is printing. The operation status information according to the second embodiment is used only between the CPU 101 and the recording unit 115 and is not passed to the external processing device 141. Therefore, as in the first embodiment described above, the operation status information is transmitted via the Endpoint2 (306). Items different from the data transmitted to the external processing device 141 in
Alternatively, a format can be used.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, in this operation status information, the items are limited to only the operation status to facilitate the search, and the format is the same as that described in the first embodiment. , All are ASCII codes and are "command: status code". However, all statuses may be used, or notification may be made in a binary format, as in the case of being passed to the external processing device 141 via this Endpoint2 (306).

The operation status information in the second embodiment is
A status code is added after "DJS:" indicating the operation status, and the CPU 101 reads this status code and determines whether the recording unit 115 is in the recording operation (printing).

If the recording unit 115 is printing in step S502, recording has been performed according to the instruction of the external processing device 141, and therefore local recording is not started and the processing ends in error.

On the other hand, if the recording section 115 is not printing in step S502, local recording is started. Here, in step S503, Endpoint1 used to receive control data and print data from the external processing device 141 to the USB function control unit 113.
It is set so that the reception of (205) is prohibited. This US
The B-function control unit 113 has a plurality of endpoints as shown in FIG. 2, and each endpoint can independently set whether transmission or reception is possible. Each endpoint has a corresponding send / receive buffer (not shown). When reception is permitted, the received data is automatically stored in that buffer, but when it is prohibited, The received data is not stored in the buffer, and NAK (negative response) is returned to the host (CPU 101) at the end of packet transfer. By setting the reception prohibition, it is possible to prevent the instruction from the external processing device 141 from reaching the recording unit 115 during the local recording.

Next, in step S504, local recording such as copying, report output, and recording of received image is performed. This local recording is performed by the CPU 101 via the Endpoint 1 (305) of the USB host control unit 114 and the recording unit 1
It is executed by transmitting the control data and the print data to 15. Then, when the transfer of all the recording data is completed, the process proceeds to step S505, the reception prohibition setting of Endpoint1 (205) of the USB function control unit 113 is canceled, and the process ends normally.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, in the composite type facsimile apparatus 100, the recording unit 1
If the recording (printing) process by 15 is being executed,
Since it is possible to prohibit the reception of control data and recording data from the external processing device 141 such as a computer device connected via the USB interface, the local recording data and the recording data from the external processing device 141 in the recording unit 115 can be prevented. You can prevent conflicts.

(Other Embodiments) As described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the embodiment to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus. This can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of (1) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. may be used. You can

Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer is executed based on the instruction of the program code. This also includes the case where the system) performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code. It also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to realize the exclusive processing of the recording operation in the composite type facsimile apparatus, and the practicability of the printer apparatus of this facsimile apparatus can be greatly improved. .

In implementing exclusive processing, the CPU
Since there is no need to analyze the recording data by the (control unit), there is an advantage that the CPU processing is not burdened and the model of the recording unit can be freely selected because it does not depend on the language specification of the recording data. .

Further, since the above object can be achieved without requiring new hardware, there is an effect that it can be realized at a low cost.

Further, the acquisition of the operation status in the recording unit (printer) uses the structure for the base recording unit to notify the external processing device such as the PC of the condition as it is, so that the recording unit can be modified. It has the advantage of being unnecessary.

Further, since another configuration is set for acquiring the operating condition in the recording unit, the operating condition can be easily analyzed, and the item of the operating condition information to be notified is registered by an external processing device such as a PC. Therefore, there is another merit that it can be applied to a recording unit that dynamically changes.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the recording control is performed by the recording unit based on the recording data from the different data source including the external processing device, the recording from the data source other than the external processing device is performed. When recording based on data,
Prohibiting the reception of the print data from the external processing device has an effect of preventing the print data from competing in the print.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a composite type facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a USB interface of the composite type facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a USB configuration of a recording unit of the composite type facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a local recording operation in the composite facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a local recording operation in the compound type facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP07 AR01 HJ08                       HQ20                 5B021 AA01 AA05 AA19 BB00 CC05                 5C062 AA05 AA14 AB22 AB38 AC41                       AC42 BA04

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A first interface unit having a plurality of logical channels, wherein the first logical channel of the plurality of logical channels is used to receive print data from an external processing device; and an image is generated based on the print data. A recording unit for recording, a second interface unit for connecting to the recording unit, recording data received by the first interface unit to the recording unit via the second interface unit for recording Recording control means and recording data transmitted to the recording section through the second interface means for recording, and prohibiting reception of recording data from the external processing device by the first interface means during the recording operation. 2. A recording control device comprising: 2 recording control means. 2. The second recording control means has an acquisition means for acquiring an operation status in the recording section, and the operation status acquired by the acquisition means indicates that the recording section is not performing a recording operation. 2. The recording control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording data is transmitted to the recording unit through the second interface unit and recorded when the recording data is present. 3. The first interface means is a USB
It corresponds to a communication standard, and the plurality of logical channels are formed by providing a plurality of interfaces of the USB communication standard, and the first logical channel has a plurality of end points and is capable of bidirectional communication. The recording control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording control apparatus is a recording control apparatus. 4. The second interface means is a USB
It corresponds to the communication standard and has one interface of the USB communication standard to form a second logical channel, and the second logical channel has a plurality of end points and is capable of bidirectional communication. Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above.
The recording control device described in 1. 5. The recording data received by the first interface unit is received from the external processing device through a first endpoint of the first logical channel of the first interface unit, and the first recording control unit is The recording control device according to claim 4, wherein the recording data is transmitted to the recording unit through a second endpoint of the second logical channel. 6. A transmission control for receiving data from the recording unit through a third endpoint of the second logical channel and transmitting the data to the external processing device through a fourth endpoint of the first logical channel. 6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising means.
The recording control device described in 1. 7. The recording control device according to claim 6, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the operation status in the recording unit via the third endpoint. 8. The second logical channel further has a fifth endpoint for notifying the operating status of the recording section, and the acquiring means acquires the operating status via the fifth endpoint. The recording control device according to claim 6, wherein the recording control device is a recording control device. 9. The recording data received via a first interface having a plurality of logical channels and receiving recording data from an external processing device using the first logical channel of the plurality of logical channels is recorded. A first recording control step of transmitting and recording to the recording section through a second interface for connecting to a recording section for recording an image based on data; and transmitting recording data to the recording section through the second interface. And a second recording control step of prohibiting reception of recording data from the external processing device by the first interface during the recording operation. 10. The second recording control step includes an acquisition step of acquiring an operation status in the recording section, and the operation status acquired in the acquisition step indicates that the recording section is not performing a recording operation. 10. The recording control method according to claim 9, further comprising transmitting recording data to the recording unit through the second interface and recording the recording data. 11. The first interface corresponds to a USB communication standard, and the plurality of logical channels are formed by providing a plurality of interfaces of the USB communication standard, and the first logical channel has a plurality of endpoints. 11. The recording control method according to claim 9, wherein the recording control method is capable of bidirectional communication. 12. The second interface is compatible with the USB communication standard, and has one interface of the USB communication standard to form a second logical channel, and the second logical channel has a plurality of endpoints. 11. The communication system is bidirectional, and bidirectional communication is possible.
The recording control method described in. 13. The recording data received by the first interface is received from the external processing device through a first endpoint of the first logical channel of the first interface, and in the first recording control step, 13. The recording control method according to claim 12, wherein the recording data is transmitted to the recording unit through a second endpoint of the second logical channel. 14. Data is received from the recording unit through a third endpoint of the second logical channel,
13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising a transmission control step of transmitting the data to the external processing device through a fourth endpoint of the first logical channel.
The recording control method according to item 3. 15. The recording control method according to claim 14, wherein in the acquisition step, the operation status in the recording unit is acquired via the third endpoint. 16. The second logical channel further has a fifth endpoint for notifying the operating status of the recording unit, and the acquiring step acquires the operating status via the fifth endpoint. 15. The recording control method according to claim 14, which is characterized in that. 17. A program for executing the recording control method according to claim 9. Description: 18. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing the recording control method according to claim 9. Description: