JP2005212240A - Printer and printer test method - Google Patents

Abstract

A print controller independent function test of a printer controller is performed.
When test print data is issued from a host device (201), the reference printer stores image data obtained by developing the PDL data by the PDL processing unit 115 in the removable recording device 3 as reference image data ( 202). When the removable recording device 3 is moved from the reference printer to the target printer (203) and test print data is issued from the host device 2 to the target printer (204), the PDL processing unit 115 expands the PDL data in the target printer. The image data is stored as target image data in the removable recording device 3 (205), the target image data and reference image data stored in the removable recording device 3 are read out (206), the comparison analysis is performed, and the result is displayed. It is displayed on the device 12 (207).
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for testing a printer controller mounted on a printer.

  Generally, a printer develops print data expressed in a printer description language (PDL: Printer Description Language) into an image on the paper by the print engine that performs a printing operation on the paper, and prints the developed image on the paper. And a printer controller for controlling the printing operation.

The printer controller testing technology for such printers includes taking the output of the printer controller to the print engine into a general-purpose computer, emulating the operation of the print engine in the general-purpose computer, and outputting the output to the captured printer controller. A technique for generating an image according to the display and displaying it on a display device for evaluation by a tester is known (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-116337

The technique of Patent Document 1 is insufficient in the following points.
First, since the printer controller is evaluated by the visual inspection of the tester, erroneous evaluation due to human error is likely to occur. Further, since the color space is different between the display device using RGB and the printer using CMYK, the print color of the printer cannot be sufficiently evaluated in the display device.

  The output from the printer controller includes control information such as the print start position and margin designation depending on the print engine. In the image data output from the printer controller, the color information corresponds to the print characteristics of the print engine. It has been converted to color information. Therefore, according to the technique of Patent Document 1, a different emulation process is required in a general-purpose computer for each printer with a different print engine, which lacks versatility. In addition, because the printer controller output that depends on the print engine is the target of evaluation, the printer controller of the existing printer and the print of the printer controller being developed for a print engine different from the print engine of the existing printer are used. It is not suitable for applications that verify compatibility of engine-independent parts.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to more appropriately realize a test of a print engine independent portion of a printer controller.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print engine that performs a printing operation on paper, print data expressed in a printer description language received from a host device, and expands the image into an image. A printer controller that controls a printing operation on paper, and the printer controller develops the print data into image data in a print engine independent format independent of the print engine, and the print engine A printer having a print control means for converting image data of an independent format into image data of a format suitable for the print engine and controlling printing of the image data, and outputting to the print engine A recording device connection means for connecting the recording device in a possible manner; And a test control unit is provided, in the test control unit, the image data which the printer description language processing unit is deployed, is obtained so as to record in the connected to the recording apparatus connecting device the recording apparatus.

  According to such a printer, it is possible to collect the print engine-independent image data in the recording device as the operation result of the functional part independent of the print engine of the printer controller. Therefore, by analyzing the image data collected in this recording apparatus, it is possible to perform a test of a functional part that does not depend on the print engine of the printer controller.

  In addition, the recording device is sequentially connected to both the reference printer and the printer under test, and print engine-independent format image data is collected from both printers in the recording device, and the two image data collected in the recording device By comparing the two, it is possible to verify the compatibility of the print controller independent part of the printer controller of both printers without depending on the visual inspection of the tester and without depending on the print engine installed in both printers. it can.

  That is, for example, in such a printer, the test control unit may use the image data developed by the printer description language processing unit to record another image already recorded in the recording device connected to the recording device connection means. The comparison result may be output by comparing with the data.

Alternatively, a separate general-purpose computer can compare two image data collected in the recording device and output the comparison result.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print engine that performs a printing operation on paper, print data expressed in a printer description language received from a host device, and develops the developed image print engine. A printer controller for controlling the printing operation on the paper by the printer, and the printer controller develops the print data into image data in a print engine independent format independent of the print engine, and the print A printer having print control means for converting image data in an engine-independent format into image data in a format compatible with the print engine and controlling printing of the image data, and outputting to the print engine. The image data developed by the printer description language processing unit is Serial is provided with a test control unit for transferring to the host device.

  According to such a printer, image data in a print engine-independent format can be collected in the host device from both the reference printer and the test target printer. Therefore, if the two image data collected in the host device are compared, both printers are equipped with the compatibility of the print engine independent part of the printer controller of both printers without relying on the visual inspection of the tester. The verification can be performed without depending on the print engine.

  Note that each method for testing the functional portion independent of the print engine of the printer controller as described above is a highly versatile method in a sense independent of the print engine.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately realize the test of the print engine independent portion of the printer controller.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the printer according to this embodiment.
As illustrated, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a printer controller 11, a display device 12, and a print engine 13 that performs a printing operation on paper.

  The printer controller 11 includes a host interface 111 that communicates with the host device 2 such as a general-purpose computer using a communication interface such as Centronics and USB, a display control device 112 that controls display on the display device 12, an HDD, and various media. A recording device interface 113 for detachably connecting a removable recording device 3 such as a card, a general control unit 114 for controlling the overall operation of the printer 1, a PDL processing unit 115 for analyzing print data by PDL and developing it into an image, a PDL processing unit 115 generates print execution data in the print engine 13 by converting the image data of the developed image 115 into a format suitable for the print engine 13 and generating various control data of the print engine 13 such as margins and print start position designation. Print control unit 1 6, while the control functions such as control and image output direction of the paper transport path of the print engine 13, and an output control unit 117 outputs the print execution data is the print control unit 116 generates the print engine 13.

In addition, the PDL processing unit 115 includes an editing unit 1151 that analyzes PDL data and edits it according to a control code included in the PDL data, and a drawing unit 1152 that draws an image represented by the PDL data according to the editing result of the editing unit 1151. ing.
In such a configuration, print data transmitted from the host apparatus 2 to the printer 1 as PDL data is received by the host interface 111 and held in a buffer in the host interface 111. The editing unit 1151 obtains PDL data from the host interface 111 via the overall control unit 114, analyzes and edits it, and renders RGB format image data represented by the PDL data in the rendering unit 1152, under the control of the overall control unit 114. Let

  The drawing unit 1152 delivers the drawn image data to the overall control unit 114, and the overall control unit 114 sends the image data received from the drawing unit 1152 to the print control unit 116. At this time, the overall control unit 114 transmits the image data received from the drawing unit 1152, that is, the same data as the image data delivered to the print control unit 116 to the removable recording device 3 via the recording device interface 113. Write as image data or target image data. Whether the image data is written as reference image data or target image data depends on the setting made in advance on the printer 1 by the tester.

  The print control unit 116 that has received the image data of the image developed by the PDL processing unit 115 converts the image data into the CMYK format suitable for the print engine 13, and specifies the margin and print start position of the print engine 13. Various control data is generated, print execution data in the print engine 13 is generated and sent to the output control unit 117, and the output control unit 117 controls functions of the print engine 13 such as a paper conveyance path and an image output direction. While performing, the print execution data generated by the print control unit 116 is output to the print engine 13 to be printed.

The overall control unit 114 also performs the following verification process.
That is, when the target image data is written in the removable recording device 3, the target image data and the reference image data written in the removable recording device 3 are compared and analyzed, and the coincidence / mismatch between the two, Is displayed on the display device 12 via the display control device 112.

Hereinafter, a test operation of the printer controller 11 using such a printer 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 shows the flow of this test operation.
Here, this test has a function independent of the print engine 13 between the printer controller 11 mounted on the reference printer that is the reference printer 1 and the printer controller 11 of the target printer that is the printer 1 to be tested. Check for compatibility. Both the reference printer and the target printer have the configuration shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, in this test, first, the reference printer is connected to the host device 2 and the removable recording device 3 is connected to the reference printer, and the host device 2 performs a printing operation to print test print data. It is issued to the reference printer (201). As a result, printing is performed by the reference printer, and reference image data is stored (202) in the removable recording device 3.

  Next, the target printer is connected to the host device 2, and the removable recording device 3 is detached from the reference printer and connected to the target printer (203). The host device 2 performs a printing operation and is issued to the reference printer first. The same print data for test is issued to the target printer (204). As a result, printing is performed by the target printer and the target image data is stored (205) in the removable recording device 3.

  When the target image data is stored in the removable recording device 3 as described above, the target printer reads out the target image data and the reference image data stored in the removable recording device 3 (206), and compares them. The analysis is performed, and the match / mismatch between the two and the contents of the mismatch are displayed on the display device 12 of the target printer (207).

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the target printer performs comparison analysis between the reference image data and the target image data, and the result is displayed on the display device 12. The result of this comparison analysis is, for example, a removable file as a text file. You may make it record on the recording device 3. FIG. Here, in order to grasp the comparison analysis result of the tester in this case, the tester connects the removable recording device 3 to a general-purpose computer or the like, and displays the comparative analysis result recorded in the removable recording device 3 in the general-purpose computer. What should I do?

  Further, in the above embodiment, the reference image data and the target image data are stored in the removable recording device 3, and the comparison analysis of both image data is performed in the target printer, but this is performed in the host device 2 as shown below. Reference image data and target image data may be stored and compared.

  That is, in the configuration of the printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, an interface that performs bidirectional communication with the host device 2 such as USB, LAN, or the like is adopted as the host interface 111. Then, instead of storing the reference image data and the target image data in the removable recording device 3, the overall control unit 114 transfers the reference image data and the target image data to the host device 2 via the host interface 111. The recording device interface 113 may omit this.

Then, a test application is provided in the host device 2 and the test operation is performed as shown in FIG.
That is, first, a reference printer is connected to the host device 2, and test print data is issued from the test application of the host device 2 to the reference printer (301). The overall control unit 114 of the reference printer transfers the image data obtained by developing the print data by the PDL processing unit 115 to the host device 2 as reference image data via the host interface 111 (302), and the test application of the host device 2 is Stores the transferred reference image data.

  Next, the target printer is connected to the host device 2, and the same test print data as that previously issued to the reference printer from the test application of the host device 2 is issued to the target printer (303). The overall control unit 114 of the target printer transfers the image data obtained by developing the print data by the PDL processing unit 115 to the host apparatus 2 as the target image data via the host interface 111 (304), and the test application of the host apparatus 2 is Stores the transferred target image data.

  Then, if the test application of the host device 2 can store the target image data in this way, the stored target image data and the reference image data are compared and analyzed, and the matching / mismatching or mismatching point between the two is compared. Is displayed on a display provided in the host apparatus 2 (305).

In the above embodiment, the host device 2 may perform only the comparative analysis of both image data while storing the reference image data and the target image data in the removable recording device 3.
That is, a general-purpose removable recording device 3 that can be connected to the host device 2 is used as the removable recording device 3. Then, a test application is provided in the host device 2 and the test operation is performed as shown in FIG.
That is, first, the reference printer is connected to the host device 2, and the removable recording device 3 is connected to the reference printer. The host device 2 performs a printing operation and issues test print data to the reference printer (311). As a result, printing is performed by the reference printer and reference image data is stored (312) in the removable recording device 3.

  Next, the target printer is connected to the host device 2 and the removable recording device 3 is detached from the reference printer and connected to the target printer (313), and the host device 2 performs a printing operation and is issued to the reference printer first. The same print data for test is issued to the target printer (314). As a result, printing is performed by the target printer and the target image data is stored (315) in the removable recording device 3.

  Next, the removable recording device 3 is detached from the target printer and connected to the host device 2 (316). Then, in the test application of the host device 2, the target image data and the reference image data stored in the removable recording device 3 are read (317), compared and analyzed, and the contents of the coincidence / non-coincidence of the both, or the contents of the non-coincidence are determined. Then, it is displayed on the display provided in the host device 2 (318).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the output image data of the PDL processing unit 115 which is a print engine independent format is collected from both the reference printer 1 and the test target printer 1, and the two collected The comparative analysis of the image data can be performed and the result can be presented to the tester. Accordingly, the compatibility of the print engine-independent portion of the printer controller 11 of both printers can be verified without depending on the tester's visual recognition and without depending on the print engine 13 mounted on both printers.

Even in a state where the print engine 13 of the printer 1 to be tested is not completed, the print engine independent portion of the printer controller 11 can be tested without the print engine.
In addition, such a test technique is a highly versatile technique in a sense that does not depend on the print engine 13.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a test operation of the printer controller according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the other example of test operation of the printer controller which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 2 ... Host apparatus, 3 ... Removable recording apparatus, 12 ... Display apparatus, 11 ... Printer controller, 13 ... Print engine, 111 ... Host interface, 112 ... Display control apparatus, 113 ... Recording apparatus interface, 114 ... Whole Control unit 115... PDL processing unit 116... Print control unit 117... Output control unit 1151.

Claims (4)

A print engine that performs a printing operation on paper, and a printer controller that expands print data expressed in a printer description language received from the host device into an image and controls the printing operation of the developed image on the paper by the print engine A printer equipped with
A recording device connecting means for connecting the recording device detachably;
A test control unit,
The printer controller includes a printer description language processing unit that develops the print data into image data in a print engine independent format that does not depend on the print engine, and the image data in the print engine independent format in a format suitable for the print engine. Print control means for outputting to the print engine together with control data for converting to image data and controlling printing of the image data;
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the test control unit records the image data developed by the printer description language processing unit on the recording device connected to the recording device connection means. The printer according to claim 1,
The test control unit compares the image data developed by the printer description language processing unit with other image data already recorded in the recording device connected to the recording device connection means, and outputs a comparison result. A printer characterized by that. A print engine that performs a printing operation on paper, and a printer controller that expands print data expressed in a printer description language received from the host device into an image and controls the printing operation of the developed image on the paper by the print engine A printer equipped with
A test control unit,
The printer controller includes a printer description language processing unit that develops the print data into image data in a print engine independent format that does not depend on the print engine, and the image data in the print engine independent format in a format suitable for the print engine. Print control means for outputting to the print engine together with control data for converting to image data and controlling printing of the image data;
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the test control unit transfers the image data developed by the printer description language processing unit to the host device. A print engine that performs a printing operation on paper, and a printer controller that expands print data expressed in a printer description language received from the host device into an image and controls the printing operation of the developed image on the paper by the print engine In the printer controller, the print data is expanded into image data in a print engine independent format that does not depend on the print engine, and the expanded image data in the print engine independent format is an image in a format suitable for the print engine. A test method for a printer that outputs data to the print engine together with control data for converting to data and controlling printing of the image data,
Supplying test print data to a reference printer, which is a printer used as a reference for the printer under test;
Developing the supplied test print data into the print engine-independent image data by the printer controller in the reference printer;
Storing the print engine independent image data developed by the printer controller of the reference printer;
Supplying the print data for testing to the printer to be tested;
Developing the supplied test print data into the print engine-independent format image data by the printer controller in the printer to be tested;
The print engine independent format image data developed by the printer controller of the printer to be tested is compared with the stored image data of the print engine independent format developed by the printer controller of the reference printer. And a step of outputting a comparison result.

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