US 6,437,869 B1 · Printer apparatus, printer system and control method therefor

Abstract

When a command for the status response is issued from a host computer to a printer, a data-receipt administration portion adds, to the received command, an ID peculiar to each command, and stores the commands and the peculiar ID; and a data-transmission administration portion immediately returns the ID added to the command to the host computer. A printer-language analyzing portion analyzes the received command, while a status-response processing portion produces information that must be responded to the command. The produced response information is, together with the previously-stored ID added to the corresponding command, returned from the data-transmission administration portion to the host computer. The host computer collates the previous-received ID and the ID received together with the response information with each other so that the command and the corresponding response can be made correspond to each other.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A printer apparatus for performing one or more printing control commands for administering one or more printing processes or demanding a status of said printer apparatus, said apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving the one or more printing control commands from a data source;
assigning means for assigning a unique identifier to each one of the one or more printing control commands of each of the one or more printing processes received by said receiving means, wherein, for two or more printing control commands associated with a particular printing process, each unique identifier is different from the unique identifier assigned to each other one of the one or more printing control commands;
identifier returning means for returning, to the data source, the unique identifier assigned by said assigning means to the each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes received by said receiving means;
and
information returning means for returning, to the data source, information relating to each one of the one or more printing processes or information relating to the status of said printer apparatus, the information being returned together with the identifier assigned to the each one of the one or more printing control commands by said assigning means.

2 more elements

A method of controlling a printer apparatus for performing one or more printing processes, each printing process requiring performance of one or more printing control commands associated with administrating each of the one or more printing processes, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving the one or more printing control commands from a data source;
assigning a unique identifier to each one of the one or more printing control commands of each of the one or more printing processes received in said receiving step, wherein, for two or more printing control commands associated with a particular printing process, each unique identifier is different from the unique identifier assigned to each other one of the one or more printing control commands;
returning, to the data source, the unique identifier assigned in said assigning step to the each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes received in said receiving step;
and
returning, to the data source, information relating to each one of the one or more printing control commands, together with the identifier assigned to the each one of the one or more printing control commands and returned to the data source in said step of returning the unique identifier.

2 more elements

A method of controlling a printer system, in which a data source and a printer communicate, the data source sending one or more printing control commands to the printer, each printing process requiring performance of one or more printing control commands associated with administering each of one or more printing processes, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a unique identifier for each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes, wherein, for two or more printing control commands associated with a particular printing process, each unique identifier is different from the unique identifier assigned to each other one of the one or more printing control commands;
and
transmitting the each one of the one or more printing control commands and the corresponding unique identifier;
receiving the each one of the one or more printing control commands transmitted in said transmitting step and the corresponding unique identifier generated in said generating step for each of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes;
returning the corresponding unique identifier to the data source in such a manner to indicate completion of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes;
and
responding to the each one of the one or more printing control commands with the corresponding unique identifier.

4 more elements

A computer-useable memory medium storing a method of controlling a printer apparatus for performing one or more printing processes, each printing process requiring performance of one or more printing control commands associated with administering each of the one or more printing processes, said method stored on said memory medium comprising the steps of:

receiving the one or more printing control commands from a data source;
assigning a unique identifier to each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes received in said receiving step, wherein, for two or more printing control commands associated with a particular printing process, each unique identifier is different from the unique identifier assigned to each other one of the one or more printing control commands;
returning, to the data source, the unique identifier assigned in said assigning step to the each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes received in said receiving step;
and
returning, to the data source, information indicating completion of the printing process, the commands for which having been received in said receiving step, together with the identifier assigned to the each one of the one or more printing control commands and returned to the data source in said step of returning the unique identifier.

2 more elements

A computer-usable memory medium storing a method of controlling a printer system, in which a data source and a printer communicate, the data source sending one or more printing control commands to the printer, each printing process requiring performance of one or more printing control commands associated with administrating each of one or more printing processes, said method stored on said memory medium comprising the steps of:

generating a unique identifier for each one of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes, wherein, for two or more printing control commands associated with a particular printing process, each unique identifier is different from the unique identifier generated for each other one of the one or more printing control commands;
and
transmitting the each one of the one or more printing control commands and the corresponding unique identifier;
receiving the each one of the one or more printing control commands transmitted in said transmitting step and the corresponding unique identifier generated in said generating step for each of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes;
returning the corresponding unique identifier to the data source in such a manner to indicate completion of the one or more printing control commands for each of the one or more printing processes;
and
responding to the each one of the one or more printing control commands with the corresponding unique identifier.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Printer apparatus, printer system and control method therefor

Life of this patent

Printer apparatus, printer system and control method therefor

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21