JPH0357059A - Function extending system for data communication terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extend the control function of a data communication terminal equipment without an influence upon the fundamental function by adding, executing or deleting an extended control part which fulfills the extended function at the time of discrimination a prescribed protocol from a host computer. CONSTITUTION:A data communication terminal equipment 12 is provided with a fundamental control part 12 of terminal processing and an extended control part 12b of terminal processing and has a block structure. The extended control part 12b is added, executed, and deleted by the extended control protocol from a host computer device 11. This extended control protocol is provided for data communication in the application level between the host computer device 11 and the extended control part 12a of the data communication terminal equipment 12, and the control function by which data passes through a bus in the case of this protocol is preliminarily incorporated in the fundamental control part 12a. Thus, the extended function is easily added and deleted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a function expansion method of a data communication terminal device for arbitrarily expanding terminal processing functions. [Prior Art] When adding extended functions to conventional data communication terminal equipment, it was necessary to re-create the basic control and change the processing procedure many times. In other words, since the control is a single processing structure as a whole, it lacks flexibility.For example, when expanding a function, it is added by including it in the basic function, so it is not possible to freely expand it later. Not only was this troublesome, but it also had the potential to adversely affect the original basic functions, leading to a decline in quality. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and adds/adds extended functions.
To provide a function expansion method for a data communication terminal device that can be easily deleted and does not affect basic functions.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve this problem, the function expansion method of a data communication terminal device of the present invention is a data communication terminal device used as a terminal device that performs data communication with a host computer. , means for holding an extended control section that performs an extended function, means for identifying a predetermined protocol from the host computer, and a basic control section that functions as a dedicated terminal device when the predetermined protocol is identified. Then, an extension control section is added that performs the extended functions in accordance with the information in the protocol. and a means for executing or deleting. [
Effect] In such a configuration, the data communication terminal device has an extended function that corresponds to instructions from the host computer, so that the extended control unit can be configured as a block structure and any block can be freely loaded. execution. It can be deleted, and it does not affect the control of basic functions even when functions are expanded. [Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data communication terminal device of this embodiment. In FIG. 1, 11 is a host computer device, 12
is a data communication terminal device. There is no limitation on the method of connecting the host computer device 11 and the data communication terminal device l2, and any general method may be used. The data communication terminal device 12 includes a basic control section 12a for terminal processing and an extended control section 12b for terminal processing. Data communication terminal device 12
By having a block structure as shown in Figure 1, the function expansion method of the present invention is realized. In addition, in this embodiment, the expansion control section 12b is added. Execution and deletion are performed using an extended control protocol from the host computer device l1. The interaction between the host computer device 11 and the data communication terminal device 12 is such that the basic control section 12a controls the extended control section 12b using an extended control protocol. Here, the extended control protocol is a protocol for exchanging data at the application level between the host computer device 11 and the extended control section 12a of the data communication terminal device 12. has a built-in control function that allows data to be passed through. In addition, the expansion control unit 1
2b is independent from the basic control section 12a and can be retrofitted. Therefore, the basic control unit 12a functions as a loader and data exchange controller for the extended control unit 12b according to the extended control protocol from the host, and the basic control unit 12a only recognizes that it is an extended control protocol.
There is no need to know the details of the functions of the expansion control section 12b. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data communication terminal device of this embodiment. 21 is an arithmetic unit/controlling CPU; 22 is an R having a basic control program 22a and an extended control program 22b;
AM, 23 is a communication control unit that communicates with the host viewing device 1l, and 24 is a floppy disk. The extended control program 22b is loaded from the external storage section 24, such as a hard disk, only when necessary. 2
5 is an input interface that controls input from the keyboard 26. 27 is the output interface CRT28
and controls the output to the printer 29. Incidentally, since the basic control program 22a is not changed, it may be stored in the ROM.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the data communication terminal device of this embodiment. First, in step S31, initialization necessary for terminal processing is performed. Next, in step S32, it is determined whether there is any data received from the host computer device. If there is no received data, return to step S32 and repeat the process. If it is determined in step S32 that there is received data, the process proceeds to step S33, where it is determined whether the received data is an extended control protocol or not. If it is not the extended control protocol, the process advances to step S34 and the basic control program 22
Perform the original basic control execution processing according to a. If it is determined in step S33 that the protocol is an extended control protocol, the process advances to step S35 to determine the content of extended control. Depending on the determination, the process branches into the following three types. The first is the extended control loading process in step S3B. The second step is the extended control execution process in step S37. The third step is the extended control deletion process in step 338. By performing the above-mentioned 3fii type processing, it is possible to easily add and delete extended controls and eliminate any negative effects on basic functions. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S39, where the result of the extended control is transmitted to the host computer device 11, allowing the application of the host computer device 11 to grasp the situation.

Returning to step S32 again, the process is repeated. The above is the processing procedure of the data communication terminal device 12 in this embodiment. Furthermore, by making it possible to manage multiple expansion control units as shown in Figure 4, a flexible function expansion method with even more freedom can be achieved. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of a data communication terminal device according to another embodiment. 42 is a data communication terminal device of this embodiment, which includes a basic control section 42a, a first expansion control section 42b, a second expansion control section 42c . It has an Nth expansion control section 42n. By controlling the addition and deletion of the expansion control unit as multiple block expansion control units from the 1st to the Nth order, you can expand any blocks in any combination, so you only need to add the necessary functions and eliminate unnecessary functions. There is no need to constantly install the system, and functions can be expanded with a minimum memory size. The processing procedure of this embodiment can be realized by proceeding to the control from steps S35 to 338 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and extending it so that a plurality of blocks from the first to the Nth order can be controlled. [Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a function expansion method for a data communication terminal device in which expansion functions can be easily added or deleted without affecting basic functions. That is, firstly, the control function of the data communication terminal device can be expanded by retrofitting without affecting the basic functions. Second, any expansion control unit can be added with the minimum necessary memory size, making it easy to construct optimal terminal functions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the data communication terminal device of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data communication terminal device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the processing procedure in the data communication terminal device of this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of a data communication terminal device according to another embodiment. In the figure, 11... host computer device, l2...
Data communication terminal equipment. 12a. 42a: basic control unit, 12b: expansion control unit, 42b: first expansion control unit, 42c: second expansion control unit, 42n: Nth expansion control unit ．． Patent applicant Canon Inc.,! 2 out, 1 L-'-” Complex 1 Figure

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A data communication terminal device used as a terminal device for data communication with a host computer, comprising means for holding an expansion control section that performs an expansion function, and identifying a predetermined protocol from the host computer. and when the predetermined protocol is identified, in addition to the basic control unit that functions as a dedicated terminal device, adding, executing or 1. A function expansion method for a data communication terminal device, characterized in that the data communication terminal device has an expansion function corresponding to an instruction from a host computer.