SATO CL 408e - Manual (Page 69)

Page 3-9
Section 3. Interface Specifications
SATO CL408e/CL412e Service Manual PN 9001078
Rev. B
X-On/X-Off Flow Control
X-On/X-Off flow control must be used whenever hardware (Ready/Busy) flow control
is not available or desirable. Instead of a voltage going high/low at pin 20, control
characters representing "Printer Ready" (X-On = 11 hexadecimal) or "Printer Busy" (X-
Off = 13 hexadecimal) are transmitted by the printer on pin 2 (Transmit Data) to the
host. In order for this method of flow control to function correctly, the host must be
capable of supporting it. X-On/X-Off operates in a manner similar to the function of
pin 20 (DTR) as previously explained. When the printer is first powered on and goes
on-line, an X-On is sent out. In the Single Job Buffer mode, when the printer receives a
viable job, it transmits an X-Off and begins printing. When it is done printing, it
transmits an X-On. In the Multi Job Buffer mode, the printer sends an X-Off when the
when the "Buffer Near Full" level is reached and a X-On when the data level of the
buffer drops below the "Buffer Available" mark. When the printer is taken off-line
manually, it transmits an X-Off indicating it cannot accept data. When it is placed back
on line manually, it sends an X-On, indicating it is again available for receipt of data. If
an error occurs during printing (paper out, ribbon out), the printer sends nothing in the
Single Job Buffer mode since the last character transmitted was an X-Off. When the
error is cleared and the printer is resumes printing, no X-On is sent until the current job
is completed and the printer is once again ready to receive the next job. If it is in the
Multi-Job Buffer mode, it sends an X-Off as soon as an error condition is detected.
When the error is cleared and the printer is placed back on-line, it transmits as X-On
indicating it is again ready to accept data.
Upon power up if no error conditions are present, the printer will continually send
X-On characters at five millisecond intervals until it receives a transmission from the
host.
Data Streams
The data streams for X-On/X-Off and Ready/Busy flow control are constucted in the
same way as they are for Ready/Busy flow control.
<ESC>A .. Job#1 .. <ESC>Z<ESC>A .. Job#n .. <ESC>Z
Example: <ESC>A .. Job#1 .. <ESC>Z
NOTE: All characters are in ASCII.
3.6 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Interface
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface is a Plug-In Interface Module that can be
installed by the user. It requires a driver (shipped with each printer that has the interface
installed) that must be loaded on your PC and the PC must be configured to support USB
peripherals using Windows 98 or above. Details for loading the USB driver are contained
in the USB Interface Manual that is shipped with each printer with a USB Optional interface
installed. Up to 127 devices may be connected to a USB port.