JP2699386B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention has a form overlay function capable of printing by overlaying a prepared form overlay pattern such as a ruled line on print information output from a computer or the like. To an image recording apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art When printing a form based on print data output from a computer using an image recording device such as a printer, the data is printed on a sheet on which a predetermined form is printed in advance. There are a method and a method of printing such a form simultaneously with print data.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The former method has problems that it is necessary to prepare paper on which a form is printed, and that accurate alignment between print data and the form is required. In the latter method, there is no problem when the print area of the print data coincides with a pattern (form overlay pattern) prepared in advance to overlap the print data, but when the print area is smaller, There is a problem that an extra frame or the like is printed.

FIG. 13 to FIG. 19 are for explaining problems in the latter method.

First, FIG. 13 shows a predetermined form overlay pattern prepared on the printer side as an example of the image recording apparatus. Form overlay pattern 12 created by combining ruled lines is formed in print area 11. This form overlay pattern 12
When superimposed on print data 13 as shown in FIG.
Printing as shown in the figure is performed.

However, when the area occupied by the print data 13 is smaller than the print area 11 as shown in FIG. 16, when the form overlay pattern 12 is superimposed on this, an unnecessary pattern portion 15 is formed as shown in FIG. Will happen. Such a pattern portion 15 should not be printed, but ideally should be printed as shown in FIG.

Of course, the printing as shown in Fig. 18 is the corresponding form overlay pattern as shown in Fig. 19.
It can be realized by preparing 16. However, preparing each of such partially erased patterns for each of the various form overlay patterns leads to a large increase in the number of patterns, and causes a problem that a large-capacity memory is required.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of creating a partially erased pattern from one type of form overlay pattern.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In the present invention, as shown in principle in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus is provided with the following means (i) to (v).

(I) Form overlay pattern storage means 21 for storing a predetermined form generation pattern such as a ruled line. This pattern for generating a form does not need to correspond to the above-mentioned partial pattern in principle, and is prepared one by one for each form.

(Ii) Form overlay specifying means 22 for specifying the type of form overlay for printing.

(Iii) A pattern reading means 23 for reading a form overlay pattern corresponding to the form overlay specified by the form overlay specifying means 22 from the form overlay pattern storage means 21.

(Iv) Control information setting means 24 for setting control information for determining the number of print lines for print information to be superimposed on the form overlay designated by the form overlay designation means 22.

(V) Pattern reading means for the number of print lines determined by the control information set by the control information setting means 24
Pattern generating means 25 for generating the form overlay pattern read out in 23.

(Vi) Printing means (not shown) for printing the form overlay pattern generated by the pattern generating means 25 so as to overlap the print information.

The pattern generating unit 25 inputs information indicating whether or not to perform shading on a specific item when one line is divided into a plurality of items in units of print lines, and inputs the information of the designated print line. A form overlay pattern in which the above-described specific item is shaded may be generated.

As described above, according to the present invention, the pattern generation unit 25 generates the form overlay pattern read by the pattern reading unit 23 for the number of print lines determined by the control information set by the control information setting unit 24,
The inconvenience of printing the form overlay pattern up to the line where no print information exists is eliminated.

"Example" Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

FIG. 2 shows a main part of a printer as an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printer of this embodiment includes a CPU (central processing unit) 31. CPU
31 is connected to the following units via a bus 32 such as a data bus.

(A) RAM 33: a random access memory for temporarily storing various data and programs.

(B) Image generator 34: This is a device for inputting code information and control information on characters and form overlay patterns and generating a video signal for printing.

(C) Communication control device 35: A portion connected to a host computer or an information source (not shown) through a line 36, and receiving print data and data designating a print form from these.

(D) Operation panel section 37: A section for instructing the operation of the printer, and includes various key switches, a liquid crystal display, and the like.

(E) Magnetic disk device 38: This is a device that stores various programs for controlling the printer, a form overlay pattern, and various patterns for printing. When the power of the printer is turned on, necessary data is written into the RAM 33.

(F) Printing section 39: A section for printing print data and a form overlay pattern on recording paper (not shown). The printing unit 39 of the present embodiment is configured by a laser printer,
Other printers, such as thermal transfer printers, can be used.

Next, the operation of the printer configured as described above will be described.

(Generation of Form Overlay Pattern Data) FIG. 3 shows an example of a form overlay pattern used in the present embodiment. The form overlay pattern 41 is divided into a fixed part 42 and a variable part 43. Here, the fixed part 42 is a fixed part such as a column or an outer frame for entering a title. The variable unit 43 is divided into a plurality of sections as a whole with a minimum unit to be controlled as one section. In this example, it is divided into first to fourth sections.

3 shows specific data constituting each section of the variable section 43 and each component of the fixed section 42. Here, the component refers to a line, a character string, or the like that forms the pattern itself. These data are composed of control information 44, x-direction address 45, y-direction address 46, font information 47, and character code information 48, as specifically shown for the first data in the first section.

Here, the control information 44 has an 8-bit configuration, and
The variable section 43 differs for each section number. Another number having an 8-bit configuration is assigned to the fixed unit 42. That is, in this embodiment, the MSB (most significant bit) of the control information 44-0 of the fixed unit 42 is “1”,
All other bits are "0". In the control information 44-1 of the first section, the LSB (least significant bit) is "1", and all other bits are "0". In the control information 44-2 of the second section, the next least significant bit is "1", and the other bits are all "0". Similarly,
The control information 44-3 of the third section is “00000100”, and the control information 44-4 of the fourth section is “00001000”.
It is.

The x direction address 45 is an address when the horizontal axis shown in FIG. 3 is the x axis, and the y direction address 46 is an address when the vertical axis is the y axis. An x-direction address 45 and a y-direction address 46 are added to each component, and the control information 44 is added to these data.

(Generation of Printing Parameters) By the way, the identification symbol, that is, the ID of the form overlay pattern shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the printing conditions for printing each section are as follows in relation to the number of lines of print information output from a computer or the like.

Printing condition of first section: number of lines ≧ 1 Printing condition of second section: number of lines ≧ 2 Printing condition of third section: number of lines ≧ 3 Printing condition of fourth section: number of lines ≧ 4 The figure shows the data of the condition parameter for controlling the form overlay pattern in such a case. The data are in order of (a) form overlay pattern ID, (b) number of sections, (c) condition for first section (first condition), (d) second condition, and (e) third condition. (F) The fourth condition is described. That is, the ID of the form overlay pattern, the number of sections to be controlled, and the conditional expression corresponding to each section are added to the print parameters.

(Input Processing Program) FIG. 5 shows how the control information of the form overlay pattern is set to predetermined page information for printing according to each printing condition. First, CPU31
Determines the ID of the form overlay pattern and sets this in the page information (step). And RAM3
"1" is set as the numerical value i in the predetermined memory information 3 (step). The set numerical value i is compared with the number of conditions shown in FIG. 4 (step). As a result,
If the numerical value i is not greater than the condition number (N), the i-th
It is checked whether or not the condition (1) is satisfied (step). Now, since i = 1, it is checked whether the first condition is satisfied. That is, if the number of lines of the print information of the page output from the computer or the like is one or more (Y), the flag corresponding to the first section is turned on (step), and the numerical value i is incremented by 1 (step 1). Steps). Then, returning to the step, the same operation is performed. If the print information of this page is only one line, the step condition is not satisfied at the numerical value i = 2 (N). In this case, the flag corresponding to the second section is turned off (step). Thereafter, the numerical value i is incremented by 1 (step).

When the same operation is repeated in this way, the condition of the step is finally not satisfied. In the case of this example, it is the case where the numerical value i becomes “5”. In this case (step; Y), the flag of the fixed unit 42 is turned on (step). Then, the flag data edited in this way is set in the page information (step).

FIG. 6 shows the form overlay pattern ID and control information generated in this manner. “ABC” at the top is the form overlay pattern ID, and “10000011” below it is the control information. The MSB of this control information is the fixed part 42, and the other seven bits are the variable part 43. In the example shown in FIG. 6, only the least significant bit and the next bit of the variable section 43 are "1", and the number of lines of print information output from the computer or the like is two in this case. I understand.

(Output Processing Program) The output processing program loads input data generated by execution of the input processing program and data of the form overlay pattern specified in the page information into a predetermined work area of the RAM 33. Then, control information of the form overlay pattern present in the page information is transmitted to the image generating device 34.

(Image Generating Device) The image generating device 34 generates an image of a necessary partial pattern of the form overlay pattern based on the control information of the form overlay pattern.

FIG. 7 shows control information used in the above embodiment, and corresponds to FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a work flow of an image generating apparatus for controlling generation of an image based on such control information.

First, the CPU 31 sets the number N of all components as the numerical value i in the aforementioned area of the RAM 33 (step in FIG. 8). As long as the resulting numerical value i does not become “0” (Step; N), it is determined whether or not to perform imaging for each component. In order to make this determination, the data at the head of the component is bit-tested with the control information shown in FIG. 7 (step).

Here, the bit test means the logical product of the corresponding bits between the side to be tested and the side to be tested. As a result, if all the bits become “0”, the bit is set to “0”. If it becomes "1", it means a logical operation to make it "1".

 Two examples are given here.

(Example 1) A bit test is performed on “00110011” with “11001100”. In this case, a logical product is obtained for each bit as follows. Here, the symbol ∧ indicates a logical product.

Therefore, all bits are "0", and the result of the logical operation is "0".

(Example 2) A bit test is performed on “00110011” with “01010101”. In this case, a logical product is obtained for each bit as follows.

Therefore, the bit becomes “1” at the two positions, and the result of the logical operation becomes “1”.

The bit test having the contents as shown in the above example is performed, and if the result is not “0” (Step; N), the component is imaged (Step).
On the other hand, if the result of the bit test is “0”, the component is not targeted for printing.

When the above operation is completed, the numerical value i is decremented by one (step). Then, returning to the step, the same operation is repeatedly performed (step to). In this way, when the numerical value i finally becomes “0”, this processing is all ended.

 This processing will be described more specifically in conjunction with FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that the total number of components for printing a certain page is "N". These components are divided into an input data part as data supplied from a computer or the like and a form overlay pattern data part as data superimposed on the input data part. The form overlay pattern data section is further divided into a variable section 43 and a fixed section 42.

By the way, each head data of the input data portion is "10000000". Therefore, the control information "1000001" shown in FIG.
If a bit test is performed with "1", the result will not be "0", so that these are subjected to imaging processing (step in FIG. 8), and the same applies to the fixed part 42 in the form overlay pattern data part.

The imaging process of the variable section 43 differs depending on the contents of these head data. That is, when the head data is “00000001” or “00000010”, the result of the bit test with the control information “10000011” is not both “0”. Therefore, in this example, the partial patterns of the first and second sections corresponding to the first row and the second row are both imaged. On the other hand, when the leading data is “00000100” or “00001000”, the result of the bit test is “0”, and the imaging of the partial pattern after the third section is not performed.

The printing section 39 shown in FIG. 2 prints out the image information processed as described above. In this example, printing similar to that shown in FIG. 18 is performed.

“Modification” FIGS. 10 to 12 are for describing a modification. Here, FIG. 10 shows a form overlay pattern in this example. Halftone dots in this pattern Is the first section. The conditional expression for this example is
"If the value of the fifth item on the fourth line in the input data is negative, the first section is imaged." Here, the item is obtained by dividing each line in a predetermined range, and the fifth item on the fourth line corresponds to a place indicated by a halftone dot in FIG.

As a result of giving such conditions, if the data at the designated location is positive, no shading is performed at that location (first section) at the time of printing as shown in FIG. If the data at the specified location is negative, as shown in FIG. 12, the printing portion of the characters “1” to “19” is not shaded, but the printing portion of the character “20” is shaded only. Will be

As described above, in this modified example, the shading process can be dynamically performed for each section, although the shading has been performed only in the fixed pattern.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a form overlay pattern composed of a pattern such as a ruled line or a net is made to correspond to the number of print lines of print information to be superimposed on a form overlay. Therefore, only the necessary portion of the image can be printed, and the paper can be used efficiently. Further, since it is not necessary to prepare a number of form overlay patterns according to the number of rows, the capacity of a memory for storing the patterns can be saved, and more form overlay patterns can be prepared.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a form overlay pattern in which a specific term in one line is shaded can be generated, so that a necessary portion can be expressed without preparing a dedicated form overlay pattern. The form can be easily set different from the other parts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 9 are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main part of the printer, FIG. 3 is a pattern configuration diagram showing an example of a form overlay pattern, and FIG. 4 is a description showing a data structure of a condition parameter for controlling a form overlay pattern. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing how the control information of the form overlay pattern is set to predetermined page information for printing, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the form overlay pattern.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of control information, FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing control of the imaging generator, and FIG. 9 is a data structure of the entire component. FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 show a modification of the present invention, in which FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a form overlay pattern for performing netting, and FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of printing when not performed, FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of printing when shading is performed, and FIG. 13 is a form prepared for printing as an example of a conventional image recording apparatus. Plan view showing an example of an overlay pattern, FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of print data, FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a state where a form overlay pattern is superimposed on print data, and FIG. region Plan view illustrating an example of a smaller, FIG. 17 is a plan view showing an example in which the form overlay pattern generated to the portion other than the print data, FIG. 18 No. 16
FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a state in which an ideal pattern is added to the print data shown in FIG. 19; FIG. 19 is a plan view of a form overlay pattern conventionally prepared to realize the print state shown in FIG. 18; It is. 21: Form overlay pattern storage means, 22: Form overlay pattern designating means, 23: Pattern reading means, 24: Control information setting means, 25: Pattern generating means, 31: CPU, 33: RAM, 34 image generator 37 operating panel 38 magnetic disk 39 printing unit 41 form overlay pattern 42 fixed unit 43 variable unit 44 control information .

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A form overlay pattern storing means for storing a predetermined form generating pattern such as a ruled line, a form overlay designating means for designating a type of form overlay, and a form overlay designated by the form overlay designating means. Pattern readout means for reading a corresponding form overlay pattern from the form overlay pattern storage means; and control information for determining the number of print lines for print information to be printed by overlapping with the form overlay designated by the form overlay designation means. Control information setting means for setting the number of print lines determined by the control information set by the control information setting means. An image recording apparatus, comprising: a pattern generating means for generating a pattern overlay pattern; and a printing means for printing by overlaying the form overlay pattern generated by the pattern generating means with the print information. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pattern generating means inputs information for instructing whether or not to perform shading on a specific item when one line is divided into a plurality of items in units of printing lines. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a form overlay pattern in which the specific section of the print line is shaded is generated.