JP2002046306A - Method for registering and developing printing data and recording device for printing data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a registration method and a developing method for printing data, capable of developing registered printing data to printing buffers of each color at a high speed and executing a logical process of registered dot pattern data according to a predetermined condition so as to develop the same to printing buffers in a recording medium capable of printing in a plurality of colors. SOLUTION: Printing data comprising a plurality of colors are separated to dot pattern data of each color and registered. In the case a printing command is received, the registered dot pattern data are developed as they are in the printing buffer of each color. Moreover, according to a designated parameter, the registered dot pattern data with a logical mask applied are developed in each printing buffer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print data recording apparatus capable of printing characters, symbols, figures, backgrounds, pictures, photographs, and the like in a plurality of colors, special patterns, or a combination thereof, and a print data recording apparatus. Registration and deployment method.

[0002] In this specification, "printing" includes printing of characters, shadowed characters, special symbols such as logos, pictures or photographs. The character logo or the like printed in this manner is referred to as “print data”.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, printers capable of printing pictures, photographs and the like in color have become widespread and are used in various situations. With the spread of these color printers, characters, symbols, and the like are often printed in color. On the other hand, recording devices that are relatively limited in use and require high-speed, high-precision printing, such as automatic teller machines (ATMs) and terminal devices for point-of-sale (POS) systems (hereinafter referred to as POS) With respect to printers used in kiosk terminals, etc., the demand for multi-color printing and recording devices such as full-color printers is at present from the viewpoint of printing speed performance and price-performance ratio (cost performance). Not very expensive.

However, if it is possible to print a plurality of colors without lowering the printing speed performance and the price performance ratio, it is considered that the demand for a multicolor printing apparatus will increase. For example, P
In a printer for receipts and slips used in OS terminal devices, if two- or three-color printing is possible without reducing cost performance, in order to improve the visibility and identification of characters or symbols, The application scene spreads greatly. In a more specific example, the characters in the total amount column in the receipt are simply printed in a color different from other characters, so that the visibility is greatly improved. When the background portion of the total amount is set to another color, the visibility can be further improved.

[0005] To execute full-color printing, great restrictions are imposed on the printing speed, cost, and the like. Furthermore, if printing in two colors becomes possible, a very large number of printing expressions can be made possible by the background color, the color of characters, the combination of colors and fill patterns, and the like.

For example, event information is printed on a receipt with a color shaded background of a color different from the total amount. Print the color logo. In addition, a specific service is provided by inverting the color of the color logo only during a specific time period and collecting the inverted receipts. In addition, the kiosk terminal can also print for the purpose of preventing forgery by creating a ticket with a special background, printing the characters of the amount with a solid color diagonal pattern when printing a receipt, etc. Various applications are conceivable.

[0007]

When two-color printing as described above is performed, special character pattern data, its background information and color information are stored, and the information is read out at the time of printing to perform special printing. It is also possible to adopt a printing form of.

However, when characters and symbols are printed in two colors, the background of the special character is generated each time based on the special information. Is complicated, and the printing process of special characters takes time.

When character information is printed by a printer capable of printing two or more colors, it is desirable to effectively utilize the printable colors in various aspects according to the use of the printer to be used. For example, in a printer such as a POS printer, a logo is often printed on a receipt. Since such a logo has a special form, a mechanical stamp called “electro” is often used. By printing the logo with a printer, clearer multicolor printing can be performed. In printing a logo, it is possible to register modification information such as a dot pattern of the logo and its color information in a predetermined storage means in advance, and to print these special characters and the like by a special printing command. For example, when printing a logo made of a special color, the form of the logo is registered and the color information of the logo is registered. Then, when a logo printing command is received, the logo is developed into a dot pattern to be actually printed based on the registered logo form and color.

However, since the logo is printed for each receipt, it is required that the logo be printed at a high speed. If the dot pattern and the modification information are recorded separately, it takes a lot of time to develop the dot pattern data for printing. In particular, if the background and characters have a special pattern, or only the background has a special color or shaded special printing, the development process takes a lot of time, so higher speed processing is required. Possible registration and deployment methods are required.

[0011] In addition, as described above, if printing can be performed by masking the normal printing characters, such as making the background portion of the information that is particularly conspicuous, such as the total amount, a special color, etc., the variety of printing forms will increase. improves.

Further, by registering special characters that do not exist as ordinary characters as user-defined characters, it is possible to further increase the types of printing. As a result, the expression form of printing becomes more diversified, and it becomes possible to add various added values.

[0013] Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a method of registering print data and a method of developing the print data in which user-defined characters can be registered in two or more colors.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a print data developing method capable of performing logical synthesis processing on predetermined print data in accordance with designated parameters and printing the print data.

[0015] A third object of the present invention is to provide a new registration and development method relating to registration and development processing of logos of two or more colors.

[0016]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted studies to achieve the above-mentioned objects, and as a result, have been able to register print data by dividing the print data into printable color elements of the printer. Achieved. That is, for example, in the case of a user-defined character composed of two colors, the user-defined character is divided into a dot pattern data of a part composed of a first color and a dot pattern data of a part composed of a second color. Separately register each one separately. In this case, it is also possible to register as dot pattern data including the background for each color. With this configuration, the dot pattern data for each color can be directly developed in the print buffer of the corresponding color, and high-speed and simple processing can be performed. Further, by replacing the registered dot pattern data for each color and developing it in the print buffer, the color of the registered character can be easily changed. Further, by masking the registered dot pattern and expanding the data in the print buffer, it is possible to change the registered characters including the background more variously.

A first aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data of the present invention is a step of registering print data composed of a plurality of components in dot pattern data for each component in different registered data storage means. Receiving a print command of the registered print data, reading dot pattern data for each component constituting the print data from the registered data storage means, and developing the dot pattern data in a print buffer. For example, by dividing print data to be registered into dot pattern data for each printable color and registering it as dot pattern data for each color, the dot pattern data can be expanded to the print buffer when the print command is received. Becomes faster, and it is extremely easy to invert colors and develop.

According to a second aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data of the present invention, the step of registering dot pattern data for each component includes a print data registration command and a dot pattern for each component of print data to be registered. The method is characterized by comprising a step of receiving data and a step of registering dot pattern data for each of the plurality of components received in accordance with the received registration command in each registered data storage unit. This enables registration of print data in accordance with a command from the host device.

In a third aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data according to the present invention, the step of registering dot pattern data of a component is performed by logically processing a part or all of the received component data to form a new dot. The method further includes a step of creating pattern data and a step of registering the created dot pattern data in a registered data storage unit. For example, when registering a character, only the character data is transmitted, and the background data pattern can be created by inverting the character data. This eliminates the need to transmit both the character data and its background data, and can significantly reduce the communication load.

According to a fourth aspect of the method of registering and developing print data of the present invention, the step of creating new dot pattern data is performed by logically converting a part or all of the received dot pattern data of the component and the mask pattern. The method further comprises a step of creating new dot pattern data by combining. For example, it is possible to perform composition such as adding a diagonal line to the background, and it is possible to diversify registered dot patterns.
It should be noted that the mask pattern can be a dot pattern registered by the method of the present invention, other than the one built in the printer in advance.

In a fifth aspect of the method of registering and developing print data according to the present invention, the step of developing the component data into a print buffer comprises developing the component data into a print buffer provided independently for each color. A step of performing By associating the registered data with each color assigned to each print buffer, the development process at the time of printing becomes easy. In addition, it is very easy to reverse the color of the print.

According to a sixth aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data of the present invention, the step of expanding the component data in the print buffer comprises logically synthesizing a part or all of the registered dot pattern data. The method further includes a step of creating new dot pattern data and a step of developing the combined dot pattern data in a print buffer. This makes it possible to further process the registration data, and it is possible to further improve the variety of printing.

In a seventh aspect of the method of registering and developing print data of the present invention, the step of synthesizing new dot pattern data further includes a step of logically synthesizing the registered dot pattern data and mask pattern data. It is characterized by. This also improves the variety of printing by using the mask putter together.

An eighth aspect of the method of registering and developing print data according to the present invention is characterized in that the plurality of registered dot pattern data comprises dot pattern data for each color obtained by separating print data for each color. I do. By registering as dot pattern data for each color from the stage of registering the print data, the data processing speed at the time of printing can be improved in each stage.

According to a ninth aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data of the present invention, the registered dot pattern data
It is characterized by comprising two pieces of dot pattern data consisting of one color component and dot pattern data consisting of a second color component. For example, in the case of a POS terminal device and the like, if two-color printing is possible, the usefulness is improved in each stage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the processing and the structure are simplified by limiting to two colors.

A tenth aspect of the method for registering and expanding print data according to the present invention is characterized in that the registered print data is a logo. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the structure of this invention, it becomes possible to perform logo printing at high speed and to make the color conversion easy, and its usefulness is extremely high.

An eleventh aspect of the method of registering and expanding print data according to the present invention comprises a step of logically processing a part or all of dot pattern data for each color constituting a print character when print data is received; And developing the dot pattern data for each color that has been logically synthesized into a print buffer for each color. This makes it possible to perform logical processing such as inversion processing on print data that has not been registered, thereby enabling decorative printing similar to user-defined characters.

According to a twelfth aspect of the method of registering and developing print data of the present invention, the step of logically processing the dot pattern data further comprises a step of synthesizing the dot pattern data and the mask pattern for each color. Features. According to this aspect, even mask pattern processing can be performed, and more special decorative printing can be performed.

A thirteenth aspect of the method for registering and developing print data according to the present invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium in which a program having the above-described steps for registering and processing print data is described. Recent recording apparatuses can be controlled by a combination of predetermined electronic components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM and a printing mechanism. Therefore, by programming and recording these steps, it is easy to change the control process, add new functions, and the like.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first registration memory for storing first dot pattern data composed of a first color of print data, and a second registration memory configured of a second color of print data. The second registration memory for storing the second dot pattern data, and the dot pattern data of the first registration memory and the second registration memory which can be independently developed.
One print buffer, a printing mechanism for printing dot pattern data developed in the print buffer in different colors, and a first memory and a second memory in the print buffer in accordance with a print command. And a control unit for controlling printing by a printing mechanism. The registration memory for registering the dot pattern data for each color has various effects such as improvement of the printing speed of the registered printing data and extremely easy reversal of the printing color.

The recording apparatus according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention further comprises a synthesizing means capable of logically synthesizing the dot pattern data and a predetermined mask pattern contained therein, and the control means controls the synthesizing means. A new dot pattern data is created by combining the registered dot pattern data and the mask pattern, and the new dot pattern data is controlled so as to be developed in a print buffer. According to this aspect, it is possible to further diversify the manner of decoration of the printed characters.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention relates to ATM, PO
The present invention can be applied to various types of recording devices (printers) including S, KIOSK terminals, and the like. These printers receive commands from the host device and transmit and receive data to execute predetermined printing. In the following, PO
The present invention will be described using a printer for the S system.

FIG. 1 shows an outer shape of a printer 10 capable of two-color printing used in a POS system. Printer 1 of this example
Reference numeral 0 denotes a printer that can print slip paper 19, journal paper 18, and receipt paper 17 as recording paper. The slip sheet 19 is a cut sheet such as an irregular form slip sheet, and the slip sheet insertion port 21 in front of the printer 10.
From the direction of arrow 19A, a paper detector (not shown) detects slip paper and is guided to the print head 1 through a paper transport path in the case 15. Then, the print head 1 moves in the left-right direction 1A to perform printing, and the slip paper 19 is further transported in the direction of arrow 19B and discharged. The print head 1 of the printer 10 may be any type of print head, such as an ink jet or a thermal head, as long as it can print a plurality of colors. In the following description, two types of print nozzle structures that eject different colors will be described. A description will be given as an inkjet printer having 2 and 3. Each of the print nozzle structures 2 and 3 is configured such that a plurality of nozzles (not shown) corresponding to the number of dots corresponding to the height of one line including the background are arranged in one vertical line. . The print nozzle structures 2 and 3 are supplied with inks of a first color and a second color, respectively, from an ink tank (not shown), and a piezoelectric element (not shown) in the nozzle structures 2 and 3 is provided. Is driven to eject ink to perform printing.

Journal paper 18 and receipt paper 17
Are continuous papers, and are supplied in the form of roll paper in the printer 10 of this embodiment. These continuous forms 17,1
8 is guided to the print head 1 through the case 15 from the direction opposite to the slip sheet 19 with respect to the print head 1.
After the receipt paper 17 is printed with information as a receipt, the receipt paper 17 is guided by the cutter unit 14 to be cut and delivered to the customer.

The journal paper 18 is printed with predetermined sales information which is required to be stored at the store, and is wound up and stored by a winding device (not shown). Near the respective roll papers 17 and 18, a near-end detector 20 for detecting that the amount of roll paper is low is provided.

The near-end detector 20 has a detection lever 20a which contacts the side surface of the roll paper and swings in the direction of an arrow 20A according to the outer diameter thereof, and a switch 20b which is turned on or off by the detection lever 20a. . When the outer diameter of the roll paper decreases as the end of the roll paper approaches, the detection lever 20a
Swings inward, and as a result, the switch 20b is turned off, and it can be detected that the end of the roll paper is near.

A cover (not shown) is attached to the case 15 of the printer 10 so that printing is performed with the cover placed on the case 15 except when the roll paper 17 or 18 is replaced. Has become. For this reason, a cover detector 22 for detecting the opening and closing of the cover is mounted on the case 15, and when the cover is opened, the cover is automatically turned off to perform processing such as temporarily stopping the printing function. Has become.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the POS system for explaining the basic configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the double line indicates the flow of print data. The host device 90 controls the entire POS system and
The operation of various terminal devices (such as a display device) connected to the OS system is controlled by mutual data communication.

The control of the printer 10 is performed by transmitting a control command and various data from the host device 90 to the printer 10. As the host device 90, a general-purpose personal computer can be used.

The host device 90 and the printer 10 are connected via, for example, a serial communication port (RS-232C) driver. Data such as a printer control command transmitted from the host device is received by the data receiving unit 31 via the interface 30 of the printer 10. The received data is stored (stored) in the reception buffer 32. The data stored in the reception buffer is analyzed by the data analysis unit 33 in the order in which the data is stored in the reception buffer 32. The data analysis unit 33 analyzes the received data, and executes the command when the received data is a command.

(Execution of Normal Printing) If the print command is a result of analyzing the received data by the data analysis unit 33, the data set up in the print buffer 35 is transmitted to the printing mechanism 3.
Print with number 8. As for the data to be printed, character code data transmitted from the host is converted into dot pattern data by a character generator (hereinafter referred to as CG) and set up as one line of data in a print buffer. The print buffer 35 has a print buffer for each printable color. In this embodiment, since two colors can be printed, the first color print buffer 35a and the second
Although two print buffers 35b are shown, the print buffers of more colors can be provided according to the number of print buffers that can be printed. In the case of normal printing, since printing is performed in any of the preset colors, dot pattern data is set up from the CG 34 in one of the print buffers 35a and 35b.

The printing mechanism 38 includes the print head 1 shown in FIG.
Print nozzle structures 2 and 3, ink tanks (not shown),
It includes a piezoelectric element (not shown) and a driving unit (not shown) thereof. Now, assuming that printing is performed only in the first color, the print data is developed only in the print buffer 35a of the first color, and the dot data corresponding to the dot pattern of the nozzle structure 2 is based on the developed data. The piezoelectric element is driven, and the first color ink is discharged onto the printing paper 19.

On the other hand, the print head 1 (FIG. 1) is driven right and left across the print paper 19 by a carriage drive mechanism 39 (FIG. 2). While keeping the position of the ink nozzle structure 2 accompanying the movement of the print head 1 and the position of each dot of the dot pattern set up in the print buffer 35a, each nozzle of the print nozzle structure 2 The first color ink is ejected at a predetermined timing. When printing of one line is completed, the paper transport mechanism 40
(FIG. 2), the printing paper 19 is conveyed by one line, and at the same time, the dot pattern data of the next line is set up in the printing buffer 25a, and printing becomes possible.

The printing may be performed one line at a time on both the forward and backward movements of the head 1 in the horizontal direction.
It is also possible to return every line and print only in the forward path. Sensors 41 constantly monitor whether the printing mechanism 38, carriage driving mechanism 39, paper transport mechanism 40, and the like are accurately moving, and the status of the remaining ink, the remaining paper, the presence or absence of paper jam, and the cover open. If there is a change, it is transmitted to the control unit 36. The control unit 36
Are components for performing various controls of the entire printer. As will be described later with reference to FIG.
PU, ROM as a memory element, RAM, and ROM
Mainly composed of operation programs stored in the.

(Registration of User-Defined Character or Logo) Next, registration of a user-defined character will be described. The user-defined character is not a normal character form when a predetermined code is received, but a character in a special form defined in advance by the user. For example, text with a different background color than text,
Character shapes, colors, backgrounds, etc., can be freely defined, such as shadowed characters.

These definitions can be registered in the print data registration means 37 by a predetermined command from the host device, for example, a registration command. The print data registration unit 37 is desirably a non-volatile memory, but may be a volatile memory. In particular, for characters requiring high-speed processing, a register can be used.

The registration of a user-defined character is registered separately for each element constituting the character. The element can be arbitrarily divided, but in the case of a printer capable of multicolor printing, it is preferable to register the image by dividing it into dot patterns for each color. In the present embodiment, the user-defined data is stored in the registration memory 37 in a dot pattern for each color.
a and the registration memory 37b. By dividing and registering in units of colors as described above, the registration memory 37 a
And 37b can be directly developed in the print buffer 35a or 35b,
High-speed processing becomes possible. Further, the dot pattern of the registration memory 37a is stored in the print buffer 35b.
By developing the dot patterns in the print buffer 35a, it is possible to very easily invert colors and print.

In the above description, user-defined characters have been described, but the same applies to registration of a logo. By registering the logo form separately for each color dot pattern data, it is possible to process the printing of the dot pattern data to the print buffer for logo printing and reverse color printing at high speed. .

The registration of such special data can be performed based on a registration command from the host device. When the data analysis unit 33 detects that it is a registration command, a request for print data registration processing is issued to the print data registration unit 37 and the control unit 36. The control unit 36 and the print data registration unit register predetermined dot pattern data in the data registration unit 37 based on the following parameters and registration data. In addition, it is desirable that the registration data can be deleted or changed by a command from the host device 90.

FIG. 3 shows an example of registration of a user-defined character.
For example, the registration code “001” is user-defined registration data of the character “A”, and the registration memory 37a of the character portion
The dot pattern data of the character portion is stored in the register memory 37b.
I remember. Note that, in the present specification, a grid-like diagonal line represents a solid color. Registration code "002"
Shows an example in which a shaded character of the character "H" is user-defined. The dot pattern data of the character portion and the shadow portion are stored in the respective registration memories 37a and 37b.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a code consisting of numbers (or numerical values) is added to the user-defined characters.
ASCII codes other than numbers can also be registered as user-defined character codes. In this case, a user-defined mode or a normal printing mode is designated before printing. In the user-defined mode, the character generator 34 is not used and the registered data of the print data registering means 37 is used. It is controlled by the control means 36.

The data flow when printing the registration data of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of dot pattern data in the case of printing a registration code “001” in FIG. 3. The dot pattern of the character stored in the registration memory 37a is developed as it is in the print buffer 35a, and the inverted dot pattern of the character A stored in the registration memory 37b is developed as it is in the print buffer 35b. Print buffers 35a and 3
As described above, the dot pattern data developed in 5b is printed for each color by the print nozzle structures 2, 3 (FIG. 1) for each color of the printing mechanism 38 (FIG. 2). 4, the character and the background are printed in different colors, such as the print result 50 shown in FIG. In this example, the colors of the character and the background are changed. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the colors of the upper half and the lower half of the character are registered in different colors, respectively. Can be specified for printing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of dot pattern data in the case of printing the registration code "002" of FIG. In this case, the registration memories 37a and 37
7b is directly developed in the print buffers 35a and 35b, and finally the shaded character "H" is printed as the print result 51.
Is printed as shown in FIG. When printing is performed in the opposite color to the above-described example, the data stored in the registration memories 37a and 37b is replaced with the print buffers 35a and 35
b.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the flow of dot pattern data when a registered logo is printed. When a logo consisting of a circle and a triangle is registered and printed, it is possible to print only by specifying the code number of the logo. As shown by the dotted lines in FIG.
By simply inverting the data of 7b and setting the data in the print buffers 35a and 35b, it is possible to easily invert the colors of the circles and triangles for printing.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment of FIG.
In that the combining means 45 and the second combining means 46 are provided. The first synthesizing unit 45 and the second synthesizing unit 46 need not always be provided, and only one of them may be provided.

Also in the second embodiment, in the case of normal printing,
Print data from the data analysis unit 33 is set up in a print buffer 35 via a character generator 34, and printing in a normal mode is executed. In the case of the normal printing mode, the first synthesizing unit 45 is in an inactive (disabled) state by a control signal from the control unit 36.

The first synthesizing means 45 fulfills its function by transmitting a special command from the host device when it is desired to perform character decoration. When the data analysis unit 33 recognizes that the command is a special command, the command is transmitted to the control unit 36.
The first synthesizing unit 45 is activated (enabled) by a signal from the control unit 36. For example, when the normal character "A" is to be printed in the first color and the background is to be printed in the second color, the first combining means 45 is enabled.

In this case, first, the character generator 3
The dot pattern data of the character "A" is set in the print buffer 35a, and the dot pattern data of the character "A" output from the character generator 34 is inverted by the first synthesizing means 45, and 35
Set to b. This enables printing similar to the printing using the user-defined characters described with reference to FIG.

As will be described later, the first synthesizing means 45
In addition to inverting characters, it is also possible to combine patterns such as hatching and oblique lines. Also, instead of setting the dot pattern data synthesized by the first synthesizing unit 45 in the print buffer 35, the dot pattern data can be registered as registration data in the print data registration unit 37. These switchings are performed by a command from the host device 90. By doing so, the dot pattern data of the character generator 34 can be used when registering the user-defined character, and the transmission of the dot pattern data from the host device 90 becomes unnecessary.

The basic structure of the second combining means 46 is the same as that of the first combining means 45. The second synthesizing unit 46 is used when the registered data of the print data registering unit 37 is further processed and set up in the print buffer 35. By providing the second synthesizing means in this manner, more character decoration and processing become possible.

FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually showing the overall structure of the first combining means 45 and the second combining means 46. 8 are control signals transmitted from the control unit 36 in accordance with a command from the host device 90 and its parameters. The dot pattern data is output from the character generator 34 in the first synthesizing unit 45, and is output in the second synthesizing unit 46.
This is the output of the print data registration means 37. First, the synthesizing unit stores various patterns in the pattern storage unit 52 (FIG. 8). FIG. 9 shows a part of the pattern, but the pattern stored here can be freely set. That is, a plurality of mask patterns are stored in the mask pattern storage unit 43 in the pattern storage unit 52, and a pattern to be masked is selected by a pattern selection signal from the control unit 36. If no mask is required, this pattern is not selected. Note that the mask pattern may be a pattern stored in the printer in advance, or a pattern registered as dot pattern data by the above-described procedure may be used.

In the above example, the first and second synthesizing means 45 and 46 are separately provided. However, although these are different in input and output, processing to be performed internally is the same, so that Both of these synthesizing means can be realized by a single component. For example, if the combining means is a CPU
And its realization using the control program,
This can be easily realized by setting this as a subroutine and appropriately selecting its input and output.

The dot pattern data is first stored in the data storage section 53 in the synthesis processing means. In the case of the method of partially processing dot pattern data sequentially, it is not always necessary to be able to store the entire character, but it is sufficient if a part of the dot pattern data can be stored.
The data in the data storage unit 53 and the selected mask pattern data in the pattern storage unit 52 are stored in the first logical processing unit 5.
4 are synthesized and output by the logic function selected by the logic selection signal 1. First logic processing unit 54
Is further input to the second logic processing unit 55 as necessary, and the logic processing selected by the second logic selection signal 2 is performed. Several logic processing units can be provided as necessary. The output of the logic processing unit 54 or 55 is output to the print buffer 35 or the print data registration unit 37.
Is input to

The logic composition by the composition processing means will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
It is a figure which shows the example which synthesize | combines dot pattern data "A" and the mask pattern of the diagonal left line with a logical product with the image of a dot pattern. Due to the logical product, only the portion of the dot pattern of the character "A" and the portion of the mask pattern where the diagonal lines are present remain. Therefore, as shown in the output of FIG.
Is output as a hatched pattern.

FIG. 11 is a dot pattern showing an example in which the dot pattern data “A” is inverted by the first logical processing unit 54 and is synthesized by the second logical processing unit 55 with the mask pattern of the diagonally left line by logical product. It is a figure of an image. The character "A" is inverted by the first logic processing unit 54, and the mask pattern is passed without any logic processing. In the second logical processing unit 55, the inverted data of the character “A” is ANDed with the hatched mask pattern to form dot pattern data in which the background is hatched and the character portion is hollow as shown in FIG. Is output.

FIG. 12 shows the dot pattern data in the case where the registration data of the print data registration means 37 is set in the print buffer 35 by setting up the registration data of the registration memory 37b by performing a mask process and then printing. . The character data in the registration memory 37a is set as it is in the first color print buffer 35a. Registration memory 37b
Is inverted with a mask pattern of oblique lines, so that it becomes dot pattern data as shown in the print buffer 35b of FIG. Print buffers 35a, 35
Since the data b is printed by the respective print nozzle structures 2, 3 (FIG. 1), the data is printed as the logical sum of the print buffers 35a and 35b, so that the characters are in the first color and the background is in the second. Printed with color diagonal lines.

In the above description, only the case where there is no color overlap has been described. However, in the case of a shaded character or the like in FIG. 5, the inverted data of the character portion is set to the first color, and the inverted data of the shadow portion is set to the first color. It is also possible to perform mixed-color printing by registering the two colors and printing them in the first color and the second color.

Further, the registration of print data for each character is not limited to the number of print buffers for each color. Even for one character, more types of data (character data, character data, (Shadow data, background data, inverted data thereof, etc.) can be registered. If two or more colors can be printed, the type of print buffer can be increased accordingly.

On the other hand, in the special printing as described above, the number of combinations increases as long as printing of a plurality of colors is possible. The scene grows. Therefore, it is desirable that the printer be capable of printing at least two colors.
However, even with a single-color printer, predetermined decorative characters can be printed by performing logical processing of various mask patterns.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration when the control section of the present invention is configured using a CPU.

The data analysis and the control by the control unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 are realized by the program and data including the firmware stored in the CPU 57 and the ROM 58 or the RAM 59 in FIG. The reception buffer 32, print buffer and print data registration unit 37
It can be configured by M59. .

The ROM 58 stores software (including firmware) and data for realizing the functions of the respective units of FIGS. 2 and 7 described above, and the CPU 57 reads out these to realize various functions. RAM
Reference numeral 59 functions as a reception buffer 32, a print buffer 35, a print data registration unit 37, and a storage device for other necessary data. In this case, it is desirable that the print data registration unit 37 is a static RAM. The various buffers 32, 35, 37, etc. are not limited to such RAMs, but may use registers and the like. Host device 90
Is performed via the interface 30.

FIG. 14 exemplifies commands for registering and changing user-defined characters. How to set such a command code and a parameter can be freely set by those skilled in the art, and thus a simple example is shown here.

By transmitting command codes, parameters and dot pattern data as shown in FIG. 14, setting, changing and deleting registered characters are performed. N in FIG.
c, p, l (ell) and the like exemplify parameters. For example, p is a parameter for selecting a mask pattern of the synthesis processing means, and 1 (ell) is a parameter for specifying the logic selection signal in FIG.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate the functions of the parameters n and c, but this is clear from the figures, and will not be described.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of a process for registering print data. In the flowchart of FIG. 17, the print data registration unit 37 stores the registration memories 37a and 37a.
7b, and there is a possibility that the combining process may be performed. At the same time, please refer to FIG.

When the print data registration command is received, the data analysis unit 33 detects the command and transmits it to the control unit 36. The control unit 36 firstly outputs the print data registration unit 3
It is confirmed whether or not there is an empty area in S7 (S70). If there is no free area, the print data cannot be registered, so an error message is displayed (S79). If there is a free area, the processing for registering print data in that area is continued.

First, the parameters of the command are checked to determine whether the registration of the print data to be executed includes designation of the combining process (S71). If there is no designation of the combination processing (S71; No), the process proceeds to step 72. If the data currently being processed is the first registration data (S72; Ye
s) First, the registration code of the print data to be registered is registered on the table (S73). Thereafter, the dot pattern data including the components of the print data to be registered is registered in the registration memory 37a in association with the registration code of the print data (S74). When the registration of the first registration data is completed, it is confirmed whether or not there is the second registration (S7).
5). If there is the second registration (S75; Yes), the process returns to the step of confirming whether or not there is designation of the combining process (S71), and the same process is repeated (S71 to S72).

In the case of the first registration, if there is a designation of the combining process (S71; Yes), the parameter is confirmed, and necessary conditions are set (S71, S72). Thereby, for example, a mask pattern to be used, and whether or not a logical synthesizing unit to be used is a logical sum or a logical product are set. After that, the synthesizing process is performed according to the condition specified by the parameter (S77). Thereafter, registration of the first data is performed in the same manner as in the case where there is no combination processing (S7).
2, S73, S74, S75). If there is no second registration data (S75; No), it is assumed that the printing data is composed of only the first dot pattern data, and the registration of the printing data ends.

If there is the second registration data (S7
5; Yes), the same processing as the first registration data is repeated again (S71 to S76). Since the data is now the second registration data, the step 72 becomes YES, and the second memory is stored in the registration memory 37b.
Dot pattern data, which is a component of
The registration process ends.

Next, the registration data printing process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for setting registration data in a print buffer when printing registration data. Here, the print data registration unit 37 will be described as having two registration memories.

When receiving the registration data print command, the data analysis means 33 detects the command and transmits it to the control unit 36. The control unit 36 first confirms whether or not there is a designation of the synthesis processing (S80), and if there is a designation of the synthesis processing (S80; Yes), sets the parameters in the same manner as described above, and prepares for the logical processing. (S85). Next, the dot pattern data of the registered print data is read out (S
86), a combining process is performed according to the set parameters (S87). When no combination processing is specified (S80; N
In o), the registered data is read as it is (S81).

Thereafter, it is confirmed whether or not the read registered data is data to be set in the print buffer of the first color, and when it is set as data of the first color (S8).
2; Yes), the read data or the combined data is set in the first print buffer, and the set flag is set (S83). If the data is not the first color data (S82; No), the data is set in the second color print buffer, and at the same time, the setting flag of the second print buffer is set (S88).

When data is set in the print buffer of the first color (S83), it is confirmed whether there is data of the second color and whether the setting flag of the second print buffer is not set. Is done. If data of the second color exists and the setting flag is not set (S84; Yes)
s) The same processing is repeated again for setting the print buffer of the second color (S80 and S81 or S
85-S87).

Thereafter, it is confirmed whether the processed data is the data of the first color (S82). Since the data is the second color data (S82; No), the processed data is set in the print buffer of the second color, and the setting flag is set at the same time (S88). Next, at step 89, whether the first color is present
It is checked whether the first flag is set. Since the first flag has already been set in step S89, the setting of the registration data in the print buffer ends (S89; N
o). In the case where the processing is performed before the setting of the data of the second color (S82 and S88), since the flag of the print buffer of the first color has not been set yet, the registered data of the first color exists. In this case (S89; Yes), the first
After the same processing is repeated for setting the print buffer of the first color (S80 and S81, or S85 to S87), data is set in the print buffer of the first color (S80).
82; Yes, S83). After that, the setting of the registration data in the print buffer is completed through the step (S84).

When the setting of the print buffer for one line is completed, the printing mechanism, the carriage driving mechanism and, if necessary, the paper transport mechanism are driven to execute printing.

[0087]

As described above, the present invention facilitates diversification of the print mode of print data by separately storing dot pattern data for each component to be registered. For example, in the case of printing on a receipt or the like, it is not so noticeable as the total amount, but it is also possible to devise printing such as to be more noticeable than the sales item information. This is effective when printing a predetermined advertisement, advertisement, or event information on a receipt. In addition, the special background can prevent abuse such as a photo or design of a special color being incorporated into the whole or a part of the background of the receipt and being easily falsified by copying or the like. As a specific usage form, it is possible to utilize its usefulness by using it for ticket printing or the like at a kiosk terminal. Also, by applying a mask to the print data, the decoration of the print characters can be easily performed, and the print mode can be diversified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a POS printer showing an example of a recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing registration contents of a print data registration unit 37 as an image of dot pattern data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of dot pattern data in the case of printing a registration code “001” in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of dot pattern data in the case of printing a registration code “002” of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of dot pattern data when a registered logo is printed.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually showing the overall configuration of a first combining unit 45 and a second combining unit 46.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mask pattern stored in a synthesis processing unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a dot pattern image showing an example in which dot pattern data “A” and a mask pattern of a left oblique line are synthesized by logical product

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a dot pattern image showing an example in which dot pattern data “A” is inverted by a first logic processing unit and combined by a second logical processing unit by a logical product with a left oblique line mask pattern; It is.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a change in dot pattern data in a case where registration data of a print data registration unit 37 is set in a print buffer 35 by performing a masking process on registration data of a registration memory 37b and then set up; It is.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration when a control section of the present invention is configured using a CPU.

FIG. 14 illustrates commands for registering, changing, and the like of user-defined characters and logos.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a function of a parameter n.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a function of a parameter c.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of a process for registering print data.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of setting registered dot pattern data in a print buffer when printing registered data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 print head 10 printer 17 receipt paper 18 journal paper 19 slip paper 30 interface 31 data reception unit 32 reception buffer 33 data analysis unit 34 character generator 35 print buffer 36 control unit 37 print data registration unit 45 first synthesis unit 46 second Combining means 52 Pattern storage 53 Data storage unit 54 First logic processing unit 55 Second logic processing unit 57 CPU 58 ROM 59 RAM

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C087 AA15 BA02 BA03 BA04 BA05 BA07 BC02 BC05 BD34 CB11 3E040 BA07 CB01 FK02 FK06 3E042 CE01 5B021 AA01 DD16 DD17 LD14 LD15 LG07 LG09

Claims (15)

[Claims] A step of registering dot pattern data for each component of print data composed of a plurality of components in different registered data storage means; and receiving a print command for the registered print data.
A step of reading dot pattern data for each of the constituent elements constituting the print data from the registration data storage unit and developing the read pattern data in a print buffer. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of registering the dot pattern data for each component comprises the steps of: receiving a print data registration instruction and dot pattern data for each component of the print data to be registered; 2. The method of registering and displaying print data according to claim 1, further comprising: registering the received dot pattern data for each of the plurality of constituent elements in each registered data storage unit. 3. The step of registering the dot pattern data of the constituent element includes: logically processing a part or all of the received constituent element data to create new dot pattern data; 3. The method of registering and developing print data according to claim 2, further comprising the step of registering data in the registration data storage means. 4. The step of generating the new dot pattern data includes the step of logically synthesizing a part or all of the received dot pattern data of the component and a mask pattern to generate new dot pattern data. The method for registering and developing print data according to claim 3, further comprising: 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of expanding the component data in the print buffer includes the step of expanding the component data in the print buffer provided independently for each color. 5. The method of registering and developing print data according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. A step of developing the component data in the print buffer, logically combining a part or all of the registered dot pattern data to create new dot pattern data; The method of registering and developing print data according to claim 5, further comprising the step of: developing said dot pattern data in said print buffer. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of synthesizing the new dot pattern data further includes a step of logically synthesizing the registered dot pattern data and mask pattern data. Registration and deployment method. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of registered dot pattern data comprises dot pattern data for each color obtained by separating the print data for each color.
7. The method of registering and developing print data according to any one of items 7 to 7. 9. The registered dot pattern data includes two pieces of dot pattern data including a first color component and dot pattern data including a second color component. Item 7. A method for registering and developing print data according to items 1 to 7. 10. A method of registering and developing print data, wherein the registered print data is a logo. 11. When receiving print data, logically processing a part or all of the dot pattern data for each color constituting a print character; and converting the logically synthesized dot pattern data for each color for each color. And a method of registering and developing print data. 12. The print data registration and processing method, wherein the step of logically processing the dot pattern data further comprises a step of combining the dot pattern data for each color and a mask pattern. 13. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program having the steps of the method of registering and processing print data according to claim 1 is described. 14. A printing apparatus comprising the following means. A first registration memory for storing first dot pattern data composed of a first color of the print data; and a second registration memory for storing second dot pattern data composed of a second color of the print data. A registration memory, two print buffers capable of independently developing dot pattern data in the first registration memory and the second registration memory, and dot pattern data developed in the print buffer. A printing mechanism for printing in different colors; and a controller for expanding the contents of the first memory and the second memory in the print buffer in accordance with a printing command and controlling printing by the printing mechanism. 15. The recording apparatus further comprises a synthesizing unit capable of logically synthesizing the dot pattern data and a predetermined mask pattern contained therein, and the control unit controls the registration by controlling the synthesizing unit. 15. A new dot pattern data is created by combining the existing dot pattern data and the mask pattern, and the new dot pattern data is controlled to be developed in the print buffer.
The recording device according to claim 1.