JP2002116900A - Printer and method for converting character of printer and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of selecting characters to be converted by considering the prescribed combination of characters at the time of converting character codes into characters. SOLUTION: This printer is provided with a receiving means for receiving character codes transmitted from a host device, a character table in which the character codes and characters are stored so as to be made correspond to each other, and a generating means for generating prescribed characters based on the character codes received by the receiving means and the character table. When it is judged that the combination of the Nth character code and the (N+1)the character code received by the receiving means is pertinent to the preliminarily set prescribed combination of characters, the generating means selects the character corresponding to the character code different form the (N+1)th character code from the character table as the character corresponding to the (N+1)th character code.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to the technology of printers, and more particularly, to character codes transmitted from a host device.
The present invention relates to a technique for converting a character into a predetermined character with reference to a character table.

2. Description of the Related Art In a technology for displaying desired characters on a display screen of a host device or a technology for printing desired characters on a printer, it is necessary to replace these characters with certain codes in the host device or the printer. Has been done.
That is, the host device or the printer handles characters not in the form of a character (image) but by replacing the characters with character codes coded according to a certain rule.

Also, a host device or a printer has a character table in which characters are associated with character codes in a one-to-one relationship. When a host device displays characters or a printer prints characters, , The character code is converted to characters by referring to this character table.

Therefore, when instructing the printer to print a predetermined character, the host device transmits a character code corresponding to the character to the printer. The printer converts the received character code into a desired character by referring to the character table, and prints the converted character.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, even if the character table is referred to and converted into a character corresponding to the received character code and the converted character is printed, There was a problem that the notation was not correct in the language.

In recent years, the types of character codes and character tables used in printers have been increasing. This is because, as computers have become widespread around the world, character codes and character tables adapted to the languages of each country have been developed and adopted. That is, in order for the printer to be used in more countries, it is desirable that a character table corresponding to the language of the country in which the printer is used be developed and that the printer have these character tables. With this, the printer can use the character code transmitted from the host device,
This is because the character code can be converted into a character of the country and printed.

Here, according to the above-mentioned conventional technology, the relationship between a character and a character code is associated with each other on a one-to-one basis.
In the character table, characters and character codes are defined based on the correspondence. When the printer receives the character code from the host device, the printer sequentially converts the character code into characters and prints the characters.

However, among various languages, the notation of individual characters may change depending on the combination of characters before and after. That is, depending on the combination before and after the character, there are cases where the character corresponding to the specified character code is correct notation and cases where the character corresponding to the specified character code is not correct notation.

For example, in a language such as Thai composed of a plurality of elements, a designated character code is converted to a corresponding character, and the converted character is printed as it is.
Depending on the combination of characters, it may not be correct character notation.

[0008] In a printer in which character printing is very important as a product value, it is a serious problem to print characters that are not correct as character notation. Therefore, the present invention provides a printer that supports various languages,
The problem is to make it possible to print correct characters.

That is, an object of the present invention is to convert a character code into a character by taking a predetermined character combination into consideration.
An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of selecting a character to be converted.

The gist of the present invention is to convert a character code received by a printer into character data.
The object is to enable character data to be converted to be selected based on a combination of character codes.

[0010] More specifically, a printer according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is based on a character table for storing a character code and a character in association with each other, and a character table based on the input character code and the character table. And a generating means for generating a predetermined character by using a combination of the input N-th character code and the (N + 1) -th character code. And determining means for determining whether or not the input N-th character code and N +
If it is determined that the combination with the first character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance, a character corresponding to a character code different from the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to the (N + 1) th character code. And selecting means for selecting the character to be selected from the character table.

[0011] The selecting means may include:
When it is determined that the combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance, the (N + 1) th character code is replaced with a plurality of character codes, A plurality of characters corresponding to the replaced plurality of character codes are selected from the character table as characters corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code.

[0012] The selecting means may include:
If it is determined that the combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance, a character corresponding to a character code different from the Nth character code Is selected from the character table as a character corresponding to the Nth character code, and a character corresponding to a character code different from the (N + 1) th character code is selected as a character corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code. It is characterized by selecting from.

Preferably, the character code is a Thai character code.

Further, the invention of the printer described above is also realized as an invention as a print system including a host device and a printer, and an invention of a method. Further, the present invention is also realized as a program for realizing a predetermined function in a printer or a recording medium storing the program.

[0015] In this specification, the term "means" does not mean only physical means, but also includes a case where functions of the means are realized by software.
Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] (Hardware Configuration of Printer According to This Embodiment) FIG. 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG.
Various programs stored in the ROM 12 and the RAM 13 are executed. That is, the various functions are executed by the processor 11 so that the printer realizes the predetermined functions. In the present embodiment, as the predetermined functions, mainly, a communication function, an image generation function, and a print control function are realized.

The hard disk device 14 stores print job data sent from the host device 1 via an I / F circuit (interface circuit) 15. I / F circuit 15
Transmits and receives data to and from the host device 1.

The image memory 16 stores image data generated based on print job data.
The engine controller 17 reads out the image data expanded in the image memory 16 and supplies the read image data to the print engine 18 while controlling the operation of the print engine 18.

The engine controller 17 is activated by, for example, a print execution command sent from the processor 11 when bitmap data having a predetermined bandwidth is expanded in the image memory 16. Print engine 18
Is composed of, for example, a paper feed mechanism and a print head, and performs printing on a print recording medium such as paper. (Flow of Operation of Print Job Data Receiving Process and Printing Process) The above-described printer is connected to the host device 1 and forms a printing system. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram for explaining functions of the printer. Hereinafter, a flow of an operation when the printer according to the present embodiment receives print job data from the host device 1 and executes a print process will be described.

First, upon receiving a print execution instruction from a user, the host device 1 converts application data to be printed into print job data to be interpreted by a printer. Then, the host device 1 transmits the converted print job data to the interface unit 205 of the printer. The print job data includes a character code corresponding to a character desired by the user, a control code for specifying a character interval, a line interval, and the like.

Upon receiving the print job data, the interface unit 205 of the printer outputs the print job data to the print job receiving unit, and the print job receiving unit outputs the print job data to the spool unit 207. The spool unit 207 outputs the print job data sent from the print job receiving unit 206 to the image generating unit 209.

The image generation unit 209 includes a spool unit 20.
The print job data sent via the CPU 7 is interpreted to generate image data, and the image data is developed in the image memory. That is, in the present embodiment, the character code included in the print job data is converted into a character by referring to the character table, and is developed in the image memory. This processing will be described later in detail. When the image generation unit 209 expands the image data in the image memory, the print control unit 2
10 is notified of the print request.

The print controller 210 instructs the print mechanism 211 to prepare for printing based on the print request. Print control unit 21
When 0 receives the completion of the printing preparation from the printing mechanism unit 211, it reads out the image data expanded in the image memory and supplies it to the printing mechanism unit 211. The printing mechanism unit 211 executes printing on a print recording medium based on the supplied image data. Thus, the character desired by the user is printed by the printer.

(Flow of Character Conversion Processing) Next, the flow of character conversion processing executed by the image generation unit in the present embodiment will be described. In the printer according to the present invention, when converting the N-th character code transmitted from the host device into a predetermined character, the (N + 1) -th character code is taken into consideration,
The conversion process is performed. In the present embodiment, a description will be given using Thai as an example of a language to be subjected to character conversion.

First, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 are diagrams showing an example of a character table used in the present embodiment. The image generation unit 209 is configured to refer to these character tables when converting a character code included in the received print job data into a character image. The printer according to the present embodiment uses “TIS18” as an example of a Thai character table.
(FIG. 3), “TIS17 (FIG. 4)”, “TIS16
(FIG. 5), “TIS13 (FIG. 6)”, “TIS11
(FIG. 7) "and" KU42 (FIG. 8) ".

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image generation unit 209 according to the present embodiment.
The image generation unit 209 is configured to be activated when print job data is received via the spool unit 207.

Basically, when the image generating unit 209 receives a table code indicating a table to be referred from the host device 1, it determines a reference table from a plurality of character tables. Further, when the image generation unit 209 receives the character codes of the respective characters in order, the image generation unit 209 converts the character codes into the characters by referring to the determined character table.

Specifically, first, the image generation unit 209
Determines whether the character table to be referred to corresponds to one of TIS18, TIS17 and TIS16 based on the received table code (step S10).
1). In the present embodiment, a description will be given of the character conversion process for the TIS18, TIS17, and TIS16 character tables among the plurality of Thai character tables.

Then, the image generation unit 209 determines that the character table to be referred to is TIS18, TIS17 and TIS18.
16 (step S10).
1: YES), the next code is “D
3 is determined (step S102). Hereinafter, "N-th character code"
The “next code” is referred to as “N + 1th character code”.

In Thai, the notation of a given character differs depending on the combination of characters before and after the given character. In the present embodiment, the character code corresponding to the predetermined character is “D
Since “3”, “D3” is set as the code to be determined as “N + 1th character code”. Therefore, the code can be arbitrarily set according to the target language or the character table to be referred to.

Next, the (N + 1) th character code is "D3".
(Step S102: YES), the image generation unit 209 determines that the N-th character code is “A1, A2”.
.. CE ”(step S103), and if the Nth character code corresponds to any of“ A1 to CE ”(step S103: YE)
S), the N-th character code is converted into a corresponding character and stored in the image memory (step S104).

Then, the image generation unit 209 calculates N + 1
For the third character code “D3”, this is replaced with “ED and D2”. That is, the image generation unit 209 adds the code ED, converts the code ED into a corresponding character and stores it in the image memory (step S105), and converts D2 into a corresponding character and stores it in the image memory. (Step S106). As a result, the character code “D3” is changed to the character code “D3”.
The characters are converted to characters corresponding to the character codes "ED" and "D2" instead of the characters corresponding to "3" and printed.

On the other hand, the image generation unit 209 determines that the N-th code is “A1, A
2 ... CE "(step S103:
NO), the Nth code is “E8, E9, EA, E
B ”is determined (step S107).

If the N-th code corresponds to any one of “E8, E9, EA, EB” (step S107: YES), the image generation unit 209 then generates the currently referenced character table. , KU42 (step S108). If the desired character is not defined in the reference character table, the character table in which the desired character is defined is
This is because the reference table needs to be changed.

Next, the image generation unit 209 replaces the N-th code (CHRCD) with a code (CHRCD-2) obtained by subtracting 2 from the N-th code, and replaces the replaced code (CHRCD-2). The character is converted into a corresponding character and stored in the image memory (step S109). Since the correspondence between character codes and characters differs depending on the character table, the character table TIS1
The character code in 8, 17, or 16 is changed to KU42
This is because it is necessary to substitute the character code.

Then, the image generation unit 209 calculates N + 1
The third code, D3, is replaced with CE and the code CE
Is converted to the corresponding character and stored in the image memory (step 110). As a result, the character code "D3"
Is not the character corresponding to the character code "D3",
It is converted to a character corresponding to the character code "CE".

Finally, the image generation unit 209 returns the reference table from the KU 42 to the original table (step S110), and ends the character conversion processing.

[Example of Character Conversion Processing] The above-described character conversion processing will be specifically described. The received character data is converted as shown in FIG. Here, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion process.

First, case 1 in FIG. 10 will be described. According to Case 1, the characters transmitted from the host device 1 are configured in the order of a consonant, an upper, and a vowel. The reference table is one of TIS18 to TIS16, and codes corresponding to the respective characters are A1, E1,
8, D3.

Since the next code is not "D3" for the character code A1 transmitted first (step S102: NO), the image generation unit 209 exits the conversion process and selects one of the TISs 18-16. Is converted to the character corresponding to A1 as it is.

Next, with respect to the character codes E8 (current code) and D3 (next code), the next code corresponds to "D3" (step S10).
2: YES), the current code corresponds to “E8” (step S103: NO, step S107: YE)
S), the table is changed to KU42 (step S10)
8).

Then, the image generation unit 209 performs conversion processing by replacing the character code E8 with the character code E6 and the character code D3 with the character code CE (steps S109 and S110).

Next, case 2 in FIG. 10 will be described. In Case 2, characters transmitted from the host device 1 are composed of consonants and vowels in this order. The reference table is one of TISs 18 to 16, and codes corresponding to the respective characters are A1 and D3 in this order.

The image generation unit 209 first performs processing on the character code A1 transmitted first. The image generation unit 209 determines that the next code corresponds to “D3” (step S102: YES) and the current code corresponds to any of “A1 to CE” (step S103: YE).
S) The character code A1 is directly converted to a character corresponding to the character code by referring to any one of the predetermined tables of the TISs 18 to 16 (step S104).

Next, for the character code D3, the image generation unit 209 converts the character code into codes ED and D.
2 and converted to the corresponding characters (steps S105 and S106).

As described above, as shown in Case 1 and Case 2, the printer according to the present invention can print Thai in a correct character notation based on the character code transmitted from the host device. You can.

(Comparison between the case where the character conversion processing is performed and the case where the character conversion processing is not performed) Here, the Thai character that has been subjected to the character conversion processing by the image generation unit 209 is compared with the Thai character that has not been subjected to the character conversion processing. . FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of Thai characters that have been converted in this embodiment and Thai characters that have not been converted. In FIG. 11, the character codes of Case 1 and Case 2 described in FIG. 10 are used.

In FIG. 11, "TIS18, TIS1
7, and TIS16 "are examples in which Thai characters are printed in correct notation. In contrast,
Thai characters for “TIS11, TIS13” are examples in which Thai characters are printed in an incorrect notation.

Specifically, among the Thai characters written under each table name, the first character from the left is the one shown in FIG.
2 shows an example of the character conversion process in case 1 of FIG. The fifth character from the left indicates an example of the character conversion process of case 2 in FIG.

That is, the character table “TIS18, T
Regarding the first character from the left in “IS17 and TIS16”, the same character as the character after the character conversion in case 1 of FIG. 10 is represented. The fifth character from the left is the same as the character after the character conversion in case 1 of FIG.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is understood that correct characters can be obtained as shown in FIG. 11 even in the case of having a notation system such as Thai.

According to the present invention, when a character code transmitted from a host device is converted into a predetermined character, character conversion processing is performed based on a combination of the Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code. Is performed, it is possible to convert the character code into a character according to the correct notation and output the converted character.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a print system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character table.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image generation unit 209.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character conversion process.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for comparing a character when a character conversion process is performed with a character when the character conversion process is not performed;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Host apparatus 205 ... I / F circuit 206 ... Print job receiving part 207 ... Spool part 209 ... Image generation part 210 ... Print control part 211 ... Printing mechanism part

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A character table that stores a character code and a character in association with each other, a generation unit that generates a predetermined character based on the input character code and the character table,
A determination unit that determines whether a combination of the input N-th character code and the (N + 1) -th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance. And when the determination unit determines that the combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance,
And a selection unit for selecting a character corresponding to a character code different from the (N + 1) th character code from the character table as a character corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting unit determines that a combination of the input N-th character code and the (N + 1) -th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance. Replacing the (N + 1) th character code with a plurality of character codes, and selecting a plurality of characters corresponding to the replaced plurality of character codes from the character table as characters corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code. The printer according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining unit determines that a combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance. A character corresponding to a character code different from the Nth character code is selected from the character table as a character corresponding to the Nth character code, and a character corresponding to a character code different from the (N + 1) th character code is selected. , The N + 1
3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a character corresponding to a first character code is selected from the character table. 4. A printer character conversion method comprising: a character table that stores character codes and characters in association with each other; and a generation step of generating predetermined characters based on the input character codes and the character tables. The method, wherein the generating step includes: determining whether a combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance; When the determining step determines that the combination of the input Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance, a character different from the (N + 1) th character code is used. Selecting a character corresponding to a code from the character table as a character corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code; A character conversion method for a printer, comprising: 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step determines that a combination of the input N-th character code and the (N + 1) -th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance. Replacing the (N + 1) th character code with a plurality of character codes, and selecting a plurality of characters corresponding to the replaced plurality of character codes from the character table as characters corresponding to the (N + 1) th character code. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the character is converted by a printer. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step determines that a combination of the input N-th character code and the (N + 1) -th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance. A character corresponding to a character code different from the Nth character code is selected from the character table as a character corresponding to the Nth character code, and a character corresponding to a character code different from the (N + 1) th character code is selected. , Said N
6. The character code corresponding to the (+1) th character code is selected from the character table.
The printer's character conversion method described. 7. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the character code is a Thai character code. 8. A printing system comprising: a host device for transmitting a print request to a printer; and a printer for inputting the print request and executing a printing process, wherein the host device transmits a character code to the printer. The printer has a receiving unit that receives the character code transmitted from the host device, a character table that stores the character code and the character in association with each other, and a printer that receives the character code. Generating means for generating a predetermined character based on the character code and the character table, wherein the generating means determines that a combination of the Nth character code and the (N + 1) th character code received by the receiving means is Determining means for determining whether the combination corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance; and determining the N-th character code received by the receiving means. If it is determined that the combination of the code and the (N + 1) th character code corresponds to a predetermined combination set in advance, the character corresponding to the character code different from the (N + 1) th character code is replaced with the (N + 1) th character code. Selecting means for selecting a character corresponding to the code from the character table. 9. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the character conversion method of the printer according to claim 4.