JP2877036B2 - Printing method and dot printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing method, and more particularly, to a printing method using a dot printer that prints out a dot matrix.

In addition, the present invention relates to a dot printer, and more particularly to a dot printer that requires a print head to be replaced when a print pin of a print head is broken.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional dot printer, when a print head pin break occurs, a print head pin break 13 shown in FIG. 6B occurs as compared with a normal print result shown in FIG. The printing result is unclear or illegible. Therefore, when the print head pins are broken, a normal print result cannot be obtained unless the print head is replaced.

[0004] For this reason, a method of precisely printing out using only unbroken print pins is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-1.
No. 85462.

[0005]

In a conventional dot printer, it is difficult to reserve a spare print head or to have a print head replacement person wait, so that the print head can be replaced immediately. Until the print head can be replaced, it is difficult to continue printing with unclear or illegible print results or to stop the operation of the printer itself.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-185462, printing is performed first using only unbroken print pins, and then the feed width is determined based on printable pin information and information on unprinted lines. Although it is described that the calculation is required, nothing is specifically described as to what calculation processing is used and how much effect is obtained.

[0007]

An object of the present invention is to solve the disadvantages of the prior art, and in particular, to provide a printing method and a dot printer capable of printing without lowering the printing accuracy even when a pin of a print head is broken. Its purpose is to provide.

[0008]

Therefore, according to the present invention, as first means, an image data generating step of converting print data from a higher-level device into dot image data, and an image generated by the image data generating step. A printing step of driving print pins according to the data to print out on a recording medium. Subsequent to the image data generation step, when it is determined that the pin break has occurred based on pin break information set from the outside when the print pin breaks, the dot image data is moved up and down line by line. In the case where the image data is divided by the image data dividing step, the printing pin used is divided into upper and lower areas according to the dividing position and the pin is broken. A two-stage printing step of sequentially printing and outputting dot image data divided vertically by print pins in an area where the pin break does not occur based on the information. ing.

In the second means, as an apparatus directly used for implementing the method according to the first means, a dot image generating section for generating dot image data based on print data from a host apparatus, and A buffer unit for temporarily storing, a print head having n print pins in a column for outputting dots to a recording medium, and driving each of the print pins when dot image data is output from the buffer unit; A dot printer having a transporting means for transporting a recording medium to a print position of a print head based on setting data in data is employed.

In the second means, the buffer unit stores the first half of the dot image data from the dot image generating unit and the lower half of the dot image data from the dot image generating unit. And a second line buffer. In addition, the buffer unit is provided with a two-stage print control unit that specifies the storage area in the first and second line buffers for the upper half or lower half image data based on externally broken pin information. . Further, after the dot image data in the first line buffer is printed and output,
A line feed control unit is provided which controls line feed by a width of n / 2 dots before outputting dot image data in the second line buffer.

[0011] In the third means, the buffer unit, the first and second Bei line buffers Eteiru respectively store the same dot image data from the dot image generating unit. In addition, if the pin break is in the lower half based on external pin break information, the buffer unit deletes the dot image data stored in the lower half area of the first line buffer, A two-stage printing control unit for setting the read start address of the second line buffer at the start position of the lower half of the dot image data is also provided. Further, after the dot image data in the first line buffer is printed and output, the transport means feeds a line feed by a width of n / 2 dots before outputting the dot image data in the second line buffer. A line feed control unit for controlling the line feed is provided.

In a fourth aspect, the buffer unit includes first and second line buffers for respectively storing the same dot image data from the dot image generation unit. In addition, if the pin break is in the upper half based on the information on the external pin break, the buffer unit deletes the dot image data stored in the upper half area of the second line buffer. A two-stage print control unit for changing the read start address of the first line buffer is also provided. Further, after the dot image data in the first line buffer is printed and output , the transport means feeds a line feed by a width of n / 2 dots before outputting the dot image data in the second line buffer. A line feed control unit for controlling the line feed is provided.

In the fifth means, when the line break control unit determines that the pin break is the upper half based on the pin break information, the line feed control unit sets the position returned by n / 2 dots from the normal print start position as the start position. It has a configuration that has the function of

[0014]

According to the present invention, when a print head pin is broken, a print dot image for one line is equally divided into two upper and lower stages and a line buffer is equally divided into two upper and lower stages.
The data is stored in two line buffers so as to avoid a dot line corresponding to a broken pin. Thereafter, the line set position is corrected, and the print dot image of the first line buffer is printed. Subsequently, after the printing medium is conveyed by an amount corresponding to half of the vertical dots of full-width characters, the print dot image of the second line buffer is printed. As a result, a print dot image for one line is printed without using broken pins.

In the first means, when print data is received from a host device, the print data is converted into dot image data in an image data generating step. At this time,
When it is determined that the pin break has occurred based on pin break information set from the outside when the print pin breaks, the dot image data is moved up and down line by line in the image data dividing step. Into two parts.

Next, in a printing step, printing pins corresponding to the image data generated in the image data generating step are driven to print out on a recording medium. At this time,
When the image data is divided by the image data dividing step, first, in a two-step printing step, print pins to be used are divided into upper and lower regions according to the division position. Further, based on the pin break information, dot image data divided vertically by print pins in the area where the pin break does not occur is sequentially printed out.

In the second means, when print data is received from a higher-level device, first, a dot image generating unit generates dot image data based on the print data. This dot image data is temporarily stored in the buffer unit. On the other hand, the conveying means conveys the recording medium to the print position of the print head based on the setting data in the print data.
Then, when the dot image data is output from the buffer unit, the print head drives each print pin at a position corresponding to the dot image data, and the print pin outputs the dot to the recording medium.

In the second means, the two-stage print control unit specifies the storage destination of each vertically divided image data in each line buffer. When pin break information is input from outside, the two-step printing control unit determines a storage area for the image data based on the pin break information from outside. This specifies whether to use the upper half print pin or the lower half print pin of the print head by specifying whether to store it in the upper half or lower half of each line buffer. Is what you do. In the buffer section, the first
Stores the upper half of the dot image data from the dot image generator. On the other hand, the second line buffer stores the lower half of the dot image data from the dot image generator.

When the first and second line buffers store dot image data divided into upper and lower parts, first, the dot image data in the first line buffer is output, and the print head operates the image data. Is printed out on a recording medium. At this time, if the divided dot image data is stored in the upper half of the first line buffer, it is printed out only with the upper half print pins on the print head. Therefore, the lower print pin where the pin is broken is not used. If the pin break is reversed, the two-stage print control unit performs control to record dot image data below the first line buffer based on external pin break information.

When printing of one line stored in the first line buffer is performed, the line feed control unit controls the line feed by the width of n / 2 dots. Then, a line feed is performed with a width corresponding to half the length of the print pin of the print head in the vertical direction. Next, the dot image data in the second line buffer is printed out at the line feed position. Then, printing is performed without lowering the printing accuracy without using the upper half or lower half printing pins where the pin breakage has occurred.

[0021]

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

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the printing method according to the present invention. In the printing method according to the present embodiment, an image data generating step of converting print data from a host device into dot image data (step S1).
And a printing step of driving a printing pin corresponding to the image data generated in the image data generating step S1 to print out on a recording medium.

Further, following the image data generating step S1, if it is determined that the print pin has been broken based on pin break information set from outside when the print pin has been broken, the dot image data Data dividing step of dividing the image vertically into two rows (step S2)
It has.

Further, in the printing step, when the image data is divided by the image data dividing step, the print pins used in accordance with the division position are divided into upper and lower areas, and based on the pin break information, A two-stage printing step (step S3) of sequentially printing out dot image data divided vertically by the print pins in the area where the pin break does not occur is provided.

This will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a dot printer used directly for implementing this printing method. The dot printer includes a dot image generation unit 10 that generates dot image data based on print data from a higher-level device.
A buffer unit 12 for temporarily storing the dot image data, and n print pins in a column for outputting dots to a recording medium, each print pin being provided when dot image data is output from the buffer unit. And a transport means 16 for transporting the recording medium to the print position of the print head based on the setting data in the print data.

The buffer unit 12 includes a first line buffer 12A for storing the upper half of the dot image data from the dot image generation unit 10, and a dot image generation unit 1
Second to store the lower half of the dot image data from 2
And a line buffer 12B.

The buffer unit 12 stores first and second line buffers 12A and 12B for the upper half or lower half of the image data based on pin break information from the outside.
And a two-stage print control unit 26 for specifying the storage area at.

In addition, after the dot image data in the first line buffer 12A is printed out, the conveying means 16 outputs n / 2 dots of the dot image data before outputting the dot image data in the second line buffer 12B. A line feed control unit 26 that controls line feeds by the width is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the dot printer. The pin break information setting unit 22 receives pin break information on which print pin is broken. For example, a dot printer user can read the number of the print pin broken from the top after solid printing, and the number is accepted from an operation panel or the like. The pin break information setting section stores the pin break information in the pin break information storage section 24.

When a pin break occurs, the two-stage print control unit 26 logically divides the print pin of the print head into two, and converts one line into two lines without using the print pin on the side where the pin break occurred. Controls printing in different steps. For example, controlling the storage of the dot image data in the line buffer 12,
Further, the printing start address is changed.

The line feed control unit 28 performs a normal line feed with a line feed width specified in the print data, and also controls a line feed in accordance with two-step printing by the two-step print control unit.

The print start line setting unit 30 performs a normal line feed with a line feed width specified in the print data, and starts a print output with the lower print pin when a pin break occurs on the upper side of the print pin. Therefore, the printing start position at the time of a page break is set to a position returned by n / 2 dots.

The overall control unit 20 controls the operation timing of each unit.

Next, the operation will be described. When print data is received from the host device, first, the dot image generation unit 10
Generates dot image data based on the print data. This dot image data is temporarily stored in the buffer unit 12 (the line buffer 12A in the example shown in FIG. 4).

When one of the print head pins is broken, the pin broken information setting section 22 stores information on which dot in the vertical dot row the broken pin corresponds to in the pin broken information storage section 24. . The overall control unit 20
When the pin break information is stored in the pin break information storage unit 24, the pin break information is notified to the two-stage print control unit 4.

When the two-stage print control unit 4 learns from the pin break information that the broken pin corresponds to the upper half of the vertical dot row equally divided into two upper and lower rows, the dot image in the line buffer is determined. By controlling the storage of data, FIG.
State.

Next, the print start line setting section 30 refers to the pin break information and, when it is known that the pin corresponding to the upper half of the vertical dot row has broken, the vertical dot row position is shifted from the normal row set position. The print medium is set at a position smaller by half the transport amount. At this position, the print head 14
Prints the print dot image of the line buffer 12A. Subsequently, under the control of the line feed control unit 28, the transport unit 16 transports the print medium by a transport amount corresponding to half of the vertical dot row. At this position, the print dot image of the second line buffer is printed. By these two printing operations, a print dot image can be printed at a normal print line position without using broken print head pins.

When the broken print head pin corresponds to the lower half of the vertical dot row, the storage of the dot image data in the line buffer is controlled by the two-stage print control unit 4 and the state shown in FIG. And

Next, the print start line setting unit 30 refers to the pin break information 3 and, when it is found that the pin corresponding to the lower half of the vertical dot row has broken, sets the print medium at the normal line set position. do. The print head 14 prints the print dot image of the first line buffer 12A at this position.

Subsequently, under the control of the line feed control unit 5,
The transport unit 16 transports the print medium by a transport amount corresponding to half of the vertical dot row. The print head 14 prints the print dot image of the second line buffer 12B at this position. By these two printing operations, a print dot image can be printed at a normal print line position without using broken print head pins. If the print head itself is replaced with one with no broken pins,
The pin break information 3 is cleared by the pin break information setting unit 2.

Next, an example in which two-step printing is performed by changing the read start address will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, first, the dot image data of the first line of the print data is stored in the first and second line buffers (step S11). Next, with reference to the pin break information, it is determined whether the pin break belongs to the lower half or the upper half of the print head 14 (step S1).
2).

If the pin break is in the lower half, the dot image data stored in the lower half area of the first line buffer is deleted, and the read start address of the second line buffer is changed to the lower half of the dot image data. It is set to a half start position (step S13). Then, the state becomes almost the same as the state shown in FIG.

If the pin break is in the upper half, the print start position is set to a position n / 2 dots back from the normal start position in order to print out with the lower print pin (step S14). Further, the dot image data stored in the upper half of the second line buffer 12A is deleted, and the read start address of the first line buffer 12A is changed (step S15 ). Then, FIG.
The state is almost the same as the state shown in FIG.

The transport means 16 transports the recording medium to the set print start position (step S16). Next, the print head 14 outputs the contents of the first line buffer to a recording medium. Thus, if the print data is a character, the upper half of the character for one line is printed out without using the broken print pin.

Further, the transport means 16 transports the recording medium by a width of n / 2 dots (step S18). Next, the print head moves the second line buffer 1 to this position.
The contents of 2B are printed out (step S19). By two-step printing of one line from steps S17 to S19, print output is performed without using broken print pins.

Further, it is checked whether or not there is dot image data which has not been printed yet. If not, the printing output is terminated, and if it is in the middle of a page, the recording medium is discharged.

Next, if there is unprinted data, the dot image data is stored in the first and second line buffers 12A and 12B (step S21). Here, it is confirmed whether or not a page break is to be performed (step S22). If the page is not a page break, a line feed is performed with a width smaller by n / 2 dots than the line feed width specified in the print data. That is, the transport unit 16 transports the recording medium by the line feed width (step S23). Thereafter, the two-step printing is repeated until all the print data is completed or a page break is performed (steps S17 to S23).

On the other hand, when a page break is to be performed, the setting of the print start position differs depending on the position where the print pin is broken. Therefore, if necessary, the process of step S14 is performed and the printing process is continued.

As described above, according to this embodiment, two line buffers are provided to control the storage of dot image data in the line buffers and to control the print head to change the print start address. The two-step printing can be performed without performing the above-described steps, and the two-step printing enables the printing output without any loss of accuracy even if the pin breaks. In addition, since it is sufficient to convey the paper in a width corresponding to the number of dots of n / 2, the conveyance can be performed accurately, and therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the print quality of the printed characters from deteriorating due to the displacement of the recording medium. .

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, a print pin used in accordance with a pin break position is divided into upper and lower halves,
Since the print output is performed in two stages, when the print head pin of the dot printer is broken, a print result without missing dots can be obtained until the print head is replaced,
In addition, since the print pins to be used are divided into two halves in the upper and lower halves, it is sufficient to convey the recording paper by １ ／ the length of the conventional one-line conveyance, and no displacement occurs due to conveyance. As described above, it is possible to provide an unprecedented superior printing method and dot printer that can perform printing without lowering the printing accuracy even when the pins of the print head are broken.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration of a printing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dot printer used for implementing the method shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the dot printer illustrated in FIG. 2;

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the contents of control of a two-stage print control unit for the first and second line buffers shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4A illustrates a case where a lower print pin is broken; FIG. 4B is an explanatory view showing a case where the upper print pin is broken.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the details of the method shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a printing example by a conventional dot printer, and FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a case where normal printing is performed;
FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a case where the print head is broken.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S1 Image data generation step S2 Image data division step S3 Two-stage printing step 10 Dot image generation unit 12 Buffer unit 12A First line buffer 12B Second line buffer 14 Print head 16 Transport means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 1/255 B41J 2/51

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image data generating step of converting print data from a host device into dot image data, and a print pin corresponding to the image data generated by the image data generating step is driven to print out on a recording medium. In the printing method including a printing step, following the image data generating step, it is determined that the pin break has occurred based on pin break information set from outside when the print pin has broken. An image data dividing step of vertically dividing the dot image data into two for each row, and using the printing step according to the division position when the image data is divided by the image data dividing step. The print pin to be broken is divided into upper and lower areas and the pin break is generated based on the pin break information. Printing method is characterized in that a two-step printing process in the printing pins have side regions prints sequentially dot image data divided into the upper and lower. 2. A dot image generating unit for generating dot image data based on print data from a host device, a buffer unit for temporarily storing the dot image data, and n columns for outputting dots to a recording medium. A print head that has a number of print pins and drives each of the print pins when dot image data is output from the buffer unit; and the recording medium moves to a print position of the print head based on setting data in the print data. Wherein the buffer unit comprises:
A first line buffer for storing an upper half of the dot image data from the dot image generator, and a second line buffer for storing a lower half of the dot image data from the dot image generator; A two-stage print control unit for specifying a storage area in the first and second line buffers for the upper half or lower half image data based on pin break information from the outside; However, after the dot image data in the first line buffer is printed out and before the dot image data in the second line buffer is output, the line feed is controlled to perform a line feed by n / 2 dots. A dot printer comprising a control unit. 3. A dot image generating section for generating dot image data based on print data from a host device, a buffer section for temporarily storing the dot image data, and n columns for outputting dots to a recording medium. A print head that has a number of print pins and drives each of the print pins when dot image data is output from the buffer unit; and the recording medium moves to a print position of the print head based on setting data in the print data. the dot printer having a conveying means for conveying the said buffer unit, the from the dot image generating unit
First and second line buffers respectively storing one dot image data, wherein the first line buffer is provided in a case where a pin break is a lower half based on pin break information from outside. A two-step printing control unit for deleting the dot image data stored in the lower half area of the dot image data and setting the read start address of the second line buffer at the start position of the lower half of the dot image data; The conveying means controls the line feed by n / 2 dots after the dot image data in the first line buffer is printed out and before the dot image data in the second line buffer is output. A dot printer, comprising: 4. A dot image generating section for generating dot image data based on print data from a host device, a buffer section for temporarily storing the dot image data, and n columns for outputting dots to a recording medium. A print head that has a number of print pins and drives each of the print pins when dot image data is output from the buffer unit; and the recording medium moves to a print position of the print head based on setting data in the print data. the dot printer having a conveying means for conveying the said buffer unit, the from the dot image generating unit
Comprising a first and second line buffer for storing one dot image data, respectively, in the buffer unit, the when broken pins on the basis of the pin break information from outside is above half second line buffer A two-stage print control unit for deleting the dot image data stored in the upper half area of the first line buffer and changing the read start address of the first line buffer; A line feed control unit for controlling line feed by n / 2 dots width after the dot image data in the medium is printed out and before the dot image data in the second line buffer is output. And a dot printer. 5. A printing method in which the line feed control unit sets a position returned by n / 2 dots from a normal printing start position as a start position when a pin break is determined to be an upper half based on the pin break information. 5. The dot printer according to claim 4, further comprising a start line setting unit.