JP2889681B2 - Printing control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing control device.

(B) Conventional technology Currently, a document printing apparatus such as a word processor has a page automatic printing function for automatically printing a page number without inputting a page number as a part of the document to be printed. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-53237).

Also, in recent devices of this type, annotations and the like are added to a header and / or
Or even printable footers have appeared (for example, a Japanese word processor manufactured by Canon Inc.)
CanoWord α50 “Operation Guide-Word Processor Function Edition”).

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The page numbers and the header / footer are printed on the periphery of the paper on which the document is printed so as not to overlap the document.

Thus, the page number is normally printed at the center of the bottom edge of the paper, but the footer can be printed at any position on the bottom edge of the paper as described in the prior art. For this reason, there is a possibility that the page number and the footer are superimposed and printed. Therefore, conventionally, the line for printing the footer is shifted by one line in the upper or lower direction with respect to the line for printing the page number, and printing is performed. For this reason, when printing the page number and the footer, there is a problem that the space on the paper where the document can be printed is reduced.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its structural features include a designation of printing a page number at a predetermined position on a sheet, a header at an end of the sheet, and And / or a device that can specify footer printing, means for instructing printing of a page number, means for specifying printing of a header and / or footer, and Means for invalidating printing at the predetermined position based on an instruction from the means.

Still another feature is that, when a specific symbol is present in the document constituting the header and / or footer, means for replacing the specific symbol with a numerical value indicating a page number is provided.

(E) Operation In such a configuration, when a header / footer is printed, a page number is not printed at a predetermined position. However, even in that case, the page number can be printed as a part of the header / footer.

(F) Embodiment Before describing a specific embodiment configuration to which the present invention is applied, first, a basic operation and an outline of the present embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, an already created document stamp is printed in accordance with a printing format. The printing format is set on a printing format menu (2) displayed on a display unit (1) as shown in FIG. You.

The data set on the format menu (2) is the first
As is clear from the figure, there are 10 types. Hereinafter, description of each data and a setting method thereof will be described.

A. Paper Size This data indicates the size of the paper on which the document is to be printed, and such data is changed using, for example, a specific key such as a conversion key on an input unit (not shown). Specifically, the cursor (3) displayed on the display unit (1) is moved to the position indicated as "A4 portrait" in FIG. Display content is "A4 portrait" → "A4 landscape" → "B4 portrait" → "B4 landscape" → "B5 portrait" →
It changes cyclically, such as "B5 horizontal" → "A4 vertical" → .... Although the data set by inputting the specific key merely indicates the paper size, the paper width and paper length of the paper (6) as shown in FIG. 3 are actually set by the setting data. Will be done.

B. Print Length As shown in FIG. 3, this data indicates the length of the print area (7) on the paper (6) on which the document is actually printed. The change is made by positioning the cursor (3) at the position where "255 mm" is displayed in FIG. 1 and inputting a numerical value using a numeric keypad or the like of the input unit.

C. Print Width This data shows the width of the print area (7) as shown in FIG. 3, and the change is made by moving the cursor (3) to the position indicated as "170mm" in FIG. By inputting a numerical value using a numeric keypad or the like.

D. Page printing This data indicates the initial value of the page number printed on each sheet. To change the page number, move the cursor (3) to the position indicated by "8" in FIG. This is performed by inputting a numerical value using a numeric keypad or the like. At this time, "0"
The setting indicates that the page number is not printed.

E. Number of copies This data is data that literally indicates the number of copies. The change is made by moving the cursor (3) to "1" in FIG.
This is performed by moving to the position indicated as "department" and inputting a numerical value using a numeric keypad or the like.

F. Printing Speed The printer employed in this embodiment is a thermal transfer type serial printer having two printing speeds, and this data indicates the printing speed of this printer. The change is made by moving the cursor (3) to the position indicated as "high speed" in FIG. 1 and inputting the above-mentioned specific key, for example. Specifically, when the specific key is input, the display content of the display position is changed from “high speed” to “low speed”.
->"Highspeed"-> It switches cyclically, for example.

G. Upper Margin This data indicates the distance between the upper end of the print area (7) and the upper end of the paper (6) as shown in FIG. 3, and the change is indicated as "upper margin" in FIG. The cursor (3) is moved to a position where "20 mm" is displayed on the right of the position where the cursor is placed, and a numerical value is input using a numeric keypad or the like.

H. Left Margin This data indicates the distance between the left edge of the print area (7) and the left edge of the paper (6) as shown in FIG. 3, and the change is indicated as "left margin" in FIG. "20" to the right of the position
move the cursor (3) to the position where "mm" is displayed,
This is performed by inputting a numerical value using a numeric keypad or the like.

I. Header printing As shown in FIG. 3, this data is the area above the printing area (7) of the paper (6) (hereinafter referred to as the header area) (8a)
To (8c) indicate whether to print an annotation or the like different from the document printed in the print area (7). Such a change of the data is performed by moving the cursor (3) to the position indicated as "new" in FIG. 1 and inputting the specific key, for example. Specifically, by inputting the key, the contents of the display position are cyclically switched in the order of “not performed” → “continue” → “new” → “not performed” →.

J. Footer printing As shown in FIG. 3, this data is the area below the print area (7) of the paper (6) (hereinafter referred to as footer area) (9a)
To (9c) indicate whether to print an annotation or the like different from the document printed in the print area (7). The change of the data is performed in the same manner as the header print data.

In the setting of each data on the format menu (2) as described above, when the header print data and / or the footer print data is set to "new", the display of the display unit (1) is shown in FIG. It is changed as follows.

The display shown in FIG. 2 is a screen for inputting a document such as an annotation serving as a header. On such a display, the cursor (3) is moved into the curly brackets (hereinafter referred to as a message area (5)) in which "Chapter 1 How to Convert Kanji #" is displayed, and a header is obtained by inputting a document. You can enter a different document. Also, by moving the cursor (3) to a position where "right alignment" is displayed in FIG. 2 and inputting a specific key, the header document is shifted left, center, or left.
It is possible to specify in which position of each of the header areas (8a) to (8c) on the right side to print. Specifically, in response to the specific key input, the display content of the display device is changed to the left-side area (8a).
"Center" indicating the center area (8b)
In addition, since the display of “right alignment” indicating the right alignment region (8c) changes cyclically, the display can be switched to a display corresponding to a desired region.

In FIG. 2, the method of inputting the header has been described. However, the input of the document serving as the footer and the designation of the print position can be performed in the same manner.

Next, a specific printing position of the header and footer on the printing paper (6) will be described with reference to FIG.

The left-side header area (8a) is arranged at a position where the left end is at a distance UM from the upper end of the sheet (6) and the distance from the left end is LM. Further, the right-side header area (8c) is arranged such that the right end thereof is spaced apart from the upper end and the right end of the sheet (6) by UM and RM, respectively. On the other hand, the left-side footer area (9a) is arranged such that the left end thereof is spaced apart from the lower end and the left end of the sheet (6) by DM and LM, respectively. The right end of the right footer area (9c) has the distances DM and RM from the lower end and the right end of the sheet (6), respectively.
It is arranged to be. The center header and footer areas (8b) and (9b) (not shown in FIG. 4) other than those described above are respectively located at a distance UM or DM from the upper end or the lower end of the paper (6) in the width direction of the paper (6). It is arranged almost in the center.

Each of the above distances UM, DM, LM, RM is determined by the mechanism of the printer. That is, in the current printer, there is a distance between the position of the print head and the position of the transport means such as the paper feed roller due to the mechanism, so that both ends of the paper in the transport direction cannot be printed by the distance. In a serial printer such as that employed in this embodiment,
The carriage moves during the acceleration period as shown in FIG.
t _1, and requires constant speed period t ₂ and a deceleration period t _3, the actual printable period is only the constant speed period t _2. In addition, the above 3
During interval t ₁ ~t _3, (specifically, the print head) carriage is preferably located on the paper. Accordingly, both end portions in the moving direction of the sheet carriage becomes unprintable between the period t ₁ or t _3.

Therefore, for example, when the sheet (6) shown in FIG. 4 is transported in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the distances UM and DM are longer than the distance between the print head of the printer and the transporting means. The distance LM, RM is greater than or equal to the distance of the carriage to be moved during the period t ₁ and t _3.

The periods t ₁ and t ₃ basically correspond to the speed V in the period t ₂ .
It changes with. Specifically, as the speed V increases, the periods t ₁ and t ₃ also increase. As a result, the distances LM and RM also become longer. The distance of the carriage which moves in the t ₁ and t ₃ in the present embodiment is assumed to be equal.

Returning to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the message area (5)
The symbol "#" entered as part of the header document in
Is not a mere symbol but a symbol for designating a position where a page number given as page print data in a header is to be printed.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the final printing form in this embodiment.

Specifically, the print form shown in FIG. 5 shows the first page printed based on the designation shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
The header is printed at the upper right corner of the sheet (6), and the page number is also printed in the header.

On the other hand, the printing form shown in FIG. 6 shows the first page when the header print data is changed to "not available" in the designation in FIG. The page number at this time is arranged in the lower center of the sheet (6).

As is clear from FIGS. 5 and 6, in the apparatus of this embodiment, when the header and the footer are printed, the page number is not printed on the center of the lower end of the sheet (6).

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration for realizing the basic operation of the present embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In FIG. 8, (10) is a main control unit composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The main control unit controls each unit described below based on a built-in control program.

Reference numeral (11) denotes an input unit. The input unit includes, as shown in FIG. 9, a character key group (11a) for inputting characters and symbols constituting a document, a numeric keypad (11b) for inputting numerical values, Print key (11c), specific key (11d), execute key (11e) and cursor movement key group (11f) for instructing cursor movement
Is provided.

Returning to FIG. 8, (12) is a display unit composed of a liquid crystal or a CRT or the like, (13) is a display control unit for controlling the display unit,
(14) is a document storage unit, in which a document to be printed is stored. (15) is a basic pattern storage unit, which stores a basic format constituting the format menu (2) and the header input screen (4) shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. . (16) is a designated data storage unit which stores various data set on the format menu (2) shown in FIG. 1 and a header or footer input screen as shown in FIG. The print position data to be set is stored.

(17) is a message storage unit, which comprises a header unit (17a) and a footer unit (17b). The message area (5) in the header input screen is included in the header section (17a).
Is stored in the message area (5b) in the footer input screen, while the character string (footer document) is stored in the footer section (17b).

(18) is a developed message storage unit, in which the document stored in the header unit (17a) or the footer unit (17b) is changed into a format that is actually printed and stored. That is, when the symbol "#" exists in the document, the symbol is replaced with the page number to be printed and stored. (19) is a thermal transfer type serial printer, (20)
Is a mechanism data storage unit. In the storage unit, the distance between the print head and the conveying means (hereinafter referred to as conveying distance) described when the printing position of the header and footer was described with reference to FIG. distance referred) and the seventh moving distance of each of FIGS an acceleration period t ₁ of the carriage described with reference to deceleration period t ₃ Prefecture (hereinafter referred to as deceleration distance) is stored. Note that, as described above, the acceleration / deceleration distance is the constant speed period t ₂
, And the printer (19) of this embodiment has two speeds, a low speed and a high speed.
Specifically, the acceleration / deceleration distance includes a first acceleration / deceleration distance at low speed and a second acceleration / deceleration distance at high speed.

Reference numeral (21) denotes a print control unit composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The control unit is a printer (19) based on a built-in print control program in accordance with a command from the main control unit (10).
Control the printing operation.

FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 are flowcharts showing the control operation of the main control unit (10) of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described based on such a chart.

First, when the print key (11c) of the input unit (11) is input, the main control unit (10) causes the display unit (12) in step S1.
A print format menu (2) is displayed as shown in FIG. Specifically, the basic format of the format menu (2) is read from the basic pattern storage unit (15) and displayed on the display unit (12) via the display control unit (13).

Next, in step S2, an input from the input unit (11) is waited, and if there is an input, in the following step S3, it is determined whether or not the input is the execution key (11e).
e) If not, the process proceeds to step S4.

In the step S4, the input in the step S2 is regarded as a change input for each data on the format menu (2), and in response to the input, the input on the display unit (12) and the designated data storage unit (1
6) Change the data inside. Since the change of each data has already been described, the description is omitted here. When the print key (11c) is input in the step S2, the input is invalidated.

Following the S4 step, the S5 step is processed. In this step, it is determined whether or not the print speed data, paper size data, left margin data, and print width data have been changed in step S4. If it is determined in this determination that any of the data has been changed, the process proceeds to step S6.

FIG. 12 shows the processing in step S6 in more detail. The margin setting processing in step S6 will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, in step S61, it is determined whether or not the printing speed data in the designated data storage unit (16) is "high speed". If it is determined that the printing speed data is "high speed", the process proceeds to step S62.

In this step, the left margin data, print width data, and paper size data are read from the designated data storage unit (16), and the second acceleration / deceleration distance is read from the mechanism data storage unit (20). It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied.

Left margin ≧ Second acceleration / deceleration distance… Paper width−Print horizontal width−Left margin ≧ Second acceleration / deceleration distance S6 when at least one of the above two equations is not satisfied
3. Step S64 will be processed.

In step S63, the second acceleration / deceleration distance is set as a left margin in the designated data storage unit (16) and displayed on the format menu (2). In step S64, a new print width is calculated based on the following equation, and is set in the designated data storage unit (16) and displayed on the format menu (2).

Printing width = paper width−left margin × 2... The left margin in the expression is newly set in step S63.

When the above expression is satisfied in the determination in step S62 and when step S64 is completed, the process returns to step S2 shown in FIG. 10, and waits for an input again.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S61 that the speed is not “high speed”, steps S65 to S67 are processed.

In step S65, the left margin data, print width data, and paper size data are read from the designated data storage unit (16), and the first acceleration / deceleration distance is read from the mechanism data storage unit (20). It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied.

Left margin ≧ first acceleration / deceleration distance… paper width−printing width−left margin ≧ first acceleration / deceleration distance S6 when at least one of the above two formulas is not satisfied.
6. Step S67 will be processed.

In step S66, the first acceleration / deceleration distance is set as the left margin in the designated data storage unit (16), and the display on the format menu (2) is also changed. In step S67, a new print width is calculated based on the following formula, and is set in the designated data storage unit (16) and displayed on the format menu (2).

Printing width = paper width−left margin × 2 The left margin in the expression is newly set in step S66.

When the above expression is satisfied in the determination in step S65 and when step S67 ends, the process returns to step S2 shown in FIG.

Returning to step S3 in FIG. 10, if it is determined in this step that the execution key (11e) has been input, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the header print data in the designated data storage unit (16) is "new".
If it is determined in the determination that the value is not "new", the process proceeds to step S12 in FIG.

On the other hand, when it is determined to be “new”, steps S8 to S11 are processed. In step S8, the basic pattern storage unit (1
5) The basic format constituting the header input screen is read out, and the display on the display section (12) is switched to the input screen (4) as shown in FIG.

In a succeeding S9 step, an input from the input unit (11) is waited. If there is an input, it is determined whether or not the input is the execution key (11e). It is determined that the input of the print position data has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S12 (FIG. 11).

On the other hand, if it is determined that a key other than the execution key (11e) has been input, the process proceeds to step S11 assuming that the input is a header document and print position data. In step S11, the header document input on the header input screen is stored in the header section (17a) in the message storage section (17), and the print position data is stored in the designated data storage section (16). Note that the data stored in each of the storage units is a header input screen (4).
Needless to say what is displayed above. Also, since the input method of each of the above data has already been described, it is omitted here.

When the process in step S11 is completed, the process returns to step S9 and returns to step S9.
9 steps or less are repeated.

Next, the processing of step S12 and subsequent steps shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

First, in step S12, it is determined whether the footer print data in the designated data storage unit (16) is "new". If such a determination is made that the value is set to a value other than “new”, the process proceeds to step S17.

On the other hand, when it is determined to be "new", the display on the display unit (12) is switched to the footer input screen in step S13.
Next, in steps S14 to S16, input of the footer document and its print position data is continued until the execution key (11e) is input. Note that the basic processing is the same as the above-described steps S9 to S11 except that the footer document input in such processing is stored in the footer section (17b) in the message storage section (17), and thus a detailed description will be given. Is omitted.

On the other hand, if the in-process execution key (11e) in steps S14 to S16 is input, the process will exit from step S15 to step S17.

In step S17, the main control unit (10) sets the print control unit (2
The control is passed to 1), and the document in the document storage unit (14) is printed out.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are flowcharts showing the control operation of the print control unit (21) in the above S17 step, and the processing in S17 step will be described below based on such a chart.

First, in step S20, page print data is read from the designated data storage unit (16) and set as a variable PN in one general-purpose register in the print control unit (21). Such a PN indicates a page number to be printed.

In the following S21 step, the transport distance is read from the mechanism data storage unit (20), and the distance is set in the general-purpose register in the print control unit (21) as the above-described distances UM and DM.

Next, in step S22, the designated data storage unit (1
6) It is determined whether or not the printing speed data set in “in” is “high speed”. "High speed" in such a judgment
If it is determined that the distance has been set, the second acceleration / deceleration distance is read from the mechanism data storage unit (20) in step S23, and the distance is set as the above-described distance LM, RM in the print control unit (2
1) Set in the general-purpose register.

On the other hand, if it is determined that “high speed” has not been set, S2
First in 4 steps from the mechanism data storage unit (20)
The acceleration / deceleration distance is read, and the distance is set in the general-purpose register in the print control unit (21) as the above LM, RM.

When the steps S23 and S24 are completed, the process proceeds to a step S25. In this step, it is determined whether or not the header print data in the designated data storage unit (16) is set to “new” or “continue”. Proceed to

On the other hand, if it is determined that any of the above is set,
In step S26, it is determined whether the page print data in the designated data storage unit (16) is "0". If it is determined that the value is not “0” in such a determination, in step S27, it is determined whether or not the symbol “#” is included in the header document stored in the header portion (17a). Is substituted for the variable PN in place of such a symbol, and the following S2
In step 8, the substituted header document is stored in the expanded message storage unit (18). If the symbol "#" is not included in the header document, the above substitution process is not performed, and the header document in the header section (17a) is stored in the expanded message storage section (18) as it is.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S26 that the page print data is “0”, the symbol “#” is added to the header document.
Is included, the substitution described in step S27 is not performed, and the header document in the header section (17a) is stored in the expanded message storage section (18) as it is in step S28.

Following the S28 step, the S29 step is processed. In this step, the document in the expanded message storage unit (18) is printed as a header. More specifically, first, the print position data is read out from the designated data storage unit (16), and based on the position data, the left, center, and right header areas (8a The above document is printed on any one of (8) to (8c). Note that the distances UM, LM, and RM required at this time are set in general-purpose registers, and therefore are used.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the message area (5) shown in FIG.
If the page print data is other than "0" when a document including the symbol "#" as shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the header part (17a), the document will be replaced with the symbol "#" as shown in FIG. It is printed with the page number replaced. On the other hand, if the page print data is "0", the symbol "#" is printed in the form shown in FIG. 2 without being replaced by a numerical value.

When the step S29 ends, the process proceeds to a step S30. In such a step, one page of the document in the document storage unit (14) is read out, and based on the upper margin data, the left margin data, the print length data, the print width data, etc., in the designated data storage unit (16). Is printed at a predetermined position.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S31 shown in FIG. In this step, it is determined whether or not the footer print data in the designated data storage section (16) is set to "new" or "continue".

If it is determined in any of the above determinations that any of the above is set, steps S32 to S35 are processed. Such processing is performed by expanding the document in the footer section (17b) and storing the message in the message storage section (18).
And is printed in the left, center, and right footer areas (9a) to (9c) described in FIGS. 3 and 4. Basically, S26 described above is used. The operation is the same as the steps S29 to S29. Therefore, a detailed description of steps S32 to S35 is omitted.

On the other hand, when the footer print data is set to "not" in step S31, steps S36 to S38 are processed.

In step S36, it is determined whether or not the symbol "#" of the document in the header section (17a) of the message storage section (17) is included. If it is determined that it is not included, the subsequent step S37 is processed. In such a step, it is determined whether or not the page print data is “0”. If it is determined that the page print data is not “0”, the PN value is set as a page number in the center footer area (9b) shown in FIG. Print.

Therefore, when the page number is not printed in the header and the footer is not printed, the
By processing the steps S36 to S38, the page numbers are printed as shown in FIG.

When the processing in steps S32 to S35 or the processing in steps S36 to S38 ends, step S39 is then processed.

In step S39, a page break process is performed to prepare a sheet to be printed next. Next, in step S40, the PN value is increased by 1, and in step S41, the document storage unit (1
4) It is determined whether or not all the pages in the document are printed. If it is determined in this determination that all pages have been printed, control is returned to the main control unit (10), and the printing process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that printing of all pages has not been completed, the process proceeds to S25 in FIG.
Return to the step and start printing the next page.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, when both the page number and the header / footer are designated for printing, the header / footer is preferentially printed, so that the printing space of the document is reduced as in the related art. There is no. Also in this case, the page number can be printed as a part of the header / footer by inputting a specific symbol (“#” in this embodiment) into the document serving as the header / footer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing input screens for various data in the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining various data in this embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are schematic diagrams showing the printing form of the present embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining the operation of the printer in the present embodiment. 8, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the present embodiment, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the configuration of the input unit of the present embodiment, and FIGS. 10 to 14 are for explaining the operation of the present embodiment. It is a flowchart of FIG. (10)… Main control unit, (11)… Input unit, (16)… Designated data storage unit, (17)… Message storage unit, (21)
... Print control unit.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Inoue 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-64-36473 (JP, A) JP-A Sho JP-A-59-168532 (JP, A) JP-A-2-47776 (JP, A) JP-A-4-128963 (JP, A) JP-A-3-160558 (JP, A) A) Japanese Utility Model 1-106243 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 29/40 B41J 21/00 G06F 3/12

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device capable of designating printing of a page number at a predetermined position on a sheet and printing of a header and / or footer at an end of the sheet, comprising: means for instructing printing of a page number; And / or means for designating footer printing, and means for invalidating the instruction from the instruction means when the instruction from the page number print instruction means and the designation from the header / footer designation means are both performed. A print control device comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for, when a specific symbol is present in a document constituting said header and / or footer, replacing said specific symbol with a numerical value indicating a page number. A print control device, comprising: