JP2953680B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for forming a visual image on a recording medium in accordance with a drawing command based on a predetermined format input from an external host computer.
In particular, it relates to improvement of operability of a plotter used in a CAD field and a business graph field.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a multi-pen type flatbed type XY conventionally used in the field of CAD and business graphs.
The appearance of the plotter is shown. In FIG. 4, 19 is the plotter body, 2
0 is a recording surface, 21 is a Y-axis bar, 22 is a Y-axis slider, 2
2a denotes a pen holder, 23 denotes a pen stocker, 24 denotes a recording pen, and 25 denotes an operation panel. When the plotter body 19 receives a drawing command according to a predetermined format from an external host computer, the plotter body 19 internally analyzes the command, and based on the analysis result, the Y-axis slider 22 on the Y-axis bar 21.
And an X-axis slider (not shown) on which the Y-axis bar 21 is placed
Is moved on an X-axis bar (not shown), the recording pen 24 stored in a pen stocker 23 provided at a predetermined position is transferred to a pen holder 22a, and the recording medium fixed to the recording surface 20 is moved. (Not shown) to form the desired visual image. At this time, in order to change the color of the recording pen, the recording pen 24 is manually replaced with another recording pen, the purpose of notifying the operator of the current recording pen position on the XY coordinate plane, and the communication conditions with the external host computer. The operation panel 25 is provided with a display device and operation keys to which various functions are assigned, for the sake of convenience in setting the settings of the printer and the setting conditions of the plotter.

An operation panel 2 provided for such a purpose
5 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 14 denotes a display device composed of a liquid crystal element or the like, 16 denotes an operation key group to which various functions are assigned, 16a denotes an up cursor key, 16b denotes a down cursor key, 16c denotes a right cursor key, and 16d denotes a left cursor key. A cursor key, 16e is a menu key, 16f is an enter key, and 26 is a display for displaying a power-on state or the like, which is not directly related to the present invention. The display device 14 can display 16 characters per line on a character type display device, or a total of 16 characters with 2 characters per line.
Those capable of displaying characters are used, and are used in a data format suitable for each display. The display device 14 displays the XY coordinate values of the current recording pen at the time of normal drawing, but at the time of non-drawing, as described above, the communication speed, the stop bit length, and the parity of the communication conditions with the external host computer. The type of bit, the drawing speed and writing pressure of the recording pen transferred from the pen stocker 23 to the pen holder 22a,
Further, a hierarchical menu as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed for manually setting the size of the recording medium and the like. 1
The operation keys 6a to 16f are used to operate the menu of FIG. 6, to display lower layer parameters, and to confirm selection.

FIG. 6 shows a primary menu as an example of a menu configuration.
The menu is hierarchically displayed in a secondary and tertiary order. For example, when setting communication conditions with an external host computer, a menu key 16e on the operation panel 25 is pressed.
The primary menu is displayed on the display device 14. The primary menu is composed of "pen optimization", "I / F setting", "paper size", "replot", and "plotter mode".
4 displays “I / F setting”. Next, "I / F setting"
When the right cursor key 16c is pressed in order to display a secondary menu of a lower layer associated with "", "manual setting" is displayed. When the right cursor key 16c is pressed to display the lower tertiary menu, the items of "I / F selection", "communication speed", "stop bit" and "parity check" are sequentially pressed by pressing the down cursor key 16b. Is displayed.

Here, in order to specify the detailed specification of the "communication speed", when the "communication speed" is displayed and the enter key 16f is pressed and "communication speed" is selected, "9800" and "4800" shown in parentheses are selected. ”“ 2400 ”“ 1200 ”
Is displayed, the upper cursor key 16
The display of the selectable parameters is sequentially performed by operating the "a" or the down cursor key 16b, and the selection is confirmed by pressing the enter key 16f with the desired lower layer parameter.

Other items such as "stop bit" are selected in the same procedure, and after the selection is confirmed, if the left cursor key 16d is sequentially pressed, the menu returns to the original hierarchical level. The hierarchical menu in the above description of the conventional example is merely an example, and various methods are adopted for its configuration. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, "manual setting" in the secondary menu is performed.
May be omitted and the lower-level menu accompanying it may be used as the secondary menu.

In general, when using this kind of recording apparatus, most of the software used on an external host computer uses commercially available application software created so as to be suitable for each business. The task of controlling the recording device from the outside is handled by the application software side, and the data to be recorded is converted according to the format of the drawing language mounted on the recording device, and then transmitted to the recording device.

At this time, the communication conditions between the host computer and the recording device are controlled by the application software, and the recording device needs to change the communication conditions in a manner as described above. Become. Also, the application software used on the external host computer is not limited to one type, and often uses a plurality of application softwares.
In many cases, the communication conditions are different, and a complicated operation of changing and setting the communication conditions on the recording apparatus side every time the application software used on the external host computer is switched is required.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a recording apparatus which improves the above-mentioned drawbacks, improves operability, and enables editing of operation menus without adding special operation keys. It is intended to be.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to improve operability, a recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises an operation mode of a recording apparatus which is hierarchically selectable and a plurality of lower layer parameters for determining the function of the operation mode. A display device for displaying parameters that can be selected from among them, setting means for changing or selecting the operation mode and the lower layer parameters to set the setting parameters of the recording device, and storage means for storing the setting state. In addition, a plurality of specific operation modes in which lower layer parameters are fixed can be provided, and a name suitable for display on the display device can be added to a combination of these operation modes and lower layer parameters, and registered and stored in the storage unit. And the operation mode name and lower layer parameters can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input from an external host computer. It is and configuration.

[0011]

As a result, a plurality of specific operation modes in which the lower layer parameters are fixed are provided, and a name suitable for display on the display device is added to each combination of the operation mode and the lower layer parameters, and the combination is registered and stored in the storage means. In addition, the operation mode name and lower layer parameter registered and stored in the storage means can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input from an external host computer, and the name can be repeatedly displayed on the display device, and the displayed name is displayed. When selected, the setting parameters of the recording device can be automatically set according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows an internal control circuit of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5, reference numeral 5 denotes an external host computer, 6 denotes a recording device, 7 denotes an interface circuit, 8 denotes a communication control circuit, 9 denotes a CPU, 10 denotes a ROM, and 11 denotes an RA.
M and 12 are electrically erasable / writable ROMs (hereinafter referred to as EE).
PROM), 13 is a display control circuit, 14 is a display device, 15 is an input / output control circuit (1), 16 is an operation key group, 17 is an input / output control circuit (2), and 18 is a recording mechanism section. .

Next, the internal operation of the recording device 6 will be described. The data processing procedure inside the recording device 6 is RO
When a drawing command according to a predetermined format is input to the interface circuit 7 of the recording device 6 from the external host computer 5 and is programmed in the M10, the signal level conversion is performed by the interface circuit 7 and the communication control circuit 8 It is transmitted to the CPU 9 via

Since the data processing time in the CPU 9 is shorter than the actual drawing time in the recording mechanism, a part of the drawing command input via the communication control circuit 8 is stored in the RAM 11 and sequentially taken out in the actual drawing. CPU
9, the input / output control circuit (2) 17
Is sent as a drawing command signal to the recording mechanism section 18 via the. At this time, the external host computer 5
If the communication speed, the stop bit, and the parity check do not match each other, the communication conditions between the device and the recording device 6 are such that data is lost and normal communication cannot be performed. It is necessary to match the communication conditions. In order to execute such a setting operation, a hierarchical menu as shown in FIG. 2 is registered and stored in the EEPROM 12 in advance in the recording device 6. These menus can be displayed on the display device 14 via the display control circuit 13 by operating an operation key group 16 connected to the input / output control circuit (1) 15. The selected parameters are detected by managing the operation states of the CPU 16 by the CPU 9, and the setting parameters are programmed so as to be stored in the EEPROM 12.

Once the setting parameter is EEPROM1
2 is stored in the recording device 6 as soon as the power is turned on.
Referring to the setting parameters stored in the ROM 12,
The default value of the recording device 6 is used for the subsequent internal arithmetic processing. The display device 14 can be composed of a liquid crystal element or a light-emitting diode element. A character type display device can display 16 characters per line, and a display device with a total of 16 characters per line can display 8 characters. In addition, a graphic display device is used.In the case of a character display device, English characters, katakana or kanji can be used, and when using a graphics display device, a message can be expressed with a hieroglyphic figure called an icon And is used in a data format suitable for each display.

FIG. 2 shows a menu structure of the recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is the name of a specific operation mode (1), 2 is the name of a specific operation mode (2), 3 is the name of a specific operation mode (3), 4 is the name of a specific operation mode (4). In each case, the names of commercially available application software used on the external host computer 5 are used. The task of externally controlling the recording device 6 using these application software is performed by the application software, and the data to be recorded is converted in accordance with the format of the drawing language installed in the recording device 6 and then the recording device is converted. 6 is sent.

At this time, the communication conditions between the external host computer 5 and the recording device 6 are mainly controlled by the application software side. The lower layer parameters in the menu are connected under the conditions that the communication speed is 9600 (bits / second), the stop bit length is 1 (bit), and the parity check is N (none). Therefore, the combination of the specific operation mode and the lower layer parameters associated with the specific operation mode is given a name "MS WINDOWS 2.1" and registered and stored in the EEPROM 12 as storage means. The name of "MSWINDOWS 2.1" is not limited to this, and can be expressed by a name that is easy for the operator of the recording device 6 to identify, or when a graphics display device is used, an equivalent figure instead. In addition, the hieroglyphic figure can be used for the names of other operation modes that are hierarchized and selectable.

Next, a method of operating the menu shown in FIG. 2 will be described. An operation panel 25 for performing a menu operation may have a configuration similar to that of the conventional example. FIG. 2 shows a first-, second-, and third-order hierarchical menu as an example of the menu configuration. For example, when setting communication conditions with the external host computer 5, the menu on the operation panel 25 is set. Pressing the key 16e causes the display device 14 to display a primary menu. The primary menu is “Pen Optimization”, “I
/ F setting ”,“ Paper size ”,“ Replot ”, and“ Plotter mode ”.
Press 6b to display "I / F setting" on the display device 14.

Next, when the right cursor key 16c is pressed to display a lower secondary menu associated with "I / F setting", "manual setting" is displayed. Here down cursor key 1
6b, the display device 14 displays "AUTOCAD"
(9.01) "→" VERSACAD 5.3 R4 "
→ "LOTUS123 R2.0" → "MS WIND"
OWS 2.1 "→" Manual setting "→" AUTOCAD "
(9.01) ".
When the up cursor key 16 (a) is used, the display is repeated cyclically in the reverse direction.

The display is "MS WINDOWS 2.1"
When the enter key 16f is pressed when is displayed, the lower layer tertiary menu is displayed as described above, and the lower layer parameters "communication speed", "stop bit", and "parity check" are set. There is no need to set
S WINDOWS 2.1 ”
Communication speed of lower layer parameters registered in EPROM 12: 9600 (bits / second), stop bit length:
1 (bit), parity check: N (none) is automatically adopted. After the selection is confirmed, the left cursor key 16
Pressing d sequentially returns the menu to the original hierarchical level.

The setting by the selected name is retained in the EEPROM 12 even after the power of the recording device 6 is turned off.
Is referred to the setting parameters stored in the EEPROM 12 at the same time when the power is turned on again, and is used as a default value of the recording device 6 for the subsequent internal arithmetic processing. If it is not necessary to keep the selected state even after the power of the recording apparatus 6 is turned off, the EEP
The ROM 12 is replaced with a static RAM, the menu is programmed in the ROM 10 as a reference table, and when the menu is operated, the menu and the lower layer parameters are read out from the reference table and displayed on the display device 14, and the selected state thereafter is stored in the static RAM. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the information is stored.

Generally, commercially available application software used on the external host computer 5 is often released on the market in order to provide users with improved functions. In this case, the lower layer parameters “communication speed”, “stop bit”,
A part of "parity check" may be changed or a part of software name may be changed. In particular, when the software name is changed, it is preferable that the operator of the recording device 6 can also change the name of the specific operation mode displayed on the menu, in order to prevent the erroneous operation of the operator.

However, in order to cope with an unspecified name change, a large number of operation keys A, B, C to Z and 0, 1, 2 to 9 are provided on the operation panel 25 even when expressed in alphanumeric characters. The recording device 6 of the present invention has the following functions to avoid such uneconomicalness, although it is necessary to increase the number of additional units.
For example, when changing “MS WINDOWS 2.1” to “MS WINDOWS 3.0” in FIG. 2, the menu is operated as described above to display “MS WINDOWS 2.1” on the display device 14.
"INDOWS 2.1" is displayed, and the following specific drawing command is input from the external host computer 5 to the recording device 6. WMMS WINDOWS 3.0;

The format of the drawing command is a mnemonic where "WM" means menu writing, "MS W
INDOS 3.0 "indicates the name of the specific operation mode after the change, and";"indicates the terminator of the drawing command.
When this recording command is received by the recording device 6, it is analyzed by the CPU 9 in the same manner as a normal drawing command, the name of a specific operation mode is rewritten, and the name is changed as shown at 4 'in FIG. The result is registered and stored in the EEPROM 12.

If it is necessary to change the lower layer parameters associated with a specific operation mode at the same time, a menu command similar to the previous example is performed, and then a drawing command is input from the external host computer 5 as follows. WMMS WINDOWS 3.0, 4800, 1,
N;

The format of this drawing command is a mnemonic where "WM" means menu writing, "MS W
INDOWS 3.0 ”is the name of the specific operation mode after the change,“, ”is the separator that separates the parameters of the drawing command,“ 4800 ”is the communication speed parameter,“ 1 ”is the stop bit parameter, and“ N ”is the The parity check parameter ";" represents the terminator of the drawing command.When the printing command is received by the recording device 6, it is analyzed by the CPU 9 in the same manner as a normal drawing command, and the name of a specific operation mode is rewritten. Is executed, and 4 ′ in FIG.
And the items of the lower layer parameters "communication speed", "stop bit", and "parity check" are also changed, and the EEPROM 12 is rewritten.

The name of the specific operation mode and the lower layer parameter thus changed can be handled from the operation panel 25 by the same operation as other menus. When a hieroglyphic figure is used for the name of a specific operation mode, the hieroglyphic figure is decomposed into dot information having a predetermined matrix configuration, converted into an ASCII format code, and a name parameter of a specific operation mode in a drawing command. Then you can use it.

[0028]

As described above, a plurality of specific operation modes in which the lower layer parameters are fixed are provided, and a name suitable for display on the display device is added to the combination of these operation modes and the lower layer parameters to the storage means. Registered and stored, and the operation mode name and lower layer parameter registered and stored in the storage means can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input from an external host computer, and the name can be repeatedly displayed on a display device and displayed. When the selected name is selected, the setting parameters of the recording device can be automatically set according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means, so that the configuration is inexpensive without adding special operation keys. A recording device with improved operability can be provided. In the above description, a multi-pen flatbed XY plotter has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a multi-pen paper moving XY plotter, a thermal plotter using a heating head, and a penless plotter such as a laser system.
Further, similar effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to various printers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an internal control circuit of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a menu structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a modified menu structure of the recording device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows the appearance of a recording apparatus using a multi-pen flatbed XY plotter.

FIG. 5 shows details of an operation panel of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 6 shows a menu configuration of a recording apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Name of specific operation mode (1) 2: Name of specific operation mode (2) 3: Name of specific operation mode (3) 4: Name of specific operation mode (4) 4 ': Rewritten Name of specific operation mode (4) 5: external host computer 6: recording device 7: interface circuit 8: communication control circuit 9: CPU 10: ROM 11: RAM 12: electrically erasable / writable ROM 13: display control circuit 14: Display device 15: Input / output control circuit (1) 16: Operation key group 17: Input / output control circuit (2) 18: Recording mechanism unit 19: Plotter body 20: Recording surface 21: Y-axis bar 22: Y-axis slider 23: Pen stocker 24: Recording pen 25: Operation panel

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B43L 13/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for forming a visual image on a recording medium in accordance with a drawing command based on a predetermined format input from an external host computer, wherein the operation of the recording apparatus is hierarchized and selectable. A display device for displaying a selectable parameter from among a plurality of lower layer parameters that determine a function of the mode and the operation mode, and a display device for changing or selecting the operation mode and the lower layer parameter to set the recording device as a setting parameter. In a recording apparatus comprising setting means and storage means for storing the setting state, a plurality of specific operation modes in which lower-layer parameters are fixed are provided, and a combination of these operation modes and lower-layer parameters is displayed on the display device. A name suitable for the application is registered and stored in the storage means, and the name is input from the external host computer. The name of the operation mode and the lower layer parameter registered and stored in the storage means are made rewritable by a specific drawing command which is input, and the name can be repeatedly displayed on the display device, and when the displayed name is selected, the recording device A recording device for automatically setting the setting parameters according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display device is a character type display device. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display device is constituted by a graphics display device. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the names of the operation modes hierarchized and selectable and the names added to the combination of the specific operation mode and the lower layer parameter are represented by a hieroglyphic figure. . 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means comprises an electrically erasable / writable ROM.