JP3013512B2 - Barcode printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an I-type wherein the pattern of each digit of a bar code is determined depending on the pattern of each adjacent digit.
It concerns printing of TF barcodes and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ITF barcode will be mainly described below, but the present invention can be applied to other barcodes having similar characteristics. ITF (InterleavedTwo
of Five) a bar code is composed of five odd-numbered digit bars (black bars) and five even-digit spaces (white bars) adjacent to each of these bars, and one character is formed.
Two of the elements have a wide width and three have a narrow width.

Conventionally, to print an ITF bar code,
There were various problems as follows. A) There is a method of independently storing the patterns of “0” to “9” and synthesizing odd-numbered digits and even-numbered digits at the time of printing. However, when the number of digits is large, a large amount of time is required for synthesizing and editing. However, for example, it was about 10 times as large as a normal bar code. B) Even if patterns of "00" to "100" are created and held in advance and it is not necessary to combine odd and even digits, 100 patterns can be used. Can not. C) There is hardly any case where the ratio between narrow and wide can be arbitrarily set under the conditions of A) or B).

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a bar code printer capable of efficiently creating and printing ITF bar codes and the like.

[0005]

According to the present invention, two digits of a character consisting of a predetermined number of odd-numbered bars following a start code and a character consisting of the same number of space bars adjacent to each of these bars are used. A plurality of dot pattern combinations, preferably one of "00" to "99"
One set of the 00 patterns is created and stored, and the combinations of the dot patterns are sequentially selected in accordance with the input of the barcode information to be printed, so that a barcode pattern for one column of all digits is formed. A barcode printer characterized in that it is configured.

According to the present invention, when the dot numbers of the narrow element and the wide element are given from an external device,
Start code and 10 from "00" to "99"
Automatically create a set of 0 dot patterns in 2-digit units for one row,
After storing the pattern in the internal memory of the printer, the even number digit sequence input from the external device or the keyboard of the device is made to correspond to the pattern every two digits, and a pattern for one column such as an ITF bar code is formed. When the number of dots of the narrow element and the wide element is not provided from an external device, the value of the number of dots previously set and stored in the device is automatically selected for each of them, and the ITF or the like is similarly set. The bar code pattern for one row is copied in the height direction of the bar code for the required row, and an ITF bar code or the like is printed.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a combination of a two-digit dot pattern consisting of a character consisting of a predetermined number of odd-numbered bars following a start code and a character consisting of the same number of space bars adjacent to each of these bars is used. One row is created and stored for a plurality of types, and the combination of the dot patterns is sequentially selected in response to input of barcode information to be printed, so that a barcode pattern for one row of all digits is formed. The required ITF
Barcodes and the like can be created efficiently.

The present invention further relates to the determination of the number of dots of a narrow element and a wide element, which are presupposed for creating a dot pattern. When the number of dots is designated from outside, the number is used. ,
Since the two-digit dot pattern is created by selecting the number of dots set and stored in the apparatus in advance, the standard number of dots or various numbers of dots depending on the case are arbitrarily selected. be able to. Details will be described in the description of the embodiment.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a bar code printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. (1) is an external device such as a personal computer, and (2) is a bar code printer. (3) is a bus line of the printer (2) system, and (4) is a direct keyboard input and external device (1).
Input / output device for receiving print information transferred from the printer, (5)
Is a CPU. (6), (7), and (8) denote first, second, and third fixed memories, each of which is composed of a ROM or the like. The first fixed memory (6) is for character generation,
It is used for printing characters corresponding to data characters below the barcode, and has a routine program for generating characters, symbols, etc. of various fonts and sizes similar to those of an ordinary printer.

The second fixed memory (7) is for storing a control program, and also stores a control program as a normal printer such as for printing characters. Third fixed memory (8)
Stores a control program for printing an ITF barcode or the like. The control program stores a program for performing various processes necessary for printing an ITF barcode, as well as a program shown in a flow chart of FIG. 2 to be described later.

A memory (9) is a storage content variable memory for storing other print patterns, print information, and the like necessary for the present invention, and is constituted by, for example, a RAM, and the input / output device (4) receives from the external device (1). An input buffer area (10) for storing print information (including commands) in the form of a code, a print information storage area (11) for storing a print format, etc., a storage area (12) for external characters, etc., which are particularly important for the present invention. Bar code information storage area such as ITF (13), output buffer area (14) for storing dot-expanded print information to be used for printing
Etc.

Barcode information storage area such as ITF (13)
Is the ITF barcode and other general information.
Regarding the number N of dots of narrow elements such as TF barcodes and the number W of dots of wide elements, standard or frequently used (hereinafter referred to as “standard”) values,
For example, N = 3 and W = 9 are stored. Preferably, this value can be changed at any time by inputting the value to the external device (1) by keyboard and transferring the value to the printer (2), or by inputting the value directly to the printer (2) by keyboard.

The storage area (13) is created based on the value of the number of dots (for example, N = 2, W = 6) received from the external device, the start code and the stop code of the ITF barcode, and the determined number of dots. Further, 100 sets of two-digit unit dot patterns “00” to “99” are stored. In some cases, 100 sets of two-digit unit dot patterns of the standard number of dots are created in advance and stored in the storage area (13).
May be stored.

FIG. 5 shows a method of creating a two-digit unit dot pattern. In the example of "01", each element of an odd-numbered "0" pattern and an even-numbered "1" pattern is used. It can be formed by sequentially taking out and joining. The memory (9) has a backup function using a battery, a battery, and the like to retain the stored contents even when the power is turned off.

(15) is a thermal head and other print heads. Next, the operation of creating a barcode according to the present invention will be described. A) The printer (2) is normally in a state capable of receiving information from the outside. When print information is received in the form of a code from the host computer (1), the printer (2) stores the code as it is in the input buffer (10) of the RAM (9). You. When printing normal characters and the like, the print contents are dot-developed in the output buffer (14) in units of one page or in an appropriate number of lines according to the print command, and are sequentially printed out.

B) In the case of printing a bar code, when setting the number of dots, at the start of printing, for example, a command as shown in FIG. 3 is given from the host computer. Is not received, 100 dot patterns in two-digit units are immediately created and stored in the RAM (9). .

C) When the apparatus is started to print a bar code, first, the dot numbers of the narrow element and the wide element are determined. That is, it is determined whether or not these dot numbers are given before the power is turned on. If given, the dot pattern has already been stored in the RAM (9), so this is adopted and the process proceeds to E) below. If the dot numbers of the narrow element and the wide element are not given, then (after power-on) it is determined whether or not these dot numbers are given, and the following processing is performed. a) The number of narrow dots N and the number of wide dots W from outside
Is given, a given value, for example, N = 2,
Set W = 6. b) If not provided from outside, select a value stored in the apparatus, for example, N = 3, W = 9 and set it.

D) On the basis of the conditions determined in C), the start code, stop code of ITF barcode and dot pattern of two-digit
M (9) (storage area (13)). FIG. 4 is a storage state diagram in which the number of dots is N = 2 and W = 6.
And the case where it is designated from an external device. As shown in the figure, R
For each AM address, the number of narrow dots, the number of wide dots, the start code, the stop code,
0 "," 01 ", ... A dot pattern of every two digits of “98” and “99” is stored, and the number of effective dots is designated. (Note that symbols such as “CC” and “FCC” indicate 16 progress codes.) In the lower part of FIG. 4, a pattern for one column of “01” is shown as an example, which is shown in FIG. As shown, each element of a pattern of odd-numbered "0" and a pattern of even-numbered "1" is alternately combined.

E) It is determined whether or not the information of the height of the bar code and the contents of the print are given. At the time when these are given, all the patterns of one row are copied in the required number of rows in the height direction and the output buffer ( The data is developed in step 14) and printed to create a necessary barcode. That is, the narrow and wide dot numbers, which are the basic premise of the barcode creation, can be arbitrarily specified by inputting them to the host computer with a keyboard and transferring them to the printer (1), or by setting the keyboard inside the printer. is there. Similarly, the print content and height of the barcode to be printed can be transferred via the host computer or input directly to the printer by a keyboard, and accordingly, the data "00" to "99" stored in the RAM can be stored. A required pattern is read out from 100 patterns in a digit unit in a required order,
A pattern for one column of all digits is formed, and this is copied in a required column in the height direction to form a dot pattern of a required bar code. Therefore, corresponding to the keyboard input, any ITF
It is now possible to print barcodes etc. efficiently.

The specific configuration of the present invention can be variously modified. As described above, for example, the standard dot number of the narrow element and the wide element stored and set in the apparatus is "00". 2 of 100 pairs of "~ 99"
A dot pattern for each digit may be created and stored in the RAM (9). With this configuration, when the number of dots is not specified from the outside, the barcode pattern and the height can be given, so that a barcode pattern for one line can be created immediately, making the creation and printing of barcodes even faster. can do.

[0021]

As is clear from the above description, the following effects can be obtained by the present invention. 1) A complicated ITF barcode or the like can be efficiently created and printed in correspondence with keyboard input. 2) Barcode width "narrow" and "wide"
Can be set arbitrarily, and can be adapted to various cases.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a barcode printer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of a flow of a printing program in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an example of a command externally given to the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an information storage state of a RAM in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of forming an ITF barcode pattern in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a pattern table of an ITF barcode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 external device 2 barcode printer 3 bus line 4 input / output device 5 CPU 6 fixed memory for character generation 7 fixed memory for control program 8 fixed memory for ITF barcode print control 9 variable storage memory 10 input buffer memory area 11 print information storage Area 12 External character storage area 13 ITF barcode information storage area 14 Output buffer memory area 15 Print head

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-2-192968 (JP, A) JP-A-2-184469 (JP, A) JP-A-63-76087 (JP, A) JP-A-63-760 37485 (JP, A) JP-A-64-15887 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 3/01 G06K 1/12

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of combinations of two-digit dot patterns of a character consisting of a predetermined number of odd-numbered bars following a start code and a character consisting of the same number of space bars adjacent to each of these bars. Is stored in one line, and a combination of the dot patterns is sequentially selected in response to input of bar code information to be printed, so that a bar code pattern for one line of all digits is formed. A bar code printer characterized by the above. 2. When the numbers of dots of a narrow element and a wide element are given from an external device, a start code and 100 sets of 2-digit unit dot patterns from "00" to "99" are automatically created for one column. Storing an ITF bar code by storing the pattern in a memory in the printer and associating an even-numbered numeric string input from an external device or a keyboard of the device with the pattern every two digits. The barcode printer according to claim 1, wherein 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the number of dots of the narrow element and the number of dots of the wide element are not provided from an external device, a value preset for each of them is automatically selected. Barcode printer. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for changing a set value of the narrow element and the wide element.
Barcode printer as described. 5. The barcode is printed by copying the number of rows in the height direction according to the height when the height of the barcode is given from an external device. A barcode printer according to 2, 3 or 4. 6. A memory backup means for storing the dot pattern of the narrow element and the wide element provided from an external device based on the dot number and the dot number and storing the dot pattern stored in the memory even when the power is turned off. The bar code printer according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, wherein