JPH01224865A - Data output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To design a flexible slip, etc., by converting a logical coordinate area into the real coordinate area corresponding to the printing valid area having the size specified with the designation blank area of a designating means and allotting the logical data output area in a relative position coordinate area on the rear coordinate area. CONSTITUTION:An area converting means 3 converts the logical coordinate area into the real coordinate area corresponding to the printing valid area having the size specified by the blank area designated by a designating means 2. In such a case, by reducing, enlarging, or horizontally shifting the whole logical coordinate area, the area is converted into the real coordinate area. Based on the real coordinate converted in such a way, an allotting means 4 allots the logical data output area in the relative position coordinate area on the real coordinate area. Further, a data arranging means 5 arranges the output data consisting of the slip file, etc., to the area allotted by the allotting means 4. Thus, for the data of the slip file, etc., a layout can be easily outputted in the same format image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a data output device such as an office computer or a personal computer that outputs a form file created in advance.

[Summary of the Invention] This invention enables an office computer or the like to output a form file, etc. in a predetermined format created in advance, and even if the paper size, print output size, or print position is changed, the paper size is changed accordingly. By simply specifying the upper margin area, the format can be automatically reduced, enlarged, or moved horizontally, so data such as form files can be formatted in the same format regardless of changes in paper size, print output size, etc. This allows the layout to be output as an image.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when creating a form file in a predetermined format on an office computer, the form format is designed taking into account the paper size, paper orientation, output size and output position on the paper, etc. was.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] For this reason, it is necessary to change the paper size, the output size on the paper, or the output position (for example, from binding on the left of the page to binding on the top of the page). In some cases, the document format had to be redesigned.

An object of the present invention is to enable data such as a form file created in advance to be output in a layout in a similar format image even if the paper size, print output size, etc. are changed.

[Means to solve the problem] The means of this invention are as follows.

The area storage means l (see the functional block diagram in FIG. 1; the same applies hereinafter) stores the logical coordinate area obtained by dividing the virtual logical space, and also stores the logical coordinate area set in advance in this logical coordinate area. For example, a random access memory or a floppy disk is used to store a logical data output area.

The designation means 2 designates a margin area when outputting data on printing paper using a keyboard, a mouse (pointing device), or the like. In this case, all or a portion of the top margin, bottom margin, left margin, and right margin are specified in consideration of paper size, print output size, etc.

The area converting means 3 converts the logical coordinate area into a real coordinate area corresponding to the printable area of the size specified by the margin area specified by the specifying means 2.

The allocation means 4 allocates the logical data output area within the relative position coordinate area on the real coordinate area.

The data arrangement means 5 arranges the output data within the area allocated by the allocation means 4.

[Work] The operation of the means of this invention is as follows.

First, when creating a form file etc. in a predetermined format, set the format. In this case, in order to arbitrarily divide the virtual logical space, for example, input the number of rows and number of columns. As a result, the divided logical coordinate areas are set in the area storage means l. Further, when an arbitrary position within this logical coordinate area is specified, the specified area is set in the area storage means 1 as a logical data output area.

When printing out a form file created in advance, the user specifies the margin area of the printing paper using a keyboard, mouse, or the like. This is arbitrarily specified by the user, taking into account the paper size, print output size, etc.

Then, the area converting means 3 converts the logical coordinate area into a real coordinate area corresponding to the printable area of the size specified by the margin area specified by the specifying means 2. In this case, conversion to the real coordinate area is performed by reducing, enlarging, or horizontally moving the entire logical coordinate area.

Based on the real coordinate area converted in this way, the allocation means 4 allocates a logical data output area within the relative position coordinate area on the real coordinate area.

Then, the data arrangement means 5 arranges the output data constituting the form file etc. within the area allocated by the allocation means 4.

Therefore, even if the paper size, print output size, etc. are changed, data such as a form file in a predetermined format created in advance can be outputted in a layout in the same format image. In other words, the printed content can be translated, enlarged, reduced, etc., and flexible forms can be designed. Furthermore, since the format can be changed simply by specifying the margins, it is extremely easy to change the format.

[Example] Hereinafter, one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8.

First, the basic principle of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 2 shows the maximum effective printing area on the printing paper of the liquid crystal printer used in this embodiment.

This maximum printable area is the area on the printing paper that can actually be printed by the liquid crystal printer, and the white area in the figure shows the maximum printable area and the diagonally shaded area shows the non-printable area. In this case, the maximum printable area differs depending on the size of the printing paper, Cf, and its surface layout, and also depending on the direction in which the paper is placed (vertically or horizontally in stirrups).

In this way, the maximum printable area is a variable area that varies depending on the paper size, etc. Therefore, in the present invention, the maximum printable area is a logical area corresponding to the standard paper size, etc.
A li:l tag is prepared in advance, and changes in paper size, etc. can be handled by expanding, contracting, or moving the logical coordinate area in parallel.

Here, the logical coordinate area is defined as al'
J) The logical coordinate area is an area obtained by arbitrarily dividing the virtual logical space shown in Fig. 3(,a) in the row direction and column direction, and the logical coordinate area is the area shown in Fig. 3(b). By dividing the logical space by the number of rows m and the number of columns n,
Xn squares are generated. For each square generated by this, (0.0), ~ (0, n −1) ・−・−(m
-1, 0) to (m-1, n-1) coordinates are set in advance.

When creating a form file, etc., the output area of the data constituting the form file, etc. is determined by the number of squares in the horizontal direction and the number of squares in the vertical direction from this starting point t as an east starting point in arbitrary square coordinates within the logical coordinate area. Specified by the number of units.

Note that the shaded area in Figure 8(a) indicates the logical data output area set within the logical coordinate area, and this data output area is divided into vertical boxes starting from the square coordinates (2, 2). It is specified by the number of squares "1" and the number of horizontal squares "3".

Here, the area actually printed by the liquid crystal printer is a relative position coordinate area on the actual printing effective area determined by the margin area on the paper specified in advance, taking into account the paper size, print output size, etc. .

Next, the basic circuit configuration of an office computer that outputs form files and the like will be explained with reference to FIG.

The CPU II is a central processing unit that controls the entire system, and reads programs stored in a RAM (random access memory) 12 or the like to control the entire system.

The RAM 12 stores various application programs such as a form file creation processing program and a form output program, as well as a system program consisting of an operating system, and also stores constant data, variable data, etc. required when executing a form output program, etc. (described later).

The floppy disk (FD) 13 includes a system floppy disk in which a system program is stored, a data floppy disk in which a form file is stored, and the like.

The keyboard 14 is used for various commands such as data input and form output for creating form files and the like.

Furthermore, it is a data input device for inputting data for specifying a blank area of a sheet.

The CRT 15 is a display device that displays form files, etc., and the printer 16 is a liquid crystal printer that prints form files and the like on recording paper.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the main parts of the RAM 12.

First, the program memory 12a is an area that stores system programs including an operating system and application programs.

The row number memory 12b and the column number memory 12c are for storing row number data and column number data for dividing the above-mentioned logical space (see FIG. 3(a)) into matrices, and can be inputted arbitrarily by the user. Set by.

The top margin memory 12d, bottom margin memory 12e, right margin memory 12f, and left margin memory 12g are top, bottom, left, and right margin data set in advance in consideration of paper size, print output size, etc., and this margin data is set in millimeters. has been done.

The memory 12h has a logical data output area (eighth
This is an area for storing the coordinates (X+, Y+) of the starting point (see the shaded area in Figure (a)). Further, the memory 12i is an area for storing actual coordinates (X 2 , Y2) indicating the actual data output position on the paper. Note that the actual coordinates (X2, Y2) are expressed by dot coordinates of the liquid crystal printer.

The memory 12j stores the character pitch (Pl) on the above-mentioned logical data output area, and the memory 12 also has a memory that stores the character pitch (P2) on the paper during actual printing in dot numbers. be.

The memory 121 is an area for storing the total number a of dots in the horizontal direction and the total number of dots in the vertical direction of the effective printing area of the printing paper, which are determined based on the margin specified in advance by the user.

The memory 12m stores the dot length in the horizontal direction (dx) and the dot length in the vertical direction (dy) of the effective use area for actual printing, which is created by projecting the squares on the logical coordinate area onto the effective printing area of the printing paper. This is an area for storing.

The output data memory 12n is an area for storing data such as a form file read from the floppy disk 13, and is transferred from the floppy disk 13 to the output data memory 12n when printing the form file.

The dot number conversion table 12p determines the dot size of the maximum printable area, depending on the paper size and paper orientation.
In other words, it is a table that stores the total number of dots in the horizontal direction (X) and the total number of dots in the vertical direction (Y), as well as the number of dots corresponding to the margin data in millimeters, and is set at the time of system design. be.

FIG. 6 shows the storage state of the form file stored in the floppy disk 13. In correspondence with the item data (words) of 1 ref-1 that make up the form file, the logical Format information indicating a data output area is stored. That is, the format information is composed of the above-mentioned square coordinates (X+, Y+), and the number of squares in the vertical direction and the number of squares in the horizontal direction starting from the square coordinates.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, prior to creating a form file, the form format is designed. In this case, row number data and column number data are input from the keyboard 14 in order to arbitrarily divide the virtual logical space. Then, the input row number data and column number data are set in the corresponding row number memory 12b and column number memory 12c of the RAM 12, and the logical space is changed in the row direction based on the row number data and column number data.
Each is divided in the column direction. In Figure 8(a), the logical space is 1
It shows a state in which it is divided into loXIO squares arranged in row 0 and column 10.

With the logical space arbitrarily divided according to the form format in this way, when the form file creation processing program is started by inputting a command from the keyboard 14 and data is input, a form file is automatically created. At the same time, the created form file is transferred to the floppy disk 13 and stored therein. here,
A form file is file information in which each item of the form is a rule code, and each record is composed of format information indicating a logical data output area and words indicating item data, as shown in Figure 6. , when data for one item is input while specifying its logical data output area, the item data and format information corresponding to it are stored on the floppy disk 13 as data for a code.

When printing out the form file created as described above, margin data must be entered from the keyboard 14 taking into consideration the paper size and orientation set in the printer 16, the printout size, etc. 0 For example, if you want to create equal margins on the top, bottom, left, and right of an A4-size paper in portrait orientation as shown in FIG. input. Then, each input margin data is stored in the corresponding upper margin memory 12d of the RAM 12,
It is set in the bottom margin memory 12e, right margin memory 12f, and left margin memory 12g.

Next, when a file name is specified from the keyboard 14 and a print command is input, the CPU II reads the specified file from the floppy disk 13, stores it in the output data memory 12j in the RAM 1Z, and executes the form output program stored in the RAM 12. is activated to execute a printing operation according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, each margin data stored in the RAM 12 is read out and the margin data in millimeters is converted to the number of dots without referring to the dot number conversion table 12p (step Sl). , reads out the dot size (x, y) of the maximum printing area corresponding to a portrait-oriented A4 size paper from the dot number conversion table 12P, and prints the actual print based on this dot size (x, y) and each margin data in dot units. Find the total number of dots in the horizontal direction a and the total number of dots in the vertical direction of the character effective area (step S2). In other words, add the left margin and right margin to find the total horizontal margin, and calculate the total number of dots in the horizontal direction from the horizontal dot size X. By subtracting the total margin, the total number a of dots in the horizontal direction of the actual printing effective area is determined. Similarly, the total vertical margin is determined by adding the top margin and the bottom margin, and the total number of vertical dots in the actual printing effective area is determined by subtracting the total vertical margin from the vertical dot size Y. Each total number of dots in the actual printing effective area obtained in this way a,
b is set to the total dot number memory 12ft.

Next, the number of rows and columns of the logical space is read from the row number memory 12b and the column number memory 12c, and the total horizontal dots aa in the total dot number memory 122 are divided by the number of columns, and the total dots are also calculated. By dividing the total number of dots in the vertical direction in the number memory 121 by the number of lines, the dot size (dx, dy) of one square on the actual printing effective area is obtained and set in the dot length memory 12m (step S3).

Then, the CPU II reads 1 ref - 1 worth of data constituting the form file from the floppy disk 13 (
Step S4), extracts the square coordinates (X+, Y+) of the logical coordinate area from the data read out, and adds the horizontal dot length dx of one square on the actual printing effective area to the horizontal dot of the logical coordinate area. By multiplying the square coordinate x1 and similarly multiplying the vertical dot length dY by the vertical square coordinate Yl, the actual coordinate (x2°Y2) on the actual printing effective area is obtained.
seek. As a result, the square coordinates (X r , Y+) are converted to real coordinates (X2.Y2 ), and the converted real coordinates (X 2, Y2) are stored in coordinate memory 1.
2i (step S5).

Next, the character pitch P1 on the logical coordinate area is determined (step S6). That is, the number of squares in the horizontal direction is extracted from the data just read from the floppy disk 13, and the number of squares is first calculated by The character pitch P1 is obtained by dividing by the number of characters, and is set in the pitch memory 12j. The character pitch pt on the logical coordinate area thus determined is multiplied by the horizontal dot length ctx to determine the actual character pitch P2 on the paper, and is set in the pitch memory 12k (step S7).

Then, the word just read from the output data memory 12j is transferred to the actual 1 m (X
2, Y2) at a character pitch P2 (step S8). After completing the processing for 1 ref-1 in this way, check whether there is a next record in the output data memory 12j or not. S9), if available,
Returning to step S4, steps 54 to S9 are repeated until all records constituting the form file have been processed.

As a result, when the last record is read from the form file, this is detected in step S9 and step S
Proceeding to step 10, the data in the page memory in the printer 16 is printed out according to its arrangement.

In this way, in this embodiment, if you designate and input the margin for specifying the actual printing effective area in consideration of the paper size, print output size, etc., the dot size (a
, b) is obtained. And this dot size (a,
By dividing b) by the number of rows and columns of the logical space, a real coordinate area is generated by projecting the logical coordinate area onto the actual printing effective area. For example, as shown in FIG. 8(a).

The logical coordinate area divided into 10XIO squares is converted into a real coordinate area of the size shown in FIGS. 8(b), (C), and (d) according to the designated margin. In this case, the real coordinate area is equally divided into loXIO squares like the logical coordinate area, but the dot size (d
x, dy) differ in proportion to the size of the actual coordinate area.

Therefore, this l-th dot size (dx, dv)
By multiplying by the square coordinates (XI, Yl) on the logical space, we first obtain the square coordinates (XI, Yl).
Therefore, as shown in Figure 8(a), the square coordinates are (2
, 2), it is converted to real coordinates (dxX2, dyX2). Then, by arranging words of 1 ref - 1 at predetermined pitches using this actual coordinate as the starting point, the 8th
The logical data output area shown with diagonal lines in Figure (a) is relative to the actual coordinate area (Figure 8(b), (C),
(shown with diagonal lines in (d)).

As a result, by arbitrarily specifying margins, it is possible to output a form file in a predetermined format created in advance in a layout with a similar format image. In other words, the printed content can be arbitrarily enlarged, reduced, or translated in parallel.

Note that although the above embodiment takes the example of form output, it can also be applied to a wide range of printing methods, such as printing out document files created with a word processor, as well as printing graphic data. Applicable to output.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, data such as a form file can be easily outputted in a layout in a similar format image, regardless of the paper size, print output size, etc., simply by specifying the margins on the paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention, Figs. 2 to 8 show examples, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the maximum printable area of a liquid crystal printer, and Fig. 3 is a logical space divided into matrices. FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram showing the basic configuration of an office computer; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the main configuration of the RAM 12 shown in FIG. 4; Figure 6 shows the floppy disk 1 shown in Figure 4.
Figure 3 shows the data for the code in the form file stored in the form file, Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the printing operation, and Figure 8 shows the state where the logical coordinate area is converted to the actual coordinate area according to the margin specification. FIG. 11...CPU, 12...RAM, 1
3... Floppy disk, 14...
Keyboard, 16...Printer. Patent applicant Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Area storage means for storing a logical coordinate area obtained by dividing a virtual logical space, and for storing a logical data output area set in advance within the logical coordinate area. , a specifying means for specifying a margin area when outputting data on printing paper; and converting the logical coordinate area into an actual coordinate area corresponding to an effective printing area of a size specified by the specified margin area of the specifying means. area conversion means; allocation means for allocating the logical data output area within a relative positional coordinate area on the actual coordinate area; and data arrangement means for arranging output data within the area allocated by the allocation means. A data output device comprising: