JPH01304487A - Character output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the required time up to character output by storing a 2nd storage means with the output of a 1st storage means by an output condition selecting means prior to the start of output to a character output part and outputting data corresponding to the storage from the 1st storage means. CONSTITUTION:A program is read out of a ROM as the 1st storage means through a storage control means according to the selection by the output condition selecting means and decision data such as a function corresponding to the selection output condition is written in a RAM as the 2nd storage means from the ROM. Then when a character code is inputted from an input means, the RAM is referred to, character information is outputted from the corresponding font memory, special character memory, special font memory, special drawing memory, external character definition memory, etc., of the ROM, and a character corresponding to the input code is outputted from a character generator. In this constitution, the output condition is not decided unless the output condition is changed and the time up to the character time after the character code input is shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a keypad corresponding to each of a plurality of code data inputted from an input means, such as a printing device 1 display device, etc.
This relates to a character output device that outputs Yarakuta to an output section such as a printing mechanism 1 display according to its output data, and in particular, a certain number of two or more pieces of output data corresponds to each code data, and these output data This relates to a character output device that can be selected as appropriate.

[Prior Art] A character output device outputs a character corresponding to each of a plurality of code data input from an input means to the output section according to output data corresponding to each of the code data.

Output data means data necessary to output each of a plurality of predetermined types of characters to the output unit,
For example, it is data for driving a printing mechanism such as a type print head or a dot print head, a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and the like.

As described above, a character output device is known in which each code data corresponds to a certain number of output data, two or more, and these output data can be selected as appropriate. This type of character output device has the following features: (a) A fixed number of output data (referred to as a -group output data) corresponds to each of a plurality of predetermined types of code data, and the same number of output data as the fixed number (b) a storage means for storing a plurality of groups of output data such that one piece of output data corresponding to each code data can be selected from each output data group according to each of the output conditions; and (b) a fixed number of output data. (C) output condition selection means for selecting any one of the output conditions of (C) the output condition currently selected by the output condition selection means each time code data of one character is input from the input means; and an output control means that determines the character, obtains one piece of output data corresponding to each code data from the storage means under the output condition, and causes the output section to output each character in accordance with the output data. It is usually configured.

Note that the output conditions include, for example: ■ Country specification when the character output device can select and output characters from multiple countries for each country, and ■ When the character output device is a printing device that prints characters on printing paper. If the printer is equipped with a plurality of printing mechanisms with different printing formats, such as having both a type print head and a dot print head, or a plurality of printing mechanisms, such as having a plurality of either a type print head or a dot print head. Printing mechanism specification in the case of a printing device that is equipped with multiple printing mechanisms, such as multiple printing mechanisms of the same format, and which can be selectively activated, and ■ outputting characters. This is the specification of character output conditions such as font, width, two colors, density, etc. when printing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, even if the processing of determining output conditions and selecting output data is performed every time code data of one character is input from the input means, selection is still possible. If there are relatively few types of output data, that is, relatively few types of output conditions, it will not take much time to process it, but it will take a long time to process it from the manual input of the code data to the output of the character, which would pose a practical problem. It doesn't cost anything.

However, recently there has been a desire to increase the types of output conditions that can be selected, for example, to be able to output one character in multiple fonts. If the types of output conditions are increased in the conventional device) and the number of output data records (,f!I) is also increased accordingly,
As a result of the longer time required for the processing of output condition determination and output data selection, the time from code data input to character output becomes considerably longer, which may pose a problem in practical use.

Further, in the printing device in which the printing mechanism can be selected,
When it is necessary to operate multiple printing mechanisms to print one printing line, the characters for one printing line are divided into each printing mechanism, and the plurality of printing mechanisms are sequentially operated and printed. It is normal to Therefore, in a printing device that allows selection of printing mechanisms, prior to printing,
It is necessary to determine the printing mechanism corresponding to each of the plurality of characters to be printed. In the conventional apparatus, when smoking, it is necessary to determine the output conditions for each character one by one, and there is a problem in that it takes a considerable amount of time from the input of code data to the output of the character.

Therefore, the present invention has been made with the object of solving these problems.

[Means to solve the problem]

The gist of the present invention is as shown in FIG. 1, which includes the above-mentioned output section and storage means (hereinafter referred to as first storage means).

), storing related data related to the output data, such as a storage address of the one output data, corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data, in a character output device including an output condition selection means and an output control means; and one output corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data according to one output condition selected by the output condition selection means prior to the start of output to the character output unit. A storage control means for obtaining data from the first storage means and storing data related to the output data in the second storage means, and the output control means corresponds to each of the plurality of manually input code data. One piece of related data is obtained from the second storage means, output data corresponding to the related data is obtained from the first storage means, and a character corresponding to each of the plurality of code data is sent to the output section according to the output data. The reason is that it should be output.

[Action and effect of the invention]

In the character output device according to the present invention, when one output condition is selected by the output condition selection means, a plurality of types are selected under the currently selected output condition before starting to output the character to the output section. Output data corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data is obtained from the first storage means, and related data related to each output data is stored in the second storage means in a state corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data. be done. In other words, while the output condition is kept constant, the output condition is not determined when outputting to the output section, and the second
The related data corresponding to each code data is retrieved from the storage means of the storage means, and the output data corresponding to the related data is
By simply retrieving the output data from the storage means, the output data corresponds to the currently selected output condition.

As described above, according to the present invention, once an output condition is selected, the output condition is not determined unless the output condition selection means is activated, and the necessary steps from manual input of code data to character output are performed. The processing involves retrieving relevant data from the second storage means and retrieving output data from the first storage means. Therefore, the time required from code data input to character output is shortened, and efficiency is improved.

As a first aspect of the first and second storage means, a plurality of groups of output data are stored in the first storage means, and each of one group of output data is stored in one code data according to each of a certain number of output conditions. is stored in a corresponding state, and storage position data representing a storage position where the output data is stored in the first storage means is stored in the second storage means as related data corresponding to each code data. It can be stored in a manner.

In addition, as a second aspect, the first storage means is provided with storage areas of the same number as a constant number corresponding to each of the - constant number of output conditions, and in each storage area, one output for one code data is provided. Describe the state in which the data corresponds to 1. a, and the second storage means stores both storage area data representing the storage area where the output data exists and storage location data representing the storage position where the output data is stored in the storage area. , may be stored as related data in correspondence with each code data.

Note that when the present invention is applied to a printing device in which the printing mechanism can be selected, it is desirable that the first and second storage means have the second aspect. In this case, it is possible to divide the storage area according to the difference in printing mechanism and make the storage area data different accordingly. In this way, before printing, it is possible to By simply checking the storage area data currently stored in the second storage means, it is possible to determine which printing mechanism should be activated in response to the code data, and the time required from inputting the code data to printing is shortened. A printing device is obtained.

In addition, in the printing device, before printing one print line, the printing direction of the line is determined so that the moving distance from the current position of the printing mechanism in the previous line to the printing start position of the line is short. This is desirable. If a print line can be printed by one printing mechanism, either the left end position or the right end position of the print line itself becomes the printing start position, but if one print line is printed by different printing mechanisms. In the case where there are mixed characters, the left end position and the right end position of the printing range of the printing mechanism will vary depending on which printing mechanism is activated first among the plurality of printing mechanisms. Therefore, in a printing device that allows the selection of printing mechanisms, prior to printing, it is necessary to determine which printing mechanism should be activated first, and also to determine the left and right end positions of the range printed by that printing mechanism. However, even in this case, if the first and second storage means of the printing device are set to the above-mentioned second mode, the information ↑ and α are actually recorded in the second storage means corresponding to each code data. The printing mechanism corresponding to each code data can be determined by simply checking the storage area data stored therein, and the time required to determine the printing direction can be reduced.

Further, a printing device in which the printing speed of a printing mechanism can be changed as appropriate is also known. In this case, prior to printing, it is necessary to determine the printing speed currently specified as an output condition. If a storage area of the storage means is provided for each printing speed, the memory currently stored in the second storage means corresponding to each code data can be stored without having to judge the printing speed for each code data one by one. The currently designated printing speed can be determined simply by checking the area data, resulting in the effect of shortening the time required to determine the printing speed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printing device will be described in detail based on the drawings.

The printing device of this embodiment includes both a type printhead using a type wheel and a dot printhead. The type printing head is used to print standard characters such as alphabets, numbers, and symbols in the standard typeface of a particular country, while the dot print head is used to print special characters such as Greek letters and Roman numerals, and ■ the above. A different typeface from the standard typeface.

Used when printing alphabets in N types of special fonts such as italic and elite, ■ Characters corresponding to M types of countries different from the above specific countries, or ■ Externally defined characters with desired shapes set by the operator. be done.

The control circuit of the printing device is as shown in FIG.
．． ROM12. It is mainly composed of a computer consisting of a RAM 14 and a bus 16, and a type print head 22 is connected to the bus 16 via a type print head drive circuit 20.
A dot print head 26 is connected via a dot print head drive circuit 24. Also connected to the bus 16 is a character generator (hereinafter referred to as CG, the same applies in the figures) 30. The CG 30 stores font data necessary for driving the dot print head 26, corresponding to each of all the characters that can be printed by the dot print head 26.

The ROM 12 is provided with a program memory 32 in which various routines including the main routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 are stored. ROM12 also has ■
(1) a type memory 34 in which type printing data necessary to print the standard characters is stored; (1) a special character memory 36 in which dot print data necessary to print the special characters is stored; N special font memories 38, which are provided according to the N types of special fonts of a specific country and store dot printing data necessary to print the alphabet of the special font; Special image memory 3 provided with M pieces according to the country of
9, and (2) an externally defined memory 40 in which dot print data necessary for printing the externally defined character is stored. Memory for those types 34. Special character memory 36. Special font memory 38. In the special country memory 39 and the external definition memory 40, type printing data or dot printing data is stored in a state corresponding to a plurality of predetermined types of code data that can be entered manually from an input means (not shown). .

Below, these memories 34, 36, 38, 39 and 40
are collectively called print memory.

The above-mentioned type printing data includes data representing the spoke number of the type wheel of the type print head 22 as shown in FIG.
It consists of data representing the printing width and data representing the level of impact pressure when each character of the character print head 22 is struck on the printing paper.

The printing width data is the sum of the width of the character to be printed and the width of the margins set on both sides of the character according to the width.
This is for controlling the pitch between characters adjacent to each other in the row direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the dot print data includes data representing the total number of bytes of a series of font data stored in the CG 30 corresponding to each character, data on the print width, and data on the CG 30. , consists of first variable data and second variable data for calculating the start address representing the storage position of the first font data of the series of font data.

As is clear from the above explanation, in this example,
Print memory 34. Special character memory 36. N special font memories 382 M special country memories 39, external definition memories 40, and CC 30 constitute the first storage means, and type print data, dot print data, and font data are output data. .

Also formed in the ROM 12 is a function memory 42 that stores the same number of functions as the total number of print memories. The function of the function will be explained in detail later.

The RAM 14 includes: (1) a character buffer 50 capable of storing character code data for one or more lines of a document; and (2) first discrimination data and second discrimination data, which will be described later, corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data. A discrimination data memory 52 in which data can be stored, and a dot map memory 54 in which one line of font data can be stored in a dot matrix are provided.

Before transmitting the code data, the input means inputs country-specific data for specifying in which country the character to be printed will be used, and in which font the character should be printed. It is stipulated that font data for specifying the font should be transmitted. The first discrimination data is data indicating in which of the plurality of print memories the print data corresponding to each code data exists according to both the country data and the font data, and the second discrimination data is The data represents an address where print data corresponding to each code data is stored in one of the print memories.

In the discrimination data memory 52 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the first discrimination data corresponding to the code data is stored at an address equal to twice the value of each code data, and one piece of data is stored from that address. Second discrimination data corresponding to the code data is stored at a larger address. That is, in this embodiment, the discrimination data memory 52 is the second storage means, and its first discrimination data and second discrimination data are related data.

Next, the operation will be explained.

When the printer is powered on, the main routine shown in FIG. 3 is executed. First, step Sl (hereinafter simply Sl
That's what it means. The same applies to other steps. ), country data and font data are imported from the input means in S2, and in S3, a first code data corresponding to each of a plurality of predetermined types of code data is imported in accordance with the country data and font data. The discrimination data and the second discrimination data are stored in the discrimination data memory 52.

In S4, a state waits for a print request to be issued from the input means, and when a print request is issued, one line of code data is taken in from the character buffer 50 in S5.

In S6, code data to be printed by the type printing head 22 (hereinafter referred to as type code data; the same in the figures) is determined from the first discrimination data corresponding to each of the code data.
It is determined whether or not exists. Specifically, in the discrimination data memory 52, the first discrimination data specified by an address equal to the value obtained by doubling the value of each code data is data specifying the print memory 34 (0IH in this embodiment). It is determined whether there is or not. If the printed character code data exists, in S7: (1) one function is taken out from the function memory 42 corresponding to the first discrimination data corresponding to each of the printed character code data;
(2) The first and second discrimination data are substituted into the function, and (2) the character print data corresponding to each of the character code data is retrieved from the character memory 34. In S8, characters corresponding to each of the type code data are printed by the type wheel 22 according to the type print data corresponding to each type code data.

On the other hand, if there is no type code data in one line of code data, or if there is type code data in the one line of code data, S8
When the printing of characters corresponding to the type code data is completed by executing , and the print head 22 no longer prints on the print line, S
9, code data (hereinafter referred to as dot code data) corresponding to the character to be printed by the dot print head 26 is included in the code data.
It is determined whether or not exists. Specifically, similarly to the case of determining the presence or absence of printed character code data, in the determination data memory 52, the first determination data specified by the address equal to the value obtained by doubling the value of each code data is the dot character memory. , that is, special character memory 3
It is determined whether any of the 6°N special font memories 381M special image memories 39 and the external definition memory 40 is to be designated. If the dot code data does not exist, the process returns to S4, but if it does exist, in step 310, first, ■ the contents of the dot map memory 54 are cleared, and ■ the first dot map memory 54 corresponding to each of the dot code data is One function is taken out from the function memory 42 corresponding to the discrimination data, and the first and second discrimination data corresponding to each dot code data are substituted into the function, and a series of font data of the CG 30 is created. The start address of is calculated, and the series of font data is extracted from the CG 30. In the SLL, these series of font data are stored in the dot map memory 5.
4, and at 312, the characters corresponding to each of the dot code data are stored in the dot print head 26.
After that, the process returns to S4.

When the power is turned on again after the power is turned off, the printing device takes in the country data and font data again, and stores the first and second discrimination data in the discrimination data memory 52 according to the country data and font data. Data will be stored. Therefore, even if the same code data as the previous one is manually input from manual means, if the country data and font data have been changed, the content corresponding to that code data in the discrimination data memory 52 will be different, and a different character will be printed. There are cases where this happens. Note that the setting of the discrimination data memory 52 is performed every time the country data and typeface data are entered manually. Even if you set it regardless of the existence of data,
The content of the first and second discrimination data that is the same as the previous content may be saved, and the content of only the first and second discrimination data that is different from the previous content may be updated.

In the embodiment described in detail above, when the printing device is powered on, data related to printing data corresponding to each of a plurality of types of coat data is generated in accordance with the currently selected country data and font data. That is, the first discrimination data and the second discrimination data are stored in the discrimination data memory 52, and when printing one line, the country data and the country data corresponding to each of the plurality of code data corresponding to the printing line are The first discrimination data and the second discrimination data corresponding to each code data are extracted without examining the typeface data,
After that, printing data can be retrieved according to both of the discrimination data, so it is no longer necessary to search for country data and font data for each of multiple code data as in the past, and from inputting code data. The effect of shortening the time required for printing can be obtained.

Furthermore, prior to printing one print line, the printing format corresponding to each of the plurality of code data corresponding to the print line, that is, whether the printing is performed by the type print head 22;
When determining the type of printing performed by the dot print head 26, it is only necessary to check the first determination data corresponding to each code data. There is no need to determine the printing format by checking the country data and typeface data for each code data as in the past.

As is clear from the above explanation, in this example,
The part of the control circuit that stores and executes steps 81 and S2 in FIG. 3 is the output condition selection means, and the country data and font data are the output conditions. In addition, the part of the control circuit that stores and executes 33 in FIG. A printing mechanism including print head 22 and dot print head 26 is an output section.

Note that in the above embodiment, the selection of output conditions representing each country and font is performed according to the country data and font data supplied from the input means.
It is also possible to provide a selection operation means for selecting an output condition on the printing device side, and to select the output condition in response to an operator's selection operation.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the output conditions are selected when the power is turned on, and printing performed until the power is turned off is performed according to the same output conditions. If the means is configured to transmit an output condition each time it instructs the printing device to request printing, and the printing device is configured to select an output condition each time it receives an output condition from the manual means, It is possible to change the output conditions for each series of printing operations that are started by a single printing request from power-on to power-off. It is also possible to select the output conditions and set the discrimination data during a series of printing operations.

In addition, in the above embodiment, printing is performed by the type print head 2.
2 and a dot print head 26; however, the present invention may be applied to a printing device having one or more type print heads 22 or dot print heads 26. You can also do it.

In addition, the print memory and CG30 of the above embodiment device are made into removable cartridges, and characters with fonts, print widths of 9 colors, printing conditions such as density, etc. that are not available in standard printing devices, and characters that are completely different from standard characters. Additional print memories can be added to print different types of characters, or can be replaced with standard print memories. In this way, it is possible to easily meet the demand for printing various characters.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment is a case in which the present invention is applied to a serial blink, the present invention can also be applied to a line printer or a page printer.

In addition, you can change the output section to a display, etc.
It is possible to implement the present invention with various modifications, improvements, etc. based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an electrical control circuit diagram of a printing device which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main routine stored in the computer of the control circuit, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are the control circuits thereof. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing how a memory related to printing is stored in a memory provided in the computer. 22: Type print head 26 Two-dot print head 30: Character generator 34: Type memory 36: Special character memory 38 Two special typeface memory 39; Special image memory 40: External definition memory 52: Discrimination data memory Applicant Brother Industries, Ltd. Fig. 1 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 61 ]-Tochi'-Yu Ryo F Rusu A (41) () 82H B (42H) 84H C (43)-1) 86)-ID (44)
-1) 88H■(45)-1) 90H α (80H) 100H μ(81)() 102H V (F4H) IE8H 3(F5)-1) IFOH

Claims (1)

[Claims] A character output device that outputs a character corresponding to each of a plurality of code data inputted from an input means to an output section such as a printing mechanism or a display device according to output data corresponding to each of the code data. A group of output data consisting of a certain number of two or more pieces corresponds to each of a plurality of predetermined types of code data, and
1 corresponding to each of the plurality of code data from each output data group according to each of the output conditions of the same number as the fixed number.
a first storage means storing a plurality of groups of output data in a state in which a plurality of output data can be selected; and a storage address, etc. of the one output data corresponding to each of the plurality of types of code data. a second storage means capable of storing related data related to the output data; an output condition selection means for selecting any one of the predetermined number of output conditions; and prior to starting output of the character to the output section. Then, the one output data corresponding to each of the plurality of code data is obtained from the first storage means according to the one output condition selected by the output condition selection means, and the output data is storage control means for storing the related data in the second storage means; obtaining the one piece of related data from the second storage means corresponding to each of the plurality of input code data; An output control means for obtaining the output data corresponding to related data from the first storage means and outputting a character corresponding to each of the plurality of code data to the output unit according to the output data. Character output device.