JPH0236004B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a common compatibility control method and common compatibility control device that enable common use of printers for data processing systems of different models, and in particular to a common compatibility control system that enables printers for different models of data processing systems to be commonly used. A printer for printers that allows the common use of printers and printers of different models from the same manufacturer, as well as selectively using multiple sub data processing devices in addition to the main data processing device connected to the main line. The present invention relates to a common adaptive control method and a common adaptive control device thereof.

(2) Background of the technology In a data processing system, generally, a specific data processing device and a printer that prints data that is used and processed by the data processing device are coded (symbols) used in the system.
Or, from the perspective of information processing, it is usually closely related to the data processing device itself and lacks compatibility.

Among the characters and numbers that should be printed, alpha characters, katakana characters, numbers, and some special symbols are certainly standardized to some extent by the JIS standard (C6220, 1-byte code), but the printing pitch width still varies. Currently, the specifications of control codes for controlling , enlarged characters, etc. differ depending on the printer model.

Furthermore, compared to the alpha alphabet and its variant characters used in Europe and the United States, Japanese has the unique characteristics of using kanji and hiragana and is more complex to process. The printer used was a dot printer, which could print characters that were not much different from ready-made type.
It is capable of printing complex Japanese characters including kanji and hiragana. As a code for graphic characters including kanji, a 2-byte code according to the JIS standard (C6226) has been established and is based on the standard.
The following problems are occurring.

(3) Problems with the prior art (a) For example, the print start indicator code and print end indicator code using 2-byte codes for Kanji characters have different specifications for each printer model from each company, and if Not compatible between different printers.

(b) Special characters and codes often used in normal business processes, such as Co., Ltd., No., TEL,
〓, etc. are not specified in JIS standard C6226,
The above JIS standard is specified for each printer model.
C6226 standard undefined categories (28, 29, 2A, 2B,
...2F line) to enter the above special characters and characters in advance.
Currently, codes are registered, and in any case, not all codes for kanji have been standardized, so there is no compatibility between printer models.

Therefore, once a data processing system has selected and used a specific model of printer, it has conventionally been possible to select and use a specific model of printer without changing the printer's software or the software of the data processing device itself.
It has been impossible to use other types of printers by directly connecting them to the processing system. Also, if it becomes necessary to change from one type of printer, especially a dot printer, to another type of dot printer, do you need to change the above software each time you change the printer, or do you need to add a special accessory device that has a code conversion function? Or, in some cases, it may even be necessary to abandon the data processing device that is closely related to the original printer that needs to be changed and adopt a new data processing device that is compatible with the new printer. It was hot.

In this way, the lack of mutual compatibility between printer models results in a lot of waste for relatively expensive printers, and their use is limited, making it impossible to fully utilize the printer's functions and to make full use of it. I couldn't say that it was.

(4) Purpose of the Invention Therefore, the present invention is to solve the above problems, and is intended to solve the above problems, and to solve the problems not only with a specific data processing system or an existing data processing system and a printer closely related thereto, but also with a manufacturer's product. By making it possible to use different printers, and by connecting multiple sub data processing devices in addition to the main data processing device and selectively switching between them, the output from any one processing device can be The object of the present invention is to provide a common compatibility control method and a common compatibility control device that enable common printing with one printer.

(5) Embodiments of the invention Next, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a common adaptive control system according to the present invention, in which a plurality of data processing devices (up to three in the illustrated embodiment) of different models are controlled using a common adaptive control device according to the present invention. The processing information from one of the data processing devices is input to one dot printer and printed.

That is, reference numeral 1 denotes a common compatible control device according to the invention, which in the illustrated embodiment has three connectors (not shown) connected to the channels CH ₁ , CH ₂ and CH ₃ on the input side. It is designed to allow up to three data processing devices of the same model or different models to be arbitrarily connected to the connector, and has one connector K on the output side to which one dot printer of a specific model can be connected. ing. 2, 3,
4 indicates a plurality of data processing devices, for example 2 is the main data processing device, and the line (channel CH ₁ )
connected to one of the input side connectors via
3 and 4 can be connected to the input side connector, for example, a personal computer (personal computer) of a different model from 1 as a sub data processing device. Reference numeral 5 denotes a dot printer, which is commonly used by any of the data processing devices 2, 3, and 4, and is connected to the output side connector of the common adaptation control device 1 so that it can print characters including Chinese characters.

In addition, the pushbutton switches B ₁ , B ₂ , and B ₃ provided in the common compatible control device 1, when pressed, arbitrarily switch any of the three data processing devices connected to the input side connector. The snap switches SW ₁ , SW ₂ , and SW ₃ serve as channel selection switches for selecting data processing devices 2 and 2 connected to each channel via the input connectors.
3 and 4 are model selection switches that can be switched depending on whether the model is the same or a different model. In this way, only the specific data processing device selected by the model selection switches SW ₁ to _{SW 3} and the channel selection pushbutton switches B ₁ to _{B 3} is connected to the dot printer, and the information therefrom is transmitted to the dot printer. It is now printed on a printer.

Figures 2 a to d show that three data processing apparatuses of the same type or two different types are connected to the common adaptive control apparatus 1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 1, and processed information is selected from any one of the data processing apparatuses. The figure shows how the dot printer 5 is taken out and printed on a commonly used dot printer 5. That is, 3 channels connected to channels CH ₁ , CH ₂ , CH ₃
The data processing devices 2, 3, and 4 (Fig. 1) are shown as data processing device A of a certain model made by company A,
Each selection switching operation is shown when another model made by company B is indicated by B.

FIG. 2a shows a case where three identical models A manufactured by company A are connected to the common compatible control device 1 and information is printed on one dot printer 5. In this case, for example, model selection is performed. The snap switches SW ₁ to _{SW 3} are placed in the upper position as shown in the figure so that the A model can be selected.

Then, in the connection state of _the data processing device shown in _{FIG .}
Since the same B model is connected to the , two different models of data processing devices can be selected by setting the snap switch SW ₁ at the top and switching SW ₂ and SW ₃ at the bottom to select the B model. Information from A, B, and B can be selectively printed on the printer 5.

In Figure 2c, there are two A models and one B model.
If the unit is connected to channel CH ₁ ,
Snap switch SW ₁ and SW ₂ corresponding to CH ₂
By turning the snap switch SW 3 corresponding to the channel CH ₃ into the top position and turning the snap switch SW ₃ corresponding to the channel CH 3 into the bottom position, the printer 5 is placed in a connection preparation state.

With this setting in place, to select a specific data processing device from which information is to be printed by the printer 5, press the channel selection pushbutton switch.
Just press any one of B ₁ to _{B 3} . For example, in the case of FIG. 2b, if you want the common dot printer 5 to print information from the data processing device of model A connected to channel CH ₁ , press the push button switch.
Just press B ₁ .

FIG. 2d shows this situation. In other words, snap switch SW ₁ is placed on the top, and if you press switch B ₁ in this state, the channel will be changed.
The A type data processing device of CH ₁ is connected to the printer 5. switch as described in detail later.
The control program determines whether SW ₁ is inserted at the top or bottom, and based on the result, the code conversion step for model A or model B is automatically selected, and the printing process for printer 5 is performed. is carried out in the common adaptation control device 1. That is, in this case, since model A of CH ₁ is selectively connected, the special characters corresponding to the data processing device of model A are registered as external characters, and the necessary preparation operations (initialization operations) are performed to connect the printer. 5 makes it printable.

FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram of the common adaptation control device according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1. The common compatible control device of the present invention includes a microprocessor (CPU) 10 that performs various arithmetic controls, a ROM (read only memory) 11 that stores a control program according to the present invention described later, external character image data, etc., and a buffer. RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 which has an area and can store external character correspondence tables, etc., and a pushbutton switch B that selects a specific data processing device from among the data processing devices connected to each channel CH ₁ to _{CH 3} . ₁ , B ₂ , B ₃ (first
a channel selection switch 13 (see FIG. 1), and snap switches SW ₁ , SW ₂ , SW ₃ (see FIG. ₁ ) which are selectively set according to the model of each data processing device connected to each of the channels CH 1 to CH ₃ . A model selection switch 14, a display device 15 consisting of an LED, etc., which displays the data processing device currently selectively connected, the channel number, and any other model as necessary; each channel CH ₁ is provided on the input side thereof. ~ Each input/output interface 16, 17, 18 that interfaces between each data processing device (DP) 2, 3, 4 connected to CH ₃ and the CPU 10, and the input/output interface 16, 17, 18 provided on the output side and used in common with the CPU 10. It consists of an input/output interface 19 that interfaces with the dot printer 5 that is used.

In the device of the present invention, each channel CH ₁ ~
Among the codes corresponding to the characters and numbers sent from each data processing device 2, 3, and 4 connected to CH ₃ , special characters undefined by the JIS standard mentioned above, such as
Co., Ltd., Co., Ltd., No., etc., when the commonly used dot printer 5 is not prepared, the ROM 1 in the common compatible control device 1 of the present invention
Character images corresponding to those special characters are stored in advance in the dot printer 5.
I am trying to register it as a custom character. The RAM 12 in the control device 1 stores the correspondence between each code corresponding to the special character possessed by the data processing devices 2, 3, and 4 used and each print instruction code registered as an external character in the dot printer 5. Make sure to memorize the table in advance.

For example, in a data processing device of model A manufactured by company A, the non-standard special characters ``(Y)'' is the 2-byte code (HEX) 2865, ``Co., Ltd.'' is the code 2866, and ``(O)'' is the code. 2867..., etc.,
The registration locations (positions) of the special characters registered in the dot printer 5 as external characters are the first, second, third, etc. in the external character registration area, and so on, in a correspondence table.
It is sufficient to store it in RAM12. By doing so, for example, the CPU can determine that the code 2866 corresponding to the special character "Co., Ltd." is the print instruction code for "Co., Ltd.", which is registered as the second external character in the printer 5.
10, so the dot printer 5 used has special characters that are not originally prepared.
The characters are provided to the printer 5 in the form of character images from the ROM 11, allowing them to be printed.

Next, the common adaptation control device 1 (third
The operation of FIG. 4 will be explained with reference to the control program flowchart of FIG. Note that a control program corresponding to the flowchart is stored in advance in the ROM 11 in the common compatible control device.

Upon the start of operation (START), in step (1), which push button _B1 to _B3 of the channel selection switch 13 of the control device 1 of the present invention is pressed and which channel _CH1 to _CH3 is selected? (ON state) is checked by the CPU 10 via the input/output interfaces 16 to 18 on the input side.
For example, if pushbutton B ₁ is pressed, it is known that channel CH ₁ is connected to device 1 and selected.

Then, in step (2), the selection switch 1
Check which model (A, B) is selected by the model selection switches SW ₁ to _{SW 3} corresponding to No. 3. If the model selection switch _SW1 is turned upward, it is determined that data processing of model A of channel CH is selected (see FIG. 3), and the operation moves to the next step.

In step (3), special character images pre-stored in the ROM 11 according to the model of the selected data processing device are registered in the printer 5 as external characters (non-JIS standard characters), and the special character images created in advance are
The correspondence table of external character registration numbers corresponding to the input codes stored in ROM11 is retrieved from ROM11.
Move to RAM12. For example, in this case, a correspondence table of print instruction codes is created so that it can be seen that the 2-byte code 2866 of the A model data processing device corresponds to the second registered external character.

After doing this, in step (4), the code data to be printed by the dot printer 5 is sent to the common compatibility control device 1 from the selected data processing device connected to a specific channel (in this case, model A of channel CH ₁ ). Actual input.

In step (5), it is determined whether the input code needs to be converted into a code for the printer being used. If so (YES), the operation moves to step (6) and performs the necessary code and data conversion.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (5) that there is no need to convert the code or the like and that it can be used as is (No), step 6 is ignored.

Next, in step (7), it is determined whether or not the character codes from the selected data processing device include codes for special characters and there is a need for external character registration printing.

As a result, if it is necessary to print external characters (YES)
If it is determined that Prints corresponding to the alphanumeric code sent from the data processing device of the model.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (7) that there is no need for external character registration printing and that it can be printed as is (No), the operation is skipped over step (8) and sent in step (9). The characters and numbers entered are printed.

The above operation will continue as long as there is no change in the state of the channel selection switch 13 and model selection switch 14 (in this case, unless the selection of the data processing device of model A connected to channel CH ₁ is changed to another one) , steps (9) to (4) are repeated to perform predetermined printing.

In this case, if at some point push button B ₁ of channel selection switch 13 is switched to another channel and another channel is selected, or model switch SW ₁ is switched from top to bottom and model B is selected. If so, return to step (1).

FIG. 5 shows how a code from a certain type of data processing device that handles special characters is transferred to a certain type of dot printer that does not handle such special characters using the common compatibility control method and common compatibility control device according to the present invention. An example of printing is shown below.

For example, as a simple example, a case will be explained in which the information "Suzuki Shoten Co., Ltd." is sent from a data processing device connected to a specific channel and printed on a dot printer as shown in the figure. Character information “bell” and “ki” sent from data processing devices 2, 3, and 4
The code corresponding to "Shanghai" and "Shop" is "4E6B" in the 2-byte code (HEX) specified by the JIS standard.
They are represented as "4C5A,""3E25," and "4539," respectively. Also, on the dot printer 5 side, the JIS standard codes corresponding to these characters are within the range of codes that can be handled as they are, so the common compliance control device 1 does not perform any code conversion even if it receives these code data. , send it as is to a dot printer and print it.

On the other hand, the JIS undefined character ``Corporation'', which is one of the special characters, is handled as a 2-byte code of ``2866'' in the data processing device used, but the printer side does not recognize it. When the special characters corresponding to the code are not prepared as they are, the common compatibility control device 1 of the present invention registers the character "Co., Ltd." as an external character in the printer in advance as described above. Extracts the predetermined external character registration number corresponding to the input code "2866" from the correspondence table, issues a print instruction, and prints it on the common compatibility control device 1.
It is designed to print character images from ROM.

(6) Effects of the Invention As described above, the common compatibility control device according to the present invention mainly has the following features: A function for converting code data corresponding to control codes and alphanumeric characters handled by the processing device in this device as necessary and outputting the converted data to the printer side for printing, and (b) a function that can be processed by the data processing device on the input side. However, for special characters that cannot be processed as they are on the printer side, register them in advance in the dot printer that is commonly used from this device, and use each image of the special characters stored in the ROM of this device in advance. It is characterized in that it has two functions: taking it out and sending it to the external character RAM of the dot printer for printing.

Therefore, in the present invention, the functionality of the dot printer is expanded according to the processing capacity of each data processing device connected by the control code and code data conversion function described in (a) above, thereby increasing the flexibility of the dot printer. At the same time, the supplementary character function described in (b) above significantly expands the processing capacity of a particular dot printer, that is, the range of possible printed characters, and increases the capacity of each data processing device used. It has a remarkable effect that can almost cope with the ability. Therefore, by selecting each channel and switching the model selection switch, it is possible to control the print pitch, convert the control sequence, select the mode, and perform various other image character controls from the ROM.

For example, the ROM in the common compatible control device of the present invention
By using the generation method of character images (character images) stored in advance in ), model selection switch SW ₁ ,
By selecting SW ₂ and SW ₃ , instead of sending ordinary alphanumeric codes to the printer as they are, they are converted into image characters or barcodes in the predetermined format of the ROM, and then those image characters and barcodes are printed to the printer. You can also.

That is, the character information sent from the data processing device is converted into corresponding B-font characters for the optical reader (OCR) stored in advance in the ROM,
Alternatively, you can convert the numbers sent from the data processing device into barcodes and print them on a dot printer.
The scope of application of the invention can be significantly expanded.

In the present invention, in order to simplify the explanation, an embodiment is described in which up to three data processing devices of two different types are connected, but it is also possible to use a rotary switch or other multi-contact switch as the switching means. Those skilled in the art will understand that the number and types of data processing devices that can be connected can be further increased by changing part of the hardware or by changing part of the control program flowchart. It is clear that many possibilities are within the scope of the invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram explaining the common adaptive control method according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 a to 2 d show the configuration and selection switching operation of a data processing device connected by the common adaptive control method according to the present invention shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed block configuration diagram of an embodiment of a common adaptive control device according to the present invention that realizes the system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 shows a control program flowchart and an example of printing including special characters printed via the common compatible control device according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a common adaptation control device, 2 to 4 are data processing devices connected to the common adaptation device, 5 is a dot printer, 10 is a microprocessor, and 11 is a
12 is a RAM, 13 is a channel selection switch, 14 is a model selection switch, 15 is a display device, 16 to 18 are input-side input/output interfaces, and 19 is an output-side input/output interface, respectively.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Printing by selectively sending data from a plurality of data processing devices of the same type or different types connected to different channels to one commonly used printer via a switch means. In the common adaptive control method, a ROM for storing image information corresponding to a channel selection and model selection, a comparison table, and other special characters;
A common compatible control device having a RAM and a microprocessor is provided, and among the control codes and code data corresponding to characters and numbers handled by each of the plurality of data processing devices, the data prepared in the printer is stored as is. Then, input codes that do not conform to the specifications of the printer are appropriately converted to compatible codes for the printer via the common compatibility control device, and code data corresponding to special characters that are not prepared for the printer are converted as described above. The special character image information corresponding to the undefined code is registered in the printer's built-in RAM in advance by referring to the comparison table that is a comparison table of the undefined code with respect to the input data code. The above
A common compatible control system for a printer, characterized in that the special characters are taken out from a ROM and sent to the printer, and the special characters are supplemented and printed as external characters. 2. In the control method according to claim 1, code data corresponding to general letters and numbers other than the undefined special characters are also stored in advance in the ROM provided in the common compatible control device. A common compatible control system for printers, characterized in that the image characters or barcodes corresponding to a predetermined character type are converted into corresponding image characters or barcodes, and the converted image characters or barcodes of a different character type are sent to the printer and printed. 3 Channel selection switch means for selecting a data processing device for a specific input channel from among a plurality of data processing devices connected to each input channel; and a model selection switch for selecting the model of the data processing device connected to each channel. means, a microprocessor that appropriately converts the control code and data code sent from the data processing device selected through the switch means and provides the same to one commonly used printer connected to the output channel; A control program that performs control;
It is equipped with a ROM that stores special character image information, a unique comparison table, etc. in advance, and a RAM that transfers and stores the comparison table from the ROM and temporarily stores other necessary data. The code sent from the data processing device is converted into a code compatible with the printer, and codes corresponding to special characters that are not prepared in the printer are converted into predetermined undefined codes and sent to the printer in advance. The common compatibility for printers is characterized in that a special character image corresponding to the predetermined undefined code is registered in advance and is taken out from the ROM and given to the printer, and the unprepared special character is supplemented and printed. Control device.