JPH04173373A - Page mode printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set a position of a printing data with dot unit so as to make it possible to print the data on an optional set position on any form by arranging the printing data in the direction of X or in the direction of Y with origin at the set position, storing it in a memory area as a bit image data, and printing the printing data based on a print command. CONSTITUTION:As a printing area on a form 11, a memory area 31 is obtained by, for example, a command ESC+I+(n1)+(n2) in the direction of Y with origin at a reference (0, 0) which is an origin of the form in the directions of X and Y. For an optional position (x, y) in the memory area, for example, an origin of data to be printed is set from commands ESC+X+(n1)+(n2), ESC+ Y+(n1)+(n2) and the printing data is arranged so as to print. Thus, since the origin of the printing data can be set with dot unit both in the direction of X and in the direction of Y, the data can be printed on any form.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer, and in particular to a page that prints print data in a memory area corresponding to a print area defined in units of dots based on a print command. This relates to mode printers.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, standard format paper such as slip paper called form paper has generally been marked with ruled lines or frames to clearly indicate where to print, but the pitch of the ruled lines or frames differs depending on the country. In Europe, millimeter pitch units are common, while in the United States, inch pitch units are common.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Therefore, it would be difficult to print these forms of paper with different ruled lines and frame line pitches using a single printer.

In other words, in conventional printers, the standard for printing is in units of one line (for example, in the case of printing of 5 x 7 dots, 11 dot lines are called one line), and the line spacing can only be set in units of one line. It had become.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has been made in view of these drawbacks, and it is possible to reduce the number of print data that should be printed. ! Set the settings in dot units,
The printing data is arranged in the X direction or the Y direction with the set position as a base point, the printing data is stored as bit image data in a memory area, and the printing data in the memory area is printed based on a printing command. It is. That is, the printing area of the printing paper to be printed (X direction,
Y direction) is set in advance, a memory area corresponding to the print area is secured, print data is stored as bit image data based on the information received in this area, and print data is stored in the memory area based on the print command. This is to print the above print data. In this case, for example, even if the pitch of the ruled lines or frame lines of the form paper is millimeter pitch or inch pitch, the print data is
Since the G setting can be set in dot units, data can be printed at any setting location on any form paper, and it has the feature that it can be easily handled without major modification such as changing the mechanical structure of the printer body. There is.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, a desired printing format can be obtained even for various forms of paper from all over the world, and an extremely versatile printer can be provided. Furthermore, since the position of print data can be set in dot units, it is very easy to apply emphasized characters, etc., making it easy to issue slips with a wide range of applications.

〔Example〕

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method of setting a form paper in a slip printer related to the present invention, which is an extremely compact printer equipped with a shuttle print head.

A user inserts a form paper to be printed from the front of the printer, abuts the form paper 11 up to a form stopper inside the printer, clamps the form paper at this position, and starts printing. Reference numeral 10 indicates a printer body, and reference numeral 11 indicates a form paper. A formatted sample of the form paper shown in FIG. 1 is the form paper shown in FIG. 2, in which 21 represents ruled lines, 22 represents frame lines, etc.

As shown in Fig. 2, if printing can be done accurately within the area surrounded by the ruled lines and frame lines, there will be no problem, but if it is printed beyond the ruled lines, for example, as shown in Fig. 7 of the conventional example, it will be extremely difficult to see. There was a problem.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of setting the print area of form paper and a position setting of data to be printed according to the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the printing area of the form paper 11 is moved in the Y direction from the reference (0, 0) which is the base point of the form paper in the X and Y directions.
Secure the memory area 31 by n1>+ (n2), and set any position (x, y) in the memory area to
For example, the command ESC + X ten (n 1 ) + (n2)
, ESC+Y+ (n 1 ) + (n2) to set the base point of the data to be printed, arrange the print data, and print. However, the base point of the print data is X,
Since the Y direction can be set in dot units, it can be used with any form paper.

FIG. 4 shows an electrical configuration diagram of the printer of the present invention. 41 is ■/○, and from 4 copies outside the printer (
For example, HO3T, etc.) data is received by the printer's CPU.
It has the role of informing 42 of the data. CPU
42 is the ROM44 based on the data from l1041.
The printer 47 is activated by calling the data written in the RAM 43 and sending control data to the l1045 and the driver 46 while writing and reading the data on the RAM 43.
It is what drives the. ESC+I+ shown in Figure 3
The memory area 31 secured by the command (n 1 ) + (n2) and the base point (x,
y) All position settings are written and held on this RAM 43.

FIG.
ABC” is printed at any position, and IT A
The characters "" are printed shifted by one dot in each of the X and Y directions.This means that each time the print data of "A 11" is sent, the coordinate data in the (x, y) direction, which is the base point of "A", is printed. The data is also transmitted at the same time as data shifted one dot at a time, and in response to this data, it is written as data in the memory area, resulting in printing that appears to be overwritten.

31 is the printing area on the form paper, as described above.

Figure 6 shows an example of conventional printing, where the pitch between characters and the pitch between lines have a certain regularity, and these pitches cannot be changed arbitrarily.Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, characters are printed on ruled lines. was printed, making it difficult to read.

FIG. 7 shows an example of conventional printing on foam paper.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, since character positions can be specified in dot units, desired printing can be obtained at any position on any form paper, and the ruled lines and frames of the form paper can be printed at any desired position. It is possible to provide good-looking slips without worrying about lines. Furthermore, since the present invention stores the data to be printed in the memory area as bit image data, the dot position serving as the base point can be set each time, and overwriting can be easily performed without any problem. Further, if a printer having a shuttle print head as a main element is used, since the shuttle head processes each dot line, it is possible to provide a very easy and compact page mode printer. Further, although the present invention has been described using a slip printer as an example for ease of understanding, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to slip printers and can also be applied to journal printers that print on roll paper or the like. Further, although commands such as position setting are used as examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these commands, and that commands that can be expected to have similar effects can also be applied.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method of setting form paper in a slip printer related to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a sample example of foam paper. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method for securing a memory area for form paper and setting the position of data to be printed, according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an electrical configuration diagram of the printer of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of printing on format paper according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of printing on conventional format paper. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of printing using conventional format paper, in which printing is performed on ruled lines. 10... Slip printer body 11... Form paper 21... Ruled line 22... Frame line 31... Print area 41 on the memory area...
・l10 42...CPU 43...RAM 44...ROM 45...l10 46...Driver 47...Printer and above Applicant Seiko Epson Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Suzuki Kisanbe and 1 other person 1u Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 No Figure 5 7r Figure 6 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) Printing area of printing paper to be printed (X direction, Y direction)
is defined in dot units, an arbitrary memory area corresponding to the printing area is secured in memory, a dot position is defined on the memory area based on the received information, and X A page mode printer characterized in that print data is arranged in a direction or in a Y direction, and the data arranged in the memory area is printed based on a print command. 2) The page mode printer according to claim 1, wherein the print data on the memory area is bit image data. 3) The page mode printer according to claim 1, in which the dot position serving as the base point can be defined each time data is transferred, and can be overwritten. 4) A page mode printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the printer has a shuttle print head as its main element.