JPH04208474A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out the print in response to a print command and print continuously almost without dormant period by providing a plurality of frame memories wherein printing information is to be expanded to bit pattern. CONSTITUTION:When a printing information code of a fixed item is received, it is stored in an input buffer 61, expanded to bit immediately (F), and stored in a first frame memory 62a. When a variable item is received subsequently to the fixed item, it is stored in the input buffer 61 in code, a first 1 page is expanded to bit immediately and overwritten on the first frame memory. A printing of contents of the first frame (fixed item F and variable item V1) is started, while a processing of a second sheet is started, so that the contents of the first frame are copied in a second frame 62b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a printer device, particularly a method of storing print information in advance in a memory element of the printer and printing based on a print command from an external device. This relates to printer devices and is extremely effective for format registration type printers and the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, print information is received in the form of a code from an external device and stored in a storage element in the form of the code.
When a print command is received, a predetermined amount of print information in the form of a code is expanded into a bit pattern, stored in the output cover memory, and printed.

In this method, bit pattern development begins after receiving a print command from an external device, so it takes several seconds, for example, from receiving a print command to starting printing, which is an obstacle to speeding up the printer. .

(Generally, when printing a document or pattern using a printer, what takes the most time other than the actual printing?

This is the process of developing it into a bit pattern. The time required for this is generally referred to as editing processing time, and in some cases may amount to about 2/3 of the total printing time. ) Many proposals have been made to solve this problem, but no fundamental solution has been found yet.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional method described above, the print information in the form of a code is expanded into bits after receiving a print command.

Items that require editing processing time in addition to actual printing.

When variable items are included, there is a problem in that bit expansion of the entire area is required.

The present invention can perform printing processing in immediate response to a printing command.

The present invention also aims to provide a high-speed printer device that can perform continuous printing with almost no downtime.

(Means for Solving the L! Problem) The present invention receives information transferred from an external device in the form of a code, and stores the print information in the memory element of the printer after expanding it into a bit pattern to be actually printed. In a printer device that starts printing upon receiving a print command from an external device, multiple frame memories for developing print information into bit patterns are installed, and while printing the print information of one frame memory, The intended purpose was achieved by performing an operation in which the subsequent printed information was focused and stored in the remaining frames.

The present invention also has a function of copying the bit pattern of the (k+1)th frame to the (k+1)th frame.

The print information transferred from the external device includes information that identifies variable items whose print content changes for each page and fixed items whose print content does not change throughout all pages. By adding a function to develop only variable items into bit patterns and overwrite them on the corresponding page frame, we were able to further speed up the overall printing process.

(Function) In a printer that stores print information in advance in a memory element and prints based on a print command, it is almost a problem in practical use that it takes time to store the print information in the memory element (at the time of registration). do not become.

In the present invention, by absorbing the editing processing time, which conventionally took up much of the required time, into the registration time, printing can be started immediately after receiving a printing command from an external device, and therefore printing can be done in the minimum amount of time. The process can be completed.

Furthermore, in the present invention, frame memories for storing the bit-expanded print information described above can be provided for a plurality of frames, and can be used alternately and in parallel for printing and for bit expansion/storage. The bit expansion time of one memory can be absorbed within the printing time of the other memory.
Actual printing operations can be performed continuously.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a printer device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a comparison diagram of the state of use of memory divisions inside the RAM of the device of the present invention with a conventional one.

In FIG. 1, (1) is an external device such as a personal computer, and (2) is a printer device, such as a line printer, but is not limited to this.

(3) is a pass line, (4) is an input/output device, (5)
is the CPU.

(6) is a memory for storing print information, for example, RAM
It is sufficient to have a storage capacity that can store one or two pages of bit-expanded printed information, but in some cases it is preferable to have a storage capacity that can hold the entire series of printed information in bit-expanded form. .

(7) is a memory for storing control programs.

For example, it is configured with a ROM, and in addition to a data editing program, a printing control program, and various other control programs normally required for a printer, there is also one program specific to the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG.
(8) is a print head that stores a program for performing the processing shown in the flowchart in (a).

Figure 2 is a diagram comparing the internal usage of the RAM of the present invention with the conventional case (Figure 2). In the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, the print information received in the form of a code is stored in the input buffer area. (61) and is subsequently or immediately bit-expanded.

via) pattern in the remaining area (62) of the RAM. The area (62) has a storage capacity for two pages or more, and is used separately for the first frame (62a) and the second frame (62b), but when the printing length is relatively short, Alternatively, this may be divided into three or more storage areas according to the print length, and each frame may be processed in parallel.

On the other hand, in the conventional method, as shown in Fig. 4, print information is received in the form of a code, passes through an input buffer (65), and is stored in the form of a code in areas (66) and (67). When received, a predetermined amount of data is bit-expanded and taken out to the output buffer area (68) for printing. In addition (6
6) is a fixed item storage area, and (67) is a variable item storage area.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the processing flow and time of print information from reception of print information to printing in the present invention, and is compared with the conventional case shown in FIG. 5.

The flow of the process shown in FIG. 3 will be explained.

A) In printers using the format registration method, print information is first sent from fixed items. When the fixed item print information code is received, it is stored in the input buffer (61), and is immediately subjected to bit expansion (F) and stored in the first frame memory (62a).

B) When a fixed item is followed by a variable item.

The code is stored in the input buffer (61), and the first page is immediately expanded into focus.

The first frame memory is overwritten.

C) Contents of the first frame (fixed item F and variable item Vl
) is started, and on the other hand, processing of the second sheet is started, and the contents of the first frame are copied to the second frame (62b).

When variable item information (2) on the second page is received, it is similarly bit-expanded and overwritten in the second frame. These editing processes for the second frame are performed in parallel with the printing process for the first frame, and are completed almost simultaneously.

D) Next, in parallel with the printing process of the contents of the second frame,
Editing processes such as copying from the second frame to the first frame, receiving variable item v3 on the third page, bit expansion, and overwriting the first frame are performed. Thereafter, the two frame memories cooperate in the same manner and the process is repeated.

E) As is clear from the above, in the present invention.

Editing processing time for print information is absorbed by actual printing processing time, and actual printing can be performed continuously.Although we have explained the case where two frame memories are used for 0 or more, it is also possible to use three or more frame memories. This will further improve processing efficiency.

In the conventional method, as shown in Figure 5, printing information is received in the form of a code and stored in the form of a code, and when printing, the operations of printing command, bit expansion, and printing are repeated, so printing starts from the print start command. In contrast to the relatively long time required for printing to finish,9 in the present invention, as can be seen from Fig. 3,
Since the dot expansion for both fixed items and variable items is completed before the printing of the previous page is finished, and the actual printing dot pattern is completed, even if the pattern includes variable items, it is possible to print continuously using only the actual printing pattern. The printing speed can be further increased. The degree of reduction in printing time depends on the printing pattern, but it can be reduced to about 1/2 of the conventional method, improving the actual printing speed. It is also possible to shorten the time further.

Note that retaining printed information in bit-expanded form requires a considerable amount of storage capacity, but memory elements have already become denser and faster, so this is not a problem.For example, 1
Per page, (24 dots x 24 dots/characters)
When printing xiooo characters, 0.576 Mbit is sufficient.

For line printers, the required storage capacity is determined by the total print area rather than the number of characters, but for example, 104 mm wide x 256 mm.
About 2M bits of information can be stored to print the area on two sides. (This storage capacity can also be used for repeated cycles of parallel processing of printing processing of bit-expanded information and bit-expansion/storage of subsequent information.) Also, the total time required from receiving print information to completing printing Time can be reduced as well.

(Effects of the Invention) As outlined above, the following effects can be obtained by the present invention.

l) When printing information is received, it is stored in the RAM in a bit-expanded form, so when a printing command is received, it can be executed immediately.

2) Therefore, the entire printing process can be made more immediate and faster, and can be applied to, for example, logistics systems that print and label labels, production control lines, and other various applications to achieve efficiency improvements in the entire system. be able to.

3) Before the printing of the previous page is finished, dot development for both fixed items and variable items is completed and the actual printing dot pattern is completed, so both patterns including variable items and the actual printing pattern can be printed continuously. I can do it. (Since the next preparation is completed before the previous page print is finished, the printing operation does not stop.

That is, the editing time is absorbed by parallel processing within the printing time of the previous page. )

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a printer device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram comparing the information storage state in a part (RAM) of FIG. 1 with FIG. 4 in the conventional case, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the relationship between the processing flow and time of the device of the present invention, This is shown in comparison with FIG. 5 for the conventional case. (1) Personal computer (2) Printer device (3) Pass line (4) Input/output device (5) CPU (6) Memory for storing print information (7) Memory for storing control program (8) Print head (61), (65) Input cover buffer memory area (62
a), (62b) Focus pattern memory (66) Fixed item storage area (67) Variable item storage area (F) Fixed item printing information (Vl), (V2), = (Vn) Variable item printing information patent Applicant Kanzaki Paper Co., Ltd. Time D) Procedural amendment dated February 29, 1992

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Information transferred from an external device is received in the form of a code, the print information is expanded and stored in the memory element of the printer into a bit pattern to be actually printed, and the print command is received from the external device. A printer device of a type that starts printing, characterized by having a plurality of frame memories for developing print information into bit patterns. (2) In the printer device according to claim (1), (k+1
) A printer device characterized in that it has a function of copying a bit pattern of a frame of a side to a frame of a k-th side. (3) In the printer device according to claim (1), in the print information transferred from the external device, variable items whose print content changes for each page and fixed items whose print content does not change throughout all pages are identified. Based on this information, only variable items are expanded into bit patterns,
A printer device characterized by having a function of overwriting a frame of a corresponding page.