JPH0421479A - Data printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform printing concurrently with data processing by a method wherein printing data is printed for every line from the first line on the basis of the assignment of a printing position assignment means, and when the printability of a present printing line is judged by a memory means, the printing is continued to a printable line. CONSTITUTION:A printing position assignment means 2 assigns a printing line position for every printing data, e.g. a printing layout formed on the basis of printing layout data stored in a printing layout memory, such as a RAM. A memory means 3 is a RAM or the like storing the presence or absence of printability based on the output of a printing data generation means 1, for example, in the form of a printing table. The printing table is provided with a flag storing the presence or absence of printability for every line. The flag is updated by receiving the output of the printing data generation means 1. A printing means 4 is a printing part, such as a printer, for printing the printing data for ever line from the first line on the basis of the assignment of the printing position assignment means 2. When the printability of a present printing line is judged by the memory means 3, the printing means 4 continues printing to a printable line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a data printing device that prints output data of a data processing device such as a slip issuing machine.

[Prior Art] In conventional data printing devices, when output data is obtained in an order unrelated to the printing order or when the output order of the output data is not constant, it is difficult to obtain all the data and complete the data. Later, they were printed together. For example, when trying to print a sales slip as shown in Figure 7, after fields H such as "Sold to: j", "Responsible for:", etc., "Sold to yarn data" and "Person in charge code" for those items are added. ” (see inside the broken line in Figure 7). The system waits for the end of processing and prints all the data at once.

Here, data processing means, for example, in the case of yarn sold to customers, the process of searching for the name corresponding to the customer in a master file stored in the form of a code and arranging it at a predetermined position, and There is a process to read the corresponding name from another file and add it up when the user code is included but the name is not included, and a total process to print the total amount data of each item on the slip. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional data printing devices, the entire output data is printed at once after all the output data is obtained, so that the data processing is completed. There is a problem in that even more waiting time is required for subsequent printing.

It is clear that if printing is performed in parallel with data processing, the waiting time for printing after data processing is completed can be significantly reduced.

An object of the present invention is to enable printing in parallel with data processing.

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

The print data generation means 1 (see the functional block diagram of FIG. 1, the same applies hereinafter) is a CPU or the like that generates print data. Here, the print data includes, for example, customer name data, person-in-charge name code, etc. in the case of creating a slip.

The print position specifying means 2 specifies the print line position of each print data, and is a print layout created based on print layout data stored in a print layout memory such as a RAM, for example.

The storage means 3 stores the presence or absence of printing possibility based on the output of the print data generation means 1 in the form of a print table, for example.
AM etc. The print table has a flag (mark) that stores the presence or absence of printability for each row (Yu mark), and this flag is updated upon receiving the output from the print data generation means l.

The printing means 4 is, for example, a printing unit such as a printer that prints print data line by line starting from the first line based on the designation of the print position specifying means 2, and when the storage means 3 determines that the current print line is printable. Then, the printable lines will be printed continuously.

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

The print layout of the print position specifying means 2 includes data No.
, the data name (for example, sales slip, vendor name data), print line position (Y coordinate, X coordinate), etc. of each print data are specified in advance.

Further, in the printing table of the storage means 3, when printing according to the above-mentioned print layout, presence or absence of printing possibility is stored for each line (that is, for each Y coordinate). When you try to print according to instructions from an operator, etc., among the lines in the print layout, lines that do not require print data manipulation (processing), such as "sales slips", are displayed as printable on the print table and can be printed immediately. executed. In parallel with the above printing process, the print data generation means 1 generates print data such as customer name data and person-in-charge name code, and prints the print lines of the print table in the storage means 3 from the generated print data. The flag indicating availability is updated, and if it is determined that the current print line is printable, the printable lines are continuously printed.

Therefore, printing can be performed in parallel with data processing, and printing waiting time can be significantly reduced.

[Example] Examples will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing one embodiment of a data printing device.

First, the configuration will be explained. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the data printing device. In this figure, 11 is a CPU that controls the entire apparatus and performs various data processing including print data generation processing and print timing control processing that will be described later, and CPU II is a microprogram stored in a processing procedure memory 12 that will be described later. It controls various operations of the data printing apparatus according to the data printing apparatus, and also processes print layout data to create a print table 101 (described later) and a print data file 102 (described later). The CPU 1l includes a processing procedure memory 12 that stores processing procedures in the form of programs and fixed data, a print layout memory 13 that stores print layout data, a search memory 14 that stores search data when generating print data, and a print memory 12 that stores processing procedures in the form of programs and fixed data. Print table memory 15 for storing table data, data memory 1 for storing predetermined data such as print data files, etc.
6. A pointer 17 that uses a print table 101 (described later) to manage how far printing has finished, an input section 18 consisting of a keyboard equipped with keys for inputting various data, function keys, etc., input data, and printing. A display section 19 that displays data and the like and a printing section 20 that prints out print data are connected to each other.

Further, the processing procedure memory 12, print layout memory 13, search memory 14, print table memory 15, data memory 16, and pointer 17 are used by dividing a RAM storage area, for example. The key input unit 18 is an operation panel provided with keys for inputting alphanumeric characters, hiragana, etc., function keys such as a cursor movement key, an execution key and a cancel key, and when any key on the operation panel is operated. In this case, a control unit (not shown) converts the code into a predetermined key code corresponding to the key, and outputs the code to the CPU 11.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a print layout 100 created based on print layout data stored in the print layout memory 13 for specifying print line positions of each print data. In this print layout 100, data names for each item from No. 001 to No. 5 are arranged such as "sales slip", "sales slip", "sales partner name", "responsible person:", and "responsible person name", and in the column next to these data names, the data The starting point when expanding in the Y-axis and X-axis directions, the X coordinate, and its vertical and horizontal range (
size) are arranged. For example, No.

If the data name of 1 is ``Sales slip'', the X coordinate is l.
, the X coordinate is 6, and the vertical and horizontal dimensions are 1 and 8, respectively, so the fifth
In the print data file 102 shown in the figure, a "sales slip" is output between the 6th line of the first line and the 133rd line corresponding to 8 digits in the X-axis direction. Also, no.

If the data name in 3 is the vendor name, the X coordinate is 3, the X coordinate is 7, the vertical and horizontal dimensions are 2 and 13, respectively, and since "Sales slip J is not enclosed in ", the data file in Figure 5 is starts from the 7th line of the 3rd line, and the data manipulated as the vendor name is entered in the 13-digit range in the vertical direction by ↓ or 2 lines. Here, among the data names in Figure 3, those enclosed in ``'' are output as they are in the data file in Figure 5, and those not enclosed in `` are data extracted by data manipulation. Output.

FIG. 4 shows a print table 101 in which the presence or absence of printing possibility is stored for each line based on the data of the print table. This print table lot classifies the data of the print layout 100 shown in FIG. 3 based on the Yu mark, and this format can be freely set by the operator (user).

Here, according to the X coordinate corresponding to the line at the time of printing, print data No. 0, carriage return CR1 representing the return of the print head, a mark indicating whether printing is possible (1: printable, 0: printable), and data Generate end representing the end of the column. For example, at the X coordinate 2, the mark is 1, indicating that it is in a printable state, and at the X coordinate, 3, the No. 3 mark is O, indicating that this line is not in a printable state.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing print timing control processing, and this flow is executed when a print command is given.

In the figure, the symbol Sn (n=1.2°...) indicates each step of the flow.

When a print command is given, first, in step S11, the pointer 17 is set to the first line. The pointer 17 is used to manage how far printing has been completed using the print table 101. First, the pointer indicating the line to be printed is set to the first line (Y mark = 1). I'll keep it. Next, in step S12, if data manipulation is necessary, data manipulation is performed. Here, data manipulation refers to data processing in which a series of processing units are continuously executed in a predetermined program processing unit. For example, a predetermined program processing unit may include a process to search for a customer name corresponding to a customer code input by an operator, or a process to search for a person in charge name corresponding to a person in charge code input by an operator. This processing unit is stored in the processing procedure memory 12.

In step S13, it is determined whether or not the result of the data manipulation in step S12 is print data, and if it is not print data, the process returns to step S12 and the data manipulation is repeated. That is, in step S12, data processing is performed, and the data processing may not be directly related to printing, but may simply be updating a file, and in such cases, the data manipulation is repeated until the print data necessary for printing is processed. Proceed to the next step only if it is output. If it is print data, the process advances to step S14, and in step S14, the fourth
The mark of the corresponding portion of the print table 101 shown in the figure is set to 1 (ON), and data is also written in the print data file 102 shown in FIG. 5 in step S15. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the mark is 0 (OFF) when the content of the data to be printed is not determined, and is 1 (ON) when it is determined.

Next, in step S16, the line indicated by the pointer (Y coordinate)
Determine whether all the marks are l (ON) or not,
When all the marks in the line of the pointer are not 1 (even one is
(OFF), it is determined that this line is not in a printable state and the process returns to step S12. When all the marks in the line of the pointer are l, it is determined that this line is ready for printing, and the line is printed in step S17, and step S
Step 18 moves the pointer to the next line. Next, step S1
At step 9, it is determined whether or not the line is the lowest line. If the pointer points to end, it is determined that the line is the lowest line, and the process of this flow ends. If the line is not the lowest line, the process returns to step S16.

In this way, the print layout data shown in Figure 3 can be
Print table 101 classified by coordinates (rows) and shown in FIG.
generate. When this preparation is completed, the program shown in FIG.
data) is obtained, a mark is placed in the print table 101 corresponding to the print data. Then, the contents are taken in as data and it is determined whether all 1's are set in the currently designated pointer. If all 1's are set in the pointer, the corresponding line of the print table 101 is printed. For example, in the state of the print table 101 shown in FIG. 4, all the marks up to the Y coordinate 2 are l, so printing is executed immediately, and the data corresponding to the selling yarn (No. 3 data) is obtained as print data. At the point in time, Y coordinate 3 is printed, and printing up to Y coordinate 5 is executed. After that, when the person in charge code (No. 5 data) is obtained as print data, the Y coordinate is 6.
The print data becomes ready for printing, and the Y coordinate 6 is printed to complete the print data output similar to the print data file 102 shown in FIG. 5.

The control layout can be freely set by the operator by setting the coordinates, so the processing procedure memory 1
2 and the order of each data in the print layout 13 do not necessarily match. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is a possibility that the data of N005 shown in the broken line area in FIG. 5 is set first by data manipulation, but in this case, printing cannot be performed first.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the print table 101 is provided as a function to control the print timing, and it manages how much printing can be done, and when printable data is generated, the printable lines are immediately printed ( Since we are using real printing (real printing), printing can be completed at the stage where data is being processed, and the waiting time for printing after data processing is completed can be greatly reduced. .

Note that in the above embodiment, only the case where printing is performed sequentially in parallel with data processing has been explained, but in reality, there is a case where printing is not possible due to a shortage of printing paper or a jam of printing paper during data processing. It is also possible. Therefore, in order to deal with such cases, a switch is provided so that you can arbitrarily select whether to print in parallel with data processing or to print all at once after data processing is completed. Good too. That is, when the - batch selection is selected, all data processing is completed and all print data is stored in the print data file 102, so by instructing to start printing at any time, the above print data file The printing data stored in the printer 102 may be sequentially read out and printed.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since a print timing control function is provided, printing can be performed in parallel with data processing, and the waiting time for printing after data processing is completed can be significantly reduced. can be shortened to

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a data printing device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing its printing layout. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the print table, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data file, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the print timing control process, and FIG. 7 is a printing example of a conventional data printing device. It is a diagram. 11...CPU (print data generation means), 12.
...Processing procedure memory, 13...Print layout memory (print position specifying means), 14...Search memory, 15...Print table memory (storage means), 16
...Data memory, 17...Pointer, 18.
...Key human power section, 18...Display section, 20...Printing section (printing means), 100...Print layout, 1
01...Print table, 102...Print data file.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Print data generating means for generating print data, print position specifying means for specifying a print line position of the print data, and storage means for storing whether or not the print data is printable for each line. and printing the print data line by line starting from the first line based on the designation of the print position specifying means, and printing up to the printable line when the storage means determines that the current print line is printable. A data printing device comprising a printing means and the following.