JPH0461776B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a surface rotation printing device that is small in size and prints at a high printing speed in page units.

(Prior art) Conventionally, in order to perform wide direction printing with a small printing device in which printing paper can be inserted from the narrow direction (portrait direction) but not from the wide direction (horizontal direction), it is necessary to Use this software to replace the print data, or change the character pitch on the page.
This is only possible when the line pitch is fixed and the centers of the printed characters are on a straight line in the horizontal direction and in a straight line in the vertical direction. The print data is rotated within the printing device, and the processing time of the host device is large, making it impossible to increase the printing speed.
The drawback was that there was no flexibility in the printing position.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of this point, and is intended to provide a surface rotation printing device that is high-speed and has a degree of freedom by adding a small amount of hardware to a small-sized printing device.

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention provides a memory address group corresponding to each grid position when the effective printing area of printing paper is divided into a plurality of grids in which the character origins of two or more characters do not lie in the same grid. a page memory for storing print pattern information in a grid; a font memory for storing print data corresponding to character codes in the print pattern information; and a font memory for storing print data corresponding to character codes in the print pattern information; A pivot control unit that rotates characters in the print data read from the font memory and does not rotate the characters unless a character rotation instruction is given; and a pivot control unit that rotates the print data read from the font memory and does not rotate the characters unless a character rotation instruction is given; It is equipped with a shift control unit for shifting, a line buffer memory for storing at least one grid line of print data shifted by the shift control unit, and a microcomputer system for controlling these, and is transferred from a host device. The microcomputer system converts the first printing pattern information, including the character code, printing position, presence or absence of character rotation, etc., into second printing pattern information that can be stored in the page memory. When the effective printing area of the printing paper is divided into multiple grids where the character origins of two or more characters do not overlap, the information is stored in a memory address group of the page memory corresponding to each grid position, and when printing, the micro - The computer system sequentially reads the second print pattern information from the page memory, and if there is a character rotation instruction in the second print pattern information, reads the print data corresponding to the character code from the font memory, The data is sent to the pivot control section, the pivot control section performs character rotation, and the print data is sent to the shift control section.The shift control section shifts the print data based on the position information in the second print pattern information, store in memory,
Also, if there is no character rotation instruction in the second print pattern information, the print data corresponding to the character code is read from the font memory, sent to the pivot control section, and the pivot control section shifts the character without rotating it. - Send the print data to the control unit, shift the print data based on the position information in the second print pattern information in the shift control unit, store it in the row buffer memory, and request print data from the print mechanism unit including the print head. In response to a signal, print data is read from the row buffer memory, and the print data is sequentially sent to the printing mechanism section to perform printing. A detailed explanation will be given below based on examples.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams for explaining FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a printing device that performs printing based on print information transferred from an unillustrated device (hereinafter referred to as a host device) that controls printing, and includes an interface section 2, a microcomputer system, 3, program memory 4, page memory 5, font memory 6, pivot control section 7, shift control section 8, row buffer memory 9, parallel/serial conversion section 10,
It is composed of a printing mechanism interface section 11 and a printing mechanism section (not shown) including a printing head.
The interface section 2 includes print pattern information including print positions transferred from a host device (not shown), character codes obtained by encoding printed characters, presence or absence of character rotation, print start, print stop, LF (line feed), etc. CR
(return), FF (page feed), etc. to the microcomputer system 3, or to transfer status information of the printing device 1 from the microcomputer system 3 to a higher-level device (not shown). It has an interface for The microcomputer system 3 is preferably a microcomputer that performs high-speed calculations and that quickly generates a memory address in the program memory 4 that stores the next instruction in accordance with the operating procedure stored in the program memory 4. Consisting of a sequencer, it decodes print information transferred from a host device (not shown) via an interface unit 2 according to operating procedures stored in a program memory 4, and processes page memory 5, font memory 6, and pivot. - Control the control section 7, shift control section 8, line buffer memory 9, and printing mechanism interface section 11 to perform printing operations, or display status information of the printing device 1 via the interface section 2. Transfer to an unspecified higher-level device. The program memory 4 is a storage device that stores the operating procedures of the printing apparatus 1 as described above. The page memory 5 contains print pattern information (hereinafter referred to as first print pattern information) including character codes, print positions, presence or absence of character rotation, etc. transferred from a host device (not shown).
A rewritable storage device that stores printing pattern information (hereinafter referred to as second printing pattern information) converted by the microcomputer system 3 into a form that can be used in the printing device 1. It has a capacity that can store 2 pieces of printing pattern information. A detailed explanation of the page memory 5 will be given later in the explanation of FIG. 2.

The font memory 6 is a storage device that stores print data corresponding to character codes in the second print pattern information. Pivot control section 7
If there is no character rotation instruction in the second print pattern information, the print data read from the font memory 6 is sent as is to the shift control unit 8 so that characters as shown in FIG. 3c can be printed. Also, when a character rotation instruction is given, the print data read from the font memory 6 is converted so that characters such as those shown in FIG. This is a device that rotates as needed. still,
A detailed explanation of the pivot control section 7 will be given later in the explanation of FIG. 3.

The shift control unit 8 is a device that shifts the print data sent from the pivot control unit 7 based on position information (horizontal shift, vertical shift) in the second print pattern information. A detailed explanation of the shift control section 8 will be given in Part 4 below.
This will be explained in the explanation of the figure.

The row buffer memory 9 is a rewritable storage device that stores print data sent from the shift control section 7. A detailed explanation of the row buffer memory 9 will be given later in the explanation of FIG. 5.

The parallel/serial converter 10 has a row buffer
This device converts parallel print data output from a memory into serial print data, and transfers the serial print data to a print mechanism (not shown) in response to a print data request from the print mechanism. The printing mechanism interface section 11 sends printing control information such as start of printing, stop of printing, LF, CR, FF, etc. from a host device (not shown) to a printing mechanism section (not shown) in an appropriate form, or performs printing (not shown). This device consists of an interface section that receives status information from the printing mechanism section in an appropriate form, and a data transfer circuit that controls the timing of sending print data to the printing mechanism section (not shown) in response to requests from the printing mechanism section. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the page memory 5 in detail. In FIG. 2a, 12 indicates a place on the printing paper that can actually be printed (hereinafter referred to as an effective printing area), and the character origins of two or more characters are placed in a plurality of grids g _i (i= 0~m×n)
For example, one grid is the size of 1/4 character. Information related to this lattice print pattern (the second print pattern information) is
Since the information is stored in l consecutive memory addresses corresponding to the grid in the memory 5, in order to store the second print pattern information of one grid line (horizontal direction) in the effective print area, l×m addresses, secondary Therefore, in order to store all the second print pattern information within the effective print area, 1×m×n addresses are required. Reference numeral 13 in FIG. 2a indicates a storage space of the page memory 5, which has a size of at least 1×m×n, that is, 1×m×n addresses. Furthermore, the relationship between the page memory 5 and the second print pattern information is shown in FIG. 2b. Figure 2b
The figure on the left spatially represents a part of the memory addresses of the page memory 5, and the left side N, N+8, N+
16,... represent memory addresses, g _i , g _i+1 , g _i+2 ,...
...g _i+7 represents the corresponding grid number of the effective printing area. Here, i is an integer from 0 to m×n.
The figure on the right shows the second print pattern information of grid g _i and shows the case where it is stored in eight consecutive addresses. In this case, l is 8, and the page memory 5 requires at least 8×m×n addresses. Further, the numbers 0, . . . , 7 at the top of the right diagram indicate the bit width of the first location of the page memory 5, and here the bit width of 1 byte (8 bits) is indicated. Next, the second print pattern information shown in the right figure will be explained. The top character code 1, together with the next character code 2, specifies the address in the font memory 6 where the print data corresponding to that character code is stored, and prints the 1/4 character stored there. Used to read data. The next horizontal shift and vertical shift are the letters L ₁ , L ₂ ,
Character origin P ₁ of 1/4 character when L ₃ is divided into four,
P ₂ , P ₃ ...Horizontal and vertical distances S _h1 , S _h2 , between P ₁₂ and the lattice origin P ₁ ′, P ₂ ′, P ₃ ′, ...P ₁₂ ′ of the lattice containing the character origin S _h3 , S _h4 , S _v1 , S _v2 , S _v3 ,
S _v4 , which is used when the shift control section 8 shifts print data. The next character pitch and line break pitch in Figure 2b indicate the horizontal character spacing Ph and vertical character spacing Pv, respectively, as shown in Figure 2c, and the ruled line as shown in Figure 2c in the character information below. Used to print K. The next character information 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Figure 2b is the division position when one character is divided into four, presence or absence of character rotation, full-width or half-width character, ruled line, underline, enlargement of character, etc. It provides information on

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the pivot control section 7 in detail. In Figure 3a, L ₄
is a normal printed character, L ₅ is a left-handed printed character, and L ₆ is a right-handed printed character. FIG. 3b shows a circuit showing one embodiment of the pivot control section 7, with 14
15 is a pivot memory, 15 is a parallel-to-serial converter, 16 is an address counter that indicates the address (memory address) of the pivot memory 14, and can be down. 17 is an address counter that arranges the output of the address counter 16 when character rotation is performed. This is an IX change circuit. Figure 3c shows grids G1, G2, G
3. Normal character pattern of 32 vertical dots and 32 horizontal dots consisting of G4, Figure 3 d is the grid G1 of Figure 3 c,
FIG. 3e shows a left-rotated character pattern of 32 vertical dots and 32 horizontal dots, and FIG. 3 f shows a right-rotated character pattern of 32 vertical dots and 32 horizontal dots. Next, character rotation will be explained using the grid G1 of FIG. 3c as an example. In FIG. 3b, the parallel print data 18 sequentially sent from the font memory 6 is sequentially converted into serial print data by the parallel-serial converter 15, and the clock 19 is sequentially sent to the address counter 16.
The sequential address numbers (0, 1,
2..., 255) as the storage address of the pivot memory 14 and pivot the serial print data.
1/4 characters are sequentially stored in the memory 14. That is, one line, two lines, ..., 15 in the direction of arrow A in Figure 3d.
Pivot the print data like line 16 to memory 1
4. Store 1/4 character in sequence. Therefore, pivot
The storage space of the memory 14 stores data as shown in FIG.
If there is no character rotation, the address counter 16 is set to UP mode, the change change circuit 17 is operated, and the memory addresses of the pivot memory 14 are sequentially set to addresses (0, 1, 2..., 255). , that is, one line in the direction of arrow A in Figure 3d,
2 lines, . . . , 15 lines, 16 lines are scanned, data is read from the pivot memory 14, and the read serial print data is sent to the shift control unit 8 in FIG. Therefore, the lattice G1 of FIG. 3c
A normal character pattern such as is printed. Also, when left rotation is instructed, the address counter 16
Ex change circuit 1 with up mode
7, change the memory address of the pivot memory 14 in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 3d, column 16, column 15, ..., 2.
It scans one column at a time, reads data from the pivot memory 14, and sends the read serial print data to the shift control section 8 in FIG. Therefore, a left-handed character pattern such as grid G1 in FIG. 3e is printed. If clockwise rotation is instructed, the address counter 16 is set to the down mode, the index change circuit 17 is operated, and the storage address of the pivot memory 14 is changed by one column or two in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3d. Columns . Therefore, Fig. 3 f
A clockwise rotation character pattern like this is printed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the shift control section 8 in detail. Figure 4 a is 1/4 of the letter L ₇
The character origins of characters P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ and their character origins
The lattice origins P _{1 ′} , P _{2 ′} of the lattice including P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ ,
P ₃ ′ and P ₄ ′ are at the same position, that is, the horizontal shift (S _h ) and vertical shift (S _v ) of the second print pattern information stored in the page memory 5 are zero. , Figure 4b shows S _h = 10 dots, S _v =
The case of 12 dots is shown. To print as shown in Figure 4b, use the pivot control section 7 in Figure 1.
One dot line (16 dots) of 1/4 character must be read from , and shifted according to _{the Sh and S v mentioned} above. FIG. 4c is a diagram for explaining the shift operation. “0”, “D” in Figure 4c
indicate zero data and print data, respectively. In order to perform such a shift operation, for example, connect four SN74198 manufactured by Texas Instruments Inc. to form a 32-bit shift register, which has a serial input, a right shift, a left shift, and a clear terminal. may be configured. In the shift control unit 8 configured in this manner, the print data outputted from the shift control unit 8 is transferred to the row buffer register 9 while the value of the vertical shift S _v shown in FIG. 4b is monitored by the microcomputer system 3. I will remember. Therefore, from P ₁ ' to Y ₁ in FIG. 4b, the shift control unit ₈ is cleared and the print data in _FIG . One dot line (16 dots) of 1/4 character is sequentially read out from the pivot memory 14 in FIG. Set the dot lines one by one, and sequentially shift to the right by the number of S _h according to the horizontal shift S _h as shown in c of Fig. 4, and put data "0" in the shifted position, as shown in c of Fig. 4. Also, from Y ₂ to Y ₃ in FIG. 4b, the shift control unit 8 is cleared, and the print data in FIG. 4c, A is sent to the row buffer memory 9, The print data of the grids g ₁ , g ₂ , g ₄ , g ₅ of the four effective print areas including the grid G1 of the character L ₇ is stored in the line buffer memory 9. Next, the print data of the grid G2 is read out from the font memory 6 in the same way, and the print data of the grids g ₂ , g ₃ , g ₅ , g 6 of the four effective print areas including the grid G 2 of the character L ₇ are read out from the font memory ₆ . The data is stored in the row buffer memory 9. grid here
Since g ₂ and g ₅ share both the lattices G1 and G2 of the character L ₇ , the lattices g ₂ and
The print data corresponding to g ₅ is stored superimposed on the already stored print data. In this way, all of the print data of one grid line including grids g ₁ , g ₂ , g ₃ in the effective printing area and part of the print data of one grid line including grids g ₄ , g ₅ , g ₆ are printed. The data is stored in the row buffer memory 9. Next, when the row buffer memory 9 becomes ready to accept print data, the grid g ₄ ,
The rest of the print data for one grid line including g ₅ and g ₆ and all the print data for one grid line including grids g ₇ , g ₈ and g ₉ are similarly read out from the font memory 6 and shifted. The data is shifted by the control section 8 and stored in the row buffer memory 9. grid here
g ₄ and g ₇ respectively represent both the lattices G1 and G3 of the letter L ₇ ,
Also, since the grids g ₅ and g ₈ share both the grids G1 and G3 and both G2 and G4 of the character L ₇ , and the grids g ₆ and g ₉ each share both the grids G2 and G ₄ of the character L ₇ , In the row buffer memory 9, print data corresponding to one grid line including grids g ₄ , g ₅ , and g ₆ is stored in a superimposed manner with already stored print data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the row buffer memory 9 in detail. In Figure 5, 2
0 is the write and read address of the four memories LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4 ADS1, ADS2, ADS3,
Chip select CS1, CS2, CS3, for generating ADS4 and selecting each of the four memories.
This is a row buffer read/write control that controls CS4 and the like using a signal applied from the microcomputer system 3 via line 22 and a signal applied from printing mechanism interface section 11 via line 23. 21 is a data line from the shift control section 8; 24 are the lattices g ₄ , g ₅ , g ₆ of FIG. 4b as described above.
In the grid, there are grids G1, G2, with the letter L ₇ , as in
This is a circuit for overlapping print data when two or more G3 and G4 exist. As shown in the figure, the line buffer memory 9 is composed of four memories LM1, LM2, LM3, and LM4, each memory storing print data for one grid line of printing paper.
During printing, the print data of the grid lines on the printing paper are stored in the four memories LM1, LM2, LM3,
When the data is stored in two memories of the LM4, one of the two memories corresponding to the grid line to be printed is selected, the print data is read from there, and the data is converted into a diagram via the parallel-serial converter 10. Serial print data is sent to the printing mechanism (not shown) and printed. When one grid line of the printing paper is printed in this way, another one of the two memories corresponding to the grid line to be printed is selected, and the print data is read from there and sent via the parallel-serial converter 10. Serial print data is sent to a printing mechanism (not shown) and printed. or,
2 of 4 memories LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4
When one memory becomes empty (capable of accepting print data), select that memory and receive the next print data via the font memory 6, pivot control section 7, and shift control section 8, and similarly stored in one memory.
In this way, four memories LM1, LM2, LM3,
Row buffer memory 9 operates to store print data when one or more of the remaining three memories becomes empty while one of LM4 is alternately read-only.

Next, the printing operation will be explained.

First, the surface rotation operation will be explained with reference to FIG. 6a. In Fig. 6a, 12 is the effective printing area of the printing paper, Q is the printing origin, Q' is the printing sub-origin, g ₁ ,
g ₂ , ... are grids (solid lines) within the effective printing area 12,
G1, G2, ... are 1/ when one character is divided into four parts.
Grid with 4 characters as a unit (dotted line), P ₁ , P ₂ , ...
are grids G1, G2,... whose unit is the 1/4 character.
..., P ₁ ′, P ₂ ′, ... are the origins of the grids g ₁ , g ₂ , ... in the effective printing area 12, arrows x ₀ , x ₁ ,
...x _o-1 is the scanning direction of the print data, arrows y ₀ , y ₁ , ... y _n-1 are the writing direction of the second print pattern information, and arrow Z is the effective print area 1
2, that is, the moving direction of the printing paper (not shown). At the time of printing, the character code, print position, and
The microcomputer system 3 receives the first print information including character rotation, etc., and prints nine grids g ₁ in the effective print area 12 including the character "1".
Generate memory addresses in page memory 5 corresponding to g ₂ , ... g ₉ , and also generate grids G1, whose units are 1/4 character.
Find the origin P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ of G2, G3, G4,
Effective printing area 12 including the origins P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄
The distances to the origins P ₁ ', P ₂ ', P ₃ ', and P ₄ ' of the lattice within are determined as horizontal shifts and vertical shifts, and are stored in the page memory 5 as shown in FIG. 2b. At this time 1/4
Pages corresponding to grids g 2 , g 3 , g ₅ , _{g 6} in the effective print area 12 including the origins P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ of grids _G1 , G2, G3, G4 whose units are characters - Store special character information (set a prescribed flag) in the memory address of the memory 5 to indicate that it is necessary to read print data from the font memory 6;
In addition, conversely, grids G1, G2, whose units are 1/4 characters,
Memory addresses of the page memory 5 corresponding to grids g ₁ , g ₄ , g ₇ , g ₈ , g 9 in the effective print area 12 that do not include the origins P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ of G 3 and G ₄ Special character information (resetting a predetermined flag) indicating that there is no need to read print data from the font memory 6 is stored in the font memory 6. Next, the first printing pattern information for the character "2" is received from the host device (not shown), and the microcomputer system 3 stores the page memory 5 in the same manner as above.
The second printing pattern information necessary for the second printing pattern as shown in FIG. 2b is stored. In this way, the first printing pattern information for the characters "3" and "4" is sequentially received from the host device (not shown), and the microcomputer system 3 stores the information in the page memory 5 as shown in FIG. 2b. Store second print pattern information. Next, when printing is performed by a printing mechanism section (not shown), each of the grids g ₁₀ , g ₁₁ , g ₁₂ . . . The second printing pattern information is read, and within that information special character information indicating that there is no need to read out print data from the font memory 6 (for example, stored in the page memory 5 corresponding to grids g ₁₀ and g ₁₃ ) is added. ), the page corresponding to the next grid in the effective print area 12 is displayed.
The second print pattern information is read from the memory address of the memory 5, and the font memory 6
If there is special character information indicating that it is necessary to read print data from, for example, stored in grids g ₁₁ and g ₁₂ , a grid whose unit is 1/4 character when one character is divided into four. Print data for 1/4 character is stored in font memory 6 using character code 1 and character code 2 in Figure 2b for G5, G6, ...
The print data is read out from the print data, rotated to the left by the pivot control section 7, and shifted by the shift control section 8 according to the values of the horizontal shift and vertical shift shown in FIG. In this way, the grid G5, G with 1/4 character as a unit
6 (the grid line including the grids g ₁₀ , g ₁₁ , g ₁₂ , g ₁₃ of the effective printing area 12, and the grid line containing the grids g ₁₄
All print data on the grid line of arrow x ₀ including grid lines g ₁₀ , g ₁₁ , g ₁₂ , g ₁₃ of the effective printing area 12 are scanned in the direction of arrows x _{0 and x 1 .} A part of the print data on the _grid line of _arrow
LM4) and two memories (LM1, LM2). When a request for print data is received from a printing device (not shown), one of the four memories (LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4) in the row buffer memory ₉ that stores the print data of the grid line indicated by the arrow x0 is processed. 1
Send print data from one memory (LM1). At this time, there are still four memories (LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4) in the row buffer memory 9.
LM2 only contains some data on the x ₁ grid line. Therefore, next, two grid lines including grids G7 and G8 (grid line including grid g ₁₄ of effective printing area 12 and grid line including g ₁₅ ) having 1/4 character as a unit are indicated by arrow x ₁ , A part of the print data is scanned in the x ₂ direction on the grid line of arrow x ₁ that includes the grid g ₁₄ of the effective printing area 12, and on the grid line of arrow x ₂ that includes the grid g ₁₅ of the effective printing area 12. All print data is stored in two memories (LM2, LM3) of the four memories (LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4) in the line buffer memory 9.
In addition, grids G1, G2, G3, whose units are 1/4 characters,
Grid g ₁₄ of effective printing area 12 including two or more G4
One of the four memories (LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4) in the row buffer memory ₉ that stores the print data on the grid line of arrow x 1 containing (no fixed memory is allocated), the data is stored superimposed on the previous data. In this way, _the print data is stored in _the row buffer memory 9 in the order of the grid lines indicated by the arrows x ₀ , x ₁ , x _{2 ,} . . . In response to the print data request from the mechanism section, the arrows x ₀ , x ₁ , x ₂ , ... x _o-3 , x _o-2 ,
When the print data is read from the row buffer memory 9 in the order of x _o-1 grid lines and sent to the printing mechanism (not shown) for printing, surface rotation printing as shown in FIG. 6a is obtained by inserting the paper from the narrow width direction. .

Next, the operation when surface rotation is not performed, that is, when paper is inserted from the narrow width direction and printing is performed in the narrow width direction, will be described with reference to FIGS. 6b and 6c. 6b and 6c that are the same as those in FIG. 6a are given the same reference numerals. In FIGS. 6b and 6c, the printing origin Q and the printing sub-origin Q' are at the same position. In other words _, the scanning direction of print data when printing (the direction of arrows x ₀ , x ₁ , ... And the second
The effective printing area 12 is converted into printing pattern information.
The direction of storing data in the memory address group of the page memory 5 corresponding to the grid (direction of arrows x ₀ , x ₁ , ... x _o-1 )
are the same. FIG. 6b shows a case where there is no character rotation, and this type of printing is similar to the plane rotation shown in FIG.
System 3 converts it into second printing pattern information,
The print data is stored in a memory address group of the page memory 5 corresponding to each grid of the effective print area 12, and when printing, the print data is read out from the font memory 6 according to the character code, sent to the pivot control section 7, and then The unit 7 sends the print data to the shift control unit 8 without performing character rotation, and the shift control unit 8 shifts the print data by horizontal shift and vertical shift, stores it in the line buffer memory 9, and sends it from the printing mechanism unit (not shown). In response to the print data request, the print data is sent to a printing mechanism (not shown) and printed, resulting in a print as shown in FIG. 6b. Figure 6c shows the case where there is character rotation, and the case where there is no character rotation in Figure 6b is the case where the character "2" is rotated to the left and the character "3" is rotated to the left in the second printing pattern information. The other difference is that there is a clockwise rotation instruction.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, the effective printing area of the printing paper is divided into a plurality of grids in which the character origins of two or more characters do not lie within the same grid, and the page/grid corresponding to each grid position is divided. Sufficient print information to represent the print data of the grid is stored in a memory address group of the memory, and the print data read from the font memory is pivoted when the sheet is inserted from the narrow width direction and the surface is rotated to print in the wide direction. The control section rotates the characters, the shift control section shifts the print data according to the misalignment between the grid of the effective print area and the character frame, and the data is stored in the line buffer memory in units of grid lines. By sending print data to the printing mechanism section in response to a print data request from the printing mechanism section, it is possible to print at any position without being restricted by the printing position, and with less hardware. It can be realized. Although the present invention has been described using a grid in which the effective printing area is a 1/4 character unit, the effects of the present invention will not be impaired in any way even if a grid of another size is used as a unit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. 2a to 2c are diagrams for explaining the page memory in FIG. 1; FIG. 2a is a diagram showing the effective print area; FIG. 2b is a diagram showing the storage space and storage contents of the page memory; FIG. 2c is a diagram showing horizontal and vertical shifts and character line feed pitches in FIG. 2b. Figures 3a to 3f are diagrams for explaining the pivot control section in Figure 1. Figure 3a is a diagram showing normal characters, left-rotation characters, and right-rotation characters, and Figure 3b is a diagram for explaining the pivot control section. Explanatory diagram of the block part of the part, 3rd
Figure c is an explanatory diagram of a normal character pattern, Figure 3 d is an explanatory diagram of a pattern extracted from a 1/4 character of a normal character pattern, Figure 3 e is an explanatory diagram of a left-rotated character pattern, and Figure 3 f is an explanatory diagram of a pattern in which 1/4 characters are extracted from a normal character pattern. It is an explanatory diagram of a clockwise rotation character pattern. 4a to 4c are diagrams explaining the shift control section of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4a is a diagram showing when the character origin and the grid origin are at the same position,
FIG. 4b is a diagram showing a case where the character origin and the grid origin are at shifted positions, and FIG. 4c is a diagram showing a shift operation. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the row buffer memory of FIG. 1. Figures 6a to 6c are diagrams showing printing examples; Figure 6a is a diagram showing a surface rotation printing pattern; Figure 6b is a diagram showing a normal printing pattern in which there is no character rotation. , FIG. 6c is a diagram showing a case where there is a character rotation pattern in normal printing. 5... Page memory, 6... Font memory, 7... Pivot control section, 8... Shift control section, 9... Row buffer memory.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a printing device that rotates print data and prints page by page, the effective printing area of printing paper is divided into a plurality of grids in which the character origins of two or more characters do not lie within the same grid. A page that stores printing pattern information in the grid in a memory address group corresponding to each grid position when
a memory; a font memory for storing print data corresponding to a character code in the print pattern information; and a font memory for storing print data corresponding to a character code in the print pattern information; a pivot control section that does not rotate characters unless a character rotation instruction is given; a shift control section that shifts print data sent from the pivot control section based on position information in the print pattern information; A surface rotation printing device comprising: a row buffer memory for storing at least one grid line of print data shifted by a control section; and a microcomputer system for controlling these.