JPH05112094A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an excellently operating recorder wherein a set state may be changed by simple operation with an operation panel by a method wherein a visual image is formed on a recording medium according to a drawing command based on a specific format to be inputted from an external host computer. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of specific operation modes to which a lower parameter is respectively fixed are provided. A name suitable for display of each display unit 14 is added respectively to a combination of those operation modes and the lower parameter to be stored by registration in a storage means. Further, the name of the operation mode and the lower parameter are made erasable by specific drawing command to be inputted from an external host computer and when the displayed name is selected, the title recorder is so constructed that a set parameter of the recorder can be automatically set according to the content stored by registration in the storage means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device for forming a visual image on a recording medium according to a drawing command based on a predetermined format input from an external host computer.
Particularly, it relates to improvement of operability of plotters used in the fields of CAD and business graphs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a multi-pen type flatbed type XY which has been conventionally used in the fields of CAD and business graph.
The appearance of the plotter is shown. In FIG. 4, 19 is a plotter body, 2
0 is a recording surface, 21 is a Y-axis bar, 22 is a Y-axis slider, 2
2a is a pen holder, 23 is a pen stocker, 24 is a recording pen, and 25 is an operation panel. When the plotter main body 19 receives a drawing command according to a predetermined format from the external host computer, the command is internally analyzed and the Y-axis slider 22 on the Y-axis bar 21 is based on the analysis result.
And an X-axis slider (not shown) on which the Y-axis bar 21 is mounted
Is moved on an X-axis bar (not shown), the recording pen 24 stored in a pen stocker 23 provided at a predetermined position is transferred to the pen holder 22a, and the recording medium fixed on the recording surface 20 is moved. Create a desired visual image (not shown). At this time, in order to change the color of the recording pen, the recording pen 24 is manually replaced with another recording pen, the purpose of notifying the operator of the current recording pen position on the XY coordinate plane, and the communication condition with the external host computer. A display device and operation keys to which various functions are assigned are provided on the operation panel 25 so as to be convenient for setting the settings and the usage conditions of the plotter.

An operation panel 2 provided for such a purpose
5 is shown in detail in FIG. In FIG. 5, 14 is a display device including a liquid crystal element, 16 is a group of operation keys to which various functions are assigned, 16a is an up cursor key, 16b is a down cursor key, 16c is a right cursor key, and 16d is a left. A cursor key, 16e is a menu key, 16f is an enter key, and 26 is a display for displaying a power-on state or the like, which is not directly related to the present invention. The display device 14 is a character type display device capable of displaying 16 characters per line, or a total of 16 characters including 2 lines and 8 characters.
Those that can display characters are used, and they are used in a data format suitable for each display. The display device 14 displays the current XY coordinate values of the recording pen during normal drawing, but when not drawing, as described above, the communication speed, stop bit length, parity of the communication conditions with the external host computer. The type of bit, the drawing speed and writing pressure of the recording pen transferred from the pen stocker 23 to the pen holder 22a,
Further, a hierarchical menu as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed for manually setting the size of the recording medium. 1
The operation keys 6a to 16f are used to operate the menu of FIG. 6 and display lower layer parameters and confirm selection.

[0006] FIG. 6 shows a primary menu as an example of a menu structure.
Although the menus hierarchically divided into the secondary and the tertiary are shown, for example, when setting the communication condition with the external host computer, the menu key 16e on the operation panel 25 is pressed,
The primary menu is displayed on the display device 14. The primary menu consists of "Pen optimization", "I / F setting", "Paper size", "Replot", and "Plotter mode".
"I / F setting" is displayed on 4. Next, "I / F setting"
When the right cursor key 16c is pressed to display the secondary menu of the lower layer associated with, "manual setting" is displayed. When the right cursor key 16c is pressed to display the third menu of the lower layer, each item of "I / F selection""communicationspeed""stopbit""paritycheck" is sequentially pressed by pressing the down cursor key 16b. Is displayed.

Here, in order to define the detailed specifications of the "communication speed", when the "communication speed" is displayed and the enter key 16f is pressed and the "communication speed" is selected, "9800" and "4800" shown in parentheses are displayed. "2400""1200"
The lower layer parameters are displayed and the upper cursor key 16
The selectable parameters are sequentially displayed by operating the a or the down cursor key 16b. Therefore, when the desired lower layer parameter is pressed, the enter key 16f is pressed to confirm the selection.

Other items such as "stop bit" are selected in the same procedure, and after the selection is confirmed, the left cursor key 16d is sequentially pressed to return the menu to the original layer side. The hierarchical menu in the above description of the conventional example is merely an example, and various methods are adopted for its configuration. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, “manual setting” in the secondary menu is used.
There is also a case where the menu of the lower layer accompanying it is omitted and the secondary menu is made.

In general, when using this type of recording apparatus, most of the software used on the external host computer is commercially available application software created to suit each job. The task of controlling the recording device from the outside is handled by the application software side, and the data to be recorded is converted according to the format of the drawing language installed in the recording device and then sent to the recording device.

At this time, the communication condition between the host computer and the recording device is controlled by the application software side, and the recording device side needs to be changed so as to meet the communication condition by the above-mentioned method. Become. Moreover, the application software used on the external host computer is not limited to one type, and in many cases, a plurality of application software is used.
In many cases, the communication conditions are also different, and the complicated work of changing and setting the communication conditions on the recording device side is required every time the application software used on the external host computer is switched.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention provides a recording apparatus which improves the above-mentioned drawbacks to improve the operability and enables the editing of the operation menu without adding special operation keys. The purpose is to

[0010]

In order to improve operability, in a recording apparatus of the present invention, an operation mode of a recording apparatus that is hierarchized and selectable and a plurality of lower layer parameters that determine the function of the operation mode are set. A display device that displays parameters that can be selected from among them; a setting unit that changes or selects the operation mode and the lower layer parameter to be a setting parameter of the recording device; and a storage unit that stores the setting state. Further, it is possible to provide a plurality of specific operation modes in which lower layer parameters are fixed, and to register and store in the storage means by adding a name suitable for the display of the display device to each combination of these operation modes and lower layer parameters. And the name of the operation mode and lower layer parameters can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input from the external host computer. It is and configuration.

[0011]

As a result, a plurality of specific operation modes in which the lower layer parameters are fixed are provided, and a combination of these operation modes and the lower layer parameters is added with a name suitable for display on the display device and registered and stored in the storage means. Moreover, the name of the operation mode registered in the storage means and the lower layer parameter can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input from the external host computer, and the displayed name can be displayed repeatedly on the display device. When selected, the setting parameter of the recording device can be automatically set according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means.

[0012]

1 shows an internal control circuit of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 5 is an external host computer, 6 is a recording device, 7 is an interface circuit, 8 is a communication control circuit, 9 is a CPU, 10 is a ROM, and 11 is an RA.
M and 12 are electrically erasable / writable ROM (hereinafter referred to as EE
PROM), 13 is a display control circuit, 14 is a display device, 15 is an input / output control circuit (1), 16 is an operation key group, 17 is an input / output control circuit (2), and 18 is a recording mechanism section. ..

Next, the internal operation of the recording device 6 will be described. The data processing procedure inside the recording device 6 is RO
When a drawing command according to a predetermined format is input to the interface circuit 7 of the recording device 6 which is programmed in the M10, the interface circuit 7 converts the level of the signal, and the communication control circuit 8 is activated. It is transmitted to the CPU 9 via the.

Since the data processing time in the CPU 9 is faster than the actual drawing time in the recording mechanism section, a part of the drawing commands input via the communication control circuit 8 is accumulated and stored in the RAM 11 and sequentially taken out during the actual drawing. CPU
After the analysis calculation processing by 9, the input / output control circuit (2) 17
The data is sent as a drawing command signal to the recording mechanism section 18 via the to perform drawing. External host computer 5 at this time
The communication conditions between the recording device 6 and the recording device 6 are such that if the communication speed, the stop bit, and the parity check parameters of the both do not match, data is lost and normal communication cannot be performed, and therefore both of them are started before the communication starts. It is necessary to match the communication conditions of. In order to execute such a setting operation, a hierarchical menu as shown in FIG. 2 is registered and stored in the EEPROM 12 in advance in the recording device 6. These menus can be displayed on the display device 14 via the display control circuit 13 by operating the operation key group 16 connected to the input / output control circuit (1) 15, and the selection state from the menu is the operation key group. The selected parameters are detected by controlling the operation status of 16 by the CPU 9, and the setting parameters are programmed to be stored in the EEPROM 12.

Once the setting parameter is EEPROM1
2 is stored in the recording device 6, the recording device 6 is EEP when power is turned on.
Referring to the setting parameters stored in the ROM 12,
It is used as a default value of the recording device 6 for the subsequent internal arithmetic processing. As the display device 14, a liquid crystal device, a light emitting diode device, or the like can be used, and a character type display device can display 1 line 16 characters, or 2 lines 8 characters, a total of 16 characters can be displayed. , A graphics display device, etc. are used. In the case of a character type display device, you can also use English letters, katakana or kanji, and if you use a graphics display device, you can express messages with hieroglyphs called icons. And is used in a data format suitable for each display.

FIG. 2 shows a menu structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a name of a specific operation mode (1), 2 is a name of a specific operation mode (2), 3 is a name of a specific operation mode (3), 4 is a name of a specific operation mode (4) In each case, the name of commercially available application software used on the external host computer 5 is used. The task of controlling the recording device 6 from the outside using these application software is in charge of the application software side, and after converting the data to be recorded according to the format of the drawing language installed in the recording device 6, the recording device is converted. 6 is sent.

At this time, the communication condition between the external host computer 5 and the recording device 6 is mainly controlled by the application software side. For example, in the case of the name (4) of the specific operation mode of 4, usually the third order is used. The lower layer parameters in the menu are connected under the conditions that the communication speed is 9600 (bit / sec), the stop bit length is 1 (bit), and the parity check is N (none). Therefore, the name "MS WINDOWS 2.1" is added to the combination of this specific operation mode and its associated lower layer parameters, and the combination is registered and stored in the EEPROM 12, which is a storage means. The name of "MSWINDOWS 2.1" is not limited to this, and it can be represented by a name that is easily recognized by the operator of the recording device 6 or, when a graphics display device is used, an equivalent hieroglyphic graphic instead. Yes, the hieroglyphics can be used for the names of other operation modes that are hierarchized and configured to be selectable.

Next, a method of operating the menu shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The operation panel 25 for operating the menu can have the same configuration as the conventional example. FIG. 2 shows a menu that is layered into primary, secondary, and tertiary layers as an example of the menu structure. For example, when setting the communication condition with the external host computer 5, the menu on the operation panel 25 is set. The key 16e is pressed to display the primary menu on the display device 14. The primary menu is "Pen optimization", "I
/ F setting ”,“ paper size ”,“ replot ”, and“ plotter mode ”, so the down cursor key 1
Press 6b to display "I / F setting" on the display device 14.

Next, when the right cursor key 16c is pressed in order to display the lower secondary menu associated with "I / F setting", "manual setting" is displayed. Down cursor key 1
Each time you press 6b, the display device 14 displays "AUTOCAD
(9.01) "→" VERSACAD 5.3 R4 "
→ "LOTUS 123 R2.0" → "MS WIND
OWS 2.1 "->" Manual setting "->" AUTOCAD "
The display is cyclically repeated such as (9.01).
When the up cursor key 16 (a) is used, the display is repeated cyclically in the opposite direction.

The display is "MS WINDOWS 2.1".
When the enter key 16f is pressed while is displayed, the lower layer tertiary menu is displayed as described above, and the lower layer parameters "communication speed", "stop bit", and "parity check" are displayed. There is no need to set, "M
E in combination with the name of "S WINDOWS 2.1"
Communication speed of lower layer parameters registered in EPROM 12: 9600 (bits / second), stop bit length:
1 (bit), parity check: N (none) is automatically adopted. After confirming the selection, left cursor key 16
When d is sequentially pressed, the menu returns to the original layer side.

The setting according to the selected name is retained in the EEPROM 12 even after the power of the recording device 6 is turned off.
At the same time when the power is turned on again, the setting parameter stored in the EEPROM 12 is referred to and is used as a default value of the recording device 6 for the subsequent internal arithmetic processing. If it is not necessary to retain the selected state even after the recording device 6 is powered off, EEP
The ROM 12 is replaced with a static RAM, the menu is programmed in the ROM 10 as a reference table, the menu and lower layer parameters are displayed on the display device 14 by reading from the reference table when the menu is operated, and the selected state thereafter is stored in the static RAM. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which it is stored in advance.

Commercial application software, which is generally used on the external host computer 5, is often updated in the market in order to provide users with improved functions. In this case, the lower layer parameters "communication speed", "stop bit",
Part of the "parity check" may be changed, or part of the software name may be changed. In particular, when the software name is changed, it is preferable that the operator of the recording device 6 can also change the name of the specific operation mode displayed in the menu in order to prevent the operator's erroneous operation.

However, in order to deal with unspecified name changes, even when expressed in alphanumeric characters, a large number of operation keys A, B, C to Z and 0, 1, 2 to 9 are displayed on the operation panel 25. Although it is necessary to add more, the recording device 6 of the present invention has the following functions in order to avoid such uneconomical.
For example, when changing from “MS WINDOWS 2.1” in FIG. 2 to “MS WINDOWS 3.0”, the menu is operated as described above to display “MS WINDOWS” on the display device 14.
WINDOWS 2.1 ”is displayed and the following specific drawing command is input to the recording device 6 from the external host computer 5. WMMS WINDOWS 3.0;

The format of this drawing command is "MS W", which is a mnemonic in which "WM" means menu writing.
"INDOWS 3.0" represents the name of the specific operation mode after the change, and ";" represents the terminator of the drawing command.
When the recording device 6 receives this drawing command, the CPU 9 analyzes the same as a normal drawing command, rewrites the name of a specific operation mode, and changes it as shown in 4'of FIG. The result is registered and stored in the EEPROM 12.

When it is necessary to change the lower layer parameters associated with a specific operation mode at the same time, the same menu operation as in the previous example is performed, and then the drawing command is input from the external host computer 5 as follows. WMMS WINDOWS 3.0, 4800, 1,
N;

The format of this drawing command is "MS W", which is a mnemonic in which "WM" means menu writing.
"INDOWS 3.0" is the name of the specific operation mode after the change, "," is a separator for separating the parameters of the drawing command, "4800" is the communication speed parameter, "1" is the stop bit parameter, and "N" is The parity check parameter ";" represents the terminator of the drawing command. When the recording device 6 receives this drawing command, it is analyzed by the CPU 9 in the same way as the normal drawing command, and the name of the specific operation mode is rewritten. Is executed and 4 ′ in FIG.
And the lower layer parameters "communication speed", "stop bit", and "parity check" are changed, and the EEPROM 12 is rewritten.

The name of the specific operation mode and the lower layer parameter thus changed can be handled from the operation panel 25 by the same operation as other menus. When a hieroglyphic graphic is used for the name of a specific operation mode, the hieroglyphic graphic is decomposed into dot information of a predetermined matrix configuration and converted into ASCII format code, and the name parameter of the specific operation mode in the drawing command is used. It can be used.

[0028]

[Effect] As described above, a plurality of specific operation modes having fixed lower layer parameters are provided, and a combination of these operation modes and lower layer parameters is added to the storage means by adding a name suitable for display on the display device. Register and store the name of the operation mode and the lower layer parameter registered and stored in the storage means by a specific drawing command input from the external host computer, and rewrite the name so that the name can be repeatedly displayed on the display device and displayed. When the selected name is selected, it is possible to automatically set the setting parameters of the recording device according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means, so that an inexpensive configuration can be achieved without adding special operation keys. It is possible to provide a recording device with improved operability. In the above description, the multi-pen type flatbed type XY plotter has been described as an example, but the present invention is applied to a multi-pen type paper moving type XY plotter, a thermal plotter using a heating head, and a penless plotter such as a laser type plotter.
Further, the same effect can be obtained by applying it to various printers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an internal control circuit of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a menu structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a modified menu structure of the recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a recording apparatus using a multi-pen flatbed XY plotter.

FIG. 5 shows details of an operation panel of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 6 shows a menu structure of a recording apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Name of specific operation mode (1) 2: Name of specific operation mode (2) 3: Name of specific operation mode (3) 4: Name of specific operation mode (4) 4 ': Rewritten Name of specific operation mode (4) 5: External host computer 6: Recording device 7: Interface circuit 8: Communication control circuit 9: CPU 10: ROM 11: RAM 12: Electrical erasable / writable ROM 13: Display control circuit 14: display device 15: input / output control circuit (1) 16: operation key group 17: input / output control circuit (2) 18: recording mechanism section 19: plotter body 20: recording surface 21: Y-axis bar 22: Y-axis slider 23: Pen stocker 24: Recording pen 25: Operation panel

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for forming a visual image on a recording medium according to a drawing command based on a predetermined format input from an external host computer, the operation of the recording apparatus being hierarchical and selectable. A display device that displays a parameter selectable from a plurality of lower layer parameters that determine a mode and a function of the operation mode; and a display device for changing or selecting the operation mode and the lower layer parameter to be a setting parameter of the recording device. A recording apparatus comprising a setting means and a storage means for storing the setting state, wherein a plurality of specific operation modes having fixed lower layer parameters are provided, and a combination of these operation modes and lower layer parameters is displayed on the display device. A name suitable for the name is added to the storage means and registered and stored in the storage means, and input from the external host computer. The name of the operation mode and the lower layer parameter registered and stored in the storage means can be rewritten by a specific drawing command input, and the name can be repeatedly displayed on the display device, and when the displayed name is selected, the recording device A recording device which automatically sets the setting parameters according to the contents registered and stored in the storage means. 2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a character display device. 3. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a graphics display device. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the names of the operation modes which are hierarchized and configured to be selectable, and the names which are added to the combination of the specific operation mode and the lower layer parameter are represented by hieroglyphics. .. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is an electrically erasable / writable ROM.