JPH05193233A - Printer control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set an output direction easy to read by providing a means reversing the character image printed on one line up and down as well as left and right and a means setting the printing direction of a message to a usual direction and the directions up and down as well as left and right with respect to said usual direction. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 201 is operated according to the program stored in an ROM 202 and the printing dot image data developed on an RAM 203 is read from the RAM 203 by the operation of the CPU 201 and selectively sent to a printing data latch driver 205 of 1-8 pins, a printing data latch driver 206 of 9-16 pins and a printing data latch driver 207 in an one-bite unit in the order of the drivers 205, 206, 207 or the drivers 207, 206, 205 through an MSB/ LSB reversal means 214, 215 to be printed. The MSB/LSB reversal means 215 is constituted of an MSB/LSB reversal circuit 204 and a bus changeover circuit 214.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a message output system in a serial printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer does not use a DIP switch to set its default value, but an interface, a character table, and a printer language emulation are selected by an operation panel display by an LCD or an LED. Although the system has been adopted in many cases, it is difficult to understand the message contents due to the limitation of the number of digits of the LCD, or the operation method is difficult to understand only with the LED display.

These LCD message digit number limits and LE
As a method of improving the intelligibility of the D display and not increasing the cost, a method of printing a message as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-10974 and setting according to it is often adopted.

[0004]

With such a message printing method, it becomes easier to understand the initial function setting, setting method guidance, and setting content confirmation in the serial printer, and the effect is sufficient.

However, many serial printers are small products, and the user does not always install the lower surface of the product downward. Depending on the product, there are some things that have been considered from the beginning as to how to place the printer. If you connect the optional sheet feeder to the printer inside,
In some cases, the installation direction must be rear down.

When the printer is used with the back face down instead of the bottom face, a message for setting the printer function, displaying the current settings, printing an operation guide, etc. In addition, in the normal printing, the printout direction of the message is upside down, leftward and rightward for the user, and it becomes difficult for the user to read the output message.

Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to set the function of the printer regardless of whether the printer is used with its lower surface facing down or its rear surface facing down. Time message, current settings, operation guide, etc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer control method in which a printout direction of a message is a direction that is easy for a user to read.

[0008]

A printer control system according to the present invention comprises means for reversing a character image printed on one line vertically and horizontally, and a message direction for setting a message printing direction to normal and normal upside down and left and right directions. It is characterized in that a setting means is provided.

[0009]

According to the above-described structure of the present invention, the printer function setting message, current setting display, and operation can be performed regardless of whether the printer is used with its lower surface facing down or its rear surface facing down. When printing a guide or the like, the printout direction of the message is a direction that is easy for the user to read.

[0010]

EXAMPLES The following description of the examples of the present invention will be given.
This is the case when the pin serial impact printer is controlled by an 8-bit CPU. However, the printer control method of the present invention is irrelevant to the printing method of the printer, the number of printing elements (printing pins, etc.), and the number of bits of the control CPU, and the following description is an application example in many cases. It ’s just one.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an up / down / left / right reversal printing method in an embodiment of a blinter control system of the present invention. RAM
Since the above dot image (102) is a 24-pin printer, one byte of printed dot image is represented by 3 bytes.
In the dot image (102) on the RAM, the square (101) separated by the dotted line is 1-byte data, and the square (105) separated by the dotted line in the print result,
(112) indicates the print result of the data (101) represented by 1 byte on the RAM.

When performing normal printing, the dot image (102) expanded on the RAM is stored in the first byte (10).
Read from 1) in the order of 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → ..., and correspond to the 1st pin (104) to 8th pin of the print head so that the dots are arranged in the same place and in the same order on the paper surface. The order of data transfer to the print head and the print direction (103) from the place (105) to 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → ...
Should be controlled.

On the other hand, when printing upside down, left and right,
1 dot image (102) expanded on RAM
Reading from the byte (101) in the order of 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → ..., up and down direction of paper (direction perpendicular to printing direction)
Then, the data is transferred to the print head so as to be reversed in dot units, and the printing direction is controlled to be the direction (113) opposite to the direction in which the character order of the RAM is followed.

In order to transfer data to the print head in dot units in the vertical direction on the paper in the opposite direction to the dot image data (102) on the RAM, the most significant bit ( Hereinafter, it is necessary to invert the least significant bit (hereinafter abbreviated as MSB) and the least significant bit (hereinafter abbreviated as LSB), and invert the assignment to the print pin in byte units. The former MSB and LSB reversal is realized by providing a dedicated hardware (106) and performing transfer through the middle of data transfer to the print head.
Details of the MSB / LSB inverting means (106) will be described later. The latter inversion of the print pin assignment in byte units is realized by reversing the order of transfer destination of print data from the normal order. That is, the dot image (102) expanded on the RAM is transferred from the first byte (101) to 1 →
Read in order of 2 → 3 → 4 → ...
Location corresponding to the 7th bread to the 24th pin (111) (11
2) to 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → ... as shown in the figure.

The means for vertically and horizontally reversing the printed character image, which is a feature of the configuration of the present invention, is the MSB of transfer data to the head, the LSB reversing hardware means, and the transfer destination of the print data in the reverse order from the normal order. It can be said that it is made up of a means for performing printing and a means for reversing the printing direction.
Except for the B and LSB reversing hardware means, they are present in the control program of the printer and are also used by the printer control means in normal time, that is, when printing is performed according to the data from the host device. The function can be shared with the up / down / left / right reversing means. This is because the control to change the printing direction is a function that is normally provided for a printer that moves the print head in both directions and prints, and the function that reverses the order of transfer destination of print data is For a printer that moves in both directions and prints, when the order of the character data sent from the host computer and the printing direction do not match, that is, when printing in the direction of the first column, a dot image for one line is printed. Printing in the reverse direction has already been achieved by performing control so that the order of the transfer destination of the print data is reversed from the normal while reading out the order of the character data stored in the RAM and sent by the host computer. Because it is.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer in the embodiment of the printer control system of the present invention. CP
U (201) operates according to the program stored in the ROM (202), the print dot image data expanded on the RAM (203) is read from the RAM (203) by the operation of the CPU (201), MSB, L
1 to 8 in 1-byte units via the SB inverting means (215)
Pin print data latch driver (205), 9-16
Pin print data latch driver (206), 17-2
20 for 4-pin print data latch driver (207)
5, 206, 207, or 207, 206, 20
The MSB / LSB inverting means (215) selectively sent and printed in the order of 5 is an MSB / LSB inverting circuit (204).
And a bus switching circuit (214), the function can be disabled by an address accessed by the CPU (201) when the inversion is not used. In this case, the print data is MSB, LSB inversion circuit (20).
It is configured to be sent to the print data latch driver through a path passing through 4). Panel switch (21
The state of 3) is the CPU through the I / O port (212).
It is monitored in (201) and is reflected in the selection of the message direction and the like.

The MSB / LSB inverting circuit (204) exists between the data bus to which the print data latch driver is connected and the data bus of the CPU (201), and bit 7 of the CPU side data bus is set to the print data latch side. Bit 0 of the data bus, bit 6 of the CPU side data bus to bit 1 of the print data latch side data bus, bit 5 of the CPU side data bus to bit 2 of the print data latch side data bus, Bit 4 is bit 3 of the print data latch side data bus, bit 3 of the CPU side data bus is bit 4 of the print data latch side data bus
, Bit 2 of the CPU side data bus to bit 5 of the print data latch side data bus, bit 1 of the CPU side data bus to bit 6 of the print data latch side data bus, and C
In this hardware, bit 0 of the PU data bus is connected to bit 7 of the print data latch side data bus.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the function setting procedure of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an operation panel of the printer, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing output messages.
In the case of this printer, the operation panel (301) shown in FIG.
E (302), LF (303), FF (304) are used for normal printer operation, MENU (305), SE
LECT (306) is used for the default state setting mode of the printer.

The default state setting mode of the printer is
This is performed while printing out a message as shown in FIG. 3B, the MENU switch (305) is used to select the item of the setting, and the SELECT switch (30
6) has a function of changing the setting contents. All selectable settings for a setting item are printed on the line following the item name. The currently selected setting is underlined.

When the printer default state setting mode is entered, the first item to be set is the message direction (308).
Then, when the normal (309) is currently selected is changed to the upside down (310) by the SELECT switch (306), a message that the upside down (311) is selected is printed on the next line, and the MENU is displayed here. Switch (30
5), the next setting item name message, the interface (31) in FIG.
2) After that, the message is printed upside down.

This example is an example of the print message direction selection means, and does not limit the print message direction selection means in the present invention. The meaning of the print message direction selection means in the present invention is that any means that can change the direction of the print message, which is one of the functions of the printer, may be used.
For example, it may be one of the printer commands sent from the host computer, or it may change the direction of the print message by detecting that the sheet feeder is connected, and the back side of the printer may face down. The direction of the print message may be changed with reference to the detection output of the means for detecting the fact.

[0022]

As described above, regardless of whether the printer is used with its lower surface facing down or its rear surface facing downward, a message for setting the printer function, displaying the current settings, an operation guide, etc. When printing
By making the printout direction of the message easy for the user to read, it is possible to provide a printer that is easier to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an up / down / left / right reverse printing method in an embodiment of a blinter control system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer in an embodiment of a printer control system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the printer and a message print result at the time of setting in the embodiment of the printer control system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 204 MSB, LSB inversion circuit 205 1-8 pin data latch and driver 206 9-9-16 pin data latch and driver 207 17-24 pin data latch and driver 214 Bus switching circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A serial printer is provided with means for inverting a character image printed on one line vertically and horizontally, and message direction setting means for setting a message printing direction to normal and normal up / down / left / right opposite directions. A printer control method characterized in that it is possible to select the message printing output direction during setting.