JPH06208439A - Data terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the necessity of being conscious of a difference in printing data due to a connected printing part by converting inputted printing data adaptively to the connected printing part and outputting the converted data. CONSTITUTION:Printing data received by a host computer 1 are temporarily stored in a data storing part 7 in a RAM 5. A conversion table 6 is the information for converting the received printing data into printing data adaptive to a printer 11 and is provided with a preconversion table 6a for storing preconversion printing data and a post-conversion table 6b for storing converted printing data. When data coincident with the printing data stored in the storing part 7 exist in the table 6a, converted printing data corresponding to the coincident data are read out of the table 6b and outputted to the printer 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data terminal device which is located between a data generating section and a printing section and which outputs the print data to the printing section based on the print data input from the data generating section. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a data terminal device that receives print data from a host computer and outputs the received print data to a printer. In the conventional data terminal device of this type, the received print data is directly output to the printer without checking whether the received print data corresponds to the printer control code.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when a printer having different printer control codes is connected to the data terminal device and print data including the printer control code is transmitted from the host computer, the host computer side , It is necessary to change the output control code according to the connected printer. In this way, the host computer must be aware of the difference in the printer control codes of the printers connected to the data terminal device, so that the load when creating the application program on the host computer has increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables input print data to be converted and output so as to be adapted to the connected printing unit, and the connected printing unit can be output. An object of the present invention is to provide a data terminal device that does not need to be aware of the difference in print data due to the above.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, a data terminal device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a data terminal device, which is located between the data generating unit and the printing unit, outputs print data for the printing unit based on the print data input from the data generating unit. First storage means for storing correspondence information in which the print data of the printing section is associated, storage means for temporarily storing the print data input from the data generating section, and storage in the first storage means. And a conversion unit configured to convert the print data stored in the second storage unit based on the corresponding correspondence information, and an output unit configured to output the print data converted by the conversion unit to the printing unit.

[0006]

With the above configuration, the correspondence information for associating the print data transmitted from the data generation unit such as the host computer with the print data on the printing unit side is stored in the first storage means. When print data is received from the host computer, the received print data is stored in the second storage means. Then, the conversion unit converts the received print data into print data suitable for the printing unit by using the correspondence information of the first storage unit. Then, the print data converted by the output unit is output to the printing unit. In this way, it becomes unnecessary for the data generating unit side to be aware of the discrepancy in the print data between the data generating unit and the printing unit.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a data terminal device according to the first embodiment. In the figure, 1
Is a host computer, which outputs print data to the data terminal device 2. A data terminal device 2 according to the first embodiment has a function of converting print data received from the host computer 1 into print data suitable for the printer 11 and outputting the print data. The configuration of the data terminal device 2 will be described below.

A data processing unit 3 executes data processing of the data terminal device 2, and includes a CPU 4, a RAM 5 (Randa).
m Access Memory), ROM 8 (Read Only Memory). The CPU 4 executes various controls of the data terminal device 2. A conversion table 6 having information for converting print data transmitted from the host computer 1 into print data suitable for the printer 11 in the RAM 5, and a data storage for temporarily storing the print data transmitted from the host computer. And part 7. The conversion table 6 includes a pre-conversion table 6a and a post-conversion table 6b, the details of which will be described later. The ROM 8 has a control program (see FIG. 5 described later) for the CPU 4 to execute various processes.
(Including the control program shown by the flowcharts in FIGS. 7 to 7) is stored.

A communication control unit 9 controls communication with the host computer. 10 is a printer control unit,
It controls the output to the printer 11. Reference numeral 11 denotes a printer, which executes printing on recording paper or the like based on the input print data.

In the data terminal device having the above structure, the print data transmitted from the host computer is processed in the data processing unit 3 through the communication control unit 9 and then output to the printer 11 through the printer control unit 10. It

Next, the conversion table 6 will be described.
The conversion table 6 is a pre-conversion table 6a for registering print data input from the host computer, and a post-conversion table for registering print data adapted to the printer 11 corresponding to each print data registered in the pre-conversion table 6a. 6b. 2 shows the data format of the pre-conversion table 6a in the conversion table 6, and FIG. 3 shows the data format of the post-conversion table 6b. Each of them is composed of data length areas l ₂ and l ₃ showing the data length, and data areas d ₂ and d ₃ following the data length areas l ₂ and l ₃ . Data length area l ₂ , l ₃
When the content of is -1, it indicates the end of the table. The data area d ₂ in the pre-conversion table 6a has a one-to-one correspondence with the data area d ₃ in the post-conversion table 6b. The association of each data area is made with registration numbers n ₂ and n ₃ , for example. Also, each data d _2, d ₃ is an escape code [E
C] (1Bh).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data format of the data storage unit 7. The data storage unit 7 is composed of a data length area l ₄ indicating the data length of the stored data and a data area d ₄ . That is, the received print data is stored in the data area d _4, and the length of the stored data is stored in the data length area l ₄ .

The operation of the data terminal device 2 of the first embodiment having the configuration described above will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a data conversion control procedure, and shows an example of a data conversion control procedure by the CPU 3 from the reception of data from the host computer 1 to the output to the printer 10.

First, when print data is received from the host computer 1 through the communication control unit 9, step S51
In temporarily stores the print data into the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7, and updates the contents of the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 in step S52. Next, in step S53, it is checked whether or not the mode of the data terminal device 2 is set to the mode for converting the print data. If the mode is not for converting, the process proceeds to step S59. In step S59, the data stored in the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is output to the printer 11 via the printer control unit 10. Then, in step S58, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to 0.

On the other hand, in step S53, if the conversion mode of the apparatus is set, the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, the data area d of the data storage unit 7
All the data of ₄ are searched from all the data in the pre-conversion table 6a. That is, the same data as the data stored in the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is the pre-conversion table 6a.
It is checked whether or not it exists in the data area d ₂ . If the same data is not found in the pre-conversion table 6a in step S55, the process proceeds to step S59. Then, in step S59, the data stored in the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is output to the printer 11 via the printer control unit 10, and in step S58, the data storage unit 7 is output.
The data length area l ₄ of is cleared to 0.

On the other hand, if the same data is found in the pre-conversion table 6a in step S55, step S56.
Go to. In step S56, checks the value of the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7, whether the value of the data length region l ₂ are equal in the relevant data in the pre-conversion table 6a. If they are not equal to each other, the present process is terminated as it waits for subsequent data. When the communication control unit 9 receives new print data, the above step S
The processing from 51 is repeated.

If the data length region l ₄ and the data length region l ₂ are equal in step S56, the process proceeds to step S57. Then, the data of the post-conversion table 6b corresponding to the corresponding data of the pre-conversion table 6a is output to the printer 11 via the printer control unit 10. Then, in step S58, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to 0, and this processing ends.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of processing by the CPU 3 at the start of printing in the data terminal device. In step S61, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the control procedure of processing by the CPU 3 at the end of the printing processing. If the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is 0 in step S71, nothing is done and the process ends. On the other hand, the data length area l ₄ is 0
Otherwise, in step S72, the data d ₄ in the data storage section
Is output to the printer 11 via the printer control unit 10. Then, in step S73, the data length l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to 0, and the process ends. In this way, unprinted data is prevented from being left in the data storage unit 7 at the end of printing.

As described above, according to the data terminal device of the first embodiment, for example, when the print control code registered in the conversion table 6 is transmitted from the host computer 1, it is adapted to the connected printer 11. It is possible to output the converted control code to the printer.
By providing the data terminal device with such a data conversion function, the host computer does not need to be aware of the difference in printer control commands. For this reason,
This has the effect of reducing the load of application creation on the host computer.

Further, when the host computer and a certain data terminal device are operating as a system, if an attempt is made to connect a printer having different printer control commands to the data terminal device, there is no need to change the program on the host computer. It also has the effect of reducing the SE load on the field.

Although the conversion table is fixed in the above embodiment, it may be set by the user on the display screen of the operation unit of the data terminal device, or by a command from the host computer. You can

In the first embodiment, the case where one type of conversion table is provided has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to provide a plurality of types of conversion tables and switch between the conversion tables to be used according to the connected printer.

<Embodiment 2> In general, a data terminal device receives data to be output to a printer from a host computer, and outputs the received data to the printer each time the data is received. By the way, at the start of data output to the printer, operating system overhead occurs. Therefore, if this data is output to the printer each time it is received, this overhead will occur for the number of times of data, and the execution speed of the process of outputting to the printer connected to the data terminal device will decrease. Therefore, it is advantageous in terms of processing speed to output a certain amount of data at one time.

In the second embodiment, the data received from the host computer is once stored in the storage area and is collectively output at a certain time to reduce the overhead required to output one data. A data terminal device that prevents a decrease in processing speed will be described.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the data terminal device 2'of the second embodiment. In the figure, components having the same functions as those of the configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted here. Figure 8
In the RAM 5, the data storage unit 7 is provided. The data format of the data storage unit 7 is the same as that of FIG. 4 of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. Also, RO
Various processing programs executed by the CPU 4 are stored in M8 '. The control program for executing the control shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.
It is stored in M8 '.

The operation of the data terminal device of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure of print data transfer control of the data terminal device according to the second embodiment.

First, when print data is received from the host computer 1 through the communication control unit 9, step S91
At, the received print data is temporarily stored in the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7. In step S92, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is updated with the data length of the data stored in the data area d ₄ . Then, in step S93, it is determined whether the data storage unit 7 is full of data. This can be determined by checking the value of the data length area l ₄ . Then, the data proceeds to step S95 When full, and outputs all the data stored in the data area d ₄ of the data storage unit 7 through the printer controller 10 to the printer 11. Then, in step S96, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to zero, and this processing ends.

On the other hand, if the data is not full in step S93, the process proceeds to step S94. Step S94
Then, it is determined whether the received print data is a control code. Here, if it is a control code, the above step S
95 and the processing of step S96. If the print data is not a control code (for example, a normal ASCII code) according to the determination in step S94, the process ends with the data stored in the data storage unit and waits for the next print data. Then, when the communication control unit 9 receives new print data, the processes from step S91 described above are repeated.

FIG. 10 shows CP at the start of the data output process.
It is a flow chart showing a control procedure of processing by U4. In step S101, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to zero, and this processing ends.

FIG. 11 shows CP at the end of the data output process.
It is a flow chart showing a control procedure of processing by U4. In step S111, if the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit is zero, this process is terminated without doing anything. If the data length area l ₄ is not zero, the process proceeds to step S52, and the data stored in the data part d ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is output to the printer 11 via the printer control unit 10. Then, in step S53, the data length area l ₄ of the data storage unit 7 is cleared to zero, and this processing ends.

As described above, according to the data terminal device of the second embodiment, it is possible to accumulate the received data from the host computer to some extent and then output it to the printer at once. As a result, the number of operating system overheads is reduced, and a reduction in the processing speed for data output can be prevented.

In the second embodiment, the print data output timing to the printer is when the data in the data storage unit 7 is full or when a control code is received as print data. The data output timing is not limited to this. For example, a predetermined amount of print data is stored in the data storage unit 7 regardless of the content of the print data.
The output timing of the print data may be the time when the print data is accumulated. Here, the predetermined amount may be a fixed value or may be set by the host computer at the start of the output process.

Although the data terminal device described in the first or second embodiment is described as an independent device connected between the host computer and the printer,
The application of the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be incorporated in a host computer or a printer.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0038]

【The invention's effect】 [Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a data terminal device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data format of a pre-conversion table.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data format of a converted table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data format of a data storage unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a data conversion control procedure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure at the start of printing according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure at the end of printing according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a data terminal device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of print data transfer control of a data terminal device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure when printing is started according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure at the end of printing according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 host computer 2 data terminal device 3 data processing device 4 CPU 5 RAM 6 conversion table 7 data storage unit 8 communication control unit 9 printer control unit 10 printer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Between the data generating section and the printing section,
Based on the print data input from the data generator,
A data terminal device for outputting print data to the printing unit, the first storage unit storing correspondence information in which the print data of the data generating unit and the print data of the printing unit are associated with each other; Storage means for temporarily storing the print data input from the copy unit, and conversion means for converting the print data stored in the second storage means based on the correspondence information stored in the first storage means. An output unit that outputs the print data converted by the conversion unit to a printing unit, and a data terminal device. 2. The first storage means stores a plurality of types of correspondence information in which the print data of the data generating unit and the print data of the printing unit are associated with each other, and stores the corresponding information according to the connected data generating unit or the printing unit. The conversion unit further includes a selection unit that selects correspondence information to be used from the plurality of correspondence information, and the conversion unit stores the print data stored in the second storage unit based on the correspondence information selected by the selection unit. It converts, The data terminal device of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. Between the data generating section and the printing section,
Based on the print data input from the data generator,
A data terminal device for outputting print data to the printing unit, the storage unit temporarily storing the print data input from the data generating unit; and the print data stored in the storage unit at a predetermined timing. An output unit for outputting to a printing unit, and a data terminal device. 4. The predetermined timing is when the storage unit is full of print data or when the received print data is a control code. Data terminal equipment.