JPH0825718A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To output a message capable of confirming easily, in a case wherein printing is not outputted by a font required from a host, the abovementioned effect. CONSTITUTION:Whether or not font information required from a host 1 exists in a pattern information storage part 7 is examined based on a control command and a character code which are sent from the host 1. When the font information selected from the pattern information storage part 7 does not conform to requests from the host 1, the degree of resemblance is made numerical by giving weight thereto by using a plurality of factors (symbol set, spacing, pitch, height, etc.) according to a degree of importance of each factor. Then, a warning message is generated by using the value made numerical as a value indicating a degree of warning. The message is outputted to printing paper, an operation panel 15, and the host 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional printer device has a structure as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1 is a host computer (hereinafter referred to as host) that generates and sends printer information, and 2 is a printer controller that performs necessary data processing on the printer information sent from the host 1 and outputs it.
A printer engine 1 prints out data processed by the printer controller in a specified format and resolution.

In the data controller 2, 3 is an input unit that receives data from the host 1, 4 is an analysis unit that analyzes the data input by the input unit and separates control commands and print data, and 5 stores the print data. A page buffer, 7 is a pattern information storage unit in which print patterns (characters, line patterns, etc.) corresponding to print data are stored, and 8 is a font control unit that selects print data fonts and extracts character data from the pattern information storage unit 7. , 9 is a frame memory, 10 is a print control from the pattern information storage unit 7, or a development control unit for controlling the pattern development of data developed into an image pattern from the page buffer 5 into the frame memory 10, and 6 is a page buffer 5 Print pattern data or data in the frame memory 10 to the printer engine. A control control unit to output to 1.

The printer engine 11 includes a printer engine controller 12.

In the printer device having the above-mentioned configuration, the data sent from the host 1 is received by the input unit 3, and the analyzing unit 4 analyzes whether the data is a control command or print data. Then, the print data is subjected to appropriate data processing in the analysis unit 4, and the result is the page buffer 5
To be stored. On the other hand, the expansion control unit 10 uses the page buffer 5
The data stored in the pattern information storage unit 7 is read out.
Is converted into a corresponding print pattern stored in the frame memory 9 and expanded in the frame memory 9.

Then, the output control section 6 sends the data in the page buffer 5 and the image data in the frame memory 10 to the printer engine 11 in accordance with the control information relating to the printing environment. These data are printed out on recording paper under the control of the printer engine control unit 12.

[0007]

However, in the above conventional example, regarding the print request font data and the print request character code output from the host, the requested character code does not correspond to the symbol set of the font selected by the printer device. In this case, the printer did not output the required character code, but ended the process as it is.Therefore, it is a troublesome work to check whether all the output character codes are printed by checking the print result. Was needed.

Further, regarding the font data output from the host, even if there is no font corresponding to the font data of the printer device, the most similar font among the fonts of the printer device is automatically selected and output. Therefore, there is a drawback that it is not possible to know whether or not the data designated by the font designated by the host is printed out until the final print result is examined in detail.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer device capable of easily confirming whether or not a correct output can be made in response to a request from a host.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the printer device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, input means for inputting print information from a host computer, analysis means for analyzing print information input by the input means, storage means for storing various font information, analysis results by the analysis means and the storage Font analysis means for checking whether there is a font satisfying the request from the host computer included in the print information input by the input means, based on various font information stored in the means, and the font by the font analysis means. Based on the analysis result, based on the message generation means for generating a message indicating the difference between the request from the host computer and the outputtable font, the print information input by the input means, and the generated message. It is characterized by having an output means for printing out. A printer device according to.

[0011]

With the above arrangement, the present invention analyzes print information input from the host computer, and based on the analysis result and various font information stored in the storage means, the input print information includes information from the host computer. Check whether there is a font that meets the requirements of the above, and generate a message indicating the difference between the request from the host computer and the font that can be output according to the result of the check,
It operates to print out based on the input print information and the generated message.

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a printer apparatus as a typical embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that, in FIG. 1, the same apparatus reference numerals as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Here, only the parts peculiar to the present embodiment will be described. The printer device of this embodiment also includes the printer controller 2 and the printer engine 11.

In the printer device of this embodiment, the printer controller 2 sets the font information sent from the host 1 to the location designated by the host 1 if the corresponding font information does not exist in the printer device. , It is possible to control to output a warning message that expresses the degree of warning by a numerical value and a character code that cannot be printed as requested by the host. On the other hand, the printer engine 11 prints out the data processed by the printer controller 2 in a data format and resolution specific to the printer device.

Further, in FIG. 1, 13 is a font information memory unit for accumulating font information output from the font control unit 8, and 14 is a message for controlling the place where the analysis unit 4 outputs a warning message or a message indicating the operating condition. An output control unit 15 is an operation panel which indicates the operation status of the printer device of this embodiment and which displays a warning message under the control of the message output control unit 14. Therefore, the operation panel 15 is provided with a display such as an LCD (not shown).

Next, an outline of the font selection control process using the apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

In the printer controller 2, the font control unit 8 uses the control command and the character code in the input data based on the analysis result of the input data from the host 1 executed by the analysis unit 4. Controls font selection for print data.

That is, font selection control based on font control commands such as a font selection control command included in the data sent from the host 1 and a pattern creation command for generating a print character pattern corresponding to a printer character code is performed. , Control is performed to retrieve a required pattern from the pattern information storage unit 7 (step S
100). In this process, the font requested from the host 1 (requested font) is compared with the font actually selected (selected font), and the font selection information and the font information actually selected from the pattern information storage unit 7 are compared. The difference is expressed as a numerical value.

Next, based on the degree of difference between the requested font and the selected font which has been digitized in step S100, numerical data indicating the degree of warning is generated for a warning message which will be described later, and the font information memory unit 13 is generated. (Step S200).

Further, when the requested font cannot be retrieved from the host computer 1 from the pattern information storage unit 7, the printer information code which could not be retrieved from the pattern information storage unit 7 is stored in the font information memory unit 13. Such information is not only stored in the font information memory unit 13 but also passed to the message output control unit 14 (step S300).

The message output control unit 1
4 outputs a warning message to the host 1 and the printer engine 11 (step S400). In this case, the printer engine 11 outputs a warning message on the printer paper under the control of the printer engine controller 12. The message output control unit 14 also outputs a warning message to the operation panel 15. Further, the message output control unit 14 can output the warning message to the host 1 as well.

Next, the details of the processing of each step shown in the flow chart of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS.

(1) Font selection process (FIG. 3) First, in step S1, two parameters (M, N) are initialized to "0". Next, in step S5, the host 1
It is checked whether or not the requested font from the above has been compared with all the font information stored in the font pattern information storage unit 7. Here, if the comparison process ends, the process ends, but if the process does not end, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, regarding the symbol set, which is the most important information in the font information, the information designated by the requested font and the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7 are compared. If the information specified by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S14, the value of the parameter (M) is set to "+64", and then the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S7.

In step S7, regarding the "spacing" which is the second most important information in the font information, the information designated by the requested font is compared with the information held by the font pattern information storage section 7. In the required font, proportional space or fixed space is designated. Here, if the information designated by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S15, the value of the parameter (M) is set to "+32", and then the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, when the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S8.

In step S8, with respect to "pitch (pitch: pitch between characters)" which is the third most important information in the font information, the information designated by the requested font and the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7 are compared. To do. Here, if the information specified by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S16, the value of the parameter (M) is set to “+16”, and then,
The process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, when the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S9.

In step S9, "height" is the fourth most important information in the font information.
Regarding the above, the information specified by the requested font is compared with the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7. here,
If the information specified by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S17,
The value of the parameter (M) is set to "+8", and then the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S10.

In step S10, regarding the "style" indicating the shape of the character, which is the fifth most important information in the font information, the information designated by the requested font and the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7 are compared. To do. Here, if the information designated by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S18, the value of the parameter (M) is set to "+4", and then the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if the information specified by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S11.

In step S11, "strokeweight" indicating the thickness of the character, which is the sixth most important information in the font information, is indicated.
Regarding "(stroke weight)", the information specified by the requested font is compared with the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7. Here, when the information specified by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, The process proceeds to step S19, and the value of the parameter (M) is set to “+
2 ″, and then the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S12.

In step S12, the "typeface", which is the seventh most important piece of font information, is compared with the information designated by the requested font and the information held by the font pattern information storage unit 7. Here, when the information designated by the requested font exists in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds to step S20, the value of the parameter (M) is incremented by "+1", and then the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if the information designated by the requested font does not exist in the font pattern information storage unit 7, the process proceeds directly to step S13.

In step S13, the values of the parameter (M) and the parameter (N) are compared. If M <N, the process proceeds to step S21, and M = N is set, and the process proceeds to step S13.
Return to 5. On the other hand, if M ≧ N, the process directly returns to step S5. By the above processing, the value of the parameter (N) is counted up while considering the significance of each font information according to the importance of each comparison processing in font selection, and each font existing in the font pattern information storage unit 7 is counted. The value of the parameter (N) for the information is obtained. This value is further compared with the parameter (M) indicating the maximum value of the parameter (N) for each font information obtained so far, and the parameter (M) is set to the maximum value of the parameter (N) up to that point. To be done. In this way, when all the font information existing in the font pattern information storage unit 7 is compared, the font information having the highest value of the parameter (N) is selected for the font requested from the host 1. It will be.

(2) Quantifying Warning Level (FIG. 4) In this processing, the requested font sent from the host 1 is compared with the selected font, and if the selected font does not match the requested font. Quantify the degree of warning (different information) added to the issued warning message.

In step S22, the value of the parameter (W) indicating the degree of warning is initialized. And step S2
In 3, the value of the parameter (M) obtained in the process of FIG. 3 is set in the parameter (W). As a result, the parameter (W) is set to a numerical value of the significance of the font information given to the font selected by the printer device with respect to the font requested by the host 1. In other words, it can be said that the parameter (W) is a numerical value of the similarity between the selected font and the requested font. The larger the value of the parameter (W), the higher the degree of warning and the lower the degree of similarity. On the other hand, the smaller the value of the parameter (W), the lower the degree of warning and the higher the degree of similarity.

Various factors which are the basis of such a digitized degree of warning are digitized as shown in Table 1, and the value of the parameter (W) is the sum of the numerical values corresponding to the different factors.

[0035]

[Table 1] Therefore, for example, in the warning message described below, "3
If the numerical value "1" is added, the pitch (1
6), height (8), style (4), stroke weight (2), and type face (1) are different.

(3) Character pattern development processing (FIG. 5) In step S36, it is checked whether or not the pattern information corresponding to the character code requested to be printed by the host 1 exists in the pattern information storage unit 7. If there is a pattern corresponding to the requested character code, the process proceeds to step S38, the pattern corresponding to the character code is taken out from the pattern information storage unit 7, and the frame memory is controlled by the expansion control unit 10. Expanded to 9.

On the other hand, if the pattern corresponding to the requested character code does not exist, the process proceeds to step S37 to store the character code in the font information memory unit 13. The font information memory unit also stores digitized information about the degree of warning (different information) added to the warning message.

As a result, when there is no actual character pattern corresponding to the character code, the information for outputting the character code together with the warning message is accumulated.

(4) Warning Message Output Process (FIG. 6) First, in step S39, the font information memory unit 1 is the source information for outputting the warning message.
Check whether it is stored in 3. It goes without saying that the determination of this processing depends on the processing result described in the flowcharts of FIGS. Here, if the information for outputting the warning message does not exist, the processing is considered to completely satisfy the information such as the requested font sent from the host 1 in the font information of the printer device, and the process proceeds to step S40 to issue the warning. The message output process is not executed, and the process ends as it is.

On the other hand, if the information for outputting the warning message exists, the process proceeds to step S41 to generate the warning message. Step S41 of FIG.
Shows an example in which a warning message "The requested font code was not output 31 0x41 0x61" was generated. This warning message is generated based on the value of the parameter (W), the character code of the character pattern when there is no actual character pattern, and the like.
Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S42, and it is determined whether to output the message. That is, it is determined whether to output the warning message generated in step S41 or the message indicating the "normal end" determination in step S40 to the host 1, the printer engine 11, and the operation panel 15. This determination is executed by the message output control unit 14, and the message is output to the device designated by the message output control unit.

When there is a designated device for outputting a message by the processing of step S42, the processing is step S
In step 43, the message is output to the designated device. In step S43 in Fig. 6, "Normal termination" or "The requested font code was not output. 31 0x41
In this example, a warning message "0x61" is output. On the other hand, if there is a message output designated device, the process ends.

In the messages shown in steps S41 and S43 of FIG. 6, the numerical value "31" indicates the value of the parameter (W), and the codes "0x41" and "0x61" indicate the corresponding character pattern for the requested font. Is a character code that does not exist.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the printer cannot completely output all the print request fonts sent from the host 1,
Reflects the similarity between the requested font and the selected font, and
A warning message that includes the character code requested by the host and whose pattern does not exist in the printer is output to the specified device together with the print output, so the device user can check the mismatch between the requested font and the selected font. It can be easily identified.

[0044]

Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the warning message includes the similarity between the requested font and the selected font and the character code requested by the host and the corresponding pattern does not exist in the printer. However, in order to simplify the output format of the warning message, the similarity between the requested font and the selected font (only the value of the parameter (W) in the above-described embodiment may be added to the warning message and output).

In the following description, such an example will be described. The configuration and parameters (W) of the printer used here are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and only the characteristic parts of this embodiment will be described here. Further, regarding each processing step shown in the flowchart described below, the same step reference number is given to the same processing step as that of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the outline of the processing for controlling font selection according to this embodiment. Comparing this figure with FIG. 2 described in the above-described embodiment, in the present embodiment, the process of accumulating the character code in the font information memory unit 13 when the selected font does not match the requested font (step S300 in FIG. 2). ) Is omitted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the warning message output process according to this embodiment. Comparing this figure with FIG. 6 described in the above embodiment, step S4 in FIG.
In 4, the warning message is generated by adding only the parameter (W) to the warning message. In step S45, the warning message generated in step S43 or the message indicating “normal end” is displayed. Is output.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to output a warning message in a simplified output format by a more simplified process compared to the above-described embodiments.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one 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.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, the print information input from the host computer is analyzed, and the input print information is obtained based on the analysis result and various font information stored in the storage means. Check whether there is a font that satisfies the request from the host computer, and generate a message indicating the difference between the request from the host computer and the printable font according to the result of the check, input print information, and generate Since the print output is performed based on the received message, there is an effect that it can be easily confirmed whether or not the correct output can be made in response to the request from the host.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer device that is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of font selection control processing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of font selection processing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of processing for digitizing a comparison result between a request font and a selected font.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of character code storage processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of a warning message output process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of font selection control processing according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of a warning message output process according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 host computer 2 printer controller 3 input unit 4 analysis unit 5 page buffer 6 output control unit 7 pattern information storage unit 8 font control unit 9 frame memory 10 expansion control unit 11 printer engine 12 print engine control unit 13 font information memory unit 14 message Output control section 15 Operation panel

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting print information from a host computer, an analyzing unit for analyzing print information input by the input unit, a storage unit for storing various font information, and an analysis result by the analyzing unit. And a font analysis means for checking whether or not there is a font satisfying the request from the host computer included in the print information input by the input means, based on the various font information stored in the storage means, and the font analysis. Message generation means for generating a message indicating a difference between a request from the host computer and an outputable font according to a font analysis result by the means; print information input by the input means; and the generated message. Output means for printing based on Printer and wherein the. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the message includes an index indicating how much font output that satisfies the request from the host computer can be performed. 3. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the message further includes a code sent from the host computer corresponding to the font output. 4. A message control means for controlling an output destination of the message is further included.
The printer device according to 1. 5. The printer device according to claim 4, further comprising a display panel capable of displaying the message. 6. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein output destinations of the message include the host computer, the display panel, and the output unit. 7. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes an image forming unit that forms an image and outputs the image.