JPH08469B2 - Output device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an output device such as a printer for generating and outputting output information based on input information input from the outside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among output devices that are capable of generating a plurality of different patterns that have been conventionally used, in many output devices other than a type printer, character code data provided from a host computer is associated with each character in advance. It is designed to print by converting to character dot patterns. For example, non-impact printers such as thermal printers, wire dot printers, and laser beam printers correspond to this. In these printers,
Characters of different typefaces are output by having character generators for different typefaces (for example, italic type, bold type, etc.), and these character generators have a particularly small number of characters such as English characters. It tends to be implemented in printers that target the output of. Further, recently, there is one in which a ROM or a RAM which is a character generator is made into a cartridge and a socket is provided in an output device so that the cartridge can be attached and detached. As a result, the user side can freely select the typeface, which improves its usability, and the maker side does not need to expand the character generator built into the recording device indefinitely. However, the number of typefaces that can be supplied with one cartridge is limited. Therefore, when different users or when trying to output with many typefaces within one page, it is necessary to replace the cartridge most frequently. In addition, there is a drawback that the output in the specified typeface is not guaranteed if the user forgets to replace the item. . Further, in order to solve such a drawback, an apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges can be mounted at once can be considered, but in this case, there is a drawback that the cost of the apparatus itself is increased.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the purpose thereof is to be stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means of the output device based on the copy instruction information, for example. An object of the present invention is to provide an output device capable of copying a character pattern set as a downloaded character pattern set to a copying storage means.

[0004]

In order to achieve such an object, an output device of the present invention is an output device for generating and outputting output information based on input information input from the outside, and the output device Internal storage means for storing information used when generating information, connection means for connecting external storage means for storing information used for generating the output information, and input from the outside When the copy instruction information to be copied indicates to copy the information previously stored in the internal storage means to the copy storage means, the information is copied to the copy storage means, and the copy instruction is given. When the information indicates that the information previously stored in the external storage means is to be copied to the copy storage means, it has a copy means for copying the information to the copy storage means.

[0005]

According to the copy instruction information, the information stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means is copied to the copy storage means.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows various typefaces. FIG. 1 (a) is a regular type, FIG. 1 (b) is an italic type,
FIG. 1C shows a bold body.

This is because the typeface is changed in various cases, but most of them are intended to emphasize a character string for some reason. In particular, an italic type as shown in FIG. 1B and a bold type as shown in FIG. 1C are used for character string emphasis. Specifically, the change of the typeface is usually realized by issuing a command of the typeface change to the output device and switching the designated address of the character pattern to the address of the character generator of the designated typeface according to the command.

FIG. 2 shows a control circuit diagram for generating a character pattern in the present embodiment, in which character code data and control commands sent from a host computer are input to a page printer such as a laser beam printer. Shows the case of outputting a character pattern. 20 in the figure
Reference numeral 1 is a computer (host computer) that generates character code data and control commands, and 202 is an input buffer that temporarily stores the character code data and control commands.
03 is a CPU composed of a general-purpose microprocessor, and 204
Is a built-in character generator that generates a character dot pattern according to character code data, 205 is a cartridge-type removable character generator, 206 is a socket for connecting the character generator 205, and 210 is a character dot pattern RAM for copying and using from the devices 205, 204 or itself, 207 is an output page buffer including a RAM having a dot number for one page, and 211 is information regarding a registered BENU pattern set (described later). A management RAM for storing 208, a printer interface unit 208 for maintaining an interface with the printer, and generating a video signal based on the dot information of the output page buffer 207, and an output device 209 for receiving the video signal and actually outputting an image. Is a page printer, 214 is a CPU
It is a board.

Next, the operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

In the configuration of FIG. 2, the copy command of the character code data and the character pattern set sent from the computer 201 is accumulated in the temporary input buffer 202. Here, the format of the copy command of the character pattern set in this embodiment is as shown in FIG.
D301 (identifier number of the copied character pattern set) and DestinationID302 (identifier number of the new copied character pattern set) are input first, and then the registration command 303 is input.
As a result, the character pattern set indicated by the SourceID301 becomes the DestinationID302.
Is copied and registered as a character pattern set indicated by. Next, the data structure of this character pattern set will be described.

Now, considering the output of English texts, the code system is as shown in FIG. 4, for example. As can be seen from the figure, each character, symbol, etc., is 21 to 7E (each code for the sake of explanation in this example). Is expressed in hexadecimal notation). In the present embodiment, the character pattern set is stored in a memory such as a RAM or a ROM according to the system shown in FIG. 5, for example. The character pattern set includes a character pattern set information section 501 and a character pattern section 502. In the character pattern section 502, patterns (dot patterns) corresponding to the codes 21 to 7E are stored in a designated size. At this time, one character set (code 2
1 to 7E) is the character pattern set information section 5
The character pattern set information section 501 stores information such as a character pattern set ID, a character height, a character width, a character pitch, and a code system (7 bits or 8 bits). Also, the character pattern part 5
The size of each character (or symbol) 02 is indicated by the character pattern set information section 501 and is determined by the size of (character height × character width) / 8 bytes. A character, for example, the character "A" corresponding to the code "41" shown in 503 is represented by a dot matrix of a size designated by the character height and character width in the character pattern set information section 501, and is shown in the figure. As described above, the character height 1 is divided into 8 bits from the left end and registered in the RAM or ROM. Also, the character pattern set information section 50
The capacity of 1 is fixed (1 byte), but the character pattern part 5
02 has a variable length determined by the code system (7 bits, 8 bits, 2 bytes, etc.). In this embodiment, a management pattern table is created using the management RAM 211 in order to manage such a character pattern set, and its format is shown in FIG. 6, for example.

The following three items are registered in the management pattern table for one character pattern set. The first item is a character pattern set identifier (character pattern set ID) 601, which is used when registering a character pattern set or determining a typeface to use by designating a character pattern set. The second item is a start address 602, which indicates the start address where the character pattern set information section 501 exists. The third item is type 603, which indicates the type of medium in which the character pattern set exists. That is, it indicates which of the built-in ROM 204, the registration RAM 210, and the cartridge 205 stores the character pattern set indicated by the character pattern set identifier 601.

The algorithm for copying and registering a character pattern set will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 7 is executed by the CPU 203.

In this embodiment, for example, the cartridge 2
By copying a character pattern set of a certain typeface stored in 05 into the RAM 210 and registering it, character patterns of various typefaces can be used. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the cartridge is removed or replaced with another cartridge, the character pattern sets are stored in the plurality of cartridges by copying and registering the character pattern sets. Can be used as required.

In the command analysis routine, Source
When the ceID301 is input, it is analyzed (step S7
01), the designated character pattern set ID is R for management
It is judged whether or not it exists in the management pattern table of the AM 211, and if it does not exist, copying cannot be executed, and the process ends. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S702, where it is analyzed when the Destination ID 302 is input, and it is determined whether the specified character pattern set ID already exists in the management pattern table.
If it already exists, copying cannot be executed, and the process ends. If it does not exist, copy registration is executed. At this time, the start address of the corresponding character pattern set information part is obtained from the SourceID, and the information (character pattern height "b" bits, width "w" bits) in that is obtained. , The number of printable characters according to the code system is “n”, and the byte length “c” required for copying is obtained from the character pattern set information section byte length “L” by the following formula in step S703.

C = L + n X (b X (W / 8)) Then, in step S704, it is determined whether or not an unused area of this byte length exists in the RAM 210. If it does not exist, copying is performed. I can't. And step S704
When it is determined that the copy can be performed, the character pattern set designated by the SourceID is copied to the RAM 21.
Only the character pattern set ID of the copied character pattern set stored in the unused area of 0 is De.
Replace with the value of stationid (step S
705). Then, as a management pattern table update routine, the newly registered character pattern set ID and the start address of the registration destination are written in the management RAM 211, and a flag that the newly registered character pattern set is RAM is set (step S706). In this way, the copy operation of the character pattern set is completed. If the cartridge 205 is removed, the information on the character pattern set existing as a cartridge on the management pattern table is deleted from the table. When a cartridge is inserted, the start address, ID number, and cartridge pattern of each character pattern set stored in the cartridge are registered in the management pattern table. When the power is turned on, the built-in ROM 204
And cartridge (if a cartridge is inserted) both information (start address, character pattern set I
D number, etc.) is registered in the management pattern table.

Next, the output operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. CPU2
03 initializes the digit counter (not shown) indicating the horizontal output position and the line counter (not shown) indicating the vertical output quantity in steps S901 and S902, and then the CPU2
03 is 1 from the input buffer 202 in step S903.
A unit code (one unit code corresponds to a dot pattern of one character) is read. In step S904, it is determined whether or not the reading of all the code data has been completed. If it is determined that the reading has not been completed, it is determined in step S905 whether or not there is a command for changing the font. If it is determined that this command is not present, the character dot pattern corresponding to the character code is output to the output page buffer 2 in step S906.
It occurs at 07. This character dot pattern is obtained from the currently specified character pattern set, which is the CPU
A dot pattern for one character is stored in the output page buffer 207 after being properly positioned by 203 as described later.

The amount of character generated next will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the contents of the output page buffer, in which 801 is the number of left margins (l
m), 802 is the number of digits in the text (m), and 803 is the number of right margins (r
m), 804 is the number of upper margins (tm), 805 is the number of text lines (l), 806 is the number of lower margins (bm), 807 is the number of dots in the line pitch (yp), and 808 is the number of dots in the character pitch (xp). ), 809 is the number of dots in the horizontal character width (xs)
Indicates. When the upper left corner of the page is the origin (0, 0), the digit counter value is Xc, and the line counter value is Yc, the lower right position (x.,
y. ) Is x. = Lm + (Xcxxp) y. = Tm + (Yc × yp), and the position of the generated character is determined as Xc and Yc change.

After the characters are generated in step S906 by the above method, the value of the digit counter is incremented by 1 in step S907, and the overflow is checked in step S908. If there is no overflow of digits in step S908, that is, if the value of the digit counter is smaller than the number of digits (m) in the text, the process returns to step S903 to read the next one-unit code.

Similarly, when character dot patterns are generated one after another, and if a digit overflow occurs in step S908, the value of the line counter is incremented by 1 in step S909.
After the digit counter is initialized in step S910, page overflow is checked in step S911. If it is determined that there is no page overflow, that is, if the value of the line counter is equal to or smaller than the number of lines (l) in the text, it is determined that the output page buffer still has room, and the process returns to step S903 and the output page buffer is returned. The creation process of 207 is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S911 that the page overflow state has occurred, it is assumed that the creation of the output page buffer 207 for one page is completed, and the dot image for each one scan line is transferred to the printer interface unit 208. After being converted into a video signal in the same section, output is performed by a page printer 209 which is an output device. Similarly, pages are created one after another by repeating steps S903 to S913.

When the typeface change command is read in step S905, it is checked in step S914 whether the character pattern set ID that the command has as a parameter exists in the management pattern table of the management RAM 211. And if present, step S91
At 5, the content of the pace register in the CPU 203 is changed from the address of the character pattern set that was accessed until immediately before to the address of the character pattern set designated this time, and the process returns to step S903. Then, by entering the processing of the next one-unit code, it is possible to output the character pattern with the changed font.

According to the flow of processing as described above, output is performed according to the typeface change command and the character code data, but information indicating the end of data (for example, a code indicating the end of work, a code indicating the end of a file, etc.). ) Is recognized in step S904, steps S916 and S9
17, the output page buffer 207 currently being created
When the content of is not empty, that is, when the line counter is 2 or more, or the digit counter is 1 or more, the data in the buffer is printed and all the processing is completed.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a laser beam printer to which the present invention can be applied.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 21 denotes an exposure amount including a scanner and a laser unit. Reference numeral 22 is a developing unit that visualizes the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 23. Reference numeral 23 is a photosensitive drum, 24 is a paper feed cassette, and 5 is a paper feed roller that feeds paper one by one from the paper feed cassette 24 to the transport roller 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a registration shutter, which temporarily stops the sheet conveyed through the conveyance roller 6 by the registration shutter 7 so that the projection of laser light, the rotation operation of the photosensitive drum 23, and the sheet feeding are synchronized. Be taken. Reference numeral 8 denotes a feed roller for feeding a sheet to the transfer unit 9. Reference numeral 10 is a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper, and 11 is a stacker unit that receives the discharged paper. Also, as mentioned above, 20
5 is a removable character generator, 206 is a socket, 214
Is a CPU board to which the CPU 203, the output buffer 207, etc. are attached.

In the laser beam printer thus constructed, the sequence controller 13 controls a series of operation timing control such as paper conveyance and development. Further, this laser beam printer forms a visible image on the photosensitive drum 23 by turning on / off a laser beam in accordance with a video signal output from the printer interface unit 208.

In this embodiment, the character pattern set identifier to be copied is designated by the character pattern set identifier. However, the currently used character pattern set is used as a new character pattern set and only the character pattern set identifier is used. The configuration may be changed and registered as it is. Further, in the present embodiment, an output device such as a printer is used as the terminal equipment, but a CRT terminal device or the like may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the copy registration of the character pattern set is performed by a command of the host computer, but it may be performed by an operation key or the like attached to the output device, for example.

The present invention can also be applied to copying control information (line feed, etc.) or vector data (coordinate information representing a character), for example.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the character pattern set stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means of the output device is downloaded based on the copy instruction information. It is possible to make a copy in the storage means for copying as a headset, and it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that a large number of built-in character generators having different typefaces are provided and the cartridge is frequently exchanged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing various typefaces of English characters,
(A) is a figure which shows a regular body, (b) is a figure which shows an italic type, (c) is a figure which shows a bold type.

FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a format of a copy command of a character pattern set.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a code system such as an English sentence.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a character pattern set.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a management pattern table.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for character pattern set copy registration in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the contents of an output page buffer.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an output operation in this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser beam printer to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 201 calculator 202 input buffer 203 CPU 204 built-in character generator 205 removable character generator 206 socket 207 output page buffer 208 printer interface section 209 page printer 210 character pattern set storage RAM 211 management RAM

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Nagata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kenya Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Kawamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Soichi Shibuya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Yutaka Murakami, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-51-10322 (JP, A) JP-A-58-205247 (JP, A) JP-A-59-177635 (JP, A)

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An output device for generating and outputting output information based on input information inputted from the outside, and an internal storage means for storing in advance information used when generating the output information. Connection means for connecting an external storage means that stores in advance information to be used when generating the output information, and copy instruction information input from the outside that is previously stored in the internal storage means When it is instructed to copy to the copy storage means, the information is copied to the copy storage means, and the information in which the copy instruction information is previously stored in the external storage means is copied to the copy storage means. An output device comprising: a copying means for copying the information to a copying storage means when a copying instruction is given. 2. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the input information is a character code. 3. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the output information is dot information and is stored in output storage means. 4. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the information used when the output information is generated is a character pattern set. 5. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the information used when the output information is generated is control information. 6. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the copying process is instructed by a command from another device. 7. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the copying process is instructed by a switch on the output device. 8. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the copy instruction information includes identification information that specifies information to be copied. 9. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the output device is a printer.