JPH10264450A - Bar code printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time for sorting zip codes by customer bar codes, by arranging a control means which changes a print direction of bar codes by a customer bar code conversion means from a print direction of characters to numerals by a character/numeral image conversion means, etc. SOLUTION: Information of zip codes, destinations/addresses and bar codes are transmitted from a host computer 6 and stored in a receiving buffer 5. Commands of the stored data are analyzed to change a plot process in a plotting buffer 11 depending on whether the data of characters are designated to be written from left to right or from top to bottom. For data of bar codes, bar codes assigned for specific customers (customer bar codes) are plotted on the basis of a customer bar code CG table 9. On the other hand, plot areas for zip codes, for destinations.addresses, for customer bar codes and for messages are respectively fixed, and therefore the customer bar codes are plotted in the same manner irrespective of whether the customer bar codes are designated to be written from top to bottom or from left to right.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a printing unit,
The present invention relates to a barcode printer that prints a barcode on a print medium by a printing unit based on print data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known in the mail delivery business that a mail is divided into delivery areas.
In this sorting operation, a person visually reads the postal code and address written on the surface of the mail and stores it on a shelf or a box in the corresponding delivery area. In recent years, OCR (optical character)
reader), the postal code of the postal matter is read, and based on the read postal code information, an automatic sorting device or the like that automatically stores the postal matter on the shelf or box in the corresponding delivery area has been developed. ing. However, since the delivery area that can be classified by postal code information is a wide unit, in order to actually classify by the unit of the delivery area required for the delivery business, after the above-mentioned automatic sorting device, the classification by human eyes Work needed to be done.

[0003]

The postal code is read automatically by the OCR to automatically sort mail. However, characters written by a person have a peculiarity in the vertical and horizontal writing layouts and the handwriting of the sender. It is difficult to make a mechanical judgment, and it is practically impossible to read an address written by a person with an OCR and automatically sort mail, and as described above, the work of sorting by mail is necessary. There is a problem that it takes time for the sorting operation by a person. Therefore, at present, printing a code called a customer barcode on mail is being pursued. Since the customer barcode contains detailed information on the destination address of the mail, the sorting operation can be easily (automated).

[0004] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to print a customer barcode, which is a barcode for a specific customer, to write zip code and address information in the customer barcode, and to use this customer barcode to print postal items. It is an object of the present invention to provide a barcode printer capable of automating the sorting operation and shortening the time.

[0005]

The invention corresponding to claim 1 is:
A bar code printer comprising a printing unit and printing a bar code on a print medium by the printing unit based on print data, a bar code conversion unit for a customer for converting a zip code and an address to a bar code for a specific customer, Write the address in the direction and character type corresponding to vertical writing and horizontal writing
A character / number conversion means for converting to a number, and a barcode by a barcode conversion means for customers corresponding to vertical writing and horizontal writing so that the barcode converted by the barcode conversion means for customers is printed in the same direction. And printing control means for changing the printing direction of characters and numerals by the character / number image converting means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the printing positions of the postal code, address, and bar code are fixed at predetermined positions. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printed data storage for storing print data consisting of characters, numerals, and bar codes of the postal code and the address printed. Means, a reissue designation input means for designating and inputting reissue of the printed content, and a corresponding print stored in the printed data storage means based on the reissue designation input by the reissue designation input means. Reissue means for reading data and reissuing the data.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main circuit configuration of a barcode printer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a CPU (central process) constituting the control unit main body.
ssing unit). ROM (read only memory) in which program data of processing performed by the CPU 1 is stored.
2. A work RAM (random access memory) for various memory areas used when the CPU 1 performs processing and work.
ory) 3-1 formed RAM 3, print history buffer 4 for storing printed image data, reception buffer 5 for temporarily storing received data, host computer 6
The communication interface 7 for controlling the transmission of data to and from the PC via a line is connected to the C
It is connected to PU1. Further, the CPU 1 transmits, via the system bus 8, a customer bar code CG (c) for converting postal code and address information into image data of a bar code (customer bar code) for a specific customer.
haracter generator) Controls a table 9, character / number CG10 for converting postal code and address information into character / number image data, a drawing buffer 11 for developing image data for printing, and a print head 12 as a printing unit. The head controller 13 is connected to a paper transport controller 15 that controls a paper transport mechanism 14 that transports predetermined paper (in this embodiment, easily removable sticker paper).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of a main process performed by the CPU 1. First, as a process of step 1 (ST1), a received command analysis for analyzing a command received from the host computer 6 is performed. Based on the result of the received command analysis, it is determined whether the received command instructs printing of a postal sorting sticker. Here, if it is determined that the received command does not instruct the printing of the postal sorting sticker, another process based on another command is performed, and when the other process is completed, the process returns to the above-described step 1 again. I have.

If it is determined that the received command is for instructing printing of a postal sorting sticker, step 2 (
In the process of ST2), it is determined whether or not normal issuance is performed based on the result of the received command analysis described above. Here, if it is determined that the issuance is normal, the processing in step 3 (ST3)
From the result of the above-mentioned received command analysis, it is determined whether or not the data to be rendered is a character (character / numeric) type. Here, when it is determined that the data is of a character type, it is determined from the result of the above-described received command analysis whether or not the horizontal writing is designated.

If it is determined that the horizontal writing is designated, the data to be drawn (character / numerical data) is transferred to the work R.
Using AM3-1, horizontal writing is performed in a fixed area of the drawing buffer 11 in accordance with the main scanning direction (horizontal direction) of the print head 12 using the character / number CG10.
In particular, for postal code data, alphanumeric characters are selected as character types and expanded. When you finish this horizontal writing,
The process proceeds to step 4 (ST4) described later.

[0011] Also, it is not horizontal writing designation (vertical writing designation
), The data (character / number data) to be subjected to the drawing processing is stored in the character / number C using the work RAM 3-1.
G10 performs vertical writing in a fixed area of the drawing buffer 11 in accordance with the sub-scanning direction (vertical direction) of the print head 12. In particular, kanji numbers are selected as character types for postal code data, and expansion is performed. When the vertical writing is completed, the process proceeds to step 4 described later.

If it is determined in step 3 that the data is not character data (it is a bar code data), the customer bar code CG table 9 stores the customer bar code in the fixed area of the drawing buffer 11. After the customer barcode drawing for developing the image of the above is performed, and the customer barcode drawing is completed, the process proceeds to the next step 4. If there is no bar code data, the customer bar code is drawn in the fixed area of the drawing buffer 11 by the customer bar code CG table 9 based on the character data (especially postal code and address data). I do.

In the process of step 4, it is determined whether or not the drawing process has been completed for all data received as one case from the host computer 6. Here, if it is determined that the drawing process has not been completed for all data, the process returns to the above-described step 3 again. When it is determined that the drawing process has been completed for all data, the image data drawn (combined) in the drawing buffer 11 is stored in the print history buffer 4.

Next, it is determined from the result of the received command analysis whether horizontal writing is designated. Here, when it is determined that the horizontal writing is designated, the image data drawn in the drawing buffer 11 is output to the print head 12, and the horizontal printing for printing is performed. When the horizontal printing is completed, the process returns to the above-described step 1 again. If it is determined that the horizontal writing is not specified (the vertical writing is specified), the image data drawn in the drawing buffer 11 is transferred to the print head 12.
Perform vertical printing to output and print. When the printing in the vertical direction is completed, the process returns to the above-described step 1 again.

If it is determined in step 2 that the command is not a normal issue (reissue), the image data specified by the reissue command (corresponding image data) ) Is called from the print history buffer 4, the called image data is drawn in the drawing buffer 11, and the image data is sequentially output to the print head 12 in the corresponding direction based on the drawn image data to print and issue the corresponding direction. Perform printing. When the printing in the corresponding direction is completed, the process returns to the above-described step 1 again.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, information on the postal code, destination / address, and bar code is transmitted from the host computer 6 and stored in the reception buffer 5. The command analysis is performed on the data stored in the reception buffer 5, and the drawing process on the drawing buffer 11 is different depending on whether character-based data is specified in horizontal writing or vertical writing. For the barcode data, a barcode (customer barcode) for a specific customer is drawn by the customer barcode CG table 9. However, the zip code drawing area, destination / address drawing area, customer barcode drawing area, and message drawing area are fixed, and the customer barcode is drawn in the same way whether specified vertically or horizontally. Is done.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), when a horizontal writing is designated, a postal code, a destination / address, and a message are displayed in the printing direction (arrow P). Is drawn horizontally, and in particular, the postal code is drawn with alphanumeric characters. Also, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), in the case of vertical writing designation, the postal code, address, and message are oriented vertically with respect to the printing direction (arrow P), as shown in the printed and printed vertical sorting postal seal. It is drawn, especially the postal code is drawn with Chinese numerals.

When the drawing process is completed as described above, the image data drawn (developed) in the drawing buffer 11 is stored in the print history buffer 4. By storing the print history in the print history buffer 4 in this manner, when re-issuing next time, all the time required for the above-described drawing processing can be omitted. When storage in the print history buffer 4 is completed, horizontal printing is performed in the case of horizontal writing designation based on the image data drawn in the drawing buffer 11, and horizontal printing as shown in FIG. Print and issue a postal classification sticker. In the case of vertical writing designation, vertical printing is performed, and a vertical mail postal seal as shown in FIG. 3B is printed and issued.

In the case of re-issuing, as described above, of the image data stored in the print history buffer 4, only the image data to be re-issued is designated by a command, and the corresponding image data is output from the print history buffer 4. Is called and drawn in the drawing buffer 11. Based on the image data drawn in the drawing buffer 11, horizontal or vertical printing is performed according to whether the image data is specified in horizontal writing or vertical writing. Re-issuing the postal sorting seal of the image data.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the customer bar code CG table 9 for converting postal code and address data into customer bar code image data for postal division is provided. In addition to printing customer barcodes using, the postal code and address or address / address are printed in characters and numbers by selecting the direction and character type corresponding to horizontal writing or vertical writing, The mail sorting operation can be completely automated in units of the delivery area required for the delivery operation.

That is, the bar code printer is provided in a large sender who outputs a large amount of mail or a central post office where mails are accumulated, and a postal sorting sticker is printed and attached to the mail. When these mails are sent to the post offices in each delivery area, each post office reads the postal sorting sticker with a barcode reader, and the mails are automatically transferred to the delivery area required for the delivery business. Can be divided into units. A postal code, address or address / address is selected and printed in letters and numbers along with the customer's barcode along with the customer's barcode. It is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to cope with a problem such as a failure in reading a barcode.

Further, in this embodiment, a print history buffer 4 is provided in addition to the above-described configuration, and image data used for printing is stored in the print history buffer 4, and when a reissue request is issued, By calling up the corresponding image data from the print history buffer 4 and reissuing the postal sorting sticker, the reissuing of the postal sorting seal can be performed in a short time.

[0023]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
A customer barcode, which is a barcode for a specific customer, can be printed, and postal code and address information can be written on the customer barcode. This customer barcode can automate mail sorting and reduce time. It is possible to provide a bar code printer that can be designed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main circuit configuration of a bar code printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a flow of main processing performed by the barcode printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram showing an example of a horizontal and vertical postal sorting sticker printed and issued by the barcode printer according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... CPU, 3-1 ... Work RAM, 4 ... Print history buffer, 9 ... Customer barcode CG table, 11 ... Drawing buffer.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bar code printer having a printing unit and printing a bar code on a printing medium by the printing unit based on print data, wherein the bar code conversion for a customer converts a postal code and an address to a bar code for a specific customer. Means, character / number conversion means for converting the postal code and address into characters / numbers in the direction and character type corresponding to vertical writing and horizontal writing, and the barcode converted by the customer barcode conversion means. In correspondence with vertical writing and horizontal writing so as to be printed in the direction, the bar code by the customer bar code conversion means and the character
A bar code printer, comprising: printing control means for changing a printing direction of numbers. 2. The bar code printer according to claim 1, wherein the printing positions of the postal code, the address, and the bar code are fixed at predetermined positions. 3. The printed postal code and address characters
A printed data storage means for storing print data consisting of numbers and the barcode; a reissue designation input means for designating and inputting reissue of the printed content; and a reissue designation input by the reissue designation input means. 3. A re-issuing means for reading out the corresponding print data stored in the printed data storage means and re-issuing the same based on the data. Barcode printer as described.