JPS58121444A - Optional character control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize the frequency of the stop of printing by reading optional characters after a next page detected during printing operation out of an optional pattern file and storing them in a buffer, and a transferring them an internal pattern memory after the printing operation. CONSTITUTION:A page buffer 6 has a function for multipage constitution. In this case, when an optional character code is detected by an optional character detecting circuit 5 while data of the 2nd page is sent out to the page buffer 6 over the printing of the 1st page, an optional character dot pattern is transferred from an optional character memory 3 through a host device 1 to an internal buffer memory 4 and stored therein temporarily and said dot pattern is laded from the internal buffer memory 4 to an internal font memory 9 through a dot pattern generator 8 right before the printing of the 1st page ends, thus allowing continuous printing operation without interruption.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a high-speed non-character processing method in a high-speed dot printer.

In the conventional custom character control method, the memory that stores the custom characters is slow (because the memory is low-cost), and the memory (font memory) that actually prints out the pattern t-4 is required for high-speed t-. . Furthermore, font memory, which requires high speed, has the disadvantage that it can be filled in during printing, so it has the disadvantage that printing must be temporarily stopped when the number of external characters increases.

In the present invention, a random access memo IJ is prepared as a buffer for the external character pattern memory and the internal character pattern memo 11 that is actually accessed.
This is an external character control method in which an external character pattern file is stored in a random access memory as a buffer while printing (from the next page onward), and the internal character pattern memory is transferred from the buffer at high speed when printing is completed. be.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to one drawing.

Figure J! #For comparison, one embodiment of the present invention is roughly divided into a host system 11, a printer 11%12 that controls the printer, and a printer 1fls10.

Kamimachi City 3 A11' includes a host unit (or central processing unit), a pattern memory 2 that stores pattern files in a low-speed device such as MT, and a relatively high-speed external character memory 3 that stores only external characters (this A random access device with DISK% is optimal).

The printer control unit 12 includes an internal buffer memory 4 that temporarily stores external character patterns, an external character detection circuit 5 that checks whether the multiplication table code sent from the upper level is in the internal font memory 9, and an external character detection circuit 5 that checks whether the multiplication table code sent from the upper level device is stored in the internal font memory 9. A page buffer 6 that stores printing codes, etc., a line buffer 7 that stores the address of the font memory each time it is executed, and a dot that controls reading of the internal font memory 9 that stores patterns (depending on the contents of the line buffer). pattern generator 8
It consists of

The printer unit 10 is divided into a mechanical part that controls printing and line feeds, and a part that prints the output from the dot pattern generator, but here the distinction will not be made clear and it will be defined as the part that performs printing and line feeds. .

When the system 2 is started up, the dot patterns that can be stored in the internal font memory 9 are stored from the pattern memory 2 through the entire host device 1, and the dot patterns (external characters) that cannot be stored in the internal font memory 9 are stored. Store it in external character memory 3. After doing this, the print process first loads the print code etc. from the host device 11 into the page buffer 6.

At this time, the external character detection circuit 5t is used to check whether or not there is an external character code in the nine code strings sent out.

Here, if the page buffer 6 has a function that allows multiple pages to be created, if the custom character code is detected by the custom character detection circuit 5 before the first page is loaded, the printer control unit 12 does not enter the print code. Therefore, since the dot pattern is not accessed from the internal font memory 9, it is sufficient to simply store the necessary dot pattern from the external character memory 3 into the internal font memory 9 via the host device 1.

However, while printing the first page and sending the second page to the booter page buffer 6, the external character detection circuit 5
If the external character code is detected at
[It is not possible to send the custom character dot pattern to the font memory 9, so temporarily store the custom character dot pattern from the custom character memory 3 to the internal buffer memory 4 via the host device l, and then finish printing the first page.] If the dot pattern is loaded from the internal buffer memory 4 to the internal font memory 9 via the dot pattern generator 8 immediately before printing, it becomes possible to temporarily stop printing and then perform continuous printing. The same thing can be done for the third and subsequent pages.

By adding inexpensive hardware, the present invention can be configured to minimize the number of printing stops even when non-standard characters occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The diagram is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. l...Host device, 2...Pattern memory (MT), 3...External character memory (DI8K),
4... Internal puff 7a, 7... line buffer, 8... dot pattern generator, 9... mountain...
Internal font memory, 1o... mark, printer 411...
River: Upper system, 12: Printer control unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Between a first memory that can read the character dot pattern at high speed and a relatively slow second memory that stores the entire character dot pattern, there is a second memory that can read the dot pattern that is not in the first memory. A third memory is provided to temporarily store the data read from the memory, and when the first memory finishes printing, the data is rapidly loaded from the third memory to the second memory, and the printing is performed continuously without stopping the printing tube. Close external character control method.