JPS58200365A - Printing controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform printing operation without any limitation, to reduce a memory, and to speed up processing by dividing a basic pattern longitudinally and laterally when printing character is of different size, and allotting position information to each divided block. CONSTITUTION:When characters of different size are printed, the basic pattern is divided longitudinally and laterally by integer times and position information is allotted to each divided block. When expanded characters are printed, a printer controller 14 receives a control signal from a master controller 11 to expand and rotate characters, block by block. Therefore, the buffer memory is reduced greatly and the limitations of the size of characters are eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control method for printing character patterns, symbols, numbers, etc.

Dot-type printing devices that print kanji, kana, etc. have several different character sizes. Lowercase letters (basic) (turn), uppercase letters (twice the height and width of lowercase letters), medium letters (halfway between lowercase and uppercase), μbi letters, half-width letters (letters that are half the height or width of lowercase letters) , double-width characters (characters that are twice as large in either the vertical or horizontal direction as lowercase letters), etc. Figure 1 ω is a horizontal double-width character, Figure 1 ■ is a vertical double-width character,
Figure ω) shows the uppercase letters, and the first diagram also shows the lowercase letters for comparison. Having all of these character patterns in a printing device not only requires an enormous amount of memory capacity, but is also disadvantageous in terms of cost. The basic pattern is enlarged or reduced to represent characters of different sizes.

Figure 2 shows the basic configuration diagram of the printing device and controller.
” (1) is the master gong F roller, which is a processing unit that instructs and controls the printer, pattern memory, and sometimes the display device.It sends information to be printed, control codes, etc. to the printer controller +41. @( is a pattern memory, and images of kanji, kana, figures, etc. to be printed are stored in dot patterns. A code is determined for each pattern, and by specifying this code, the pattern memory (3) is the printer that actually records the pattern.The printer controller 4) receives the information necessary for printing from the master controller α), and the receiver also receives the received code. Then, the corresponding dot pattern is received from the pattern memory■.The printer controller (4) is connected to the printer (3), and supplies the prepared dot pattern to the printer (3) at the timing of printing. The printer (3) is, for example, a wire dot type printer having electrodes in the negative column.

'1. .

In the conventional dot-type printing device □, one code is assigned to each character in the basic pattern (this is called a pattern code). Figure 4 shows an example of the basic pattern. The basic pattern is 32 dots x 32. Consists of dots,
The pattern code for this "Asahi" is, for example, abc. Pattern memory (2) K: C.

After that, if you change the address of the lower 5 bits sequentially, you will get "Asahi".
The characters are readable.

Exchanges between the master controller (1) and the printer controller (4) are carried out using control codes (hereinafter abbreviated as A code).The A code includes information such as the character size and orientation. Figure 3 shows the conventional OA code and C code.As for the control procedure, first the master controller (1) sends the GCA code to the printer controller (4), then the C code is sent. After receiving two codes,
The printer controller (4) begins processing. After the processing is completed, the next code is requested from the master controller (1).

Since the first code to be sent is the A code and the second is the C code, there is no mix-up, and 2 codes are always equal to 1 bear. Two codes are required to print one character. In the A code, FIFm indicates the character size.For example:

RIRI is 0 indicating the direction of rotation, and is applied to control information such as the size of the character and the direction of rotation, as shown here. On the other hand, in the 9 code, (PC) is a number indicating a character and is called a pattern code.

In addition, 1. In conventional wire dot printers, the dot components and electrodes of the basic pattern are lined up in a line and printed by horizontal scanning.For example, in the case of this example, 32 electrodes are arranged in a line. are lined up.

The printing device processes each character one by one, so
When trying to print a double enlarged character of the 32-dot basic pattern (32 dots x 2), an 8-minute buffer is required for each character (4096 dots = 4096 bits of RAM is required), and 32 electrodes are required. Since there is only 32 dots at the top and 32 dots at the bottom, it has to be printed twice.Also, if you want to process each line (one line) instead of one character at a time, you will need one line of memory. If 30 enlarged characters can be printed on one line, a buffer of 4096 bits x 30 = 122880 bits is required.

Moreover, half of this buffer is not used when printing the basic pattern, which is really inefficient.Furthermore, only in the case of enlarged characters, printing must be done in two parts.According to this method, Enlarged letters and lowercase letters cannot coexist in the fin.

Conventionally, as a method to prevent this, double-width characters have been used that are enlarged only in the scanning direction, as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, the characters are compressed and are difficult to read.

In this way, in the conventional dot type printing 41141-device,
Not only does it require a huge buffer, but it is also inefficient and print scanning is complicated. Another disadvantage is that lowercase letters cannot be printed on uppercase lines.

The control procedure from the ti master controller also consists of two codes, which is simple in terms of one procedure, but the size and orientation of the characters in the text do not change in the slightest, so there is almost no need to send two codes. In addition, it is necessary to be able to print without worrying about character size or direction, and high-speed processing is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a control method for printing characters of different sizes and directions without being restricted. Another object of the present invention is to provide a control method for high-speed processing of a printing device.

The present invention will be explained below. Figure 5 shows the A code and C code sent from the master controller.
F IFI j RI R, as before, each character [
・：・ Indicates the size and direction of rotation. C0 is an identification bit for A code or C code, so for example, it is necessary to constantly send A code and C code.
It is sufficient to send the A code only when there is a change in size or direction. Normally, it is sufficient to continue transferring the C code, increasing the data transfer speed. P, P of the C code is information indicating which position of a character (basic pattern). The basic pattern is divided into four parts as shown in FIG. One of them is called a block, if block ■, then upper left, block O
If block ■, then assign it to the upper right, if block ■, assign it to the lower left, if block ■, assign it to the lower right. There is no need to prepare a buffer for enlarged characters. When printing basic patterns, (32)
” = 1024 dots, a buffer for enlarged text is sufficient. Therefore, it can be realized with 1/4 the memory capacity of the conventional one. When processing in one line processing, print one line of the upper block, then process and print the lower block. Figure 7 shows an example of enlarged characters (capital letters).

FIG. 8 shows a configuration diagram of the printer controller of the present invention. (II) is the master controller 1 that sends the C code and A code, (121 is the pattern memo in which the patterns to be printed are stored in correspondence with the codes) , Ol is a printer, (I4 is a printer controller that receives information necessary for printing from the master controller (river), receives and processes the corresponding dot pattern from pattern memory Q21, and transfers print data to printer H. It is.

Next, the internal configuration of the printer controller IO will be explained.

Q5) is a control code latch circuit for latching the A code from the master controller (11);
Pattern code latch circuit that latches the code (17
11d pattern memory (address buffer indicating address 121, tllll is an address counter that controls the Row address of pattern memory α via address buffer Oη, - is a pattern memory data latch circuit,
- is an enlarged left/right multiplexer that selects the left block or right block for double characters, and J is a case multiplexer that selects uppercase or lowercase letters. @ is printer α
The data transfer circuit, which is the interface to the chicken, (2
) is an internal controller 2 circuit that generates control signals inside the printer controller Q41.

ω Printer controller α Dark star controller (microbus that connects Ill, ■ is a pattern memory address bus, (C) is a pattern memory data bus, and the dot pattern corresponding to the address is output. (2) is an internal pattern bus (32 bits), the read dot pattern appears.(e) is an enlarged/(turn bus, 1 dot of internal pattern bus O) is expanded to 2 dots each, resulting in 64 dots). appear. ω is the lowercase character data bus, @ is the enlarged character data bus (32 bits) after selecting the dot pattern of the enlarged pattern path C) and the right block or left block, ■ is selected depending on whether it is an uppercase or lowercase letter, and is actually printed. The print pattern path (32 bits) G) is a printer path connecting the printer and the printer controller α4, and includes signals such as synchronization signals and transfer data. (j) is a pattern code signal transferred from the master controller (11).

(a) is a control code latch signal containing information on C0R, RlPIF, (a) is a control code latch signal, (c) is a synchronization signal with the identification bit of C0 and the master controller (11),
■ is /< turn code latch signal, (o) is a case selection signal, (p) is a left block or right block left/right selection signal, and is a pattern data register for holding pattern data from the pattern memory α. gusset signal, ω is the Row address bus, (ω is the signal indicating the top, bottom, left and right of the block, (
1) is Row at L/'X Pa* (r) on Row 7
The address count signal that increments vx by 1 is the print data transfer signal, which is a synchronization signal with the printer.

Figure 9 shows a configuration diagram of the internal control circuit (c).
FIGS. 11 and 12 show waveform diagrams of the internal control circuit (2). @(C) is a latch signal generation circuit for A code and C code. ml (identification bit of C) is '1''
The strobe pulse m3 (synchronization signal with the master controller) is the control code edge signal, and the next O
It outputs the A code, C code request signal (REQ) and address control signal (clock).

That is, when the control code latch signal (a) is received, the request signal (,REQ) is immediately outputted, and when the pattern code latch signal (a) is received, 32 clock pulses are output as shown in the first signal. get rid of it.

For uppercase letters, pattern memo 11 occurs once every 2 digits.
""" Since it is sufficient to count up the rear address, the address control signal (2CL) for uppercase characters is generated by the divider (c). The 32 clock pulses of the address control signal (clock) are generated by the pattern data latch signal (lower). ).tfcX-olfactory) is also used as uppercase selection information (k, )(
The address control signal (cloc
k) or a circuit that generates an address count signal (1) from an address control signal (2CL) for uppercase letters.

Figure 13 shows the control flow of the printer controller (141), which performs printing processing only when it receives a C code, processes one block (32x32 in the example), transfers data to the printer, and prints the next data. request.

Next, to explain the printing operation of lowercase letters, when the 0 rotation direction is oO toss, the master controller (11) first sends the 14th
The control code (A code) shown in the figure ω is transferred. When the printer controller α Kiku receives the control code signal ω, the internal controller 2 circuit outputs the control code latch signal (A), and the control code is sent to the control code latch circuit (I[
It is held in fl. Since the signal from the master controller (11) is a control code, the basic clock generator (241) in the internal controller 2 circuit outputs the request signal (REQ) of the next code and sends it to the master controller (Ill). Request next code.

Next, the master controller (11) transfers the character code shown in FIG. 14(c). Printer controller Q4
1 is recognized as a character code because the identification bit of C0 is "Oll", and the internal controller Frow/I/circuit outputs the pattern code latch signal 0 and holds the 1 character code in the pattern code latch circuit (I fathom). (Turn code (PC
) C, hit the upper part of the pattern memory address and pass it through the pattern memory address bus ■/< turn memory (
121. The lower bit is address counter a
It is indicated by a dipper, and when receiving a character code, it is “0” (Row)
71'res bus (r') VC output, Figure 14 (C)
pattern memory address is provided.

It is output to the pattern memory (pattern data t' corresponding to pattern memory address I21<turn memory data bus CC). The internal control lvu path (2) is
The pattern data is held in the memory data latch circuit tts. The held 7<turn data is supplied to the enlarged left/right multiplexer and the case/lower case multiplexer @9 via the internal I(rein path).The case/lower case selection signal (
Since o) is a lowercase letter selection, the case multiplexer H selects lowercase letter data from the lowercase letter data bus σ) and the enlarged character data bus 0, and outputs it as a print pattern to the print pattern path ■. The data transfer unit Reli, which is the interface unit with the printer Q31, sequentially transfers the print data on the print pattern bus ■ using the print data transfer signal ■. To output, clock 2) in Figure 12 counts up the address counter (I) by 1, and sequentially sets the Row address '31'.
When the pattern data is read up to row<aRow address "31'," the internal control<->μ section outputs a request signal γ1) (Rli:Q) to request the next character+nid or control code.

Figures 15 (a) and (b) show other examples of control codes and character codes; in this case, the enlarged characters CFIF, :10) are used as the pattern code (upper left block CPIP, :00 of PC breeding t a b c). As in the case of lowercase letters, the control code is held in the control code latch circuit 01GI, and the character code is held in the pattern code latch circuit (I).

The pattern memory address on the pattern memory address bus (c) is as shown in FIG. The data is held by the pattern data latch signal (191). The held pattern data is expanded from one dot to two dots (64 dots in total) and supplied to the expansion left and right multiplexers through the expansion pattern path ω.

Supplied to the left and right multiplexers. Since the left and right selection signals (B) are currently selecting the left side, the enlarged left and right multiplexer selects 32 dots on the internal force side of the 64-dot enlarged pattern and outputs them to the enlarged character data node (S@). In the case of case multiplexer η,
Lowercase data and enlarged character data are supplied through the and @ paths. Currently, it is in the enlarged character mode, so if the case selection signal (0) is selecting an uppercase character, the case multiplexer selects enlarged character data from the enlarged character data bus @ and the lower case data bus ■. Output to print pattern bus (company). Data transfer unit 61! Data is sequentially transferred to the printer in the same way as lowercase character processing.

To enlarge the pattern in the vertical direction, it is enough to read the same pattern memory address twice.The internal control lv circuit (to) outputs the address callan as signal e) once every two pattern data reading processes, and then reads the same pattern memory address twice. Control the address bus ■. By doing this, it is possible to print twice-enlarged characters in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Further, when "bottom" is selected as the enlarged character, the pattern memory address on the pattern memory address bus 2 becomes as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present invention, the basic pattern can be divided into blocks.
In addition to being able to significantly reduce buffer memory by
There is no restriction on the size of characters, and as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to mix lowercase letters in a line of uppercase letters, and the circuit configuration can be realized with a simple one. Also, by dividing the block, the number of dots printed at once is reduced by 1.6 if not divided.
4 dots - A capital letter divided into 4 parts becomes 32 dots.

Furthermore, by using the identification signal, data reception with the master controller can be processed easily and at high speed. First, a control code is received, then a character code is received, and if the next block also has the same control code, it is possible to transfer only the character code. Therefore, it has the advantage that the data transfer time from the master controller is approximately 172 times longer than the conventional method.

In the example, the basic pattern is divided into four blocks and printed in uppercase letters. However, in addition to printing in uppercase letters, it is also possible to further increase the effect by dividing the basic pattern. In this case, if you divide the basic pattern into 4 parts, the capital letter will be 1
It will be divided into 6 parts. The printer can print 16 dots at the same time. Also, although the explanation was made using double characters, it is possible to use any number of times.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 ω■ (d is an example of printed characters, Fig. 2 is a system configuration diagram, Fig. 3 ω (b) is a conventional information side diagram, Fig. 4 is a basic pattern diagram, Fig. 5 is a diagram of the present invention) Control information side diagram, Figure 6 ω■
is a block division diagram, FIG. 7 is an example of upper case letters, FIG. 8 is a side view of the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 9 is an example of internal controller/l/circuit configuration, FIG. 10 is an example of printing, FIG. 11, Figure 12 is a signal waveform diagram, Figure 13 is a control flow diagram, Figure 14 is ωQll)
t>, Fig. 15 ω■ (cl, Fig. 16 is a diagram of a specific example of control information. [111...Y 'X, jl -: I troph, 0
21...Pattern memo! J%Cl81-...Printer, gu→...Printer controller, α-...Control code latch circuit, 輛...Pattern code border circuit, (I
Address counter, wire...pattern memory data border circuit, -...enlargement left/right multiplexer, υ...upper/lower case multiplexer, (2)...internal controller μ[? [&Ia, (b)...Pattern memory address bus, (C)...Pattern memory data bus, 6)...Internal pattern bus, C)...Expansion bar-
(g)...lowercase data bus, @...enlarged text i data bus, ■...print pattern path, (j)...
...Pattern code signal, ω...Control code signal Fig. 7 (,l) (b) (C) C Fig. 4 32F't74 Fig. 5 Control 10■滄暉℃2Figure 13Figure 74Figure 6(b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] L When printing characters of different sizes, the basic pattern is divided into integral multiples in the vertical and horizontal directions, position information is assigned to the divided blocks, and enlarged characters and rotated characters are printed for each block. A print control method that processes character data. 2 When printing characters of different sizes, the basic pattern is divided into integral multiples in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the position information and basic pattern code assigned to the divided blocks are used as character codes to determine the size and rotation of the characters. Character property information such as direction is used as a control code, an identification signal is added to each character code and control code, and this identification signal identifies whether it is a character code or a control code, and the information is held until the next code is sent. However, if there is no change in the held control code, a printing control method that sends only the character code and processes it.