JPS59115869A - Dot printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a dot printer easy to fabricate plural kinds of printers and simply selecting a desired stile of type, constituted by providing a socket capable of attaching a character generator to a part of a main body case from the outside in a freely exchangeable manner. CONSTITUTION:A socket 4 which attaches a character generator 3 from the outside in a freely exchangeable manner is provided to the rear surface of a main body case 1. A host computer 5 is connected to CPU7 being a control part in the case 1 and the character generator 3, ROM10 and RAM11 are connected to CPU7. A chip selecting controller 12 is further connected to CPU7 while the character generator 3, ROM10 and RAM11 are connected to the chip selecting controller 12. Data showing the kind and characteristics of a printer are stored in a part of the memory of the character generator 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dot printer that expresses characters and figures using a combination of dots, such as a needle impact dot printer or a thermal printer.

Technical Background and Problems Conventionally, in this type of dot printer, a character generator that stores multiple dot matrices for expressing characters and figures by combinations of dots is
It is installed inside the printer. The character generator that defines the font of the characters and the characters for each language is assembled at the factory after the necessary specifications are selected. Therefore, there are a large number of printer models. If you still want to obtain characters in other fonts after purchasing a -model printer.

It is necessary to replace the character generator, but to do so, you have to disassemble the main body case and remove the parts that are already soldered, so it is not easy. do not have.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dot printer that is easy to manufacture and that allows a user to easily select a font of their choice.

Summary of the Invention The present invention has a socket in which a character generator can be attached to a part of the main body case from the outside in a replaceable manner. When a user's order or destination is determined, many models can be easily obtained by adding a character generator to match the user's order or destination. The structure is such that if you want to obtain a graphic, you can easily obtain that function by replacing only the character generator.

Embodiments of the Invention First, on the back side of the main body case (1), there is provided an interface connector (2) and a socket (4) to which a character generator (3) can be attached replaceably from the outside. In the main body case (1), a host computer (5) is connected to a CPU (
7), and the CPU (7) is connected to the character generator (3), ROMαQ, and RA via an address bus line (8) and a data bus line (9).
It is connected to Mα Yu. In addition, the CPU (7)
A chip select control α is connected to the chip select control α, and the chip select control 0→ is connected to the character generator (3), ROM (10, and RAMa), respectively.

Next, the CPU (7) includes a data latch circuit α.
A print head a→, which is a dot matrix printing mechanism, is connected via the head and a driver circuit 0→.

In addition, the carriage motor 0→ and the feed motor (9) are connected via the data latch circuit (til> and the driver circuit).
are connected.

In addition, the memory of the character generator (3) (
In some areas of (a), for example address 012, there is data Qη indicating the type and characteristics of the character generator (3).
is stored.

The program in ROM 0I instructs the CPU (7) to operate the operation procedure, and the host computer (5)
) The character generator (3) generates a specific dot matrix in response to the data sent from the character generator (3).

Then, the print information is temporarily stored in the RAM (11), and the print head (1), carriage motor 0→, and feed motor α operate to print dots, and the pattern is transferred to the character generator (3 )
It is regulated by the government.

Since a desired character generator (3) can be attached to the socket (4) from the outside, the character generator (3) is removed during production. This assembly only requires one model. Then, by externally attaching a necessary character generator (3) according to the user's order and destination, various devices can be set.

However, if the user needs a different font for the printer they have purchased, they can obtain the necessary functions by purchasing only the character generator (3) that is compatible with it and replacing it. As many as the number of character generators (3) you own.

A wide variety of fonts can be obtained very easily.

Next, the one shown in Fig. 4 has a standard character generator f2 internally implemented, and apart from this character generator 0, another character generator (3) is selectively externally connected. . Then, it is selected by the chip select control (6).

In addition, if the character generator (3) at this time is included in the data shown in Figure 3, information that can be used to easily recognize the presence or absence of the character generator (3),
The external character generator (3) can be selected by default, and the internal character generator can be selected by "none".

Effects of the Invention The present invention is provided with a socket that allows the character generator to be selectively attached from the outside of the main body case as described above, so when manufacturing a printer, it is only necessary to manufacture one model without a character generator. Often, a variety of models can be easily obtained by later installing a character generator corresponding to the user's order or destination, and users can also obtain a wide variety of typefaces and shapes simply by purchasing their favorite character generator. It is something that can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a block diagram, FIG. 3 is a partial memory map, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a modified example. 1... Main body case, 3... Character generator, 4... Socket, 7... CPU (control unit), 1
5... Print head (dot matrix printing mechanism),
21...Data, 22...Character generator applicant Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A character generator that stores a plurality of dot matrices for expressing characters and figures by combinations of dots, and a dot matrix printing mechanism that prints characters and figures according to the patterns of this character generator. and a control section for controlling the dot matrix printing mechanism, characterized in that a socket is provided in a part of the main body case to be connected to the control section and to which the character generator can be attached replaceably from the outside. dot printer. 2. The dot printer according to claim 1, wherein data for confirming the type of the character generator is stored in a part of the memory of the character generator. 3. A character generator that stores multiple dot matrices for expressing characters and figures by combinations of dots; a dot matrix printing mechanism that prints characters and figures according to the patterns of this character generator; In a control unit that controls a matrix printing mechanism, one character generator is built inside the main body case, and a part of the main body case is connected to the control unit, and another character generator is exchanged from the outside. A dot printer characterized by having a socket that can be freely attached.