JPS60145858A - Data output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the high speed output of plural kinds of character patterns without spoiling the performance of operation, by providing a memory capable of rewriting for character pattern use. CONSTITUTION:A control data and a character pattern not stored in the ROM 141 of character generator necessary for printing are supplied to the circuit of control circuit 11 from a host system side before starting printing and written to the RAM24 of memory capable of rewriting, of character generator. Then, ROM141 of RAM2 is selected via a selector 142 according to a character code when printed and the corresponding character pattern data is supplied to a printing control part 4. By this constitution in which the RAM capable of rewriting is provided, plural kinds of character patterns can be outputted at a high speed without making the unit large in size and complicated and without deteriorating the performance of operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to data output devices such as printers and displays.

In general, in various data processing devices such as office computers, personal computers, word processors, and teletex devices, dot impact printers are used as data output devices.

Various dot printers such as laser printers, inkjet printers, and thermal printers, and various displays such as CRT displays, plasma displays, and liquid crystal displays are used.

By the way, as a conventional data processing device,
For example, it is equipped with a character generator configured with a non-rewritable memory (hereinafter simply referred to as "ROM") that stores the character pattern of a required font in advance, and generates the character pattern of a specified character according to the character code data from the host system side. There is something that has been made to occur.

However, in such a device, the number of fonts that can be output is limited, and as the number of phonos increases, the ROM capacity must increase accordingly, and the device becomes larger. This has the disadvantage of increasing costs.

In addition, there is also a system in which a character generator configured with a ROM is made into a cassette type so that it can be replaced, thereby making it possible to output a large number of fonts without increasing the size of the device.

However, even if this is done, the ROM (character generator) must be replaced every time a different character is required, resulting in poor operability and high costs.

Therefore, the character patterns of commonly used characters are stored in the ROM as internal characters.
Store it in the character generator configured with
A character pattern is selected and output using the character code data from the host system, and character patterns for other characters are stored as external characters in the host system's secondary storage device, for example, and when that external character is selected, Some devices transfer character pattern data (image data) directly from the host system and output it.

However, in this case, the burden on the control section of the host system increases, and since external characters are transferred as image data, the data output processing speed, for example, the printing speed, slows down. .

Furthermore, one type of phono I~ is stored in a character generator configured with ROM, and for other types of fonts, the character pattern data generated from the character generator is converted into fonts to generate the required type of character pattern. Some have made it so.

However, in this case, the problem arises that font conversion takes time, making high-speed processing impossible, and increasing costs.

In this way, in various conventional data output devices,
There are problems in that the types of character patterns that can be output are fixed, so there is no versatility, and even if many types of character patterns can be output, high-speed processing is not possible.

Purpose This invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to enable high-speed output of a wide variety of character patterns without impairing operability.

■Nihidansennokai Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be explained based on one embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a printer which is a data output device embodying the present invention.

The control circuit 1 of this printer is CI-'U(
central processing unit), program memory (ROM).

It is composed of a microcomputer consisting of data memory (RAM) and 10 (input/output device).

Control code data and character pattern data of necessary characters are transferred to this control circuit 1 from the host system side.

Thereby, this control circuit 1 sequentially stores the transferred character pattern data in i) a character generator 2 constituted by a RAM which is a replaceable memory;

Therefore, character generator (RAM) 2
Stores character pattern data for all characters necessary for printing.

In this state, the host system side transfers character code data of printed characters to the printer when a print key or the like is operated, for example, when printing out.

This character code data is temporarily stored in one character code buffer B, and then sequentially transferred to the character generator 2 under the control of the control circuit 1.

Thereby, the character generator 2 outputs character pattern data corresponding to the input character code data and transfers it to the print control section 4.

The printing control section 4 controls the printing mechanism section 5 in accordance with input character pattern data to print characters corresponding to the character pattern data.

In this way, this printer is equipped with a rewritable memory that stores a single character pattern.

In other words, the character generator is made up of rewritable memory.

By transferring the character pattern data necessary for starting print output from the host system to this printer, the character pattern is stored in the rewritable memory (RAM), and from then on, the character pattern data from the host system side is By transferring code data, character patterns corresponding to the code data are output, so a wide variety of character patterns can be output at high speed.

Also, if you want to change the type of output character, you can simply rewrite the character pattern stored in rewritable memory.
Even if the types of characters used on the host system are different,
Characters used on the host system side can be output, increasing versatility.

Furthermore, in this case, the operator can output the necessary character pattern without having to perform any troublesome operations such as replacing the character generator, so the operability is not impaired.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a thermal printer which is a data output device embodying the present invention.

The outer casing of this printer consists of a lower case 11 and an upper case 12 that house a mechanical section and a control section, and a cover 13 for a ribbon cassette section.

A control valve 14 provided on the front of the printer is equipped with various switches and indicators.

Online/offline (ONLloFL) switch 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes a switch for switching between online and offline, which enters the offline state when the power is turned on, and thereafter switches between online and offline with each operation.

The form feed (FF) switch 16 is a switch that instructs form feed to feed the paper to the top position of the next page, and is valid only when offline.

The speed changeover (50/l00) switch 17 sets the printing speed to 5ocps <low speed printing mode).

This is a switch for switching to ocps (high-speed printing mode).

Pica/Elite (PIC/E LT) switch 1
8 is a switch for switching the printing pitch between 1/10' and 1/12'.

The ribbon end indicator 1 is an indicator consisting of a light emitting diode or the like that indicates the paper end and the ribbon end.

ON Llo F The L display 20 is ON Llo F
This is a display made of a light emitting diode or the like that displays online/offline selected by the L switch 15.

There is also a power switch 21 on the rear side of this printer.
Similarly, a density selection switch 22 is attached to the top surface.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the mechanism of this printer.

First, on the rear upper surface of the lower case 11 of this printer, there is formed a paper storage section 25, which is a four-part approximately semi-cylindrical section that stores two days of roll paper, as shown in the phantom line. (Several parts are stored in the front part.)

First of all, this mechanical part is the left and right side plates that make up the frame!
10. At the rear of 31, a guide plate 32 for supplying cut paper into the mechanism section and a kite plate 33 for supplying the roll paper 26 stored in the paper storage section 25 are stacked at a predetermined interval and placed in front. It should be installed with the side facing downward.

And in front of these guide plates 32.53.

A platen 34 for winding and feeding cut paper guided by a guide plate 32 or rolled paper guided by a kite plate 63 is rotatably attached to both side plates 60° 31.

This platen 34 is rotationally driven via a gear train 65 by a line foot motor consisting of a stepping motor (not shown) fixed to the side plate 31, and automatically feeds the paper.

The platen 34 can also be manually rotated by turning a knob 36 connected to a gear train '55. As shown in FIG. 2, a knob cover 36a having a knurled surface is fitted onto the knob 36. As shown in FIG.

Further, in front of this platen 34, both side plates 30.3
Operation lever 6 of paper setting mechanism 37 attached to the outer surface of 1
A paper pail 42 consisting of rollers 40 and 41 which are rotatably inserted into the rod 69 is disposed.

In front of this platen 34, this platen 34
Kite rod 44 fixed to both side plates 30 and 31 in parallel with
A carriage 50 is mounted on a rail portion 46 that is a part of the front plate 45 so as to be movable in parallel with the platen 64.

The carriage 50 is equipped with a thermal head 51 and ribbon kite rollers 52 and 53 for guiding the thermal ribbon between the thermal head 51 and the platen 34, the details of which will be described later.

The carriage 50 is moved by a space motor 56 consisting of a stepping motor attached to a motor frame 55 fixed to a bottom plate 54.
6, the pulley 58 attached to the right side plate '51 and the pulley 5 attached to the left side plate 30 are rotationally driven via the gear train 57.
9 is moved via a timing belt 60 stretched between the two.

On the other hand, at the top of this mechanism section, a ribbon force set 1-61 is mounted on both side plates 30. It is attached and installed on R1.

This ribbon cassette 61 is constructed by storing a heat-sensitive ribbon 63 in a main body 62 of the cassette 1.

The thermal ribbon 63 of this ribbon cassette 61 is
A ribbon foot motor 65 consisting of a stepping motor attached to a motor frame 64 fixed to the bottom plate 54 rotates the ribbon feed motor 65 through a gear train 66 and is connected to a winding drive roller in the ribbon cassette 61. It is moved via a drive shaft 67.

Further, on the mechanism side, there is provided a ribbon end sensor 6S constituted by a photosensor consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting the end of the ribbon 63 of the ribbon cassette 61.

4 and 5 are a plan view and a left side view showing details of the carriage of this mechanism section.

In this carriage 50, a head holder 74 with a thermal head 51 attached thereto is rotatably attached by a support shaft 75 to a bracket 72, 73 formed on the front side of a carriage block 71 that is slidably inserted into a kite rod 44. It is.

This head holder 74 has head pressing springs 76 a and 7 at both ends thereof to prevent the thermal head 51 from being pulled out.
Attach the head holders 76 and 77 formed with 7a.

Further, a head biasing member 7, which has a tongue-shaped plate 78 integrally formed therein, is attached to the lower part of the head holder 74.

On the other hand, a tongue piece 8 for fixing the timing belt 60 to the carriage block 71 is provided at the lower part of the carriage block 71.
A solenoid holder 81 integrally formed with 1a is attached, and a head up/down solenoid 82 is attached to this solenoid holder 81.

The front end of the plunger 82a of the head up/down solenoid 82 is attached to the plate 78 of the biasing member 79.
The traction member 83 is fixed to the distal end of the traction member 83.

In the carriage 50 configured in this manner, the head up/down solenoid 82 is deactivated when loading paper or replacing the ribbon.

As a result, the head holder 74 is held in the state shown in the figure by the restoring force of the leaf spring 78, and the thermal head 51 is held in a position away from the platen 34 as shown by the solid line in FIG.

During the printing operation, the head up/down solenoid 82 is activated in this state.

As a result, the plunger 82a moves in the direction of arrow A together with the base of the leaf spring 78 in FIG.
rotates toward the platen 34 as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, and becomes ready for printing, so that the thermal head 51 is instantaneously heated and printing is performed.

Further, rotating arms 85, 8 are attached to the upper surface of the carriage block 71 of the carriage 50 by screws 84, 84.
6 are respectively indicated by arrows, and are rotatably mounted in the E direction (Fig. 4).

At the front end of these pivot arms 85,86.

While installing the paper guides 87 and 88, the fixed shaft 90
, 91 rotatably support the ribbon kite rollers 52 and 53, and auxiliary rollers 94 and 95 are rotatably supported approximately in the middle by fixed shafts 92 and 93.

Further, substantially hemispherical click stops 85a, 86a are formed on the lower surfaces of these rotating arms 85, 86, while substantially hemispherical recesses 71a, 86a are formed on the upper surface of the carriage block 71.
71b, these click stoppers 85a,
86a and recess 71a.

71b and stopper S6 to rotate arm 85°86
Regulates the rotation range of.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control section of this printer.

This control unit 100 controls the overall control of C[)tJ(
Central processing bag [), (ROM) program memory.

RAM C data: AmoU) and l10 (input/output device E
1), a master microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as "microcomputer") 101, a slave microcomputer 102 that mainly controls motors and solenoids, and a blockramable peripheral interface (hereinafter referred to as "rI10").
J) 103, 104, and rewritable memory (RA
Character generator (CG) 105 composed of M)
and three RAMs 106 to 1 that constitute the line buffer.
08, and drive circuits 111 to 117.

The mask microcomputer 101 of this control unit 100 communicates with the host system through a Centronics interface 120.
Character pattern data, printed character coat data, carriage movement amount data, and carriage return data are transferred from the host system side through data transmission and l10103.

Input various data such as line feed data.

Further, this mask microcomputer 101 connects ON Llo F provided on the operation panel 14 in FIG. 2 via l10103.
L switch 15. FF switch 16°50/100 switch 17. Various operating information and detection information are input from the PIC/ELT switch 18 and the paper end sensor 121 (not shown in FIG. 6).

The mask microcomputer 1'51 processes these input data based on a program stored in the internal ROM, and stores the character pattern data transferred from the host system in the character generator (RAMJ 105).

In addition, the master microcomputer 101 transfers data necessary for controlling printing speed information, carriage movement, line feed, etc. to the slave microcomputer 101 according to the processing results of human data.
Transfer to 2.

Furthermore, this master microcomputer 101 transfers character code data from the host system to the character generator 1.
05 into character pattern data, and according to this character pattern data, l10104 and drive circuit 1
17, the thermal head 51 is controlled to print necessary characters.

Furthermore, this master microcomputer 1 [ ] 1 controls the lighting of the ribbon end indicator 19 via the drive circuit 115 when the ribbon end sensor 69 detects the ribbon end and when the web page end sensor 121 detects the web page end. Furthermore, the lighting control of the 0NL10FL display 20 is controlled via the drive circuit 116 in response to the operation of the 0NL10FL switch 1S.

On the other hand, the slave microcomputer 102
1 and a detection signal from the left margin sensor 122 (not shown in FIG. 6), the space motor 5 is activated via the drive circuit 111 for printing.
6 is driven and controlled by two-phase excitation to control the movement of the carriage 50 (FIG. 3).

Also, this slave microcomputer 102 performs a line break.

For form feed, etc., a line feed motor 1 (not shown in FIG. 6) is connected via a drive circuit 112.
23 to rotate the platen 34.

Furthermore, this slave microcomputer 102 uses a redrive circuit 1 to wind up the ribbon 66 of the ribbon cassette 61.
143, the ribbon feed motor 65 is driven and controlled to rotate the drive shaft 67.

Furthermore, this slave microcomputer 102.

For printing, the head lug/down solenoid 82 (FIG. 5) is driven and controlled via the drive circuit 114.
The thermal head 51 is moved to a printable position and a retreat position.

Further, this slave microcomputer 102 transfers the detection signal of the ribbon end sensor 69 to the master microcomputer 101.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.

First, when the power switch 11 shown in FIG. 2 is turned on, the mask microcomputer 101 shown in FIG. 6 executes the main routine shown in FIG. 7.

In other words, after making certain initial settings (initialization), a self-diagnosis (
If the result of the determination is self-diagnosis, the process moves to switch detection processing to be described later.

Also, if the judgment result is not self-diagnosis, 0NL10F
Check the status of the L switch 15 to determine whether it is online or offline.

If the result of this determination is offline, the FF switch 16
Checks the status of and determines whether it is a form feed or not.
Transfer the required data to the line foot motor 123
is driven and controlled to rotate the platen 64 and move the operating position to a position corresponding to the first row of the next page.If it is not form feed, the process returns to ON Llo F L determination processing.

On the other hand, if the 1 determination result is online, after initializing online, the 50/loo switch 17 of the operation panel 14 is set. Check the status of PIC/ELT switch 18 and print speed information.

The printing pitch information is read and the printing speed information and printing pitch information are transferred to the slave microcomputer 102.

After that, it is determined whether it is a self-diagnosis or not, and if it is a self-diagnosis, the process proceeds to the command processing described later.
'IFO (Checks whether there is data in the received data buffer, and if there is data, performs command processing and then returns to the process of determining whether or not it is a self-diagnosis.

In addition, if there is no data in the FIFO, the state of the ON Llo F L switch 15 etc. on the operation panel 14 is detected,
Determine whether it is offline or not. If offline, perform offline initial settings, then return to the process to determine whether or not it is a)-4'-A feed, and if not offline, perform FIF
The process returns to the process of determining whether data exists in O.

Next, the process of receiving data from the host system by the mask microcomputer 101 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

First, when data from the host system side is serially transferred, the process shown in FIG. 8 is executed by one interrupt.

That is, when an interrupt occurs, first, the register is saved, and then it is determined whether or not reception has been completed.If reception is not completed, that is, if the data is not received or normal, the process proceeds to register restoration processing, which will be described later.

On the other hand, if the reception is complete, the receiver (i) reads the data and stores it in the FIFO, then checks whether the FIFO is full or not, and if it is not full, the reception is enabled. After that, if the register is full, the register is restored and the process returns to the main routine.

Further, when data is transferred in parallel from one side to the host system, the processing shown in FIG. 9 is executed by an interrupt.

In other words, when an interrupt occurs, reception is disabled first, and
After saving the register, read the received data and store it in the FIFO
Store in.

Then, it is checked whether the FIFO is full or not, and if it is not full, reception is permitted, and if it is not full, the register is restored and the process returns to the main routine.

Next, command processing in the main routine shown in FIG. 8 will be explained with reference to FIG. 10.

First, data is read from the FIFO, and it is determined whether the data is pattern storage instruction data that instructs the character generator 105 to store character pattern data.

Sot, -C, if it is pattern storage instruction data, FIF
The character pattern data is read from O, the character pattern data is stored in the character generator (RAM) 205, and the same process is repeated until all the character pattern data is stored.

On the other hand, if the read data is not pattern storage instruction data, it is determined whether the data is character code data or not, and if it is character code data, the character code data is converted into character pattern data by the character generator 105. After that, the character patterns are sequentially stored in line buffers (RAMs 106 to 108).

Then, it is determined whether one line's worth of character pattern data has been stored in the line buffer, and when the storing of one line's worth of character pattern data is completed, a line printing process operation is performed.

Note that if the read data is not character code data,
Although not shown, the code is compressed and converted into an internal command, the internal command is decoded, and the position (MOTlON), which is an absolute coordinate positioning operation based on the left margin, is determined according to the decoding result. P
O8ITION), initials (I N I To
), auto sheet feeder (ASF), etc.

Here, a process for transferring character pattern data from a host system such as a word processor will be explained.

The host system transfers pattern storage instruction data to the printer, for example, when a print key or the like is operated to instruct data to be printed out, or when the printer is powered on.

After that, the character pattern data is associated with the character code, that is, the character code data is left as it is, or is subjected to a predetermined data conversion (for example, Tecode),
Since this is the address data of the character generator (RAM) 105, for example, the character generator (RA
M), the character pattern data is sequentially transferred to the printer starting from the character of the character code data corresponding to address 0 of 105.

As a result, multiple processes are performed, and character pattern data is stored in the character generator (RA, M) 105 in correspondence with the character code data from 71 to the response data.

Therefore, by subsequently transferring required character code data from the host system to the printer, a character pattern corresponding to the character code data is selected and output.

In this way, since this printer is equipped with a rewritable memory that stores character pattern data,
By transferring the necessary character pattern data from the host system side and storing it in the memory, from now on, the necessary character pattern can be output simply by transferring the character code data.

As a result, this printer can output character patterns according to the characters used by the host system without sacrificing operability, increasing its versatility. becomes possible.

Note that as the rewritable memory, an electrically replaceable nonvolatile memory can also be used.

An example of this electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory is shown in the first example.
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

This non-volatile memory includes a static RAM 131,
Static RAM l to back up this
5 Electrically rewritable E built in one-to-one with l
Low select 1-circuit 1 that controls EPROM 132, this status/RAM 131, and EEPROM 132
33. Control logic 134 decator control circuit 165, column select 1-circuit 136
．． It consists of a column I10 circuit 167, etc.

This nonvolatile memory can be controlled by the same signals as normal static memory, and
-STORE signal and recall (RECALL)
Static RAM131 and EEPROM by signal
132 can be controlled.

That is, the static RAM1
The entire contents of Otsu 1 are transferred to EEPROM l 32 at once, and by the recall signal, JζE I) RO
The entire contents of M132 are static 1<ΔM131 at once
will be forwarded to.

Therefore, when the printer is powered on, a recall signal is output to this nonvolatile memory and the character pattern data stored in the E E PROM 132 is transferred to the static RAM 131.
When the power is turned off, a signal is output and the character pattern data stored in the static 1zAMf31 is transferred to and stored in the ROM 2.

In this case, if the character pattern needs to be changed, the necessary character pattern data can be transferred from the post system side and the character pattern data in the static RAM 131 can be rewritten.

In this way, when using the same host system, there is no need to transfer character pattern data to the printer every time the printer is powered off and then on again, and the waiting time for printer error 1. is shortened.

FIGS. 12 to 14 are block diagrams showing other different embodiments of the printer embodying the present invention. In the following, only the points that are different from those shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.6 The printer shown in FIG. A character generator 141 configured with a ROM for storing one font that stores data is provided, and these character generators 2, 141 are connected to a selector 142,
143 for selection.

Note that the control circuit 1 decodes the character code data from the host system and switches the selectors 142 and 143 according to the decoding result.

In this printer, only when you want to use a font other than the character pattern data font stored in the character generator 141 configured in ROM,
The character pattern data is transferred from the host system side in advance and stored in the character generator 2 (formed in RAM) for printing.

In this way, in addition to the effects of the above embodiment.

This can be used when you want to use the printer immediately after turning on the power.

The printer shown in FIG. 1'5 consists of a character generator 141 composed of a 1-font storage ROM that stores character patterns in advance, and 8 1-font 1 to storage I (ΔM) that store character pattern data. Character generator group 144 consisting of character generator 2
and.

Then, the control circuit 1 switches and controls the selectors 142 and 143 according to the one-character code data, and controls each character generator (RAM) of the character generator (ROM) 141 and the character generator group 144.
) 2 is selected.

In this way, in addition to the effects of the various implementations described above, character pattern data of many types of fonts can be stored, so
It can also handle printing that requires changing the font during printing.

The printer shown in FIG. 14 is provided with a secondary storage device 146, such as a floppy disk device or a valve cassette, which stores character pattern data of many types of fonts on the printer side. A keyboard 147 consisting of, for example, a numeric keypad is provided for specifying the selected font.

By specifying the type of font using the keyboard 147, the control circuit 1 reads character pattern data of the specified font from the secondary storage device 146 and stores it in the character generator 2 consisting of RAM. It is.

In this way, only the character code data needs to be transferred from the host system side (this reduces the burden on the host system side).

In this case, the printer shown in FIG.

Alternatively, as in the printer shown in Fig. 13, by separately providing a character generator consisting of a ROM that stores character pattern data in advance, or by providing a character generator consisting of a RAM for a plurality of phonographs. You can get the most effective effects.

As described above, since the printer embodying the present invention can switch the type of character pattern depending on the host system, it is possible to use a printer with a large number of host systems, for example, a word processor, in particular, with one or fewer printers than the number of host systems. This is effective when sharing
There is no need to install a printer for each Bost system.

In each of the embodiments described in Section 2, an example was described in which the present invention was implemented in a printer, which is a data output device, but it can be similarly implemented in other types of display devices, and the generation of character patterns can also be applied to printers. Any type of printer is acceptable as long as it is necessary.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, a character pattern suitable for the host system can be generated quickly without impairing operability, and versatility is improved.

・14 drawings External perspective view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the printing mechanism, FIGS. 4 and 5 are a plan view and side view showing details of the carriage, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control unit. , Figure 7 is
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the main routine executed by the control unit; FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing different examples of the reception processing routine; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the command processing routine of FIG. 7. Flow diagram showing main parts.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another example of a rewritable memory, and FIGS. 12, 16, and 14 are block diagrams showing other different examples of printers implementing the present invention.

1...Control circuit 2.105...Character generator (RAM
)6...Character code buffer 4...Print control section 5
...Print mechanism section 100...Control section Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A data output device characterized by being provided with a rewritable memory for storing character pattern data.