JPS62253473A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable modes such as paper size, feeding length, character pitch and printing quality to be set according to the purpose by a printer itself, by storing printing control conditions in a nonvolatile electrically reloadable storage element, and selectively setting desired conditions according to a menu selecting system by operating switches on the printer. CONSTITUTION:An NOVRAM 4 is a memory for storing set condition data such as maximum printing width, form length, line feed pitch, character pitch and reset commands conforming to conditions such as paper size, and the setting of the conditions is performed by operating a console panel 5 under the control of a CPU 1. An online mode is set by pressing a switch SEL on the panel 5. With printing data inputted from the exterior, a driving circuit 6 is controlled based on the contents of initial setting stored in the NOVRAM 4 under the control of the CPU 1, whereby a printing mechanism is driven under control, and printing on a paper is performed by a printing action, paper feeding, operations of a printing head or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printing device having a function of changing settings.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in printing devices, A4. A5. B4゜B5.
It is possible to use paper of various standards such as various paper sizes such as , and types of paper such as continuous paper and cut paper, and also print formats (printing styles) can be customized according to these preferences. The paper size, feed base, character pitch, print quality, etc. can be set and used so that the printer can be used as desired. The printing device should have a function that allows changing such settings (initial settings).

As an example, a DIPSW (dip switch) is installed on the circuit board of the printing device, and each switch of this DIPSW is made to correspond to various feed groups, character pitches, printing quality, etc., and switches that suit the purpose are selected. There are methods in which the initial settings are changed by selectively turning on the printer, and methods in which the initial settings are changed by performing condition setting operations in a host computer separate from the printing device.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, among the above methods, the former requires the DIPSW to remove part of the cover of the printing device.
Otherwise, it is often located on the side or back side of the printing device, which has the drawback that setting operations are extremely difficult.
Each SW switch only has a switch number written on it, and its function is usually not displayed, so the DI
There is a drawback in that it is difficult to know what settings each PSW switch performs without looking at the specifications or operation manual. In addition, in the latter method, in most cases, the commands for setting cannot be understood without looking at the specifications or operation manual. and,
The method of changing the initial settings of the printing device using commands has the disadvantage that the settings are complicated because it must be controlled by a host computer that is separate from the printing device.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable the printing device itself to easily set various paper sizes, various feed groups, various character pitches, printing quality, etc. formats according to the purpose. To provide a printing device (means for solving the problems) To achieve the above object, the present invention is constructed as follows.

In other words, in a printing device in which the control means can control printing based on initial setting printing control conditions such as the paper width, page length, and paper feed amount of the paper used, the printing control conditions are non-volatile. The control means enters the printing control condition change mode by operating a combination of operation switches that are standard equipment of the printing device, and the printing control condition contents are stored in an electrically rewritable memory element. Necessary items and various conditions that can be set for those items are prepared, and in the above print control condition change mode, these prepared items and various conditions that can be set for those items are sequentially changed for each operation by selecting the operation switch described above. It is configured by adding a function of switching and selecting and printing, and updating and storing the conditions for each selected item in the storage element as the print control conditions.

[For production]

In such a configuration, the print control conditions are stored in a nonvolatile, electrically rewritable storage element. If it is desired to change the printing control conditions, a predetermined combination of operation switches provided as standard equipment of the printing device is executed.

Then, the control means enters the printing control condition changing mode. The control means enters the printing control condition change mode by operating a combination of operation switches that are normally used in the printing device, and prepares necessary items and various conditions that can be set for the printing control conditions in advance, and In the control condition change mode, the prepared items and the various conditions that can be set for the items are sequentially switched and selected and printed out for each operation by the selection operation of the operation switch. The control means updates and stores the selected item-specific conditions in the storage element as the print control conditions.

Therefore, when you want to change the printing control specifications, you can select and set the desired conditions using the menu selection method by operating the operation switch of the printing device, and you can control the initial setting printing without referring to specifications or manuals. Conditions will be made easier. Thereafter, the page length, paper feed amount, etc. are controlled by the control means in accordance with the updated initial setting print control conditions, and printing is performed.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this device.

As shown in the figure, this device is controlled by a CPU (processor; here a microprocessor is used).
1, ROM (read only memory) 2 and RAM (random access memory) 3 connected to this CPUI via an address bus and a data bus, and connected to the I10 (input output) port of the CPUI. No
VRAM (Nonvolatile StaticR)
It consists of a non-volatile electrically rewritable random access memory element (AM) 4, an operation panel 5 provided with switches for various operations, and a drive circuit 6 for driving the printing mechanism.

The ROM2 stores various programs for printing control, programs for setting conditions, etc., and the CPU
I executes the program in this ROMZ to perform various control outputs, condition settings, etc. Also, RAM3 is the above C
It is used as a work area during PUI program execution, temporary storage of various data, and a buffer for human data. The above NOVRAM 4 has the maximum print width, form base, line feed pitch, character, etc.
This is a memory that stores setting condition data such as pitch and reset commands, and this condition setting is performed by operating the operation panel 5 under the control of the CPUI. The above operation panel 5 includes SEL (select switch), LP (line feed switch), TOF (top on feed switch), LQ (letter quality switch), etc., which are usually standard equipment on printing devices. It is something that will be done. Of these, the online switch SEL is a switch that sets and releases the printable state. The line feed switch LP is a switch to return the print head to the home position, the top on feed switch TOF is a switch to feed paper by 100 minutes, and the letter quality switch LQ is a switch to change print quality. It's a switch. Others, operation panel 5
may be provided with switches for FF (fast forward), RF (reverse direction fast forward), etc., as necessary.

- The recording drive circuit 6 controls the drive of the printing mechanism based on the control output of the CPUI to perform printing, paper feeding, operation of the print head, etc.

In this apparatus, the program for setting conditions stored in the ROM 2 has the contents as shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when you turn on the power switch of this printer while pressing switch LQ on the operation panel 5, the printer enters the initial setting mode, and at this point NOVRAM 4
Print the contents of the initial settings stored in the . and,
Waiting for the switch on the operation panel 5 to be operated. When a switch on the operation panel 5 is operated, the following states occur depending on the operated switch.

That is, the switch LP changes R every time the switch LF is pressed.
The stored contents of each item stored in OM2 or the contents corresponding to the item-by-item selection items in that item are shifted one by one in the storage order and the stored contents of the next item are printed.

The switch TOF performs the opposite operation each time the switch is pressed. That is, the content immediately before the content printed last time is printed. If switch LQ, the switch LQ
Press to change the initial setting items (, F U N
CT I ON mode). Further, the switch SEL is set to a mode (MENU mode) in which the selection items for each item are changed.

For example, this device is initially set to a mode for changing items. Therefore, in the initial stage, each time the switch LF is pressed, each item stored in the NOVRAM 4 and the set selection item for each item are shifted by one in the storage order, and the next item and its contents are printed.

Further, when the switch SEL is pressed, the display enters a mode in which the settings of the selection items for each item in the item displayed at this time can be changed. Therefore, if you press switch LF in this state,
Each time the switch LF is pressed, the contents of the next item are printed by shifting the item-by-item selection items stored in the ROM 2 in the storage order one by one. For example, if the selection item is "Form base" and as shown in Figure 3, the selection items for the item "Form base" are 13 inches (in.
h) J, "3.5 inches", "4 inches", "4.
If the initial setting is "3 inches" and the initial setting is "3 inches", then when switch LF is pressed, the ρJ item will be "3 inches".
is printed, and when you press switch LP, "3.5 inch" is printed.
Next, when you press switch LF, it says "4 inches", then when you press switch LP, it says "4.5 inches", etc. Then when you press switch LF, it says "15 inches", etc. When the last itemized selection is reached, it returns to the first itemized selection. When the switch TOF is pressed, the contents of the item-specific selection items before the item-specific selection items printed by the switch LP are printed. For example, last time “4
If "inch" is printed, the content "3.5 inches", which is the content of the previous selection item, is printed. The contents of the item-specific selection items finally selected in this manner are stored and saved in the RAM 3.

When switch LQ is pressed, a mode is entered for changing the setting items of NOVRAM4. For example, in NOVRAMJ, "reset command", "form length", "line feed pitch"
, "Character Pitch", ... Assuming that the item data is arranged in the order of caps, and the item "Form Length" is currently selected, when switch LQ is pressed, the item "Line Feed Pitch" is initially selected. The data and its settings are
Next, when switch LQ is pressed, the item data "Character Pitch" and its setting contents are printed as follows. When the last item is reached, it returns to the first item and prints that item.

By the above operation, each selection item of each item finally displayed is stored in RAM3 as a settable content along with its setting data, and by pressing the LQ switch twice in succession, this stored data is transferred to NOVRAM4, and the NOVRAM
The data corresponding to each item-specific selection setting item in step 4 is rewritten and set to the transfer content. If you do not want to change this setting, you can end the process by turning off the power.

Next, the operation of this device having the above configuration will be explained.

As shown in Figure 2, this device simply turns on the power switch.
When turned on, it enters normal operating mode.

That is, in this mode, the switch SE on the operation panel 5
Pressing L enters the online mode, and when print data is input from the outside, the drive circuit 6 is controlled and prints in a format based on the initial settings stored in the NOVRAM 4 under the control of the CPU, which is the control center. It controls the drive of the mechanism, performs printing, paper feeding, and print head operation to print on paper.

When a switch on the operation panel 5 is pressed, the CPUI performs control to execute a function corresponding to the switch.

If you want to change the paper size or format, turn off the power. The operator then operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. That is, first, the power switch and the switch LQ of the operation panel 5 are turned "on" at the same time. Then, the CPU enters the initial setting change mode and executes the initial setting change program stored in the ROM 2. Then, control is performed so that the contents of the initial settings set in NOVRAMJ are read out and printed together with the items. Therefore, the current initial setting contents are printed on the paper as shown by the symbol ■ in FIG.

When printing is completed, the CPUI enters a state in which it waits for a switch on the operation panel 5 to be operated. Therefore, when the operator wants to change the initial settings, he first selects the item he wants to change. This is done as follows.

For example, form length (FORM LENGUTH), line feed pitch (LPI) and character pitch (CP
Suppose we want to change I).

Initially, the mode is set to change items, but since you don't know what the current item is, switch LQ.
Press. As a result, ■ in FIG. 5 is printed. The operator then presses switch SEL to select a selection, then presses switch LF (or TOF). Then, each time this switch LF is pressed, the CPU reads out each item stored in the NOVRAM 5 and its set selection items one by one in the order in which they are stored, or one by one in the reverse order)
, the contents are printed on paper (■ in Figure 5). Therefore, the operator operates the switch while viewing the printed content until the item marked [1] is printed.

Once the desired item is reached, the operator next presses switch SE.
Press L. Then, a mode is entered in which the settings of the selection items for each item in the item being displayed at this time can be changed, and printing is performed as shown by ■ in FIG. Therefore, if you press switch LP in this state, each time you press switch LF, the CPU
controls so that the contents of the next item, which is obtained by shifting the item-by-item selection items stored in the ROM 2 for that item one by one in the storage order, are printed on the paper (■ in FIG. 5).

To explain in more detail, for example, if the current selection item is "Form Length" and as shown in Figure 3, the item-specific selection items for the item "Form Length" are "3 inches (i
nch) J, "3.5 inches", "4 inches", "4.
5", ... ..."15", and the current setting is "11", press switch LF, then switch LF.
When you press , as shown in ■ in Figure 5, first ``rl 2J'' indicating ``12 inches'' is printed, then when you press switch LF -+1+, ``14'' indicating ``14 inches'' is printed. Become. Therefore, the operator stops operating the switch when the desired selection item is printed. The contents of the currently selected selection items are stored in the ROM by the CPU.
2 and stored in RAM3.

The operator then presses switch LQ to change the line feed pitch. This will re-enter item change mode. Therefore, the operator presses switch LF or TOF to cycle through the items. And rLP which is an item of "line break pitch"
Once the IJ and its contents are printed, press the switch SEL to enter the mode for changing selection items by item. Item i of "Character Pitch J (CPI)" is, for example, "6" indicating "176 inch line break" as shown in Figure 1).

If there are two types, ``8'' indicating ``1/8 inch line feed,'' r6J and r8J are printed alternately each time the operator operates switch LF or TOF (■ in FIG. 5). Then, with the desired selection items printed, press the switch LF.
, stop TOF operation. The contents of the currently selected selection item are read out from ROM2 by the CPU and R
It is stored in AM3.

Since all the contents to be changed have been selected, the operator next presses switch LQ twice. As a result, the above CPU
1 determines that the change operation is complete and stores the contents of the selected items of the above items stored in RAM in NOVRAM.
4 and rewrite the relevant information. As a result, the initial settings of the NOVRAM 4 are changed. The operator turns off the power switch and then turns it on again.

Thereafter, printing control will be executed under the control of the CPU in accordance with the initial settings of the new settings.

In this way, the present invention uses a nonvolatile random access memory (NOVRAM) to store the specification settings of the printing device, and also stores various specification settings that can be set in advance in the ROM. By combining operation switches such as SEL, LF, and TOF that are standard equipment on the printing device with the power switch,
It is possible to set the change mode of the specification settings of the printing device stored in NOVRAM, and in this mode, the specification settings of the printing device stored in NOVRAM are first printed. Now, the above operation switch has a sending function for changing specification items, switching each mode for changing specification setting contents for that item, and selecting each item preset in the ROM and the various specification setting contents that can be set, Through these operations, each item and the various specifications that can be set are selected, and the selected contents for each switch operation are printed out so that the contents can be understood.This menu selection method allows you to operate the final selected contents. The information is transferred to NOVRAM and rewritten by a transfer command determined by a combination of switch operations, thereby changing the specification settings of the printing device. Therefore, when you want to change the printing control specifications, you can select and set the desired conditions using the menu selection method by operating the operation switch of the printing device, and you can set the cut-off period without referring to specifications or manuals. It becomes easy to do.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be practiced with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist thereof, for example, settable items and selection items. is not limited to the content shown in FIG. 2, and further content may be added as necessary as shown in FIG. 6.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily set various paper sizes, various feed lengths, various character pitches, printing quality, etc. formats in accordance with the purpose using the printing device itself. It is possible to provide a printing device with a

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the CPU control procedure in the initial setting change mode of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 shows items that can be changed in initial settings and their selections. A diagram showing an example, Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operating procedure for changing the initial settings, Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of printing when changing the initial settings and the operation contents at that time, Figure 6 is a diagram showing the procedure for changing the initial settings. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of possible items and additional contents of selection items. 1...CPU, 2...ROM (read-only Φ memory), 3...RAM (random access/
memory), 4...NOVRAM (nonvolatile electrically rewritable random access storage element), 5
...Operation panel, 6...Drive circuit. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 TF, Figure 4 EO contents No. 5t; 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a printing device capable of changing print control conditions, the control means performs printing control based on initial setting print control conditions such as paper width, page length, paper feed amount, etc. of the paper to be used.
The above printing control conditions are stored in a non-volatile and electrically rewritable memory element, and the control means is used to enter the printing control condition change mode by operating a combination of operation switches that are standard equipment of the printing device. The contents of the printing control conditions are prepared in advance with necessary items and various conditions that can be set for those items, and in the printing control condition change mode, these prepared items and various settings that can be set for those items are selected by selecting the operation switch described above. A printing device characterized by having an added function of sequentially switching and selecting conditions for each operation and printing, and updating and storing the selected item-specific conditions in the storage element as the print control conditions.