JPS6287358A - Typewriter capable of printing and displaying combined character - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a typewriter wherein the format of a document can be known on a display without difficulty, by a method wherein the pattern data of a combined character of high frequency of use is supplied from a character generator to the display, and a combined character of low frequency of use is displayed in a reverse form. CONSTITUTION:To conduct printing as shown in Fig.1 (4) by a typewriter having a word processor function, a code data which is inputted as shown in Fig.1 (1) is stored in a document memory 120 as it is, but as shown in Fig.1 (2), all dead characters wherein a printing head is not fed after printing are displayed in a reverse form on an LCD60. When a preview of a print mode is selected, as shown in Fig.1 (3), a combined character capable of being supplied a pattern data by a character generator 130 is displayed as a single character. When the character generator 130 cannot generate a pattern data of the combined character, only a normal character which was inputted after input of the dead character is displayed in a reverse form.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a typewriter that prints by type, and in particular a typewriter that prints at the same printing point with two types, thereby combining two characters. This invention relates to a typewriter that can print composite characters.

Typewriters that print using conventional technology type have the advantage of superior print quality compared to typewriters that print using a dot matrix, but the number of characters that a type carrier such as a type wheel can support is limited. Because there are restrictions on
The disadvantage is that the number of characters that can be printed is likely to be limited.

Therefore, in order to print as many characters as possible with as few characters as possible, it has been conventional practice to combine a plurality of characters to print one composite character. A plurality of typefaces are printed at the same printing point, and the characters from these typefaces are combined to form one composite character. For example, in German, characters such as 'a, M, u, and δ are used, and these can be printed by combining an umlaut symbol with an alphabet symbol, and each character can be printed in print. This means that the number of characters required is less than if you prepare the original. In such cases, it is common that no feed is applied to the print head after printing the umlaut symbol, so in this specification these are referred to as dead characters to distinguish them from normal characters. That's it. However, dead characters are not limited to those forming part of characters as described above, but may also be ones forming part of symbols.

Further, the typewriter is provided with a document storage means capable of storing a certain amount of document creation data, and the document creation data inputted from the keyboard is temporarily stored in the document storage means, and this data is read out at a desired time and sent to the printing mechanism. Typewriters of this type are usually provided with a display device for displaying the document creation data stored in the document storage means.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention If a typewriter equipped with a document storage means and a display device is provided with a character generator capable of supplying pattern data of compound characters, it is possible to display the compound characters themselves on the display device. However, in this case, the character generator inevitably becomes expensive. In particular, when printing various symbols as composite characters, the number of composite characters increases significantly, so it is not realistic to provide a character generator that can generate pattern data for all of these composite characters. .

Furthermore, if the characters that are to be combined with each other are displayed separately on the display device, the cost of the character generator can be avoided.
Since the display position of each character on the display device does not match the printed position of each character on the actual document, it becomes difficult to accurately know the appearance of the actually printed document from the display on the display device.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a typewriter according to the present invention includes: (a) a number of regular character keys for commanding printing with a single character pinch feed; a keyboard equipped with at least one dead character key for commanding non-printing; (d) a document storage means for storing created data; a printing mechanism having a print head for printing normal characters and dead characters using printed characters corresponding to each k of the FC1 normal character key and dead character key; and (d) document storage means. When normal character data is read out, the print head is made to print and then a one-character pinch feed is applied, while when dead character data is read out, the print head is A printing control means for printing a compound character that is a combination of a dead character and a normal character by printing but feeding at the same printing point; and a display device for displaying te1 document creation data. , (f) Read document creation data sequentially from the document storage means and display it on the display device, and if the read data is dead character data, the dead character of the dead character data and the normal character to be combined with it. and display control means for displaying at least one of the characters in an inverted form in which the character part and the ground part are opposite to those of the normal character.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the display control means includes:
When dead character data is read from the document storage means, normal character data following the dead character data is displayed on the display device in an inverted form;
Dead character data shall not be displayed.

In another embodiment, the display device includes a character generator capable of supplying at least one pattern data of a composite character, and a display device that displays a character based on the pattern data supplied from the character generator. and when the display control means reads out a dead character, the character generator determines whether or not it is possible to supply pattern data of a composite character consisting of the dead character and the following normal character. If it is possible to supply the pattern data of the composite character, the character generator is made to supply the pattern data of the composite character.

Functions and Effects As described above, when dead character data is included in the document creation data, and at least one of the dead character data and the following normal character data is displayed in reversed form, The operator can very easily know the presence of dead characters on the display device. Therefore, both the dead character and the normal character following it are displayed on the display device, and even if the position of the character is different from the actually printed document, the position and number of dead characters can be confirmed on the screen, The appearance of a printed document can be easily predicted based on the document creation data.

Also, if the dead character is not displayed and only the normal character to be combined with the dead character is displayed in reversed form, the position of the character on the display device matches the position of the character on the actual document. Therefore, there is no need to modify the position of the character on the display device due to the presence of dead characters to predict the appearance of the actual document, and it is as easy as having a character generator that can supply pattern data for compound characters. You can see the format of the document.

Furthermore, for frequently used composite characters, the pattern data thereof can be supplied from a character generator to the display device, and if the inverted form display of the present invention is adopted for less frequently used composite characters, the cost will increase. It is possible to obtain a typewriter in which the appearance of a document can be easily seen on the display device while keeping the amount of noise low.

There are also two modes in which both a dead character and the following normal character are displayed in reversed form, one or both of them are displayed in reversed form, and the other is a mode in which the dead character is not displayed and only the normal character that is combined with the dead character is displayed in reversed form. If the typewriter is provided with both a display mode and one of the modes can be selected depending on the purpose of display, the usability of the typewriter will be further improved.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a typewriter equipped with a word processor function, which is equipped with a keyboard 10 at the front, and a display device 12 and a printing mechanism 14 at the rear.

The keyboard 10 is provided with a large number of character keys 20 for inputting alpha vents, numbers and various symbols, as well as a space bar 22, a return key 24.
Shift key 26. Code key 28, cursor key 30.
Function keys such as bank space key 32, keyboard changeover switch 50, line space changeover switch 52
A large number of operating members such as a character pinch changeover switch 54 and the like are provided.

The display device 12 includes a liquid crystal display 60 (
(hereinafter abbreviated as L CD 60). This LCD 60 is connected to an LCD control device 62 as shown in FIG. 3, and this LCD control device 62 controls the CPU 64.
．． It is controlled by a computer 72 consisting of a RAM 66, a ROM 68, and a bus 70 to perform various displays. That is, by displaying various menus and selecting one of the menus by operating the keyboard 10, the typewriter is set to various modes.
It displays part of the document creation data input from 0 and stored in the RAM 66, as well as messages sent from the typewriter to the operator.

The printing mechanism 14 includes a type wheel drive motor 80 shown in FIG.
．． Hammer drive solenoid 82. Carriage drive motor 8
4. Platen drive motor 86 and ribbon feed motor 8
7 and the like as drive sources, and these drive sources respectively drive type wheel control devices 88 . C. Tsuma control device 90. The carriage control device 929 performs printing operations under the control of the paper feed control device 94 and the ribbon feed control device 96. The output shaft of the type wheel drive motor 80 includes
A type wheel 100, shown in FIG. 2, is attached. The type wheel 100 has 96 radially extending arms, each carrying a type at the tip of the arm, one of which is connected to the type wheel drive motor 8.
The printing line scheduled on the platen 102 is brought to face directly by the zero rotation. A hammer 104 is provided behind the type positioned at the printing position directly facing the printing line (on the front side of the typewriter), and when the hammer 104 is driven by the hammer drive solenoid 82, the type is moved. Paper 1 supported by platen 102
06 via the ribbon 108, and one character is printed. Print wheel drive motor 80. A print head 110 consisting of a print wheel 100° hammer 104, etc. is attached to a carriage (not shown) that is movable along the platen 102, and when this carriage is driven by the carriage drive motor 84, printing is performed. The head 110 is moved in the left-right direction with respect to the paper 106. Further, the platen 102 is rotated by the platen drive motor 86, so that the paper 106 is fed in the vertical direction, and the printing point on the paper 106 is changed by the feeding of the paper 106 and the feeding of the print head 110. .

The RAM 66 is provided with a document memory 120, and character data, function data, etc. input from the keyboard 10 are sequentially stored in this document memory 120.

Note that the document memory 120 also stores document creation data supplied from an external device via the interface 121.

The RAM 66 is further provided with a line buffer 122. The line buffer 122 is for 256 characters,
It has a capacity of 768 bytes, and data for one character is stored in three areas as shown in FIG. In other words, one character generator code is at address L+100H (L is the count content of the location counter, and 100H is 16 of 256).
When the data is stored in the decimal format), the associated data is stored in addresses L and L+200H, and the contents of the data at each address are shown in Figures 5 to 7. As shown below.

Inverted data, which is attribute data closely related to the present invention, is stored in the third bit of address L shown in FIG. If this inverted data is 1, the character is displayed on the display device 12 in an inverted form with the character part and the ground part reversed, and if the inverted data is 0, the character is displayed in its normal form. Ru.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the LCD control device 62 in FIG. generator 1
It is equipped with 30.

This character generator 130 is capable of supplying pattern data for ordinary characters such as numbers and alphabet symbols, as well as pattern data for composite characters shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. For example, in Fig. 8, the characters displayed in the shaded area are dead characters, and a composite character that is a combination of these dead characters and the normal character of Alpha Bent is shown in a thick frame. . Since these compound characters are frequently used, these pattern data are stored in the character generator 130.
It is said that it can be supplied from

Also in FIG. 9, characters displayed in the shaded area are dead characters, and characters displayed in the area surrounded by a thick frame are composite characters. In particular, for those whose upper digit is 6H, each dead character in the shaded area can be combined with the normal character listed below it to form a composite character displayed below it. Since there are many characters, pattern data for these composite characters can be supplied from the character generator 130.

Note that the character generator code in FIG. 8 and the character generator code in FIG. 9 are the same, but the L of the line buffer 122 shown in FIG.
It is possible to determine which character generator code the address is based on the attribute data of the sixth bit of the address. That is, when the data of character generator 2 of the 6th bit is O, character generator code 1 in FIG. 8 is specified, and when it is 1, character generator code 2 in FIG. 9 is specified. It has become.

In this typewriter, the composite characters that can be formed by the dead characters described above are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, but are, for example, described in the character generator code BOH in FIG. In this typewriter, the umlaut character is combined with not only vowels but also consonants to form a special composite character, which is planned to be used as a type of symbol. In addition, each dead character whose upper digit is 6H in the character generator code shown in FIG. 9 can be combined not only with the normal characters listed below them, but also with other characters. It is also planned to use these as a type of symbol. However, since such composite characters are usually not used very often, the character generator 130 is not designed to be able to supply pattern data for such characters.

Therefore, these less frequently used composite characters are displayed in reversed form in this embodiment.

The ROM 68 in FIG. 3 stores control programs represented by flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 to 13. However, the flowcharts shown in these figures show only the parts deeply related to the present invention out of the control program for the entire typewriter. The operation of this typewriter will be explained below based on these flowcharts.

As shown in FIG. 10, step 31 is performed upon power-on.
(Hereinafter, simply referred to as Sl. The same applies to other steps.) Initial settings are performed in S2, and L
The main menu is displayed on the CD60. This main menu includes various modes including a document creation mode using the document memory 120 and a typewriter mode in which printing is performed simultaneously with manual keystrokes. key 3
0, a desired menu can be selected. If the operator selects a menu other than document creation mode, the determination result in S3 will be YES and the process corresponding to that menu will be performed, but if the operator selects document creation mode, the determination result in S4 will be YES. is YES
Then, in S5, a document creation menu is displayed on the LCD 60.

The document creation menu includes various modes such as new input mode and print mode, and when the new input mode is selected by the operator, the determination result in S6 is YES.
Then, the new input process of S7 is performed. Further, if the print mode is selected, the determination result in S8 becomes YES, and a print menu is displayed in S9. In addition to printing, this print menu includes a preview menu for checking the appearance of the document on the LCD 60 screen before printing, and if preview is selected, the SIO judgment result is YES. Then, in 311, preview processing is performed. In addition, if printing execution is selected, the determination result in S12 is YES, and 31
3, printing processing is performed. The new input process in S7, the preview process in S11, and the print process in 313 will be described in detail below.

The new input process is shown in FIG.

- If any key on the keyboard 10 is operated, the determination result in step 320 becomes YES, step 321 is executed, and the code data entered manually is stored in the document memory 120. Thereafter, at 322, a determination is made whether the input data is dead character data.

If the input data is not bank space data,
At 323, the input data is registered in the line buffer 122 and displayed on the LCD 60. Also, if the input data is dead character data,
In 324, the inverted data of the attribute data corresponding to the dead character data is set to 1,
The dead character is displayed in reverse video on the LCD 60.

For example, when the document memory 120 stores data as shown in FIG.
) is displayed. Note that in FIG. 1, the rectangle indicates a display in an inverted form.

Next, in S25, it is determined whether the input data is end data indicating the end of data input, and if not, the program execution returns to S20, and if so, the new input process S7 ends, The main menu is displayed on the LCD 60 again.

In this way, since all dead characters to be combined with normal characters are displayed in reverse video on the LCD 60, the operator can easily recognize the existence of dead characters for which no feed is given to the print head 110 after printing. can. The above description has been made regarding the case where new document creation data is input, but a similar display is also performed in a mode in which document creation data that has already been input is corrected.

The Sll preview processing is shown in FIG. 12. First, in S30, 1 from the document memory 120
Then, in S31, it is determined whether the read data is dead character data.

If the character data is not dead character data, the attribute data associated with it is checked, set to a predetermined value, and then registered in the line buffer 122. After that, in S33, it is determined whether reading of one line of code data has been completed, and if not, 334
At 330, the address of document memory 120 is incremented by one character, and program execution returns to 330.

If the determination result in S31 is YES, that is, the input data is dead character data, the next character (ch
It is expressed as r2. In relation to this chr2, dead character data is chrl) is read out, and in S36 it is determined whether chr2 is a compoundable character or not, that is, the character generator 130 determines the pattern of a compound character of chrl and chr2. It is determined whether the data can be supplied, and if not, the character generator code of chr2 is registered in the line buffer 122 in S37, and the inverted data in the attribute data corresponding to it is changed from 0 to 1. Ru. Also, chrl and chr2
If is a character that can be compounded, the character generator code of the compound character is registered at the chrl position on the line buffer 122 in S38, and the attribute data associated with it is set, and the document The address of memory 120 is incremented by one character.

Hereinafter, as in the above case, 333. After passing through S34, S30 is executed again, and by repeating this, 1
If the data for the print line is registered in the line buffer 122, the determination result in step 333 becomes YES, and in step 340, path end processing is performed to read the document creation data of the next line, and the LCD 60 displays the image shown in FIG. The document creation data is displayed as shown in 3).

However, while the line buffer 122 can store data for 256 characters, the LCD 60 can only display 80 characters, so if one print line is 80 or more characters, move the cursor to the right. Alternatively, it is necessary to start scrolling by operating the cursor key 30 to move the cursor to the left. This scrolling can be stopped by operating the spacer 22. Further, scrolling in the vertical direction can be started by operating the cursor key 30 to move the cursor up or down, and the space bar 22
You can stop the scrolling by operating . The preview processing 311 also includes processing related to scrolling, but this point is well known and is not particularly necessary for understanding the present invention, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

The printing process in S13 includes the line buffer editing process shown in FIG. 13 and actual printing based on the edited line buffer data.

Since printing is well known, a detailed explanation will be omitted, and only line buffer editing will be explained. First, in S50, code data is read from the document memory 120. Then, in S51, it is determined whether the read code data is character data or not, and if not, it is functional data, so that processing is performed.

If the data is character data, it is determined in S52 whether or not it is dead character data; otherwise, in 353, the character generator code of the normal character is registered in the line buffer 122, and the corresponding character pitch (7th (see figure) is set to a specified value by the character pitch changeover switch 54.

On the other hand, if the determination result of 352 is YES, that is, the read data is dead character data,
In S54, the dead character data is registered in the line buffer 122, and its character pitch is set to zero.

As a result, no feed is applied to the print head 110 after printing a dead character, and the following normal character is printed at the same printing point as the dead character, and the first
It will be printed as shown in Figure (4). After executing S53 or S54, the address of the document memory is incremented by one character in 355, and the program execution returns to S50.

As mentioned above, in order to print as shown in FIG. 1(4), the code data inputted as shown in FIG. 1(1) is stored as is in the document memory 120. On the other hand, in the new input mode, the display on the LCD 60 shows all dead characters that are not fed after printing in inverted form, as shown in Figure 1 (2), and the print mode preview is selected. In this case, the first
As shown in Figure (3), a composite character for which the character generator 130 can supply pattern data is displayed as a single character in a composite state, and the character generator 130 cannot generate pattern data for the composite character. Of the dead characters and normal characters to be combined with each other, only the normal character input later is displayed in an inverted form.

As is clear from the above explanation, in this example,
The document memory 120 constitutes a document storage means for storing document creation data, and the area of the ROM 68 in which a program for executing part of 313 is stored and the CPU 64 are connected to a type wheel control device 88, a hammer control device 90, etc. The type wheel drive motor 80 . of the printing mechanism 14 is connected to the type wheel drive motor 80 . It constitutes printing control means that controls the hammer drive solenoid 82 and the like. Also, a program for executing S22 and S24 of ROM68, or 330 to 34.0
An area where programs for executing are stored,
The CPU 64 constitutes display control means.

In addition, in this embodiment, in the new input mode, only the dead character input earlier and the normal character to be combined with each other are highlighted, and the normal character input later is displayed in the normal form. However, the characters to be combined with each other may also be displayed in reversed form. Also, when the print mode preview is selected, for a compound character for which the character generator 130 cannot supply pattern data,
It is also possible to display only dead characters in reverse video.

In addition, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between document creation data in a document memory in a typewriter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the display by a display device and the form of printing by a printing mechanism. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of a typewriter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of its control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing the structure of the line buffer of the typewriter, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are explanatory diagrams showing the contents of data stored in the line buffer. FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating composite characters for which the character generator of FIG. 3 may provide pattern data. FIGS. 10 to 13 are flowcharts showing only portions of the control program stored in the ROM shown in FIG. 3 that are closely related to the present invention. 101 Keyboard 12: Display device 14: Printing mechanism 20: Character key 22 Spacer 24 = Return key 3
0: Cursor key 60: Liquid crystal display 100: Type wheel 104: Hammer (print head) 120: Document memory (document storage means) Figure 3 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 11

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A keyboard comprising a large number of normal character keys for commanding printing with one-character pitch feed and at least one dead character key for commanding printing without feeding; document storage means for storing document creation data including normal character data input by operation and dead character data input by operation of the dead character key; a printing mechanism including a print head for printing normal characters and dead characters; and a printing mechanism that sequentially reads document creation data stored in the document storage means, and causes the print head to print when normal character data is read. While giving the next character pitch, if dead character data is read, the print head prints but no feed is given, and the next read normal character data is printed at the same printing point. , a printing control means for printing a composite character that is a combination of a dead character and a normal character, a display device for displaying the document creation data, and a display device for sequentially reading out the document creation data from the document storage means and displaying the document creation data on the display device. At the same time, if the read data is dead character data, at least one of the dead character of the dead character data and the normal character to be combined with it is displayed so that the character part and the ground part are normal characters. A typewriter capable of printing and displaying composite characters, including display control means for displaying the characters in an inverted form. (2) When the display control means reads the dead character data from the document storage means, the normal character data following the dead character data is displayed on the display device in an inverted form, and the dead character data is not displayed. A typewriter according to claim 1, which is a typewriter. (3) The display device includes a character generator capable of supplying at least one pattern data of the composite character, and a display device that displays the character based on the pattern data supplied from the character generator. , and when the display control means reads out the dead character, determines whether or not the character generator can supply pattern data of a composite character of the dead character and the following normal character; 3. The typewriter according to claim 1, wherein if the character generator is a character generator, the pattern data of the composite character is supplied to the character generator.