JPS63270182A - Character information output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for preparing test print data by a user, by generating a test print pattern when a character set is registered. CONSTITUTION:Printing data and a control command from a host computer 15 are taken into a CPU 2 through a circuit 10 and successively stored in a buffer 4. After storing printing data for one page in the buffer 4, the CPU 2 directs a control circuit 5 to develop a character code to a font pattern and assigns a printing data start address in the buffer 4. The control circuit 5 successively reads the character codes from the printing start address in the buffer 4 and reads font patterns corresponding to the codes from a memory 7, thereafter conducting a pattern development to a memory 6 in order. After the development of printing data for one page is completed, the control circuit 5 informs the development end to the CPU 2. Then, the CPU 2 directs a circuit 11 to turn the data in the memory 6 to video signals. The circuit 11 directs a printer part 14 to feed a paper and successively converts each of the dot data in the memory 6 to a laser ON/OFF serial signal to be outputted.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a character information output device, for example, which manually inputs characters and control codes, develops a font pattern corresponding to the input character code, and outputs it. The present invention relates to a character information output device in which font patterns can be registered.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of device, as shown in FIG. In order to align the form created using software with the output character information, test print data was sent from an external device such as a host computer and the alignment was checked by outputting it.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional example described above has a drawback in that test print data must be created one by one using an external device for each form.

An object of the present invention is to provide a character information output device that solves the above problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a storage means for a test print pattern, and a means for storing the test print pattern in the storage means when registering a font pattern of a character set.

[Function] According to the present invention, a test print pattern is stored in a predetermined storage area when registering a font pattern of a character set. As a result, when a test print instruction is given, output can be performed using a font pattern for test print in that character set, and therefore data can be created for test print on an external device and font pattern for test print To eliminate the need for registration and facilitate test printing on an output device.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a character output device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a host computer 1 as a source of print data;
This is a control unit of a character output device that receives document information from 5, converts it into a dot image, and outputs it to a printer unit 14 consisting of a laser beam printer or the like.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a CPU that controls the control section 1, and is composed of, for example, a microprocessor. 3 is CPLI2
4 is a host computer 1, which stores control programs and various tables for printing, etc.;
This is a page buffer that stores document information from 5.

5 is a pattern generation control circuit that generates font patterns such as character symbols based on the code information stored in the page buffer 4 and stores them in the frame memory 6;
For example, the control microprocessor MPLI or MPtl is provided with a ROM containing a control program, data, etc. as shown in FIG. 5, and a RAM as a work area. The frame memory 6 stores a dot image corresponding to one page of output paper from the printer section 14. Reference numeral 7 denotes a font memory containing font patterns corresponding to each character code.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a code conversion table for making correspondence between character codes and storage addresses of their font patterns, and is composed of a rewritable memory. Reference numeral 9 denotes a shared memory that can be accessed by both the CPU 2 and the pattern generation control circuit 5.

IO is an interface circuit for connection with the host computer 15, and is, for example, an interface circuit such as R5-232C. Reference numeral 11 denotes a printer interface that converts the dot image in the frame memory 6 into, for example, a serial electric signal (for example, a laser on/off signal in a laser beam printer) and outputs print data to the printer unit 14. It is a circuit. Reference numeral 12 denotes, for example, a floppy disk device as an external storage means, which stores font patterns. Reference numeral 13 denotes a floppy disk (FD) interface circuit for transmitting and receiving data between the control section 1 and the floppy disk device 12. 1
Reference numeral 9 denotes a panel section through which the operator issues test print instructions.

In this configuration, print data and control commands from the host computer 15 are taken into the CPt 12 via the interface circuit 10 and sequentially stored in the page buffer 4. When the CPII 2 stores one page's worth of print data in the page buffer 4, it instructs the pattern generation control circuit 5 to develop the character code into a font pattern and specifies the start address of the print data in the page buffer 4. As a result, the pattern generation control circuit 5 sequentially reads character codes from the print start address of the page buffer 4, reads the font pattern corresponding to the code from the font memory 7, and sequentially develops the pattern in the frame memory 6.

When the print data for one page has been developed as a font pattern in the frame memory 6, the pattern generation control circuit 5 notifies the CPt 12 that the development of the font pattern for one page is completed. When the CPU 2 receives the completion of the font pattern development, it instructs the printer interface circuit 11 to convert the data in the frame memory 6 into a video signal. The printer interface circuit 11 instructs the printer section 14 to feed paper, and also, for example, when the printer section 14 is a laser beam printer, the frame memory 6
Each dot data is sequentially converted into a laser on/off serial signal and output.

Note that when the CPII 2 is powered on, it loads the font pattern necessary for printing from the disk device 12 via the FD interface circuit and stores it in the font memory leaf. At this time, the CPt 12 stores the address in the font memory 7 where the font pattern is stored in the metric area that corresponds one-to-one with the character code that is the external code of the code conversion table 8.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of the code conversion table 8 and a part of the font memory 7 corresponding thereto.

The 128 bytes from the beginning of the code conversion table 8 include flags indicating whether the code is 1 byte or 2 bytes, the width and height of the font pattern, the start and end codes of the code system,
There is an information section 30 in which information such as addresses of test print patterns is stored. In the address area 31 after the information section 30, addresses of each font pattern corresponding to each character code on a one-to-one basis are stored according to the code system used. Note that here, X' indicates an IB base number, and the same applies hereinafter.

Note that Figure 3 shows the case of JSI-6226 kanji code, and the first address of address area 31 is JSI-6226 kanji code.
This is the address 32 determined based on the S code X'2121', and this area 31 stores the address of the font pattern in the font memory 7.

In addition, when the power is turned on, CpH2 generates a test print pattern as shown in FIG. 4 by combining the patterns stored at predetermined addresses (31a, 31b) of the font memory leaf as shown in FIG. It is stored in the font memory 7 and the pattern address (3
1C) is stored.

Also, when a control command for character set registration is input, the CPt 12 generates a test print pattern in the same manner as described above, stores it in the font memory 7, and writes the pattern address of the test print pattern in the information section on the code conversion table 8. Store. Furthermore, when a control command for changing the test print pattern is input, the CPt 12 changes the test print pattern for each character set to a pattern according to the change control command.

Incidentally, when test printing is instructed by the panel section 16 and the test printing is valid, the CPU 2 sets the test printing flag on the shared memory 9 so that the pattern generation control circuit 5 can output the test printing. .

FIG. 2 shows the data format on the page buffer 4.

Code data indicating the character type [- address 20 of treble 8 and x, y coordinate values representing the position on the paper of the first character pattern of the code string in the record 1 嘗, -I
L rh /%-I V r+I-I-no L
-Riri Tuna It consists of a string 23 and a pointer 24 to the next record, which forms a roux code. Note that when the pointer to the next record is 0, it indicates the end of one page.

FIG. 4 is an example of a pattern for test printing, in which the width of the pattern (called cell width) is 10 dots, the height of the pattern is called cell height) is 16 dots, and the dot in the center is black. Furthermore, it is a pattern in which dots corresponding to line segments connecting diagonals are colored black. An example of the output when applied to an actual form is shown in FIG. 6(b).

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the font pattern development process in the frame memory 6 by the MPII of the pattern generation control circuit 5. When an instruction to develop the code data in the page buffer 4 into a font pattern is input from the CPII 2, This program will start.

First, in step 51, a read address of the page buffer 4 is designated and read out. In step S2, page buffer 4
The address 20 of the code compatible team 8 is read based on the data in the frame memory 6, and in step S3, the position (x, y) coordinates 21 of the character pattern on the paper is read to determine the storage address in the frame memory 6. . Step S
4 reads the code string character number 22, (in circuit 5) R
It is stored in the AM counter MJCNT.

In step S5, the code string 23 is read, and the conversion table address 20 and the pattern address in the conversion table 8 determined by the code are read. In step S6, the test print flag on the shared memory 9 is turned OFF.
In other words, it is determined whether the print is a test print, and if it is not a test print, the process proceeds to step S7, where the font pattern is read from the font memory 7, and the sequentially read font pattern is stored in the address of the frame memory 6 obtained in step S3. I will do it.

In step S8, the character counter MJCNT is incremented by 1, and in step S9, it is checked whether the pattern expansion of all the characters in the code string 23 has been completed. If not, step S5 is again performed.
Return to , and repeat the above-described operation, at which time the (x, y) coordinates of the next character are calculated based on the width information of the font pattern. When the processing of the code string 23 of the code is completed in step S9, the process advances to step 510, and the pointer 24
Check to see if it is 0, that is, the end of one page. When one page ends, the process ends, but when one page does not end, the process advances to step Sll, and the next record is read based on the address of the pointer 24.

In the case of test printing in step S6, step S3
The font pattern at the address of the test print pattern in the information section 30 of the code conversion table 8 in the font memory 7 is stored at the address in the frame memory 6 determined in step.

In the present invention, the case of printing output using a video signal has been described, but the output is not limited to printing, and may be output on a screen such as a display device (in that case, the video memory is used instead of the frame memory). ).

In this embodiment, a dot image for one page is generated on the frame memory and outputted, but the present invention can also be applied to a printer that sequentially outputs characters, such as a wire dot printer.

In this embodiment, the code system used was explained as a 2-byte Kanji code system, but it is ASCII.

JIS7. JIS8. EBCDIC and EBCDIK
The present invention can also be applied to a 1-byte code system such as 1-byte code system.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, by generating a test print pattern at the time of registering a character set, it becomes unnecessary for the user to create test print data, and the test print pattern is generated. This has the effect of making it easier to handle test print output without the need to design.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a character output device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a diagram showing the page buffer data format, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a code conversion table, and Figure 4 is a test print. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a pattern expansion process by the pattern generation control circuit, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the mode (concept) of test print output. 1...control unit, 2...cpu. 3...Program memory, 4...Page buffer, 5...Pattern generation control circuit, 6...Frame memory, 7...Font memory, 8...Code conversion table, 9...Sharing Memory, 10--Interface circuit, 11--Printer interface circuit, 12--
Floppy disk (disk), 13...FD Zeinface circuit, 14...Printer section, 15...Host computer, 16...Panel section. Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 (Test 7° Rishito Sunny) ((L)
(Len Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim] A character information output device comprising: storage means for a test print pattern; and means for storing the test print pattern in the storage means when registering a font pattern of a character set.