JPS63307496A - Character output device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application in Industry 1] The present invention relates to a character output device, and more particularly, to a character output device capable of outputting an undefined character pattern. [Prior Art] Conventional character output processes character codes and control codes input from an external device, outputs font patterns corresponding to the character codes, and registers font patterns based on commands from the external device. When registering a character set, the device processes character patterns of character codes that have not been registered as blank and outputs them. [Problem to be solved by the invention J However, in the above-mentioned conventional character output device,
When a character pattern is output using a character code that cannot be registered in a character set, it is output as a blank pattern, and it becomes unclear that the character pattern is undefined. Furthermore, it is inconvenient to check the occurrence of data including character codes, and it is inconvenient to check whether the character set has been correctly registered. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems and provide a character output device that can output undefined patterns corresponding to unregistered characters when registering a character set. . [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such an object, the character output device of the present invention, when registering a character set, creates character patterns that correspond to codes of each character as well as codes that are not registered. a storage means for storing an undefined pattern to be generated; a generating means for generating a character pattern and an undefined character pattern; and a generating means for processing character data and control data input from an external device, and controlling the pattern generating means and the storage means. The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for outputting a character pattern and an undefined pattern under the control of the control means. [Function] According to the present invention, when registering a character set, the code conversion table is initialized according to the parameter value of the character set registration command, and an undefined pattern is generated, thereby generating a character pattern corresponding to an undefined character. can be easily output. Furthermore, there is no need to check the occurrence of character code data or check when registering a character set. [Embodiment J] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a character output device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit of a character output device that receives document information from various host computers 15 (described later), converts it into a dot image, and outputs it to the printer unit 14. Reference numeral 2 denotes a cPU that controls the control unit 1, and is composed of, for example, a microprocessor. 3 is a program memory that stores a control program for the CPII 2, various tables for printing, etc., and 4 is a page buffer that stores document information from the host computer 15. Reference numeral 5 denotes a pattern generation control circuit that generates font patterns such as character symbols based on code information stored in the page buffer 14 and stores them in a frame memory 6 to be described later, and includes a microprocessor (MPU) for control; It is equipped with a ROM containing MPU control programs and data, and a work area RAM. A frame memory 6 stores a dot image corresponding to one page of output paper from the printer section 14, and a font memory 6 stores a font pattern of each character corresponding to the character code. Reference numeral 8 denotes a code conversion table that makes 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 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 ink face circuit such as R5-232C. Reference numeral 11 denotes a printer interface circuit 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 section 14. . Reference numeral 12 denotes an external storage unit, for example a floppy disk device, which stores font patterns. Reference numeral 13 denotes a floppy disk (FD) for transmitting and receiving data between the control unit 1 and the floppy disk device 12.
) is an interface circuit. Reference numeral 14 denotes a printer section that performs printing, such as a laser beam printer. 15
is the host computer that is the source of print data. In this configuration, print data and control commands from the host computer 15 are taken into the Crtl 2 via the interface circuit 10, and are sequentially stored in the page buffer 4. After storing one page of print data in the beige buffer 4, the CPU 2 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 puffer 4, thereby generating the pattern. The 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 reads the font pattern from the frame memory 6.
The pattern will develop. 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 CPII 2 that the development of the font pattern for one page has been completed. When the CPII 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 not only instructs the printer section 14 to feed paper, but also, for example, when the printer section 14 is a laser beam printer, sequentially converts each dot data in the frame memory 6 into a serial signal for turning on/off the laser. and output it. Note that when the power is turned on, the CPt 12 loads the font pattern necessary for printing from the floppy disk device 12 via the FD interface circuit 13, and stores it in the font memory 7.
Store in. The IIIGPU 2 stores the address of the font memory 7 that stores the font pattern in a memory area that corresponds to a character code that is an external code of the code converter table 8. FIG. 2 shows an example of an undefined pattern when no font pattern exists in the floppy disk device. In the figure, the pattern width (cell width) is lO, and the pattern height (cell height) is 1B. In this case, the dots of each cell width and cell height counted from the four corners of the font pattern were made black. Here, when the number below the decimal point is included, as in (cell width "10") Store in the address. When entering the control command for registering a character set, use the !
Initialize the code conversion table according to the parameter value of the ll1m instruction.0 For example, if it is undefined what kind of character pattern to output and you specify the parameter value to output telunk, the code conversion table 8. The address of each font pattern is set to 0 to indicate a blank. Further, when the character pattern is undefined and a parameter value for outputting the undefined pattern is specified, the pattern address of the undefined pattern is stored in the address of each font pattern in the code conversion table 8. x゛20° (1-byte character set), X when the character pattern is undefined. 2121' (double-byte character set), where only a special code is blank (where °° represents a hexadecimal number), and other codes specify parameter values that output undefined patterns, use the conversion pattern table. 8 special code (X'20', X' 2121°)
The pattern address corresponding to the font pattern is set to 0, and the pattern addresses of the other undefined patterns of each font pattern are stored. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the data format on the page buffer 4. Address 2 of code conversion table 8 indicating character type
0. It consists of x, y coordinate values 21 representing the position on the paper of the first character pattern of the code string in the record, the number of bytes 22 of the code string in the record, the character code string 23, and the next record pointer 24. It forms the roux code. Note that when the pointer 24 to the next record is 0, it indicates the end of one page. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the code conversion table 8. The first 128 bytes of the code conversion table 8 store information such as a flag indicating whether the code is 1 byte or 2 bytes, the end code of the start of the font pattern width and height code system, and undefined pattern addresses. There is an information section 3o. After the information section 3, addresses of each font pattern are stored in one-to-one correspondence with each character code depending on the code system used. In addition, Figure 4 shows the case of JIS-6226 kanji code, and the first address of 31 is JIS code X'
The address 32 is determined based on 2121°,
This area 31 stores the address of the font pattern in the font memory 7. In the same figure, code X'7E7D',X' 7E7
The font pattern for E' is set to an undefined pattern. The address 32 of the pattern corresponding to J3, X' 2121° may be 0 or may be an address of an undefined pattern. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of font pattern development processing by the MPU of the pattern generation control circuit 5.
This program starts when an instruction to develop the code data in the page buffer 4 into a font pattern is given from step 2. First, in step S1, the read address of the page buffer 4 is designated and read, and in step S2, the page buffer 4 is read.
Based on the data, the address 20 of the code conversion table 8 is read, and in step S3, the position (X, y) coordinates 21 of the character pattern on the paper is read, and the storage address in the frame memory 6 is determined. In step S4, the number of code string bytes is 2.
2 is read, and the number of characters is stored in the RAM Kakunta MJCNT by identifying whether it is 1 byte or 2 bytes. In step S5, the code string 23 is read, and the conversion table address 20 and the pattern address of the conversion table 8 obtained from the code are read. If the pattern address is not O in step S6, that is, if it is not blank, the process proceeds to step S7, where the font pattern is read out and stored in sequence at the address of the frame memory 6 determined in step S3. In step S8, the character counter MJCNT is set to MJCNT.
-1, and in step S9 it is checked whether the pattern development of all the characters in the code string 23 has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the process returns to step S5 and the above-mentioned operation is repeated. When the processing of
Proceeding to step SIO, it is checked whether the pointer 24 indicates Ol, that is, one page has ended. When one page ends, the process ends, but when one page does not end, the process advances to step 311, and the next record is read based on the address of the pointer 24. If the pattern address is 0 in step S6, that is, if it is blank, a blank pattern is stored in the frame memory 6 in step S512. In this embodiment, the case of character output using a video signal has been described, but the frame memory is not limited to characters, and may be a video memory for screen output such as a display device. The present invention can also be applied to a printer that sequentially outputs characters, such as a wire dot printer, without generating and outputting one page's worth of dot images on a frame memory. Furthermore, although the code system used in this example was explained as a 2-byte JIS Kanji code system, ASCII,
JIS7. JIS8. EBCDIC, and EB,C
The present invention is also applicable to 1-byte code systems such as DIK and other 2-byte Kanji code systems. [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when registering a character set, the code conversion table is initialized according to the parameter value of the character set registration command, and an undefined pattern is generated. The character pattern corresponding to the character can be easily output. A further advantage is that there is no need to check the occurrence of character code data or check when registering a character set.

[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 an example of an undefined pattern, Figure 3 is a diagram showing the page buffer data format, and Figure 4 is a code conversion diagram. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a table, and is a flowchart of pattern development processing by the pattern generation control circuit. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Control part, 2... CPU 1 3... Program memory, 4... Page buffer, 5... Pattern generation control circuit, 6... Frame memory, 7... Font memory, 8--Code conversion table, 9--Shared memory, 1O--Interface circuit, 11--Printer interface circuit, 12--Floppy disk device, 13-FD interface circuit, 14--Printer Part 15...Host computer. Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Storage means for storing an undefined pattern corresponding to an unregistered code together with a character pattern corresponding to a code of each character when registering a character set, and the character pattern and the undefined character pattern. generating means for generating a character pattern; a control means for processing character data and control data input from an external device and controlling the pattern generation means and the storage means; and a character pattern and an undefined pattern according to the control of the control means. A character output device comprising: an output means for outputting.