JPS639988B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a dot printer device capable of performing pica/elite switching printing and optimum printing using one type of dot pulse and one type of block pulse. be.

Figure 1 shows a conventional dot printer control system capable of Pica/Elite switching printing, in which 1 is a printer control unit, 2 is a character buffer for one line, 3 is a microprocessor, and 4 is a character controller.・Generator, 5 is print drive circuit, 6 is needle print head, 7 is timing fence for pica, 8 is timing fence for elite, 9 and 1
0 indicates a photo sensor.

Data such as character codes and function codes sent from the host computer etc. are temporarily stored in the reception buffer in the printer control unit 1, and the microprocessor 3 determines whether the sent codes are character codes or not. is a function code. If it is a character code, it is stored in the character buffer 2, and if it is a function code, a predetermined control operation is performed. The character code in character buffer 2 is character generator 4.
is converted into a dot pattern by The dot pattern extracted from the character generator 4 is stored in an image buffer (not shown) within the print drive circuit 5. When the needle print head 6 travels over the printing paper, a dot pulse is generated from the photosensor 9 or 10, and the dot pattern in the image buffer is transferred to the needle print head 6 one row element at a time in synchronization with the dot pulse. Then, printing is executed.

By the way, there are two sizes of printed characters: pica and elite. The size of pica letters is within 1/10 inch, and the size of elite letters is within 1/12 inch. The conventional dot shown in Figure 1
In the printer control system, both pica characters and elite characters are composed of 9x7 dots.

FIG. 2 shows the dot pulses output from the photosensors 9 and 10, and the distance between the significant points of the pica dot pulses is 1/60 inch.
The distance between the significant points of the elite dot pulse is 1/72 inch. To explain the case of pica character printing, the column element of the first column of the dot pattern is applied to the needle printing head 6 at the rising edge of the #1 dot pulse, and the column element of the second column is applied at the falling edge of the #1 dot pulse. A row element is applied to the needle print head 6. Hereafter, do the #5 dots in the same way.
The column element of the ninth column is applied to the needle print head 6 at the rising edge of the pulse. No data is supplied to the needle print head at the falling edge of the #5 dot pulse, the rising edge of the #6 dot pulse, and the falling edge of the #6 dot pulse. At the rising edge of the #7 dot pulse, the first column element in the dot pattern of the next character is applied to the needle print head 6, and the same operation is then repeated. Elite characters are printed in the same way as pica characters.

The dot printer control system shown in FIG. 1 does not provide optimal printing. Optimal printing refers to the stop position of the needle print head before printing, the first print data position in the character buffer, and the last print data position in the character buffer, and prints without unnecessary movement of the needle print head. It means to do. When trying to apply optimal printing to the type of dot printer control system shown in Figure 1, it is necessary to use a timing fence for optimal printing for pica printing, a timing fence for optimal printing for elite printing, and a photo sensor that accompanies these. This makes the configuration significantly more complex.

The present invention is based on the above considerations, and includes:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dot printer control system that can perform pica/elite switching and optimal printing with a simple configuration. Therefore, the dot printer device of the present invention includes the needle print head 6, the print carrier 11 that supports the needle print head 6, the carrier motor 44 that drives the print carrier 11 to the left or right, and a dot printer for one line. Character buffer 48 that stores print information
, a character generator 45 for pica, a character generator 46 for elite, a print mode instruction means 50 for specifying pica printing or elite printing, and a dot pulse every time the print carrier 11 moves a unit distance. The dot/pulse generating means 17, 29, 31 and the printing carrier 11 are set to be a common multiple of the numbers m and n, when the width of the character frame of pica characters is m dots and the width of the character frame of elite characters is n dots. It is equipped with block pulse generation means 18, 30, 32 that generates one block pulse for stopping the carrier every time the dot moves an equal distance, and control devices 34, 35 that perform various printing controls. When printing, the devices 34 and 35 use a print carrier 1 expressed by a count value of block pulses.
1, the contents of the character buffer 48, and the contents of the print mode instruction means 50, and performs control for optimal printing that performs processing in the shortest time.In the case of pica printing, the character buffer 48 The character code stored in the Pica character
The generator 45 is used to convert the character dot pattern into a character dot pattern, and the character dot pattern for pica is sent one row at a time to the print head 6 in synchronization with the dot pulse, and in the case of elite printing, the character buffer 48 The character code stored in the elite character generator 46 is used to convert the character code stored in the character dot pattern into a character dot pattern, and the elite character dot pattern is sent one row at a time to the print head 6 in synchronization with the dot pulse. It is characterized by sending. Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

3 is a front view of an example of a printer mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of a timing fence according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a timing fence sensor, and FIG. 6 is a front view of an example of a timing fence according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram of one embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing of Pica/Elite shortest distance printing control.
The figure is a flowchart showing the Pica/Elite print switching control process.
The figure shows the relationship between timing output signals TH1 and TH2, and FIG. 11 shows the relationship between timing output signals and dot positions.

In Figures 3 to 5, 11 is a carrier, 12 is an ink ribbon cassette, 13 and 14
15 is the machine frame, 15 is the upper carrier support shaft, 16 is the lower carrier support shaft, 17 is the timing fence for dot/pulse, 18 is the timing fence for block/pulse, 19 is the belt, 20 and 21 are the pulleys, and 22 is the timing fence.・Sensors, 23 is a right end sensor, 24 is a left end sensor, 25 is a printing paper, 26 is an ink ribbon, 27 is a timing fence board, 28 is a sensor support frame, 29 and 30 are light emitting elements, 31 and 32 are light receiving elements, respectively. It shows.

The needle printing head 6 has seven printing pins (not shown) arranged vertically and seven excitation wire rings (not shown) provided corresponding to the seven printing pins. When the excitation coil is excited, the corresponding printing pin protrudes, and a dot is printed on the printing paper 25 by the ink ribbon 26. Carrier 11 supports needle print head 6 and ink ribbon cassette 12. carrier 11
is run left and right by a belt 19. When the carrier 11 travels to the right or left, the ink ribbon cassette 12 rotates the ink ribbon 26. When the carrier 11 reaches the left end, the left end sensor 24 outputs a logic "1" signal, and when the carrier 11 reaches the right end, the right end sensor 23 outputs a logic "1" signal. Also, when the carrier 11 moves to the right or left, the timing fence sensor 22
Outputs pulse and block pulses.

FIG. 4 shows a timing fence plate 27 on which a timing fence 17 for dot pulses and a timing fence 18 for block pulses are provided.
This shows that. Timing fence board 27
is made, for example, from a transparent plastic board. Timing fence 17 for dot pulse
is made by printing 1/120 inch wide black lines on the top half of a transparent plastic plate with 1/120 inch clear spacing; It is created by printing black lines every 1.5 inches on the bottom half of a clear plastic board. That is, in the timing fence 17 for dot pulses, the distance between the left end of a black line and the left end of the next black line is 1/60 inch.
For block pulse timing fences, the distance from the left edge of one black line to the left edge of the next black line is 1.5 inches.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the timing fence sensor 22. Timing fence sensor 22
is a U-shaped sensor support frame 28 and a light emitting element 2.
9 and 30, and light receiving elements 31 and 32.
The U-shaped support frame 28 is a timing fence plate 27
When the U-shaped support frame 28 moves, the light receiving element 31 outputs a dot pulse TH1, and the light receiving element 32 outputs a block pulse TH.
2 is output.

FIG. 6 is an electrical circuit diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, in which 33 is a control circuit, 34 is a microprocessor, 35 is a ROM, 36 is a shared RAM, and 37 is an IO
Ports, 38 and 39 are drivers, 40 to 43
is the amplifier, 44 is the carrier motor, 45 is the Pica character generator, 46 is the Elite character generator, and 47 is the command generator.
48 is a character buffer, 49-1 to 49-9 are image buffer registers, and 50 is a mode register.

The control circuit 33 receives control signals etc. from the host computer, generates various clock signals and various control signals, and these various clock signals and control signals are applied to the microprocessor 34. The ROM 35 is provided with a control program, a pica character generator 45, and an elite character generator 46. The character generator 45 for Pica has 9×7
A plurality of dot-configured character dot patterns are written in the elite character generator 46.
A plurality of character dot patterns each having a 7×7 dot structure are stored in the . In the shared RAM 36,
Command register 47, character buffer 48, image buffer register 49-1 to 49
-9 is provided. Host computer is shared
When writing print data to the RAM 36, access by the microprocessor 34 is prohibited, a print command is written to the command register 47, then the print data is written to the character buffer 48, and the mode register 50 is set to either Pica or Elite. Write information indicating. After writing the desired information, the host computer interrupts the microprocessor 34. When the microprocessor 34 receives the interrupt, it reads the print command from the command register 47 and starts executing the print process. The character code in the character buffer 48 is converted into a dot pattern by the pica character generator 45 or the elite character generator 46, and this dot pattern is sent to the image buffer registers 49-1, 49-2, . . . …49-9
are written sequentially. Whether the pica character generator 45 or the elite character generator 46 is used is determined by the contents of the mode register 50. Image buffer register 49-1, 49-
2,...The dot pattern in 49-9 is IO in synchronization with the rising and falling of the dot pulse.
It is applied sequentially to needle print head 6 through port 37 and driver 38. When printing, it is a matter of course that the printing carrier 11 is moved to the left or right by the carrier motor 44. When the print carrier 11 reaches the left end, the left end sensor 24 outputs a logic "1", and when it reaches the right end, the right end sensor 23 outputs a logic "1". The output signal from the light receiving element 31 is converted into a binary signal by a slicer and an amplifier 42. IO port 37
interrupts the microprocessor 34 at the rise and fall of the binary signal from the amplifier 42. This is called a dot pulse interrupt. The output signal of the light-receiving element 32 is divided into two by a slicer amplifier 43.
It is converted into a digitized signal. Microprocessor 34
When printing, when a dot pulse interrupt occurs, the image buffer register 49-1,
Processing for transferring the contents of 49-2, . . . 49-9 to the needle print head 6 is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of Pica/Elite optimum printing control. In Figure 7
DSA, DEA, BVHP, MCH, NCH, FVHP and RVHP have the following meanings:

(b) DSA DATA START CHARACTER NO, which means the first digit of print data.

DSA is DSA = (DATA START ADDRESS) - 31.

(b) Abbreviation for DEA DATA END CHARACTER NO, meaning the last digit of print data.
DEA is DEA = (DATA STOP ADDRESS) + 31.

(c) BVHP is an abbreviation for BEFORE VIRTUAL HOME POSITION, meaning a block with a carrier before printing.

(d) MCH This is the first digit number of BVHP. For picas, MCH = (BVHP-1) x 15 + 1, and for elites, MCH = (BVHP - 1) x 18 + 1.

(e) NCH This is the last digit number of BVHP. For picas, NCH = BVHP x 15, and for elites, NCH = BVHP x 18.

(f) FVHP is an abbreviation for FRONT VIRTUAL HOME POSITION, which means the block number immediately before a certain block in DSA. Pica and
When DSA≦15, FVHP=0, and when the player is an elite and DSA≦18, FVHP=0.

(G) RVHP is an abbreviation for REAR VIRTUAL HOME POSITION and means the block number after the block with DEA. Pica and
When DEA≧121, RVAP=10, and when you are an elite and DEA≧145, PVHP=10.

Figure 9 shows DSA, DEA, BVHP, MCH,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating FVHP and RVHP. In the case of Pica, 136 characters can be printed on one line,
In the case of Elite, 163 characters can be printed on one line. The timing fence 18 for blocks and pulses has 10 blocks. The width of one block is 1.5 inches. character battle
48, the space code is stored in the part labeled "Space", and the character code is stored in the part labeled "Print data".

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of optimal printing control. Upon reading the print command, microprocessor 34 begins executing an optimal print control routine. First, the contents of the character buffer 48 are read, DSA and DEA are obtained, and then MCH and NCH are obtained from BVHP. After the MCH and NCH are determined, the carrier position is detected. signal
When LSNS is logic "1", right-travel printing is performed, and when printing is completed, FVHP is set to BVHP and shortest distance printing control for the next line is performed from the beginning. When the signal RSNS is logic "1", left running printing is performed, and when printing is completed, RVHP is
BVHP, and shortest distance printing control for the next line is performed from the beginning. When BVHP has a value of 0, right-hand printing is performed, and when BVHP has a value of 10, left-hand printing is performed. Left-hand printing is performed when MCH is equal to or greater than DEA. When NCH is smaller than DEA, right-hand printing is performed. The difference between MCA and DSA is DEA and NCH
If the difference is greater than or equal to the carrier 11
drive to the right. And pulse TH1 and TH2
When both pulses TH1 and TH2 become L level, it next checks whether the current block is RVHP, and if the current block is RVHP. will stop Carrier 11 and RVHP.
is set as BVHP, and then left-hand printing is performed.
If the difference between MCH and DSA is smaller than the difference between DEA and NCH, the carrier 11 is caused to run to the left. and,
It constantly checks whether both pulses TH1 and TH2 are at L level, and when both pulses TH1 and TH2 become L level, the current block is
It is checked whether it is FVHP or not, and if the current block is FVHP, the carrier 11 is stopped and FVHP is set to BVHP, and then right-hand printing is performed. The relationship between dot pulse TH1 and block pulse TH2 is shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the pica/elite print switching control process. This flowchart shows in detail the right-hand travel printing and left-hand travel printing portions in FIG. In the case of right-hand printing, the carrier 11 is made to run to the right, and in the case of left-hand printing, the carrier 11 is made to run to the left. After that, pulse TH
It is checked whether both pulses TH1 and TH2 are at L level, and when both pulses TH1 and TH2 are at L level, it is checked based on the contents of the mode register 50 whether it is a pica or an elite. When the content of the mode register 50 is "00", it is pica, and when it is "01", it is elite.
During pica printing, the character code in the character buffer 48 is converted into a dot pattern by the pica character generator 45, and this dot pattern is
The pattern is image buffer register 49-
Set from 1 to 49-9. In addition, DTPIN
1 to 9 refer to image buffer registers 49-1 to 49-9. After setting the dot pattern of one character in the image buffer registers 49-1 to 49-9, the change point of the dot pulse TH1 is captured and the dot pattern is set in the image buffer registers 49-1 to 49-9.
The contents of are set sequentially to the output port HEAD.
"Output port HEAD" means a terminal to which a signal line leading to the driver 38 in the IO port 37 is connected. After all the print data in the character buffer 48 has been printed, the carrier 11 is stopped when both the pulses TH and TH2 become L level.

When the contents of the mode register 50 specify elite printing, the character code in the character buffer 48 is converted into a dot pattern by the elite character generator 46, and this dot pattern is converted into an image buffer. - Set in registers 49-1 to 49-7. After setting the dot pattern of one character in the image buffer registers 49-1 to 49-7, the image data is created by capturing the change point of the dot pulse TH1.
The contents of buffer registers 49-1 to 49-7 are sequentially set to output port HEAD. The subsequent processing is the same as in the case of pica printing.

Figure 11 shows the timing fence output TH1,
This shows the relationship between TH2 and dot position. As can be seen in Figure 11, the pica character has nine column elements and the elite character has seven column elements. In both the pica and elite cases, row elements are printed at the rising and falling edges of the dot pulse TH1. The width of the character frame for pica characters is 12 dots, and the width of the character frame for elite characters is 10 dots.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, Pica/Elite switching printing and optimal printing can be performed using one timing fence for dot pulses and one timing fence for block pulses. Therefore, a high-performance dot printer can be provided at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a conventional dot printer control system that can perform pica/elite switching printing;
The figure shows dot pulses output from the photo sensors 9 and 10, FIG. 3 is a front view of an example of a printer mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of a timing fence according to the present invention. Figure, 5th
The figure is a perspective view of the timing fence sensor, No. 6.
The figure is an electric circuit diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the Pica/Elite shortest distance printing control process, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the Pica/Elite print switching control process, and FIG. The figure is a diagram to explain various position information used in optimal printing processing, and Figure 10 is a timing output signal TH.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between timing output signal and dot position. 11...Print carrier, 12...Ink ribbon cassette, 13 and 14...Machine frame, 15...Upper carrier support shaft, 16...Lower carrier support shaft, 17...Dot/pulse timing fence, 18...Block/pulse timing fence , 19... Belt, 20 and 21... Pulley, 22... Timing fence sensor, 23... Right end sensor, 24... Left end sensor, 25... Print paper, 26... Ink ribbon, 2
7... Timing fence board, 28... Sensor support frame, 29 and 30... Light emitting elements, 31 and 32... Light receiving elements, 33... Control circuit, 34... Microprocessor, 35... ROM, 36... Shared RAM, 37... IO
Ports, 38 and 39... Drivers, 40 to 43
...Amplifier, 44...Carrier motor, 45...Character generator for Pica, 46...Character generator for Elite, 47...Command
Register, 48...Character buffer, 49-1 to 49-9...Image buffer register, 50...
Mode register.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A needle print head 6, a print carrier 11 that supports the needle print head 6, a carrier motor 44 that drives the print carrier 11 to the left or right, and stores print information for one line. character battle 48
, a character generator 45 for pica, a character generator 46 for elite, a print mode instruction means 50 for specifying pica printing or elite printing, and a dot pulse every time the print carrier 11 moves a unit distance. The dot/pulse generating means 17, 29, 31 and the printing carrier 11 are set to be a common multiple of the numbers m and n, when the width of the character frame of pica characters is m dots and the width of the character frame of elite characters is n dots. It is equipped with block pulse generation means 18, 30, 32 that generates one block pulse for stopping the carrier every time the dot moves an equal distance, and control devices 34, 35 that perform various printing controls. When printing, the devices 34 and 35 use a print carrier 1 expressed by a count value of block pulses.
1, the contents of the character buffer 48, and the contents of the print mode instruction means 50, and performs control for optimal printing that performs processing in the shortest time.In the case of pica printing, the character buffer 48 The character code stored in the Pica character
The generator 45 is used to convert the character dot pattern into a character dot pattern, and the character dot pattern for pica is sent one row at a time to the print head 6 in synchronization with the dot pulse, and in the case of elite printing, the character buffer 48 The character code stored in the elite character generator 46 is used to convert the character code stored in the character dot pattern into a character dot pattern, and the elite character dot pattern is sent one row at a time to the print head 6 in synchronization with the dot pulse. send. A dot printer device characterized by: