WO1998013208A1 - Printer control with direct memory access - Google Patents
Printer control with direct memory access Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1998013208A1 WO1998013208A1 PCT/DE1997/001548 DE9701548W WO9813208A1 WO 1998013208 A1 WO1998013208 A1 WO 1998013208A1 DE 9701548 W DE9701548 W DE 9701548W WO 9813208 A1 WO9813208 A1 WO 9813208A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- access control
- direct access
- sequence
- data words
- mosaic
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J19/00—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms
- B41J19/18—Character-spacing or back-spacing mechanisms; Carriage return or release devices therefor
- B41J19/20—Positive-feed character-spacing mechanisms
- B41J19/202—Drive control means for carriage movement
Definitions
- the method relates to the control of printers in which a mosaic printhead is moved transversely to the paper transport direction by means of a stepping motor.
- stepper motors are a preferred drive means in digitally controlled systems, because a precisely reproducible movement is achieved by switching the windings on and off.
- the control of the mosaic print head anyway requires a digital signal with which the pixels are generated.
- the time between two changes must not deviate arbitrarily from the previous one without a step loss occurring.
- the movement must start with an acceleration phase and end with a braking phase. If at all the microprocessor works fast enough to be able to output the changes, it is at least done with fast movements the determination of the next change is used to such an extent that parallel work is not possible. In particular, no inputs or outputs, such as the control of the needles of a wire print head, can take place.
- a special circuit is therefore designed, which is triggered by the microprocessor and then independently carries out the acceleration and braking phase. The microprocessor receives a signal that the braking phase has ended and can determine the step position via I / O accesses.
- This solution requires a large amount of hardware due to the specialized computing circuits.
- the advantage lies in the parallel work possible for the microprocessor during the movement. The disadvantage is in particular that it is only possible to influence it during the movement if the hardware is particularly expensive.
- the object of the invention is to provide a simple possibility with which control of the print head can be achieved at high speed in a printer with a microprocessor.
- the invention uses the observation that a known direct access control available as an integrated module can be used both for controlling the stepper motors and for transferring the pixel patterns for the mosaic print head.
- the beginning of the sequence as a sequence of time intervals in the Data memory of a processor filed.
- the address of this memory area is communicated to a control circuit.
- This uses a method known as direct access (DMA, Direct Memory Access) to call up these data words stored in the memory independently of the processor as required and to use them as time intervals until the next step pulse.
- DMA Direct Memory Access
- the last value for the time interval can be used further, so that a uniform movement of the print head occurs.
- the address of the mosaic pattern is transferred to the direct access control and this is started. This creates a pressure with uniform movement.
- the address of the time intervals for the braking phase is then passed to the direct access control and this is started a third time.
- Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the invention.
- the control includes, in particular, a computing or central unit 10 and a working memory 11, which usually exchange data via a bus system.
- a control unit 12 for direct memory access hereinafter referred to as "DMA" for short, is also connected to this bus system, as described under the name MK3883 by Mostek or 8089 can be supplied by Intel.
- a DMA controller 12 can operate independently of a central unit
- the memory words read out by the DMA can be passed on to the mosaic printhead 30 via the connection 32 in order to generate characters or other characters on a sheet material by means not shown.
- this connection can be activated for the sake of clarity, so that not every direct memory access leads to printing.
- a time counter 13 is also connected to the DMA, which is loaded by the DMA via the connection 17 with a value which is then counted down continuously by a clock 0. If the level has been reached zero, a control circuit 14 is caused via the connection 18 to move the stepping motor 19 one step in a direction set in each case beforehand by means not shown. At the same time, the DMA 12 is caused to remove the next time value from the memory
- a previously read value can also be provided in a buffer memory (not shown) and loaded into the time counter 13 by the signal 26.
- the central unit therefore sets the time values for a stepper motor movement in an area of the memory 11, loads the address and length of this memory area into the DMA 12 and starts the DMA.
- the motor then executes the programmed movement.
- the DMA supplies an end signal 28 when the last value of the memory area has been read out. This last value is used repeatedly so that the motor continues to rotate in a uniform motion and after the previous acceleration phase moves the Mosik printhead evenly over the recording sheet.
- the end signal 28 causes the control program in the central processing unit 10 to load the address of the patterns for the mosaic printhead, which can otherwise be completed during the acceleration phase, into the DMA and to start them.
- the connection 17 is previously deactivated by known means, so that the mosaic data to be output do not interfere with the uniform movement. Even without the addition of a position sensor, which is still to be described, the time required for these few commands can be easily determined and a very precise starting point of the pressure can thus be determined.
- the end signal 28 is generated again. Now the address of the table of the time values for the braking phase is transferred to the DMA, the connection 17 is activated and the DMA is started, so that braking takes place, in which the end signal 28 either via software or for reasons of clarity due to hardware not shown. Connections are used to suppress further step pulses for the control circuit and to switch on a holding current for the print head.
- An improvement of the invention consists in providing a position counter 20 which receives the same step pulses as the control circuit 14 via the connection 18 and therefore carries the position of the step motor with it.
- the central unit can load a comparison register 21 with a position value via the connection 25.
- the position counter 20 and the comparison register 21 are connected to a comparator 22, the signal of which leads to the DMA 12, optionally activated or deactivated by the CPU 10 via the connection 24 and the switch 26.
- the CPU 10 can also access the content via a connection (not shown) Read the position counter 20 and so easily determine the position, for example, at the end of a movement.
- the position counter 20 with the comparison register 21 and the comparator 22 allow space-saving storage of the time values in the memory 11 with a uniform movement, as is expedient for printing.
- the time counter 13 and the DMA 12 are operated such that, when the time and the step signal 18 expire, the previous time value is reloaded into the time counter so that the motor performs a uniform movement without the DMA circuit being activated got to. If the position specified in the comparison register 21 is reached, the DMA 12 is released via the connection 23, provided the switch 26 is activated, and thus initiates, for example, a braking phase in which the next time value is greater than the previous one.
- the comparator 22 allows a particularly precise start of the mosaic print pattern.
- the end signal 28 is used to transfer the address of the mosaic data to the DMA.
- a maximum time can be determined beforehand, from which the target position is determined and set in the comparison register 21.
- the end signal 28 becomes active again, so that the program in the processor 10 now preferably loads the address of the data for the braking curve into the DMA and then activates it, so that the print head stops.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE59707520T DE59707520D1 (en) | 1996-09-25 | 1997-07-22 | PRINTER CONTROL WITH DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS |
AT97935460T ATE218979T1 (en) | 1996-09-25 | 1997-07-22 | PRINTER CONTROL WITH DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS |
EP97935460A EP0928246B1 (en) | 1996-09-25 | 1997-07-22 | Printer control with direct memory access |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE19639392.2 | 1996-09-25 | ||
DE19639392 | 1996-09-25 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1998013208A1 true WO1998013208A1 (en) | 1998-04-02 |
Family
ID=7806862
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/DE1997/001548 WO1998013208A1 (en) | 1996-09-25 | 1997-07-22 | Printer control with direct memory access |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0928246B1 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE218979T1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE59707520D1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1998013208A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1361487A2 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2003-11-12 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Apparatus and method for motor control |
Citations (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS59224382A (en) * | 1983-05-19 | 1984-12-17 | Fujitsu Ltd | Printer |
JPS60124147A (en) * | 1983-12-09 | 1985-07-03 | Fujitsu Ltd | Receiving control device of printer |
JPH0252764A (en) * | 1988-08-16 | 1990-02-22 | Fujitsu Ltd | Control system of printing head of printer |
JPH04257462A (en) * | 1991-02-08 | 1992-09-11 | Nec Corp | Printing control circuit |
JPH05318805A (en) * | 1992-05-26 | 1993-12-03 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Printer |
JPH06113595A (en) * | 1992-09-29 | 1994-04-22 | Casio Comput Co Ltd | Motor controller |
JPH08183209A (en) * | 1994-12-28 | 1996-07-16 | Canon Inc | Method and apparatus for recording |
JPH08205589A (en) * | 1995-01-25 | 1996-08-09 | Tec Corp | Drive controller for stepping motor |
-
1997
- 1997-07-22 WO PCT/DE1997/001548 patent/WO1998013208A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1997-07-22 EP EP97935460A patent/EP0928246B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-07-22 DE DE59707520T patent/DE59707520D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-07-22 AT AT97935460T patent/ATE218979T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS59224382A (en) * | 1983-05-19 | 1984-12-17 | Fujitsu Ltd | Printer |
JPS60124147A (en) * | 1983-12-09 | 1985-07-03 | Fujitsu Ltd | Receiving control device of printer |
JPH0252764A (en) * | 1988-08-16 | 1990-02-22 | Fujitsu Ltd | Control system of printing head of printer |
JPH04257462A (en) * | 1991-02-08 | 1992-09-11 | Nec Corp | Printing control circuit |
JPH05318805A (en) * | 1992-05-26 | 1993-12-03 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Printer |
US5588092A (en) * | 1992-05-26 | 1996-12-24 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Printer control circuit and the printer controlled thereby |
JPH06113595A (en) * | 1992-09-29 | 1994-04-22 | Casio Comput Co Ltd | Motor controller |
JPH08183209A (en) * | 1994-12-28 | 1996-07-16 | Canon Inc | Method and apparatus for recording |
JPH08205589A (en) * | 1995-01-25 | 1996-08-09 | Tec Corp | Drive controller for stepping motor |
Non-Patent Citations (7)
Title |
---|
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 009, no. 100 (M - 376) 2 May 1985 (1985-05-02) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 009, no. 280 (E - 356) 8 November 1985 (1985-11-08) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 014, no. 221 (M - 0971) 10 May 1990 (1990-05-10) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 017, no. 038 (M - 1358) 25 January 1993 (1993-01-25) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 018, no. 397 (E - 1583) 26 July 1994 (1994-07-26) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 096, no. 012 26 December 1996 (1996-12-26) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 96, no. 11 29 November 1996 (1996-11-29) * |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1361487A2 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2003-11-12 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Apparatus and method for motor control |
EP1361487A3 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2004-01-28 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Apparatus and method for motor control |
US6847180B2 (en) | 2002-05-10 | 2005-01-25 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Motor control apparatus and motor control method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0928246A1 (en) | 1999-07-14 |
ATE218979T1 (en) | 2002-06-15 |
EP0928246B1 (en) | 2002-06-12 |
DE59707520D1 (en) | 2002-07-18 |
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