JPH0267162A - Document output apparatus - 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 Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a document output device, and for example, to a document output device having a detachable font pattern generation section.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of device does not have a counting means for calculating the number of sheets of printing paper output, or even if it does have a counting means, it only checks the cumulative number of sheets output by the device itself. make it possible l/).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when a document output device is used by multiple operators, the number of sheets of printing paper used for each operator or each section in charge becomes unclear, making it difficult to manage billing, etc. There is a problem that it becomes a hassle.

Furthermore, in recent years, with the development of document output devices, it has become possible to print on both sides of printing paper, and to print multiple pages on a single printing sheet. Therefore, a problem arises in that billing processing by the host computer etc. becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and its purpose is to provide a document that manages the amount of printing paper used for each operator or section. Provide an output device. There is number α.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, a document output device according to the present invention is provided with a font pattern generation unit that is detachably provided for converting document information into nouns. a document output device comprising: an identification information manual means for inputting identification information corresponding to document information from the outside; a document information input means for inputting document information from the outside based on the input identification information; a pattern generation means for patterning human document information in the font pattern generation section; an output means for counting each predetermined amount of the patterned pattern data and outputting it to the outside; The present invention is characterized by comprising a count value accumulating means for accumulating the count value in the pattern generating section.

Preferably, the identification information manual means includes a registration means for registering the identification information, and further includes a comparison means for comparing the input identification information and the previously registered identification information when the identification information has already been registered. The present invention is characterized in that it includes an interrupting means for interrupting the processing when the comparison result does not match, and a continuing means for continuing the processing in response to an instruction from the outside after interrupting the processing.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes determining means for determining whether or not the font pattern generating section is installed, and display means for displaying an error message when the determination is made that the font pattern generating section is not installed.

Preferably, the count value accumulating means includes display means for displaying the count value.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, the identification information input means inputs identification information corresponding to document information from the outside, the document information input means inputs document information from the outside based on the input identification information, and generates a pattern. The generating means patterns input document information using a font pattern generating section. The output means counts the patterned pattern data every predetermined amount and outputs it to the outside, and the count value accumulating means accumulates the count value in the font pattern generation section in accordance with the counting operation.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the document output device of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the font pattern generator of this embodiment. In FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1 indicates the document output device of this embodiment. Reference numeral 2 denotes a CPU consisting of a microprocessor that controls the entire apparatus l. In the CPtJ2, 3 is a ROM that stores a control program, an error processing program, messages such as errors described later, and a program according to the flowchart shown in Fig. 4, and 4 is a work area for various programs and for error processing. RAM used as temporary evacuation area
are shown respectively.

5 is formed to be removably attached to the device 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and is configured to receive document information from an external host computer,
A font pattern generator is shown that generates font patterns based on character codes. In the font pattern generator 5, 6 is a ROM that stores font patterns.
7 shows a memory consisting of a font pattern generator 5
The figure shows a counter that accumulates the number of printed sheets. 8 is the font pattern generator 5 and the CPU 2 of this device 1;
It shows a socket for interfacing with. Reference numeral 9 designates an external interface section of, for example, R3-232C, which connects with the host computer 20 and the like. 10 is 1 after the document data input from the host computer 2o is patterned by the font pattern generator 5.
It shows a frame memory that stores one page's worth of font pattern data, ie, dot pattern data.

Further, 11 is for converting the dot pattern data stored in the frame memory 10, for example, into an on/off signal for the laser in the laser beam printer 30 for output light, and for exchanging information such as control signals or print data. The printer interface section 21 is shown. Reference numeral 12 denotes a display panel unit that outputs messages such as errors of the device 1 during processing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of identification information of document information according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the identification information of document information is indicated by an identification number. In the figure, rEscJ
indicates an escape code, ie, a control command for the identification number. The "8" in "8S" that follows the escape code indicates that the identification number is eight digits, and the "S" indicates that the identification number is an instruction command. Here, the identification number in FIG. 3 is "JOBOO123".

Next, the document output method of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 2 of this embodiment.

First, document information from the host computer 20, that is,
The character code and control command are stored in the RAM 4 in the CPU 2 via the external interface unit 9. Therefore, when document information is input from the host computer 20 (step S1), the input document information is stored in RAMJ (step S2), and the document information stored at this time is a control command for the identification number of the document information. If there is, R
It is determined whether the identification number has already been registered in the AMJ (step 5IOI). If it is determined in step 5100 that the command is not a control command for an identification number, normal processing such as printing interruption is performed and the process returns to step S1.

Next, if it is determined in step 5IOI that the identification number has not been registered, the control command input from the host computer 20 is analyzed, and the identification number of the analysis result is sent to the RA.
Register during MJ (step S3). Also step 51
If it is determined in step 01 that the identification number has already been registered, the identification number already registered in the RAM 4 is compared with the input identification number (step 5104).

As a result of this comparison, if the two numbers do not match, a message indicating the mismatch is displayed on the display panel section 12 and the process returns to step SL (step 5IO6).

Furthermore, if a message indicating a mismatch is displayed in step 5106, this indicates that the operator attempting to output the document is different from the previous one, so the process is temporarily stopped and
A re-execution instruction from the host computer 20 is awaited in step S1. When a re-execution instruction is received from the host computer 20 (step 5107),
The identification number is re-registered using the input identification number, and the process returns to step SL (step 5108). If an instruction to cancel or the like is received from the host computer 20 in step S7, the process returns to step S1 again.

In this way, when confirmation of the identification number is completed or an instruction for re-execution is received, reception of character codes for printing from the host computer 20 is started in steps 31 to S3. At this time, it is checked whether the font pattern generator 5 is connected to the socket 8 (step S4). If it is not connected, pattern generation is disabled and an error message indicating a connection failure is displayed on the display panel section 12 (step S5).If the connection is established and pattern generation is possible, the input character The code is patterned by the font pattern generator 5, and the dot data is developed on the frame memory 10 (step SS).

Then, the above process is continued until one page of dot data is developed on the frame memory 10 (step 8).
1 to step S7). When one page of dot data is stored in the frame memory 10 in this manner, the laser beam printer 30 performs printing processing for one page (step S9).

Next, the currently applicable identification number, that is, the number of sheets of printing paper in the font pattern generator 5, is added by incrementing the counter 7 by one (step S9);
If printing is to be continued, the process returns to step S1 (step 5lO).

The counter value can be obtained from the outside as shown in FIG. 2 (in the case of FIG. 2, 135 sheets of paper have been output).

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a document output device that manages the amount of printing paper used for each operator or section, thereby facilitating the management of billing and the like.

In this embodiment, a case has been described in which data for one page is output on one sheet of printing paper, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same applies when outputting multiple pages on one sheet of paper or when outputting multiple pages on one sheet of paper.In this case, the CPU instructs the font pattern generator to increment the counter by one, and in the case of double-sided printing, , when printing for two pages is completed, and if printing for multiple pages is to be performed on one sheet of printing paper, it may be performed at the time when printing for multiple pages is completed.

Furthermore, although this embodiment describes the case where output is performed in page units, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to output devices that can sequentially output characters, such as a line printer. can. In this case, the counting unit may be a unit of length such as feet.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a mechanical counter is used as a pattern generating means counter like a font pattern generator, but a non-volatile memory such as an EEFROM that can be electrically rewritten is used to create a counter for the display panel. The cumulative value of the counter may be displayed by section or the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a document output device that manages the amount of printing paper used for each operator or section, thereby facilitating the management of billing, etc. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the document output device of this embodiment, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the font pattern generator of this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is identification information of document information according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 2 of this embodiment. In the figure, 1... document output device, 2... CPU, 3...
・ROM, 4...RAM, 5...font pattern generator, 6...memory, 7...counter, 8...
Socket, 9... External interface section, 10...
Frame memory, 11... printer interface unit, 20... host computer, 30... laser beam printer.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A document output device removably equipped with a font pattern generating section for patterning document information, and an identification information input means for inputting identification information corresponding to the document information from the outside; document information input means for inputting document information from the outside based on input identification information; pattern generation means for patterning the input document information in the font pattern generation section; and counting the patterned pattern data for each predetermined amount. A document output device comprising: an output means for outputting the counted value to the outside; and a count value accumulation means for accumulating the count value in the font pattern generation section in accordance with the counting operation. (2) The identification information input means includes a registration means for registering identification information, and a comparison means for comparing the input identification information and previously registered identification information when the identification information has already been registered; 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: an interrupting means for interrupting the processing when the results of the processing do not match; and a continuing means for continuing the processing in response to an external instruction after the interruption of the processing. document output device. (3) Claim 1 further comprising determining means for determining whether or not the font pattern generating section is installed, and display means for displaying an error message if the determination is that the font pattern generating section is not installed. Document output device according to item 1. (4) The document output device according to claim 1, wherein the count value accumulating means includes display means for displaying the count value.