JPH052247U - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a form overlay function for synthesizing and printing non-form data on a form pattern, and particularly when changing variable data such as the date and the day of the week. It is possible to perform print processing only by the printing device without outputting the data of (1) from the host device. [Structure] The form data stored in the form registration memory 8 is analyzed by the CPU 4, the corresponding form pattern is read when the form pattern generation code is read, and the time when the insertion designation code is read, the timekeeping and the perpetual year Corresponding data is read from the calendar data generation unit 11, the form pattern and the insertion data are combined, and expanded in the frame memory 10. Further, the composite data is output to the printer unit 3 and subjected to a printing process, so that the desired printing is performed only by the printing apparatus 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a printing device that performs printing processing in accordance with printing information output from a host device, and more particularly to a printing device having a form overlay function that combines non-form data with pre-registered form data and prints.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Various printers such as LED printers, laser beam printers, and LCS printers are known as devices that perform a printing process by connecting to a host device. Such an apparatus performs printing processing according to the print data output from the host device, but some printing apparatuses have a form overlay function in order to perform efficient processing. This form overlay function is a function that allows non-form data to be combined with the form pattern and printed in the printing device by outputting only the data to be formed from the host device by registering a predetermined form pattern in the printing device in advance. Is.

For example, by simply registering predetermined table data as a form pattern in the memory of the printing device in advance, and outputting the characters such as numbers and alphabets, which are the form data to be written in this table, from the host device, the data can be specified later. It is possible to create a table in which the created form data is written. Therefore, by using this form overlay function, tabulation processing and the like can be efficiently performed.

[0004]

[Problems of conventional technology]

 However, when performing print processing using the conventional form overlay function, new form data must be output from the host device even when processing is performed with slight changes to non-form data. For example, when creating a form sheet such as a monthly work schedule, only the dates differ.However, the corresponding date must be created as non-form data on the host device and output to the printer. I have to. This applies not only to the work schedule, but also to cases such as displaying the year, month, day, and day of the week related to the calendar display.

[0005]

[The purpose of the device]

 In view of the above conventional problems, the present invention provides a printing device that can perform printing processing only by the printing device without outputting these non-form data from the host device even when the data such as date, day of the week, etc. is changed. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

[Key points of the device]

 In the present invention, the above-mentioned object is, in the present invention, a form data memory for storing form data composed of form generation data and insertion designation data to be inserted into the form generation data, a clock means, and a variable variable according to time information of the clock means. The variable data creating means for creating data, the means for generating dot data corresponding to the foam generation data read from the form data memory, and the data corresponding to the insertion designation data are generated by the variable data creating means. Read control means for reading, means for generating variable dot data corresponding to the variable data read by the read control means, print output for combining the dot data and variable dot data, and printing out the combined data By providing a printing device characterized by comprising control means It is made.

[0007]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of the printing apparatus of this embodiment. In the figure, a printing device 1 is composed of an interface controller (hereinafter referred to as an I / F controller) 2 and a printer section 3 which actually performs a printing process. The I / F controller 2 includes a CPU 4, a ROM 5, a RAM 6, an operation / display unit 7, a form registration memory 8, an image data generating unit 9, a frame memory 10, a timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating unit 11.

The I / F controller 2 is connected to a host computer 13, which is a host device, via a host I / F 12. The host computer 13 is a higher-level device for the printer 1, and the host computer 13 outputs character codes and print control data to the I / F controller 2.

The character code and print control data output from the host computer 13 are temporarily stored in the reception buffer in the RAM 6 via the host I / F 12. This reception buffer has a capacity to store character codes and print control data for several pages of paper. The character code and print control data written in the reception buffer are provided to the analysis processing described later under the control of the CPU 4. The CPU 4 is a read control means and also a print output control means.

The ROM 5 stores a system program, and the CPU 4 performs print control including the above-described data analysis processing based on this program. The RAM 6 has a work area and the like for storing the data generated when the CPU 4 performs the print control process, in addition to the above-mentioned reception buffer.

The operation / display unit 7 is specifically configured as shown in FIG. 2, and includes an LC display 15 and a plurality of keys 16a to 16h. The mode key 16a is a key for designating various preset modes of the printer 1, and is used for the form overlay mode when the above-mentioned form overlay function is used, and the time and fountain calendar data in the form data. The data output from the generator 11 is written to specify the self-printing mode for printing. Specifically, after the mode key 16a is set to the mode designation state, the up key 16c and the down key 16d are operated to designate a desired mode, and the execution key 16f is designated (registered). Further, the selection key 16b is a key for selecting a necessary setting in the mode designated by the mode key 16a. For example, in the self-printing mode, the date and the number of copies can be set as will be described later. Also in this case, selection of each set value is performed by operating the up key 16c, the down key 16d, and the execute key 16f.

The online key 16e is a key operated when connecting the interface controller 2 to the host computer 13, and the operation of the online key 16e sets online / offline with the host computer 13. Further, the clear key 16g is a key operated when returning various setting states to the initial values, and the print key 16h is a key operated when the printing apparatus 1 is caused to execute the printing process in the self-printing mode. The LC display 15 displays the mode name, form data name, etc. set by the mode key 16a, the selection key 16b, and the like.

The form registration memory 8 as a form data memory stores a plurality of form data. This form data is data for creating different types of tabulation data, such as a monthly work schedule table, an annual schedule table, and a weekly schedule table. It is composed of This form data is created in advance by the host computer 13 and stored (registered) in the form registration memory 8 via the host interface 12. FIG. 3 shows a work schedule of the month created based on the form data stored in the form registration memory 8. In the table shown in FIG. 3, the month display portion a and the date display portion b are shown. It is the data that is read and printed by the above-mentioned insertion designation code, and the other structure is the front print portion created by the form pattern designated by the form pattern generation code.

The image data generator 9 which is a variable dot data generator stores the dot pattern data corresponding to the character code and converts the character code read by the analysis processing of the CPU 4 into the corresponding dot pattern data. The frame memory 10 is a memory having a capacity for storing print data for one page of paper, and stores the dot pattern data and form pattern data output from the image data generating section 9 described above.

The timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating unit 11 as the clock means and the variable data creating means is composed of a reference oscillator, a multi-stage frequency divider, a counter (not shown), a memory storing a calendar for 20 years, and the like. Outputs hour, minute, second time data and calendar data for month, day, day of the week, and year.

The printer unit 3 is composed of a circuit and a mechanism unit that actually perform a printing process, and according to the data output from the frame memory 10 via the printer (PR) interface 14, for example, a known electrophotographic process is performed. To print on paper.

The printing control operation of the printing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. First, when performing printing processing based on the character code or print control data normally output from the host computer 13, the printer 1 and the host computer 13 are set to the online state by operating the online key 16e described above. Then, the printing process is performed according to the data output from the host computer 13. That is, in this process, the data output from the host computer 13 is input to the reception buffer for several pages, and then the data is analyzed under the control of the CPU 4, and for the character code, the corresponding dot is generated from the image data generator 9. The pattern data is read and written in the frame memory 10, and the corresponding processing is executed for the print control data. Then, when one page of data is expanded in the frame memory 10, this data is sent to the printer unit 3 to perform a printing process.

When using the form overlay function, the mode key 16a is used to set the form overlay mode, and the online key 16e is operated to set the printing device 1 and the host computer 13 to the online state. Output non-form data from 3. The CPU 4 reads the specified form data from the form registration memory 8, synthesizes it with the non-form data output from the host computer 13, expands it in the frame memory 10, and thereafter, expands the data expanded in the frame memory 10 as described above. The data is output to the printer unit 3 for printing.

Next, the self-printing mode will be described. First, the self-printing mode is set by operating the online key 16e to bring the printing apparatus 1 and the host computer 13 off-line and operating the mode key 16a to specify the self-printing mode. When the printer 1 is set to the self-printing mode, the LC display 15 of the operation / display unit 7 is in the display state shown in FIG. This display state is the initial state in the self print mode. Further, at this time, the number display showing the number of copies (indicating 1 Mai at the initial stage) blinks on the LC display 15.

[0020] A of FIG. 4 shows the above-mentioned blinking state. It should be noted that FIG. A does not show the entire LC display 15, but for the sake of explanation, only the number display is enlarged. This blinking display means that you can specify the number of copies of the form data you want to print (desired table). Therefore, when the operator wants to copy the same table as 2, 3, ..., The up key 16c and the down key 16d are operated to display the desired number of sheets, and the execute key 16f is operated. Register the desired number of sheets.

[0021] Next, the selection key 16b is operated to blink the display section of the form data number of the table desired to be printed. That is, at this time, the display state of the LC display 15 is such that the form display blinks as shown in B of FIG. Similarly to the above, the designation of the form data is performed by operating the up key 16c and the down key 16d to display the desired form data number, and operating the execution key 16f to designate the form data. For example, if you want to print a monthly work schedule, specify form data “1”, and if you want to print a weekly schedule, specify form data “2”.

Next, when the selection key 16b is further operated, the display state of the LC display 15 becomes the state shown in C of the figure, and the year (year) data blinks. Therefore, when the year is changed, the up key 16c and the down key 16d are operated to display the year desired to be printed, and the execution key 16f is operated to specify a new year. Further, the same applies to the month data and the day data. The select key 16b is operated to bring the display states D and E in the figure to the up key 16c, the down key 16d, and the execute key when there is a change in each data. Operate 16f to change the date to print. Each data set by operating the operation / display unit 7 in this manner is output to the CPU 4.

After the number of copies, the designation of form data, and the setting of date data are set as described above, the print key 16h is operated to execute the print processing. When printing is desired in the initial state shown in FIG. 2, the subsequent processing may be performed without performing the setting processing described above. Subsequent processing is executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 4 reads the form data corresponding to the selection number from the data of the selection number of the designated form data from the form registration memory 8 (step (hereinafter referred to as ST) 1). The CPU 4 sequentially reads the form data by a predetermined amount and analyzes the data (ST2). If the read data is the form pattern generation code, the corresponding form pattern generation process is executed (ST3). In this processing, a form pattern designated by a form pattern generation code is generated from the image data generation unit 9, and a form pattern composed of various ruled lines, line types, graph patterns, etc. for tabulation is expanded in the frame memory 10. Yes (ST6).

If the form data analyzed by the CPU 4 is an insertion designation code, the insertion data corresponding to this code is read from the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generation unit 11 (ST4), and this code is associated with the corresponding dot pattern data. (ST5). For example, in the case of the instruction of the insertion code corresponding to the month display section a shown in FIG. 3, the corresponding month data is read from the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating section 11, and this data is sent to the image data generating section 9. Output and convert to the corresponding dot pattern data. If the instruction is an insertion code corresponding to the date display section b, the corresponding date data is read from the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating section 11, and this data is output to the image data generating section 9 to generate the corresponding dot pattern. Convert to data. This dot pattern data is expanded in the frame memory 10 (ST6).

When the form pattern and the insert data are expanded in the frame memory 10 as described above, the frame memory 10 becomes print data in which the insert data is combined with the form pattern.

[0027] After that, when the analysis of the form data is completed by the above-described data analysis processing, the data expanded in the frame memory 10 is output to the printer unit 3, and the printer unit 3 performs the printing process on the paper (ST7). For example, if the above-mentioned specification of the form data is the work schedule of the month, the table shown in FIG. 3 will be printed by this printing process.

[0028] As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on the form data stored in the form registration memory 8 and the calendar data stored in the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating unit 11, the date, year, etc. are calculated. Different tables can be created only by the printer 1. Further, by designating each setting item as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to easily create a work schedule or the like for a month two or three months ahead by the printing device 1 alone.

Although the calendar stored in the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generation unit 11 is 20 years, the calendar is not limited to 20 years of data. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the data such as the date, time, etc. is configured to be output from the timekeeping and perpetual calendar data generating unit 11. However, not limited to these data, other non-form data is printed by the printing device. By storing the data in No. 1, various data can be combined and printed on the form pattern without going through the host computer 13.

Further, the form registration memory 8 is not limited to a semiconductor memory or an EEPROM, and may have a file structure such as FDD and HD, and a file switching key is provided in the operation / display unit 7 so that both FDD and HD can be used. You may. With this configuration, a larger amount of non-form data can be combined and printed in the form pattern only by the printing device 1.

[0031]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the calendar such as the year, month, day, and day of the week, and various other data are stored in the printing device, and the above data is stored in the form pattern by operating the printing device. Since they can be combined and printed, it is possible to perform printing processing using form patterns such as tables without intervening host equipment.

Since it is not necessary to create non-form data by the host device as in the conventional case, it is possible to perform printing using the form pattern very easily and in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an operation / display unit of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a work schedule of a month plotted by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating operation / display of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 2 I / F Controller 3 Printer 4 CPU 5 ROM 6 RAM 7 Operation / Display 8 Form Registration Memory 9 Image Data Generator 10 Frame Memory 11 Timekeeping and Perpetual Calendar Data Generator

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Shigefumi Takahashi 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Casio Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

Claims for utility model registration 1. A form data memory for storing form data comprising form generation data and insert designation data to be inserted into the form generation data, a clock means, and time information of the clock means. Variable data creating means for creating variable data that changes in accordance with the variable data creating means, means for creating dot data corresponding to the form generation data read from the form data memory, and variable data creating means for creating data corresponding to the insertion designation data. Read control means for reading out, means for generating variable dot data corresponding to the variable data read out by the read control means, print output for combining the dot data and variable dot data, and printing out the combined data Control means,
A printing device comprising: