JPH08224929A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To efficiently operate a printer performing form overlay printing. CONSTITUTION: A control data forming means 20A generates the control data (register data quantity and a data compression system) related to the form data referred to for form overlay printing and registered in a form data memory means 20B to store the same in a control data memory means 20C. This control data is displayed on a control data display means 20D. By confirming the displayed control data, an application program performing efficient operation can be developed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for executing form overlay printing by registering a plurality of form data transmitted from a host device and combining the form data with print data transmitted from the host device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A case will be described in which the printer 20 prints a delivery note and an invoice based on print data transmitted from the higher-level device 10 in the configuration shown in FIG. FIGS. 14A and 14B are explanatory diagrams showing an example of the print contents of the general delivery note P1 and the invoice P2, respectively. The print contents of the delivery note A and the invoice B are the same portion, that is, “writing”, “sama”, “□□ Co., Ltd.”, ruled line, and frame line. It is composed of "invoice", the other party "XX", and the amount of money.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, the former data of the same portion (hereinafter referred to as form data) Df
Regarding the above, this is registered in advance in the form data storage means 21 of the printer 20 from the upper level device 10 shown in FIG. 1, and the print data Dp of a different portion is printed each time the latter is printed.
If only 1 and Dp2 are transmitted from the upper level device 10 to the printer 20, and the form data Df registered in advance and the transmitted print data Dp1 and Dp2 are combined and printed, as indicated by arrows, The delivery note P1 and the invoice P2 can be obtained respectively. Printing by such a method is called form overlay printing. By performing the form overlay printing, the communication time between the upper level device 10 and the printer 20 is the print data Dp1,
Since only Dp2 is required, the communication time can be shortened, which is preferable.

By the way, conventionally, the printer 2 shown in FIG.
For registration of form data in the form data storage means 28 of 0, as shown in FIG. 16, form data registration areas a1, a2, a3, ... With the same memory amount are set, and each form data is registered respectively. It is supposed to do. For each form data registration area,
Registration numbers # 1, # 2, # 3 according to the order of the addresses
... are added in ascending order. Since each form data registration area has a fixed length, starting addresses AD1, AD2, AD3, ...
Can be easily calculated. Therefore, the printer 20 can specify (register and read) the registered form data according to the start address obtained from the registration number.

The form data is data-compressed and registered in order to save the amount of memory it occupies on the form data storage means 28. Since the amount of data after data compression changes depending on the combination of the image feature of the form data and the compression method, the amount of memory in each form data registration area is set to be large with a margin.

In FIG. 16, the registered part Ar of the form data is hatched, and the unregistered part An is blank. Form data consisting of simple images such as ruled lines has a comparatively small amount of data after compression. Therefore, if such data is registered, each form data registration area a
An unregistered portion An is generated in 1, a2, a3, .... When these unregistered parts occur, the form data storage means 2
It is possible to store only form data having a smaller data amount than the memory amount that 8 actually has. On the contrary,
Form data composed of a complicated image such as a picture has a large amount of data after compression. If such data exceeds the memory capacity of each form data registration area, the form data cannot be registered. That is, since each form data registration area has a fixed length, the form data storage unit 28 stores the form data.
When registering in, the storage capacity cannot be effectively utilized.

In a system including the above-described higher-level device and printer, a single job is rarely processed, and a plurality of jobs are usually processed. Each job often requires different form data. Although such form data is compressed and registered, it is impossible to register all the form data in the form data storage means because the amount of data is huge. That is, since the number of form data that can be registered in the form data storage means is limited, the form data necessary for the form overlay printing performed by the job is registered every time the job changes. Therefore, the storage location of the form data on the form data storage means is clear under the control of the job, but the storage location cannot be known between different jobs. Therefore, even if another job uses the same form data after the processing of a job is completed, the storage location of the form data cannot be recognized.
Each time another job was executed, even the same form data had to be registered in the form data storage means 28 of the printer 20.

As described above, since the amount of memory of the form data storage means 28 and the form data registered therein cannot be effectively utilized, the system including the host device 10 and the printer 20 can be efficiently operated. It's not easy.

[0009]

In recent years, it has become necessary to obtain various types of forms as printed output as the number of types of business increases, so that form overlay printing using other types of forms can be efficiently performed. Is required to do. Therefore, it is required to efficiently perform the form overlay printing including the registration of the form data by eliminating the waste such as the occurrence of the unregistered portion of the form data storage means and the duplication of the registration work of the form data. . The present invention has been made based on such a situation. The purpose thereof is firstly to be able to register a large amount of form data, and secondly, to perform the same form overlay printing by a plurality of jobs. Thirdly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of efficiently performing form overlay printing without having to register form data redundantly.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a plurality of form data transmitted from a host device is compressed and registered in a form data storage means in advance, and is read out from the form data storage means when a job is executed. Needed when registering and reading out form data from the form data storage means in a printer that expands the form data and combines the form data with print data sent from the host device to perform form overlay printing. Management information generation means for generating various management information, management information storage means for holding the management information, and management information display means for displaying the management information held in the management information storage means, The management information specifies the storage location of the form data on the form data storage means. Information, and at least one of the registered data amount of all the form data registered in the form data storage means and the unregistered data amount which is a free area of the form data storage means, and the form data storage means. It is characterized in that it contains at least one information regarding the data compression method of each registered form data.

In the printer of the present invention, the management information storage means comprises an individual management table and a general management table, and the individual management table stores the same individual management information corresponding to each form data. A block number of blocks, each block is assigned a different block number in advance, and each block has a registration number area holding a registration number corresponding to the block number, and the block. Form data address area holding the storage address of the form data corresponding to the form data storage means, and individual compression holding the storage amount of the form data corresponding to the block occupied on the form data storage means Holds the data amount area and the name given to the form data corresponding to the block Form data name area, a compression method name area holding the name of the compression method of the form data corresponding to the block, and information indicating the size before compression of the form data corresponding to the block. And a reference block number that holds the block number of the block that holds the individual management information of the form data to be used for form overlay printing in the overall management table. An area, a registration block number area that holds a block number of a block in which the individual management information of the form data to be registered by the higher-level device is held, and the number of form data registered in the form data storage means. The area of the number of registered form data held and the number of registered form data in the form data storage means. At least one of a total compressed data amount area holding the registered data amount of all form data and an unregistered data amount area holding the unregistered data amount which is an empty area of the form data storage means It is characterized by including.

[0012]

As shown in FIG. 10, the management information generating means 20A of the printer 20 generates the management information necessary for registering and reading the form data in the form data storage means 20B. The management information storage unit 20C holds the management information. The management information display means 20D displays the management information stored in the management information storage means 20C. The management information is information that specifies the storage location of the form data on the form data storage unit 20B, the registration data amount of all the form data registered in the form data storage unit 20B, and the empty area of the form data storage unit 20B. At least one of at least one of a certain amount of unregistered data and the data compression method of each form data registered in the form data storage unit 20B.
Contains one piece of information. Therefore, the form data storage means 20 held in the management information storage means 20C
By registering the form data in the form data storage means 20B based on the information for specifying the storage position of the form data on B, the form data storage means 20B can be formed without any unnecessary empty area. Can be registered. Each job is registered in the form data storage unit 20B by making each job recognize the information for identifying the storage position of the form data in the form data storage unit 20B, which is held in the management information storage unit 20C. Form overlay printing can be executed using the form data that has been created. While confirming the management information displayed by the management information display unit 20D, it is possible to develop an application program in which the system including the upper level device 10 and the printer 20 is efficiently operated.

As shown in FIG. 4, management information storage means 20
The individual management table TA included in C includes blocks U1 to Un of the same storage amount that store the individual management information corresponding to each form data, and the block numbers N1 to Nn different from each other are stored in advance in each block. Each block allocated has a registration number area A1, a form data address area A2, and an individual compressed data amount area A3.
, Form data name area A4, and compression method name area A5
And at least one of the pre-compression size area A6, the management information corresponding to each form data can be obtained. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the overall management table TB has a reference block number area B1, a registration block number area B2, and a registration form data number area B3.
, The total compressed data amount area B4, and the unregistered data amount area B
If at least one of 5 and 5 is included, the registration state of the form data storage means can be known. By displaying such management information on the management information display unit 20D, the system designer can develop an application program so that the system including the host device 10 and the printer 20 can be efficiently operated. Become.

[0014]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, print data, form data, and the like are sent from a host computer 10 or other higher-level device 10 to a printer 20 via a data line DL. The printer 20 is related to a central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as CPU) 21 that controls each unit described below, an I / F unit 22 that controls data communication with the higher-level device 10, and a form data storage unit 28 described later. An operation unit 23 including a display device DS for displaying management information and operation switches SW1 to SWn for performing a desired display operation, a printing mechanism 24 for printing on a medium such as a form sheet, and an operation program for the CPU 21. A program memory 25 for storing, a work memory 26 having a communication buffer and a memory area for performing predetermined data operations, a frame memory 27 for expanding image data, and a form in which a plurality of predetermined form data are registered. A data storage means 28, a management information storage means 29 for holding management information relating to form data, The Mudeta and a data decompression unit 30 for compressing and expanding based on a predetermined compression method.
The CPU 21 and the above-mentioned respective units 22 to 30 are connected by a bus B.

The form data storage means 28 is the form data Df1 to Df which are image data sent from the upper level device 10 and necessary for printing ruled lines and halftone dots.
The fn is registered, and the designated form data is read during the form overlay printing.
Note that reading the form data from the form data storage unit 28 may be referred to as the form data.

The management information storage means 29 stores individual management information indicating the registration number, storage location, amount of data, name, compression method, size before compression, etc. of each form data registered in the form data storage means 28. It holds the storage location of the individual management information itself, the total management information indicating the number of all the registered form data, the data amount occupied by the form data, and the like. The structure of the above management information will be described in detail later. Note that such management information requires a limited amount of data, unlike image data such as form data. Therefore, the management information storage means 28 may be provided as an individual storage element, or may be provided as a part of a storage area such as a RAM configuring the work memory 26.

The data compression / expansion means 30 is composed of an LSI or the like having a dedicated data compression / expansion circuit used when communicating image data in a facsimile or the like. The data compression / expansion means 30 compresses the form data (image data) input from the higher-level device 10 via the data line DL, the I / F means 22 and the bus B by a predetermined data compression method to save the bus B. The data is stored (registered) in the form data storage means 28 via the data, and the compressed data read from the form data storage means 28 is decompressed and restored to be expanded on the frame memory 27. It should be noted that the data compression method is the same as that of the upper device 10
On the other hand, when the form data is registered, it is written in the management information storage means 30 of the printer 20 from the upper level device 10 in advance. The data compression / decompression unit 30 compresses and decompresses the form data according to the data compression method stored in the management information storage unit 30 and designated for the form data. Further, the CPU 21
The data amount of the form data after data compression by the data compression / expansion means 30 is obtained, and the data amount after compression is stored in the management information storage means 29.

2 to 4 show the form data storage means 2
It is explanatory drawing which shows the memory content of 8. The registration numbers # 1, # 2, # 3, ... Are added to the respective form data registration areas b1, b2, b3 ,. However, in the present invention, unlike the prior art, in addition to the variable length that changes the memory amount of each form data registration area according to the data amount of registered form data,
When the registration of form data is deleted and a blank area is generated, other registered form data is rearranged so as to fill the blank area.

For example, assume that each form data Df1 to Df6 is initially registered as shown in FIG. Here, the registration of the form data Df3 with the registration number # 3 is deleted (deleted). As a result, the CPU 21 advances the addresses and rearranges the form data Df4 to Df6 of registration number # 3 and thereafter, as shown in FIG. At this time, the start addresses AD4 to AD6 of the rearranged form data Df4 to Df6 of registration numbers # 4 to # 6 are
It is updated according to the rearranged position. As a result, a blank area occurs next to the last form data registration area b6.

Next, when the form data Df3 having new contents corresponding to the registration number # 3 is registered in the blank area, as shown in FIG. 4, the new start address AD3 corresponding to the registration number # 3 is stored in the CPU 21. Is calculated by
In this way, by performing the work of registering the form data and deleting it, the registration number and the registration order do not match.

Therefore, the head addresses AD1, AD2, AD3, ... Of each form data registration area cannot be calculated and obtained from each registration number, unlike the prior art, and therefore are stored and held in the management information storage means 29 by the CPU 21. ing.

The management storage means 29 includes an individual management table TA holding the individual management information shown in FIG. 5 and an overall management table TB holding the overall management information shown in FIG. The management information held in both tables TA and TB is generated by the CPU 21 based on the designation from the higher-level device 10 or based on the operation inside the printer 20, and stored in the management information storage means 29.

First, the individual management table TA of FIG. 5 will be described. The individual management table TA stores the individual management information corresponding to each of the form data Df1 to Dfn, and includes blocks U1 to U1 formed of storage areas of the same memory amount.
Un, and block numbers N1 to Nn are assigned to the respective blocks. Therefore,
The CPU 21 can read the contents of the individual management information held in each block by calculating the storage location (address) of each block from the block number designated by the higher-level device 10. Further, as described above, each form data Df1 to Dfn and block U1
.. to Un, the registration numbers # 1 to #n assigned to the storage areas b1 to bn of the respective form data and the block numbers N1 to Nn also have a corresponding relationship.

Each block has areas A1 to A shown below.
6. A1 is a registration number area that holds registration numbers # 1 to #n assigned to the storage area of each form data Df in advance. If the registration number is not registered, it means that the form data is not registered in the form data storage means 28.

A2 is a storage address of the form data Df corresponding to the block in the form data storage means 28, that is, the head addresses AD1 to ADn shown in FIG.
Is a form data address area that holds

A3 is an individual compressed data amount area holding an individual compressed data amount Mc indicating the amount of data occupied by the form data Df corresponding to the block on the form data storage means 28. The display unit of this individual compressed data amount may be, for example, a byte or an arbitrarily determined storage unit. The arbitrarily defined storage unit is, for example, i bytes (i is a natural number) as one storage unit.

A4 is a form data name area for holding a name FN given to the form data corresponding to the block.

A5 is a compression method name area for holding the name CN of the compression method of the form data corresponding to the block. As this compression method, for example, MH (modifie
dHuffman) method, MR (modifide READ) method, and MM
The H (modified modified Huffman) method and the like are typical.

A6 is a pre-compression amount area holding information SZ indicating the pre-compression size of the form data corresponding to the block. If the form data is a ruled line, the size before compression refers to the paper size and the form of the form to be printed on the form overlay (portrait with the longitudinal direction of the paper vertically (portrait), or the longitudinal direction of the paper). If the form data is a pattern (cut) or the like, it indicates information such as vertical and horizontal dimensions of the pattern. That is, one screen (frame) developed in the frame memory
A pattern or the like having a size smaller than the size can be printed on the form as form data. When printing in the portrait and landscape formats, the arrangement direction of characters and codes may be vertical writing or horizontal writing.

Next, the overall management table TB of FIG. 6 will be described. The overall management table TB has the following areas B
1 to B5. B1 is a block of blocks holding individual management information of the form data referred to by the job being executed at that time for form overlay printing, that is, information stored in the individual management table TA described above. It is a reference block number area holding the number Un.

B2 is a registered block number area that holds the block number Un of the block of the individual management table TA corresponding to the form data that the upper level device 10 is going to register at that time.

B3 is a registered form data number area holding the number FA of form data registered in the form data storage means 28.

B4 is a total compressed data amount area holding the registered data amount Mt of all the form data Df registered in the form data storage means 28, that is, the data amount after being compressed. Note that, as in the case of the individual compressed data amount Mc described above, the total compressed data amount Mt is
The display unit of may be a byte, for example, or may be an arbitrarily determined storage unit.

B5 is an unregistered data amount area in which the unregistered data amount Ms, which is the remaining amount of memory in which the form data is not yet registered in the form data storage unit 28, is held.

According to the printer configured as described above, the CPU 21 not only obtains the management information necessary for performing form overlay printing from the management information storage means 29, but also operates the operation unit 23. The management information read out from the management information storage means 29 is displayed on the display device DS. That is, it becomes possible to display the management information required at the development stage of the application program of the system on the printer 20 side. Hereinafter, the management information display operation and the form overlay printing operation will be described in detail.

First, the display operation of the management information will be described. The CPU 21 of the printer 20 monitors whether or not a predetermined operation switch SW of the operation unit 23 has been operated, and when it detects that the operation switch SW has been operated, management is performed according to the operation state of the operation switch SW. Necessary information is selected from the individual management information and the overall management information held in the information storage means 29 and displayed on the display DS.

FIG. 7A is a schematic view showing an example of the storage state of one block in the individual management table TA, and FIG. 7B shows the display contents of the corresponding display DS. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B, the item name corresponding to each area of the individual management table TA and the individual management information stored in that area are displayed on the display device DS. Therefore, the system designer registers the form data such as the amount of data after compression, the data compression method, and the size before compression by looking at the contents of the individual management table TA displayed on the display device DS. You can know it every time. As a result, the system designer can easily select the data method that minimizes the compressed data that occupies the form data storage unit 28 by registering the form data while changing the type of the compressed data method. Therefore, it becomes possible to develop an application program for registering a lot of form data.

On the other hand, FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram showing the storage state of the overall management table, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing the display state of the corresponding display DS. The item name indicating each area of the overall management table TB and the data stored in that area are displayed on the display device DS.
By looking at the contents of the overall management table TB, the system designer compares the number of registered form data, the registered data amount, and the registerable data amount at that time. At that point, it is possible to easily select form data having a data amount that can be registered. Further, by identifying the form data having the registrable data amount in this way, when all the form data used in the plurality of jobs cannot be registered in the form data storage unit 28, It is possible to design the application program so that the form data commonly used is preferentially registered and the form data used only in one job is individually registered. Therefore, the system designer needs to minimize the number of times the form data is registered and the time required for the registration, that is, to operate the system most rationally in accordance with the order and contents of a plurality of jobs. Should be designed. For example, the form data used in all jobs may be registered in the first job, while the form data required only in individual jobs may be registered at the time of executing the job.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing a part of the individual management table, and FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram showing a display state of the corresponding display DS. Of the individual management table composed of n blocks, block U
2, U4 registration number area A1 only, registration numbers # 2, #
4 is registered. In response to this, a display indicating that the portion corresponding to the above registration number has been registered, for example, a display as shown in black in the figure, is displayed on the display device DS. The system designer can identify the block of the individual management table TA corresponding to the registered form data by looking at the display state of the display device DS shown in FIG. 9B, so that the individual management information is still stored. Select a block in the individual management table TA that is not registered,
Form data can be registered in correspondence with the block.

Next, the operation of registering form data from the upper level device 10 to the printer 20 prior to form overlay printing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. That is, the higher-level device 10 transmits to the CPU 21 of the printer 20 a command (command) designating the registration number of the registration area of the form data to be registered (step S1).

The CPU 21 controls the individual management table TA corresponding to the registration number designated in step S1.
The block number of the block of the total management information table TB
In the registered block number area B1 of
2).

The CPU 21 of the printer 20 has the total compressed data amount area B4 of the overall management table TB at that time.
The head address of the unregistered area of the form data storage means 28 is calculated and obtained from the registered data amount held in (step S3).

Then, the leading address is written in the form data address area A2 of the block corresponding to the designated registration number in the individual management information table TA (step S4).

Then, the form data transmitted from the higher-level device 10 is registered in the form data storage means 28 in order from the above-mentioned head address (step S5). In addition,
In the form data registration operation, the data compression / decompression means 3
Although data compression by 0 is performed, this has not been described here since it has already been described.

As described above, by obtaining the start address of the unregistered area based on the individual management information in the form data storage means 28, the form data can be sequentially registered from the start address of the unregistered area. Therefore, unlike the conventional device, a blank area does not occur between the registration areas of each form data, and the amount of form data that can be stored can be increased.

Further, unlike the conventional apparatus, since the memory amount of the form data registration area is not a fixed length, even if the data amount of one form data is large, within the range of the memory amount that can be registered in the form data storage means 28. You can register as long as you have it.

Next, the form overlay printing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. A command for designating the frame overlay printing and the registration number added to the registration area of the form data at that time is transmitted from the upper level device 10 to the printer 20 (step S10).

The CPU 21 of the printer 20 writes the block number of the block of the individual management table TA corresponding to the registration number designated in step S1 into the reference block number area A1 of the overall management information table TB (step S11). The individual management information is read from the block having the block number corresponding to the designated registration number in the individual management table TA (step S12).

Next, the form data is read from the form data storage means 28 based on the read individual management information (head address, data amount, compression method), and expanded by the data compression / expansion means 30 to restore the form data, This is written in the frame memory 27 and developed as image data for performing form overlay printing (step S13).

The normal print data sent from the upper level device 10 is also expanded on the frame memory 27 in the same manner as the form data, and form overlay printing is performed (step S14). Since the form overlay printing is the same as that of the conventional device described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the host device 10 is the printer 20.
To the CPU 2 of the printer 20 by specifying the registration number attached to the registration area of the form data.
1 can read the individual management information corresponding to the designated registration number, read the form data based on the individual management information, and perform form overlay printing. Therefore, by specifying the desired form data using the above registration number, the same form data can be commonly used in multiple jobs, and unlike the conventional device, it is necessary to register the same form data in duplicate. There is no.

Here, the correspondence between the description of the embodiment and the description of the claims will be described. The management information held in the individual management table TA and the overall management table TB (FIGS. 5 and 6) is generated. The CPU 21 (FIG. 1) constitutes a management information generation unit 20A (FIG. 12) that generates management information required when performing registration and reading of form data with respect to the form data storage unit.

The management information storage means 29 of FIG. 1 constitutes the management information storage means 20C (FIG. 12) for holding the management information, and the display DS of the operation unit 23 is the management information storage means 20.
The management information display means 20D (FIG. 12) for displaying the management information held in C is configured.

Further, the registration number of the individual management table TA shown in FIG. 5 and the reference block number and registration block number of the overall management table TB shown in FIG. 6 specify the storage position of the form data on the form data storage means. Configures the information needed to do so.

The total compressed data amount Mt of the overall management table TB shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the registered data amount of all form data registered in the form data storage means, and the unregistered data amount Ms corresponds to the form data storage. This corresponds to the amount of unregistered data, which is the empty area of the means.

Note that not all of the management information held in the individual management table TA and the overall management table TB shown in the above-mentioned embodiment is necessary. It goes without saying that only necessary management information may be selected and provided in both of the above tables in registration of form data, form overlay printing, development of application programs, and the like.

The format for displaying the management information is not limited to that shown in FIGS. If the display area of the display device DS is small, a plurality of display screens may be switched according to the operation of the operation switch to display the management information.

The operation switch for obtaining a desired display screen on the display device DS can also be used as an existing operation switch for the printer (for example, switch paper set key or page break key). That is, a function for operating the display screen may be assigned to these existing operation switches.

[0059]

As described above in detail, according to the printer of the present invention, the management information generating means generates the management information necessary for registering and reading the form data in the form data storage means. The management information display means displays the management information stored in the management information storage means.
The management information includes information for specifying the storage location of the form data on the form data storage means, the registered data amount of all the form data registered in the form data storage means, and an unregistered area which is an empty area of the form data storage means. It includes at least one information of at least one of the amount of data and the data compression method of each form data registered in the form data storage means.

Therefore, first, the form data is registered in the form data storage means on the basis of the information held in the management information storage means for specifying the storage position of the form data in the form data storage means. As a result, the form data can be registered without creating a useless empty area in the form data storage means. As a result, a lot of form data can be registered.

Secondly, by causing each job to recognize the information for specifying the storage position of the form data on the form data storage means, which is held in the management information storage means, each job can store the form data storage means. Form overlay printing can be executed using the form data registered on the means. That is, unlike the conventional apparatus, when performing form overlay printing by a plurality of jobs, it is not necessary to register the same form data in duplicate.

Thirdly, since the management information displayed by the management information display means can be confirmed, it is possible to develop an application program in which the system including the host device and the printer is efficiently operated.

Further, the individual management table provided in the management information storage means has blocks of the same storage amount for storing individual management information corresponding to each form data, and each block has a different block number in advance. Each allocated block includes at least one of a registration number area, a form data address area, an individual compressed data amount area, a form data name area, a compression method name area, and a pre-compression size area. In this case, management information corresponding to each form data can be obtained.
The overall management table TB includes a reference block number area, a registration block number area, a registration form data number area,
When at least one of the total compressed data amount area and the unregistered data amount area is included, the registration state of the form data storage means can be known. Therefore, by displaying such management information by the management information display means, it is possible to develop an application program so that a system including a host device and a printer can be efficiently operated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of a form data storage means in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of form data storage means in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of form data storage means in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating an individual management table.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall management table.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of one block forming an individual management table and display contents of a display device corresponding to the state.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a general management table and display contents of a display device corresponding to the state.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a part of the individual management table and a display state of a corresponding display device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a registration operation of form data.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a form overlay printing operation.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the printer of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a system composed of a higher-level device and a printer showing a conventional example.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating print contents of a delivery note and an invoice.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating form overlay printing.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of form data storage means in a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Host device 20 Printer 20A Management information generating means 20B Form data storing means 20C Management information storing means 20D Management information displaying means TA Individual management table A1 Registration number area A2 Form data address area A3 Individual compressed data amount area A4 Form data name area A5 Compression method name area A6 Size area before compression TB Overall management table B1 Reference block number area B2 Registered block number area B3 Registered form data number area B4 Total compressed data amount area B5 Unregistered data amount area

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of form data transmitted from a host device is compressed and registered in a form data storage means in advance, and when a job is executed, the form data read out from the form data storage means is expanded and
In a printer for performing form overlay printing by synthesizing the form data with print data transmitted from the higher-level device, management information for generating management information necessary for registering and reading the form data with respect to the form data storage means. And a management information storage unit that stores the management information, and a management information display unit that displays the management information stored in the management information storage unit. Information necessary for specifying the storage position of the form data on the means, the registered data amount of all the form data registered in the form data storage means, and the unregistered data which is a free area of the form data storage means At least one of the amount and the amount registered in the form data storage means A printer that includes at least one information of a data compression method of each form data. 2. The management information storage means includes an individual management table and an overall management table, and the individual management table includes blocks of the same storage amount for storing individual management information corresponding to each form data. In addition, each block is assigned a different block number in advance, and each block has a registration number area holding a registration number corresponding to the block number and a form corresponding to the block. A form data address area holding a storage address of data on the form data storage means, and an individual compressed data amount area holding a storage amount of the form data corresponding to the block occupied on the form data storage means. , Form data holding the name given to the form data corresponding to the block Area, compression method name area that holds the name of the compression method of the form data corresponding to the block, and pre-compression size that holds information indicating the size before compression of the form data corresponding to the block And a reference block number area holding a block number of a block holding the individual management information of the form data used for form overlay printing, The registration block number area that holds the block number of the block in which the individual management information of the form data to be registered by the device is stored, and the number of form data registered in the form data storage means. The registered form data count area and all form data registered in the form data storage means. A total compressed data amount area holding the registered data amount of the data and an unregistered data amount area holding the unregistered data amount which is an empty area of the form data storage means. The printer according to claim 1, wherein: