JPS6117675B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an underline printing method in an underline printing apparatus.

Some types of typewriter devices print underlines manually after the operator prints a character by backspace, and others automatically backspace and then print an underline based on input from another device. There is something to do. In a typewriter device having an automatic underline function, a method is known in which an underline is printed character by character, as shown in FIG. 1a. That is, in FIG. 1a, after printing the character A, backspace is performed and an underline is printed, then after character B is printed, a backspace is performed and an underline is printed,
Since the underlines of characters C and D are printed in the same manner, the operations of the print heads are completely redundant for characters with underlines, causing problems in printing speed and print quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an underline printing method that improves printing speed and print quality in order to eliminate such drawbacks.

In the present invention, a plurality of characters are printed in a first direction, and then a second character is printed in a direction opposite to the first direction.
The printing head is moved in the direction of , an underline is printed, and the paper is then fed after the underline is printed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the interface of the typewriter device.

As shown in Figure 2a, a typewriter device
Data DATA (data bus) and strobe signals STB for space SP, line feed LF, and print PW are input to TYP. As shown in FIG. 2b, when printing characters, underlines, etc., first input the print data (for example, character A) as data DATA, and then input the print signal PW as the strobe signal STB. Next, the amount of space (distance a) as data DATA
, also space SP as strobe signal STB
Enter. Further, as shown in FIG. 2c, when a space operation is simply performed without printing, a space amount a is input as data DATA and a space SP is input as a strobe signal STB. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2d, the line
When performing feed, the feed amount (distance b), which is usually a constant amount, is used as data DATA.
and input the line feed LF as the strobe signal STB.

Here, the space amount a can take various values in order to vary the character spacing in proportion to the size of the characters (for example, I and W). To make it look like a book,
It is also possible to reduce the character spacing, that is, the space amount a, and eliminate the spacing between underlines.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a typewriter device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, underline start/end codes are inserted at the beginning and end of a group of characters having underlines to be printed consecutively, and are stored in the buffer memory 1 together with other characters to be printed.

For example, from buffer memory 1 to space SP
When the code is input to the character recognition circuit 2, the character recognition circuit 2 decodes it and sends a signal "1" to the line of space SP. In the same way, when the alphanumeric code is decoded, a signal "1" is sent to the A/N line, and each code of carriage return CR, underline start/stop UNL or line feed LF is decoded. are decoded, CR,
A signal "1" is sent to each line of UNL and LF.

The operation will be explained below in the order of operation.

1 line print start command RWS to 1 line print control circuit 8
is given, the one-line print control circuit 8 first outputs a clear signal CL, and the address counters 6,
After clearing print direction flip-flop 9 and underline flip-flop 11,
A single character printing start signal CHS is output to the single character printing control circuit 4.

The one-character printing control circuit 4 is a one-line printing control circuit 8.
When receiving the print start signal CHS from the character identification circuit 2, the following operation is performed according to the input from the character identification circuit 2.

When there is an input "1" on the A/N line, the carriage return CR line is "0", so the flip-flop 9 remains cleared (C=0), and the sequential circuit of the control circuit 4 operates and outputs A=0, B=0, as well as printing strokes PW and STB to the printing device 5. A
When =0, the AND gate 12 opens, and the alphanumeric code is directly input from the buffer memory 1 to the printing device 5 as data DATA via the bus. When the printing device 5 prints the input data DATA, it outputs the operation end signal FN to 1.
Output to character printing control circuit 4.

Next, by the operation of the sequential circuit, A=1 is input to the AND gates 12 and 13, SP=1 is input to the encoder 3,
B=0 for printing device 5 (print head moves in forward direction)
and space strobe SP STB. After the printing device 5 moves the printing head in the positive direction by the space amount a sent from the encoder 3 through the AND gate 13, it outputs an operation end signal FN to the one-character printing control circuit 4.

Next, when there is an input “1” on the SP line, flip-flop 9 remains cleared (C=
0), the single character print control circuit 4 outputs A=1 to the AND gates 12 and 13, and A=1 to the encoder 3.
SP=1, B=0 (forward movement) is output to the printing device 5, and the space strobe SP
Output STB. The printing device 5 is the encoder 3
After moving the print head in the positive direction by the space amount a from , an operation end signal FN is output to the one-character print control circuit 4.

Next, when there is an input "1" on the LF line, the control circuit 4 inputs A= to the AND gates 12 and 13.
1, LF=1 for encoder 3, B= for printing device 5
After setting it to 0, line feed strobe LF
Output STB. At this time, the encoder 3 outputs the line feed amount b, so the printing device 3
After performing the line feed operation by the line feed amount b, outputs the operation end signal FN to the one character printing control circuit 4.

In these cases, upon receiving the operation end signal FN, the one character print control circuit 4 outputs the one character print end signal CHF to the one line print control circuit 8.

Next, when there is an input "1" on the CR line, flip-flop 9 is set and C=1. At this time, the one-character printing control circuit 4 immediately sends a one-character printing end signal to the one-line printing control circuit 8.
Output CHF.

Next, when there is an input "1" on the UNL line, flip-flop 11 is set and F=
Becomes 1. Then, the one-character printing control circuit 4 immediately outputs a one-character printing end signal CHF to the one-line printing control circuit 8.

The 1-line printing control circuit 8 outputs a 1-character printing end signal.
When CHF is received, if C=0, the print head moves in the positive direction, so it outputs an increment signal INC to the address counter 6.
Address counter 6 indicates the next address to buffer memory 1.

The one-line printing control circuit 8 again sends the one-character printing start signal CHS to the one-character printing control circuit 4. Further, the character identification circuit 2 outputs identification signals of A/N, SP, CR, UNL, and LF to the single character printing control circuit 4.

As a result, the sequential circuit operates in the single character printing control circuit 4, and the data DATA to be sent to the printing device 5 is activated.
and controls the output of strobe signal STB.

Furthermore, when the one-line printing control circuit 8 receives the one-character printing end signal CHF, if C=1, the printing head moves in the opposite direction, so the one-line printing control circuit 8 sends a decrement signal DCR to the address counter 6. Output.

The contents of the address counter 6 are sequentially decremented by one by the decrement signal DCR to instruct the buffer memory 1 to the previous address.

1 line printing control circuit 8 sends 1 character printing start signal
When the CHS is sent to the one-character printing control circuit 4 and the identification signal is output from the character identification circuit 2 to the one-character printing control circuit 4, the one-character printing control circuit 4
sends out the following signal by the operation of the sequential circuit.

When the identification signal is A/N and SP, C=1
Then, first, A is applied to AND gates 12 and 13.
= 1, SP = 1 for encoder 3, B for printing device 5
=1 (reverse movement) and space strobe
Output each SP STB.

Next, if the identification signal is not UNL, flip-flop 11 remains cleared and F=
Since it is 0, the printing device 5 immediately sends an operation end signal.
FN is sent, and the 1 character printing end signal CHF is sent from the 1 character printing control circuit 4 to the 1 line printing control circuit 8.
is output.

Furthermore, when there is an input "1" on the UNL line from the identification signal 2, the flip-flop 11 is set and F=1, so when the operation end signal FN is input from the printing device 5, one character is printed. The control circuit 4 inputs A=1 to the AND gates 12 and 13.
By applying UNL=1 to the encoder 3, the encoder 3 generates an underline code and sends it to the printing device 5 through the AND gate 13. At the same time, the printing strobe PW STB is output to the printing device 5.

The printing device 5, upon carriage return,
After printing the underline in the reverse direction, when the operation end signal FN is output, the 1-character print control circuit 4 sends the 1-character print end signal to the 1-line print control circuit 8.
Output CHF.

In this way, in FIG. 3, in the case of forward printing, that is, C=0, B=0, printing is performed first and then space operation is performed, whereas
In the case of reverse printing, that is, C=1, B=1, a space operation is first performed and then printing (underline) is performed, so that the operating position of the print head does not shift.

The 1-line printing control circuit 8 outputs a 1-character printing end signal.
When receiving CHF, it sends a decrement signal DCR to the address counter 6 while C=1.

When the contents of the address counter 6 are decremented by 1 and exceed the initial value, a borrow signal BRW is output, so the 1-line print control circuit 8 sends a line feed identification signal to the 1-character print control circuit 4.
Send LF. The one character printing control circuit 4 inputs A=1 to the AND gates 12 and 13, and inputs A=1 to the encoder 3.
After outputting LF=1 and B=0 to the printing device 5, the line feed strobe LF STB is output. At this time, the encoder 3 generates a line feed amount and outputs it to the printing device 5 as data DATA.

After the printing device 5 performs line feed,
Outputs operation end signal FN. The one-line printing control circuit 8, which receives the one-character printing end signal CHF from the one-character printing control circuit 4, outputs the one-line printing end signal RWF when the borrow signal from the address counter 6 is BRW=1.

FIGS. 5a and 5b are explanatory diagrams of the operation of FIG. 3.

For example, assume that buffer memory 1 in Figure 3 stores a group of Automatic codes with an underline start/end code, a space code, a group of Underline codes, and a carriage return (Figure 5). a).

When this address is specified by the address counter 6, the printing device 5 prints the data in FIGS.
2, the print head PHD is moved in the forward direction from character A to print each character group, and a space operation is performed to detect the carriage return C/R. At the time of carriage return, at the position of underlined characters, please refer to Figure 5 b-3 to b-4
Print an underline in the opposite direction, as in
Return the print head PHD to its initial position. When the initial position is detected, the printing device 5 performs line feed and moves to the next line.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a typewriter device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, a code is stored in the buffer memory 1 that specifies the presence or absence of an underline based on the presence or absence of a specific bit of a character code. For example, 1 bit is added to the beginning of 7 bits of ASCII code, and the presence or absence of an underline is determined by that particular 1 bit being ``1'' or ``0''.

Then, when the print head moves in the forward direction, characters are printed regardless of the contents of specific bits,
During carriage return, a code in which a specific bit is "1" is detected and an underline is printed while moving in the opposite direction.

4 differs from the configuration in FIG. 3 in that the flip-flop 11, which is set by the underline start and end code identification signals UNL, is removed, and a specific bit in the buffer memory 1 is detected to detect the underline. The main difference is that an encoder 7 that generates a line code and a space code is added. Therefore, the encoder 3 generates only the space amount and the line feed amount, and the character recognition circuit 2
UNL is no longer required for the identification signal from.

In FIG. 4, the operation is almost the same as that in FIG. is opened, and the underline bit part of the buffer memory 1 is sent through the encoder 7 to the character recognition circuit 2 and through the AND gate 12 to the printing device 5, respectively. That is, the encoder 7 generates an underline code UNL and a space code SP in response to the underline bits "1" and "0", respectively, and the character identification circuit 2 decodes these to generate the underline bit. When the code is UNL, it is output to the A/N line, and when the space code is SP, it is output to the SP line.

When there is an input "1" on the A/N line, the 1st sentence year printing control circuit 4 first inputs A=1 to the AND gates 12 and 13 and inputs A=1 to the encoder 3 since C=1.
SP=1 Outputs B=1 (reverse movement) and space strobe SP STB to the printing device 5, respectively.

When the operation end signal FN is input from the printing device 5, the single character printing control circuit 4 outputs A=0 to the AND gates 12 and 13, and reads the underline code UNL from the encoder 7 as data.
At the same time as inputting DATA to the printing device 5, a printing strobe PW STB is output to the printing device 5.

The printing device 5 prints an underline in the opposite direction when the carriage returns. In this case, as in Figure 3, when C=1, a space is printed first and an underline is printed next, so
The movement relationship is opposite to that when C=0, and the printing and stopping positions of the print head will not deviate.

During the period when C=1, the contents of the address counter 6 are decremented by one by sending the decrement signal DCR from the one-line print control circuit 8 to the address counter 6. When the contents of the address counter 6 exceed the initial value and are decremented by 1, the borrow signal BRW is output, so the 1-line print control circuit 8 outputs LF=1 to the encoder 7, and the encoder 7 receives the line feed signal.・Generate code LF.

As a result, LF is input as an identification signal, so the single character printing control circuit 4 inputs the AND gate 1.
A=1 for 2 and 13, LF=1 for encoder 3
and outputs B=0 and line feed strobe LF STB to the printing device 5.

In FIG. 4, as in FIG. 3, the one-line printing control circuit 8 receives the one-line printing end signal by receiving BRW=1 and the one-character printing end signal CHF.
Output RWF.

FIGS. 5c and 5d are explanatory diagrams of the operation of FIG. 4.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5c, it is assumed that the buffer memory 1 stores codes A, B, C, . . . having specific bits of underline information.

According to the instruction from the address counter 6, the printing device 5 prints characters regardless of the specific bit during forward movement as shown in FIG. Figure 5 d
-2 to d-3, the content of a specific bit is identified when moving in the reverse direction, and when it is "1", an underline is printed in the reverse direction, and when it is "0", a space operation is performed and printed. Stop the head PHD at the initial position. Once the initial position is reached, the printing device 5 performs a line feed to move to the next line.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the underline is printed multiple times in reverse directions, it is possible to increase the printing speed and print quality. Further, as a printing device, a conventional one can be used as is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional underline printing method, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an interface of a typewriter device, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a typewriter device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a typewriter device. A block diagram of a typewriter device showing another embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operations in FIGS. 3 and 4. 1: buffer memory, 2: character recognition circuit,
3, 7: Encoder, 4: 1 character printing control circuit,
5: Printing device, 6: Address counter, 8:1
Line print control circuit, 9, 11: flip-flop, 12, 13, 15, 16: AND gate,
14, 17: OR gate, 18: Wire or gate, 20; Underline start code,
30: Underline end code.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an underline printing method for a sequential printing device that is equipped with a data buffer memory that stores print data and an underline printing function that prints an underline based on underline information, A plurality of characters are printed in a first direction based on the print data, and then the print head is moved in the first direction.
The underline is moved in a second direction opposite to the direction of the underline, and the underline is printed multiple times in the second direction on the necessary part of the underline based on the underline information, and the underline is printed multiple times in the second direction. An underline printing method for a sequential printing device, characterized in that the paper is then fed for that line.