JPS6366671B2 - - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a character pattern output control device, particularly in a raster scan type printing device, etc.
The present invention relates to a character pattern output control device capable of printing characters such as suffix characters added to characters above and/or below within one line.

Technical background, conventional technology, and problems When printing characters, symbols, mathematical formulas, etc.
It is often necessary to print characters with suffix characters, as shown in FIGS. However, when printing such characters with conventional raster scan type printers such as laser printers, patterns corresponding to each suffix are printed using a character generator (hereinafter referred to as CG), as shown in Figure 1. )
It was necessary to store the information in the ``file'' and read it. Therefore, when there are a large number of suffix patterns, a corresponding pattern storage area is required for each suffix, and in particular, as shown in Fig. There is a problem in that it is necessary to hold only the combinations, and therefore a large capacity CG is required.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a character pattern output control system that can print a large number of suffix characters without increasing the capacity of CG.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the character pattern output control device of the present invention includes a character pattern storage section that stores character patterns, and a buffer that holds character information of characters to be output. A character pattern output control device that reads character patterns from the character pattern storage section and sends them to an output section according to character information held in the character pattern storage section, wherein the character pattern storage section is an area for storing normal-sized character patterns. , an area for storing a suffix pattern, and the buffer has a division for holding attribute information indicating whether the character to be output is a normal character pattern or a suffix pattern;
an upper security section for holding upper security information and a lower security section for holding lower security information; address information generating means for generating head address information of the security area; and a scanner for counting the number of scans. a counter, and a first selection for selecting one of the upper suffix division or the lower suffix division in response to the scan counter having counted a count number corresponding to half of a predetermined number of scans for one character. and a second selection means for selecting either the upper suffix section or the first address information according to the attribute information, and when outputting the normal character pattern, the normal character pattern is indicated in the attribute information section. Information is stored by dividing the access address information of the character pattern storage section into the upper and lower suffix sections, and when outputting the suffix character pattern, information indicating the suffix pattern is stored in the upper and lower suffix sections. Access address information of the character pattern storage section corresponding to the suffix pattern to be output is held in the suffix section, and the first and second selection means read out the information of each section and select the character according to this information. It is characterized by reading character patterns from a pattern storage section.

Embodiment of the Invention An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 2 to 7.

Fig. 2 shows the character generator (hereinafter referred to as CG) used in the present invention, Fig. 3 shows the entries for the line buffer, Fig. 4 shows the line buffer memory, and Fig. 5 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the CG address, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the suffix printing.

In the figure, 1 is a line buffer, 2 is a CG address division, 3 is a print information division, 4 is a line buffer memory, 5 is a fixed address register, 6 is an AND gate, 7 is a scan counter,
MPX1 is a first multiplexer, and MPX2 is a second multiplexer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the CG has a character pattern area C in which normal character patterns are stored and a suffix pattern area S in which suffix character patterns are stored. This suffix pattern area S is provided with a blank character section SE in which no character/symbol pattern is stored. This CG address consists of 2n bits. Also, the saphix pattern area S
As will be described later, a specific upper address is assigned to the upper n bits. Therefore, each suffix pattern is stored divided by the lower n bits.

Line buffer 1 is set with print information indicating the character code of the character to be printed and the attributes of that character, including whether or not it is suffix printing, and the character code is set as a CG address in CG address category 2. , and print information indicating the attribute of the character is set in print information category 3. As shown in Figure 3A, when printing a normal character, the CG address category 2 (1 to 2n bits) is set to the start address of the corresponding character pattern of the CG that stores the character. Become. However, in the case of suffix printing, as shown in FIG. CG address (1) Division 2-2 (n+1 to 2n bits)
Each CG address is divided into two.

Line buffer memory 4 has this printing device as 1
This is a memory that constitutes a line buffer for one line in which print information to be printed on a line is set. For example, the print information for the first character is written at address 0, and the print information for the second character is written at address 1. Filled out. Each piece of printed information is composed of contents as shown in FIG. 3 A and B.

The fixed address register 5 has the upper n bits of a specific upper address for indicating the suffix pattern area S shown in FIG.
A desired suffix is selected from the suffix pattern area S by the address for accessing 2n bits, which is composed of the upper n bits set in register 5 and the lower n bits of CG address (1) or CG address (2). The pattern will be read out.

The scan counter 7 counts the number of raster scans required to print one line, and is 1
"0" is output until 1/2 of the number of scans required to print a line is counted, and after that 1/2 is counted, "1" is output, and
Applied to gate 6. Of course, this scan counter 7 counts the scan signals and outputs the count value as shown by the dotted line.

The first multiplexer MPX1 outputs a CG address (2) when "0" is applied from the AND gate 6, and outputs a CG address (1) when "1" is applied from the AND gate 6.

Further, the second multiplexer MPX2 outputs the data of the fixed address register 5 when SUFIX "1", which is output when the printing is suffix printing, is applied from the printing information section 3 of the line buffer 1, and when the printing is not suffix printing, the second multiplexer MPX2 outputs the data of the fixed address register 5. CG address (1) is output when SUFIX “0” is applied.

Next, the operation shown in FIG. 5 will be explained.

(1) When the character to be printed is a normal character In this case, in print information classification 3, since it is not a suffix character, SUFIX "0" is output, and therefore AND gate 6 outputs "0". are doing. Therefore, CG address (2) is output from MPX1, and CG address (2) is output from MPX2.
(1) is output. In the case of normal characters, as shown in Figure 3A, the CG address set in CG address category 2, that is, the 2n-bit access address assigned to the normal character pattern, is divided into upper n bits and lower n bits. By CG address (1) + CG address (2) stored as
CG is what is accessed. Thus
When SUFIX is "0", the output of the AND gate 6 is "1" regardless of the output of the scan counter 7, and the MPX2 selects and outputs the CG address (1).
Since the MPX1 selectively outputs the CG address (2), it is possible to obtain the CG address of the 2n-bit normal character pattern which is divided and stored into CG address (1) + CG address (2). Actually this CG
The address is the first address of the character to be printed, and is determined by the scan counter 7 which counts up every time the horizontal synchronization signal is input.
By sequentially transmitting the scan addresses 1, 2, etc. each time the line buffer for one line is accessed, a complete pattern for one character and one line is sequentially output, but this kind of thing is not possible. Since this is a common method in raster scan type printing apparatuses, the following explanation will be omitted.

(2) When the characters to be printed are upper suffix printing If the characters to be printed are upper suffix printing as shown in Figure 7A, the CG address (1) is the lower address of the blank character classification SE (for example, all "0"). ") is set, and the n-bit lower address of the upper suffix print character is set to CG address (2). Also, since suffix printing is clearly indicated in printing information category 3, SUFIX "1"
is output. Further, the scan counter 7 outputs "0" until the number of scans becomes 1/2 of the number of scans necessary for printing one line, and outputs "1" after 1/2. Therefore, at first, AND gate 6 outputs "0", so MPX1 is CG address (2)
and also MPX2 for SUFIX “1”
outputs the n-bit upper address of the suffix pattern area S set in the fixed address register 5. Therefore, for the CG memory, the first n bits of the fixed address register 5 and the CG address as shown in the lower right of FIG.
A 2n-bit address consisting of n bits in (2) is given, and a desired suffix pattern is read out from the suffix pattern area S of the CG. At this time, as in the case of outputting the normal character pattern described above, this 2n-bit address is the start address of the suffix pattern, and the patterns corresponding to each scan line according to the scan address of the scan counter 7 are sequentially output. The entire suffix pattern is output at /2 scans. Next, when the scan counter 7 counts 1/2 of the number of scans required to print one line,
The HLINE output of this scan counter 7 is “1”
Then, AND gate 6 outputs "1",
MPX1 will output CG address (1). Therefore, this time, as shown in the lower left of FIG. 6, the suffix pattern area S of the CG will be accessed by the upper n bits of the fixed address register 5 and the n bits of the CG address (1). However, in this case, as described above, since the lower address of the blank character classification SE is set in the CG address (1), blank printing will now be performed. Thus, the seventh
Top suffix printing as shown in Figure A can be performed.

(3) When the characters to be printed are lower suffix printing As shown in Figure 7B, if the characters to be printed are lower suffix printing, then the lower address of the blank character classification SE is set to CG address (2). ,
The lower address of the character to be printed in the lower suffix is set to CG address (1). Therefore, blank characters will be printed during the first 1/2 scans, but after that, characters that should be printed as suffixes will be printed, making it possible to print as shown in Figure 7B. .

(4) When performing upper and lower suffix printing When performing upper and lower suffix printing as shown in Figure 1C, set the lower address of the character to be printed in the lower suffix in CG address (1), Also, set the lower address of the character to be printed in the upper suffix to CG address (2). Of course, at this time, SUFIX outputs "1" and scan counter 7 outputs HLINE "0", so the CG is initially accessed with the CG address in the lower right state of Figure 6, so the desired The top suffix is printed. When the scan counter 7 outputs HLINE "1", the CG is accessed at the address in the lower left state of FIG. 6, so lower suffix printing is performed. In this way, desired upper suffix printing and lower suffix printing can be performed.

Therefore, for example, when outputting characters in the form shown in FIG.
The address number is the CG address (2n bits) of character pattern area C, where the attribute information "0" is stored in division 3 and the character pattern "C" is stored in division 2.
is set, and at the (n+1)th address, "1" is stored in section 3, the lower n bits of the blank character SE are stored in section 2-2, and the suffix character "1" is stored in section 2-1. It is sufficient to set the lower n bits of the suffix pattern area S.

Although the above description has been made regarding the case where characters are printed, it is of course possible to perform similar printing control not only for characters but also for symbols, codes, and other patterns.

Effects of the Invention When outputting suffixes using a conventional raster scan type output device, it was necessary to hold each suffix pattern in the CG.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when preparing all the suffix patterns even for just the two characters 1 and 2, eight patterns S ₀ to S ₇ are required. However, according to the present invention, it is necessary to prepare only two characters "1" and "2" as the suffix pattern, and it is possible to perform suffix printing that allows for various combinations without increasing the CG capacity too much. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the safix, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the character generator used in the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the line buffer.
Fig. 4 shows the line buffer memory, Fig. 5 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 6 shows the CG address, Fig. 7 shows the suffix printing, and Fig. 8 shows the suffix pattern as a character. It is an explanatory view when holding with a generator. In the figure, 1 is the line buffer, 2 is the CG address category, 3 is the print information category, and 4 is the line buffer.
Memory, 5 is fixed address register, 6 is AND gate, 7 is scan counter, MPX1
is the first multiplexer, and MPX2 is the second multiplexer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A character pattern storage unit that stores character patterns, and a buffer that stores character information of characters to be output, and stores the character pattern according to the character information held in the buffer. A character pattern output control device reads out a character pattern of a part and sends it to an output part, wherein the character pattern storage part includes an area for storing a normal size character pattern and an area for storing a suffix pattern; The buffer has a section that holds attribute information indicating whether the character to be output is a normal character pattern or a suffix pattern, an upper suffix section that holds upper suffix information, and a lower suffix section that holds lower suffix information. and an address information generating means for generating start address information of the suffix area; a scan counter for counting the number of scans; and a scan counter for counting the number of scans for one character determined in advance. a first selection means for selecting one of the upper suffix section or the lower suffix section depending on the count number corresponding to half; and one of the upper suffix section or the first address information according to the attribute information; a second selection means for selecting the normal character pattern, and when outputting the normal character pattern, information indicating the normal character pattern is added to the attribute information category.
The access address information of the character pattern storage section is divided and held in the lower suffix section, and when a suffix character pattern is output, information indicating the suffix pattern is output to the attribute information section, and the information indicating the suffix pattern is output to the upper and lower suffix sections. The access address information of the character pattern storage section corresponding to the suffix pattern to be selected is held, the information of each category is read out by the first and second selection means, and the character pattern of the character pattern storage section is selected according to this information. A character pattern output control device characterized by reading out.