JPH0113568B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a print control device suitable for a document processing device such as a Japanese word processor.

(b) Prior Art Currently, in document processing devices such as Japanese word processors, the width of the paper used for printing and the character pitch (distance between the centers of adjacent characters) are
You need to set the number of characters in a line. However, when printing a document in which the number of characters per line is specified on paper of an arbitrary width, the width of the paper may be so small that the characters for one line may not fit within the width of the paper. Also,
Conventional devices of this type have a problem in that the results cannot be known unless they are printed. Therefore,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-59792,
Before printing, a comparison is made in advance to see if one line of characters can fit within the width of the paper, and as a result of such comparison, if it is determined that the width of the paper is small and one line of characters cannot fit within the width, It has been proposed to provide a notification to that effect and to prevent printing.

However, in this method, the above-mentioned notification is only made by lighting an error lamp, so it is unclear what width of paper actually needs to be used to enable printing.

(c) Purpose of the invention The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
When printing documents created using CRT, etc.,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control device that can select paper having a width suitable for the document before printing.

(d) Structure of the Invention FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of the printing control device of the present invention, in which 1 is a storage means in which at least the number of characters N and character pitch P in one line are stored as printing conditions for an existing document; Paper width setting means for setting the width B of the printing paper; 3 a multiplication means; 4 a subtraction means; 5 a comparison means; 6 a message output means; 7 a control means for controlling each of the above means; The number of characters N is multiplied by the character pitch P by means 3, the multiplication result M and the width B are compared in the comparison means 5, and the difference S between M and B is calculated based on the comparison result C'. The subtraction means 4 calculates the difference S, and the message output means 6 outputs the difference S. Note that C1 to C6 in the figure are control signals from the control means.

(e) Embodiment FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which 11 is a control section consisting of a microcomputer, etc., and the control section sends control signals C1 to C9 according to a control program stored inside. The output controls the various means described below.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a large-capacity storage means such as a floppy disk, which stores an existing document consisting of a series of character codes, the number of characters in one line N, and the character pitch P as printing conditions for such a document. etc. are stored. Moreover, such memory contents are controlled by control signal C.
1.

Reference numerals 13 and 14 indicate first and second registers, in which the number N of characters and the character pitch P read out from the storage means 12 in response to the signal C1 are stored, respectively.

15 is a multiplier, and the test multiplier receives the control signal C2.
The contents of the first and second registers 13 and 14 are multiplied based on , and the product M is output.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a printer as a printing means, and the printer includes paper width setting means 17 for detecting the width of paper.
is installed. Such means 17 can be composed of, for example, a plurality of photo sensors that detect both ends of the paper in the width direction, and a circuit that calculates and outputs the paper width B based on the output signals of the photo sensors. Also, such means 1
7 is operated by a control signal C4, and the normal printing operation of the printer 16 is performed by a control signal C9.

18 is a comparator, and the comparator is the multiplier 1
5 and the output B of the setting means 17, and when it is "MB", "1" is sent to the control section 11,
When “M>B”, each comparison result signal is “0”.
Output as C′. Moreover, such an operation is performed by control signal C3.
It is carried out based on.

19 is a subtracter, which is the multiplier 1
5 and the output B of the setting means 17 are subjected to a subtraction process "B-M", and the difference S is outputted. Further, such a subtracter is operated by a control signal C5.

20 is a message output means, which includes a message storage section 21, first and second AND gates 2;
2, 23, synthesizer 24, CRT disk play 2
5, each operated by control signals C6 to C8. In such an output means, the data stored in the message storage section 21 is outputted to one terminal of the first AND gate 22 by the control signal C7, and the data stored in the message storage section 21 is outputted to one terminal of the first AND gate 22 by the control signal C8.
23 is turned on, the data outputted from the message storage section 21 and the output S of the subtracter 19 are outputted to the synthesizer 24 through these gates, and then both of the above data are outputted to the synthesizer 24 by the control signal C6. The images are synthesized at 24 and displayed on a CRT display 25.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a document memory for temporarily storing character code strings constituting a ready-made document in the storage means 12, and this memory is a semiconductor RAM (random access memory).
Consists of high-speed memory such as Further, the storage of the character code string is performed by inputting the control signal C1 to the storage means 12 and the document memory. 2
7 is a character generator that outputs a pattern corresponding to the above character code to the printer 16.
Such document memory 26, character generator 27
In response to the control signal C9, the printer 16 sequentially converts the character codes in the document memory 26 into a pattern using the character generator 27, and outputs the pattern using the printer 16.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be explained using FIG. 3 which shows a flowchart of the control program stored in the control section 11. Although not shown, the execution of the control program is started by a signal given to the control unit 11 from an input means such as a keyboard.

First, in step S1, data writing and paper width detection are performed based on control signals C1 and C4. Specifically, the number of characters in one line N, the character pitch P, and a series of character codes stored in advance in the storage means 12 are read out to the first and second registers 13, 14 and the document memory 26 by the control signal C1. The width B of the paper set in the printer 16 is detected by the paper width setting means 17 based on the control signal C4. At this time, the number of characters N and the character pitch P are controlled by the printer 1 by the control signal C1.
6 is also output as printing conditions.

In step S2, multiplication processing is executed in the multiplier 15 based on the control signal C2. In this process, the number N of characters stored in the first and second registers 13 and 14 is multiplied by the character pitch P in the multiplier 15, and the result M is multiplied by the number N stored in the first and second registers 13 and 14, respectively.
It is output to one input terminal of 9.

In step S3, comparison processing and subtraction processing are performed in the comparator 18 and subtractor 19, respectively, based on the output of the control signals C3 and C5. In the comparison process, the multiplication result M and paper width B are compared in the comparator 18,
The control unit 1 sets the comparison result signal C′ as “0” when “M>B” and “1” when “MB”.
Output to 1. Further, the subtractor 19 performs subtraction "MB" between the subtraction processing result M and the paper width B, and the result S is outputted to one input terminal of the second AND gate 23.

In step S4, the control section 11 identifies whether the comparison result signal C' output from the comparator 18 is "0" or "1". As a result, when this signal is "1", the process proceeds to step S5, and when this signal is "0", the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S5, the printer 16 starts a printing operation based on the control signal C9. This printing operation is a normal printing process in which a pattern sent from the character generator 27 is performed in accordance with printing conditions such as the number of characters N and character pitch P.

In step S6, the following message output processing is performed based on control signals C6 to C8.
The data previously stored in the message storage section 21 is outputted to one input terminal of the first AND gate 22 by the control signal C7, and both the first and second AND gates 22 and 23 are opened by the control signal C8. The data and the output S of the subtracter 19 are inputted to the combiner 24 through the two gates.
Further, both signals inputted to the combiner 24 are combined in the combiner 24 based on the control signal C6, and the CRT
The information is displayed on the display and the process ends.

Next, to make the above operation easier to understand, we will specifically describe the processing operation when the number of characters in one line N, the character pitch P, and the width B of the paper set in the printer 16 meet the following conditions (i) and (ii), respectively. Explain in detail.

At this time, the message storage section 21 displays "This paper is insufficient in width XXmm"...
Assume that the message () is stored as data.

(i) N×P>B At this time, in steps S1 to S3, 1 is stored in the first and second registers 13 and 14 from the storage means 12, respectively.
The number N of characters in the line and the character pitch P are stored, and the multiplier 15, subtracter 19, and comparator 18 calculate "N×P", "MB", and "M>B", respectively.
The comparison result signal C', which is the output of the comparator 18, is output to the control section 11, and the output S of the subtracter 19 is output to the second AND gate. Next, in step S4, it is determined whether the value of the comparison result signal C' is "0" or "1", but in this case, since "N×P>B", the result is "0", and the result is "0". The treatment is
Proceed to step S6 and end. In step S6,
The message ( ) stored in the message storage section 21 and the output S of the subtractor 19 are sent to a synthesizer 24
, and a message such as ``This paper is insufficient in Smm width'' is displayed on the CRT display 25.

(ii) N×PB In this case, the processing in steps S1 to S3 is as described above.
Since this is the same as the condition (i), the explanation will be omitted. Under such conditions, the comparison result signal C' becomes "1", so the routine proceeds from step S4 to step S5 and performs normal printing processing.

In this way, in the device of this embodiment, the width B of the paper set in the printer is the length M required for printing one line.
(=N×P), the paper width shortage S (=MB) is displayed on the CRT display 25, so that paper of a size suitable for printing can be selected based on this display.

In this embodiment, the printing paper width is detected using the paper width setting means 17 built into the printer 16, but it may be manually input using an input means such as a keyboard.
It may be configured to perform the processing from step S2 onwards based on such input values.

Further, in the present embodiment, the paper width shortage is displayed on the CRT display 25, but it may be configured to be notified by audio output means or the like instead of being displayed on the display.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 11, first and second registers 13, 14, multiplier 15, subtracter 18, and comparator 19 are configured separately, but these are configured on a single chip using a microcomputer. It's okay.

(F) Effects The use of the printing control device of the present invention is very effective because it allows selection of paper having a width suitable for printing before printing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2. . 1... Storage means, 2... Paper width setting means, 3...
... multiplication means, 4 ... subtraction means, 5 ... comparison means,
6...Message output means, 7...Control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 storage means storing at least the number N of characters in one line and the character pitch P as printing conditions for the existing document; paper width setting means for setting the width B of the printing paper;
A multiplication unit, a subtraction unit, a comparison unit, a message output unit, and a control unit for controlling each of the above units,
The number of characters N and the character pitch P are calculated by the multiplication means.
The multiplication result M and the width B are compared by the comparison means, and when it is determined that M>B as a result of the comparison, the difference S between the M and B is calculated by the subtraction means. and the difference S is outputted by the message output means.