JPH0444780B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an output control method that can output character information in vertical or horizontal writing, and can also output ruled lines.

[Prior Art] There have been expectations for a device that can output character information in vertical or horizontal writing, and can also interpolate between ruled lines accordingly.

[Purpose] In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to interpolate the period up to the output position of the next ruled line pattern in the direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction when character information is output in horizontal writing. When outputting in vertical writing, the object is to provide an output control method that interpolates between the output position of the ruled line pattern in the foreground in the direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment according to the present invention.

The CPU is the central processing unit and has various functions such as various logical operations, reading/writing to memory, and controlling input/output devices. Su is a switching unit that controls access to two line buffers, which will be described later. For example, 2
control to prohibit access to one line buffer.

LBA and LBB are line buffers and central processing unit.
Codes such as line pitch and modification information for one line and information expressed in character internal codes, such as JIS codes, are input via the CPU. This line buffer LBA
LBB is a set of readable and writable registers. The data array stored in the above-mentioned line buffers LBA and LBB is arranged as shown in FIG. Here, one line of data to be output is 128
Consists of words. One word consists of 3 bytes (24 bits). The first word of the 128 words mentioned above is form feed data FFD (7bit), vertical and horizontal data.
CLD (1bit), row pitch start data LPED
(8bit) is arranged. The first 8 bits of the second word contain ruled line copy data KCD and modification information (AD).
are arranged, and then the character codes are arranged. Third
Character data is arranged from word to 128th word.

The above-mentioned row pitch start data LPSD and row pitch end data LPED will be explained in more detail.
For example, if one character pattern is
When expressed in 32X32, when writing characters of that pattern horizontally, the line pitch start data is arranged so that the two's complement of 32 > EO of the vertical data of the character pattern. (The > sign indicates that the number following it is 15.
Indicates a base number representation. In this case, the line spacing is
If 11 scanning lines are provided, >OA is arranged in the row pitch end data. In the case of vertical writing, the line pitch start data is the two's complement of the line spacing data. For example, if the line spacing is 8 scanning lines, >F8 is arranged.

Form feed data indicates the last line of the printed character line. For example, if >7F is written in hexadecimal in this field, it represents form feed, and from then on, the paper This means that there is no need to print to the end.
MPX is a multiplexer that selects and outputs either line buffer LBA or LBB with the support of a vertical timing control section, which will be described later.

Since the CGAC is a character generator address controller section (hereinafter referred to as the CG address controller section), the character code from the multiplexer MPX, for example, the JIS code, can be used to determine the character font corresponding to that character code in the CG (character radiator). It includes a code converter that converts the stored address into an address that indicates the beginning of the stored address. Note that output data from the CG address controller unit CGAC forms the upper address of the CG memory.
ADE is a modification information decoding unit, and has a function of decoding character modification information such as double-width upper/underline, upper/underline copy, and ruled line copy. CPC is a character pitch control unit that determines the spacing between characters in the horizontal direction (meaning the direction horizontal to the printing surface). In other words, character pitch information is stored in a register, a clock such as a dot clock (not shown) is counted, and when the desired value is reached, the next character font to be printed is output from the character generator.
Load 1ROW to the parallel-serial converter PSC. The line buffers LBA and LBB serve to generate a so-called register load signal, and to horizontally send a signal for counting up the address by one to the timing control unit HTC.
LPC is a row pitch control section that controls the vertical clock sent from the vertical timing control section VTC based on the row pitch information obtained from the multiplexer MPX.
Count VCK and use the counted value for example
If it is a 32x32 character font, the line direction is represented by a 5-bit code, and the ruled line copy information sent from the character modification information decoding section ADE sent to the character generator CG as a lower address and the ruled line copy information sent from the latch circuit LC. Depending on the vertical and horizontal information, in the case of horizontal writing, the ruled line font is copied downward in the interline area, and in the case of vertical writing, the ruled line font is copied upward. In order to print, switch the input of selector SC1 and use it as the lower 5 bit data of CG. It reads out the CG by outputting vertical and horizontal signals, and thereby generates dot signals. When the line pitch reaches a specified value, a line end signal is sent to the vertical timing control unit VTC to notify that one line of the character area and line spacing area has been printed. To the HTC, the horizontal timing control unit receives a movement, stop, or initialization signal from the central processing unit CPU, prepares to generate a basic clock such as a dot clock, and performs a beam scan from the laser beam printer LBP. The scan signal sent each time activates a dot clock transmitter (not shown), and the line buffer address is incremented by +1 using the line buffer count up signal sent from the character pitch control unit CPC. Line battle LBA
Or send to line buffer LBB. Also, a signal END OF informs the vertical timing control unit VTC that one cycle of beam scanning has completed.
Send SCAN (EOS).

VTC is a vertical timing control unit.The internal register is initialized by the central processing unit CPU, and upon receiving the print start signal sent from the laser beam printer LBP, it generates the clock VCK, which is the basis of vertical timing. Based on the row end signal sent from the row pitch control unit LPC, the line buffer LBA is switched from LBA to LBB, or vice versa, from LBB to LBA, to the multiplexer MPX. PRINT to give instructions or to notify the central processing unit CPU that one sheet of paper has been printed.
Sends an END signal. An address is formed with the lower address from the CG address control unit CGAC, and the contents of the address based on this are read out and sent to the parallel-serial conversion unit (hereinafter abbreviated as P-S conversion unit) PSC as parallel data.
The LBP is a laser beam printer, such as the LBP-10 manufactured by Canon Inc., which starts operation upon receiving a signal such as activation from the central processing unit CPU, and outputs serial output from the P-S conversion unit PSC. It prints a character image on printing paper based on the image. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the row pitch control section, and a more detailed explanation will be given based on this FIG.

LPCNT is a row pitch counter, and the signal line L10
When the signal sent via the signal line L10 becomes active, the row pitch start data generated from the multiplexer MPX is loaded at the rising edge of the vertical timing lock VCK sent via the signal line L10. When the signal is inactive, the clock VCK of the signal line L03 is counted. The row pitch register LPR stores the row pitch end data sent from the multiplexer MPX at the rising edge of the clock on the signal line L03 when the signal on the signal line L10 is active. VDE is a vertical decoder, and the data from the row pitch counter LPCNT is expressed in hexadecimal as 00.
~1F (Hereafter, the symbol > will be added to hexadecimal representation.) Detect whether it is. HDE is a horizontal decoder,
Data from row pitch counter LPCNT >E0~
>Detect whether it is FF. When such VDE, HDE is outputting a signal, it indicates a character area. COM is a comparator that compares the value of the row pitch counter LPCNT and the value of the row pitch register LPR to see if they are equal. When the values of the two become equal, send a signal to the signal line L10,
It also sends a coincidence signal to the vertical timing control section VTC through the signal line L08. SC1
is a selector which selects the output of either a signal from a latch circuit or a signal from a row pitch counter LPCNT, which will be described later. Figure 4 shows selector SC1
In the detailed diagram, 5-bit data from the row pitch counter is input to A INPUT, and vertical and horizontal data from the latch circuit is input to B INPUT. more selector
The selector signal from SC1 enters terminal S. The vertical and horizontal data is 0 for vertical writing and 1 for horizontal writing.
Select A INPUT in the character area, and select B INPUT in the line spacing area. Y
The output of OUTPUT is applied to HCG and VCG.
SC2 is a selector which selects and outputs the outputs of the decoders VDE and HDE according to the output of a latch circuit which will be described later. LC is a latch circuit that stores a signal that specifies vertical or horizontal writing.

VCG is a vertical character generator that is enabled by the signal from the latch circuit LC, selects one character pattern by the signal from the CG address controller CGAC, and selects the character pattern column by column by the signal from the row pitch counter LPCT. Output.

HCG is a horizontal character generator, which is enabled by the output of the inverted signal from the latch circuit LC using the inverter INVI. Also, a character pattern is selected using the output from the CG address control CGAC, and the character pattern is read using the output from the line pitch counter LPCNT. The PSC in FIG. 1 is the same as the PS converter PSC. The PS conversion unit PSC takes in the output of the character generator using a timing signal from the character pitch control unit CPC.

G1 is an AND gate, which is opened and closed by a signal sent from selector SC2, and allows or suppresses the output of PS converter PSC. The signal passing through this gate is sent to the laser beam printer LBP.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, this embodiment has two line buffers each consisting of 128 words with 24 bits per word. The first word of this line buffer contains form feed data consisting of 7 bits and 1
It has vertical and horizontal modification information consisting of bits, line pitch start data consisting of 8 bits, and line pitch end data consisting of 8 bits. Form feed data indicates the last line of printed characters, for example,
If >7F is written in hexadecimal, it indicates a form feed, and it means that there is no need to print to the end of the paper after that. Also, from the 2nd word to the 128th word, modification information, character pitch data, and character code are entered.

The operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.
Now consider characters expressed in a 32x32 dot matrix as the information to be output.

First, the case where the information string to be output is output in horizontal writing will be explained.

In the case of horizontal writing, the vertical and horizontal bits in one line of character information sent from the central processing unit CPU to the line buffers LBA and LBB are stored as 1, which indicates horizontal writing. The line pitch start data field stores a two's complement value of the number of vertical dots of a character font, that is, the number of scanning lines required to form one character image. That is, in this embodiment, since the vertical character font is 32 bits, >E0 is stored. Next, the line pitch end data field stores the number of scanning lines between the lines between characters. Now, if the line spacing is 11 scanning lines, >0A is stored. (>00 is also included, so >0A
becomes. ) The explanation will be based on the storage column of the first word of the above line buffer. First, when a start instruction is issued from the processing unit CPU, the line pitch control unit
The internal registers of the LPC are cleared, the load signal on the signal line L10 from the comparator COM is output to the row pitch counter LPCNT, the row pitch register LPR, and the latch circuit LC, and the line buffer select signal on the signal line L08 is output to the multiplexer MPX. line buffer sent to
LBA will be selected. Here, according to instructions from the horizontal timing control unit HTC, the first word of the line buffer LBA, that is, the pitch information, is read and sent to the multiplexer.
MPX is connected to the signal line L02. Then, the clock VCK, which is generated every time at the beginning of the laser beam scan cycle of the laser beam printer LBP, is outputted from the vertical timing control unit VTC via the signal line L03, and the load signal L10 at this time is also sent to the multiplexer generated on the signal line L02. The row pitch start data of the row pitch signal L02 from MPX is used as the row pitch counter.
Row pitch end data to LPCNT goes to row pitch register LPR, and vertical and horizontal data goes to latch circuit LC.
are loaded into each. This causes the row pitch counter LPCNT and the row pitch register LPR to be set to low.
Comparator COM, which detects whether the output lines of 04 and L05 are equal, compares the value >E0 from signal line L4 and the value >0A from signal line L05, and since they are not equal, the load signal on signal line L10 is input. Become active. Then, the control is set to the horizontal timing control HTC, and the device operates to generate a VIDEO signal for one horizontal scanning line.

Next, when the second scan starts again, the clock VCK of the signal line L03 is output, and when this signal rises, the row pitch counter LPCNT increases by +1.
It is incremented and becomes >E1. This operation is repeated to scan one line until the line pitch counter LPCNT reaches 0A. (However, the line pitch counter LPCNT used here is >
After FF, it has a function that becomes >00. ) In other words, up to this point, first the character area has been scanned 32 times between ROC signal active states, and then the interline area has been scanned 11 times between ROC signal inactive states. Here, the comparator COM compares the row pitch counter LPCNT and the row pitch register LPR and, since they are equal, outputs an equal signal to the vertical timing control section VTC via the signal line L08. Based on this signal, the vertical timing control unit VTC switches the multiplexer MPX and the switch unit Su in response to the signal end-of-scan (EOS) that occurs at the end of every scan cycle sent from the horizontal timing control unit HTC. Do this.
This allows the multiplexer MPX to output data from the line buffer LBB.
Since the LOAD signal on the signal line L10 is still active, when the clock VCK on the signal line L03 rises, the row pitch information from the line buffer LBB is loaded into the row pitch counter LPCNT, the row pitch register LPR, and the latch circuit LC. , from now on as above
This means that 11 lines of interline scanning, which is 32 lines of character area scanning, are repeated. By repeating the above operations, it is possible to print one page.

In the case of vertical writing, the roles of the start data field and end data field in the line pitch data section in Figure 2 are simply reversed (this process is performed by the CPU).
), which is no different from horizontal writing. In other words, the line pitch data start data field becomes 0, and the number of scanning lines in the interline area is written as a two's complement value in the line pitch start data field, which is stored in the line pitch counter LPCNT, and then written in the line pitch end data field. The number of dots in the horizontal direction of the character font, that is, the number of scanning lines required to form one character image, is written and stored in the line pitch register LPR. For example, if the line spacing is 8 lines and the character area has 32 scanning lines,
In the row pitch start data field of the line buffer, >F8, which represents 8 in two's complement, is written, and in the row pitch end data field, >1F is written. In this manner, subsequent operations are performed in the same manner as in the case of horizontal writing, and printing is performed with 8 line spacing scans and 32 character area scans.

First, we will explain how to print a ruled line copy in the case of horizontal writing. Line exchange LBA or LBB
The character code and modification information are read from the CG, and based on this, the ruled line font is accessed from the horizontal CG, a VIDEO signal is generated by the P-S converter PSC, and the video signal is refreshed using a raster scan type CRT. Reads the character code modification information etc. from memory, then reads the character pattern for that character code, and generates the DEO signal via the parallel-serial converter.
Output one raster of that character font to the CRT screen, read the refresh memory again, and use the same method as before to output one raster of the next character font to the screen, and then output only the CG raster. By repeating this, you can output one line of characters. Now vertical 32
Let us take as an example a case where a 32-bit horizontal character font is printed with 32 scanning lines in the character area and 11 scanning lines in the interline area. In other words, according to the above explanation, >E0 is written to the row pitch start data field of the line buffer, and >0A is written to the row pitch end data field. Register LPR is loaded with >0A. Then, a horizontal writing flag is set in the latch circuit LC. For horizontal writing, line pitch counter
When LPCNT is >FF, the horizontal decoder HDE outputs a signal ROC indicating the character area, a ruled line font according to the ruled line code of the line buffer is outputted from the character generator HCG, and then outputted by the laser beam printer LBP. When the row pitch counter LPCNT becomes >00, the horizontal decoder
The HED no longer outputs the decode signal, and the laser beam printer LBP finishes scanning the character area. Next, the process moves to inter-line scanning, and at this time, the ruled line copy bit is involved. Therefore, in the above case, if the ruled line copy bit of the modification information field read from the line buffer is on, the ruled line copy signal is sent to the selector by equalizing line L09.
The select signal generated here is output to the selector SC1, which causes the vertical and horizontal signals from the latch circuit LC to become lower addresses to the horizontal character generator HCG.
Furthermore, the gate G1 is opened to output a serial signal in which the pattern from the horizontal character generator HCG is input to the PS converter PSC. This allows the laser beam printer LBP to print ruled lines.
In the case of vertical writing, the vertical decoder VDE is initially inactive (does not output a decode signal), so
If the border copy bit of the modification information field read from the line buffer at this time is on,
A ruled line copy signal is output and applied to selector SC2, and when generated by selector SC2, a select signal is applied to selector SC1, whereby selector SC1 selects and outputs the vertical and horizontal signals from latch circuit LC. . This allows CG
A ruled line pattern is input from the character generator VCG to the PS converter PSC in response to an address signal from the address controller CGAC and an address signal from the selector SC1, which converts the signal into a serial form and opens it by the selector SC2. It is output to the laser beam printer LBP via gate Gl. And the row pitch counter LPCNT is >00
A decode signal is output from the vertical decoder VDE for ~>1F, and while this signal is being output,
This becomes a character area, and the selector SC forms data from the line pitch counter as a CG row address, and ruled lines are printed. An example of ruled line copying is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The fifth case is vertical writing, where the line pitch counter starts with >FA. The line pitch counter from >FA to >FF is the interline area where nothing is printed, and the area from >00 to >1F is the character area where the ruled line font "'' is printed. Next, the line pitch register is set to >F8, and the ruled lines are copied in the interline area from >F8 to >FF. In other words, in the interline area in vertical writing as shown in Figure 5, the row address to the CG is 0000 in binary, so the 32 words (1
In particular, the pattern of the first word of a 32-bit word is repeatedly printed until the line pitch counter becomes >FF. This is copying the ruled line upwards. Next, when the row pitch counter becomes >00, the character area starts from here, so the lower 5 bits of data from the row pitch counter are used for the row address to CG as shown in Figure 5.
If the font is the 1st word, that is, only the lower 5 bits are expressed in binary, the 32nd word from 00000 is
Items up to 11111 are printed sequentially. Similarly, for the ruled line font "|" on the third line, the line pitch counter from >FC to >FF is the interline area, so the pattern with row address 0000 is repeatedly printed during this period, and the line pitch counter is >000.
Thereafter, the patterns indicated by the row addresses of the ruled line fonts are printed one after another. FIG. 6 shows an example of horizontal writing, in which the first line starts with the line pitch counter >E0. In the case of horizontal writing, the line pitch counter from >E0 to >FF indicates the character area, and the ruled line font ""
patterns are printed in sequence. Next, when the value of the line pitch counter becomes >00, the area from here to >0A becomes the line spacing area, and ruled line copy printing is performed during this period. In other words, the row address forming the lower 5 bits of the 16-bit address signal indicating the address of the CG where the ruled line font "" is stored is 11111 in the second order, as shown in Figure 4. Ruled line copying is achieved by repeatedly printing the 32nd word pattern.
This is copying the ruled line downward. Next, the second line starts printing the ruled line font "⊥", but as before, between the character areas, the 32-word pattern of the "⊥" font is printed sequentially according to the row address. be done. Next, the line spacing area is entered, ruled line copying is started, and the row address is fixed to 11111 in binary, and the value of the line pitch counter is >
The 32nd word pattern of the "⊥" font is repeatedly printed from 00 to >03. The ruled line font "|" on the third line is also printed in the same way.

Fig. 7 shows an example of printing according to the content written on the line buffer, and shows vertical writing and horizontal writing, but since the content of the line buffer is usually written in character codes, However, in this figure, it is shown as a character image for convenience. In FIG. 7, in the case of vertical writing, ruled line bits are set in the ruled line copy bit column except for the first row. In other words, this means copying upwards of the ruled lines in vertical writing. Similarly, in the case of horizontal writing, all ruled line copy bits are set except for the last line where ruled lines continue. In other words, this means copying below the ruled line in horizontal writing.

As mentioned above, even in the case of vertical writing and horizontal writing, the vertical and horizontal modification information signals are used as lower addresses of the CG between character areas.In the case of horizontal writing, the ruled line pattern is directed downward, and in the case of vertical writing, the ruled line pattern is directed upward. By copying and printing, you can easily match the ruled lines.

[Effect] As detailed above, according to the present invention, when character information is output in horizontal writing, the character information is interpolated in the direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction up to the output position of the next ruled line pattern. When outputting in vertical writing, it has become possible to provide an output control method that interpolates between the output position of the ruled line pattern in the foreground in the direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram explaining one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a line buffer, and FIG.
The figure is a detailed block diagram of the line pitch control section shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a detailed diagram of the selector SC2 shown in Figure 3, Figure 5 is an illustration for explaining the output of a character pattern for horizontal writing, and Figure 6 is for vertical writing. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the output of the character pattern. LPCNT...Line pitch counter, LPR...Line pitch register.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A storage unit that stores one line of character information and instruction information that instructs to interpolate and output between two ruled line patterns that should be output in a direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction. It has two of the above-mentioned memory parts, and in parallel with the reading of one line of character information from one of the memory parts, the operation of writing one line of character information into the other memory part is repeated alternately. In the case of vertical writing, the line spacing process follows the character area processing, so that the underline is drawn below the character, and in the case of vertical writing, the line spacing process precedes the character area processing, so that the underline is drawn below the character. Controls the output so that the upper line is drawn to the right of the character, and furthermore, when outputting character information in horizontal writing, refers to the instruction information stored in the storage unit,
When outputting character information in vertical writing by interpolating the period up to the output position of the next ruled line pattern in the direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction, refer to the instruction information stored in the storage unit, An output control method characterized by interpolating between the output position of a nearby ruled line pattern in a direction perpendicular to the output scanning direction.