JPH0550987B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for inputting print format data to a printer, and in particular, a method for inputting print format data on standard format paper using a transparent touch panel that allows coordinate input. This invention relates to a method of inputting a print start position as format data.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in addition to printing on regular paper, printers used in financial institutions print on standard format paper, such as slips, on which a printing format called a printing frame is printed in advance, with a frame at the position to be printed. Therefore, when printing on such standard format paper, a print format input device has been proposed to automatically print within the print frame.

The device and print format data input method will be explained below.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventionally proposed print format input device together with a printer, etc. In the figure, 1 is a print format input device called a touch panel tablet, and input from this print format input device 1 is shown in FIG. Data is sent to a printer 3 via an interface cable 2.

4 is a host computer, and print data is sent from the host computer 4 to the printer 3 via a center interface cable 5.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a standard format paper on which a printing format, that is, a printing frame is printed in advance, and the same paper is set in the printer 3 when printing.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of each device in Figure 3. As seen in this figure, the print format input device 1 is a transparent printer with electrodes arranged in a matrix and coordinate input possible by pressing a stylus pen, which will be described later. a touch panel 7, an operation switch section 8,
a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 9 that stores device control programs, etc.; a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 10 that stores print format data input from the touch panel 7;
It is provided with a CPU for controlling these, that is, a control section 11 of the print format input device 1, and this control section 11 is connected to a control section 12 of the printer 3 via an interface cable 2.

The printer 3 also has a space motor 14 connected to the control section 12 via a space motor driver 13, a print head 16 also connected to the control section 12 via a head driver 15, and a line feed to the control section 12. A line feed motor 18 connected via a motor driver 17, a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 19 that stores a control program for the printer 3, a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 20 that stores print data, etc., and a battery 21. Random access memory (hereinafter referred to as BBRAM) for storing print start positions backed up in
22, and the host computer 4 further includes a control section 23 connected to the control section 12 of the printer 3 via a center interface cable 5.

Note that the space motor 1 in the printer 3
4 is driven by a space motor driver 13 based on a command from the control section 12 during printing, and serves to reciprocate the print head 16 along with a not-shown carriage along a not-shown platen.

The head driver 15 also controls the print head 1 based on print data sent from the control unit 12.
6 to print on parallel paper or standard format paper set on the platen, and the line feed motor 18 is controlled by the controller 12.
It is driven by the line feed motor driver 17 based on a command from the platen, and functions to drive parallel paper or standard format paper through the platen.

Next, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the state at the time of inputting print format data using the print format input device 1. In the figure, 8a and 8b are switch keys forming the operation switch part 8 in FIG. 4 together with a switch circuit (not shown). Here, 8a is used as an input start key, and 8b is used as an input end key.

Further, 6a to 6e are print formats, that is, print frames printed on the fixed form paper 6, and 24 is a touch pen for inputting coordinates by pressing down on the touch panel 7.

In the above configuration, input of print format data is performed as follows.

First, when the input start key 8a of the print format input device 1 is pressed with a finger or the like, the pressing signal is transmitted.
A control unit 1 monitors the touch panel 7 and the operation switch unit 8 according to the control program in the ROM 9.
1 detects this, and based on this, the control section 11 transmits an input start signal to the control section 12 of the printer 3 via the interface cable 2.

When the controller 12 of the printer 3 receives the input start signal, it switches the mode of the printer 3 from the normal print data reception/print mode to the print format data input mode according to the control program in the ROM 19.

Next, the print format input device is placed on top of the standard form paper 6 placed on a desk or the like, and the upper left corner of the touch panel 7 is aligned with the upper left corner of the standard form paper 6, that is, the reference point, as shown in FIG.

Since the coordinates on the touch panel 7 have a one-to-one correspondence with the print area of the printer 3, the printing start position of each of the print frames 6a to 6e printed on the standard form paper 6 can be determined from the touch panel 7 using the touch pen. 24 to input coordinates, the coordinate values are sequentially read by the control unit 11, and the read coordinate values are sent to the control unit 1 of the printer 3 via the interface cable 2 as print format data.
Sent to 2.

However, if the control unit 12 is in a state where it cannot receive data at this time, the print format data is temporarily stored in the RAM 10 of the print format input device 1, and the control unit 12 is in a state where it can receive data. When the data is exhausted, it is taken out from the RAM 10 by the control section 11 and sent to the control section 12.

When the print format data is thus sent to the control unit 12 of the printer 3, the control unit 12 converts the received print format data into a print position in the print area, and stores this in the BBRAM 22 as print start position data. By repeating this data conversion and storage process by the number of inputs on the touch panel 7 using the touch pen 24, the print start position data are stored in the order in which they were input. That is, the print format data of the fixed form paper 6 is inputted to the printer 3 by the print format input device 1, and the print format is thereby set within the printer 3.

After the input on the touch panel 7 is completed, when the input end key 8b is pressed with a finger or the like, the pressing signal is detected by the control section 11 of the print format input device 1, and is sent from the control section 11 to the control section 12 of the printer 3. An input end signal is sent, and the control section 12 returns the mode of the printer 3 from the print format data input mode to the normal data reception/print mode.

The process of inputting the print format data is completed above, but once the print format is set in this way, the print format input device 1
Even if the printer 3 is disconnected from the printer 3 or the printer 3 is powered off, the set print format is retained in the BBRAM 22 by the battery 21, so it can be used as long as the printer 3 is powered on. It is.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of printing on standard format paper 6. A in the figure shows the set printing format, and the numbers in the printing frames 6a to 6c indicate the order of designation of the printing start position. Further, B in the same figure shows an example of print data sent from the host computer 4 to the printer 3, and C in the same figure shows the printing results.

As seen in this figure, when the print format shown in FIG. 6A is currently set, the print format shown in FIG. When the print data shown in is sent, the control unit 12 refers to the print format stored in the BBRAM 22, that is, the print start position data corresponding to each print frame 6a to 6e, and sets the print data in advance on a platen (not shown). The printing head 16 starts printing on the standard format paper 6, and further prints sequentially while shifting the printing start position every time an LF code (OHA) is received.

As a result, print data is printed on the standard format paper 6 in correspondence with each of the print frames 6a to 6e, as shown in FIG. 6C.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Although the conventional technology has been described above, it has the following problems.

In other words, while the aforementioned printers can print on multiple types of standard format paper of different sizes, conventional print format input devices can only input print format data for standard format paper that is smaller than the size of the touch panel. Therefore, when inputting print format data for large format paper, a print format input device equipped with a touch panel of a corresponding size is required, resulting in an expensive problem.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a printer print format data input method that allows input of print formats for standard format paper larger than the size of a touch panel. It is something to do.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention sets each of the four corners of the touch panel in a print format input device as a positioning point, sets one of them as a coordinate reference point, and also sets a positioning point correspondence for specifying the positioning point. The print format input device is equipped with operation keys and arithmetic means for calculating the position of the coordinate reference point as the touch panel moves.

[Effect]

The present invention having the above-mentioned configuration first divides the print format of the standard form paper into a plurality of areas when inputting print format data on a standard form paper larger in size than the touch panel of the print format input device. In each area, write reference points for positioning the adjacent area.

Then, align the coordinate reference point of the touch panel with the reference point of the predetermined standard form paper, enter the coordinates of the print start position of the print format of the first area, and then specify the positioning point using the operation keys. By inputting the coordinates of the positioning reference point of the next area, the calculation means calculates the coordinate value of the position to which the coordinate reference point should move based on the coordinate value, and further the positioning specified by the operation key is performed. Move the print format input device so that the point coincides with the positioning reference point of the next area.

After that, the process from specifying the positioning point using the operation keys is repeated as necessary in the same way as above, and during this time the coordinates of the print start position in the print format of each area are input, thereby printing the print format data of the standard form paper. can be entered.

Therefore, this makes it possible to input print format data for standard format paper that is larger than the size of the touch panel, and it is not necessary to have a print format input device equipped with a large touch panel as in the past, so an inexpensive device can be used. realizable.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a print format data input method for a printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a print format input device used in the embodiment of FIG.

First, to explain the device configuration, the print format device 25 shown in FIG.
9, a RAM 10, and a control section 11, and the operation switch section 8 is an input start key 8 shown in FIG.
Although it is the same as the conventional one in that it includes the input end key 8b, the configuration is different in the following points.

That is, this print formatting device 25 sets the horizontal direction of the touch panel 7 as the X coordinate and the vertical direction as the Y coordinate, and the coordinate value of the X coordinate is "0" at the left end, "99" at the right end, and the coordinate value of the Y coordinate is at the top end. The value is “0” at the lower end, and “99” at the lower end.

Then, each of the four corners of the touch panel 7 is set as a positioning point, and one of them, the positioning point in the upper left corner, is set as a coordinate reference point, and an operation key 8c is used to specify the positioning point to be used when inputting print format data. ~8f, where the operation key 8c is located at the positioning point in the upper left corner of the touch panel 7, the operation key 8d is located at the positioning point in the upper right corner, the operation key 8e is located at the positioning point in the lower left corner, and the operation key 8f is located at the lower right corner. Therefore, in addition to the conventional input start key 8a and input end key 8b and their switch circuits, the operation switch section 8 includes the operation key 8c.
~8f and its switch circuit.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 11 also functions as a calculation means for calculating the coordinate values of the movement position of the coordinate reference point, which will be described later.
A control program corresponding to the functions of this control section 11 is stored in the ROM 9.

Note that the printer 3 and host computer 4 are the same as those shown in FIG.

Next, to explain the print format data input method shown in FIG. Printing frame 26a~
26k is printed.

In this case, the area where the printing frames 26a to 26k fit into the touch panel 7 can be divided into three areas, so write the reference point P for positioning the area in the area of the standard form paper 26 with a pen, etc., and do the same in the same way. A reference point Q for positioning the area is written in the area.

Next, when the input start key 8a of the print format input device 25 is pressed with a finger or the like, the pressing signal is detected by the control unit 11, and based on this, the control unit 11 controls the printer 3 via the interface cable 2. An input start signal is transmitted to section 12.

When the controller 12 of the printer 3 receives the input start signal, it switches the mode of the printer 3 from the print data reception/print mode to the print format data input mode according to the control program in the ROM 19.

Also, at this time, the print format input device 25
The control unit 11 secures two registers OFX and OFY in the RAM 10 for indicating the position of the positioning point at the upper left corner of the touch panel 7, that is, the position of the coordinate reference point, and sets "0" as the coordinate value to both registers OFX and OFY, respectively. Write.

Thereafter, the print format input device 25 is placed on the standard form paper 26, and the touch panel 7 is aligned with the area. In this case, alignment is performed by aligning the coordinate reference point of the upper left corner of the touch panel 7 with the position of the upper left corner of the fixed form paper 26, that is, a predetermined reference point.

In this state, the printing frames 26a, 26 in the area
When the coordinates of each of the printing start positions in b and 26c are input by sequentially pressing down on the touch panel 7 with the touch pen (see FIG. 5), the control unit 11 reads the coordinate values of the X and Y coordinates of the input point. After adding the values of the registers OFX and OFY to each coordinate value, the coordinate values resulting from the addition are successively transmitted as print format data to the control unit 12 of the printer 3 via the interface cable 2, and then the printer The control unit 12 of No. 3 converts this print format data into a print position in the print area, and sequentially stores this in the BBRAM 22 as print start position data.

After inputting the print format data for the area in this way, the touch panel 7 is then moved to the area, but before that, as a movement preparation operation,
First, the operation key 8c is pressed to specify a positioning point.

A press signal caused by pressing this key is detected by the control unit 11, and the control unit 11 thereby recognizes the positioning point and enters a mode for calculating the position to which the coordinate reference point of the touch panel 7 should be moved. Press the touch panel 7 using the touch pen 24.
When the positioning reference point P written in the area from above is pressed to input the coordinates, the control unit 11 reads the X coordinate value Xp and Y coordinate value Yp of the input point, and stores these in the register in the RAM 10. OFX,
Add to OFY value.

In other words, the process here is to calculate the coordinate values of the position to which the coordinate reference point of the touch panel 7 should be moved when inputting the print format data for the next area. Since the positioning point is the coordinate reference point at the upper left corner of the touch panel 7, the positioning reference point P corresponds to the movement position of the coordinate reference point when the touch panel 7 is aligned with the area, and therefore this positioning Coordinate values of reference point P
By reading Xp and Yp and adding them to the values of the registers OFX and OFY, the coordinate values of the position to which the coordinate reference point is to be moved are calculated.

This completes the preparation for moving the touch panel 7. Next, move the print format input device 25 so that the positioning point at the upper left corner of the touch panel 7 matches the positioning reference point P, and move the touch panel 7. Align to the area,
In this state, use the touch pen 24 to print the print frame 26d,
The print start position within 26e and 26f is pressed down on the touch panel 7 to input print format data to the printer 3 in the same manner as in the area.

After inputting the print format data for the area, in order to input the print format data for the area next, enter the coordinate values of the point R at the upper left corner of this area, that is, the position to which the coordinate reference point should move next. Although it is necessary to calculate this point, since this point R is not within the area, the coordinates cannot be input.

Therefore, in this case, in preparation for moving the touch panel 7, the user first depresses the operation key 8e to specify the positioning point at the lower left corner of the touch panel 7.

A press signal caused by pressing this key is detected by the control unit 11, and the positioning point is recognized, so the coordinates are then input by pressing the point Q within the area, that is, the lower left corner of the area, from above the touch panel 7 using the touch pen 24. Then, the X coordinate value of that input point
The control unit 11 reads the X _Q and Y coordinate values Y _Q.

Here, from the positional relationship of the positioning points at the upper left corner and lower left corner of the touch panel 7, it is found that the coordinate values of point R are X _Q in the X coordinate and Y _Q -99 in the Y coordinate, and these are Since the coordinates are relative to point P, by adding the coordinate value X _Q to the value of register OFX and the coordinate value Y _Q -99 to the value of register OFY, the values of registers OFX and OFY become the coordinate value of point R. becomes.

The above process completes the preparation for moving the touch panel 7. Next, move the touch panel 7.
move the print format input device 25 so that the lower left corner of Press down from above to select the area,
Print format data is input to the printer 3 in the same way as in the case of .

Furthermore, the control section 1 of the print format input device 25
1 to the control unit 12 of the printer 3 as print format data, if the control unit 12 of the printer 3 is in a state where it cannot receive data,
The print format data is temporarily stored in the RAM 10 of the print format input device 25, and when the control section 12 becomes ready to receive it,
The data is extracted from the RAM 10 by the control unit 11 and sent to the control unit 12.

In this way, the area of the standard form paper 26,
When the input end key 8b is pressed after inputting all the print format data of As a result, the mode of the printer 3 is returned to the normal data reception/printing mode by the control unit 12.

Thereafter, the print data and LF code are sent from the control unit 23 of the host computer 4, and the print head 16 prints the print data into the print frames 26a to 26k of the fixed form paper 26 set in advance on the platen of the printer 3. It will be printed.

As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the four corners of the touch panel 7 of the print format input device 25 are used as positioning points, and the upper left corner of the four corners is set as the coordinate reference point on the touch panel 7. 8f specifies the positioning point to be used, and the relative movement amount of the coordinate reference point as the touch panel 7 moves on the fixed form paper 26 is determined by pressing the operation keys 8c to 8f and subsequently using the touch panel. After the calculation is performed based on the coordinate input at step 7, the subsequently input coordinate value is added to the calculated value, and this is input to the printer 3 as print format data.

In this case, the X coordinate of the input point when inputting coordinates on the touch panel 7 in calculating the coordinate values of the coordinate reference point is
When the X _A and Y coordinates are Y _A , changes in the coordinate values OFX and OFY of the coordinate reference point can be summarized as follows.

(1) When operation key 8c is pressed + coordinate input, OFX=OFX+X _A , OFY=OFY+Y _A (2) When operation key 8d is pressed + coordinate input, OFX=OFX+X _A -99, OFY=OFY+Y _A (3) Operation When key 8e is pressed and coordinates are input, OFX=OFX+X _A , OFY=OFY+Y _A -99 (4) When operation key 8f is pressed and coordinates are input, OFX=OFX+X _A -99, OFY=OFY+Y _A -99.

Therefore, by combining the operation of the operation keys 8c to 8f and the coordinate input operation of the touch panel 7, the input area can be expanded, and even if the paper is of any size, the print format data can be input. becomes possible.

Of course, any fixed format paper smaller than the size of the touch panel 7 can be input in the same way as before.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention sets the four corners of the touch panel of the print format input device as positioning points, sets one of them as the coordinate reference point, and also uses operation keys to specify each of the positioning points and the coordinate reference point. The print format input device is equipped with arithmetic means for calculating the coordinate values associated with the movement, and when inputting the print format of a fixed form paper larger than the size of the touch panel, the print format of the fixed form paper is divided into a plurality of areas. At the same time, the reference points for positioning of the adjacent areas are written in the divided areas, and the positions in each area are determined based on the combination of specifying the positioning point on the touch panel using the operation keys and inputting coordinates on the coordinate panel. While calculating the coordinate values of the position of the coordinate reference point, overlap each area with the touch panel,
I am trying to input the print format data.

Therefore, according to this, the input area for the print format input using the touch panel can be expanded, and it is possible to input the print format data on standard format paper of any size. There is no need to provide a touch panel that corresponds to the size of the standard format paper, and there is no need to prepare a device with a large touch panel, so it is possible to realize a print format input device that is cheaper than the conventional one. Another advantage is that it can take up a larger input area than a device with a large touch panel.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of inputting print format data for a printer according to the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the print format input device used in the conventional input method, FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. The figure is a front view of the conventional print format when inputting data.
The figure shows an example of printing on standard format paper based on a conventional input method. 1, 25: Print format input device, 3: Printer, 6, 26: Standard format paper, 26a to 26
k: print frame, 7: touch panel, 8c to 8d: operation keys, 11: control unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Lay the touch panel of a print format input device equipped with a transparent touch panel that allows coordinate input by pressing the touch panel on a standard form paper on which a print format is printed in advance, and start printing the print format. In a printer print format data input method of inputting a position using the touch panel and inputting the coordinate values to the printer as print format data, each of the four corners of the touch panel is used as a positioning point, and one of them is used as a coordinate reference. The print format input device is equipped with an operation key corresponding to the positioning point for setting the positioning point as a point, and a calculation means for calculating the coordinate value, and a fixed format larger than the size of the touch panel. When inputting print format data on paper, divide the print format of the standard form into multiple areas, write the reference point for positioning the adjacent area in each divided area, and set the coordinates of the touch panel. After aligning the reference point with the reference point of the predetermined standard form paper, specify the positioning point using the operation keys, and
By inputting the coordinates of the positioning reference point of the next area, the calculation means calculates the coordinate values of the position to which the coordinate reference point should move based on the coordinate values, and further calculates the coordinate values of the position to which the coordinate reference point is to be moved. Move the print format input device so that the positioning point matches the positioning reference point of the next area, and then
A process of inputting the coordinates of the print start position of the print format in this area and calculating the coordinate values by the calculation means is performed a necessary number of times, and at the same time inputting the coordinates of the print start position of the print format of each area. How to input printer print format data.