JP2001282498A - Information processor, information processing method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print out data from an output device accurately and quickly as much as possible by selecting one of plural modes as to an information processor, an information processing method and a storage medium. SOLUTION: A pre-check module 213 checks the contents of printing data (plotting data) at least for one page. The checked printing data are temporarily stored in a hard disk 1231 as a PDF. A CPU 260 performs arithmetic processing based on the device type information of each output device such as a printer 100, specified layout information and the checked result, selects an optimum data format out of plural data formats capable of processing the stored printing data in each prescribed unit by the output device and allows any one of a page description language type (PDL) data processing part 234 and monochromatic IBPP image mode processing parts 235 to 237 to perform data conversion processing into a data format optimum to the printer 100.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium, and more particularly, to converting print data into a plurality of data formats that can be processed by a plurality of output devices and outputting a print command. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium having a data conversion processing unit to generate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A print control method and a processing flow in a conventional print information processing system will be described with reference to FIG.

Generally, as shown in FIG. 10, a host computer 1 is connected via parallel communication means such as a Centronics interface or network communication means.
The printer 200 is connected to the printer 200 and forms a printing system.

On the host computer 1200 side, application programs such as a word processor and a spreadsheet are used.
The software 1201 (hereinafter, abbreviated as an application) is a so-called operating system 1210 (hereinafter, abbreviated as a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States).
OS). When printing is performed by the application 1201, the function of the graphic subsystem 202 among several subsystems provided by the OS 1210 is used from within the software program.

[0005] The graphic subsystem 202
For example, in Windows, GDI1211 (Graphic Dev
It is called an “Ice Interface” and manages processing of image information for the display 30 and the printer 100.
The GDI 1211 includes the display 30 and the printer 1
In order to absorb the dependency of each device such as 00, a module called a device driver is dynamically linked, and output processing is performed for each device. This module for printer 100 is called a printer driver 1212.

In the printer driver 1212, a DDI (Device Driver In) which is determined in advance to be mounted on a device driver in accordance with its capability, function, and the like.
terface). API (Application Progra
ming Interface) call by the GDI 1211
Data conversion is performed for the driver, and the DDI function group is appropriately called from the GDI 1211 to execute a predetermined print process.

In the GDI 1211, the application 1201 is transmitted via the printer driver 1212 as described above.
Are sequentially processing print requests. The processing system of the printer driver 1212 performs print processing by performing normal PDL mode or image mode processing.

However, as shown in FIG. 10, a print request is temporarily spooled on a page-by-page basis as a page data file PDF on a hard disk 1231, and a PDL command generation unit 123 in a spool subsystem 1230 is spooled.
It is also possible to adopt a mode in which output is performed in job units by using any one of the print instruction generation processing units 1235, 1236, and 1237, which is an image mode renderer. By adopting such a form, the spooled data
The user can once preview on the display 30 via the I1211. The user can change the layout by using the layout change module 1239 based on the result, and change the number of output copies and the output destination.

A PDL command generation unit 1234 sends a PDL (Printer Description Language) to the printer 100.
This is intended for a device equipped with a controller capable of processing a control command called a printer command. As soon as spooled information is converted into a PDL command, the printer 100 is connected via the I / F 1240.
To send to.

The process of the printer driver 1212 is DD
Since only a command corresponding to the data received at I is generated one-to-one, it can be said that this is a light process for the printer driver 1212. As a feature of the PDL mode type, if the PDL command analysis capability of the printer 100 is high, data with a high degree of abstraction can be received from the GDI 1211 and transmitted as it is, so that the data size to be transferred is reduced in normal page printing. It is possible to

On the other hand, in the image mode type, the print image is expanded on a memory space secured in the spool subsystem 1230 so that the printer 100 does not perform advanced drawing processing, and the expanded image is processed. The data is converted into a format that can be directly printed by the printer 100, and sent to the printer 100 for printing.

That is, similarly to the PDL mode type, the image mode renderers 1235 to 1237 are used by using the spooled data passed from the GDI 1211.
Performs drawing processing on the band memory 1238, and when the drawing processing for one band is completed, sends bitmap data to the printer 100 via the I / F 1240.

In either case, the printer 1
00 or the host computer 1200 needs to perform drawing processing on the band memory 1238 or a memory space for a full page.

However, in a color printer, 96 Mbytes are required to secure a memory of 600 dpi, A4 full page with 8 bits for each color of RGB. At present, it is difficult to secure the memory by either the host computer 1200 or the printer 100. . Therefore, a method of using a band memory 1238 for a drawing process of a color printer has been proposed.

The data format finally passed to the printer engine (not shown) is not luminance data such as RGB, but density data indicating the toner amount of the YMCK format printer 100 is stored in a memory in both the image mode and the PDL mode. 1 bit or 2 bits for each color of YMCK for reduction
Generally, processing is performed with bits. In the image mode, there is an image mode in which the transfer data size is suppressed by transmitting 1-bit or 2-bit data of each YMCK color, and the load on the printer 100 side is reduced.

For example, regarding the printing process of a polygonal figure, in the case of the PDL type, the coordinates of the bending point and the line width, the color information of the line, the inner color information, etc. are transferred as commands to the printer 100, and the information is internally stored in the printer 100. Is analyzed, and a rendering process is performed on the image data in the output form by using a memory space for one band of 1 bit or 2 bits for each color of YMCK prepared inside.

In the PDL system, there is a possibility that print commands are generated indefinitely for one page, and the number of print commands output by applications in recent years is increasing steadily. However, when printing is performed by banding processing, it is necessary to hold intermediate data immediately before drawing for one page, which causes a reduction in processing speed in a memory-saving printer.

The image mode method is a method for avoiding such a problem.

The printer driver 1212 operating on the host computer 1200, which has more memory configuration than the printer 100, has a drawing memory for each band or a full page, and develops a polygon image there. When the drawing process for one band or a full page is completed, the contents of the drawing memory are transferred to the printer 100 as image data, and a predetermined image is printed and output.

As described above, in order to save memory in both the PDL mode and the image mode, each of the YMCK colors 1,
The rendering process is performed in a device-dependent color space of 2 or 4 bits. However, since the logical operation drawing process defined by the GDI 1211 is a process in a luminance space, a drawing error may occur. To avoid this, Y
Reverse UCR (Under Color Reversion) to return from MCK value to RGB value
move) processing to perform logical operation processing. However, such processing does not guarantee complete drawing processing, but also causes a reduction in processing speed.

Therefore, the user normally performs the drawing process in the PDL mode, and if the output takes too long,
Switch to high-speed image mode mono1BPP (image mode of 1 bit (bit per Pixel) for each color of YMCK) and output again, or if an incorrect output result is output, R
It may be necessary to perform twice or three times such as re-outputting in the GB24BPP image mode.

That is, at present, the selection of such a print mode is left to the user, and the optimum mode cannot be understood unless printing is performed in all the modes. Also, if pages of different types are included in multi-page printing, 1
In the mode, there are also problems that the output time is too long or that incorrect output pages are mixed.

FIG. 11 summarizes the features of each mode.

[0024]

In order to solve these problems, there is a demand for a system for automatically switching so that only data suitable for each system flows. An automatic mode switching method used has been proposed.

However, the other purposes of spooling are "change page layout" and "change output destination".
Is expected to cause the following problem. Even if the mode is predicted based on the information checked at the time of spooling, the prediction is incorrect if a layout change such as N-up designation is performed at the time of de-spooling. If the output destination of spooled data is changed, the prediction result may not match depending on the model.

In other words, by checking the spool contents at the time of spooling, it is possible to eliminate double reading of the data for checking. However, if the output means or layout values are changed after spooling, there is a problem in the predicted mode. Is expected to occur.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problem by enabling high-speed and accurate drawing processing to be performed at all times even if the layout designation value and output destination are changed after spooling by simply selecting one mode. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus capable of performing the method, an information processing method using the apparatus, and a storage medium storing a control program of the method.

[0028]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the drawing data to be printed is temporarily spooled and printed after at least one page of drawing data is spooled. An information processing apparatus for generating data, comprising: a check unit for checking the contents of at least one page of drawing data to be spooled; and generating the print data by converting a data format based on the spooled drawing data. A plurality of data conversion processing means,
Based on device information of an output device of an output destination and a check result by the check unit, a data format of the drawing data to be printed is selected in a predetermined unit from an appropriate data format among a plurality of types, and the corresponding data conversion process is performed. An information processing apparatus having an adaptation processing means for performing data conversion processing to the appropriate data format by means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the adaptation processing means includes: model information for each of the output devices; designated layout information;
There is provided an information processing apparatus that performs an arithmetic process based on a check result by the check unit and performs the data conversion process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, there is provided a print data storage unit for temporarily storing the drawing data checked by the check unit, and the data conversion processing unit includes The print data is stored in the print data storage means, and the drawing processing is performed on the spooled drawing data in an RGB color space.
First conversion means for converting data into a color space, second conversion means for performing a YMCK color space data conversion on the spooled drawing data to perform a drawing process in a YMCK color space, and the spooled drawing data And a third converting means for converting the data into data in a page description language format for performing a drawing process by the output device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the print data storage means converts the checked and spooled drawing data into all of the plurality of data formats. Provided is an information processing device that stores data in a data format that can be converted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the checking means includes a number of calls for each type of drawing command for the predetermined unit, size information of the spooled drawing data, Means for obtaining the outermost rectangle when each drawing command is executed, and for each virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit, the outermost of the outermost rectangle and a call of the drawing command related thereto. Means for storing the number of times and the size information, and when storing the spooled drawing data for one page in the print data storage means, storing the spooled drawing data in association with the held check result Provide equipment.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, a drawing function input from an operating system is converted into the drawing data as intermediate data, and the print data storage means is provided. To provide an information processing apparatus having spooling means for spooling the drawing data.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the adaptation processing unit that causes the data conversion processing unit to perform the data conversion processing includes a processing of the output device. The first about speed
An information processing apparatus comprising: a calculating unit that calculates a second parameter; and a selecting unit that selects, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameter.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, a result of the check by the check means of the virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit by a band or a matrix by the calculation means. And the first processing time when the page description language format data converted by the third conversion means is transmitted to the output device, and the image data format converted by the first and second conversion means. When a print command is sent to the output device, a second processing time is obtained, the first processing time is compared with the second processing time by the selection means, and processing in a format determined to be capable of high-speed output is performed. An information processing device to be selected is provided.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, the calculating means includes the number of calls for each type of the drawing command, the size information, environment information of the apparatus itself, and Provided is an information processing apparatus that calculates the first processing time based on environment information of an output device, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, the calculating means includes: an outermost drawing area of the virtual area, environment information of the apparatus itself, and environment information of the output device. , Layout specification information,
And an information processing apparatus for calculating the second processing time based on the number of output gradations.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for temporarily spooling drawing data to be printed and generating print data after at least one page of drawing data has been spooled. At least one
Check to check the contents of the drawing data for the page
And a data conversion step of converting the data format based on the spooled drawing data to generate the print data by using a plurality of data conversion processing means; device information of an output device of an output destination; Based on the check result in the step, a data format of the drawing data to be printed is selected in a predetermined unit from a suitable data format among a plurality of types, and a data conversion process is performed by the corresponding data conversion processing unit to the suitable data format. And an adaptation processing step to be performed.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the eleventh aspect, in the adaptation processing step, model information for each output device, designated layout information, a check result in the check step And an information processing method for performing the data conversion processing by performing an arithmetic processing based on the data conversion processing.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the eleventh aspect, in the data conversion step, the drawing data checked in the check step is stored in print data storage means, A first conversion step of performing rendering processing on the rendered rendering data in an RGB color space to convert the rendering data into data in a YMCK color space;
A second conversion step of performing rendering processing in the YMCK color space by performing data conversion in the MCK color space, and a third conversion step of converting the spooled rendering data into data in a page description language format in which rendering processing is performed by the output device. An information processing method for selectively performing the conversion step is provided.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the thirteenth aspect, the print data storage means stores the checked and spooled drawing data in all of the plurality of types of data formats. Provided is an information processing method for storing data in a data format that can be converted.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the thirteenth aspect, the checking step includes the number of calls for each type of drawing command for the predetermined unit and the size information of the spooled drawing data. Determining the outermost rectangle when each drawing command is executed; and, for each virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit, the outermost contour of the outermost rectangle, Holding the number of calls and the size information, and storing the spooled drawing data for one page in association with the held check result when storing the spooled drawing data in the print data storage unit. Provide a processing method.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the thirteenth aspect, the print data storage means converts a drawing function input from an operating system into the drawing data as intermediate data. A spooling of the drawing data.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the eleventh aspect, the adaptation processing step of causing the data conversion processing means to perform data conversion processing includes the processing speed of the output device. The present invention provides an information processing method comprising: a calculating step of calculating first and second parameters related to a data format; and a selecting step of selecting, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameters.

The invention according to claim 18 is the information processing method according to claim 17, wherein, in the calculating step, a check is performed in the checking step of a virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in band or matrix units. A first processing time for reading the result and transmitting the page description language format data converted in the third conversion step to the output device; and an image / data converted in the first and second conversion steps.
A second processing time is obtained when a print command in a data format is sent to the output device, and the first processing time and the second processing time are compared in the selecting step to determine that high-speed output is possible. To provide an information processing method for selecting a process according to.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the eighteenth aspect, in the calculating step, the number of calls by type of the drawing command, the size information, the environment information of the apparatus itself, and An information processing method for calculating the first processing time based on environment information of an output device, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations is provided.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method according to the eighteenth aspect, in the calculating step, the outermost drawing area of the virtual area, environment information of the apparatus itself, and environment information of the output device are provided. And an information processing method for calculating the second processing time based on layout designation information and the number of output gradations.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing a control program for an information processing method for temporarily spooling drawing data to be printed and generating print data after at least one page of drawing data is spooled. Wherein the control program checks the contents of at least one page of the drawing data to be spooled; and
A data conversion step of converting the data format based on the spooled drawing data to generate the print data by using a plurality of data conversion modules, device information of an output device of an output destination, and a check result in the check step A data format of the drawing data to be printed is selected in a predetermined unit from a suitable data format among a plurality of types, and a data conversion process is performed by the corresponding data conversion module to the suitable data format. And a storage medium having:

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-first aspect, in the adaptation processing step, model information for each output device, designated layout information, and a check result in the check step are included. The present invention provides a storage medium that performs an arithmetic process based on the data conversion process.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-first aspect, in the data conversion step, the drawing data checked in the check step is stored in print data storage means, and the spooling is performed. A first conversion step of performing rendering processing on the rendered rendering data in an RGB color space to convert the rendering data into data in a YMCK color space;
A second conversion step of performing a rendering process in a YMCK color space by performing a data conversion in a K color space, and a third conversion process of converting the spooled rendering data into data in a page description language format in which a rendering process is performed by the output device. A storage medium for selectively performing a conversion step is provided.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-third aspect, the control program stores the checked and spooled drawing data in a print data storage unit in the plurality of data formats. And a storage medium having a step of storing the data in a data format that can be converted into the data.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-third aspect, the checking step comprises:
Obtaining the number of calls for each type of drawing command for the predetermined unit, the size information of the spooled drawing data, and the outermost rectangle when each drawing command is executed; and For each divided virtual area, the outermost contour of the outermost rectangle,
Holding the number of calls of the related drawing command and the size information. When storing the spooled drawing data for one page in the print data storage unit, the stored check result And a storage medium for storing in association with the storage medium.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-third aspect, a drawing function input from an operating system is converted into the drawing data as intermediate data, and the print data is stored in the print data storage means. A storage medium having a step of spooling the drawing data is provided.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-first aspect, the adapting step of causing the data module to perform a data conversion process includes the first step relating to the processing speed of the output device. And a calculation step of calculating a second parameter, and a selection step of selecting, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameter.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-seventh aspect, in the calculating step,
When reading the check result of the check step of the virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in band or matrix units, and transmitting the page description language format data converted in the third conversion step to the output device; Determining a first processing time and a second processing time when a print command in the image data format converted in the first and second conversion steps is transmitted to the output device; and determining the first processing in the selection step. A storage medium is provided which selects a process in a format determined to be capable of high-speed output by comparing the time with the second processing time.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-eighth aspect, in the calculating step,
A storage for calculating the first processing time based on the number of calls for each type of the drawing command, the size information, the environment information of the apparatus itself, the environment information of the output device, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations. Provide media.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the storage medium according to the twenty-eighth aspect, in the calculating step,
A storage medium for calculating the second processing time based on the outermost drawing area of the virtual area and the environment information of the apparatus itself, the environment information of the output device, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations is provided.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided the storage medium according to the twenty-first aspect, wherein the control program is a printer driver program.

[0059]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) Before describing the configuration of this embodiment, a color laser beam as a print information processing apparatus for performing printing of a printing system to which this embodiment is applied. The configuration of a printer (hereinafter, described as “color LBP”) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
Has a resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi),
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a structure of a color LBP in which each pixel of each color component performs image recording based on multi-value data expressed by 8 bits.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a main body of a color LBP, which is composed of print data (print data including character codes and image data) and control codes supplied from an externally connected host computer or the like. The information is input and stored, and a corresponding character pattern, image, or the like is created in accordance with the information, and an image is formed on recording paper as a storage medium.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a formatter control unit that analyzes print information supplied from the host computer to generate a print image and controls the color LBP main body 100. Also, the formatter control unit 110
Is connected to an operation panel section 120 in which switches for operation by the user and a status notification to the user and an LED display are arranged. The operation panel section 120 is provided as a part of the exterior of the printer 100. Has been established.

The final print image generated by the formatter control unit 110 is sent to the output control unit 130 as a video signal, and the output control unit 130
A control signal is output to the optical unit 140 and various drive system mechanisms together with state inputs from various sensors (not shown) of the control unit 00 to control the printing process of the printer 100.

In the printer 100 shown in FIG. 1, the paper P fed from the paper feed cassette 161 is held on the outer circumference of the transfer drum 154 with its leading end held by the clipper 154f. The latent image of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 151 by the optical unit 140 is developed by each color developing unit Dy, Dm, Dc, Db of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B). Then, the image is visualized and transferred to the paper P around the transfer drum 154 a plurality of times to form a multicolor image. Then, paper P
Is separated from the transfer drum 154 and the fixing unit 15
5 and is discharged from the paper discharge unit 159 to the paper discharge tray 160.

Here, the developing units Dy, Dm, Dc, D
The developing device selecting mechanism 152 has a rotation support shaft at both ends thereof, each of which can rotate around the rotation support shaft.
Is held. Thereby, each developing device Dy, Dc, D
As shown in FIG. 1, b and Dn adopt a configuration in which the attitude can be maintained constant even if the developing device selection mechanism 152 rotates about the rotation shaft 152a for developing device selection. After the selected developing device is moved to the developing position, the developing device selection mechanism 152 is integrated with the developing device, and the selection mechanism holding frame 153 is pulled toward the photosensitive drum 151 by the solenoid 153a around the fulcrum 153b. It is configured to move in the direction of the photosensitive drum 151 to perform the developing process.

Next, the photosensitive drum 1 is charged by the charger 156.
51 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity. The print information developed as an image in the formatter control unit 110 is converted into a video signal of a corresponding pattern and output to a laser driver, whereby the semiconductor laser 1
41 is driven. The laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 141 is controlled on / off in response to the input video signal, and further deflected to the left and right by a polygon mirror 142 rotating at a high speed by a scanner motor 143, and reflected by a polygon lens 134. Scanning exposure is performed on the photosensitive drum 151 via the mirror 144. Thereby, the photosensitive drum 1
An electrostatic latent image of an image pattern is formed on 51.

Next, for example, an M (magenta) color electrostatic latent image is developed by an M (magenta) color developing device Dm, and a first M (magenta) toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 151. It is formed. On the other hand, the paper P is fed at a predetermined timing, a transfer bias voltage of the opposite polarity (for example, positive polarity) to the toner is applied to the transfer drum 154, and the first toner image on the photosensitive drum 151 is transferred to the paper P. At the same time, the paper P is electrostatically attracted to the surface of the transfer drum 154.

Thereafter, the photosensitive drum 151 has the remaining M
The (magenta) color toner is removed by the cleaner 157 to prepare for the next color latent image formation and development process. Hereinafter, C (cyan), Y (yellow), Bk
The transfer of the second, third, and fourth color toner images is performed in the order of (black). However, when transferring each color, the transfer drum 1
54 is different in that a higher bias voltage is applied than before.

When the leading end of the paper P on which the four color toner images are superimposed and transferred approaches the separation position, the separating claw 158 approaches and the leading end contacts the surface of the transfer drum 154, and the paper P is transferred to the transfer drum 154. Separated from The separated sheet P is transported to the fixing unit 155, where the toner image on the sheet P is fixed, and is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 160.

The color LBP 100 in the present embodiment
Performs image output at a resolution of 600 dots / inch (dpi) through the above image forming process. The printer to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a color laser beam printer, but can also be applied to other printing type color printers such as an ink jet printer and a thermal printer.

Next, the formatter control section 110 in the printer 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The formatter control unit 110 is a part usually called a PDL controller or the like, and an interface (I / I / I) serving as a connection means with a host computer.
F) a unit 111, a reception buffer 112 for temporarily holding and managing received data and the like, a transmission buffer 118 for temporarily holding and managing transmission data and the like, a command analyzing unit 113 for analyzing print data, and printing. Control processing execution unit 114, drawing processing execution unit 115, page memory 11
6 and so on.

An interface (I / F) unit 111 is a communication means for transmitting and receiving print data to and from the host computer 200, and uses IEEE as a communication protocol.
This enables communication conforming to E-1284.
However, the present invention is not limited to this communication means,
The connection may be based on various protocols via a network, or may be communication means conforming to IEEE-1394.

The print data received through the interface unit 111 is sequentially stored in a reception buffer 112 which is a storage unit for temporarily storing the print data.
The command is read and processed by the command analysis unit 113 or the drawing processing execution unit 115 as necessary.

The command analysis unit 113 is constituted by a control program conforming to each PDL command system and print job control language, and performs a drawing processing execution unit based on a result of analysis of print data regarding drawing of characters, graphics, and images. The processing is performed by giving an instruction to the print control unit 115 and issuing a command to the print control processing execution unit 114 using a command other than drawing, such as a paper feed selection or a reset command.

The rendering process execution unit 115 is a renderer.
Each drawing object such as a character or an image is sequentially developed in the page memory 116. The color LB described above with reference to FIG.
For P, it is necessary to transmit page data in MCYK plane-sequential, but in a standard state, not all the memory required for the data transmission is secured, and the number of one plane (1 or 2 bits / Pixel) A memory is secured as a one-half band area, and the image is processed in synchronization with the engine speed by effectively using the band area.

Normally, the page memory 116 is managed by the expansion processing by the YMCK renderer and the following of the video signal shipping to the printer engine, that is, banding control. An area where development of minutes can be performed may be secured.

Generally, the formatter controller 11
0 is a central processing unit (CPU), read only
Memory (ROM), random access memory (RA
M) and the like. In addition, the processing of each unit may be configured to perform time sharing processing under a multitask monitor (real-time OS), or a dedicated controller hardware may be prepared for each function and independently processed. The processed configuration may be used.

The operation panel 120 is for setting / displaying various states of the printer 100 as described above. The output control unit 130 controls the page memory 1
Then, the content of the content of the document 16 is converted into a video signal, and the image is transferred to the printer engine 150. Printer engine 15
Reference numeral 0 denotes a printing mechanism for forming a received video signal on a recording sheet as a permanent visible image, which is described above with reference to FIG. The printer 100 has been described above.

Next, the overall configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment including the host computer 200 will be described. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a host computer which outputs print information including print data and a control code to the printer 100. host·
The computer 200 is configured as one computer system including a keyboard 10 as an input device, a mouse 20 as a pointing device, and a display monitor 30 as a display device. The host computer 200 is
such as ndowsNT ((registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States))
It is assumed that the operation is performed by S1210.

In the host computer 200, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 10 denote the same last three digits, and a detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

On the host computer 200 side,
Focusing only on the functional parts related to the present invention, OS 121
If the functions on 0 are roughly classified, application 2
01, the graphics subsystem 220, and
A spool sub-system including a print information storage unit using a hard disk described below and a communication unit with the printer 100
The system 230 is roughly divided.

The application 201 refers to application software such as a word processor or a spreadsheet operating on the OS 1210. The graphic subsystem 220 is a part of the function of the OS 1210.
phy Device Interface (hereinafter referred to as phy Device Interface)
GDI 211) and a printer driver which is a device driver dynamically linked from the GDI 211.
And a driver 212.

The printer driver 212 is the GDI 21
1 is called via a DDI (Device Driver Interface) interface 214, and performs processing corresponding to the device for each drawing object.

In this print information processing system, the information passed to the DDI function is spooled on the hard disk 231 as a page data file PDF in page units. By calling the pre-check module 213 which is a module for checking information, the data contained in the page is analyzed. By analyzing the data of one page, the number of times the drawing command included in the page is called for each type and the total result of the data size are generated. Further, the drawing area in the page obtained from these pieces of information is held as the outermost (circumscribed) rectangle.

The above result is given a name associated with the corresponding PDF through the GDI 211, and as a PCF (pre-check file), the RAM 2
62 or hard disk 232.

The spool subsystem 230 is a subsystem specific to a printer device located downstream of the graphic subsystem 220, and is also called a de-spooler. Thus, once the print information is spooled, the user can specify an output device using the UI and change the page layout at the time of output.

In order to realize this, the despooler 233 of the spool subsystem 230 reads the PDF in the hard disk 231 which is the print information storage means, and sends the PDF to the designated output destination. In accordance with the page layout, the print command generation processing units 234 to 237 are called after performing scaling processing on spool data using the layout change module 239,
Generating a print command.

The present invention employs the following means in order to enable precise automatic mode switching even when output conditions change during despooling. 1. Device information (Dev. Inf25) describing the drawing processing speed and illegal printing conditions for each selectable output device
0) 2. 2. Environmental information such as free disk space and processing speed of the host machine (host computer 200) 3. Check result per page (PCF) Layout information The most suitable processing system 2 according to the result calculated based on the above information
34 to 237 are determined in page units, band units, or matrix units.

Here, the optimum processing system changes depending on the mode automatic switching policy. For example, if high-speed printing is prioritized, a mode in which high-speed processing is likely to be performed is selected, and if image quality is prioritized, a processing system that is as fast as possible is selected on the assumption that illegal printing does not occur.

The selected processing systems 234 to 237 perform image expansion using the band memory 238 in the image mode, and convert the spool file into PDL commands in the PDL mode. F
The data is transmitted to the printer 100 via 240.

The PDF data spooled on the hard disk 231 can be reproduced any number of times by changing the printing conditions and the output destination by using the de-spooler 233. For example, it is also possible to change the layout designation and output the result by viewing the result once output by the user. in this case,
If the output destination changes, the device information is newly read, and if the layout setting value changes, the optimum processing system is calculated accordingly.

The names and functional frameworks described above may vary slightly depending on the OS 1210 used. However, as long as the components can realize the components of the present invention, the names and frameworks are important to the present invention. is not. For example, what is called a spooler or a spool file can be implemented by incorporating a process into a module called a print queue in another OS.

Generally, the host computer 200 including these functional modules includes a central processing unit (CPU) 260 and a read only memory (RO).
M) 261, random access memory (RAM) 2
62, hard disk drive (HDD) 231,
OS (Operating System) under hardware such as 232, 250 and various input / output control units (I / O).
Basic software called em) controls the control,
Under the OS, each application software and subsystem process operate as a function module.

(More Detailed Description of Host-Side Printer Driver) In order to carry out the present invention, the printer driver 212 operating on the host computer 200 needs at least the following functions. (1) Drawing data spooling means (2) Checking means for each drawing command at the time of spooling, drawing area holding means (3) Means for reading device information, output environment information, layout information and check results before despooling ( 4) Means for Selecting Reproducing Means from Check Result Hereinafter, each means will be described.

(1) Drawing Data Spool Means A description will be given with reference to FIG. 3 taking Windows NT 4.0 as an example.

In Windows NT 4.0, GDI2
The following are examples of the drawing DDI function called from step S11.

DrvcopyBits (), DrvBitBlt (), DrvstretchBl
t (), DrvstrokePath (), DrvFillPath (), DrvstokeAndFillPath (), DrvPaint (), DrvTextOut () The drawing object is passed from the GDI 211 via an argument to these functions. For example, the argument of the image drawing processing function DrvcopyBits () is BOLD DrvcopyBits (SURFOBJ * psoDest, // handle connected to the drawing destination memory SURFOBJ * psoSrc, // handle connected to the source data CLIP0BJ * pco, // clip information Handle XLATEOBJ * pxlo, // handle of color conversion information RECTL * prclDest, // destination rectangle area POINTL * pptlSrc, // upper left coordinates of source data)

In the PDL mode, first, clip information is acquired from pco, a clipping designation command is issued, and then the source image data indicated by psoSrc and pptlSrc is transferred to psoDest and prclD.
An image drawing command is generated and issued so that drawing is performed before the destination indicated by est. In image mode, p
SoDest and psoS at the destination indicated by prclDest
Copy processing may be performed on the image indicated by rc and pptlSrc only in the area indicated by pco.

In order to carry out the present invention, it is necessary to determine the optimum processing mode after knowing the drawing information for one page, and then execute the despooling processing. For this purpose, it is necessary to spool the data passed to the DDI function in a data format that can be reproduced in any mode at the time of despooling.

First, it is necessary to hold spool data in page units. Therefore, the PDF 3000 of FIG.
Subsequent to the Page ID 3001 for specifying the page, page information (PageInf) that holds the page size, data size, the number of stored objects, and the like.
o) It has 3002 as a header.

Subsequently, a number 3003 indicating the drawing function called by the DDI function is entered. Here, Dr
The description will be made using vCopyBits as an example.

Datasize3004 is DrvCop
The size information on the spool of yBits 3003 is stored. soDset3005 is DrvCopyBi
Stores information that can be obtained by psoDest, indicating the surface information of the drawing destination passed to the ts () function. S
oSrc3006 is the psoDes indicating the source surface information passed to the DrvCopyBits () function
Stores information obtainable at t. The source image data 3007 is a source image that can be obtained from psoSrc.
It is the entity of the image data.

Co3008 is DrvcopyBit
p indicating the drawing destination clip information passed to the s () function
Stores information that can be obtained from co. In addition, clip
If data exists, then clip data 3
009 is stored. xlo3010 is DrvCopyB
pxol indicating the color conversion information passed to the it's () function
Stores information that can be obtained with.

The rclDest 3011 is a DrvCop
Stores information that can be obtained from prclDest and indicates a rectangle on the drawing destination surface that is passed to the yBits () function. ptlSrc3012 is DrvcopyBi
Stores information that can be obtained from pptlSrc, which indicates from which position on the source surface the drawing is to be passed to the ts () function.

Thereafter, the spool of data necessary for each drawing function continues for one page.

At the time of de-spooling, the de-spooler 233
Thus, by returning the information spooled to the DDI function of the selected driver and passing it, the existing printer driver can operate with the DDI function specifications.

(2) Checking means for each drawing command at the time of spooling, drawing area holding means The checking means and the drawing area holding means for each drawing command at the time of spooling are used when the drawing data passed to the printer driver 212 is spooled. The information of the spool data is analyzed by checking the following points related to the processing speed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when spooling the drawing command in (1), information on mode switching is acquired and stored in a data structure such as a PCF (pre-check file) 232 in FIG. And
It is realized by spooling.

The data structure of the PCF includes a job number (jobID) 4001 to which the file belongs, a page number
This structure starts with the number (PageNo) 4002, and the corresponding page can be specified by these two values.

In addition, a Bandinfo structure 4030 (B) in units of bands obtained by dividing a page in the Y-axis direction.
andInfo structure [0] to [n]). The virtual area is represented by Vb in pageSize4003.
The band of the size shown in andSize4004 is b
andCnt4005 is a virtual definition of the band area spread over the area.

The BandInfo structure 4030 is a BandRec holding the virtual band area as rectangular information.
The structure starts with tL4010. This structure 403
In 0, drawing processing information related to the area of BandRectL4010 can be recorded.

More specifically, as described below, the maximum circumscribed rectangular area (DrawRectL) of the drawing processing drawn in the band is as follows.
4011, a chromatic area (ColorRectL) 4012 in the drawing area drawn in the band, an area (ROPrectL) 401 in which illegal printing occurs in YMCK printing
3. Drawing processing area by image system function (ImgRec
tL) 4014, a graphics area (GraphicRectL) 4015, and a character area (TextRectL) 4016.

The regions indicated by the above-described RectL structures are shown in FIG. 5 for easy understanding.

Reference numeral 501 in (a) denotes DrawRe.
The outermost rectangular area of the drawing area in each virtual band held by ctL 4011 is shown.

Reference numeral 502 in (b) denotes ColorR
The outermost rectangular area of the area where the drawing process is performed in chromatic colors (colors) in each virtual band held by ectL4012 is shown.

Reference numeral 503 in (c) denotes ROPRec.
The outermost rectangular area of the drawing area where unauthorized printing occurs in each virtual band held by tL4013 is shown.

Reference numeral 504 in (d) denotes ImgRec
The outermost rectangular area of the image-based drawing area in each virtual band held by tL4014 is shown.

Reference numeral 505 in (e) denotes Graphi.
The outermost rectangular area of the graphics drawing area in each virtual band held by cRectL4015 is shown.

Reference numeral 506 in (f) denotes TextRe.
ctL4016 shows the outermost rectangular area of the character-based drawing area in each virtual band held by ctL4016.

Each of the above-mentioned areas is obtained by finding the outermost rectangular area of the drawing area estimated from the drawing command at the time of drawing data spooling, and indicating an overlapping portion of the obtained area and BandRectL4010.

The BandInfo structure 4030 of FIG.
Means that the information for each DDI function is also 4017-40
Collect in the element indicated by 20. Windows NT 4.0 DD
Taking I as an example, information on a StretchBlt function, which is a DDI function capable of specifying enlargement / reduction of a bitmap, is stored in StretchBlt4019.

The StretchBlt 4019 includes St
Number of calls to the retchBlt function callcnt40
191, 1 BPP image number 1 BPPCnt 401
Total data size of 92,1 BPP image 1
Rendering information such as BPPTotalSize40193,..., Which is a rendering function related to a rendering area for each band, is stored.

CopyBit which is another DDI function
s4017, BitBlt4018, ..., Polygo
Similarly, n4020 has a data structure in which each function holds information passed to the I / F.

(3) Means for reading device information, output environment information, layout information, and pre-check result before de-spooling. Device information. In determining a processing mode from information collected at the time of spooling, graphics data by a printer. Processing speed,
If the processing speed and the logical operation capability of the image data are different, the prediction result may be different. The device information is obtained for each printer, and the filed information is stored in the system as an installation file. Output environment information This means reading output environment information such as the capabilities (CPU speed, disk speed, free disk space, etc.) of the host computer 200 on which the printer driver 212 operates, and the transfer speed between the printer 100 and the host. Layout information The transfer data size when processed in the image mode changes depending on the page size to which pageSize 4003 is actually output. For example, if the A4 page is output at the same magnification, one page is 4M if monochrome 1 bit.
It is a byte, but if it is reduced to half, one page is 2Mb
It changes like yte. Since the data size in the image mode greatly affects the processing speed, it is important as a prediction parameter.

On the other hand, when arranging a plurality of pages per page such as N-up designation, when processing in the PDL mode, the data size per physical page changes. For example, if pages that could be processed at high speed in the PDL mode in a single page are collected into one page by specifying 4-up, the data size to be processed per page becomes four times larger for the printer, and the image mode Processing speed may be reduced.

A page at the time of spooling is defined as a logical page, and a page at which rendering processing is actually performed at the time of output is defined as a physical page.
Layout information indicates how logical pages are arranged in a physical page. • Pre-check result The result of the check with the spooler is stored on the hard disk 232
Is read as a pre-check result. That is, the PCFs of all the logical pages related to the physical page are read and set as calculation targets.

(4) Means for Selecting Reproducing Means from Check Results Before De-Spooling Color / Monochrome Determination When switching between color / monochrome modes on a logical page basis, the ColorRectL area 4012 (chromatic object Is checked, and if at least one exists, the page is processed in the color mode.

On the other hand, when the processing mode is switched on a band-by-band basis, the presence or absence of the ColorRectL area 4012 (area where the chromatic object was drawn) of each band of the PCF is checked, and existing bands are processed in the color mode. I do. Avoid illegal printing When switching the processing mode for each logical page,
ROPRectL area 4013 of each band of F (YMC
In the K color space, it is checked whether or not there is an area where a logical operation process in which illegal printing occurs occurs, and if there is even one, the page is processed in the color mode.

On the other hand, when the processing mode is switched independently of the band, the ROPRectL area 4 of each band of the PCF is used.
013 (in the YMCK color space, a region where a logical operation process in which illegal printing occurs) is checked, and the existing band is processed in the RGB24BPP image mode. Processing Speed Prediction The processing speeds of the image mode processing and the PDL mode processing have a relationship as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).

"Image / mode processing speed prediction"
The image mode processing in (a) is roughly divided into a printer processing time and a printer driver processing time.

The processing time of the printer driver 212 is
Drawing processing time 601 using band memory
Since the rendering process including the color conversion process and the binarization process is performed, it can be said that the process is heavier than the driver process in the PDL mode. By multiplying the drawing processing information for each drawing object by the CPU speed of the host machine and the free disk capacity, a predicted value of the processing time is obtained.

The processing time of the printer 100 includes a data transfer time 602 and an intermediate data generation time 60 inside the printer.
3, and the ship time 604. To determine the data transfer time 602, first, the drawing area is determined.
The drawing area is the D of each virtual band described with reference to FIG.
It can be calculated by multiplying the rawRectL area 4011 by the layout information. Since the exact value of the data compression ratio cannot be known unless compression processing is performed, an average value is used here to cope. Since the drawing area for each object is known, the calculation accuracy can be improved by obtaining the average compression ratio for each object.

The intermediate data generation time 603 of the printer unit
Is necessary only for the storage processing of the image data, and the processing time is proportional to the drawing area. The maximum value is the page size. The proportional coefficient is a value that depends on the model of the printer 100. Ship time 604 depends on engine throughput.

As described above, the processing time in the image mode can be obtained by obtaining the total value of 601 to 604.

The PDL mode processing of “PDL mode processing speed prediction” (b) is roughly divided into a printer driver processing time and a printer processing time as in the image mode.

First, the processing time of the printer driver 212 is basically the same as the command generation time 606 for directly converting a drawing command passed from the system into a PDL command.
Just need. Therefore, printer driver 2
12 can be said to be faster than the processing of the image mode driver.
It is hardly affected by PU speed and free disk space.

The data transfer time 607 included in the processing time of the printer 100 is affected by the PDL command size and the speed of the transfer path. The PDL command size is
Since it differs depending on the output mode (color, monochrome, etc.), its model, and language version, the model information (device information) Dev. A PDL command size for each object is calculated using Inf. In addition, the data size may change even when the data size is reduced by the layout processing. Therefore, the PDL command size is calculated in consideration of the layout information.

Here, the time for processing the received data in time for the engine throughput of the printer 100 is defined as a ship preparation time 608. If the memory capacity of the printer 100 is sufficient for intermediate data, two bands
It is possible to perform a so-called banding process of alternately performing a drawing process and a ship process using a memory. In the case of the banding process, the processing speed of the printer 100 enables continuous page printing at the engine throughput.

However, if data exceeding the memory capacity of the printer 100 is sent, or if the banding process cannot be performed in time because the operation with the base data is required for the logical operation process, the banding process cannot be performed.
The processing speed of the printer 100 is extremely reduced. This time prediction is based on the size of the installed memory,
The speed depends on the hardware renderer capabilities of the printer 100.

The shipping time 609 depends on the throughput of the engine.

The model information De described in the above description
v. Inf will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Model information Dev. Inf is provided for all printer models that can be output by the system of the present embodiment so that detailed information for each model can be loaded into the printer driver 212.

The DeviceInfo structure 700 includes a D
This is a structure starting from the device ID 701. As the configuration contents, among the parameters necessary for automatically switching the mode, different parameters are registered for each model.

In FIG. 7, as an example, Sh, which is a parameter required to determine whether or not banding processing is possible, is performed.
ipSpeed 702 and the printer 1 necessary to calculate the data size that can be stored inside the printer 100.
00 Internal work memory size WorkMemSi
ze703 has been registered. Further, a physical paper size PpageSize 704 used by the printer 100 for predicting the orientation of the output paper P, and a ROPInfo 705 indicating a logical operation number at which illegal printing occurs or processing speed extremely decreases are registered. .

Further, ImgInf706 and GraphicInf70 are used as parameters for predicting the processing speed and data size of each drawing object.
7. It is desirable that TextInf 708 be registered.

These pieces of information are denoted by reference numerals 7061 to 7061.
64, each coefficient for calculating the processing speed of each data, and coefficients 7071 to 7074 for calculating the data size inside the printer 100. For example,
When it is found that the image of 1 BPP is 500 Kbytes at the time of spooling, 500 Kb at the time of de-spooling
It is possible to determine the data processing time inside the printer 100 by using Yte × 1 BPPTmeScale,
The data size inside the printer 100 can be obtained by te × 1BPPSizeScale. The registration information differs for each model, and the prediction processing can be easily switched for each model by obtaining the processing speed coefficient and the data size coefficient for each model.

An optimum processing mode is selected by combining the above prediction results.

The flow of processing mode determination will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S801, environment information, layout information, and related check files are read, and the flow advances to step S802. Step S8
In 02, a color / monochrome determination result is obtained. That is, it is checked whether or not there is color data in the physical page, and if so, it is determined to process in the color mode, and the process proceeds to step S803. In step S803, it is determined whether the page is a color page.

If it is determined in step S803 that the operation is in the color mode, the flow advances to step S804.
If it is determined that there is only a monochrome page, the process directly proceeds to step S805.

In the step S804, the illegal printing ROP (R
OPRectL), and if there is a band or the like in which illegal printing occurs when processing is performed in the YMCK color space due to an illegally printed ROP, the flow advances to step S817 to execute RG
Decide to process in B24BPP image mode. In the RGB24BPP image mode, a process is performed by selecting an optimal print command generation processing unit 237 for each page, band, or matrix. On the other hand, illegal printing R
If there is no OP, the process proceeds to step S805.

In step S805, it is determined whether there is a band for which banding processing cannot be performed. That is, PD
When processing is performed in the L mode, if it is determined that there is a band that cannot be printed at high speed by the banding processing, the process proceeds to step S806. If it is determined that only a band that can perform banding processing exists, the process proceeds directly to step S807. The determination as to whether or not the Banding process is possible is made based on the information for each drawing command described in the virtual band information of the BandInfo structure 4030 collected at the time of spooling.
This is performed by estimating the number of drawing commands and data size related to the band used inside the printer 100. At this time, the layout information and the model information Dev. The judgment is made by reflecting Inf.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the virtual band area of a page where a plurality of logical pages exist and the band space of the printer.

In this example, the printer section divides the page 902 into six bands and performs processing. Page 90
2 indicates a state in which four pages 903 to 906 are stored in one page, that is, 4-up. Since spool information of each logical page, for example, page 903, is stored in a virtual band area (Bandinfo) 901, drawing information related to Band 1 in which the printer 100 actually performs processing is shown in FIG. It can be seen that information of four virtual bands of pages 903 and 904 is needed to know.

Referring back to FIG. 8, Banding
If there is an unprocessable band, for a band area where banding processing is not possible, secure a band memory for the band area before shipping and perform drawing processing in advance.
It is necessary to perform a so-called PreBand process. For this purpose, the required memory size is calculated in step S806, and the process proceeds to step S807.

In step S807, when processing is performed in the PDL mode, a predicted value of a memory size required to hold intermediate data inside the printer 100 is calculated, and the flow advances to step S808. In step S808, the PDL
When the processing is performed in the mode, a predicted value of the number of intermediate data IDs necessary for managing and registering the intermediate data inside the printer 100 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S809. Step S8
At 09, it is determined whether a sub-close has occurred, and the process branches depending on the result of the determination.

Here, the size predicted in step S807 is the work memory size of the printer 100 (Work of the DeviceInfo structure 700 having model information).
If (MemSize 703) is exceeded, or if the prediction result in step S808 becomes a number that cannot be managed in the ID table, the printer 100 is likely to fall into a state in which banding processing cannot be performed, that is, a so-called sub close. The sub-closed state is to release the work area by securing the memory area of the entire page and drawing the intermediate data. But this is printer 1
00 is a special state in which the throughput of the printer 100 is extremely reduced because the entire memory area inside the 00 is used as a page memory.

If a sub-close has occurred, the flow advances to step S816 to determine that processing is to be performed in the high-speed image mode. On the other hand, if the sub-close occurrence prediction is not established, the process proceeds to step S810 and subsequent steps.

In step S810, the drawing area when processing is performed in the image mode is calculated. Here, the calculation is performed reflecting the layout information. That is, Bandi
DrawRectL area 401 of nfo structure 4030
1 and the layout information.

Subsequently, in step S811, step S8
By multiplying the drawing area calculated in 810 by the designated output gradation and the number of colors, the data size when developed in the image mode is calculated. Then, the size is equal to the work memory size (Dev having model information).
WorkMemSize of the iceInfo structure 700
If the number is larger than 703), the number of tones that can be output is reduced to determine the number of tones, and the process proceeds to step S812.

In step S812, a predicted value of the drawing processing time when processing is performed in the image mode is calculated.
The data transfer time when data is transmitted at the determined number of output gradations is predicted, and is set as ImgTime in step S813.
Proceed to. In step S813, the processing time when processing is performed in the PDL mode is set to DeviceInf having model information.
o The calculation is performed for each object using the elements 706 to 708 of the structure 700, and the process proceeds to step S814 with the total value as the PDLTime.

In step S814, the prediction value in step S812 is compared with the prediction value in step S813, and the process branches to a mode in which higher-speed processing can be performed according to the comparison result. That is, if PDLTime> ImgTime, the process proceeds to step S816, where it is determined that processing is performed in the high-speed image mode, and processing is performed for each page, band, or matrix. On the other hand, otherwise, step S
Proceeding to 815, it is determined to perform processing in the PDL mode. In the PDL mode, a process is performed by selecting an optimal print command generation processing unit 234 for each page, band, or matrix. (More Detailed Description on Printer Side) In order to carry out the present invention, the printer 100 needs the following functions. Processing mode switching function for each band and each page Some PDL printers have an image mode in addition to the PDL mode which is a default path. In this image mode, device-dependent image data is received and output as it is. However, in the image mode, since a special memory configuration is used for high-speed processing of a large amount of image data, it is difficult to switch between the PDL mode and the image mode for the same job.

Therefore, in order to implement the present invention, it is necessary to switch between the PDL mode and the image mode on a page basis and further on a band basis.

In the present embodiment, the data type of the image drawing command in the PDL mode is
Creating a port to accept data can solve this problem.

In order to switch the mode in which the drawing process is performed in band units, it is necessary to arrange drawing algorithms so that discontinuous lines do not appear when there is an object drawn between bands.

(Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. Note that, in the present embodiment, a description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the virtual band area is a case where a band cut in parallel to the X-axis direction of the page is used. However, the drawing area is a matrix area cut in both the X-axis and Y-axis directions. , Related drawing commands and the like may be managed.

(Other Embodiments) As described above, the present invention
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.) or may be applied to an apparatus including one device (for example, a copying machine or a facsimile machine).

Also, software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is provided in an apparatus or a computer in a system connected to the various devices so as to operate the various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment. The present invention also includes programs implemented by supplying the above-described program codes and operating the various devices in accordance with stored programs by a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus.

In this case, the program code of the software implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, A storage medium storing such a program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of storage media for storing such program codes include floppy (registered trademark) disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and the like.
CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card,
A ROM or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (operating system) in which the program code operates on the computer. Alternatively, even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with other application software or the like, it goes without saying that such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention.

The supplied program code further comprises:
After being stored in the memory of the computer's function expansion board or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU or the like of the function expansion board or function storage unit performs part of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing the entire process.

When the present invention is applied to a storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 8 described above.

[0173]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, the information processing method using the apparatus, and the storage medium storing the control program of the method, only one mode is selected. Thus, even if the layout specification value and output destination are changed after spooling, the accurate drawing process is always performed using the fastest path, and the output device can perform the printing output as accurately as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a structure of a color laser beam printer (information processing apparatus) to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the entire print information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing page data in the embodiment of the present invention;
It is a structural diagram of a file (PDF).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a pre-check operation in an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a structural diagram of a file (PCF).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing Ba in band units according to the embodiment of the present invention;
It is explanatory drawing of an ndinfo structure.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the processing speed of image mode processing and PDL mode processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows model information (De) according to the embodiment of the present invention.
v. It is a structural diagram of (Inf).

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing how to create a band list at the time of despooling in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of creating a band list at the time of despooling according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram conceptually showing a drawing method in a conventional technique.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing features of each mode of the information processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 keyboard 20 mouse 30 display monitor 100 printer (LBP) 110 formatter control unit 111 interface 112 reception buffer 113 command analysis unit 114 print control processing execution unit 115 drawing processing execution unit (renderer) 116 page memory 118 transmission buffer 120 operation Panel 130 Output control unit 131 Laser driver 140 Printer engine 141 Semiconductor laser 142 Laser beam 143 Polygon mirror 144 Electrostatic drum 145 Development unit 146 Paper feed cassette 147 Paper feed roller 148, 149 Transport roller 200, 1200 Host computer 201 , 1201 Application software 211, 1211 GDI 212, 1212 Printer driver 213 Pre- Check module 220, 1220 Graphic subsystem 230, 1230 Spool subsystem 231, 232, 250, 1231 Hard disk 233, 1233 Despooler 234, 1234 Page description language format (PDL) data processor 235, 1235 Monochrome 1BPP image mode processing unit 236,1236 YMCK4BPP image mode processing unit 237,1237 RGB24BPP image mode processing unit 238,1238 Band memory 239,1239 Layout change module 240,1240 Interface PDF print data file PCF pre-check file Dev . Inf Model information (device information)

Claims (31)

[Claims] An information processing apparatus for temporarily spooling drawing data to be printed and generating print data after at least one page of drawing data is spooled, wherein the information processing apparatus generates at least one page of spooled data. Checking means for checking the contents of the drawing data; a plurality of data conversion processing means for converting the data format based on the spooled drawing data to generate the print data; device information of an output device of an output destination; The data format of the drawing data to be printed is selected in a predetermined unit from a plurality of types of suitable data formats based on a check result by the check unit, and the data conversion processing unit converts the data format into the suitable data format by the corresponding data conversion processing unit. And an adaptation processing means for performing the following. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adaptation processing means includes: model information for each of the output devices;
An information processing apparatus, wherein the data conversion processing is performed by performing an arithmetic processing based on designated layout information and a check result by the checking means. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print data storage unit for temporarily storing the drawing data checked by the check unit, wherein the data conversion processing unit stores the drawing data in the print data storage unit. First conversion means for storing and performing drawing processing on the spooled drawing data in RGB color space to convert the data into YMCK color space; and performing data conversion on the spooled drawing data in YMCK color space. And a third conversion unit for converting the spooled drawing data into page description language format data for performing a drawing process by the output device. Information processing device. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said print data storage means is capable of converting said checked and spooled drawing data into all of said plurality of data formats. An information processing apparatus characterized in that the information processing apparatus stores the information. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the check unit executes the number of calls for each type of drawing command, the size information of the spooled drawing data, and each drawing command for the predetermined unit. Means for determining the outermost rectangle at the time, and for each virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit, the outermost outline of the outermost rectangle, the number of calls of the related drawing command, and the size information. An information processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores, when storing one page of the spooled drawing data in the print data storage unit, in association with the stored check result. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a drawing function input from an operating system is converted into the drawing data as intermediate data, and the drawing data is spooled in the print data storage unit. An information processing apparatus comprising spool means. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said adaptation processing means for causing said data conversion processing means to perform said data conversion processing includes first and second processing speeds of said output device. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a calculating unit that calculates a parameter of the above; and a selecting unit that selects, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameter. 8. The information processing device according to claim 7, wherein the calculation unit reads a check result of the virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit, and reads the check result by the third unit. A first processing time when the page description language format data converted by the conversion unit is sent to the output device, and a print command in an image data format converted by the first and second conversion units are output to the output device. A second processing time is obtained when the data is transmitted, and the first processing time is compared with the second processing time by the selection means, and a processing in a format determined to be capable of high-speed output is selected. Information processing device. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the calculating means includes a number of calls for each type of the drawing command, the size information, environment information of the apparatus itself, environment information of the output device, and a layout. An information processing apparatus for calculating the first processing time based on designated information and the number of output gradations. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said calculating means includes: an outermost drawing area of the virtual area and environment information of the apparatus itself; and environment information, layout designation information, and output of the output device. An information processing apparatus for calculating the second processing time based on the number of gradations. 11. An information processing method for temporarily spooling drawing data to be printed and generating print data after at least one page of drawing data has been spooled, comprising: A check step of checking the contents of the drawing data; a data conversion step of converting the data format based on the spooled drawing data to generate the print data using a plurality of data conversion processing means; Based on the device information of the output device and the check result in the checking step, a data format of the drawing data to be printed is selected in a predetermined unit from a suitable data format among a plurality of types, and the corresponding data conversion processing means An adaptation process step of performing a data conversion process on the appropriate data format. An information processing method comprising: 12. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein in the adaptation processing step, model information for each of the output devices, designated layout information,
An information processing method, comprising: performing an arithmetic process based on a check result in the step to perform the data conversion process. 13. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein, in the appropriate data conversion step, the drawing data checked in the checking step is stored in print data storage means, and the spooled drawing data is A first conversion step of performing a drawing process in an RGB color space to convert the data into a YMCK color space, and a second conversion process of performing a data conversion in the YMCK color space on the spooled drawing data to perform a drawing process in a YMCK color space. An information processing method, comprising selectively executing a conversion step and a third conversion step of converting the spooled drawing data into page description language format data for performing a drawing process by the output device. 14. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein said print data storage means converts said checked and spooled drawing data into all of said plurality of data formats. An information processing method characterized in that the information is stored in (1). 15. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein the checking step executes, for the predetermined unit, the number of calls for each type of drawing command, size information of the spooled drawing data, and executing each drawing command. Obtaining the outermost rectangle when the above is performed, and for each virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or matrix unit, the outermost outline of the outermost rectangle, the number of calls of the related drawing command, and the size information And storing the spooled drawing data for one page in the print data storage means in association with the stored check result. . 16. The information processing method according to claim 13, wherein a drawing function input from an operating system is converted into the drawing data as intermediate data, and the drawing data is spooled in the print data storage unit. An information processing method comprising steps. 17. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein the adaptation processing step of causing the data conversion processing means to perform data conversion processing includes first and second processing speeds of the output device. An information processing method comprising: a calculating step of calculating a parameter; and a selecting step of selecting, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameter. 18. The information processing method according to claim 17, wherein, in the calculating step, a check result in the check step of the virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit is read.
A first processing time when the page description language format data converted in the third conversion step is sent to the output device; and a print command in the image data format converted in the first and second conversion steps. Calculating a second processing time when the data is sent to the output device; comparing the first processing time and the second processing time in the selecting step to select a processing in a format determined to be capable of high-speed output; Characteristic information processing method. 19. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein in the calculating step, the number of calls for each type of the drawing command, the size information, and environment information of the device itself,
An information processing method for calculating the first processing time based on environment information, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations of the output device. 20. The information processing method according to claim 18, wherein, in the calculating step, the outermost drawing area of the virtual area and environment information of the apparatus itself, and the environment information, layout designation information, and output of the output device. An information processing method, wherein the second processing time is calculated based on the number of gradations. 21. A storage system in which a control program of an information processing method for temporarily spooling drawing data to be printed and generating print data after at least one page of drawing data is spooled is readable by a computer. A control step of: checking a content of drawing data of at least one page to be spooled; and using a plurality of data conversion modules, a data format based on the spooled drawing data. Converting a data format of the drawing data to be printed out of a plurality of types based on device information of an output device of an output destination and a check result in the check step; Select from the data format in predetermined units and Storage medium characterized by having a fitting process step of causing data transformation processing in the appropriate data format by the over data conversion module. 22. The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein in the adaptation processing step, model information for each of the output devices, designated layout information,
A storage medium, which performs an arithmetic process based on a check result in the step to perform the data conversion process. 23. The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein, in the data conversion step, the drawing data checked in the checking step is stored in print data storage means, and the spooled drawing data is stored in RGB colors. A first conversion step of performing drawing processing in a space and converting the data into a YMCK color space, and a second conversion step of performing data conversion in the YMCK color space on the spooled drawing data and performing a drawing processing in a YMCK color space And a third conversion step of selectively converting the spooled drawing data into page description language format data for performing a drawing process by the output device. 24. The storage medium according to claim 23, wherein the control program stores:
A storage medium having a step of storing the checked and spooled drawing data in a data format that can be converted into all of the plurality of types of data formats. 25. The storage medium according to claim 23, wherein, in the checking step, the number of calls for each type of drawing command, the size information of the spooled drawing data, and each drawing command are executed for the predetermined unit. Determining the outermost rectangle at the time, and, for each virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or matrix unit, the outermost outline of the outermost rectangle, the number of calls of the related drawing command, and the size information. And storing the spooled drawing data for one page in the print data storage means in association with the held check result. 26. The storage medium according to claim 23, wherein a drawing function input from an operating system is converted into the drawing data as intermediate data, and the drawing data is spooled in the print data storage unit. A storage medium characterized by having: 27. The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein said adaptation processing step of causing said corresponding data module to perform data conversion processing calculates first and second parameters relating to a processing speed of said output device. A storage medium, comprising: a calculation step of performing a calculation in accordance with the calculated parameter; and a selection step of selecting, in a predetermined unit, a process in a data format determined to be capable of high-speed output according to the calculated parameter. 28. The storage medium according to claim 27, wherein in the calculation step, a check result in the check step of the virtual area obtained by dividing the page of the predetermined unit in a band or a matrix unit is read.
A first processing time when the page description language format data converted in the third conversion step is sent to the output device; and a print command in the image data format converted in the first and second conversion steps. Calculating a second processing time when the data is sent to the output device; comparing the first processing time and the second processing time in the selecting step to select a processing in a format determined to be capable of high-speed output; Characteristic storage medium. 29. The storage medium according to claim 28, wherein, in the calculating step, the number of calls for each type of the drawing command, the size information, and environment information of the apparatus itself,
And a storage medium for calculating the first processing time based on environment information, layout designation information, and the number of output gradations of the output device. 30. The storage medium according to claim 28, wherein, in the calculating step, the outermost drawing area of the virtual area and the environment information of the apparatus itself, the environment information of the output device, the layout designation information, and the output floor. A storage medium for calculating the second processing time based on a tone number. 31. The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein said control program is a printer driver program.