KR0115149Y1 - Printing status display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The print progress display device displays the print progress in the form of subtitle information without providing a separate display number so that the user can accurately grasp the print progress. To this end, a video memory for storing a predetermined amount of image information in a frame unit; A system controller for controlling all functions of the color video printer and controlling to print corresponding image information among image information stored in the video memory when the print mode is controlled; A caption information generator for reading caption information on the degree of progress and the color currently being printed when the print mode is controlled by the system controller; And display means for simultaneously displaying caption information output from the caption information generator and image information being read from the video memory.

Description

Print progress indicator

1 is a block diagram of a conventional color video printer.

2 is a block diagram of a color video printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the print control mode made in the system controller shown in FIG.

4 is an example of the internal configuration of the caption information generator shown in FIG.

5 is an example showing the print progress displayed on the monitor.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: luminance / color signal separator 20: decoder

30: analog / digital converter 40: video memory

50: digital / analog converter 60: encoder

70: system control unit 80: memory control unit

90: thermal transfer head (TPS) control unit 100: thermal transfer head (TPH)

110: mechanical part 120: display part

130: caption information generator 140: display means

The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying the printing progress in a color video printer, and more particularly to an apparatus for displaying the printing progress through a monitor.

A color video printer (weakly referred to as CVP) is a device that processes incoming video signals and outputs them to the recording paper in color. In the case of sublimation thermal transfer, TPH (Thermal Printing Head) : A recording electrode composed of a heating element, which is called a thermal transfer head (hereinafter referred to as TPH), generates heat and sublimates the dye adhering to the transfer film placed close thereto to record image information on the recording paper.

Such color video printers are conventionally equipped with LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) on the front panel for displaying the print direction, and blinking the LEDs or forming a bar using light emitting devices such as the LEDs. The degree of is expressed as a whole.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional color video printer, which will be described in more detail with reference to the present invention. The composite video signal to be applied is a Y / C separator 10, a decoder 20, an A / D converter 30, and a video. When the video information is processed through the memory 40, the D / A converter 50, and the encoder 60, display information is displayed through display means (not shown) such as a monitor, The memory controller 80 reads out predetermined image information stored in the video memory 40 through the system controller 70 for controlling all functions. Accordingly, the video memory 40 reads the predetermined image information through the D port to which the signal output from the A / D converter 30 is applied, and applies it to the TPH controller 90. The TPH controller 80 analyzes the applied signal to perform halftone conversion to be printed through the TPH 100. At this time, the system controller 70 outputs the drive control signal of the motor necessary for printing by the NMI signal output from the memory controller 80 to the mechanical unit 110 to control the driving of the mechanical unit 110. This printing process is transmitted to the system control unit 70 through the sensors (not shown) of each unit mounted on the mechanical unit 110, the system control unit 70 shows the current print progress based on the transmitted information. The display unit 120 on the front panel displays the same method as described above.

However, the display alone does not exactly know the current print progress, and there was a problem in that a separate display means should be provided.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a print progress display apparatus which allows a user to accurately grasp a print progress without providing a separate display means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a print progress display device for displaying the print progress as caption information.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing progress display apparatus of a color video printer having a video memory for storing a predetermined amount of image information in units of frames; A system controller for controlling all functions of the color video printer and controlling to print corresponding image information among image information stored in the video memory when a print mode is controlled; A caption information generator controlled by the system control unit to read caption information on the degree of progress and the currently printed color when the print mode is controlled; And display means for simultaneously displaying caption information output from the caption information generator and image information being read from the video memory.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram of a color video printer according to the present invention, in which the Y / C separator 10 and the Y / C separator 10 separated from the Y / C separator 10 as an input signal are output as R, A decoder 20 for decoding the G and B signals, an A / D converter 30 for converting the R, G and B signals output from the decoder 20 into a digital signal, and an A / D converter 30 The video memory 40 for storing the signal output from the frame in a predetermined area in units of frames, the D / A converter 50 for converting the signal output from the video memory 40 into an analog signal, and outputting the analog signal. And an encoder 60 for converting the R, G, and B signals output from the / A converter 50 into a composite video signal, and display means 140 for displaying the signal output from the encoder 60. This belongs to a general video signal processing circuit for video signals applied among color video printers.

In addition, when a user's control command is applied through a key input means (not shown), the system control unit 70 and the system control unit 70 for controlling all functions of the system are controlled according to the control of the video memory 40. The video signal output from the video memory 40 by the memory control unit 80 for controlling the function, the TPH 100 as an invention element, and the control signal output from the memory control unit 80 are used as input signals. Mecha unit 110 for controlling the TPH control unit 90 and the system control unit 70 for controlling the 100 and performs a mechanical operation for printing and output to the system control unit 70 for the printing process performed And a caption information generator 130 controlled by the system controller 70 to generate predetermined caption information to the encoder 60.

2 is a flowchart performed by the system control unit 70 in the print mode, step 200 is a process of checking whether the print mode is set, and step 201 is a step of clearing the caption information generation mode when the print mode is not set. It is fixed, and steps 202 and 203 are a print preparation check process, and steps 204 to 211 are processes until printing is completed.

4 shows an example of the cast state of the caption information stored in the caption information generator 130 of FIG.

5a to c show examples of caption information displayed on the display means 140 of FIG. 2, FIG. 5a for the Y color signal, FIG. 5b for the M color signal, and FIG. 5c for the C color signal. It is about.

Next, the operation of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

First, since the same parts as the conventional circuit are known, they will be briefly described.

The Y / C separator 10 separates an applied composite video signal into a luminance signal and a color signal and outputs the separated video signal. The decoder 20 decodes and outputs the luminance signal and the color signal separated and output from the Y / C separator 10 into R, G, and B signals as described above. Since the R, G, and B signals output from the decoder 20 are analog signals, they are converted into digital signals through the A / D converter 30 for storage in the video memory 40. The signal output from the A / D converter 30 is applied through the DRAM port of the video memory 40 here in 8 bits. At this time, the recording mode control of the video memory 40 is performed by the memory controller 80. The memory controller 80 also controls the video memory 40 by the memory enable (ME) signal applied from the system controller 70. To control the operation. In this manner, the video memory 40 stores a predetermined amount of image data in units of frames. Normally, 18 frames are stored, but more data can be stored depending on the amount of memory used.

At this time, when it is desired to simply display the data stored in the video memory 40, the memory controller 80 uses image data stored in the video memory 40 by the control signal of the system controller 70. Is output through the S-RAM port, and the output image data is digital data and thus is converted into an analog signal through the D / A converter 50. Since the signal converted into an analog signal is in the form of R, G, and B, in order to display it, the signal must be converted into a composite video signal. The encoder 60 converts the R, G, and B signals into a composite video signal and outputs the converted video signal. The output signal is displayed via the display means 140.

However, in the case where it is desired to print the display as well as the display, the system controller 70 outputs a print enable (PE) signal to the memory controller 80. Accordingly, the memory manufacturer 80 controls the video memory 40 in the read mode and simultaneously applies the corresponding data among the data stored in the video memory 40 to the TPH controller 90 through the D lamp. . The memory controller 80 controls the TPH controller 90 to perform halftone conversion on the signal applied from the video memory 40 and outputs a non-maskable interrut (NMI) signal to the system controller 70. . The system controller 70 recognizes that the print mode is set accordingly (step 200), and outputs a motor control signal and a mechanical driving signal to control the operation of the mechanical unit 110.

The TPH controller 90 prints in the order of Y, M, and C colors through the TPH 100. At this time, the system controller 70 checks whether the paper is fed through the mechanical unit 110 (step 202). If the check mode is not set, the system control unit 70 cannot print even if the print mode is set. When the paper feed is started, the CLK, STB, and DATA signals are output to the subtitle information generator 130 so that the subtitle information is output to the subtitle information generator 130 (step 203). As the printing is performed in the order of Y, M, and C colors as described above, first, check whether the printing is performed in the Y color (step 204), and when the printing is started in Y color, the subtitle information generator 130 is applied. The CLK, STB, and DATA signals are output to generate the caption information (step 208). The caption information generator 130 stores the caption information as described in FIG. As per signal As shown in Fig. 5a, due to the continuous check of the printing progress of YELLOW character and Y color, the corresponding subtitle information is read out of the data of Fig. 4 so that the bar as shown below is displayed together by the address signal output from the system controller 70. Output to encoder 60. At this time, the signal output from the caption information generator 130 is a composite video signal and is mixed with the composite video signal read out from the video memory 40 by the encoder 60 and output to the display means 140.

When the printing of the M color signal is started by the completion of the printing for the Y color, the system controller 70 controls the subtitle information generator 130 to generate MAGENTA character data through the display means 140 as in the above-described Y. Subtitle information is generated so that the corresponding bar is displayed at the bottom as shown in FIG. 5B. When the printing of the C color signal is started by the completion of the printing for the M color, the system control unit 70 controls the caption information generator 130 as shown in Y as described above, and displays it as shown in FIG. 5C through the display means 140. Let's do it.

As described above, according to the present invention, the printing progress state of the color video printer is displayed as caption information through display means for displaying image data, thereby accurately determining the color currently being printed and using the lower display character. It shows the degree of progress, so there is an advantage that can grasp the situation printed at a glance. In addition, there is an advantage that can know the print progress without attaching a separate display.

Claims (2)

A printing progress display apparatus of a color video printer having a video memory for storing a predetermined amount of image information in units of frames; A system controller for controlling all functions of the color video printer and controlling to print corresponding image information among image information stored in the video memory when a print mode is controlled; A caption information generator controlled by the system control unit to read caption information on the degree of progress and the currently printed color when the printer mode is controlled; And display means for simultaneously displaying subtitle information output from the subtitle information generator and image information to be read from the video memory. The method of claim 1, wherein the system controller is further configured to process the corresponding character information in a form such as text information and a bar indicating a message for each process of printing caption information displayed on the display means from a paper feeding process to a paper discharge process. And controlling the caption information generator to simultaneously display graphic information indicating a situation.