JP2002248816A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which a plotting instruction can be processed at high rate by saving the plotting of a figure into a memory under predetermined conditions thereby decreasing the number of read/write times of a memory in the graphic process. SOLUTION: Judgeable is represented by a density Ld=0 and a judgeable flag M=0 (S2), and plotting instructions As, Ls and F are inputted for each figure (S3). If M≠1 (S4; N) and a plotting instruction logical operation F is not SET (S5; N), a decision is made that logical operation results are indeterminate and 1 is substitute for M (S9) before the control advances to plotting instruction processing (S10). If a density Ls specified by a plotting instruction is identical to a density Ld written in Ad (S6; Y), logical operation SET (F (S, D)=S) is identical to D and an operation for reading the memory in As over the entire region, performing logical operation SET and writing in the memory in Ad can be saved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printer capable of speeding up a printer language process of a page printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in the case of a binary printer such as a laser printer or a dot printer, an arbitrary area designated for expressing a pseudo gradation by using dither or the like is provided with a certain bit pattern (color). ). In this case, read (read; read) / wr to the page memory in the area specified by one drawing command
Item (write; write) processing is performed.
If it can be determined that the drawing command can be omitted before the drawing processing, the read / write processing in this area is also omitted as it is, and high-speed processing by this is desired. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-266 discloses this high-speed processing.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 177 discloses a drawing apparatus for increasing the speed by omitting a write operation to a memory. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-7364 discloses that overlapping determination is performed for all drawing commands, logical operations are changed for non-overlapping graphics, and graphics are divided and overlap determination is performed in a rectangular range. The invention of an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a storage medium, and a printing system that achieves high-speed processing is described.

[0003]

However, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-266177, comparison is performed for each word in the memory in the drawing area, so that a read operation to the memory is always required. . Also, read
Since there is a comparison process with the result of the logical operation after the operation, there is a trade-off between the comparison processing time and the write operation time to the memory, and the speedup is limited to a device with a slow memory write operation. Furthermore, since the comparison is performed once for each word, there is a limit to speeding up. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
007364 requires a large amount of memory to store the range for all drawing commands, and requires L
It is difficult to realize high speed with a memory saving such as only d and M. In addition, since the number of times of determination is proportional to the square of the number of drawing commands, the number of drawing commands becomes tens of thousands. At present, high-speed printing cannot be expected by printing with a general application, and the range is stored for one figure. Since memory is required, memory saving cannot be expected. In addition, since the determination as to whether or not the drawing can be omitted is made only by the logical operation, conditions for the omission are limited. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to omit drawing of a graphic in a memory under a certain condition, thereby reducing the number of times of reading and writing of the memory which occupies most of the graphic drawing processing, and achieving high-speed processing of a drawing command. It is to provide a printer device.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a drawing command input unit for inputting a drawing command including drawing characteristics of graphic data, and a storage for storing the drawing command input by the drawing command input unit. Means for writing a drawing attribute of a drawing command input by the drawing command input means to the storage means, or a drawing command writing / reading means for reading a previously stored drawing command from the storage means; A drawing command determining unit configured to determine whether a drawing command input by an input unit matches a predetermined condition of a drawing characteristic of the drawing command stored in the storage unit; and the storage by the drawing command writing / reading unit. Drawing means for drawing the graphic data based on a drawing characteristic of a drawing command stored in the means;
Wherein the drawing command writing / reading unit writes or reads a drawing command input by the drawing command input unit to the storage unit based on a determination result by the drawing command determination unit. Achieve the above objectives.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the storage means is a page memory for storing a drawing command for one page, the dividing means for dividing the page memory into lattice units is provided. Further, for the grid unit of the storage unit divided by the division unit, the drawing command writing / reading unit, when the drawing command determination unit determines that the drawing characteristic of the drawing command matches a predetermined condition, The above object is achieved by not writing the drawing attribute of the drawing command in the storage means. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved by the page memory being a band memory. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by providing a page memory of the storage means which is a memory corresponding to each color of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). I do.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. Bitmap logical operations include SET (overwrite), OR
(Logical sum), AND (logical product), XOR, and NOT. This logical operation is performed by using a destination bitmap pattern (hereinafter, referred to as D) in which the entire memory area before the drawing process is single and a source bitmap pattern (hereinafter, referred to as S) specified by the drawing attribute command. Performed on the pattern. In the present embodiment, the logical operation is F,
The calculation result is denoted by F (S, D). These S, D,
If it can be determined that the relation of F becomes D = F (S, D) only by comparing S, D, and F, the logical operation can be omitted. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship where D = F (S, D). A pattern in which all bits are 1 (all1),
A pattern in which all bits are 0 is expressed as (all0), and another arbitrary pattern is expressed as (any).

In the drawing process in the printer, the pattern corresponding to the designated color density corresponds to S, and the page memory corresponds to D. Normally, memory access such as reading and writing of these memories takes processing time. Since it is necessary to compare the bit patterns of both S and D in order to determine the omission of the processing, a read to the memory in which the dither pattern is stored once to obtain S and a page memory to obtain D are performed. Read occurs once. Furthermore, if the result of the determination indicates that the operation cannot be omitted, a write of the operation result to the page memory occurs. In a printer, a dither pattern is generally used to express a pseudo gradation. The dither pattern is a pattern uniquely determined when the designated color density is determined. Further, since the dither pattern is processed so as to be spread from the upper left origin of the page area, if the same dither pattern is used for different figures, the dither pattern matches at an arbitrary position.

That is, in order to determine D = F (S, D), it is possible to make a determination based on the respective color densities and logical operations without reading the memory storing the dither pattern and the page memory. is there. The color density is a numerical value (integer 0-2)
55 is common), and this numerical value is compared. What can be determined is based on the premise that the entire specified area is processed with the same color density. If S is the same density in the area and D is the same density only in a part of the area, if D is the same density in the area and S is the same only in part, that is, if there are multiple densities in the area, the determination is color density In addition to this, the area information is required, and it is impossible to make a determination by comparing only the color density. In the case of the NOT operation, since the result of bit inversion is used, a different dither pattern is obtained even with the same color density.

In general, SET or OR is often used for calculation in application drawing. next,
The processing in the SET operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page to be rendered and a schematic configuration of the printer device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, a page area 1 showing the entire page
In the drawing, a drawing command designation area (hereinafter, referred to as an area As) 2 specified by the drawing command, a dither pattern 3 corresponding to the color density specified by the drawing command, Target page memory area (hereinafter, referred to as an area Ad) 4 which is a rectangular area of a part, and an area As
There is a dither pattern D5 drawn in the. Further, in the printer device of the present embodiment, a memory 6 for storing a specified drawing command and a specified density Ls, a memory 7 for storing a specified drawing command logical operation F, and a region As corresponding to the page area 1 are provided. A memory 8 for storing the processing target area result color density Ld specified when drawing, D = F (S, D)
Is provided with a memory 9 for storing a determination possible flag M indicating whether or not determination is possible.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a drawing processing procedure in the SET operation. When the process is started for each page (step 1), since the page memory of the printer has been initialized with the pattern of color density 0, Ld
Is set to 0. Further, since the entire area is initialized and the density in the area is only 0, M = 0 is set, indicating that determination is possible (step 2). Then, drawing commands As, Ls, and F are input for each figure (step 3). If M = 1, which indicates that an instruction that cannot be determined has already been processed (step 4; Y), the process proceeds to step 10 without performing determination, and normal processing is performed. If the determinable flag M is not M = 1 (Step 4; N) and the drawing command logical operation F is not SET (Step 5; N), the logical operation result is determined to be indeterminate and 1 is set to the determinable flag M. Substitution is performed (step 9), and the process proceeds to the drawing command processing (step 10).

If the density Ls specified by the drawing command is the same as the density Ld already drawn in Ad (step 6; Y), a logical operation SET (F (S, D) = S)
Is the same as D. That is, even if the operation of reading the memory in As for all areas, performing the logical operation SET, and writing to the memory in Ad is omitted, the result is the same, so the drawing process is omitted. Then, the process returns to the drawing command input process of step 3.
It is determined whether or not the region As includes the region Ad, and the region As is determined.
Includes the region Ad (step 7; Y), Ld is Ls
And the processing shifts to the drawing command processing (step 9). When the region As does not include the region Ad (Step 7; N),
As a result of the drawing processing, Ad is not a single density and the subsequent determination becomes impossible. Therefore, it is determined that the logical operation result is indefinite, and 1 is substituted into the determinable flag M (step 9), and the drawing command processing is performed. Move to (Step 10). It is assumed that a known method is used to determine the inclusion relationship between the arbitrary area As and the rectangular area Ad.

Although it is determined that Ls = Ld is not satisfied (step 6; N), it is known that if the logical operation SET is used, Ad is drawn with Ls, so that the density Ld of the drawing result is obtained.
Is substituted for Ls (step 8). Further, since it is understood that the entire Ad is drawn (Step 7), Ad is Ld
Becomes a single pattern, and the subsequent determination is also possible. If it is determined that the determination is impossible in Steps 5 and 7 thereafter, 1 is substituted for M indicating that the instruction of the undeterminable is being processed (Step 9). Then, in step 10, the drawing command processing is performed as usual using the drawing command input in step 3. After the drawing command processing, it is checked whether all drawing commands in the page have been completed (step 1).
1) If the drawing command has not been completed (step 11;
N), and return to step 3 to continue the processing of the next drawing command. If the drawing command has been completed (step 11; Y),
All processing ends. In the present embodiment, the logical operation is limited to SET in step 5, but the example shown in FIG. 1 may be added to steps 5 and 6 as omission determination of the drawing command processing.

Next, a description will be given of processing performed on a grid area including a figure to be processed by dividing the entire page area into a grid. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where the entire page area is divided into a grid. In the region 11 of the entire page, the top left lattice region 12, the second row and the second column lattice region 1
3, a figure 14 drawn in the pattern S, and an outer frame rectangle 15 including the figure 14 are included. First, the area 11 of the entire page is divided into grid areas 12 having a certain size. If the grid area 12 is large, the probability of drawing the entire grid area 12 at a constant density is low, and if the grid area 12 is small, the number of processing areas increases and the processing time becomes longer.
An appropriate size of about 1 cm is desirable. In each of the lattice areas 12, a memory 8 for storing the processing target area result color density Ld designated when the area As is drawn, and a determinable flag M9 are prepared (see FIG. 2).

The initial values are set to Ld = 0 and M = 0 as described in the processing procedure of FIG. Taking the drawing of the graphic 14 in FIG. 4 as an example, the grid area 12 including at least a part of the graphic 14 is detected. In this detection method, first, a grid region 12 including an outer frame rectangle 15 including the entire figure is detected. In the example of FIG. 4, nine grid regions 12 of (column, row) = (1, 1)-(3, 3) include the graphic 14. The rendering command processing is executed for each of the nine grid regions 12 according to the processing procedure described with reference to FIG. Drawing logical operation F = SE
Assuming that T and drawing color density Ls = Ld (= 0), F = SET in all nine grid regions 12 (see step 5 in FIG. 3),
Since Ls = Ld (see step 6 in FIG. 3), the drawing process is omitted. M and Ld of all nine lattice regions 12 do not change, and M = 0 and Ld = 0. The determination flag M of the other grid area 12 not including the graphic 14 is unchanged and M =
0, Ld = 0.

If F = SET and Ls ≠ Ld,
As a result of the processing, only the grid region 12 of (2, 2) can be determined with the flag M9 unchanged, and M = 0 (can be determined continuously)
In the other eight grid regions 12, since only a part of the region is drawn, M = 1. The density Ls corresponding to the pattern S is stored in the Ld memory only in the (2, 2) lattice area 12. In the nine (1, 1)-(3, 3) grid regions 12, since LsＬLd, the drawing process itself is not omitted. Other grid area 12 not including figure 14
Is unchanged, M = 0 and Ld = 0. In FIG. 4, the entire page is divided into a lattice, but the present invention can be applied to a band memory of a band printer that divides a page into a plurality of bands and performs print processing for the purpose of saving memory. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the entire page area is divided into three bands. For example, the band memory 22 of the second band is divided into lattice regions. The starting point for laying the grid is the starting point of the band memory 22 (FIG. 5).
(Position of arrow 22). Similarly, the starting point of the third band is located at position 23. If the positional relationship of the grid is common to all the bands as described above, each band 21 to 23 can be replaced with the entire page memory, and the drawing command processing can be executed. Although the present embodiment is applied to one page, the CMYK (cyan, magenta,
(Yellow / black), the drawing process is performed independently for each page, so that it can be applied to each page.

If the entire page is appropriately divided (usually ten to several tens) as in a band printer, it is possible to compare the initial value bitmap pattern in band units. Is faster than processing them all at once. For example, comparing the example of FIG. 3 with the example of FIG. 4, since the pattern D after the processing of the processing target page memory area Ad of FIG. In this case, it is impossible to determine whether there is a change in the page memories before and after the process because it is not known whether or not there is a region Ad), and it is necessary to perform the drawing process even if the region Ad is an omissible graphic. However, since the graphic 14 and the graphic 15 in FIG. 4 are independent processes and the band 9 is known to be in the initial state, the drawing process of the graphic 15 can be omitted. in this way,
When divided into bands, the same effect as in the overlap determination can be obtained. Further, in the present embodiment, since only necessary memories are Ld and M for each lattice area, it is possible to realize a memory saving.

[0018]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the drawing command writing / reading means writes the drawing command input to the storage means by the drawing command input means on the basis of the determination result by the drawing command determination means. Or, because reading is performed, the memory area that occupies most of the figure drawing process
The number of times of d and write can be reduced, and high-speed processing of a drawing command can be achieved. According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the storage unit is a page memory that stores a drawing command for one page, the storage unit further includes a division unit that divides the page memory into lattice units. For the unit, the drawing command writing / reading means
If the drawing command determining unit determines that the drawing characteristic of the drawing command matches the predetermined condition, the drawing attribute of the drawing command is not written in the storage unit. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of times of reading and writing of the memory, which occupies most of the graphic drawing processing, and achieve high-speed processing of the drawing command.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the page memory is a band memory, the drawing command writing / reading means determines whether or not the drawing command is determined by the drawing command determination means for the grid unit of the storage means divided by the dividing means. If it is determined that the drawing characteristics match the predetermined condition, the drawing attribute of the drawing command is not written in the storage means. Occupied memory read and w
The number of write operations can be reduced, and high-speed processing of a drawing command can be achieved. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even if the page memory of the storage unit is a memory corresponding to each color of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), the grid unit of the storage unit divided by the division unit is
The drawing command writing / reading means does not write the drawing attribute of the drawing command to the storage means when the drawing command determining means determines that the drawing characteristic of the drawing command matches the predetermined condition. By omitting drawing in the memory, the number of times of reading and writing of the memory, which occupies most of the figure drawing processing, can be reduced, and high-speed processing of drawing commands can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship where D = F (S, D).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page to be subjected to a drawing process and a schematic configuration of a printer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a drawing processing procedure in a SET operation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where an entire page area is divided into a grid.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the entire page area is divided into three bands.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 page area 2 drawing command designation area As 4 processing target page memory area Ad

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A drawing command input unit for inputting a drawing command including drawing characteristics of graphic data, a storage unit for storing a drawing command input by the drawing command input unit, and the drawing command input unit in the storage unit A drawing command writing / reading means for writing a drawing attribute of a drawing command input by the drawing command or a drawing command already stored from the storage means; and a drawing command input by the drawing command input means for storing the drawing command. A drawing command determining unit that determines whether or not a predetermined condition of a drawing characteristic of the drawing command stored in the storage unit is matched; and a drawing characteristic of the drawing command stored in the storage unit by the drawing command writing / reading unit. And a drawing means for drawing the graphic data based on the drawing command. Based on the determination result by decree determining means, a printer apparatus which is characterized in that the writing of drawing command drawing command input by the input means or reading, with respect to the storage means. 2. When the storage unit is a page memory that stores a drawing command for one page, the storage unit further includes a division unit that divides the page memory into lattice units. For the unit, the drawing command writing / reading unit does not write the drawing attribute of the drawing command in the storage unit when the drawing command determination unit determines that the drawing characteristic of the drawing command matches a predetermined condition. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein said page memory is a band memory. 4. The page memory of said storage means is CMYK
3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the memory is a memory corresponding to each of the colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black).