JP2003019832A - Printing controller, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing controller by which even complicate images which take an extra time for development can be printed at a maximum printing speed in a printer without decreasing the resolution. SOLUTION: In carrying out single color printing, single color printing data for every page is divided in units of bands in cooperation of a developing circuit corresponding to the single color and the other developing circuit to bit map data. The bit map data developed by each developing circuit is transferred as video data to a printer engine via a corresponding I/F part. At each developing circuit, corresponding band data among band data obtained by dividing the single color printing data for every page in units of bands are respectively developed to the bit map data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print control device, a control method and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic printer represented by a laser beam printer or the like, print data (code data, image data, etc.) is received from an external device such as a host computer, and the received print data is received. Is expanded into bitmap data, and after the expansion is completed, the expanded bitmap data is output to the printer engine as video data.

In recent years, the resolution of this type of device has become extremely high, and accordingly, a huge amount of memory is required for expanding a bitmap.

As a method for solving this, there is known a method of dividing one page into a plurality of bands and expanding each band into a bitmap. According to this method
It is sufficient to provide the memory for the number of bands, and it is not necessary to provide the memory for one page.

A method of dividing one page into a plurality of bands and expanding each band into a bit map will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a conventional bitmap expansion in band units.

When image data (video signal) is output to the printer engine side in accordance with the timing signal sent from the printer engine side, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a bitmap is stored in the band memory area of bank 0. The data is expanded (band 0 data), and while the bitmap data of bank 0 is being transmitted to the printer engine, the bitmap expansion (band 1 data) is performed in the band memory area of bank 1.

Next, after the data transfer of the bank 0, the data transfer of the bank 1 is continuously performed, and the expansion of the data of the band 2 which is the next band to the bank 0 is started. Similarly, after the data transfer of the bank 1, the data transfer of the bank 0 is continuously performed, and the expansion of the data of the band 3 which is the next band to the bank 1 is started. By repeating this operation, printing for one page is performed.

In a printer capable of color output, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan),
The developing unit corresponding to each color of K (black) is provided, and the bitmap data developed by the developing circuit of each of Y, M, C, and K provided on the controller side for the developing unit of each color is displayed. It is transmitted as video data in order. As a result, a color image for one page is formed.

[0009]

However, when monochrome printing is performed using a color printer, only the developing circuit for the color to be printed operates among the four developing circuits, and the other three developing circuits operate. Not used at all.

In the case of band transfer, if the development of the next band is not completed in time before the development of one band, the correct printing operation will not be performed. Therefore, the development times of all the bands in one page are calculated in advance. If there is a band that cannot be expanded to the next band within the transfer time of one band, it is expanded to a resolution lower than the normal resolution (for example, 600 dpi is expanded to 300 dpi) and the bitmap data Is output to the printer engine side, a low-resolution image with a rough dot width is printed.

Further, in a device in which the print speed can be changed on the printer engine side, the print speed is adjusted to the band with the slowest development time, so that the best performance as the device cannot be obtained and the print operation is not performed. Slow down.

An object of the present invention is to provide a print control device capable of performing printing at a maximum printing speed in a printing device without lowering resolution even for an image that is complicated and takes extra time to develop. It is to provide a control method and a program.

[0013]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A plurality of expanding means provided independently for each color and expanding print data for each page into band data of a corresponding color on a memory, and bits expanded by each expanding means. In a print control device having a transfer means for transferring map data as video data to a printing device, when performing single-color printing, the single-color print data for each page is divided into a developing means corresponding to the single color and another developing means. It is characterized by using and developing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the first aspect, the expansion means corresponding to the single color and other expansion means cooperate with each other to output the single color print data for each page in band units. Dividing the data into bitmap data, expanding the bitmap data into bitmap data, and transferring the bitmap data sequentially expanded by the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means to the printing device as video data. Characterize.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the second aspect, the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means divide the single color print data for each page into band units. Among the band data obtained by, the corresponding band data is expanded into bitmap data, respectively.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of expanding means are provided independently for each color, and the print data for each page is divided into band units and expanded into bitmap data of the corresponding color on the memory. In the control method of the print control device having a transfer unit that transfers the bitmap data expanded by each expansion unit as video data to the printing device, when performing single-color printing, the single-color print data for each page is It is characterized in that it has a step of developing using a developing means corresponding to the single color and another developing means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the control method according to the fourth aspect, the monochromatic print data for each page is divided into band units by the expansion unit corresponding to the monochromatic color and another expansion unit. A step of expanding the map data into bitmap data, and a step of transferring the bitmap data expanded by the transferring means respectively by the expanding means corresponding to the single color and the other expanding means to the printing device as video data in order. Is characterized by.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the control method according to the fifth aspect, the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means respectively divide the single color print data for each page into band units. Among the band data obtained in this way, the corresponding band data is expanded into bitmap data, respectively.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a plurality of expansion means are provided independently for each color, and the print data for each page is divided into band units and expanded into bitmap data of the corresponding color on the memory. A program used in a print control device having a transfer means for transferring the bitmap data expanded by each of the expansion means as video data to a printing device, the single-color printing for each page when performing the single-color printing. It is characterized in that it has a control module for controlling the data to be expanded by using the expansion means corresponding to the single color and another expansion means.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to the seventh aspect, the control module causes the expansion means corresponding to the single color and other expansion means to cooperate with each other, and outputs the monochrome print data for each page. Is controlled so as to be divided into band units and expanded into bitmap data, and the transfer means sequentially converts the bitmap data expanded by the expansion means corresponding to the single color and another expansion means into video data. It is characterized in that it is controlled so as to be transferred to a printing device.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the program according to the eighth aspect, the control module causes the expansion unit corresponding to the single color and another expansion unit to convert the monochrome print data for each page into band units. Among the band data obtained by the division, the corresponding band data is controlled to be expanded into bitmap data.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the arrangement of a printer equipped with a print control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, a laser beam printer capable of color output, in which data is input from various external devices such as a host computer and a corresponding image is formed on a sheet based on the input data, will be described as an example. To do.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 2 inputs and stores print information (character codes, etc.), form pattern information, macro commands, etc. supplied from an external device such as a host computer connected to the outside. At the same time, a corresponding character pattern or form pattern is created according to the information, and an image is formed on the paper.

The printer 2 controls the operation panel 200, on which switches for various operations and LED displays are arranged, and controls the printer 2 as a whole.
A printer control unit (hereinafter referred to as a controller) 209 for analyzing character information and the like supplied from an external device such as a host computer. The controller 209 mainly converts character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern and sends it to the laser scanner unit 201.

In the printer 2, when the printing is started, the paper is fed into the apparatus from the paper feed cassette 202 or the manual feed tray 203. The fed paper is sent to the paper feed unit 204, and is conveyed by the paper feed unit 204 so as to sequentially pass through the four image forming units 205, 206, 207, 208 provided for each color. . Each image forming unit 205, 206, 2
Reference numerals 07 and 208 are provided with a photosensitive drum, a developing device, a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the developing device, and the like. The controller 20 is synchronized with the above-mentioned paper feeding timing.
The image data for each color developed in 9 is subjected to image conversion processing and then sent to the laser scanner unit 201.

The laser scanner unit 201 is a circuit for driving a semiconductor laser, and switches on / off of laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser according to input image data. Laser scanner unit 201
The laser light for each color emitted from the semiconductor laser is scanned on the photosensitive drums of the image forming units 205, 206, 207, and 208, and a color image is formed on the photosensitive drum corresponding to each color. By synchronizing the formation of the image image for each color with the conveyance of the paper, the color image of each color is transferred onto the paper conveyed by the paper feed unit 204.

The paper on which the color image has been transferred is sent to the fixing unit 210 and heated and pressed in the fixing unit 210. As a result, the color image on the paper is fixed on the paper, and the paper after the fixation is fed to the paper feed tray 211.
It is ejected on top.

With such a structure, it is possible to form an image independently for each color, so that a printed image can be obtained at an extremely high speed.

Next, the controller 2 in the printer 2
The configuration of 09 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2
2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller 209 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 209 inputs I or code data from an external device (host computer, image scanner, etc.).
/ F section (interface section) 101 and ROM 104
A CPU 102 for performing various controls according to a program stored in the RAM, a RAM 103 for providing an area for storing print data sent from an external device and a work area required when the CPU 102 executes various controls, It has a control unit 105 that controls DMA transfer of data between blocks and arbitration.

The control unit 105 is provided with expansion circuits 106, 107, 108 and 109 via a data bus 114. Here, the expansion circuit M106 is a magenta (M) circuit, and inputs necessary data from the RAM103 ROM104 according to the data stored in the RAM103, and stores it in an internal memory or an external external memory. Bitmap expansion with. Similarly, the expansion circuit C107 is a cyan (C) circuit, and performs bitmap expansion on an internal memory or an external memory.
The expansion circuit Y108 is a circuit for yellow (Y),
The bitmap expansion is performed on the internal memory or the external memory, and the expansion circuit K107 is a circuit for black (K) and performs the bitmap expansion on the internal memory or the external memory.

The yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) data are individually expanded by corresponding expansion circuits, and the expanded bitmap data of each color correspond to each other. I / F unit M110 and I / F unit C which are interfaces with the printer engine
It is output as a video signal in synchronization with the synchronization signal sent from the printer engine via 111, the I / F unit Y112, and the I / F unit K301. Also, each I / F unit 1
In 10, 111, 301, command status is exchanged with the printer engine at regular intervals,
The operation of the printer engine is controlled by sending a print command and the like while grasping the state of the printer engine.

In the present embodiment, when monochromatic printing is performed, the monochromatic print data for each page is converted into the monochromatic print data for each page in cooperation with the expansion circuit corresponding to the monochromatic color and another expansion circuit. It is divided into band units and expanded into bitmap data, and the bitmap data expanded by each expansion circuit is transferred as video data to the printer engine via the corresponding I / F unit. Here, in each expansion circuit, of the band data obtained by dividing the single-color print data for each page into band units, the corresponding band data is expanded into bitmap data, respectively.

The operation for performing this single color printing will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the controller 209 of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the bitmap expansion in band units in step S503 of FIG. In the present embodiment, an example in which a black (K) printing operation is performed as a single color print will be described.

Referring to FIG. 3, when print data is input from an external device (host computer or the like) in step S501, it is determined in step S502 whether the print data is monochrome image data. Here, if the print data is not a monochrome image, that is, a color image, the process proceeds to step S506 to perform a normal expansion process. That is, the expansion circuit K109 expands black (K) color data, the expansion circuit Y108 expands yellow (Y) color data, and the expansion circuit C10.
The color data of cyan (C) is expanded by 7 and the expansion circuit M
The magenta (M) color data is expanded by 106, and the expanded bitmap data of each color is sequentially output to the printer engine to form a color image for one page. Then, in step S507, it is determined whether or not the formation of the color image for one page is completed. If the formation of the image for one page is not completed, the process returns to step S506 to continue the expansion process. On the other hand, when the image formation for one page is completed, the process proceeds to step S508, it is determined whether there is print data for the next page, and if there is print data for the next page, it is determined that continuous printing is performed. The procedure returns to step S502.

If the print data is determined to be a monochrome image in step S502, step S50.
Proceed to 3 to distribute and develop each band. Specifically, 1
After the page is divided into a plurality of bands, as shown in FIG. 4, the expansion circuit M106 contains data of band 0, band 4, band 8, ... And the expansion circuit C107 contains data of band 1, band 5 ,. The data of band 9, ... Is expanded circuit Y1.
The data of band 2, band 6, band 10, ... Is transferred to 08, and the data of band 3, band 7, band 11, ... Is transferred to the expanding circuit K109. When the data of bank 0 (band 0, band 1, band 2, band 3) of each of the expansion circuits 106 to 109 is expanded, a print command is output to the printer engine, and the timing from the printer engine that receives the print command is output. The signal initiates data transfer. Further, when the data transfer is started, the expansion circuits 106 to 109 start the expansion of the data of the next band of bank 1 (band 4, band 5, band 6, band 7).

Then, in step S504, the interface is switched so as to connect the expansion circuit M106 and the I / F unit K301, and the video data (bandwidth) from the expansion circuit M106 is first transmitted via the I / F unit K301. 0 data) is transferred to the printer engine. When the transfer of the video data from the expansion circuit M106 is completed, the expansion circuit C107 outputs the next band.
And the I / F unit K301 are connected to each other to transfer the video data (band 1 data) from the expansion circuit C107 to the printer engine. Here, the expansion circuit M106 that has completed the output of bank 0 confirms the expansion status of bank 1 (data of band 4), and if the expansion is completed, expands the data of band 8 to bank 0 and ends. If not, the data of band 8 is expanded in bank 0 after the expansion of bank 1 is completed.

Similarly, when the transfer of the video data from the expansion circuit C107 is completed, the I / F unit K301 switches the output of the printer engine to the expansion circuit Y108 in order to output the next band. Here, the expansion circuit C107 that has finished the output of the bank 0 is
Data) and if the expansion is completed, the data of band 9 is expanded to bank 0. If the expansion is not completed, the data of band 9 is expanded to bank 0 after the expansion of bank 1 is completed. To expand. In this way, the expansion data of the four expansion circuits is controlled to be output in order (expansion circuit M106 → expansion circuit 107 → expansion circuit Y108 → expansion circuit K109).

Next, in step S505, it is determined whether or not one page of band data has been output to the printer engine side as video data, and if the output of one page has not been completed, the process returns to step S504. When the output of the band data for one page is repeated by repeating the above operation, the printing for one page is completed. Then, in step S508, it is determined whether continuous printing is performed, and if there is no data for the next page,
This process ends.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when performing monochromatic printing, the monochromatic print data for each page is processed by the expansive circuit corresponding to the monochromatic color and the other expansive circuits in cooperation with each other. The print data is divided into band units and expanded into bit map data, and the bit map data expanded by each expansion circuit is transferred as video data to the printer engine via the corresponding I / F unit, so one band It is possible to take a long time to develop, and it is possible to cause the printer engine to perform printing at the maximum printing speed without lowering the resolution even for an image that is complicated and takes an extra time to develop.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing bitmap expansion in band units in the print control apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, when there is a band that requires an extremely long expansion time, as shown in FIG. 5, the expansion data of the three expansion circuits are sequentially output (expansion circuit M10).
6 → expansion circuit C107 → expansion circuit Y108), and the expansion circuit K109 is used for an expansion circuit dedicated to a band (band 5 in this embodiment) that requires an extremely long expansion time, and the output order comes. At this point, the I / F unit is switched. Also in the case of this configuration, the same effect as that of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

The present invention supplies a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions (including the flow shown in FIG. 3) of each of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus. This can also be achieved by the computer (CPU or MPU) of (1) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, C
D-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape,
A non-volatile memory card, ROM or the like can be used.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When performing monochrome printing, the monochrome printing data for each page is developed by using the developing means corresponding to the monochrome and another developing means, so even if the image is complicated and takes extra time to develop, Printing can be performed at the maximum printing speed in the printing device without lowering the resolution.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printer including a print control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller 209 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a controller 209 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing bitmap expansion in band units in step S503 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing bitmap expansion in band units in the print control apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a diagram schematically showing conventional bitmap expansion in band units.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 I / F section 102 CPU 103 RAM 104 ROM 105 control unit 106 Expansion circuit M 107 Expansion circuit C 108 Expansion circuit Y 109 Expansion circuit K 110 I / F part M 111 I / F part C 112 I / F section Y 113 I / F section K

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of expanding means provided independently for each color, for dividing print data for each page into band units, and expanding into bitmap data of a corresponding color on a memory.
In a print control device having a transfer means for transferring the bitmap data expanded by each of the expansion means as video data to a printing device, when performing monochrome printing, the monochrome print data for each page corresponds to the monochrome color. A printing control device, wherein the printing control device is developed by using the expansion device and another expansion device. 2. The expanding means corresponding to the single color and other expanding means cooperate with each other to divide the single color print data for each page into band data and expand it into bitmap data, and the transfer means, 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bitmap data expanded by the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means are sequentially transferred as video data to the printing device. 3. The expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means respectively bit out corresponding band data among band data obtained by dividing the monochrome print data for each page into band units. The print control device according to claim 2, wherein the print control device develops the map data. 4. A plurality of expansion means provided independently for each color and for expanding the print data for each page into band units and expanding the bitmap data of the corresponding color on the memory.
In a control method of a print control device having a transfer unit that transfers the bitmap data expanded by each expansion unit as video data to a printing device, when performing single-color printing, the single-color print data for each page is A control method comprising the step of developing using a developing means corresponding to a single color and another developing means. 5. A step of dividing the single color print data for each page into band units and developing the same into bit map data by the developing means corresponding to the single color and another developing means,
5. The step of transferring, by the transfer means, the bitmap data expanded respectively by the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means to the printing device as video data in order. Control method. 6. The rasterizing means corresponding to the single color and the other rasterizing means respectively store the corresponding band data among the band data obtained by dividing the monochromatic print data for each page into band units. The control method according to claim 5, wherein each is expanded into bitmap data. 7. A plurality of expansion means provided independently for each color and dividing the print data for each page into band units and expanding into bitmap data of the corresponding color on the memory,
A program used for a print control device having a transfer unit for transferring the bitmap data expanded by each expansion unit as video data to a printing device, wherein when performing single-color printing, single-color print data for each page A program having a control module for controlling to develop using a developing means corresponding to the single color and another developing means. 8. The control module is configured such that the expansion means corresponding to the single color and another expansion means cooperate with each other to divide the single color print data for each page into band units and expand the bitmap data. The transfer means controls the bit map data expanded by the expansion means corresponding to the single color and the other expansion means to be transferred in sequence to the printing device as video data. The program according to claim 7. 9. The control module corresponds to the band data obtained by dividing the monochromatic print data for each page into band units by the expansion unit corresponding to the single color and another expansion unit. 9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the band data is controlled so as to be expanded into bitmap data.