JP2004114326A - Image formation device and image formation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the function of printing documents which require a layout process and the function of printing image data, without requiring many hardware resources. <P>SOLUTION: When the document 63 described in a predetermined language such as XHTML which requires the layout process is inputted from a data source 10, the printer 20 determines a layout on a physical page of the document 63 by a document interpretation/layout process part 41, drives a printing engine 47 and prints the document data 63. When a simple image 65 of a JPEG format or the like is inputted from the data source 10, the printer 20 forms document data 73 of a predetermined language such as XHTML having the image 65 incorporated therein at an image reception/document generation part 43, and delivers the data to the document interpretation/layout process part 41. The document interpretation/layout process part 41 processes the document 73 the same as above, and the image data 65 is printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a process for determining a page layout.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, there is a description that an application that does not depend on a document that describes a document that is based on a document that does not depend on an application such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), or XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is described. Since there is no particular concept of a page in such a structured description language, when printing document data described in this structured description language, processing for laying out a document on a physical page of a print medium is performed. It is known that a (formatting step) is required, and for that, it is necessary to determine a layout direction such as an output paper size or a portrait / landscape (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 02-219845).
[0003]
Further, in a printing system in which the Formatting step is performed on the Web server side (including servers other than the Web server), the printing apparatus determines a layout such as a paper size and a layout direction based on a print instruction and notifies the server of the determined layout. The server performs a Formatting process based on the layout to convert document data described in the structured description language into document data allocated to physical pages and transmit the document data to the printing apparatus. The configuration is known (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-219845).
[0004]
On the other hand, in a printing apparatus that performs printing based on image data of a photograph from a digital camera, when image size information is received from the digital camera, an image layout on a page of a print medium is created based on the information, and the image layout is changed. By transmitting the image data to the digital camera, the image layout is displayed on the digital camera so that the user can confirm the image layout. After that, when the image data is transmitted from the digital camera according to the instruction of the user, the image layout is printed. Is known (for example, refer to JP-A-2002-33992).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-219845, paragraphs 0002 to 0015
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2002-33992, paragraphs 0016 to 0019
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When printing a document described in a language without the concept of a page such as HTML, it is necessary to perform a process of determining the layout of the document on a physical page of a print medium (hereinafter, referred to as a layout process). Also, when printing image data such as a JPEG file, it is necessary to perform processing (layout processing) for determining the layout of the image on a physical page of a print medium.
[0007]
As described above, when an image forming apparatus having both functions of printing a document that requires layout processing at the time of printing and printing image data that also needs layout processing at the time of printing is to be realized, According to the related art, since components (typically, computer programs) for performing the layout processing in the above two functions are required, a large amount of hardware resources such as a memory space are required. In addition, there is a possibility that a difference occurs in handling of a print medium (especially roll paper) and image processing such as image color tone adjustment between the above two functions, thereby impairing operability.
[0008]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to realize a function of printing a document requiring a layout process and a function of printing image data without requiring many hardware resources.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a document input unit for inputting document data described in a predetermined language from a data source, an image input unit for inputting image data from a data source, and a document incorporating the input image data. A document creation unit for creating data using the predetermined language; receiving the document data from the document input unit and the document creation unit; and determining a layout of the document data on a physical page of a print medium. Common layout processing means for generating a bitmap image for printing the document data in the determined layout, and printing for printing the document data in the determined layout using the generated bitmap image Means.
[0010]
In a preferred embodiment, the document data creating means has in advance a document template representing basic document data described in the predetermined language into which arbitrary image data can be incorporated, and By incorporating image data into the document template, the document data incorporating the input image data can be created.
[0011]
In a preferred embodiment, there is further provided external output means for externally outputting document data in which the image data created by the document creation means is incorporated.
[0012]
Further, in a preferred embodiment, the predetermined language is such a language that the arbitrary image data can be incorporated into the arbitrary document data by embedding a link to arbitrary image data in the arbitrary document data. Used. An image buffer is further provided, and the document creation means stores the input image data in the image buffer, and converts the document data in which a link to the image data stored in the image buffer is embedded in the predetermined language. Create with. When receiving the document data in which the link is embedded, the layout processing means reads the image data linked to the received document data from the image buffer, and reads the received document data and the linked image. The bitmap image is created by determining the layout using data.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an electronic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0015]
The printer 20 can communicate with the data source 10 that generates or holds data to be printed by wire or wirelessly. Various devices such as a host computer, a digital camera, a data storage, and a communication network can be adopted as the data source 10.
[0016]
The printer 20 can perform printing by receiving the document data 63 described in a predetermined language from the data source 10 or can perform printing by receiving the image data 71 encoded in a predetermined data format. . The data source 10 for supplying the document data 63 and the data source 10 for supplying the image data 71 may be the same device or different devices.
[0017]
As the language of the document data 63, it is possible to adopt only one specific language or a plurality of languages. However, according to the principle of the present invention, there is one language that requires layout processing at the time of printing. More than one language may be included. In the following description, XHTML (extensible HyperText Markup Language), which is one of structured languages without the concept of a page, is adopted as an example of a language that requires layout processing. However, this is merely an example, and other examples are used. Of course, a language may be adopted. As is well known, the XHTML document data 63 may incorporate (link) image data 65 encoded in a predetermined format at a desired location in the document by a link technique. When the image data 65 is embedded (linked) in the XHTML document data 63, the printer 20 also receives the image data 65 from the data source 10 when printing the XHTML document data 63.
[0018]
In addition, as the data format of the image data 65 and 71 described above, only one specific format may be employed, or a plurality of types may be employed. In the following description, the JPEG format is adopted as an example, but this is also merely an example, and it goes without saying that another data format may be adopted.
[0019]
Further, when printing the XHTML document data 63, the printer 20 uses the data source 10 or the control panel 51 of the printer 20 to print the paper size and paper orientation (portrait) Or landscape (landscape)) and the printing conditions 61 or 69 including the setting of items such as image adjustment (color tone adjustment and various image enhancements) to be performed on the printed image. it can. When printing the above-described XHTML document data 63 or JPEG image data 71, the printer 20 determines the layout of the XHTML document data 63 or JPEG image data 71 on a physical page of a sheet according to the specified printing conditions 61 or 69. Will do.
[0020]
Further, the printer 20 can receive an external output command 81 or 83 from the data source 10 or from the control panel 51. As will be described later in detail, when the printer 20 receives the external output command 81 or 83, the printer 20 converts the XHTML document data 73 created therein by the printer 20 together with the JPEG image data 75 linked thereto. It can be output to an external device 30 located outside. As the external device 30, for example, various devices such as a computer, a digital camera, a data storage, and a communication network can be adopted. When outputting the XHTML document data 73 to the outside, the printer 20 uses an image link (image embedding) embedded in the XHTML document data 73 so that the JPEG image data 75 is correctly linked to the XHTML document data 73. The description of the path of the JPEG image data 75 in () can be rewritten so as to match the path of the JPEG image data 75 after external output in the external device 30.
[0021]
The printer 20 includes a document interpretation / layout processing unit 41, an image reception / document generation unit 43, an image buffer 45, a print engine 47, an external output unit 49, and a control panel 51.
[0022]
Hereinafter, the functions and operations of each unit of the printer 20 will be described separately for the case of printing the XHTML document data 63 and the case of simply printing the JPEG image data 71 with reference to FIGS. . Here, FIG. 2 shows a processing flow of the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41, FIG. 3 shows a processing flow of the image reception / document generation unit 43, and FIG. 5 shows an example of a template representing basic XHTML document data stored in advance.
[0023]
First, the operation of the printer 20 when printing the XHTML document data 63 will be described.
[0024]
When the printer 20 receives the XHTML document data 63 as a print target from the data source 10, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 inputs and interprets the received XHTML document data 63 (FIG. 2, step 201). If the JPEG image data 65 (one or a plurality of images) is linked thereto, the linked JPEG image data 65 is obtained from the path described in the image link (FIG. 2, Step 203). Although the location (path) of the JPEG image data 65 exists in the data source 10 in the illustrated example, this is merely an example, and may exist in another device other than the data source 10. .
[0025]
In addition, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 inputs, from the data source 10 or the control panel 51, printing conditions 61 or 69 indicating settings such as a paper size, a paper direction, and image adjustment used in the printing (FIG. 2). , Step 205).
[0026]
Then, based on the input XHTML document data 63 and the JPEG image data 65, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 determines all the pages of the print document according to the input print conditions 61 or 69 according to the paper size and paper direction. The layout of the display object (characters, images, figures, etc. displayed on the page) on the physical page is determined (FIG. 2, step 207). Subsequently, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 creates bitmap image data of each page of the print document with the determined layout (step 209 in FIG. 2). At this time, if any image adjustment is specified for any image in the print document (or the entire print document) under the specified print conditions 61 or 69, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 After the image adjustment, bitmap image data is created. Then, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 transfers the bitmap image data to the print engine 47 (step 211 in FIG. 2). The print engine 47 prints each page of the print document on each sheet based on the bitmap image data.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the printer 20 when printing the simple JPEG image data 71 will be described.
[0028]
When the printer 20 receives simple JPEG image data 71 (or one or more sheets) from the data source 10 as a print target, the image receiving / document generating unit 43 inputs the received JPEG image data 71. (FIG. 3, 301), and writes the JPEG image data 71 into the image buffer 75 (FIG. 3, 303). Then, the image receiving / document generating unit 43 incorporates the XHTML document data 73 for printing the JPEG image data 71, that is, the JPEG image data 71 (that is, to the JPEG image data 71 in the image buffer 75). The XHTML document data 73 (with the image link embedded therein) is created (303 in FIG. 3). Various methods can be adopted as a method of creating the XHTML document data 73. One simple method is to add an image link to arbitrary image data at a predetermined position in the document data, for example. A document template representing basic XHTML document data is prepared in advance so that XHTML document data incorporating arbitrary image data is completed, and an image link to JPEG image data 71 is added to the document template. It is a method of doing.
[0029]
FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of such a document template. A document template 400 shown in FIG. 4A is an example for incorporating, for example, one image 401 into document data having a plain background, and a document template 410 shown in FIG. 4B is a document template having a plain background, for example. This is an example for incorporating two images 411 and 413. The image reception / document generation unit 43 reads the document template 400 of FIG. 4A if the number is one, and reads the document template 400 of FIG. 4B if the number is two, according to the number of input JPEG image data 71 to be printed. XHTML document data 73 is created by reading an appropriate document template, such as reading 410, and writing an image link to the JPEG image data 71 in the image buffer 75 at a predetermined location in the document template. be able to.
[0030]
Thereafter, the image receiving / document generating unit 43 passes the created XHTML document data 73 to the document interpreting / layout processing unit 41 (FIG. 3, step 307). Then, the document interpretation / layout processing section 41 interprets the input XHTML document data 73 (step 201 in FIG. 2) according to the procedure shown in FIG. 2 described above, and converts the JPEG image data 75 linked thereto there. The print conditions 61 or 69 are obtained from the image buffer 45 (step 203 in FIG. 2), and the printing conditions 61 or 69 are input from the data source 10 or the control panel 51 (step 205 in FIG. 2), and the input XHTML document data 73 and Based on the JPEG image data 75, the layout of all the image objects (characters, images, etc.) of each page of the print document on the physical page is determined according to the paper size and paper direction specified by the input printing conditions 61 or 69. (FIG. 2, step 207). Subsequently, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 creates bitmap image data of each page with the determined layout (at this time, if any image adjustment is requested by the printing conditions 61 or 69, the image adjustment is performed). (Step 209 in FIG. 2), and the bitmap image data is transferred to the print engine 47 (Step 211 in FIG. 2). The print engine 47 prints each page of the print document on each sheet based on the bitmap image data.
[0031]
As described above, even when only image data is printed, the layout processing function of the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 is used. Therefore, when these processing units are realized by software, necessary hardware resources such as a memory area are smaller than those according to the related art.
[0032]
Next, a case in which an external output command 81 or 83 is input to the printer 20 from the data source 10 or the control panel 51 in the case of simply printing image data will be described.
[0033]
In response to the input external output command 81 or 83, the external output unit 49 outputs the XHTML document data 73 (or a copy thereof) created by the image reception / document generation unit 43 and the image buffer linked thereto. The JPEG image data 75 (or a copy thereof) in 45 is output to the external device 30 designated by the user. At this time, the external output unit 49 rewrites the path to the JPEG image data 75 included in the image link in the externally output XHTML document data 73 so as to point to the location of the JPEG image data 75 in the external output device 30. .
[0034]
The user can save the XHTML document data 73 and the JPEG image data 75 linked to the XHTML document data 73 output to the external output device 30 in this way, or pass them on to another person. . For example, it is assumed that the user selects several favorite photographs from a large number of photographs taken in the past and prints them by the above-described simple image data printing method. At this time, if the user also inputs an external output command, the document data incorporating the image data of the desired photograph is externally output. Therefore, when the user wants to print the same photo later, the external output is performed. Since it is only necessary to use the prepared document data, it is possible to avoid the trouble of selecting a desired photograph from a large number of photographs again. Further, if the user gives the document data output from the outside to another person, the other person can print and refer to the photograph similarly.
[0035]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this is an exemplification for describing the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to this embodiment. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented in other various forms without departing from the gist thereof.
[0036]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, when mere image data is printed, the image receiving / document generating unit 43 in the printer 20 takes in the image data 71 to be printed from the data source 10 and stores it in the image buffer 45 in the printer 20. Then, the document data 73 in which the link to the image data 75 in the image buffer 45 is embedded is created and passed to the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41. However, as an alternative, the image receiving / document generating unit 43 does not fetch the image data 71 to be printed from the data source 10, but instead notifies the image data 71 of the path of the image data 71. The document data 73 in which the link is embedded may be created and passed to the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41. Then, based on the link of the document data 73, the document interpretation / layout processing unit 41 places the image data 71 to be printed at the location indicated by the path (for example, in the data source 10 or in another device (not shown)). Etc.).
[0037]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the input is performed only to the document interpretation / layout processing unit 67 that performs the printing process 61 or 69, but at least one of the printing conditions 61 or 69 that can be included in the printing condition 61 or 69 is included. The settings of the items (for example, the settings of the patterns, characters, and graphics constituting the background, the settings of the patterns, characters, and graphics to be superimposed on the image, and the settings of the modification of the image frame) are also transmitted to the image reception / document generation unit 43. By inputting the information, information on the setting of the item may be entered in the document data 73. By doing so, even when a simple image is printed, it is possible to obtain a printout of various designs including various patterns, figures, and character strings in addition to the image.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an electronic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of a document interpretation / layout processing unit 41;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of an image reception / document generation unit 43;
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing two examples of a document template possessed by an image reception / document generation unit 43.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 Data source 20 Printer 30 External device 41 Document interpretation / layout processing unit 43 Image reception / document generation unit 45 Image buffer 47 Print engine 49 External output unit 51 Control panel 61, 69 Printing conditions 63, 73 XHTML document data 71, 75 JPEG Image data 81, 83 External output instructions 400, 410 Document template

Claims (5)

Document input means for inputting document data described in a predetermined language from a data source;
Image input means for inputting image data from a data source,
Document creation means for creating document data incorporating the input image data using the predetermined language;
A bitmap for receiving the document data from both the document input unit and the document creation unit, determining a layout of the document data on a physical page of a print medium, and printing the document data with the determined layout Common layout processing means for generating an image,
Using the generated bitmap image, printing means for printing the document data in the determined layout,
An image forming apparatus comprising: The document data creating means has in advance a document template representing basic document data described in the predetermined language into which arbitrary image data can be incorporated, and converts the input image data into the document template. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein document data in which the input image data is incorporated is created by incorporating the input image data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an external output unit that externally outputs the created document data in which the created image data is incorporated. The predetermined language is such that by embedding a link to any image data into any document data, the arbitrary image data can be embedded in the arbitrary document data.
Further comprising an image buffer,
The document creating means stores the input image data in the image buffer, creates document data in which the link to the image data stored in the image buffer is embedded in the predetermined language,
When receiving the document data in which the link is embedded, the layout processing unit reads the image data linked to the received document data from the image buffer, and reads the received document data and the linked image data. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bitmap image is created by determining the layout by using the image forming apparatus. Inputting document data described in a predetermined language from a data source;
Passing the input document data to a common layout processing means;
Inputting image data from a data source;
Creating document data incorporating the input image data using the predetermined language;
Passing the created document data to the common layout processing means;
Determining a layout of the document data on a physical page of a print medium by the common layout processing unit, and generating a bitmap image for printing the document data with the determined layout;
Using the generated bitmap image, printing the document data in the determined layout,
An image forming method comprising:

Images