JP2004252929A - Print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a printing time without influencing a print result by deleting all or part of commands constituting an object not to be drawn in print data when an overlap of drawn figures is determined. <P>SOLUTION: Overlap processing parts with figure overlap determination and overlap data deletion processing functions are disposed respectively in a printer 1, a personal computer (PC) 3 and a transfer path 5, wherein each overlap processing part can execute overlap determination processing. For an overlap determination, a processing distribution decision part 7 refers to information on the throughputs of the PC 3 and printer 1 and the transfer rate of the transfer path 5, all saved in the processing distribution decision part disposed in a CPU of the PC 3, to determine which of the overlap processing parts executes the overlap determination in dependence on the organization of print data and the throughputs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a print processing apparatus that performs overlap determination in print data composed of a binary or multi-valued image, reduces the size of the print data by deleting overlapping portions, improves transfer speed, and speeds up printing. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventional techniques of this type include the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3.
[0003]
According to Patent Document 1, a PDL code analysis unit creates a new PDL code by rearranging the drawing order based on an input page description language (PDL) code in reverse, and a binary image forming unit performs binary conversion according to the input PDL code. The color image forming unit draws the binary image in the image memory, and the color image forming unit forms the multi-valued color image in the color image memory only at the part where the flag is not set by this drawing, thereby reducing the drawing time of the multi-valued color image. It is stated that it is shortened.
[0004]
Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique for performing high-speed overlapping recognition of graphics without using graphic logic operation in a CAD system, cutting a slit at each vertex of the graphics A to find an intersection with the graphics B, The overlap determination is performed based on the positional relationship between the figure and each vertex of the figure A. If all the vertices are within the figure B, the figure A is determined to be included in the figure B. Describes that figure A does not overlap figure B, and in other cases it is determined that a part of two figures overlap.
[0005]
The invention described in Patent Document 3 relates to an apparatus and a method for extracting connected regions from a binary image and creating label image information, and economically outputs label image information to an image processing apparatus with a small storage capacity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method capable of storing input binary image data, calculating a circumscribed rectangle of the connected component, labeling each circumscribed rectangle, and labeling each circumscribed rectangle. It is determined whether or not the rectangle overlaps with another, and a labeling process is performed on the circumscribed rectangle having the overlap to create a label image. Then, the operation of subdividing the label image based on the label is repeated until the number of labels contained inside becomes unity, and the coordinates of the circumscribed rectangle of each child at that time and the coordinates of the circumscribed rectangle of the parent are An attribute indicating whether or not the rectangle belongs to is obtained, and the binary image obtained, data including a non-overlapping circumscribed rectangle, a circumscribed rectangle of the parent and each child obtained by subdividing and an attribute thereof Is output to the image processing apparatus.
[0006]
Further, in the case where the drawing objects included in the print data are overlapped dozens of times (A, B, C, よ う) as shown in FIG. At the intermediate data stage, the overlap determination of the graphic data is performed so as not to affect the result, and the overlapping part of the data as shown in FIGS. X There are a number of patent documents that attempt to improve the printing speed by deleting (see Patent Documents 4 to 6).
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-266203
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-5-282587
[Patent Document 3]
JP-A-8-55219
[Patent Document 4]
JP 2001-88367 A
[Patent Document 5]
JP 2001-103468 A
[Patent Document 6]
JP 2001-265548 A
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Normally, when printing an image, after receiving image data from, for example, MS-Windows (registered trademark) GDI or the like, the image data is converted into a page description language such as RPCS or PCL and transferred to a printer as a printing device. Printing is performed. In this process, various drawing objects may overlap with each other, and there may be a figure or a part of the figure that does not appear in the print result.
[0009]
Even in this case, since the drawing commands constituting the drawing objects that do not appear in the print result are transferred and converted into raster data, extra processing is performed.
[0010]
An object of the present invention is to eliminate the entire command or a part of a command that constitutes an object that is not drawn in print data when performing the above-described overlap determination of a drawing figure, without affecting a print result. An object of the present invention is to provide a print processing apparatus capable of shortening a printing time.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a binary or multivalued image is provided in one of a computer, a printing device, and a transfer path for transferring print data from the computer to the printing device. A control unit for making an overlap judgment of the composed print data and deleting an overlapping portion in the print data is provided. With this configuration, the overlap judgment is performed on the print data and the print result is not affected. By deleting the whole or a part of the drawing figure within the range, the print data size can be reduced, the transfer time can be shortened, and the time required for developing intermediate data into raster data can be shortened.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the processing capability of the overlap determination processing unit provided in the computer, the printing apparatus, and the transfer path is determined, and the overlap determination that enables high-speed processing is performed. The processing unit performs the overlap determination. With this configuration, the performance of the host computer such as a personal computer (PC) and the hardware of the printing apparatus such as a printer is grasped, and the processing on the computer side is overwhelmingly performed. If the speed is higher, the overlap judgment is the cause of the delay in the entire printing process, such as performing all overlap judgments on the computer side, or if they are almost the same, making the same amount of overlap judgment. , The overlap determination can be performed at high speed.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in one of a computer, a printing device, and a transfer path for transferring print data from the computer to the printing device, an overlap of print data composed of a binary or multi-valued image. Control means for making the determinations be performed at the same time and deleting the overlapping portion in the print data is provided. With this configuration, the overlap determination is performed on any of the computer side, the printing apparatus side, and the transfer path of the print data. Therefore, even if the overlap determination does not operate for any reason for any reason, the overlap determination processing can be performed without any problem in the entire processing apparatus.
[0014]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the third aspect, processing is alternately allocated for each page, each band, and each command at each location where overlap determination can be performed simultaneously. With this configuration, the print data is managed in arbitrary units such as pages, bands, and commands. For example, the overlap determination is performed alternately between the computer side and the printing apparatus side. By performing the processing, it is possible to speed up the entire processing by performing the two processings at the same time.
[0015]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the characteristics of the print data to be determined are determined, and classified according to the type of drawing command. Alternatively, the overlap determination is performed by a combination of different types, and by this configuration, by classifying the drawing commands in the print data, even if the overlap determination is performed, a command of a type that can hardly expect a great effect. In this case, the determination can be made not to be performed, and the overlap determination can be performed efficiently.
[0016]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a command capable of determining a drawing command type of print data to be determined and realizing higher efficiency, or The feature is that only the combination of commands is determined to be overlapped. With this configuration, when it is desired to narrow down the processing range as much as possible, the determination is made only for the drawing commands that are particularly effective or only for the combination of the commands, thereby minimizing the effort. High effects can be obtained.
[0017]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, after the print data to be determined is converted into intermediate data, or during the conversion or before the conversion, The overlap determination is performed based on coordinates, two-dimensional coordinates, or coordinates in other dimensions. With this configuration, the overlap determination is performed not only after the conversion into the intermediate data but also before or after the conversion. Accordingly, it is possible to construct a processing system that can be adapted to print processing apparatuses of various specifications.
[0018]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, after the print data to be determined is converted into intermediate data, the intermediate data is arranged in a one-dimensional array. When stored, from the overlap determination that takes into account the drawing of the entire image to the overlap determination that takes into account only the command that is adjacent to the target drawing command, the processing time and the effect brought about by the overlap determination In view of this, the overlap determination is performed, and according to this configuration, when the intermediate data and the like are arranged one-dimensionally, when it is determined that the overlap of the objects is mostly limited to adjacent commands, By limiting the overlap determination to adjacent commands, efficient processing can be performed.
[0019]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, when the overlap determination of the drawing graphic is performed, the overlapping based on the circumscribed rectangle is performed not based on the outer shape itself of the drawing graphic. The feature is that the determination is performed. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the time required for the determination by using a polygon or an ellipse as the approximation of the overlap of the objects and the circumscribed rectangle as an approximation.
[0020]
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, when the print processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects determines that the print data overlaps, when the overlapping part is deleted, the drawing content serving as the base is a plurality of parts. In the case where the drawing command is divided into two parts, a determination unit is provided for determining whether to process the drawing command in a divided manner or to perform the drawing processing on the overlapping part without deleting the overlapping part. Depending on the configuration, several types of results can be obtained by the overlap judgment. However, by coping with the case where the immediately preceding figure is divided into several figures, the transfer time and the time required for development are further reduced. Can be achieved.
[0021]
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the determination unit determines whether or not to delete the overlapping portion, an area that can be deleted, the processing capability of the processing unit that performs the overlap determination, and The feature is that the determination is made based on the size of the available memory area, and this configuration enables high-speed processing that matches the processing capacity.
[0022]
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, when the drawing command is divided, the drawing command is divided into a spool area or a memory area other than the spool area, and a newly added drawing command is stored. The feature is that drawing is performed at the same timing as before the division, and this configuration makes it possible to judge the overlap at high speed without changing the drawing result by managing the divided figure in association with the other figure become.
[0023]
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, when a drawing command is divided, if a drawing result is expected to be different even if drawing is performed at the same timing as when not dividing, It is characterized in that the subsequent processing is not performed. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a processing failure.
[0024]
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, a setting of a drawing state or the like in a drawing command newly created by division is set before the division and the setting of the drawing state or the like other than coordinate information. The feature is that the information setting process can be omitted, and this configuration makes it possible to perform the overlap judgment at high speed without changing the drawing result.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a print processing apparatus for describing an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a printer provided with a printer controller 2 for executing printing, and reference numeral 3 denotes a printer driver. A personal computer (PC) 5, a server 6 and the like are installed, a transfer path for transferring print data from the printer driver 4 of the PC 3 to the printer controller 2 of the printer 1, and a processing 7 for performing overlap determination as described later. This is a processing distribution determining unit that performs processing distribution of each unit.
[0027]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first embodiment for explaining the configuration of the printer driver 4 in the PC 3, wherein reference numeral 10 denotes an application software unit including various processing programs, 11 denotes a PDL language generation unit, and 12 denotes a figure (image). An overlap judging unit 13 and an immediately preceding graphic data memory 14 for storing immediately preceding graphic (image) data (graphic data processed before the currently processed graphic data), etc., and perform an overlap determining process of graphic data based on PDL language data. A PDL language output unit that receives data from the overlap processing unit 12 and directly outputs print data to the printer 1 or outputs the print data to the printer 1 via the transfer path 5; 4 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each unit.
[0028]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the first embodiment showing the configuration of the overlap processing unit in the server 6 or the like of the transfer path 5. A CPU 20 controls each unit of the transfer path 5. A determination unit 22 and a graphic data memory 23 for storing the graphic data immediately before (the graphic data processed before the currently processed graphic data), and the like. Output to
[0029]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the first embodiment for explaining the configuration of the printer controller 2 of the printer 1, wherein 30 is an interprinter that receives print data via the PC 3 or the transfer path 5, and 31 is converted to intermediate data. An intermediate data memory 32 for storing the print data is composed of a graphic overlap determining section 33, a graphic data memory 34 for storing the graphic data immediately before, and the like, and an overlap processing for performing the graphic data overlap determination processing based on the intermediate data. And 35, a graphic drawing processing unit that receives data from the overlap processing unit 32 and performs graphic drawing data processing, 36 is a page memory that temporarily stores data from the graphic drawing processing unit 35, and 37 is each unit of the printer driver 4. (Central processing unit) 38 controls print data from the page memory 36 Only in a printer engine to execute printing.
[0030]
Next, an overlap determination operation in the overlap processing units 12, 21, 32 according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described.
[0031]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart relating to the overlap determination operation according to the first embodiment. In the overlap processing units 12, 21, and 32, when graphic drawing is continuously performed (N in S1), whether or not there is a previous graphic is determined. Is determined (S2), and if there is an immediately preceding image (Y in S2), it is determined from the current graphic data and the immediately preceding graphic data whether a graphic overlaps (S3). Division and coordinate change in the immediately preceding figure are executed based on the overlapping data of the figures (S4), and drawing data of the immediately preceding figure is output based on the figure data after the change (S5). The changed current graphic data is stored and stored in the previous graphic data memories 14, 23, and 34 as the previous graphic data (S6). When the processing of the graphic data is completed (Y in S1), if there is an immediately preceding image (Y in S7), the drawing data of the immediately preceding graphic is output based on the immediately preceding graphic data (S8).
[0032]
In the present embodiment, as described above, the overlap processing units 12, 21, and 32 having the overlap determination and overlap data deletion processing functions are provided in the PC 3, the transfer path 5, and the printer 1, respectively. Processing is possible.
[0033]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to the selection of the overlap processing unit for performing the overlap determination according to the first embodiment. If there is a designation by the user (Y in S11), the overlap determination processing unit is determined with priority (S12). When there is no designation by the user (N in S11), as shown in FIG. 1, the processing distribution determination unit 7 in the PC 3 performs processing based on information on the processing capabilities of the PC 3 and the printer 1 and the transfer speed of the transfer path 5 ( S13) It is determined which of the overlap processing units 12, 21, and 32 performs the overlap determination based on the configuration and processing capacity of the data to be printed (S14).
[0034]
For example, if the processing unit of the PC 3 is superior to other processing units by a certain degree or more, the transfer speed is lower than a certain value, and the processing unit of the printer 1 is lower than a certain performance as compared with other processing units. If it is determined, the PC 3 is instructed to perform the overlap determination. Also, the processing capacity of the PC 3 is lower than a certain performance and the transfer speed is higher than a certain value as compared with the other processing units. If the performance of the printer 1 is higher than a certain level, the processing unit of the printer 1 is instructed to perform the overlap determination.
[0035]
However, if it is difficult to determine all the performances, it is preferable that the processing is performed by the processing unit of the PC 3.
[0036]
When the processing unit for performing the overlap determination is determined in step (S14), print data composed of binary and multivalued graphic data is input (S15), and the processing is performed in the overlap processing unit 32 of the printer 1. (N in S16, S17). However, when the printer 1 is instructed to perform the overlap determination process, and the print data is created and the transfer is started, but the originally planned printer cannot be used for some reason (Y in S16). In this case, it is conceivable to allocate data to another printer in the transfer path 5. If the performance of the allocated printer is extremely low, the transfer speed is sufficient, and the processing capacity of the transfer path 5 is sufficient, the overlap determination is performed in the transfer path section (S18).
[0037]
As described above, in the first embodiment, the overlap determination is not limited to one place, and the overlap determination is performed at the most suitable place or the most suitable combination. If there is hardware or software that performs the overlap determination at the two locations, and if the performance of the PC 3 is extremely low and the performance of the printer 1 is relatively high, the overlap determination is performed by the printer 1 with extra capacity, and almost both of them are used. When the performances are equal, data can be efficiently allocated in units of pages, bands, or commands, and the overlap determination can be performed by both the overlap determination processing units 12 and 32.
[0038]
By performing such processing, the merit of performing the overlap determination can be obtained, and the processing can be completed most quickly.
[0039]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, there is a case where it is not necessary to determine the overlap of each of all the drawing commands depending on the print data. In such a case, it is limited to only the drawing commands that are particularly effective or a combination thereof. It is also possible to make an overlap determination. Similarly, if almost all consecutive commands do not overlap with each other without targeting the data of the entire page, the overlap is determined dynamically by using the judgment of the image analysis part so that the overlap judgment is performed only with the adjacent command. It is also possible to switch the judgment.
[0040]
Further, a determination process using a circumscribed rectangle is effective for performing the above-described image analysis at high speed. That is, the overlap determination is performed based on a circumscribed rectangle, not based on the outline of the drawn figure itself, and the overlap of the objects is reduced to a polygon or an ellipse by using the circumscribed rectangle as an approximation, thereby suppressing the time required for the determination. Can be. This determination processing unit may be installed before the overlap processing unit that actually performs the overlap determination, and once the determination is performed, if there is a plurality in the print processing apparatus, the subsequent determination is suppressed. Extra processing can be avoided.
[0041]
In the first embodiment, the overlap is determined only for the continuous graphic in the data. However, this is effective for data in which the drawing order is often continuous when the graphic overlaps. .
[0042]
Further, by performing the following overlap determination processing in the first embodiment, the determination processing can be effectively performed.
[0043]
In other words, the characteristics of the print data to be determined are determined, the drawing commands are classified for each type of drawing command, and the overlap determination is performed for the same type or a combination of different types, thereby classifying the drawing commands in the print data. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently perform the overlap determination by not performing the determination for a command of a type that can hardly expect a great effect even if the overlap determination is performed.
[0044]
In addition, by judging the type of drawing command of the print data to be determined and determining only commands or combinations of commands that can achieve higher efficiency by overlapping, it is particularly effective to narrow down the processing range as much as possible. By determining only certain drawing commands or a combination of commands, a high effect can be obtained with minimum effort.
[0045]
In addition, after the print data to be determined is converted into intermediate data, or before or during the conversion, the overlap determination is performed based on one-dimensional coordinates, two-dimensional coordinates, or coordinates in other dimensions, so that the overlap determination is performed in an intermediate manner. By performing not only after conversion into data but also before or after conversion, it is possible to construct a processing system adaptable to print processing apparatuses of various specifications.
[0046]
In addition, after the print data to be determined is converted into intermediate data, if the intermediate data is stored in a one-dimensional array, the overlap determination in consideration of the rendering of the entire image is performed, and the target rendering command and Until the overlap judgment that considers only adjacent commands, the overlap judgment is performed in consideration of the processing time and the effect brought by the overlap judgment, so that when the intermediate data etc. are arranged in one dimension, the object overlaps However, in most cases, when it is determined that the command is limited to the adjacent command, the processing can be efficiently performed by limiting the overlap determination to the adjacent command.
[0047]
As described above, in the present embodiment, by performing the above-described overlap determination, unnecessary drawing can be omitted from the figure on the base side, and the printing speed can be improved without affecting the printing result. .
[0048]
By the way, as a result of performing the overlap determination as described above and deleting the overlapped portion, the drawing command on the base side may be divided into a plurality of commands. When the divided drawing commands need to generate a new command itself and process it, there are cases where processing is easy and difficult depending on the portion where the overlap determination is performed.
[0049]
As described above, when there is a portion where it is easy to secure a memory area for command processing and a portion where processing is difficult, the load on the entire processing system is affected by dividing, and conversely, the printing speed is slow. In such a case, do not delete the overlapping part by the overlap judgment and execute the deletion processing if the command can be divided by the deletion processing and the printing speed can be improved. Is desirable.
[0050]
For example, in a printer having a spool area, if the coordinate data is compressed up to the spool stage, if the overlap determination is not performed after the compression is expanded, the compression process is performed again after the overlap determination and stored. And where the overlap determination is made has a significant effect on efficiency.
[0051]
In such a case, the compressed data is necessarily expanded by the time of drawing, so that the overlap determination may be performed thereafter. However, when it is necessary to perform division, a memory area other than the spool area is often required.
[0052]
A configuration addressing this will be described below as a second embodiment. In addition, since Embodiment 1 has the same basic configuration as Embodiment 2, in the following description, members corresponding to the members of Embodiment 1 described in FIGS. Omitted.
[0053]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the printer controller 2 of the printer 1 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, immediately before a plurality (two in FIG. A memory area including the graphic data memories 34a and 34b is provided. When the overlap processing section 32 makes a normal overlap determination, the previous graphic data is stored in one of the previous graphic data memories 34a and 34b, and the coordinate data of the graphic is corrected by the overlap determination. However, when the overlapping processing unit 32 determines that the drawing command on the background side is divided into a plurality of parts as a result of performing the overlap determination and deleting the overlapping part, if the division is two minutes, a part of the data is returned. Is stored in one of the preceding graphic data memories 34a and 34b, and the remaining data is stored in the other of the preceding graphic data memories 34a and 34b.
[0054]
One of the immediately preceding graphic data memories 34a and 34b has a configuration associated with the other, so that the drawing timing, the drawing state, the erasing timing, and the like are the same for both the immediately preceding graphic data memories 34a and 34b. Configure to be executed.
[0055]
When the above processing is performed by the printer driver 4 of the PC 2, a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the printer driver 4 in the PC 2 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is illustrated), and a memory area consisting of the graphic data memories 14a and 14b immediately before is provided, and the same processing as described above can be executed by the judgment by the overlap processing unit 12.
[0056]
As in the second embodiment, when it is determined whether the drawing command is divided and processed, or the overlapping part is drawn without deleting the overlapping part, whether to delete the overlapping part is determined. It is necessary to make a determination based on the area that can be deleted, the processing capability of the overlap processing units 12 and 32, the size of the preceding graphic data memories 14a, 14b, 34a, and 34b.
[0057]
When the drawing command is divided, the drawing command is divided into a spool area or a memory area other than the spool area, the newly added drawing command is stored, and drawing is performed at the same timing as before the division.
[0058]
Further, when the drawing command is divided, if it is expected that the drawing result will be different even if the drawing is performed at the same timing as when the drawing command is not divided, it is desirable not to perform the subsequent processing.
[0059]
Furthermore, the setting of the drawing state and the like in the drawing command newly created by the division is assumed to be before the division, and the processing for setting the information such as the drawing state other than the coordinate information can be omitted, thereby shortening the processing time. Can be planned.
[0060]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the print data size by deleting the whole or a part of the drawing figure within a range that does not affect the print result by performing the overlap determination on the print data. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the transfer time and the time required for developing intermediate data into raster data.
[0061]
In addition, since the overlap determination can be performed on any of the computer side, the printing apparatus side, and the print data transfer path, even if the overlap determination does not operate for any reason for any reason, there is no problem in the entire processing apparatus. An overlap determination process can be performed.
[0062]
In addition, although several types of results can be obtained by the overlap determination, when the drawing content to be the base is divided into a plurality of parts, the drawing command is divided and processed, or the overlapping part is not deleted. In addition, by making it possible to determine whether to draw the overlapping part as it is, it is possible to cope with the case where the immediately preceding figure is divided into several parts, and to further shorten the transfer time and develop the image. Such time can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a print processing apparatus for describing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer driver in the PC according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an overlap processing unit in a server or the like on a transfer path according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller in the printer according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an overlap determination operation according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to selection of an overlap processing unit that performs overlap determination according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an overlapping state in print data.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer controller 2 of a printer 1 according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer driver 4 in the PC 2 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state where drawing objects overlap in print data.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of overlapping portion deletion in print data.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Printer
2 Printer controller
3 Personal computer (PC)
4 Printer driver
5 Transfer route
6 servers
7 Processing distribution decision unit
10 Application Software Department
11 PDL language generator
12, 21, 32 overlap processing unit
13,22,33 Figure overlap judgment unit
14, 14a, 14b, 23, 34, 34a, 34b Previous graphic data memory
15 PDL language output unit
16, 20, 37 CPU (central processing unit)
30 interpreter
31 Intermediate data memory
35 figure drawing processor
36 page memory
38 Printer Engine

Claims (14)

In any one of a computer, a printing device, and a transfer path for transferring print data from the computer to the printing device, an overlap determination of print data composed of a binary or multi-valued image is performed. A print processing apparatus comprising a control unit for deleting an overlapping part. 2. An overlap determination processing unit capable of performing high-speed processing is determined by determining a processing capability of an overlap determination processing unit provided in the computer, the printing device, and the transfer path. The print processing apparatus according to the above. Causing the print data composed of a binary or multi-valued image to be simultaneously determined in any one of a computer, a printing device, and a transfer path for transferring print data from the computer to the printing device; A print processing device comprising a control unit for deleting an overlapping portion in the print processing. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein processing is alternately assigned for each page, for each band, and for each command at each of the locations where overlap determination can be performed at the same time, thereby enabling overlap determination. Print processing device. The method according to claim 1, wherein a feature of the print data to be determined is determined, the print data is classified for each type of drawing command, and the overlap determination is performed by the same type or a combination of different types. The print processing apparatus according to the above. The print processing according to claim 1, wherein a type of a drawing command of print data to be determined is determined, and only a command or a combination of commands capable of realizing high efficiency is determined to overlap. apparatus. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the print data to be determined is converted into intermediate data, or before or during the conversion, the overlap determination is performed based on one-dimensional coordinates, two-dimensional coordinates, or other dimensional coordinates. 4. The print processing device according to any one of 4. After the print data to be determined is converted to intermediate data, if the intermediate data is arranged in a one-dimensional array, a command adjacent to the target drawing command is determined based on overlap determination in consideration of drawing of the entire image. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the overlap determination is performed in consideration of a time required for processing and an effect brought by the overlap determination until the overlap determination considering only the overlap determination. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the overlap determination of the drawing figures is performed based on a circumscribed rectangle, not based on the outline of the drawing figure itself. The print processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, as a result of the overlap determination of the print data, when the overlapping part is deleted, the drawing content to be a base is divided into a plurality of parts. A print processing apparatus comprising: a determination unit configured to determine whether to process a drawing command by dividing it or to perform a drawing process on an overlapping portion without deleting the overlapping portion. In the determination means, whether or not to delete the overlapping portion is determined based on the area that can be deleted, the processing capability of the processing means for performing the overlap determination, and the size of the available memory area. The print processing apparatus according to claim 10. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the drawing command is divided, the drawing command is divided into a spool area or a memory area other than the spool area, a newly added drawing command is stored, and drawing is performed at the same timing as before the division. The print processing apparatus according to the above. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the drawing command is divided, if the drawing result is expected to be different even when the drawing is performed at the same timing as when the drawing command is not divided, the subsequent processing is not performed. Print processing device. 11. The setting of a drawing command or the like in a drawing command newly created by the division is set before the division, and setting processing of information such as the drawing state other than the coordinate information can be omitted. Print processing device.

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