JP2006350615A - Printer system, printer, and image data transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer system for increasing the transfer speed of image data to a printer. <P>SOLUTION: A composite data is formed by compositing n (a plurality of) image data according to a data depth (the number of bits) that can be inputted at the side of the printer 20 by an image data conversion section 13 of a host computer 10. A print setting data addition section 14 generates transfer data, where one print setting data are added to the composited image data. Then, the transfer data are transmitted from an image data transmission section 15 to the printer 20. The printer 20 receives transfer data including n image data and one print setting data by an image data reception section 21, separates n image data in the received transfer data into individual image data by an image data separation section 22, and prints the separated image data according to the print setting data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer system, a printer, and an image data transfer method, and more particularly to a printer system, a printer, and an image data transfer method that can increase the transfer speed of image data to the printer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional printer system.
In FIG. 5, the image data is generated by application software (a processing unit that executes application software for image processing) 111 in the host computer 110 and transmitted to the printer driver 112. The image data conversion unit 113 of the printer driver 112 converts the image data into image data for printing, and converts the image size and resolution to a size suitable for the printer 120. Thereafter, the print setting data adding unit 114 adds the print setting data at the time of printing the image to the image data, and transmits the image data to the printer 120.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printer system shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the flow of the processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  The application software 111 creates image data and transmits the image data to the printer driver 112 (step S11). The printer driver 112 receives image data from the application software 111 (step S12).

  The printer driver 112 that has received the image data processes the image data into a size and resolution suitable for the printer 120 (step S13).

  Further, the printer driver 112 receives the setting data at the time of printing the image from the application software 111 and adds it to the processed image data (step S14). Thereafter, the image data is transmitted to the printer 120 (step S15). In this case, when printing a plurality of image data, it is necessary to add setting data at the time of printing to each image data and send it to the printer.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the transmission of all the image data has been completed (step S16), and when the transmission of all the image data has been completed, the printer 120 is notified accordingly. The printer 120 that receives the image data prints the image.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data depth of the image data, and the data depth (number of bits) of the image data transmitted from the printer driver 112 to the printer 120 is usually 8 bits. It is necessary to add setting data at the time of printing to this image data.

  As described above, in the conventional printer system, when a plurality of image data is transmitted to the printer, it is necessary to add setting data to each image even when printing is performed with the same setting. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time when high-speed data transfer of image data is required.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a printer system, a printer, and an image data transfer method capable of increasing the transfer speed of image data to a printer. There is.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a printer system according to the present invention includes a printer that receives and prints image data, and a data input that transfers image data of an image to be printed to the printer. The data input device can convert image data into image data for printing and can transmit at a time according to the data depth that can be input on the printer side. Transfer data is generated by adding one common print setting data to image data converting means for combining n (plural) pieces of image data and n image data combined by the image data converting means. A print setting data adding unit; and an image data transmitting unit that transmits the transfer data to a printer. The printer includes the n images. And image data receiving means for receiving transfer data composed of one piece of common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data, and n pieces of image data in the transfer data are individually stored. Image data separation means for separating image data, and printing means for printing the image data separated by the image data separation means in accordance with the print setting data.
With such a configuration, on the data input device side such as a host computer, n (plural) pieces of image data are combined in accordance with the data depth (number of bits) that can be input on the printer side, and the combined image data Transfer data to which one common print setting data is added is generated. Then, the transfer data is transmitted to the printer. On the printer side, transfer data including n pieces of image data and print setting data is received, n pieces of image data in the received transfer data are separated into individual image data, and the separated image data is printed. Print according to the setting data.
As a result, a plurality of image data can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer speed of the image data to the printer can be increased.

In the printer system of the present invention, the data input device is any of a host computer, a scanner, and a digital camera.
With such a configuration, the host computer, the scanner, or the digital camera synthesizes n (plural) pieces of image data in accordance with the data depth (number of bits) that can be input on the printer side, and the synthesized image data. The transfer data to which one print setting data common to the two is added is generated. Then, the transfer data is transmitted to the printer.
Accordingly, when image data is transferred from the host computer, scanner, or digital camera to the printer, the transfer speed of the image data can be increased.

The printer system according to the present invention is characterized in that the transfer data includes two image data.
With such a configuration, when image data is transferred from the data input device to the printer, two image data and one print setting data are transmitted for each transfer. As a result, two image data can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer rate of the image data to the printer can be increased.

In the printer system according to the present invention, the number of bits of the image data is 8 bits, and the transfer data includes two image data.
With such a configuration, transfer data to be transferred to the printer each time is set as two 8-bit image data and one common print setting data. As a result, two 8-bit image data can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer rate of the image data to the printer can be increased.

In the printer system of the present invention, the printer includes two heads that perform sublimation printing and fusion printing, and image data in the transfer data includes image data of a print portion of a color photographic image, and a fusion portion. It is characterized by being comprised with the image data of this.
With such a configuration, the image data transferred to the printer each time is composed of the image data of the print portion of the color photographic image and the image data of the melted portion. As a result, the image data of the print portion of the color photographic image and the image data of the fused portion can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer rate of the image data to the printer can be increased.

The printer of the present invention receives transfer data including n (plural) pieces of image data and one common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data, and outputs an image. An image data receiving means for receiving the transfer data composed of the n image data and one common print setting data added to the n image data; Image data separation means for separating n image data in the data into individual image data, and printing means for printing the image data separated by the image data separation means in accordance with the print setting data And
With such a configuration, on the data input device side such as a host computer, n (plural) pieces of image data are combined in accordance with the data depth (number of bits) that can be input on the printer side, and the combined image data Transfer data to which one common print setting data is added is generated. Then, the transfer data is transmitted to the printer. On the printer side, transfer data including n pieces of image data and print setting data is received, n pieces of image data in the received transfer data are separated into individual image data, and the separated image data is printed. Print according to the setting data.
As a result, a plurality of image data can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer speed of the image data to the printer can be increased.

The image data transfer method of the present invention is an image data transfer in a printer system comprising a printer that receives and prints image data, and a data input device that transfers image data of an image to be printed to the printer. A method in which image data is converted into image data for printing by the data input device, and n (plural) images that can be transmitted at a time according to a data depth that can be input on the printer side. An image data conversion procedure for combining data, a print setting data addition procedure for generating transfer data by adding one common print setting data to the n pieces of image data combined by the image data conversion procedure, An image data transmission procedure for transmitting the transfer data to a printer is performed, and the n image data and the image data are transmitted by the printer. Image data reception procedure for receiving transfer data composed of one common print setting data added to the n image data, and separating the n image data in the transfer data into individual image data An image data separation procedure to be performed, and a printing procedure to print the image data separated by the image data separation procedure in accordance with the print setting data.
By such a procedure, on the data input device side such as the host computer, n (plurality) pieces of image data are combined in accordance with the data depth (number of bits) that can be input on the printer side, and the combined image data Transfer data to which one common print setting data is added is generated. Then, the transfer data is transmitted to the printer. On the printer side, transfer data including n pieces of image data and print setting data is received, n pieces of image data in the received transfer data are separated into individual image data, and the separated image data is printed. Print according to the setting data.
As a result, a plurality of image data can be transmitted to the printer at a time, and the transfer speed of the image data to the printer can be increased.

  In the present invention, since a plurality of image data can be transmitted to the printer by one transmission, it is possible to increase the transfer speed of the image data to the printer.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the present invention, for example, the data depth (number of bits) that can be input on the printer side is 8 bits or more (for example, a multiple of 8 such as 16 bits), and two images or more images are obtained by one data transfer. Data can be transmitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer system according to the present invention.
In the printer system 1, the image data is generated by application software (a processing unit that executes application software for image processing) 11 in the host computer 10 and is transmitted to the printer driver 12.

  The image data conversion unit 13 of the printer driver 12 converts the image data into image data for printing. For example, based on the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) components of the pixel data of the input image data, the image data for printing such as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), etc. Convert. Also, the image size and resolution are converted to a size suitable for the printer 20. At this time, the image data conversion unit (image data conversion means) 13 synthesizes the image data that can be transmitted at a time at the position of each dot in accordance with the data depth that can be input on the printer 20 side.

  Thereafter, the print setting data adding unit (print setting data adding means) 14 adds print setting data at the time of image printing to the combined image data. The image data to which the print setting data is added is transmitted from the image data transmission unit (image data transmission means) 15 to the printer 20.

  In the printer 20, the image data receiving unit (image data receiving unit) 21 receives the combined image data transmitted from the host computer 10 and the print setting data added to the image data. The combined image data received by the image data receiving unit 21 is separated into image data in dot units by an image data separating unit (image data separating unit) 22. The separated image data is transmitted to the printing unit 23 and printed.

  The host computer 10 shown in FIG. 1 is not limited to this, and may be a scanner, a digital camera, or the like. Any data input device having the functions of the application software 11 and the printer driver 12 shown in FIG. There may be.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data depth of the image data according to the present invention. The example shown in FIG. 2 is an example in the case where the data depth that can be input by the printer 20 is 16 bits, and an example in which two 8-bit image data are transmitted in one transfer of image data to the printer 20. Show. Note that one common print setting data is added to the two image data.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printer system shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the flow of the process will be described with reference to FIG.

  Image data is created by the application software 11, and the image data is transmitted to the printer driver 12 (step S1). The printer driver 12 receives image data from the application software 11 (step S2). The image data received by the printer driver 12 from the application software 11 is all image data of the image to be printed.

  The printer driver 12 that has received the image data converts the image data into image data for printing. At this time, the image data is processed into a size and resolution suitable for the printer (step S3). At this time, the image data that can be transmitted at one time is combined with the position of each dot in accordance with the data depth that can be input on the printer 20 side.

  Then, print setting data at the time of image printing is received from the application software 11 and added to the synthesized image data after processing (step S4).

  Thereafter, the image data is transmitted to the printer 20 (step S5). Then, it is determined whether or not the transmission of all the image data has been completed (step S6), and when the transmission of all the image data has been completed, the printer 20 is notified accordingly. On the printer 20 side that has received the image data, the image data is separated in units of dots, and the image is printed according to the print setting data.

  Note that a plurality of image data may not be combined by the printer driver 12 but may be performed by the application software 11, and the printer driver 12 may receive the image data from the application software 11 and transmit it to the printer 20. .

  In addition, in a printer using two heads capable of sublimation printing and fusion printing, a color photographic image print portion (yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), etc.) is compatible with high image quality. Therefore, it is possible to use 12 bits, and the melted portion may be the remaining 4 bits. By doing so, it is possible to transmit image data to the printer at high speed with high image quality. An example of the data depth in this case is shown in FIG.

  In addition, in a printer having only one head, when the specification is that the data depth of the input image is 12 bits in order to support high image quality, the image data of the current user system is usually 8 bits. The printed printer cannot be used. For this reason, when 8-bit image data is received from the application software 11, the printer driver 12 may process the image data into 12 bits and transmit it to the printer 20.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the printer system and the printer of the present invention are not limited to the illustrated examples described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course you get.

  In the present invention, since the transfer speed of image data to the printer can be increased, the present invention is useful for printer systems, printers, image data transfer methods, and the like.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer system of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the data depth of the image data by this invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the printer system shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the other example of the data depth of the image data by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the conventional printer system. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printer system shown in FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the example of the data depth of the conventional image data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer system 10 Host computer 11 Application software 12 Printer driver 13 Image data conversion part 14 Print setting data addition part 15 Image data transmission part 20 Printer 21 Image data reception part 22 Image data separation part 23 Printing part 110 Host computer 111 Application software 112 Printer driver 113 Image data conversion unit 114 Print setting data addition unit 120 Printer

Claims (7)

A printer system comprising a printer that receives and prints image data, and a data input device that transfers image data of an image to be printed to the printer,
The data input device is:
Image data converting means for converting image data into image data for printing and combining n (plural) pieces of image data that can be transmitted at a time in accordance with a data depth that can be input on the printer side;
Print setting data adding means for generating transfer data by adding one common print setting data to the n pieces of image data synthesized by the image data converting means;
Image data transmitting means for transmitting the transfer data to a printer,
The printer is
Image data receiving means for receiving transfer data composed of the n pieces of image data and one common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data;
Image data separating means for separating n pieces of image data in the transfer data into individual image data;
A printer system comprising: printing means for printing the image data separated by the image data separation means according to the print setting data. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein the data input device is any one of a host computer, a scanner, and a digital camera. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer data includes two pieces of image data. 4. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein the number of bits of the image data is 8 bits, and the transfer data includes two pieces of image data. 5. The printer includes two heads for performing sublimation printing and fusion printing,
4. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein the image data in the transfer data includes image data of a print portion of a color photographic image and image data of a melted portion. 5. A printer that receives transfer data composed of n (plural) pieces of image data and one common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data and prints an image,
Image data receiving means for receiving transfer data composed of the n pieces of image data and one common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data;
Image data separating means for separating n pieces of image data in the transfer data into individual image data;
A printer comprising: printing means for printing the image data separated by the image data separation means according to the print setting data. An image data transfer method in a printer system comprising a printer that receives and prints image data, and a data input device that transfers image data of an image to be printed to the printer,
By the data input device,
An image data conversion procedure for converting image data into image data for printing and combining n (plural) pieces of image data that can be transmitted at a time in accordance with a data depth that can be input on the printer side;
A print setting data addition procedure for generating transfer data by adding one common print setting data to the n pieces of image data synthesized by the image data conversion procedure;
An image data transmission procedure for transmitting the transfer data to a printer, and
With the printer
An image data receiving procedure for receiving transfer data composed of the n pieces of image data and one common print setting data added to the n pieces of image data;
An image data separation procedure for separating n pieces of image data in the transfer data into individual image data;
And a printing procedure for printing the image data separated by the image data separation procedure in accordance with the print setting data.

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