JP2010228167A - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, automatically correcting the direction of image in each sheet of paper when printing print data. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is equipped with: a data receiving section 21 for acquiring print data described in a plotter control language; a data processing section 22 for performing data processing to change the direction of the whole image by the print data so that the image to be drawn in a specific area of the image by the print data is drawn toward a specific direction; and an image forming section 10 for forming the image on a medium, based on the print data processed by the data processing section 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a program.

  One of the main printer control languages is HP-GL (registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company, USA). This HP-GL is originally a language for a plotter that uses large roll paper. For this reason, print data using HP-GL often has no information about the paper size. Therefore, when HP-GL is emulated in a normal image forming apparatus, the position of the image is corrected or the size is changed according to the paper, or the image is rotated to adjust the orientation (vertical / horizontal) of the paper. Has been done.

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 rotates an image read by a scanner by a predetermined angle to identify characters that are not rotated and characters / graphics included in the rotated image, and has the highest image identification rate. A high image is selected and printed. Thus, even if the orientation of the original is set incorrectly, an image printed in the correct direction can be obtained.

JP 2003-8867 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of automatically correcting the orientation of an image on each sheet when printing print data.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a generation unit that generates an image to be printed from print data described in a control language for a plotter, and drawing in a specific area in the image to be printed based on the print data A data processing unit that determines a drawing direction of the image to be performed, and performs data processing so that an image is generated by the generation unit by changing a direction of the entire image by the print data according to the drawing direction; An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image generated by the generating unit on a medium.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the data processing unit is configured to generate an image in the specific area based on a position where drawing is started and a position where drawing is completed in the entire image drawn in the specific area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming direction is determined.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image drawn in the specific area is an image representing a character string, and the data processing unit has the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area as the generation direction. In the image generated by the printing unit, data processing is performed to change a direction of the entire image based on the print data so that the character string is in a direction from left to right in an upright state. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the data processing unit sets at least a region occupying a certain upper left region and a region occupying a certain lower right region in the image based on the print data as the specific region, and the specific region. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a drawing direction of an image to be drawn is determined.
The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control language for the plotter is HP-GL.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, an acquisition means for acquiring print data described in a control language for a plotter, and an image drawn in a specific area is drawn in a specific direction in the image based on the print data A data processing unit that performs data processing for changing the orientation of the entire image based on the print data, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium based on the print data subjected to data processing by the data processing unit, And an image forming apparatus.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the image drawn in the specific area is an image representing a character string, and the data processing means is configured such that a drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area is the character The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein data processing is performed to change a direction of the entire image based on the print data so that the line is in a direction from left to right in an upright state. .
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, print data described in a control language for a plotter is acquired by a control device that controls the image forming apparatus, and a specific area in an image to be printed is obtained based on the print data. A process of determining a drawing direction of an image to be drawn, a process of changing the orientation of the entire image based on the print data so that the determined drawing direction is a predetermined specific direction, And a process of generating an image to be printed based on the print data whose orientation has been changed.
The invention according to claim 9 determines the drawing direction of the image in the specific area based on the position where the drawing is started and the position where the drawing is completed in the entire image drawn in the specific area. The program according to claim 8, wherein:

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the image can be corrected based on the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine the drawing direction of an image in a specific region as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not applied.
According to the invention of claim 3, the orientation of the image can be corrected using the image of the character string drawn in the specific area.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the image can be corrected with respect to the image created as a drawing in which the style is specified.
According to the invention of claim 5, the orientation of the image can be corrected with respect to the image described in HP-GL which is a standard control language for plotters.
According to the invention of claim 6, the orientation of the image can be corrected with reference to the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the image can be corrected using the character string image drawn in the specific area.
According to the invention of claim 8, in the image forming apparatus using this program, the orientation of the image can be corrected with reference to the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine the drawing direction of an image in a specific region as compared with the case where the configuration of the present invention is not applied.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the control part of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a CAD drawing. It is a figure which shows an example of the print data described by HP-GL. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an image drawn based on the print data of FIG. 4. It is a figure which shows the other example of the print data described by HP-GL. It is a figure which shows the image drawn based on the print data of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the control part of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
An image forming apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an image forming unit 10 that forms an image corresponding to image data of each color, and a control unit 20 that controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 20 is connected to an external device 200 such as a personal computer, an image reading device, a FAX modem, etc., and performs image processing on an image to be printed input from the external device 200, so that the image forming unit 10. Send to.

  The image forming unit 10 includes four image forming units 11 (11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K for each color) corresponding to each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Prepare. In addition, the image forming unit 10 includes a transport belt 16 that transports a sheet (print medium) that is a target of multiple transfer of toner images of each color formed on each photosensitive drum 12 of each image forming unit 11, and a transport belt. A driving roll 17 for driving 16, a transfer roll 18 for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 12 to the paper, and a fixing device 19 for fixing the unfixed toner image on the paper after the transfer by heating and pressing. In the present embodiment, the printing method is not limited. That is, in addition to the electrophotographic method shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 10 of the present embodiment can be configured by various types of printing means such as an inkjet method and a thermal method.

  The control unit 20 is realized by a CPU, a ROM that stores a program executed by the CPU, a RAM that is a working memory, and the like. The control unit 20 performs various operation controls such as an operation control of the image forming unit 10 based on a preinstalled program and various settings. In addition, the control unit 20 receives a print job from the external apparatus 200, generates an image to be printed, and performs various image processing such as changing and correcting the size and arrangement of the image.

<Functional configuration of control unit 20>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit 20.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 includes a data reception unit 21, a data processing unit 22, an image generation unit 23, and an image formation control unit 24. These functions are functions realized by the CPU of the control unit 20 executing a program stored in the ROM, and are means realized by cooperation of software and hardware resources.

  The data receiving unit 21 receives a print job from the external device 200. The print job includes an execution command (print command) in which individual settings for printing and the like are described, and print image data (print data). That is, the data receiving unit 21 is a print job acquisition unit including a print command and print data. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that print data included in a print job is described in HP-GL. The data receiving unit 21 sends the received execution command and print image data to the data processing unit 22.

  The data processing unit 22 performs data processing on the print command and print data received from the data receiving unit 21 based on various settings. That is, in order to correspond to a print job described in HP-GL that does not have paper size information, processing such as changing the position and size of an image is performed in accordance with the paper that is the print medium. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the orientation of each image is determined and corrected. Details of the image orientation determination method according to this embodiment will be described later.

  The image generation unit 23 is also called a RIP (Raster Image Processor), a decomposer, or the like. The image generation unit 23 analyzes the print data acquired from the data processing unit 22 and converts it into a raster image for each page. The generated raster image is sent to the image formation control unit 24 together with the print command.

  The image formation control unit 24 controls the image forming unit 10 based on the print command acquired from the image generation unit 23 and the document image of the raster image to be printed. Then, an image generated from the print data is formed on the paper according to the print setting (number of copies, magnification, color or black and white, double-sided printing or single-sided printing, etc.) in the printing command.

<Method of judging image orientation>
As described above, the data processing unit 22 of the control unit 20 in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment determines the orientation of the image to be printed and corrects it as necessary in order to align the orientation. Hereinafter, a method for determining the orientation of the image by the data processing unit 22 will be described in detail.

  In this embodiment, when printing an image of a CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawing described in HP-GL using the image forming apparatus 100 that emulates HP-GL, data processing for aligning the orientation of the image is performed. I do. Therefore, the print target is an image of a CAD drawing. Usually, in the CAD drawing, a preparation procedure and the like are created, and a format such as a size, a normal position, a contour line, a title column, and a position where a page number is described is specifically defined. Therefore, in this embodiment, the orientation of the image is determined using this style.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a CAD drawing.
In the CAD drawing shown in FIG. 3, an outline 301 is set, and a diagram or the like is drawn in an area surrounded by the outline 301 (hereinafter, drawing area 300). Further, the direction of the CAD drawing in FIG. 3 is the normal position of this CAD drawing. A page field 302 for describing (drawing) a page number is provided at the upper left of the drawing area 300, and a title field 303 for describing (drawing) a title is provided at the lower right of the drawing area 300. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the characters “PAGE 1” are drawn in the page column 302, and the characters “FIGURE-A” are drawn in the title column 303.

  In the CAD drawing shown in FIG. 3, the positions of the page field 302 and the title field 303 in the drawing area 300 are determined. Then, the character strings (text) drawn in the page field 302 and the title field 303 are (in other words,) the position of the CAD drawing (direction shown in FIG. 3) according to a general horizontal writing character string description method. For example, the character string is drawn from left to right (in an upright position). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the orientation of the CAD drawing is determined by examining the image drawing direction in the page field 302 and the title field 303. That is, if it is drawn from the left to the right, it is in the normal position, and if it is drawn from the right to the left, the top and bottom are reversed.

  Here, when attention is paid to individual characters drawn in the page column 302 and the title column 303 and individual lines constituting the characters, these are not necessarily drawn from left to right. However, judging from the entire image of the character string drawn in the page field 302 and the title field 303, if the CAD drawing is in the normal position, the image is drawn from left to right. As a specific determination method, for example, for all images that fit in the page field 302 and the title field 303, the first drawing start position (start position) and the last drawing end position (end position) ). If the end position is located to the right of the start position, it is considered that the drawing has been drawn from the left to the right, and the CAD drawing is determined to be in the normal position.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the page column 302 is arranged at the upper left of the drawing area 300 of the CAD drawing, and the title column 303 is arranged at the lower right. However, these arrangements are not limited to the illustrated example. Further, the image used as information for determining the orientation of the CAD drawing is not limited to the page field 302 and the title field 303. If a character string representing special information such as the number of pages described in the page field 302 or the title described in the title field 303 is described and the position in the drawing area 300 is specified, the drawing is performed in that area. The image to be used may be used to determine the orientation of the CAD drawing. Such a region may be determined based on a CAD drawing style or the like.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the columns located at the upper left and lower right of the drawing area 300 are used. However, the images positioned at the upper right and the lower left are designated, and images drawn in these four columns are drawn. The drawing direction may be determined. In this case, it is possible not only to determine whether the CAD drawing is upright or upside down as described above, but also to determine that the CAD drawing is rotated 90 degrees. That is, if the images in the four columns are drawn from top to bottom, the CAD drawing is rotated 90 degrees to the right. If the images in the four columns are drawn from bottom to top, It is determined that the CAD drawing is rotated 90 degrees to the left.

  Further, in order to determine the orientation of the CAD image, it is not necessary that the image is drawn in all of these fields. An area to be determined is determined in advance, and when an image is drawn in the area, the direction of the CAD image is determined based on the drawing direction of the image.

  In the CAD drawing, the drawing direction is generally undefined for general graphics and characters drawn outside the area for describing special information such as the page field 302 and the title field 303. Therefore, these images are not used as information for determining the orientation of the CAD drawing.

<Specific examples of CAD drawings and print data>
Next, the method for determining the orientation of the CAD drawing according to the present embodiment will be further described using specific print data and image examples.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data described in HP-GL, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an image rendered based on the print data in FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of print data described in HP-GL, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an image rendered based on the print data in FIG.

  The HP-GL commands used in FIGS. 4 and 6 are four types of “IN”, “SP”, “PU”, and “PD”. Each command is separated by a semicolon “;”. Basically, in the coordinate form, the center of the paper is the origin (0, 0), the X coordinate is positive toward the right of the paper, and the Y coordinate is positive toward the top of the paper. The commands used in FIGS. 4 and 6 are a part of HP-GL commands.

  Of the HP-GL commands used in FIGS. 4 and 6, the command “IN” is an initialization command and is added to the head of the HP-GL data. The command “SP” is a command for specifying the pen number of the pen to be used. When “SP1” is described, the pen 1 is selected.

  The command “PU” is a command for moving to the parameter coordinates while the pen is raised. When “PU3360, −2960” is described, the pen is raised and moved to the X coordinate 3360 and the Y coordinate −2960. Since the pen is raised, drawing is not performed, and the pen moves to the start position of the next drawing.

  The command “PD” is a command for moving to the parameter coordinates while the pen is lowered. When “PD3200, −2960” is described, the pen is moved down to move to the X coordinate 3200 and the Y coordinate −2960. Since the pen is descending, a line is drawn from the position of the pen before movement to the coordinate position specified by the parameter.

  4 and 6, in each part of the HP-GL command string (print data), a comment explaining which part of the image of FIGS. 5 and 7 is drawn to the right of the command is described. . For example, in FIG. 4, the character “F” in FIG. 5 is drawn from the command “PU3360, −2960” to the command “PD3360, −3080”. Further, the outer frame (outline 301) is drawn from the command “PU-5600, −4000” to the command “PD-5600, −4000”, and the command “PU-1600, 1200” to the command “PD-1600, Up to 1200 ", the triangles in the drawing area 300 are drawn. The same applies to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  Here, comparing the images of FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, it can be seen that the character string “FIGURE-A” drawn in the lower right is inverted in FIGS. 5 and 7. In addition, referring to the command string for drawing the character string “FIGURE-A” in the print data of FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, it is drawn from left to right as a whole in FIG. In this parameter, the X coordinate value becomes gradually larger as a whole). In FIG. 6, it can be seen that the drawing is performed from the right to the left as a whole (in the parameters of each command sequence, the X coordinate value becomes gradually smaller as a whole).

  In the specific examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, when the area where the character string “FIGURE-A” is drawn is used as an area for determining the orientation of the CAD drawing, the above examination results indicate that FIG. The image is in the normal position, and it is determined that the image in FIG. 7 is upside down. Therefore, when these images are printed out by the image forming apparatus 100, the data processing unit 22 of the control unit 20 makes a command to the print job so that the image of FIG. to add.

<Operation of Control Unit 20>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the control unit 20.
First, the data receiving unit 21 of the control unit 20 receives a print job from the external device 200 (step 801). Then, the data processing unit 22 analyzes the print data (HP-GL command string) included in the print job, and obtains the document size (step 802). This document size is obtained from a command sequence or the like for drawing the contour line 301 shown in FIG.

  Next, the data processing unit 22 extracts a drawing command for a specific area (for example, a certain area on the upper left and lower right of the original) based on the original size obtained in Step 802 (Step 803). This specific area is an area in which character strings representing special information such as the page field 302 and the title field 303 shown in FIG. 3 are described, and is preset and held in the memory of the control unit 20.

  If there is a drawing command for the specific area, the data processing unit 22 analyzes the drawing command and determines the drawing direction (step 804). If the drawing direction is from left to right (Yes in step 805), the data processing unit 22 sends the print job to the image generation unit 23 without changing the orientation of the image. Then, the image generation unit 23 generates a raster image, and the image formation control unit 24 controls the image formation unit 10 to form the raster image generated by the image generation unit 23 on a sheet (step 806).

  On the other hand, when the drawing direction in the specific area is the direction from right to left (No in step 805), the data processing unit adds a command to the print job to rotate the image so that the image is turned upside down. (Step 807), the print job to which the command is added is sent to the image generation unit 23. Then, the image generation unit 23 generates a raster image that is upside down with respect to the print data of the print job, and the image formation control unit 24 controls the image formation unit 10 to generate the raster image generated by the image generation unit 23. Is formed on the paper (step 806).

  In the above operation example described with reference to FIG. 8, only the direction from left to right or the direction from right to left is determined with respect to the drawing direction in a specific area, and the image is determined based on the determination result. Is rotated so that the top and bottom are reversed (180 degrees). Further, it is determined whether the drawing direction in the specific area is from the bottom to the top or from the top to the bottom, and based on the determination result. It is also possible to perform conversion by rotating 90 degrees leftward or rightward. That is, the data processing unit 22 rotates the image so that the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area is the direction from left to right as a whole.

  In this embodiment, the case where the print data included in the print job is described in HP-GL has been described. However, the print data may be various printer control languages created by extending HP-GL, Even if it is described in a printer control language other than HP-GL, this embodiment may be applied as long as the overall drawing direction in a specific area can be determined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image formation part, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Data reception part, 22 ... Data processing part, 23 ... Image generation part, 24 ... Image formation control part, 100 ... Image formation apparatus

Claims (9)

A generation unit that generates an image to be printed from print data described in a control language for a plotter;
Based on the print data, it determines a drawing direction of an image drawn in a specific area in the image to be printed, and changes the orientation of the entire image based on the print data according to the drawing direction. A data processing unit that performs data processing so that an image is generated by
An image forming unit that forms an image generated by the generating unit on a medium;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The data processing unit determines a drawing direction of an image in the specific area based on a position where drawing is started and a position where drawing is finished in the entire image drawn in the specific area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The image drawn in the specific area is an image representing a character string,
The data processing unit is configured such that a drawing direction of an image drawn in the specific area is a direction from left to right in a state where the character string is upright in the image generated by the generation unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein data processing is performed to change an orientation of the entire image based on the print data.   The data processing unit sets at least a region occupying a certain upper left region and a region occupying a certain lower right region in the image based on the print data as the specific region, and sets a drawing direction of an image drawn in the specific region. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination is made.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control language for the plotter is HP-GL. An acquisition means for acquiring print data described in a control language for the plotter;
Data processing means for performing data processing for changing the orientation of the entire image by the print data so that the image drawn in the specific area is drawn in a specific direction in the image by the print data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a medium based on the print data subjected to data processing by the data processing means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image drawn in the specific area is an image representing a character string,
The data processing means changes the orientation of the entire image by the print data so that the drawing direction of the image drawn in the specific area is a direction from left to right in a state where the character string is upright. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein data processing is performed. In the control device that controls the image forming apparatus,
Processing for acquiring print data described in a control language for a plotter, and determining a drawing direction of an image drawn in a specific area in an image to be printed based on the print data;
A process of changing the orientation of the entire image based on the print data so that the determined drawing direction is a predetermined specific direction;
Processing for generating an image to be printed based on the print data in which the orientation of the entire image is changed;
A program characterized by having executed.   9. The drawing direction of an image in the specific area is determined based on a position where drawing is started and a position where drawing is completed in the entire image drawn in the specific area. The program described in.

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