JP2017060070A - Image forming apparatus, control method for image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, a control method for an image forming apparatus, and a program with which printing can be performed as intended by a user even when pixels are thinned according to a painting rule for a drawing object in rotating the page of page description language (PDL) data.SOLUTION: There is provided an image forming apparatus comprising moving means that, when rotation of a page is determined to be required, specifies a drawing command under analysis with a post script (PS) rule as a painting rule, and when a drawing object is on the coordinates of an integer value, moves the position of coordinates of the drawing object by one pixel according to the coordinates of an integer value in the page rotation direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a painting rule when a page technology language (hereinafter referred to as PDL) is rotated after being analyzed.

  In recent years, low-end image forming apparatuses render rendered bitmap data after rotating the page in the paper transport direction in PDL analysis processing when there is no hardware for image rotation. For example, in an image forming apparatus in which the paper transport direction is A4 vertical feed, the input PDL data rotates the print data for the paper in the horizontal direction in the vertical direction.

  Further, the image forming apparatus has a Pixel Placement rule (hereinafter “painting rule”) for each PDL. Different paint rules are prepared for data attribute values (graphics, images, fonts, etc.) depending on the PDL type. The image forming apparatus determines whether or not to color a region in units of pixels according to a painting rule specified for input PDL data.

  At this time, depending on the PDL painting rule, a phenomenon may occur in which whether or not the image is thickened in the printing direction in units of one pixel differs before and after the page is rotated. According to Patent Document 1 as a prior art, when a rectangular graphic such as a barcode is drawn, the coordinate position of the graphic after page rotation changes the calculation error of the rotation process from an integer value to a decimal value, and the print result changes. The phenomenon is avoided.

JP-A-2014-50991

  However, the prior art method has a problem that the direction in which the pixels are thickened is changed from that before the rotation when the coordinate position of the rectangular data is an integer value even after the page rotation. If all the PDL data has the same paint rule, the image is thickened in the same direction, so that there is no difference in the print result. However, when a plurality of paint rules are mixed, a gap is created between adjacent objects. Hereinafter, this phenomenon will be described with reference to FIGS.

  1A and 1B show a process in which the image forming apparatus performs page rotation of PDL data before drawing processing. FIG. 1A shows the original paper 101, the physical page coordinate origin 102, and the logical page coordinate origin 103 when printing in the horizontal direction before rotation. The image forming apparatus analyzes the PDL data and calculates the starting point of the drawing object on the current coordinates on the document sheet 101 in the horizontal direction.

  If the image forming apparatus needs to be rotated in the PDL, the coordinate conversion matrix calculation is performed on the original paper 101 in the horizontal direction in the direction of the original paper sheet 104 in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Use to rotate the coordinates of the drawing object. At this time, the image forming apparatus calculates the coordinate position of the image with the coordinate origin 105 of the physical page as the origin. The image forming apparatus starts drawing processing in the X direction and the Y direction from the coordinate origin 105 of the physical page after the page rotation. Therefore, the drawing start direction of the PDL data is changed before and after the page rotation.

  Next, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the direction in which the image forming apparatus thickens the pixels based on the coordinate position of the drawing object before and after the page rotation and the painting rule. FIG. 2A shows a graphic 201 and an image 203 on the original document 101 in the horizontal direction before rotation, and the four coordinate points are integer values. Also, the painting rule for the graphic 201 in FIG. 2A is specified by the Adobe PostScript (hereinafter “PS”) rule, and the painting rule for the image 203 is specified by the Windows (registered trademark) Graphics Device Interface (hereinafter “GDI”) rule. Suppose that

  As for each paint rule, if the end coordinate 205 of the graphic 201 is an integer value, the PS rule thickens one pixel from the start coordinate 202 in the X and Y drawing directions. The area painted by one pixel from the respective end coordinates in the X and Y directions in FIG. On the other hand, according to the GDI rule of the image 203, even if the end coordinate is an integer value, the inside of the coordinate is printed, so that one pixel is not thickened.

  Next, FIG. 2B shows the result when the page rotation processing is performed on the document sheet 104 in the vertical direction in FIG. In FIG. 2B, the start position 206 and the end coordinates 208 of the integer value of the graphic 207 are different from those before the rotation by changing the start position in the X and Y directions from the coordinate origin 105 of the physical page by the page rotation. In the graphic 207, the direction 209 in which the pixel is thickened in the X and Y directions after the rotation is changed. Therefore, the painted area in FIG. 2A before the rotation is not filled in FIG. A gap of pixels is generated. As a result, when the PDL data is subjected to page rotation processing, drawing is strange due to the drawing rule of the drawing object, and the drawing result intended by the user cannot be obtained.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of printing as intended by a user even when pixels are fattened by a drawing rule of a drawing object when PDL data is rotated on a page.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus that has a printer unit and prints input print data, and whether page rotation processing is necessary based on the paper direction of the input print data and the paper transport direction of the printer unit. When it is determined by the first determination means that determines whether or not page rotation is necessary, the painting rule of the drawing object is specified by the PS rule, and the rotated drawing object A second determination unit that determines whether or not the coordinate position of the drawing object is an integer value; and the second determination unit, wherein the painting rule of the drawing object is a PS rule and the coordinate position is on an integer value coordinate If it is determined, a moving means for moving the coordinate position of the drawing object by one pixel in accordance with the integer value coordinate in the page rotation direction; And a drawing unit that thickens one pixel in the drawing direction.

  According to the present invention, the PDL data can be printed as intended by the user even when the pixels are fattened by the drawing rule of the drawing object when the page is rotated by adopting the above configuration.

The figure which shows the coordinate of the physical page of a manuscript paper before and after page rotation, and a logical page. Example of coordinate position of drawing object before and after page rotation and direction of fattening by paint rule in the prior art 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer control unit of the present invention Sequence diagram of overall image drawing job control Drawing Object Movement Processing Flow in an Example of the Present Invention Graphic showing the results of printing by moving graphics and painting rules Drawing processing flow in another embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the printing result by another Example

 Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 300 includes a control unit 301, an operation unit 302, a receiving unit 303, a printer unit 304, and a LAN 305. The operation unit 302 includes a power switch and an operation panel. The receiving unit 303 is hardware capable of receiving a print command from an arbitrary line of the LAN 305, and is configured by a known communication interface.

  The control unit 301 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Randam Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a nonvolatile memory (for example, HDD, Flash ROM, etc.). The control unit 301 can execute the processes of FIGS. This is because the ROM includes a program for performing the processes of FIGS. When the CPU loads this program into the RAM as appropriate and executes it, the processing of FIGS. 6 and 8 is executed. The printer unit 304 is a known print engine. The ink may be used or the toner may be used. In addition, any engine that can form an image on a sheet may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 301. The control unit 301 includes a print control unit 401, a PDL analysis unit 402, and an image drawing unit 403. The print control unit 401 controls the entire job after receiving print data.

FIG. 5 shows a control sequence of the entire job.
<Sequence diagram>
(1) The print control unit 401 sends the PDL data input from the reception unit 303 to the PDL analysis unit 402.
(2) The PDL analysis unit 402 analyzes the PDL command of the print data and generates intermediate data.
(3) The PDL analysis unit 402 transmits information on the paper orientation of the PDL data to the print control unit 401.
(4) Receives an instruction from the print control unit 401 as to whether or not page rotation is necessary.
(5) If page rotation is necessary, the PDL analysis unit 402 generates intermediate data obtained by rotating the sheet direction in accordance with the sheet conveyance direction of the printer unit.
(6) The PDL analysis unit 402 sends intermediate data to the image drawing unit 403 after the page rotation processing of the PDL data is completed.
(7) The image drawing unit 403 generates bitmap data based on the intermediate data.
(8) The generated bitmap data is transmitted to the printer unit 304.

<Coordinate position move processing flow that matches drawing rule for drawing objects during page rotation processing>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method of moving the coordinate position according to the drawing rule of the drawing object at the time of page rotation processing according to the present invention.
[S600] In step S600, the PDL analysis unit 402 determines whether page rotation processing is necessary. The PDL analysis unit 402 determines whether rotation processing is necessary according to the paper size specified in the PDL data and the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit acquired from the print control unit 401.
-(Yes) If the PDL analysis unit 402 determines that rotation is necessary, the PDL analysis unit 402 proceeds to S601.
-(No) On the other hand, if it is determined in S600 that rotation is not necessary, the process proceeds to S605.

[S601] In step S601, the PDL analysis unit 402 analyzes a PDL data drawing command. Here, the type of PDL data analyzed by the PDL analysis unit 402 is not particularly limited. In addition, a plurality of PDL analysis units 402 may be provided to analyze the drawing object in the PDL data in accordance with the type of each PDL. The PDL analysis unit 402 stores, in the RAM of the control unit 301, drawing object information such as coordinate position information on the original paper and paint rules regarding the drawing object after analysis such as the graphic 201 and the image 203 in FIG. To do.

[S602] In step S602, the PDL analysis unit 402 determines whether the paint command paint rule analyzed in S601 is a PS rule and the end coordinates after page rotation are integer values.
-(Yes) If the PDL analysis unit 402 determines that the condition of S602 is satisfied based on the analysis result of the S601 drawing object, the process proceeds to S603.
-(No) On the other hand, if it is determined in S602 that the drawing object does not satisfy the condition, the process proceeds to S604.

[S603] In step S603, the PDL analysis unit 402 moves the coordinate position of the drawing object by one pixel to the coordinate of the integer value in accordance with the rotation direction. FIG. 7 shows the result of the PDL analysis unit 402 shifting the coordinate position by one pixel in step S603 by aligning the graphic 207 of FIG. 2B with the page rotation direction. A process in which the PDL analysis unit 402 moves the coordinate position in S603 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In step S602, the PDL analysis unit 402 determines whether the painting rule of the graphic 207 is PS data and the terminal coordinates 208 after rotation are on integer-valued coordinates.
The PDL analysis unit 402 moves the four coordinate positions including the start coordinates 206 of the graphic 207 by −1 pixel in the Y direction because the page rotation direction is rotated by 90 ° from the horizontal direction.
In FIG. 7, the rotation direction is 90 °, but the rotation direction angle may be 180 ° or 270 °. The PDL analysis unit 402 moves the coordinate point of the graphic 207 to -1 pixel in the X and Y directions if 180 ° in accordance with the rotation direction, and -1 pixel in the X direction if 270 °.
The PDL analysis unit 402 moves the start position of the graphic 207 to the coordinate of 702 and the end coordinate to the coordinate of 703, so that the image drawing unit 403 can print without opening the object interval when drawing the graphic 207 and the image 210. can do.

[S604] In step S604, the PDL analysis unit 402 determines whether all drawing commands in the page of the PDL data being analyzed have been completed.
-(Yes) The PDL analysis unit 402 ends the analysis if no drawing command remains.
-(No) On the other hand, in S604, when the PDL analysis unit 402 still has a drawing command, the PDL analysis unit 402 proceeds to S601.
[S605] If the PDL analysis unit 402 determines that the page rotation processing is not necessary, in step S605, the PDL analysis unit 402 analyzes the drawing command as usual to generate intermediate data for the page.
According to the above procedure, in the first embodiment, the PDL analysis unit 402 moves the coordinate position of the drawing object before and after the page rotation based on the drawing object fill rule according to the flow of FIG. Form the image.
By doing so, it is possible to solve the difference between the print result and the intended image.

In the first embodiment, the processing method has been described in which the PDL analysis unit 402 moves the coordinate point of the PS rule drawing object in the process of analyzing the drawing command so that printing can be performed correctly after rotation.
The second embodiment shows a method in which the image drawing unit 403 can correctly print after rotation by changing the direction in which the pixels are thickened with respect to the PS rule drawing object.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for changing the direction in which the image drawing unit 403 in the present embodiment thickens in accordance with the PS rule of the drawing object and the page rotation direction.

<Drawing Process Flow Matching Drawing Object Filling Rules during Page Rotation Processing in Image Drawing Unit 403>
[S800] In step S800, the image drawing unit 403 obtains information about the page rotation direction (0 °, 90 °, 180 °, 270 °, etc.) from the PDL analysis unit 402. Information about the rotation direction is determined by the print control unit 401 based on information on the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit 304 of the image forming apparatus 300 and information on the paper size direction of the PDL data.

[S801] In step S801, the image drawing unit 403 determines the direction in which the drawing object of the PS rule is thickened in accordance with the PDL rotation direction. FIG. 9 shows a result when the image drawing unit 403 changes the fat direction when drawing the graphic 207 of FIG. If the graphic 207 is a PS rule, the image drawing unit 403 fills a pixel area of -1 in the Y direction from the start coordinate 206, and the X direction does not change the direction of fattening, and the image is drawn by filling one pixel area. Can fill the gap with 210.

[S802] In step S802, the image drawing unit 403 starts drawing from the intermediate data acquired from the PDL analysis unit 402. In step S802, the image drawing unit 403 generates bitmap data of the PS rule drawing object in accordance with the fattening direction determined in step S801.
Here, although the rotation direction is 90 ° in FIG. 9, the rotation direction angle may be 180 ° or 270 °. If the image rotation direction is 180 °, the image drawing unit 403 determines that -1 pixel in the X and Y directions, -1 pixel in the X direction if it is 270 °, and that the direction of fattening is not changed in the Y direction. ,Run.
In the present embodiment, the PDL analysis unit 402 does not move the coordinate point of the graphic 207 as in the first embodiment, and the image drawing unit 403 determines the direction to be filled based on the rotation direction information from the PDL analysis unit 402. decide.
Thereby, it is possible to avoid a difference from the drawing result intended by the user.

(Other examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.
Note that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and can be configured with various configurations and contents in accordance with applications and purposes.
Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or storage medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device. For example, there are a scanner, a printer, a PC, a copier, a multifunction machine, a facsimile machine, and the like.
In addition, all configurations in which the above embodiments are combined are also included in the present invention.

300 Image forming device
301 Control unit
401 Print control unit
402 PDL analyzer
403 Image drawing unit

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus that has a printer unit and prints input print data,
First determination means for determining whether or not page rotation processing is necessary based on the paper direction of the input print data and the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit;
If it is determined by the first determination means that page rotation is necessary, whether or not the drawing object fill rule is specified by the PS rule and the coordinate position of the rotated drawing object is an integer value is determined. A second determination means for determining;
When the second determining means determines that the drawing rule of the drawing object is a PS rule and the coordinate position is on an integer value coordinate, the coordinate position of the drawing object is set to an integer value coordinate in the page rotation direction. A moving means that moves 1 pixel to match,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a drawing unit that thickens the moved drawing object by one pixel in each of the X and Y drawing directions.   When the image rotation direction is 90 °, the moving means is -1 pixel in the Y direction when the image rotation direction is 90 °, X when it is 180 °, -1 pixel in the Y direction, and X when it is 270 °. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus moves by −1 pixel in the direction. An image forming apparatus that has a printer unit and prints input print data,
First determination means for determining whether or not page rotation processing is necessary based on the paper direction of the input print data and the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit;
If it is determined by the first determination means that page rotation is necessary, whether or not the drawing object fill rule is specified by the PS rule and the coordinate position of the rotated drawing object is an integer value is determined. A second determination means for determining;
When it is determined by the second determination means that the drawing rule of the drawing object is the PS rule and the coordinate position is on an integer value coordinate, the PS of the image drawing unit is matched with the information on the rotation direction. A decision means for deciding the direction of pixel fatening in the rule;
Generating means for generating bitmap data in which a drawing object whose painting rule is specified by the PS rule is fattened in a direction determined based on the determination by the determination means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The third determining means does not change the X direction when the image rotation direction is 90 °, and does not change −1 pixel in the Y direction, and if it is 180 °, it may be −1 pixel in the X, Y direction, or 270 °. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus determines that the pixel is −1 pixel in the X direction and thicker without being changed in the Y direction. A control method of an image forming apparatus that has a printer unit and prints input print data,
A first determination step of determining whether page rotation processing is necessary based on the paper direction of the input print data and the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit;
When it is determined in the first determination step that page rotation is necessary, whether or not the drawing object fill rule is specified by the PS rule and the coordinate position of the rotated drawing object is an integer value is determined. A second determination step for determining;
In the second determination step, when it is determined that the drawing rule of the drawing object is the PS rule and the coordinate position is on the integer coordinate, the coordinate position of the drawing object is set to the integer coordinate in the page rotation direction. A moving process that moves 1 pixel to match,
A drawing step of thickening the moved drawing object by one pixel in the X and Y drawing directions;
A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: A control method of an image forming apparatus that has a printer unit and prints input print data,
A first determination step of determining whether page rotation processing is necessary based on the paper direction of the input print data and the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit;
When it is determined in the first determination step that page rotation is necessary, whether or not the drawing object fill rule is specified by the PS rule and the coordinate position of the rotated drawing object is an integer value is determined. A second determination step for determining;
If it is determined in the second determination step that the drawing rule of the drawing object is a PS rule and the coordinate position is on an integer coordinate, the PS of the image drawing unit is matched with the information on the rotation direction. A decision step for determining the direction of fattening of the pixels in the rule;
A generation step of generating bitmap data in which a drawing object whose fill rule is specified by the PS rule is fattened in a direction determined based on the determination in the determination step;
A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising:  A program for causing a computer to execute the control method for an image forming apparatus according to claim 5.

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