JP2611754B2 - Image printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image printer for printing an image signal such as a video signal such as a TV broadcast and a VTR, and more particularly to an input image, a memory image and an adjusted image. The present invention relates to an image printer capable of instantly switching images for comparison and confirmation. 2. Description of the Related Art As described in NHK Giken Monthly Vol. 28, No. 2 (Feb. 1985), pp. 42 to 48, the contents of a frame memory are stored in a television. It is possible to read the image at the John signal rate and output it to a monitor to check the printed image. [0003] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the input image and the memory image or the adjustment image are switched and compared so as to obtain a desired print image, and the monitor display at the time of power-off is performed. Alternatively, there is a problem that no consideration is given to switching and confirming the switching between the memory image and the memory adjustment image sent to the printing means. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, to switch the image signal to be confirmed and display it on the monitor for comparison and confirmation, and to keep the monitor display even when the power is turned off. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image printer capable of comparing and confirming an input image and a memory image or an adjusted image obtained by adjusting a memory image and a memory output. [0005] The above object is achieved by the following constitution. 1) In an image printer for printing an image signal, an image signal input section to which an analog image signal is input, and an analog / digital converter which converts the analog signal input to the image signal input section into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal. Conversion means, memory means for storing a digital signal output from the analog / digital conversion means and outputting a read digital signal, printing means for printing the output from the memory means, First switching means for selectively switching between the digital signal output from the conversion means and the digital signal output from the memory means, and converting the digital signal on the side selected by the first switching means into an analog signal Digital / analog converting means for inputting the image signal to the image signal input section. The inputted analog signal and the analog signal converted by the digital / analog converting means are selectively switched, and the analog signal input to the image signal input section is selected in conjunction with the turning off of the power of the image printer. And a video signal output section for outputting an analog signal on the side selected by the second switching means. 2) In an image printer for printing image signals, an image signal input section to which an analog image signal is input, and an analog / digital converter for converting the analog signal input to the image signal input section into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal. Digital conversion means, memory means for storing a digital signal output from the analog / digital conversion means and outputting a read digital signal, printing means for printing the output from the memory means; First switching means for selectively switching between the digital signal output from the digital conversion means and the digital signal output from the memory means; and converting the digital signal selected by the first switching means into an analog signal. Digital / analog converting means for converting the image signal, The selected analog signal and the analog signal converted by the digital / analog converting means are selectively switched, and the analog signal input to the image signal input section is selected in conjunction with the turning off of the printer power. Second switching means for switching, and the second
An image signal output unit that outputs an analog signal on the side selected by the switching unit; and
And an image adjusting means variably adjustable to a desired image. [0007] 3) In the image printer according to 1) or 2), an analog image signal input to the image signal input unit, a print output of the printing unit, and an output from the image signal output unit. Each of the analog signals is a color image. 4) In the image printer according to any one of 1) to 3), the signal input to the image signal input section is a video signal, and the memory means transmits image information as a video signal. Writing and reading of a signal are performed at a speed, and the reading of the signal is started as soon as the writing of the signal is completed. The switching means for selecting one of the signal path not passing through the image memory and the signal path passing through the image memory can be arbitrarily switched. If the switching means selects a signal path that does not pass through the image memory, the continuously input video signal is output to the monitor via this signal path. On the other hand, when the signal path is selected via the image memory, the still image stored in the memory or the moving image via the continuous memory is output to the monitor and input even when the power is turned off. The video signal can be alternatively output to a monitor. When an image to be printed out is adjusted, the adjusted image and the unadjusted image can be easily compared and examined by switching the signal passing through the image adjusting means and outputting the signal to the monitor. Further, even when a color signal is handled, since the first switching means switches between digital signals, the characteristic difference of the color signal between the image signals to be compared is suppressed, so that it is preferable. Can be compared. Further, the images to be compared and confirmed can be switched immediately. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a system controller (hereinafter abbreviated as a system controller), 2 is an automatic gain control circuit (hereinafter abbreviated as an AGC circuit), 3 is a decoder processing unit,
4 is a digital memory unit, 5 is a print processing unit, 6 is an encoder processing unit, 7 is a signal switch, 8 is an output switch, 9 is a power switch, 101 is a power input terminal, 102 is a video signal input terminal, and 103 is a video signal input terminal. A video signal output terminal 104 is an output select signal input terminal. Here, the decoder processing section 3 comprises a luminance / chromaticity separation circuit (hereinafter referred to as a Y / C separation circuit) 31, a color demodulation circuit 3
2. Synchronous processing circuit 33, matrix 34, adjusting means 35
It consists of. The digital memory unit 4 includes an analog / digital converter (hereinafter abbreviated as ADCC) 41,
It comprises a frame memory 42, a digital / analog converter (hereinafter abbreviated as DAC) 43, a write controller 44, a read controller 45, and a read synchronizing signal generator (abbreviated as SSG) 46. The print processing unit 5
Comprises a data selector 51, a halftone control unit 52, and a print head unit 53. Next, the operation will be described. The system controller 1 switches the power switch 9 and the output switch 8 by turning on / off a system power switch (not shown). When the power switch is off, the power switch 9 is turned "open" and the output switch 8 is connected to the "a" side.
In 03, an input video signal via the AGC circuit 2 is output. When the power switch is turned on, the power switch 9 is turned "closed" to supply power to the entire system, the output switch 8 is connected to the b side, and the output terminal 103 receives a signal from the encoder processing unit 6 later. Is output as follows. Note that a monitor (not shown) is connected to the output terminal 103, and an image is displayed by a video signal output from the output terminal 103. The decoder processing section 3 separates the output of the AGC circuit 2 into a luminance (Y) signal and a chromaticity (C) signal by a Y / C separation circuit 31. The C signal is further demodulated by a color demodulation circuit 32 into a color difference signal (RY, BY). The matrix 34 converts the color difference signal and the Y signal into three-color original signals (R, G, B). All of these processing timings are controlled by the synchronization processing circuit 33. One of the three color original signals is supplied to the terminal a of the signal switch 7, and the other is supplied to the digital memory unit 4. Next, in the digital memory unit 4, the input three-color original signals (R, G, B) are converted into digital video signals by the ADC 41 and written into the frame memory 42.
This operation is performed by the write control unit 44 controlled by the synchronization processing circuit 33. When the writing to the frame memory 42 is completed, the reading operation is started by an instruction from the system controller 1. The operation at this time is performed by the read control unit 45 controlled by the SSG 46. The read digital video signal is restored again to the analog three-color original signal by the DAC 43 and supplied to the terminal b of the signal switch 7. On the other hand, the digital video signal from the frame memory 42 is also sent to the print processing unit 5 at the next stage. The operation of the print processing unit 5 can be considered in various ways depending on the printing method. In this embodiment, a description will be given of a three-color surface sequential printing method. Therefore, selector 5
In step 1, a digital video signal of one color to be printed is selected, converted into an energizing pulse in the halftone control unit 52, and printed by the print head unit 53. As described above, the input of the signal switch 7 is connected to the output of the decoder processing unit 3 at the terminal a and the output of the digital memory unit 4 to the terminal b, as described above. Switching is performed when the three primary color signals (R, G, B) are shared by the input output select signal. Then, the output from the signal switch 7 is restored to the original video signal in the encoder processing unit 6, and then output from the output terminal 103 via the terminal b of the output switch 8. In the above operation, the frame memory 42
The ADC 41 and the DAC 43 are adjusted so that the write RGB signal input to the CPU 1 and the read RGB signal output from the frame memory 42 are exactly the same except for digit errors. That is, the output video signal written to and read from the frame memory 42 and the output video signal from the decoder processing unit 3 are exactly the same video signal. On the other hand, the image obtained by projecting the output video signal via the frame memory 42 on the monitor and the print image printed by the print processing unit 5 are adjusted to be completely equal. Therefore, by changing the adjusting means 35 while the signal switch 7 is connected to the a side, the user does not need to perform the writing / reading operation to the frame memory 42, while watching the image projected on the monitor, The image can be continuously variably adjusted. If the signal switch 7 is connected to the b side by an output select signal input via the system controller 1, the data read from the frame memory 42 is output, and the print image is confirmed on the monitor. be able to. When the power switch is off,
As described above, the input video signal is output from the output terminal 103 via at least the AGC circuit 2. FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration shown in FIG.
Is changed, and the output of the output frame memory 42 of the ADC 41 is switched at a digital level. The other configuration and operation are exactly the same as those in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. 2 differs from the configuration in FIG. 2 in that a video memory 47 is used instead of the signal switch 7 and the frame memory 42. In the configuration shown in FIG.
When data is written to 7, a synchronization signal is output in synchronization with a synchronization signal separated from an external video signal, and the data writing control unit 44 and the data reading control unit 45 are controlled. FIG. 4 shows an example of the memory configuration of the video memory 47. In the figure, 471 is a data input terminal, 4
72 is a data output terminal, 473 is a data output select signal input terminal, 474 is a shift register input select signal input terminal, 475 is an address input terminal, and 476 is a data write / read mode switching signal (hereinafter, a W / R signal) of the video memory 47. ) Input terminal, 477 is a switch for data output, 478 is a switch for shift register input, 47
9 is a shift register, 480 is an inverter, 481 is a memory array data output switch, 482 is an address decoder, and 483 is a memory array. Now, it is assumed that the memory array 483 has a configuration of m rows × n columns. According to the address given to the address input terminal 475, the address decoder 482
One of the rows is selected, and when the video memory 47 is in the data write mode, the data stored in the shift register 479 is written into the memory array 488. The minute data is output from the memory array 483 and applied to the shift register 479. The shift register 479 includes n bits of data for one row of the memory array 483. The switches 478 and 481 are switches for switching data input to the shift register 479, and are controlled by a shift register input select signal so that one switch is always closed and the other switch is opened. The switch 477 determines the data output of the video memory 47 by switching between output data and data input of the shift register 479. When the video memory 47 is in a write state and the switch 478 is closed and the switch 481 is open, data to be input to the data input terminal 471 is selected and input to the shift register 479. At this time, if the switch 477 is connected to the ninth side, the input data to the video memory 47 becomes output data as it is, and is output to the monitor via the DAC 43 shown in FIG. If the switch 477 is connected to the side b, the output data of the shift register 479 is output to the monitor.
If the delay time of the video signal by n bits of the shift register 479 is 1H, the monitor displays the actual input video signal with a delay of 1H, but this does not hinder the image confirmation. These operations are performed without passing through the memory array 483 which is a data recording / delaying portion, and it is possible to continuously confirm an image on a monitor without performing a data write / read operation. FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is an ADC, 11 is a synchronization signal separation circuit, 1
2 is an adjusting circuit, and 37 is a decoder processing unit adjusting circuit.
Other parts having the same functions as those in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers. The configuration of FIG. 5 is different from that of FIG. 1 in that the signal output of the signal switch 7 is switched not at the RGB primary color signals but at the NTSC signal level. By changing the adjusting means 12 with the signal switch 7 connected to the a side and the output switch 8 connected to the b side, the image displayed on the monitor can be viewed without performing the data write / read operation to the frame memory 42. It can be continuously variably adjusted. The same effect can be obtained by variably adjusting the decoder processing section adjusting circuit 37. FIG. 2 shows the position of the signal switch 7 in FIG.
The same effect can be obtained by switching the signal at the digital level in the same manner as in the above configuration. FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the same figure, reference numeral 36 denotes an adjusting means, and those having the same functions as those in FIG. 5 are given the same numbers. The difference from FIG. 5 is that the position of the signal switch 7 is changed to switch between the two inputs with the luminance signal and color difference signal levels, and the other operations are exactly the same. When the signal switch 7 is connected to the output switch 8 and the output switch 8 is connected to the side b, the adjustment means 35 can continuously and variably adjust the data while watching the image displayed on the monitor without writing and reading data to and from the frame memory 42. FIG. 2 shows the position of the signal switch 7 in FIG.
The same effect can be obtained even when switching is performed at the digital level in the same manner as in the above configuration. According to the present invention, an input image and a memory image or an adjusted image and an unadjusted image can be easily switched and projected on a monitor, so that the memory image and the adjusted image can be compared and confirmed while looking at the monitor. The image can be continuously displayed on the monitor even when the power is turned off.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video memory. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Description of References] 2 AGC circuit, 3 Decoder processing unit, 4 Digital memory unit, 5 Print processing unit, 6 Encoder processing unit, 7 Signal switch, 8 Output switch

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Tetsu Yoshida               292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa               Hitachi, Ltd.                (56) References JP-A-57-55676 (JP, A)                 JP-A-61-125296 (JP, A)                 JP-A-56-23082 (JP, A)                 JP-A-61-157191 (JP, A)                 48-27718 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An image printer for printing an image signal, comprising: an image signal input unit to which an analog image signal is input; Memory means for storing the digital signal output from the analog / digital conversion means and outputting the read digital signal; printing means for printing the output from the memory means; output from the analog / digital conversion means First switching means for selectively switching between the selected digital signal and the digital signal output from the memory means, and a digital / analog converting the digital signal on the side selected by the first switching means into an analog signal. Conversion means, and an image input to the image signal input unit. In addition to selectively switching between a analog signal and an analog signal converted by the digital / analog conversion means, the analog signal input to the image signal input unit is selected in conjunction with the turning off of the power of the image printer. An image printer, comprising: second switching means for switching; and an image signal output unit for outputting an analog signal on the side selected by the second switching means. 2. An image printer for printing an image signal, comprising: an image signal input unit to which an analog image signal is input; analog / digital conversion means for converting the analog signal input to the image signal input unit into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; Memory means for storing the digital signal output from the analog / digital conversion means and outputting the read digital signal; printing means for printing the output from the memory means; output from the analog / digital conversion means First switching means for selectively switching the digital signal output from the memory means and the digital signal output from the memory means, and a digital / analog converting the digital signal on the side selected by the first switching means into an analog signal. Conversion means, and an image input to the image signal input unit. Switching between a analog signal and an analog signal converted by the digital / analog conversion means, and switching to select an analog signal input to the image signal input section in conjunction with the turning off of a printer power supply; Switching means; an image signal output unit for outputting an analog signal on the side selected by the second switching means; an image adjustment means provided at a subsequent stage of the memory means and variably adjustable to a desired image; An image printer comprising: 3. 3. The image printer according to claim 1, wherein an analog image signal input to the image signal input unit, a print output of the printing unit, and an analog signal output from the image signal output unit. An image printer, wherein each signal is a color image. 4. The image printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the signal input to the image signal input unit is a video signal, and the memory unit transmits image information as a video signal. An image printer wherein writing and reading of a signal are performed at a speed, and reading of the signal is started when writing of the signal is completed.