JP2664256B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image at a plurality of resolutions.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer device is generally known as a device that inputs data from a host device (such as a host computer) and forms an image. In this type of apparatus, there are a type printer, a wired printer, an ink jet printer, a laser beam printer, and the like, depending on a difference in a mechanism for forming an image. Above all, laser beam printers turn on / off the laser light in synchronization with the image signal,
This apparatus forms a latent image of light on a photosensitive drum by horizontally scanning laser light with a polyhedral mirror called a polygon mirror, and forms an image by electrophotography.

For this reason, recently, a technique has been disclosed in which the main scanning resolution is changed by changing the rotation speed of the polygon mirror, and the sub-scanning resolution is changed by changing the speed of paper conveyance.

In a laser beam printer, a character is formed by a set of dots of a laser beam.
Characters such as fonts can be printed. For this reason, for example, when it is desired to print characters other than the character pattern built into the printer itself, the character pattern is downloaded from the above-described device and registered in the printer,
Later, the character pattern could be designated and printed with a character code or the like.

Similarly, image data and ruled line data to be used for any number of pages are registered in advance, and by supporting them later, the time for sending the same data for each page can be saved.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional example, various types of image information to be registered often depend on the resolution. If the resolution is changed, the image cannot be used. Had been erased.

Also, if there is software that runs on a host device (such as a host computer) and supports multiple resolutions,
Each time the software was changed, it had to be registered, and in particular, kanji took a long time to register because of the large number of characters.

The present invention has been accomplished in order to solve the above-described problem. When changing the resolution, the registered information is saved, and when the original resolution is restored, the saved registration information is restored. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which an operator's workload is reduced.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image at a plurality of resolutions, a setting means for setting each resolution, a storage means for storing data corresponding to a current resolution when setting by the setting means, A resolution unit that compares the resolution of the data stored by the unit with the new resolution of the setting unit and, when the resolutions match, restores the data.

Preferably, the storage means outputs error information when the storage area is insufficient.

[Operation] In the above configuration, when a new resolution is set, the data corresponding to the current resolution is stored, the resolution of the stored data is compared with the new resolution, and if they match, the data of the matching resolution is extracted. Operate to return.

When the storage area is insufficient at the time of storage, the operation is performed to output error information.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Description of Configuration (FIG. 1)> FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a controller that analyzes an input signal 120 from a higher-level device (not shown) and converts it into an image signal 121, and a controller that sends a control signal 122 that notifies a designated resolution to an image forming mechanism unit 106 described later. is there. 106 receives the control signal 122 and the image signal 121 described above,
An image forming mechanism that forms an image at a designated resolution.

Further, the internal configuration of the controller 100 in this embodiment is as follows.
As shown in the figure, an input interface 101 for receiving input data, a CPU 102 for controlling, a character generator 103 for generating a character pattern from a specified character code and a character size, and temporarily storing the character pattern and image data. Memory 104, an output interface 105 for reading out an image from the image memory 104 and transmitting an image signal 121 with an image clock corresponding to a designated resolution, a storage management table 107 for storing registration information described later, and registration. It comprises a registration management table 108 for managing information, a registration memory 109 for storing registration information, and a panel 110 for performing operations.

The resolution of the apparatus is set to a certain resolution at the time when the power is turned on. That is, the power-on resolution is stored in the storage device in which the information is stored even when the power is turned off, such as a non-volatile memory (not shown), and is set accordingly.

In this case, the resolution is transmitted to the image forming unit 106 by the CPU 102 via the output interface 105 as a control signal 122, and the image forming unit 106 receives the signal and sets the internal main scanning and sub-scanning resolutions. It is configured as follows.

<Switching of Resolution> Here, when switching the set resolution, the operator (operator) operates the panel 111 and sends an instruction signal 123 for switching to the desired resolution to the CPU 102, or the higher-level device sends The resolution is switched by the transmitted resolution switching control command. As shown in FIG. 5, the resolution switching control command is composed of an ID code 501 for identifying a control code and a resolution 502 to be actually specified. A code different from a general character code is used. ing.

When the CPU 102 inputs a resolution switching instruction in this manner, the controller 100 prepares for a resolution change.

The control procedure of the CPU 102 in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S601, the current resolution is compared with the specified resolution.
The process proceeds to the initialization process of S609. However, if the resolutions are different, the process proceeds to the next step S602 to check whether or not there is registered data. This processing is performed in accordance with the number of registration tables of the registration management table shown in FIG.
This is a process for checking "1" and, when the value is "0", determining that "registration data is absent"; otherwise, determining that "registration data is present". As a result, if "registration data exists", the process proceeds to the subsequent step S603, and a storage process described later in detail is executed. However, if "no registration data", the process directly proceeds to step S604, and a specified new resolution is set. That is, a control signal 122 of a new resolution is notified to the image forming mechanism unit 106 via the output interface 105.

Next, when the control signal 122 indicating the end of resolution switching is input from the image forming mechanism unit 106, the process proceeds to the next step S605, and if there is registration information previously stored for the new resolution, the process returns to the original state. I do. And step S6
At 06, various control tables are initialized to correspond to the newly specified resolution, and the process ends.

Here, the details of the above-described saving processing in step S603 and the returning processing in step S605 will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

In the description, each configuration example of the above-described registration management table 108 and storage management table 107 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the registration management table 108 in the present embodiment. As shown, the book management table 108
Consists of an area 202 for storing the number of registered tables, an area 202 for storing the start address of the registered memory 109, an area 203 for storing the start address of the free memory, and an area 204 for storing the free memory capacity.

In the above configuration, this embodiment shows a state in which two types of registration information (registration tables 1 and 2) 211 and 212 are registered in the registration memory 109. Note that the number of registration tables is determined by the capacity of the registration memory 109.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the storage management table 107 in the present embodiment. The management table 107 is largely composed of a storage management table area 310 and a storage table area 320. In the storage management table area 310, fixed areas 301 to 305 that are independent of the number of stored resolutions are stored. Storage resolution table 30 corresponding to each of the resolutions
6,307 ... table areas. The storage management table area 310 includes an area 301 for storing the number of stored resolutions, an area 302 for storing the total number of storage tables, an area 303 for storing the address of the next storage resolution table, and an address of the next storage table. And an area 305 for storing the remaining storage table capacity. The storage resolution table includes an area 311 for storing one resolution, an area 312 for storing the address of the storage table 320, an area 313 for storing the number of storage tables, and an area 314 for storing the address of the next storage table 320. Consists of a storage table area for storing registration data for one resolution
Manages 320.

In contrast, the storage table area 320 stores the storage table 3
This is an area composed of 21,322,323, etc., when the resolution is switched and the registration data is stored, the registration table 211,
It is created by moving 212 to the area of the storage table area 320.

Next, details of the above-described storage processing will be described below with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S701, the above-described storage management table 31
The next storage resolution table 307 is secured by referring to the address 303 of the storage resolution table of 0. The size of this table is a fixed size, and one table corresponds to one resolution. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the area 307 has been secured.

However, if the area of the storage resolution table cannot be obtained, an error message or the like is output to the panel 110. Next, in step S702, the resolution is set to the resolution area 307 of the storage resolution table 307 in which the existing resolution is secured. Similarly, in step S703, the start address 303 of the storage table is set to the area 312, and in step S704, the number of registration tables (201 in FIG. 2) is set to the area 313 as the number of storage tables.

Next, in step S705, the number of registration tables (201)
Only the registration table (in this embodiment, 211,212 in FIG. 2)
Is copied according to the start address 312 of the storage table. At this time, every time one registration table is copied, the values of the address 304 of the storage table of the storage management table and the capacity 305 of the remaining storage table are updated. By checking the capacity 305, it is possible to determine whether or not there is an empty area in the next storage table, and if not, an error message is output before copying.

When the copy is completed, the process proceeds to step S706, and each area of the storage processing table 310 is updated. In particular,
The number of storage resolutions (301) is increased, and the number of registration tables (201 in FIG. 2) is added to the total number of storage tables (302).
Then, a process of adding the above-mentioned fixed size to the address (303) of the next storage resolution table is performed. Then, step
In S707, the number of registration tables (201) is initialized to “0”, and each registration table 109 is also initialized. The configuration of the registration table 109 is the same as the storage table 321 shown in FIG. Here, each of the items 401 to 404 is information that does not depend on the content of the registration information, and has a common configuration with the registration table shown in FIG. The above-described initialization process initializes the start address of the registered memory and sets the capacity of the registered memory to “0”.

Next, in step S708, the registration memory is rearranged. This process is not a problem if the registered information is not deleted individually just by registering it. However, if the information is deleted on the way, an empty area may be left in the memory. FIG. 4 illustrates this state. Where 42
Reference numerals 1 and 423 denote registered information, and reference numeral 422 denotes an empty area. Reference numerals 321 and 322 denote a storage table 1 and a storage table 2 copied in step S705, respectively, showing their internal configurations. In the figure, 401 is an identification code indicating the type of registration, and 402 is the size of the management table 321. Reference numeral 403 denotes a start address of the registration memory in which actual registration information of this registration type is stored, and indicates a start address of 421. Reference numeral 404 denotes the capacity of the registration memory, which is 421. Similarly, information corresponding to 401 to 404 is written in 322, and this portion has the same configuration regardless of the type of registration. Note that 405 and 406 are management tables for each registration, which depend on each registration type. Therefore, the internal configuration and the size are also different.

Next, the detailed processing in the above-mentioned step S708 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S801, the start address value 312 of the storage table of the storage resolution table is set in the pointer register. Here, the term "pointer register" is used because the content of the address set in the pointer register matters. Then, in step S802, the registration management table 10
The start address value 202 of the registration memory of No. 8 is set in the register 1.

Assuming that the pointer register indicates 450 in FIG. 4, the pointer is advanced in step S803 to indicate 451. Next, in step S804, the value of the address indicated by the pointer, that is, the value of 403 is set in the register 2 (420 is shown in this figure). In the next step S805, the values of the register 1 and the register 2 are compared. If they are equal, it is determined that the area is not an empty area, and in step S807, the registered memory amount is added to the register 2. That is, the value of 404 is added, and the process proceeds to the next address of the registration memory.

If they are not equal, it is determined in step S806 that the registered memory area is empty, and the memory at the address of the register 2 is moved to the memory at the address of the register 1. After updating the value of the address indicated by the pointer to the value of the register 1, the address is moved from the register 2 to the address of the register 1. The amount of this movement is only the value of 404 which has advanced the pointer by one.

After both the register 1 and the register 2 are moved, they are updated by the value of 404. This ends one storage table (for example, 321 in this case), and advances the pointer value to the start address of the next storage table (for example, 452 in the figure) in the next step S808. Next, in step S809, the end of the process is determined (the number of storage tables is described in 313 in FIG. 3). If not, the process returns to step S803 to continue the process. If this is the end, all the registration memories have been packed, and 421 'and 42 in FIG.
It becomes 3 'state. The register 2 indicates 420 'in FIG. 4, and this 420' becomes the start address of the new registration memory. That is, step S810 stores the value of register 2 in the first address area 2 of the registration memory of registration management table 108.
Set to 02 and end the relocation processing.

With the above processing, the storage processing in step S603 in FIG. 6 ends. Next, the return process in step S605 will be described below.

The flowchart of FIG. 9 is a processing procedure showing details of the return processing. Reversion is the opposite of saving.

First, in step S901, a check is made as to whether or not there is storage by checking the value 301 of the number of storage resolutions in the storage management table 310 shown in FIG. 3. If not, the process is immediately terminated. However, if saved, the user checks whether information equal to the newly set resolution is saved. In other words, the steps
In S902, the start address of the storage resolution table (311 in FIG. 3) is set in the above-described pointer register, and in the next step S903, the newly set resolution and each resolution of the storage resolution table are checked (steps S905 to S905). S90
6).

If there is a storage resolution table having the same resolution, the process proceeds to step S904, the pointer register is advanced by one, and the content indicated by the pointer (the head address of the storage table) is stored in the register 2. In the next step S907,
Register table 10 with the contents of the save table indicated by register 2
Copy to 9. The address of the registration table is determined in advance by the registration identification code 401. Then step S
At 908, the registration management tables 201 to 204 are updated (increased by one). Then, in step S909, it is checked whether the number of stored tables is "0". If not, the process returns to step S907 again to continue copying to the registration table.

When all the contents of the storage table having the same resolution are copied to the registration table, the process proceeds to step S910, and the subsequent storage resolution tables are moved to the storage resolution table indicated by the pointer register. Also, the storage table is moved. For example, referring to FIG. 3, if the storage resolution table 306 is no longer needed, the storage table 307 is moved to 306, and the storage table 3 is moved to the location of the storage table 1.

Next, in step S911, the storage management tables 301 to 305 are updated. That is, the number of resolutions of 301 is reduced by one, the total number of tables of 302 is reduced by the number of stored tables that have been restored, addresses of 303 and 304 are set with addresses of new stored resolution tables, and the remaining capacity of 305 is set. Is increased by the amount that was restored. Thus, the data is returned from the storage table to the registration table, the storage data of the resolution is deleted from the storage table, and the restoration process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the resolution is changed, the registered information is saved if it exists, and when the resolution is changed, the information of the resolution is changed. If you save it, you can save it by restoring it. In particular, it is very effective when the amount of data such as kanji fonts is enormous.

Also, when connected to a plurality of higher-level devices and operated at different resolutions, the present invention always positions themselves as a dedicated device without being affected by other higher-level devices when viewed from the higher-level device. Therefore, the present invention is effective as an image forming apparatus for distributed processing.

In this embodiment, only the management table is prepared as the storage memory, and the actual registration information uses the registration memory in common.
Separately, a storage memory or an external storage device for storage may be prepared and stored there. In this case, a fixed amount of registered memory is always secured irrespective of whether it is stored or not.

Also, when an error occurs due to insufficient memory in this embodiment,
It is also possible to stop and continue the saving process by an instruction from the panel or a continuation instruction from the host device.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when changing the resolution, the registered information is saved, and when the original resolution is restored, the saved registration information is restored. ,
It is possible to reduce the workload of the operator such as registration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a registration management table in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is the configuration of a storage management table in this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a storage table in the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a control instruction in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the present embodiment. FIGS. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the details of each process shown in FIG. In the figure, 101 ... input interface, 102 ... CPU, 103 ...
... Character generator, 104 ... Image memory, 105 ... Output interface, 106 ... Image forming mechanism unit, 107 ... Save management table, 108 ... Registration management table, 109 ... Registration memory, 110 ... Panel It is.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus capable of forming an image at a plurality of resolutions, comprising: setting means for setting each resolution; and storing means for storing data corresponding to a current resolution when setting by the setting means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a reversing unit that compares the resolution of the data held by the storage unit with the new resolution of the setting unit and restores the data when they match. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means outputs error information when the storage area is insufficient.
Item 10. The image forming apparatus according to item 1.