JP2861586B2 - Printing control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable data to be reprinted without preparing a semiconductor storage device for reprinting by storing temporarily segment data corresponding to already printed raster image data in a storage device for reprinting, when data is printed based on the raster image data in a printing control device. CONSTITUTION:Figure information data prepared by a computer is converted to segment data having a position and a length in a raster direction using means 401 to 404. Then this segment data is stored in a storage device 40 together with another segment data group consisting of sets of segment data of the same raster, and during printing process, the segment data group is read from the storage device 40. Further, the segment data is converted to printable raster image data and then this image data is output to the printing device. After that, a printing control device stores temporarily the segment data corresponding to the already printed raster image data for reprinting in the storage device 405, if data is to be printed based on the raster image data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control device,
In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement in a printing control device for developing data into raster image data in a printing device that prints data created by a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printer device (printing device), a capacity of one page of two-dimensional raster image data to be printed is allocated to a semiconductor memory device in a print control device and transmitted from a computer. The raster image data is developed in the storage area based on data such as character codes. Here, the raster image data refers to image data created by making one line of data for printing correspond to each pixel. And
After the completion of the development, the printing mechanism of the printer device is started, and the raster image data thus developed is output to the printing mechanism, thereby printing one page.

However, in recent years, the amount of raster image data for one page has been extremely increased due to the increase in resolution and image quality of a printer device, which has only led to an increase in device price due to an increase in semiconductor memory device cost. However, due to restrictions such as power consumption, electrical driving capability of semiconductors, and the upper limit of the amount of data that can be handled by the CPU, it has even been impossible to actually manufacture a printer device. Further, when it is desired to print a large print output, the capacity of the semiconductor memory device has been increased.

[0004] Further, it takes a very long time to develop raster image data in such a huge amount of semiconductor storage devices (memory). For example, when printing an A4-size print output, 1-bit data per pixel is required as in a conventional black-and-white laser printer. If the resolution is about 12 pixels / mm, one semiconductor memory device is required. It was about a megabyte. However, an output size of A0, a resolution of 12 pixels / mm, and 16.7 million colors per pixel (24 bits / pixel) require at least 500 megabytes of memory, dramatically increase the cost and development time of the device, and make it practical. An available device could not be manufactured.

In order to solve the above problem, the applicant of the present invention has reduced the amount of semiconductor memory used and has
A printing control device capable of performing high-resolution and high-quality printing at high speed has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-9511).

[0006]

However, in this print control apparatus (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-9511), when the same page is "reprinted" at the time of occurrence of a print failure (jam) or the like, printing is performed again. The expansion had to be performed, resulting in a loss of processing time.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has been made to reduce the amount of semiconductor memory devices, perform large-size, high-resolution, high-quality printing at high speed, and perform “reprinting”. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing control device capable of performing reprinting without preparing a semiconductor storage device for ").

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a printing control apparatus of the present invention converts graphic information data created by a computer or the like into line segment data having a position and length in a raster direction. The line data is collected into a line data group composed of line data of the same raster, stored in a storage device, and at the time of printing, the line data group is read from the storage device, and the line data is printed. A print control device that converts the raster image data into possible raster image data and outputs the raster image data to a printing device.When the print control device causes printing to be performed based on the raster image data, the print control device The corresponding line segment data is temporarily stored in the storage device for reprinting.

[0009]

The print control apparatus receives graphic information data from a computer or the like and sequentially stores the graphic information data in a storage device while converting the data into line segment data. The CPU reads the line segment data stored in the storage device, converts the line segment data into raster image data for several rasters, and stores the raster image data in the semiconductor storage device.
Printing is performed based on the raster image data. When performing reprinting, information necessary for reprinting on the semiconductor storage device is temporarily stored in the storage device, and information is read from the storage device and reprinted.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a print control apparatus according to the present invention. First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an external connection of the embodiment of the print control apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, an external connector 101 of the computer 100 and a first interface connector 3 of the print control device 300 are provided so that a print command can be transmitted and received between the computer 100 and the print control device 300.
01 are connected by a first cable 401. In addition, the print control device 300 sends the information to the inkjet printer 2.
A second cable 402 connects the second interface connector 302 of the print control device 300 and the interface connector 201 of the inkjet printer 200 so that the raster image data, which is one line of data, can be sent to 00.

Next, referring to FIG.
00 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 2, a first interface connector 301 for receiving data from the computer 100 is connected to a first interface circuit 303 for receiving the data. Similarly, a second interface circuit 350 is connected to the second interface connector 302 so that data can be transmitted. A first bus 313 is connected to the other ends of both interface circuits so that data can be exchanged with the first CPU 305. Also, the first bus 313 has a first dynamic memory 306 for storing data, a hard disk drive 30.
A third interface circuit 307 for interfacing with the second CPU 310, and a dual-port memory 3 having two ports for communicating with a second CPU 310 to be described later and capable of accessing the same memory cell from both ports.
A first port 08 is connected to a DMAC 314 for performing direct memory transfer between these devices.

On the other hand, the second bus 312 of the second CPU 310
Is connected to a second port of the dual port memory 308 and a second dynamic memory 311 for storing data. 2, illustration of various control signals such as an address bus and a chip select signal is omitted.

The configuration of the second interface circuit 350 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a data input terminal of a first-in first-out memory device (hereinafter, referred to as FIFO) 351 is connected to the first bus 313 so that data can be written from the first CPU 305 or the like. A driver 352 for outputting data to the second interface connector 302 is connected to a data output terminal of the FIFO 351. A receiver 353 is provided for receiving the ready signal and the offline signal from the second interface connector 302 and inputting the signal to the control circuit 354. The offline signal 361 is configured to be read by the first CPU 305 through an input port (not shown). Read signal 35 of the FIFO 351
9 and a control circuit 354 for generating a data clock signal 356 output to the second interface connector 302 via the driver 352, and a clock signal 360 for controlling the timing of the control circuit 354. Is generated, a clock generation circuit 355 is provided. The empty flag 357 of the FIFO 351 is input to the control circuit 354.

Next, the ink jet printer 200
Will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, input data and a data clock signal 221 are connected to the interface connector 201 by FIFO2.
A data input terminal 05 and a receiver 202 for inputting to the interface control circuit 204 are connected. The interface connector 201 has a ready signal 220 generated by the interface control circuit 204, and an output port (not shown).
A driver 203 for outputting an off-line signal 231 generated by the access by the PU 206 is connected. In order to prevent the overflow of the FIFO 205, the full flag signal 223 of the FIFO 205
Are connected to the interface control circuit 204. A write signal 222 from the interface control circuit 204 is connected to write data to the FIFO 205.

The data output terminal of the FIFO 205 has a CP
A bus 230 is connected so that the U 206 can read data, and a dynamic memory 20 for storing data is connected to the bus 230 so that data can be exchanged with each other.
7. First data memory 2 for storing print data to be described later
09, the second data memory 210, the third data memory 21
The first and fourth data memories 212 are connected to each other. The data output terminal of the first data memory 209 is connected to the first head control circuit 213 so that the print data 224 can be sent out, and the read signal 228 of the data read control circuit 208 is controlled by the first signal to control the reading. It is connected to the data memory 209.

On the other hand, the first head control circuit 213 has a head control signal 229 connected to the ink jet head 251 so that the amount of ink ejected from the nozzle 256 can be controlled, and the ink jet head 251 has an ink pump (not shown). So that ink is supplied from pipe 2
60 are connected. Second to fourth data memory 21
0, 211, 212, the first data memory 2
The connection is made in the same manner as in the case from 09. Each of the ink jet heads 251 to 254 has a pipe 260 to 26
For example, inks of four colors, black, yellow, magenta, and cyan, are supplied through 3.

The four ink jet heads 251 to 251
Drum 269 around which paper 264 is wound
Are arranged rotatably around a shaft 265, and an encoder 266 capable of sending a rotation timing signal to the data read control circuit 208 is attached to the shaft 265. A belt 268 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 267 is stretched around the shaft 265. The four inkjet heads 251 to 254 are arranged on a single bed (not shown), and are configured to be integrally movable in the axial direction of the drum 269.

Next, a series of printing operations of the printing control apparatus 300 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
The first CPU 305 (see FIG. 2)
When a command group to be printed is received from, the command group is stored in the hard disk drive 309 first. At this time, since the command group is received without interpretation, the computer 100 can be released from the communication quickly, and since the command group is stored in the hard disk drive 309, the capacity of the dynamic memory 306 for storing the command group can be reduced. When all the command groups are input from the computer 100 (see FIG. 1), the first CPU 305 writes a command instructing the second CPU 310 to interpret the command group in the dual port memory 308.

On the other hand, when the second CPU 310 receives the above command, the second CPU 310
9 is written to the dual port memory 308 so as to instruct the first CPU 305 to read from the memory 9 and write to the dual port memory 308. When the command group is written to the dual port memory 308, the second CPU 310
Starts its interpretation and stores the result in the second dynamic memory 311.

The procedure of the interpretation will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram for interpreting the command group and developing the print data. As shown in FIG.
Command interpreter 40 constituting "line segment data converter"
1. The command execution unit 402, the command dictionary unit 403, and the print data development unit 406 constituting the “raster image conversion unit” are on the second dynamic memory 311 (see FIG. 2), and are sequentially executed by the second CPU 310. . Here, the command interpreting unit 401 decomposes the incoming command group one by one, checks whether or not the incoming command group is a valid command in the command dictionary 403, and executes the command execution in the work area 404. The command group arriving under the control of the unit 402 is decomposed to create line segment data.

The command group to be interpreted includes "vector data" represented by figures such as straight lines and circles and their coordinate values, and "bit image data" obtained by scanning a photograph with an image scanner or the like and digitizing the photograph. "It is included. The command group written in the dual port memory 308 is decomposed into commands one by one by the command interpretation unit 401, and the command dictionary 403 checks whether the command is a valid command. Command execution unit 402
Is the work area 40 on the second dynamic memory 311
While using "4" as a temporary buffer, "vector data" is converted into line segment data, and "bit image data" is separated from the command group and written to the hard disk drive 309. The position information of the converted line segment data and bit image data is stored in the line segment data storage unit 405. The line segment data storage unit 405 is distributed and exists in the second dynamic memory 311 and the hard disk drive 309 as described later.

FIG. 6A shows the data structure of the line segment data stored in the line segment data storage unit 405 (see FIG. 5).
FIG. 6A shows a storage state in the second dynamic memory 311. When data in the second dynamic memory 311 overflows, as shown in FIG. 507.

As shown in FIG. 6A, one piece of line segment data D includes an image flag bit 501 for determining whether the data is "vector data" or "bit image data", , And the end point position 503 of the end of the existence of the data, and the line value data having four fields of the color value 504 for determining the colors such as red and green. The line segment data D is stored in the line segment data buffer 505 divided for each raster in the order of interpretation. The buffer management information 506 holds the use efficiency of the line segment data buffer 505 and the position of an empty area, and the auxiliary buffer management information 508 contains connection information indicating whether line segment data can be written in the line segment data buffer 505. Hold.

FIG. 7A shows an example of the order relationship on the second dynamic memory 311 of a graphic to be output. As shown in FIG. 7A, in the order of command generation, bit image data 601 such as a photograph, a rectangle 602 and a circle 603 corresponding to vector data are provided, and a new figure (for example, the circle 603) is replaced with an old figure ( For example, since the bit image data 601) is overwritten,
Underlying figure (for example, bit image data 601)
Does not show through. Here, I _s represents the image start position of the bit image data 601, I _e represents an image end position, the I _c is an image ID indicating the order of appearance of each bit image data. Also, C _s
Is the start position of the circular 603, C _e is the end position, is C _c is a circular color values. Further, R _s is a rectangle 60
2 is the start point position, _Re is the end point position, and _Rc is the color value of the rectangle.

FIG. 7B shows line segment data 604 of the various figures in a given raster i. FIG.
(B), the case of "vector data", taking a circular 603 as an example, since the same color value C _c of the start point C _s to the end point C _e are continuous, holding the data by line segment data Then, the storage capacity can be reduced. On the other hand, in the “bit image data 601”, there is a low possibility that dots having the same color value continue. Therefore, when converted to line segment data, the data amount increases. In order to solve such a problem, in this embodiment, the image flag bit 501 is used.
(See FIG. _6A ), only the position information where the bit image data is arranged and the image ID (code Ic) are recorded in the line segment data D, and the bit image data is separated and held. That is, the line segment data is held in the semiconductor storage device (second dynamic memory 311), and the bit image data is stored in the external storage device (the hard disk drive 30).
9) Separately and hold. This separation makes it possible to efficiently hold "vector data" and "bit image data", and does not require special handling of bit image data until the development of print data described later, thereby simplifying processing. Help.

If the figure to be interpreted is n times as wide and long, the method having a storage device for one page (conventional method) requires a capacity twice as large as n. In this case, it is possible to suppress the increase in capacity to n times, which is the increase in the number of rasters.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for storing line segment data. First, reference is made to the buffer management information 506 that holds the usage efficiency of the line segment data buffer 505 (see FIG. 6) and the position of the free area (step S70).
1) It is determined whether or not line segment data can be written to the line segment data buffer 505 (step S702). If writing is not possible due to buffer fullness, reference is made to the auxiliary buffer management information 508 that holds the utilization efficiency of the line segment data auxiliary buffer 507 (see FIG. 6B) and the connection information with the line segment data buffer 505 ( Step S703),
A part of the contents of the line segment data buffer is transferred to the line segment data auxiliary buffer 507 (step S704), and the auxiliary buffer management information is updated (step S705). Then
The line segment data is written into the line segment data buffer 505 (step S706), and the buffer management information is updated (step S707). Note that the line segment data auxiliary buffer 507
Are arranged on the hard disk drive 309. In step S705, the data transfer rate can be maximized by setting the data transfer unit to an integral multiple of the sector length of the hard disk. Usually, the cost per bit of storage capacity is 1 /
By using a semiconductor memory and a hard disk together and optimizing the data transfer unit, a large-capacity and low-priced buffer can be realized without significant speed reduction.

When the above interpretation is completed for all the command groups, the second CPU 310
08 to issue a command to notify that printing has started.
Upon receiving the command, the first CPU 305 sends the command to the second interface control circuit 350.
0 is written as the start command. If the ready signal 358 is true, the second interface control circuit 350 reads the data from the FIFO one byte at a time and sends it to the second interface connector 302, and simultaneously sends the data clock signal one pulse at a time. The interface control circuit 204 in the inkjet printer 200 fetches the data into the FIFO 205 in synchronization with the data clock signal. The above operation is performed when the FIFO 351 in the print control device 300 becomes empty or when the FIFO
There is no interruption until 5 is full. Further, the interface control circuit 204 includes a FIFO 205
To the CPU 206 that data has been input to the CPU 206. When the CPU 206 sequentially reads the data and recognizes that the command is a start command, the mechanism control circuit (not shown) starts the motor 267 and rotates the drum 269.

Subsequently, the second CPU 310
At step 05, the first print data is read.
The print data is created by reconstructing “vector data” stored in the line segment data buffer 505 and the line segment data auxiliary buffer 507 and “bit image data” stored in the hard disk drive 507. The reconstruction procedure has been previously transferred to the second dynamic memory 311 to interpret the command group,
It is executed by the second CPU 310.

Next, a method of forming print data will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the configuration of the print data. FIG. 10 is a buffer on the second dynamic memory 311 for configuring the print data. The buffer 801 stores the print data, the dot flag column 802, and the dot counter. 803.
Here, the dot flag row 802 exists by the number corresponding to all the dots in the raster, and is set to ON when writing is performed on the corresponding dots. The dot counter 803 is a counter that counts the number of written dots in the raster.

A method for forming one raster into "print data" will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the line buffer 801 and the dot flag string 80
2. Initialize the dot counter 803 (step S9)
01). Next, it is checked whether or not the corresponding raster has "line segment data" (step S902). If there is no line segment data, the process ends. If there is no line segment data, one data is read (step S903). The line segment data is read from the latest data to the oldest data. That is, reading is performed in a “reverse order”.
The start point position of the read line segment data is set in the dot position pointer (step S904). Here, it is checked whether or not the dot counter is equal to the printing width (step S).
905), if equal, end.

Next, the dot flag corresponding to the current dot pointer is checked (step S906), and if it is on, the process jumps to step S912. The image flag of the line segment data is checked (step S907). If it is on, the bit image data is developed (step S908), and the bit image data is written to the corresponding dot of the line buffer (step S910). If it is not bit image data, the color value of the current line segment data is written to the line buffer (step S909).
Next, the dot counter is updated, the dot flag is set to ON (step S911), and the dot position pointer is updated (step S912). If the dot position counter is equal to the end point position of the line segment data, step S90
2, and if not equal, the process returns to step S905 (step S913). As described above, the step S902 and the step S9 are performed to develop the print data of “line segment data”.
05 and two end conditions, but step S902 is a case where there is no line segment data in the corresponding raster,
This is a normal termination condition.

Step S905 is a state in which the dot counter has become equal to the print width, that is, a state in which writing has been completed for all dots in the line buffer but "line segment data" remains. In this state, the remaining line segment data is hidden under the new line segment data like a rectangle 602, and there is no need to expand the data. Therefore, unnecessary processing is not performed, which contributes to speeding up of the expansion processing. Although not described in detail, steps S902 and S90
At 8, the data is read from the hard disk drive 309. In step S902, the necessary line segment data is read from the line segment data auxiliary buffer.
At 908, the bit image data separated from the line segment data is read.

The first CPU 305 (see FIG. 2) stores the expanded data in the dynamic memory 207,
The DMAC 314 is instructed to write the expanded data to the second interface circuit 350. At this time, the required capacity of the dynamic memory is at least the data amount of one raster, which can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where one page of expanded data is provided. DMAC 314 is F
When the FIFO 351 becomes full, the writing is interrupted and the FIFO
When O351 becomes empty, writing is started again. While the direct memory transfer is suspended, the first CPU 305 transmits the next line segment data to the second CPU 310.
The data can be transferred from the hard disk drive 309 to the other side, and the developed data can be stored in another area of the dynamic memory 207. Further, the second CPU 310 can continue the expansion work regardless of whether or not the bus 230 is in use, so that high-speed processing is possible. DMAC314
When the expanded data is written to the FIFO 351 by
The data is sent to the inkjet printer 200 and sent to the CPU
206 temporarily stores the data in the dynamic memory 207.

Further, the CPU 206 sequentially stores only the cyan data component in the data memory 212 for one raster, and instructs the data reading control circuit 208 to print one raster when the storing is completed. Upon receiving the command, the data read control circuit 208 synchronizes with the output signal of the encoder 266 and
The content of 2 is sent to the fourth head control circuit 216. The fourth head control circuit 216 determines the drive amount based on the data and drives the head 254. The head 254 ejects the ink amount corresponding to the driving amount onto the paper 264. This jet prints one raster image of cyan on paper 264 on drum 269. Next, the CPU 206 moves the head in the axial direction by one raster, and repeats the above operation for the next cyan raster image. Then, when the head 253 reaches the first cyan raster position, the same is repeated from the next on the magenta and cyan data. If the necessary data is not on the dynamic memory 207, the process waits until data is input.

The above operation is repeated for yellow and black, and the raster printing is sequentially stopped from cyan until the end of the print data.
64 can be printed in full color. At this time, the capacity required for the dynamic memory 207 in the inkjet printer 200 is the sum of the memory capacity for storing the interval between the heads, which is extremely small for the raster image memory for one page. The same printed matter can be obtained with the memory amount.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic flowchart from the start of printing to the reprint preparation processing, and FIG. 12 shows the structure of reprint data. As shown in FIG. 11, first, the inkjet printer 200 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) is activated to start printing (step S1001), and it is determined whether or not the above-described print data exists (step S1002). For example, the process jumps to step S1005, and if there is print data, sends it to the inkjet printer 200 (step S1005).
1003). Next, the state of the inkjet printer 200 is determined (step S1004), and if it is not offline, the process returns to step S1002. The off-line state is generated when a detection circuit (not shown) of the CPU 206 detects a state such as ink-out of the ink-jet printer or opening of the main body cover during printing.
The second CPU 31 is issued by the circuit described above.
0 (see FIG. 2).

If the ink jet printer 200 goes offline during printing or during printing, reprint preparation processing (step S1005) is performed. In step S1005, the line segment data buffer 505 on the second dynamic memory 311 is used to enable reprinting.
, Buffer management information 506 and auxiliary buffer management information 50
8 is written to the hard disk drive 309.
At this time, as shown in FIG.
Is a line segment data auxiliary buffer 507 (see FIG. 6B)
It is composed in the form added to. That is, the reprint data 11
00 includes a line segment data auxiliary buffer 1101, a line segment data buffer 1102, buffer management information 1103, and auxiliary buffer management information 1104. In this way, the line segment data auxiliary buffer already existing on the hard disk drive 309 is reused, and the bit image data stored in the hard disk drive 309, which is separated from the interpretation of the command group and stored in the hard disk drive 309, is re-used without any processing. Since it is used, data writing time can be saved.

Since the reprint preparation processing S1005 is performed after normal printing, the post-printing ink jet printer 2 can be used regardless of the processing time required for developing the print data.
This is performed in parallel with the time when the head No. 00 returns to the starting position.

When reprinting is performed, the line segment data buffer 1102 and the buffer management information 1103 are obtained from the reprint data 1100 stored on the hard disk drive 309.
And the data of the auxiliary buffer management information 1104 are read into the second dynamic memory 311 and the same processing as the above-described print data development is performed. Reprint data 1100
Is on the hard disk drive 309, so that the print control device 300 is reset (for example, power off / power failure).
Even if it is done, reprinting becomes possible.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various applications are possible. For example, the printing apparatus may be a sublimation type thermal transfer system, or a magneto-optical disk device or a tape drive device may be used instead of the hard disk drive.

[0043]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the present invention, instead of developing data on a raster image memory for one page, a print command is first converted into “line segment data having a position and a length”, and printing is performed while sequentially developing the data. Therefore, the required memory amount can be remarkably reduced, and therefore, a print control device capable of obtaining high-definition and high-quality printed matter can be configured at low cost. Also, by performing the development at the same time as printing, printing can be performed quickly, and data is saved for reprinting after printing is completed, which affects the printing processing time of the first time (normal printing). Reprinting can be performed without affecting the printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a connection between a print control device and the outside according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a print control device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an interface control circuit in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an internal block diagram of the ink jet printer in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic functional diagram of a procedure for interpreting a command group and developing the command group into print data in the embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing a data structure stored in a line segment data storage unit in the embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing examples showing the order relation of target graphics in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of a method of storing line segment data in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for configuring one raster into print data in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a buffer for configuring print data in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart from the start of printing to the reprint preparation processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of data for reprinting in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Computer 200 ... Inkjet printer 300 ... Printing control device 401 ... Command interpretation part (line segment data conversion means) 402 ... Command execution part (line segment data conversion means) 403 ... Command dictionary part (line segment data conversion means) 404 ... Work area (line data conversion unit) 405 line data storage unit 406 print data development unit (raster image data conversion unit) 1100 reprint data

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kosuke Fukaya 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Brother Industries, Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Saka 15th Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture No. 1 in Brother Industries, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-226325 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 29/38 B41J 3/407 B41J 5 / 30

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Graphic information data created by a computer or the like is converted into line segment data having a position and a length in a raster direction, and the line segment data is composed of line segment data of the same raster. A printing control device that collectively stores the data in a storage device, reads the line data group from the storage device during printing, converts the line data into printable raster image data, and outputs the raster image data to a printing device. The printing control apparatus may temporarily store the line segment data corresponding to the already printed raster image data in the storage device when printing is performed based on the raster image data. A print control device, comprising: