JP3147264B2 - Image processing apparatus and conversion method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for outputting image data formed from a page description language and a modification thereof.
About the exchange method .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a page description language (hereinafter "PDL") has been used.
Abbreviated. Various systems have been provided for developing data into a raster image and transferring it to an image forming apparatus to output an image (FIG. 2). Here, the PDL interpreter 202 that develops PDL data into raster image data has
(A), an output device (copier) 204 is provided independently of the interpreter 202, such as a printer that is already incorporated in the PDL-compatible printer 201 or an interface unit 205 shown in (b). There is a computer that exists and controls communication between the host computer 203 and the output device 204 at the same time.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. That is, when outputting PDL decompressed data using an image forming apparatus such as an output apparatus, a dedicated PDL interpreter is required according to the image forming method of the connected image forming apparatus, and at the same time, a dedicated interface unit is also required. Was needed. Further, even in apparatuses having the same image forming method, if the printable area and the size of the print head are different, a dedicated interface unit is required for each.

For example, when an image forming apparatus to be connected is an electrophotographic full-color copying machine, generally, the image forming process separates four color developers of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black on a print medium. Because of the printing method, the image data developed by the interpreter is also temporarily registered in the final four types of frame memories, and transmitted by field-sequential transfer in the order of the color data to be formed in the image forming unit inside the copying machine. I had to.

On the other hand, in the case of an ink-jet type copying machine, a desired image is formed by discharging cyan, magenta, yellow, and black developers for each pixel and repeating the process. Therefore, it is necessary to transmit the image data constituting the pixels to the image forming unit by dot-sequential transfer one pixel at a time. Further, even in the same inkjet type copier, for example, there are devices that can print on A1 size paper and devices that can print only A4 size at the maximum, so that image data is transmitted in an array of data corresponding to the size of the head. I needed to. Further, since the communication protocol differs depending on the device, it is necessary to have a communication control unit corresponding to the communication protocol.

A conventional interface unit is dedicated to an image output device to which the above-described data processing and communication control unit is connected, so that an image output device of a different model cannot be connected. Also, they could not be connected at the same time. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a page description language code according to an image forming apparatus of a different image forming method is used .
Image data developed by dot-sequential data or frame-sequential data.
By converts to over data, the image processing apparatus and converting side to allow connecting the image forming apparatus of a different type
The purpose is to provide the law .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an interface for connecting a plurality of different image forming apparatuses; and each of the image forming apparatuses connected by the interface. Image data developed from the page description language code
It is characterized by comprising conversion means for converting to point-sequential data or plane-sequential data, and storage means for storing the data converted by the conversion means.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention
The conversion method of the image processing apparatus converts image data developed from a page description language code into dot-sequential data or plane-sequential data according to each image forming apparatus of a plurality of different image forming apparatuses connected by an interface, It is characterized by outputting the converted data.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the figure, 1
01 is a main body of the image processing apparatus, 120 is a PDL interpreter that expands PDL data into image data, 105 is a CPU that controls the processing apparatus, and 102 is an externally connected device and signals such as commands, status, image data, and clock. External interface unit that performs control by mediating
Reference numeral 06 denotes a data conversion unit for converting image data from the PDL interpreter 120 in a format designated by the external interface unit 102, and reference numeral 103 denotes a data conversion unit 10
6 is a band memory that can store the image data converted in the dot-sequential format so that the image data converted in 6 can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus of the ink jet type; 104 transmits the image data converted in the data conversion unit 106 to the image forming apparatus of the electrophotographic type A frame memory that can be stored in a frame-sequential format so that it can be stored; a ROM 107 for storing software;
Reference numeral 108 denotes a RAM as a work area, and 130 denotes an image forming apparatus for forming an image by an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method.

Before describing the image processing apparatus in detail, an outline of the PDL interpreter 120 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 301 denotes a page PDL memory, and CP
The PDL data received from the interface unit 307 under the control of U302 is stored via the CPU bus 308. Since this interpreter expands PDL data in units of one band, all PDL data (for one page) constituting a desired image is necessary, and one page of PDL data is registered in the page PDL memory 301. Is done. The format of the PDL data is the same as that of a general high-level language program.

[0011] The CPU 302 performs a PD operation via the CPU bus 308 based on a program stored in the ROM 303.
In addition to controlling the entire L interpreter 120, the RAM 3
04 etc. as a work area, a font memory 3 described later.
05 and the pattern memory 306
Work such as developing the L data into raster image data is performed. When one page of PDL data is prepared in the page PDL memory 301, the page PDL memory 30
After developing the PDL data read out from No. 1 into raster image data, it is stored in the image memory 309. That is, C
The PU 302 determines, for each band forming one page,
The PDL data is read from the page PDL memory 301, further developed into raster image data, and this is repeated for all bands to form one page of raster image data.

An image memory 309 is a memory for storing image data expanded by the PDL interpreter 120. For example, when one pixel is represented by one packet of RGB (8 bits each), RGB (1-1st pixel) is used. ), RGB (1
, RGB (1-Nth pixel), RGB
(2-1), RGB (2-2), ..., RGB (M-N)
Is repeatedly registered in the pixel number cycle of the bandwidth (N) and the number of bands (M). The bandwidth indicated here is the same as the number of printable band pixels of the print head in the ink jet system, for example.

The ROM 303 stores the CPU 02 as described above.
Are stored in the RAM 3
04 is used as a work area. Font memory 30
Reference numeral 5 includes a ROM, for example, and stores data for converting a character code included in PDL data into bit image data or the like. The pattern memory 306 is a memory such as a dither pattern, for example, is configured by a ROM or the like, and stores a dither pattern of a dither method, which is one of the binarization methods.

The present image processing apparatus will be described in detail based on the configuration of the PDL interpreter 120 described above. In FIG. 1, a CPU 105 controls the entire image processing apparatus via a CPU bus based on a program stored in a ROM 107. In addition, a CPU 107 serves as a work area, and particularly controls the external interface unit 102 and the data conversion unit 106. I do.

In the external interface unit 102, a PD
Communication is performed with both the L interpreter 120 and the image forming apparatus 130. An important point of the role of the external interface unit 102 is to execute the following communication processing. On the host computer (for example, on a dialog shown in FIG. 4), an image forming apparatus desired to be output is selected, and the selected result is compared with the state of the actually connected image forming apparatus. If necessary, it instructs the data conversion unit 106 to convert the dot-sequential image data from the PDL interpreter 120 if necessary.

Alternatively, when there is no selection from the host computer, after confirming the operable image forming apparatus, the host computer is notified of the selected image forming apparatus name and prompted to make a selection. Further, after confirming the operable image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus is determined, and if necessary, the data converting unit 106 is instructed to convert the dot sequential image data from the PDL interpreter 120. .

As described above, the external interface unit 1
In response to the instruction from 02, the presence or absence of data conversion is passed to the data conversion unit 106. Next, the data conversion unit 106 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. First, in the drawing, reference numeral 501 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a band memory in the PDL interpreter 120. Reference numeral 507 denotes one pixel, and the actual data format is image data with RGB as one packet, as shown at 504, and the arrangement of the data is in the order shown at 508. To facilitate understanding, numbers are assigned to the pixels in the main scanning direction (from left to right), the sub-scanning direction (from top to bottom), and further in units of bands as indicated by 506. , Sub-scan N, main scan H). In this example,
The number of pixels (N) in one band is "128", and the number of bands (M) to be developed at one time in the interpreter is three.

The data conversion unit 106 performs the image data conversion indicated by 501 according to the type of the image forming apparatus to be output. For example, when the print head has 128 pixels in the ink jet system as shown in 520, the image data 501 from the interpreter is transmitted to the image forming apparatus as it is and need not be converted. As shown, when the print head is twice as large as 256 pixels, the arrangement of the image data from the interpreter is converted,
A process of once registering the data in the band buffer memory 103 and transmitting the data to the image forming apparatus is performed. The reordering procedure can be achieved with a simple address calculation. When the image forming apparatus is of the electrophotographic type as shown at 540, the RGB image data 50 from the interpreter transmitted in a dot-sequential manner is displayed.
1 is sequentially CMYK converted, and after each data is registered in the frame memory 104, data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus by frame-sequential transfer.

The data transmission is executed again in the external interface unit 102 while performing communication processing with each image forming apparatus. In the embodiment, the image processing such as the edge enhancement processing and the image compression processing is not specified for the image data, but it is needless to say that these image processings may be performed. <Modification> FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a modification. As shown, in this example, the PDL
The interpreter and the image processing unit are controlled by a single CPU to achieve integration.

In the above-mentioned external recognition means, the user can set the type of the external device by using a DIP switch or the like in advance, so that an appropriate output can be performed without performing the recognition by communication. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image data output by the PDL interpreter that expands the page description language into image data for each predetermined area smaller than the unit page is output to the image forming apparatus of the connected image forming apparatus. By performing the conversion according to the method, it is possible to output an appropriate image with one system regardless of the connected image forming apparatus.

Further, a plurality of different image forming apparatuses can be connected at the same time without physically changing the image forming apparatuses to be used. Further, for example, by setting the interface part with the external device to a plug-in card type, or by setting the external device by a user himself / herself with a DIP switch or the like, appropriate image output can be performed without using means for recognizing the image forming device. It becomes possible.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Depending on the image forming apparatus of different imaging methods, pages Symbol
Point-sequential data of image data expanded from predicate language code
Alternatively, by converting the data into frame-sequential data and outputting the data, it is possible to connect different types of image forming apparatuses.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system having a different configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a PDL interpreter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process of selecting an output device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing of a data conversion unit;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 main body of image processing apparatus 102 external interface unit 103 band buffer memory 104 frame memory 105 CPU 106 data conversion unit 107 ROM 108 RAM 120 PDL interpreter 130 image forming device 201 PDL compatible printer 202 PDL interpreter 203 host computer 204 output device 205 interface unit 301 page PDL memory 302 CPU 303 ROM 304 RAM 305 Font memory 306 Pattern memory 307 External interface unit 308 CPU bus 309 Band memory 501 Image data 502 Number of pixels in one band 503 Number of bands to be developed 504 Data format after development 505 Main scan Number of pixels in direction 506 Example of pixel numbering 507 1 pixel 08 registration of the image data sequence 520 Processing Example 1 530 Processing Example 2 540 Processing Example 3

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An interface unit for connecting a plurality of different image forming apparatuses, and image data expanded from a page description language code in accordance with each image forming apparatus connected by the interface unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: a conversion unit configured to convert data into dot-sequential data or frame-sequential data; and a storage unit configured to store the data converted by the conversion unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conversion means converts color image data . 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the arrangement of the image data according to the number of pixels of the recording head when the connected image forming apparatus is an ink jet type image forming apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 4. Converting image data expanded from a page description language code into dot-sequential data or frame-sequential data according to each image forming apparatus of a plurality of different image forming apparatuses connected by an interface, and converting the converted data. And a conversion method for the image processing apparatus.