JP3864535B2 - Print processing apparatus and print processing method - Google Patents

Description

【００６４】
展開時間算出部２７４は、座標点生成時間算出部２７１および印刷画像データ変換時間算出部２７２で算出されたそれぞれの予測時間Ｔｅ、Ｔｂを単純加算して、展開処理予測時間Ｔを算出する。得られた展開処理予測時間Ｔはプリンタ装置制御部２５に出力される。
【００６５】
次に、プリンタ装置制御部２５について詳細に説明する。
図１２はプリンタ装置制御部の構成例を示すブロック図である。プリンタ装置制御部２５は、プリンタ装置状態管理部２５０と、プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１と、プリンタ装置プロセス制御部２５２と、印刷画像データ転送制御部２５３とから構成されている。
【００６６】
プリンタ装置状態管理部２５０は、プリンタ装置２６の状態変化にともなうイベント発生、およびプリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１での状態要求に応じてプリンタ装置２６の状態を管理するものである。プリンタ装置２６の状態変化にともなうイベント発生の例としては、プリンタ装置故障による印字不可、用紙切れなどがある。プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１は、ディスプレイリスト展開処理予測部２７からのディスプレイリスト展開処理予測時間の入力があると直ちに、プリンタ装置状態管理部２５０にプリンタ装置故障による印字不可、用紙切れなどを問合せる。プリンタ装置状態管理部２５０は、印字不可、用紙切れなどの情報をプリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１に通知する。プリンタ装置２６の印字が可能であれば、プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１はディスプレイリスト展開処理予測部２７から入力されたディスプレイリスト展開処理予測時間に基づきプリンタ装置２６の記録速度を決定する。
【００６７】
プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１は、ディスプレイリスト展開処理予測部２７から入力された１ページごとのバンドごとに集計された、ディスプレイリスト生成部１２で生成されたディスプレイリストから座標点生成部１９ならびに印刷画像データ変換部２２で変換される印刷画像データへの展開処理時間に基づき、プリンタ装置２６において選択可能な記録速度の中から、バンドごとの印刷画像データへの展開処理が間に合い、印刷画像データの欠落が生じない記録速度を選択するものである。
【００６８】
図１３はプリンタ装置記録速度選択部における記録速度選択の様子を示す説明図である。図１３において、１ページはｎバンドに分割され、各バンドの展開処理予測時間は異なっている。一方、本発明に関する電子写真方式のページプリンタは、少なくとも１ページ内において一定速度で駆動しなければならないため、各バンドの印字時間は一定である。したがって、各バンドの印字が終了する前に次のバンドの展開処理を終わらせるために、展開処理予測時間の最も長くなるバンドの展開処理予測時間（図１３の例ではバンド４の展開処理予測時間が最も長い）よりも、１バンドの印字時間が長くなる記録速度を選択する必要がある。プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１で選択された記録速度は、プリンタ装置プロセス制御部２５２に通知される。
【００６９】
プリンタ装置プロセス制御部２５２は、プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１で選択された記録速度に基づいてプリンタ装置２６のプロセスを制御するものである。また、プリンタ装置プロセス制御部２５２のプロセス制御には、プリンタ装置２６の起動タイミングの制御が含まれている。プリンタ装置２６の起動タイミングの制御は、プリンタ装置記録速度選択部２５１からの選択された記録速度の通知に基づいて行われるものであるが、印刷データスプール部１０への印刷データ１の入力に応じて行われても良い。特に、サイクルアップに時間を要する定着器、半導体レーザ走査装置のポリゴンミラーモータなどは、早い段階で起動することが望ましい。
【００７０】
本実施例のレーザ走査方式の電子写真方式を用いたカラーページプリンタにおいて、プリンタ装置２６の記録速度可変にともない制御しなければならないプリンタ装置２６の印字プロセスにおける制御対象は、感光体ドラム回転速度、転写ドラム回転速度、定着器ロール回転速度、記録用紙搬送ローラ回転速度、半導体レーザ走査装置のポリゴンミラーの回転速度、現像器の現像ロール回転速度、転写電流、クリーナブラシ回転速度などである。この内、感光体ドラム回転速度、転写ドラム回転速度、定着器ロール回転速度、記録用紙搬送ローラ回転速度、半導体レーザ走査装置のポリゴンミラーの回転速度、現像器の現像ロール回転速度、クリーナブラシ回転速度は、記録速度に比例して制御すれば良い対象である。転写電流は記録速度に比例して定電流源の設定を制御すれば良い。また、一般的に半導体レーザ走査装置のポリゴンミラーの駆動にはブラシレスサーボモータ、その回転速度の安定にはＰＬＬ（Ｐｈａｓｅ Ｌｏｃｋｅｄ Ｌｏｏｐ）制御が使用されている。したがって、ポリゴンミラーの回転速度の変更は、ＰＬＬ制御の基準周波数の分周により可能である。
【００７１】
また、半導体レーザ走査装置において記録速度可変にともない露光走査を変更する他の方法として、一定のポリゴンミラーの回転速度に対して、印字するための露光走査をビデオインタフェースにおいて間引く方法がある。この方法によれば、最大の記録速度に対して、１／２，１／３，・・・・，１／ｍの記録速度に設定することが可能となる。この方法では、選択可能な記録速度が少なくなるものの、サイクルアップに長い時間を要する半導体レーザ走査装置のポリゴンミラーモータ回転速度を変更する必要がなく、上述したように印刷データスプール部１０への印刷データ１の入力に応じて起動するような早い段階での起動を可能とするものである。
【００７２】
印刷画像データ転送制御部２５３は、出力バッファ２４から印刷画像データを読み込み、これを読み込んだワードごとにシリアル変換して、シリアル出力クロック信号に同期してプリンタ装置２６へ出力する。
【００７３】
以上説明したように、本発明によれば、複雑な描画命令（複雑なグラフィックスの塗りつぶし描画命令など）が入力された場合に、ディスプレイリスト展開処理予測時間に基づき、プリンタ装置の記録速度を可変とすることで、印刷画像データ展開処理の遅れが原因の印字抜けなどの印字不良の発生を抑えることが可能である。
【００７４】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように本発明では、所定の描画命令で記述されている印刷データを、ディスプレイリストに変換し、ディスプレイリストからにビットマップ展開する印刷処理装置のエッジリストデータ生成処理において、描画オブジェクトのエッジを表す座標点を生成する座標点生成処理と座標点に順序を付けるソート処理とを分離し、複数の座標点生成装置で繰り返し座標点生成した後、ソート処理を行うよう構成した。これにより、それぞれの処理に適した処理資源、すなわち座標点生成処理はハードウェア、ソート処理はソフトウェアで処理することが可能となり、記述言語で記述される複雑な描画オブジェクトに対しても軽い資源で高速の処理を行うことが可能となる。
【００７５】
また、座標点生成装置および印刷画像データ変換部をハードウェア構成とすることにより、ディスプレイリストからビットマップへの展開時間の算出は、ハードウェアの処理ステップごとの時間の単純加算で行うことができ、処理ステップごとの時間はハードウェアの動作クロックに基づいているため、ほぼ正確に予測することが可能である。
【００７６】
さらに、本発明を適用することにより、実施例の実装形態で示されているようにディスプレイリストからビットマップ展開するまでの処理を一体の回路基板上に構成することが可能となる。このため、データ量が急増するディスプレイリスト以降の処理に対して専用の高速バスを設けることが可能となり、ディスプレイリストからビットマップ展開するまでの処理全体の高速化が実現できる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の原理構成を示す図である。
【図２】本発明の印刷処理装置の実施の形態を示すブロック図である。
【図３】印刷処理装置における印刷処理の流れを示すフローチャートである。
【図４】ディスプレイリストの展開処理の流れを示すフローチャートである。
【図５】印刷処理装置全体が実装されるコンピュータシステムのハードウェア構成例を示した図である。
【図６】描画処理カードのハードウェア構成例を示した図である。
【図７】印刷処理装置全体が実装される他のコンピュータシステムのハードウェア構成例を示した図である。
【図８】描画処理ボードのハードウェア構成例を示した図である。
【図９】ディスプレイリスト生成部で生成されるディスプレイリスト（文字／図形の場合）の構造を示す図である。
【図１０】ディスプレイリスト生成部で生成されるディスプレイリスト（ラスタの場合）の構造を示す図である。
【図１１】ディスプレイリスト展開処理予測部の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図１２】プリンタ装置制御部の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図１３】プリンタ装置記録速度選択部における記録速度選択の様子を示す説明図である。
【図１４】輪郭情報からビットマップ展開のためのエッジの座標点を生成するまでの流れを示す図である。
【図１５】エッジが交差する図形要素の例を示した図である。
【符号の説明】
１ 印刷データ
２ 入力手段
３ リスト生成手段
４ 座標点生成装置
５ ソート手段
６ 変換手段
７ 印刷出力手段
８ リスト展開時間予測手段
１０ 印刷データスプール部
１１ 印刷データ解釈部
１２ ディスプレイリスト生成部
１３ バンド分割部
１４ ラスタデータ処理部
１５ ラスタデータバッファ
１６ ディスプレイリストバッファ
１７ ディスプレイリストバンドバッファ
１８ ディスプレイリスト管理部
１９ 座標点生成部
２０ ソート部
２１ エッジリストバッファ
２２ 印刷画像データ変換部
２３ ラスタデータバンドバッファ
２４ 出力バッファ
２５ プリンタ装置制御部
２６ プリンタ装置
２７ ディスプレイリスト展開処理予測部[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus and a print processing method, and in particular, converts print data described by a predetermined drawing command input from the outside into an intermediate code (display list) unique to print processing, and the converted intermediate code The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus and a print processing method for developing a bitmap in predetermined band units or page units.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Accompanying the development of small and high-speed electrophotographic page printers suitable for digital printing, the same handling of rasters, figures, characters, etc., which has been taken away from conventional character information-centric printing, enlarges and rotates figures, characters, etc. In general, print processing apparatuses using a description language in which deformation and the like can be freely controlled have been widely used. Representative examples of this type of description language include PostScript (trademark of Adobe Systems), Interpress (trademark of Xerox), Acrobat (trademark of Adobe Systems), GDI (Graphics Devices Interface: Microsoft, etc.). The print data created in the description language is composed of rasters, graphics, and drawing commands for representing characters in any order on the page in any order. To print with the page printer according to the present invention, Before printing, the print data must be bitmapped. Bitmap development refers to the process of developing print data into a series of individual dots or pixels across a page or part of a page to form a raster scan line and successively generating scan lines below that page. It is.
[0003]
After converting drawing commands related to graphics or characters in the print data created in the description language into a display list in which a plurality of lists including edge information constituting the outline of the drawing object represented by it are connected, A method of performing a printing process by developing a bitmap of the display list is generally known. As such a printing processing method, for example, JP-A-6-305203 and JP-A-7-175604 are known.
[0004]
In addition, the method of expanding the display list into bitmap data is described in the document "Practical Computer Graphics" (David F. Rogers, supervised by Fujio Yamaguchi, 1987, published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, pp 84-96). There is.
[0005]
FIG. 14 shows the relationship between the graphic or character outline information described in the above-mentioned document and the display list, and the processing flow for generating edge coordinate points for bitmap development from the display list.
[0006]
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow from generation of edge coordinate points for bitmap development from contour information. In the example of FIG. 14, the polygonal contour is composed of four edges Ea, Eb, Ec, Ed. These edges Ea, Eb, Ec, Ed are sorted by the y-coordinate value of the vertex having the smaller absolute value (hereinafter referred to as the start point of the edge), and are concatenated and stored in the y bucket list. For example, in a scanning line that intersects the start points (x1, y1) of the edges Ea, Eb, a cell representing the information on the edge Ea and a cell representing the information on the edge Eb are stored in the y bucket list corresponding to the coordinate value of y1. Has been. Each cell in the y bucket list includes information for generating the intersection of the scan line and each edge, that is, the x coordinate value of the start point of the edge, the change amount Δx of x per scan line representing the inclination of the edge, and the edge And the number of intersections Δy between the scanning lines and a pointer to the next cell. The whole including the y bucket list and each cell is called a display list. The display list is then converted into information that must be processed simultaneously for each scan line. This is called an active edge list. Then, the coordinate point of the edge is output from this active edge list.
[0007]
In general, the process of generating edge coordinate points from the display list is called scan line conversion. Bitmap data is obtained by sorting edge coordinate points generated by scanning line conversion according to coordinate values, and sequentially performing a filling process between the sorted coordinate points with predetermined color data. Scan line conversion generates coordinate points of edges from the top to the bottom for each scan line. That is, all edges that intersect the current scanning line are listed, and the coordinate points of the edges are output while creating the active edge list shown in FIG. After processing the current scan line, each record in the active edge list is updated (x = x + Δx, Δy = Δy−1) for the next scan. The bucket with Δy = 0 is deleted from the list.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In JP-A-6-305203 and JP-A-7-175604, a display list with a small amount of data is used as intermediate data for print processing, and a bitmap is developed in band units according to the print output of the printer device. By doing so, it aims to reduce the large-capacity frame buffer memory for bitmap development. However, in JP-A-6-305203 and JP-A-7-175604, the display list is converted into bitmap data by software processing and cannot be applied to a high-speed print processing apparatus. There was a point. This is because the print data created in the description language has no limitation on the complexity of the drawing object described by one drawing command, so the above-described scanning line conversion or edge coordinate point sorting processing is performed by dedicated hardware. This is because the number of simultaneous processings corresponding to the complexity is required to increase the speed, and it is necessary to prepare a large-scale hardware.
[0009]
On the other hand, in the technical field of displaying computer graphics on a display, a polygon data display list that represents the contour of a figure is divided into a simple triangle data display list and a trapezoid data display list, and then dedicated hardware is used. A process of developing a bitmap at a high speed using is performed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-160899 is known for triangular data division, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-14189 is known for trapezoid data division. Snow The In the technical field of computer graphics, restrictions are placed on the complexity of drawing objects described by one drawing command, and high-speed processing is performed by hardware. This is because a polygon that represents the contour of a figure in the technical field of computer graphics is generally expressed as a convex polygon, and can be easily divided into a triangle or a trapezoid. However, since graphic elements created in a description language may occur when edges cross each other, a large amount of calculation is required for division into triangles and trapezoids.
[0010]
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of graphic elements whose edges intersect. The graphic element shown in FIG. 15 includes seven edges Ee, Ef, Eg, Eh, Ei, Ej, and Ek, and the graphic element is filled. This filling is performed while being sandwiched between coordinate points of edges intersecting with the scanning line. At the intersection such as the edges Ei and Ej, for example, when the area a sandwiched between the edge Ee and the edge Ej is painted, the area b sandwiched between the edge Ee and the edge Ei is filled. Change. That is, processing such as rearrangement of edges occurs at a portion where the edges intersect. For this reason, division into triangles and trapezoids requires such processing to be performed in advance, which requires a large amount of calculation, and the high speed of hardware processing cannot be fully utilized as a whole system. . Therefore, hardware processing in the technical field of computer graphics cannot be applied to the technical field of print processing that processes print data created in a description language.
[0011]
Furthermore, in the technical field of predicting the drawing time required to draw the display list, the time for drawing the display list on the raster before drawing on the raster is calculated, and based on the comparison with the output time in the output device, If the predicted rendering time is shorter than the output time, output is performed in band units. Otherwise, processing is performed in which a raster for one page is generated and then output. For example, JP-A-8-234949 is known. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-234949, a drawing prediction time necessary for drawing a display list is stored in advance for each drawing object, and the drawing prediction time for each band is calculated by taking the stored drawing prediction time. As a result, the drawing prediction time is derived easily and in a short time. However, the display list handled in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-234949 is a character font, and as described above, in the display list that is intermediate data of print data created in a description language with no limitation on complexity, The predicted rendering time for each rendering object cannot be stored in advance.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and converts a drawing command related to a graphic or a character into a display list including edge information constituting the outline of a drawing object represented by the drawing command. High-speed printing without developing a large-scale hardware and dividing a complicated drawing object into a display list consisting of triangles and trapezoids, without requiring a large amount of calculation in a bitmap processing print processing device In addition, it is possible to calculate the development time from the display list to the bitmap development by a simple method, and to select the recording speed of the output device based on the calculated predicted development time. It is an object to provide an apparatus and a printing processing method.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, in a print processing apparatus that converts a drawing command relating to a character or a figure into print image data and prints it out, drawing at least one of the character or the figure described by the predetermined drawing command An input unit for inputting print data having an object, and a list having information on the start and end points of edges constituting the outline of the drawing object are generated for each drawing object from the print data input to the input unit. A coordinate point generation apparatus comprising: a list generation unit; and a plurality of coordinate point generation units that individually generate coordinate points representing the edges of the drawing object from information on the start point and end point of the list generated by the list generation unit Sorting means for ordering the coordinate points generated by the coordinate point generation device; Print output means for printing out the print image data of the object, and conversion means for converting the print data into print image data that can be output by the print output means using the coordinate points in the order determined by the sort means. A list expansion time prediction means for predicting a time for expanding the list from the list generated by the list generation means to the conversion means; and the printing according to the predicted expansion time predicted by the list expansion time prediction means There is provided a print processing apparatus comprising a control means for a print output means for determining an output speed of the output means.
[0014]
According to such a printing processing apparatus, the coordinate point generation process for generating the coordinate point representing the edge of the drawing object from the list information having the edge start point and end point information constituting the outline of the drawing object for each drawing object The sorting processing for ordering the coordinate points is made independent, and processing is performed with processing resources suitable for each processing. In other words, regarding coordinate point generation processing, it is configured to repeatedly generate coordinate points with multiple coordinate point generation units, so compared with the case where coordinate point generation processing and sort processing are performed only with conventional hardware Thus, it is not necessary to prepare a large-scale hardware or spend a large amount of processing time on preprocessing for converting print data into list data that matches the limited amount of hardware. Compared to the case where coordinate point generation processing and sort processing are performed only by conventional software processing, coordinate point generation processing that requires a large amount of calculation time in software processing is performed in parallel with a pipeline configuration in hardware. Since the processing can be performed at high speed, the overall speed can be increased. Further, by configuring the coordinate point generation device and the conversion unit with hardware, it is possible to easily calculate the expansion processing prediction time of the list data provided for each drawing object by the number of hardware processing steps. .
[0015]
Therefore, a large-scale hardware is used in a print processing apparatus that converts drawing commands relating to graphics and characters into a display list that includes edge information that constitutes the outline of a drawing object that it represents, and develops the display list into a bitmap. Without the need for a large amount of calculation to divide a complex drawing object into a display list made up of triangles and trapezoids. Can be calculated by a simple method, and the recording speed of the output device can be selected based on the calculated estimated expansion time.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a principle configuration of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the print processing apparatus has at least a drawing object of either a character or a figure, and inputs an input unit 2 for inputting print data 1 described by a predetermined drawing command, and inputs to the input unit 2. List generating means 3 for generating a list having information about the start and end points of the edges constituting the outline of the drawing object from the printed data 1 for each drawing object, and the starting point of the list generated by the list generating means 3 and The coordinate point generating device 4 that sequentially generates coordinate points representing the edges of the drawing object from the end point information, the sorting means 5 that orders the coordinate points generated by the coordinate point generating device 4, and the sorting means 5 Using the coordinate points in the order, the conversion means 6 that expands the list into bitmaps to print image data, and the expanded bitmaps A recording variable speed print output means 7 for force, from the list generated by the list generating means 3, and a list expansion time predicting means 8 which predicts the expansion time of the list.
[0017]
The coordinate point generation device 4 includes a plurality of coordinate point generation units each generating one coordinate point, and is configured to generate the same number of coordinate points as the number of coordinate point generation units at a time.
A plurality of coordinate point generation units constituting the coordinate point generation device 4 are configured by hardware, and the sorting unit 5 is configured to perform ordering of the coordinate points by executing a predetermined program on the central processing unit. Yes.
[0018]
The list expansion time prediction unit 8 is configured to predict the coordinate point generation time in the coordinate point generation device 4 and the conversion time to print image data in the conversion unit 6.
[0019]
According to the printing processing apparatus having the above configuration, the coordinate point generation process for generating the coordinate point representing the edge of the drawing object from the list information having the edge start point and end point information constituting the outline of the drawing object for each drawing object And sort processing for ordering coordinate points are made independent, and processing is performed with processing resources suitable for each processing. In other words, regarding coordinate point generation processing, it is configured to repeatedly generate coordinate points with multiple coordinate point generation units, so compared with the case where coordinate point generation processing and sort processing are performed only with conventional hardware Thus, it is not necessary to prepare a large-scale hardware or spend a large amount of processing time on preprocessing for converting print data into list data that matches the limited amount of hardware. Compared with the case where coordinate point generation processing and sort processing are performed only by conventional software processing, the coordinate point generation processing that requires a great amount of calculation time in software processing is performed in parallel with a pipeline configuration. As a result, the processing can be performed at high speed, so that the overall speed can be increased. In addition, since the coordinate point generation device 4 and the conversion unit 6 are configured by hardware, the list expansion time prediction unit 8 calculates the list data expansion processing prediction time for each drawing object, so that the number of hardware processing steps is calculated. Can be performed easily and almost accurately.
[0020]
Therefore, a large-scale hardware is used in a print processing apparatus that converts drawing commands relating to graphics and characters into a display list that includes edge information that constitutes the outline of a drawing object that it represents, and develops the display list into a bitmap. Without the need for a large amount of calculation to divide a complex drawing object into a display list made up of triangles and trapezoids. Can be calculated by a simple method, and the recording speed of the output device can be selected based on the calculated estimated expansion time.
[0021]
Embodiments of a print processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the print processing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the print processing apparatus includes a print data spool unit 10, a print data interpretation unit 11, a display list generation unit 12, a band division unit 13, a raster data processing unit 14, a raster data buffer 15, and a display. List buffer 16, display list band buffer 17, display list management unit 18, coordinate point generation unit 19, sorting unit 20, edge list buffer 21, print image data conversion unit 22, and raster data band buffer 23 And an output buffer 24, a printer device control unit 25, a printer device 26, and a display list expansion process prediction unit 27. The outline and operation of each component of the print processing apparatus will be described below.
[0022]
In FIG. 2, print data 1 is described in a description language that can be processed by the print processing apparatus, and is document data created by an application program that processes document creation and editing in a personal computer or workstation (not shown). Is generated from The description language targeted in the present embodiment is, for example, GDI, but may be a page description language represented by PDF (Portable Document Format) represented by Acrobat or PostScript.
[0023]
The print data spool unit 10 has a communication function for inputting the print data 1 and a function for temporarily storing the print data until it is output to the print data interpretation unit 11.
[0024]
The print data interpretation unit 11 cuts out the print data input from the print data spool unit 10 as a token according to a predetermined description language syntax, interprets the token, and converts the token into an internal command or its argument. The internal commands include a drawing command for drawing characters / graphics / raster, and a drawing status command for setting information necessary for drawing such as color and line attributes. When the drawing command is a character or a graphic, the drawing command is transferred to the display list generation unit 12. On the other hand, when the rendering command is raster, the rendering command is transferred to the raster data processing unit 14 and information indicating the vertical and horizontal sizes of the target raster data is transferred to the display list generating unit 12.
[0025]
The display list generation unit 12 generates edge data that forms the outline of the object to be drawn in response to a character / graphic drawing command, and then generates header information for each object and the start point of the edge that forms the outline of the drawing object. A display list composed of edge information including inclination and the number of intersections between edges and scanning lines is generated. Further, based on the vertical and horizontal sizes of the raster data transferred from the print data interpretation unit 11, a display list indicating the outline of the raster data is generated.
[0026]
The band dividing unit 13 divides the display list for each drawing object generated by the display list generating unit 12 in units of bands when one page is divided by a predetermined number of bands. The number of band divisions is determined by the size of the output buffer 24 at the subsequent stage. The display list divided in band units is stored in the display list buffer 16. By executing the processing from the print data interpretation unit 11 to the band dividing unit 13 for all the drawing objects constituting the page, the display list divided in units of bands is stored in the display list buffer 16 for each page. Is done.
[0027]
The raster data processing unit 14 executes raster processing such as coordinate conversion and color correction on the target raster data in response to a raster drawing command, and the processed raster data is stored in the raster data buffer 15.
[0028]
The display list band buffer 17 includes two buffers, and display list data is alternately input from the display list buffer 16 in band units.
[0029]
The display list management unit 18 reads the display list from the display list band buffer 17, detects that the subsequent coordinate point generation unit 19 is in a standby state, and sends the display list to the coordinate point generation unit 19 based on the detection result. It controls the transfer of edge information. Further, the display list management unit 18 detects whether the type of the object to be processed is a character / graphic or a raster based on the header information. If the type is a raster, the display list management unit 18 instructs the print image data conversion unit 22 to display the raster of the object. Data is transferred from the raster data buffer 15 to the raster data band buffer 23.
[0030]
The coordinate point generator 19 outputs edge coordinate points for each scanning line to the edge list buffer 21 from the edge information including the start point, inclination of the edge, and the number of intersections between the edge and the scanning line. The coordinate point generation circuit is configured to output the same number of edge coordinate points as the number of coordinate point generation circuits at a time. The plurality of coordinate point generation circuits execute coordinate point generation for a plurality of edges for each scanning line. When the processing for all the edges being processed is completed, a plurality of pieces of edge information to be processed next are transferred from the display list management unit 18. Coordinate point generation by a plurality of coordinate point generation circuits is repeated until generation of coordinate points for all edges for one object is completed. When the object to be processed is a character / graphic, the color data of the object to be processed is stored in the edge list buffer 21 based on the header information.
[0031]
After the coordinate point generation unit 19 finishes generating the coordinate points of all edges for one object, the sorting unit 20 converts the edge coordinate point data for each scanning line stored in the edge list buffer 21 into a small coordinate value. In this configuration, rearrangement is performed so as to arrange them sequentially, and a predetermined program is executed by the central processing unit. For example, a quick sort program is used as the sort processing program.
[0032]
The print image data conversion unit 22 performs a filling process between pairs of edge coordinate points rearranged so as to be sequentially arranged from the edge list buffer 21 having the smallest coordinate value, and outputs the result to the output buffer 24. . When the object to be processed is a character / figure, the filling process is executed with the color data stored in the edge list buffer 21. When the object to be processed is raster data, raster data that fills the space between the pair of edge coordinate points is read from the raster data band buffer 23 and output to the output buffer 24. The edge list buffer 21 is also composed of two buffers, and the coordinate point generation process and sort process and the print image data conversion process can be executed in a pipeline.
[0033]
The output buffer 24 is composed of two buffers. While one of the buffers is being filled by the print image data conversion unit 22, the other buffer is connected to the printer device via the subsequent printer device control unit 25. The print image data is transferred to H.26.
[0034]
The printer device control unit 25 controls the start timing and recording speed of the printer device 26. More characteristically, based on the predicted expansion processing time for each band for each page from the display list to the print image data generated by the print image data conversion unit 22 input from the display list expansion processing prediction unit 27, the printer The recording speed of the printer device 26 is controlled so that the output of the device 26 does not exceed the predicted expansion processing time for each band. Further, transfer control and management for transferring print image data in the output buffer 24 to the printer device 26 in accordance with the output timing of the printer device 26 are executed.
[0035]
The printer device 26 receives print image data output from the output buffer 24 based on the control of the printer device control unit 25, prints it on a recording sheet, and outputs it. More specifically, the printer device 26 uses a laser scanning electrophotographic system that can output a full color image by repeating exposure, development, and transfer for each color of CMYBk (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Color page printer.
[0036]
The display list development processing prediction unit 27 is generated by the coordinate point generation unit 19 and the print image data conversion unit 22 from the display list generated by the display list generation unit 12 and divided by the band division unit 13 in units of bands. The expansion processing prediction time for each band to the print image data is obtained. The predicted expansion processing time for each band is output to the printer device control unit 25.
[0037]
This configuration example is described on the assumption that the display list is divided into predetermined band units and processed in band units. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the display list is processed in page units. There may be.
[0038]
Next, an outline of the flow of print processing in the print processing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of print processing in the print processing apparatus. First, when print data 1 including characters or graphics is input to the print data spool unit 10, a display list is generated via the print data interpretation unit 11, the display list generation unit 12, and the band division unit 13, and at least one page is generated. The display list divided into bands is stored in the display list buffer 16 (step S1). Next, the display list is input from the display list buffer 16 to the display list expansion process prediction unit 27 for each page in units of bands, and the expansion process prediction time for each band for one page is calculated (step S2). . Next, based on the predicted expansion processing time in band units for each page input from the display list expansion processing prediction unit 27, the printer device control unit 25 determines and controls the start timing and recording speed of the printer device 26. (Step S3). Details of the display list expansion process prediction unit 27 will be described later.
[0039]
In parallel with steps S2 and S3, the display list is sequentially expanded from the display list buffer 16 in units of bands by the coordinate point generator 19 and the print image data converter 22 (step S4). When the development processing of all objects in the band is completed, the print image data is output to the printer device 26 whose recording speed has been previously controlled by the printer device control unit 25 via the printer device control unit 25 (step). S5).
[0040]
Next, the end of all band processing in the page is checked (step S6). If the processing of all the objects in the band has not been completed, the processing from step S4 is repeated. If the processing of all the objects in the band has been completed, the printing process for one page is completed. If there are multiple pages of print data to be processed, the above process is repeated for multiple pages.
[0041]
Next, an overview of the flow of display list expansion processing in step S4 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of display list expansion processing. First, the display list stored in the display list buffer 16 is sequentially input to the display list band buffer 17 in band units (step S11). Next, in the display list management unit 18, the edge information of the display list of the first object is transferred to the coordinate point generation unit 19 as many as the number of coordinate point generation circuits of the coordinate point generation unit 19 (step S12). . The coordinate point generation unit 19 generates coordinate points (step S13), updates scanning lines (step S14), and checks the standby state of all coordinate point generation circuits (step S15). If all the coordinate point generation circuits are not in the standby state, step S13, step S14, and step S15 are repeated. If all the coordinate point generation circuits are in a standby state, the processing end check of all the edges of the object is performed (step S16). If the processing of all the edges of the object has not been completed, the next edge information is transferred to the coordinate point generation unit 19 as many as the number of coordinate point generation circuits of the coordinate point generation unit 19 in step S12, The processing after step S13 is repeated. If the processing of all the edges of the object has been completed, the sorting processing by the sorting unit 20 is executed (step S17), and then the conversion processing and conversion into print image data by the print image data conversion unit 22 are performed. The output of the printed image data to the output buffer is executed (step S18).
[0042]
Next, the end of processing of all objects in the band is checked (step S19). If the processing of all objects in the band has not been completed, the process returns to step S12, and the first edge information of the next object is the maximum number of coordinate points of the number of coordinate point generation circuits of the coordinate point generation unit 19. The data is transferred to the generation unit 19, and the processing from step S13 is repeated. If the processing of all objects in the band has been completed, the display list expansion processing ends.
[0043]
In the description of the flow of the print data, the description regarding the raster data processing is omitted for the sake of simplicity, but the raster data processing is performed as described in the outline and operation of each component.
[0044]
Next, two configuration examples of a computer system in which the print processing apparatus is mounted are shown below.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a computer system in which the entire print processing apparatus is mounted. 5, the computer system includes a host computer 30, a network 41 to which the host computer 30 is connected, a drawing processing card 38 attached to the host computer 30, a printer device 26, a drawing processing card 38, and the printer device 26. And a dedicated bus 42 for connecting the two. The network 41 is, for example, Ethernet, and the print data 1 is input from a personal computer, workstation, or the like (not shown) via the network 41. The host computer 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a memory controller 32, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 33, a system bus controller 34, a network interface 35, a magnetic disk 36, a card controller 37, The CPU bus 39 and the system bus 40 are general ones.
[0045]
The system bus 40 is, for example, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus, and the card controller 37 is a controller corresponding to a card bus (CardBus) capable of high-speed data transfer. The host computer 30 includes a print data spool unit 10, a print data interpretation unit 11, a display list generation unit 12, a band division unit 13, a raster data processing unit 14, a raster data buffer 15, a display list buffer 16, A function corresponding to the display list expansion process prediction unit 27 is implemented. For example, the magnetic disk 36 is a storage area for a predetermined program for each process of the print data interpretation unit 11, the display list generation unit 12, the band division unit 13, the raster data processing unit 14, and the display list development processing prediction unit 27. The print data spool area 10 is used as a print data storage area. The DRAM 33 is used as a work area, raster data buffer 15, and display list buffer 16 for each process of the print data interpretation unit 11, display list generation unit 12, band division unit 13, and raster data processing unit 14. Further, the CPU 31 executes predetermined programs for each process of the print data interpretation unit 11, the display list generation unit 12, the band division unit 13, the raster data processing unit 14, and the display list development processing prediction unit 27.
[0046]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the drawing processing card. In FIG. 6, the drawing processing card 38 includes a second CPU 50 different from the CPU of the host computer 30, a card interface 51, a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 52, a memory controller 53, a memory 54, and coordinate points. A generation LSI (large scale integrated circuit) 55, a print image data conversion LSI 56, an output buffer memory 57, a raster data band buffer memory 58, a printer control LSI 59, a video interface 60, and a card internal bus 61 are configured. ing. The drawing processing card 38 includes a display list band buffer 17, a display list management unit 18, a coordinate point generation unit 19, a sorting unit 20, an edge list buffer 21, a print image data conversion unit 22, a raster data band of the print processing apparatus. The functions of the buffer 23, the output buffer 24, and the printer device control unit 25 are implemented. For example, the flash ROM 52 stores a predetermined program for the sort processing of the sort unit 20 and also stores an operating system program. The memory 54 is composed of, for example, a DRAM, and is used as a work area for executing a program for sort processing, the display wristband buffer 17, and the edge list buffer 21. The coordinate point generation LSI 55 has the functions of the display list management unit 18 and the coordinate point generation unit 19, the print image data conversion LSI 56 has the function of the print image data conversion unit 22, and the printer control LSI 59 and the video interface 60 have the printer device control unit. Each of the 25 functions is implemented. Further, the second CPU 50 executes a predetermined program for the sorting process of the sorting unit 20, controls display list input to the display wristband buffer 17, and clears the memory of the output buffer memory 57 and the raster data band buffer memory 58. Perform control and so on. The output buffer memory 57 and the raster data band buffer memory 58 are constituted by DRAMs, for example.
[0047]
By integrally configuring the processing after the display list management unit 18 on the circuit board of an independent drawing processing card, the card internal bus 61 can be provided independently of the system bus 40 of the host computer 30. Thus, it is possible to reduce a decrease in data transfer speed due to bus contention. Furthermore, by providing a bus faster than the system bus 40 of the host computer 30, the data transfer can be speeded up. In the configuration of FIG. 6, the output buffer memory 57 and the raster data band buffer memory 58 are directly connected to the print image data conversion LSI 56 without going through the card internal bus 61. By adopting such a configuration, the bottleneck of data transfer is eliminated, and higher-speed data transfer becomes possible. Further, since the main processing of the second CPU 50 is limited to the sort processing, it is possible to use a CPU having a lower performance than the CPU 31 of the host computer 30, and the card formation as shown in FIG. Is possible.
[0048]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of another computer system in which the entire print processing apparatus is mounted. 7, the same components as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In the computer system shown in FIG. 7, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the drawing processing card 38 that implements the processing after the display list management unit 18 is directly connected to the host computer 30, whereas the configuration shown in FIG. In this case, a drawing processing board 45 that implements processing after the display list management unit 18 is directly connected to the printer device 26 via the serial bus 44. For this reason, the host computer 30 is provided with a serial bus interface 43. The drawing processing board 45 is also integrally mounted on an independent circuit board with processing functions subsequent to the display list management unit 18, and is detachable from the processing functions up to the display wristband buffer 17.
[0049]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the drawing processing board. 8, the same components as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The drawing processing board 45 shown in FIG. 8 is different from FIG. 6 in that a serial bus interface 62 is provided, but other components and functions are the same as those in FIG. The serial bus 44 is, for example, an IEEE (American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 high-performance serial bus. By providing this IEEE 1394 high-performance serial bus, the arrangement configuration of the printer device 26 and the host computer 30 can be freely set without degrading the processing performance.
[0050]
The outline of the print processing apparatus of the present invention has been described above. Next, details of main parts of the print processing apparatus will be described. First, the display list generated by the display list generation unit 12 of the print processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail. The display list generation unit 12 generates a display list having a header part and a list part for each drawing object. The structure of the display list generated by the display list generation unit 12 will be described below for the case where the object is a character / graphic and the case where the object is a raster.
[0051]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a structure of a display list (character / graphic) generated by the display list generator, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a structure of a display list (raster) generated by the display list generator. is there. The display list generated by the display list generation unit 12 has a different header portion for characters / graphics and rasters. The structure of the display list in these two cases will be described below.
[0052]
As shown in FIG. 9, in the case of a character / graphic, the header portion includes a TypeID indicating the type of drawing object (in this case, indicating a character or graphic drawing) and color information indicating how many colors the drawing object is to be painted (for example, , CMYBk value, etc.), y list number that is the total number of y buckets, linked cell number that is the total number of cells linked to each y list, and pointer to the display list (DL) of the next drawing object It consists of.
[0053]
The list part is composed of y buckets and linked cells. The y bucket is composed of a scanning line y corresponding to the y coordinate value of the starting point of the vector data for each inputted drawing object, and a cell pointer which is a pointer to the first connected cell. Here, the y bucket in which no connected cell exists is not registered in the list part. The connected cells are the x coordinate value of the starting point of the vector data for each input drawing object, Δx that is an increment of x per scanning line of the vector data, and the number of scanning lines that intersect the vector data. It is composed of Δy and a concatenation flag indicating whether different vector data starting from the scanning line y exists. As for the concatenation flag, a flag '1' is added when a concatenated cell exists next, and a flag '0' representing EOC (End Of Cell) is added when the cell is the last concatenated cell.
[0054]
Next, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of raster data, the header part includes TypeID (in this case, indicating raster drawing), the data size of the raster data (number of bits per pixel * w * h: w is the width, h is the height), the data address corresponding to the address of the raster data buffer 15 in which the raster data is stored, the number of linked cells that is the total number of cells linked to each y list, and the next drawing object It consists of a pointer to the display list. Since the list part is the same as the case of the character / graphic described above, the description is omitted.
[0055]
Note that the display list generated by the display list generation unit 12 is generated in consideration of how the vector data are connected to each other, the painting method in the drawing state command, and the like.
[0056]
Next, details of the display list expansion process prediction unit 27 in this print processing apparatus will be described.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the display list development process prediction unit. In FIG. 11, the display list expansion process prediction unit 27 includes a cell data counting unit 270, a coordinate point generation time calculation unit 271, a print image data conversion time calculation unit 272, a coefficient table 273, and a expansion time calculation unit 274. It is composed of
[0057]
The cell data counting unit 270 reads the total number of connected cells in the header portion of the display list for each drawing object stored in the display list buffer 16 in the band unit for each page from all the drawing objects, and outputs one page. The number of cells is counted by band.
[0058]
The coordinate point generation time calculation unit 271 calculates each drawing object generated by the coordinate point generation LSI 55 that implements the coordinate point generation unit 19 from the number of cells for one page that is tabulated in band units by the cell data counting unit 270. The predicted generation time Te for one page of coordinate points for the scanning line is calculated for each band using the following formula.
[0059]
[Expression 1]
Te = n × te / m (1)
Here, n is the total number of cell data in the band unit counted by the cell data counting unit 270, te is the estimated coordinate point generation time per cell data, and m is the coordinate point generation circuit in the coordinate point generation LSI 55. Is a number.
[0060]
The print image data conversion time calculation unit 272 converts the print image data converted by the print image data conversion LSI 56 that implements the print image data conversion unit 22 from the number of cells counted by the cell data counting unit 270 for each band. The predicted conversion time Tb for one page of data is calculated for each band using the following formula.
[0061]
[Expression 2]
Tb = n × tb (2)
Here, tb is a print image data conversion estimation time per cell data.
[0062]
The coefficient table 273 stores fixed values necessary for calculating estimated times te and tb per cell data used by the coordinate point generation time calculation unit 271 and the print image data conversion time calculation unit 272, respectively. As shown in Table 1 below, the fixed values stored in the coefficient table 273 are obtained by the coordinate point generation LSI 55 and the print image data conversion LSI 56 in each processing step necessary for coordinate point generation processing and print image data conversion processing. This is a value obtained by converting time into a value per cell data. That is, the coefficient table 273 includes the header processing time thead, the y list processing time tlist, the cell reading time tcell, the starting point writing time tstart, the next coordinate point calculation time tnext, the coordinate point as estimated coefficients in the coordinate point generation processing. Writing Is stored, and header processing time thead, edge list reading time tedge, output buffer writing time tbuf, and address calculation time tadr are stored as estimated coefficients in the print image data conversion process. The estimated times te and tb are obtained by simply adding the respective estimated coefficients. Further, the estimation coefficient shown in Table 1 is a value depending on hardware such as the coordinate point generation LSI 55 mounting the coordinate point generation unit 19 and the print image data conversion LSI 56 mounting the print image data conversion unit 22. If the hardware is changed, the estimation coefficient can be easily changed.
[0063]
[Table 1]

[0064]
The expansion time calculation unit 274 calculates the expansion processing prediction time T by simply adding the respective prediction times Te and Tb calculated by the coordinate point generation time calculation unit 271 and the print image data conversion time calculation unit 272. The obtained predicted expansion processing time T is output to the printer control unit 25.
[0065]
Next, the printer apparatus control unit 25 will be described in detail.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printer apparatus control unit. The printer device control unit 25 includes a printer device state management unit 250, a printer device recording speed selection unit 251, a printer device process control unit 252, and printing. image The data transfer control unit 253 is configured.
[0066]
The printer device state management unit 250 manages the state of the printer device 26 in response to the occurrence of an event accompanying a change in the state of the printer device 26 and the state request in the printer device recording speed selection unit 251. Examples of the occurrence of an event that accompanies a change in the state of the printer device 26 include printing failure due to a printer device failure and out of paper. As soon as the display list expansion process prediction time is input from the display list expansion process prediction unit 27, the printer apparatus recording speed selection unit 251 inquires of the printer apparatus state management unit 250 that printing is not possible due to a printer apparatus failure, out of paper, and the like. . The printer apparatus state management unit 250 notifies the printer apparatus recording speed selection unit 251 of information such as printing failure and out of paper. If printing by the printer device 26 is possible, the printer device recording speed selection unit 251 determines the recording speed of the printer device 26 based on the display list development processing prediction time input from the display list development processing prediction unit 27.
[0067]
The printer device recording speed selection unit 251 calculates the coordinate point generation unit 19 and the print from the display list generated by the display list generation unit 12, totaled for each page band input from the display list development process prediction unit 27. Based on the development processing time for the print image data converted by the image data conversion unit 22, the development processing for the print image data for each band from the recording speed selectable by the printer device 26 is in time, and the print image data The recording speed at which no omission occurs is selected.
[0068]
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of recording speed selection in the printer apparatus recording speed selection unit. In FIG. 13, one page is divided into n bands, and the estimated expansion processing times for each band are different. On the other hand, the electrophotographic page printer according to the present invention must be driven at a constant speed in at least one page, and therefore the printing time of each band is constant. Therefore, in order to finish the development process of the next band before the printing of each band is completed, the development process prediction time of the band with the longest development process prediction time (in the example of FIG. 13, the development process prediction time of band 4). It is necessary to select a recording speed at which the printing time of one band is longer than (the longest). The recording speed selected by the printer device recording speed selection unit 251 is notified to the printer device process control unit 252.
[0069]
The printer device process control unit 252 controls the process of the printer device 26 based on the recording speed selected by the printer device recording speed selection unit 251. Further, the process control of the printer device process control unit 252 includes control of the start timing of the printer device 26. Control of the startup timing of the printer device 26 is as follows. Printer device This is performed based on the notification of the selected recording speed from the recording speed selection unit 251, but may be performed in response to the input of the print data 1 to the print data spool unit 10. In particular, it is desirable that a fixing device that takes time to cycle up, a polygon mirror motor of a semiconductor laser scanning device, and the like be started at an early stage.
[0070]
In the color page printer using the laser scanning type electrophotographic system of the present embodiment, the control target in the printing process of the printer device 26 that must be controlled in accordance with the variable recording speed of the printer device 26 is the photosensitive drum rotation speed, The rotation speed of the transfer drum, the rotation speed of the fixing device roll, the rotation speed of the recording paper conveyance roller, the rotation speed of the polygon mirror of the semiconductor laser scanning device, the rotation speed of the developing roller of the developing device, the transfer current, and the rotation speed of the cleaner brush. Among these, the photosensitive drum rotation speed, the transfer drum rotation speed, the fixing device roll rotation speed, the recording paper transport roller rotation speed, the rotation speed of the polygon mirror of the semiconductor laser scanning device, the development roll rotation speed of the developing device, and the cleaner brush rotation speed. Is a target that should be controlled in proportion to the recording speed. The transfer current may be controlled by setting the constant current source in proportion to the recording speed. In general, a brushless servomotor is used to drive the polygon mirror of the semiconductor laser scanning device, and PLL (Phase Locked Loop) control is used to stabilize the rotation speed. Accordingly, the rotation speed of the polygon mirror can be changed by dividing the reference frequency of the PLL control.
[0071]
As another method for changing the exposure scanning in accordance with the variable recording speed in the semiconductor laser scanning device, the exposure scanning for printing is performed at a video input at a constant polygon mirror rotational speed. tough There is a thinning method in the case. According to this method, it is possible to set the recording speed to 1/2, 1/3,..., 1 / m with respect to the maximum recording speed. In this method, although the selectable recording speed is reduced, it is not necessary to change the polygon mirror motor rotation speed of the semiconductor laser scanning device that requires a long time for cycle up, and printing to the print data spool section 10 as described above. It is possible to start at an early stage that starts in response to the input of data 1.
[0072]
The print image data transfer control unit 253 reads the print image data from the output buffer 24, serializes the read word data for each read word, and outputs the converted data to the printer device 26 in synchronization with the serial output clock signal.
[0073]
As described above, according to the present invention, when a complicated drawing command (such as a complicated graphics fill drawing command) is input, the recording speed of the printer device can be changed based on the estimated display list expansion processing time. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects such as missing prints due to delays in print image data development processing.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in the edge list data generation process of the print processing apparatus that converts print data described by a predetermined drawing command into a display list and develops a bitmap from the display list, The coordinate point generation process for generating the coordinate points representing the edge and the sort process for ordering the coordinate points are separated, and after the coordinate points are repeatedly generated by a plurality of coordinate point generation apparatuses, the sort process is performed. As a result, processing resources suitable for each processing, that is, coordinate point generation processing can be processed by hardware, sorting processing can be performed by software, and it is a light resource for complex drawing objects described in a description language. High-speed processing can be performed.
[0075]
In addition, since the coordinate point generation device and the print image data conversion unit have a hardware configuration, the calculation of the development time from the display list to the bitmap can be performed by simply adding the time for each hardware processing step. Since the time for each processing step is based on the hardware operation clock, it can be estimated almost accurately.
[0076]
Furthermore, by applying the present invention, it is possible to configure processing from the display list to bitmap development on an integrated circuit board as shown in the implementation form of the embodiment. For this reason, it is possible to provide a dedicated high-speed bus for processing subsequent to the display list in which the amount of data increases rapidly, and it is possible to increase the speed of the entire processing from the display list to bitmap development.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a principle configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a print processing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print processing in the print processing apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of display list expansion processing;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a computer system in which the entire print processing apparatus is mounted.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a drawing processing card.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of another computer system in which the entire print processing apparatus is mounted.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a drawing processing board.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a display list (in the case of characters / graphics) generated by a display list generation unit.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a display list (in the case of a raster) generated by a display list generation unit.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a display list development process prediction unit.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer apparatus control unit.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of recording speed selection in a printer apparatus recording speed selection unit.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a flow from generation of edge coordinate points for bitmap development from contour information;
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a graphic element where edges intersect.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Print data
2 Input means
3 List generation means
4 Coordinate point generator
5 Sorting means
6 Conversion means
7 Print output means
8 List expansion time prediction means
10 Print data spool section
11 Print data interpretation section
12 Display list generator
13 Band division
14 Raster data processing section
15 Raster data buffer
16 Display list buffer
17 Display wristband buffer
18 Display List Management Department
19 Coordinate point generator
20 sort part
21 Edge list buffer
22 Print image data converter
23 Raster data band buffer
24 Output buffer
25 Printer Device Control Unit
26 Printer device
27 Display list expansion process prediction unit

Claims (13)

In a print processing apparatus that converts a drawing command related to characters or figures into print image data and prints it out,
An input means for inputting print data having at least a drawing object of either a character or a figure described by a predetermined drawing command;
List generating means for generating, for each drawing object, a list having information on the start and end points of edges constituting the outline of the drawing object from the print data input to the input means;
A coordinate point generation device having a plurality of coordinate point generation units for individually generating coordinate points representing the edges of the drawing object from the start point and end point information of the list generated by the list generation unit;
Sorting means for ordering the coordinate points generated by the coordinate point generation device;
Print output means for printing out print image data of the drawing object;
Conversion means for converting the print data into print image data that can be output by the print output means using the coordinate points in the order determined by the sort means;
List expansion time prediction means for predicting the time to expand the list from the list generated by the list generation means to the conversion means;
Control means for the print output means for determining the output speed of the print output means according to the predicted expansion time predicted by the list expansion time prediction means;
A print processing apparatus comprising: The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the list expansion time prediction unit predicts a generation time of the coordinate point in the coordinate point generation apparatus. The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the list expansion time prediction unit predicts a conversion time to print image data in the conversion unit. In a print processing apparatus for outputting print image data generated from print data having at least a character or graphic drawing object described by a predetermined drawing command for each scanning line of a print output means having a variable output speed,
Display list generating means for generating, for each scanning line, a display list having edge information of edges constituting the outline of the drawing object for each edge;
A plurality of coordinate point generation units, and the coordinate points representing the edges of the drawing object by using the edge information of the display list generated by the display list generation unit by the number of the coordinate point generation units. A coordinate point generation device that sequentially generates;
Management means for repeatedly transferring the edge information of the display list to the coordinate point generation device until the generation of the coordinate points is completed for all edges of the drawing object;
Sorting means for ordering the coordinate points generated by the coordinate point generation device;
Conversion means for converting the print data into print image data that can be output by the print output means using the coordinate points in the order determined by the sort means;
List expansion time prediction means for predicting the time from the display list generated by the display list generation means until the display list is expanded by the conversion means;
Control means for the print output means for determining the output speed of the print output means according to the predicted expansion time predicted by the list expansion time prediction means;
A print processing apparatus comprising: The print processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display list includes at least header information and the edge information of the object for each drawing object. 6. The print processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the header information includes at least the number of edges of the drawing object and a pointer to the next drawing object. The list expansion time prediction means includes coordinate point generation time prediction means for predicting the generation time of the coordinate point in the coordinate point generation apparatus, and conversion time prediction means for predicting the conversion time in the conversion means. The print processing apparatus according to claim 4. 8. The list expansion time prediction means simply adds the prediction time of the coordinate point generation time prediction means and the prediction time of the conversion time prediction means to obtain a predicted value of list expansion time. The printing processing apparatus as described. The print processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the coordinate point generation time predicting unit simply adds a time required for processing for generating the coordinate point in the coordinate point generation apparatus. 8. The print processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the conversion time predicting unit simply adds a time required for processing for converting into print image data that can be output by the print output unit in the conversion unit. The list expansion time predicting means is required for processing for generating the coordinate points in the coordinate point generating apparatus and processing for converting the print means into print image data that can be output by the print output means in the converting means. 5. The print processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising coefficient storage means for previously storing time as a coefficient. In a print processing method for converting a drawing command related to characters or figures into print image data and printing it out,
Input print data having a drawing object of at least one of characters and figures described by a predetermined drawing command,
A list having information on the start point and end point of the edges constituting the outline of the drawing object is generated for each drawing object,
A plurality of coordinate points representing the edge of the drawing object are generated at a time from the start point and end point information of the list, the coordinate points are ordered, and the coordinate point information in the order determined in the ordering step is printed out. During the conversion into print image data that can be output by the means, the time from the list to the conversion of the list into print image data that can be output by the print output means is predicted, and according to the predicted time Determining an output speed of the print output means;
A print processing method characterized by the above. Print processing for outputting print image data generated from print data having at least a drawing object of either a character or a graphic described by a predetermined drawing command for each scanning line of a print output device that outputs the print image data In the method
A display list having edge information of edges constituting the outline of the drawing object for each edge is generated for each scanning line,
A plurality of coordinate points representing the edges of the drawing object are generated at a time using the edge information of the generated display list, and the display list is generated until the coordinate point generation is completed for all display lists of the display list. The edge information is repeatedly transferred to the coordinate point generator, the coordinate points are ordered, and the print data can be output by the print output means using the coordinate point information in the order determined in the ordering step. During the conversion to the print image data, the time from conversion of the generated display list to conversion of the display list into print image data that can be output by the print output unit is predicted, and according to the predicted time Determining an output speed of the print output means;
A print processing method characterized by the above.

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