JP3937864B2 - Printing apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing a monochrome image and a full-color image, and a control method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventional full-color page printers have both a monochrome printing process and a full-color printing process, and monochrome pages are typically printed using a monochrome printing process, and full-color pages are printed using a full-color printing process. Met. The purpose of this is to provide a monochrome printing process, and monochrome pages are printed using the monochrome printing process, thereby enabling faster output of monochrome pages, power saving, and reduction of consumption of the full-color printing mechanism. It is what.
[0003]
When printing a monochrome page, if the printing cost of a monochrome page in a full-color printer can be reduced to the printing cost of a monochrome printer by reducing the consumption and power consumption of the full-color printing mechanism, the user can There is no need to install both full-color printers or to select a printer each time depending on the document to be printed.
[0004]
Therefore, a conventional technique that has a monochrome printing process and a full-color printing process and switches the printing process as necessary is indispensable for spreading a full-color page printer.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As explained earlier, conventional full-color page printers switch between monochrome page and full-color page printing processes to achieve high-speed output, power saving, and protection of the full-color printing mechanism when printing monochrome pages. is doing. However, generally, the switching operation of the printing process itself requires a certain processing time, and power consumption for that purpose is also generated. In addition, since the switching operation of the printing process places a load on the printing mechanism, if the switching of the printing process frequently occurs, the life of the printing mechanism may be shortened.
[0006]
For example, when printing a document in which color pages and monochrome pages appear almost alternately, or in a usage environment in which a plurality of users frequently print one or two pages of documents, monochrome pages and full-color pages Since pages are printed at random, there is a high possibility of frequent switching of printing processes. In such a case, even if the monochrome printing process is faster than the full-color printing process and consumes less power, monochrome printing is possible due to the processing time and power consumption of the printing process switching operation and the switching operation of the printing process. Processing time and power consumption will exceed, and as a result, it may be better to print all pages in a full color printing process in all aspects of printing speed, power consumption, and load on the printing mechanism. .
[0007]
In order to solve this problem, when the page immediately before the target page is printed by a full-color printing process, it is common to print the target page monochrome page by a full-color printing process under certain conditions. Such techniques are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 11-34438 and 2000-29266.
[0008]
However, those described in these publications prescribe the operation when the page immediately before the target page is a full-color page, and when the previous page does not exist, that is, when the printing process is not performed. However, when processing print data starting from a monochrome page, there is a problem that an optimum print process may not be possible depending on conditions.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, and an object thereof is to provide a printing apparatus and a control method therefor that can more efficiently determine a monochrome page printing process and prevent delays in printing processing and equipment consumption. And
[0010]
The object of the present invention is not to determine the monochrome page printing process based on whether the page to be printed is monochrome or full color, but based on the presence or absence of the previous page and the subsequent page and its attributes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and a control method thereof that can optimize the determination of a printing process.
[0011]
In order to achieve the above object, the printing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A printing apparatus that has a full-color printing process and a monochrome printing process and requires a predetermined time for switching the printing process,
Color / monochrome discrimination means for discriminating whether the page to be printed is color or monochrome;
Presence of the immediately preceding page on which printing has been continued with respect to the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining unit, and the immediately preceding page Color First determination means for determining an attribute;
The existence of a succeeding page that is continuously printed with respect to the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining means, and the following page Color A second determination means for determining an attribute;
The printing process for the print target page determined to be color by the color / monochrome determination unit is determined as a full color printing process, while the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determination unit is The number of subsequent pages to be referred to is set according to the presence or absence of the immediately preceding page determined by the one determination means, and the color is set in the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the set page number by the second determination means. If it is determined that it is included, the printing process for the page to be printed is determined to be a full color printing process, and the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the number of pages set by the second determination unit includes color. If it is determined that the print process is not performed, the print process for the print target page is Seth A printing process determining means for determining;
It is characterized by having.
[0012]
In order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling a printing apparatus of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
A control method for a printing apparatus, which has a full-color printing process and a monochrome printing process, and requires a predetermined time for switching the printing process,
A color / monochrome discrimination step for discriminating whether the print target page is color or monochrome;
Presence of the immediately preceding page in which printing is continued for the printing target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determining step, and Color A first determination step of determining an attribute;
Presence of subsequent pages that are continuously printed on the print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, and Color A second determination step of determining attributes;
A printing process for a print target page determined to be color in the color / monochrome determination step is determined as a full color printing process, while a print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step is The number of subsequent pages to be referred to is set according to the presence or absence of the immediately preceding page determined by the one determination step, and the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the set page number is set to color in the second determination step. In the second determination step, the color attribute of the succeeding page corresponding to the set number of pages is determined as the full color printing process. If it is determined that the print target page is not included, the print process for the print target page is changed to a monochrome print process. A printing process determination step to be determined; and
It is characterized by having.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, the present embodiment is applied to a laser beam printer (hereinafter abbreviated as LBP) and will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of an LBP according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0016]
In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes an LBP main body. The LBP 100 is a character printing command, various graphic drawing commands, image drawing commands, and color designation commands supplied from a terminal computer 201 (FIG. 2) connected to the LAN 214 (FIG. 2). Etc., corresponding character patterns, figures, images and the like are created, and an image is formed on a recording sheet as a recording medium. Reference numeral 151 denotes an operation panel on which a switch for operation by a user and an LED display or an LCD display for displaying the status of the LBP 100 are arranged. Reference numeral 101 denotes a printer control unit, which controls the operation of the entire LBP 100 and a terminal computer. The character printing command supplied from 201 is analyzed.
[0017]
Note that the LBP 100 according to the present embodiment converts RGB color information into M (magenta), C (cyan), Y (yellow), and K (black), and images corresponding to these color information in parallel. In order to form and develop, each image forming / developing mechanism for forming images of M, C, Y, and K is provided. The printer control unit 101 generates M, C, Y, and K print images, generates video signals corresponding to the print images, and generates M, C, Y, and K laser drivers 110, 120, and 130, respectively. , 140.
[0018]
The M (magenta) laser driver 110 is a driver circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 111, and switches on and off the laser beam 112 emitted from the semiconductor laser 111 in accordance with the input video signal. The laser beam 112 is swung in the left-right direction by the rotary polygon mirror 113 to scan the electrostatic drum 114. As a result, an electrostatic latent image of a character or figure pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 114. The electrostatic latent image is developed on the drum 114 by a developing unit (toner cartridge) 115 disposed around the electrostatic drum 114, and then the toner image is transferred from the drum to a recording sheet.
[0019]
C (cyan), Y (yellow), and K (black) also have an image forming / developing mechanism similar to that of M (magenta). The image forming / developing mechanism for C (cyan) includes a laser driver 120 and a semiconductor laser 121. , A laser beam 122, a rotating polygon mirror 123, an electrostatic drum 124, and a developing unit 125. An image forming / developing mechanism for Y (yellow) includes a laser driver 130, a semiconductor laser 131, a laser beam 132, and a rotating polygon mirror. 133, an electrostatic drum 134, and a developing unit 135, and an image forming / developing mechanism for K (black) includes a laser driver 140, a semiconductor laser 141, a laser beam 142, a rotary polygon mirror 143, an electrostatic drum 144, and a developing unit. A unit 145 is included. Since these individual image forming functions are the same as those of the M (magenta) image forming / developing mechanism, description thereof will be omitted.
[0020]
The LBP 100 has two modes: a monochrome printing process and a full color printing process. Here, the K (black) electrostatic drum 144 is fixed, but the M (magenta) C (cyan) Y (yellow) electrostatic drums 114, 124, and 134 are movable in the vertical direction in FIG. In the case of a monochrome printing process, these electrostatic drums 114, 124, 134 are slightly separated from the paper transport belt 107 to avoid wear between the paper transport belt 107 and the electrostatic drums 114, 124, 134. Evacuated to the position. The save operation and the return operation each take about 5 seconds. When switching from the color to the monochrome printing process or when switching from the monochrome to the color printing process, the printing of the subsequent paper is delayed accordingly. Become.
[0021]
A cut sheet is used as a recording sheet, and a plurality of the cut sheets are stored in a sheet feeding cassette 102 mounted on the LBP 100 and kept at a constant height by a spring 103 in the cassette 102. Then, the paper feed roller 104 and the transport rollers 105 and 106 are rotated to be taken into the apparatus from the paper feed cassette 102 and placed on the paper transport belt 107 to pass through the M, C, Y, and K image forming / developing mechanisms. Then, an image corresponding to each color is transferred. Reference numeral 102-2 denotes a second paper feed cassette, 103-2 denotes a spring associated therewith, 104-2 denotes a paper feed roller, and 105-2 denotes a transport roller. It is exactly the same as the paper cassette 102.
[0022]
The M, C, Y, and K toners (powder ink) transferred to the recording sheet in this way are fixed to the recording sheet by heat and pressure in the fixing unit 108. The recording sheet onto which the image has been transferred and fixed in this manner is discharged to the upper part of the main body of the LBP 100 by the conveying rollers 109 and 150.
[0023]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the LBP control unit 101 according to the present embodiment.
[0024]
The LBP control unit 101 receives characters, graphics, image drawing commands and color information sent from the terminal computer 201 via the LAN 214, and prints document information and the like in units of pages. Yes. An input / output interface unit 202 exchanges various types of information with the terminal computer 201, and an input buffer 203 temporarily stores various types of information input via the input / output interface unit 202. Reference numeral 204 denotes a character pattern generator, which includes a font information portion 218 storing attributes such as character width and height, and the address of the actual character pattern, a character pattern portion 219 storing the character pattern itself, and reading out the font information portion 218. A control program is provided. This read control program is included in the ROM 215 and has a code conversion function for calculating the address of the character pattern corresponding to the character code when the character code is input.
[0025]
Reference numeral 205 denotes a RAM which includes a font cache area 207 for storing a character pattern output from the character pattern generator 204, and a storage area 206 for storing an external character font sent from the terminal computer 201 and the current printing environment. . In this way, by storing the pattern information once developed into a character pattern in the font cache area 207 as a font cache, it is not necessary to decode the same character again and develop the pattern when printing the same character. The pattern development processing speed is increased.
[0026]
A CPU 208 is a CPU for controlling the entire control unit of the printer, and controls the entire operation of the LBP 100 in accordance with a control program of the CPU 208 stored in the ROM 215. An intermediate buffer 209 holds an internal intermediate data group generated based on input data. Here, reception of data for one page is completed, and the data is converted into simpler intermediate data and stored in the intermediate buffer 209. Then, the data is rendered in band units by the renderer 210, and is printed in the band buffer 211 as a print image. Is output. The band buffer 211 can store print images for at least eight bands. The print image output to the band buffer 211 is converted into a video signal by the output interface unit 212 and output to the printer unit 213. . The printer unit 213 is a printing mechanism portion of a page printer that prints image information based on a video signal from the output interface unit 212.
[0027]
As described above with reference to FIG. 1, in the LBP according to the present embodiment, M, C, Y, and K image formation / development are performed in parallel, so the output interface unit 212 includes an M output interface unit, C There are four interface units, an output interface unit, a Y output interface unit, and a K output interface unit, each of which independently reads dot data from the band buffer 211, converts it into a video signal, and converts it into a video signal. , 140.
[0028]
The intermediate buffer 209 can store intermediate data for a plurality of pages, and the processing after reading and rendering is performed in synchronization with the operation of the printer unit 213 which is a printing mechanism portion.
[0029]
Reference numeral 216 denotes a non-volatile memory composed of a general EEPROM or the like, and is hereinafter referred to as NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM). The NVRAM 216 stores panel setting values designated on the operation panel 151 and the like.
[0030]
The ROM 215 includes analysis of data input from the terminal computer 201, generation of intermediate data, a control program for the printer unit 213, a color conversion table from the RGB color space to the MCYK color space, and the like. Reference numeral 220 denotes a hard disk which can record arbitrary information, and no information is lost even when the power is turned off.
[0031]
Next, the structure of the intermediate data generated in the intermediate buffer 209 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0032]
FIG. 3 is a data format showing the data structure of the intermediate data.
[0033]
In the figure, intermediate data 300 indicates intermediate data for one page generated in the intermediate buffer 209, and includes a header part 310 and a drawing object area 320. At the start of generation of the intermediate data of this page, only this header portion 310 is acquired, and the drawing object area 320 does not exist. The drawing object area 320 is a variable length area that is expanded each time a drawing object is added.
[0034]
An area 311 of the header portion 310 is a flag area indicating whether the page is currently being generated or has been generated. In the initial state, this flag area is set to “0” meaning “generating”, and “1” meaning “generation completed” is set when the generation of intermediate data of the page is completed. An area 312 is an area indicating the paper size, and information indicating the paper size such as “A3” and “A4” is set therein. An area 313 is a paper type information area representing a paper type, and paper type information such as “plain paper”, “thick paper”, and “OHP” is set therein. An area 314 is a page color information area indicating whether the page is a monochrome page or a full color page. This area 314 is set to “0”, which means “undecided” in the initial state, and when a drawing object is added to the drawing object area 320, if the object is a full-color drawing object, “0” is set. “1” meaning “full color” is set. When the generation of the intermediate data of the page is completed, if the value of this area 314 remains “0” (“undecided”), “2” meaning “monochrome” is set. An area 315 is a printing process color information area indicating a printing process when the page is printed. This area 315 is set to “0” meaning “undecided” in the initial state, and the area 314 becomes a value “1” meaning “full color” when the generation of intermediate data of the page is completed. If so, “1” indicating “full color printing process” is also set in this area 315. When the page is a monochrome page, that is, when “2” indicating “monochrome” is set in the area 314, the printing process is not determined at the completion of generation of the intermediate data, and the printing process color information area 315 is stored in the area 314. It remains “0” meaning “undecided”.
[0035]
Next, the processing procedure of the intermediate data generation processing will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0036]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing intermediate data generation processing in the LBP 100 according to the present embodiment, and a program for executing this processing is stored in the ROM 215.
[0037]
When generation of intermediate data of a page is started, first, the header area 300 is secured in step S401, and then the process proceeds to step S402, which means that this intermediate data is currently being generated in the area 311. Set to “0”. In steps S403 and S404, the paper size and paper type specified by the command are set. Note that the paper size and paper type have already been determined at the start of generation of intermediate data for the page.
[0038]
In steps S405 and S406, the page color information area 314 and the printing process color information area 315 are set to “undecided”. With the above processing, the initial setting of the header 300 is completed, and then the drawing command processing is started.
[0039]
First, one command is interpreted in step S407, and then the process proceeds to step S408, where it is determined whether the command is a page end command or a drawing command for normal characters, figures, images, and the like. If it is a drawing command, the process proceeds to step S409, where the drawing command is processed, and the drawing object is added to the drawing object area 320. The drawing object area 320 is expanded as necessary. After the drawing object is added in this way, the process proceeds to step S410, and it is determined whether or not the drawing object is a color drawing object. If it is a color drawing object, the process advances to step S411 to set “full color” in the page color information area 314, and returns to step S407 to process the next command. If it is not a color drawing object, the process directly returns to step S407.
[0040]
On the other hand, if it is a page end command in step S408, the process proceeds to step S412 to determine whether “full color” is set in the page color information area 314. If “full color” is set, step S413 is performed. Then, “full color” is also set in the printing process color information area 315. If “full color” is not set in the page color information area 314 in step S412, the process proceeds to step S414, and the page color information area 314 is changed to “monochrome”. Then, after executing step S413 or S414, the process proceeds to step S415, where “1” indicating that the generation of the intermediate data is completed is set in the area 311 and the generation process of the intermediate data is ended.
[0041]
When generation of intermediate data for one page is completed, intermediate data for the next page is continuously generated, and intermediate data for a plurality of pages is stored in the intermediate buffer 209.
[0042]
When intermediate data for at least one page is stored in the intermediate buffer 209 in this way, the page is ready for printing, and the printer unit (printing mechanism portion) 213 receives the paper size, paper type, and printing process type ( Monochrome / full color) is issued and a print request is issued. When the printer unit 213 is ready, the intermediate data in the intermediate buffer 209 is rendered in band units in synchronization with the conveyance of the paper in the printer unit 213, converted from dot data into a video signal, and transferred to the printer unit 213. The
[0043]
Whether to select a monochrome printing process or a full-color printing process follows the printing process color information 315. In the case of monochrome page printing, which printing process is selected depends on the generation stage of intermediate data. However, it is determined immediately before issuing a print request to the printer unit 213.
[0044]
Hereinafter, before describing the processing in the present embodiment in detail, the features according to the present embodiment will be briefly described.
(1) The determination of the printing process in the case of printing a monochrome page depends on the presence or absence of the immediately preceding page, temporal continuity with the immediately preceding page, and the printing process of the immediately preceding page. For example, if the previous page is printed by the monochrome printing process and the target page is to be printed subsequently, the monochrome printing process is continuously selected as it is without switching the printing process. On the other hand, if the previous page does not exist, or the previous page and the target page are discontinuous, or if the previous page is printed by a full-color printing process, the above-mentioned judgment material alone will not be used for the target page. Does not determine the printing process.
(2) Judgment is made based on the number of subsequent pages and an attribute indicating whether they are monochrome pages or full-color pages. These are used when the determination process shown in (1) cannot determine the printing process during monochrome printing. For example, if a full color page does not appear within N pages following the target page, the target page is printed by a monochrome printing process. Note that N is an integer equal to or greater than 1, and an optimal value corresponding to the printing mechanism may be adopted, or the value may be set in advance by the operation unit 151. Further, when the subsequent page is not generated, it is determined whether or not the subsequent page is being generated. When the subsequent page is being generated, the printing start of the target page may be delayed within a certain range.
(3) Judgment is made based on the difference in paper size and paper type between the previous page and the target page. This is because there is a general printing apparatus in which the print processing has an interval larger than usual when the paper size or paper type is switched. For example, in a general laser beam printer, the printing process of cardboard or OHP sheet is slower than the printing process of plain paper in order to improve the fixability of toner (powder ink), and the previous paper is used to switch the process speed. The next paper is not fed until the is completely ejected out of the machine. In such a case, switching between a full-color printing process and a monochrome printing process often does not cause a deterioration in speed. Therefore, the printing process is determined in consideration of the judgment material (3) in the above (1) and (2). For example, if the previous page is printed by a full-color printing process, the target page is a monochrome page, and there is no subsequent page, considering only the judgment material (1) or (2), the target Pages are printed in a full color printing process. However, if the previous page is printed on, for example, an OHP sheet and the target page is printed on plain paper by adding the judgment material of (3), the condition (1) or (2) Even if the condition is satisfied, a monochrome printing process is selected.
[0045]
By intelligently determining the monochrome page printing process in this way, the objective is to minimize the degradation of printing speed due to switching of the printing process, and at the same time to save power and reduce the load on the printing mechanism. .
[0046]
Hereinafter, a printing process selection process for a monochrome page, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described.
[0047]
As described above, the LBP 100 according to the present embodiment has a monochrome printing process and a full-color printing process, and the monochrome printing process is faster and consumes less power than the full-color printing process, and the load on the printing mechanism. There is an advantage that is small.
[0048]
However, when the printing process is switched from monochrome to full color during continuous printing, or conversely, when switching from full color to monochrome, a loss time of about 5 seconds occurs due to the above-described drum saving. However, when printing is started from a state where the printing process is stopped, or when the printing time interval with the previous page is not available for some reason and continuous printing is not performed, feeding of cut sheets from the sheet feeding cassette 102 is performed. Since the switching of the printing process is completed before the fed cut sheet reaches the image forming / developing mechanism, the time required for switching the printing process does not surface.
[0049]
The printing speed is 30 pages / minute for the monochrome printing process and 20 pages / minute for the full-color printing process.
[0050]
A processing procedure for selecting a printing process for a monochrome page under the above conditions will be described with reference to FIG.
[0051]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating mainly the monochrome page printing process in the LBP 100 according to the present embodiment.
[0052]
First, in step S501, it is determined whether a page to be printed is monochrome or full color. This can be determined by referring to the page color information 314. If the page is a full color page, the process advances to step S502 to select a full color printing process, and the selection process of the printing process for the target page is terminated. In this case, since “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315 when the intermediate data is generated, it is not necessary to set “full color” in the printing process color information 315 again.
[0053]
On the other hand, if the page is a monochrome page in step S501, the process proceeds to step S503, where it is determined whether there is a previous page. The intermediate data of a page is deleted when printing of the page is completed, that is, when printing of the page is completed and the printed sheet of the page is ejected from the apparatus. Since the contents of the intermediate buffer are held, the presence / absence of the previous page can be determined by the presence / absence of the intermediate data of the previous page. If there is a previous page, the process advances to step S504 to determine whether the printing process for the page is monochrome. The printing process for the immediately preceding page is determined at this point, and the printing process for the immediately preceding page is set in the printing process color information 315 of the intermediate data. If the previous page printing process is monochrome, the process advances to step S505 to select the monochrome printing process and the process ends. At this time, “monochrome” is set in the printing process color information 315.
[0054]
On the other hand, if there is no previous page in step S503, or if it is determined in step S504 that the printing process of the previous page is full color, the presence / absence of the subsequent page and the page color information 314 are used as judgment materials. To determine the printing process for the target page. The number of subsequent pages referred to in the present embodiment is “1” or “2”. Hereinafter, the number of pages to be referred to is represented by N.
[0055]
Accordingly, if it is determined in step S503 that the previous page does not exist, the process proceeds to step S506, the number N of subsequent pages to be referred to is set to “1”, and the process proceeds to step S508. If it is determined in step S504 that the printing process of the previous page is “full color”, the process proceeds to step S507, the number of subsequent pages N to be referred to is set to “2”, and the process proceeds to step S508. This means that if there is a page whose print process is “full color” just before the previous page does not exist, more subsequent pages will be referenced. Control is performed so that the printing process is not switched to monochrome when more monochrome pages are not continuous. This is because when there is a page having a printing process of “full color” immediately before, switching to the monochrome printing process causes a loss of about 5 seconds due to movement of the drum as described above. .
[0056]
When the page number N to be referred to is determined in step S506 or S507 in this way, the process proceeds to step S508 and the timer is reset. In the present embodiment, if the printing process of the target page cannot be determined because the number of subsequent pages is small, this timer waits for generation of the subsequent page. It is for controlling not to exceed.
[0057]
Thus, the process proceeds to step S509 to determine whether or not there are N or more subsequent pages. This can be determined from the number of intermediate data stored in the intermediate buffer 209. If the number of subsequent pages is N or more, the process advances to step S510 to determine whether or not a full color page is included in the subsequent N pages. If a full color page is included, the process proceeds to step S511. Then, a full color printing process is selected and the process is terminated. At this time, “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315. On the other hand, if a full color page is not included in the subsequent N pages in step S510, the process proceeds to step S512, where a monochrome printing process is selected, and the process ends.
[0058]
In step S509, if the number of subsequent pages is less than N, the process proceeds to step S513. It is determined whether a full color page appears on the subsequent page. If a full color page appears, the process proceeds to step S514. Then, the full color printing process is selected and the process is terminated. At this time, “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315. If a full color page does not appear in step S513, the process proceeds to step S515.
[0059]
In step S515, it is determined whether there is a currently generated page. This can be determined by referring to the header portion 310 of the latest intermediate data existing in the intermediate buffer 209 and checking whether or not “generating” is set in the area 311 thereof. If there is no page being generated, the process advances to step S516 to select a monochrome printing process, and the process ends.
[0060]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S513 that there is a currently generated page, the process proceeds to step S517, where it is determined whether the timer has started. If the timer has not yet started, the process proceeds to step S518, where the timer is set. The process returns to step S509 to determine again whether there are N or more subsequent pages. In step S517, if the timer has already started, the process proceeds to step S519 to determine whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. In the present embodiment, the predetermined time is a maximum of 2 seconds. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process advances to step S516 to select a monochrome printing process, and the process ends. If it is determined in step S519 that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S509 to determine again whether there are N or more subsequent pages.
[0061]
According to the selection process of the printing process for the monochrome page in the first embodiment described above, whether or not there are pages before and after the print target page, the printing process of the previous and next pages, and whether the previous and next pages are color / monochrome pages Accordingly, it is possible to realize an optimal switching of the printing process.
[0062]
[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment described above, the printing process of the printing target page is determined by paying attention to the presence / absence of pages before and after the printing target page, the printing process of the preceding and following pages, and whether the preceding and following pages are color / monochrome pages Was. In the second embodiment, a more efficient printing process is selected by further considering the switching of paper size and paper type. As an example of changing the printing process depending on the paper size and paper type, for example, when printing on thick paper or an OHP sheet, the paper transport speed is slowed down to improve the toner fixability, and the heating time in the fixing device It has been made longer.
[0063]
The LBP 100 according to the second embodiment can print on plain paper, thick paper, and an OHP sheet, and can be applied to LBPs having printing mechanisms with different conveyance speeds.
[0064]
The internal structure of the LBP 100 and the configuration of its control unit in the second embodiment are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in the first embodiment. Omitted. Further, the structure of the intermediate data generated in the intermediate buffer 209 and the processing procedure of the generation processing are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. Is omitted.
[0065]
In this type of LBP, when switching the sheet conveyance speed, it is common to discharge all the sheets being conveyed out of the apparatus and then switch the rotation speeds of various sheet conveyance rollers and rotary polygon mirrors. . Therefore, for example, when a monochrome page is subsequently printed on plain paper after printing an OHP sheet by a full-color printing process, feeding of plain paper may be started until the immediately preceding page is ejected outside the apparatus. Can not. Therefore, when the monochrome page is printed, even if the printing is switched from the full-color printing process to the monochrome printing process, the time required for the printing does not surface.
[0066]
Next, a processing procedure for selecting a printing process for a monochrome page in consideration of the characteristics of the printing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.
[0067]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of print process selection processing for a monochrome page in the LBP 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0068]
First, in step S601, it is determined whether a page to be printed is monochrome or full color. This can be determined by referring to the page color information 314 of the intermediate data. If it is a full-color page, the process advances to step S602 to select a full-color print process, and the print process page print process selection process ends. In this case, since “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315 when the intermediate data is generated, it is not necessary to set “full color” in the printing process color information 315 again.
[0069]
If the page is a monochrome page in step S601, the process advances to step S603 to determine whether there is a previous page and the page is the same paper type as the page to be printed. Since the intermediate data is deleted when the printing of the page is completed, the presence or absence of the previous page can be determined by the presence or absence of the intermediate data of the previous page. The paper type can be determined based on the paper type information set in the paper type area 313 of the header portion 310 of the intermediate data.
[0070]
If the previous page exists in step S603 and the page is printed on the same paper type as the page to be printed, the process advances to step S604 to determine whether the printing process for the page is monochrome. . The printing process of the immediately preceding page is determined at this point, and is set in the printing process color information 315 of the intermediate data of the immediately preceding page. Therefore, when it is determined that the print process of the previous page is monochrome with reference to the print process color information 315, the process proceeds to step S605, where the monochrome print process is selected, and the process ends. At this time, “monochrome” is set in the printing process color information 315.
[0071]
On the other hand, if there is no previous page in step S603, or if the printing process of the previous page is full color in step S604, or if the paper type is different in step S603, whether there is a subsequent page, Using the color information 314 and the paper type information 313 as determination materials, the printing process of the monochrome page to be printed is determined. The number of subsequent pages referred to in the second embodiment is “1” or “2”. Hereinafter, the number of pages to be referred to is represented by N.
[0072]
Therefore, if the previous page does not exist in step S603 or if it is determined that the paper type is different, the process proceeds to step S606, the number N of subsequent pages to be referred to is set to “1”, and the process proceeds to step S608. If it is determined in step S604 that the printing process of the previous page is “full color”, the process proceeds to step S607, and the number N of subsequent pages to be referred to is set to “2”, and the process proceeds to step S608. This means that there is a page that has a “full color” print process immediately before, compared to when the previous page does not exist or when the target page cannot be fed until the previous page is discharged out of the machine due to different paper types. If present, it means referencing more subsequent pages. In this case, when there is a page whose printing process is “full color” immediately before, the printing process is controlled so as not to be switched to the monochrome printing process unless more monochrome pages continue. This is because when there is a page having a printing process of “full color” immediately before, a time loss of about 5 seconds occurs as described above when switching to the monochrome printing process.
[0073]
When the page number N to be referred to is determined in step S606 or S607, the process proceeds to step S608 and the timer is reset. In the second embodiment, since the number of succeeding pages is small, if the printing process of the monochrome page to be printed cannot be determined, the process waits for the succeeding page to be generated. This is to control the waiting time so as not to exceed a certain time.
[0074]
In step S609, it is determined whether there are N or more subsequent pages. This can be determined from the number of intermediate data stored in the intermediate buffer 209. When the number of subsequent pages is N or more, the process proceeds to step S610, and it is determined whether or not a full color page is included in the subsequent N pages and the paper type is not changed. If a full-color page is included and there is no change in the paper type, the process advances to step S611 to select a full-color printing process and end the process. At this time, “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315.
[0075]
If it is determined in step S610 that a full color page is not included in the subsequent N pages or the paper type is changed, the process advances to step S612 to select a monochrome printing process and the process ends.
[0076]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S609 that the number of subsequent pages is less than N, the process advances to step S613 to determine whether there is a change in the paper type. If it is determined that the paper type has been changed, the process advances to step S614 to select a monochrome printing process, and the process ends.
[0077]
If it is determined in step S613 that the paper type is not changed in the subsequent page, the process advances to step S615 to determine whether a full color page appears in the subsequent page. If a full color page appears, the process advances to step S616 to select a full color printing process and end the process. At this time, “full color” is set in the printing process color information 315.
[0078]
If it is determined in step S615 that a full color page does not appear, the process advances to step S617 to determine whether there is a currently generated page. This can be determined by referring to the header portion 310 of the latest intermediate data existing in the intermediate buffer 209 and checking whether or not “generating” is set in the area 311 thereof. If it is determined that there is no page being generated in this way, the process advances to step S618 to select a monochrome printing process and the process ends.
[0079]
If it is determined in step S617 that there is no page currently being generated, the process advances to step S619 to determine whether the timer is started. If it is determined that the timer has not yet started, the process proceeds to step S620, where the timer is started and the process returns to step S609 to determine whether the number of subsequent pages is N or more. If it is determined in step S619 that the timer has already been started, the process proceeds to step S621, where it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the time measured by the timer. In the second embodiment, the predetermined time is a maximum of 2 seconds. If it is determined in step S621 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process advances to step S618 to select a monochrome printing process and the process ends. If it is determined in step S621 that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S609, where it is determined whether the number of subsequent pages is N or more, and the same processing as described above is executed.
[0080]
As described above, according to the printing process selection process for monochrome pages in the second embodiment, the presence / absence of pages before and after the print target page, the printing process of those pages, color / monochrome attributes, and switching of paper type In consideration of the above, it is possible to realize the optimum switching of the printing process according to the characteristics of the printing mechanism.
[0081]
In the second embodiment, the paper type is taken up as the paper attribute. However, in the case of a printing mechanism in which continuous printing cannot be continued by switching the paper size, printing is performed by referring to the paper size in addition to the paper type. A process may be selected.
Further, the number of subsequent pages (N) to be referred to may be designated from the operation panel 151 or a printer driver (not shown).
(Other embodiments)
As described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium recording a program code of software that realizes the functions of the embodiment to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. This is also achieved by reading and executing the stored program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like is used. Can do.
[0082]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code Includes a case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0083]
Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0084]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the conventional method of determining whether the previous and subsequent pages are monochrome or full color, the printing process when printing a monochrome page is determined, Furthermore, it is possible to select an optimal printing process by considering whether or not the previous page exists.
In addition, when a paper attribute such as paper type or paper size is switched, if the printing mechanism does not surface the time required to switch between monochrome and full color printing processes, the characteristics of the printing mechanism are changed. It is possible to select a printing process that is considered and optimized.
[0085]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a monochrome page printing process can be determined more efficiently, and delays in printing processing and equipment consumption can be prevented.
[0086]
In addition, according to the present invention, the monochrome page printing process is not simply determined based on whether the page to be printed is monochrome or full color, but based on the presence / absence of the immediately preceding page and the subsequent page and its attributes. This determination has the effect that the determination of the printing process can be further optimized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an LBP according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of LBP according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of intermediate data according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of intermediate data generation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of print process selection processing for a monochrome page according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of print process selection processing for a monochrome page according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Claims (12)

A printing apparatus that has a full-color printing process and a monochrome printing process and requires a predetermined time for switching the printing process,
Color / monochrome discrimination means for discriminating whether the page to be printed is color or monochrome;
First determination means for determining the presence of a previous page that is continuously printed on a print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determination means, and a color attribute of the previous page;
Second determination means for determining the presence of a subsequent page that is continuously printed on a print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determination means, and a color attribute of the subsequent page;
The printing process for the print target page determined to be color by the color / monochrome determination unit is determined as a full color printing process, while the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determination unit is The number of subsequent pages to be referred to is set according to the presence or absence of the immediately preceding page determined by the one determination means, and the color is set in the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the set page number by the second determination means. If it is determined that it is included, the printing process for the page to be printed is determined to be a full color printing process, and the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the number of pages set by the second determination unit includes color. If it is determined that the print process is not performed, the print process for the print target page is A printing process determining means for determining Seth,
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing process determining means has a monochrome printing by the first determining means for the printing target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining means , and the printing process of the immediately preceding page is monochrome printing. If it is determined that printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining the printing process of the page to be printed in monochrome printing process. The printing process determining unit may determine that, for the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining unit, the second determining unit determines that there is no subsequent page corresponding to the number of pages. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the subsequent page is determined to include a full color page, the printing process of the page to be printed is determined to be a full color printing process. 4. The second determination means determines whether the subsequent page includes a change in the size of the recording medium and / or a change in the type of the recording medium,
The printing process determining means changes the size of the recording medium to the succeeding page by the second determining means and / or the type of the recording medium for the print target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining means. If it is determined to contain a change, the printing apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3 and determining the printing process of the printing target page in the monochrome printing process. The second determination means determines whether the subsequent page includes a change in the size of the recording medium and / or a change in the type of the recording medium,
The printing process determining means includes a full-color page included in a subsequent page corresponding to the number of pages by the second determining means for a printing target page determined to be monochrome by the color / monochrome determining means , and changing the size of the recording medium in the subsequent page, and / or that there is no change in the type of the recording medium when it is determined, 1 to claim, characterized in that determining a printing process of the page to be printed in full color printing process 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of items 3 . A control method for a printing apparatus, which has a full-color printing process and a monochrome printing process, and requires a predetermined time for switching the printing process,
A color / monochrome discrimination step for discriminating whether the print target page is color or monochrome;
A first determination step of determining the presence of a previous page on which printing is continued for a print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, and a color attribute of the previous page;
A second determination step of determining the presence of a subsequent page that is continuously printed on the print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, and a color attribute of the subsequent page;
The printing process for the print target page determined to be color in the color / monochrome determination step is determined as a full-color print process, while the print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step is The number of subsequent pages to be referred to is set according to the presence or absence of the immediately preceding page determined by the one determination step, and the color attribute of the subsequent page corresponding to the set number of pages is set in the second determination step. In the second determination step, the color attribute of the succeeding page corresponding to the set number of pages is determined as the full color printing process. If it is determined not to contain, determines the print process for the print target pages monochrome printing process And the printing process determining step that,
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising: In the printing process determination step, for the print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, the immediately preceding page exists in the first determination step, and the printing process of the immediately preceding page is monochrome printing. 7. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein if it is determined that the printing target page is determined to be a monochrome printing process, the printing process of the page to be printed is determined. In the printing process determination step, even if it is determined that there is no subsequent page corresponding to the number of pages in the second determination step for the print target page determined as monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step. 8. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein if it is determined that a subsequent page includes a full color page, a printing process of the page to be printed is determined to be a full color printing process. The second determination step determines whether the subsequent page includes a change in the size of the recording medium and / or a change in the type of the recording medium,
In the printing process determination step, for a print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, the size of the recording medium is changed to a subsequent page in the second determination step, and / or the type of the recording medium 9. The method of controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein, when it is determined that the change of the printing target is included, the printing process of the page to be printed is determined to be a monochrome printing process. The second determination step determines whether the subsequent page includes a change in the size of the recording medium and / or a change in the type of the recording medium,
In the printing process determination step, for a print target page determined to be monochrome in the color / monochrome determination step, a full color page is included in the subsequent pages corresponding to the number of pages in the second determination step, and changing the size of the recording medium in the subsequent page, and / or when it is determined that there is no change in the type of the recording medium, 6 through claim, wherein the determining the printing process of the page to be printed in full color printing process The control method for a printing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 9 . The program which performs the control method of any one of Claims 6 thru | or 10 . A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing the control method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 .

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