JPH026956A - Method and device for layout scanner contour processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the processing speed of the whole layout scanner system by controlling laser beams of a plate making scanner, one by one, when outputting image and graphic data which are edited and generated by a computer to the plate making scanner. CONSTITUTION:A buffer memory 9 which outputs data to the plate making scanner separates data CC which contains contour data from the computer 8 into image data and the contour data and outputs the image data BB to a dot generator 7 in synchronism with timing pulses DD from the dot generator 7. Then the contour data is decoded and outputted as beam control data EE by the laser beams synchronized with the image data BB. Consequently, the image data and contour data can be processed as one file and the processing speed of the layout scanner system is increased.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention focuses on aligning the outline of a halftone image with a laser beam when outputting image data edited and created by a computer to a plate-making scanner. The present invention relates to a layout scanner contour processing method and apparatus for controlling the laser beams of a prepress scanner one by one with an accuracy of less than a halftone dot so as to be able to smooth the edges with the accuracy required for the job.

[Prior Art] In a system called a layout scanner, which outputs image data edited and created on a computer to a plate-making scanner, the image plotted on the film by the plate-making scanner is converted into halftone dots. Since circular shapes and diagonal lines are jagged, in order to output smooth shapes, we have to forcibly control the halftone dot on/off signals generated by the prepress scanner for each laser beam, which is called contour line processing. Techniques have been developed to smooth out contours.

The reason why the contour processing must be performed as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between halftone dots, the laser beam of the prepress scanner, and the size of image data. 1st
In Figure 0, the dotted line in the outer frame is the size of one halftone dot, and the halftone dot generator in the prepress scanner increases the size of the halftone dot from the center outward depending on the size of the input image data. to control the laser beam on and off.

This situation looks like the black part on the left side of Figure 10. As shown in Figure 10, the resolution of on/off control using a laser beam is extremely high compared to image data, and is generally sufficient for separating and meshing only photographs, but it is The contours of the data are completely cut off compared to photographs, etc., so if you try to draw a circle or diagonal line using only the image data, the 11th
As shown in the figure, the dot generator makes the contour lines jagged.

For the above reasons, contour line processing is essential for layout scanners, but the high resolution of the laser beam means that the amount of control data is much larger than the image data, and it is necessary to output the control data in parallel with the image data. Because of the need for control, conventionally, in addition to a storage medium such as a magnetic disk that stores the image data edited and created by a computer, such as a magnetic disk that stores the outline data, A storage medium is provided, contour line data is calculated separately from the calculations for editing and creating the image part, and this is stored in a storage medium separate from the image data.
Furthermore, at the time of output, the storage medium storing the image data and the storage medium storing the outline data had to be synchronized and read out at the same time and output to the plate making scanner.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, the layout scanner system requires at least two storage media, and it takes extra time to write the calculation results to the two storage media, which reduces the processing speed of the entire system. There is a problem that this results in a decrease in the number of units, an increase in scale, and an increase in running costs. Furthermore, in terms of maintainability, there is a problem in that image data and contour data must be saved separately when saving data.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to store image data and outline data on the same storage medium without storing them in separate storage media, and output them as they are to a plate-making scanner. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a layout scanner contour processing method and device that can increase the processing speed, make the entire layout scanner system more compact, reduce running costs, and improve maintainability. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a layout scanner that outputs graphic data of one image edited and created on a computer to a plate-making scanner, when plotting the image to the plate-making scanner, In the contour line processing of a layout scanner, which controls the laser beam of a prepress scanner one by one with an accuracy below halftone dots, a contour line is placed at the beginning of each line that is an output unit of a storage medium in a computer that stores image data. The data is run-length compressed and stored, and a double buffer configuration is used in which one side is outputting data to the prepress scanner while the other is writing image data from the computer, and two lines of image data are stored. It has a line memory, a central processing means, and a beam control memory with a double buffer configuration that stores control data corresponding to each laser beam.It is equipped with a buffer memory for outputting to a plate-making scanner, and one line memory is During the standby time, the contour line data included in the data transferred from the computer is separated, decoded, and written to the beam control memory, and at the time of readout, the line memory and beam control memory are read simultaneously, and the line data is read from the line memory. The read image data is given to the halftone dot generator of the prepress scanner, the beam control data read from the beam control memory is given to the laser beam modulator, and the beam control data from the beam control memory is given to the halftone dot generator. By equipping the central processing means with the function of giving priority to the halftone dot on/off signals generated from the scanner to the laser beam modulator, the signals generated from the prepress scanner are processed separately from the image data and with high priority. The on/off signals of the laser beams that form the halftone dots from the image data are forcibly controlled for each laser beam.

[Operation] Therefore, in the layout scanner contour processing method and apparatus of the present invention, since image data and contour data can be stored as the same file in the same storage medium in the computer, At the same time as computations for editing and output file creation, contour line data can also be computed and written to the storage medium at the same time, making it possible to improve the processing speed of the entire layout scanner system. In other words, by being able to process image data and outline data as one file, the processing speed of the layout scanner system is improved, the system itself is made more compact, the running cost is lower, and maintainability is improved. When copying and saving data to a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, it is now possible to save it as a single file instead of recording it separately, making the total system cheaper and simpler.

This makes it possible to achieve higher performance.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The present invention enables a layout scanner that outputs image data edited and created on a computer to a plate-making scanner to smooth the contours of circles and diagonal lines when plotting the image to the plate-making scanner. In a layout scanner contour processing method in which laser beams are controlled one by one with an accuracy below halftone dots, one contour line data is placed at the beginning of each line data that is an output unit of a storage medium in a computer where image data is stored. is compressed and added to the run length, and only the contour control data in that line is stored.
When outputting to the prepress scanner, the contour control data in the line is sent along with the image data, and run length decoding is performed simultaneously while outputting to the prepress scanner. This is to forcibly control the on/off signal of the laser beam, which becomes the halftone dot from the image data generated from the image data, for each laser beam.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an apparatus configuration for realizing the above-described contour line processing method. In FIG. 1, the exposure side of the plate making scanner is as follows.

That is, the exposure drum 1 on which the film is pasted is rotated by a motor encoder 2, and the motor encoder 2 generates an image timing pulse signal AA including a 5TART pulse indicating the start of an image in accordance with the rotation of the exposure drum 1. do. On the other hand, in the sub-scanning direction, the horizontal feed motor 3
The exposure head 4 is moved in the direction of the drum axis. Furthermore, 5 is a laser beam modulator, which modulates a laser beam and irradiates it to the exposure head 4 via an optical fiber 6. Further, 7 is a halftone dot generator of the plate making scanner, and in order to output the image data to the plate making scanner, the image data must be continuously sent to the halftone dot generator 7 in synchronization with the timing pulse signal AA. good.

On the other hand, the contour processing device is configured as follows. First, 8 is a computer for editing and creating image 1 graphic data, and is equipped with a storage medium 81 consisting of a magnetic disk or the like. This storage medium 81 stores image data, and also stores run-length compressed outline data at the beginning of line data, which is each output unit of the image data.

Here, the image data and outline data are stored in the storage medium 81 as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the computer 8 generates an image.

Editing 1 In the process of creating a figure, the figure is always placed using coordinates, that is, the image on the film output by the plate-making scanner, but in the process of calculation, the figure whose outline should be processed and its outline are Everything is determined by calculation, and the calculation results are determined line by line using the resolution of the laser beam for the contour line, and the length of the contour line as well as the beam-on or beam-off length are determined at the same time. For example, if we pay attention to the line cut by line AB in FIG. 5, we will see line segment a-b.

If it is desired to turn on the beam between c-d and e-f, run length data can be generated from coordinate calculations in the form shown in FIG. 6. This run length data consists of a flag for identifying which beam the data is for, whether the beam is on or off, an address, and a length.

In the example in Figure 6, all data is beam-on, so
Data such as a flag "0°" and "1" indicating beam-on are placed at the beginning as a control word, and it is declared that the following data group is all beam-on information. Further, a flag other than "0" indicates the number of the flag, the address indicates the address at which beam-on starts, and the length indicates the length of the beam-on from that address. The contour line data created in this way is added to the beginning of a line, which is each output unit of data, as shown in FIG. 7, and image data of the line is arranged thereafter. Further, in this case, if the position of the beginning of each line and the beginning of the image data portion is set in units of sectors of the magnetic disk that is the storage medium, later access will be facilitated. If you do this, it will be extremely easy to write several lines at once.

Further, 9 is a buffer memory for outputting data to the plate making scanner, which separates data cc including contour line data from the computer 8 into image data and contour line data.
The image data is converted into a timing pulse DD from the halftone dot generator 7.
The image data is output as image data BB to the halftone dot generator 7 in synchronization with the image data, and the contour data is decoded and output as beam control data EE for each laser beam in synchronization with the image data. In other words, the buffer memory 9 has a double buffer configuration in which when one line buffer is outputting data to the prepress scanner, the other line buffer is writing image data from the computer 8, and the image data for two lines is stored in the buffer memory 9. A central processing unit (CPU) consisting of a microprocessor or the like, and a beam control memory with a double buffer configuration that stores control data corresponding to each laser beam. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the line memory is, for example, Oms to 10 seconds, assuming that the period of one rotation of the plate making scanner is 100...S.
In the period of 0 m5, line buffer BUF-A is outputting data and line buffer BUF-B is communicating with computer 8, and in the next period of 100 m5 to 200 ms, line buffer BUF-B is outputting data and the line is in communication. A double buffer configuration is adopted so that the buffer BUF-A is communicating with the computer 8.

From the viewpoint of the computer 8 and the buffer memory 9, the writing of image data to the line memory, the decoding of the contour line data, and the writing to the beam control memory only need to be completed during one rotation of the prepress scanner, ie, 100+as. Furthermore, as is clear from Figure 5, the contour data has only a few control points, at most a few dozen to a hundred, so even a central processing means consisting of a small microprocessor can have sufficient time. be. However, it takes time to write the code to the entire area of the beam control memory, so immediately after outputting the control data (code) of the beam control memory to the prepress scanner, write the code that allows the beam to pass through the entire area in terms of hardware. If the writing is done before the processing means writes, the central processing means only needs to decode and write only the points to be controlled, that is, the data shown in FIG. 6, to the beam control memory, which eliminates time constraints. becomes almost negligible.

As described above, in the central processing means, one line buffer of the line memory separates and decodes the contour data included in the data transferred from the computer 8 and writes it to the beam control memory during the standby time. Also, when reading, the line memory and the beam control memory are read simultaneously, and the image data read from the line memory is given to the halftone dot generator 7 of the prepress scanner, and the beam control data read from the beam control memory is sent to the beam control memory. It has a function to give to the selector 10. and,
The beam control data from the beam control memory is given priority to the laser beam modulator by the beam selector 10 over the halftone dot on/off signal generated from the halftone dot generator 7.

That is, the beam selector 10 manually inputs the laser beam on/off signal FF from the image data generated by the halftone dot generator 7 and the beam control data EE generated from the buffer memory 9, and based on these, the laser beam A beam on/off modulation signal GG is supplied to the laser beam modulator 5. In other words, the state of the laser beam on/off signal FF from the image data is as shown in Figure 3(a), but the outline processing is performed as shown in the beam control data of Figure 3(b). If you want to control on/off, for example, put the code "0, 0" in the part where you want the halftone signal to be effective, put the code "0°1" in the part where you want to force the beam on, and similarly put the code "0°1" in the part where you want the beam to turn off. The codes '1, 0' are inserted into the terminals, and the beam selector 10 is provided with the same number of selector laser beams as shown in FIG. Sl.

S2, the on/off signal from the halftone dot generator 7 is output as is to the laser beam modulator 5, the beam is forcibly turned on or the beam is turned off, and control is performed according to the contents of the control data in the beam control memory. be able to.

As described above, in the layout scanner contour line processing method and apparatus of this embodiment, image data and contour line data can be stored as the same file in the same storage medium 81 in the computer 8. At the same time as the calculations for graphic editing and output file creation, contour line data can also be calculated and written to the storage medium 81 at the same time, making it possible to improve the processing speed of the entire layout scanner system. This is because image data has a huge amount of data, so the number of accesses to the storage medium 81 increases accordingly, but even when writing to a magnetic disk, which is considered to be the fastest, the average access time is 30m.
5 and the data transfer rate is about 2 Mbytes/S. For example, to write all four-color image data of 8000 x 8000, it would take an average access time x 8000 lines x 4-16 minutes just to access the magnetic disk, and the data transfer rate would be 800 x 8000 in total.
0X8000X4/2000000-2.13 minutes, indicating that the processing speed increases as disk access is minimized.

Therefore, by being able to process image data and outline data as one file as described above,
The processing speed of the layout scanner system has improved, and the system itself has become more compact, resulting in lower running costs and improved maintainability.When data is copied and stored on a recording medium such as magnetic tape, it is possible to record the data separately. This makes it possible to save the data as a single file without having to download files, making the total system cost-effective and simple.

This makes it possible to achieve higher performance.

Next, the layout scanner contour processing device of the present invention will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a more specific example of the configuration of the layout scanner contour processing device according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, when the prepress scanner enters steady rotation, a one-rotation cue pulse SE and an image data strobe pulse SG are input to the strobe interface 11, which generates a cue pulse SM and an image strobe pulse SJ.

The image strobe pulse SJ is used to read out the A-line memory 12 and the 8-line memory 13. Further, the image strobe pulse SJ is input to the frequency multiplier 14 and converted to a higher frequency, and is used as the channel memory strobe pulse SK used for reading out the A channel memory 15 and the B channel memory 16.

When the first rotation starts, if the A channel memory 15 and the B channel memory 16 enter a read cycle, the central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 17 informs the computer that the B buffer is empty and data is transferred. ” is set in the status register 18 for the computer, and the computer looks at this status register 18 and prepares for data transfer. First, the computer uses the command bus S
D generates a command to the command decoder 19 to start data transfer. Then, the command decoder 19
D to command signal SN to start data transfer
Notify MA controller 20 and at the same time send D to CPU17.
MA request/transfer Transfer control signal S is generated to prepare for DMA transfer. When the CPU 17 turns on the DMA request/transfer control signal S, the CP
A command is sent to the handshake circuit 21゜status register 18 through the U bus SL, and the handshake bus SA
, performs DMA transfer with the computer via the status bus SC. On the other hand, the data from the computer that enters the DMA controller 20 from the DMA handler 22 through the data bus SB is transferred to the CPU bus SL.
The remaining image data is then transferred to the main memory 23 of the CPU 7 by the memory controller 24 to the B line memory 13, which has become an empty buffer. The contour data manually entered into the main memory 23 is immediately transferred to the CPU 1.
7 issues a command to the decoder driver 25, and the decoder R
The OM 26 performs auxiliary decoding, performs address calculation, length calculation, and address conversion of the channel number, and returns the results to the main storage device 23. Based on the results, the CPU 17 sends the data to the B channel memory 16 through the channel memory controller/equalizer 27. Perform dataset. All of the above operations are completed within the time required for one rotation of the prepress scanner.

On the other hand, if we pay attention to the A side of the buffer memory group that is being read, the A line memory 12 is read out by the image strobe pulse SJ, which is output as an image data stream Sl to the halftone dot generator of the prepress scanner. Memory 15 is a strobe pulse S K for channel memory.
The beam control data is read out at a higher frequency, that is, at a higher resolution than the image strobe pulse SJ, and the beam control data output SH is read out through the shift register 28 for reading the channel memory.
As a result, it is applied to a beam selector placed after the halftone dot generator of the prepress scanner. When the reading of the A channel memory 15 is completed, the channel memory controller/vinitializer 27 immediately initializes the A channel memory 15. What is meant by initialization here?
In terms of hard logic, this means writing a beam-through code, for example "0", to all addresses of the channel memory that has just been read. By doing this, when the CPU 17 writes beam control data to the channel memory in the next cycle, it is only necessary to write the forced on and forced off points, and the load on the CPU 17 can be significantly reduced. In the manner described above, all preparations for the next output are completed while the prepress scanner rotates once.

When the prepress scanner enters the next cycle of one rotation, the command decoder 240 issues instructions to each part so that the states of A and B in the buffer memory group inside the apparatus are switched by the one-rotation cue pulse SE. That is, this time the B line memory 13. The B channel memory 16 is the target of reading, and the A line memory 12. The DMA controller 20. allows the A channel memory 15 to enter into a DMA cycle with the computer. Memory controller 24. The channel memory controller/vinitializer 27 replaces the memory to be accessed. Thereafter, the operation of this double buffer is alternately switched between the A side and the B side, making it possible to continuously output data from the computer to the prepress scanner. In addition, 29 in FIG. 8 is the program RO of the CPU 17.
M and 30 indicate command registers, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a time chart showing the above operating situation, and assumes that the time required for one rotation of the prepress scanner is Looms. The select signal in the figure is a signal for switching between the A side and the B side of the double buffer, and is inverted every time the prepress scanner's one-rotation cue pulse is input, and based on this signal, the internal This indicates that the target of memory access is to be switched.

First, if we pay attention to the time 0 to 100m5, A line memory 12. The A channel memory 15 is in a read state, and the first line of image data and the first line of beam control data are being read, respectively, and this state is indicated as "Readl" in FIG. The numbers indicate the line numbers, and in the same manner, "Write2" indicates writing of data on the second line, and "Tr2" indicates that the CPU 17 is importing data by DMA transfer. Also, from time O to
At 100 m5, the B line memory 13 and the B channel memory 16 are in a writing state, and the image data stream sent from the computer with run-length compressed contour data added to the beginning is as follows. In this device, only the first contour line data is DMA-transferred to the main storage device 23 of the CPU 17 at the time indicated by "Tr2", and the image data part is transferred to the B-line memory 13 at the time indicated by "Write 2". written in.

The contour line data taken into the main memory 23 of the CPU 17 is immediately decoded and stored in the B channel memory 16 as “W”.
written within the time indicated by r i t e 2″,
Prepare the next output. Next cycle time 100~2
When entering 00m5, the states of the A side and B side of the buffer memory described above are reversed, and exactly the same operation is performed. As shown in Fig. 9, by continuously transmitting data from the computer in synchronization with the rotation of the plate-making scanner, this device can continuously output image data and beam control data to the plate-making scanner. It is possible to go.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, image data and contour line data can be stored on the same storage medium without storing them in separate storage media and output as they are to the prepress scanner, and the layout scanner system Increased overall processing speed.

It is possible to provide a layout scanner contour processing method and apparatus that can be made compact, reduce running costs, and improve maintainability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a layout scanner contour processing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation of a line memory with a double buffer configuration in the same embodiment, and FIG. A diagram showing an example of data in the beam control memory, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the principle of the beam selector in the same embodiment, FIG. Figure 6 shows an example of run length data created from Figure 5, Figure 7
8 is a block diagram showing a more specific example of the configuration of the layout scanner contour processing device according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a time chart diagram for explaining the operation in the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the laser beam that forms halftone dots and the corresponding image data. FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline part of the created figure. 1... Exposure drum, 2... Motor encoder, 3
...Transverse feed motor, 4.. Exposure head, 5.. Laser beam modulator, 6.. Optical fiber, 7.. Halftone dot generator, 8.. Computer, 8]... storage medium, 9.
...Buffer memory, 10...Beam selector, 11
... Strobe interface, 12... A line memory, 13... B line memory, 14... Frequency multiplier, 15... A channel memory, 16...
B channel memory, 17...CPU, 18...Status register, 1...Command decoder, 20
DMA controller, 21 Handshake circuit, 22 DMA handler, 23 Main storage, 24 Memory controller, 25 Decoder driver, 26 Decoder ROM, 27 ...Channel memory controller/vinitializer, 28.
・・Shift register for channel memory reading, 29・
...Program ROM. 30...Command register. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 6 Figure 5 Figure 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The layout scanner, which outputs images and figure data edited and created on a computer to the plate-making scanner, controls the laser beams of the plate-making scanner one by one with an accuracy below halftone dots when plotting the image to the plate-making scanner. In the layout scanner contour processing method, run-length compression of contour data is added to the beginning of each line, which is an output unit of a storage medium in a computer in which image data is stored, and only the contour control data in that line is stored. When outputting to the prepress scanner, the contour control data in that line is sent along with the image data, and run length decoding is performed simultaneously while outputting to the prepress scanner. A layout scanner contour line processing method characterized by forcibly controlling on/off signals of laser beams forming halftone dots from image data generated from a plate-making scanner for each laser beam by priority. (2) The layout scanner, which outputs images and figure data edited and created on a computer to the plate-making scanner, controls the laser beams of the plate-making scanner one by one with accuracy below halftone dots when plotting the image to the plate-making scanner. In a layout scanner contour processing device, a storage medium provided in a computer stores image data and stores run-length compressed contour data at the beginning of line data that is each output unit of the image data; A double buffer configuration is adopted in which when one line buffer is outputting data to the prepress scanner, the other line buffer is writing image data from the computer.
It has a line memory for storing image data for a line, a central processing means, and a beam control memory with a double buffer configuration for storing control data corresponding to each laser beam, and for outputting data to the plate-making scanner. and a buffer memory, one line buffer of the line memories separates and decodes contour data included in data transferred from the computer, writes it to the beam control memory, and reads it. Sometimes, the line memory and the beam control memory are read out simultaneously, and the image data read out from the line memory is given to the halftone dot generator of the prepress scanner, and the beam control data read out from the beam control memory is sent to the laser beam modulator. and the central processing means has a function of giving beam control data from the beam control memory to the laser beam modulator with priority over halftone dot on/off signals generated from the halftone dot generator. A layout scanner contour processing device characterized by: