JPH0343282A - Printer control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set an image various sizes by providing simulated font memory, a simulated font reader, a simulated font data writing device and a bit map control device. CONSTITUTION:A printing controller 4 is composed of bit map memory 4A, font memory 4B, a bit map reading part 4C and a bit map control part 4D. A text buffer 4E of a capacity corresponding to a single recording page is additionally provided at the bit map control part 4D, and data of a single page of entered record is provisionally edited at the bit map control part 4D using a text buffer 4E. The bit map reading part 40 writes records after provisional editing process which is sent from the bit map control part 4D is written in bit map memory 4A. In addition, the bit map reading part 4C scans bit map memory 4A by a printing start command from the bit map control part 4D, then sequentially reads the records and outputs the records thus read to a recording part 3 through a data bus 5 after completion of writing the records in bit map memory 4A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a printer control device, for example, a 2f device that outputs image data for a dot printer.

It is used when printing by connecting a page printer to a storage computer.

[Prior Art] Laser printers that utilize laser beams and electrophotographic processes are capable of high-speed, high-density printing or image recording, and are therefore widely used as output devices for various data processing systems and image creation systems that use computers. have.

A laser printer develops and writes a large amount of image data including image data consisting of multiple bits into a bitmap memory, which is a two-dimensional virtual screen, according to the image, and then scans the bitmap memory to write the data. Readout image formation is performed. It is also called a page printer because it writes an image for one page into a bitmap memory, reads it out, and prints out one page at a time. However, it is called a page printer even if it prints not only one page but two pages, half a page, or other pages.

Recording information from a host computer to a page printer is normally sent as serial data using one signal line. When the recorded information from the host computer is developed and written to the bitmap memory, if the recorded information is a character code as character information corresponding to the characters constituting the image to be recorded, each character code is If the recorded information is image data corresponding to the image itself to be recorded, the image data is read from the font memory and written to a predetermined position on the bitmap memory. The device is configured to scan and write to a predetermined area of the image.

By the way, in addition to the above-mentioned page printers, there are other printers for recording record information such as image information and character information.
Impact-type wire dot printers are known, which are more popular.

Wire dot printers may have 8, 16, or 2 wire dot printers, for example.
It has a recording head in which a plurality of wire bins, such as four wire bins, are arranged vertically, and while moving the recording head in the horizontal direction, the plurality of wire bins are selectively hit with a hammer according to the recording information, and the ink is injected. It is designed to record on paper via a ribbon. Therefore, when the recorded information from the host computer when using a wire dot printer as an output terminal is image data corresponding to the image itself to be recorded, the image data is data with a number of bits corresponding to the number of wire bins. It is configured to sequentially and serially output data in response to the horizontal movement of the recording head.

Conventionally, a recording system consisting of a host computer and a printer as its output end device has a dedicated It was made up of combinations.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, as the price of laser printers has declined, there has been an increasing desire to connect and use laser printers in recording systems consisting of wire dot printers and compatible host computers. Therefore, a control device (interface device) for connecting between the host computer and the laser printer, or a control device built into the laser printer so that the laser printer can be directly connected to the host computer is required.

It is conceivable to realize the entire configuration of such a control device using hardware, but in that case, there is a risk of increasing costs due to the addition of hardware even if it is compatible with a single protocol. In order to support multiple types of protocols, dedicated hardware for each protocol is required, which may result in a more complex configuration and a significant increase in cost.

Therefore, in order to be cost-effective and easily compatible with a wide variety of protocols, a software-based emulator for protocol conversion that can handle them simply by changing the data processing process is needed. It is necessary to realize a control device.

Also, in page printers, the dot density (pixel density) is higher than that in wire dot printers, so simply converting data for wire dot printers so that they correspond bit by bit will not work. Another problem arises in that only images of a smaller size than the required image size can be obtained.

Therefore, even if an emulator for protocol conversion is prepared, if there is a problem with the difference in dot density as described above, post-processing such as further enlargement of the converted data will be required, which will slow down the processing speed. There is also a risk that it will decline significantly.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes it possible to use a page printer instead of a wire dot printer, and moreover, is capable of high-speed recording, and is capable of setting various image sizes. is intended to provide.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention develops and writes a large amount of image data including image data consisting of multiple bits into a bitmap memory according to the image image, and writes the data written into the bitmap memory. In a printer control device that scans and reads out various image data, a pseudo font memory stores a large amount of pseudo font data configured corresponding to the image of each image data, and a pseudo font memory corresponding to the image data. An IJ (14 font reading means) for reading font data from the pseudo font memory and a pointer for specifying a writing position to the bitmap memory are sequentially moved vertically from top to bottom on the bitmap memory. pseudo font data writing means for writing the pseudo font data read by the pseudo font reading means into the bitmap memory; and sending image data to the pseudo font reading means and controlling the pointer according to the image. and bitmap control means for sending control information to the pseudo font data writing means.

[For production]

The pseudo font memory stores a large amount of pseudo font data of various types of image data configured in correspondence with the image of each image data.

The pseudo font reading means reads pseudo font data corresponding to the image data sent from the bitmap control means from the pseudo font memory.

The pseudo font data writing means sequentially moves a pointer for specifying the writing position to the bitmap memory in the vertical direction from top to bottom on the bitmap memory, and the pseudo font data reading means reads out the data. Write pseudo font data to the bitman tube memory. At this time, the pointer is also controlled by control information sent from the focus map control means. Therefore, the pseudo font data is sequentially written in the vertical direction a number of times corresponding to the image, and is written sequentially in the horizontal direction.

The bitmap control means sends the image data to the pseudo font reading means, and also sends control information for controlling the pointer according to the image to the pseudo font data.
Send it to the evening writing means.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, an overview of the entire recording system including the printer control device according to the present invention until actual recording is performed based on recording information from the host computer 1 will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a recording system using a control device according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, recorded information from a host computer I is manually input to a laser printer LP via a cable 2. As shown in FIG.

The laser printer LP includes a recording section 3 that develops a latent image formed on a photoreceptor with a laser beam, and then transfers and fixes it onto recording paper to form an image, and a recording section 3 that receives recording information and controls recording operations in the recording section 3. The print controller 4 serves as a control device for controlling the printing process.

Recording information is transmitted from the print controller 4 to the recording unit 3 via the data bus 5, and information for recording control is mutually transmitted between the two via the command bus 6. It is configured as follows.

The print controller 4 writes and reads recording data to and from a bitmap memory 4A having a two-dimensional virtual space with a capacity equivalent to one page, a font memory 4B storing font data, and a bitmap memory 4A. It has a bitmap reading section 4C and a bitmap control section 4D that controls data writing and recording operations to the bitmap memory 4A.

These bitmap reading section 4C and bitmap control section 4D are made up of hardware such as a central processing unit such as a microcomputer, memories such as ROM and RAM, programs stored therein, peripheral devices thereof, and other logic elements. It consists of Further, although not shown, operation switches, indicator lights, and various control devices are connected as necessary.

Recorded information from the host computer 1 is input to the bitmap control section 4D. A text buffer 4E with a capacity equivalent to one page of recording is attached to the bitmap control unit 4D, and the bitmap control unit 4D temporarily edits one page of input recording information using the text buffer 4E. do.

The bitmap reading section 4C writes the temporarily edited recorded information sent from the bitmap control section 4D into the bitmap memory 4A, and the bitmap reading section 4C completes writing of the recorded information into the bitmap memory 4A. After that, in response to a print start command from the focus map control section 4D, the bit map memory 4A is scanned to read out the recorded information I+li times, and the data is sent to the recording section 3 via the data bus 5.
Output to.

The bitmap reading section 4C is composed of a HIF 1 FF 111 FF 18 interface 11, a data writing section 12, a print head control section interface 13, a font memory interface 14, and the like.

The bitmap control unit interface 11 separates the input data from the bitmap control unit 4D into recording data and printer control data, and sends the recording data to the data writing unit 12 and the printer control data to the print head control unit interface. 13 to the print head control section 3a.

The print head control unit interface 13 reads recorded information from the bitmap memory 4A and controls the print head according to a print start command sent as print control data. 21 section 3a.

The data writing section 2 writes data to a predetermined position on the virtual matrix of the bitmap memory 4A according to the recording information.

By the way, there are two types of recording information sent from the host computer l. One of them is character information that is sent as a set of characters that make up an image, and is usually sent as a character code called an ASCII code in units of one byte.

The other type is image information that is sent as a set of pixels obtained by decomposing the image itself.

If the input recording information is image information, it is determined by the bitmap control unit 4D, and the image information is written to bits by the data writing unit 12 via the bitmap@control unit interface 11 of the bitmap reading unit 4C. Data are sequentially written starting from a predetermined position in the map memory 4A.

On the other hand, if the input record information is character information,
Normally, a command code is sent before the character code, which is the character information, so it is determined by the bitmap control section 4D, and based on the determination result, the data writing section I2 writes the command code via the font memory interface 14. font memory 4B, reads out font data corresponding to the character information, and writes it into bitmap memory 4A.

The configuration of the above-mentioned font memory 4B and the operation of reading font data from the font memory 4B and writing it to the bitmap memory 4A by the data writing section 12 are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 113089/1989. Since this is well known, a detailed explanation will be omitted and only an outline will be explained.

The font data in font memory 4B is 24 lines x 2.
It is constructed by arranging binarized data according to the brightness and darkness of the image on a four-column virtual matrix.

In the data writing section 12, based on the input character code, the address of the font memory 4B corresponding to the character code is specified, the font data is read out, and a bit map is written based on the input character code arrangement. Indicates the start address of the font data writing area on memory 4A with a pointer,
The read font data is written into the bitmap memory 4A.

A plurality of character codes as character information from the host computer 1 are arranged in the order in which each line of a record consisting of a plurality of lines is arranged from top to bottom, and in the order in which each character in each line consisting of a plurality of characters is arranged from left to right. It will be sent to you. Therefore, the data writing unit 12 writes the font data corresponding to each character code to the character code.
It is configured to control the pointer indicating the write position of each font data so that the sets arranged from left to right are arranged from top to bottom on the virtual matrix of bitmap memory 4A. has been done.

Specifically, the data writing section 1
The pointer controlled by 2 points to the writing position i1i! of the dot data in the 1st row and 1st column of certain font data. (hereinafter referred to as the start address position), the remaining dot data of the font data is automatically written. When storing a plurality of font data in the bitmap memory 4A in the above-described order, the pointer is increased by an amount corresponding to the size of the font data (moved in the positive row direction). has been done.

As described above, the data written in the bitmap memory 4A by the print controller 4 is read out by scanning the virtual matrix of the bitmap memory 4A by the print head control unit interface 13, and the data is read out by the print head control unit interface 13, and the data is read out by scanning the virtual matrix of the bitmap memory 4A. It is output to the head control section 3a. The print head control section 3a is configured to modulate the laser beam scanned on the photoreceptor based on the read data in the same manner as scanning for reading out the bitmap memory 4A.

The above-mentioned recording system includes a laser printer LP,
It is combined with a dedicated host computer 1. However, some recording systems combine a conventionally widely used wire dot printer with a dedicated host computer. If the recorded information from the host computer dedicated to the wire dot printer is image data, the data with the number of bits corresponding to the number of wire bins is sequentially output serially to correspond to the horizontal movement of the recording head. It is configured as follows.

Therefore, the laser beam printer cannot be used as it is as an output terminal for a host computer dedicated to wire dot blinking.

This embodiment enables the laser printer LP to be used as an output terminal for a host computer dedicated to a wire dot printer, and also allows image data D
When processing data, set the data write mode to the bitmap memory 4A to vertical write mode, and effectively utilize the functions inherent in this type of page printer to achieve higher speed and lower cost. This is a configuration that can be realized advantageously. This will be explained below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of recorded information for a wire dot printer.

As shown in FIG. 7, the dot host computer 1a
3 All consecutive serial data BIO~17. in units of 1 byte are transmitted via the cable 2a from BIO to 17. B20
~27. In the wire dot printer, B30-37 are wire pins Wo-7, W8-15.B, which are 8 wire pins each, 24 in total, of the recording head HD. It is configured to correspond to W16 to W23.

On the other hand, in the laser printer LP described above, 'G1' serial data BIO to B 37 of 1 byte each as described above.
Since it corresponds to the 24 wire bins WO to W23 lined up in the Ft1 direction, the 1. In some cases, the bitmap control unit 4D handles the image data in the bitmap memory 4A in the same manner as when handling character information. Like the character code, it is configured to be outputted to the bitmap reading section 4C of the print controller 4 as a pseudo character code having a C configuration.

The bitmap control section 4D temporarily edits the image data from the dot host computer 1a using the text buffer 4E, as in the case where the character code is input from the host computer 1 described above. In addition, the bitmap writing unit 4C also uses the image data after temporary editing from the focusmap control unit 4D.
Dot data for recording is written into the bitmap memory 4A.

In other words, since the image data that has passed through the bitmap control unit 4D is grouped into 1-byte units, the set of 1-byte image data is treated as if it were a character code, and its pseudo-character By preparing pseudo font data corresponding to the code, when writing image data, which is image information from the dot host computer Ia, to the bitmap memory 4A, the same processing as when a character code is input is performed. In particular, this type of printer is designed to be advantageous in terms of cost by effectively utilizing its inherent capabilities.

Therefore, a pseudo font memory 4H having almost the same configuration as the font memory 4B described above is provided, and the data writing section 12 includes a pseudo font reading section 21 for reading pseudo font data from the pseudo font memory 4H.
, and a pseudo font data writing section 22 for writing pseudo font data into the bitmap memory 4A.

In the pseudo font data writing section 22, in order to write the pseudo font data FD into the bitmap memory 4A efficiently and quickly so that it matches the original true/false image, the pointer is moved vertically from the top on the bitmap memory 4A. It is designed to move downward.

That is, in the data writing section 12, the bitmap memory 4
As the write mode to A, horizontal write mode (
It is configured such that it is possible to select between a horizontal direction printing mode (horizontal direction printing mode) and a vertical direction writing mode (vertical direction printing mode).

In the horizontal write mode, data is written by moving the pointer from left to right and from top to bottom on the bitmap memory 4A, whereas in the vertical write mode, data is written by moving the pointer from top to bottom on the bitmap memory 4A. Move the pointer from left to right and select the data to be written (
A horizontal writing mode and a vertical writing mode in which the pseudo font data (pseudo font data) are rotated 90 degrees to the right and written are selected and set by control information sent from the bitmap III control unit 4D. Therefore, it can be said that the pseudo font data writing section 22 is a function that is realized when the vertical writing mode is selected in the data writing section 12.

Then, when the input data is image data, the bitmap control unit 4D transmits control information for setting the vertical write mode prior to the image data, and cancels the vertical write mode and writes the horizontal direction after the image data is completed. Control information for returning to the mode is sent to the data writing section 12, and control information for controlling the pointer is sent to the pseudo font data writing section 22 so that the pseudo font data can be written into the bitmap memory 4A according to the image. It has a function to send to.

That is, in the horizontal writing mode, every time the bitmap control unit 4D sends the image data D to the data writing unit 12 (that is, the data writing unit 12
Although it is necessary to send control information for controlling the pointer each time D is written, by using the vertical write mode, it is no longer necessary to send pointer control information every time. As a result, the amount of control information sent from the bitmap control unit 4D to the data writing unit 12 (pseudo font data writing unit 22) is reduced, and the time required for analysis and execution of the control information in the data writing unit 12 is reduced. , the overall processing time is reduced, and high-speed writing is possible.

Next, the configuration of the pseudo font memory 4H will be explained.

As is clear from FIG. 7, the structure of the data from the dot host computer 1a is such that 1 byte of image data corresponds to eight wire pins arranged vertically in recording.

Therefore, each pseudo font data FD stored in the pseudo font memory 4H has 1-byte image data D as shown in FIG.
7, the third row vector is the same as that row vector.
The row vector bO~7 shown in Figure (b) is doubled in the column direction (vertical direction) and 2.5 times in the row direction (horizontal direction) to constitute a virtual matrix, as shown in Figure 3 (C). This is 40 dot data.

To further explain the pseudo font data FD, the image data from the dot host computer la is intended for a wire dot printer with a resolution (dot density) of 120 dpi. On the other hand, the resolution of the laser printer LP of this embodiment is 300 dpi. Therefore, when pseudo font data is constructed from the eight dot data forming the line vector shown in FIG. 3(b) for the line vector formed by the image data D for wire dot printers, The image obtained using this method is 2.5 times smaller in both the horizontal and vertical directions than the required image size.

Therefore, as pseudo font data, prepare the above-mentioned row vector expanded in the row direction (horizontal direction) and column direction (vertical direction) using r 2.5J, which is the ratio of the resolutions of both printers, as a multiple. For example, you can get images of approximately the same size.

However, specifically, since it is not possible to approximate the fraction in the column direction, it is doubled, and in the row direction, including the fraction, it is 2.5.
It's double.

In other words, the configuration of the pseudo font data FD in the row direction is as follows:
As shown in parentheses in Figure 3(c), by doubling the row vector in the row direction for odd columns and multiplying it by 3 in the row direction for the even columns, the total , this pseudo font data FD approximates the row vector multiplied by 2.5 in the row direction.

In addition, in the column direction, since the pseudo font data FD is the row vector doubled as described above, when writing to the bitmap memory 4A, which will be described later, the pseudo font data FD shown in FIG.
As shown in C), the pseudo font data FD is rotated 90 degrees to the right, and the original pseudo font data FD is
By rewriting the pseudo font data FD written in the even-numbered position (column direction) in the third horizontal column, an image with an overall resolution 2.5 times that of the original image can be obtained. It is.

FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are diagrams showing specific examples of correspondence between image data D and pseudo font data FD.

Image data D of r3CH shown in FIG. 4(b) is sent corresponding to wire bin WO~7 in the bit state shown in FIG. 4(a), but this image data r3CH
, pseudo font data FD3C shown in FIG. 4(C) is prepared.

However, in reality, the pseudo font memory 4H is often configured in byte units in the row direction, so in that case,
It is configured to provide a 3-byte memory area for each pseudo font data FD. Therefore, the data read from the pseudo font memory 4H is as shown in FIG. 4(d).
As shown in the figure, it is data of 24×2 dots. In order to obtain the above-mentioned pseudo font data FD3C from this data, for example, the four columns on the right are masked and written into the bitmap memory 4A.

Now, the bitmap control section 4D receives the recorded information sent from the dot host computer la, and
Based on the command data attached to the head portion before the serial data, it is determined that the subsequent serial data is image data D of the protocol for wired dot printers.

If the bitmap memory 4D determines that the subsequent serial data is the image data D of the wire dot printer protocol, the data writing section 12 selects the pseudo font memory 4H as the readout target. Specifically, the pseudo font reading unit 21 of the data writing unit 12
The address to be accessed is stored in the pseudo font memory 4H.
This is done by setting the address determined by the pseudo character code corresponding to the image data D in .

Furthermore, in order to write the read pseudo font data FD into the bitmap memory 4A, the pseudo font data writing section 22 indicates the write position (address) using a pointer.

The pseudo font data writing unit 22 moves the pointer indicating the write position in the positive direction (direction from top to bottom) in the vertical direction (column direction) every time writing of one pseudo font data FD is completed. 20 dots, which is the number of dots in the row direction of the font data FD (hereinafter, this number of dots may be referred to as 1 font), are moved. When writing is completed in one vertical column of focus map memo IJ4A, a line feed is performed there, the pointer is returned to the top row, and two dots, which is the number of dots in the column direction of the pseudo font data FD, are automatically written horizontally. move the target.

However, is the pointer controlled by the bitmap control unit 4D? 11 information is also controlled 4.

In other words, the bitmap control unit 4D moves the pointer two dots horizontally and three dots vertically every time three pieces of image data D are sent, that is, every time writing of three pseudo font data FD is completed. Restore font (My,
control information to move the eggplant 3 fonts).

Furthermore, in order to rewrite the even-numbered pseudo font data FD written in the horizontal direction, control information is sent to move the pointer minus one font in the vertical direction and one dot in the horizontal direction. As a result, the pointer moves one dot in the row direction compared to when the pseudo font data FD was written the first time, and the same pseudo font data FD is written at that position for the second time, and as a result, the pseudo font data The FD is written in three columns. By this rewriting, bitmap memory 4
On A, dot data magnified by 2.5 in the horizontal direction can also be obtained.

In addition, since the pointer advances one dot in the horizontal direction due to the rewriting of the pseudo font data FD in the even-numbered horizontal direction, the next pseudo font data FD, that is, the second or third pseudo font data FD, is written. Therefore, the data writing section 12 sends control information to move the pointer by minus one dot in the horizontal direction.In other words, the data writing section 12 writes each image data as each byte of image data is manually inputted from the bitmap control section 4D. Pseudo font data FD corresponding to D as a pseudo character code
is read from the pseudo font memory 4H, and the read pseudo font data FD is placed on the bitmap memory 4A in three stages vertically from top to bottom and from left to right along the row direction. Expand and write so that they line up without any gaps.

Note that, as described above, the positive and negative directions of the pointer movement are positive in the direction in which the bitmap memory 4A is scanned for normal reading and writing, and negative in the opposite direction. In this embodiment, the direction from top to bottom and the direction from right to left are positive.

In addition, in making the 1-byte image data D correspond to the pseudo character code, "o.

Since the codes from "H" to rlFHJ are used as printer control codes, "20H" is added to the input 1-byte image data D and the codes are treated as pseudo character codes.

Table 1 shown on the next page shows pseudo character codes corresponding to image data D consisting of upper 4 bits and lower 4 bits.

(The following is a blank space) On the back side, rEOH" to "FFHJ" of image data D are used as pseudo character codes
Since ooH, to rlFHJ cannot be used, a single pseudo font data FD cannot be used, so the solution was to write two pseudo font data FDs at the same location in the bitmap memory 4A in an overlapping manner. There is.

For example, to obtain pseudo font data FDFF for image data D of "rFFH", as shown in FIG. 5, pseudo font data of r80HJ (rA as a pseudo character code) is obtained.

H, ) FD80 and r7FH, pseudo font data (
Use r9FHJ)FD7F as the pseudo character code, and after writing the pseudo font data FD80, move the pointer vertically by -1 font f (
(This causes the pointer to point to the same position), and then pseudo font data FD7F is written. As a result, these two pseudo font data FD80. FD7F
are written in an overlapping manner, and pseudo font data FDFF for image data D of rFFHJ is obtained.

As described above, the bitmap memory 4A stores image data (dots) so that they are arranged in the same way as the original image on the virtual matrix and have a resolution 2.5 times that of the original image. data) will be written. The operation of the print head control section 3a after writing is the same as in the case of the character code described above.

Next, the bitmap memory 4A by the data writing section 12
The writing operation, particularly the pointer control by the focus map control section 4D and the pseudo font data writing section 22, will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c).

FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing the original image, that is, the image FM to be reproduced.

The image FM is composed of 8 x 24 bit pixels, horizontally divided into 8 parts every l bit, vertically divided into 3 parts every 8 points, and each divided part is image data D. It is sent from the dot host computer 1a as a.

FIG. 2(b) shows image data Dl~24 of image FM.
FIG. In FIG. 2(b), each image data D1 to D24 is displayed vertically.

The image data D1 to D24 each consist of one byte, and are input to the data writing section 12 in the order of D1, D2, D3, . . . .

In the data writing section 12, the pseudo font reading section 21
Pseudo font data FD1-24 is generated from the pseudo font memory 4H according to the input image data D1-24.
Read out.

The pseudo font data writing section 22 of the data writing section 12 automatically advances the pointer in the vertical writing mode, further moves the pointer according to control information from the bitmap control section 4D, and writes the pseudo font data FD1 to FD24 in bits. Write to map memory 4A.

FIG. 2(C) is a diagram showing pseudo font data FD1-FD24 written in the bitmap memory 4A.

To write the pseudo font data FD, execute the data write routine described in the flowchart below while pointing the pointer to the position where the first dot (the dot in the 20th row and 1st column) of each pseudo font data FD is to be written. carried out by

When this data writing routine is executed, the pseudo font data FD is rotated 90 degrees to the right and all of its dot data is written to the predetermined position, and when writing is completed, the pointer moves one font vertically. It will automatically move.

Therefore, when writing the first pseudo font data FD1, the pointer is used to write the first address position P.
Instruct 1. When the first pseudo font data FDI is written, the pointer is in a state pointing to position P2, which is moved one font vertically from position P1.

The second pseudo font data FD2 is written with the pointer pointing to position P2 as it is. When the second pseudo font data FD2 is written, the pointer moves l fonts vertically from position P2 to position P.
3 is specified.

The third pseudo font data FD3 has the pointer at position I.
It is written in the same state as the FP3 was specified. When the third pseudo font data FD3 is written, the pointer points to position P4, which is moved one font vertically from position fP3.

Next, when writing the fourth pseudo font data FD4, the pointer is moved from the pointer position P4 by -37 onl in the vertical direction and moved by 2 donts in the horizontal direction to a position P4.
5 with the pointer and write it.Furthermore, in order to write the same fourth pseudo font data FD4 in the third column as well, write minus one font in the vertical direction from the pointer position P6 when the first writing is completed. The second writing is performed by specifying a position P7 which is moved one dot laterally. When the fourth pseudo font data FD3 is written, the pointer is in a state pointing to position P8, which is moved by one font in the vertical direction from position P7.

When writing the fifth pseudo font data FD5, the pointer is moved horizontally by minus one dot from position P8. After that, similarly to the fourth pseudo font data FD4, the first and second writing is performed.
The same goes for writing the sixth pseudo font data FD6.

When writing the seventh pseudo font data FD7, the pointer is moved from the pointer position P12 at the end of writing the sixth pseudo font data FD6 by -3 fonts in the vertical direction and by 2 dots in the horizontal direction to a position P13. After that, similarly to the above, the writing position is designated with the pointer and writing is performed sequentially.

As a result, the pseudo font data FD is created with the same image arrangement as the original image FM and with 2.5 times the resolution.
1 to 24 are developed on the bitmap memory 4A.

The print head control unit interface 13 scans and reads the virtual matrix of the bitmap memory 4A line by line starting from the first line, and based on the data, the recording unit 3 forms an image on the recording paper.

The resolution of the image developed in the bitmap memory 4A is 2.5 times that of the original image FM, and the resolution of the laser printer LP is 2.5 times that of the wire dot printer targeted by the dot host computer 1a. Since they have the same magnification, the image formed on the recording paper by the laser printer LP has the same size as the image formed by the wire dot printer described above.

Next, the operation of developing image data input to the laser printer LP onto the bitmap memory 4A will be explained based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b).

The image information from the dot host computer la is usually a bit image specification command in which the first byte indicates the type of data, the next byte is image size data indicating the number of image data, and then multiple It is sent in a format in which the image data follows.

In the flowchart of FIG. 6, explanations of operations not directly related to the present invention, such as character code development, are simplified or omitted. Further, the processing operations in this flowchart are executed by the bitmap control section 4D. Therefore, a portion of the flowchart that describes the movement of the pointer means that control is performed to move the pointer in that manner.

First, the processing flag G-MODE, which is set when image data D is being processed, the data counter G-COUNT, which counts the number of image data D, and the number of pieces of pseudo font data FD written in the vertical direction. various flags and counters, such as resetting the data counter G-VAR that indicates the Initial settings such as the following are performed (step #10), and then data is input in byte units (step #12).

Next, it is determined whether the processing flag G-MODE is set (step #14).

When the processing flag G-MODE is not set, that is, when the image data D is not being processed, it is determined whether the input data is a bit image designation command (step #84).

If it is determined that the human input data is not a bit image designation command, processing corresponding to the command is performed (step #92). For example, if it is a character code specification command, the font data is stored in the bitmap memory 4A.
Expand on top. After that, the process returns to step #12 and the next data is manually input.

If it is determined in step #84 that the input data is a bit image specification command, first the processing flag G
- Set MODE (step #86), then save the currently selected font (step #8B)
.

This font salt is an identification name given to each font when the font memory 4B stores font data corresponding to multiple fonts with different fonts, etc. If only font data corresponding to a single font is stored, this is a name for identifying the font memo IJ4B itself.

Next, the data counter C-H0L is set to "1" (step #89). This is so that the data counter G-HOL counts from the initial value each time a bit image designation command is received, that is, each time image data D is being processed.

Then select pseudo font memory 4H in step #
90), specify vertical writing mode Step #9
1L After that, return to step #12 and input the next data.

If it is determined in step #14 that the processing flag G=MODE is set, that is, if image data D is being processed, first, the data counter G-COUNT is checked (step #16).

When the data counter G-COUNT is "0", for example, immediately after starting data input,
The image size data, which is the input data, is stored in the data counter G-COUNT (step #80), and the process returns to step #12 to input the next data.

At step #16, the data counter G-COUNT is set to “0”.
'', it is determined whether the data counter GH○L that counts the number of data in the horizontal direction is an even number (step #18).

If the data counter G-HOL is an even number, a rewrite flag C-BACK is set to perform rewriting (step #20).

Next, in step #22, it is determined whether the input 1-byte data is larger than rEOHJ. This is to determine whether it is necessary to overwrite the pseudo font data FD, since as described above, "00H" to rlFHJ are used as printer control codes.

If the input data is smaller than rEOH, there is no need to overwrite pseudo font data FD, so r20HJ is added to the input data to create a pseudo character code (step #34), and based on the pseudo character code In order to write data, a data write routine is called (step #36).

Although not shown, in the data writing routine, pseudo font data FD corresponding to the pseudo character code is read from the pseudo font memory 4H, and the read pseudo font data FD is written at the position indicated by the pointer.
Thereafter, the pointer is moved vertically by 20 dots (corresponding to the vertical size of the pseudo font data FD).

If the human data is larger than rEOH, it is necessary to overwrite the pseudo font data FD, so in order to create the first pseudo character code for overwriting, r60H, (r80Hj-r20H, Step #24), and calls the same data write routine as described above (Step #26).

Then, the pointer is moved vertically by -20 dots (step 428), rAOHJ is set as the second pseudo-character code for overwriting (step #30), and the same data writing routine as described above is called again (step #30). #32).

Next, in step #38, the rewrite flag C-BACK
Check.

If the rewrite flag C-BACK is set (No in step #38), move the pointer vertically by -20.
Move the dot horizontally (Step #70)
, reset the rewrite flag C-BACK in step #
72L Perform the processing from step #22 onwards. As a result, the same pseudo font data FD is rewritten in the third column of the even-numbered pseudo font data FD in the horizontal direction, and the original image as a whole is changed. 2 in the row direction.
The resolution will be 5 times higher.

If the rewrite flag C-BACK is not set,
The data counter G-COUNT is decremented (step #40), and then the data counter G-MAR is
2" (step #42), thereby determining whether the pseudo font data FD has been written in the third column in the vertical direction.

When the data counter G-VAR is not "2" (No in step #42), it is determined whether the data counter G-HOL is an even number (step #50), and if it is an even number, the pointer is moved horizontally to the negative value. It is moved by one dot (step #51) to prepare for writing the next pseudo font data FD. Thereafter, the data counter G-VAR is incremented (step #53). If the number is not even, jump to step #51 and immediately move to step #53.
Proceed to.

When the data counter G-VAR is "2" (YES in step #42), move the pointer vertically by -60.
Don't (corresponds to the vertical size of the font data FD), move 2 dots horizontally, step #44L data counter (1, reset -VAR step #46), data counter C, -H0L is incremented (step 648).

Next, it is determined whether the data counter G-COUNT has reached rQJ, that is, whether all data has been input (step #54).

If it is determined that the data counter G-COUNT is not "0", the process returns to step #12 and the next image data D
Enter.

When it is determined that the data counters C and -COUNT have become "0", that is, the processing of all image data D has been completed, the font name saved in step #88 is selected again (step #56), and the processing flag G - Reset the MODE step #58), cancel the vertical write mode step #59), and return to step #12 to prepare for inputting the next data.

Next, modifications to the above-described embodiment will be listed.

(1) In the above embodiment, the pseudo font data F
Although D is composed of 40 dot data arranged in 2 rows and 20 columns, as mentioned earlier, the size of the storage area of the pseudo font memory 4H that stores this pseudo font data FD can be arbitrarily set. .

For example, the pseudo font data FD may be stored in the 19th and 20th rows of a virtual matrix of 20 rows and 20 columns, and the 18th and previous rows may be masked when writing to the bitmap memory 4A.

By doing this, when the font data in the font memory 4B is composed of 20x20 dots,
The configuration of the pseudo font memory 4H can be made completely the same as the font memory 4B. In addition, the font memory 4B in which the first and second columns of font data are all blank can be used as the pseudo font memory 4H, reducing the memory area for font data and pseudo font data FD. Is possible.

(2) In the above embodiment, the resolution is 120 dpi.
An example has been described in which record information suitable for a wire dot printer is applied to a laser printer LP with a resolution of 300 dpi. However, if the ratio of resolutions is an integral multiple, line vector bO is used as pseudo font data FD. ~
7 in both the row and column directions by an integer (including the same size)
All you need to do is prepare a
Rewriting to A becomes unnecessary.

In addition, regardless of whether the resolution ratio is an integral multiple or not, the size of the pseudo font data FD in the row direction and column direction should be set appropriately, and the data should be rewritten to the bitmap memory 4A as appropriate. by Laser Printer LP
The size of the image formed can be made arbitrary with respect to the original image. Therefore, it is possible to enlarge or reduce the size of the original image to an arbitrary magnification.

(3) In the above embodiment, the image data D is 1
Although an example in which the bit configuration is configured in bytes has been described, other bit configurations may be used, and the pseudo font memory 4H may be configured accordingly.

Alternatively, a plurality of types of pseudo font memories 4H having different bit configurations may be prepared, and one of them may be selected and used as appropriate. In that case, pseudo font memory 4H
The selection can be made manually or automatically by determining the command data included in the recorded information.

(4) In the above embodiment, the write operation by the pseudo font data writing unit 22 to the bitmap memory 4A is based on the configuration of the image data D and the pseudo font data FD, and the resolution of the wire dot printer targeted by the dot host computer 1a. Or depending on the configuration, resolution or configuration of the laser printer LP, or image magnification, etc.
Various changes can be made, and the above-described flowchart can also be changed as appropriate.

(5) In the above embodiment, a laser printer LP incorporating the control device of the present invention has been described, but instead of this, the control device may be provided in the output section of the dot host computer 1a, or the dot It may be configured as a single device independent from both the host computer 1a and the laser printer LP, and the form and installation state of the device are arbitrary.

(6) In the above embodiment, the bitmap memory 4A
The capacity may be half or one-third of a page, or conversely, two
It may be multiple pages, such as one page or three pages.

('7) Pseudo font memory 4H and font memory 4
B may be constructed in the form of a ROM cartridge and made removable from the control device, so that various pseudo font data FD or font data can be used without increasing the memory capacity of the control device. .

(8) In the above-described embodiment, the text buffer 4E for temporary editing is provided to facilitate recording layout and editing, but it is also possible to omit the text buffer 4E. be.

(9) In the above embodiment, the laser printer LP was explained as an example of a page printer, but instead, it can be applied to various printers such as an LED printer, a liquid crystal printer, a thermal printer, or an inkjet printer. is possible.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily use a page printer instead of a wire dot printer, and high-speed recording is possible by taking advantage of the high-speed performance of a page printer. It is possible to set various values.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a recording system using a control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing the original image, and FIG. 2(b) is a diagram showing the original image. FIG. 2(C) is a diagram showing the pseudo font data written to the bitmap memory by the image data of FIG. 2(b), and FIG. 3(a)-( C) is a diagram showing the correspondence relationship between image data and pseudo font data, FIGS. 4(a) to (d) are diagrams showing examples of specific correspondence relationships between image data and pseudo font data, and FIG.
The figure shows pseudo font data synthesized by overwriting, FIGS. 6(a) and (b) are flowcharts showing image data processing operations, and FIG. 7 shows the structure of recorded information for a wire dot printer. It is. 4...Print controller (control device), 4A...
・Bitmap memory, 4D... Focus map control unit (bitmap control means), 4H... Pseudo font memory, 21... Pseudo font reading unit (pseudo font reading unit), 22... Pseudo font data writing unit (pseudo font data writing means), D...image data, FD...pseudo font data. Figure (a) (b) Figure 2 (C) Figure (a)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A printer that develops and writes a large amount of image data including image data consisting of multiple bits into a bitmap memory according to the image, and scans and reads out the data written in the bitmap memory. In the control device, for various image data, a pseudo font memory that stores a large number of pseudo font data configured corresponding to the image of each image data, and reading pseudo font data corresponding to the image data from the pseudo font memory. A pseudo font reading means and a pointer for specifying a writing position to the bitmap memory are sequentially moved in a vertical direction from top to bottom on the bitmap memory, and the pseudo font reading means reads out the font. pseudo font data writing means for writing pseudo font data into the bitmap; and sending image data to the pseudo font reading means, and sending control information for controlling the pointer according to the image to the pseudo font data writing means. 1. A printer control device comprising: bitmap control means.