JPH05134823A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To directly output or input image data on a bit map memory in the image forming device with an external image processor. CONSTITUTION:As the image forming device, an LBP 10 forms image data by analyzing printing data, which are inputted from a host machine 2 through a host I/F 13, at a printing data analysis part 14 and develops those data on a bit map memory 16. The image data are printed onto paper, which is not shown in the figure, by a video control part 17 and an image forming part 18. Further, the image data or one part of those data on the bit map memory 16 is transformed by a data form transformation part 11 corresponding to the data form of an external image processor 19 and can be outputted through an extended I/F 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus external or built-in to a host computer such as a personal computer, a document preparation apparatus or a digital copying machine, a facsimile machine, for example, a wire dot printer, a thermal printer, an ink jet printer or an LBP (laser beam printer),
Dot printers such as optical printers such as LED (light emitting diode) printers and LCDA (liquid crystal array) printers are used.

Recently, the speed of the host machine has increased, and high-quality formed images have been demanded, and the use of high-speed and high-pixel-density printers such as optical printers has been increasing. Such a high-speed printer cannot keep up with the printing speed by forming a bit map for each character (character printer) or for each line (line printer), so one page of bitmap image data is formed. After that, it becomes a page printer that prints at once.

Further, data (including symbols), which is included in the print data input from the host machine and is composed of, for example, a character code, is expanded into a bitmap by a character font incorporated in the printer and is placed at a predetermined position edited. The bit map memory to be stored is also increasing in capacity due to the increase in the size of paper as a recording medium and the increase in pixel density.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the LBP 1 is controlled by a CPU (central processing unit) (not shown),
The print data input from the host machine 2 is input via a host interface (hereinafter referred to as “host I / F”) 3, and the print data analysis unit 4 retains the image data contained in the print data and the character code is a font memory. The character font stored in 5 is expanded into a bitmap and stored in the bitmap memory 6.

The video control section 7 converts the image data for one page formed on the bit map memory 6 into a video signal for each line, and the image forming section 8 forms the video signal into a visible image. To record on a sheet (recording medium) not shown.

In order to confirm on the host machine side the bitmap that has just been edited and printed as described above, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-106366, the pattern on the bitmap or the pattern A printer having a means for sending a part back to the host machine has also been proposed.

[0008]

As described above,
For example, a high-speed, high-pixel-density image forming apparatus represented by LBP is becoming more and more sophisticated, and in some cases, it has a CPU with higher performance than a host machine and a much larger memory. It's not uncommon.

Therefore, there is a demand for not only printing the image data created by the image forming apparatus on paper as it is, but also using it for other applications such as an image processing apparatus. Further, there is a demand for recording a large amount of data from an image input device such as an image scanner directly in the image forming device without passing through a host machine such as a personal computer.

Further, there are cases where it is desired to confirm the image data created by the image forming apparatus by a display device having a higher resolution rather than a display device having a generally low resolution attached to the host machine. Alternatively, there may be a case where it is desired to combine an image input from an image scanner with an image based on print data input from a host printer and print the image.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and enables the image data on the bit map memory in the image forming apparatus to be directly output or input to / from an external image processing apparatus. The purpose is to do.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bit map memory having a capacity for storing at least one page of image data and a print data from a host machine. Host interface,
Print data analysis means for analyzing print data received via the host interface to create image data on a bit map memory, and video control for reading the image data created on the bit map memory and outputting it as a video signal. And an image forming unit that receives the video signal and forms a visible image on a recording medium,

An extended interface different from the host interface and a data format conversion means for converting the image data created on the bit map memory via the extended interface or a part thereof into a predetermined data format for outputting. It is provided.

Further, an expansion interface different from the host interface and an image data expanding means for expanding image data of a predetermined data format inputted through the expansion interface on a bit map memory are provided.

Alternatively, an extended interface different from the host interface, and an image obtained by combining the image data of a predetermined data format input via the extended interface with the image data on the bitmap memory created by the print data analysis means. Data synthesizing means are provided.

[0016]

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the image data created on the bit map memory or a part thereof is converted into a predetermined data format by the data format conversion means,
It can be output via the expansion interface.

Further, the image data can be input by the image data expanding means expanding the image data of a predetermined data format input via the expansion interface on the bitmap memory.

Alternatively, a composite image is created by synthesizing the image data of a predetermined data format input through the extended interface with the image data on the bitmap memory created by the print data analyzing means by the image data synthesizing means. Data can be formed.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an LBP (laser beam printer) which is a first embodiment of the present invention.

The LBP 10 includes a host I / F 13 connected to the host machine 2, a print data analysis unit 14 as print data analysis means, a font memory 15 in which character fonts are stored, and a bit map memory 16. ,
A video control unit 17 for forming an image from the image data on the bitmap memory 16, an image forming unit 18,
It is composed of a data format conversion section 11 which is a data format conversion means for outputting image data to the outside, and an extension interface (hereinafter referred to as "extension I / F") 12, and the extension I
An external image processing device 19 is connected to / F12.

Host I / F 13, print data analysis unit 1
4, a font memory 15, a bit map memory 16, a video control section 17, and an image forming section 18, respectively, are a host I / F 3 of the conventional LBP 1 shown in FIG. 4, a print data analysis section 4, a font memory 5, and a bit map. It corresponds to the memory 6, the video control unit 7, and the image forming unit 8.

The print data input to the LBP 10 from the host machine 2 via the host I / F 13 is image data such as a character code including alphanumeric characters and symbols, a black and white binary image, and image data of a gradation image having density. Data that changes to, and control codes and control commands necessary for control for forming image data.

The print data analysis unit 14 inputs and analyzes print data, and the control code, control command, etc. are used to control the print data analysis unit 14 itself, or a CPU (not shown).
Send to. The character code is converted into a bitmap by the character font stored in the font memory 15 and 2
The image data of the value image is unchanged, and the image data of the gradation image is converted into an aggregate of dots having different sizes according to the density of the gradation image, and the aggregated data is developed at a predetermined position in the bitmap memory 16.

The font memory 15 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a character font in the form of a dot pattern or character outline information (vector information) corresponding to each character including a symbol is stored in advance. There is.

The bit map memory 16 is composed of a RAM (random access memory) having a capacity capable of storing image data in a dot pattern of at least one page, usually DRAM (dynamic RAM), but one page. The capacity is the size of the paper that is the recording medium and the pixel density DP
I (dots per inch) and
It has a capacity of at least one page determined by the maximum paper size and the pixel density (the maximum in the case where the pixel density is variable).

For example, A4 size 1 with a pixel density of 400 DPI
Since a capacity of about 16 Mbits (2 Mbytes) is required to store one page, one page of B4 size is about 24 Mbits (3 Mbytes), and one page of A3 size is about 32 Mbits (4 Mbytes).
M bytes). Further, since it is necessary to rotate the image data in accordance with the conveyance direction of the paper, it usually has a capacity of two pages or more.

The video control unit 17 outputs a command such as print execution to the image forming unit 18 and outputs an image for each line from the bit map memory 16 in synchronization with a clock phase-synchronized with a synchronizing signal from the image forming unit 18. Read data,
It is output to the image forming unit 18 as a binarized video signal.

The image forming unit 18 turns on / off the output of a laser diode (not shown) according to the video signal input from the video control unit 17, and scans the laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member. After being formed, it is converted into a visible toner image by development. The toner image on the photoconductor is transferred onto a sheet, fixed, and then discharged to the outside of the LBP 10. The above is the description of the operation as a normal image forming apparatus. The LBP 10 is further provided with the data format conversion unit 11
And an expansion I / F 12 connected to the image processing apparatus 19.

The image processing apparatus 19 is an image processing apparatus in a broad sense, for example, 1024 × 7 for a normal CRT display including pixels of 640 × 400 = 256K dots.
XG consisting of 68 ≒ 786.4K dots and 3 times as many pixels
A standard high resolution CRT display, an image output device such as an external disk device, a narrowly defined image processing device for processing such as enlargement / reduction, inversion, edging, and feature extraction, or a modem for telecommunications. Includes communication devices.

Such an image processing apparatus 19 generally uses various input / output data formats which differ depending on each device, for example, the well-known RS232C format, Centronics format, TIFF format, PCX format and the like. ing.

The data type conversion unit 11 is designated in accordance with a command from an operation panel (not shown) of the host machine 2, the image processing device 19 or the LBP 10 for all or one page of image data on the bitmap memory 16. The read area is read out sequentially and converted into a data format designated by the image processing apparatus 19, and then the image processing apparatus 1 is passed through the extended I / F 12.
Output to 9. While this image data output mode is selected and the above operation is executed, the video control unit 17 and the image forming unit 18 have nothing to do with them and do not operate.

FIG. 2 shows an LB which is a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing the configuration of P, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. This LBP2
0 is different from LBP10 (FIG. 1) in that instead of the data format conversion unit 11 and extended I / F12, the image data expansion unit 2
1, the expansion I / F 22 is provided, and the expansion I / F
An image processing device 29 is connected to 22.

The image processing device 29 is also an image processing device in a broad sense, and includes an image input device such as an image scanner or an external disk device, an image processing device in a narrow sense, or a communication device. Further, it may be another image forming apparatus.

The image data expansion unit 21 receives an expansion I / O from the image processing device 29 when the LBP 20 selects the image data input mode in response to a command from an operation panel (not shown) of the host machine 2, the image processing device 29 or the LBP 20.
The image data sequentially input through F22 is converted into a data format if necessary according to the data format of the image processing device 29, and is expanded in a designated area of the bitmap memory 16. During this period, the video control unit 17 and the image forming unit 18
However, when the image data for one page is completely developed on the bitmap memory 16, the operation is started and a visible image is formed and recorded on a sheet (not shown).

FIG. 3 shows an LB which is a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of P, and is a first embodiment and a second embodiment.
The same parts as those in the embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The point that this LBP 30 is different from the LBP 20 (FIG. 2) is that instead of the image data expansion unit 21 and the expansion I / F 22,
The image data synthesis unit 31 and the extension I / F 32 are provided, and the extension I / F 32 is connected to the image processing device 39. The image processing device 39 is almost the same as the image processing device 29 (FIG. 2) of the second embodiment. Therefore, extended I /
Since the F32 is almost the same as the extended I / F 22 (FIG. 2), the description thereof will be omitted.

The image data synthesizing section 31 receives an expansion I / O from the image processing device 39 when the LBP 30 selects the image data synthesizing mode in response to a command from an operation panel (not shown) of the host machine 2, the image processing device 39 or the LBP 30.
If necessary, the image data sequentially input via F32 is converted into a data format in accordance with the data format of the image processing device 39, and each image data is combined with the image data in the designated area on the bitmap memory 16, Expand to that area.

That is, the second image data sequentially input via the extended I / F 32 and the first image data at the address on the bit map memory 16 for synthesizing the second image data are provided for each pixel. By combining, the combined third image data is formed and stored at the (original) address of the first image data.

In the synthesis for each pixel, if the image data is positive logic, the logical sum of the pixel of the second image data and the pixel of the corresponding first image data is taken, and the image data is negative. If it is logical, it is performed by taking the logical product. These logical sums or logical products may be set for each bit or each word. As a result, the first and second
If all the pixels of the image data are white, the pixels of the third image data are white, and if either or both are black, they are black.

During this period, the video control unit 17 and the image forming unit 1
8 is not working, but 1 on the bitmap memory 16
When the pages of image data have been combined, the operation is started to form and record a visible image on a sheet (not shown).

[0040]

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can directly output or input the image data on the bit map memory with the external image processing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a laser beam printer which is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a laser beam printer which is a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a laser beam printer which is a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example of a laser beam printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 host machine 10, 20, 30 LBP (laser beam printer; image forming apparatus) 11 data format conversion unit (data format conversion means) 12, 22, 32 extended I / F (extended interface) 13 host I / F (host interface) ) 14 print data analysis unit (print data analysis means) 16 bit map memory 17 video control unit 18 image forming unit 19, 29, 39 image processing device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bitmap memory having a capacity for storing at least one page of image data, and a host interface for receiving print data from a host machine,
Print data analyzing means for analyzing print data received via the host interface to create image data on the bitmap memory, and image data created on the bitmap memory for reading and outputting as a video signal. An image forming apparatus including a video control unit and an image forming unit that receives the video signal to form a visible image on a recording medium, and an extension interface different from the host interface, and the bit via the extension interface. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a data format conversion means for converting the image data created on the map memory or a part thereof into a predetermined data format. 2. A bitmap memory having a capacity for storing at least one page of image data, and a host interface for receiving print data from a host machine,
Print data analyzing means for analyzing print data received via the host interface to create image data on the bitmap memory, and image data created on the bitmap memory for reading and outputting as a video signal. In an image forming apparatus including a video control unit and an image forming unit that receives the video signal and forms a visible image on a recording medium, an expansion interface different from the host interface, and an input via the expansion interface. An image forming device for expanding image data of a predetermined data format on the bitmap memory. 3. A bitmap memory having a capacity for storing at least one page of image data, and a host interface for receiving print data from a host machine,
Print data analyzing means for analyzing print data received via the host interface to create image data on the bitmap memory, and image data created on the bitmap memory for reading and outputting as a video signal. In an image forming apparatus including a video control unit and an image forming unit that receives the video signal and forms a visible image on a recording medium, an expansion interface different from the host interface, and an input via the expansion interface. An image forming apparatus, comprising: image data combining means for combining the image data of a predetermined data format with the image data on the bitmap memory created by the print data analyzing means.