JPH05229179A - Page printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a page printer wherein memory capacity is reduced as sufficient resolution is kept on in relation to a letter. CONSTITUTION:A printer control part 1 possesses a frame memory 2 storing a part other than a letter out of a printing image of one page amount at lower dot density than printable dot density by a printing mechanism part 5, a letter pattern forming apparatus 3 storing a letter pattern beforehand at the dot density printable by the printing mechanism part 5 and a printing control part 4 wherein contents of the frame memory is converted into the dot density, a printing image is made by piling up both the images each other and sending to the printing mechanism part. The page printer is provided with a letter pattern memory storing each time the letter pattern appearing within one at printable density by the printing mechanism part 5 in place of a letter pattern forming apparatus.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to page printers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

The conventional page printer has a character pattern generator 13 in which a character pattern is stored in advance at a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit 15, and a print image for one page including the character pattern from the character pattern generator 13. And a frame memory 12 that stores the image at a dot density equal to the dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit 15,
The printer control unit 11 includes the print control unit 14 that receives the print image from the control unit 2 and controls the print mechanism unit 15.

[0004]

Since the conventional page printer has a frame memory for one page with a dot density at which the printing mechanism unit can print, it is necessary to have a large amount of memory. It was one of the factors that hindered the price reduction of the.

An object of the present invention is to provide a memory for storing a portion other than a character in a print image for one page in a bitmap with a dot density lower than a dot density that can be printed by a printing mechanism unit, thereby providing a character. It is to provide a page printer in which the memory capacity is drastically reduced although the resolution will be slightly reduced in other parts.

[0006]

According to the page printer of claim 1 of the present invention, the portion other than the characters in the print image for one page has a dot density lower than the dot density printable by the printing mechanism. A frame memory to be stored in a bitmap, a character pattern generator that stores a character pattern in advance with a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit, and the contents of the frame memory are converted to a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit, and A printer control unit that includes a print control unit that creates a print image by superimposing the content of the character pattern generator on a portion of the page where the character pattern exists, and sends the print image to the print mechanism unit. There is.

A page printer according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a frame memory for storing a portion other than a character in a print image for one page in a bitmap with a dot density lower than a dot density printable by the printing mechanism section. A character pattern memory that stores a character pattern in one page at a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit; and a character pattern memory that converts the contents of the frame memory into a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit, and Create a print image by superimposing the contents of the character pattern memory on the part where
The printer controller has a print controller that sends the print controller to the print mechanism.

[0008]

The dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit is, for example, 320 dpi.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the frame memory displays, for example, 16 print images other than one page of characters.
Store with a dot density of 0 dpi. The character pattern generator stores a character pattern having a dot density of 320 dpi. The print control unit converts the print image stored in the frame memory into data equivalent to 320 dpi, and creates a print image by superimposing a character pattern stored in a character pattern generator on a portion of a document where a character exists in the document. Send to the department. The printing mechanism prints this.

As a result, for data other than characters, 1
At a resolution equivalent to 60 dpi, 320 dpi for characters
It will be printed at the resolution of i. At this time, the frame memory needs to have a capacity equivalent to one page with a dot density of 160 dpi, but it is only a quarter compared with one page with a dot density of 320 dpi, and it is possible to significantly reduce the memory. Becomes

According to the second aspect of the invention, the "character pattern memory" generates a character pattern that appears in one page each time and stores it until printing. The functions of the other parts are the same as in the case of claim 1. Therefore, the effect of reducing the resolution and the memory is the same.

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the page printer of the present invention.

The page printer of the present invention has a printer control section 1 and a printer rear section 5. The printer control unit 1 is
The print mechanism unit 5 stores a frame memory 2 for storing a portion other than a character in a print image for a page in a bitmap with a dot density lower than the dot density 320 dpi at which the print mechanism unit 5 can print, and a character pattern. A character pattern generator 3 stored in advance with a printable dot density and the contents of the frame memory 2 are converted into a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit 5, and a character pattern is generated in a portion where a character pattern exists in a page. The print controller 4 sends the print image to the print mechanism 5 by superposing the contents of the memory of the container 3 on the print image.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The frame memory 2 stores a print image other than one page of characters at a dot density of 160 dpi. The character pattern generator 3 stores a character pattern having a dot density of 320 dpi. The print control unit 4 converts the print image stored in the frame memory 2 into data equivalent to 320 dpi, and creates a print image by superimposing the character patterns stored in the character pattern generator 3 on a portion of a document in which characters are present. , And sends it to the printing mechanism unit 5. The printing mechanism unit 5 prints this.

Next, a second embodiment of the page printer shown in claim 2 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the page printer of the present invention.

Regarding the configuration of the present embodiment, instead of the "character pattern generator 3 in which the character pattern is stored in advance at a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism section 5" of the first embodiment,
A "character pattern memory 6 for storing a character pattern in one page at a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit 5" is provided.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Instead of the function of the character pattern generator 3, the character pattern memory 6 generates a character pattern that appears in one page each time and stores it until printing. The functions of the frame memory 2 and the print controller 4 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In any case, the resolution other than the character is 160 dpi and the character is 320.
The result is that it is printed at a resolution of dpi.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a frame memory for storing a portion other than a character in a bit map in a print image for one page with a dot density lower than a dot density that can be printed by a printing mechanism section. By providing the above, there is an effect that the memory capacity can be significantly reduced while maintaining a sufficient resolution for characters.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a page printer of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 Printer control unit 2, 12 Frame memory 3 Character pattern generator 4, 14 Printing control unit 5, 15 Printing mechanism unit 6 Character pattern memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In a page printer, a portion other than characters of a print image for one page is
A frame memory that stores in a bitmap with a dot density lower than a dot density that the printing mechanism unit can print, a character pattern generator that stores a character pattern in advance with a dot density that the printing mechanism unit can print, and a frame memory of the frame memory. The content is converted to a dot density that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit, and the contents of the character pattern generator are superposed on the portion of the page where the character pattern is present to create a print image. A page printer having a print control unit for sending and a printer control unit including the print control unit. 2. In a page printer, a portion other than characters of a print image for one page is
A frame memory that stores a bitmap in a dot density lower than a dot density that the printing mechanism unit can print; a character pattern memory that stores a character pattern in one page in a dot density that the printing mechanism unit can print; The contents of the memory are converted into dot densities that can be printed by the printing mechanism unit, and the contents of the character pattern memory are superposed on the portion of the page where the character patterns are present to create a print image. A page printer, comprising: a print control unit for sending to the printer; and a printer control unit including the print control unit.