JPH06344603A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the communication time from a host computer to a printer and the processing time of data at the printer when received data including a background data is to be printed, by saving the labor and time for forming the data at the side of the host computer. CONSTITUTION:The printer has a data receiving part 3 which receives data transmitted from a host computer 1 and separates a background data from a data of a precedent scene based on arm identification code of the data, a receiving data memory part 4 which stores the data of the precedent scene separated at the receiving part 3, and a background data memory part 5 which stores the background data. The data of the background and precedent scene are overwritten to a recording data memory part 7 via a receiving data analyzing part 6. The data stored in the memory part 7 is, via a recording controlling part 9, printed on a recording medium such as a paper or the like by a recording part 10. The data in the memory part 5 is advantageously repeatedly usable.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for background recording, and more particularly to a printer for recording by paying attention to background data which is handled independently inside a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when there is a background pattern and an object or character appears as the foreground as is often found in computer graphics (CG) and TV (TV) game software, the background data is the foreground. Compared to the data of, there are many repetitions and there are often few movements. In such a case, the background data and the foreground data are usually handled independently in the computer.

On the other hand, there are monochrome printers and color printers as printers, and color printers mainly have abundant information as background data. However, even in the case of monochrome printers, data other than text information such as ruled line data is used. Can be treated as background data. Also,
Even in this case, if the text information is repeated,
This can also be regarded as background data. As an example, when a black printer records a black text with a repeated pattern of yellow all over the color printer, the repeated pattern of yellow is the background data and the black text data is the foreground data.

[0004]

However, in the conventional printer, the foreground data and the background data are not distinguished from each other. For this reason, in a system in which data is sent from the host to the printer for recording, the host side mixes the data without distinguishing the foreground data and the background data and sends them to the printer side.

Therefore, the conventional printer has the following drawbacks.

(1) Even if the background data has the same repeating pattern, it is necessary to retransmit the data from the host each time.

(2) The background data often has the same repeated pattern, and the amount of received data can be reduced by using a technique such as data compression. However, the time required for decompression / decompression and the reconstructed data are analyzed to record data. The time to generate is wasted.

(3) Even if the pattern is standardized, it is troublesome to create it on the host side each time.

(4) Further, when the bit image is expanded on the host side, the same data is expanded and communicated each time, so the time required for expansion and communication is wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to store background data separately from foreground data, paying attention to the background data that is handled independently in the computer. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a printer that can save the time and effort for data creation on the host side, shorten the data communication time from the host to the printer, and shorten the data processing time in the printer.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, the present invention receives data having an identification code of background data from an external device, and sets the data as background data based on the identification code of the received data. Data receiving means for dividing into other foreground data, received data storage means for storing the foreground data distributed by the data receiving means, and background data for storing the background data distributed by the data receiving means. A storage unit and the received data stored in the received data storage unit are analyzed to separately generate print data and print control data, and the received data stored in the background data storage unit is analyzed to obtain the print data. Reception data analysis means for generating, recording data storage means for storing the recording data generated by the reception data analysis means, and the reception data And recording control data storing means for storing the recording control data generated by the data analysis means,
Recording control means for performing recording control of the recording data stored in the recording data storage means in accordance with the recording control data stored in the recording control data storage means, and recording data on the recording material controlled by the recording control means. A recording means for recording is provided.

The present invention also provides a data receiving means for receiving data having an identification code of background data from an external device, a received data storing means for storing the data received by the data receiving means, and the received data storing means. Receiving data analysis means for analyzing the received data stored in, and separately generating background recording data, other foreground recording data, and recording control data from the receiving data, and the receiving data analyzing means separately generated. Recording data storage means for storing foreground recording data, background recording data storage means for storing the background recording data separately generated by the reception data analysis means, and recording control data separately generated by the reception data analysis means Recording control data storage means for storing the foreground recording data and the background recording data stored in the recording data storage means. Recording control means for synthesizing the background recording data stored in the data recording means and performing recording control of the synthesized recording data according to the recording control data stored in the recording control data storing means, and the recording control means. And a recording unit that records the recording data on the recording material under the control of the recording medium.

Further, according to the present invention, it is preferable that the data storage means selectively stores only one of the overlapping portions of the foreground record data and the background record data when storing the record data. can do.

Further, according to the present invention, preferably, the recording control means selectively records only one of the overlapping portions of the foreground recording data and the background recording data when the recording data is combined. can do.

Further, the present invention can be characterized by further comprising a printer built-in storage means for storing background data preferably stored in the background data storage means in advance.

Further, the present invention can be characterized by further comprising removable storage means for supplying background data to be preferably stored in the background data storage means.

[0017]

In the present invention, the background data and the foreground data are separated by analyzing the control code of the data transmitted from the host to the printer, and the background data is stored in the background data storage means (5).
Alternatively, the background recording data is stored in the background recording data storage means (1
9), and the background data and the foreground data are combined and recorded by using the stored data, so that the host side saves the trouble and time of data creation, and the host side sends data to the printer. The data communication time is shortened, and the data processing time (reception, analysis, recording data generation) in the printer is shortened.

[0018]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, 1 is a host computer which is an external device, 2 is a printer, and the printer has components 3 to 10 described below. That is, 3 is a data receiving section for receiving data from the host computer 1, 4 is a received data storage section for storing the received foreground data, 5 is a background data storage section for storing the received background data, and 6 is a received data storage. A reception data analysis unit that analyzes reception data stored in the unit 4 to separately generate recording data and recording control data, and analyzes background data stored in the background data storage unit 5 to generate background recording data. , 7 is a recording data storage unit that stores the background and foreground recording data separately generated by the reception data analysis unit 6 by overwriting, and 8 is recording control that stores the recording control data separated and generated by the reception data analysis unit 6. A data storage unit 9 controls recording of the recording data stored in the recording data storage unit 7 according to the recording control data stored in the recording control data storage unit 8. Control unit, 10 is a recording unit that performs recording is controlled by the recording control unit 9.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the background data transmitted from the host computer 1 of FIG. 1 to the printer 2. Here, 20 represents the entire background data. Reference numeral 21 is a background data identification code (ID) indicating that this data is background data, 22 is a background data length indicating the length of the background data, 23 is a ruled line command code indicating that this data specifies a ruled line, 24 , 25 is data indicating the position of the ruled line, 24 is data for designating the 40th dot in the vertical direction with respect to the top and bottom of the paper, and 25 is horizontal 20 with respect to the top and bottom of the paper.
This data specifies the 2860th dot from the dot.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show an example of a recording image recorded by the recording unit 10 of FIG. 1, which is expressed in a state of being recorded on paper. Here, FIG. 3 shows only foreground data, and alphabets are arranged as an example. 4 is shown in FIG.
In addition to the foreground data, the ruled line is added as background data, and the ruled line is based on the background data shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the background data in the format shown in FIG. 2 is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the printer 2. At the beginning of the background data, a background data identification code 21, which is a control code indicating that this is background data, and a background data length 22, which is data indicating the length of the background data following, are entered. The data receiving unit 3 of the printer 2 receives the data from the host computer 1, examines the control code (identification code) 21 and recognizes that the background data is coming.
Is stored in the background data storage unit 5.

Next, the foreground data is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the printer 2. At the beginning of the foreground data, a control code indicating that this is the foreground data and data indicating the length of the continued foreground data are contained. The data receiving unit 3 receives the data from the host computer 1, examines the control code, and when it recognizes that the foreground data is coming, it stores the foreground data in the received data storage unit 4 according to the foreground data length.

The received data analysis unit 6 first analyzes the data stored in the background data storage unit 5, generates recording data, and stores it in the recording data storage unit 7. Next, the reception data analysis unit 6 analyzes the data stored in the reception data storage unit 4, separates the recording data and the recording control data, and generates the recording data and the recording control data. At this time, the reception data analysis unit 6 stores the recording data in the recording data storage unit 7 and the recording control data in the recording control data storage unit 8. Therefore, the foreground data and the background data are stored in the recording data storage unit 7, but the foreground data and the background data are overwritten on each other.

The received data analysis unit 6 is a received data storage unit 5
A recording command is issued to the recording control unit 9 when the recording data of the foreground data extracted from 1 row reaches one line or when a recording command arrives. In response to this recording command, the recording control unit 9 starts recording control. The recording control unit 9 takes out the data in the recording data storage unit 7 according to the control data in the recording control data storage unit 8 and drives the recording unit 9 to perform recording.

From the next line onward, the background data is expanded on the entire page until the background data is cleared or the background data is invalidated, and the foreground data is repeatedly stored from the background data storage unit 5 to the recording data storage unit 7. The background pattern is also recorded by simply sending to.

In the present embodiment, the case where the background data is expanded in the recording data storage unit 7 before the foreground data has been described. In this case, the foreground data and the background data are overwritten in the recording data storage unit 7. Therefore, in this procedure, the background data cannot be canceled once the foreground data starts to be expanded. Therefore, in order to be able to cancel the background data even after starting the development of the foreground data,
The background data may be expanded to the recording data storage unit 7 after receiving the recording command. However, since the background data is expanded after receiving the recording command, the recording start is delayed in this case.

Further, by sending a command from the host computer 1 to the printer 2 to specify whether the background data storage unit 5 is valid or invalid, even if there is data in the background data storage unit 5, only the foreground data is recorded, Mixed recording of foreground data and background data is possible.

The background data stored in the background data storage unit 5 is not limited to one pattern, but a plurality of background data can be stored and one of the background data can be selectively selected by a command from the host computer 1. It is also possible to record.

Further, only the background data is transmitted from the host computer 1 and the recording command is transmitted as the foreground data, so that the same pattern stored in the received data storage section 4 can be repeatedly recorded.

Further, if the control instruction such as the recording instruction is allowed to be mixed in the background data storage section 5, the background data can be repeatedly recorded by transmitting the background data only once. This can also be used for recording a test pattern or the like.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the host computer 1 side only sends one line of background data,
Since the printer 2 automatically records background data after the next line until the background data is canceled, the load on the host computer 1 side is significantly reduced, the communication time between the host and printer is shortened, and the throughput is reduced. The effect of contributing to improvement is obtained.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of a printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numerals 1 to 10 are the same as the constituent elements in FIG. 1, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes a printer built-in background data storage unit that stores background data for supplying the background data to the background data storage unit 5. 12, 13, and 14 are background data storage units 11 with a built-in printer for supplying to the background data storage unit 5.
It is assumed that there is one or more background data. Reference numeral 15 is a removable memory card that stores background data for supplying the background data to the background data storage unit 5, and 16, 17, 18 are backgrounds in the memory card 15 for supplying to the background data storage unit 5. It is data, and it is assumed that one or more exist.

In the above-described first embodiment, the data stored in the background data storage unit 5 is the host computer 1
The data stored in the background data storage unit 5 is previously stored in the background data storage unit 5 via the data receiving unit 3 as described above. It may be built in the storage unit 11 of the printer 2 or supplied by a removable memory card 15 or the like.

In this example, the host computer 1 designates the data source to be stored in the background data storage unit 5 to make a wide selection of background data.

(Third Embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the printer 2 is a line printer has been described as an example, but a page printer can also be implemented with the same configuration as shown in FIGS. This will be described as a third embodiment of the present invention. Since this embodiment is a case of a page printer, the print data storage unit 7 has a storage capacity for one page.
The background data storage unit 5 has a storage capacity for one row to one page.

The operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, the operation when only the foreground data is received will be described. The foreground data is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the printer 2. At the beginning of the foreground data, a control code indicating that this is the foreground data and data indicating the length of the continued foreground data are contained. The data receiving unit 3 receives the data from the host computer 1, examines the control code, and when recognizing that the foreground data is coming, stores the foreground data in the received data storage unit 4 according to the foreground data length.

The received data analysis unit 6 is a received data storage unit 4
Analyze the data stored in to generate recorded data,
The data is sequentially stored in the recording data storage unit 7. At this time,
Generation of recording data is performed in time division between data receptions. Recording starts when the recording data of the foreground data reaches one page or when a recording command arrives, and the recording control unit 8 takes out the data in the recording data storage unit 7 and sends it to the recording unit 9. , Record.

Next, a case where background data is received before recording is started will be described. Background data is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the printer 2. At the beginning of the background data, a control code indicating that this is background data and data indicating the length of continuation of the background data are contained. The data receiving unit 3 receives the data from the host computer 1, examines the control code, and when it recognizes that the background data is coming, it stores the background data in the background data storage unit 5 according to the background data length.

The received data analysis unit 6 is the background data storage unit 5
Analyze the data stored in to generate recorded data,
The data is sequentially stored in the recording data storage unit 7. At this time, the foreground data and the background data are overwritten on each other. Further, for example, when the host computer 1 issues an instruction to repeat the background data for one line for one page, the generated background recording data is stored in the entire page. Recorded data is 1
When the page is reached or a recording command arrives, recording is started, and the recording control unit 8 takes out the data in the recording data storage unit 7 and sends it to the recording unit 9 for recording.

After the next page, the background data is spread over the entire surface of the page until the background data is cleared or invalidated, and the background pattern is recorded together with the foreground data.

As described above, the host side sends only a minimum amount of background data, and the printer side expands the entire page,
In addition, since the background recording is automatically performed until the subsequent pages are canceled, the load on the host side is reduced, the communication time between the host and the printer is shortened, and the throughput is improved.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of a line printer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 1 to 4 and 6 to 10 in FIG. 6 are substantially the same as the respective constituent elements of the first embodiment of FIG. However, in this embodiment, the data receiving unit 3
Does not perform the distribution process of the background data and the foreground data according to the control code of the received data.
All the data from are stored in the received data storage unit 4. The received data analysis unit 6 distributes the data according to the control code. A background recording data storage unit 19 stores the background recording data generated by the received data analysis unit 6.

In the above configuration, first, the host computer 1 transmits the background data having the format configuration as shown in FIG. 2 to the printer 2. All the data transmitted from the host computer 1, regardless of the background data and the foreground data, is written in the received data storage unit 4 through the data receiving unit 3. At the beginning of the background data, a control code indicating that this is background data and data indicating the length of continuation of the background data are contained. The reception data analysis unit 6 takes out the data from the reception data storage unit 4, examines the control code of the data, and when it recognizes that the data is background data, analyzes the background data according to the background data length and generates recording data. The background record data storage unit 19
To store.

Next, the foreground data is transmitted from the host computer 1 to the printer 2. This foreground data is sent to the received data storage unit 4 through the data receiving unit 3 as described above.
Written in. At the beginning of the foreground data, a control code indicating that this is the foreground data and data indicating the length of continuation of the foreground data are contained. It should be noted that in order to indicate that the data is foreground data, the control code indicating that it is background data may not be included. The reception data analysis unit 6 takes out the data from the reception data storage unit 4, examines the control code, and recognizes that the data is foreground data. When the data is analyzed, the foreground data is analyzed according to the foreground data length, and the recording data is generated and recorded. The data is stored in the data storage unit 7. The recording control data separated during this analysis is written in the recording control data storage unit 8.

The reception data analysis unit 6 issues a recording command to the recording control unit 9 when the recording data of the foreground data fetched from the reception data storage unit 4 reaches one line or when a recording command arrives. To do. In response to this recording command, the recording control unit 9 starts recording control, takes out the data in the recording data storage unit 7 and the data in the background recording data storage unit 19 and mixes the data in the recording control unit 9. By sending the mixed data to the recording unit 10, the foreground data and the background data are overwritten and recorded. In the case of recording a color image or the like, it is preferable that only the foreground record data is recorded at the portion where the foreground record data and the background record data overlap when the above-mentioned data are mixed in the recording control unit 9. On the contrary, depending on the nature of the background record data, the background record data may be preferentially recorded.

In this example, the background data storage unit 5 (see FIG. 1) is removed, and instead the background recording data storage unit 1 is replaced.
9 is provided, there is an advantage that the data processing time can be further shortened when the same background data is repeatedly used as compared with the first embodiment.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The control code of the data transmitted from the host to the printer is analyzed to separate the background data from the foreground data, and the background data is stored in the background data storage means (5) or the background recording data in the background recording data storage means (19). Since the data is stored and the background data and the foreground data are combined and recorded using this stored data, the time and effort required for data creation on the host side are saved, and the data communication time from the host side to the printer is saved. There is a remarkable effect of shortening the data processing time (reception, analysis, recording data generation) in the printer.

In particular, in the case of a color printer, the number of colors is increased as compared with a monochrome printer, which causes a large increase in data, resulting in a decrease in throughput. However, according to the present invention, the background data is stored separately from the foreground data. Since the storage means is provided, the speed can be increased without significantly increasing the cost. Therefore, the present invention is also useful when connecting a printer to a low-priced TV game machine or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of printers according to first and third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a format diagram showing a structure of background data.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a recording image without a background.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a recorded image when there is a background.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 host computer 2 printer 3 data receiving unit 4 received data storage unit 5 background data storage unit 6 received data analysis unit 7 recording data storage unit 8 recording control data storage unit 9 recording control unit 10 recording unit 11 printer built-in background data storage unit 12 , 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 Background data 15 Removable memory card 19 Background recording data storage unit 20 Background data 21 Background data identification code 22 Background data length 23 Ruled line command code 24, 25 Data indicating the position of ruled line

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. Data receiving means for receiving data having an identification code of background data from an external device, and dividing the data into background data and other foreground data based on the identification code of the received data, Reception data storage means for storing the foreground data distributed by the data reception means, background data storage means for storing the background data distributed by the data reception means, and reception data stored in the reception data storage means Receiving data analyzing means for analyzing and analyzing the received data stored in the background data storage means to generate recorded data, and generating the recorded data and the recording control data separately. Recording data storing means for storing the recorded recording data, and the recording control data generated by the received data analyzing means. Recording control data storage means for storing, recording control means for controlling recording of the recording data stored in the recording data storage means in accordance with the recording control data stored in the recording control data storage means, and control by the recording control means A printer, comprising: a recording unit configured to record the recording data on the recording material. 2. A data receiving means for receiving data having an identification code of background data from an external device, a received data storing means for storing data received by the data receiving means, and a received data storing means stored in the received data storing means. The received data is analyzed to separate and generate background recording data, other foreground recording data and recording control data from the received data, and the foreground recording data separated and generated by the receiving data analyzing means. Recording data storage means for storing, background recording data storage means for storing the background recording data separately generated by the reception data analyzing means, and recording for storing the recording control data separately generated by the reception data analyzing means Control data storage means, foreground recording data and background recording data recording stored in the recording data storage means Recording control means for synthesizing the background recording data stored in the recording means and performing recording control of the combined recording data according to the recording control data stored in the recording control data storing means; A printer, comprising: a recording unit configured to record the recording data on the recording material. 3. The data storage means, when storing the record data, selectively stores only one of the portions where the foreground record data and the background record data overlap. Printer. 4. The recording control means, when synthesizing recording data, selectively records only one of the portions where the foreground recording data and the background recording data overlap. Printer. 5. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a printer built-in storage unit that stores background data to be stored in the background data storage unit in advance. 6. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising removable storage means for supplying background data to be stored in the background data storage means.