JPH08142418A - Control device for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a control device for a printer suitable for the cost reduction due to the reduction of memory capacity and the enhancement of the capacity of the printer. CONSTITUTION: Printing data is divided into a plurality of proper subsets corresponding to a plurality of regions wherein one page is divided by a microcomputer 307. The printing image contained in the proper subsets is developed as image data by the microcomputer 307 and an OFP 308 and the image data is stored in a memory 305. The stored image data is encoded to be compressed by the microcomputer 307 and the compressed image data is stored in the memory 305. Development, compression and memory are performed with respect to all of the proper subsets by the microcomputer 307. The stored compressed image data is expanded by the microcomputer 307 and the expanded image data is sent to a printer engine I/F 303 and a character or figure corresponding to one page is printed by a printing part 311.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention inputs at least coded information for defining the shapes of characters and figures as print information, interprets the input print information, and interprets the interpreted print information. The present invention relates to a printer control device for developing the shape of a character or graphic into image information represented by dot data and printing the character or graphic based on the image information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method for outputting characters of a plurality of sizes and characters such as rotation and italics, there is a character generator for converting outline font data composed of character outline information into dot font data. Further, there is a printer control device which is equipped with this character generating device and generates a character or a graphic according to the print information sent from the host computer to print the character or the graphic.

FIG. 8 shows a Japanese Patent Application No. 2 filed by the applicant earlier.
-19052 publication, "Character generator" Character generator LSI for performing a series of processes for converting the above outline font data into dot font data, and system configuration of printer controller using outline font processor (OFP) 805 Here is an example.

A system bus 800 including an address bus, a data bus and a control bus includes a host CPU 801.
, System memory 802, outline font memory 8
03, DMAC804, OFP805, page memory controller 806, page memory 807, printer, CRT
System 808 is connected. Of these, the system bus 800 includes a host CPU 801, a system memory 802,
Outline font memory 803, DMAC804, O
The FP 805, page memory controller 806, and page memory 807 constitute a printer control device and a display control device. Here, the host CPU 801 and OFP 805 are
According to print information sent from a host computer (not shown), image information of characters and figures is generated, the image information is written to the page memory 807 via the page memory controller 806, and the written image information is written. Based on this, the printer and CRT system 808 print and display characters and figures. Here, the description of the printer control device is continued, but the same can be said for the display control device.

In this conventional printer control device, processing as shown in FIG. 7 is performed. First, the host CPU 801
The print information sent from the host computer, for example, the page description language (PDL) is received, and the content to be written on one page is interpreted (process 700). Next, the host CPU8
01 and the dedicated processor OFP805 convert a page of characters and figures into image information which is dot data, and write the converted image information into the page memory 807 (process 70).
1). Finally, the image information written in the page memory 807 is sequentially read and output to a printer engine (not shown) (process 702). The image information output to the printer engine is printed by the printer.

[0006]

In the above conventional printer control device, the page memory needs to have a memory capacity enough to write image information for one page. For example, if the resolution of the printer is 400 dpi (dot / inc)
In the case of h), the A4 size requires a memory capacity of 2 Mbytes. Also, the printer resolution is 600 dpi.
In this case, the A4 size requires a memory capacity of 3 Mbytes, and the A3 size requires a memory capacity of 6 Mbytes. Furthermore, in order to realize high resolution and colorization of the printer, a huge memory capacity is required.

According to the present invention, print information including coded information relating to shapes and positions of characters and figures is input, and the inputted print information is dot data indicating the shapes and positions of the characters and figures. An object of the present invention is to reduce the capacity of a memory in a printer control device in a printer that develops into image information and prints the characters and figures based on the developed image information, thereby reducing the cost of the system.

Another object of the present invention is to develop print information into image information at high speed in such a printer control device to reduce the waiting time of the printer.

Furthermore, it is another object of the present invention to reduce the capacity of the memory and reduce the cost of the system when printing characters and figures which are multi-tone images.

Further, in a printer network system in which a plurality of printers are connected, it is an object to realize high speed printing by performing compression encoding processing of image information described later, decompression decoding processing described later and printing processing in parallel. To do.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, the printer control apparatus according to the present invention provides print information including coded information for designating the shapes and positions of characters and figures to be printed on one page. A printer control device in a printer that inputs and develops the input print information into image information that is dot data representing an image to be printed on one page, and prints the characters and figures based on the developed image information. And a dividing unit that divides the print information into a plurality of true subsets of the print information, each of which corresponds to each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the one page, and a true portion divided by the dividing unit. Expanding means for expanding the print information contained in the set into the image information, holding means for holding the image information expanded by the expanding means, and holding means for holding the image information. Compressing means for encoding the image information to compress the information amount of the image information, storing means for storing the image information compressed by the compressing means, and all true subsets divided by the dividing means With respect to, the control means for performing the expansion by the expansion means, the compression by the compression means, and the storage by the storage means, and the compressed image for one page stored in the storage means by the control of the control means. The printer prints the one page based on the image information expanded by the expansion unit.

[0012]

The print information including coded information for designating the shapes and positions of characters and figures to be printed on one page is input, and the input print information is converted into dot data representing an image to be printed on one page. In a printer control device in a printer that develops into certain image information and prints the characters or figures based on the developed image information, the print information corresponds to each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the one page. , The print information is divided into a plurality of true subsets of the print information, the print information included in the divided true subset is expanded to the image information, the expanded image information is held, and the held image information is displayed. , Encoding, compressing the information amount of the image information, storing the compressed image information, decompressing, compressing, and storing all the divided true subsets. Is compressed one page of image information of the sequentially extension of, said printer prints the one page based on decompressed image data.

This reduces the memory capacity,
The cost of the system can be reduced.

Further, the print information is divided so that two or more of the true subsets do not include print information regarding the same character.

As a result, the print information can be expanded into image information at high speed.

Further, the print information is divided so that the plurality of true subsets have no common part.

Thus, the print information can be expanded into the image information at high speed.

Further, as the print information, in addition to the shapes and positions of the characters and figures, coded information designating the gradation to print the characters and figures is input.

As a result, the capacity of the memory can be reduced and the cost of the system can be reduced even when printing characters and graphics that are multi-gradation images.

Further, by control, the compressed image information stored in the storage means can be transmitted.

Further, the compressed image information which is the compressed image information is received, and the received compressed image information is also stored,
The stored compressed image information can also be decompressed.

Further, in a printer network system in which a plurality of printers are connected on a network, the second printer includes a first printer and a second printer, and the image information compressed by the first printer is used as compressed image information.
To the printer, the second printer inputs the compressed image information output by the first printer, stores the compressed image information, decompresses the stored compressed image information, and decompresses the decompressed image information. Print characters and figures based on.

Thus, in a printer network system in which a plurality of printers are connected, compression encoding processing, decompression decoding processing, and printing processing of image information can be performed in parallel, and high speed printing can be realized.

[0024]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 9 shows a personal computer (PC).
And a configuration diagram of a system in which a plurality of printers are connected to one network. The PC 901 transfers print information, image data, and the like for one page to the printers 902 and 903 via the printer interface 904. The print information is information such as coordinate values for defining the shapes of characters and figures, and is described in, for example, a page description language (PDL) such as Postscript. The image data is dot data indicating a natural image or the like. 904 is
For example, bidirectional parallel interface, IEEE
P1284 and the like. Also, from the printers 902 and 903,
Printer information indicating its own attributes is transferred to the PC 901 (data 905). The printer control device inside the printer 902 interprets the PDL sent from the PC 901, develops one page of characters, figures, etc. into image information which is dot data, and based on the image information, one page. Print minute characters, figures, etc. The image data sent from the PC 901 is subjected to image processing such as Bit BLT processing for cutting and pasting, and a natural image or the like is printed based on the image information which is the image data subjected to the image processing.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a printer to which the present invention is applied. It should be noted that each module in the present device is not limited to this, and two or more modules may be integrated into a single element by being integrated into an LSI as a microcomputer peripheral device. Reference numeral 300 denotes a CPU, which interprets print information sent from the host computer, for example, page description language (PDL), and causes an image processing unit 306, which will be described later, to perform processing for generating characters, figures, and the like. 301
Is a system memory in which a system program relating to printer control is stored. A font memory 302 stores outline font data that is the shape of the outline of each type of character. Reference numeral 303 denotes a printer engine interface, and image information to be printed is transferred to the printer engine via this interface. 304 is an address bus, a data bus,
A system bus consisting of a control bus. 305
Is a memory for compressing and storing image information. 30
6 is character generation processing that converts outline font data to dot data, drawing processing that draws and fills shapes such as straight lines and circles, and image processing that performs gradation processing to express the intermediate colors of image data. And an image processing unit that performs Here, the dot data converted by the character generation processing, the data generated by the drawing processing, and the data generated by the image processing are collectively referred to as image information. The image processing unit 306 also performs a process of compressing and decompressing image information. Here, the image processing unit 306
Is composed of a microcomputer 307 having a user memory for storing a program which can be freely used by a user, and an outline font processor (OFP) 308 which is a dedicated logic. The microcomputer 307 is provided with a user memory by storing various programs for supporting various correction information of the outline font in the user memory, and based on the stored program, the microcomputer 307 is stored. This is to make it work. Also, for data compression and decompression processing, the program selected by the user is stored in the user memory, and the microcomputer 307 is operated based on the stored program. By the way, there are various types of data structures of outline fonts. In particular, there are various hinting processes for making characters look beautiful. Therefore, the coordinate conversion process, which is the first half of the outline font expansion process including the hinting process, is performed by the microcomputer.
The raster conversion processing, which is the latter half of the outline font expansion processing performed by 307, is a dedicated logic O.
Perform with FP308. In addition, regarding the drawing processing for drawing and filling straight lines and circles, OF is a dedicated logic.
Perform on P308. Further, regarding data compression and decompression processing, run-length coding for coding data based on the number of 0's and 1's in the horizontal direction for one plane and 0's in the depth direction for one plane. , To support bit-plane encoding, which encodes data based on the number of 1's,
It is performed by the microcomputer 307. Reference numeral 309 denotes a work memory for temporarily storing image data of a binary image or a color still image that has been compression-coded in advance or for performing other data processing. Also, work memory 309
Stores one page of PDL transferred from the host CPU (central processing unit) under the control of the CPU 300. In FIG. 3, by changing the configuration of the bus, a memory for writing the compressed image information and a memory for reading the compressed image information for decoding are used to store the compressed image information. The writing process and the reading process for decoding the compressed image information may be performed in parallel to speed up the process.

Reference numeral 310 denotes a parallel communication interface such as IEEE P1284, which is a page description language (PDL) sent from a host such as a PC or a binary image or image data of a color still image which is compression-coded in advance. It is a communication interface for receiving and transmitting compressed image information generated inside the printer.

A printing unit 311 prints an image based on image information.

From the modules shown in FIG.
The printer control device is configured by the parts excluding.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining the processing of the printer shown in FIG. Process 100, CP
The U300 interprets print information, for example, page description language (PDL) sent from a host computer (not shown), and causes each module to perform processing for generating characters, figures, and the like. For example, if the print information is information (character information) such as coordinate values for defining the shape of a character, a command is issued to the image processing unit 306, and the command causes
Data necessary for outline font expansion processing for generating dot data based on the character information is set in a register in the image processing unit 306, and outline font data of the character to be expanded is set to the image processing unit 306 from the font memory 302. Transfer sequentially. Next, in process 101, the microcomputer 307 or the OF which is a dedicated processor is used.
P308 displays a part of the print information for one page,
While converting into image information which is dot data, it is converted into compressed data. By repeating this, the entire print information for one page is converted into compressed image information. The converted image information for one page is stored in the memory 305. Finally, in the process 102, immediately before the printing is started, the microcomputer 307 or the OFP30 which is the dedicated processor is again activated.
Reference numeral 8 outputs the compressed image information for one page stored in the memory 305 to the printer engine (not shown) through the printer engine interface 303 while expanding the image information and prints it.

FIG. 2 shows a microcomputer 307 or
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how the OFP 308, which is a dedicated processor, compresses and decompresses image information such as characters, graphics, and image data. The character 200 is the microcomputer 307 and
By the OFP 308 which is a dedicated processor, the print information of the character "P" is expanded into image information which is dot data. This image information is the microcomputer 307 or
By the OFP 308, which is a dedicated processor, in the bit block transfer, the clipped area 201 of m × n dots in the area of one page to be printed shown in the area 202
(Clipping area 201) Similarly, image information is sequentially written in the clipping region 201 in the order of Q, R, S, and T. Then the clipping area
For the data of 0 and 1 written in 201, for example,
The microcomputer 307 performs run-length coding and compresses data. The data 203 is the data of 0 and 1 included in the image information before encoding.
4 is coded data of 0 and 1 (compressed data). There are various possible data compression methods used here, but basically it is an information storage compression method (reversible coding) that saves the amount of information, and is a reversible method that can completely restore the original image. It is something. For example, the JBIG coding method, the JPEG coding method, and the like, which are international standard coding methods, can be considered. The compressed data 204 for all the image information in the clipping area 201 is stored in the memory 205. Similarly, the microcomputer 307 moves the clipping region 201 to another region of the region 202 of one page, writes the next image information in that region, compresses it, and outputs the compressed data 204. , Memory 205. The memory 205 stores one page of compressed data. Next, when printing one page of compressed data, the microcomputer 307
The compressed data 206 is read from 205, decrypted, and decompressed like data 207. The decompressed data 208 for one clipping area is sequentially transferred to the printer engine and printed. By repeating this process, the compressed data for one page can be printed.

FIG. 4 shows the clipping region described in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a memory configuration that realizes 201 and a memory 205 that stores compressed data. The memory 305 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the memory 400 shown in FIG. The clipping area 201 in FIG. 2 corresponds to the compression buffer 401 in FIG. 4, and the memory 205 in FIG. 2 corresponds to the compression memory 402 in FIG. The compression buffer 401 is a memory composed of m × n bits. The compression memory 402 is a memory having a memory capacity determined by the compression rate of compression by encoding image information.

FIG. 5 shows the compression buffer 40 described with reference to FIG.
This is a more detailed explanation of 1. Figure 5
In the data 500 of (a), a series of character strings "pie chart", a line "distribution", and a part of a graphic pie chart are written in the compression buffer 401. In this case, the "pie chart" is a "pie chart" obtained by the microcomputer 307 and the OFP308, which is a dedicated processor, expanding the outline font data, which is the contour information of the character, into the dot font data, which is the dot data.
Is written in the set position of the compression buffer 401. On the other hand, the “distribution” is the microcomputer 30
7 and the dedicated processor OFP308 expands outline font data, which is the outline information of characters, to dot font data, which is dot data.
When writing to the set position of the compression buffer 401, at the part outside the compression buffer 401,
Processing not to write to the compression buffer 401 is performed. In the graphic pie chart, the dedicated processor OFP308
However, when a graphic is drawn (decompressed into dot data) and written at the set position of the compression buffer 401, the compression buffer 401 is controlled by the microcomputer 307 in a portion outside the compression buffer 401. Do not write to. The size of characters, figures, etc. that are actually printed is the size that can be printed on one page at the maximum. Therefore, in order to avoid the clipping process as described above, one page of memory is required as in the conventional page printer. Therefore, in order to reduce the memory, an area of the size of the compression buffer 401 having a memory capacity smaller than the memory capacity for one page is set as a clipping area, and characters, figures, etc. included in the clipping area are converted to dot data. It is necessary to repeat decompression and compression of the decompressed dot data.

Here, as the resolution and color of the printer are increased, the amount of image information (dot data) increases accordingly, so that the time required to generate the image information increases. Therefore, it is necessary to devise to speed up the process of generating image information. For example, in FIG.
The clipping process of the character “distribution” as shown in (a) hinders the speeding up of the process of generating image information. This is because the microcomputer 307 and the OFP 308, which is a dedicated processor, have to develop a series of characters “distribution” into dot font data (generate image information) twice. In order to speed up the process of generating image information, it is necessary not to perform the clipping process twice for the same character. Therefore, as shown in the data 501 of FIG.
The memory capacity size m × n dots (bits) of the compression buffer 401 is made variable, and the size of the compression buffer 401 is decided according to the size of the character to be expanded. The size of the compression buffer 401,
The relationship between the size of the compression memory 402 and the size of the character for which the image information is generated is managed by the microcomputer 307, and the microcomputer 307 stores the relationship in the compression buffer 401 in accordance with the size of the character for expansion. The size should be decided. The data 502 is the encoded image information (data 501) written in the compression buffer 401.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a compression buffer corresponding to colorization of a printer. In the conventional monochrome printer, if the page memory has only one side, printing can be performed. In the conventional method, when the printer is colorized, a multi-sided page memory required for display colors is required, which increases the memory capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to compress the image information even when the printer is colorized. Therefore, we decided to provide N compression buffers (600). For example, the encoding of the image information explained so far is the run-length encoding which is the encoding of the two-dimensional binary image, whereas the encoding of the color image data is the encoding of the grayscale image. Bit plane coding, which is coding, will be used.
The bit plane encoding is performed according to the number of quantization bits N of a multi-tone image, that is, LSB (least signific).
ant bit) to MSB (most signi)
This is a method in which N bit planes of a binary image up to a ficant bit) are prepared and each bit plane is encoded using the encoding method of the binary image. This method is simple in processing, has little change in data in the MSB and the bit plane close to it, and can be expected to have high coding efficiency. The data 601 is the encoded color image data written in the compression buffer 600. Therefore, the memory capacity can be reduced even when the resolution and color of the printer are increased.

Next, an embodiment of a printer network system in which a plurality of printers using the printer control system of the present invention are connected will be described. As described above, FIG. 9 shows a system configuration in which a personal computer (PC) and a plurality of printers are connected on one network. The PC 901 transfers print information for one page, such as page description language (PDL) and image data, to the printers 902 and 903 via the printer interface 904. 904 is, for example, a bidirectional parallel interface, IEEE P1284, or the like. The printer information, which is the printer attribute information, is transferred from the printers 902 and 903 to the PC 901 (905).
). The printer controller inside the printer 902 is
It interprets the PDL sent from C901, develops one page of characters, figures, etc. into image information and prints it. Here, the printer using the printer control device of the present invention expands the print information regarding the clipping area smaller than one page into image information, and compresses the expanded image information.
This expansion / compression is repeated for each clipping area to generate compressed image information for one page, and the generated compressed image information is temporarily stored in the compression memory.
Immediately before printing, the compressed image information stored in the compression memory is decompressed, output, and printed. Here, a single printer is provided with a plurality of compression memories, the image information is stored in one of the plurality of compression memories, and the image information is decompressed from one of the plurality of compression memories. Consider the case where the printing process can be executed in parallel. In this case, while one printer is printing one page,
If you perform compression processing and then expand / compress the next page, the page that has been expanded / compressed will be printed.
It will be in a waiting state. Therefore, one page of compressed image information that has been expanded / compressed is transferred to another printer connected to the network while being compressed, and decompression processing is performed on the transfer destination printer for printing. To do. In this way, congestion in printer printing is alleviated. Further, the reduction of the transfer data amount improves the throughput of the entire printer network system.

An example for realizing the above will be shown. Figure 10
FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining switching of data output by the printer control device (switching between output of compressed image information and output of decompressed image information). The memory 1001 is a memory that temporarily stores compressed image information in the printer control device of the present invention. The processing unit 1002 is a block that performs decompression processing, and this block is provided in the microcomputer 307 in FIG. Data 1004 is compressed image information read from the memory 1001. The processing unit 1003 is a selector that selects whether to output the decompressed image information or the compressed image information. The selector is also provided in the microcomputer 307. Signal 1006 is for selector 10
This is a control signal for switching 03 and is controlled by the CPU 300 in FIG. The data 1005 is image information selected and output by the selector 1003. For example, mode 1 is a mode in which decompression processing is performed, and in mode 1, image information is decompressed and output immediately before printing. In addition, mode 2 is a mode in which decompression processing is not performed, and in mode 2, compressed image information is output as it is.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining the expansion of color still image data that has been compression-coded in advance. 1101 is a work memory for temporarily storing the compressed image information in the printer control apparatus of the present invention. The processing unit 1102 is a block that performs decompression / decoding processing for a color still image. The decompression decoding process is performed by the microcomputer 307. The data 1103 is stored in the work memory 11
This is the compressed image information of the color still image read from 01. The data 1104 is the decoded image information of the color still image.

FIG. 12 shows the flow of processing in the printer network system of the present invention. In step 1201, page description language (PDL) or the like, which is print information sent to the printer controller, is interpreted. The interpreted print information is expanded into image information for each clipping area in one page by the process 1202, and the expanded image information is encoded (compressed). This expansion / compression is repeated to generate compressed image information for one page. The generated one page of compressed image information is stored in the memory by the process 1203. In process 1204, the compressed image information stored in the memory is decoded and expanded immediately before printing on the printer. In process 1205, the decoded and expanded image information is output to the printer and printed. Alternatively, in process 1206, the compressed image information is transferred to another printer as it is.

FIG. 13 shows a personal computer (P
3C shows a system configuration in which a plurality of printers and a plurality of printers are connected on a plurality of networks. This makes the printer network system shown in FIG. 9 operate more efficiently,
This is for performing high-speed printing processing using a plurality of printers. The PC 1301 transfers print information for one page, for example, page description language (PDL), image data, etc., to the printer 1302 via the printer interface 1307. 1303 is a peripheral device other than the printer. The printer interface 1307 is, for example, a bidirectional parallel interface, IEEE P1284.
Etc. Also, the printer information from the printer 1302 is P
It is transferred to C1301 (1309). The printer control apparatus of the present invention inside the printer 1302 interprets the PDL sent from the PC 1301, develops a page of characters, figures, etc. into image information and prints it. Here, while the printer 1302 is developing the print information for one page into the image information,
When the print information of the next page is sent from the PC 1301, the expansion processing of the print information of the next page is made to wait. Then, immediately, the printer 1302 and the other printers 1304, 1305, 1306 are directly connected to the printer 13 via the printer interface 1308 which is a local network.
The print information of the next page in the waiting state may be directly transferred to 04, 1305, and 1306.

However, in order to reduce the price of the printer network system as a whole, the printers 1304, 1305,
1306 is a low-priced printer, which cannot be expanded due to CPU capacity or hardware limitation.
In some cases, only decompression processing can be performed. In this case,
The print information of the next page in the waiting state cannot be transferred to the printers 1304, 1305, and 1306. Therefore, the image information encoded and compressed by the printer 1302 is transferred to the printers 1304, 1305, 13
Transfer to 06 (data 1310).

In order to speed up the data transfer, the printer interface is connected to the main bus (1307).
And local bus (1308). At this time, as the local bus (1308), it is possible to use a bus that is most suitable for printer data, has a wide data width, and has a high transfer rate. With such a system configuration, high-speed processing can be realized by improving the throughput of the entire printer system, and the printing time can be shortened.

The printers 1304, 1305, 1306 may have different specifications. For example, these printers are printers having respective characteristics, and are compatible with color, compatible with monochrome high definition, compatible with high speed printing, compatible with low resolution, compatible with high resolution, and the like. With such a system configuration, it is possible to reduce the price of the printer network system.

As a server, the printer 1302 may be a data conversion device that does not have a printing function but has an image information encoding / compression function, a decoding / decompression function, and a communication function. With such a system configuration, high-speed processing can be realized by improving the throughput of the entire printer system, and the printing time can be shortened.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the printer control device, the display control device can be similarly constructed by replacing the printer with a display device.

[0046]

According to the present invention, print information including coded information regarding the shapes and positions of characters and figures is input, and the input print information indicates the shape and position of the characters and figures. In a printer control device in a printer that develops image information that is dot data and prints the characters and graphics based on the developed image information, the memory capacity can be reduced, and the system cost can be reduced. .

Further, according to the present invention, in such a printer controller, it is possible to expand the print information into image information at high speed and reduce the waiting time of the printer.

Furthermore, in a printer network system in which a plurality of printers are connected, compression encoding processing of image information, which will be described later, decompression decoding processing and printing processing, which will be described later, can be performed in parallel to realize high-speed printing.

[0049]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a printer control method.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a printer control method.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a printer.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a memory for compressing image data.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a compression buffer for image data.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a color image data compression buffer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a conventional printer control method.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional printer control device.

FIG. 9 is a system configuration diagram of a printer network system.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of decompression / transfer mode switching of compressed image data.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of decoding color still image data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a printer control method.

FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram of a printer network system.

[Explanation of symbols]

300 ... CPU, 301 ... System memory, 302 ... Font memory, 303 ... Printer engine interface, 304
… System bus, 305… Memory, 307… Microcomputer, 308
… OFP, 309… Work memory, 310… Printing section, 401…
Compression buffer, 402 ... Compression memory.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Koizumi 5-20-1, Josuihonmachi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Incorporated company Hitachi Ltd. Semiconductor Division

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A dot which represents print image to be printed on one page by inputting print information including coded information for designating shapes and positions of characters and figures to be printed on one page. Expand to image information that is data,
A printer control device in a printer that prints the character or figure based on developed image information, wherein the print information corresponds to each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the one page. Dividing means for dividing into a plurality of true subsets, expanding means for expanding the print information contained in the true subsets divided by the dividing means into the image information, and image information expanded by the expanding means Holding means for holding, compression means for encoding the image information held by the holding means to compress the information amount of the image information, and storage means for storing the image information compressed by the compression means, All true subsets divided by the dividing means are expanded by the expanding means, compressed by the compressing means, and stored by the storing means. Control means and decompression means for decompressing one page of the compressed image information stored in the storage means under the control of the control means, and the printer has the image information decompressed by the decompression means. A printer control device for a printer, wherein the one page is printed based on the following. 2. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit is provided in two or more of the true subsets.
A printer control apparatus, wherein the print information is divided so that print information regarding the same character is not included. 3. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the print information so that the plurality of true subsets have no common part. 4. The printer control device according to claim 1, wherein the print information is coded information for designating a gradation to print the character or graphic in addition to the shape and position of the character or graphic. A printer control device characterized by the above. 5. The printer control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the compressed image information stored in the storage unit under the control of the control unit. Characteristic printer control device. 6. The printer control device according to claim 5, further comprising a receiving unit that receives compressed image information that is compressed image information, and the storage unit also stores the compressed image information received by the receiving unit. A printer control device for storing, wherein the decompressing unit also decompresses the compressed image information stored in the storage unit. 7. A dot representing an image to be printed on one page, by inputting print information including coded information designating shapes and positions of characters and figures to be printed on one page. Expand to image information that is data,
A printer that prints the character or graphic based on the expanded image information, wherein the print information is a plurality of true subsets of the print information,
Dividing means for dividing into a true subset corresponding to each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the one page, and a true subset having a union of the true subsets being the print information; Expanding means for expanding the print information contained in one of the true subsets divided by the means into the image information, holding means for holding the image information expanded by the expanding means, and the holding means Compression means for compressing the capacity of the image information while storing the content of the information included in the image information by encoding the image information stored in the storage means, and storage means for storing the image information compressed by the compression means. A control means for performing expansion by the expansion means, compression by the compression means, and storage by the storage means for all true subsets divided by the division means, A decompression unit that decompresses the compressed image information stored in the storage unit under the control of the control unit, and a printing unit that prints the characters and figures based on the image information decompressed by the decompression unit. A printer characterized by the above. 8. A printer network system comprising a plurality of printers according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of printers are connected on a network, wherein the plurality of printers are provided with image information compressed by its own compression means. As the compressed image information, a first printer that outputs the compressed image information to another printer by its own transmission means, and the compressed image information output by the first printer is received by its own reception means, and the compressed image information is transmitted by the own printer. A second printer which stores the compressed image information stored in the storage means, expands the compressed image information stored in the storage means by its own expansion means, and prints characters and graphics based on the image information expanded by the expansion means. A printer network system characterized by the above.