JPH08152872A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To efficiently perform write processing to a frame buffer even when plural image generation parts perform image generation processing asymmetrically. CONSTITUTION: A command interpretation part 1 outputs commands separated into a color setting command and an image plotting command from an interpretation result of an inputted image plotting command C to image generation parts 2a2c. At this time, the part 1 outputs the color setting command to all image generation parts 2a-2c, and it outputs the image plotting command to any one of the image generation parts 2a-2c. A write control part 3 receives the color setting data corresponding to the color setting command and the write data corresponding to the image plotting command generated by the image generation parts 2a-2c, and the part 3 performs color setting processing at a write time when the same color setting data arrive at from all image generation parts 2a-2c when the color setting data, and performs write processing the write data to a frame buffer 4 at present color setting when the write data to warrant an image plotting order.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a plurality of image generators, and is written when writing image data generated by the plurality of image generators into one frame buffer to generate one output data. The present invention relates to an image processing device that generates one output data with a guaranteed writing order of image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of image generation units parallelly process a plurality of drawing commands generated by interpreting an input drawing command, and sequentially write processing results to a frame buffer,
There is an image processing device that efficiently generates output data corresponding to a drawing command.

For example, FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a conventional image processing apparatus. In FIG. 6, the main processing unit 11 interprets the input drawing command CC. The main processing unit 11 has a plurality of write information generation units 12a to 12c,
The plurality of write information generation units 12a to 12c convert the output data corresponding to the final drawing command into data such as color information or drawing position to be written in the frame buffer 14 for temporary storage. In FIG. 6, the main processing unit 11
Although a plurality of write information generation units 12a to 12c are provided inside, the write information generation unit may be provided outside the main processing unit 11 as an independent write information generation unit. Here, the drawing command CC
The information converted from the color information to be written in the frame buffer 14 or the data such as the drawing position will be referred to as “write information” below.
Say.

Now, a plurality of write information generating sections 12a-12
When c generates write information, information indicating the drawing order is given, and the plurality of write information generation units 12a to 12c
It outputs to the writing order control unit 13 as information 15 to 18 which is a pair of writing information and drawing order. Then, the writing order control unit 13 rearranges the writing information in the drawing order based on the input information 15 to 18, and in the rearranged order,
The writing information is sequentially written in the frame buffer 14.

As a result, a plurality of write information generation units 12a
The order of the write information generated by the files 12 to 12c is guaranteed, and one output data corresponding to the drawing command is formed in the frame buffer 14. Then, this output data is output to an output device (not shown).

As a prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-73
Japanese Patent No. 459 discloses the result of image processing in a FIFO.
The commands and data read from the FIFO buffer are rearranged for each command based on the level of each command, and correct processing is possible even if commands and data of each level are mixed. The data processing method is described.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-258289 discloses a subordinate relationship between a plurality of images and the position of each image.
There is described an image processing apparatus that stores a size and determines the arrangement of a plurality of images based on the stored information.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-36486, when it is determined that overlapping images are detected, the overlapping portion is determined, and the portion not overlapped and displayed is deleted according to the result of the determination. Is listed.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image processing apparatus, when the variation in the processing speed among the plurality of image processing sections becomes large, the writing order control section can write to the frame buffer. Even if there is a large amount of write information, if the write information whose drawing order is earlier than this write information has not reached the write order control unit, the frame buffer of the write information that has already arrived However, there is a problem that the writing process is temporarily stopped because the writing process is not performed.

Further, the writing order control unit must always check the drawing order of the writing information when writing the writing information in the frame buffer, and perform the rearrangement processing of the writing information. It was

Therefore, the present invention eliminates such a problem and provides an image processing apparatus capable of efficiently performing writing processing to a frame buffer even when a plurality of image generating units asynchronously perform image generation processing. The purpose is to provide.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a frame buffer for storing output data to an output device, a color setting command relating to a color setting of an image at the time of writing to the frame buffer, and designation of image information. A plurality of image generating means for respectively generating and outputting color setting data and write data based on a drawing command for executing the above, and the color setting command and the drawing command for interpreting the input drawing command. If the generated command is a color setting command, the color setting command is output to all of the plurality of image generating means, and if the generated command is a drawing command, the plurality of drawing commands are generated. If the data output from any one of the image generating means and the data output from any of the image generating means is color setting data, the same color setting data as the color setting data. If the data output from any of the image generating units is write data, the color setting process to be written in the frame buffer is performed when all the image generating units output the data. And a write control unit that performs a process of writing the write data in the frame buffer according to the setting.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the color setting instruction is an instruction indicating pattern information corresponding to color information by a combination of binary data.

[0014]

In the first aspect of the invention, the command interpreting means interprets the inputted drawing command, and based on the interpretation result, the color setting command relating to the setting of the image color and the image information such as the image shape and the arrangement position are designated. At least a drawing command is generated, and when the generated command is a color setting command, the color setting command is output to all of the plurality of image generating means, and when the generated command is a drawing command, the drawing command is generated. The data is output to any of the plurality of image generation means. Then, each of the plurality of image generation means generates color setting data if the received instruction is a color setting instruction, and generates write data if the received instruction is a drawing instruction, and the generated color setting The data and the write data are output to the write control means. When the input data is color setting data, the writing control means, when the same color setting data as this color setting data is output from all the image generating means, the frame buffer is based on this color setting data. If the input data is write data, the write data is directly written to the frame buffer according to the currently set color setting. Then, when all the processes corresponding to the drawing command are completed, the output data stored in the frame buffer is output to the output device.

As a result, even when a plurality of image generating means operate asynchronously, the drawing order of the images forming the output data corresponding to the drawing command is guaranteed, and each image generating means is efficiently operated. It operates, and the whole image processing can be performed at high speed.

Further, in the second invention, in the first invention, in consideration of the case where the output device cannot output the color corresponding to the color setting, the color setting command is changed to the color setting of the color setting command. It is replaced with a pattern information setting command consisting of a combination of corresponding binary data.

As a result, even if the output device cannot perform color output, it is possible to output as a pseudo intermediate color corresponding to the color of the color setting command by the pattern composed of a combination of binary data.

[0018]

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

First, referring to FIG. 2, the principle of the present invention will be described based on a specific example.

That is, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. Here, the drawing contents of the drawing command C1 include a drawing figure A0 whose drawing order is 1 and a drawing figure B0 whose drawing order is 2. The case of having will be described.

First, two drawing figures A0 and B0 are drawn,
That is, when writing to the frame buffer, there are four cases of writing depending on the drawing order of drawing figures and the color information of the drawing figures. That is, 1) When writing each figure in the designated drawing order and with different color information → (case α1) 2) When writing each figure in the designated drawing order and with the same color information → (case α2) 3) When changing the specified drawing order and writing each figure with the same color information → (case α3) 4) When changing the specified drawing order and writing each figure with different color information → (case α4) Is.

In these cases, the write contents of the frame buffer corresponding to α1 to α4 are the write contents α11 to α, respectively.
It looks like 14. Therefore, only in case α4, the write content α14 different from the input drawing command is generated.

This means that if the drawing graphics have the same color information, writing to the frame buffer is possible regardless of the drawing order.

On the contrary, it can be understood that only when the color information of the drawn figures is different, the drawing order of the drawn figures is guaranteed so that the drawing figures are written in the frame buffer.

That is, according to the present invention, when writing a plurality of drawing figures having drawing orders in the frame buffer, the drawing figures are drawn in order only when the color information of the drawing figures is different. This guarantees the drawing order of all drawing figures.

Now, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image processing apparatus which is a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus interprets the drawing command C and outputs at least a command for outputting a color setting command and a drawing command, and a color setting command output from the command interpreting unit 1. To the frame buffer 4 based on the color setting data and the writing data input from the plurality of image generating units 2a to 2c and the plurality of image generating units 2a to 2c. And a frame buffer 4. The data written in the frame buffer 4 can be output as output data to an output device (not shown) when the drawing command C is completed.

Here, the drawing command is a command described in, for example, the page description language PDL. The instruction interpretation unit 1 interprets this page description language PDL.
Then, the command interpretation unit 1 generates a color setting command regarding color setting and a drawing command such as a shape or arrangement of a drawing figure as the result of the interpretation. Further, if the generated command is a color setting command, the command interpreting unit 1 outputs it to all the image generating units 2a to 2c, and if it is a drawing command,
It is output to any of the image generation units 2a to 2c. For example, the color setting commands 23a to 23c are all the same color setting command, and one color setting command is one of the image generation units 2a to 2c.
Is output to. On the other hand, for example, the drawing command 32 is output only to the image generation unit 2a, and the same drawing command is not output to the other image generation units 2b and 2c.

Each of the image generators 2a to 2c converts a color setting command into color setting data and a drawing command into writing data. Here, the color setting data refers to RGB type or YMCK type color data, data required for color correction depending on an output device (not shown), and the color used when writing the write data in the frame buffer 4. It is for performing the setting of specification of. Further, the write data is, for example,
Based on the instruction given as the start point / end point, the DDA process is performed to calculate the address of the data to be written in the frame buffer 4, and the address (area to be filled) is applied based on the instruction given as the closed area. ) Is calculated and is written in the frame buffer 4. As described above, when the write data is written in the frame buffer 4, the color currently set for the write data is also set. The color setting data 21a to 21c output from the image generating units 2a to 2c are all the same data, and the color setting data 22a output from the image generating unit 2a is input to the image generating units 2b and 2c, respectively. The color setting commands 22b and 22c having the same command are converted.

Further, the image generation units 2a to 2c in FIG.
Shows the configuration of three image generation units, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of arbitrary number of image generation units may be used.

When the input data is the color setting data, the writing control unit 3 provides that the same color setting data has arrived at the writing control unit 3 from all the image generating units 2a to 2c. The writing control unit 3 performs a process of designating one color when writing the writing data in the frame buffer 4. On the other hand, when the input data is write data, a process of writing the write data to the frame buffer 4 is performed separately when the write data arrives from each of the image generation units 2a to 2c. As described above, when writing the write data in the frame buffer 4, the currently set color is designated as the write data, and the write data of the designated color is designated in the frame buffer 4. It is written in the embedded position.

In this way, the command interpreter 1 generates an individual command separated into a color setting command and a drawing command from the interpretation result of the input drawing command, and if the command is a color setting command. Outputs this color setting command to all of the plurality of image generating units 2a to 2c, and the writing control unit 3 sets the color setting data corresponding to the color setting command to all of the image generating units 2a to 2c.
2C, the color setting process to be specified at the time of writing the write data into the frame buffer 4 is performed. Therefore, as described in the principle of the present invention, the color information of the drawing figure is Only when they are different, the drawing order of the drawing figures is guaranteed, and as a result, the drawing order of all the drawing figures is guaranteed.

Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure of the instruction interpretation unit 1, and the operation of the instruction interpretation unit 1 will be described based on this flow chart.

First, upon receiving the drawing command C, the command interpreting section 1 interprets the drawing command C and judges whether or not the result of the interpretation is a drawing command (S1). If the determination result in step S1 is a drawing command, the drawing command is output to one of the image generating units 2a to 2c (S3), and the step S3 is performed.
Go to 5.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that it is not a drawing command, it is further determined whether the interpretation result is a color setting command (S2). If the determination result is a color setting command, this color setting command is output to all the image generation units 2a to 2c (S4), and step S5.
Move to If it is determined in step S2 that it is not the color setting command, the process directly proceeds to step S5. Note that in step S2, a command that is not a color setting command is an attribute that depends on each of the image generation units 2a to 2c,
For example, an attribute change command for changing attributes such as Mincho or Gothic font in character generation, or a command that depends on all the image generation units 2a to 2c such as a coordinate conversion command for instructing coordinate conversion.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the interpretation result of the drawing command is the drawing end condition, and if it is not the drawing end condition, the process proceeds to step S1 and the above processing is repeated to set the drawing end condition. In this case, the process proceeds to step S6, and the drawing end command is output to all the image generation units 2a to 2c.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure of the image generation units 2a to 2c, and the operation of each of the image generation units 2a to 2c will be described based on this flow chart.

Upon receiving the command from the command interpreting unit 1, each of the drawing generation units 2a to 2c first determines whether or not it is a drawing end command (S11), and if it is a drawing end command,
This drawing end command is output to the writing control unit 3 (S14),
The process ends.

If it is determined in step S11 that it is not a drawing end command, it is further determined whether or not it is a drawing command (S1).
2) If it is determined that it is a drawing command, this drawing command is converted into write data and output to the write control unit 3 (S1
5), the process ends.

If it is determined in step S12 that it is not a drawing command, it is further determined whether or not it is a color setting command (S1).
3) If it is determined to be a color setting command, the color setting command is converted into color setting data and output to the writing control unit 3 (S16), and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S13 that the command is not a color setting command, the process corresponding to the command is performed (S1).
7), the process ends. It should be noted that this command means a command such as an attribute change command or a coordinate conversion command as described above.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the write controller 3, and the operation of the write controller 3 will be described based on this flowchart.

First, the writing control unit 3 controls all the image generation units 2
It is determined whether or not the drawing end command has arrived from a to 2c (S21), and when the drawing end command has arrived from all image generation units, the output data in the frame buffer is output to an output device (not shown). The output is made (S26), and this processing ends.

If the drawing end command has not arrived from all the image generation units in step S21, it is further determined whether the write data has arrived from any of the image generation units 2a to 2c (S22). , If the write data has arrived, this write data is preferentially processed and written in the frame buffer 4 with the currently set color information (S
23) and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, step S
If it is determined in step 22 that the write data has not arrived,
The process directly proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, all the image generation units 2
a to 2c, it is determined whether or not the color setting data has arrived, and if it is determined that the color setting data has not arrived from all the image generation units 2a to 2c, the process proceeds to step S22, and the write data is written. If there is, the write data is processed. On the other hand, in step S24, all the image generation units 2a to
When it is determined that the color setting data has arrived from 2c, that is, when the color setting data has arrived from all the image generation units 2a to 2c, the color setting is performed based on the color information of this color setting data ( After S25), the process proceeds to step S21 and the above-described processing is repeated.

Thus, in the first embodiment,
If the color information is the same, write the image in the frame buffer without considering the drawing order, and write the image in the frame buffer with only the drawing order guaranteed when the color information is different. A separate command is generated for the setting command and the drawing command, and the writing of the image to the frame buffer is controlled depending on the presence / absence of the color setting command from all the image generation units. The drawing order can be guaranteed.

Moreover, in the first embodiment, the drawing order of images having the same color information is not taken into consideration. Therefore, even if the image generating processes in a plurality of image generating units are processed asynchronously, high speed processing is possible. Then, the writing process to the frame buffer is executed.

Next, the second embodiment will be described.

In the first embodiment, the output data corresponding to the drawing command is obtained on the assumption that the output device (not shown) is capable of color output. However, in the second embodiment, the output data is obtained. If the output device cannot output color, or if it is possible to output color in a single color even if it is possible, the output device tries to output output data closer to the output data corresponding to the drawing command. .

That is, in the second embodiment, the color setting data generated by the image generating unit based on the color setting command is
A process of replacing a pseudo intermediate color represented by a combination of ON / OFF of binary data with setting data of pattern information is performed.

The configuration of the second embodiment is almost the same as the configuration of the first embodiment, but the image generators 2a to 2c are the same.
However, instead of generating and outputting the color setting data from the color setting command, the color setting command is replaced with the setting data of the pattern information corresponding to the color information of the color setting command to generate the color setting data. However, instead of performing the color setting process based on the color setting data, the pattern information setting process is performed based on the pattern information setting data, and the pattern of the set pattern information is set for the write data. 1 is different from the configuration of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1 in that the writing data is written in the frame buffer 4.

This pattern information is, for example, binary matrix data in a 3 × 3 matrix.

Further, as a concrete processing result, the output data is as shown in the writing contents α14 of the frame buffer in FIG. 2, and the image is represented by the pattern information of the intermediate color close to the original color information. Even when each drawing figure has a superimposition relationship, a relative relationship, or the like, it is easy to identify each drawing figure, as in the case of color.

As a result, when a color output drawing command is input, even when output to a monochromatic output output device, the color information is treated as intermediate color data, and a more drawing command is output as compared with the case of simply outputting a single color. It is possible to obtain faithful output data.

It should be noted that, in the above-described embodiment, the image generation units are not limited to have the same functions and performances, but may be a plurality of image generation units that perform different specific processes sharing the entire image processing. Good. For example, a plurality of image generation units such as an image generation unit dedicated to surface painting processing, an image generation unit dedicated to vector processing, and an image generation unit dedicated to character generation may be used.

[0057]

As described above in detail, in the first invention, the command interpreting means interprets the inputted drawing command, generates the color setting command and the drawing command from the interpretation result, and generates the generated command. Is a color setting command, it is output to all of the plurality of image generating means, and when the generated command is a drawing command, it is output to any of the plurality of image generating means.
Then, each of the plurality of image generating means generates color setting data if the received instruction is a color setting instruction, and generates write data if the received instruction is a drawing instruction to the writing control means. Is output. When the input data is color setting data, the writing control means, when the same color setting data as this color setting data is output from all the image generating means, the frame buffer is based on this color setting data. When the input data is write data, the write data is directly written into the frame buffer according to the currently set color setting.

Therefore, even when a plurality of image generating means operate asynchronously, the drawing order of the images forming the output data corresponding to the drawing command is guaranteed, and
There is an advantage that each image generation unit operates efficiently and the entire image processing can be performed at high speed.

Moreover, since it is not necessary to change the drawing order and the like, there is an advantage that the image can be written in the frame buffer at high speed with simple control.

Further, in the second invention, considering the case where the output device cannot output the color corresponding to the color setting,
The color setting command corresponds to the color setting of this color setting command. 2
It is designed to be replaced with a pattern information setting command made up of a combination of value data.

Therefore, even if the output device cannot output in color, the pattern formed by the combination of binary data
It has an advantage that it can be output as a pseudo intermediate color corresponding to the color of the color setting command.

Further, even when a drawing command for color output is input and the output command is output to a monochromatic output device,
Since the color information is handled as the intermediate color data, there is an advantage that the output data more faithful to the drawing command can be obtained, as compared with the case of simply outputting the single color.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus that is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the instruction interpretation unit 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of image generation units 2a to 2c.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the write control unit 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional image processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 command interpreting unit 2a to 2c image generating unit 3 writing control unit 4 frame buffer C drawing command 21a to 21c, 22a color setting data 22b to 22c, 23a to 23c, 24a to 24c color setting command 31, 51, 52 writing Data 32-35, 41-44, 53, 54 Drawing command

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Taka Sakamoto 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Plant

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A color buffer based on a frame buffer for storing output data to an output device, a color setting command for setting an image color when writing to the frame buffer, and a drawing command for specifying image information. A plurality of image generating means for generating and outputting setting data and write data; interpreting the input drawing command to generate the color setting command and the drawing command, and the generated commands are color If it is a setting command, the color setting command is output to all of the plurality of image generating means, and if the generated command is a drawing command, the drawing command is output to any of the plurality of image generating means. If the data output from either the interpreter or the image generator is color setting data, the same color setting data as the color setting data is output from all the image generators. Process the color setting that should be written to the frame buffer when input,
When the data output from any one of the image generating means is write data, a write control means for writing the write data in the frame buffer according to the currently set color setting is provided. An image processing device characterized by: 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color setting command is a command indicating pattern information corresponding to color information based on a combination of binary data.