JPH08278855A - Output controller and picture processing method for output controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform the plotting processing of patterns such as paint-out at a high speed. CONSTITUTION: When a paint-out pattern for respective objects in output information inputted from a host computer 101 is converted to intermediate information and held in a RAM 107, the intermediate information of the paint-out pattern is corrected based on offset information when a CPU 105 judges that the offset information for correcting a plotting start position exists in the held intermediate information of the paint-out pattern.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an output control device and an image processing method of the output control device capable of executing a bit image drawing process while converting fill pattern information into intermediate information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the drawing process of a bit image in a printing apparatus of this type, when a fill pattern of print data such as characters and figures is set and drawn, the pattern input from the host computer is used as it is as intermediate information. When holding and drawing the bit image, the offset position and the pattern at the time of repetition were calculated to draw the bit image.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the fill pattern input from the host computer is held as it is as intermediate information,
When there is offset information when drawing a fill pattern such as characters and figures, data shift processing for the offset value is required, and the drawing processing speed becomes slow.

Further, the drawing process is performed in a CPU data processing unit (8 bits, 16 bits, 32 bits, etc.).
The width of the fill pattern is CP
If it is not an integral multiple of the data processing unit of U, the data shift processing and the mask processing are required every time the pattern is repeatedly processed from the tail to the head in the same row, which causes a problem that the drawing processing speed becomes slow. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the first to eleventh inventions of the present invention is to provide each of the output information input from the host computer. The output control device and the output control device that can perform drawing processing of a pattern such as filling at high speed by correcting or adding the intermediate information converted in accordance with the offset amount or the unit drawing processing bit width for the object It is to provide an image processing method.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, input output information is converted into intermediate information and held,
In the drawing means for drawing a bit image on the memory based on the held intermediate information, and in the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means to output the input. A conversion unit that converts a fill pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information, a holding unit that holds the intermediate information converted by the conversion unit, and an intermediate of the fill pattern held by the holding unit Offset judgment means for judging whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the information, and when the offset judgment means judges that there is the offset information, the filling based on the offset information The offset correction means for correcting the intermediate information of the pattern is provided. It is intended.

A second aspect of the present invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information. In the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting it, the converting means for converting the filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, Holding means for holding the intermediate information converted by the converting means, and pattern width judgment for judging whether the bit width of the filling pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means And the pattern width determining means determines that the unit drawing processing bit width does not match, Pattern width expanding means for expanding the bit width of the pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and the converting means converts the filled pattern expanded by the pattern width expanding means into intermediate information and holds it. In addition to the means.

A third aspect of the present invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information. In the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting it, the converting means for converting the filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, Holding means for holding the intermediate information converted by the converting means, and offset judgment for determining whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the fill pattern held by the holding means Means and the offset determining means determines that there is the offset information, the offset Offset correction means for correcting intermediate information of the fill pattern based on information, and a pattern for determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means Width determining means and pattern width expanding means for expanding the bit width of the fill pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width when the pattern width determining means determines that the unit drawing processing bit width does not match. The converting means converts the fill pattern expanded by the pattern width expanding means into intermediate information and adds the intermediate information to the holding means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, In the image processing method of the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting the bit image, a converting step of converting the modification pattern in the output information into the intermediate information, and the converting step. A holding step of holding the intermediate information in a storage medium.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information. In the image processing method of the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting the bit image, a conversion for converting the filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information. Steps, a holding step of holding the converted intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium, and whether there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. An offset determination step of determining whether or not, and intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information according to the determination Modify those having an offset correction process.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information. In the image processing method of the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting the bit image, a conversion for converting the filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information. And a holding step of holding the intermediate information converted by the converting means in a predetermined storage medium, and a bit width of the filling pattern held in the storage medium matches a unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. A pattern width determining step of determining whether or not to perform, and a bit width of the filling pattern is set to the unit drawing processing bit width. And the pattern width extension process be extended to match, those having an additional step of converting the said expanded fill pattern on the intermediate information to add to the holding means.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information. In the image processing method of the output control device for transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means and outputting the bit image, a conversion for converting the filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information. Steps, a holding step of holding the converted intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium, and whether there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. An offset determination step of determining whether or not, and intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information according to the determination An offset correcting step of correcting, a pattern width determining step of determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held in the storage medium matches a unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, and a bit width of the fill pattern And a pattern width expanding step of expanding so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and an additional step of converting the expanded fill pattern into intermediate information and adding it to the holding means.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the output means is
It is a display means for displaying output information.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the output means is
It is a printing means for printing the output information.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the output means is a display means for displaying output information.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the output means is a printing means for printing output information.

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the conversion means converts the fill pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer into the intermediate information and holds it in the holding means, When it is determined that there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the held intermediate information of the fill pattern, the offset correction means corrects the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information. It is possible to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process of the filling pattern by the offset information for each line when drawing on the bit image.

In the second invention, when the filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer by the converting means is converted into the intermediate information and held in the holding means, the pattern width judging means When it is determined that the held bit width of the fill pattern does not match the unit drawing process bit width by the drawing unit, the pattern width expanding unit matches the bit width of the fill pattern with the unit drawing process bit width. By expanding and converting the expanded fill pattern into intermediate information and adding it to the holding means, the drawing process can be performed by eliminating the data shift process and the mask process for repeating the fill pattern when drawing the bit image. It is possible to speed up.

In the third aspect of the invention, when the offset determining means determines that the held intermediate information of the fill pattern includes offset information for correcting the drawing start position, the offset correcting means performs the offset If the intermediate information of the fill pattern is corrected based on the information, and the bit width of the fill pattern held by the pattern width determining means does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, the pattern Width expansion means expands the bit width of the filling pattern to match the unit drawing processing bit width,
The expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means, so that the data shift processing of the fill pattern according to the offset information is not necessary for each line when drawing to the bit image, It is possible to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process and the mask process for repeating the filling pattern at the time of drawing.

In the fourth invention, a modification pattern in output information is converted into the intermediate information, the converted intermediate information is held in a storage medium, and a bit map of a complicated modification pattern accompanied by data shift. A process capable of holding image data with a small capacity can be executed in a programmable manner.

In the fifth invention, a fill pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium, It is determined whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the held intermediate information of the filling pattern, and the intermediate information of the filling pattern is corrected based on the determination based on the offset information. When drawing on an image, it is possible to programmatically execute a process for accelerating the drawing process for each line by eliminating the data shift process of the fill pattern by the offset information.

In the sixth invention, a filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium, When it is determined that the bit width of the held filling pattern does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, the bit width of the filling pattern is expanded to match the unit drawing processing bit width, The expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process and mask process for repeating the fill pattern when drawing the bit image. The processing can be executed in a programmable manner.

In the seventh invention, a fill pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium, It is determined whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filled pattern held, and the intermediate information of the filled pattern is corrected based on the offset information by the determination, and Expanding the bit width of the fill pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width when it is determined that the held bit width of the filling pattern does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. Then, the expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means. , At the time of drawing to the bit image, 1
A process that speeds up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process of the fill pattern by offset information for each line, and by eliminating the data shift process and mask process for repeating the fill pattern when drawing to a bit image. Execution is programmable.

The eighth invention enables the display means to display the drawn bitmap image at high speed.

The ninth aspect of the invention enables the printing means to print the drawn bitmap image at high speed.

A tenth aspect of the present invention makes it possible to programmatically execute a process of displaying a drawn bitmap image at high speed by the display means.

The eleventh aspect of the invention makes it possible to programmatically execute the process of printing the drawn bitmap image at high speed by the printing means.

[0028]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an output control device showing an embodiment of the present invention, which corresponds to the case where the output means is a printer.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a host computer, which sends print information for printing a character, a figure, a fill pattern, etc. to the printer 102.

In the printing apparatus 102, 103 is an interface for controlling transmission / reception of print information to / from the host computer 101, 104 is a reception buffer for holding input print information, and 105 is a central processing unit (CP).
In U), judgment and control of various processes are performed according to a program stored in the ROM 106 described later.

The ROM 106 is shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG.
The program of each procedure as shown in FIG. 10 is stored.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a RAM (random access memory), which stores data for the CPU 105 to judge and control each process according to the program stored in the ROM 106. 108 is an intermediate information buffer,
It stores intermediate information obtained by converting information such as figures and fill patterns. A page buffer 109 stores a bit image drawn based on the intermediate information stored in the intermediate information buffer 108. A printer engine 110 prints the bit image stored in the page buffer 109 on paper.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of graphic data and its intermediate information input from the host computer 101 shown in FIG.

FIG. 2A shows coordinates (x0, y0),
It is triangular graphic data represented by (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), and as intermediate information, as shown in (b) of FIG. 2, a label (TRIANGL) indicating the type of graphic is used.
E), and is represented by coordinate data of each point and a label (END) indicating the end of the data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a fill pattern for character and graphic data input from the host computer 101 shown in FIG.

When the filling pattern of FIG. 3 is designated for the triangular graphic data of FIG. 2A, the print result shown in FIG. 4 is output from the printer engine 110.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the data of the fill pattern shown in FIG. 3 and its intermediate information.

FIG. 5A shows a width of 20 dots and a height of 1.
It is the filling pattern data of 2 dots, and the background of the graphic data shown in FIG. 2 can be drawn by repeatedly drawing this pattern.

As the intermediate information of this fill pattern, as shown in FIG. 5B, there is a label (TILE) representing the fill pattern, and the width (20) and height (12) of the fill pattern and the pattern. Data value, flag indicating the end of fill pattern data (END)
It is expressed by. The pattern value of this embodiment is 1 dot = 1
Represented in bits, the black part is 1 (ON) and the white part is 0.
(OFF), and each line (height 1), byte (8b)
It is expressed in units.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the output information (print data) processing method of the output control apparatus according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (14) indicate each step.

First, print data is received from the host computer 101 (1) and held in the reception buffer 104 (2). In step (3), the reception buffer 10
One data item of No. 4 is taken out and it is judged whether or not the print data is ended (4). If it is judged not to be ended, it is judged whether or not the data for one page is ended (5), and the end is made. If not, it is determined whether the print data is mask data of characters, figures, etc. (8). If it is determined that the print data is mask data, the intermediate information of the mask data is created. Then, it is held in the intermediate information buffer 108 (9), and the process proceeds to step (10).

On the other hand, in step (10), it is judged whether or not a fill pattern is set by a fill pattern setting process (13) described later (10),
If it is determined that the setting has been made, a fill pattern is designated for the intermediate information created in step (9) (11), and the process returns to step (3).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (10) that the fill pattern is not set,
Return to step (3).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (8) that the print data is not mask data, it is determined whether the print data is fill pattern data (12), and a fill pattern setting process (13) described later is performed. , Return to step (3).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (12) that the pattern data is not the fill pattern data, print data processing (14) corresponding to the type of data is performed, and the process returns to step (3).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (5) that one page of data has been completed, drawing processing is performed on a bit image based on the intermediate information stored in the intermediate information buffer 108 (6), The bit image is transmitted to the printer engine 110 and printed on paper (7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the data has ended, the process ends.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the paint pattern setting processing method of the output control apparatus according to the present invention, and corresponds to the detailed procedure of the paint pattern setting processing of step (13) shown in FIG. In addition,
(1) to (5) show each step.

First, the intermediate information of the fill pattern is created (1), it is determined whether or not an offset value is set for the fill pattern (2), and if it is determined that the offset value is set, the offset is determined. Offset correction processing (3) is performed to correct the fill pattern intermediate information according to the value, and the process proceeds to step (4).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (2) that the offset value is not set, step (4)
Proceed to.

In step (4), it is determined whether the width of the fill pattern is an integral multiple of the data processing unit of the CPU 105. If it is determined that the width is not an integral multiple, CP
Fill pattern width expansion processing to expand the width of the fill pattern to an integer multiple of the data processing unit of U105 (5)
And the process ends.

On the other hand, in step (4), when it is determined that it is an integral multiple, the process is terminated.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and the respective steps of the fourth to seventh inventions and their actions will be described below with reference to FIG.

A fourth invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information (CPU 105 in this embodiment). Executes the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106 to draw), and transfers the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means to output the bit image. A conversion step (step (1) in FIG. 7) for converting the modified pattern of the above into the intermediate information and a holding step (step (1) in FIG. 7) for holding the converted intermediate information in a storage medium. Then, it becomes possible to programmatically execute the processing for holding the bitmap image data having a complicated modification pattern such as data shift with a small capacity.

A fifth aspect of the invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information (CPU 105 in this embodiment). In the image processing method of the output control device for executing the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106 to perform drawing and transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means for output. A converting step (step (1) in FIG. 7) of converting a filling pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information, and a holding step of holding the converted intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium (FIG. 7). Step (1)) and offset for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. Offset judgment step (step (2) in FIG. 7) for judging whether or not there is the print information, and an offset correction step (step (FIG. 7 in FIG. 7) for correcting the intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information based on the judgment according to the judgment. 3)) is executed to make it possible to programmably perform a process for accelerating the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process of the fill pattern by the offset information for each line when drawing on the bit image.

A sixth aspect of the invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information (CPU 105 in this embodiment). In the image processing method of the output control device for executing the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106 to perform drawing and transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means for output. A converting step (step (1) in FIG. 7) of converting a filling pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information, and a holding step of holding the intermediate information converted by the converting means in a predetermined storage medium. (Step (1) in FIG. 7) and the bit width of the fill pattern held in the storage medium is determined by the drawing processing means. A pattern width determining step (step (4) in FIG. 7) for determining whether or not it matches the unit drawing processing bit width, and a pattern width for expanding the bit width of the filling pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width. Expansion step (step (5) in FIG. 7) and additional step (step (5) in FIG. 7, FIG. 1) of converting the expanded filling pattern into intermediate information and adding it to the holding means.
The step (4) of 0 is executed to make it possible to programmably execute the processing for accelerating the drawing processing by eliminating the data shift processing and the mask processing for repeating the filling pattern when drawing the bit image. .

A seventh aspect of the invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information (CPU 105 in this embodiment). In the image processing method of the output control device for executing the drawing processing program stored in the image ROM 106 to draw) and transferring the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the output means for output. A converting step (step (1) in FIG. 7) of converting a filling pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information, and a holding step of holding the converted intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium (FIG. 7). Step (1)) and offset for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. Offset judgment step (step (2) in FIG. 7) for judging whether or not there is the print information, and an offset correction step (step (FIG. 7 in FIG. 7) for correcting the intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information based on the judgment according to the judgment. 3), steps (1) to (5) in FIG. 8)
And a pattern width determining step (step (4) in FIG. 7) of determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held in the storage medium matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing processing means. A pattern width expansion step (step (5) in FIG. 7, step (3) in FIG. 7) of expanding the bit width of the fill pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and the expanded fill pattern An additional step of converting to intermediate information and adding it to the holding means (step (5) in FIG. 7, step (4) in FIG. 10) is executed to offset each line when drawing into a bit image. Data shift processing of fill pattern by information is unnecessary, and data shift processing for repeating fill pattern when drawing to bit image Drawing processing mask processing as required and can execute the process to speed programmable.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the offset correction processing method of the output control apparatus according to the present invention, and corresponds to the detailed procedure of the offset correction processing of step (3) in FIG. Note that (1) to (5) indicate each step.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the structure of the fill pattern intermediate information in each step of FIG.

In FIG. 8, first, the offset adjustment position is obtained from the offset value (1). The offset adjustment position is for adjusting the data of the fill pattern so that the data value of the coordinate of the offset value is drawn at the coordinate (0, 0) on the paper. The width adjustment position is the remainder of dividing the X coordinate value of the offset by the width of the fill pattern, and the height adjustment position is the remainder of dividing the Y coordinate value of the offset by the height of the fill pattern. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the offset value (4, 3), the fill pattern width is 20, and the height is 12, the width adjustment position is 4,
The height adjustment position is 3.

Next, in step (2), it is determined whether or not the width adjustment position is "0". If it is determined that the width adjustment position is not "0", the bit adjustment position "0" is set to the width adjustment position. Then, the shift processing of the filling pattern is performed (3). In the shift processing ((c) of FIG. 9) in the first row of (a) of FIG. 9, the width adjustment position 4 is set to the first bit of the row, and the bits before the adjustment position are moved to the back of the row (FIG. 9 (d)). This shift processing is performed for all rows.

Then, in step (4) of FIG.
It is judged whether the height adjustment position is "0", and if it is not "0", the fill pattern is replaced so that the line of the height adjustment position becomes "0" of the drawing position. (5).

As a result, as shown in (e) of FIG.
The line at the height adjustment position 3 is set as the first line, and the lines before the adjustment position are moved to the last line ((f) in FIG. 9). By the above offset correction processing, the fill pattern intermediate information of FIG. 9G is created.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the fill pattern width expansion processing method of the output control device according to the present invention, and corresponds to the detailed procedure of the fill pattern width expansion processing of step (5) in FIG. Note that (1)
~ (4) shows each step.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the fill pattern intermediate information in each step of FIG. The CPU data processing unit in this embodiment is 16 bits.

First, the number of insufficient bits of the width of the fill pattern for the CPU data processing unit is calculated (1). The number of insufficient bits is the number of bits insufficient to make the width of the fill pattern an integral multiple of the CPU data processing unit.
Calculated by subtracting the remainder divided by the data processing unit.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the number of insufficient bits in the filled pattern in FIG. 9F is 1
It becomes 2 bits.

In step (2), it is determined whether or not the number of insufficient bits is "0". If it is determined that the number of insufficient bits is not "0", the line head data for the number of insufficient bits is copied to the last data of the line. Then, pattern width expansion processing is performed to expand the width so as to be an integral multiple of the CPU data processing unit (3). The pattern width expansion processing ((c) of FIG. 11) in the first row of (a) of FIG.
32 bits, which is twice the CPU data processing unit (16 bits), by copying 2 bits to the final data
To extend the width of the fill pattern. This pattern width expansion processing is performed for all rows ((e) in FIG. 11).

Then, in step (4), the width (E) of the fill pattern data expanded in step (3) is
xtend wd) to the intermediate data.

As a result of the above pattern width expansion processing, FIG.
(F) Fill pattern intermediate information is created.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and each means of the first to third inventions and their functions will be described with reference to FIG.

A first aspect of the invention is a drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information (CPU 105 in this embodiment). Is executed by the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106), and the bit image drawn by the drawing means is transferred to the printer engine 110 for output and output from the host computer 101. A conversion unit (CPU 105) for converting the fill pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information.
Performs conversion by executing a conversion processing program stored in the ROM 106), holding means for holding the intermediate information converted by the converting means, and intermediate information of the filling pattern held by the holding means. Offset determination means (CPU 105 is a ROM for determining whether there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position)
If the offset determination means determines that there is the offset information, the offset determination program stored in 106 is used to correct the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information. Correction means (CPU 105 is ROM1
The offset correction program stored in 06 is executed to correct), and the fill pattern for each object in the output information input from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information and stored in the RAM 107. If the CPU 105 determines that the held intermediate information of the fill pattern includes offset information for correcting the drawing start position, the intermediate information of the fill pattern is corrected based on the offset information, When drawing on an image, it is possible to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process of the filling pattern by the offset information for each line.

The second invention is the host computer 101.
Output information input from is converted to intermediate information and stored,
Drawing means (a CPU 10 in this embodiment) for drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information.
5 executes the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106 to draw), and the output control device for transferring and outputting the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the printer engine. A conversion unit (CPU 105 is a ROM
A conversion processing program stored in 106 is executed for conversion), and a holding means (RAM 107 in this embodiment) for holding the intermediate information converted by the conversion means;
A pattern width determination means (C) for determining whether or not the bit width of the fill pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means.
The PU 105 executes the judgment processing program stored in the ROM 106 to make a judgment), and when the pattern width judging means judges that the pattern drawing width does not match the unit drawing processing bit width, the bit width of the filling pattern is set to the unit drawing processing. Pattern width expansion means (the CPU 105 executes an expansion processing program stored in the ROM 106 for expansion) for expanding so as to match the bit width, and for each object in the output information input from the host computer 101. When the fill pattern is converted into the intermediate information and stored in the RAM 107, the CPU 1
When the bit width of the fill pattern 05 is held does not match the unit drawing processing bit width (data processing unit (8, 16, 32, 64) of the CPU 105), the bit width of the fill pattern is set to the unit. Drawing process Expanded to match the bit width, the expanded fill pattern is converted to intermediate information and added to the holding means, and a data shift process for repeating the fill pattern when drawing to a bit image , It is possible to speed up the drawing process without the need for masking.

The third invention is a host computer 101.
Output information input from is converted to intermediate information and stored,
Drawing means (a CPU 10 in this embodiment) for drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information.
5 executes the drawing processing program stored in the ROM 106 to draw), and transfers the bit image drawn by the drawing means to the printer engine 110 for output and input from the host computer 101. Conversion means for converting the fill pattern for each object in the output information into the intermediate information (the CPU 105 executes the conversion processing program stored in the ROM 106 for conversion), and the intermediate converted by the conversion means. Holding means for holding information (RAM 107 in this embodiment) and offset judging means for judging whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the fill pattern held by this holding means (CPU 105 is R
The offset determining program stored in the OM 106 is used to make a determination), and when the offset determining unit determines that the offset information is present, an offset for correcting the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information. Correction means (CPU 105 is RO
The offset correction program stored in M106 is executed to correct), and a pattern width for determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. When the judgment means (the CPU 105 executes the judgment processing program stored in the ROM 106 to make a judgment) and the pattern width judgment means judges that the unit drawing processing bit width does not match, the bit width of the filling pattern is determined as described above. Pattern width expanding means (the CPU 105 executes an expansion processing program stored in the ROM 106 to expand) to expand so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and the intermediate information of the held filling pattern is included in the held intermediate information. It was determined that there was offset information for correcting the drawing start position. In this case, the CPU 105 corrects the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information, and the bit width of the held fill pattern is the data processing unit (unit drawing processing bit width (8, 16, 32, 64)), the bit width of the fill pattern is expanded so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and the expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and stored. In addition to the means, when drawing on a bit image, it is not necessary to perform a data shift process of a fill pattern by offset information for each line, and when drawing on a bit image, a data shift process for repeating a fill pattern, It is possible to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the mask process.

In the above embodiment, the fill pattern is simple gradation data in which 1 dot is represented by 1 bit, but 1 dot is 2 bits, 4 bits, 8 bits.
The filling pattern setting process is also possible for multi-value gradation data represented by, etc., and the present invention is effective.

The present invention is also effective for a filled pattern having color data such as RBG component and YMCK component.

Furthermore, the CPU data processing unit is 16 bi
ts, but 8 bits, 32 bits, 64 b
The present invention is effective even in the case of a CPU having a data processing unit such as its.

In the above embodiment, the case where the pattern to be converted into the intermediate information is the fill pattern is taken as an example, but the present invention can be applied to any pattern as long as it is a pattern for modifying a predetermined object. Needless to say. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a new combination pattern, a synthetic pattern, or the like generated by OR processing of patterns.

According to the above embodiment, in the output control device of the present invention, the fill pattern input by the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, the intermediate information is held, and the intermediate information of the held fill pattern is converted into the intermediate information. It is determined whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position, and if it is determined that there is offset information, the fill pattern is modified according to the offset information, and the width of the fill pattern is the data processing unit of the CPU. (The drawing bit width is the data processing unit of the CPU 105 (8,
16, 32, 64)), and when it is determined that it is not the data processing unit of the CPU, the width of the fill pattern is expanded to perform shift processing by the offset value of the fill pattern, and CPU
The intermediate information that has been subjected to the width expansion processing according to the data processing unit is retained, and the effect that the data shift processing and the mask processing of the fill pattern at the time of drawing on the bit image can be omitted.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

Further, in the above embodiment, as the output means,
Although the printer is mainly taken as an example, the present invention can be easily applied to the case where the display means is the output means. Thereby, it can be configured as the following eighth to eleventh inventions.

The eighth aspect of the invention enables the display means as the output means to display the drawn bitmap image at high speed.

The ninth aspect of the invention enables the printing means as the output means to print the drawn bitmap image at high speed.

The tenth aspect of the present invention makes it possible to programmatically execute the processing of displaying the drawn bitmap image at high speed by the display means as the output means.

The eleventh aspect of the invention makes it possible to programmatically execute the process of printing the bitmap image drawn by the printing unit as the output unit at high speed.

As the display means, the present invention can be applied to a display device such as a CRT display device, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display and an FLC display.

[0088]

As described above, the first aspect of the present invention
According to the invention, when the conversion means converts the fill pattern for each object in the output information input from the host computer into the intermediate information and holds it in the holding means, the offset judgment means holds it. When it is determined that there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the fill pattern, the offset correction means corrects the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information, so that a bit image It is possible to speed up the drawing process by omitting the data shift process of the fill pattern by the offset information for each line when the drawing is performed.

According to the second invention, when the filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer by the converting means is converted into the intermediate information and held in the holding means, the pattern width judgment is made. When the means determines that the bit width of the fill pattern held by the means does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, the pattern width expanding means matches the bit width of the filling pattern with the unit drawing processing bit width. As described above, the expanded filling pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means. Therefore, at the time of drawing on a bit image, data shift processing and mask processing for repeating the filling pattern are unnecessary and drawing is performed. The processing can be speeded up.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the offset judging means judges that the held intermediate information of the filling pattern includes the offset information for correcting the drawing start position, the offset correcting means operates. When the intermediate information of the fill pattern is corrected based on the offset information, and the bit width of the fill pattern held by the pattern width determining means does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. A pattern width expanding means expands the bit width of the filling pattern to match the unit drawing processing bit width,
Since the expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means, the data shift processing of the fill pattern by the offset information is not necessary for each line when drawing to the bit image, At the time of drawing, it is possible to speed up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process and the mask process for repeating the fill pattern.

According to the fourth invention, since the modification pattern in the output information is converted into the intermediate information and the converted intermediate information is held in the storage medium, a complicated modification pattern involving data shift. It is possible to programmatically execute the processing for holding the bitmap image data of 3 with a small capacity.

According to the fifth invention, the filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium. Therefore, it is determined whether the held intermediate information of the fill pattern includes offset information for correcting the drawing start position, and the intermediate information of the fill pattern is corrected based on the offset information by the determination. When drawing on a bit image, it is possible to programmatically execute, for each line, a process for speeding up the drawing process by eliminating the data shift process of the fill pattern by the offset information.

According to the sixth invention, the filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium. Expanding the bit width of the fill pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width when it is determined that the held bit width of the filling pattern does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. However, since the expanded fill pattern is converted into intermediate information and added to the holding means, the data shift process and mask process for repeating the fill pattern are unnecessary at the time of drawing to a bit image, and the drawing process is performed at high speed. It is possible to programmatically execute the processing to be converted.

According to the seventh invention, the filling pattern for each object in the output information inputted from the host computer is converted into the intermediate information, and the converted intermediate information is held in a predetermined storage medium. Determining whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the held intermediate information of the fill pattern, and correcting the intermediate information of the fill pattern based on the offset information by the determination. And, if it is determined that the bit width of the held fill pattern does not match the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, the bit width of the fill pattern matches the unit drawing processing bit width. Since the extended fill pattern is converted into intermediate information, the expanded fill pattern is stored in the holding means. In addition, when drawing to a bit image, it is not necessary to perform data shift processing of the fill pattern by offset information for each line, and when drawing to a bit image, data shift processing and mask for repeating the fill pattern. It is possible to programmatically execute a process that speeds up the drawing process by eliminating the process.

According to the eighth invention, the bitmap image drawn by the display means can be displayed at high speed.

According to the ninth aspect, the bitmap image drawn by the printing means can be printed at high speed.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the processing for displaying the drawn bitmap image at high speed by the display means can be executed in a programmable manner.

According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to programmatically execute the process of printing the drawn bitmap image at high speed by the printing means.

Therefore, there is an effect that pattern drawing processing such as painting can be performed at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an output control device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of graphic data input from the host computer shown in FIG. 1 and intermediate information thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a fill pattern for character and graphic data input from the host computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a graphic fill output state based on the fill pattern shown in FIG. 3;

5 is a diagram showing a structure of data of the filling pattern shown in FIG. 3 and intermediate information thereof.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an output information processing method of the output control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a paint pattern setting processing method of the output control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an offset correction processing method of the output control device according to the present invention.

9 is a diagram showing the structure of fill pattern intermediate information in each step of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a paint pattern width expansion processing method of the output control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing intermediate information of a paint pattern in each step of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Host Computer 102 Printing Device 103 Interface 104 Reception Buffer 105 CPU 106 ROM 107 RAM 108 Intermediate Information Buffer 109 Page Buffer 110 Printer Engine

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an output control device for transferring a bit image to an output means for output, a conversion means for converting a fill pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and the intermediate converted by the conversion means. Holding means for holding information, offset judging means for judging whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the fill pattern held by this holding means, and this offset judging means If it is determined that the offset information is present, the paint color is based on the offset information. An output control apparatus comprising: an offset correction unit that corrects intermediate information of a brush pattern. 2. A drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an output control device for transferring a bit image to an output means for output, a conversion means for converting a fill pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and the intermediate converted by the conversion means. Holding means for holding information, pattern width judging means for judging whether the bit width of the fill pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, and this pattern width judging means When it is determined that does not match the unit drawing processing bit width, the bit width of the filling pattern is Pattern width expanding means for expanding so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width, and the converting means converts the fill pattern expanded by the pattern width expanding means into intermediate information and adds it to the holding means. A characteristic output control device. 3. Drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an output control device for transferring a bit image to an output means for output, a conversion means for converting a fill pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and the intermediate converted by the conversion means. Holding means for holding information, offset judging means for judging whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the fill pattern held by this holding means, and this offset judging means If it is determined that the offset information is present, the paint color is based on the offset information. Offset correction means for correcting the intermediate information of the brush pattern, pattern width determination means for determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held by the holding means matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, When the pattern width judgment means judges that the unit drawing processing bit width does not match, the pattern width expanding means for expanding the bit width of the filling pattern so as to match the unit drawing processing bit width is provided. An output control device, wherein the means converts the fill pattern expanded by the pattern width expanding means into intermediate information and adds the intermediate information to the holding means. 4. A drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an image processing method of an output control device for transferring and outputting a bit image to an output means, a converting step of converting a modification pattern in the output information into the intermediate information, and holding the converted intermediate information in a storage medium. An image processing method for an output control device, comprising: 5. Drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an image processing method of an output control device for transferring and outputting a bit image to an output means, a conversion step of converting a fill pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and the converted information. A holding step of holding the intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium, and an offset determination step of determining whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. , An offset correction process for correcting the intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information based on the determination An image processing method for an output control device, comprising: 6. Drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an image processing method of an output control device for transferring and outputting a bit image to output means, a conversion step of converting a filling pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and conversion by the conversion means. A holding step of holding the stored intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium, and a pattern width for determining whether or not the bit width of the filling pattern held in the storage medium matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means. A judgment step and a pattern for expanding the bit width of the filling pattern to match the unit drawing processing bit width. An image processing method for an output control device, comprising: a turn width expanding step; and an additional step of converting the expanded fill pattern into intermediate information and adding the intermediate information to the holding means. 7. A drawing means for converting input output information into intermediate information and holding it, and drawing a bit image on a memory based on the held intermediate information, and the drawing means drawn by this drawing means. In an image processing method of an output control device for transferring and outputting a bit image to an output means, a conversion step of converting a fill pattern for each object in the input output information into the intermediate information, and the converted information. A holding step of holding the intermediate information in a predetermined storage medium, and an offset determination step of determining whether or not there is offset information for correcting the drawing start position in the intermediate information of the filling pattern held in the storage medium. , An offset correction process for correcting the intermediate information of the filling pattern based on the offset information based on the determination And a pattern width determining step of determining whether the bit width of the fill pattern held in the storage medium matches the unit drawing processing bit width by the drawing means, and the bit width of the fill pattern is set to the unit drawing. An image of the output control device, comprising: a pattern width expanding step of expanding so as to match the processing bit width; and an additional step of converting the expanded filling pattern into intermediate information and adding the intermediate information to the holding means. Processing method. 8. The output control device according to claim 1, wherein the output means is a display means for displaying output information. 9. The output control device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit is a printing unit that prints output information. 10. The image processing method for an output control device according to claim 4, wherein the output means is a display means for displaying output information. 11. The image processing method for an output control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the output unit is a printing unit that prints output information.