JPH0846775A - Image data processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce transfer information quantity by selectively transferring information of displayed part when stored character/graphic information is synthesized onto image information. CONSTITUTION:Image information synthesized to part of character/graphic information stored in an image storage section 1 and character/graphic information stored by one frame in a character/graphic information storage section 2 and converted into color information by a color conversion table 3 are synthesized and the result is outputted. Then one frame of the character/graphic information is transferred externally with the table 3 and only the information to be displayed when the image information is synthesized with the character/ graphic information is transferred externally selectively by a data transfer control means 4. The control means 4 applies reduction processing to the image information when reduction scaling is applied to the image information and then transfers the reduced information and the control means 4 provides scaling information to the image information and transfers the information without modification of scaling when magnified scaling is applied to the image information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image information transfer method, and more particularly to an image data processing apparatus used when transferring a display screen containing a mixture of color images and characters / graphics to a printer or the like for printout.

In recent years, it has become possible to handle various media in a computer system as represented by the keyword multimedia, and image data of still images typified by natural images are It is becoming important to be able to handle it as a basic, ordinary medium. In recent years, RG, which can be called a full-color printer,
B Since printer apparatuses having the expressive power of about 256 gradations have become common, there is a demand for easily outputting a full-color hard copy of a natural image displayed on a display screen.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 19 shows a block diagram of a conventional image processing system.

In order to display image data such as a natural image on the display device 73, one pixel has 256 RGB pixels each.
A gradation image memory is required. Therefore, the target system has a natural image memory 72 for displaying image data in addition to the bitmap frame memory 71 for displaying normal characters and graphics on the display screen. An analog video signal is generated by the hardware scaling 48 and the look-up table 75, and the analog video signals are analog-superimposed to create a composite analog video signal, whereby image data on the screen of the display device 73 is generated. Has been realized. In the conventional image data processing method, limited color expression (YMCB, one gradation for each)
Only the printer having the function can be supported, and the bitmap data of the character / graphics frame memory 71 is supplied to the printer driver 78 through the screen data cutout processing unit 76 and the network 77, and the printer 79 has no relation to the LUT type value. Even though the YMCB data is converted to YMCB data and the hard copy is performed, and even if the LUT value is changed on the display side to display the character / graphic data in the intermediate color on the display screen, the LUT data is not hard copied. It was not reflected. Further, since the data in the image memory for natural images is not referred to during the hard copy, even if the image data is displayed on the display screen, it is not reflected in the output result of the hard copy.

Further, when it is inevitable to output image data, the image data is binarized and printed out by processing as image data, or the image is processed by an application in the computer main body, and clipping scaling is processed. Was.

[0006]

In the conventional image data processing, however, the color expression (YM
Since only data having a CB (one gradation) function is assumed, the data that can be transferred to the printer is limited to data such as graphic images / characters, and there is a problem that image data cannot be printed.

Conventionally, full-color printing at the driver level has not been performed. To handle image data at the driver level, the image data is binarized into image data that can be processed by the driver and treated as image data. I am printing and when I try to print the image in full color I am processing at the application level, clipping,
Since all the scaling needs to be processed by the application, there is a problem that the service of the operation system (hereinafter referred to as OS) cannot be used at the time of printing and the processing efficiency is low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an image data processing apparatus capable of efficiently processing an image.

[0009]

FIG. 1 shows the principle of the present invention. Claim 1 stores the image information stored in the image storage unit 1 and combined with a part of the character / graphic information, and one frame in the character / graphic information storage unit 2, and stores the color conversion table 3.
In the image data processing device for synthesizing and outputting the character / graphic information converted into color information by the above, the character / graphic information is transferred together with the color conversion table 3 for one frame to the outside, and the image information is transferred to the outside. It has a data transfer control means 4 for selectively transferring only the information of the portion displayed at the time of combining with the character / graphic information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the data transfer control means 4 performs a reduction process on the image information when the image information is reduced and scaled, and then transfers the image information, and when the image information is enlarged and scaled. Has a configuration in which scaling information is added to the image information and the image information is transferred at the same scale.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided scaling means 5 which is provided at a transfer destination and which enlarges and outputs the transferred image information according to the scaling information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a synthesizing means 6 for synthesizing the character / graphic information by the color conversion table 3 at a transfer destination and synthesizing the image information with the image information. The image data processing device according to the item.

According to a fifth aspect, the data transfer control means 4
Has a configuration in which information indicating that the image information does not exist is added to a portion that is not displayed as image information when being combined with the character / graphic information, and is transferred.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the data transfer control means 4 transfers the information indicating that the image information is not displayed to the transfer destination when the image information is not output, and transfers the character / graphic information as it is to the transfer destination. As

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a changing means for changing the value of the color conversion table 3, and the color of the character / graphic information is corrected by changing the value of the color conversion table 3 by the changing means. As

According to the eighth aspect, the converting means 7 _{-1 to} 7 _{-N for} converting the image data having different data formations into respective predetermined data formats.
And the conversion means 7 _-1 to _-1 depending on the supplied image data.
Selection means 8 for selecting 7- _N .

According to a ninth aspect, character / graphic data is supplied,
It comprises a conversion means for converting the data into the predetermined data structure, and a conversion control means for controlling the conversion of the conversion means according to the presence or absence of the image data.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, storage means for storing the supplied image data, processing means for performing clipping / scaling processing on the supplied image data, and processing for the processing means according to the data format are stored in the storage means. And a processing control means 10d for controlling so that the amount of data stored in the means is minimized.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the dividing means for dividing the image data into rectangles each having a predetermined number of lines and the number of surplus lines when divided by the dividing means are compared with a predetermined minimum guaranteed line number. If the number of the remaining lines is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number, the rectangle control means for making the whole rectangle larger than the minimum guaranteed line number.

[0020]

According to claim 1 of the present invention, the image information stored in the image storage section is selectively the information of the portion displayed at the time of combination with the character / graphic information stored in the character / graphic storage section 2. Since there is no need to transfer image information that is not involved in display among the image information stored in the image storage unit, the amount of information to be transferred can be significantly reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information that needs to be scaled down can be transferred by reducing the amount of information, and the information that needs to be scaled can be transferred as it is without increasing the amount of information. The amount can be kept to the minimum necessary.

According to the third aspect, by providing the transfer means with the scaling means, it is possible to perform the enlargement on the information requiring the enlargement.

According to the fourth aspect, the character / graphic information can be easily combined by converting the character / graphic information by the color conversion table at the transfer destination and combining with the image information.

According to the fifth aspect, the image information includes characters /
By adding information indicating that the image information does not exist to a portion which is not displayed at the time of combining with the graphic information and transferring the image information, the character / graphic and the image can be easily superimposed at the time of combining.

According to the sixth aspect, when the image information is not output, the information indicating that the image information is not displayed is transferred to the transfer destination, and the character / graphic information is transferred as it is to the transfer destination, whereby the image and the character / graphic are formed. Therefore, the processing time can be shortened because it is not necessary to superpose.

According to the seventh aspect, since the color conversion value of the character / graphic can be changed at the transfer destination, the color of the character / graphic for the image can be adjusted, and the color balance between the image and the character / graphic can be adjusted. You can

According to the eighth aspect, since the image data of different data formats can be converted into a predetermined data format, it is possible to deal with image data of various formats.

According to the ninth aspect, the character / graphic data can be output with or without conversion depending on the presence / absence of image data. When combining with the image data, conversion is performed to facilitate the combination. When it is possible to perform the composition and the composition is unnecessary, the character / graphic data can be directly output without conversion, and the processing time can be shortened.

According to the tenth aspect, by controlling the clipping / scaling processing, it is possible to minimize the storage amount of data when storing the image data.

According to the eleventh aspect, when the image data is divided into rectangles at the time of transferring the image data, the number of lines forming the rectangle is adjusted so that the rectangle can always be formed with a number of lines larger than the minimum guaranteed number of lines.

[0031]

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. The display data supply unit 11 supplies the image data for natural image and the character / graphic data to the image memory 12 for natural image and the frame memory 13 for character / graphic.

A graphic / image / character / image is displayed on the display 14 based on the data supplied from the display data supply unit 11.

The display 14 corresponds to the bit map data on the character / graphic frame memory 13 (composed of about 4 to 8 plane data and having a value corresponding to the entry value of the LUT). Data is LUT
It is displayed in a display color corresponding to the data set in the (color lookup table) 16. Furthermore, the image data stored in the image memory 12 for natural images (1 pixel is RG
B data with 8 bits each, totaling 24 bits of color information) is hardware scaling / display positioning mechanism 1
Display 1 enlarged / reduced in analog by 5
4 is displayed in a superimposed manner on a predetermined position.

When a screen hard copy request is issued, the screen data processing unit 17 is activated. The screen data processing unit 17 performs the processing described below, and transfers the data to the screen data conversion / transfer processing unit 20 through the network mechanism 18 and the spooling mechanism 19.

FIG. 3 shows an operation flowchart of the image data processing unit 17 of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The screen displayed on the display 14 is locked (step S1 _-1 ). Next, the image data conversion transfer processing unit 20 is opened (step S1).
_-2 ).

[0037] Next the mode setting to determine the aspect such as the paper (step S1 _-3).

Next, it is judged whether or not there is a still natural image on the screen displayed on the display 14 (step S).
_1-4 ).

If there is no still natural image on the display screen, the control unit 22 is controlled in the mode without the still natural image (step _S1-5 ). Further, if there is still natural image on the display screen, and controls the control unit 21 in the mode of static natural Eyu (step S1 _-6).

Next, the look-up table data is read from the color look-up table 16 and supplied to the image data conversion / transfer processing section 20 (step _S1-7 ).

Next, the bitmap data stored in the character / graphics frame memory 13 is divided into a plurality of data units and supplied to the image data conversion / transfer processing section 20 (step _S1-8 ).

Here, it is again determined whether or not there is a still natural image on the screen of the display 14 (step S).
_1-9 ). If there is no still natural image on the screen of the display 14, the screen data processing unit 17 is closed and the image data conversion / transfer processing unit 20 is closed to unlock the display screen (step S).
1 _-10 , S1 _-11 , S1 _-12 ).

In step _S1-9 , the display 14 is displayed.
If there is a still natural image on the screen, the screen is divided into predetermined rectangles, and the transfer target is sequentially set from among them (step _S1-13 ).

[0044] whether next is included still natural image in a rectangular set in step S1 _-13 is determined (step S1 _-14).

[0045] Here, if there is still a natural image to the set in a rectangle, and transfers the information without still natural image and the position and size information of the screen division rectangle (still natural image data transfer end) (step S1 _{- 15} ).

If there is a still natural image in the rectangle set in step _S1-14 , it is determined whether or not the data of the still natural image in the next set rectangle is a size that can be transferred by one transfer. (Step _S1-16 ).

Step S1_-16Can be transferred at once
If it is judged whether or not reduction scaling is necessary,
Judged (step S1)_-17). Step S1_-17so
The screen if it is enlarged or displayed as it is
Position / size information of the divided rectangle and still natural image in it
Position and size of the rectangle and
The scaling information shown and the image data of the still natural image are transferred.
Send (Step S1 _-18).

If reduction scaling is necessary in step _S1-17 , reduction scaling is performed (step _S1-19 ), and then step _S1-18 is executed together with scaling information indicating no scaling.

When it is determined in step _S1-16 that the size of the still natural image data cannot be transferred at one time, the setting screen setting division rectangle is divided into rectangles of a size to which the still natural image data can be transferred. Yes (Step S
1 _-20 ).

Next, the divided rectangles are sequentially transferred. At this time, first, it is judged whether or not there is still natural image data in the rectangle to be transferred (step _S1-21 ). Information is still natural image in a rectangular described in Step S1 _{-1 5} Without to be transferred in step S1 _-21 is transferred.

If still rectangular image data is present in the rectangle to be transferred in step _S1-21 , it is then determined whether or not reduction scaling is necessary (step S1).
_-22 ).

When scaling is performed in step _S1-22 or as it is, the still image and natural image data are displayed in the position / size of the screen division rectangle, the position / size of the rectangle of the divided still image, and scaling information indicating the enlargement or the original scaling. , And the corresponding still image data are transferred (step _S1-23 ).

If it is determined in step _S1-22 that the still natural image data needs to be scaled down, the scaled down scaling is performed (step S1).
_1-24 ), and data transfer is performed based on step _S1-23 .

[0054] Step S1 _-13 ~S1 _-24 executed for all screen division rectangles above, the transfer of data on the screen (step S1 _-25).

Here, FIG. 4 shows an example in which a still image of a natural image is displayed on the display screen. In FIG. 4, a still image of the window W2 indicated by diagonal lines is displayed, and the other windows W1 and W
3, the background B1 is a frame memory 13 for all characters / graphics
It is composed of the bitmap data corresponding to the above, and by the LUT data of the character / graphic LUT 16,
The color information has been determined.

FIG. 5 shows an example of data transfer unit of character / graphic bitmap data. Generally, a network mechanism 18 and a scaling mechanism 19 are provided between the screen data processing unit 17 and the screen data conversion / transfer processing unit 20 shown in FIG. Therefore, the size of the character / graphic bitmap data and the still natural image data that can be transferred at one time is limited, and data transfer is performed with a protocol for each certain unit. FIG. 5 shows that the data for one screen of the bitmap for characters / graphics is divided into N, and one divided rectangular data is transferred as a transfer unit.

When a natural still image is displayed on the display screen, the state of the display screen shown in FIG. 4 cannot be expressed only by the bitmap data for characters / graphics as shown in FIG. , 1 of the bitmap for characters / graphics transferred to the screen data conversion / transfer processing unit 20
All the data for the screen is once stored in the data storage area 23 as it is.

Next, transfer of still image data of a natural image will be described.

In the screen data conversion / transfer processing section 20, it is necessary to combine still image data and character / graphic bitmap data and transfer them to the full color printer 21. Therefore, also in the transfer of still image data, it is convenient to transfer the bitmap data of characters / graphics in units of rectangles that can be processed at one time. However, since the size of the image data becomes large, if the size of the image data that can be transferred at one time is exceeded, it is necessary to further divide the data. FIG. 6A shows an example of a screen division rectangle for data transfer of a still image of a natural image.

In the screen division rectangle shown in FIG. 6A, the screen data conversion / transfer processing unit 20 synthesizes the still image data and the character / graphic bitmap data to obtain the full-color printer 2.
It corresponds to the unit to be transferred to 1. This screen division rectangle does not necessarily have to be the same as the data transfer unit of the bitmap data for characters / graphics shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, for the still image data of the natural image, only the data of the portion visible on the display screen is divided and transferred. 6B to 6D show examples of data transfer units of still images of natural images. Here, the example shown in FIG. 6A is described. First, the transfer of still image data corresponding to the first screen division rectangle is performed, but in this example, as shown in FIG. 6B, no image data exists in this division rectangle. Therefore, as the transfer of the image data, the information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle and the information that there is no still image data (end of the still image data transfer) are transferred. In response to this, the image data conversion / transfer processing unit 20 receives, from among the stored one-screen character / graphic bitmap data,
The data corresponding to the corresponding screen division rectangle is referred to the data of the LUT 16 and has the same data format as that of the still image data of the natural image (here, one pixel is 8 bits for each RGB, a total of 24
Converted to a format expressed by bit color information). In this case, since the still image data to be combined does not exist, the converted data is immediately transferred to the full color printer 21.
Transfer to.

Next, the transfer of the still image data corresponding to the second screen division rectangle will be described. In this example, it is assumed that the still image data existing in the divided rectangle is rectangular data having a size that can be transferred at one time as shown in FIG. 6 (C). In this case, as the transfer of the image data, first, the information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle, the information (position / size) of the still image data, and the still image data itself are transferred.
Transfer in degrees. After that, information about the screen division rectangle (position / size) and no still image data (still image data transfer completed)
Information is transferred.

When the screen data conversion / transfer processing section 20 first receives the information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle, the character / graphic bit map data storage area 24 stores one screen of characters / characters. Of the graphic bitmap data, the character / graphic bitmap data corresponding to the received screen division rectangle is referred to the LUT data stored in the LUT data storage area 23, and the data conversion unit 25 causes the still image data of the natural image to be displayed. Same data format as (1 here
The pixel is converted into a format represented by color information of 8 bits for each of RGB and 24 bits in total. By converting the character / graphic bitmap data into the same data format as the natural image still image data, the data / synthesizing unit 28 can combine the character / graphic data with the natural image still image data. Here, the synthesizing process is performed by taking the OR logic of each of the R, G, and B 8-bit data.
Note that the image data transferred here is not necessarily the size itself displayed on the display screen.

The still image of the natural image displayed on the display 14 is the still image data stored in the image memory 12 for natural image displayed through the hardware scaling display positioning mechanism 15. Therefore, when the data is directly extracted from the natural image memory 12 without passing through the hardware scaling display positioning mechanism 15, it is necessary to perform scaling processing on the extracted still image data.

The scaling processing at this time is performed by either the image data processing unit 17 or the image data conversion / transfer processing unit 20, but between the image data processing unit 17 and the image data conversion / transfer processing unit 20, general scaling processing is performed. Specifically, there are a network mechanism 18 and a scaling mechanism 19. Therefore, if the amount of data transferred during this period is too large, both performance and resource will be serious problems. Therefore, in order to reduce the network load and the scaling load in the data transfer, if the scaling by the hardware on the display screen reduces the data, the image data processing unit 17 performs a reduction scaling process in advance before the transfer. If the scaling by the hardware on the display screen is to increase the data, the scaling process is not performed before the transfer and the data scaling of the image data conversion transfer processing unit 20 is performed after the transfer. The unit 27 performs the enlarging scaling process. This can reduce the network load and spooling load in data transfer. Before combining with the image data character / graphic data, expansion scaling processing is performed if necessary, and the screen division rectangular data of the display screen image obtained after combining is transferred to the full-color printer 21.

Finally, the transfer of still image data corresponding to the third screen division rectangle will be described. In this example, it is assumed that the still image data existing in the divided rectangle is rectangular data having a size that cannot be transferred at one time as shown in FIG. In this case, as the transfer of the image data, the image data within the screen division rectangle is divided into rectangular data of a size that can be further transferred, and the rectangular data is transferred. An example of this image division is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the division method may be any method as long as it can be divided into rectangular data, and as shown in FIG. As shown in (B), it is divided vertically into rectangles,
As shown in FIG. 7C, a combination of FIGS. 7A and 7B may be used. A method of transferring these divided data is shown in FIG. First, one of the information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle, the information (position / size) of the still image data, and the divided still image data is transferred.

Thereafter, this transfer is repeated until the still image data is changed and there is no image data divided into the screen division rectangle, and finally, information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle and no still image data (still image). Image data transfer completed). The information (position / size) of the screen division rectangle need not be sent again for the transfer of the same screen division rectangle after the transfer for one screen division rectangle.

Next, the process of screen hard copy when a still image is not displayed on the display will be described.

When the still image is not displayed on the display, the data in the natural image memory 12 need not be transferred. Therefore, the information on the display screen is the data of the character / graphic frame memory 13 and the LUT1.
It can be reproduced from the data of 6. Data transfer of bit map data for characters / graphics is performed as shown in FIGS. Here, when a still image is displayed,
Since the information on the display screen cannot be reproduced unless a still image is transferred, the bitmap data for characters / graphics is not processed at that time even if it is transferred, and all the data on one screen is saved. The processing is performed for the first time when the data is transferred, but when the still image is not displayed on the display, the processing can be immediately performed each time the character / graphic bitmap data is transferred.

As for the data format to be transferred to the full-color printer 21, if still image data is present, it is necessary to synthesize screen data. Therefore, the data format of the still image (1 pixel is 8 bits for each RGB, the total is 8 bits). 24
It was necessary to unify them all in the format expressed by bit color information, but there is no still image data, and the data format of the still image (1 pixel is 8 bits for each RGB, total 2)
If it is not necessary to use the format represented by 4-bit color information), the LUT data and the bitmap data are transferred to the full-color printer 21 as they are, or simply transferred by converting the surface order data into the point order data. This makes it possible to improve the performance. The command sequence to the printer driver when a still image is not displayed is shown. The screen hard copy processing unit is opened in the mode without displaying a still image, and no image data is transferred. The transfer unit of the bitmap data for characters / graphics is as shown in FIGS. The data transferred for each rectangle is the data conversion unit 3 of the screen data conversion transfer unit 20.
At 0, the surface rank data is converted into dot rank data and immediately transferred to the full color printer 21.

Finally, the color adjustment by the color correction unit 31 will be described. Generally, the full-color printer 21 is provided with a color adjustment mechanism such as gamma correction, and color adjustment can be performed at an analog level by specifying parameters.

However, when the character / graphic bitmap data and the still image data are superimposed and displayed at the analog video signal level on the display screen, for example, color adjustment is performed on the printer 21 side in accordance with the still image data. , The color of the character / figure is far from the color of the screen, and conversely, if the color is adjusted on the printer 21 side according to the character / figure, the color of the still image will be far from the color. I will end up. Usually, the color of characters / graphics is often based on the screen color, but for a still image, if it is convenient to make a screen hard copy in a color similar to the color tone of the original photo, etc. There are many. Therefore, regarding the color adjustment, it is necessary to adjust the color of the character / graphic and the color of the still image separately.

However, since the color adjustment of gamma correction performed by the full-color printer 21 is performed on the combined data, gamma correction cannot be performed by distinguishing a character / graphic and a still image. Therefore, by digitally correcting the character / graphic data before combining it with the still image, the color of the character / graphic portion and the color of the still image portion can be corrected in a well-balanced manner.

In the actual processing, when the LUT data of the character / graphic is received, the LUT data is not used as it is, but is corrected by the correction unit 31 by the conversion table and then stored in the LUT data storage area 23. To do.

As described above, printing can be performed while maintaining good color balance between the character / graphic and the still natural image.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, in the case of performing full-color printing with a built-in image, in order to solve the complexity and inefficiency of a huge amount of data operation of image data, and to solve the fixed rectangular shape printing of each image. Therefore, the printer driver performs conversion and processing of the image data to the specified position and size, thereby enabling free clipping and scaling of the image. The driver call unit 41 receives graphic data, image data,
The character data and the image data are supplied, the processing units 43 and 44 corresponding to the processing of each data are selected, and the graphic data, the image data, the character data, and the image data are supplied.

The graphic data, the image data and the character data are supplied to the graphic / image / character data processing unit 43,
The image data is supplied to the image data processing unit 44.

The graphic data, the image data, and the character data are first supplied to the preprocessing unit 45 in the graphic / image / character data processing unit 43, and the command analysis and the like are performed.

After command analysis, the supplied graphic / image data is stored in the page buffer 46, and the character data is stored in the character line buffer 47.

The figure / image / character data temporarily stored in the page buffer 46 and the character line buffer 47 is supplied to the data analysis processing unit 48. Data analysis processing unit 4
In 8, the command of the supplied data is analyzed, and the transfer control unit 49 is controlled according to the analysis processing result here.

The data analyzed by the data analysis unit 48 is supplied to the data expansion unit 50 and expanded on the bit map memory 51 as data for expressing 56 gradations.

The data expanded in the bit map memory 51 is supplied to the data conversion processing section 52. The data conversion processing unit 52 divides the data in the bitmap memory 51 into transfer units and supplies the data to the transfer buffer 53. At this time, the data conversion processing unit 52 is supplied from the data transfer unit 54 with a switching control signal for identifying the presence or absence of image data.

When the switching control signal from the driver call unit 41 indicates that there is image data, the data conversion processing unit 52 converts the data from the bitmap memory 51 into RGB.
The data is converted into non-compressed data and supplied to the transfer buffer 53. When the switching control signal indicates image data, the data from the bitmap memory 51 is directly supplied to the transfer buffer 53 as 256 gradation expression data.

In the data conversion processing unit 52, 256 gradations or R
The data which has been regarded as the GB uncompressed data is supplied to the graphic / image / character data data transfer control unit 49 via the transfer buffer 53. The data transfer control unit 49 outputs data according to the command analysis result from the data analysis processing unit 48.

The data output from the data transfer control section 49 is transferred to the full color printer 55 via the data transfer section 54.
Is supplied to. The data transfer unit 54 has a graphic / image /
The graphic data / image / character data is supplied from the character data processing unit 43, and the image data is supplied from the image data processing unit 44 to transfer the graphic / image / character data and the image data to the full color printer 55. At this time, the presence / absence of image data is detected, and a switching control signal for identifying the presence / absence of image data is generated and supplied to the driver call unit 41 and the data conversion unit 52.

The full-color printer 55 is constructed so that it can further support 256 gradations and RGB uncompressed data.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of the image processing unit 44. Image data is supplied to the preprocessing unit 56 from the driver call unit 41 in addition to the image data transmission command and the transfer command command. At this time, as the image data supplied from the driver call unit 41, three types of expression data, JPEG compressed image data, 256 gradation image data, and RGB non-compressed image data are supplied.

The preprocessing unit 56 receives the data and command supplied from the driver call unit 41, analyzes the command, and outputs the data and the command analysis result to the command receiving unit 5.
7 The command receiving unit 57 controls the disk access unit 58 and the like according to the received command to control the processing unit so as to perform processing according to the command. The image data is supplied to the image rectangle calculation unit 58 via the preprocessing unit 56 and the command reception unit 57.

The image rectangle calculator 58 calculates the rectangle size of the image on which the image data is displayed.

The image data which has been made into the display rectangle by the image rectangle calculation unit 58 as described above is supplied to the clip processing unit 59. The clip processing unit 59 performs clip processing on the image data from the image rectangle calculation unit 58.

The scale processing section 60 performs scale processing on the image data. The JPEG data decompression unit 61 uses J
The PEG compressed data is expanded and converted into RGB uncompressed data. The disk access unit 62 is a disk device 63
To read or write the image data to or from the disk device 63. 256
The data converter 64 converts the image data represented by 256 gradations into RGB uncompressed data. Data transfer control unit 65
Transfers the data processed by the above units to the full-color printer 55.

FIG. 10 shows a data structure of the image data supplied to the image processing section 44. The image data supplied to the image processing unit 44 is 256 gradation image data, JPE
There are G compressed image data and RGB uncompressed image data.

FIG. 10A shows 256 gradation image data,
(B) shows JPEG compressed image data, and (C) shows RGB uncompressed image data.

The header portion has attribute information for identifying the structure of each data, and data required for display is stored following the attribute information.

In particular, in the case of 256 gradation expression, FIG.
As shown in (A), an LUT (color look-up table) is stored following the attribute, and 256 gradation image data is stored subsequently.

11 and 12 show operation flowcharts of the image processing unit 44 of the second embodiment of the present invention. First, FIG.
1 and the operation at the time of image data discretization will be described.

[0096] First, it is determined from the attribute information image data supplied by the command receiving section 52 has been given or not 256 or gradation representation of the image data as shown in FIG. 16 (Step S2 _-1). The image data supplied here is 256
In the case of gradation expression, the command receiving unit 57 stores the LUT stored after the attribute information shown in FIG. 10A in the disk device 63 via the disk access unit 62 (step _S2-2 ).

Next, the image rectangle calculator 58 acquires the rectangle size of the image to be printed from the attribute information added to the image data, regardless of the expression gradation (step _S2-3 ).

Next, the scale magnification is calculated similarly (step _S2-4 ).

Next, it is judged from the attribute information whether the supplied image data is JPEG compressed image data (step _S2-5 ).

[0100] If the supplied image data in step S2 _-5 is judged to be the JPEG compressed image data, JP
The EG compressed image data is stored in the disk device 63 via the disk access unit 62 as the compressed data as it is (step _S2-6 ).

[0102] Further, other than JPEG compressed image data in step S2 _-5, that is, in the case of 256 gradations or uncompressed RGB image data image data is supplied to the clip processing unit 59, the clip processing is performed (step S2 _{- 7} ).

Next, the scale factor of the image data is judged (step _S2-8 ). If the scale magnification is enlargement in step _S2-8 , the scale processing of enlargement processing is not performed, and the image data is stored as it is in the disk device 63 via the disk access unit 62 (step S2).
2 _-6 ).

If the scale magnification is reduced in step _S2-8 , the image data is supplied to the scale processing unit 60, reduced by the scale processing unit 60, and then transferred to the disk device 63 via the disk access unit 62. It is stored (steps _S2-9 , _S2-6 ).

As described above, compressed data such as JPEG compressed data is discriminated as it is, and at 256 gradations, RGB uncompressed data is clipped and then reduced in scale processing so that the data becomes smaller. Only in the case of such a process, since the discretization is performed after the process is performed, the discretized data is kept to a necessary minimum and the increase of the data is prevented.

Next, the operation when reading image data will be described with reference to FIG. First, whether the data being disc Retained 256 gradation expression is controlled (Step S3 _-1). Here, data of 256 gradations is if it is a disk-retaining in advance disk Retained by color look-up table LUT is supplied to the 256 data converter 64 is read out from the disk device 63 (Step S3 _{- 2} ). Then regardless of the data representation, the image data is read out which is disc-retaining (step S3 _-3). The next read data is J
It is determined whether the data is PEG compressed data (step S).
_3-4 ).

[0106] In step S3 _-4, the read data supplies the image data read out in the case of JPEG compressed data to the JPEG data decompression section 61, converts the RGB uncompressed format (step S3 _{- 5} ).

Next, the decompressed and RGB non-compressed data is supplied to the clip processing unit 59 and clip processing is performed (step _S3-6 ).

Next, the clipped data is supplied to the scale processing unit 60, and the scale processing of reduction / enlargement is performed (step _S3-7 ).

After the scale processing, the data is transferred to the full-color printer 55 via the data transfer control unit 65 (step _S3-8 ).

[0110] Data read in step S3 _-4 is J
In the case of 256 gradations other than PEG compressed data or RGB uncompressed data, the scale magnification is judged (step _S3-9 ). If the scale magnification is expanded in step _S3-9 , the read data is supplied to the scale processing unit 60,
Enlargement processing is performed (step _S3-10 ). If the scale magnification is reduced, the reduction processing has been performed during discretization, and therefore the process directly proceeds to the next step.

Next, it is judged whether the data is RGB uncompressed data (step _S3-11 ). If the data is 256 gray scale image data in step S3 _-11, the image data is supplied to the 256-level data converter 64, with reference to the color look-up table LUT that is previously provided in step S3 _-2, RGB It is converted into uncompressed data and transferred to the full-color printer 55 via the data transfer control unit 65 (steps _S3-12 , _S3-8 ).

If the image data read out in step _S3-11 is RGB uncompressed data, it is directly supplied to the full-color printer 55 via the data transfer control unit 49.

FIG. 13 shows an operation flowchart when transferring image data. Since only a predetermined amount of data can be transferred when the image data is transferred, the image data is divided into rectangles having a predetermined data amount, and the data is transferred to the full-color printer 55 for each of the divided rectangles. First, acquire a rectangular size of the print image on paper from the supplied data (step S4 _-1).

[0114] Next, acquiring the size of the transfer buffer full color printer 55 (step S4 _-2). Then it calculates the line number h of the rectangle size that can be transferred at one time than the rectangular size of the size and the print image transfer buffer (step S4 _-3).

Next, the number of lines of all rectangle sizes is divided by the number of lines of one rectangle size h to calculate the number of remaining lines h '(step _S4-4 ).

[0116] whether step S4 remainder line number h calculated in ₄ 'is 0 is judged (step S4 _-5). In step _S2-5 , the number of remaining lines h '= 0, that is, if there is no remaining number, the number of lines h is set as one transfer unit, and the process ends.

In step _S4-5 , if the number of remaining lines _h'is h '> 0, that is, if there is a remaining amount, it is determined whether or not the remaining number is equal to or more than the minimum guaranteed number of lines m printable by the full-color printer 55. A judgment is made (step _S4-6 ). In step _S4-6 , the residual line number h'is the minimum guaranteed line number m.
If it is above, the last transfer unit is set to the extra line number h ', and the rectangle calculation is finished.

In step _S4-6 , the number of surplus lines h '
Is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number m, the division transfer rectangle size is adjusted (step _S4-7 ). For the adjustment of the rectangle size, the number of lines of the final rectangle is set to the minimum guaranteed line number m, and the number of lines of the final rectangle is set to (h + h'-m). As described above, the number of all rectangular lines can be made larger than the minimum guaranteed line number m, and printing with the full color printer 55 becomes possible.

14 to 18 are operation explanatory diagrams of the rectangular division operation of the image data.

Assuming that an image is printed on paper as shown in FIG. 14A, the image is first divided into five rectangles that can be transferred at one time as shown in FIG. 14B. At this time, if the last rectangular line number is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number m as shown in FIG. 14 (B), the penultimate rectangular line number is set to the minimum guaranteed line number as shown in FIG. 14 (C). Set the number of lines in the last rectangle to (h + h '
-M), the minimum guaranteed line number m for any rectangle
It can be made larger and printing becomes possible.

The number of transfers is 4 or more in FIG. 15, the number of transfers is 1 in FIG. 18, the number of transfers is 3 in FIG. 16, and the number of transfers is 2 in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a rectangular division operation of a time. FIG. 15 (A), FIG.
6 (A) and FIG. 17 (A) show the operation when there is no extra line number. In this case, the division rectangle Rect, the final division rectangle L
astRect, the second divided rectangle from the end, Booty
Both Rects are set to the same line number h.

FIG. 15B, FIG. 16B, and FIG.
In (B), the number of remaining lines is the minimum guaranteed number of lines, here 3
The operation in the above case will be described. Since the number of surplus lines is the number of printable lines, the number of lines in the final rectangle LastRect is the number of surplus lines.

FIG. 15C, FIG. 16C and FIG.
(C) shows the operation when the number of remaining lines is "2" lines or less, which is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number "3". The number of surplus lines is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number "3", here "2"
In the following cases, since the remaining number of lines cannot be printed as it is, the number of lines of the final rectangle LastRect is set to "3" as the final line number, and the second rectangle from the last is a rectangle
Printing is possible by setting the number of Rect lines to the number of remaining lines.

When the number of transfers is one, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), when there is no remainder or when the minimum guaranteed line number is "3" or more, it is transferred and printed as it is, but when the line number smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number is "2" or less, it is printed. It will not be done.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, whichever image data of JPEG compression, 256 gradations, or RGB uncompressed image data is supplied, it can be converted into RGB uncompressed image data and supplied to the full-color printer. At this time, in the case of JPEG compressed data, the data is retained as it is, in the case of 256 gradations and RGB uncompressed data, clip processing is performed, and when reduction scaling is performed, reduction scaling is performed and then discretization is performed. When enlarging and scaling, the data is retained as it is, and the enlarging and scaling process is performed at the time of reading to minimize the amount of data handled. Therefore, the configuration of the device can be simplified,
Cost reduction is possible.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when there is image data, the figure / image / character data is converted into RGB uncompressed data, and the image data is also converted into RGB uncompressed data and output. Superimposition of figure / image / character data can be easily performed, and processing on the printer is not burdened. When there is no image data, the graphic / image / character data is transferred to the full-color printer with 256 gradation representation, so conversion to RGB uncompressed data is not required, and when the image is only graphic / image / character The processing time can be shortened.

Further, when the transfer data is below the minimum guaranteed line during image data transfer, the transfer unit is corrected so that all the transfer data is above the minimum guaranteed line, so printing cannot be performed on the printer side. There is nothing.

[0128]

As described above, according to claim 1 of the present invention, the image information stored in the image storage unit 1 is displayed at the time of composition with the character / graphic information stored in the character / graphic storage unit 2. Since the information of the portion to be transferred is selectively transferred, it is not necessary to transfer the image information that is not involved in the display among the image information stored in the image storage unit, and the amount of information to be transferred can be significantly reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information that needs to be reduced and scaled is transferred by reducing the amount of information, and the information that needs to be scaled can be transferred as it is without increasing the information amount. It has the feature that the amount of information can be kept to the necessary minimum.

According to the third aspect, by providing the scaling means at the transfer destination, there is a feature that the information that needs to be enlarged can be enlarged.

According to the fourth aspect, the character / graphic information is converted at the transfer destination by the color conversion table and is combined with the image information, so that the character / graphic and the image can be easily combined.

According to the fifth aspect, the image information includes characters /
By adding and transmitting information indicating that the image information does not exist in a portion which is not displayed at the time of synthesizing with the graphic information, the character / graphic and the image can be easily superimposed at the time of synthesizing.

According to the sixth aspect, when the image information is not output, the information indicating that the image information is not displayed is transferred to the transfer destination, and the graphic / character information is transferred as it is to the transfer destination. Since it does not need to be overlapped with, the processing time can be shortened.

According to the seventh aspect, since the color conversion value of the character / graphic can be changed at the transfer destination, the color of the character / graphic for the image can be adjusted, and the color balance between the image and the character / graphic can be adjusted. You can

According to the eighth aspect, since the image data of different data formats can be converted into a predetermined data format, it is possible to deal with image data of various formats.

According to the ninth aspect, the character / graphic data can be output with or without conversion depending on the presence / absence of image data, and when combining with image data, conversion is performed to facilitate combining. It has a feature that it can be performed, and when the composition is unnecessary, the character / graphic data can be output as it is without conversion and the processing time can be shortened.

According to the tenth aspect, by controlling the clipping / scaling processing, there is a feature that the storage amount of data can be minimized when storing the image data.

According to the eleventh aspect, when the image data is divided into rectangles when the image data is transferred, the rectangle can always be constructed with a number of lines larger than the minimum guaranteed line number by adjusting the number of lines m forming the rectangle. It has features such as

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram of an image data processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a data structure diagram of image data that can be processed in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an operation flowchart of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart during data transfer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory diagram of data transfer according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory diagram of data transfer of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory diagram of data transfer according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory diagram of data transfer of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an operation explanatory diagram of data transfer according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 image storage unit 2 character / graphic storage unit 3 color conversion table 4 data transfer control unit 5 scaling unit 6 combining unit 7 _{-1 to} 7 _-N converting unit 8 selecting unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. Image information stored in an image storage unit and combined with a part of character / graphic information, and one frame in the character / graphic information storage unit and converted into color information by a color conversion table. In an image data processing device for synthesizing and outputting character / graphic information according to the above, the character / graphic information is transferred to the outside together with the color conversion table for one frame, and the image information is combined with the character / graphic information. An image data processing apparatus comprising a data transfer control means for selectively transferring only information of a portion displayed at a time to the outside. 2. The data transfer control means performs a reduction process on the image information when the image information is subjected to reduction scaling, and transfers the image information, and transfers the image information when the image information is subjected to enlargement scaling. An image data processing device, characterized in that scaling information is added to information and the information is transferred as is. 3. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising scaling means provided at a transfer destination, which enlarges and outputs the transferred image information according to the scaling information. 4. The image according to claim 1, further comprising a synthesizing unit for synthesizing the character / graphic information at the transfer destination with the color conversion table and synthesizing with the image information. Data processing device. 5. The data transfer control means adds, as image information, information indicating that the image information does not exist to a portion which is not displayed at the time of combination with the character / graphic information and transfers the image information. The image data processing device according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. The data transfer control means transfers information indicating that the image information is not displayed to the transfer destination when the image information is not output, and the character / graphic information as it is,
The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data processing apparatus transfers the image data to a transfer destination. 7. A color correction table is provided with changing means for changing the value of the color conversion table, and the color correction of the character / graphic information is performed by changing the value of the color conversion table by the changing means. The image data processing device according to claim 4. 8. An image comprising: a conversion means for converting image data of different data formation into a predetermined data format, and a selection means 8 for selecting the conversion means according to the supplied image data. Data processing device. 9. Character / graphic data is supplied, and it has a conversion means for converting to the predetermined data structure, and a conversion control means for controlling the conversion of the conversion means according to the presence or absence of the image data. The image data processing device according to claim 8. 10. Storage means for storing the supplied image data, processing means for performing clipping / scaling processing on the supplied image data, and processing for the processing means in the storage means according to the data format. 10. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a processing control unit that controls so that the amount of data stored is minimized. 11. Dividing means for dividing the image data into rectangles each having a predetermined number of lines, and comparing the number of surplus lines when divided by the dividing means with a predetermined minimum guaranteed line number, 11. The rectangle control means for controlling the number of lines such that all rectangles are larger than the minimum guaranteed line number if the number of remaining lines is smaller than the minimum guaranteed line number. The image data processing device according to the item.