JPS5844581A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To change the striking dot density of a printer in response to the luminance of colors and to print out a black/white image which can be easily recognized and understood, by producing the luminance signal corresponding to the luminance of each picture from the 3 primary color signals of each picture element of a color picture. CONSTITUTION:The position information of picture elements given from an upper device is fed to an address decoder 2 via a signal line 8. The position information is decoded and divided to X and Y coordinates of a color picture to be supplied to a printing elemint driving part 3 and a paper feed driving part 4. At the same time, the color information of picture elements is applied to a converting part 1 via a signal line 7. The 3 primary color signals are converted into the striking dot signals through the part 1. These 3 primary color signals corresponding to the color information are supplied to the part 4, and the striking dot signal corresponding to the luminance of each picture is produced on the basis of the position information given form the decoder 2. Then a printing mechanism 5 is driven. A paper feeding mechanism 6 is driven through the driving part 4 to change the striking dot density of a printer in accordance with the luminance of colors. Thus a black/white picture which can be easily recognized and understood is printed out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a printer device, particularly a printer device that outputs a color image to a black and white image.
It is often done to express visually appealing forms such as pie charts and bar graphs, and such image information is expressed as a surface figure divided by one color rather than simply as a line figure, and the other party outputs it by one person. This has the effect of allowing the display to be recognized and understood more intuitively and reliably, and for this reason color-coded color images are often displayed on graphic displays and the like.

When this color 1mgI'ft is printed out using a printer to be saved as a hard copy, a conventional one-color (hereinafter referred to as black) printer device produces a ``lli!'' image.
ii) and one print output point of the printer device (one dot for dot printers, one character for type printers; when printing is black, and when not printing, it is the color of the paper, that is, white). Because it is outputting,
It is not possible to produce an intermediate color between white and black, so the classification of color acupuncture is based on the display, and the output display can be recognized intuitively and reliably.

The drawback is that it greatly reduces the ability to understand.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional apparatus, and to perform black and white printout of color images manually without sacrificing the intuitive recognition and ease of understanding of figures by color separation. Providing a printer device The printer device of the present invention includes a first signal generating means for generating a brightness signal corresponding to the brightness of each pixel from the three primary color signals of each pixel of a color image, and the brightness signal. in response to driving the printing element to print the color iI! ii) a second signal generating means for generating dot number 1g for printing a predetermined print pattern corresponding to the brightness of each pixel of the image; and a second signal generating means for feeding the paper and determining the printing position based on the position information of each volume of the color image. and printing means for driving the printing element 9 according to the dot signal to print the predetermined print pattern.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In order to express a color image with a single-color printer and maintain the effect of the color components of the color image, it is of course impossible to realize color separation itself with a color printer, so the present invention focuses on the brightness of each color. , the printer's print output dot density will be changed in response to light KK. The three primary color signals of the colors that make up one color are R, G and B, respectively.
It is well known that the Y signal expressed by the linear equation is proportional to the brightness of the color.

Y = 0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B Then, if Y is calculated using the above formula from the three primary color signals that make up the color of one pixel of a color image, and the print output dot density is changed accordingly, a color image can be obtained. can be classified by comparing it with brightness.

Table 1 shows the color of one pixel of a color image and the three primary color signals that make up the color (for simplicity, each primary color signal is 111 or m
06) and its brightness are shown. That is, for example, yellow is composed of an R signal and a G signal of -t' and "1" as shown in Table 1, and the brightness is t-1,00 for white and 0 for black.
It is i.

Furthermore, in the present invention, there are four print output points per pixel of a color image (a in the print pattern column of Table 1).

An example in which b, c and ) are made to correspond is shown.

By printing one or more of the four printout points, it was decided to correspond to the brightness of one pixel of a color image. In order to obtain the Bartcoby value of a color image displayed on a CRT, the white of the color image must correspond to the black of the hard copy, and the black of the color image must correspond to the white of the hard copy. The brightness and -1 correspond to each other in a timely manner. Since there are 4 degrees of print output points, there are five cases as a print pattern (Print output point concealment) as shown on the right side of Table 1.
゜-)KJii! For example, 1□, and the degenerate lightness blennids of ``Ware'', □, and ``I'' were made to correspond as shown in the figure. Since the number of print output points per pixel is small, in this case, red and blue, magenta and green, and cyan and yellow each have the same print pattern. As a simple method, this is enough if the print output point for O1 pixel is 1, for example 9.
In this case, the number of print patterns is 10.

Unlike the above, each of the eight colors can be expressed with separate print patterns, and can be classified according to brightness.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
The image quality information is provided by pixel position information and color information from a host device (not shown) by scanning an image memory storing a color image. Location information is connected
ii8t- The address decoder 2 is given from the host device to the address decoder 2 via the 2Fi% connection line 8, and the position information is divided into color image X coordinate information and X coordinate information. Connection line 10f: supplies the X coordinate information to the printing element drive unit 3 via the connection line 10f, and supplies the X coordinate information to the paper feed drive unit 4 via the connection 1sll. Hereinafter, it is assumed that one color image consists of m pixels in one row and xk pixels of 1c115 in -column. (m is a natural number) As for the color information, R signal, G signal and B signal as three primary color signals are given from the host device to the converter l via the connection line 7'fr.

The conversion s1 converts the three primary color signals applied via the connection line 7 into dot signals for dotting print output points.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of the converter 10 when four print output points are made to correspond to one pixel of a color image. Connection line? -1, 7-2 and 7-3 are connecting wires 7
and R signal respectively.

The G signal and the B signal are guided to the converter 1. When the color of the lji line of the color image is magenta, refer to Table 1 and connect the R signal @11 via the connection @7-1 t-.

A G signal 101 is transmitted via connection 7-2 to connection line 7-
A B signal of 01'' is supplied through the gates 3 and 3. At this time, only the AND gate 18 outputs the logic 111, and the other AND gates 14 to 17 and 19 to 21 output the logic 10'. When the pixel color of a color image is black, only the AND gate 21 is used, when the pixel is blue, only the AND gate 20 is used, when the pixel is red, only the AND gate 19 is used, when the pixel is green, only the AND gate 17 is used, and when the pixel is cyan, only the AND gate 19 is used. is only the and gate 16, and when it is yellow, it is the ant game) 1
When only 5 is white, only ``and gate 14'' is logic 11
Outputs 1.

As mentioned above, since 4111 m of print output points are associated with one pixel of a color image, it is necessary to degenerate to 8 colors f and 5 brightnesses. and gate 2
2 to 24 are degeneration circuits for this purpose.

If the color of the pixel is yellow, connect @30t- via logic @I
If I is input manually to the or gate 22 and the color of 1ljX is cyan, part 111 is connected via the connection line 31.)
22, and in either case, OR gate 22 outputs logic 111. That is, due to the degenerate action of the OR gate 22, if the color of the pixel is yellow, 4 if the color is cyan, 4 is treated as having the same brightness. Similarly, m and magenta, and red and evening are treated as having the same brightness, respectively, due to the degenerate effect of the OR gates 23 and 246. The five brightness signals thus degenerated are supplied to the OR gates 25-28 via the connection lines 29.36, 37.38 and 9-5. - OR gates 25 to 28 are circuits that generate a dot signal to dot each of the four print output points corresponding to one pixel from the brightness signal.As mentioned above, the brightness of a color image and the brightness of a hard copy are different. Since it is a reciprocal pair, the black brightness signal supplied via the connection line 9-5t corresponds to the hardcopy die and does not need to hit any of the printout points. Therefore, there is no need to generate a dot signal.

From Table 1, the pixel color at print output point 1 is magenta.
Since it will be dotted when it is green and white, *Continuation line 2
9 and 37't- to the connection line 921t-(1?#Ake-).
2. The signal output from S becomes the dot signal for print output point a. Similarly, or game) 26.27
and 28 via connecting lines 9-2, 9-3 and 9-4, respectively, to generate dot signals for print output points i, c and d. It is also possible to omit the OR gates 2'a to 24 for degeneration and perform degeneration and generation of the dot signal at the same time using OR gates 25 to 28.

Connection lines 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4 and 9
-5 constitutes a part of the connection line 9.■ The printing element drive section 3 receives dot signals corresponding to the pixels of the color image from which each print output point is the same from the conversion section l via the connection -9. Buffer 1 - Stores data in memory, reads the stored data all at once after storage, and connects this as a print element drive signal to connection 1.
It is supplied to the printing mechanism 5 via i112.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a buffer memory used in the printing element driving section 3. One set of four memory cells for one pixel of a color image (100+n)-1 to (100
+n)-4(n=1-, m (number of DIl)), and print output points a, b, c correspond to the color of the pixel.
and dt-connection line 9-1.9-2.9 for dotting
-3 and 9-4, memory cells k(loO+n)-1, (100+n)-2, (1
00+Im)-3 and (100-14)-4K X-coordinate information (
This becomes the write signal for the memory cell). In this way, when the dot signals for m pixels of one row of Kashi-ms have been stored in the memory cells corresponding to each pixel, the stored data are simultaneously transferred from each memory cell. Read and supply to the printing mechanism 5 via the connection line 12 The printing mechanism 5 includes a printing element for printing a print output point on each memory cell of the buffer memory in the printing element drive section 3. (There are 4 printing elements for 1i1iX of a t9 color image, and 4m printing elements are provided as a printer device), and the data read out from each memory cell all at once, that is, the dots. The signal is used as a printing element drive signal to drive each printing element to perform a dotting operation. In this way, a black and white printing point is created for one row of pixels in a color image.

For the positioning of the color image in the Y-axis direction, connect line 1
Based on the X coordinate information supplied from the address decoder 2 via the address decoder 1, the paper feed drive unit 4 supplies a paper feed drive pulse to the paper feed mechanism 6 via the connection line 13 to drive it;
Performs positioning in the Y-axis direction.

As described above, in this embodiment, image information is received from the host device, a brightness signal is generated from the color information, and this is converted into a dot signal, so that one piece of image information is generated.

The printing element is driven by the dot signal to a predetermined position specified by the position information, and a monochrome image gII corresponding to the color image is printed out. The shading of the black and white image thus output is divided by changing the dot density of the printer based on the brightness of the original color image.
．． Color - The black-and-white image of this embodiment also maintains the intuitive recognition and ease of understanding of figures provided by our color classification.

In the above explanation, there are 4 (2
An example in which the printout points of X2) are made to correspond will be explained, but the present invention is not limited to this.

By employing 3×3, that is, 9 printout points, and even more corresponding printout points, a black and white image corresponding to finer brightness can be obtained.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the simultaneous dots on one line have been described. The present invention is not limited to this. (In the case of the embodiment, all 4Xm printing elements are required as described above, but it is possible to read out the dot and dot signals from the buffer memory in units of K, for example. If you perform the dotting operation four times starting from one row of pixels,
The number of printing elements can be reduced to %. As an extreme case, the present invention can also be applied to a serial printer.

In this embodiment, each of the three primary color signals has been described as information of one pit, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the more information bits of the three primary color signals are used, the more the number of pixel colors increases, and if necessary, the converter 1 creates a degenerate lightness signal to correspond to the corresponding brightness signal. It is only necessary to generate a dot signal, and if fine discrimination between black and white artists is required for fine color separation of color images, it is now sufficient to increase the number of print output points for 1lti.

In this embodiment, a degenerate brightness signal was created, which is necessary for simplification and economicalization, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient to generate the hit point, signal t--, without degenerating.

The printing layer ψ where the printing element is driven by the dot signal and dots are printed.
, are black circles in the urine example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

1 +4 As described above, in the present invention, by obtaining black-and-white mw output in which the dot density of the printer is changed in accordance with the lightness indicated by the color of the color image, even when the black-and-white image is output, the color components of the color image can be The effect of maintaining intuitive recognition and ease of understanding is 6.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a buffer memory used in the printing element drive section of FIG. 1. In the figure, at u, l... Conversion unit, 2... Address decoder, 3... Print element drive unit, 4...
...Paper feed p drive unit, 5...Printing mechanism, 6.-
...Paper feed mechanism, 7゜7-1 to 7-3.8, 9.9
-1~9-5, 10, 10-? 1-10-m, 11
~13-----・Connection line, 14-21...and goo), 22-28...Or gate, 29
〜38゛・−・・・Connection line, 101-1〜(xoo+
m)-1,101-2-oo.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) first signal generating means for generating a brightness signal corresponding to the brightness of each Im from the three primary color signals of each pixel of the color image, and a printing element t in response to the 'A, f signals; and second signal generating means for generating a dot signal for printing a predetermined print pattern corresponding to the brightness of each pixel of the color image. Said color picture! *0 A paper feeding print positioning means for feeding paper and locating printing position based on the 0 position information of each stroke. A printer device comprising: printing means for printing the predetermined print pattern by driving a printing element according to the dot signal. (2) The second signal generating means generates a dot signal using the brightness signal to drive the printing element to print a predetermined print pattern in which the printing density by the printing element increases as the brightness of the pixels of the color image increases. The printer device according to claim (1), characterized in that: t-.