JPS6213181A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid that user feels the print waiting time is longer by displaying the progressing state of print on a monitor so as to allow the user to grasp always the progressing state of the print. CONSTITUTION:A picture signal by one picture is stored in a memory 1. An H counter 2 and a clock counter 4, while being reset, count respectively a horizontal synchronizing pulse HD and a clock CP to generate the longitudinal address AY and the lateral address AX of the picture element signal in the memory 1. After a read counter 5 is reset at the start of print, the counter counts the VD. When the outputs of the counters 4, 5 are (m), (n) respectively, a comparator circuit 6 generates the discrimination signal C of logic 1 with n>=m and logic 0 with n<m. An output circuit 9 passes a picture signal P only during a period when the signal C is logic 1 and applies the output to the monitor. Then the region after print is displayed on the monitor and black display is applied to the other regions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a printer for obtaining prints of television images.

[Background of the invention]

In a television image printer, when a desired image to be printed is displayed on a television receiver, a part of the image signal of one field or frame for this image is stored in a memory by a predetermined operation, and this is then repeated. It is configured to be read out and printed.

To explain in more detail the processing for printing the image signal read out from the memory, the image signal stored in the memory may be a digital signal or an analog signal, and the image signal is read out from the memory. Read repeatedly. Each time this image signal is read out from the memory, one pixel signal is extracted per one scanning period and used for printing. These extracted pixel signals correspond to pixels arranged in the vertical scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as the vertical direction) on the television screen, and on printing paper, the pixels on the vertical line are printed by these pixel signals. will be done. This vertical line is called a line.

Each time an image signal is read out from memory.

The pixel signal extraction points of this image signal are sequentially shifted one by one. Therefore, on the print paper 2, printing is performed line by line sequentially.

According to such a printing method, in order to finish a print, it is necessary to repeat reading the image signal from the memory a number of times equal to the number of lines per print, which takes several seconds or more. After the user performs a print operation.

You will have to wait for this time to be printed, but if you wait without doing anything during this time, it may feel like a very long time for some users.

Traditional printers have an LED to indicate that they are in operation.
Or display it by blinking.

Although it is known to be able to monitor images to be printed, no consideration has been taken so that the user does not feel the printing wait time is long.

[Object of the Invention 1] An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that eliminates the above-mentioned problems and eliminates the user's perception of long print waiting times in a visual manner.

[Summary of the invention]

To achieve this objective, the present invention is characterized in that the progress of printing is displayed on the monitor so that the user can always grasp the progress of printing.

When printing an image, the user simply has to wait until the printing is complete. Therefore, even if the duration is only a few seconds, it feels very long to the user. However, if the user can know how much printing is progressing, the user will not be as concerned about the waiting time as compared to the case where this information is not known. The present invention was made in view of this point.

[Embodiments of the invention]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer according to the present invention, in which 1 is a memory, 2 is an H counter, 3 is an oscillation circuit, 4 is a clock counter, 5 is a read counter, 6 is a comparison circuit, and 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer according to the present invention. 1 is a line memory, 8 is a line head, 9 is an output circuit, 10 is a control circuit, 11, 12, 13 are people, power terminals, and 14 is an output terminal.

In the figure, the memory IK is for - images (i.e. 1
An analog or digitized image signal of one field or one frame is stored. A horizontal synchronizing pulse HD is supplied from the input terminal 11. I] Counter 2 counts horizontal synchronizing pulses HD while being reset every field pulse or frame pulse (hereinafter simply referred to as vertical synchronizing pulse) VD, and stores it in memory 1.
An address (hereinafter referred to as % vertical address) AT representing the storage position of the image signal in each horizontal scanning period is generated. Further, a clock CP having a frequency sufficiently higher than that of the horizontal synchronizing pulse (HT) is generated by the oscillation circuit 3, and the clock counter 4
supplied to This clock counter 4 counts the clock CP while being reset every horizontal synchronization pulse HD, and generates an address (hereinafter referred to as horizontal address) hx representing the storage position of the pixel signal in each horizontal scanning period in the memory 1.

In other words, the horizontal address Ax represents the order of pixel signals in each horizontal scanning period.

In the memory 1, each image signal is read out in the same order as in writing using the vertical address AY and horizontal address Ax. Since the H counter 2 is reset every vertical synchronization pulse VD, the image signal P for one image, which is the same as that at the time of writing, is repeatedly read out from the memory 1. This image signal P is supplied to the line memory 7 for printing, and is also supplied to the output circuit 9, where it is processed by the control circuit 10 (which will be described later), and in the case of a digitized video signal, an analog The output terminal 14 supplies the image to a monitor (not shown) K for displaying the image.

On the other hand, a vertical synchronizing signal VD is supplied from the input terminal 12 to the read counter 5. As shown in FIG. 2, this read counter 5 is reset by a reset pulse I (S) supplied from an input terminal 13 at the start of printing, and then counts the vertical synchronizing pulse VD.The count output N of the read counter 5 1 represents the number of times the image signal for one image is read from the memory 1, and the value of this count output N and the clock counter 40 count output M (i.e. yellow address Ax) is compared in the comparator circuit 6. be done.

The comparator circuit 6 generates a write pulse W when the two are equal, as shown in FIG. This 1" write pulse W is supplied to the line memory 7. When the line memory 7 is supplied with this write pulse W, the line memory 7 extracts one pixel signal from the image signal P supplied from the memory 1 ( -1 vertical address A, store in the position specified by a.Here,
Memory 101 image signal readout period readout counter 5
The value of the count output N is constant, and since the clock counter 4 re-counts every horizontal scanning period, the comparator circuit 6 outputs a horizontal synchronizing pulse every horizontal scanning period during this reading period of the memory 1. The write pulse P is output at the same timing for both.

Therefore, in the line memory 6, pixel signals for vertically arranged pixel columns in one image, that is, pixel signals for one line are extracted and stored.

The pixel signals for one line are supplied to the line head 8, processed, and then used for printing.

The value of the count output N of the read counter 5 is the vertical pulse VD.
Since it increases by every Kl, the timing at which the comparator circuit 6 generates the write pulse W also shifts in the horizontal direction by one pixel of the image in accordance with the number of times the image signal is read in the memory 1. As a result, as the image signal is repeatedly read out from the memory 1, the print position on the print paper is moved horizontally one line at a time by the line head 8.

From the above, the value of the count output N of the read counter 5 represents the number of the pixel signal stored in the line memory 7 and printed by the line head 8 for each horizontal scanning period. Namely.

When the value of the count output N of the read counter 5 is n, this means that the n@th pixel signal in each horizontal scanning period is printed by the line head 8.

Printing is carried out in this way, and as shown in FIG. At 05m, K becomes “1”,
It generates a binary judgment signal C which is n (itol at the end of m). Here, the value n of the count output N of the read counter 5 represents the number of the pixel signal in each horizontal scanning period printed by the line head 8. Therefore, of the image signal P read out from the memory, the pixel signal in the period when the judgment signal C is 111n has already been used for printing, and the pixel signal in the period when the judgment signal C is O11 is This means that it has not yet been printed.

This determination signal C is supplied to the control circuit 10.

The output circuit 9 is controlled by the control circuit 10 and the memory 1
If the image signal P that is supplied is determined by the judgment signal C, If I I
The signal is allowed to pass for a period of f, and is cut off for a period when the determination signal C is l+011. The output signal of output circuit 9 is output from output terminal 1.
4 to a monitor (not shown).

Therefore, on the monitor, as shown in FIG. In the pixel area, as shown by hatching, black is displayed and no image is displayed. As printing progresses, the area in which the th image is displayed expands in the direction of the arrow, and when printing is completed, the entire image is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (bl).

In this way, the user can monitor the progress of printing.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of the control circuit in FIG. 1 when the image signal is digitized, in which 15 is an input terminal, 161 to 163 are AND gates, and the first
Parts corresponding to the figures are given the same reference numerals.

In this specific example, the image signal P is a 3-bit parallel digital signal, and each bit of the image signal P is simultaneously connected to an AND gate 16. ．．
162 and 163. These AND gates 1.
61.162.16. is from the comparator circuit 6 to the input terminal 15
It is controlled by the judgment signal CK supplied via the 1 judgment signal C, and turns on when the 1 judgment signal C is 11111, and turns off when it is □It. Therefore, the number-of-strokes signal P has a determination signal C of 111''.
Only when the signal Kf passes through the control circuit 10 and is output as an analog signal Kf at the output circuit 9, it is supplied to the monitor from the output terminal 14.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of the output circuit 9 and the control circuit 10 in FIG. 1 when the image signal is an analog signal, in which 17.18 is a transistor, 19.2
0 is a resistor, 21 is an inverter, 22 is an input terminal,
Parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 6, the output circuit 9 is an emitter follower consisting of a transistor 17, and the control circuit 10 is an emitter follower consisting of a transistor 18. It is composed of resistors 19 and 20, an inverter 21, and the like. The image signal P read out from the memory 1 (FIG. 1) is supplied to the base of the transistor 170, and the judgment signal C generated by the comparison circuit 6 (FIG. 1) is supplied to the input terminal 22.
After being inverted by the inverter 21, it is supplied to the base of the transistor 18.

Transistor 18 is a switching transistor,
When the judgment signal C supplied to the input terminal 22 is 111'', the image signal P is turned off. Therefore, the image signal P passes through the transistor 17 and the resistor 19, and is supplied to the monitor from the output terminal 14. When C is "011", the level of the signal obtained from the transistor at the output terminal 14 can be made almost to the black level, thereby making it possible to display the progress of printing as explained in FIG. 4.

In addition, in the previous explanation, the area that will not be printed in FIG. 4 is displayed in black, but this is not limited to this; in FIG. 4(a), the image is displayed at the normal signal level in the area that has already been printed, The image may be displayed at a lower signal level in areas that have not yet been printed.

In this case, by appropriately setting the ratio of the resistance values R, , , 11, of the resistors 19 and 20 in FIG. 6, the level of the image signal P is attenuated when the transistor 18 is on. All you have to do is let it happen. This allows you to display not only the progress of printing but also the entire image being printed.

Note that even if the image signal P read from the memory 1 is a digital signal, it may be controlled in accordance with the determination signal CK after being converted into an analog signal by the output circuit 9. In this case, the control circuit It goes without saying that the configuration shown in FIG. 6 can be used as 1o.

Here, the boundary of the image display part on the monitor indicating that the image has been printed does not necessarily have to completely coincide with the line being printed by the line head 8, and is more than the line being printed in FIG. 4 (a). ) The image may be displayed slightly to the right or left of the center. Also, write pulse W
In order to generate the judgment signal C, the count outputs M and N of the clock counter 4 and the read counter 5 must be accurately compared in the comparator circuit 6, but in order to obtain the judgment signal C,
Even a rough comparison is fine. For example, if all the lower two bits of the count output N of the read counter 5 are If□I+ bits, the values are 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 4, 4,
4, 8° 8, . . . multiples of 4 continue four times. When this is compared with the count output M of the clock counter 4 and a judgment signal C is generated, the line head 8 detects the line 4.
While the job is being printed, the image display area on the monitor does not change, and each time four lines are printed, this image display area expands by an area corresponding to four lines. In this way, the image display portion may be discontinuously lowered one after another as printing progresses. Furthermore,
5K, as shown in FIG. 3C', the determination signal may be a signal that is +IIl for a certain period of time including the point in time when the write pulse W is generated. In this case, only the portion near the portion corresponding to the printed line becomes the image display portion on the monitor.

In short, if the printing progress status can be grasped on the monitor, the image display area can be set in any format. Note that the image display part in this case is the part where the image is displayed at the normal signal level, and the other parts, as explained earlier, are the part where the image is displayed at the low signal level. It goes without saying that the image may be displayed at a black level, or may be displayed at another constant level such as a white level.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the printer according to the present invention, in which 23 is an AND gate, and parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

In the embodiment shown in Stripe 1 above, the print line is in the vertical direction of the monitor display screen, but in this embodiment shown in the 7th center, the print line is in the horizontal direction of the monitor display screen. . That is, each horizontal scanning period of the image signal is printed.

In FIG. 7, vertical addresses A, ! from H counter 2 are shown.
is supplied to the comparison circuit 6 and compared with the count output N of the read counter 5. As shown in FIG. 8, the comparator circuit 6 generates a match signal E during a horizontal scanning period 11111 in which both match, and supplies it to the AND gate 23. The AND gate 23 allows the clock CP output from the oscillation circuit 3 to pass through while the match signal E is 11111, and supplies it to the line memory 7 as a write pulse W. In line memory 7,
Pixel signals for one horizontal scanning period of the image signal P read out from the memory 1 are extracted from the write pulse WK, and sequentially read from the horizontal address A! is stored in the location specified by .

In this way, the image signal for one image is stored in memory 1.
Each time the pixel signals are read out, the pixel signals for one horizontal scanning period are stored in the line memory 7 and supplied to the line head 8 for printing. Therefore, each time the image signal is repeatedly read out from the memory 1, printing is performed one line at a time, and this printing progresses in the vertical direction of the display screen.

Further, in the comparator circuit 6, a comparison is made between the vertical address AT and the count output N, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a determination signal C is generated. This judgment signal C is the control circuit 1
0, and the image signal P undergoes the same processing as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the progress of printing is displayed on a monitor (not shown), as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

As described above, since the display screen on the monitor changes as printing progresses, it is possible to easily grasp the progress of printing.

In the above embodiment, the vertical synchronizing pulse was directly supplied to the read counter 5, but by counting down the vertical synchronizing pulse to reduce the repetition frequency and then supplying it to the read counter 5, the printing speed can be changed. .

The memory 1 can be either a digital memory or an analog memory depending on whether the image signal to be stored is a digital signal or an analog signal, but if the image signal is an analog signal.

It is necessary to provide a KA/D converter before the line memory 7 and supply the line memory 7 with a digitized image signal. When the memory is an analog memory, it may be used as a recording/reproducing device such as a VTR or a video disc player, and when printing, still reproduction may be performed. You can also get similar functionality with a video camera.

Further, in the above embodiment, the same applies not only to black and white prints but also to color prints. However, □
For color printing, for example, R (red).

Although printing is performed in the order of G (green) and B (blue), a similar display showing the print progress may be made on the monitor each time each color component is printed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to directly and easily know the printing progress status visually, and the user can eliminate the feeling of long waiting time for printing, which is an excellent effect. You can get it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are timing charts for explaining its operation, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying the print progress status. 5 and 6 are circuit diagrams showing specific examples of the control circuit and output circuit in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an explanation of its operation. timing chart for,
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the printing progress status. 1...Memory, 2...H counter, 3
...Oscillation circuit, 4...Clock counter, 5...Read counter, 6...Comparison circuit, 7...Line memory, 8 ... Line head, 9 ... Output circuit, 10 ...
・Control circuit, 23...AND gate. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 (CI) (b)b Figure 6 and

Claims (1)

[Claims] A memory from which image signals for one image are repeatedly read out;
and a processing circuit that extracts pixel signals for one print line from the image signal each time the image signal for one image is read out from the memory and performs processing for printing, and reads out the image signal for one image from the memory. In a printer that prints one line at a time, a first means for generating a determination signal having a period at a predetermined level that includes all or part of the printed period of the image signal; A second method for making the level of the image signal read from the memory different between a period and a period other than the period of the predetermined level.
1. A printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is configured to be able to display the progress of printing by supplying an output signal from the second means to a monitor.