JPS62213471A - Picture information output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print out a picture information with a high resolution without deterioration by issuing a request for read information to a reader and a request for output information to an information processing device in synchronization with the printout from an output means in the unit of one line. CONSTITUTION:A picture information from a reader (scanner) 200 and an output information from the information processing device 300 or 350 are supplied to a picture output device (laser beam printer LBP) 100 via a scanner/a parallel/ a serial interfaces 10, 6, and 4. The device 100 is controlled by a CPU 1 in accordance with a control procedures stored in ROM 3 beforehand. The picture information then is pulse-width-modulated by a video signal generating part 8, transferred to the engine part 9 of the LBP through an interface 7, and printed. The request for read information or the request for output information to the scanner 200 and the device 300 or 350 are issued in synchronization with the printout of one line. As a result, a printout free from unnecessary deterioration of the quality of picture can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of Industry A] The present invention relates to an image information output device connectable to an information processing device and an image information reading device.

[Prior Art] In recent years, the performance of image information reading devices connected to various information processing devices and printers that print out image information has improved, and the reading resolution and print output resolution have become extremely high resolution. It has been developed, and devices with a resolution of around 300 dots/inch and even higher ones are now available.

However, the information processing equipment to which these devices are connected cannot process this high-resolution information as is due to limitations such as memory capacity and processing speed. The display device connected to the computer also has a low resolution, so the amount of data is reduced through compression processing, etc., and the data is converted to a low resolution for processing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] For this reason, even if the image information reading device sends high-resolution image data to the information processing device, the print information output from the information processing device to the printer may be of low resolution. As a result, I was unable to take advantage of the printer's performance.

Side, 1 - Margin [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and as a means for solving these problems, the present embodiment uses image information a reading information requesting means for requesting the reading device to transmit read image information; a reading information receiving means for receiving the read image information sent in response to the request of the reading information requesting means;
output information receiving means for receiving output information sent to the information processing device; synthesis means for synthesizing the information received from the output information receiving means and the information received by the read information receiving means;
and output means for printing out the composition information of the composition means.

[Operation] In the above configuration, the reading information requesting means and the output information requesting means perform the requested output in synchronization with the print output of each line of the outputting means, and the combining means receives the requested output line by line. By combining the received information, it is possible to print out the high resolution image information from the image information reading device without unnecessarily deteriorating it.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention. In the figure, 100 is an image information output device which is a laser beam printer of this embodiment, 200 is a scanner which is an image information reading device, and 300 and 350 are is the image information output device 10
The information processing device 300 is connected to a parallel interface (for example, a Centronics interface) 6, and the information processing device 350 is connected to a serial interface (for example, an R5-232C interface) 4. An example is shown below. The information processing device connected is usually one of these.

In the image information output device 100, 1 is a central embedded device (CPU) that controls the entire embodiment according to a control procedure shown in a flowchart to be described later and is stored in a ROM 3; 2 is a CPU 1; Random access memory (RAM) is the work area of , a is a parallel interface that controls the interface with the host 300 under the control of the CPU, and 7 is an interface with the LBP engine section 9 that is the mechanical section of the laser beam printer (LBP). The controlling LBP interface 8 generates a video signal that modulates the pulse width of multi-gradation image information corresponding to the gradation and causes a semiconductor laser to emit light, which will be described later, or causes a semiconductor laser to emit light in response to binary image information. The video signal generating section 8 selects either of these image information or combines both image information under the control of the CPU to generate a corresponding semiconductor driving video signal.

10 is a scanner interface that controls the interface with the scanner 200; 11 is an information processing device 300, 35;
A character generator 12 generates a character pattern corresponding to the character code of the text data sent in the character code from the character generator 11;
13 is an image memory for storing read image information from the scanner 200 which is optionally installed; 14 is the image information output device 100 and the scanner 2;
Operation panel 15 and CPLl for manually operating 00
A panel interface that controls the interface with
16 is a compression/expansion unit that compresses/expands image information;
7 is a data conversion unit that converts the multi-valued digital image information from the scanner 200 into dithered data such as multi-valued digital information, 1 or binary data in accordance with the processing format of the information processing devices 300 and 350; , 18 is a V/H processor that is provided as an option and performs rotation processing of image information.

The details of the mechanism of the scanner 200 are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the document is placed face down on the document glass 23, and its placement reference is on the back left side when viewed from the front. So·
The original is pressed onto the original glass 23 by the original cover 24. The document is illuminated by a fluorescent lamp 22, and the reflected light is sent to a CCD 2 having a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a row via mirrors 25, 27 and lenses 26.
An optical path is formed to condense light onto the surface of 1 (image sensor). And this mirror 27 and mirror 25 are 2
It is designed to move at a relative speed of :1. This optical unit moves from left to right in synchronization with a reading timing signal from the scanner interface 10 while applying PLL by a DC servo motor, and performs sub-scanning. The resolution in this sub-scanning direction is 16J1ines/mm.

Next, regarding the main scanning direction, during main scanning, the maximum width is 257 mm on the short side of B4. And this is 16p e n
/ mm To do this, the number of bits of COD is 41.
Since 12 (=257×16) bits are required, this device uses a CCD array sensor having a light receiving element of approximately 5000 bits for reading operation.

In the manner described above, the image of the original placed on the original glass 23 is read line by line sequentially, and a 6-bit digital image signal indicating light and shade is output to the scanner interface 10.

Next, the mechanism of the LBP engine section 9 is shown in FIG. The video signal sent bit-serially from the video signal generating section 8 is input to the laser scanning optical system unit 45. This unit 45 consists of a semiconductor laser, a collimator lens, a rotating polygon mirror, an Fθ lens, and a tilt correction optical system. The video signal from the video signal generation unit 8 is applied to a semiconductor laser for electro-optic conversion, and the diverging laser light is made into parallel light by a collimator lens, and is irradiated onto a polyhedral mirror that rotates at high speed to convert the laser light into parallel light. The photoreceptor 28 is scanned by.

As a result, a latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 28.

At this time, in order to detect the timing at which the semiconductor laser scans the photosensitive surface of the photoreceptor 28, that is, the timing at which the video signal is sent out, the laser beam is detected at a predetermined position before the laser beam scans the photoreceptor surface of the photoreceptor 28. A known laser beam detector (BD) is provided, and a video signal is sent in synchronization with the laser beam detection signal (BD scratch signal) of the detector.

The photoreceptor 28 is composed of three layers, for example, a conductive layer, a photosensitive layer, and an insulating layer. Therefore, process components are arranged thereto which make it possible to form an image. 29 is a front static eliminator, 30 is a front static eliminator, 31 is a primary charger, 32 is a secondary charger, 33 is a front exposure lamp, 34 is a developer for developing a latent image, 35 is a paper feed cassette, and 36 is a A paper feed roller that supplies transfer paper from a cassette; 37 is a paper feed guide; 38
39 is a registration roller, 39 is a transfer charger for transferring an image onto a transfer paper, 40 is a separation roller for separating the transfer paper from the photoreceptor 28, 41 is a conveyance guide, 42 is a fixing device, and 43 is a tray. As a result, an image is formed on the transfer paper based on the received video signal.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of the video signal generation section 8 that generates a video signal that causes the semiconductor laser of the LBP engine section 9 to emit light.

In FIG. 4, 50 is a control unit that performs overall timing control such as output selection of each selector, and 51 and 52 are double-buffer type line buffers having a storage capacity for one line each, for a total of two lines. Buffer 51
is a 6-bit parallel line buffer for a multi-level (6-bit) digital image signal, and the line buffer 52 is a 1-line buffer for a 1-pit binary image signal.

53 and 54 input image signals to the line buffer 51
．． 52 or line buffer 51
．． Selectors A and B select whether to output directly without going through 52, 55 is a latch unit that latches a multi-level digital image signal, and 56 is a triangular wave generation circuit that generates a triangular wave, which is a pattern signal to be described later, from master Crotter MK. , 5
7 is a D/A converter that performs digital-to-analog conversion of the latch digital signal of the latch unit 55 and outputs an analog signal corresponding to the digital signal; 58 is a comparator; 59
60 is an OR circuit that combines the signal from the comparator 58 and the signal from the selector B54 and outputs the resultant signal, and 60 selects one of the signals from the comparator 58, selector B54, and OR circuit 59 and outputs it as a video signal. Selector C161 converts the video signal from selector C60 into LBP.
This is a drive circuit that converts into a drive signal for driving the semiconductor laser of the engine section 9.

In the video signal generation unit 8 of this embodiment, when forming an image by converting a multi-valued digital image signal into a binary semiconductor laser drive signal, the digital image signal is first converted into an analog signal in order to obtain gradation. A method is used in which the converted signal is converted into a signal and then compared with a pattern signal such as a triangular wave to generate a binary signal subjected to pulse width modulation. The signal is latched and synchronized with the video clock VK. Note that this video clock VK is a clock obtained by dividing the master clock MK into two by a triangular wave generation circuit 56.

The output of the D/A converter 57 is input to one input terminal of the comparator 58 after being converted to a voltage level by a resistor. The -1 triangular wave generation circuit 56 divides the frequency of the master clock MK by a predetermined amount to generate a clock signal with a duty ratio of 50%, converts this clock into a triangular wave, and outputs it. This triangular wave is input to the other input terminal of the comparator 58, compared with the analog signal from the D/A converter 57, and subjected to I pulse width modulation.

A top view of the panel portion of the operation panel 15 is shown in FIG.

The operation panel 15 is for manually controlling the image information output device 100 and the scanner 200, 65 is a numeric display that displays the number of output sheets, various settings, etc., and 66 is an online mode operated by remote control from the information processing device. 67 is a reset switch that initializes the device, and 68 is a switch that starts processing such as printing by this device and reading by a scanner. 70 is a number setting switch for setting the number of prints; 71 is a position setting switch for setting the position of image information within one page; 72 is an area setting switch for setting the area of image information; 73 is an image setting switch. A resolution setting switch 74 for setting the resolution of information is equipped with the image memory 13 and is a storage mode switch for setting a memory storage mode, which is a mode in which the received image is stored in the image memory 13 or the RAM 2.

Further, 75 is a scanner registration switch that registers the setting state set by the setting switches 70 to 73 up to that time as a setting to the scanner 200, and 76 is a scanner registration switch that registers the setting state set by the setting switches 70 to 73 up to that point.
The setting states set in steps 73 to 73 are transferred to the information processing devices 300 and 35.
Setting to 0 and registering host registration switch, 77-80
is a switch that sets the operating mode of this device, and 77
7 is a copy mode switch for setting a copy mode for printing out image information read by the scanner 200;
8 is a print mode switch for setting a print mode which is a mode for printing out data from the information processing devices 300, 350 or information held in the memory; 79 is a print mode switch for printing out image information from the scanner 200 and information held in the memory; A MIX mode switch 80 sets a MIX mode in which the information from the scanner 200 is combined with the degree information from 350 degrees and printed out; , 350. This is a transfer mode switch for setting the transfer mode for transfer to , 350. Further, 81 is a numeric keypad switch, which includes a clear switch for clearing input data.

82 to 86 are indicators, 82 is READY indicating that this device is ready, 83 is DATA which lights up when there is print data in the memory, 84 is SCREADY indicating that scanner 200 is ready, Blinks if an error occurs in the scanner. 8
5 indicates PEPER, which indicates that no paper is set in this device, or the set paper has run out, and 86 indicates J, which indicates that a recording paper jam has occurred in the mechanical section of this device.
These are each indicator of AM.

Further, each area shown in FIG. 6 is allocated to the RAM 2 of this embodiment.

That is, a key buffer 91 that holds input data from the numeric keypad 81 of the operation panel 15, a specified number of sheets area 92 that stores the setting value for the number of sheets to be printed, a resolution area 93 that stores the set resolution, and image information. 1
Position specification area 94 that holds the specified value of the position setting within the page
, an area specification area 95 that holds specified values for the image information extraction area, a host setting area 96 that holds various setting values for the information processing devices 300 and 350, and a scanner setting area that holds various setting values for the scanner z00. An area 97 and a text area 98, which is a storage area for text information sent from the information processing device in the memory storage mode, are allocated.

Further, the interface specifications between the scanner 200 and the scanner interface 10 are shown in FIG.

In the figure, 201 is a multi-gradation 6-bit digital image signal vON.
v5.202 is BUSY which notifies printer side
The signal 203 is a VSREQ signal that indicates that the optical system of the scanner 200 is at the reading start position and is ready for reading, and 205 is a signal that requests the scanner 200 to read one line of image information. H5YNC
A signal 206 is a control bus for transferring various statuses and command groups.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 to 14.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control operation of this embodiment. When the device is powered on, the process proceeds to step S1, and initialization processing such as setting the RAM 2 to an initial value is executed. Then, in the following step S2, it is checked whether there is any key manual power from the operation panel 15. If there is any key manual power, the key manual processing shown in FIG. 9, which will be described later in step S3, is executed, and the process returns to step S2.

If there is no key manpower in step S2, the process advances to step S4 to check whether or not the current mode is online, and if it is not the online mode, the process returns to step S2 again.
(hereinafter referred to as host) is checked, and if there is no received data, the process returns to step S2; if there is received data, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S6;
Check whether the received data is a command. here,
If a command has been received, a command execution process shown in FIG. 10, which will be described later, is executed in step S7, and the process returns to step S2.

If the command is not received in step S6, it means that print data is received, and in the following step S8, the received data is sent to RA.
Store sequentially in the text area 98 of M2, then press S.
Return to 2.

The key manual processing in step S3 described above will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

If there is human power on the key, it is first checked in step S15 whether or not the reset switch 67 has been input, and if the reset switch 67 has been input, the process returns to step S1 in FIG. 8 and initialization processing is executed.

If it is determined in step S15 that the reset switch 67 is not input, the process advances to step 31B, and the online switch 66
Check whether the input is If the input is from the online switch 66, the process advances to step S17, where it is checked whether the current online mode is online and whether the online switch 66 is lit. Turn off the light and return. On the other hand, if the current mode is offline, the process changes to online mode in step S19 and returns.

If it is determined in step S16 that the online key 66 is not input, the process advances from step S16 to step S20, where it is checked whether or not the current online mode is present, and if it is the online mode, other operations are invalidated and the process returns without doing anything.

In the offline mode, the process advances from step 320 to step S21, and the storage mode switch 74 or 77-80
It is checked whether the setting switches for each mode are manually operated or not, and if these switches are input, the mode corresponding to the input mode switch is set in step S22. and,
Returns after setting each mode. Note that if the image memory 13 is not installed, the memory storage mode will not be entered, and the manual effort of the storage mode switch 4 will be ignored.

In step S21, the mode setting switch 74°77-80
If it is not the input, the process advances to step S25, and 70 to 70 are input.
It is checked whether each of the setting switches 73 is manually input or not, and if the setting switches 70 to 73 are input, the process goes to step S2.
Proceeding to step 6, the data stored in the key buffer 91 at the time of switch input is stored in the corresponding area in RAMZ, the update flag is turned on, and the process returns. In addition, the key buffer 91
If there is no data in the area or if inappropriate data is stored in the area, each area may not be updated and an input error may be notified.

The correspondence between each input switch and storage area is as follows.

Number of sheets setting switch...Specified number of sheets area Position setting switch...Position specification area area film, constant switch...Area specification area Resolution setting switch...Resolution area When setting switches 70 to 73 are not input in step 525 The process proceeds to step S27, and it is checked whether the scanner registration switch 75 has been input. Scanner registration switch 75
If it is an input, step 328 returns to step S26 described above.
The setting values updated in step S29 are stored in the corresponding areas of the scanner setting area 97, and are displayed on the numerical display 65 for a certain period of time.
Send to 00 and return. Note that the update flag is reset at this time.

If it is determined in step 527 that there is no input from the scanner registration switch 75, the process advances to step S30, and it is checked whether or not the host registration switch 76 is input manually. If the host registration switch 76 is input, the process advances to step S31, where the data updated in step 526 is stored in the host setting area 96, and the numeric display 65
Display and return. If the input is not from the host registration switch 76 in step S30, it is checked in step S32 whether the input is from the start switch 68, and if the input is from the start switch 68, the start process in step S33 shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later, is executed. and return.

If it is determined in step 53W2 that the start switch 68 is not input manually, the process advances to step S40, and it is checked whether the input is from the numeric keypad 81 or not. If the input is from the numeric keypad 81, step S
Proceed to step 41, store the input data in the key buffer 91,
In the following step S42, the input data is displayed on the numeric display 65 and the process returns. Note that if the clear key is input here, the data stored in the key buffer 91 will be cleared and the process will return. Further, if it is determined in step S40 that the input is not from the numeric keypad 81, the process corresponding to each input key switch is executed in step S43, and the process returns.

Next, the command execution process in step S7 will be explained below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

When a command from the host is received in the online mode, first, in step S50, it is checked whether or not a setting command for each mode of memory storage mode, copy mode, print mode, MIX mode, and transfer mode has been received, and these setting commands are checked. If the setting mode command is received, the process advances to step S51, and the mode corresponding to the received setting mode command is set. Then, after completing the settings for each mode, the process returns. Note that if the image memory 13 is not installed, the memory storage mode will not be changed, and, for example, a failure will be notified.

If it is determined in step S50 that a mode setting command is not received, the process proceeds to step 525, and each specification command for specifying the number of printouts, specifying the position of image information, specifying an area of image information, and specifying the resolution of image information to be transmitted is received. If these specified commands have been received, the process proceeds to step S53, stores the specified value sent with the command in the corresponding area in RAMZ, turns on the update flag, and returns. .

The correspondence between each received command and the designated value storage area is as follows.

Number of sheets setting command...Specified number of sheets area position setting command...Position specification area area setting command...Area specification area resolution setting command...Resolution area If the specified command is not received in step S52, the process advances to step S54; Check whether a scanner registration command has been received. If a scanner registration command has been received, the process advances to step S55, in which the specified value updated in step 553 described above is stored in the corresponding area of the scanner setting area 97, and in the subsequent step S56, the updated data is transferred to the scanner 200.
Send to and return. Note that the update flag is reset at this time.

If it is determined in step S54 that a scanner registration command has not been received, the process advances to step S57 to check whether a host registration command has been received. If a host registration command has been received, the process proceeds to step 358, stores the data updated in step 353 in the host setting area 96, and returns.

If it is determined in step S57 that a host registration command has not been received, it is checked in step S60 whether or not a start command has been received, and if a start command has been received, step S3
3, executes the start process shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later, and returns.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S60 that a start command has not been received, the process proceeds to step S65, and it is checked whether a reset command has been received. Here, if a reset command has been received, the process advances to step S66 and a reset command is sent to the scanner 200. Here, if the scanner 200 is unable to receive the reset command, a reset signal is output to the scanner 200, the process returns to step S1, and the initialization process is executed. In this manner, in this embodiment, the host side can initialize the scanner at the same time by simply outputting a reset command to the image information output device 100 to the vehicle.

Further, if it is determined in step S65 that a reset command has not been received, the process proceeds to step S67, executes processing corresponding to each received command, and returns.

Next, details of the start process in step S33 will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S70, the currently set mode is checked, and if the transfer mode is set, step S6
4, the transfer process shown in FIG. 134, which will be described later, is executed and the process returns. If print mode is set, step S
71 and below, and if the MIX mode is set, step S87 is shown in FIG. 12 (A), which will be described later.
, executes the MIX mode processing shown in (B) and returns. Furthermore, if it is set to copy mode, the tip S8
8 or less copy mode processing is executed.

If the print mode is selected in step S70, step S71
Then, it is checked whether there is print data in the text area 98 of the memory. If there is print data in the text area 98, the video signal generation unit 8 is activated in step S72, and the LBP engine unit 9 is activated in the subsequent step S73.

The LBP engine unit 9 transports the recording paper to the photoreceptor 28 position and prepares for recording. Then, the recording preparation is completed,
When preparations for receiving recording data are completed, a BD scratch signal is output to the LBP interface 7 requesting transmission of one line of data using a laser beam. For this reason, step S75
Waits for the BD scratch signal, which is a data transfer synchronization signal, to be sent, and when the BD scratch signal is output, in step S76, one line of print data is read from the text area 9-8, and a video signal is generated at a predetermined timing. Send to section 8.

At this time, if the print data is character code data, the character code data is sent to the character generator 11, where it is converted into a character pattern corresponding to the character code, and the pattern is developed in the pattern development section 12. Then, print data for each line is read out from the pattern development section 12 and sent to the video signal generation section 8.

In the video signal generation section 8, this print data is sent to rI! via selector A53 or selector B54 and selector Coo. Selective output is sequentially made to the Aa circuit 61 to cause the semiconductor laser to emit light. When the printout for one line is completed in this way, it is checked in step S77 whether or not the printing for one page has been completed. If the printing for one page has not been completed, the process returns to step S74 and the next line is printed. Print data for a line.

If printing for one page has been completed in step S77, the process advances to step S78 to check whether printing of the designated number of sheets has been completed. When the predetermined number of printouts have been completed, the process is terminated and the process returns; when the print act has not been completed, the process returns to step S72 and the next printout is executed.

Further, if no print data is stored in the memory in step S71, the process returns without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the copy mode is selected in step S70, copy mode processing from step S88 onwards is executed. First, in step 388, the BUSY signal 20 from the scanner 200 is
2 is on, that is, the scanner 200 is turned on. Since copying cannot be performed when the scanner 200 is busy, the SCREDY indicator 84 is blinked in step S89, and the process proceeds to step S79, where it is checked whether or not it is in online mode. If so, the host is notified of the error in step S80 and the process returns.

If the scanner 200 is ready in step 388, the process advances to step S90, and the reading resolution of the scanner 200 is specified to be the same resolution as that of the printer. Note that when the resolution of the printer is lower than the highest resolution of the scanner 200, the read data from the C0D 21 is thinned out according to the resolution and output, and scanning in the sub-scanning direction is also performed at predetermined intervals according to the resolution. In the following step S92, the scanner 200 is activated. As a result, the scanner 200 prepares to scan the document surface. When the preparation for reading the original is completed, V
Outputs SREQ203. For this reason, the following step S9
At step 4, the scanner 200 waits for the VSREQ 203 to be output. The scanner 200 is ready to read and the VSR
When the EQ203 is sent, the process proceeds from step S94 to step S95, in which the video signal generation section 8 is activated, and in the subsequent step S96, the LBP engine section 9 is activated. Then, in step S97, the LBP engine unit 9 waits for the BD multiplication signal, which is the data transfer request timing signal, to be sent. When the BD multiplication signal is output, the process proceeds to step S98, and the scanner 200 is sent one line (one main scanning Sends H3YNC 205 requesting to read and output data ().

As a result, the scanner 200 sends one line of multivalued digital image data, so it is checked in step S99 whether or not the memory storage mode is in effect. Store the data in the image memory 13, step 51
Proceed to o1. Even if it is not the memory storage mode in step S99, the process proceeds to step 5lot, and the image data from the scanner 200 is output to the video signal generation section 8. In the video signal generating section 8, this 6-bit image data is stored as is if the output timing of the printer and the data sending timing of the scanner 200 match; otherwise, it is temporarily stored in the 1-line buffer 51 for subsequent processing. The image data selected by the selector A53 is sequentially selectively outputted to the drive circuit 61 via the selector C60, causing the semiconductor laser to emit light. When one line of printing is completed in this manner, it is checked in step 5102 whether or not one page of printing has been completed. If printing for one page has not been completed, the process returns to step S97 and print processing for the next line of data is executed.

If printing for one page has been completed in step 5102, the process advances to step 5104, where it is checked whether or not the specified number of sheets have been printed, and if the specified number of sheets have been printed, the process ends and returns. However, if the printout has not been completed, it is checked in step 5105 whether or not the memory storage mode is in effect. If it is in the memory storage mode, the next print can be performed by reading from the memory, so the print processing from step 372 onwards is executed. If it is not the memory storage mode, the process returns to step S92.

Next, referring to 3412 figures (A) and (B), step S8
The MIX mode processing of No. 7 will be explained.

First, in step 5130, it is checked whether or not the LBP engine section 9 is ready. If the LBP engine section 9 is not ready, the print process cannot be executed. In step 5131, it is checked whether or not it is in online mode. If it is in online mode, step 5131 Proceed to , notify the host of the error, and return. If the mode is not online, the process will be aborted and the process will return.

If the LBP engine section 9 is ready in step 5130, the process advances to step 5133, where it is checked whether the scanner 200 is ready. M if scanner 200 is not ready
IX processing cannot be executed and the process advances to step 5131.

On the other hand, if the scanner 200 is ready, step 5134
In step 5136, it is checked whether or not the memory storage mode is selected, and if the memory storage mode is selected, image data reading processing from the scanner 200 is executed in steps 5136 and thereafter. First, in step 5136, the scanner interface 10 outputs a startup command to the scanner 200 via the control bus 206. As a result, the scanner 200 prepares to scan the original surface, and outputs VSREQ 203 when the preparation for reading the original is completed.

Therefore, in step 5137, the scanner 200 waits for the VSREQ 203 to be output.

When VSREQ203 is sent, the process advances from step 5137 to step 5138, and H3YN is sent to the scanner 200.
C205 is sent. As a result, the scanner 200 subsequently sends one line of multivalued digital image data, so the CPU 1 stores this data in the image memory 13 in the subsequent step 5139.

When one line of data has been stored, it is checked in step 5140 whether or not one page has been printed.
If one page has not been printed yet, step 51
Return to 37.

If printing for one page has been completed in step 5140, the process advances to step 5145, where the video signal generation unit 8 is activated, and in the following step 5146, the LB
Start up the P engine section 9. and the following step 814
8, wait for the BD scratch signal to be sent, and when the BD scratch signal is output, proceed to step 5149, read one line of print data from the image memory 13 and text area 98, and send it to the video signal generation section 8 at a predetermined timing. send.

At this time, if the print data is character code data, the character code data is sent to the character generator 11, where it is converted into a character pattern corresponding to the character code, and the pattern is developed in the pattern development section 12. Then, print data for each line is read out from the pattern development section 12 and sent to the video signal generation section 8.

The selector A53 of the video signal generation section 8 selects and outputs the image data according to the position and area specified in the scanner setting area 97, converts it into an FM modulated drive signal corresponding to multi-gradation data, and outputs the image data to the OR circuit 59. Output to.

On the other hand, the selector B 54 selects and outputs text data according to the position and area specified in the host setting area 96, and outputs the selected text data to the OR circuit 59. The OR circuit 59 combines these data and outputs it to the selector C60. Selector C
60 is controlled by the control unit 5o to select data from the OR circuit 59 in accordance with instructions from the CPU in the MIX mode, and both data are combined and sent to the drive circuit 61.
are sequentially selected and output, the semiconductor laser is made to emit light, and one line (one line in the main scanning direction) of composite data is printed out.

When printing for one line is completed in this way, it is checked in step 5150 whether or not printing for one page has been completed. If printing for one page has not been completed, the process returns to step 5148 and the next line is printed. Print data for a line.

If printing for one page has been completed in step 5150, the process advances to step 5151 to check whether printing of the designated number of sheets has been completed. If the predetermined number of sheets have been printed out, the process ends and returns; if the printouts have not been completed, the process returns to step 5145 to execute the next printout.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5134 that it is not the memory storage mode, the process proceeds to step 8163 and subsequent steps, and steps 3163 to
In step 3169, the LBP engine section 9 is activated by the same process as steps S92 to S98 in FIG. 11, and the scanner 2 is activated.
In the following step 5171, the text data of the text area 98 and the image data from the scanner 200 are transferred to the video signal generation section 8. The video signal generation section 8 converts both of the transferred data into a semiconductor laser drive signal, and the LBP engine section 9 prints out one line of data in accordance with this drive signal.

When one line of printing is completed in this way, it is checked in step 5173 whether or not one page of printing has been completed. If one page's worth of printing has not been completed, the process returns to step 3168 to execute composite printing processing of the next one line's worth of data.

If printing for one page has been completed in step 5173, the process advances to step 5175, where it is checked whether or not the specified number of sheets have been printed, and if the specified number of sheets have been printed, the process ends and returns. However, if the printout has not been completed, the process returns to step 5163.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 13, step S8
The transfer process in step 4 will be explained.

First, in step 5179, it is checked whether the online mode is currently set. If the online mode is not set, the process returns immediately, and if it is the online mode, the process proceeds to step 5180, where it is checked whether the memory storage mode is set. Step 8181 in case of memory storage mode
, the scanner 200 is instructed to read the image data at the highest resolution, and in subsequent steps 3182 to 186 one page of data is read from the scanner 200 and stored in the image memory 13 using the same processing as steps 5136 to 140. .

When the reading of one page of image data is completed, a transmission request is sent to the host in the following step 5188. This transmission request is output as a command to the host via the serial interface 4 or as a request signal via the base 511 interface 6. and,
Step 5189 waits until the host is ready for reception, and when the host is ready for reception, step 5190
Step 51 starts the compression/expansion section 16 and continues with step 51.
In step 91, the data converter 17 is activated. and step 5
Image data is read from the image memory 13 in step 192, converted to the resolution and data format specified in the host setting area 96 in step 5193, and transferred to the host in step 5194.

Specifically, the image data processed by the host generally has a lower resolution than the reading resolution of the scanner 200, and is often not multivalued gradation data, but may be dithered data or binary data. For the most part, it is. Therefore, in this embodiment, since sending multivalued data in such a case will only unnecessarily delay processing, in the memory storage mode, the image information output device 100 uses a data format that matches the host processing. It is intended to be converted into and output.

Here, in addition to the data resolution, the 6-bit multi-value multi-tone image data from the scanner 200 is processed by the compression/expansion unit 1.
6, compression processing is performed using a known data compression/decompression method,
The data conversion unit 17 converts the multivalued data into dithered binary data using a known method and sends it to the host. As a result, desired image data can be transferred in a short data transfer time.

If the data transfer to the host is completed in step 5194, it is checked in step 5195 whether the data transfer for one page has been completed, and if the data transfer for one page is completed, the process is terminated and the process is returned. However, if the transfer has not been completed, the process returns to step 5190 to transfer the next image data.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 3180 that the mode is not memory storage mode, the process advances to step 5200 and instructs the scanner 200 to read image data at the resolution specified in the host setting area 96. As a result, the scanner 20
Read image data of a desired resolution is sent from 0 at a predetermined timing. Therefore, steps 5201-203
Similar to steps 5182-184, the scanner 200
One line of data is received from the next step 520.
Step 4 waits until the host is ready to receive data, and continues when the host is ready to receive data in step 5205.
to send the received data to the host. and step 52
Check whether data transfer for one page is completed in 06, and
If the data transfer for the page has been completed, the process ends and returns; if the transfer has not been completed, the process returns to step 52.
Return to 03.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, high-resolution image information from an image information reading device and print information from an information processing device can be combined and output, and the information processing device can It is possible to provide an image information output device that can perform high-quality print output without imposing a large load.

In particular, image data such as photographs can be printed clearly in multiple gradations, and can be easily printed out on the same sheet of paper.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a scanner, Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of an LBP engine section of this embodiment, and Figure 4 is a video signal generation section of this embodiment. 5 is a top view of the operation panel of this embodiment, FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram of the RAM of this embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an example of the scanner interface of this embodiment. 8 to 13 are control flowcharts of this embodiment. In the figure 1...-CPU, 2...RAM, 3...ROM
. 4... Serial interface, 6... Parallel interface, 7... LBP interface, 8... Video signal generation section, 9...-LBP engine section, 10...
・Scanner interface, 12...Pattern development section, 13...Image memory, 15...Operation panel, 16
... compression/expansion section, 17... data conversion section, 21.
...CCD, 22...Fluorescent lamp, 25.27...
・Mirror, 26... Lens, 28... Photoreceptor, 33
...Front exposure lamp, 34...Developer, 39...
Transfer charger, 42... Fixing device, 45... Laser scanning optical system unit, 51.52... 1 line buffer,
53゜54.60...Selector, 55...Latch section, 56...Triangular wave generation circuit, 57...-D/A converter, 58...Comparator, 59...OR circuit,
61...Drive circuit, 65...Numeric display, 66...
・Online switch, 67...reset switch,
68... Print start switch, 69... Scanner start switch, 70-73-... Various setting switches, 74° 77-80... Various mode setting switches, 75-... Scanner registration switch, 76-...・Host registration switch, 81... Numeric keypad, 100... Image information output device, 200... Scanner, 300, 350
...It is an information processing device. Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) An image information output device that is connectable to an information processing device and an image information reading device, and includes a read information requesting device that requests the image information reading device to transmit read image information, and a request from the read information requesting device. read information receiving means for receiving read image information sent corresponding to the information processing apparatus; output information receiving means for receiving output information sent to the information processing apparatus; and information received from the output information receiving means and the above. The reading information requesting means and the output information requesting means output the requested output to the output means. An image information output device characterized in that the combining means combines the received information sent in synchronization with print output. (2) Image information output according to claim 1, characterized in that the combining means combines image data from the image information reading device and conversion data of output data from the information processing device into a print image. Device. (3) The output means is a light beam printer that irradiates the photosensitive surface of the photoreceptor with a light beam to form an electrostatic latent image, visualizes the latent image, and outputs it, and the composition means uses the image information reading device to form an electrostatic latent image. A patent claim characterized in that the multi-gradation image data of is combined with a light beam generation means drive signal corresponding to the gradation and a binary light beam generation means drive signal converted into a print image of coded data. The image information output device according to item 2. (4) The image information output device according to claim 3, wherein the combining means selectively outputs both signals for each predetermined area.