KR0139153B1 - Memory apparatus of a printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a memory management apparatus and method for printing a plurality of images on a single sheet of paper and transmitting and recording only image data to be newly printed when partially overlapping a new image on an existing image. It is about. The present invention comprises an image area storage unit for storing the number of images recorded in the memory and information for each image area, and a memory checking buffer for reading data recorded in the set area from the memory and transmitting the data to the central processing unit. When the image data is input, the CPU transmits the memory state information to the computer so that the memory state information and the options are displayed on the screen so that the user can select a desired printing type. Then, the memory is initialized or the image data is recorded in the set memory area in accordance with a command transmitted from the computer, and information on the area in which the current image data is recorded is stored. Therefore, it is possible to save printing time and prevent excessive loss of paper.

Description

Printer memory management device and method

1 is a block diagram of a printer for explaining a conventional memory management method;

2 is a block diagram of a memory management apparatus of the present invention;

3 is a screen state diagram showing an example of a menu for an interface with a user.

(A)-(c) of FIG. 4 are exemplary views showing the results actually printed by the printer of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

101, 201: interface unit 102, 202: central processing unit

103: DMA control unit 104,205: address counter

105,204: Refresh control unit 106,208: Recording / reading control unit

107, 207: frame memory 203: image area storage unit

206: memory checking buffer

The present invention enables printing multiple images on a single sheet of paper, and transfers and records only image data to be newly printed when partially overlapping a new image on an existing image, thereby saving printing time and eliminating excessive loss of paper. The present invention relates to a memory management apparatus of a printer and a method of preventing the same.

In general, a printer device connected to a computer and outputting various images or graphics to be output by a user has a considerable amount of frame memory for storing images in the printer. This frame memory uses DRAM and is designed to initialize the memory before or after printing so as not to affect the newly printed image.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer for explaining a conventional method of managing a frame memory. As shown in the drawing, a conventional printer receives an image data and a command to be output by a user from a personal computer, and transmits the data to a central processing unit 102 and a DMA controller (Direct Memory Access Controller) 103, respectively. It is provided. In addition, there is provided a frame memory 107 for receiving image data to be printed and storing them in units of frames and outputting the stored data. The central processing unit 102 for decoding the command and the image data transmitted from the interface unit 101 controls the operation of recording or reading the image data into the frame memory 107 while interfacing with the respective component blocks. do.

The address counter 104, the refresh control unit 105, and the write / read control unit 106 are connected in parallel between the output terminal of the central processing unit 102 and the input terminal of the frame memory 107. The address counter 104 specifies an address of the frame memory 107 according to a control signal of the central processing unit 102 to set an area in which initialization or image data is recorded or read. In addition, the refresh control unit 105 controls the initialization of the frame memory 107 according to the control signal of the central processing unit 102, and the recording / reading control unit 106 according to the control signal of the central processing unit 102, the frame memory. Image data writing / reading operations to 107 are controlled. The DMA control unit 103 under the control of the central processing unit 102 transmits the image data transmitted from the interface unit 101 directly to the frame memory 107 to be stored.

When a print command, image data to be printed, information on the image area, etc. are input from a personal computer to the conventional printer configured as described above, the central processing unit 102 uses the interface unit 101 before printing. Information about the transmitted image area is received and decoded. Next, the central processing unit 102 outputs a control signal to the refresh control unit 105 to instruct the frame memory 107 to be initialized so as not to affect the newly printed image. At this time, the address counter 104 under the control of the central processing unit 102 initializes the frame memory 107 while increasing or decreasing rows or columns. After this initialization operation, the central processing unit 102 transmits the information on the area where the image received from the interface unit 9101 should be located to the address counter 104 and gives a recording command to the recording / reading control unit 106. When the image data output command is given to the DMA control unit 103, the image data input through the interface unit 101 is transmitted to the frame memory 107, and the frame memory 107 stores the data in the corresponding area.

However, since this method always refreshes the entire frame memory before printing, even when printing an image in which a part of the existing image is deformed, the entire image data including the deformed part must be retransmitted and recorded. Therefore, according to the conventional printer, which takes more time to transmit and record image data than the actual printing time, there is a problem that it takes a long time to print. In addition, conventional printers are basically designed to print only one image on one sheet of printing paper. Therefore, there is always an advantage that a new image can be obtained in a clean state, but when the size of the image to be printed is very small than the size of the paper, the loss of paper is large, there was an uneconomic problem. If a plurality of images are to be collected and printed on a single sheet of paper, the images need to be printed after being combined with other software on a computer in advance, so that they tend to rely on a computer having some specialty or performance. In addition, there is a method of printing one image among the images to be printed first and then printing another image on the print paper, but this has a problem in that the image cannot be printed at the exact position desired by the user.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to save the printing time by transmitting and recording only the image data of the deformed portion when printing the image of the portion is deformed in the existing image It is to provide a memory management device and a method of a printer.

Another object of the present invention is to set the position of the images on the memory when you want to print several images on a single sheet of paper so as to minimize the loss of expensive paper by storing several images in one frame memory at the same time To provide a memory management device and a method of a printer.

It is another object of the present invention to simplify printing that can enhance visual characteristics by selecting a corresponding function through a computer when printing or partially overlapping printing multiple images on different areas on a single sheet of paper. The present invention provides a memory management apparatus and a method thereof.

The memory management apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above objects transfers the memory status information to the computer when the image data is transmitted from the computer, and initializes the memory or records the image data in the set memory area according to a command transmitted from the computer. Or a central processing unit for controlling the operation of reading. The image area storage unit connected to the central processing unit stores information about the number of images recorded in the frame memory and the area occupied by each image, and outputs the stored information under the control of the central processing unit. A memory checking buffer is connected between the CPU and the frame memory, and the memory checking buffer reads the data recorded in the set area from the frame memory and transfers the data to the CPU.

In addition, the memory management method of the present invention for achieving the above object is to read the number of images recorded in the frame memory and information about the area occupied by each image when the image data is transmitted from the computer to transfer to the computer. Steps; Displaying the transferred memory status information and options on a screen to allow a user to select a desired printing type; Initializing the memory according to the selected command when the print command is transmitted from the computer or recording the transferred image data in the memory area set by the user; And storing information about the area where the current image data is recorded and the number of images recorded.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 as follows.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the frame memory management apparatus of the present invention. As shown, the printer of the present invention receives image data and commands to be output by a user from a computer and transmits them to the central processing unit 202 and the frame memory 207, respectively, and is transmitted from the central processing unit 202. An interface unit 201 for transmitting information on various states of the printer to the computer. The central processing unit 202 for decoding the command and the image data transmitted from the interface unit 201 controls the operation of recording or reading the image data into the frame memory 207 while interfacing with the respective component blocks. The image area storage unit 203 connected to the central processing unit 202 stores the number of images recorded in the frame memory 207 and information on the area occupied by each image, and controls the central processing unit 202. The stored information is output.

In addition, the printer of the present invention includes a frame memory 207 which receives image data transmitted directly from the interface unit 201 and stores the data in frame units and outputs the stored data. The refresh control unit 204 and the address counter 205 are connected in parallel between the output terminal of the central processing unit 202 and the input terminal of the frame memory 207. The refresh control unit 204 controls the initialization of the setting area of the frame memory 207 according to the control signal of the central processing unit 202, and sends information on the area where the current image is recorded to the image area storage unit 203. To be transmitted and stored. The address counter 205 designates an address of the frame memory 207 in accordance with a control signal of the central processing unit 202 to set an area in which initialization or image data is recorded or read. The memory checking buffer 206 connected to the output end of the frame memory 207 reads the data recorded in the set area from the frame memory 207 and transfers the data to the CPU 202. Then, the data read out from the frame memory 207 and the recorded data can be compared to confirm whether the data is correctly recorded in the set area of the frame memory 207. The recording / reading control unit 208 connected to the frame memory 207 controls the image data writing / reading operation to the frame memory 207.

The operation of the memory management apparatus of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

When image data and a command to be printed from a computer are input, the data is applied to the interface unit 201. When an input command of image data is input from the interface unit 201, the central processing unit 202 is connected to the image area storage unit ( A control signal is sent to 203 to read recorded information. At this time, the image area storage unit 203 records the number of images recorded in the frame memory 207 and information on the area occupied by each image. Taking the format of the information recorded in the image area storage unit 203 as an example, two bytes of information representing the number of images and two bytes each representing one image area (Xstart, Ystart, Xend, and Yend) ) As many as the number of images. As a more specific example, when two images exist in the frame memory 207, the image area storage unit 203 stores data in the following form.

00 02 00 0A 00 0A 01 FF 01 FF 03 00 03 00 08 00 08 00

00 02, which is the first two-byte information, indicates that two images exist. The next 4 bytes of information 00 0A 00 0A indicates (10,10), which is the start position of the first image area, and the next 01 FF 01 FF indicates (511,511), which is the last position of the first image area. In 10), the first image exists in the rectangle of (511,511). The 03 00 03 00 represents (768,768), and the next 08 00 08 00 represents (2048,2048), so there is a second image in the rectangle consisting of (768,768) and (2048,2048). The central processing unit 202 outputs the information read from the image area storage unit 203 to the interface unit 201, and the interface unit 201 transmits information on the state of the frame memory to the computer. When the computer receives the information about the memory status from the printer, the computer displays a dialog box in the form shown in FIG. 3 so that the user can select it.

3 illustrates, by way of example, a simple form of dialog that can be presented for interfacing with a user. In the menu, the gray rectangle A is the area where the image is located in the current frame memory, and the black rectangle B represents the size of the image that the current user wants to print. The black rectangle B can be moved to any position desired by the user, and the shifted position is determined as the area of the image to be newly printed. The clean-up memory button (C) at the bottom right of the menu gives a command to initialize the entire frame memory. In this case, the user can define the full / partial initialze and the check memory. It is presented as an option.

In other words, when an existing image is deleted and a new image is to be printed, a command for initializing the entire memory is input using the clean-up memory button C and other options. When printing multiple images in different areas so as not to overlap each other, the black rectangle B is moved to an appropriate position avoiding the position where the gray rectangle A is located. In order to print a new image by partially overlapping an existing image, move the black rectangle B to a desired position, and then input a command to record new data in the overlapping portion of the gray rectangle A. FIG. When the operation is completed, the user presses the print button D. When the print command is input through the interface unit 201, the central processing unit 202 performs printing while performing the above-described items.

(A)-(c) of FIG. 4 are exemplary diagrams showing the results actually printed by the memory management apparatus of the present invention, and the print results have a wide variety of cases. (A) of FIG. 4 is a case where a new image is printed after erasing existing images, and (b) of FIG. 4 is a case where several images are printed on different areas. 4C illustrates a case where a new image is printed by partially overlapping an existing image.

First, as shown in (a) of FIG. 4, when a command to initialize the entire memory is selected, the refresh control unit 204 issues a command to erase all existing image data, and the frame counter (205) is used. Initialize while increasing or decreasing the rows or columns of 207). After initialization of the memory, the frame memory 207 stores the image data transmitted from the interface unit 201 in the area designated by the address counter 205, which is the same as the conventional method.

As shown in (b) and (c) of FIG. 4, if a command to save data is avoided or overlapped with the area where the current image data exists, the central processing unit 202 should locate the image received from the interface unit 201. Information on the area to be transmitted is transmitted to the address counter 205 to set the image area. Next, the frame memory 207 records the image data transmitted from the interface unit 201 in the area set in accordance with the designation of the address counter 205. At this time, when the newly recorded image area partially overlaps the existing image area, new data is rewritten in the overlapping area. Information on the area in which the current image is recorded is stored in the image area storage unit 203.

As described above, the present invention has an effect of saving printing time since only the image data of the deformed portion is transmitted and printed when the image is partially deformed from the existing image. In addition, since multiple images are simultaneously stored in one frame memory and printed on one sheet of paper, loss of paper can be minimized. The present invention provides a user with a simple memory usage information through a computer and selects it so that multiple images can be printed on different areas or partially superimposed on one sheet of paper so that the visual characteristics of a specific text or document can be printed. It has the advantage of enabling printing that can be saved. Therefore, it is possible to simply print a plurality of images for comparison to enable the printing of complex data, thereby improving the performance of a printer having a high quality.

Claims (8)

A printer which stores and prints image data transmitted from a computer in a frame unit in a memory, and when the image data is input, transmits the memory status information to a computer and initializes the memory according to a command transmitted from the computer, or sets the memory. A central processing unit that controls an operation of recording or reading image data in the area; A storage unit which stores information about the number of images recorded in the frame memory and the area occupied by each image, and outputs the stored information under control of a central processing unit; And a memory checking buffer which reads the data recorded in the set area from the frame memory and transmits the data to the central processing unit. 2. The storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit has two bytes of information indicating the number of images, four bytes indicating the start position of the corresponding region and four bytes indicating the last position in each image region. The memory management apparatus of the printer, characterized in that stored by the number of images. A printing method of a printer which stores image data transmitted from a computer in a frame memory and prints the information. When the image data is input, the number of images recorded in the frame memory and information on the area occupied by each image are read. Transmitting to a computer; Displaying the transferred memory status information and options on a screen to allow a user to select a desired printing type; Initializing the memory according to the selected command when the print command is transmitted from the computer or recording the transferred image data in the memory area set by the user; And storing the information on the area where the current image data is recorded and the number of the recorded images. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the memory state information and options include a region in which an image is currently placed in the frame memory, a size of an image to be printed by the user, and a command for inputting a command to initialize the entire frame memory. A memory management method of a printer comprising a memory button, a part initialization button for inputting a command for initializing only a specific part of a memory area, and a check memory button. 5. The memory management method of claim 4, wherein the image area to be printed currently can be moved to an arbitrary position by a user's selection. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein when a command to erase all stored images and print a new image is transmitted, the entire frame memory is initialized and the image data transmitted from the computer is recorded in the memory area set by the user. To manage the memory of the printer. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein when a command to print a plurality of images from a computer is printed on a different area or partly overlapped, the area in which the image to be printed is located in the frame memory is set, and the memory area set by the user is set from the computer. A memory management method for a printer, characterized by recording the transferred image data. 8. The memory management method of claim 7, wherein when the newly recorded image area partially overlaps with the existing image area, the newly transferred image data is rewritten in the overlapping memory area.