JP2000153648A - Print control apparatus and method for controlling driving of device of print control apparatus and memory medium with computer readable program stored - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a print start time remarkably by starting a printing process at an appropriate time whereby a preparation period for each device is accommodated within a character development end time. SOLUTION: When a printable bit map image is developed on the basis of character information received via a host interface 101 and transferred to a printer engine comprised of devices, a start timing of each device is controlled to be switched in accordance with the number of characters stored beforehand in a rendering character number storage memory 108 which can be developed in a preparation period required for each device constituting the printer engine 106 and the number of characters in a page to be developed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention develops a printable bitmap image based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium, and drives the plurality of devices by developing the developed bitmap image. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus that transfers a print control to a printing unit that prints on a recording medium, a device drive control method of the print control apparatus, and a storage medium that stores a computer-readable program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a print control apparatus for controlling a printer engine, for example, a laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) engine for printing text document data from a host, all the text document data of the print page are bit-mapped. After developing the data, start the printer engine, start the rotation of the scanner, start the heating of the heater, and start transporting the paper to the printing start position, and when they reach the predetermined value of the printer, scanning of the drum with the laser beam is started. It is controlled to start printing after it becomes possible.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, since the printer engine is started after all the text document data has been developed into the bitmap, the text document data of the print page from the host is completely converted to the bitmap. After the data has been expanded, printing cannot be started unless the printer engine startup time has elapsed, and for a considerable time until the start of outputting the print page, specifically, after starting receiving text document data from the host, The time required for the printer to start printing has a problem that an additional time is required for the text document data development time of the print page and the printer engine activation time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is intended to develop a printable bitmap image based on received character information and transfer it to a printer engine composed of devices. In addition, by optimizing the start timing of each device according to the number of characters in the page to be expanded, the printing process is started in a timely manner when the preparation period of each device falls within the character expansion end time, and the printing start time is reduced. A print control device, a device drive control method of the print control device, and a computer capable of performing print processing that can significantly reduce the time and also suppress unnecessary driving that promotes wear of each device and extend the life of each device. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a readable program.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a printable bitmap image is developed based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium (including an interface and a network). Image memory 1 shown in FIG.
05, and transfers the developed bitmap image to a printing unit (the printer engine 106 shown in FIG. 1) that drives a plurality of devices and prints on a recording medium, Storage means for storing, for each font size, the upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally (the number of rendered characters shown in FIG. 1) A memory 108), analyzing the character information received from the data processing device and comparing the number of characters to be printed with the upper limit value stored in the storage means, and determining the number of characters to be printed within the preparation operation time. Judgment means for judging whether or not it can be developed into a bitmap image (the CPU 104 shown in FIG. Determining process running grams)
Control means (CP shown in FIG. 1) for controlling the start timing of each device based on the determination result of the determination means.
U104 executes and controls the control program stored in the program memory 103).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the control means determines that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than the upper limit value stored in the storage means,
The device is started simultaneously with the bitmap image developing process based on the character information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the control means determines that the number of characters to be printed is larger than an upper limit value stored in the storage means, the control means determines the number of characters to be printed based on the character information. And starts the device at a timing when it is determined based on the character information that the number of characters not subjected to the bitmap image development is smaller than the upper limit.

In a fourth aspect according to the present invention, the storage means includes an upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparation operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. Value for each font type
In addition, it is stored for each font size (stored for each character type and character size in the table shown in FIG. 2).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a recording medium. It includes a transport roller for transporting to a position.

In a sixth aspect according to the present invention, the preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally is based on a rise time of a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process and the bitmap image. It is based on the time required for the longest time among the rise time of the scanner for scanning the photosensitive member with the light beam and the transport time of the transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a printable bitmap image is developed based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium (including a network, a network), and the developed bitmap image is developed. A device driving control method of a printing control device for transferring an image to a printing unit (printer engine 106 shown in FIG. 1) for printing on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices, wherein the character information received from the data processing device is provided. And compares the number of characters to be printed with the upper limit of the number of characters that can be expanded into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until a plurality of devices stored in the memory can be driven normally. And determining whether the number of characters to be printed can all be developed into a bitmap image within the preparation operation time. (Step (4) in FIG. 3) and a switching step (Step (5) in FIG. 3) for switching the start timing of each device based on the determination result of the determination step or Steps (8) to (10) in FIG. )).

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the switching step (step (5) in FIG. 3), it is determined that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than the upper limit value stored in the memory in the determining step. In addition, the device is started simultaneously with the bitmap image developing process based on the character information.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the switching step (steps (8) to (10) in FIG. 3), the number of characters to be printed in the determination step is larger than an upper limit value stored in the memory. If it is determined that there are many, start the bitmap image development based on the character information, the device at the timing when it is determined that the number of characters that are not bitmap image development based on the character information is less than the upper limit value To start.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the memory, an upper limit value of the number of characters that can be expanded into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. For each font type,
In addition, it is stored for each font size (stored for each character type and character size in the table shown in FIG. 2).

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a recording medium. It includes a transport roller for transporting to a position.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally is as follows:
Among the rise time of the fixing heater for executing the electrophotographic process, the rise time of the scanner for scanning the photosensitive member with the light beam based on the bitmap image, and the transport time of the transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position,
It is based on the time required for the longest time.

A thirteenth invention according to the present invention is directed to developing a printable bitmap image based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium (including a network and a network), A storage medium storing a computer-readable program that controls a printing apparatus that transfers an image to a printing unit (printer engine 106 illustrated in FIG. 1) that prints on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices, Character information received from the data processing device can be analyzed and developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within the number of characters to be printed and the preparatory operation time until a plurality of devices stored in the memory can be driven normally. The number of characters to be printed in the preparation operation time is compared with the upper limit of the A determination step (step (4) in FIG. 3) for determining whether the image can be developed into a image, and a switching step (step (5) in FIG. 3) for switching the start timing of each device based on the determination result of the determination step Alternatively, a computer-readable program having steps (8) to (10) in FIG. 3) is stored in a storage medium.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the switching step (steps (8) to (10) in FIG. 3), the number of characters to be printed in the determining step is larger than an upper limit value stored in the memory. If it is determined that the number is small, a computer-readable program for starting the device at the same time as the bitmap image developing process based on the character information is stored in a storage medium.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the switching step, when it is determined in the determining step that the number of characters to be printed is larger than an upper limit value stored in the memory,
A computer that starts bitmap image development based on the character information and starts the device at a timing when it is determined that the number of characters that are not bitmap image developed based on the character information is smaller than the upper limit value is readable. The program is stored in a storage medium.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the memory (stored for each character type and character size in the table shown in FIG. 2) is provided within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. In addition, a computer-readable program that stores the upper limit of the number of characters that can be expanded into a bitmap image based on the character information for each font type and for each font size is stored in a storage medium.

In a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a recording medium. A computer readable program including a transport roller for transporting to a position is stored in a storage medium.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally is as follows:
Among the rise time of the fixing heater for executing the electrophotographic process, the rise time of the scanner for scanning the photosensitive member with the light beam based on the bitmap image, and the transport time of the transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position,
A computer-readable program based on the time required for the longest time is stored in a storage medium.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system to which a print control apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied. The printer 100 and a host computer 2000 can communicate via a communication medium. Corresponding to the case.

In the printer 100, a receiving buffer 102 stores data received via the host I / F 101 for communicating with the host computer 200.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a program memory,
4 stores various control programs to be executed. The CPU 104 executes a control program stored in the program memory 103.

Reference numeral 105 denotes an image memory for storing image data developed into bitmap data based on print data. A video signal output circuit 107 outputs image data to the printer engine 106. Reference numeral 108 denotes a rendering character number storage memory, which stores the number of characters that can be developed (hereinafter, referred to as rendering) into a bitmap during the scanner startup time of the printer engine 106.

The printer 100 according to the present embodiment
Is a rise time of a scanner motor that rotationally drives a polygon mirror that constitutes the printer engine 106, a rise time of a heater temperature of a fixing unit that heat-presses the developer transferred onto the recording medium, and a sheet that conveys the recording medium to a printing start position. Assume that the rising time of the scanner motor is the longest of the three transport times.

The operation of the host computer 200 is controlled by the printer driver 201. Further, the application 202 activates the reprinter driver 201 to execute printing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the expandable character number table stored in the rendering character number storage memory 108 shown in FIG. It is stored in advance at a predetermined address every time. The rendering character number storage memory 108 is assumed to be configured as a non-volatile storage medium so that the storage content can be rewritten.

In FIG. 2, for example, the address "A + 1"
The number of characters "a10", "b10", and "c10" that can be expanded during the scanner start-up time is "0" for 10 points of Mincho, address "B + 10" for Gothic 10 points, and address "C + 10" for round Gothic 10 points. Is registered, the addresses “A + (1 to n)”,
The values of "B + (1 to n)" and "C + (1 to n)" correspond to Mincho, Gothic and Maru Gothic, respectively.

Thus, for example, one point is registered in the address "A + 1", two points are registered in the address "A + 2", and the number of characters that can be developed for the n-point Mincho character pattern is registered in the address "A + n". Other fonts are registered with the same address configuration.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a data processing procedure in the print control apparatus according to the present invention.
Note that (1) to (10) indicate each step.

When the printing process is executed by the host computer 200, the printer 100 connects to the host I / F 101.
The text buffer receives the text document data via the
(1).

In this embodiment, the printer driver 201 determines the type of font of the text document to be printed,
It is assumed that the number of points and the number of characters (x characters) are transmitted as part of the text document data.

Next, the CPU 104 stores the program memory 1
It operates according to the contents of No. 03, and detects the font type, the number of points and the number of characters of the print page from the received text document data (2). Then, the CPU 104 extracts, from the rendering character number storage memory 108, the upper limit value (referred to as y characters) of the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time corresponding to the detected font type and point number (3).

Thus, for example, when the font of the print page is Gothic and 10 points, as shown in FIG. 2, the gothic 10-point expandable character number “b10” stored at the address “B + 10” in the rendering character number storage memory 108. Is extracted, the upper limit y becomes “b”
10 ".

Next, the CPU 104 determines the number of characters x and the upper limit value y.
To determine whether x <y is satisfied (4). If it is determined that x <y is satisfied, that is, the number of characters of the text document to be printed is the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time. If it is determined to be less than
The printer engine 106 starts a scanner motor (not shown) (5).

After the scanner is started, the CPU 104 starts developing the print page into bitmap data based on the received text document data (6). The printer engine 106 can start printing when the scanner (polygon mirror) reaches a predetermined rotation speed by activating the scanner motor.

If it is determined in step (4) that the number of characters of the text document to be printed is smaller than the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time, the scanner may reach a predetermined rotation speed and start printing. Since the development of the print page into the bitmap data has been completed before it becomes possible, a video signal is output from the video signal output circuit 107 to the printer engine 106 immediately after the elapse of the scanner startup time (7), and printing is executed. Then, the printing process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (4) that the number of characters of the text document to be printed is greater than the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time, the printer engine 106 does not start the scanner motor. Then, the development of the print page into the bitmap data is started (8).

Next, the CPU 104 sequentially develops the text into bitmap data, manages the number of expanded characters, and subtracts the number of expanded characters from the number of characters of the text document to be printed, thereby obtaining the number of undeveloped characters z. Is calculated (9).

Subsequently, the CPU 104 determines the number z of undeveloped characters.
Is compared with the upper limit y to determine whether or not y> z is satisfied (10). When it is determined that y> z is satisfied, that is, the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time is larger than the number of unexpanded characters. If it is determined that the number is large, the printer engine 106 starts the scanner motor and returns to step (5). After the scanner is started, the CPU 104 executes expansion of the undeployed text document data into bitmap data.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step (10) that y <z is satisfied, that is, if it is determined that the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time is smaller than the number of unexpanded characters, the text document that has not been expanded is further determined. Step (8) for developing the data into bitmap data
Return to

Thus, steps (8) to (1)
The process of 0) is repeated, and the expansion of the undeployed text document data to the bitmap data is executed until the number of undeployed characters becomes equal to or less than the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner rise time. When the number of characters becomes equal to or less than the number of possible characters, steps (5) to (7) are repeated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the rendering character number storage memory 108, the scanner motor is activated at a timing at which the number of undeveloped characters of the text document can be developed during the scanner start-up time. Printing can be started immediately after the rotation speed reaches a predetermined value, and the printing time can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment,
Scanner rise time, heater temperature rise time,
The case where the scanner rise time is the longest among the three times of the paper transport time to the print start position has been described. When the paper transport time is the longest, the upper limit value y of the number of characters that can be expanded during the scanner startup time in the first embodiment is set to the heater temperature rise time and the number of characters that can be expanded during the paper transport time to the print start position, respectively. The configuration may be replaced with the upper limit value.

Specifically, step (5) shown in FIG.
The scanner activation in is replaced by operations such as heater heating start and paper transport start, respectively.

This makes it possible to reduce the time from when the text document data is received from the host to when the printer starts printing.

According to the above embodiment, the printer esgin is activated simultaneously with the reception of the text document data from the host, and the print page is expanded into the bitmap data during the printer engine activation time. It is possible to reduce the time from the start of data reception to the start of printing by the printer. Also, even if all text on the print page is not completely expanded into bitmap data during the printer engine startup time, expansion to bitmap data is performed before starting the printer engine, and all undeployed text document data is converted to the printer engine. It is possible to reduce the time from when the printer engine is started at the timing that can be expanded into the bitmap data during the start-up time and the text document data is started to be received from the host until the printer starts printing.

Hereinafter, the configuration of a data processing program that can be read by a printing system to which the print control apparatus according to the present invention can be applied will be described with reference to a memory map shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a storage medium for storing various data processing programs that can be read by a printing system to which the print control apparatus according to the present invention can be applied.

Although not shown, information for managing a group of programs stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, a creator, etc. are also stored, and information dependent on the OS or the like on the program reading side, for example, a program is stored in the storage medium. An icon or the like for identification display may also be stored.

Further, data dependent on various programs is also managed in the directory. Also, a program for installing various programs on a computer, and a program for decompressing a program to be installed when the program to be installed is compressed, may be stored in some cases.

The functions shown in FIG. 3 in this embodiment may be executed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when a group of information including a program is supplied to the output device from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Things.

As described above, the storage medium storing the program codes of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or the apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or the apparatus is supplied.
It goes without saying that the object of the present invention is also achieved when U) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, C
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, EEPROM and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. ) And the like perform part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

[0061]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the invention of the above, based on the character information received via a predetermined communication medium, it is developed into a printable bitmap image, and the developed bitmap image is printed on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices. A print control device for transferring to a printing unit, wherein the upper limit value of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information is set for each font size within a preparation operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. Storing the character information received from the data processing apparatus, comparing the number of characters to be printed with the upper limit value stored in the storage means, and comparing the number of characters to be printed within the preparation operation time Determining whether or not all can be developed into a bitmap image, and starting timing of each device based on the determination result of the determining means. Since having a Gosuru control means,
The number of characters to be expanded into a bitmap image is determined for each page based on the received character information, and the start timing of each device can be switched according to whether the determined number of characters falls within the preparation operation time required for the device. It is possible to start each device in a timely manner according to the number of characters of the page to be developed, to significantly shorten the printing start time, and to prolong the life of each device by suppressing meaningless forced driving of each device. Can be.

According to the second invention, when the control means determines that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than the upper limit value stored in the storage means, the control means sets the bit map based on the character information. Since the device is started at the same time as the image development process, the number of characters to be developed into a bitmap image is determined for each page based on the received character information, and the determined number of characters is determined within the preparation operation time required for the device. If it fits, each device can be started at the same time as the development, and the printing process can be started at the same time as the completion of the development, so that the printing start time can be significantly reduced.

According to the third aspect, when the control unit determines that the number of characters to be printed is larger than the upper limit value stored in the storage unit, the control unit determines a bit based on the character information. Start map image development,
Since the device is started at the timing when it is determined that the number of characters that have not been developed into a bitmap image based on the character information is smaller than the upper limit value, the number of characters that are developed into a bitmap image based on the received character information is determined in units of pages. If the determined number of characters does not fall within the preparation operation time required for the device, the bitmap image expansion of the character information is started, and the remaining number of characters to be expanded sequentially subtracted is stored in the device. It is possible to start the devices in a timely manner within the required preparation operation time, suppress unnecessary useless driving of each device, and extend the life of each device.

According to the fourth aspect, the storage means sets the upper limit value of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparation operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. Since the data is stored for each font type and for each font size, each device can be started at an optimum timing suitable for a bitmap image developing process that varies with the font type even for the same character size.

According to the fifth invention, the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a recording medium at a predetermined position. Including transport rollers to transport, even devices that require preparatory operation time before the start of printing processing based on the developed bitmap image, start each of them in a timely manner that can shorten the printing start time and extend the life of equipment Can be done.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally includes the rising time of the fixing heater for executing the electrophotographic process,
Since the time required for the longest time among the rise time of the scanner for scanning the photosensitive member with the light beam based on the bitmap image and the transport time of the transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position is used as a reference, the developed bit is used. Even for devices that require different preparation operation times before the start of printing processing based on the map image, the start timing is determined based on the time that always requires the longest time, and it is deployed before the preparation period of any device elapses It is possible to avoid a situation in which the printing process based on the bitmap image is started.

According to the seventh and thirteenth inventions, a printable bitmap image is developed based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium, and the developed bitmap image is converted to a plurality of devices. A device drive control method of a print control device that drives and transfers to a printing unit that prints on a recording medium, or develops a printable bitmap image based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium A storage medium storing a computer-readable program that controls a printing apparatus that transfers a developed bitmap image to a printing unit that drives a plurality of devices and performs printing on a recording medium; The character information received from the device is analyzed, and the number of characters to be printed and a plurality of devices stored in the memory in advance can be driven normally. Up to the upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within the preparation operation time, and determine whether all the characters to be printed can be developed into a bitmap image within the preparation operation time. Since the determination step and a switching step of switching the start timing of each device based on the determination result of the determination step, the number of characters to be developed into a bitmap image based on the received character information is determined for each page. It is possible to switch the start timing of each device depending on whether the determined number of characters falls within the preparation operation time required for the device, and start each device in a timely manner according to the number of characters of the page to be developed,
The printing start time can be remarkably shortened, and meaningless forced driving of each device can be suppressed, and the life of each device can be extended.

According to the eighth and fourteenth aspects, the switching step is based on the character information when the number of characters to be printed is determined to be smaller than the upper limit value stored in the memory in the determining step. Since the device is started at the same time as the bitmap image developing process, the number of characters to be developed into the bitmap image is determined for each page based on the received character information, and the determined number of characters is used as a preparation operation time required for the device. If it is within the range, each device can be started at the same time as the development, and the printing process can be started at the same time as the completion of the development, so that the printing start time can be remarkably reduced.

According to the ninth and fifteenth aspects, the switching step includes a step of determining that the number of characters to be printed is greater than the upper limit value stored in the memory in the determining step.
Starting the bitmap image development based on the character information, starting the device at the timing when it is determined that the number of characters that have not been bitmap image developed based on the character information is less than the upper limit, the received characters The number of characters to be expanded into a bitmap image is determined for each page based on the information. If the determined number of characters does not fall within the preparation operation time required for the device, the bitmap image expansion of the character information is started. The device is started in a timely manner so that the number of remaining characters to be expanded, which are sequentially subtracted, falls within the preparation operation time required for the device, suppressing meaningless forced driving of each device and extending the life of each device. be able to.

According to the tenth and sixteenth aspects of the present invention, the memory may store the upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. Since the value is stored for each font type and for each font size, each device can be started at an optimum timing suitable for a bitmap image developing process that varies with the font type even for the same character size.

According to the eleventh and seventeenth aspects, the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a recording medium. Since it includes a transport roller that transports to a predetermined position, even devices that require preparation operation time before the start of printing processing based on the developed bitmap image can timely shorten the printing start time and extend the life of equipment Each can be started.

According to the twelfth and eighteenth aspects, the preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally is determined by the rise time of the fixing heater for executing the electrophotographic process and the bitmap image. Based on the time required for the longest time among the rise time of the scanner that scans the photosensitive member with the light beam based on the image and the transport time of the transport roller that transports the recording medium to a predetermined position, printing based on the developed bitmap image is used. Even for devices that require different preparation operation times before processing starts, the startup timing is determined based on the time that always takes the longest time, and the bitmap image expanded before the preparation period of any device has elapsed It is possible to avoid a situation in which the printing process based on the start is started.

Therefore, when a printable bitmap image is developed based on the received character information and transferred to a printer engine composed of each device, the bitmap image of each device is expanded according to the number of characters in the page to be developed. By optimizing the start timing and starting the printing process at the appropriate time when the preparation period of each device falls within the character development end time, the printing start time can be significantly shortened, and unnecessary driving such as promoting wear of each device etc. And a print process that can extend the life of each device can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a print control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an expandable character number table stored in a rendering character number storage memory shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a storage medium that stores various data processing programs that can be read by a printing system to which a print control device according to the present invention can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 printer 101 host I / F 102 reception buffer 103 program memory 104 CPU 105 image memory 106 printer engine 107 video signal output circuit 108 rendering character number storage memory 200 host computer 201 printer driver 202 application

Claims (18)

[Claims] An image processing apparatus develops a printable bitmap image based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium, and prints the developed bitmap image on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices. A print control device for transferring to a printing unit, wherein the upper limit value of the number of characters that can be expanded into a bitmap image based on the character information is set for each font size within a preparation operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. A storage unit for storing, analyzing the character information received from the data processing device, comparing the number of characters to be printed with an upper limit value stored in the storage unit, and calculating the number of characters to be printed within the preparation operation time. Judging means for judging whether or not all devices can be developed into a bitmap image, and controlling the start timing of each device based on the judgment result of the judging means Control means for controlling the printing. 2. The control means, when the determination means determines that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than an upper limit value stored in the storage means, simultaneously with the bitmap image development processing based on the character information. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the device is started. 3. The control unit, when the determination unit determines that the number of characters to be printed is larger than an upper limit value stored in the storage unit, causes the control unit to start bitmap image development based on the character information. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device is started at a timing when it is determined based on the character information that the number of characters that are not subjected to bitmap image development is smaller than the upper limit. 4. The storage means sets, for each font type, an upper limit value of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparation operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the print control device stores the data for each font size. 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for performing an electrophotographic process, a scanner that scans a photoconductor with a light beam based on the bitmap image,
2. The printing control device according to claim 1, further comprising a transport roller that transports the recording medium to a predetermined position. 6. A preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally includes a rise time of a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, and scanning of a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a time required for the longest time is used as a reference among a rise time of the scanner and a transport time by a transport roller that transports the recording medium to a predetermined position. 7. A printable bitmap image is developed based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium, and the developed bitmap image is printed on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices. A device driving control method of a printing control device for transferring to a printing unit, wherein the character information received from the data processing device is analyzed, and the number of characters to be printed and a plurality of devices stored in a memory in advance can be driven normally. Up to the upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within the preparation operation time, and determine whether all the characters to be printed can be developed into a bitmap image within the preparation operation time. A determining step of determining, and a switching step of switching a start timing of each device based on a determination result of the determining step. Device driving control method for a printing control apparatus, characterized by. 8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the switching step determines that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than an upper limit value stored in the memory in the determining step. 8. The device drive control method for a print control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: 9. The switching step, in a case where it is determined in the determining step that the number of characters to be printed is larger than an upper limit value stored in the memory, a bitmap image development is started based on the character information; 8. The device drive control method for a print control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the device is started at a timing when it is determined that the number of characters that have not been subjected to bitmap image development based on the character information is smaller than the upper limit. 10. The memory, for each font type, sets an upper limit of the number of characters that can be expanded into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the storage is performed for each size. 11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a transport roller for transporting a recording medium to a predetermined position. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the print control device drives and controls the device. 12. A preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally includes a rising time of a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, and scanning of a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image. 8. The device drive control method for a print control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a time required for the longest time is used as a reference among a rise time of the scanner and a transport time by a transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position. 13. A printable bitmap image is developed based on character information received via a predetermined communication medium, and the developed bitmap image is printed on a recording medium by driving a plurality of devices. A storage medium storing a computer-readable program for controlling a printing apparatus for transferring to a printing unit, wherein the computer analyzes character information received from the data processing apparatus, analyzes the character information, and stores a number of characters to be printed and a plurality of characters stored in a memory in advance. The number of characters to be printed in the preparation operation time is compared with the upper limit of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within the preparation operation time until the device can be driven normally. A judging step of judging whether the device can be developed into a map image; and Storage medium from which a computer stores readable program characterized by having a step switch switches the dynamic timing, the. 14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the switching step determines that the number of characters to be printed is smaller than an upper limit value stored in the memory in the determining step. 14. A storage medium storing a computer-readable program according to claim 13, wherein the program is started. 15. The method according to claim 15, wherein, when the determining step determines that the number of characters to be printed is greater than an upper limit value stored in the memory, starting the bitmap image development based on the character information. 14. The computer-readable program according to claim 13, wherein the device is started at a timing when it is determined that the number of characters that have not been subjected to bitmap image development based on the character information is smaller than the upper limit. Storage medium. 16. The memory, for each font type, sets an upper limit value of the number of characters that can be developed into a bitmap image based on the character information within a preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally. 14. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the program is stored for each size. 17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices include a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, a scanner for scanning a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image, and a transport roller for transporting a recording medium to a predetermined position. 14. A storage medium storing a computer readable program according to claim 13. 18. A preparatory operation time until the plurality of devices can be driven normally includes a rise time of a fixing heater for executing an electrophotographic process, and scanning of a photosensitive member with a light beam based on the bitmap image. 14. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein a time required for the longest time is used as a reference among a rise time of the scanner and a transport time by a transport roller for transporting the recording medium to a predetermined position. Medium.