JPH05112054A - Image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image processing device capable of forming images of a plurality of pages on one recording medium on the basis of inputted PDL data. CONSTITUTION:The color PDL data sent from a host computer 12 through an interface 11 are inputted through an external interface 6 and they are judged whether the data are processed in a normal mode or a repeat mode by a mode judging part 13. Color image data are developed corresponding to the judgment result to be written in full page image memories 7-1-4 and the stored data 53 are sent to an image forming part 8 by an address generating part 9 and, in the repeat mode, the images of a plurality of pages are formed on one recording medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, especially a PD.
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that develops a raster image based on L (Page Description Language) data and forms an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a PDL printer which receives color PDL data from a host computer or the like and forms a color image has been proposed.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the so-called "copy machine" which outputs a plurality of the same images on one sheet or outputs images of different originals on one sheet. Since there is no "repeat function", there is a drawback that only one page of image can be output on one sheet.

There is also a drawback that images of a plurality of pages cannot be combined and printed on one sheet.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of forming a plurality of images on one recording medium based on input PDL data. To do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, in an image processing apparatus for developing a raster image based on PDL data and forming an image, an input means for inputting PDL data including mode information and an operation based on the mode information in the input means. Determination means for determining the mode, expansion means for expanding the raster image from the PDL data according to the operation mode determined by the determination means, and image forming means for forming an image according to the raster image expanded by the expansion means Have and.

Further preferably, the determining means is characterized by determining either the normal mode or the repeat mode.

More preferably, when the operation mode is the repeat mode, the developing means develops images of a plurality of pages on one recording medium.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a color printer compatible with color PDL in this embodiment.

As shown, the host computer 12
The color PDL data sent from the interface 11 through the interface 11 is input through the external interface 6, and the mode determination unit 13 determines whether to process the normal mode or the repeat mode, which will be described later. Then, the color image data is expanded according to the determination result and written into the full page image memories 7-1 to 4-1 respectively. On the other hand, the image forming section 8 forms an image in a frame sequential manner with respect to a plurality of output color components (C, M, Y, K). Correspond to each. Also,
The address generator 9 uses the synchronization signal 51 from the image forming unit 8.
The read address 52 of the full-page image memories 7-1 to 4-1 is generated based on the above, and the data 53 stored at the address 52 is output to the image forming unit 8.

Here, the ROM 2 and the RAM 3 store program data and control data executed by the CPU 1 which controls the entire apparatus. Also, the font RO
M4 holds font data for developing color characters in PDL data into image data.
The dither pattern ROM 5 stores patterns used for dither processing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the PDL. P represented by Post Script language of ADBE
DL (Page Description Language) is a language for describing an image of one page by combining elements such as an image description using a character code, an image description using a graphic code, and an image description using a raster image, as shown in the figure. ,
The data described in them is PDL data.

FIG. 3 shows an example of description by a character code. In the figure, L100 is a description for designating the color of characters,
In the parentheses, the luminances of Red, Green, and Blue are shown in order. The minimum is 0.0 and the maximum is 1.0. L1
00 specifies that the character is black. Next, L1
In 01, the character string "IC" is assigned to the variable string1.
In L102, the first and second parameters indicate the x coordinate and the y coordinate of the start position coordinates on the paper on which the character string is laid out, the third parameter is the character size, and the fourth parameter is the character interval. , And the fifth parameter indicates a character string to be laid out. In short, L1
02 is an instruction to lay out the character string "IC" from the coordinates (0.0, 0.0) with a size of 0.3 and an interval of 0.1.

FIG. 4 shows an example of description by a graphic code. Similar to L100, L103 specifies the line color, and here, Red is specified. Next, L104
Is to specify that a line is drawn, and
The parameters are the start coordinates of the line, and the third and fourth parameters are the x and y coordinates indicating the end coordinates. The fifth parameter indicates the line thickness.

FIG. 5 shows an example of description by a raster image. At L105, the raster image is assigned to the variable image1. Here, the first parameter represents the image type of the raster image and the number of color components, and the second parameter represents the number of bits per color component. Further, the third and fourth parameters represent the image size of the raster image in the x and y directions, and the fifth and subsequent parameters are the raster image data. The number of raster image data is the product of the number of color components forming one pixel and the image size in the x and y directions. That is, L105
Then, the RGB image has three color components (Red, Green, Blue).
The number of raster image data is 3 × 5
× 5 = 75.

FIG. 6 shows how the graphic descriptions shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are interpreted on one page and expanded into raster image data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a normal mode and a repeat mode in this embodiment. In the figure, (a)
Is the normal mode, and the image for one page is color P
This is a normal mode in which one sheet of DL printer is output. On the other hand, (b) is a repeat mode, and as shown in the figure, is a mode in which images for a plurality of pages are combined and output on one sheet of a color PDL printer.

Images of a plurality of pages may have the same content or different content.

Next, the processing procedure of the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the color PDL data transmitted from the host computer 12 is transferred to the external interface 6
When it is received through (step S101), it is determined whether to process in the repeat mode or the normal mode (step S102). This processing is performed by, for example, the mode information described at the head of the color PDL data on the host computer 12 side and indicating the repeat mode or the normal mode. Further, in the case of the repeat mode, page number information indicating how many pages of an image are output on one sheet of paper and identification information for identifying whether they have the same content or different content are also described, and based on each information. Then, the processing described later is performed.

In the repeat mode, the paper 1
The page number information indicating how many pages of images to output per sheet is temporarily stored in the RAM 3, and it is determined whether the repeated content is the same content or different content based on the identification information (step S103). As a result, if the contents are the same, one unit of the PDL data is analyzed (step S104), and after rasterized, the raster image is reduced based on the page number information, and each page memory 7-1 to 4-4. It is stored in a plurality of places according to the information about the number of pages (step S10).
5). Then, it is judged whether or not the rasterization and storage processing of the raster image for one page is completed (step S106). If not completed, the processing is returned to step S104 and the above-described processing is repeated. After that, when the image for one sheet is stored in the memory, it is transferred to the image forming unit 8 and printed on the sheet (step S107).

On the other hand, if the contents of a plurality of pages are different in step S103, the page number counter n is set to "1".
(Step S108), and one unit of PDL data is analyzed (step S109). Then, after rasterized into a raster image, the raster image is reduced based on the page number information and stored in a plurality of locations in each of the page memories 7-1 to -4 according to the page number information (step S11).
0). Next, it is determined whether or not the raster image development and storage processing for one page has been completed (step S111). If not completed, the processing returns to step S109, and the above-described processing is repeated. After that, when the image for one sheet is stored in the memory, it is checked whether the value of the counter n is equal to the page number information (step S112). As a result, if they are not equal, the value of the counter n is incremented (step S113), and the next PDL data is received (step S114). Then, the process is returned to step S109, and the above-described process is repeated. When the counter n becomes equal to the page number information, the above-described printing operation is performed (step S107), and the images of a plurality of pages are printed on one sheet.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By giving the color PDL printer a so-called repeat function, it is possible to output PDL data for a plurality of pages on one sheet. As a result, it is possible to save paper and easily combine images of a plurality of pages.

In this embodiment, PDs for a plurality of pages are also included.
Although the L data is received and the raster image for one sheet is processed on the PDL printer side, one page is stored on the host computer 12 side so that the PDL data for multiple pages can be stored on one sheet. Minute PDL data is created,
It may be sent to a PDL printer. In this case, the PDL printer operates in normal mode. That is, each time one unit of PDL data is received from the host computer 12, it is expanded into a raster image and stored in the memories 7-1 to 4-1. Then, repeat this until one page is finished, 1
In this mode, when raster images for pages are stored in the memory, they are transferred to the image forming unit 8 and printed on one sheet.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since a plurality of images can be formed on one recording medium based on the input PDL data, it is possible to save paper and easily combine images of a plurality of pages, thereby improving the convenience of the apparatus. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a color PDL printer in this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of PDL data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a description of PDL data by a character code.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a description of PDL data by a graphic code.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a description of PDL data by a raster image.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a raster image is developed based on PDL data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a normal mode and a repeat mode.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional color PDL printer.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for developing a raster image based on PDL data to form an image, an input unit for inputting PDL data including mode information, and an operation based on the mode information in the input unit. Determination means for determining the mode, and the PDL according to the operation mode determined by the determination means
An image processing apparatus comprising: a rasterizing unit that rasterizes a raster image from data, and an image forming unit that forms an image according to the raster image rasterized by the rasterizing unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines either the normal mode or the repeat mode. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the expanding unit expands images of a plurality of pages on one recording medium when the operation mode is the repeat mode.