JPS62284573A - Image information output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print image information at a high speed with good efficiency by providing a read information receiving means, a means which composes information of read image information and image information stored in an image storage means, and a printing-out means which prints out the composite information. CONSTITUTION:In general, image data processed by a host computer has resolution lower than the read resolution of a scanner 200 and is not many-valued gradation data frequently and dither-processed data or binary data in almost all cases. For the purpose, data is converted to a data format matching with the processing of the host and outputted by an image information output device 100, so 6-bit multivalued gradational image data from the scanner 200 is compressed by the known data compressing/expanding means of a compressing/ expanding part 16 and multivalued data is converted by the know method at a data conversion part 17 into dither-processed binary data, which is sent out to the host. Thus, the desired image data is transferred in a short data transfer time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] 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 with the development of semiconductor technology, it has become possible to store such image information. Large capacity semiconductor memories have also become available at low prices.

For this reason, images that were previously processed only by image processing devices using large electronic computers can now be easily processed at high resolution using machines equivalent to general office equipment. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the amount of image information is extremely large, and its processing requires a heavy load.

For image information output devices, etc. that can print out the read information from the image information reading device and also transfer it to the information processing device, all the read information must be sent to the information processing device, and all print information must be sent from the information processing device. If the image is sent to a printer, it takes a lot of time to transfer it, and depending on the system, the processing resolution of the information processing device is lower than the reading resolution of the image information reading device, so high-resolution images cannot be sent to the printer. As a result of the information passing through the information processing device, the resolution of the image information may be lowered.

[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, image information storage means for storing specific image information; a reading information receiving means for receiving read image information sent from the image information reading device; a combining means for combining the read image information from the reading information receiving means and the image information stored in the image storage means; and output means for printing out the composite information of the means.

- [Function] In the above configuration, since the image information stored in the image information storage means and the read image information can be combined and output, there is no need to transfer all the image information each time, resulting in high-speed and efficient image processing. You can print information.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example 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 processing unit (CPU) which is stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 3 and controls the entire embodiment according to a control procedure shown in a flowchart described later, and 2 is a CPU workpiece. Random access memory (RAM) is an area, and RA
Registered image patterns to be combined, which will be described later, are stored in M2. 6 is a parallel interface that controls the interface with the host 300 under the control of the CPU, 7 is the LBP interface that controls the interface with the LBP engine section 9 which is the mechanism section of the laser beam printer (LBP), and 8 is the video signal generation section. Under the control of the CPUI, the video signal generation unit 8 selects either image information obtained by pulse width modulating the multi-gradation image information in accordance with the gradation, or binary image information, or selects both image information. The signals are combined 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;
A pattern development unit combines and develops the image data sent from 0°350, 13 is an image memory that stores the image information read from the scanner 200 that is attached as an option, and 14 is a manual control unit for the image information output device 100 and the scanner 200. Operation panel 15 and CPU for operation with
A panel interface that controls the interface with I,
16 is a compression/expansion unit that compresses/expands image information;
7 is a data conversion unit that converts the multi-value digital image information from the scanner 200 into dither processing data or binary data in accordance with the processing form of the information processing devices 300 and 350; Reference numeral 18 denotes a V/H processor that is provided as an option and performs rotation processing of image information.

FIG. 2 shows details of the mechanism of the scanner 200.

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. 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 passes through mirrors 25, 27 and a lens 26 to a CCD 21 having a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a row.
An optical path is formed to condense light onto the surface of the 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 16ρe l /
To do this with m, the number of CCD bits is 4112.
(=257×16) bits are required, so in this device, a CCD array sensor having a light receiving element of about 5000 bits is used for reading operation.

As described above, the image of the original placed on the original glass 23 is read line by line sequentially, and a 6-pit digital image signal indicating shading 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 generation section 8 is manually 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 cassette 37 is a paper feed guide, 38 is a registration roller, 39 is a transfer device for transferring the image onto the transfer paper, and 40 is a separation roller that separates the transfer paper from the photoreceptor 28. , 41 is a conveyance guide, 42 is a monitor, 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 multi-value (6-bit) digital image signals, and line buffer 52 is a 1-line buffer for 1-bit binary image signals.

53 and 54 input image signals to the line buffer 51
．． 52 or line buffer 51
．． 55 is a latch unit that latches a multi-level digital image signal, and 56 is a triangular wave generator that generates a triangular wave, which is a pattern signal to be described later, from a master clock MK. circuit, 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 converted into a voltage level by a resistor and then input to one input terminal of a comparator 58. On the other hand, the 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 one-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 start switch that instructs the device to start processing such as printing or reading by the 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, and 73 is a setting switch for setting the resolution of image information. A resolution setting switch 74 is a storage mode switch that sets a memory storage mode in which image information from the scanner 200 is registered in the RAM 2 with a unique identification number.

Note that the memory storage switch 74 is an illuminated switch, and lights up when the storage mode is set.

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;
Reference numeral 8 indicates 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, and 79 indicates image information from the scanner 200 and information processing. a MIX mode switch for setting a MIX mode in which information from the devices 300 and 350 is combined and printed;
80 converts the image information read by the scanner 200 into the processing form of the information processing apparatuses 300 and 350 and sends the information to the information processing apparatus 3;
This is a transfer mode switch that sets the transfer mode for transferring to 00 and 350. Further, 81 is a numeric keypad switch, which includes a clear switch for clearing manual data.

82 to 86 are indicators, 82 indicates that the device is ready [4EADY, 83 is DATA, which lights up when there is print data in the memory, and 84 is SCREADY, which indicates that the scanner 200 is ready. , blinks if an error occurs in the scanner.

85 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 mechanism 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 manual data from the numeric keypad 81 of the operation panel 15, a specified number of sheets area 92 that stores the setting value of 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 various setting values for the scanner 20.0, etc. Scanner setting 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, and an image registration area 99, which stores an image pattern corresponding to the identification number registered in the memory storage mode, are allocated. In the image registration area 99, 99a is an identification number storage area, 99b is a registered image storage area, and 99c is a designated composite identification number.

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

In the figure, 201 is a 6-bit digital image signal v with multiple lIi tones.
ONv5.202 is a BU that notifies the printer of busy status.
SY 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, 205 is a signal that requests the scanner 200 to read one line of image information, HSYN.
A C 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.
Sequentially store in text area 9 of M2 and step S2
Return to

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 the reset switch 67 is not input in step S15, the process advances to step 316, and the online switch 67
Check whether the input is If the online switch 66 is powered manually, the process advances to step S17, where it is checked whether the online mode is currently on and whether the online switch 66 is lit.If the online mode is online, the mode is changed to offline mode at step 318, and the online switch 66 is 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 516 that the online key 66 is not input, the process proceeds from step 316 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, where it is checked whether or not the setting switches 77 to 80 have been input, and if these switches have been input, the process proceeds to step S21.
The mode corresponding to the mode switch input in step 22 is set. Then, after completing the settings for each mode, the process returns.

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.
73 is checked, and if these setting switches 70 to 73 are operated manually, step S2 is performed.
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 the RAM 2, 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 manual switch and storage area is as follows.

Position setting switch...Position specification area Area setting switch...Area specification area Resolution setting switch...Resolution area Number of sheets setting switch In storage mode...Other than specified composite identification number storage mode...Specified number of sheets area Step S25 If the input is not from the setting switches 70 to 73, the process proceeds to step 327, and it is checked whether the input is from the scanner registration switch 75 or not. Scanner registration switch 75
If it is input, step 328
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 S27 that the input is not from the scanner registration switch 75, the process advances to step S30, and it is determined whether or not the input is from the host registration switch 76. If the host registration switch 76 is manually operated, the process advances to step S31, and in the same process as step S28, the data updated in step S26 is stored in the host setting area 96, and the numeric display 6
5 and return. If it is determined in step S30 that the input is not from the host registration switch 76, the process advances to step S32, and it is checked whether the input is from the storage mode switch 74 or not.

If the storage mode switch 74 is input, step S3
Proceed to step 3 to check whether the memory storage mode is currently set. If it is not the memory storage mode, it is set to the memory storage mode in step S34, and the next step S
At step 35, the storage mode switch 74 is turned on and the process returns. If the memory storage mode is selected in step S33, the process advances to step S36 to reset the memory storage mode, and in the subsequent step S37, the memory storage mode switch 74 is turned off and the process returns.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the storage mode switch 740 is not operated manually, the process proceeds to step S3B, and it is determined whether the start switch 68 is operated manually. In the case of input from the start switch 68, step S3 shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later.
Execute the start process in step 9 and return.

If it is determined in step 338 that the input is not from the start switch 68, 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 S4
1, the input data is stored in the key buffer 91, and in the subsequent step 342, the manual 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 is received from the host in the online mode, first, in step S50, it is checked whether a setting command for each mode of memory storage mode, copy mode, print mode, MIX mode, or transfer mode has been received, and these setting commands are If the setting mode command is received, the process proceeds to step 351, 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 when the memory storage mode is set, the storage switch 74 is
is turned on, and when the memory storage mode is reset, the storage switch 74 is turned off.

If it is determined in step S50 that a mode setting command is not received, the process advances to step S25, 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, where the specified value updated at step S53 described above is stored in the corresponding area of the scanner setting area 97, and at subsequent step 356, the updated data is sent 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 advances to step 358, stores the data updated in step S53 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 560 whether or not a composite image designation command has been received, and if it is a composite image designation command, step S
In step 61, the identification information of the image pattern to be synthesized that is subsequently sent is received, and in step 362 it is checked whether the received identification information is the identification information of the image pattern stored in the RAM 2. The identification information received here is stored in RAM2.
If the identification number is not included in the stored identification number, step S6
In step 3, notify the host that sent the specified command of the error and return. If the received identification information is stored in the RAM2, the process advances to step S64, and the received identification information is stored in the RAM.
2 is stored in the designated composite identification number area 99c, and the process returns.

If it is determined in step S60 that it is not a composite image designation command, the process advances to step S65, and it is checked whether a composite image designation reset command has been received. If a composite image designation reset command has been received, the designated composite identification number area 99c of the RAM 2 is reset in step S66, and the process returns.

If it is determined in step 365 that a composite image designation reset command has not been received, the process advances to step S67 to check whether a start command has been received. If a start command has been received, a start process shown in FIG. 11 described later in step S33 is executed and the process returns; if a start command has not been received, the process advances to step S68 to check whether a reset command has been received. Here, if a reset command has been received, the process returns to step S1 and initialization processing is executed. If it is determined in step 368 that a reset command has not been received, the process advances to step S69, 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. 13, which will be described later, is executed and the process returns.

If the print mode is set, the print process from step 371 is executed, and if the MIX mode is set, the MI process of step 5129 shown in FIG. 12, which will be described later, is executed.
Execute X mode processing and return.

Furthermore, if the copy mode is set, step 385
The following copy mode processing is executed, and if the storage mode is set, the storage mode processing from step 3200 shown in FIG. 14 is executed.

If the print mode is selected in step S70, step 371
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, it is checked in step S72 whether or not an identification number has been set in the specified composite identification number area 99c of the RAM 2. If no identification number has been set, the process advances to step S74, and the identification number is set. If so, in step S73, the image pattern specified by the designated combination identification number in the image registration area 99 in the RAM 2 is read out and developed in the image memory 13, and the process proceeds to step S74.

In step S74, the video signal generation section 8 is activated, and in the following step S75, the LBP engine section 9 is activated. LB
The P engine unit 9 transports the recording paper to the photoreceptor 28 position and prepares for recording. Then, when the preparation for recording is completed and the preparation for receiving the recording data is completed, a BD scratch signal is output to the LBP interface 7 requesting transmission of one line of data using a laser beam. Therefore, in step S76, we wait for the BD scratch signal, which is this data transfer synchronization signal, to be sent, and when the BD scratch signal is output, we check in step S77 whether or not an identification number has been set, as in step S72. If not set, the process advances to step 378, where one line of print data is read from the text area 98, and at a predetermined timing, the video signal generator 8
send to

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 video signal generation unit 8 sequentially selectively outputs this print data to the drive circuit 61 via the selector A53 or B54 and the selector C60, causing the semiconductor laser to emit light. When one line of printing is completed in this manner, the process advances to step SaO.

On the other hand, if the identification number has been set in step S77, the process proceeds to step S79, where one line of print data is read from the image memory 13 and the text area 98, and
The signal is sent to the video signal generation section 8 at a predetermined timing. At this time, if the print data is character code data,
The character code data is sent to a character generator 11, where it is converted into a character pattern corresponding to the character code, and the pattern is developed in a 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 in MIX mode, according to instructions from CPU 1,
The controller 5o is controlled to select the data from the OR circuit 59, and both data are combined and sent to the drive circuit 6.
1 is 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 the printout for one line is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S8°, similar to step S78, and it is checked in step S80 whether or not the printing for one page has been completed. If one page has not been printed yet, proceed to step S.
Returning to step 76, the next line of data is printed.

If printing for one page has been completed in step S80, the process advances to step S81 to check whether printing of the specified 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 S74 and the next printout is executed.

Further, if no print data is stored in the memory in step 371, the process returns without doing anything.

On the other hand, if the copy mode is selected in step S70, copy mode processing from step 385 onwards is executed.

First, in step S85, BUSY from the scanner 200 is
It is checked whether the signal 202 is on, that is, whether the scanner 200 is busy. Since copying cannot be performed when the scanner 200 is busy, the SCRE
The DY indicator 84 is made to blink, and the process proceeds to step S87, where it is determined whether or not the online mode is set. If it is not the online mode, the process returns as is, and if it is the online mode, it notifies the host of the error in step 588 and returns.

If the scanner 200 is ready in step S85, the process advances to step 389, and the reading resolution of the scanner 200 is specified to be the same resolution as that of the printer. Note that if the resolution of the printer is lower than the maximum resolution of the scanner 200, the data read from the CCD 21 is thinned out in accordance with 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 S90, as in step 372, it is checked whether or not an identification number has been set. If an identification number has been set, the process advances to step S91, and as in step S73, the font pattern specified by the identification number in the image registration area 99 is is developed in the image memory 13 and the process proceeds to step S92. On the other hand, if the identification number has not been set, the process directly advances to step S92.

In step 392, the scanner 200 is activated, and the scanner 200 prepares to scan the surface of the original. When the preparation for reading the original is completed, the scanner 200 outputs VSREQ 203. Therefore, in the following step S94, the VSREQ203 from the scanner 200 is
When the scanner 200 is ready to read and the VSREQ 203 is sent, the process advances from step S94 to step 395, where the video signal generation unit 8
, and in the subsequent step S96, the LBP engine section 9 is started. Then, in step S97, the LBP engine section 9
Waits for the BD double signal, which is the data transfer request timing signal, to be sent, and when the BD double signal is output, the process proceeds to step 398, and determines whether the current process is copying the first page, that is, the number of copies is multiple. It is checked whether the copying process is for the second or later copy in a certain case, and if it is the copying process for the second or subsequent copy, the process advances to step 5101, and if it is the first copy process, the process advances to step S99. In step S99, the scanner 20
Sends H5YNC 205 requesting 0 to read and output one line's worth of data (one main scan's worth).

As a result, the scanner 200 sends one line of multivalued digital image data, so in step 5100 the image data sent from the scanner 200 is transferred to the image memory 1.
3 and proceeds to step 5101. Here, if the image pattern has already been developed in the image memory 13 in step S91, the image data from the scanner 200 is stored in an overlapping manner. Then, in the subsequent step 5101, image data is read from the image memory 13, and the video signal generation unit 8
Output to. The video signal generation unit 8 converts this 6-bit image data into the output timing of the printer and the scanner 20.
If the data sending timing of 0 is correct, it is left as is; if it is not, it is temporarily stored in the 1-line buffer 51 for subsequent processing.The image data selected by the selector A53 is sequentially selected and outputted to the drive circuit 61 via the selector C60. , causes the semiconductor laser to emit light. When one line of printing is completed in this way, step 510
In step 2, it is checked whether printing of one page has been completed. If one page's worth of printing has not been completed, the process returns to step 397 and print processing of the next one line's worth 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 is not completed, the next print can be read from the image memory 13 and the process returns to step S95.

Next, the MIX mode processing in step 5129 will be explained with reference to FIG.

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 3136
from the scanner interface 10 to the control bus 20.
6 to output a start command to the scanner 200. 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.

In the following step 5137, the VSRE from the scanner 200 is
It waits for Q203 to be output, and when VSREQ203 is sent, the process advances from step 5137 to step 3138, where H3YNC205 is sent to the scanner 200.

As a result, the scanner 200 subsequently sends one line of multivalued digital image data, so CP (Jl) stores this data in the image memory 13 in the subsequent step 3139.

When the storage of data for one line is completed, it is checked in step 5140 whether or not printing for one page has been completed.
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 514
8, wait for the BD scratch signal to be sent, and when the BD scratch signal is output, proceed to step 5149, and step S7 in FIG.
Similarly to 9, one line of print data is read from the image memory 13 and the text area 98 and sent to the video signal generation section 8 at a predetermined timing.

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, go to step S! Return to step 45 and execute the next printout.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 13, step 36
The transfer process in step 4 will be explained.

First, in step 5179, it is checked whether or not the online mode is currently set. If the online mode is not set, the process returns immediately. If the online mode is the online mode, the process proceeds to step 5181, and the scanner 200 is instructed to read image data at the highest resolution. instructing and following step 818
In steps 2 to 186, data for one page is read from the scanner 200 and stored in the image memory 13 using the IA process similar to steps 3136 to 140.

When reading of one page of image data is completed, a transmission request is sent to the host in the following step 3188. This transmission request is output as a command to the host via the serial interface 4 or as a request signal via the parallel interface 6. Then, in step 3189, wait for the host to complete reception preparations,
When the reception preparations of the host are completed, the process proceeds to step 5190, where the compression/expansion section 16 is activated, and the data conversion section 17 is activated at the subsequent step 5191. and step 5192
Read the image data from the image memory 13 in step 5.
In step 193, the data is converted into the resolution and data format specified in the host setting area 96, and in the subsequent step 5194, it is transferred to the host.

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 the processing, the image information output device 100 converts the data into a data format suitable for host processing and outputs the data. It is said that

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.

Next, the storage mode processing at step 5200 will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the storage mode processing, first, steps 3200 to
In step 5205, step 8182 in FIG.
~Start up the scanner 200 in the same manner as in step 5186, and read one page of the original. and step 5206
It is checked whether the image reading information received in the image reading information includes identification number information. If an identification number is included, this identification number is not stored in the image memory 13 and step 520
7, it is stored in the designated composite identification number area 99c of RAM2. Note that this identification number is written in OCR characters or the like at a predetermined location on the document, so that it can be sufficiently distinguished from other image information.

Then, in the following step 5208, the designated composite identification number 99 is
c is stored in the identification number storage area 99a of the image registration area 99, the image information to be registered stored in the image memory 13 is stored in association with the registered image storage area 99b, the image registration is completed, and the process returns. .

On the other hand, if there is no identification number in the image information received in step 8206, step 5206 to step 5209
In step 5210, it is checked whether an identification number is stored in the designated composite identification number 99c. If no identification number is stored, it is an operation error, and error processing such as error notification is executed in step 5210. If the identification number is stored, the process advances to step 5208.

The registered image from the scanner 200 is a mesh pattern, and the mesh pattern is a pattern indicating the amount of information of the read image information (memory capacity required to store the image information) or a guideline for cutting the area of the read image information. Lines when the mesh pattern or print output information is character data,
The mesh pattern may be a mesh pattern representing units of digits, or may be a mesh pattern representing the area of a region, for example, every a+/m.

Furthermore, this registered image is not limited to one read by the scanner 200, but may be one sent from the host.

In this case, for example, the host controls to send the registration number and registered font after setting the storage mode, and if the command is not received in step S6 of FIG.
If the storage mode is set and the received data includes an identification number, or if the specified composite identification number 99c is set before this, the subsequently received data will be treated as a registered image. It is sufficient to make a determination and store the received data in the font registration area 99.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to control the image information reading device with the image information output device, and select a mesh pattern that is registered in advance according to the host specification, and then use the scanner 200 to select the mesh pattern that has been registered in advance. The image data can be combined with read image data or with text data from the host and output, making it easy to cut out image information and judge image information.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, arbitrary image patterns and the like can be synthesized and output, and therefore image information can be easily cut out and image information can be determined.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a scanner, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an LBP engine section of this embodiment, and FIG. 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 a diagram showing an example of the scanner interface of this embodiment. , FIGS. 8 to 14 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, 1o...
・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 electronics, 42... Fixing device, 45... Laser scanning optical system unit, 51.52... 1 line buffer,
53゜54.80... 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

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) An image information output device connectable to an information processing device and an image information reading device, which includes an image information storage means for storing specific image information and receiving read image information sent from the image information reading device. a combination means for combining the read image information from the read information reception means and the image information stored in the image storage means, and an output means for printing out the combined information of the combination means. An image information output device characterized by: (2) The image information output device according to claim 1, wherein the stored information stored in the image information storage means is image information sent from an image information reading device. (3) The image information output device according to claim 1, wherein the specific image information is a mesh pattern. (4) The image information output device according to claim 3, wherein the specific image information is a mesh pattern indicating the amount of read image information. (5) The image information output device according to claim 3, wherein the specific image information is a mesh pattern that displays rows and columns of the read image information.