JP2003248834A - Image output device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image output device which can make drawing processing, using a mask pattern in an arbitrary rectangular shape, to a page memory fast by enabling fast word-by-word access to a memory when the drawing processing is carried out. <P>SOLUTION: The image output device 1 comprises a drawing data input means 2, a drawing operation means 3 which writes a figure drawing instruction consisting of an instruction specifying a range of a figure, an instruction specifying a color in which the inner side of the range is painted out, and an instruction optionally specifying a mask pattern with a parameter to the page memory according to the specification of a drawing attribute instruction, a means of passing the page memory 4 obtained by the drawing operation means 3 to an output device 5, a means of writing an operation result to the page memory 4, a mask pattern data input means 10, a mask pattern conversion means 11, a word border mask pattern memory 12, a means of storing inputted mask pattern data to the word border mask pattern memory 12 by the mask pattern conversion means 11, and a means of performing drawing operation by the drawing operation means 3 by using the mask pattern in the word border mask pattern memory 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image output device, and more particularly to an image output device for drawing processing using a mask pattern.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image output device, for example,
The printing device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-52905 has been known. This device reduces the load on the drawing processing unit,
In addition, the processing speed is improved by reducing the number of times the drawing unit is activated. Then, in this device, the shift result is cached in the pattern conversion and management.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-284532, instead of processing drawing data in raster order, applied patterns are processed collectively for each raster to reduce the number of times of pattern transfer from the storage means. Then, the image forming apparatus and the image forming method for reducing the time required for the drawing processing are described. In this device and method, the drawing process using a pattern and the transfer unit are 1 byte or other units (paragraph number 0019 of the same publication).
Etc.).

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-031735 discloses a gray scale expanded into bitmap data by expanding the bitmap data only once at the first calculation of each object based on the gray scale information. An image processing apparatus and an image processing method for shortening the expansion of gray scale data by storing the data and repeatedly performing the drawing calculation by repeatedly using the gray scale data until the drawing calculation of the object is completed. Is listed. And with this device and method,
A cache system is used in which the mask pattern M, the background pattern P, and the gray scale G are used as keys. The mask pattern M, the background pattern P, and the gray scale G correspond to M, D, and S in FIG. 5 of the present invention, respectively.

[0005]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-5.
According to the printing apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 2905, the minimum unit that can be cached is 1 dot / 1 bit unit, so there is a problem that it takes time to search and initialize the cache.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus and the image forming method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-284532, a pattern which is repeated in word units is not used. When the pattern shown in FIG. 2 is continuously used as it is,
The pattern of the boundary between the second byte and the first byte becomes discontinuous.
Therefore, it is considered that the pattern shift calculation is performed every calculation unit, and there is a problem that the efficiency is deteriorated by that amount (see paragraph number 0021 of the same publication).

According to the image processing apparatus and the image processing method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-031735, it is true that cache efficiency may be improved for simple pages. However, there is a problem that the cache efficiency is not always improved when a background pattern exists such as overwriting of a figure.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the drawing process using an arbitrary rectangular mask pattern is performed, it is possible to access the memory at a high speed in word units, so that the drawing process in the page memory can be performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image output device capable of speeding up.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image output device has a drawing data inputting means for image data and a drawing computing means for writing a graphic drawing command in a page memory in accordance with designation of a drawing attribute command. And an image output device having means for passing the page memory obtained by the drawing calculation means to the output device, wherein the graphic drawing command is a command for designating a range of a graphic and a command for designating a color for filling the range. And an instruction for uniquely designating a mask pattern by a parameter. The image output device stores a pattern representing a designated color within a designated range, a designated mask pattern, and a page memory before drawing calculation processing. Drawing arithmetic means using three patterns, a certain pattern, means for writing the arithmetic result in the page memory, and mask pattern data input means The mask pattern conversion means, the word boundary mask pattern memory, the means for storing the input mask pattern data in the word boundary mask pattern memory by the mask pattern conversion means, and the drawing calculation means are stored in the word boundary mask pattern memory. And a means for performing drawing calculation using a certain mask pattern.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image output device performs a bit shift operation on the mask pattern when the mask pattern is repeatedly drawn in the width direction (main scanning direction) in word units. In order to eliminate the need for the above, it is characterized by further comprising means for converting into pattern data which is repeated in word units in advance.

According to the invention described in claim 3, the image output device performs the conversion according to claim 2 on all the patterns in the height direction of the mask pattern, and arranges the obtained result on one continuous memory. However, it is characterized by further having means for creating.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image output device, the source pattern representing the color within the drawing range, the destination pattern existing in the page memory corresponding to the drawing range, and the word boundary mask pattern memory are stored. For the three mask patterns in
It is characterized by further comprising means for performing an operation combining logical operations of D, OR, EOR, and NOT, and means for storing the operation result in a page memory at the same position as the destination pattern.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the image output device further comprises means for performing a logical operation on the three patterns in units of memory having a word length of the CPU.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image output device includes means for calculating the memory position of the word length destination pattern including the coordinates from the drawing position coordinates, and the coordinates corresponding to the drawing position coordinates. It further comprises means for obtaining a word length source pattern and means for calculating a memory position of a word boundary mask pattern including coordinates corresponding to drawing position coordinates.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the drawing calculation means of the image output device is characterized in that the calculation result is obtained within the drawing range and the destination pattern remains as it is outside the drawing range.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, the image output device further comprises an arithmetic means for making a bit ON portion of the mask pattern into a source pattern and a bit OFF portion into a destination pattern. It is a thing.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the image output apparatus further comprises an arithmetic means for making a bit ON portion of the mask pattern into a first source pattern and a bit OFF portion into a second source pattern. It is characterized by that.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the image output device is combined with a unit for inputting the mask pattern ID and a unit for storing the mask pattern data and the mask pattern ID in the word boundary mask pattern memory. Is further stored, and means for searching the word boundary mask pattern memory from the mask pattern ID is further provided.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the image output device is a combination of the means for inputting the mask pattern ID, the means for storing the mask pattern data in the mask pattern memory, and the combination of the mask pattern data and the mask pattern ID. When the mask pattern ID is not found in the word boundary mask pattern memory as a result of searching the word boundary mask pattern memory from the word boundary mask pattern memory with A means for searching the mask pattern memory for a mask pattern corresponding to the mask pattern ID, a means for converting the mask pattern obtained by the search into a word boundary mask pattern, and a converted word boundary mask pattern memory for the word boundary mask pattern memory Unused memory Means for storing in the band, if the unused memory space is insufficient, is characterized in that it further comprises a means for discarding existing word boundary mask pattern.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, the image output device uses the LRU for discarding the existing memory when the unused memory area of the word boundary mask pattern memory is insufficient.
(Least Recently Used) is further provided.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image output device, when the mask pattern ID is searched, the means for managing the frequency information table of the ID and the unused memory area of the word boundary mask pattern memory are insufficient. The method for discarding the existing memory is further provided with a means for discarding the memory having the lowest frequency using the frequency information table.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the image output device is characterized in that the source pattern is a dither pattern expressing a pseudo gradation of color density.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image output device, the mask pattern is added to the dither pattern and the mask pattern ID is added to each of the dither patterns.
A means for inputting (color density, etc.) as data, a dither pattern ID is input to the search unit, a word boundary source pattern is output, and the word boundary source pattern is used when the source pattern is used in the arithmetic processing unit. Means are further provided.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the image output device is characterized in that the output device is a laser printer.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the image output device is characterized in that the output device is an ink jet printer.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the image output apparatus is characterized in that various arithmetic processes are performed by a dedicated ASIC such as a graphic accelerator.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an image output apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a first example which is an embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the first embodiment. The image output device 1 includes a drawing data input unit 2, a drawing calculation unit 3, a page memory 4, an output device 5, a mask pattern data input unit 10, and a mask pattern conversion unit 11.
And a word boundary mask pattern memory 12.

The image data of the image output device 1 is input to the drawing data input section 2 and is interpreted as drawing data including shape and color information. Then, the parameters that specify the drawing range input and interpreted in the drawing data input unit 2 and the color information for filling the drawing range are passed to the drawing calculation unit 3 as a source pattern.

On the other hand, the mask pattern used for this drawing is input to the mask pattern data input unit 10 in advance. The mask pattern converter 11 converts the input mask pattern into a word boundary mask pattern suitable for drawing in word units. This is because, in the case of an operation involving a large amount of memory operations such as a page memory, if the operation is performed in word units of the CPU instead of pixel by pixel, memory access is minimized and the speed can be increased. Also, by making the minimum unit the word unit of the CPU in this way, retrieval and initialization are also simplified.

The word boundary mask pattern thus converted is stored in the word boundary mask pattern memory 12. When the drawing data of the drawing calculation unit described above uses a mask pattern, the mask pattern is obtained from the word boundary mask pattern memory 12. In addition, the drawing calculation unit 3
Obtains the destination pattern to be drawn from the page memory 4 corresponding to the drawing position.

In this way, the drawing operation unit 3 performs an operation using the three patterns of the source pattern, the destination pattern, and the mask pattern passed as described above. Various arithmetic processes may be performed by a dedicated ASIC such as a graphic accelerator.

The pattern calculated by the drawing calculator 3 is stored in the page memory 4. The pattern stored in this way is output to the output device 5 by the end of the drawing command or the output command to the output device. Output device 5
May be a laser printer or an inkjet printer.

FIG. 2 shows a mask pattern and a drawing range used for explaining one embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention. As the drawing range, (X, Y) =
A drawing range A, which is a rectangular range having (3,3)-(11,7) as the upper left and lower right, is used (see FIG. 2B). Further, as the mask pattern, a mask pattern M drawn in a cross with a width and height of 6 × 6 is used (see FIG. 2A). further,
The word length of the CPU is 32 bits, 1 bit is 1 pixel, and the starting point coordinates when the mask pattern is spread on the page memory are (X, Y) = (0, 0). Based on the above, registration of the mask pattern M in the word boundary mask pattern memory 12 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As described above, in the case of an operation involving a large amount of memory operations such as page memory, CP is not used for each pixel but CP
When the operation is performed in units of U words, memory access is minimized and the speed can be increased. Therefore, in the present invention,
The mask pattern conversion unit 1 receives the input mask pattern.
1 is used to convert to a word boundary mask pattern suitable for drawing in word units.

The word boundary mask pattern is a pattern in which a word is used as it is without a shift operation, and a single or a plurality of words are circulated and repeatedly used. Therefore, the word boundary mask pattern has a width of the least common multiple of the mask pattern width and the number of pixels in the word. If the mask pattern width is a divisor of the number of pixels in the word, the word boundary mask pattern has a width of one word, otherwise it has a width of a plurality of words.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of 96 pixels, which is the least common multiple of 6 pixels, which is the width of the mask pattern M used in this embodiment, and 32 pixels, that is, 3 words. This is repeated for the height of the mask pattern.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the process flow of creating the word boundary mask pattern in the embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention.

First, in step 1, the height direction y of the mask pattern coordinates is initialized to zero. Further, in step 2, x indicating the word position in the width direction of the mask pattern coordinates is initialized to 0.

Next, in step 3, the word boundary mask pattern memory M [x] is filled with a mask pattern corresponding to the mask pattern coordinate y for one word while using a shift operation. This corresponds to preparing each word in FIG.

Further, in step 4, step 3
When the pattern is spread with
It is determined whether or not it is out of [x]. Then, when the mask pattern is protruded, in step 5, the protruded amount is shifted to the next M [x] and substituted, and the process returns to step 3. If it does not extend, the word unit has been repeated, and the process proceeds to step 6.

In step 6, it is judged whether or not the height of the word pattern is completed. If not completed, return to step 2. If completed, the creation of the word boundary mask pattern is completed.

If the drawing operation is performed without using the word boundary mask pattern, the mask pattern is converted according to the drawing position. Therefore, the coordinate position calculation or the coordinate position calculation in the above processing flow is performed for each drawing process for each word. Bitmap shift operations will occur. Therefore, in this case, there is a high possibility of becoming a bottleneck in the processing speed.

Next, the drawing operation unit 3 performs an operation using the obtained word boundary mask pattern. here,
The following three bitmap data are calculated. Source pattern S: Bitmap for specified density Destination pattern D: Bitmap of page memory to be drawn Mask pattern M: Bitmap for mask

ROP is used for such bitmap calculation.
It is common to use arithmetic. ROP operation is S, D,
M and image operation (OR, AND, EOR, NOT, COP
This is a calculation using Y). There are also two mask pattern drawing methods, and the transparent mode (bitmap ON
The color specified for the part does nothing for the OFF part)
There is an opaque mode (painting a specified color for each bitmap ON / OFF).

As described above, these operations are performed not in pixels but in word units of the CPU, so that bitmap data in word units including the drawing position (x, y) is prepared.

The source pattern S is the drawing data input section 2
3 is a pseudo gradation bitmap for expressing the density value input to the. As this pseudo gradation bitmap, for example, a dither pattern is typical. If the source pattern is a dither pattern expressing pseudo gradation of color density,
Since the drawing is performed so as to be spread in a tile shape, the present invention can be applied. The present invention is also applicable to the case of image data such as a photographic image, which is a set in which minute regions are drawn in different patterns. However, here, the method of preparing the source pattern S in word units including the drawing position does not matter.

In the destination pattern D, the drawing position x is divided by the number of 1-word pixels, and the integer part is the word position from the beginning of the y-th line of the page memory. Read into.

The mask pattern M has a drawing position (x, y).
The word position including the word boundary mask pattern memory corresponding to is calculated. First, the remainder obtained by dividing the drawing position y by the height of the mask pattern is calculated to determine the line position of the mask pattern. Next, the drawing position x is divided by the number of 1-word pixels to obtain the word position from the beginning of the y-th line of the page memory. Further, since the remainder obtained by dividing the word position by the number of words included in one line of the mask pattern is the word position from the beginning of the y-th line of the mask pattern, the memory content for one word at that position is set to M. Read.

An example of the operation of the S, D and M bitmap patterns thus obtained will be described below with reference to FIG.

In this example, C is the simplest ROP operation.
A description will be given using OPY (overwrite) and a transparent mode as a mask pattern drawing method. The drawing position is the first line (y = 3) of the drawing range A in FIG. 2, and the mask pattern is the 6 × 6 mask pattern M in FIG. All pixels are ON (density value 100%) for S, and low density (pixel ON is sparse) pattern is used for D. Let R be the calculation result pattern. Each pixel is represented by a subscript of x such as Sx and Dx.

ON portion of M, eg M2 and M3
(Corresponding to arrow 1 in FIG. 5) and S are subjected to COPY operation, and as a result, R2 and R3 are turned on. Also, M is OFF
Portions, eg, M4, M5, M6, and M7 (corresponding to arrow 2 in FIG. 5) are in transmissive mode, so D remains,
As a result, R4 is ON, R5, R6 and R7 are OFF
Becomes This calculation is expressed as follows. R = (M and S) or ((not M) and
D)

Since the x range of the line of y = 3 in the drawing range A of FIG. 2B is (3, 11), the pixels in this range are the operation result R, and the pixels outside this range are left as they are. Processing (M 'in FIG. 5) is performed and finally the destination pattern D of the page memory is stored in the read location 1
Get the bit map pattern D '.

An arithmetic means may be used in which the bit ON portion of the mask pattern is used as the source pattern and the bit OFF portion is used as the destination pattern. Further, an arithmetic means may be used in which the bit ON portion of the mask pattern becomes the first source pattern and the bit OFF portion becomes the second source pattern.

Incidentally, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-031735.
In the apparatus and method described in the publication, the mask pattern M,
A cache method using three keys, a background pattern P and a gray scale G, is adopted. M is M in FIG. 5 of the present invention, P is D in FIG. 5 of the present invention, G corresponds to S in FIG. 5 of the present invention. And, in the present invention, M, G and P described in JP-A-10-031735 are disclosed.
The drawing calculation unit 3 of FIG. However, in the present invention, unlike the apparatus and method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-031735, the calculation result is not cached.

By creating the word boundary mask pattern as described above, the position calculation of the word data of the mask pattern corresponding to an arbitrary drawing position is simplified and high-speed processing becomes possible.

The first embodiment uses 1 bit / 1 Dot.
As explained in, 2 bit / 1 Dot, 4 bit /
The same applies to 1 Dot or 8 bit / 1 Dot.
Further, the same embodiment has been described with 32 bits / 1 word, but the same applies to 16 bits / 1 word and 64 bits / 1 word. Further, in this embodiment, the starting point coordinates when the mask pattern is spread are (X, Y) = (0,
Although it is described as 0), it is also possible to specify arbitrary coordinates and start from there.

Next, a second example, which is an embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention, will be described below.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the second embodiment. The image output device 1 includes a drawing data input unit 2, a drawing calculation unit 3, a page memory 4, an output device 5, a mask pattern input unit 10, a mask pattern conversion unit 11, and
It comprises a word boundary mask pattern memory 12 and a mask pattern search unit 13. Mask pattern search unit 1
The configuration other than 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

A mask pattern and its ID (mask pattern ID) are input to the mask pattern data input unit 10 and converted by the mask pattern conversion unit 11 into a word boundary mask pattern suitable for drawing in word units. Then, this converted mask pattern is stored in the word boundary mask pattern memory 12 together with its ID.
In this way, it is possible to register a plurality of mask patterns.

When the drawing data of the drawing operation unit described above uses a mask pattern, the specified mask pattern I
The mask pattern search unit 13 searches using D,
The mask pattern is obtained from the word boundary mask pattern memory 12.

As a search method by the mask pattern search unit, for example, a sequential search using a table of pairs of IDs and addresses to the mask pattern memory as shown in FIG. 7 can be considered. Of course, a more advanced search algorithm may be used.

The search table is created by the mask pattern conversion unit 11. When the registration in the word boundary mask pattern memory is completed, the ID and address are added to the search table. The search table is used by the mask pattern search unit 13. Mask pattern I included in the drawing command input to the drawing data input unit 2
Take D as input and get the address to the word boundary mask pattern.

The mask pattern is used as a dither pattern, the mask pattern ID is input as an ID (color density, etc.) added to each dither pattern (dither pattern ID), and the dither pattern ID is input to the mask pattern search section. A configuration is also conceivable in which the word boundary mask pattern is output and the word boundary mask pattern is used when the source pattern is used in the drawing calculation unit.

Next, a third example, which is an embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention, will be described below.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of the third embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention. The image output device 1 is
Drawing data input unit 2, drawing calculation unit 3, page memory 4, output device 5, mask pattern input unit 10, mask pattern conversion unit 11, word boundary mask pattern memory 12, and mask pattern search unit 13 And a mask pattern memory 14. The configuration other than the mask pattern memory 14 is the same as that of the second embodiment.

A mask pattern and its ID (mask pattern ID) are input to the mask pattern data input unit 10 and stored in the mask pattern memory 14 as they are.
In this way, it is possible to register a plurality of mask patterns.

When the drawing data of the drawing operation unit described above uses a mask pattern, the specified mask pattern I
The mask pattern search unit 13 searches using D.

If the word boundary mask pattern corresponding to the ID of the required mask pattern does not exist in the word boundary mask pattern memory 12, the mask pattern conversion unit 11 is designated in the mask pattern memory 14. A word boundary mask pattern is created using the mask pattern corresponding to the ID. The created word boundary mask pattern is registered in the word boundary mask pattern memory 12 and passed to the drawing calculation unit 3 through the mask pattern search unit 13.

The word boundary mask pattern memory acts as a cache memory. Hold multiple word boundary mask patterns until LRU reaches a certain amount of memory
By performing a cache operation such as registration and discard of the word boundary mask pattern using the frequency information and the like, the processing amount in the mask pattern conversion unit 11 can be minimized. Note that the cache operation may use an advanced method other than LRU or frequency information.

The mask pattern is used as a dither pattern, the mask pattern ID is input as an ID (color density, etc.) added to each dither pattern (dither pattern ID), and the dither pattern I is input to the mask pattern search section.
A configuration is also conceivable in which D is input, the word boundary mask pattern is output, and the word boundary mask pattern is used when the source pattern is used in the drawing calculation unit.

[0073]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the drawing processing of one line of the Y coordinate having an arbitrary range, when the drawing calculation is performed with the mask pattern, the mask pattern is shifted according to the X coordinate drawing position. Instead of calculating
It is possible to repeatedly refer to a single word or a plurality of words in word units, which eliminates the need for shift operation and reduces the number of memory accesses. Therefore, the drawing process can be speeded up.

According to the second or third aspect of the present invention, the word boundary mask pattern is arranged in the memory which is continuous line by line, so that the address movement to the next line moves by the word width of the word boundary mask pattern. Just add the constants as you would. Therefore, the drawing process can be speeded up.

According to the invention described in any one of claims 4 to 7, since the source pattern, the destination pattern, and the mask pattern are all word lengths, the word operation is performed by one designated logical operation of three patterns. It is possible to perform processing for pixels inside (for example, 32 pixels for 1 bit / 1 pixel), and the number of memory accesses is minimized. Therefore, the drawing process can be speeded up.

According to the eighth or ninth aspect of the present invention, a pattern that can be expressed in the mask pattern can be obtained by designating the color to be applied to the bit ON portion of the mask pattern while accelerating the drawing process. It is possible to specify a shaded or semi-transparent expression, a color to be applied to each of the bit ON and the bit OFF, and a graphic modified expression such as a shaded expression in which a background color is specified.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, in the case of drawing in which a plurality of mask patterns are alternately used and the mask patterns are changed frequently, by adding an ID to the mask patterns, a plurality of mask patterns can be obtained. It becomes possible to register the mask pattern ID as a drawing command.
Since only the change of is added, the amount of data transfer is reduced. Therefore, as compared with the case where only one mask pattern is registered and the mask pattern needs to be downloaded every time the mask pattern is changed, the drawing process can be made faster.

According to the invention described in any one of claims 11 to 13, the mask pattern is held and the word boundary mask pattern is cached, thereby increasing the chances of omitting the word boundary mask pattern conversion processing. . Therefore, the drawing process can be made faster. It should be noted that the cache method may use an advanced cache method other than LRU and frequency information.

According to the fourteenth and fifteenth aspects of the invention, the dither pattern is generally a repetition of mask patterns for each color density. Therefore, the present invention is applied to the image processing unit of the dither pattern to increase the speed. Becomes Further, the present invention can be applied to the case of image data such as a photographic image, which is a set in which minute regions are drawn in different patterns, and the speed is similarly increased.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when the page memory is generated on the printer side like a laser printer, the present invention is applied to the process on the printer side which generates the page memory from each drawing command. The processing becomes faster.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when the page memory is generated on the host computer side like an ink jet printer, the present invention is applied to the process on the host computer side which generates the page memory from each drawing command. , Its processing becomes faster.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, page memory generation is not software processing using the CPU on the printer side, but dedicated A such as a graphic accelerator.
Since the processing is performed by the SIC, the present invention is applied to the processing in the ASIC that generates the page memory from each drawing command, and the processing becomes faster.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of an image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment of an image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment of an image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of an image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of an image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the image output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the image output apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image output device 2 Drawing data input section 3 Drawing operation part 4 page memory 5 Output device 10 Mask pattern data input section 11 Mask pattern converter 12-word boundary mask pattern memory 13 Mask pattern search section 14 Mask pattern memory

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A drawing data inputting means for image data, a drawing computing means for writing a graphic drawing command in a page memory in accordance with designation of a drawing attribute command, and a means for passing a page memory obtained by the drawing computing means to an output device. In the image output device having the above, the graphic drawing command includes a command for designating a range of a graphic, a command for designating a color for filling the range, and a command for uniquely designating a mask pattern by a parameter. The output device uses the three patterns of a pattern representing the specified color within the specified range, the specified mask pattern, and a pattern in the page memory before the drawing calculation process. Arithmetic means, means for writing the arithmetic result in a page memory, mask pattern data input means, mask pattern conversion Means, a word boundary mask pattern memory, means for storing the input mask pattern data in the word boundary mask pattern memory by the mask pattern conversion means, and the drawing operation means in the word boundary mask pattern memory An image output device, further comprising: means for performing drawing calculation using a mask pattern. 2. When the mask pattern is repeatedly drawn in the width direction (main scanning direction) of the mask pattern in word units, a bit shift operation for the mask pattern is not necessary in advance in word units. 2. The image output apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for converting into pattern data that is repeated in step 1. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising means for performing conversion according to claim 2 on all the patterns in the height direction of the mask pattern, arranging the obtained result in one continuous memory, and creating the result. The image output device according to claim 2. 4. A source pattern representing a color in the drawing range, a destination pattern existing in the page memory corresponding to the drawing range, and the mask pattern in the word boundary mask pattern memory.
And further comprising means for performing an operation that combines logical operations of AND, OR, EOR, and NOT for one pattern, and means for storing the operation result in the page memory at the same position as the destination pattern. The image output device according to claim 1, wherein the image output device is an image output device. 5. The image output apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising means for performing a logical operation on the three patterns in units of memory having a word length of a CPU. 6. A means for calculating a memory position of a word length destination pattern including the drawing position coordinates from the drawing position coordinates, a means for obtaining a word length source pattern including coordinates corresponding to the drawing position coordinates, and the drawing The image output apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for calculating a memory position of a word boundary mask pattern including coordinates corresponding to position coordinates. 7. The image output device according to claim 5, wherein the drawing calculation means obtains a calculation result within the drawing range and leaves the destination pattern outside the drawing range. 8. The image output apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an arithmetic means that sets a bit ON portion of the mask pattern as the source pattern and a bit OFF portion as the destination pattern. 9. The image output according to claim 4, further comprising arithmetic means for setting a bit ON portion of the mask pattern to a first source pattern and a bit OFF portion to a second source pattern. apparatus. 10. A unit for inputting a mask pattern ID, a unit for storing the combination of the mask pattern data and the mask pattern ID in the word boundary mask pattern memory, a unit for storing a plurality of the combinations, and the mask. The image output apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for searching the word boundary mask pattern memory from a pattern ID. 11. A unit for inputting the mask pattern ID, a unit for storing the mask pattern data in the mask pattern memory, and a combination of the mask pattern data and the mask pattern ID in the word boundary mask pattern memory. Storing means, means for searching the word boundary mask pattern memory from the mask pattern ID, and a result of searching the mask pattern ID by a drawing operation,
When it does not exist in the word boundary mask pattern memory, means for searching the mask pattern memory for a mask pattern corresponding to the mask pattern ID, and converting the mask pattern obtained by the search into the word boundary mask pattern. A means for storing the converted word boundary mask pattern in an unused memory area of the word boundary mask pattern memory; and a means for discarding an existing word boundary mask pattern when the unused memory area runs short. The image output apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising means for using LRU (Least Recently Used) for discarding the existing memory when the unused memory area of the word boundary mask pattern memory is insufficient. Image output device. 13. A means for managing a frequency information table of the ID in the search of the mask pattern ID, and the frequency information for discarding the existing memory when the unused memory area of the word boundary mask pattern memory is insufficient. The image output apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising means for discarding the least frequently used memory using a table. 14. The image output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the source pattern is a dither pattern expressing a pseudo gradation of color density. 15. A means for inputting the mask pattern as a dither pattern, the mask pattern ID as an ID (color density etc.) added to each dither pattern as data, and a dither pattern ID as an input to the searching means, The image output device according to claim 11 or 14, further comprising means for outputting a word boundary source pattern and using the word boundary source pattern when the source pattern is used by the arithmetic processing means. 16. The image output device according to claim 1, wherein the output device is a laser printer. 17. The image output device according to claim 1, 10 or 11, wherein the output device is an inkjet printer. 18. The image output device according to claim 1, wherein the various arithmetic processes are performed by a dedicated ASIC such as a graphic accelerator.