JP2007076292A - Image forming device and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which can quickly obtain a printing result by controlling the operation for processing a transparency function according to the status. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming device is equipped with a transparency processing means for performing the transparency processing by detecting the lap of two or more objects, dividing a domain for every domain wherein the number of the object lap is different, and performing a color composition for the every domain; a detection means for detecting a memory overflow which is generated during performing the transparency processing by the transparency processing means; and a control means for performing the processing by replacing the transparency processing with an ordinary processing in the case of the memory overflow having been detected by the detection means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a control program for controlling execution of transparency processing in drawing of a superimposed figure.

In the conventional printing process, when two objects to be printed (printed graphics, etc.) overlap, the object defined on the lower side in the data definition is overwritten by the object defined on the upper side. Therefore, the lower object is generally printed in a hidden state. However, in recent years, in order to improve the expressiveness of printed materials, printing is performed so that the lower object can be seen through the upper object by giving the object a factor of transparency. Yes. Transparency is one of the factors that a drawing object has, and has a value of 0 to 100%. An object with 0% transparency is equivalent to a conventional object and is hidden when an object is present on the lower side. An object having a transparency of 100% is a colorless and transparent object, and does not affect the color of another object even if it overlaps with another object. On the other hand, in the case of an object having a transparency of 1% to 99%, the overlapping portion with another object is determined by the color of the overlapping portion from the color of both the two overlapping objects and the transparency value. Transparency does not uniquely affect the colors of a plurality of overlapping objects, but has a plurality of influences. The colors of two objects may be added or subtracted.
In addition, as an image forming method that can perform image formation including a transparent component with high quality and speed, for example, the method described in Patent Document 1 is known.
JP 2005-109987 A

  Incidentally, recent image forming apparatuses have a function capable of directly printing document data in an electronic document format (for example, PDF: Portable Document Format) without using a document creation application or the like. However, the image processing that expands the document data to be printed using the transparency function and converts it into bitmap data may require a lot of processing time, so it is not necessary to faithfully reproduce the contents of the data. There is a problem that a print result cannot be obtained quickly for a user who simply wants to confirm the contents of document data. In addition, when directly printing document data in an electronic document format (for example, PDF: Portable Document Format) without using a document creation application, the document using the transparency function is deleted. Since the data cannot be edited, there is also a problem that there is no method for quickly printing when an object that requires a large amount of processing time is defined in the document data to be printed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus and a control program capable of quickly obtaining a printing result by controlling the processing operation of the transparency function according to the situation. With the goal.

  The present invention relates to a transparency processing means that detects an overlap of a plurality of objects, divides the area into areas having different numbers of overlapping objects, and performs transparency processing by performing color composition for each area; A detection unit that detects a memory overflow that occurs during the execution of the transparency process by the transparency processing unit, and a control unit that replaces the transparency process with a normal process when a memory overflow is detected by the detection unit. It is characterized by that.

  The present invention includes a transparency processing unit that detects an overlap of a plurality of objects, divides the area into areas where the number of overlapping objects differs, and performs color processing for each area to perform transparency processing. A control program for controlling an operation in the image forming apparatus, the detection process for detecting a memory overflow occurring during the execution of the transparency process by the transparency processing unit, and the transparency when the memory overflow is detected by the detection process It is characterized by causing a computer to perform control processing that replaces processing with normal processing.

  According to the present invention, since the memory overflow that occurred during the execution of the transparency process is detected and the memory overflow is detected, the transparency process is replaced with the normal process. In this way, the printing operation can be obtained quickly by controlling the processing operation.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit that controls the overall processing operation of the image forming apparatus 7. Reference numeral 2 denotes a communication unit that receives image data of an image to be printed from a personal computer 8 or the like connected to the network N. Reference numeral 3 denotes a buffer that temporarily stores image data received by the communication unit 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes an image processing unit that reads out image data stored in the buffer 3 and converts it into bitmap data by performing image processing. Reference numeral 5 denotes an image memory for storing bitmap data obtained in the image processing unit 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a printing unit that reads bitmap data stored in the image memory 5 and transfers an image based on the bitmap data to a print medium.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 4, drawing (printing) using the transparency function will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram comparing normal drawing (FIG. 4A) and drawing using the transparency function (FIG. 4B). Objects (fill, stroke, text, image) in normal drawing processing are drawn in the order in which the objects are placed in an opaque state (0% transparency), so the overlapping part is placed at the top. Only the new object will be drawn. As shown in FIG. 4A, the object R (for example, the drawing color is red) in a portion where the object B (for example, the drawing color is blue) and the object G (for example, the drawing color is green) overlaps with each other. Is not drawn. In addition, the object B in the portion where the object G (for example, the drawing color is green) overlaps is not actually drawn.

  On the other hand, when transparency (for example, 50%) is set for each of the three objects R, G, and B shown in FIG. 4A, the region RB in which only the object B overlaps the object R is the object R and the object B. The drawing color (red and blue) is mixed. In addition, the region GB where only the object G overlaps the object B is drawn with a color obtained by mixing the drawing colors (blue and green) of the object B and the object G. In addition, a region RG where only the object G overlaps the object R is drawn with a color obtained by mixing the drawing colors (red and green) of the object R and the object G. Further, the region RGB where the object B overlaps the object R and the object G overlaps with the object R is drawn with a color obtained by mixing the drawing colors (red, back and green) of the object R, the object G and the object B. It will be.

Next, the operation of the image processing unit 4 shown in FIG. 1 for processing the transparency object will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the image processing unit 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 performs processing of a transparency object.
First, the communication unit 2 receives document data to be printed (hereinafter referred to as print data) described in an electronic document format transmitted from the personal computer 8 and stores the received print data in the buffer 3. When the communication unit 2 receives the print data, the communication unit 2 notifies the control unit 1 that the print data has been received. In response to this, the control unit 1 instructs the image processing unit 4 to execute image expansion processing. In response to this, the image processing unit 4 reads out print data for one page from the buffer 3 and analyzes the print data (step S1). Then, the image processing unit 4 determines whether or not the read print data includes data using the transparency function (step S2). If the transparency function is not used as a result of this determination, the image processing unit 4 executes normal processing (step S15), stores the bitmap data obtained as a result of the processing in the image memory 5, and stores one page. When the minute processing is completed, the bitmap data is discharged to the printing unit 6 and the page discharge processing is executed (step S13), whereby the printing processing is executed in the printing unit 6.

  Next, when the data using the transparency function is included in the print data, the image processing unit 4 sequentially interprets the data described in the read print data, and determines whether or not it is a drawing operator (drawing command). Is determined (step S3). If the result of this determination is that the operator is a drawing operator, the image processing unit 4 generates an object based on the result of interpreting the print data (step S4). The image processing unit 4 investigates the overlap between the object generated here and the object already stored in the table in the image memory 5 (step S5), and determines whether there is an overlap (step S6). If there is no overlap as a result of this determination, the next cut-out process is not executed and the process proceeds to the next process. On the other hand, if there is an overlap, the overlapping area between the objects is divided and the overlapping area is cut out (step S7).

  Here, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the overlapping region cut-out operation (step S7) will be described. An example will be described in which three objects R, G, and B shown in FIG. First, areas that overlap each other (areas consisting of areas RB, RG, GB, and RGB) are obtained based on boundary lines that indicate the outer shapes of the three objects R, G, and B. Then, the obtained overlapping regions are divided, and regions R, G, B, RB, RG, GB, and RGB are cut out (see FIG. 5). In this cutout, the cutout is performed so that the number of overlapping objects is the same in one area. For example, the region RGB is added to the region RB, or the region is a region where the object B overlaps the object R. In this region, the number of overlaps with the region RB where the number of overlaps is “1” is “3”. Therefore, the region RB and the region RGB are cut out to be different regions. By doing this, the three objects are divided into seven areas from the overlapping state, and each area becomes a new object, and the original objects (objects R, G, B) are deleted.

  Next, the image processing unit 4 performs color composition on each object (step S8). In this color composition, if the objects are not overlapped, a color composition process (actually, a single color conversion process is performed because there is no color to be synthesized) based on the color information of the objects. The object cut out from the state in which the objects overlap is subjected to color synthesis processing (generation of mixed colors) based on a plurality of overlapping color information (step S8). The image processing unit 4 stores the color-combined object in a table in the image memory 5 (Step S9).

  Next, the image processing unit 4 interprets the data described in the read print data, and determines that it is a page discharge operator (page discharge command) if it is not a drawing operator (step S10). As a result of this determination, if the page is not a page discharge operator (not a drawing operator or a page discharge operator), the image processing unit 4 performs normal processing (step S11). On the other hand, in the case of a page discharge operator, the image processing unit 4 discharges the bitmap data stored in the table of the image memory 5 to the printing unit 6, and the page discharge process is executed (step S13). A printing process is executed in the printing unit 6. By repeatedly executing this process until the final page is reached (step S14), a drawing process using the transparency function is performed.

  Next, an operation for controlling the execution of the transparency object process shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the communication unit 2 receives document data to be printed (hereinafter referred to as print data) described in the electronic document format transmitted from the personal computer 8, and stores the received print data in the buffer 3. When the communication unit 2 receives the print data, the communication unit 2 notifies the control unit 1 that the print data has been received. In response to this, the control unit 1 instructs the image processing unit 4 to execute image expansion processing. At this time, the control unit 1 refers to a setting value indicating whether or not to use the transparency function set by the user in advance, and notifies the image processing unit 4 of the setting value.

  In response to this, the image processing unit 4 reads and analyzes the print data stored in the buffer 3 (step S21). Then, the image processing unit 4 determines whether or not to use the transparency function based on the set value of whether or not to use the transparency function notified from the control unit 1 (step S22). If the transparency function is not used as a result of this determination, the image processing unit 4 replaces the normal processing and executes the drawing processing (step S32), and stores the bitmap data obtained as a result of the processing in the image memory 5. Then, when the processing for one page is completed, the bitmap data is discharged to the printing unit 6 and the page discharging process is executed, whereby the printing process is executed in the printing unit 6. As a result, even if the transparency function is used for the print data, the color composition processing in the overlapping region is not executed, and a result of overwriting in the order in which the objects are arranged is obtained.

  Next, when it is set to use the transparency function, the image processing unit 4 determines whether there is data using the transparency function in the print data (step S23). If there is no data using the transparency function as a result of this determination, normal processing is executed (step S32), bitmap data obtained as a result of the processing is stored in the image memory 5, and processing for one page is completed. At that time, the bitmap data is discharged to the printing unit 6 and the page discharge process is executed, whereby the printing process is executed in the printing unit 6.

  On the other hand, when the transparency function is set and the print data includes data using the transparency function, the image processing unit 4 detects whether or not a memory overflow has occurred in the image memory 5 (step S24). ), Transparency object processing (object clipping, color synthesis) is executed (step S25). Then, the transparency object processing is continued while determining whether or not the processing of the transparency function is finished (step S26). When the processing is finished, the bitmap data is discharged to the printing unit 6 (step S27). By executing the page discharge process, the printing unit 6 executes the print process.

  When a memory overflow occurs during transparency object processing, the image processing unit 4 deletes the processed object processed up to this point from the image memory 5 (step S28). Then, the image processing unit 4 notifies the control unit 1 that a memory overflow has occurred. In response to this, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit (not shown) that a memory overflow has occurred (step S29), and asks the user whether or not to restart the processing with the transparency function lowered. Is displayed. In response to this message, the user responds by operating an input unit (not shown) whether or not to resume. The control unit 1 reads the content of this answer, and determines whether or not to resume with a reduced function (step S30). If the result of this determination is not to resume, the control unit 1 instructs the image processing unit 4 to stop processing. In response to this, the image processing unit 4 stops the processing and ends. On the other hand, if the transparency function is reduced and the process is resumed, the control unit 1 outputs an instruction to initialize and resume the process to the image processing unit 4. In response to this, the image processing unit 4 performs setting for not performing the transparency function, initializes the processing for reading out and analyzing the print data (step S31), and again reading out the print data from the buffer 3 and analyzing it. Start (step S21).

  In this way, the memory overflow that occurred during the execution of transparency processing is detected, and when the memory overflow is detected, the transparency processing is replaced with the normal processing, so the processing of the transparency function depending on the situation. The printing result can be obtained quickly by controlling the operation.

  The program for realizing the function of the processing unit in FIG. 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into the computer system and executed to execute the transparency function process. Operation control may be performed. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 7. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus 7. It is explanatory drawing for comparing the drawing using a normal drawing and a transparency function. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of object division.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part, 2 ... Communication part, 3 ... Buffer, 4 ... Image processing part, 5 ... Image memory, 6 ... Printing part, 7 ... Image forming apparatus, 8 ... PC, N ... Network

Claims (2)

A transparency processing means for detecting an overlap of a plurality of objects, dividing the area into different areas where the number of overlapping objects is different, and performing a transparency process by performing color synthesis for each area;
Detecting means for detecting a memory overflow occurring during execution of transparency processing by the transparency processing means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that replaces the transparency process with a normal process when a memory overflow is detected by the detection unit. In an image forming apparatus provided with a transparency processing unit that detects an overlap of a plurality of objects, divides the area into areas having different numbers of overlapping objects, and performs color composition for each area. A control program for controlling the operation,
A detection process for detecting a memory overflow occurring during the execution of the transparency process by the transparency processing means;
A control program for causing a computer to perform a control process of replacing a transparency process with a normal process when a memory overflow is detected by the detection process.

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