Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-08
2001-01-30
Nguyen, Thinh (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S040000, C358S448000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179409
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color printing apparatus and a color print data analyzing method, and more particularly to a color printing apparatus and a color print data analyzing method for executing a command analyzing process with respect to color print data received from a host device to generate page data for each color component and performing printing by superimposing images for respective color components for printing based on the generated page data.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in, for example, Japanese patent laid-open publication No. Hei6-139033, in this kind of conventional color printing apparatus, a definition for converting a color description into a monochrome description having only a monochrome value for each elementary color is added in a definition addition section of a page description language program including color descriptions according to a predetermined color specifying system using predetermined multiple elementary colors, the page description language program having this definition added thereto is analyzed by a monochrome color interpreter to be developed to monochrome image data, and the monochrome image data is further synthesized and outputted as color output data.
In the conventional color printing apparatus, however, all the data must be first generated for, e.g., cyan, which is sequentially followed by generation of all the data for magenta, yellow and black. The data must be, therefore, held in a receiving memory until generation of the color image data is completed, resulting in a problem of improvement in efficient use of the memory. Further, the color description in the program must be retrieved in the definition addition section to generate a program converted into the monochrome description before analyzing the page description language program for each of multiple elementary colors by the monochrome interpreter, and the high-speed color printing is hence difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a color printing apparatus and a color print data analyzing method which improve the efficient use of the memory by adopting the multithread system and enable the high-speed color printing, the color printing apparatus being structurally simple to be mounted on a printer firmware.
To achieve this aim, a color printing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: receiving means for receiving color print data for printing a color image by superimposing images for multiple color components; color analysis processing means for analyzing the color print data for previously specified one of the multiple color, a number of the means being equal to a number of the color components; data distributing means for distributing the color print data to the multiple color analysis processing means; analysis controlling means for giving an execution right to analyze print data to one of the multiple color analysis processing means upon accepting distribution of the print data from the data distributing means and shifting the execution right to the next color analysis processing means in a predetermined order in timing with completion of continuous analysis of a predetermined amount of color print data less than one page; drawing means for generating drawing data for multiple color components respectively based on results of analysis of the multiple color components; a plurality of frame buffers for respectively storing the drawing data for the multiple color components; and printing means for superimposing images for multiple color components based on the drawing data for the multiple color components for printing.
This color printing apparatus shifts the execution right to the next color analysis processing means in timing with completion of continuous analysis of a predetermined amount of color print data less than one page. It is therefore unnecessary to accumulate data corresponding to one page in the receiving memory, and the processed data can be eliminated, thereby efficiently using the memory. Otherwise, a capacity of the receiving memory can be reduced.
Moreover, in the above color printing apparatus, the analysis controlling means may have means for producing a predetermined number of color analyzing means.
According to this color printing apparatus, increase or decrease in a number of color analyzing means can be facilitated. For example, in case of a color printing apparatus having a seven-color printing mechanism for printing light components for respective colors except black, this can be realized by generating seven color analysis processing means and changing only the setting of the order of rotation and the data amount for switching data in each color analysis processing.
According to another aspect of the invention, a color printing apparatus comprises: receiving means for receiving color print data for printing a color image by superimposing images for multiple color components; a plurality of data processing means having at least one of color analysis processing means for analyzing the color print data for previously specified one of the multiple color components, a number of the color analysis processing means being equal to a number of the color components; receiving memory distributing means for distributing the color print data to a plurality of the color analysis processing means; a plurality of analysis controlling means for giving an execution right to analyze print data to one of the color analysis processing means independently included in the respective data processing means upon accepting distribution of the print data from the data distributing means; a plurality of drawing means for generating drawing data respectively based on results of analysis by the color analysis processing means independently included in the respective data processing means; a plurality of frame buffers for respectively storing the multiple drawing data; and printing means for superimposing images for the multiple color components respectively based on the multiple drawing data for printing.
This color printing apparatus is provided with a plurality of data processing means having at least one of a plurality of color analysis processing means each of which analyzes color print data for one of the multiple color components, and has a plurality of analysis controlling means for giving an execution right to analyze print data to one of the color analysis processing means independently included in the respective data processing means. Each data processing means can therefore partially take charge of the color analysis processing means to independently perform data analysis, and all the color components can be analyzed at high speed.
Additionally, in the above color printing apparatus, the analysis controlling means may have means for generating a predetermined number of color analyzing means in each data processing means.
According to this color printing apparatus, when the two data processing means take partially charge of the twocolor print data analysis processing by using the color analysis processing means for four colors, a number of the color analysis processing means and colors assigned to these means in each data processing means can be set, and the processing burden of each data processing means can be equal.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5323488 (1994-06-01), Udagawa
patent: 6-139033 (1994-05-01), None
NEC Corporation
Nguyen Thinh
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
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