JPH07200213A - Image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] An image processing unit that processes PDL data sent from a host computer is also used as an external image processing unit for the image forming unit. [Structure] Image processing unit 50 and image forming unit 5
The image processing unit 50 includes an interface 25, 7 for inputting PDL data from the image forming unit, and an external device 5 for PDL.
Interfaces 6 and 7 for inputting data, a development unit 4 for developing the PDL data input from the interface 7 into image data of a dot pattern, a memory 9 for storing the developed image data, and an image forming unit for the image data. The image forming unit 51 receives the image data from the image processing unit and forms an image based on the raster image data, and an external instruction. And an output unit 24 for generating PDL data and outputting the generated PDL data to the image processing unit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a page description language (Page D
The present invention relates to an image processing system that receives PDL data described in escription Language (hereinafter, referred to as PDL), processes it in an image processing unit, and forms an image in an image forming unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a PDL from a host computer etc.
In a printer system as an image processing system that receives data and forms an image, as shown in FIG. 20, an image processing unit 250 is connected to a host computer 205 via an interface 206, and further a formation signal line is formed. The image forming unit 251 is connected via 214. Reference numeral 212 is a sync signal line from the image forming unit 51.

FIG. 21 shows an image processing unit 25 shown in FIG.
It is a conventional image processing system in which 0 is represented in more detail. As shown in FIG. 21, from the host computer 205 to the interface 206 and the external interface circuit 2
PDL data sent via 07 is once PDL
After being stored in the buffer 208, the image data of a raster image is expanded by the CPU 1 and written in the full page image memory 209 (209-1, 209-2,
209-3 and 209-4 correspond to output color components). At this time, the ROM 202 is used to hold the program,
A RAM 203 is a work RAM for work, and a font ROM 204 is used to hold a font for converting a character code in PDL data into bit image data. Reference numeral 215 is a CPU bus connecting them.

On the other hand, the image forming unit 251 has, for example, a plurality of output color components C (Cyan), M (Magenta) and Y (Yello).
w) and K (black) are color electrophotographic printers that perform image formation in a frame-sequential manner, and each output color component corresponds to each image memory 209-1 to 209-4. The address generator 211 also generates a read address 213 for each of the image memories 209-1 to 209-4 based on the synchronization signal 212 from the image forming unit 251. Further, the outputs of the image memories 209-1 to 209-4 are selected by the selector 21 depending on which output color component the image forming unit 251 is printing.
0 is selected and sent to the image forming unit 251 via the formation signal line 214, and image formation is performed based on the selected signal.

Generally, the electrophotographic printing speed is high, and the image signal read from the full-page image memory 209 is also significantly faster than the image writing speed to the full-page image memory 209 by the CPU 201. Further, in general, an electrophotographic printer cannot stop halfway while printing one sheet, so the image data necessary for printing is full page image memory 20 for all one page.
It is necessary to expand to 9.

[0006]

However, in the image processing system of the above-mentioned conventional example, the PDL data received from the host computer is processed by the image processing unit and the image is formed by the image forming unit. It had only the function as a printer. This is sufficient when the image forming unit is a simple printer, but when the image forming unit is a copying machine or the like,
If the image processing unit can also be used as an external image processing unit of the copying machine, the cost performance of the image processing unit can be improved.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and a P sent from a computer is sent.
Provided is an image processing system in which an image processing unit that processes DL data can also be used as an external image processing unit for an image forming unit.

Further, by using an image processing unit for processing PDL data as an external image processing unit, various characters and figures, which are the characteristics of PDL data, can be utilized as a compositing image of a copying machine and an editing signal. A system and an image processing unit and an image forming unit that configure the system are provided.

[0009]

In order to solve this problem, an image processing system of the present invention is an image processing system composed of an image processing unit and an image forming unit, and the image processing unit is an image processing system. Forming unit to P
First input means for inputting DL data, second input means for inputting PDL data from an external device, and PDL data input from the first or second input means are expanded into dot pattern image data. The rasterizing image data, the rasterizing image data is stored in the rasterizing image data, and the rasterizing image data is transferred to the image forming unit. Means for receiving the image data from the image processing unit, an image forming means for forming an image based on the received image data, and a PDL corresponding to an instruction from the outside.
It is characterized by comprising PDL data generation means for generating data and output means for outputting the generated PDL data to the image processing unit.

Here, the image forming unit includes an image input means for inputting image data and a synthesizing means for synthesizing the input image data and the received image data, and based on the synthesized image data. Image formation is performed. Further, the image forming unit includes image input means for inputting image data, and editing means for editing the input image data by using the received image data as an editing signal, and the edited image data is edited. The image is formed based on The image input means is an image reading means. Further, the image input means includes an image data receiving means for receiving the image data of the dot pattern from the outside, an image memory for writing the received image data, and a reading means for reading the image data from the image memory.

The image processing unit of the present invention is an image processing unit for an image processing system having an image processing unit and an image forming unit, and first input means for inputting PDL data from the image forming unit. When,
Second input means for inputting PDL data from an external device, and PDL input from the first or second input means
The image forming apparatus further comprises: developing means for developing the data into image data of a dot pattern; memory means for storing the developed image data; and transfer means for transferring the image data read from the memory means to an image forming unit. Is characterized by.

Further, the image forming unit of the present invention is an image forming unit for an image processing system having an image processing unit and an image forming unit, and receiving means for receiving image data from the image processing unit, and receiving means. Image forming means for forming an image based on the image data, PDL data generating means for generating PDL data in response to an instruction from the outside, and output means for outputting the generated PDL data to the image processing unit. It is characterized by being provided.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of this embodiment. The difference from the conventional example of FIG.
5, the image processing unit 50 and the image forming unit 51 are connected to each other.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 shows the color PDL of FIG.
Corresponding image processing unit 50 and image forming unit 5
2 is a block diagram of Embodiment 1 showing 1 in detail. FIG.

<Image Processing Unit> As shown in FIG.
From the host computer 5 via the interface 6,
The PDL data sent to the external interface circuit 7 of the image processing unit 50 is temporarily stored in the PDL buffer 8
The image data of the raster image is expanded by the CPU 1 and written in the full page image memory 9. At this time, the ROM 2 is used to hold a program, the RAM 3 is a work RAM for work, and the font ROM 4 is used to hold a font for converting a character code in PDL data into bit image data. . Reference numeral 15 is a CPU bus connecting them.

<Image forming unit> Image forming unit 5
1 is a plurality of output color components C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Y
This is a color electrophotographic copying machine for forming images in a frame-sequential manner with respect to ellow) and K (black), and each image memory 9-1 to 4 of the image processing unit 50 corresponds to each output color component. The address generator 11 of the image processing unit 50 generates the read address 13 of each of the image memories 9-1 to 9-4 based on the synchronization signal from the image forming unit 51 via the synchronization signal line 12. Further, the output of the image memories 9-1 to 9-4 is selected by the selector 10 according to which output color component the image forming unit 51 is printing, and is sent to the image forming unit 51 via the forming signal line 14. Then, image formation is performed based on the selected signal.

On the other hand, the image forming unit 51 is an electrophotographic digital color copying machine, and the image reading unit 2
In step 1, a document image on a document table (not shown) is read to generate digital color image data, and an image is formed by the image forming unit 23. It has a so-called local copy function.
In addition, the image forming unit 51 has a function of printing image data input from the outside (so-called, so-called,
It also has a remote print function. That is, the image data input from the image processing unit 50 via the formation signal line 14 is image-formed by the image forming unit 23 via the synthesizing unit 22.

The image forming unit 51 is formed by the image processing unit 50 and image data (hereinafter referred to as scanner image data) read by the image reading unit 21 and sent through the signal line 26, as described later. Signal line 14
It has a function (so-called external image compositing function) of performing image compositing with the compositing unit 22 to compose an image with the image data (hereinafter referred to as external image data) sent via the.

Further, as will be described later, the image forming unit 51 has a function of performing image formation by performing image editing by the synthesizing section 22 using scanner image data as an image forming signal and external image data as an editing signal (external editing). Function).

<Image Forming Function of this Embodiment> Control Unit 24
Is for controlling the entire image forming unit 51, and depending on the contents of communication with a scanning unit (not shown) and the image processing unit 50, the above-mentioned local copy function, remote print function, external image combining function, external Executes each function of the edit function.

Of these functions, when the external image synthesizing function and the external editing function are performed by the image forming unit 51 as a driving force, the PDL data to be processed by the image processing unit 50 is generated by the control unit 24 and stored in the interface 25. It is sent to the image processing unit 50 via. After that, when the raster image data corresponding to the PDL data is sent through the signal line 14, the image reading unit 21 is operated, and the synthesizing unit 22 performs image synthesizing and image editing.

On the other hand, when these two functions are carried out by the image processing unit 50, the PDL data to be processed is sent from the host computer 5, and these functions are executed via a communication line (not shown) so as to execute these functions. , Image processing unit 5
An instruction is given from 0 to the image forming unit 51, and thereafter, the same processing is performed.

<Example of PDL Data> FIGS. 3 to 7 are views for explaining PDL data.

Post Script (registered trademark) of ADOBE
PDL (Page Description Language) represented by a language
As shown in FIG. 3, one page image is described by combining elements such as (I) image description by character code, (II) image description by graphic code, and (III) image description by raster image data. , And the data described in it is PDL data.

FIG. 4 shows an example of description by a character code. I100 is a description for designating the color of a character, and the parentheses represent the luminances of Red, Green, and Blue in order. The minimum is 0.0 and the maximum is 1.1. At 1100, it is specified that the character is black.
Next, I101 substitutes the character string "IC" into the variable String1. Next, in I102, the first and second parameters represent the x coordinate and the y coordinate of the start position coordinates on the paper on which the character string is laid out, the third parameter is the character size, and the fourth parameter is the character spacing. The fifth parameter indicates a character string to be laid out. In short, I102 is from the coordinate (0.0,0.0),
The instruction is to lay out the character string “IC” at intervals of 0.3 and 0.1.

FIG. 5 shows an example of description by a graphic code.
Like I100, I103 specifies the line color, and here, Red is specified. Then I104
It is for specifying to draw a line, and
The parameters are the start coordinates of the line, and the third and fourth parameters are the end coordinates of the line, respectively. The fifth parameter indicates the line thickness (line width).

FIG. 6 shows an example of description by raster image data. In I105, the raster image is assigned to the variable image1. Here, the first parameter represents the image type of the raster image and the number of color components, and the second parameter is 1
It represents the number of bits per color component, and the third and fourth parameters represent the image size of the raster image in the x and y directions. The fifth and subsequent parameters are raster image data. The number of raster image data is the number of color components forming one pixel,
And the image size in the x and y directions. I105
Then, the RGB image has three color components (Red, Green).
n, Blue), the number of raster image data is 3 × 5 × 5 = 75.

FIG. 7 shows how the image description shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 is interpreted on one page and expanded into raster image data. R100, 101, and 102 are the expanded PDL data of FIGS.

The PDL data sent from the host computer 5 or the image forming unit 51 is developed into a raster image as shown in FIG. 7 and written in the image memory 9.
The remote print function is used to form an image independently of this, and is a function of a normal printer. On the other hand, the external image synthesizing function synthesizes the raster image data thus developed with the raster image data read by the image reading section 21 to form an image, and the raster image data thus edited is used for editing. An external editing function edits the raster image data read by the image reading unit 21 as a signal to form an image.

<External Image Combining Function> FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the external image compositing function. The image (a) on the platen and the PDL image (b) which is the expanded PDL data sent from the image forming unit 51 are combined to form a combined image (c), and the image is formed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a method of setting the editor 60 and the operation unit 61 in the display unit (not shown in FIG. 2) of the image forming unit 51 when setting the external image synthesizing function. Is.

The editor 60 is a coordinate input device, and the coordinate position where the pen 69 is pressed can be detected by a CPU (not shown). When the external image synthesizing function is selected on the operation unit 61, a display prompting the input of a character string is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 62 with touch keys on the operation unit 61. At this time, the character group 6 printed on the editor 60 with the pen 69
When each character in 8 is pressed, the CPU determines which character is designated from the coordinate position and displays it on the display panel 62. The pointer 67 indicates the input position, and is moved to the left or right by the move keys 63 and 64. When you finish entering the character string, press the OK key.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a character image is generated by the image processing unit 50 and is combined with the image read by the image reading unit, but not limited to the character image, a circle, a rectangle, Stars, arrows, polygons, logo marks, and other various images are also acceptable. Further, the position to arrange the character string is indicated by the pen 69 before and after the character string input screen in FIG. 9, and the size, color, etc. of the character string are also set on a setting screen (not shown). Further, in the present embodiment, the character on the editor is specified and the character is input, but this may be input using the keyboard, or may be input with the kana-kanji conversion. . Alternatively, the kanji code may be input. Further, a plurality of fixed phrases and fixed figures may be displayed on the display panel and selected from them.

FIG. 10 shows an example of processing blocks in the synthesizing section 22 for performing the external image synthesizing function in the image forming unit 51. The scanner image data via the signal line 26 is first processed by the multiplier 75 in the CPU (not shown).
Thus, the CPU bus 81 is released and multiplied by the coefficient a set in the latch 70. On the other hand, the external image data via the signal line 14 is also multiplied by the coefficient b set in the latch 71 by the multiplier 76 in the same manner as described above. Then, each multiplication result is added by the adder 78. At the time of local copy, a is 1.0 and b is set to 0. That is, the scanner image data is output as it is. On the other hand, during remote printing, a is set to 0 and b is set to 1.0. That is, the external image data is output as it is.

At the time of synthesizing external images, if a is set to 1.0 and b is set to 1.0, an OR composite image of both is obtained.
Further, if a is set to 0.5 and b is set to 0.5, both watermark composite images can be obtained. These two coefficients are set by the CPU depending on what kind of combination is performed, but the two coefficients may be made variable depending on the values of both image data and regions. Further, clipping processing is necessary in each of the multipliers and adders in FIG. 10 in order to prevent overflow, but this is omitted for simplicity of explanation.

In FIG. 10, the external image data is compared by the comparator 77 with the values set in the latches 72 and 73, and when it is between these two values, the output of the comparator becomes 1. This output further enters the selector and is selected between the fixed value 0 and the output of the latch 74. Then, the selected signal becomes the selection signal of the selector 80. In addition to the OR composition and the watermark composition described above, this circuit can be used only when the external image data is within a certain range.
This is for performing selective composition by selecting an external image and selecting a scanner image at other times. First, the comparator detects whether the external image is within a certain range.

In the case of the selective composition, the latch 74 is set so that the selector 79 selects the output side of the comparator. Therefore, the output of the adder and the external image data are selectively output according to the output of the comparator. It In the case of selective combination, a and b are set so that the scanner image data is directly output from the adder. Also, the above-mentioned OR
In the case of composition, watermark composition, etc., the selector 79 has a fixed value 0.
As a result, the selector 80 is set to always output the output of the adder. In the above selective composition, the latches 72 and 73 are set so that the scanner image is normally selected when the external image is white and the external image is selected otherwise.

<External Editing Function> FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the external editing function. Using the PDL image (b) obtained by expanding the PDL data sent from the image forming unit 51 as an editing area signal, the image (a) on the platen is trimmed (cut out) into a circle, and the edited image (c) is obtained. Made and imaged. That is, the PDL image (b) is used as a region signal indicating the region to be edited, and is also used as a signal indicating the processing content in the region. For example, it is possible to output the scanner image as it is in the portion where the PDL image is 0, to mask (white solid paint) in the portion where the PDL image is 1, and to perform negative / positive inversion in the portion where the PDL image is 2.

FIG. 12 shows the setting of the external editing function.
Display panel 62 of operation unit 61 in image forming unit 51
FIG. 10 is a diagram (screen) showing the above setting method. First, on the screen 91, the shape of the area is selected from circle, ellipse, rectangle, R rectangle, arrow, and the like. If, for example, a circle is selected from these, the center point of the circle and one point on the outer circumference are designated using the editor 60 on the screen 92 (two points in total are designated). Then, a process in the area is selected on the screen 93. PDL data is created by the control unit 24 in accordance with the edited contents set in this way, sent to the image processing unit, and developed on the image memory 9 in the image processing unit as shown in FIG. 11B. . In the case of this embodiment, a plurality of regions can be set, and the PDL image changes for each region according to the editing content.

In the present embodiment, a simple graphic area such as a circle is handled, but a more complicated graphic area may be handled. For example, a character image as described in the external image composition section may be used as an area for trimming in the shape of the character image or negative / positive inversion.

FIG. 13 shows an example of processing blocks in the synthesizing section 22 for performing the external editing function. The output 28 of the block of FIG. 10 is the paint (painting) unit 102, the color balance unit 103, and the mirror image unit 1 of FIG.
04, each edit processing is performed in the negative / positive conversion unit 105.
On the other hand, the external image 14 has an editing signal (4
It is treated as 16 areas in bit) and converted into various parameters indicating the processing content in the LUT 101. That is, the external image data represents only the area number, and what kind of edit processing the area specifically performs is determined by the rewritable LUT 10.
Set to 1. The output of the LUT is a processing parameter of each edit processing unit. For example, for the mirror image portion and the negative / positive conversion portion, 1b of "processing / not processing"
A parameter of it is given to the paint unit 102. In addition to 1 bit of “processing / not processing”,
8 bit representing the fill color is also given. In this embodiment, the external image represents the area number as described above, but the external image may directly represent each editing parameter.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the paint unit 102. By the selection signal from LUT,
The fill color from the image data 28 and the LUT is selected. That is, a certain area is filled with a fixed color. The image forming unit 23 can fill in various colors by rewriting the fill data from the LUT according to which output color component is being formed. If this is done in white, trimming and masking can be realized.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the color balance section 103. The color balance coefficient 32-2 from the LUT is multiplied by the image data 29. Although not shown, an overflow prevention circuit is also required.
Similar to painting, the image forming unit 23 performs color balance correction by changing the multiplication parameter according to which output color component is being formed.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the negative / positive converter 105. A control signal from the LUT,
Negative / positive conversion is performed by taking an EX-OR (exclusive OR) with each bit of the image data 31.

<Control Flowchart> FIG. 17 is a control flowchart of the image processing unit 50 of this embodiment.

First, in step S101, the process waits until PDL data is sent from the host computer or the image forming unit 51. If sent, step S
At 102, the interface that has not been sent is set to a busy state so that PDL data from that interface is not accepted and the other party is notified. Next, in step S103, one unit of PDL data is received. One unit may be several bytes or one page, but may be a unit suitable for processing, for example, one line unit in FIG. In step S104, the PDL data of interest is data to be expanded into a raster image (for example, I1 in FIG. 4).
02, I104 in FIG. 5, I105 in FIG. 6), and if so, the raster image is developed in step S105 and written in the image memory 9. Also, step S
If the data of interest in 104 is other data (for example, I100 in FIG. 4), processing such as setting an internal variable is performed in step S106.

Then, in step S107, the PDL data for one page is received, and it is determined whether the development is completed. Ordinary PDL data includes information indicating the end of a page such as an EOF (End of File) symbol and information instructing the start of printing, and is used for determination. If the PDL data for one page has not been received, steps S103 to S107 are repeated. If the PDL data for one page has been received, it is determined in step S108 whether or not the copying machine is in a busy state using a communication line (not shown), Wait until it is no longer busy. Next, step S
At 109, the raster image data expanded in the image memory 9 is read out and transferred, and the image forming unit 51 forms one page.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of control of the image forming unit of this embodiment.

First, in step S201, it is checked whether or not there is a remote print request from the image processing unit. If there is a request, a busy display is displayed on the operation unit in step S202 to prohibit input on the operation unit, and then step S203. Then, remote printing is performed to form the external image 14 as it is. On the other hand, if not, step S2
In 04, it is checked whether or not there is a local copy request by the operation unit, and if there is no request, the process returns to step S201. on the other hand,
If there is an external image composition function in step S205,
The external editing function or the image processing unit 50 checks whether necessary image processing is designated. If not, the busy state is notified to the image processing unit in step S206, and then the simple processing is performed in step S207. Perform a local copy.

On the other hand, in the case of external image composition or the like, the image processing unit 50 is reserved (occupied) in step S208.
If it cannot be reserved, a message to that effect is displayed in step S209 and the processing is interrupted. If it is possible to reserve the data, the control unit 24 determines in step S210 according to the edited content.
Generates PDL data and transfers it to the image processing unit 50 via the interface 25 in step S211.
Next, in step S212, a combined or edited image is generated from the scanner image and the external image corresponding to the transferred PDL data sent from the image processing unit, and is formed by the image forming unit 23.

In this embodiment, the external image composition and external editing are set using the operation unit, but they may be held in an IC card and read and set by an IC card reader (not shown). Good. Further, an external interface (not shown) may be attached to the image forming unit, and the setting may be performed by a command from the outside through the external interface. In addition, PDL data is generated according to the setting contents and sent to the image processing unit.
It may be stored in M or the like, and selected according to the setting contents and sent to the image processing unit.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an image processing system compatible with color PDL in the second embodiment.

Differences from the first embodiment are as follows. That is, in the first embodiment, the image read by the image reading unit and the external image are combined and edited, but in the present embodiment, the interface 72 and the external interface circuit 73 are connected from the second host computer 71. The point is that the raster image data sent via the image data is once written into the image memory 74, and the image data 26 read from the image data and the external image are combined and edited. The host computer 71 and the host computer 5 may be different devices or the same device. Also, the interface 6 and the interface 72 may be the same interface and may be given different addresses to the respective devices, or may be different interfaces (for example, 6 is RS232C and 72 is SCSI).

In this embodiment, the image forming unit 51 alone is a device for receiving only raster image data at a high speed through the interface 72 and printing it.
Cannot handle data. However, if the image processing unit 50 is connected, the PD
It is also possible to accept L data. In this case, the received PDL data is transferred to the image processing unit 50 via the control unit 24 and developed into a raster image. Then, the raster image data is sent to the image forming unit 51 through the signal line 14 and is formed alone, or is formed by being combined and edited with the raster image data in the image memory 74.

Further, instead of transferring the PDL data received from the host computer 71, the control unit 24 may generate and send the PDL data such as the date, ruled line, and character string by itself according to the operation mode. .

In each of the above embodiments, the PDL data is received from the external host computer or the like by communication.
The L data may be read. Further, a hard disk or the like may be used instead of the floppy disk, and PDL data created by an application program (not shown) may be delivered on the main memory.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the image memory is constructed by touching the CMYK color components, but it may be constructed by a binary value, and R (Re
d) It may be composed of G (Green) and B (Brue). Further, although image synthesizing and editing are performed for each CMYK color component, this may be performed simultaneously for the CMYK4 component and RGB3 component. With such a configuration, it is possible to perform processing such that the external image is used as a region signal, color conversion is performed only within the region, and the RGB signal values are combined only when they are within a certain range.

In each of the above embodiments, the image forming unit 51 is separated from the image processing unit 50.
You may integrate this.

In each of the above embodiments, the synchronization signal 12
The image is sent via the image signal line 14 in synchronism with
Images were transferred using so-called video I / F,
This may be transferred using a general-purpose interface such as GPIB or step SC step SI. This general-purpose interface is also used when sending a print start command or the like to the image forming unit. At this time, generally, the transfer speed of the general-purpose interface is slower than the forming speed of the image forming unit, so that an image memory for speed conversion is required in the image forming unit.

In the above embodiment, the image reading unit 21 or the image memory 74 is used to control the image forming unit 5.
1 unique image is generated, but in addition to this, film reading device, digital video camera, video image digitizing device, image database, CG (Computer Graphi)
cs) Any system that generates an image, such as a generation system, may be used.

Further, the image forming section 2 in the image forming unit
3, the image reading unit 21, the image memory 74, and the like are integrally configured, but these may be configured as another device.

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

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An image processing system in which an image processing unit for processing PDL data sent from a computer can also be used as an external image processing unit for the image forming unit, and an image processing unit and an image forming unit therefor can be provided.

Furthermore, by using the image processing unit of PDL data as an external image processing unit,
Various characters and figures, which are the characteristics of data, can be used as compositing images and editing signals for copying machines.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image processing system of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the image processing system in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of PDL.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of PDL.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of PDL.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of PDL.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of output by PDL.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining external image combination.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a setting method for external image combination.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for performing external image composition.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining external editing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a setting method of external editing.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram for performing external editing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing in detail each block for performing external editing.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing in detail each block for performing external editing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing in detail each block for performing external editing.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image processing unit according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image forming unit according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a detailed block diagram of the image processing system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of an image processing system of a conventional example.

FIG. 21 is a detailed block diagram of an image processing system of a conventional example.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location B41J 5/30 DG06T 11/00 H04N 1/387 C2-5

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image processing system having an image processing unit and an image forming unit, wherein the image processing unit inputs first PDL data from the image forming unit and PDL data from an external device. Second inputting means, expanding means for expanding the PDL data input from the first or second inputting means into dot pattern image data, memory means for storing the expanded image data, and A transfer unit for transferring the image data read from the memory unit to the image forming unit, wherein the image forming unit receives the image data from the image processing unit; and an image forming unit based on the received image data. Image forming means for performing the above, and a PD for generating PDL data in response to an external instruction
An image processing system comprising: an L data generating unit; and an output unit that outputs the generated PDL data to an image processing unit. 2. The image forming unit includes image input means for inputting image data, and synthesizing means for synthesizing the input image data and the received image data, and an image based on the synthesized image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is formed. 3. The image forming unit comprises image input means for inputting image data and editing means for editing the input image data using the received image data as an editing signal. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed based on the image data. 4. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image input unit is an image reading unit. 5. The image input means includes image data receiving means for receiving image data of a dot pattern from the outside, image memory for writing the received image data, and reading means for reading image data from the image memory. The image processing system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that. 6. An image processing unit for an image processing system having an image processing unit and an image forming unit, wherein first input means for inputting PDL data from the image forming unit and PDL data from an external device. Second input means for inputting, expanding means for expanding the PDL data input from the first or second input means into image data of a dot pattern, memory means for storing the expanded image data, An image processing unit, comprising: a transfer unit that transfers the image data read from the memory unit to an image forming unit. 7. An image forming unit for an image processing system having an image processing unit and an image forming unit, comprising: receiving means for receiving image data from the image processing unit; and image forming based on the received image data. Image forming means for performing the above, and a PD for generating PDL data in response to an external instruction
An image forming unit comprising: an L data generating unit; and an output unit that outputs the generated PDL data to an image processing unit.