JPH0846779A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Despite having only a recording buffer with a storage capacity smaller than the maximum length of the recording paper, it is possible to keep the division recording to the necessary minimum and to reduce the cost. . When the recording buffer 7 having a storage capacity B is smaller than the storage capacity A required to store the maximum number of lines of one page normally sent from an external device, the input data has a predetermined line length C or less. The compressed data for one page is directly decoded and stored in the recording buffer 7, and when the input data exceeds the predetermined line length C, the recording buffer 7
Decipher while thinning out. Then, the decrypted data is recorded according to the size of the recording paper set in the apparatus. As a result, even though the storage buffer 7 is small, it is possible to minimize the number of divided recordings.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording device such as a facsimile device or a printer device for printing and recording input image information on a recording paper of a fixed size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of image recording apparatus, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-34678, the length of a recording sheet is obtained by cutting the length of one page of an input image into a standard size. In order to prevent the loss of information when the length is longer than that, there is one in which the reduction ratio is changed and recorded according to the number of lines of the input image. In such an image recording device, image data input from an external device is temporarily stored as compressed data in a compressed data storage memory, and then is decoded page by page at the time of recording to be recorded as image data in a recording memory. (Hereinafter, it is referred to as a recording buffer) and is reduced and recorded on a recording sheet by a recording unit at a predetermined reduction ratio.

[0003]

However, in such an image recording apparatus, the recording buffer has only 1
Since the decoded image data for pages is stored,
The storage capacity of the recording buffer needs to be at least as large as the maximum length of one page (the length of legal paper) sent from an external device. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the total memory capacity or reduce the capacity of other memory areas.

Further, when the image recording apparatus has only a recording buffer having a storage capacity smaller than the maximum one page length sent from an external device, the sent image information for one page is expanded in the recording buffer. Therefore, there is no choice but to perform divided recording. For example, in an image recording apparatus having only a recording buffer having a recording capacity equivalent to that of A4 size recording paper, data of a paper of a legal size (see FIG.
(See (a)), the data is expanded in the recording buffer as much as possible, and as shown in FIG. 8 (b), after being recorded on the recording paper, the remaining data is expanded in the recording buffer. It was recorded on recording paper. In general, a page number and a blank portion are often arranged at the bottom of the document, and there is not much recording data. Therefore, as shown in FIG. There is a problem that it does not make sense by itself, especially by using only the second recording sheet.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when a recording buffer having a storage capacity smaller than the maximum length of one page sent from an external device is provided, a small storage is required. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that can reduce the cost of division recording to a necessary minimum even though it is a recording buffer having a large capacity and can reduce the cost.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to a first aspect is an image recording apparatus for recording image information sent from an external device on recording paper of a standard size, Input data storage means for storing compressed image information sent from an external device, and recording data for decoding the compressed image information stored in the input data storage means for recording page by page and storing it as image data. When the maximum number of lines that can be stored by the storage unit and the recording data storage unit is smaller than the maximum number of lines of one page that is normally sent from an external device, the number of lines of one page of input image information is the predetermined number of lines. Until it reaches, the input image information is directly decoded and stored in the recording data storage means.
When the number of lines of one page of the input image information exceeds a predetermined number of lines, the excess portion is decoded while thinning out at a predetermined reduction ratio and stored in the recording data storage means, and a decoding means. The image data stored in the recording data storage means is recorded on the recording paper according to the size of the recording paper set in the apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the recording means stores the image data stored in the recording data storage means on a recording sheet set in the apparatus. It is recorded on a recording sheet as it is or after being reduced according to the sheet size.

Further, in the image recording apparatus according to claim 3, in the configuration according to claim 1 or 2, the recording means has a line number of one page of the input image information exceeding a predetermined line number. When thinned out, at least the thinned-out image data is recorded on the recording paper without being reduced.

Further, in the image recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the number of lines of one page of the input image information is thinned out beyond a predetermined number of lines, and the external device outputs the information. Whether the number of lines of image information sent is equal to the number of lines that can be recorded on the recording paper set in the device,
Alternatively, if it is smaller than that, the recording means enlarges the thinned-out image data among the image data stored in the recording data storage means and records the other image data as it is on the recording paper.

[0010]

According to the image recording apparatus having the above structure, the input image information composed of the compressed data is temporarily stored in the input data storage means, and the compressed data is decoded by the decoding means to be 1 It is stored in the recording data storage means as image data in page units. At that time, the decoding means decodes the input image information as it is until the number of lines of one page of the input image information reaches the predetermined number of lines, and the number of lines of one page of the input image information is the predetermined line. When the number exceeds the number, the exceeded portion is thinned and decoded at a predetermined reduction ratio. Then, the decrypted data is recorded by the recording means including reduction / enlargement according to the paper size of the recording paper set in the apparatus, so the maximum number of lines that can be stored in the recording data storage means. However, even if it is smaller than the maximum number of lines of one page normally sent from an external device, it will not be unnecessarily divided and recorded.

According to the image recording apparatus of claim 2,
The image data decrypted as in the image recording apparatus according to claim 1 and stored in the recording data storage means is stored in a large size according to the sheet size of the recording sheet set in the apparatus by the recording means. Or, since it is reduced to an appropriate size and recorded on the recording sheet, the image on the recording sheet is not reduced more than necessary, and unnecessary division recording is not performed.

Further, according to the image recording apparatus of claim 3, when the number of lines of one page of the input image information exceeds a predetermined number of lines, the image recording apparatus of claim 1 or 2 is provided. The data is decrypted and stored in the recording data storage means. Then, the recording means records the image data thinned and stored at least at a predetermined reduction rate on the recording sheet without reducing the image data. Therefore, the image data stored in the recording data storage means is recorded on the recording sheet. Even when the image data needs to be reduced and recorded, the thinned and stored image data is not further reduced (thinned), and the portion is not separated from the input image information.

According to the image recording apparatus of the fourth aspect, when the number of lines of one page of the input image information exceeds the predetermined number of lines, the image recording apparatus of the first aspect decodes it. It is stored in the recording data storage means. And
Whether the number of lines of image information sent from an external device is equal to the number of lines that can be recorded on the recording paper set in the device,
Alternatively, if it is smaller than that, the recording unit enlarges the thinned-out image data among the image data stored in the recording data storage unit, and the other image data is recorded on the recording paper in the same size. Since the image is recorded, the image recorded on the recording sheet becomes almost the same as the image information sent from the external device, and the user does not feel uncomfortable.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the image recording apparatus of the present invention is embodied in a facsimile machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus. This facsimile machine has a function as a page printer that prints and records the image data received from another facsimile machine on a recording paper of a fixed size set in the printer in page units by using a laser beam, and reads a document, It has the function of transmitting image data.

As shown in FIG. 1, NCU (network control unit)
A modem 1 is connected to the telephone line 2 and controls a transmission / reception operation with respect to the telephone line 2. A modem 3 communicates data with the telephone line 2 via the NCU 1 to modulate / demodulate the transmission / reception data. The transmission / reception buffer 4 as an input data storage means is a memory for temporarily storing the compressed transmission / reception data, the encoding unit 5 encodes the image data to be transmitted, and the decoding unit 6 receives the received image. This is a circuit for decoding data. The image memory 7 as a recording data storage means is also called a recording buffer, and is a memory for decoding the compressed data stored in the transmission / reception buffer 4 for recording and storing it in page units.

The recording paper size detection sensor 8 is a sensor for detecting the size of the recording paper set in the apparatus.
The printer 9 as a recording unit is a device that records the image data stored in the image memory 7 on a recording sheet. The scanner 10 is a device that reads an image of a document and extracts image data. The operation unit 11 includes various setting keys operated by the user and a display panel. CPU12
Controls the above-mentioned respective parts to execute the operation of the facsimile machine, and the ROM 13 is a memory storing the control program thereof. The RAM 14 is a memory that temporarily stores various data when an operation is executed. In a specific area of the RAM 14, a work area such as a line buffer 14a that stores image data of one line at the time of recording processing and a line counter 14b that counts the number of lines. Is provided. The signal bus 15 is a signal line that transfers various signals and data between the above-mentioned units.

Next, the operation at the time of reception in the facsimile apparatus configured as described above will be described. First, the flow of data upon reception will be described with reference to FIG. When an incoming call is made from a sending side facsimile device (not shown) via the telephone line 2, the NCU 1 connects the line,
Receives compressed image information. The received image information signal is
The data is demodulated by the modem 3 and stored in the reception buffer 4 as compressed data. When the recording operation follows the receiving operation,
The compressed data accumulated in the reception buffer 4 is stored in the CPU 12
Decoding processing (decoding) is performed by the decoding unit 6 under the control of, and the image data is stored in the line buffer 14a one line at a time.
Image data for recording one page is stored in.

Next, an outline of the processing procedure of the reception operation will be given.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of the reception main processing shown in FIG. When this processing starts, first, the reception processing and RAM
14 various work areas are initialized (S
1) Then, initialization processing for decoding one page of image data is performed (S2). In this initialization process, the flags related to the line buffer 14a and the encoding system of the received signal are initialized, and further, at the time of recording determined by the size of the recording sheet set in the apparatus, the storage capacity of the recording buffer 7, and the like. The calculation of the reduction ratio is performed. The reduction process using this reduction ratio is referred to as "fixed reduction" in this specification.
That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the storage capacity required to store the number of lines of legal paper is A, the storage capacity of the recording buffer 7 is B, and the storage capacity B is smaller than the storage capacity B by a predetermined amount. Assuming that the storage capacity for (the number of lines corresponding to A4 size recording paper in this embodiment) is C,
The reduction rate of the fixed reduction is calculated by the arithmetic expression (BC) / (AC). For example, the reduction ratio of fixed reduction is 50.
%, One line out of every two lines is a thinning line, and the data of the thinning line is not transferred to the recording buffer 7.

Next, the decoding process for one page is performed (S3). After that, it is checked whether or not the decoding processing of all pages is completed (S4), and if there are remaining pages, S
Returning to step 2, the same processing is repeated, and when the processing of all pages is completed, the reception processing is ended. In this embodiment,
When the maximum number of lines that can be stored in the recording buffer 7 is smaller than the maximum number of lines of recording paper that can be set in the device, and the number of lines of one page of received image information exceeds the predetermined number of lines. The excess portion is thinned while being decoded and stored in the recording buffer 7, and the reduction ratio obtained by the above calculation is used at this time.

Next, the decoding process (S
Details of 3) will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In this process, first, the decoding process for one line is performed and stored in the line buffer 14a (S11), it is checked whether the decoding is normally performed (S12), and if the decoding is normally performed (S12). Then, it is checked whether or not the number of lines sequentially counted by the line counter 14b exceeds the predetermined number of lines each time it is decoded (S13). If the counted number of lines does not exceed the predetermined number of lines (NO in S13), the image data of one line is transferred from the line buffer 14a to the recording buffer 7, and the value of the line counter 14b is increased (S1).
5) Next, it is checked whether or not there is a page end code signal in the line (S16). If there is no page end code signal (NO in S16), the process returns to S11.
Similar processing is repeated.

When the number of lines counted in S13 exceeds the predetermined number of lines (YES in S13), the lines being processed are thinned lines so that fixed reduction is performed by thinning at the reduction ratio obtained above. If so (YE in S14
S), without executing the process of S15, that is, without sending the image data of the one line to the recording buffer 7, the process proceeds to S16, and if the line being processed is not the thinning line (NO in S14), Go to S15, 1
After transferring the line image data to the recording buffer 7, S
Proceed to 16. In this way, when the predetermined number of lines is exceeded, the maximum number of lines that can be stored in the recording buffer 7 is smaller than the maximum number of lines that can be stored in the recording buffer 7 by performing thinning and fixed reduction. In this case, the data for one page can be expanded in the recording buffer 7 without being divided.

If it is determined in S16 that there is a page end signal (YES in S16), the line counter 1
It is checked whether the value of 4b is equal to or more than the predetermined number of lines (S1
7) If the value of the line counter 14b is not equal to or greater than the predetermined number of lines (NO in S17), the reduction (including the same size) is performed at a reduction ratio that is exactly the size of the recording paper set in the apparatus. (This reduction is referred to as "automatic reduction" in this specification.
An automatic reduction flag for setting (S1)
8). If the value of the line counter 14b is equal to or larger than the predetermined number of lines (YES in S17), the fixed reduction flag is set (S19) and the process returns to the main process. The recording flags of the automatic reduction flag and the fixed reduction flag are both used in the later-described recording process executed in the interrupt process. The decoding means of the present invention is the decoding unit 6 of FIG.
And corresponds to the processing of S11, S13 to S19 and the like.

Next, the timing of starting the recording process will be described with reference to FIG. The recording process is performed in the interrupt process according to the result of the next determination process performed in a predetermined cycle. That is, it is determined whether the reception of the data for one page is completed, that is, whether the expansion of the data into the recording buffer 7 is completed (S21), and the received data is defined by the storage capacity of the recording buffer 7. It is determined whether or not one page of data has been exceeded, that is, whether or not one page of data has not been filled in the recording buffer 7 (S22). A recording process is performed based on each of the recording flags (S
23).

Next, the recording process when the above-mentioned automatic reduction flag and fixed reduction flag are set will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the recording buffer 7 is a recording paper of the maximum size that can be set in the apparatus,
For example, it is assumed that the storage capacity of the number of lines is less than the number of lines of legal paper. Note that, as described above, the storage capacity C is fixedly reduced by thinning after exceeding the predetermined line so that the received data is not divided into two pages when the received data is image data of legal paper. Is to start.

When the received data is the image data of legal paper, one page of data cannot be stored in the recording buffer 7 in the conventional art, so that the recording has to be divided and recorded. Then, the received data up to the storage capacity C is stored in the recording buffer 7 as it is, the received data up to the storage capacity B to the storage capacity C is decoded by fixed reduction and stored in the recording buffer 7, and the fixed reduction flag is set. Set. Then, by the interrupt process, the image data expanded in the recording buffer 7 is reduced (including the same size) print recording at a reduction ratio such that the image data can be exactly included in the recording paper set in the apparatus in the printer 9. As a result, the received data for one page will not be unnecessarily divided and recorded.

When the received data for one page fits in the storage capacity C of the recording buffer 7, the received data is directly decoded and stored in the recording buffer 7, the automatic reduction flag is set, and in the recording process. Automatic reduction recording is performed by the printer 9 at a reduction ratio (including equal size) that matches the size of the recording paper set in the apparatus. In addition,
In the recording process, when the fixed reduction flag is set, it is possible to print the recording paper set in the device in the same size without reducing the number of lines exceeding the predetermined number and reducing the thinned image data. To
For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, reduction recording may be performed so that the remaining non-thinned image data is exactly in the area of the recording paper excluding the recording area of the thinned image data. By such processing, the recording buffer 7
Even when the image data stored in is recorded on the recording paper after being reduced, the thinned image data will not be further reduced and recorded. Recording quality does not deteriorate,
It is never separated from the input image information.

If legal paper or larger recording paper is set in the apparatus when the fixed reduction flag is set, it is stored in the recording buffer 7 as shown in FIG. 7 (c). The image data up to the predetermined number of lines may be printed and recorded as it is, and the image data thinned out beyond the predetermined number of lines may be enlarged (the reciprocal of the fixed reduction ratio) and printed and recorded. By such processing, among the image data stored in the recording buffer 7, the thinned-out image data is enlarged and the other image data is recorded in the same size, so that it is sent from the external device. The image information and the image recorded on the recording paper have almost the same size, and the user does not feel a lot of discomfort.

In FIG. 7A, the number of lines up to a predetermined number is set so that the recording paper set in the apparatus exceeds the predetermined number of lines and the thinned image data can be printed and recorded as it is without being reduced. The image data may be appropriately reduced and recorded. Further, when the fixed reduction flag is set and the legal paper is set in the device, the image data up to the default number of lines stored in the recording buffer 7 is printed and recorded as it is, and the default number of lines is set. The image data that has been crossed and thinned may be enlarged and printed. This is shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7, (a) shows a data storage state in the recording buffer 7 when the recording buffer 7 has a storage capacity corresponding to an A4 size recording sheet and data of a sheet of a legal size is received. 9B and 9C show how the above data is recorded when the paper set in the apparatus is letter paper or legal paper.

When the fixed reduction is performed on the portion exceeding the storage capacity C, one page at that time is thinned out from the middle of the page, so that if the number of thinning lines is too large, the coarseness and density will be conspicuous. Therefore, the default line of the storage procedure C must be set so that the fixed reduction ratio does not become too small.

The automatic reduction rate may be obtained by the recording sheet length / the number of received lines, but it may be divided into several groups in advance and a predetermined reduction rate may be used for each group. Further, if the automatic reduction ratio becomes too small, the recording quality deteriorates. Therefore, it is possible to set it in the range of, for example, 75 to 100%. If the reduction ratio is less than 75%, it is not possible to reduce it completely and 100 is not reduced. Recording may be performed by dividing by%. Also, when the automatic reduction ratio becomes smaller than the predetermined value, division recording is performed, or
Alternatively, it may be made possible to switch between reduction recording and the reduction ratio.

In the above embodiment, the recording paper length is detected by the recording paper size detection sensor 8. However, the user operates the switch of the operation unit 11 to selectively set the recording paper size. It may be registered in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 14. When data of a long object longer than legal paper is received, that is, the recording buffer 7
If the data for one page does not fit in, the data will be divided and recorded at 100% without being reduced, but the processing is as follows, assuming that the received data exceeds one page in S22 of FIG. This is performed by a division recording subroutine (not shown).

[0032]

As described above, according to the image recording apparatus of claim 1, when the recording data storage means is usually smaller than the maximum number of lines of one page sent from the external device,
The input image information is stored as it is until the number of lines of one page of the input image information is up to a predetermined number, and the portion exceeding the predetermined number of lines is reduced and stored while being thinned and stored in the recording data storage means. Since the data is recorded according to the size of the recording paper, it is possible to reduce the possibility that one page of data cannot be stored in the recording data storage means and is unnecessarily divided and recorded. Since the capacity of the recording data storage means is sufficient, the cost can be reduced.

According to the image recording apparatus of claim 2,
In addition to the above effects, printing is performed in an appropriate size without being unnecessarily reduced according to the image data and the recording paper size, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration of print quality.

Further, according to the image recording apparatus of claim 3, in addition to the effect of claim 1 or claim 2, the image data stored in the recording data storage means is reduced and recorded on the recording paper. Even if this is not the case, the thinned image data will not be further reduced and recorded, so the recording quality of the thinned and stored image data will not deteriorate, and the thinned image data will be separated from the input image information. Never be.

According to the image recording apparatus of claim 4, in addition to the effect of claim 1, among the image data stored in the recording data storage means, the thinned-out image data is enlarged, Since the image data is recorded in the same size, the image information sent from the external device and the image recorded on the recording paper have almost the same size, and the user does not feel a sense of discomfort.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data flow in the device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a reception main process in the same device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a one-page decoding process in the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of recording determination processing in the same apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a recording reduction method in the apparatus.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams showing a data storage state in a recording buffer and printing on letter paper and legal paper in the same apparatus.

8A and 8B are diagrams showing image information sent by a conventional apparatus and a state in which the image information is printed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Send / Receive Buffer 6 Decoding Unit 7 Image Memory (Record Buffer) 9 Printer 12 CPU 14 RAM 14b Line Counter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus for recording image information sent from an external device on recording paper of a standard size, and input data storage means for storing the compressed image information sent from the external device, and its input. The compressed image information stored in the data storage means is set to 1
The maximum number of lines that can be stored by the recording data storage unit that stores the image data as the image data after decoding in page units is the maximum number of lines of one page that is normally sent from the external device. If it is smaller than the above, until the number of lines of one page of the input image information reaches the predetermined number of lines, the input image information is directly decoded and stored in the recording data storage means, and the line of one page of the input image information is also stored. When the number exceeds the predetermined number of lines, the exceeded portion is decoded while thinning out at a predetermined reduction ratio and stored in the recording data storage means, and is decoded by the decoding means. A recording unit that records the image data stored in the recording data storage unit on the recording sheet according to the sheet size of the recording sheet set in the apparatus. The image recording apparatus according to symptoms. 2. The recording means records the image data stored in the recording data storage means on the recording paper as it is or after being reduced according to the paper size of the recording paper set in the apparatus. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. When the number of lines of one page of the input image information is thinned out in excess of a predetermined number of lines, at least the thinned image data is recorded on a recording sheet without being reduced. The information is recorded.
Alternatively, the image recording apparatus according to claim 2. 4. The number of lines of one page of the input image information is thinned out beyond a predetermined number of lines, and the number of lines of image information sent from the external device is recorded on a recording sheet set in the device. When the number of lines is equal to or smaller than the possible number of lines, the recording unit enlarges the thinned-out image data among the image data stored in the recording data storage unit and stores other image data. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is recorded on the recording sheet as it is.