JPH0997143A - Printer printing system using hardware rip device connected to lan - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide plural printer devices which have the same print quality as a language processing printer device by connecting a single hardware RIP device to a LAN. SOLUTION: The print signals sent from the computer devices 1 and 2 are once received by a hardware RIP device 14 connected to a LAN 15, and the signals received by an internal receiving communication interface device of the device 14 undergo the language processing via an interpreter. This processing result is rasterized and stored in a page memory equivalent to a single page, and the data stored in the page memory are sent again to the LAN line by the receiving communication interface device via a signal line 22. These data are received by the non-PDL printer devices 12 and 13 connected to the LAN 15 and printed. In such a signal processing way, even the printer devices 12 and 13 can print the beautiful characters, pictures, etc., on the print forms since a non-PDL is converted into a PDL before the print processing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an LA in which a plurality of computer devices and one or a plurality of printer devices are connected.
The present invention relates to the use of a hardware raster image processing device (hereinafter referred to as a "hardware RIP device") for improving the printing quality of the printer in an N (Local Area Network) system, and a connection technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since a hardware RIP device connected to a conventional printer device is an adapter type device connected in the middle of a computer device and a printer device due to its characteristic, a hardware RIP device is attached to one printer device. It is necessary to connect one device for exclusive use. Therefore, when connecting on a LAN, it is necessary to connect a hardware RIP device between the LAN terminal and the printer device. If this method is not used, the printer device receives the feature of the hardware RIP device, that is, the feature that the printer device of the non-page description language printer is processed by the page description language (hereinafter referred to as "PDL") to improve the print quality. I couldn't.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to improve the print quality of PDL-processed non-PDL printer devices unless one hardware RIP device is connected to each printer device. In order to solve problems such as being unable to have features, the hardware RIP
An interface device for communication is built in the device, and a signal subjected to hardware raster image processing (hereinafter referred to as "HRI processing") is transmitted on a LAN line, and the signal on the LAN line is transmitted. The above problem is solved by making it possible for any of the received printer devices to receive the print quality subjected to the HRI processing.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above problems and has the following structure.
That is, a plurality of computer devices and one or more non-P
A DL printer device, a LAN connecting the above devices,
A hardware RIP device connected on the LAN, and a communication interface device for transmitting and receiving signals from the LAN circuit, an interpreter unit, a raster rice unit, a font data unit, The feature is that a page memory unit and the like are provided.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, the print signal from the computer device is temporarily accepted by the hardware RIP device connected to the LAN, and the communication interface for reception inside the hardware RIP device. A signal received by the device is subjected to language processing by an interpreter, the processing result is rasterized, and then recorded in a page memory for one page, and the recorded data is again transmitted to a LAN interface by a communication interface device for transmission. Send on,
The non-PDL printer device connected to the LAN receives and prints on the printer device. By performing the above-described signal processing, even in a printer device for non-PDL processing, the hardware RIP device performs processing from non-PDL to PDL, and then print printing is performed, so that beautiful characters, line drawings, etc. are printed on paper. It can be done.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows computer devices # 1, # 2, workstation devices, and hardware R connected to a LAN.
An example of connection of various devices when the IP device, printer device # 1, and each device # 2 are connected. FIG. 2 shows a connection example when a hardware RIP device is connected to the printer device of FIG. FIG. 3 shows a connection example of the hardware RIP device in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of main functions inside a hardware RIP device. FIG. 4 shows a connection example of a hardware RIP device and a printer device connected to a conventional LAN. FIG. 5 is a connection diagram of the hardware RIP device in FIG. 4 and a main functional block diagram inside the hardware RIP device. A conventional example is shown in FIG. In the drawing, a connected inkjet type printer device 17 is connected on a LAN 15 via computer devices 1 and 2, workstations 3 and 4, a dot impact type printer device 12, and a hardware RIP device 14. The dot impact type printer device 12 is installed mainly for the purpose of outputting forms and the like. The inkjet printer device 17 is connected mainly for the purpose of printing a document or the like containing a line drawing.

In the operation example, when a print execution instruction is given from the computer device 1, the printer device 12 is mainly designated in the case of printing a form or the like according to the content of the print execution instruction from the computer device side, but a document containing a line drawing. Will specify the printer device 17. As an example, when the printer device 17 is designated, the signal from the computer device 1 is transmitted to the LAN line 15 via the LAN terminal 5 and
Input from the terminal 6 to the hardware RIP device 14.
(See also FIG. 5 below.) A print signal input from the LAN terminal 6 is input to the hardware RIP device 14. The print signal input to the hardware RIP device 14 is sent to the communication interface 4
1 is input to the interpreter 42 (the input selector switch 53 is an input terminal capable of directly inputting a signal from the computer device 2 to the hardware RIP device 14, and an input from the communication interface 41. Or the input from the computer device 2, and the switch for switching the input destination by software). The interpreter 42 converts the font information into the necessary outline font based on the input font information and rasterizes 43
Various processing according to parameters such as font type / character size / resolution of device to be output (reduction / enlargement, hinting [correction], rotation / italic, contour coordinate data, correction / contour point generation, filling, etc.) Is executed, and the processing result is expanded in a page memory (also called a bit map memory) 46 configured by a memory in a bit unit and in a page unit. The expanded contents of the page memory 46 are line-sequential operation signals (also called video signals).
Output by the control code conversion device 48 and converted into a control code that can be input by the printer device 17 and transmitted to the printer device 17 to complete the printing execution.

The above is the conventional print execution procedure. In the present invention, however, the print signal input from the LAN terminal 6 is stored in the hardware RIP device 14 in the same manner as the HRI processing procedure described in the conventional example. HRI with PDL
The line-sequential signal output of the page memory 46 that has been processed is
It is intended to transmit again to the LAN line via the signal line 23 via the transmitting communication interface device 49. That is, a print signal such as a document created by the computer device 1 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is transmitted by designating one of the printer devices 13 and 16 via the LAN line 15. Whichever printer device (except the dot impact printer device 12) is designated, it is first input to the hardware RIP device 14, and the input print signal is received by the communication interface 41 for reception.
Is input to the interpreter 42 via. The interpreter 42 converts the font information into a necessary outline font signal based on the input font information, and rasterizes 43 various kinds of processing (reduction / enlargement, reduction / enlargement, according to parameters such as font type / character size / device resolution to be output). Hinting [correction], rotation / slanting, contour coordinate data, correction / contour generation, filling, etc.) are executed, and the processing result is developed in the bit-wise page memory 46.

When the printer device 16 is designated, the expanded page print contents of the page memory 46 are output to the printer device 16 via the control code conversion circuit 48 as in the conventional example. As another example, when the printer device 13 is designated, the line-sequential operation signal is input to the communication interface device 49 for transmission, and L
The signal is converted so as to be transmitted to the designated printer device 13 via the AN line 15, transferred to the designated printer device 13, and the printout is output from the device. As another embodiment, when a computer device group is connected by a LAN, one of them is generally set as a host computer device, but an example in that case is shown in FIG. In the case of FIG. 2, the computer device 2 is set as the host computer device. That is, when the execution of the print printing is instructed from the case of another computer device 1, the workstation 3, or the other computer 4, the computer device 2 and the line 2 are once transmitted from the LAN 15.
4 is input to the hardware RIP device 14 and the converted output by the PDL is the LAN line 1 as in the above embodiment.
The execution of printing is instructed by the designated printer device via 5.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of printer devices having no PDL processing can be PDL processed by one hardware RIP device.
Only one hardware RIP compared to the conventional method that required one hardware RIP device for each base
In the device, since a plurality of printer devices can be made to have a print quality equivalent to that of the language processing type printer device, a plurality of minus one hardware RI
It is possible to save the P device and to make the non-PDL processing type printer device a language processing type printer device. Therefore, it is not necessary to equip each printer device with a hardware RIP device, all non-language processing printer devices connected to the LAN can be used as language processing printer devices, and so on. I don't know.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a connection example when computer devices # 1 and # 2, workstation devices # 1 and # 2, a hardware RIP device, printer device devices # 1 and # 2 are connected to a LAN.

2 is a connection example when a printer device is independently connected to the hardware RIP device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary connection diagram of the hardware RIP device in FIG. 2 and a main functional block diagram inside the hardware RIP device.

FIG. 4 is a connection example of a hardware RIP device and a printer device connected to a conventional LAN.

5 is a block diagram of the hardware RIP device in FIG. 4 and a main functional block diagram inside the hardware RIP device 1-4, a computer device or workstation device 511 connected to a LAN, and each device is connected. LAN connection terminals 12, 13, 16, 17, printer device 14, hardware RIP device 15, LAN lines 41, 49, LAN communication interface device 42, interpreter 43, rasterization 44, 45, font data 46, page Memory 48, conversion circuit for converting line-sequential data into printer control code

Claims (3)

[Claims] Network not limited to LAN 1. A LAN (Local Ar) in which a plurality of computer devices and one or a plurality of printer devices are connected.
ea Network) system, a hardware raster image processing (hereinafter referred to as “hardware RIP”) device is connected to the LAN, and print data from the computer device is input to the hardware RIP device to print the page. Hardware raster in description language
A printer in which a hardware RIP device is connected to a LAN, which is characterized in that after image processing is performed, the print data that has been subjected to the hardware raster image processing is sent to a printer device connected to the LAN for print output. Printing system. 2. A printer device having a built-in hardware RIP device, wherein image-processed print data of the hardware RIP device in the printer device connected to a LAN system is not transmitted to an engine section of the printer device. A hardware RIP device built in a printer device characterized by transmitting to another printer device on the connected LAN system 3. A LAN system in which a plurality of computer devices and one or a plurality of printer devices are connected,
A hardware RIP device is connected to the host computer device of the LAN system, print data from the host computer device is input to the hardware RIP device, and hardware raster image processing in a page description language is performed. Hardware connected to a hardware RIP device and / or hardware to a LAN characterized in that print data that has been subjected to the hardware raster image processing is sent to a printer device connected to the LAN for print output. Printer printing system with RIP device connected.