JPH01191572A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lay out character code data and bit map data or compressed image data and to output at a high speed by constituting an image processing system with an input controller, a file server, an image setter, and a work station and providing each of said elements with an independent CPU. CONSTITUTION:The image processing system is constituted of the input controller 100, the file server 200, the image setter 400, and the work station 300, and each is provided with each of the CPUs 101, 201, 401, 301 (microprocessor, microcomputer, etc.), hence, respective elements can be operated independently or concurrently with each other. Therefore, a high-speed and efficient image processing can be realized, also, graphic design and characters can be totally edited through interactive operation, furthermore, the capacity of a memory can be maximally reduced, and a high-quality image can be obtained in form of a hard copy or a block copy for printing through working for a short time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Purpose of the Invention; (Industrial Application Field) This invention lays out and outputs a character image formed from code data and a bitmap image formed from compressed data or uncompressed data. The present invention relates to an image generation device in an image processing system.

(Prior art) As an image processing system for printing companies that demand high quality, conventionally there is no system that comprehensively integrates and edits images such as characters and designs, or even if it exists, the ability is low and it is not practical. It wasn't on point. In particular, the field of desktop publishing is becoming possible with page description languages such as host scripts, but the capabilities and performance in the field of images are low. Although there are systems for printing companies, they are not sufficient to handle large amounts of data at high speed (human-powered display, storage, IA processing, editing, output, etc.). The reason for this is that the description language for integrated processing of characters and images,
To support processing by CPU (software),
This is because there is too much data to process, resulting in a lack of performance. To create a printing version, if you want to output only code data, you must convert each character to a bitmap and also develop each several rasters into a bitmap in advance. All or part of the image is stored in a temporary buffer and sent to the output device, and in order to reduce the memory capacity of the buffer, the output device waits while the image is stored in the output image buffer. It has become.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, with the device described above, it is not possible to layout and output text and pictures at the same time, and even if a character bitmap is laid out in advance on the buffer that outputs the bitmap, this cannot be realized. The drawback was that it took a lot of time. Alternatively, the characters and pictures are output on separate pieces of paper or film, and the operator cuts them on the paper or film. For this reason, repeated operations such as exposure and printing are many and time consuming, and the intermediately produced photosensitive material is wasted.

This invention was made due to the circumstances mentioned above,
An object of the present invention is to layout and output character code data and bitmap data or compressed image data at high speed in an image processing system that electronically interactively edits a large amount of character and picture image data at high speed. An object of the present invention is to provide an image generation device.

Structure of the Invention; (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to an image generation device in an image processing system that layouts and outputs character images formed from code data and bitmap images formed from compressed data. The above object of the present invention is to provide a first memory for accumulating output image data, a raster image converter for converting the code data into bitmap data, and temporarily storing the output data of the raster image converter. Second to do
a memory, a decompressor that decompresses the compressed data and converts it into bitmap data, a third memory that temporarily stores the output data of the decompressor, and a third memory that manually stores the data of the bitmap itself temporarily. a fourth memory; and the second memory. Third. Transfer means for transferring data from a fourth memory to a designated area on the first memory; and logical operation means for performing a bit-by-bit logical operation on the transfer data and data stored in the first memory when transferring the data. This is achieved by providing a sequencer that operates each of the devices in a predetermined order.

(Function) The image processing system of the present invention consists of an input controller, a file server, an imagesetter, and a workstation, each of which is equipped with an independent CPU (microprocessor, microcomputer, etc.), so each part can be operated independently. Moreover, they can be operated in parallel, and high-speed and efficient image processing can be realized. Moreover,
It is possible to comprehensively interactively edit patterns, characters, etc., minimize memory capacity, and obtain high-quality images as hard copies or printing plates in a short time.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an image processing system according to the present invention, in which density data D of an image obtained by reading a document with a pattern of 9 characters, 1 figure, etc. using a human-powered device 1 such as a scanner is shown.
D is input to the input controller 100, and the input controller 100 halftones the input density data DO through the built-in (:Pt1101) in the halftone conversion circuit 102, further compresses it in the compression circuit 103, and then temporarily stores it in the buffer 104. After that, it is transferred via the 5C5I bus and stored on the magnetic tape 210 of the file server 200 or the hard disks 220, 221, etc. The input controller 100 is for temporary storage of data. The file server 200 has a local disk (hard disk) 105.The file server 200 has a CPt 1201,
It is connected to other devices via interfaces 202-205. Further, the code information CD of characters and the like obtained by the editing input device 2 such as a word processor or typesetting machine is stored on the floppy disk 3 and then read out and manually inputted to the workstation 30 (l). (:RT301 as a display means, a keyboard 302 as a manual operation means, a mouse 30B and a digitizer 303, and a hard disk 3 as a storage means)
04, a floppy disk 305, and each workstation 300 has an Et.
It is mutually connected to the file server 200 via hernet. CR obtained by input controller 100
The image data thinned out for T display and the image data for outline display are stored on a magnetic tape 210 or a hard disk 220,
221. . The files are transferred via the interface 200 of the file server 200.
An imagesetter 400 is further connected to the image setter 400 . That is, the imagesetter 400 is provided with a CPU 401, which is connected to the auxiliary data line 5 of the file server 200 via an interface 402, and to the 5C5I bus via an interface 403. The imagesetter 400 further includes a sequencer 410 and a buffer 411 for storing necessary data.
Connected to the imagesetter 400 are a high-quality output device 10 that outputs high-quality images and a laser beam printer 11 that outputs relatively low-quality images. The hard disks 220, 221, . . . store in advance fixed data (bitmap data) such as logos and emblems, and vector font data for character output.

By the way, in the input device 1, the picture (halftone image), line drawing 1
Both character images (binary images) are digitized using density data (8 bits/pixel). The signal input at 8 bits/pixel is converted into halftone dots by the human controller 100, and information of 4 bits/pixel is generated. A binary image is converted to 1 bit/pixel information. In addition, although characters are input from the workstation 300 using codes, the human-powered device 1
It may also be input as an image. Therefore, when input as an image, even characters are treated as an image (bitmap data).

All image output is performed by the imagesetter 400, but since the imagesetter 400 converts all code and vector information into bitmap data, the term image output is used to mean outputting bitmap data. become.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the image processing system related to the present invention. 51
), necessary code conversion is performed (step S2),
Keyboard 302. Mouse 306 and digitizer 30
Typesetting editing is performed through the predetermined operations in step 3 (step S3), the PPG output image is checked for the edited data (step S4), and the data is transferred to the image processing system (step 520). . Moreover, the above steps Sl, S2. S3. The data for which S4 has been executed is
It may also be manually input to the image processing system via the floppy disk 3. On the other hand, the original (manuscript) such as pictures and characters is read by the human-powered device 1 (steps 510 and 511).
, the read data is manually input to the image processing system (step 520). The code information CD and density data DD input to the image processing system are processed by a human controller 100 as described below. After being processed by the file server 20θ, workstation 300, and imagesetter 400, it is output as a proofing galley by the laser beam printer 11 (step 521), and the data is checked visually and corrected using the workstation 300 (step 522). ), the corrected data is transferred to and stored in the magnetic tape 210 or hard disk 220, 221, . . . of the image processing system (step 523). Then, a final proofreading galley is output for this stored correction data (step 524);
After that, the imposition of the film is outputted to the high-quality output device 10 (step 525), and pinhole correction is performed (step 530), and the imposition is performed, for example, on 4 sides of an A4 size sheet, and the printing film and print are printed. Paper and printing plates are obtained (step 531).

In this manner, the image processing system does not require manual pasting of drawings, photographs, etc., and also eliminates manual phototypesetting, so it is effective in terms of labor and material savings.

Next, the detailed configuration and operation of each part will be sequentially explained.

First, details of the input controller 100 will be explained with reference to FIG. , two types of data for display on the CRT 301 of the workstation 300, and five sets of graphic data coarse enough to indicate an outline. This is because the overall speed can be increased by performing simultaneous and parallel processing, and the data generation calculation load on the CPU I0I can be reduced by hardware. In other words, high-density data for the high-quality output device 10 is
21, the data is compressed in a compression circuit 1031, and the compressed data is temporarily stored in a buffer 1041.

In addition, data for outputting an image with the laser beam printer 11 of relatively low image quality is obtained by dividing the density data DD at predetermined intervals (
For example, the rough data is thinned out (110) at a rate of 1/3), the resulting rough data is halftone-dotted by a dot-forming circuit 1022, compressed by a compression circuit 1032, and then temporarily stored in a buffer 1042. Further, two types of coarser data to be displayed on the CRT 301 are obtained by thinning out the density data DD at predetermined intervals and then outputting them to the dot forming circuits 1023 and 1024, respectively.
, and temporarily save them in buffers 1043 and 1044, respectively. Furthermore, in the case of a line drawing for which a cutout mask is created from a halftone image, the image data after the love lacquer processing or unsharp mask processing that shows the contour data is thinned out ( 113), and then binarized by a binarization circuit 1025 and temporarily stored in a buffer 1045.

In such a configuration, the CPU I0I communicates with the input device 1 via a data line (not shown), and also communicates with the file server 200 via an auxiliary data line 4 and a dual port RAM (not shown). Then, when there is a data transmission request from the human-powered device 1, the PU
The IOI sets the necessary data for each circuit shown in FIG. 3, stores the setting data in the local disk 105,
Furthermore, setting values related to sub-scanning are set. Input device 1
The density data DD from DD is manually inputted line by line, and each circuit shown in FIG.
~l 045). During this time cputot is 5
Output buffer 104 for C5I bus switching and data compression
1 switch and check for error information from various circuits. -degree buffer 104 and local disk 10
The data stored in the 5C5I is sorted by CPU command and output to the external 5C5I bus.

Next, the operation of the file server 200 will be explained in detail.

The configuration of the file server 200 is shown in FIG. 1, and this file server 200 has common file management functions such as file management and file sharing, and communication control functions for network communication and inter-unit communication. There is. That is, the file server 200 is Sll:
The hard disk (220, 221
...), performs file management of the magnetic tape 210, has a software interface function with the workstation 300 via Ethernet, and also provides file management information services to the human controller 100 & imagesetter 400. and 5C
Performs utility functions for file management via the 5I bus. For example, font registration and SC5
This includes garbage collection (dust removal processing) of the I disk. There are two types of font registration here. One is the registration of fonts owned by the system, and this registration involves storing vector fonts created with other font creation systems in the form of magnetic tape on the hard disk of this image processing system.

The other is the registration of external character fonts. External character fonts are characters that do not exist within the system. In this case, fonts created in other systems are registered in this system from a floppy or magnetic tape.

The file server 200 provides services for transferring data between the workstation 300, the input controller 100, and the imagesetter 400, and stores data. Necessary information is obtained from the file server 200 regarding securing and deleting the area. To register the data once entered in the buffer 104 in the input controller 100 as a file in the image processing system, information such as the file name and file capacity is transferred to the file server 200, and the data is transferred to the hard disks 220, 221 . ... to access. Thereby, the file server 200 performs directory communication, disk area management, etc. The file server 200 also transfers file data to the workstation 300 and receives data from the workstation via Ethernet.

At this time, the file server 200 manages the hard disks (220, . . . ) and magnetic tape 210 on the SCSR bus, and updates necessary information such as directories, according to instructions from the workstation 300. It also obtains commands to the imagesetter 400 and commands to the magnetic tape 210, and performs services accordingly.

Furthermore, a predetermined command is sent to the imagesetter 400 via the auxiliary data line 5 and the dual port RAM, file management information is sent in response to a request from the imagesetter 400, and the disk data on the 5C5I bus is The image setter 400 accesses directly. Furthermore, utility information related to the entire image processing system is stored on the hard disks 220, 221 . Managed by...
Font information.

Common files on the system correspond to such information.

As shown in Figure 4, (:Pl) 201 and Ethernet
t's CPt1231 is 110 port 20B and Et
Data is exchanged using a shared memory 234 within the HERNET board 230.

FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) respectively show the file server 2
2 shows an example of communication operations between the 00 and the human-powered controller 100 and between the file server 200 and the imagesetter 400. That is, when the input controller 100 requests the file server 200 to write target image data (step 5200), the file server 200
transfers data write permission and the write address to which the data should be written to the input controller 100 (step 5).
201). In this case, permission to write data cannot be granted when the file names match or when the hard disk is full. When data write permission and write address are transferred from the file server 200,
The input controller 100 sends image data (compressed density data) to the hard disk 220.2 via the 5C5I bus.
21. ...or write to the specified address on the magnetic tape 210 (step 5202). Also, magnetic tape 21
0 or hard disk 220, 221. When reading data from and transferring it to the imagesetter 400, the imagesetter 400 first requests the file server 200 to read the target data (step 5).
210) Transfer permission for data reading and the read address of the data to be read to the imagesetter 400 (step 5211). And the file server 200 is 5
The data is read from the specified address via the csr bus and transferred to the imagesetter 400 (step 521).
2).

Next, the operation of the workstation 300 will be explained with reference to the flow shown in FIG. 6. Document data edited and stored on the editing machine 2 is read out from the floppy disk 3 (step 5310), and the document data The code information CD is subjected to data format conversion (step 5311). And 1 to CRT301
Display the document contents for one page (step 5312),
Move the image data output position using the mouse 306. keyboard 302
．． Step 5313) as instructed by the digitizer 303)
, create page description data for each page (step 5314).

Such data creation is performed for all pages (step 5315), and then an imposition instruction for creating a printing block is given using the keyboard 302 (step 5316).
, creates imposed page description data (step 5317). Then, the created data is transferred to the file server 200 (step 5318), and the image setter 400 is instructed to output an image, thereby terminating the operation (step 5319).

Next, an example of the imposition operation will be explained with reference to FIG.

The workstation 300 has hard disks 220, 221 . . . . (step 5330), and document data from the floppy disk 3 (step 5331).
, the necessary information is displayed on the CRT 301 of the workstation 300, and the mouse 306 . keyboard 302,
The digitizer 303 is operated to layout one image document page by page (step 5332). and,
The type of imposition registered in advance is specified using the keyboard 302 (step 5333), and the specified imposition is set to the state (step 5333).
For example, each page is displayed in layout along with the page number on the CRT 301 as shown in FIG. 3A-D (step 5334).
. Here, the imposition registration is stored with a page number assigned in advance, taking into account folding when binding multiple pages, such as 4 sides of A4 size or 8 sides of A5 size, for example.
By selecting and specifying from among the registrations, the imposition status is set to the page number (1 in B) as shown in A-D in Figure 7.
”, “8”, 5”, and “4”). In this way, contents such as images and characters are not displayed, and the imagesetter 40
0, a bitmap is generated and output (step 5335).

Finally, the detailed configuration and operation of the imagesetter 400 related to the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of an imagesetter 400, in which a CPU bus 412 and an image data bus 413 are connected to a sequencer 410, and a logic operation circuit 420 and a first memory 421 are also connected. Also, C
A main memory 430 for (:PI]4ot is connected to the PU bus 412, a common memory 424 is connected to the image data bus 413, and an "interface 402" is connected to the PU bus 412.
The outputs of 403 and 403 are input to the CPU bus 412. A buffer 433 . is provided between the CPU bus 412 and the image data bus 413 . Decompressor 440 and third memory 42
3 are connected, and buffers 434 . A raster image converter 431 and a second memory 422 are connected, and a buffer 435 and an output control circuit 436 are connected.

A vector font memory 432 is connected to the CPU bus 412, and an output buffer 436 is connected to the output control circuit 436.
A high-quality output device IO and a laser beam printer 11 are connected via ^.

Vector font memory 432 stores vector fonts necessary for generating character bitmaps by raster image converter 431. A character bitmap is generated using the following steps.

(2) Retrieving a vector font from the vector font memory 432 and writing it into the buffer 434;

(2) Setting commands such as one rotation of the size of the character bitmap to be generated in the buffer 434;

■Start the raster image converter 431.

(2) A predetermined character bitmap is generated in the second memory 422.

Normally vector fonts are disks (220, 221, .
), but it is inefficient to read vector fonts via the 5C5I bus every time a character bitmap is generated, so all necessary vector fonts should be read into the vector font memory 432 in advance. This improves the speed of character bitmap generation.

In such a configuration, its operation is as shown in FIG. First, an output instruction request is output from the file server 200 to the imagesetter 400 via the auxiliary data line 5, using the file names in the hard disks 220, 221, . . . as parameters. The specifications to be output from now on are written in that file, and the specifications are sequentially decoded to calculate the address of the code data and compressed data for each unit image, and the overlapping process using logical operations is repeated on the addresses. The processing results are stored in the first memory 421. Imagesetter 400 calls the parameter file via the 5csr bus and repeats this operation. For example, regarding code data, character codes and instruction information such as position, font, size, etc. are input via the S (:SI) interface 403 (step 5400).
), raster image converter 4 via buffer 434
31, the raster image is converted (step 5401).
, the raster image data is stored in the second memory 422 (step 5402).

Further, the compressed image data is manually input via the interface 403 via the 5C5I bus (step 54).
03), the data is expanded and restored by the decompressor 440 via the buffer 433 (step S4'04), and the restored image data is stored in the third memory 423 (
Step 5405). Furthermore, the hard disk 220.
221. Bitmap data such as logos stored in... are input via the interface 403 (step 5406) and stored in the common memory 424 (step 5407). Second memory 422 to common memory 42
All of the data stored in 4 is bitmap data, and these stored data are logically operated by the logic operation circuit 420 via the CPO 401 (step 5410).
Data subjected to logical operations such as 9 editing or image processing of pictures, documents, etc. is stored in the first memory 421 (
Step 5411). After the data is stored in the first memory 421, it is determined whether or not it is finished, that is, whether there is any modification, addition, etc. (step 5412), and the above operation is continued until the logical operation such as modification is completed. This logic operation circuit 4
20 is bitmap data generated from character code data, bitmap data expanded from compressed image data, and sum, product, and difference of bitmap data.

It performs logical operations such as exclusive OR in cooperation with the CPt 14 (11) to generate image information to be outputted to the output device 10 or laser beam printer 11.

Note that the CPO 401 is connected to the hard disks 220, 221 . The layout instruction information is inputted from the second memory 422.
- Transfer area setting information is sent to the common memory 424 and logic operation circuit 420, and a start signal is sent to the raster image converter 431 and decompressor 440.

FIG. 1O shows a more detailed circuit configuration of the logic operation circuit 420, and an example of its operation will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

Data sent through CPU bus 412 is sent to mode registers 451 . Constant register 454. Preset counters 460 and 462. The output of the mode register 451 is input to the address counter 463, and the output of the mode register 451 is input to the bit controller 452, which operates a barrel shifter 457 that performs high-speed shifting. The output of address counter 463 is input to multiplexer 464. Further, the output of the bit controller 452 is input to a mask pattern gate 453 that outputs fixed data.
The output data of 3 is inputted to the multiplexer 459 and inputted from the comparator 461, and is input to the constant register 4.
Constant data from 54 is input to multiplexer 455. Data FD read from first memory 421
is sent to the arithmetic bus and inputted to the multiplexer 455, the output MXI of the multiplexer 455 is inputted to the arithmetic circuit 458 which performs a logical operation along with the output data BD of the barrel shifter 457, and the arithmetic output AL of the arithmetic circuit 458 is inputted to the multiplexer 459. The output MX2 of the multiplexer 459 is manually input and stored in the first memory 421. The multiplexer 459 is used to write data when data cannot be arranged in units of words, generate a bit pattern using a mask pattern, and write only the necessary bits. The data sent from the image bus 413 is inverted by a bit inverting circuit 456 to invert the LSB and MSB as necessary (for example, when the display is upside down due to imposition), and then manually inputted to the barrel shifter 457 and sent to the multiplexer 464. The output MX3 is manually input and stored in the first memory 421 as an address command, and is stored in the preset counter 46.
0 and 462 count clock pulses C, and when the count value of the preset counter 460 reaches a predetermined value (for example, a preset value or O), the count preset enable signal PR of the comparator 461 is output. Count preset enable signal PR is input to preset counter 460 and preset counter 462. Details of the print set counter 462 include a start register 4621 and a start register 4621, as shown in FIG.
Line length register 4622 to set line length data
, start register 4621 and line length register 4
An adder 4623 that adds the value of 622, and a counter 46
It consists of 24. Also, access to memory is usually 1
This is done in units of 6 bits. However, since this invention handles bitmap data, writing data in units of 16 bits will result in incorrect data being written in extra bit positions. Also - when the address locations differ between the source and destination, data cannot be written to the correct location unless the bit locations are shifted. A barrel shifter 457 and a master pattern gate 453 are used for such processing.

In such a configuration, data is stored in the first memory 421 by using the output MX3 of the multiplexer 464 as address data and storing the calculation result at the designated address. Preset data from the CPU bus 412 is input to preset counters 460 and 462, and output lines as shown in FIG.
In the case of valid image data relationships, 99 as shown in Figure 14.
'', "1000" is preset. The preset counter 460 counts down the clock pulse CK, and the preset counter 462 counts up the clock pulse C. When the count value of the preset counter 460 reaches 0'', a count preset enable signal is sent from the comparator 461. PR is output, the preset counter 460 is again preset to 99'', the counter 462 is preset to 1200'', and the same operation is repeated, that is, an image as shown in area 470 in FIG. 15 is produced. When writing to the first memory 421, first, the start register 4621 is initialized to "value indicating the data position - 200" at the point 471, and the line length register 4622 is set to "200". The preset counter 460 is set to "100", the preset counter 462 is preset, and the clock pulse C is input. When the clock pulse C is counted "100", the count up signal CR is output from the comparator 461.
is output, and the value of point 471, that is, the leading address "+200" of one line before, is set in counter 4624. Clock pulse GK is input, and the same operation as described above is repeated. The output of the preset counter 462 is selected by the multiplexer 464 and becomes the address data MX.
3 is input into the first memory 421. The data FD read from the first memory 421 at this address is input to the multiplexer 455, and any of the constant data CD from the constant register 454 is input to the multiplexer 455.
The output MXI is input to the arithmetic circuit 458. The arithmetic circuit 458 receives the data sent from the arithmetic bus through the bit inversion circuit 456 and the barrel shifter 4.
57, and the calculation data AL of this calculation circuit 458 is input to the multiplexer 459. The pattern data PD from the mask pattern gate 453 is manually input to the multiplexer 459, one of which is selected and output, and the output data MX2 is stored in the first memory 421. Operations on such data and the first
Data is stored in the memory 421 in units of words. Furthermore, when reading data from the first memory 421, the CP
The initial value for each line from the U bus 412 is set in the address counter 463, the address is updated by the clock, and the output value is selected by the multiplexer 464 to specify the address. The data specified by the address of the output MX3 of the multiplexer 464 is read from the first memory 421 and transferred to the arithmetic bus.

First, information on the output existence area address memory in the output control circuit 436 (this information is created by the CPt1401 and sent to the output control circuit 436 via the CPU bus 412 in advance).
The address to be read from the first memory 421 is set in the sequencer 410 (Step 5420), and the read operation is activated for the sequencer 410 (Step 5421). Then, the data of the line is stored in the input buffer 435 of the output unit (step 5422), and it is determined whether address information of another output canister exists on the same line (step 5423).
, If there is no address information of another output canister on the same line, activate the line data generation circuit in the output control circuit 436 and manually transfer one line's worth of output data to the output buffer 436A (step 5424), last. The above operation is repeated until a line is formed (step 5425
). By the way, each unit of the imagesetter 400 is activated in parallel or sequentially by the PU 401,
As a result, access to the first memory 421, data output from the output control circuit 436, raster image conversion, etc. are performed in a time-sharing manner. The output existing area address memory stores only data indicating an area 470 as shown in FIG. 15, and data is interpolated for the space portion outside the image area as a white area or a black area.

Note that FIG. 13(A) shows one page of a document to be output. Further, (B) in the same figure represents bitmap data necessary for outputting the information in (A), in which one rectangle is secured in the memory area (first memory 421). A bitmap corresponding to one rectangle corresponds to a continuous memory area, but there is no memory relationship between the rectangles. (G) of the same figure shows a state in which the bitmap area (B) is divided horizontally (block division) in order to create an output existing area address.

As a result, all lines within one block are exactly the same in terms of the position and length of valid data. Also, the same figure (D
) in the output control circuit 436, when inputting or directly outputting one line of output data to the output buffer 436A, the part (valid data) to be read from the first memory 421 by the sequencer 410 and the part (valid data) to be read from the first memory 421 by the sequencer 410. 421 shows a portion (white data) that does not need to be read out. The part corresponding to the shaded part is the sequencer 41
0, data is read from the first memory 421.

Effects of the Invention: As described above, according to the image generation device of the present invention, a large amount of text and picture image data can be edited at high speed, and a high-quality printing image in a format specified by the layout can be output. Can be done. Further, it is possible to reduce the storage memory amount and data transfer time by data compression/expansion, and it is possible to easily perform bit mapping of vector information, image processing, and editing by hardware. Characters and pictures can be laid out and output, and since image data and transfer commands are separated, memory capacity can be reduced, work time can be shortened, and loss of sensitive material can be greatly reduced. Can be done. Furthermore, according to the device configuration of the present invention, a large amount of high-quality image data can be quickly bitmap developed or overlappingly processed only immediately before outputting, so the memory area for storing image data can be extremely reduced. Can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the image processing system, Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of its operation, and Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image processing system.
The figure is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a human-powered controller.
The figure is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an Ethernet board in a file server, FIGS. Figure 7 is a flowchart for explaining the imposition operation.
9 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the imagesetter, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of its operation, FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the output section of the imagesetter, and FIG.
Figure 1 is a flowchart showing an example of its operation, Figure 12 is a circuit configuration diagram showing details of the preset counter, and Figure 13 (
8) to (D) to FIG. 15 are diagrams for explaining the operation. 1... Input device, 2... Editing input device, 3... Floppy disk, 10... High-quality output device, 100...
- Input controller, 200... File server, 3
00...Workstation, 301...(:RT
, 302...keyboard, 3'03...digitizer, 306...mouse, 400...image setter, 101,201,401...-CRT. Applicant's representative Yasuta Yu Sanmushi 2 G 7? 3゜ Condolences 5 Decoy 6 Nagi Dai 1 Nagicha? Figure 12 Figure Ali t-d section 99
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140θCK input 99.9θ,---1
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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an image processing system that layouts and outputs a character image formed of code data and a bitmap image formed of compressed data or uncompressed data, the first memory stores image data for output, and the code a raster image converter that converts data into bitmap data; a second memory that temporarily stores output data of the raster image converter; and an expander that expands the compressed data and converts it into bitmap data; a third memory that temporarily stores the output data of the decompressor; a fourth memory that inputs and temporarily stores the data of the bitmap itself; a transfer means for transferring data to a designated area on a memory; a logical operation means for performing a bit-by-bit logical operation on the transfer data and data stored in the first memory when transferring the data; An image generation device characterized by comprising a sequencer that operates according to the order.