Address assignment system for image memory

• US 4,745,576 A
• Filed: 09/05/1985
• Issued: 05/17/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Aoki, Takashi, Hasegawa, Hirokazu, Kudoh, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lacasse, Randy W.
• Application Number:
  US06/772,951
• Time in Patent Office: 985 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/519, 382/46
• US Class Current: 711/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0062 combining generic and host data, e.g. filling a raster
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0077 Raster outputting to the print element(s)
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/60 Memory management

Abstract

According to an image memory address assignment system, a frame memory is divided into a plurality of blocks. Upper bits of the address of the frame memory constitute a block address, and lower bits constitute an intrablock address. The block address is supplied to an address converter. The address converter has a conversion pattern ROM. The conversion pattern ROM stores conversion patterns each converting the input write address signal block address to a block address for a completely read block area so as to perform simultaneous read and write access even if the data read direction (order) of the frame memory is different from the data write direction. The address converter supplies the write block address to the frame memory. As a result, the data can be written in the completely read block.

Claims

1. An image memory address assignment system having a printer and operated such that a block address is accessed by upper bits of an address signal and an intrablock address is accessed by lower bits thereof, comprising:

page data memory means having a plurality of block areas for storing at least one-page data;

means for supplying a read address to said page data storage means and readout data to said printer;

means for detecting whether or not data read access of each block in said page data storage means is completed and supplying the data and a write address to completely read block areas so as to write the data therein; and

block address converting means for receiving as a block address the upper bits of the read and write addresses, converting block addresses to different block addresses, respectively, and supplying said different block addresses to said page data storage means;

read address conversion designating means, coupled to said block address converting means, for designating the conversion of the read address signals during a period in which the read out data is supplied to said printer; and

write address conversion designating means, coupled to said block address converting means, for designating the conversion of the write address signals during a period different from a period in which the read out data is supplied to said printer.

2. An image memory address assignment system with printing means, comprising:

page data storage means for storing at least one-page data, said page data storage means being divided into a plurality of block areas;

means for generating a read address so as to read out the data from said page data storage means and for supplying readout data to said printing means;

data writing means for generating write addresses in a specific order different from that of the read addresses and writing the data in completely read blocks of said page data storage means; and

block address converting means for converting a current write address block designation order to an immediately preceding read address block designation order, and a current read address block designation order to a specific order with respect to an immediately preceding write address block designation order.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said block address converting means comprises:

means for storing conversion patterns of the write address block designation order; and

means for storing conversion patterns of the read address block designation order.

4. A method of assigning addresses of an image memory in a system having storage means for storing at least one-page data and operated such that a read address designation order upon reading of the data from said storage means is different in a specific relationship from a write address designation order upon writing of the data in said storage means, comprising the steps of:

(a) sequentially reading out the data from said storage means in response to the read address designation order;

(b) converting the write address designation order to be the same as the read address designation order;

(c) writing the data in a completely read area in said storage means in response to a converted write address and repeating the writing until one-page data is written in said storage means;

(d) converting the read address designation order in accordance with the specific relationship to the write address designation order when one-page data is completely written in said storage means; and

(e) repeating the steps (a) through (d).

5. An image memory assignment system, comprising:

page data storage means divided into a plurality of block areas each of which is accessed so that upper bits of an address signal designate a block address and lower bits of the signal designate an intrablock address, said page data storage means being arranged to store at least one-page data;

means for printing the page data when read out from said page data storage means;

means for generating, in accordance with a printing operation of the printing means, read address signals in specific order for reading data, during a plurality of transfer operation periods in which the one-page data in said page data storage means are divided into a plurality of sections and then sequentially transferred to the printing means;

means for generating write address signals in a period different from the transfer operation periods, in order to write data in a block area in said page data storage means for which a read operation is completed, the write address signals being generated in an order different from that of the read address signals;

block address converting means, arranged between said page data storage means, said read address signal generating means and said write address signal generating means, for converting a block address of address signals which are output from said read address signal generating means and said write address signal generating means in different predetermined orders, so that the block address of a read address signal is converted into a block address for sequentially specifying block areas for which a write operation has been completed, and the block address of a write address signal is converted into a block address for sequentially specifying block areas for which a read operation has been completed;

read address conversion designating means, coupled to said block address converting means, for designating the conversion of the read address signals during the transfer period; and

write address conversion designating means, coupled to said block address converting means, for designating the conversion of the write address signals during a period different from said transfer periods.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said block address converting means further comprises block address storing means for storing a block address conversion pattern as a plurality of patterns each representing a series of block address for sequentially accessing a respective block area of said page data storage means, the block address corresponding to one of different conversion patterns which are designated by said write and said read address conversion designating means.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein said block address converting means further comprises:

basic block address storage means for storing a basic block address for each block address conversion pattern, said basic block address storage means being accessed by said write conversion pattern designating means and said read conversion pattern designating means; and

block address calculating means for calculating the block address in accordance with the basic block address read out from said basic block address storage means, the readout basic block address corresponding to the block address conversion patterns which are designated by said write address conversion designating means and said read address conversion designating means.

8. A system according to claim 5, further comprising:

means for detecting whether or not read access of data of a given area of said page data storage means which is accessed by each block address is completed and for supplying write data to be written in a completely read area; and

selector means for selecting one of said write address conversion pattern designating means and said read address conversion pattern designating means, coupling a selected one thereof to said block address converting means, and designating a conversion pattern from a read address signal during data reading.