Image processing apparatus, drawing processing method, and computer program

• US 7,369,277 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2003
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ishihara, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Moe; Aung S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Menberu; Beniyam
• Application Number:
  US10/390,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20040027617A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,876 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.16, 358/1.17, 358/3.13, 358/3.23, 358/3.14, 358/3.16, 358/3.19, 358/1.9, 345596-599, 345/619, 715/502, 715/911
• US Class Current: 358/3.13
• 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

Abstract

A drawing instruction processor refers to a bit map line table that shows whether the bit arrays in the row unit are the same in the order of concentrations. The drawing instruction processor decides whether dither patterns to be used for the adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, by referring to the BLT, and links the drawing ranges to which the same pattern can be applied. Based on this, the drawing processor carries out a batch writing using a dither pattern prepared in advance into the specified range in the page memory. The dither pattern to be used for the drawing is prepared by linking a plurality of the same basic patterns to have a length corresponding to the length of the word length. As a result of such an arrangement, it is possible to achieve a high-speed processing.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit that inputs a graphic drawing instruction based on image data;

a drawing processing unit that obtains and holds a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, based on the input graphic drawing instruction to fill an optionally specified range in a page memory using the specified concentration, calculates a coordinate position of holding the bit map pattern corresponding to the specified coordinate position in the page memory, and writes the drawing data using the bit map pattern of the corresponding specified concentration in a tiled pattern, into the specified range in the page memory, following the obtained coordinate position; and

an output unit that outputs the drawing data written in the page memory, to an output apparatus,

wherein the drawing processing unit decides whether the bit map patterns to be used in adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, links the specified drawing ranges to which the same bit map pattern can be applied based on a result of the decision made, specifies again the drawing range in the page memory, and batch writes the bit map pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges,

wherein the bit map pattern to be used for the batch writing is a pattern in which the bit map forms a matrix shape, and a part of the same row has the same bit array in the order of concentrations, and the of the same bit array is held at any of a low concentration side and a high concentration side, and

wherein the drawing processing unit specifies a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, by using a conversion table that a non-holding concentration side uses to refer to the pattern of the same bit array.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus holds the conversion table in advance.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion table preparing unit that prepares the conversion table when the apparatus starts up.

4. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit that inputs a graphic drawing instruction based on image data;

a drawing processing unit that obtains and holds a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, based on the input graphic drawing instruction to fill an optionally speficied range in a page memory using the soccified concentration, calculates a coordinate position of holding the bitman pattern corresponding to the specified coordinate position in the page memory, and writes the drawing data usin the bit map pattern of the corresponding specified concentration in a tiled pattern, into the specified range in the page memory, following the obtained coordinate position;

an output unit that outputs the drawing data written in the page memory, to an output apparatus;

a word boundary bit map pattern preparing unit that prepares a word boundary bit map pattern, which has repetitions of the bit map patterns corresponding to the concentrations, to have a length that coincides with a word boundary;

a unit that caches the word boundary bit map pattern that the word boundary bit map pattern preparing unit has prepared, usine a combination of concentrations and rows as a unit; and

a cache managing unit that adds a cohbentration and a bit map pattern row coordinate as attribute information to the cached word boundary bit map pattern, and manages at least one of registration, abandoning, and searching of the word boundary bit map pattern by using the attribute information,

wherein the drawing processing unit decides whether the bit map patterns to be used in adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, links the specified drawing ranges to which the same bit map pattern can be applied based on a result of the decision made, specifies again the drawing range in the page memory, and batch writes the bit map pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges, and

wherein the drawing processing unit uses the pattern prepared by the word boundary bit map pattern preparing unit when batch writing the pattern into the page memory based on the repetitions of the same bit map pattern following the drawing instruction to draw a plurality of pixels.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cache managing unit clears the cache memory when the word boundary bit map pattern overflows the cache memory in excess of a quantity specified in advance as a total memory capacity necessary for the caching.

6. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit that inputs a graphic drawing instruction based on image data;

a drawing processing unit that obtains and holds a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, based on the input graphic drawing instruction to fill an optionally specified range in a page memory using the specified concentration, calculates a coordinate position of holding the bitman pattern corresponding to the specified coordinate position in the page memory, and writes the drawing data using the bit map pattern of the corresponding specified concentration in a tiled pattern, into the specified range in the page memory, following the obtained coordinate position;

an output unit that outputs the drawing data written in the page memory, to an output apparatus;

a word boundary bit map pattern preparing unit that prepares a word boundary bit map pattern, which has repetitions of the bit map patterns corresponding to the concentrations, to have a length that coincides with a word boundary,

wherein the drawing processing unit decides whether the bit map patterns to be used in adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, links the specified drawing ranges to which the same bit map pattern can be applied based on a result of the decision made, specifies again the drawing range in the page memory, and batch writes the bit map pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges,

wherein the drawing processing unit uses the pattern prepared by the word boundary bit map pattern preparing unit when batch writing the pattern into the page memory based on the repetitions of the same bit map pattern following the drawing instruction to draw a plurality of pixels,

wherein the drawing processing unit decides whether the specified concentrations included in the drawing instructions to draw the plurality of adjacent pixels are the same, and draws these pixels by using the word boundary bit map pattern when it is decided that the specified concentrations are the same, and

wherein the drawing processing unit decides whether the specified concentrations are the same in the graphic drawing instruction that specifies a clip area, decides whether the clip area is in the unit of pixels that have been decided to have the same concentrations, and draws the clip area based on a result of this decision.

7. A drawing processing method comprising:

an input step of inputting a graphic drawing instruction based on image data; and

a drawing processing step of obtaining and holding bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, based on the input graphic drawing instruction to fill an optionally specified range in a page memory using the specified concentration, calculating a coordinate position of holding the bit map pattern corresponding to the specified coordinate position in the page memory, and writing the drawing data using the bit map pattern of the corresponding specified concentration in a tiled pattern, into the specified range in the page memory, following the obtained coordinate position; and

outputting the drawing data written in the page memory, to an output apparatus,

wherein the drawing processing step is for deciding whether the bit map patterns to be used in adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, linking the specified drawing ranges to which the same bit map pattern can be applied based on a result of the decision made, specifying again the drawing range in the page memory, and batch writing the bit map pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges,

wherein the bit map pattern to be used for the batch writing is a pattern in which the bit map forms a matrix shape, and a part of the same row has the same bit array in rite order of condentrations, and the pattern of the same bit array is held at any one of a low concentration side and a high concentration side, and

wherein the drawing processing step is for specifying a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, by using a conversion table that a non-holding concentration side uses to refer to the pattern of the same bit array.

8. A drawing processing method comprising:

an input step of inputting a graphic drawing instruction based on image data;

a drawing processing step of obtaining and holding a bit map pattern corresponding to a specified concentration, based on the input graphic drawing instruction to fill an optionally specified range in a nage memory using the specified concentration, calculating a coordinate position of holding the bit map pattern corresnonding to the specified coordinate position in the page memory, and writing the drawing data using bit map pattern of the corresponding specified concentration in a tiled pattern, into the specified range in the page memory, following the obtained coordinate position;

outputting the drawing data written in the page memory, to an output apparatus;

a word boundary bit map pattern preparing step of preparing a word boundary bit map pattern which has repetitions of the bit map patterns corresponding to the concentrations, to have a length that coincides with a word boundary; and

a step of adding a concentration and a bit map pattern row coordinate as attribute information the word boundary bit map pattern prepared at the word boundary bit map pattern preparing step, caching the word boundary bit map pattern, and managing at least one of registration, abandoning, and searching of the word boundary bit map pattern by using the attribute information

wherein the drawing processing step is for deciding whether the bit map patterns to be used in adjacent specified drawing ranges are the same, linking the specified drawing ranges to which the same bit map pattern can be applied based on a result of the decision made, specifying again the drawing range in the page memory, and batch writing the bit map pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges, and

wherein the drawing processing step is for using the pattern prepared at the word boundary bit map pattern preparing step, at the time of batch writing the pattern into the adjacent specified drawing ranges in the page memory based on the repetitions of the same bit map pattern following the drawing instruction to draw a plurality of pixels.