JPH07114438B2 - Image recorder - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus for recording an image having a size different from that of a loaded recording sheet.

[Prior Art] This type of recording apparatus is used in a facsimile apparatus and the like.

In particular, a facsimile machine can use various recording output systems such as a thermal recording system, a thermal transfer recording system, and an inkjet system, but conventionally, many devices have adopted a configuration in which a recording medium is housed in the device. ing. Normal,
The standard image size of a facsimile machine is ISO A4, and many devices are designed to load recording paper of this size (such as thermal paper), but recently, such as B4 size,
There is also known an apparatus capable of accommodating a recording paper of a size larger than this and selecting and using a recording paper of a desired size.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, in recent years, communication has been performed in which the size of an image to be transmitted and received and the size of a recording medium for receiving and recording do not match.

Such an operation, for example, when an image of an A4 size original is read and transmitted to a device having a B4 size recording paper, the A4 size image is recorded on a part of the recording paper. However, in this case, various positions such as the right end, the left end, or the center of the recording paper are set as the recording position of the image by those skilled in the art.

However, in the past, since there is no boundary between this margin and the margin of the recorded image, when cutting the recording paper into A4 and organizing it, use a ruler to check the paper width equivalent to A4. This has been a heavy burden on the operator.

[Means for Solving Problems] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a receiving unit that receives image data, a storage unit that stores the image data received by the receiving unit, and the storage unit Recording means for recording the image data read from the recording medium onto recording paper; first detecting means for detecting the size of the image data received by the receiving means; and second detecting means for detecting the size of the recording paper. The size of the recording paper detected by the second detection means and the first
Based on the size of the image data detected by the detection means, it is determined whether or not the size of the recording paper is larger than the size of the received image data, and when the size of the recording paper is larger than the size of the received image data, Before starting the recording of the image data by the recording means, the data indicating the boundary is written in advance in the boundary portion between the data area in which the received image data is to be stored and the margin in the storage means, and the data is received. The image data is written in the data area of the storage unit in which the boundary data is written, and a unit for recording the boundary data together with the image data in the recording unit is adopted.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, when the size of the recording paper is larger than the size of the data of the received image, the data indicating the boundary between the data area and the margin is recorded and output. As a guide, the recording area corresponding to the received data can be easily known.

[Examples] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a facsimile apparatus as an embodiment of an image recording apparatus adopting the present invention. The configuration shown here is a publicly known one in which members indicated by respective reference numerals are connected by a data bus, and a control unit 2 including a microcomputer and a memory controls the entire apparatus.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure is a modem which is connected to a predetermined communication line such as a telephone line and modulates / demodulates a transmission / reception signal. In particular, the received procedure signal is analyzed by the control unit 2, and the control unit 2 controls the communication procedure based on the analysis.
Further, the image data received from the line is demodulated by the modem 1 and stored in the reception buffer memory 3 at one end, and then the control unit 2 decodes it in a format such as MH or MR code and stores it in the line buffer memories 4 and 5. The data is stored, and recording is performed by the recording unit 8 based on the data in the line buffer memory.

Here, the line buffer memories 4 and 5 are alternately used for every one line (one scanning line). That is, while the recording unit 8 is recording with the data in any one of the line buffer memories, the decoded data is stored in the other line buffer memory. It is assumed that the line buffer memories 4 and 5 have a capacity capable of storing image image data of the number of dots corresponding to the B4 width.

The recording unit 8 includes a recording mechanism configured by various known methods such as a heat sensitive method, a thermal transfer method, an inkjet method, a discharge breakdown method, and an electrophotographic method, and the line data in the line buffer memory 4 or 5 is alternately changed. To record. The standard recording paper size of the recording unit 8 is B4, but A4 recording paper can also be loaded.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a recording control procedure for one page of an image by the control unit of FIG. The procedure of FIG. 2 is stored as a recording control program in the ROM or the like that constitutes the control unit 2.

In the image receiving operation, when the demodulated image data is prepared in the reception buffer memory 3, the control unit 2 shifts to the recording control procedure of FIG. 2 and first determines the size of the received image in step S1. Here, it is determined whether the received image is an A4 image. If the received image is A4, step S2
Otherwise, to step S5.

In step S2, A4 is stored in the B4 size line buffer memory.
Since an image is to be written, the white data A corresponding to the blank area is written to the line buffer memories 4 to 5 having the capacity corresponding to the B4 width, as shown in FIG.

Then, in step S3, the recording paper loaded in the device
Determine if it is B4 size. If the recording paper is B4, the process proceeds to step S4, and if A4 recording paper is loaded instead of B4, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S4, the margin areas A of the line buffer memories 4 to 5 in which the white data was written in step S2
Black data is written in one to several dots of the boundary area B of the area C in which the A4 size image is written.

In step S5, the received data in the receive buffer is decoded for one line and written in the line buffer memories 4 to 5 currently being written. Here, when the A4 image is being processed, the decoded data is written in the memory area C in FIG. 3, and when the B4 image is being processed, the areas A, B and C are used to store the data. Write.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the image of one page has been processed, and if one page is not completed, step S5 is repeated. When the processing of one page of the image is completed, whether or not to process the subsequent page is determined according to the communication procedure control.

According to the above processing, when recording an A4 size image on a B4 size recording paper, the boundary between the A4 recording area and the blank area is recorded as a solid line, so the operator uses this line as a guideline for recording paper. You can easily perform the work necessary for organizing, such as cutting.

According to the above configuration, when the recording head of the recording unit is composed of a linear thermal head having a B4 width, recording of black data due to noise or the like is prohibited in the blank area, so the recording head is protected. be able to.

In the above, the case where the solid line is recorded as the boundary line is shown.
By performing the process of writing the black data every few lines in step S4, it is possible to record the broken line, the one-dot chain line, or the like. Further, instead of recording the boundary line over one page, it is possible to record the mark only at the beginning and end portions of the page. In this case, black data is written in the area B of FIG. 3 for a predetermined line from the start of recording the page data, and only the portion of the area B of FIG. Data is written by writing data in all other areas white. As a result, the boundary line with the blank area can be recorded outside the nominal recording area normally used for recording with a facsimile.

Further, the image receiving operation has been described above as an example, but the same technique can be implemented in the copy mode in which the image read by the reading unit is recorded. Further, it goes without saying that the technique of the present invention can be implemented even if the image processing is analog processing instead of digital processing. Furthermore, the technique of the present invention is not limited to a facsimile machine, but various types of digital copiers such as a laser beam printer having a communication function, and various output devices adopting various recording methods for recording an output image of a host in a computer system. It can be implemented in a device.

[Effect] As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in order to record and output the data indicating the boundary between the data area and the margin of the received image data, the size of the recording paper corresponds to the received image data. If the size is larger than the size, the data indicating the boundary between the blank space and the image data is written in the storage means (buffer memory) before the recording of the received image is started, and the data is stored in the storage means storing the boundary data and received in the area for storing the image data. Since the configuration is adopted in which the image data that has been written is written and the boundary data is read together with the image data from the storage means and recorded, the rearranging work such as cutting the recording paper on which an image smaller than the recording paper is recorded It is possible to provide an excellent image recording apparatus that can perform the process extremely easily and in a short time.

Further, according to the present invention, a configuration for detecting the end of recording of one line of image data is unnecessary as compared with the case of recording the boundary data according to the end of recording of one line of image data after the start of recording of image data. At the same time, after the start of recording, the image data of each line is simply written to the image data storage area of the storage means, and the boundary data written in the storage means is treated as a boundary on the recording paper without any processing. Since it is printed, there is an advantage that the recording control is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus as an embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart diagram explaining the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 ... Modem 2 ... Control unit 3 ... Reception buffer memory 4,5 ... Line buffer memory 8 ... Recording unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A receiving means for receiving image data, a storage means for storing the image data received by the receiving means, a recording means for recording the image data read from the storage means on a recording paper, First detecting means for detecting the size of the image data received by the receiving means, second detecting means for detecting the size of the recording paper, size of the recording paper detected by the second detecting means, and the first
Based on the size of the image data detected by the detection means, it is determined whether or not the size of the recording paper is larger than the size of the received image data, and when the size of the recording paper is larger than the size of the received image data, Before starting the recording of the image data by the recording means, the data indicating the boundary is written in advance in the boundary portion between the data area in which the received image data is to be stored and the margin in the storage means, and the data is received. An image recording apparatus, comprising: a unit that writes image data in the data area of the storage unit in which the boundary data is written, and causes the recording unit to record the boundary data together with the image data.