Riso Kagaku Corporation

Noboru Inamine

Takanori Hasegawa

Koichi Uchiyama

Atsushi Harada

Junji Takahashi

Kazuo Nakano

Ikuo Noguchi

Syouji Kurita

A computer interface for a stencil printer includes a data receiving section which receives printing data or program rewriting data from a computer, a data processing section which converts the printing data from the computer into stencil making data according to a running program, and a video data output section which outputs the stencil making data to a stencil printer with stencil making system. The data processing section is provided with a nonvolatile memory consisting of a main program block which is rewritable and stores a main program and a start-up program block which is not rewritable and stores a start-up program. A main program rewriting section rewrites a main program in the main program block when the main program which has been stored in the main program block is invalid or when the data receiving section receives program rewriting data from the computer.

Rewritable-program computer interface for stencil printer, and method of rewriting program for the interface

An interface system for a personal computer includes a data input device which receives data including a header portion and a data portion. The data is analyzed to determine whether the data includes environmental data or print data depending on a header code in a header portion. The environment data and the print data comprise separate data packets. Page data is prepared based on any environment data contained in the header, and the environment data is stored to a nonvolatile storage device. An output device outputs the page data based on the environment data stored to the nonvolatile storage device.

Image forming machine-computer interface system

A computer data print-out system is formed by a computer, a plurality of stencil printers and a computer interface unit connected between the computer and the stencil printers. The computer interface unit makes output data on the basis of raster image data and input resolution data representing the resolution of the raster image data which are input from the computer and outputs the output data into one of the stencil printers. The computer interface unit reads out from each of the stencil printers the output resolution data representing the output resolution at which the stencil printer can make print, selects out of the stencil printers connected to the computer interface unit a stencil printer which has an output resolution equal to the resolution of the raster image data, and outputs the output data into the selected stencil printer.

Computer interface unit for computer data print-out system using stencil printers

An image forming apparatus is used for forming a print image on a color image forming sheet on which a plurality of units is formed in a regular pattern. Each unit is formed of plural color areas for showing one color portion. The image forming apparatus includes a storing device for storing image plotting data showing color-plotted images; a control device for translating the image plotting data into print image data including plural groups of digits corresponding to the color areas in one unit; a detecting device for detecting a position of the color image forming sheet on the image forming apparatus and outputting a detection signal upon detection of the position; and a recording device for selectively covering the plural color areas on the color image forming sheet according to the print image data and the detection signal from the detecting means. Thus, the color-plotted image is produced on the color image forming sheet.

Image forming apparatus and method for image formation

A data input device fetches print data containing raster image data, which has been formed by a computer, and first resolution data, which represents resolution of the raster image data having been formed by the computer. A printer resolution reading device reads second resolution data representing resolution, with which a stencil printer can print, from the stencil printer. A resolution converting device carries out resolution conversion for converting the raster image data, which is contained in the print data having been fetched by the data input device, into raster image data having the resolution, with which the stencil printer can print, in accordance with the first resolution data and the second resolution data. A data output device forms output data in accordance with the raster image data having been obtained from the resolution conversion and feeds the output data into the stencil printer.

System for converting raster image data contained in print data into raster image data having a resolution with which a stencil printer is capable of printing

An interface system transmits printing data from a computer to a stencil printer and transmits status information on the stencil printer to the computer. A previously-transmitted status information memory stores status information on the stencil printer which has been previously transmitted to the computer. Status difference information which represents difference of the updated status information, as transmitted from the stencil printer, from the previously status information stored in the memory is generated and transmitted to the computer on request from the computer.

Interface system

A computer data print-out system using a stencil printer includes a computer provided with a printer driver, a stencil printer with a stencil master unit and a computer interface unit connected between the computer and the stencil printer. The printer driver makes print data and inputs the print data into the computer interface unit, the computer interface unit makes output data for the stencil printer on the basis of the print data input from the printer driver and inputs the output data into the stencil printer, and the stencil printer makes a stencil master and makes print using the stencil master. The printer driver recognizes the output resolution at which the stencil printer can make print and makes print data which conforms to the output resolution of the stencil printer.

Computer data print-out system using stencil printer

In an ink supply control device for a stencil printing machine which controls the supply of printing ink to an ink reservoir formed in a printing drum according to a signal produced from an ink amount detecting device which produces a first signal when the amount of ink stored in the ink reservoir is detected to be greater than a prescribed level, and a second signal when the amount of ink stored in the ink reservoir is detected to be less than the prescribed level, time durations of the first and second signals over a certain time interval or a certain interval of the rotation of the angle of the printing drum are evaluated as a basis for determining true insufficiency of the level of the printing ink in the ink reservoir through an arithmetic computation to the end of preventing erroneous detection by the ink amount detecting device from adversely affecting the control of the supply of printing ink in the ink reservoir. Such erroneous detection of the level of ink is typically caused by disturbances of short durations in the surface of the ink in the ink reservoir.

Ink supply control device for a stencil printing machine

A device for obliterating printed information on a sheet utilizes an information concealing printing unit for printing an information concealing pattern over a surface of a sheet carrying printed information. On printing the information concealing pattern over the surface of the sheet carrying the printed information, the printed information becomes unreadable. Various types of printing devices may be used and the printed information which is obliterated may be first recorded in electronic format for later retrieval.

Sheet printd information obliterating device

An image is processed by using an error diffusion method of propagating density distribution errors in pixels around a pixel to be noted. A method includes the steps of calculating thresholds (Th.sub.1, Th.sub.2) of densities corresponding to the area ratio between the pixels; selecting a pixel to be noted (f) which are different in the area ratio from each other; calculating errors (E) produced in the peripheral pixels according to the distances from the peripheral pixels to the noted pixel and areas of the individual peripheral pixels; adding the propagated errors to a density of the noted pixel so as to make a rearrangement (f') on the density of the noted pixel; comparing the rearranged density of the noted pixel with the thresholds to obtain a corresponding level (G) represented in a binary form, and obtaining density distribution errors (e).

Method of and apparatus for processing an image

To the end of allowing an image makeup process to be easily and efficiently carried out even when different image makeup functions are to be applied to different regions of a single original image without requiring a plurality of region designating sheets, a region designating sheet Sw carrying region designating images is photoelectrically read, the region designating images of the region designating sheet Sw are displayed on a display unit, region designating data for specifying the regions to which image makeup functions are to be applied is obtained through a specifying process conducted on the region designating images displayed on the display unit by using a touch panel, available image makeup functions for each of the regions specified by this specifying process are displayed on the display unit, and the image makeup functions are applied to the designated regions by obtaining image makeup function designating data through a specifying process conducted on the list of image makeup functions displayed on the display unit by using the touch panel.

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Ibaraki-ken, Japan

Noboru Inamine