Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Attribute control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-24
2003-10-14
Garcia, Gabriel (Department: 2624)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Attribute control
C358S501000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06633410
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer and, more particularly, it relates to a printer adapted to minimize the difference in the color tone and the contrast between an image displayed on a display device and a corresponding picture printed by the printer.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, methods as described below have been popularly used to print a picture that may more often than not be a natural scene.
With a first method, a general purpose computer connected to a printer will also be connected to input devices for receiving image data and the image data read by the computer from each of the input devices are subjected to a predetermined processing operation to produce printing data, which printing data are then input to the printer in order to make the latter print an image on the basis of the printing data it receives. The input devices may include one or more than one removable medium drives, an NTSC (National Television System Committee) video signal input substrate, a silver salt film scanner and a digital still camera.
With a second method, input devices typically including a digital still camera and an original reader/scanner are directly connected to a printer without a general purpose computer interposed therebetween and printing data input through each on the input devices are applied to the printer in order to make the latter print an image on the basis of the printing data it receives.
Now, the first method will be discussed in greater detail. With this method, a system as illustrated in
FIG. 1
of the accompanying drawings and principally comprising a host computer (hereinafter referred to simply as computer)
1001
, a printer
1002
and an input device
1003
will be used.
The input device
1003
may be a removable medium drive (where the removable medium may be a read-only optical disk such as CD-ROM or a writable magneto-optical disk such as MD-DATA) drive, a video signal input device (where the video signal may be an NTSC signal, a PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) signal, an RGB signal or an S-terminal signal), a digital still camera, a silver salt photograph film scanner(where the film may be a 35 mm film or an ASP film containing magnetic data related to an image) or an original reader/scanner.
The printer
1002
may typically comprises a printing head
1004
for actually printing an image and a head drive circuit
1005
for driving the printing head
1004
.
The computer
1001
may typically comprises an interface
1006
to be used for receiving image data by way of the input device
1003
, a data processing section
1007
for processing the input image data as printing data and a bidirectional printer interface
1008
for outputting the printing data to the printer
1002
. The data processing section
1007
is provided with a device driver adapted to control the operation of the input device
1003
, a printer driver adapted to control the operation of the printer
1002
and application programs for controlling the operation of receiving and processing image data and that of outputting printing data. The data processing section
1007
is driven by the application programs to carry out its data processing operations.
On the other hand, the computer
1001
is typically provided with a display device
1009
operating as man-machine interface and a command device
1010
for externally entering a command such as a mouse or a keyboard. Additionally, said computer
1001
is also provided with an image memory
1011
such as a hard disk for storing the image data entered through the input device
1003
.
Thus, all the above listed elements will be connected as the input device
1003
is connected to the interface
1006
in the computer
1001
and the bidirectional printer interface
1008
in the computer
1001
is connected to the printer
1002
.
The operation of printing an image with the first method proceeds in a manner as described below. Firstly, the input device
1003
is driven to operate by way of the interface
1006
for entering image data by driving the application software of the computer
1001
and the device driver of the input device
1003
so that the entered image data will be read by the input device
1003
under the control of the computer
1001
. Thus, the entered image data enter the computer
1001
by way of the interface
1006
.
Then, the application software of the data processing section
1007
carries out an image editing/processing operation on the image data entered to the computer
1001
according to the command externally entered through the command device
1010
for the user. If the operation of processing the image data involves arithmetic operations, the data processing section
1007
in the computer
1001
also carries out necessary arithmetic operations in order to process the image data satisfactorily for the user.
Once the image editing/processing operation is carried out to the satisfaction of the user to define an image to be printed, the image will then be actually printed. More specifically, the application software carries out an operation of processing the data necessary for printing the image by means of the data processing section
1007
, controlling the printer driver, in order to convert the data into printing data that can be accepted by the printer
1002
. Note that the computer
1001
is aware of the condition of the printer
1002
as the latter is feedback to the computer
1001
by way of the bidirectional printer interface
1008
.
The printing data obtained as a result of the above converting operation is designed to take the form of a printer control instruction and transmitted to the printer
1002
by way of the bidirectional printer interface
1008
. Then, the printer
1002
drives the printing head
1004
by means of the head drive circuit
1005
according to the printing data contained in the printer control instruction it has received and prints the image on a recording medium.
FIG. 2
of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrates an arrangement that can be used to process the data in the above operation. In
FIG. 2
, the slashes on the lines indicating flows of data denote respective 8-bit/color data. The RGB image data input to the image data input section
1012
of the computer
1001
are then transmitted to the image data processing section
1013
and subjected to necessary processing operations there. If necessary, they will be retained in the image memory
1011
as image file
101
la. The RGB image data will then be transmitted from the image data processing section
1013
to the printer driver
1014
that controls the printer
1002
.
The printer driver
1014
principally comprises an RGB-CMY converting section
1015
for converting RGB image data into CMY printing data, a color correcting section
1016
for carrying out necessary color correcting operations, a black extracting/underlying color removing section
1017
, an output gamma correcting/tone modifying section
1018
and a sharpness modifying section
1019
adapted to process edges of the image.
Thus, the RGB image data transmitted from the image data processing section
1013
to the printer driver
1014
are firstly converted into CMY printing data and corrected for colors before they are converted into printing data containing data for black (printing data for black are denoted by K in FIG.
2
), which data are then corrected for the characteristics specific to the printer and processed for edges. The obtained corrected data are then transmitted to the printer
1002
. Note that, if the printer
1002
is a binary printer such as an ink jet printer adapted to reproduce the image as a function of presence of absence of each of a predetermined number of printing dots, a binarizing section will have to be arranged downstream relative to the sharpness modifying section
1019
of the printer driver
1014
. On the other hand, the use of such a binarizing section will not be necessary if the printer
1002
is of a type adapted to express the tone of the image by means of the printing dot
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Garcia Gabriel
Kessler Gordon
Sony Corporation
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