Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Size – resolution – or scale control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2003-04-15
Wallerson, Mark (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Size, resolution, or scale control
C358S001130, C358S001150
Reexamination Certificate
active
06549301
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system of a printer device, more particularly to a color printer system which issues a printing instruction from its host to perform printing by its printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Explanations for such kind of conventional color printer system will be made with reference to FIG.
9
.
FIG. 9
shows an example of a construction of a conventional color printer system. Referring to
FIG. 9
, a host
51
comprises transmission means
52
for transmitting image data to a printer
61
. The printer
61
consists of receiving means
62
, analysis means
63
, image transform means
64
, picturing means
65
and a printer engine
66
.
In this conventional color printer system, an application on the host issues a printing instruction, and transfers printing data to a printer. The printer performs printing. Moreover, the host
51
does not perform an image transform processing, but the printer
61
exclusively performs the image transform processing.
In other words, image data prepared by the application which is executed in the host
51
is directly sent to the printer
61
, and the printer
61
performs a color transform, a resolution change and a gradient processing in accordance with the printer.
As an example of the conventional color printer system, there has also been known a system in which a printer does not comprise image transform means and a host exclusively performs an image transform processing. In this example, for image data prepared by an application, the host performs a color transform, a resolution change and a gradient processing in accordance with a printer, and transfers the image data to the printer. The printer performs only a printing processing.
Furthermore, there has also been known a system in which both a host and a printer comprise image transform means, and a user decides, by using a user interface, which image conversion means to use.
In the color printer system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 9-258940, based on data such as cyan, magenta, yellow and black for each pixel, the host decides whether or not the pixel is white, and if the pixel is white, the host transmits binary data to the printer. If the pixel is not white, the host transmits data of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The printer develops an image based on the received data. Thus, a quantity of communication data is lessened.
However, the above described conventional system has the following problems.
The first problem is that the quantity of data transferred from the host to the printer cannot be lessened.
This is because an image transform processing is exclusively performed either by the host or by the printer.
In other words, the conventional system comprises no decision means for deciding which case of the two following cases the quantity of data to be transferred is more reduced; one being that the host performs the image transform processing and the other being that the printer performs the image transform processing. Recently, the network of the system has developed, and load on the network has increased. Under such circumstances, a decrease in the quantity of data on the network has been demanded in network printers and the like.
The second problem is that it is impossible to shorten an overall processing time taken for printing. This is because the host or the printer exclusively performs the image transform processing in the same way as the first problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was invented in view of the foregoing problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a color printer system which is capable of reducing the quantity of data transferred from a host to a printer, thus shortening an overall time taken for a printing processing.
In a color printer system of the present invention which comprises a host and a printer, each of the host and the printer comprise image transform means; the host comprises image transform decision means for deciding which should be used, the image transform means of the host or the image transform means of the printer; and the image transform means decided by the image transform decision means performs a specified image transform processing.
Moreover, the host may comprise image transform decision means for deciding which case of the two following cases can more reduce the quantity of data to be transferred; one being that the host performs the image transform processing and the other being that the printer performs the image transform processing, and deciding which should be used, image transform means of the host or image transform means of the printer.
According to the present invention, in the color printer system, image transform decision means decides which case of the two following cases can more reduce the quantity of data to be transferred; one being that the host performs the image transform processing and the other being that the printer performs the image transfer processing, and based on the decision result the image transform processing is performed either by the host or the printer, so that the quantity of the data transferred from the host to the printer is decreased, and hence a time taken for the printing processing can be shortened. Furthermore, when the color printer system of the present invention is applied to a network printer, an increase in a network load owing to a printing data transfer can be suppressed.
Furthermore, since the host automatically performs the image transform decision, the quantity of data transferred from the host to the printer is decreased without being known by the user, so that a time required for the printing processing can be shortened.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5987226 (1999-11-01), Ishikawa et al.
patent: 7-334318 (1995-12-01), None
patent: 8-328789 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 9-258940 (1997-10-01), None
Foley & Lardner
Nec Corporation
Wallerson Mark
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