Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-20
2001-11-13
Brier, Jeffery (Department: 2672)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
C345S182000, C345S002200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06317115
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia server and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for editing images, and an apparatus and method for controlling image display, which provide various service functions, such as printing/scanning, facsimile transmission/reception, database access, or computer conferences, to computers on a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
As various terminals have come to have communication functions with the advances in networking in recent years, interconnectivity becomes very important. For example, for facsimiles, there are facsimile communication protocols defined by CCITT as to a method of accessing a public network. However, protocols for a case in which terminals are formed into a network as a facsimile server have not been standardized.
Although an SQL language of ANSI has been established as a standard for a relational database (RDB), protocols for access to an RDB and a front end interface API (Application Program Interface) are different from vendor to vendor. Although there is an industry standard for each OS for printing, architecture for network printers in a multivendor environment has not yet been standardized.
Regarding OCR, since there has hitherto been no concept of networking, a method of accessing a network OCR is to be determined. There is also no concept of an image processing accelerator on the network. As described above, an effort for standardization has been made as for each individual application field, such as a database for a database, or a network printer for a network printer. However, standardization across the fields has not been made. For example, to perform a series of operations such that an image received by a facsimile server is converted into codes by an OCR server and the codes are stored in a database, since there is no linkage among the respective servers, the client side initiates three client-side programs for facsimiles, OCRs and databases and the operations are performed in sequence. The above operations may possibly be automated if the three programs perform an inter-application communication by using the functions offered from the up-to-date OS. Although the up-to-date OS offers the scheme for the inter-application communication, the way of the inter-application communication is left to a vendor and nothing has been decided.
However, in the conventional server system, for example, to perform a series of operations such that an image received by a facsimile server is converted into codes by an OCR server and the codes are stored in a database, since there is no linkage among the respective servers, the client side initiates three front-end programs, a facsimile front-end, an OCR front-end and a database front-end, and the operations are performed in sequence. However, most of the operation include a number of “cut and paste” and repetition of accesses to a “temporary file”, and this entails a great burden.
Also, the method of accessing each different server is different as an inevitable historical consequence of the invention of the server, and access across the service fields is nearly impossible. The present invention is designed to integrate independent servers which are distributed on the network in a virtual manner and to logically construct a huge virtual server so that compatibility among the servers is not required and a number of server functions can be used easily from one application.
Hitherto, it is not possible for a small personal computer to edit a high-resolution image on a large screen because of shortage of memory. For example, a full-color image of an A4 size at 400 dpi (dot/inch) requires a memory of as much as 47 megabytes. Making it possible to handle such a large image by a personal computer is unrealistic in terms of cost and speed, and poses a problem from a point of view of reliability. The CPU power of a personal computer is not so large due to the limitation of a single chip architecture and is slow in speed. In the method of taking in a hard disk into a part of RAM, a despairing delay occurs each time swapping occurs. Also, in the case of the OS of the today's personal computer, if such a large memory is handled, the personal computer often crashes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus, which performs a bi-directional communication with an external apparatus, and performs image processing of image data of low resolution, the image processing apparatus comprising:
receiving means for receiving image data from the external apparatus on a basis of a request by the image processing apparatus;
extraction means for extracting drawing contents on a basis of a drawing command, called by an application, for drawing the image data received by the receiving means, wherein a drawing command is transmitted to a drawing program which is a part of OS;
generation means for generating drawing process information written in process script in accordance with the drawing contents extracted by the extraction means; and
transmission means for transmitting the drawing process information to the external apparatus so that image data of high resolution stored in an image drawing memory in the external apparatus is drawn same as drawing process on a basis of the drawing command;
wherein the drawing command is used for both of drawing the received image data by the drawing program and generating the drawing process information written in process script.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an image drawing apparatus for drawing image data of high resolution which performs a bi-directional communication with a host computer such that the image drawing apparatus draws image data of low resolution, the image drawing apparatus comprising:
input means for inputting from the host computer drawing process information, written in process script, which designates drawing contents in accordance with drawing commands called from an application to a drawing program which is a part of OS, running in the host computer;
drawing means for interpreting the drawing process information input from the input means and for drawing the image data of high resolution in an allocated image drawing memory; and
output controlling means for, when scrolling process is requested in the host computer, controlling output means to output the image data drawn by the drawing means to the host computer and, when drawing process is requested in the host computer, controlling the output means not to output the image data drawn by the drawing means,
wherein the resolution of the image data stored in the image drawing memory allocated to the image drawing apparatus is higher than the resolution of the image data stored in the screen memory of the host computer.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a network system including a host computer and an external apparatus, whereby the external apparatus performs image processing of image data of low resolution and bi-directional communication with the host computer, the network system comprising:
the host computer including:
receiving means for receiving image data from the external apparatus on a basis of a request by an image processing apparatus;
extraction means for extracting drawing contents on a basis of a drawing command, called by an application, for drawing the image data received by the receiving means, wherein a drawing command is transmitted to a drawing program which is part of OS;
generation means for generating drawing process information written in process script in accordance with the drawing contents extracted by the extraction means; and
transmission means for transmitting the drawing process information to the external apparatus so that image data of high resolution stored in an image drawing memory in the external apparatus is drawn same as drawing process on a basis of the drawing command;
wherein the drawing command is used for both of drawing the received image data by the
Brier Jeffery
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
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