Patent EP0903691A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0903691A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Print driver for a color printer
Assignee: Canon Inc
•
Filing: 1998-07-27
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2018-07-27
Abstract
Abstract A color printer driver binarizes continuous tone color print data stored in raster form and stores the binarized data directly into column form, without the intermediary of storage in horizontal raster form, for printout by a print engine having vertically-arranged print elements. <IMAGE>
Inventors
- 👤 Akitoshi Yamada
- 👤 Hiromitsu Hirabayashi
- 👤 Kazuyuki Masumoto
- 👤 Takao Aichi
- 👤 Akihiko Sukigara
- 👤 Tetsuya Kawanabe
- 👤 Masahi Kamada
- 👤 Osamu Hirata
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:16
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/10; G06K15/18; G06K15/1848; G06K15/1856; G06K15/186; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0082; G06K2215/0094
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 144
Claim 1
Independent Claim
88 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has a print head with vertically-oriented print
elements and that forms images in a band on a
recording medium, comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and storing the binarized data for each pixel
directly in column format in a print data buffer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
67 words
A print driver according to Claim 1,
wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein said binarizing step
binarizes multi-level data for each successive pixel
into binary data for each of the plural subtractive
color components.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 2,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 3,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 4,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 2,
wherein the subtractive color components include a
black color component and the print head has
relatively more print elements for the black color
component than for other color components, and
further comprising the step of selecting different
black print elements for successive recording
mediums.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
A print driver according to Claim 2,
further comprising the steps of detecting image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replacing binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 7,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 7,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
159 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; detecting image boundary portions between a
black region of the raster image and a differently
colored region; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head, wherein pixels in the black
region adjacent the boundary are binarized into PCBk
black pixels; and storing the binarized data for each pixel
directly into column format.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
A print driver according to Claim 10,
wherein the binarized print data in column format is
shifted so as to account for vertical offset between
each group of print elements.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 11,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 12,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
A print driver according to Claim 11,
wherein the print head has relatively more print
elements for the black color component than for
other color components, and further comprising the
step of selecting different black print elements for
successive recording mediums.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
166 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, wherein the black color component
has relatively more print elements than other color
components, comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; storing the binarized print data for each
pixel directly in column format; and shifting the binarized data for the black
color component so as to cause different black print
elements to be selected for successive recording
operations.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A print driver according to Claim 15,
wherein the black component is shifted by an amount
that is incremented for each successive recording
medium.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 15,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 15,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 18,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
48 words
A print driver according to Claim 15,
further comprising the steps of detecting image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replacing binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 20,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 20,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
214 words
A print driver executable in a host
computer so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has a print head with vertically-oriented print
elements and that forms images in successive bands
on a recording medium, comprising: accepting graphic device interface commands
from a windowing graphical device interface (GDI)
environment so as to receive multi-level data for
each of successive plural pixels in a print band of
the raster image; correcting the multi-level data by applying
a color correction tailored to color output
characteristics of the color printer, and by
applying color corrections so as to compensate for
output characteristics of the color printer; binarizing the corrected multi-level data
so as to obtain binary print data for each of plural
color components printable by the color printer; storing the binarized print data for each
pixel directly in column format in a print buffer; shifting the binary print data in the print
buffer by an amount corresponding to a distance
between each of plural groups into which the
vertically-oriented print elements are formed; selecting binary print data corresponding
to a scanning band of the color printer, and to
encode the selected binary print data; and transmitting the encoded binary print data
over a transmission medium to the printer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
A print driver according to Claim 23,
wherein the color printer includes plural print
heads and wherein said step of correcting the multi-level
data includes correcting for differences in
optical density when printing by different ones of
the print heads.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 23,
wherein the subtractive color components include a
black color component and the print head has
relatively more print elements for the black color
component than for other color components, and
further comprising the step of selecting different
black print elements for successive recording
mediums.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
48 words
A print driver according to Claim 23,
further comprising the steps of detecting image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replacing binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 26,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 26,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
100 words
A print driver stored in a computer-readable
medium and executable in a host computer,
so as to output binary print data corresponding to a
raster image to a printer that has a print head with
vertically-oriented print elements and that forms
images in a band on a recording medium, comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and code to store the binarized data for each
pixel directly in column format in a print data
buffer.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
67 words
A print driver according to Claim 29,
wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein said binarizing step
binarizes multi-level data for each successive pixel
into binary data for each of the plural subtractive
color components.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 30,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 31,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 32,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
50 words
A print driver according to Claim 30,
wherein the subtractive color components include a
black color component and the print head has
relatively more print elements for the black color
component than for other color components, and
further comprising code to select different black
print elements for successive recording mediums.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
49 words
A print driver according to Claim 30,
further comprising code to detect- image boundary
portions between differently-colored regions of the
raster image, and code to replace binarized print
data for one color component with binarized print
data for another color at the image boundary, so as
to prevent bleeding.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 35,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 35,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
167 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to detect image boundary portions
between a black region of the raster image and a
differently colored region; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head, wherein pixels in the black
region adjacent the boundary are binarized into PCBk
black pixels; and code to store the binarized data for each
pixel directly into column format.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
30 words
A print driver according to Claim 38,
wherein the binarized print data in column format is
shifted so as to account for vertical offset between
each group of print elements.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 39,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 40,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
40 words
A print driver according to Claim 40,
wherein the print head has relatively more print
elements for the black color component than for
other color components, and further comprising code
to select different black print elements for
successive recording mediums.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
174 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, wherein the black color component
has relatively more print elements than other color
components, comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; code to store the binarized print data for
each pixel directly in column format; and code to shift the binarized data for the
black color component so as to cause different black
print elements to be selected for successive
recording operations.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
24 words
A print driver according to Claim 43,
wherein the black component is shifted by an amount
that is incremented for each successive recording
medium.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 44,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 44,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 46,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
49 words
A print driver according to Claim 46,
further comprising code to detect image boundary
portions between differently-colored regions of the
raster image, and code to replace binarized print
data for one color component with binarized print
data for another color at the image boundary, so as
to prevent bleeding.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 48,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 48,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
228 words
A print driver executable in a host
computer so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has a print head with vertically-oriented print
elements and that forms images in successive bands
on a recording medium, comprising: code to accept graphic device interface
commands from a windowing graphical device interface
(GDI) environment so as to receive multi-level data
for each of successive plural pixels in a print band
of the raster image; code to correct the multi-level data by
applying a color correction tailored to color output
characteristics of the color printer, and by
applying color corrections so as to compensate for
output characteristics of the color printer; code to binarize the corrected multi-level
data so as to obtain binary print data for each of
plural color components printable by the color
printer; code to store the binarized print data for
each pixel directly in column format in a print
buffer; code to shift the binary print data in the
print buffer by an amount corresponding to a
distance between each of plural groups into which
the vertically-oriented print elements are formed; code to select binary print data
corresponding to a scanning band of the color
printer, and to encode the selected binary print
data; and code to transmit the encoded binary print
data over a transmission medium to the printer.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
40 words
A print driver according to Claim 51,
wherein the color printer includes plural print
heads and wherein said step of correcting the multi-level
data includes correcting for differences in
optical density when printing by different ones of
the print heads.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
50 words
A print driver according to Claim 51,
wherein the subtractive color components include a
black color component and the print head has
relatively more print elements for the black color
component than for other color components, and
further comprising code to select different black
print elements for successive recording mediums.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
49 words
A print driver according to Claim 51,
further comprising code to detect image boundary
portions between differently-colored regions of the
raster image, and code to replace binarized print
data for one color component with binarized print
data for another color at the image boundary, so as
to prevent bleeding.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print driver according to Claim 54,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print driver according to Claim 54,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
106 words
A print driver, executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has plural print heads each with vertically-oriented
print elements and that forms images in a band on a
recording medium, comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and storing the binarized print data for each
pixel directly in column format in plural print data
buffers, with one print data buffer being provided
in correspondence to each of the plural print heads.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
45 words
A print driver according to Claim 57,
further comprising shifting the binarized data in at
least one of the plural print data buffers with
respect to others of the plural print data buffers,
so as to compensate for head misalignment between
the plural print heads.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
17 words
A print driver according to Claim 58,
wherein the shift amount corresponds to a numerical
offset value.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
67 words
A print driver according to Claim 57,
wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein said binarizing step
binarizes multi-level data for each successive pixel
into binary data for each of the plural subtractive
color components.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print driver according to Claim 60,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print driver according to Claim 61,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print driver according to Claim 62,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
106 words
A computer readable medium on which is
stored code for a print driver executable in a host
computer so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has a print head with vertically-oriented print
elements and that forms images in a band on a
recording medium, the code comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and code to store the binarized data for each
pixel directly in column format in a print data
buffer.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 64, wherein the printer is a color printer
whose vertically-oriented print elements are
arranged into plural groups respectively
corresponding to each of plural subtractive color
components, wherein multi-level data is provided for
each of plural additive color components, and
wherein said binarizing step binarizes multi-level
data for each successive pixel into binary data for
each of the plural subtractive color components.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
52 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 65, wherein said color printer forms color
images by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
30 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 66, wherein the binarized-and-shifted
column data is communicated from the host computer
over an interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
15 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 67, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 64, wherein the subtractive color
components include a black color component and the
print head has relatively more print elements for
the black color component than for other color
components, and further comprising code to select
different black print elements for successive
recording mediums.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
50 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 64, further comprising code to detect image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and code to replace
binarized print data for one color component with
binarized print data for another color at the image
boundary, so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
38 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 69, wherein a boundary portion is detected
between a black region and a differently-colored
region, and wherein pixels in the black region
adjacent the detected boundary are replaced with
PCBk pixels.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
20 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 69, wherein detection of image boundary
portions is based on the multi-level data.
Claim 73
Dependent Claim
179 words
A computer readable medium on which is
stored code for a print driver executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, the code comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to detect image boundary portions
between a black region of the raster image and a
differently colored region; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head, wherein pixels in the black
region adjacent the boundary are binarized into PCBk
black pixels; and code to store the binarized data for each
pixel directly into column format.
Claim 74
Dependent Claim
31 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 73, wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
30 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 74, wherein the binarized-and-shifted
column data is communicated from the host computer
over an interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
15 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 75, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
41 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 76, wherein the print head has relatively
more print elements for the black color component
than for other color components, and further
comprising code to select different black print
elements for successive recording mediums.
Claim 78
Dependent Claim
186 words
A computer readable medium on which is
stored code for a print driver executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data for each
of plural color components corresponding
respectively to plural color planes of a raster
image, the binary print data being output to a color
printer that has a print head with vertically-oriented
print elements arranged into plural groups
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components and that forms color images in a
band on a recording medium by plural scans
respectively corresponding to each of the plural
color components, wherein the black color component
has relatively more print elements than other color
components, the code comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; code to store the binarized print data for
each pixel directly in column format; and code to shift the binarized data for the
black color component so as to cause different black
print elements to be selected for successive
recording operations.
Claim 79
Dependent Claim
25 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 78, wherein the black component is shifted
by an amount that is incremented for each successive
recording medium.
Claim 80
Dependent Claim
52 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 79, wherein said color printer forms color
images by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 81
Dependent Claim
30 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 79, wherein the binarized-and-shifted
column data is communicated from the host computer
over an interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 82
Dependent Claim
15 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 81, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 83
Dependent Claim
50 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 81, further comprising code to detect image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and code to replace
binarized print data for one color component with
binarized print data for another color at the image
boundary, so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 84
Dependent Claim
38 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 83, wherein a boundary portion is detected
between a black region and a differently-colored
region, and wherein pixels in the black region
adjacent the detected boundary are replaced with
PCBk pixels.
Claim 85
Dependent Claim
20 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 83, wherein detection of image boundary
portions is based on the multi-level data.
Claim 86
Dependent Claim
240 words
A computer readable medium on which is
stored code for a print driver executable in a host
computer so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has a print head with vertically-oriented print
elements and that forms images in successive bands
on a recording medium, the code comprising: code to accept graphic device interface
commands from a windowing graphical device interface
(GDI) environment so as to receive multi-level data
for each of successive plural pixels in a print band
of the raster image; code to correct the multi-level data by
applying a color correction tailored to color output
characteristics of the color printer, and by
applying color corrections so as to compensate for
output characteristics of the color printer; code to binarize the corrected multi-level
data so as to obtain binary print data for each of
plural color components printable by the color
printer; code to store the binarized print data for
each pixel directly in column format in a print
buffer; code to shift the binary print data in the
print buffer by an amount corresponding to a
distance between each of plural groups into which
the vertically-oriented print elements are formed; code to select binary print data
corresponding to a scanning band of the color
printer, and to encode the selected binary print
data; and code to transmit the encoded binary print
data over a transmission medium to the printer.
Claim 87
Dependent Claim
41 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 86, wherein the color printer includes
plural print heads and wherein said step of
correcting the multi-level data includes correcting
for differences in optical density when printing by
different ones of the print heads.
Claim 88
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 86, wherein the subtractive color
components include a black color component and the
print head has relatively more print elements for
the black color component than for other color
components, and further comprising code to select
different black print elements for successive
recording mediums.
Claim 89
Dependent Claim
50 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 86, further comprising code to detect image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and code to replace
binarized print data for one color component with
binarized print data for another color at the image
boundary, so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 90
Dependent Claim
38 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 89, wherein a boundary portion is detected
between a black region and a differently-colored
region, and wherein pixels in the black region
adjacent the detected boundary are replaced with
PCBk pixels.
Claim 91
Dependent Claim
20 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 89, wherein detection of image boundary
portions is based on the multi-level data.
Claim 92
Dependent Claim
124 words
A computer readable medium on which is
stored code for a print driver executable in a host
computer, so as to output binary print data
corresponding to a raster image to a printer that
has plural print heads each with vertically-oriented
print elements and that forms images in a band on a
recording medium, the code comprising: code to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image; code to binarize each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and code to store the binarized print data for
each pixel directly in column format in plural print
data buffers, with one print data buffer being
provided in correspondence to each of the plural
print heads.
Claim 93
Dependent Claim
48 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 92, further comprising code to shift the
binarized data in at least one of the plural print
data buffers with respect to others of the plural
print data buffers, so as to compensate for head
misalignment between the plural print heads.
Claim 94
Dependent Claim
18 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 93, wherein the shift amount corresponds to
a numerical offset value.
Claim 95
Dependent Claim
69 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 92, wherein the printer is a color printer
whose vertically-oriented print elements are
arranged into plural groups respectively
corresponding to each of plural subtractive color
components, wherein multi-level data is provided for
each of plural additive color components, and
wherein said code to binarize binarizes multi-level
data for each successive pixel into binary data for
each of the plural subtractive color components.
Claim 96
Dependent Claim
52 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 95, wherein said color printer forms color
images by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 97
Dependent Claim
30 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 96, wherein the binarized-and-shifted
column data is communicated from the host computer
over an interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 98
Dependent Claim
15 words
A computer readable medium according
to Claim 97, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 99
Dependent Claim
116 words
A printing system comprising: an ink jet printer having at least one
print head with vertically-oriented print elements
and forming images in a band on a recording medium,
said ink jet printer including a print interface to
receive binary print data corresponding to a raster
image; and a host computer including a print driver
executable thereon to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image, to binarize
each successive pixel into binary print data
corresponding to a print element on the print head,
to store the binarized data for each pixel directly
in column format in a print data buffer, and to
transmit the binarized print data from the buffer to
said print interface.
Claim 100
Dependent Claim
66 words
A printing system according to Claim
99, wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein said multi-level data
is binarized for each successive pixel into binary
data for each of the plural subtractive color
components.
Claim 101
Dependent Claim
51 words
A printing system according to Claim
100, wherein said color printer forms color images
by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 102
Dependent Claim
33 words
A printing system according to Claim
101, wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data
is communicated from the host computer over an
interface in the host computer to the color printer
for print out thereby.
Claim 103
Dependent Claim
14 words
A printing system according to Claim
102, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 104
Dependent Claim
50 words
A printing system according to Claim
102, wherein the subtractive color components
include a black color component and the print head
has relatively more print elements for the black
color component than for other color components, and
wherein said print driver selects different black
print elements for successive recording mediums.
Claim 105
Dependent Claim
47 words
A printing system according to Claim
102, wherein said print driver detects image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replaces binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 106
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printing system according to Claim
105, wherein a boundary portion is detected between
a black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 107
Dependent Claim
19 words
A printing system according to Claim
105, wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 108
Dependent Claim
170 words
A printing system comprising: a color ink jet printer having at least one
print head with vertically-oriented print elements
arranged into plural groups respectively
corresponding to each of plural color components and
forming color images in a band on a recording medium
by plural scans respectively corresponding to each
of the plural color components, said ink jet printer
including a print interface to receive binary print
data corresponding to a raster image; and a host computer including a print driver
executable thereon to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image, to detect
image boundary portions between a black region of
the raster image and a differently colored region,
to binarize each successive pixel into binary print
data corresponding to a print element on the print
head, wherein pixels in the black region adjacent
the boundary are binarized into PCBk black pixels,
to store the binarized data for each pixel directly
into column format, and to transmit the binarized
print data from the buffer to said print interface.
Claim 109
Dependent Claim
30 words
A printing system according to Claim
108, wherein the binarized print data in column
format is shifted so as to account for vertical
offset between each group of print elements.
Claim 110
Dependent Claim
33 words
A printing system according to Claim
109, wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data
is communicated from the host computer over an
interface in the host computer to the color printer
for print out thereby.
Claim 111
Dependent Claim
14 words
A printing system according to Claim
110, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 112
Dependent Claim
40 words
A printing system according to Claim
110, wherein the print head has relatively more
print elements for the black color component than
for other color components, and wherein the print
driver selects different black print elements for
successive recording mediums.
Claim 113
Dependent Claim
177 words
A printing system comprising: a color ink jet printer having at least one
print head with vertically-oriented print elements
arranged into plural groups respectively
corresponding to each of plural color components and
forming color images in a band on a recording medium
by plural scans respectively corresponding to each
of the plural color components, wherein the black
color component has relatively more print elements
than other color components, said ink jet printer
including a print interface to receive binary print
data corresponding to a raster image; and a host computer including a print driver
executable thereon to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image, to binarize
each successive pixel into binary print data
corresponding to a print element on the print head,
to store the binarized print data for each pixel
directly in column format, to shift the binarized
data for the black color component so as to cause
different black print elements to be selected for
successive recording operations, and to transmit the
binarized print data from the buffer to said print
interface.
Claim 114
Dependent Claim
24 words
A printing system according to Claim
113, wherein the black component is shifted by an
amount that is incremented for each successive
recording medium.
Claim 115
Dependent Claim
51 words
A printing system according to Claim
113, wherein said color printer forms color images
by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 116
Dependent Claim
29 words
A printing system according to Claim
113, wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data
is communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 117
Dependent Claim
14 words
A printing system according to Claim
116, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 118
Dependent Claim
47 words
A printing system according to Claim
113, wherein said print driver detects image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replaces binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 119
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printing system according to Claim
118, wherein a boundary portion is detected between
a black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 120
Dependent Claim
19 words
A printing system according to Claim
118, wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 121
Dependent Claim
133 words
A printing system comprising: an ink jet printer having at plural print
heads each with vertically-oriented print elements
for forming images in a band on a recording medium,
said ink jet printer including a print interface to
receive binary print data corresponding to a raster
image; and a host computer including a print driver,
executable thereon to access multi-level data for
successive pixels of the raster image, to binarize
each successive pixel into binary print data
corresponding to a print element on the print head,
to store the binarized print data for each pixel
directly in column format in plural print data
buffers, with one print data buffer being provided
in correspondence to each of the plural print heads,
and to transmit the binarized print data from the
buffers to said print interface.
Claim 122
Dependent Claim
47 words
A printing system according to Claim
121, wherein the print driver shifts the binarized
data in at least one of the plural print data
buffers with respect to others of the plural print
data buffers, so as to compensate for head
misalignment between the plural print heads.
Claim 123
Dependent Claim
17 words
A printing system according to Claim
122, wherein the shift amount corresponds to a
numerical offset value.
Claim 124
Dependent Claim
65 words
A printing system according to Claim
121, wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein multi-level data is
binarized for each successive pixel into binary data
for each of the plural subtractive color components.
Claim 125
Dependent Claim
51 words
A printing system according to Claim
124, wherein said color printer forms color images
by superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 126
Dependent Claim
29 words
A printing system according to Claim
125, wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data
is communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 127
Dependent Claim
14 words
A printing system according to Claim
126, wherein the interface is a bi-directional
interface.
Claim 128
Dependent Claim
77 words
A print method for printing binary
print data with a printer that has a print head with
vertically-oriented print elements and that forms
printed images in a band on a recording medium,
comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head; and storing the binarized data for each pixel
directly in column format in a print data buffer.
Claim 129
Dependent Claim
67 words
A print method according to Claim 128,
wherein the printer is a color printer whose
vertically-oriented print elements are arranged into
plural groups respectively corresponding to each of
plural subtractive color components, wherein multi-level
data is provided for each of plural additive
color components, and wherein said binarizing step
binarizes multi-level data for each successive pixel
into binary data for each of the plural subtractive
color components.
Claim 130
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print method according to Claim 129,
wherein said color printer forms color images by
superimposing plural scans respectively
corresponding to each of the subtractive color
components, and wherein the binarized print data in
column format is shifted so as to account for
vertical offset between each group of print
elements.
Claim 131
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print method according to Claim 130,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 132
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print method according to Claim 131,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 133
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print method according to Claim 129,
wherein the subtractive color components include a
black color component and the print head has
relatively more print elements for the black color
component than for other color components, and
further comprising the step of selecting different
black print elements for successive recording
mediums.
Claim 134
Dependent Claim
48 words
A print method according to Claim 129,
further comprising the steps of detecting image
boundary portions between differently-colored
regions of the raster image, and replacing binarized
print data for one color component with binarized
print data for another color at the image boundary,
so as to prevent bleeding.
Claim 135
Dependent Claim
37 words
A print method according to Claim 134,
wherein a boundary portion is detected between a
black region and a differently-colored region, and
wherein pixels in the black region adjacent the
detected boundary are replaced with PCBk pixels.
Claim 136
Dependent Claim
19 words
A print method according to Claim 134,
wherein detection of image boundary portions is
based on the multi-level data.
Claim 137
Dependent Claim
15 words
A print method according to Claim 128,
wherein the method is executed in a printer.
Claim 138
Dependent Claim
129 words
A print method for printing binary
print data with a color printer that has a print
head with vertically-oriented print elements
arranged into plural groups respectively
corresponding to each of plural color components and
that forms color images in a band on a recording
medium by plural scans respectively corresponding to
each of the plural color components, comprising: accessing multi-level data for successive
pixels of the raster image; detecting image boundary portions between a
black region of the raster image and a differently
colored region; binarizing each successive pixel into
binary print data corresponding to a print element
on the print head, wherein pixels in the black
region adjacent the boundary are binarized into PCBk
black pixels; and storing the binarized data for each pixel
directly into column format.
Claim 139
Dependent Claim
30 words
A print method according to Claim 138,
wherein the binarized print data in column format is
shifted so as to account for vertical offset between
each group of print elements.
Claim 140
Dependent Claim
29 words
A print method according to Claim 139,
wherein the binarized-and-shifted column data is
communicated from the host computer over an
interface to the color printer for print out
thereby.
Claim 141
Dependent Claim
14 words
A print method according to Claim 140,
wherein the interface is a bi-directional interface.
Claim 142
Dependent Claim
41 words
A print method according to Claim 139,
wherein the print head has relatively more print
elements for the black color component than for
other color components, and further comprising the
step of selecting different black print elements for
successive recording mediums.
Claim 143
Dependent Claim
16 words
A print method according to Claim 138,
wherein the method is executed in the color printer.
Claim 144
Dependent Claim
18 words
An electronic signal carrying computer
code comprising the printer driver of any one of
claims 1 to 63.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.