Patent US5504891A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5504891A
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Method and apparatus for format conversion of a hierarchically structured page description language document
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 1994-06-13
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Granted: 1996-04-02
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Expires: 2014-06-13
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for converting a document from a clear text representation to a binary representation. There is not a one to one correspondence between the two formats in SPDL. In order to determine what binary representation is needed for a clear text tag which can have a plurality of binary representations, it is necessary to actually process at least portions of the document for presentation (in contrast to just converting the document to a new format) in order to determine which binary representation of the tag is to be used. A stack is used to keep track of the binary elements as they are being converted. This allows for an efficient handling of the binary length encoding because the length of the binary representation of the different hierarchical levels of a document are not known until the respective hierarchical levels are encoded. An element table having pointers to sub-element linked lists can be used as a reference to determine the binary representation of the clear text tags and whether the document being converted has used proper syntax.
Inventors
- 👤 Tetsuro Motoyama
- 👤 Satwinder S. Mangat
- 👤 Donny Tsay
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 09:11
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/12; G06F3/1296; G06F40/00; G06F40/10; G06F40/103; G06F40/12; G06F40/14; G06F40/143; G06F40/151; G06F40/154; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/18; G06K15/1827; G06K15/1828; G06K15/1848; G06K15/1849; G06F3/1297; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0002; G06K2215/0005; G06K2215/0011; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99942
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of changing a format of a file, comprising the steps of: inputting a first element having a first representation; converting said first element of the first representation to a second representation; inputting a subsequent element of the first representation; determining if a second representation of the subsequent element includes a portion which is found in the second representation of said first element; converting said subsequent element to the second representation including said portion when said determining step determines that said portion is not found in the second representation of said first element; and converting said subsequent element to the second representation without said portion when said determining step determines that said portion is found in the second representation of said first element.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of changing a format of a file, comprising the steps of: inputting a first element having a first representation; converting said first element of the first representation to a second representation; inputting a subsequent element of the first representation; determining if a second representation of the subsequent element includes a portion which is found in the second representation of said first element; converting said subsequent element to the second representation including said portion when said determining step determines that said portion is not found in the second representation of said first element; and converting said subsequent element to the second representation without said portion when said determining step determines that said portion is found in the second representation of said first element.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein: said determining step examines a flag which indicates if said second representation of said first element includes said portion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
98 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein data structures having at least two different fields are used to store conversion information used by each of said converting steps to convert corresponding elements of the first representation including said first element and said subsequent element to said second representation, one of said at least two different fields being used to store conversion information of the element which is always required to appear in the second representation of the corresponding element and another of said at least two different fields being used to store said portion of the corresponding element.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 3, wherein said data structures are linked list data structures.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said first representation is a textual representation and said second representation is a binary representation.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
135 words
An apparatus for changing a format of a file, comprising: means for inputting a first element having a first representation; means for converting said first element of the first representation to a second representation; means for inputting a subsequent element of the first representation; means for determining if a second representation of the subsequent element includes a portion which is found in the second representation of said first element; means for converting said subsequent element to the second representation including said portion when said means for determining determines that said portion is not found in the second representation of said first element; and means for converting said subsequent element to the second representation without said portion when said means for determining determines that said portion is found in the second representation of said first element.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
135 words
An apparatus for changing a format of a file, comprising: means for inputting a first element having a first representation; means for converting said first element of the first representation to a second representation; means for inputting a subsequent element of the first representation; means for determining if a second representation of the subsequent element includes a portion which is found in the second representation of said first element; means for converting said subsequent element to the second representation including said portion when said means for determining determines that said portion is not found in the second representation of said first element; and means for converting said subsequent element to the second representation without said portion when said means for determining determines that said portion is found in the second representation of said first element.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: said determining means examines a flag which indicates if said second representation of said first element includes said portion.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
98 words
An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein data structures having at least two different fields are used to store conversion information used by each of said converting means to convert corresponding elements of the first representation including said first element and said subsequent element to said second representation, one of said at least two different fields being used to store conversion information of the element which is always required to appear in the second representation of the corresponding element and another of said at least two different fields being used to store said portion of the corresponding element.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said data structures are linked list data structures.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said first representation is a textual representation and said second representation is a binary representation.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
92 words
A method of changing a format of a file, comprising the steps of: inputting a first element having a first representation; converting said first element of the first representation to a first element of a second representation; inputting a subsequent element of the first representation, said subsequent element having a plurality of second representations; converting said subsequent element of the first representation to one of said second representations thereof by choosing one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element which is a correct sub-element for said first element.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
92 words
A method of changing a format of a file, comprising the steps of: inputting a first element having a first representation; converting said first element of the first representation to a first element of a second representation; inputting a subsequent element of the first representation, said subsequent element having a plurality of second representations; converting said subsequent element of the first representation to one of said second representations thereof by choosing one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element which is a correct sub-element for said first element.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
68 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein said step of converting said subsequent element traces through a sub-element linked list containing said first element and a plurality of representations of said subsequent element and chooses said one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element by choosing a first representation of said subsequent element which appears after said first element in said sub-element linked list.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein said subsequent element is a Standard Page Description Language STRCTID element.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein said subsequent element is a Standard Page Description Language STRCTID element.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein said first format is a textual format and said second format is a binary format and each of said converting steps convert from the textual format to the binary format.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
97 words
An apparatus for changing a format of a file, comprising: means for inputting a first element having a first representation; means for converting said first element of the first representation to a first element of a second representation; means for inputting a subsequent element of the first representation, said subsequent element having a plurality of second representations; means for converting said subsequent element of the first representation to one of said second representations thereof by choosing one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element which is a correct sub-element for said first element.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
97 words
An apparatus for changing a format of a file, comprising: means for inputting a first element having a first representation; means for converting said first element of the first representation to a first element of a second representation; means for inputting a subsequent element of the first representation, said subsequent element having a plurality of second representations; means for converting said subsequent element of the first representation to one of said second representations thereof by choosing one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element which is a correct sub-element for said first element.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
68 words
An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said means for converting said subsequent element traces through a sub-element linked list containing said first element and a plurality of representations of said subsequent element and chooses said one of the plurality of said second representations of the subsequent element by choosing a first representation of said subsequent element which appears after said first element in said sub-element linked list.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said subsequent element is a Standard Page Description Language STRCTID element.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said subsequent element is a Standard Page Description Language STRCTID element.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-04-02 | 1999-10-02 | 2000-04-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-04-02 | 2003-10-02 | 2004-04-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-04-02 | 2007-10-02 | 2008-04-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |