US6332149B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Imposition process and apparatus for variable imaging system
Assignee: RR Donnelley and Sons Co
•
Filing: 1997-02-11
•
Granted: 2001-12-18
•
Expires: 2017-02-11
Abstract
Abstract The present invention comprises an apparatus and method for reproducing master and variable information on a display device, such as a computer network or a demand printer. The present invention develops first and second sets of template data representing associated first and second template pages, respectively, wherein each set of template data includes master data representing fixed information to be printed and area data representing an area of a page in which variable information is to be printed. A database is developed having a number of entries, each of which represents variable printed information and the display device is responsive to the sets of template data and the database to display the first and second template pages with selected variable information. The fixed and variable pages may be converted to TIFF format and imposed according to an instruction set. Alternatively, the fixed and variable pages may be "imposed-on-the-fly" as they are processed by a RIP.
Inventors
- 👤 James L. Warmus
- 👤 Mark G. Dreyer
- 👤 J. Thomas Shively
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 22:55
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42C; B42C19/00; G; G06; G06F; G06F40/00; G06F40/10; G06F40/103; G06F40/114; G06F40/12; G06F40/123; G06F40/166; G06F40/174; G06F40/197; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/18; G06K15/1848; G06K15/1852; G06K15/1856; G06K15/1857; B65; B65H; B65H2511/00; B65H2511/40; B65H2511/415
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for assembling pages for reproduction, comprising the steps of: (A) generating a master page description language (PDL) file containing page descriptions of master pages with fixed information; (B) generating a variable PDL file containing page descriptions of variable pages with variable information; (C) RIPping the master and variable page descriptions in conjunction with imposition-on-the-fly procedures which impose the master and variable pages into a book format; and (D) transmitting the imposed master and variable pages to a display device.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for assembling pages for reproduction, comprising the steps of: (A) generating a master page description language (PDL) file containing page descriptions of master pages with fixed information; (B) generating a variable PDL file containing page descriptions of variable pages with variable information; (C) RIPping the master and variable page descriptions in conjunction with imposition-on-the-fly procedures which impose the master and variable pages into a book format; and (D) transmitting the imposed master and variable pages to a display device.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of merging the master and variable PDL files before RIPping the page descriptions.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of generating an instruction set specifying selected pages from the master and variable PDL files to be imposed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein the instruction set further specifies how the selected pages should be positioned on the display device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
125 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein RIPping the page descriptions in conjunction with the imposition-on-the-fly procedures comprises the steps of: i) if a page is a selected page, a) defining a virtual device as the display device for the selected page, wherein the virtual device specifies an area in a raster memory for positioning the selected page on the display device; and b) interpreting the selected page; and ii) if the current page is not a selected page, a) determining a next page in the sequence of page descriptions that is a selected page to be rendered on the flat; b) defining the virtual device for the next selected page as the output device for the non-selected page; and c) interpreting the non-selected page.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein RIPping the page descriptions in conjunction with the imposition-on-the-fly procedures further comprises the step of skipping to the page description of the next selected page in the PDL file.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the display device comprises a demand printer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the display device comprises a computer network.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
84 words
A method for assembling pages for reproduction, comprising the steps of: (A) generating a master file containing page descriptions of master pages with fixed information in raster format; (B) generating a variable file containing page descriptions of variable pages with variable information in raster format; (C) generating an instruction set for imposing selected master and variable pages from the raster files; (D) RIPping the selected pages according to the instruction set; and (E) transmitting the imposed master and variable pages to a display device.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
84 words
A method for assembling pages for reproduction, comprising the steps of: (A) generating a master file containing page descriptions of master pages with fixed information in raster format; (B) generating a variable file containing page descriptions of variable pages with variable information in raster format; (C) generating an instruction set for imposing selected master and variable pages from the raster files; (D) RIPping the selected pages according to the instruction set; and (E) transmitting the imposed master and variable pages to a display device.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein the display device comprises a demand printer.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein the display device comprises a computer network.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein the raster format comprises TIFF.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-12-17 | 2005-06-18 | 2005-12-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-12-17 | 2009-06-18 | 2009-12-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-12-17 | 2013-06-18 | 2013-12-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |