Output controller processor for universal data output

• US 20020097416A1
• Filed: 01/18/2002
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Christina Ying Liu, William Ho Chang
• Original Assignee: Christina Ying Liu, William Ho Chang
• Inventors: Chang, William Ho, Liu, Christina Ying
• Application Number:
  US10/053,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20020097416A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1205 resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1208 resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1228 Printing driverless or using generic drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1245 by conversion to intermediate or common format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1247 by conversion to printer ready format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1253 Configuration of print job parameters, e.g. using UI at the client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1258 by updating job settings at the printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/128 Direct printing, e.g. sending document file, using memory stick, printing from a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1284 Local printer device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1286 via local network
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 : in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 : Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 : Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/162 : Interface to dedicated audio devices, e.g. audio drivers, interface to CODECs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 : Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 : using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/181 : Receiving print data characterized by its formatting, e.g. particular page description languages
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1836 : Rasterization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 : specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 : Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 : Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 : Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 : with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00283 : with a television apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 : with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00403 : Voice input means, e.g. voice commands
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 : the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00488 : providing an audible output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00854 : Recognising an unauthorised user or user-associated action
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00938 : Software related arrangements, e.g. loading applications program loading in general G06F9/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32534 : details of interfacing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32582 : Output interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4413 : involving the use of passwords, ID codes or the like, e.g. PIN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/442 : using a biometric data reading device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 : Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0041 : Point to point H04N2201/0039 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0053 : Optical, e.g. using an infrared link
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 : By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 : Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 : Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 : Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 : using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 : Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 : Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An output controller processes intermediate output data including image data that corresponds to content that includes text or graphics information and has a first bit depth and resolution. The output controller comprises a functional element that retrieves the image data from the intermediate output data and a functional element that carries out an image processing operation on the data. The image processing operation adjusts at least one of bit depth, color space and a combination of resolution and output size of an image represented by the data.

Claims

1. An output controller for processing intermediate output data that includes image data and has a first bit depth and resolution, the image data corresponding to content that includes at least part of a text or graphics information, the controller comprising:

means for retrieving the image data from the intermediate output data, and

means for carrying out an image processing operation on the data, said image processing operation adjusting at least one of bit depth, color space and a combination of resolution and output size of an image represented by the data.

2. The controller of claim 1, further comprising means for receiving the intermediate output data via a short-range wireless communication channel.

3. The controller of claim 1 in which the image data includes mixed raster content encoding, and the means for retrieving the image data from the intermediate output data comprises means for generating an output image data from at least part of the mixed raster content data.

4. The controller of claim 1, in which the means for carrying out image processing operations on the data, includes means for carrying out one or more of a color correction operation, a color matching operation, a color management operation, a scaling operation, an interpolation operation, a color space conversion, a decompression, a decryption, and a halftoning operation.

5. The controller of claim 1 in which the first bit depth and resolution correspond to a predefined standard value included in the controller.

6. The controller of claim 1 in which the means for carrying out an image processing operation on the data adjusts at least one of bit depth, color space, and a combination of output size and resolution to a value corresponding to a specific input requirement of an output engine.

7. The controller of claim 1 in which the output controller is included in the output device.

8. The controller of claim 1 in which the output controller is included in one of a server, an external station, a board, a card, and a data access point.

9. The controller of claim 1, further comprising means for storing one or more output device profiles.

10. An output controller method for processing intermediate output data that includes image data and having a first bit depth and resolution, the image data corresponding to content that includes at least part of a text or graphics information, the method comprising:

retrieving the image data from the intermediate output data, and

carrying out an image processing operation on the data, said image processing operation adjusting at least one of bit depth, color space and a combination of resolution and output size of an image represented by the data.

11. The controller method of claim 10 further comprising receiving the intermediate output data via a short-range wireless communication channel.

12. The controller method of claim 10 in which the image data includes data encoded with mixed raster content.

13. The controller method of claim 10 wherein the step of carrying out an image processing operation on the data, includes carrying out one or more of a color correction operation, a color matching operation, a color management operation, a scaling operation, an interpolation operation, a color space conversion, a halftoning operation, a compression operation, a decompression operation, and a decryption operation.

15. The medium of claim 14 further comprising software for establishing a short-range wireless communicating channel with an information apparatus.

16. The medium of claim 15 further comprising software for providing an output device profile over the communication channel.

17. The medium of claim 14 further comprising software for calculating and collecting payment information as compensation for rendering of the content by the output device.

18. The medium of claim 14 wherein the software includes software for retrieving the image data from data encoded with mixed raster content.

19. The medium of claim 14 wherein the software for carrying out an image processing operation on the data includes software for carrying out one or more of a color correction operation, a color matching operation, a color management operation, a scaling operation, an interpolation operation, a color space conversion, and a halftoning operation.

20. The medium of claim 14 in which the first bit depth and resolution correspond to respective values that are included in said software for retrieving image data and carrying out image processing operations.

21. The medium of claim 14 in which the output controller software is included in a server, an external station, a board, and a data access point.

14. In a computer readable medium, data output controller software for processing intermediate output data that includes image data and has a first bit depth, and resolution, the image data corresponding to content that includes text or graphics information, the controller software comprising:

software for retrieving the image data from the intermediate output data, and

software for carrying out an image processing operation on the data, said image processing operation adjusting at least one of bit depth, color space and a combination of resolution and output size of an image represented by the data.