Efficient Implementation of Raster Operations Flow

• US 20060285144A1
• Filed: 08/28/2006
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Santhosh Trichur Natarajan Kumar
• Original Assignee: Santhosh Trichur Natarajan Kumar
• Inventors: Kumar, Santhosh Trichur Natarajan
• Granted Patent: US 8,373,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.130
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1806 Receiving job control commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1822 Analysing the received data before processing

Abstract

According to one aspect, a printer supports transparency operations by generating mask data at interpretation stage which indicates whether each bit of a page content would be determined by the result of a raster operation or a prior destination value. The mask data can be used to complete quickly rendering of a page image once the rendering starts. Another aspect enables color fills of objects to be performed efficiently. A raster operations engine may determine whether all the points (pixels) of the object would have the same value if the raster operation is performed. If all pixels would have the same value, the value for only one pixel is computed and used for multiple pixels of the object. According to another aspect, when a pattern is to be tiled on an entire image portion, the pattern data is stored in a memory and provided as an input to rendering operation multiple times.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method of filling color in an image portion of a page to be printed, said method being performed in a printer, said method comprising:

receiving a plurality of commands specifying content for a portion of said page, said portion containing a plurality of points, said plurality of commands specifying a raster operation to be performed to generate a bit map representing said portion, said raster operation being performed on at least one operand, wherein said plurality of commands indicate that said one operand is to be filled with a color;

determining whether performing said raster operation would result in a same value being generated for all of said plurality of points; and

if said same value would be generated, performing said raster operation for one of said plurality points to determine said same value and using said same value for all of said plurality of points.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said raster operation comprises an inversion.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said one operand comprises a source or a paint.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said determining is performed in a raster operation module.

12-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A printer controller filling color in an image portion of a page to be printed, said printer controller comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of commands specifying content for a portion of said page, said portion containing a plurality of points, said plurality of commands specifying a raster operation to be performed to generate a bit map representing said portion, said raster operation being performed on at least one operand, wherein said plurality of commands indicate that said one operand is to be filled with a color;

means for determining whether performing said raster operation would result in a same value being generated for all of said plurality of points; and

means for performing said raster operation for one of said plurality points to determine said same value and using said same value for all of said plurality of points, if said same value would be generated.

23. The printer controller of claim 22, wherein said raster operation comprises an inversion.

24. The printer controller of claim 23, wherein said one operand comprises a source or a paint.

25. The printer controller of claim 24, wherein said means for determining is comprised in a raster operation module.

26-35. -35. (canceled)

36. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for causing a printer to fill color in an image portion of a page to be printed, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said printer causes said one or more processors to perform the actions of:

receiving a plurality of commands specifying content for a portion of said page, said portion containing a plurality of points, said plurality of commands specifying a raster operation to be performed to generate a bit map representing said portion, said raster operation being performed on at least one operand, wherein said plurality of commands indicate that said one operand is to be filled with a color;

determining whether performing said raster operation would result in a same value being generated for all of said plurality of points; and

if said same value would be generated, performing said raster operation for one of said plurality points to determine said same value and using said same value for all of said plurality of points.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein said raster operation comprises an inversion.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 37, wherein said one operand comprises a source or a paint.

39. The computer readable medium of claim 38, wherein said determining is performed in a raster operation module.

40-42. -42. (canceled)