INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM INCLUDING PRINTER, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS THEREFOR

• US 20190332905A1
• Filed: 04/24/2019
• Published: 10/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 10,762,400 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 3/1242 Image or content composition onto a page
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1243 Variable data printing, e.g. document forms, templates, labels, coupons, advertisements, logos, watermarks, transactional printing, fixed content versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1276 within a printer driver, e.g. driver resides either on a server or on a client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/022 for printing on continuous media, e.g. tapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1822 Analysing the received data before processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1848 Generation of the printable image

Abstract

A controller of an information processing apparatus is configured to receive image data representing a compound image including at least first characteristic data and second characteristic data, extract first and second characteristic image data respectively representing the first and second characteristic images, determine, by analyzing the first and second characteristic image data as extracted, whether the first and second characteristic images are identical. When it is determined that the first and second characteristic images are not identical, the controller generates arranged image data subjected to be printed and representing the first and second characteristic images in a boundary-distinguishable manner, while, when it is determined that the first and second characteristic images are identical, the controller generates arranged image data subjected to be printed and representing the first and second characteristic images not in a boundary-distinguishable manner Then, the controller outputs the arranged image data.

Claims

1. Non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for an information processing apparatus provided with a communication interface and a controller, the controller being configured to executable an application program configured to output image data representing a compound image including at least a first characteristic image and a second characteristic image each having a particular characteristic,

the instructions cause, when executed, the controller to perform:

a receiving process of receiving the image data representing the compound image designated by the application program;

an extracting process of extracting, from the image data representing the compound image received in the receiving process, first characteristic image data representing the first characteristic image and second characteristic image data representing the second characteristic image;

a determining process of determining, by analyzing the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data extracted in the extracting process, whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical;

a generating process in which;

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generates arranged image data subjected to be printed and representing the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generates the arranged image data subjected to be printed representing the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image not in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

an outputting process of outputting the arranged image data generated in the generating process and subject to be printed by a printer.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein, in the generating process:

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generate the arranged image data with including a cutting command indicating the printing sheet is to be cut between the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image, wherein the printer is configured to print a plurality of images on a printing sheet and cut the printing sheet between any of two continuous images of the plurality of images; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generate print data which does not include the cutting command.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein, in the generating process:

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generate the arranged image data with including a delimiting image between the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generate print data without including the delimiting image between the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein, in the generating process:

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generate the arranged image data with adding a particular mark image to one of the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generate the arranged image data without adding a particular mark image to either the first characteristic image or the second characteristic image.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein the printer is configured to print two or more particular images in a manner arranged in a line,

wherein the application program is configured to output the image data of the compound image on a page basis,

wherein, in the extracting process, the controller extracts the image data of the characteristic images from a top to an end, in order, of each of the compound images,

wherein, in the determining process, the controller determines whether the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data are identical with regarding two pieces of continuously extracted image data being regarding as the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data, and

wherein, in the generating process, the controller generates the arranged image data such that the arranged image data represents the characteristic images extracted in the extracting process in order along a line, two continuously arranged characteristic images determined not to be identical in the determining process being printed so as to be boundary-distinguishable, two continuously arranged characteristic images determined to be identical in the determining process being printed so as not to be boundary-distinguishable.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 5,

wherein, in the extracting process, when the controller receives the image data of a plurality of pages of the compound images, the controller extracts the image data of the characteristic images of the plurality of pages of compound images, on a page basis, from an ascending order of pages and from the top to the end of each page,

wherein, in the determining process, the controller further determines whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical with regarding the characteristic image at the end of an arbitrary page of the plurality of pages as the first characteristic image and regarding the characteristic image at the top of a next to the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages as the second characteristic image, and

wherein the arranged image data represents the characteristic images extracted from the plurality of pages of the compound images arranged in a line such that the characteristic image at the end of the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images and the characteristic image at the top of the next to the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images are aligned continuously, the characteristic image at the end of the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images and the characteristic image at the top of the next to the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images being printed such that:

when it is determined that the characteristic image at the end of the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images and the characteristic image at the top of the next to the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images are not identical, the two characteristic images are printed in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

when it is determined that the characteristic image at the end of the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images and the characteristic image at the top of the next to the arbitrary page of the plurality of pages of the compound images are identical, the two characteristic images are printed not in a boundary-distinguishable manner

7. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein, in the extracting process, the controller extracts, from the image data of the compound image received in the receiving process, two pieces of image data representing images including barcodes as the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data, respectively.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 7,

wherein, in the determining process, the controller determines whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical based on whether a value indicated by the barcode included in the first characteristic image data and a value indicated by the barcode included in the second characteristic image data are identical.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1,

wherein, in the determining process, the controller determines whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical by comparing the first characteristic data and the second characteristic data.

10. A printer comprising:

an input interface; and

a controller,

the controller being configured to perform;

a receiving process of receiving image data representing a compound image including a plurality of characteristic images having particular characteristics through the input interface;

an extracting process of extracting, from the image data representing the compound image received in the receiving process, first characteristic image data representing a first characteristic image and second characteristic image data representing a second characteristic image;

a determining process of determining, by analyzing the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data extracted in the extracting process, whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical;

a generating process in which;

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generates print data used to print the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generates print data used to print the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image not in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

a print engine configured to print out the print data generated in the generating process.

11. An information processing system including an information processing apparatus provided with a controller,

the controller being configured to perform:

a receiving process of receiving the image data representing a compound image including a plurality of characteristic images having particular characteristics designated by an application program configured to output the image data;

an extracting process of extracting, from the image data representing the compound image received in the receiving process, first characteristic image data representing the first characteristic image and second characteristic image data representing the second characteristic image;

a determining process of determining, by analyzing the first characteristic image data and the second characteristic image data extracted in the extracting process, whether the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical;

a generating process in which;

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are not identical, the controller generates arranged image data subjected to be printed and representing the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

when it is determined in the determining process that the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image are identical, the controller generates arranged image data subjected to be printed and representing the first characteristic image and the second characteristic image not in a boundary-distinguishable manner; and

an outputting process of outputting the arranged image data generated in the generating process and subjected to be printed by a printer.