Efficient data storage system for gray-scale printers
First Claim
1. Printing apparatus for producing hard-copy outputs from electronic input data, said apparatus comprising:
- means for differentiating between at least two types of input data;
means for storing a first of said input data types at a first bit level for a first number of pixels;
means for separately storing a second of said input data types at a second bit level for a second number of pixels, said second bit level being greater than said first bit level, and said second number of pixels being less than said first number of pixels;
means for separately storing the location of the two types of input;
means for expanding the second number of pixels into a greater number of pixels at a reduced bit level;
means for combining the first number of pixels with the expanded number of pixels; and
means for printing the combined pixels on a hard-copy medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and method for producing a page output from electronic input data consisting of text and line graphics information and of pictorial information. The text and graphics information is converted to two-bit per pixel data and stored in a page buffer. The pictorial information is originally stored at its originating pixel resolution and at a bit level sufficient to represent the full color content. This pictorial data is expanded to a finer pixel resolution at a four-bit level, per color, at the time data is to be merged with the text and graphics data. The merging is accomplished in a band or line buffer which combines the two-bit and four-bit data. A location table is used to keep track of the bit level transitions and to signal the output device that the data is in a particular format.
28 Citations
10 Claims
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1. Printing apparatus for producing hard-copy outputs from electronic input data, said apparatus comprising:
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means for differentiating between at least two types of input data; means for storing a first of said input data types at a first bit level for a first number of pixels; means for separately storing a second of said input data types at a second bit level for a second number of pixels, said second bit level being greater than said first bit level, and said second number of pixels being less than said first number of pixels; means for separately storing the location of the two types of input; means for expanding the second number of pixels into a greater number of pixels at a reduced bit level; means for combining the first number of pixels with the expanded number of pixels; and means for printing the combined pixels on a hard-copy medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)
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7. Printing apparatus for making composite color, gray-scale, outputs on a media material from electronic data in the forms of page description data and video signals, said apparatus comprising:
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a page buffer; a page description data interpreter for converting said page data and video signals into pixels information and for storing said pixel information in the page buffer; a frame storage device for storing a frame of a video signal in memory; an image processor for expanding the data stored in the frame storage memory into more pixels suitable for combination with the data in the page buffer; a band buffer for containing pixels corresponding to one or more lines in the output page; means for loading the band buffer with data from the page buffer and with expanded data from the frame storage memory; means for transferring the data in the band buffer to a gray-level print engine; and means for indicating to the print engine whether a pixel of data from the band buffer represents data from the page buffer or from the frame storage memory.
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Specification