Printing electronic documents with automatically interleaved separation sheets

• US 6,765,685 B1
• Filed: 01/22/1999
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Yu, Zhongming
• Primary Examiner(s): GARCIA, GABRIEL I
• Application Number:
  US09/235,841
• Time in Patent Office: 2,006 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.1, 358/1.9, 358/1.12, 358/1.13, 358/1.17, 358/1.18, 358/452, 358/498, 399/382, 399/401
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6591 characterised by the recording material, e.g. plastic material, OHP, ceramics, tiles, textiles details transferring the toner pattern onto particular materials G03G15/1625
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00497 Overhead Transparency, i.e. OHP
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00894 Placing job divider sheet
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0088 Collated printing

Abstract

A method and apparatus for outputting an electronic document, in which separation pages are automatically interleaved between successively printed pages of the electronic document. In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of printing an electronic document on transparency film using a computer printer having at least two (2) paper source trays. The method may involving modifying an existing printer driver associated with the printer to cause the printer to print pages of the document on sheets of transparency film obtained from a first paper source tray, and to automatically interleave blank sheets obtained from a second paper source tray between successively printed pages. For example, an existing printer driver is modified by automatically generating a new computer printer driver based on an existing printer description file that is associated with the existing printer driver, to redefine pagination and paper source tray attributes of the description file.

Claims

1. A method of printing an electronic document on a printing device, the method comprising the steps of:

a computer automatically generating, based on an existing description of attributes of the printing device, a new description of the attributes of the printing device, wherein the new description includes information that describes an automatic interleaving option;

the computer automatically generating a new driver program based on the new description;

the printing device obtaining, in response to signals from the new driver program, first page material from a first page source of the printing device;

the printing device obtaining, in response to the signals, second page material from a second page source of the printing device;

the printing device printing, in response to the signals, one or more pages of the electronic document on the first page material; and

the printing device automatically interleaving, in response to the signals, the second page material with the pages as the pages are printed.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the existing description lacks the information that describes the automatic interleaving option.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the computer identifying, in the existing description, data describing one or more available paper source trays of the printing device; and

the computer generating, in the new description, data that describes the available paper source trays.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the computer automatically generating, in the new description, instructions that cause a graphical user interface to display a transparency printing feature.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the computer automatically redefining a pagination attribute in the new description.

6. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for printing an electronic document, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform:

generating, based on an existing description of attributes of a printing device, a new description of the attributes of the printing device, wherein the new description includes information that describes an automatic interleaving option;

generating a new driver program based on the new description;

wherein the new driver program causes the printing device to obtain first page material from a first page source of the printing device;

wherein the new driver program causes the printing device to obtain second page material from a second page source of the printing device;

wherein the new driver program causes the printing device to print one or more pages of the electronic document on the first page material; and

wherein the new driver program causes the printing device to automatically interleave the second page material with the pages as the pages are printed.

7. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 6, wherein the existing description lacks the information that describes the automatic interleaving option.

8. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 6, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes the one or more processors to perform:

identifying, in the existing description, data describing one or more available paper source trays of the printing device; and

generating, in the new description, data that describes the available paper source trays.

9. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 6, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes the one or more processors to perform:

generating, in the new description, instructions that cause a graphical user interface to display a transparency printing feature.

10. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 6, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by the one or more processors further causes the one or more processors to perform:

redefining a pagination attribute in the new description.

11. A system comprising:

a computer configured to;

automatically generate, based on an based on an existing description of attributes of a printer, a new description of the attributes of the printer, wherein the new description includes information that describes an automatic interleaving option; and

automatically generate a new driver program based on the new description; and

the printer, wherein the printer is configured to;

obtain, in response to signals from the new driver program, first page material from a fist page source of the printer;

obtain, in response to the signals, second page material from a second page source of the printer;

print, in response to the signals, one or more pages of an electronic document on the first page material; and

automatically interleave, in response to the signals, the second page material with the pages as the pages are printed.

12. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the existing description lacks the information that describes the automatic interleaving option.

13. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to:

identify, in the existing description, data describing one or more available paper source trays of the printer; and

generate, in the new description, data that describes the available paper source trays.

14. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to:

automatically generate, in the new description, instructions that cause a graphical user interface to display a transparency printing feature.

15. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to:

redefine a pagination attribute in the new description.