Methods and systems for rendering data based on graphic-list partitioning

• US 8,339,670 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2009
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Uoc H., Owen, James E., Henerlau, Paul R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins, Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): Guillermety, Fred
• Application Number:
  US12/413,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.18, 358/2.1, 358/1.15, 382/173, 382/176
• US Class Current: 358/2.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1849 using an intermediate representation, e.g. a list of graphical primitives
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1856 characterized by its workflow
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00278 with a printing apparatus, e.g. a laser beam printer

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention are related to systems and methods for rendering graphical objects in a printing system. According to one aspect of the present invention a graphic list may be partitioned, and the graphic-list partitions may be rendered “out-of-order” or concurrently.

Claims

1. A printing system comprising:

a partition generator for partitioning a graphic list associated with a print job into a plurality of partitions, wherein each partition in said plurality of partitions comprises a partition type, a rendering-order indicator indicating the placement of said each partition in a rendering sequence, a processor indicator indicating at least one rendering processor which may be used to render said each partition and a partition body comprising a plurality of graphic-list elements;

a partition-renderer scheduler for associating a partition, in said plurality of partitions, with a renderer; and

a partition bit-blitter for bit-blitting a rendered partition.

2. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein said partition bit-blitter resides on a device in said printing system selected from the group consisting of a host computing device, a print server, a cloud computing device and a printing device.

3. The printing system as described in claim 1 further comprising a page bit-blitter for bit-blitting a bit-blitted rendered partition to a page memory.

4. The printing system as described in claim 3, wherein said page memory resides on a printing device.

5. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein said partition generator resides on a device in said printing system selected from the group consisting of a host computing device, a print server, a cloud computing device and a printing device.

6. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein, said partition-renderer scheduler resides on a device in said printing system selected from the group consisting of a host computing device, a print server, a cloud computing device and a printing device.

7. The printing system as described in claim 1 further comprising a renderer.

8. The printing system as described in claim 7, wherein said renderer resides on a device in said printing system selected from the group consisting of a host computing device, a print server, a cloud computing device and a printing device.

9. The printing system as described in claim 7, wherein said renderer is a specialized renderer.

10. The printing system as described in claim 1 further comprising a partition processor for processing a said plurality of partitions generated by said partition generator, wherein said processing is based on system performance.

11. The printing system as described in claim 1 further comprising:

a first specialized renderer specialized to render text objects;

a second specialized renderer specialized to render vector objects; and

a third specialized renderer specialized to render pictorial objects.

12. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein:

said graphic list comprises a plurality of graphical objects, wherein each graphical object in said plurality of graphical objects is associated with a graphical-object type; and

said partition generator partitions said graphic list based on said associated graphical-object types.

13. The printing system as described in claim 1 further comprising:

a z-depth determiner for determining the z-depth of a graphical object in said graphic list; and

wherein said partition generator partitions said graphic list based on said determined z-depth.

14. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein:

said graphic list comprises a first plurality of graphical objects; and

said partition generator partitions said graphic list into a first partition comprising;

a second plurality of graphical objects comprising all graphical objects in said first plurality of graphical objects that overlap at least one other graphical object in said first plurality of graphical objects; and

a third plurality of graphical objects comprising all graphical objects in said first plurality of graphical objects that are overlapped by at least one other graphical object in said first plurality of graphical objects; and

a second partition comprising all graphical objects in said first plurality of graphical objects not in said second plurality of graphical objects and not in said third plurality of graphical objects.

15. The printing system as described in claim 1, wherein:

said graphic list comprises a plurality of graphical objects; and

said partition generator partitions said graphic list into a first partition, a second partition and a third partition wherein;

said first partition comprises all graphical objects in said plurality of graphical objects that do not overlap another graphical object in said plurality of graphical objects and are not overlapped by another graphical object in said plurality of graphical objects;

said second partition comprises a first group of graphical objects from said plurality of graphical objects, wherein a first graphical object in said first group overlaps a second graphical object in said first group;

said third partition comprises a second group of graphical objects from said plurality of graphical objects, wherein a third graphical object in said second group overlaps a fourth graphical object in said second group; and

no graphical object in said first group overlaps any graphical object in said second group.

16. A method, in a printing system, for rendering a print job, said method comprising:

partitioning a graphic list associated with a print job, thereby producing, at least, a first partition and a second partition, wherein said first partition comprises a first partition type, a first rendering-order indicator indicating the placement of said first partition in a rendering sequence, a first processor indicator indicating at least one rendering processor which may be used to render said first partition and a first partition body comprising a, first plurality of graphic-list elements and wherein said second partition comprises a second partition type, a second rendering-order indicator indicating the placement of said second partition in said rendering sequence, a second processor indicator indicating at least one rendering processor which may be used to render said second partition and a second partition body comprising a second plurality of graphic-list elements;

sending said first partition to a first renderer indicated by said first processor indicator;

sending said second partition to a second renderer indicated by said second processor indicator;

rendering said first partition at said first renderer and said second partition at said second renderer; and

bit-blitting said rendered first partition and said rendered second partition.

17. The method as described in claim 16, wherein said bit-blitting comprises bit-blitting said rendered first partition prior to bit-blitting said rendered second partition.

18. The method as described in claim 16, wherein said bit-blitting comprises concurrently bit-blitting said rendered first partition and said rendered second partition.

19. The method as described in claim 16, wherein said first renderer is a specialized renderer.

20. A printer driver comprising a partition generator for partitioning a graphic list associated with a print job into a plurality of concurrently renderable partitions requiring bit-blitting, wherein each partition in said plurality of concurrently renderable partitions comprises a partition type, a rendering-order indicator indicating the placement of said each partition in a rendering sequence, a processor indicator indicating at least one rendering processor which may be used to render said each partition and a partition body comprising a plurality of graphic-list elements.