Methods and systems for rendering data by partitioning a graphics list

• US 8,339,671 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:
  US12/413,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245888A1
• 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 11/40 Filling a planar surface by adding surface attributes, e.g. colour or texture
• 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 printer driver comprising:

a graphic-list receiver for receiving a graphic list;

a graphic-list partition generator for generating a plurality of partitions associated with said graphic list, wherein each partition, in said plurality of partitions, comprises a partition type associated with said each partition, 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 associated with said each partition;

a print-stream composer for generating a print stream associated with said plurality of partitions; and

a transmitter for transmitting said print stream to a printer controller.

2. The printer driver as described in claim 1 further comprising a first renderer for rendering a first partition comprising a text graphical object, thereby producing a rendered first partition.

3. The printer driver as described in claim 2 further comprising a first encoder for encoding said rendered first partition.

4. The printer driver as described in claim 3, wherein said first encoder is an encoder selected from the group consisting of a JBIG encoder, a JBIG2 encoder, an MR encoder and an MMR encoder.

5. The printer driver as described in claim 1 further comprising a first renderer for rendering a first partition in said plurality of partitions.

6. The printer driver as described in claim 1 further comprising a first encoder for encoding a first rendered partition.

7. The printer driver as described in claim 1, wherein:

said graphic list comprises a plurality of graphic-list elements, wherein each graphic-list element in said plurality of graphic-list elements comprises an associated graphical-object type; and

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

8. The printer driver as described in claim 1, wherein:

said graphic list comprises a plurality of graphic-list elements; and

said graphic-list partition generator generates said plurality of partitions based on an overlap measure of said plurality of graphic-list elements.

9. The printer driver as described in claim 1, wherein said graphic-list partition generator generates said plurality of partitions based on z-depth.

10. The printer driver as described in claim 1 further comprising a pre-processor for combining pictorial graphical objects associated with said graphic list.

11. A printer controller comprising:

a partition-print-stream receiver for receiving a partition print stream associated with a print job; and

a partition-print-stream decomposer for decomposing said partition print stream into a first partition, wherein said first partition comprises a partition type associated with said first partition, a rendering-order indicator indicating the placement of said first partition in a rendering sequence, a processor indicator indicating at least one rendering processor which may be used to render said first partition, and a partition body associated with said first partition.

12. The printer controller as described in claim 11 further comprising a renderer for rendering said first partition from said decomposed partition print stream.

13. The printer controller as described in claim 12 further comprising a bit-blitter for bit-blitting said rendered first partition to a page buffer.

14. The printer controller as described in claim 11 further comprising a decoder for decoding an encoded portion of said decomposed partition print stream.

15. A printing system comprising:

a graphic-list receiver for receiving a graphic list;

a graphic-list partition generator for generating a plurality of partitions associated with said graphic list, wherein each partition, in said plurality of partitions, comprises a partition type associated with said each partition, 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 associated with said each partition;

a print-stream composer for generating a partition print stream associated with said plurality of partitions;

a transmitter for transmitting said partition print stream;

a partition-print-stream receiver for receiving said partition print stream; and

a partition-print-stream decomposer for decomposing said partition print stream.

16. The printing system as described in claim 15 further comprising a renderer for rendering a first partition in said plurality of partitions.

17. The printing system as described in claim 15 further comprising:

a first renderer associated with text graphical objects;

a second renderer associated with vector graphical objects; and

a third renderer associated with pictorial graphical objects.

18. The printing system as described in claim 15 further comprising a pre-processor for combining pictorial graphical objects associated with said graphic list.

19. The printing system as described in claim 15 further comprising an encoder for encoding a rendered partition.

20. The printing system as described in claim 15 further comprising a decoder for decoding an encoded rendered partition.