Method and apparatus for determining toner level in electrophotographic print engines
Granted: October 3, 2006
Patent Number:
7116444
The toner in the toner cartridge is determined by taking each of the rasterized images output by the RIP and evaluating the pixel levels over the surface thereof. The average value is determined as a percentage of the maximum toner that can be applied to the page. This is then subtracted from a toner value and a remaining toner level determined. Further, all pages of the rasterized document can be evaluated to predetermine the toner level after printing. If this falls below a…
Method and apparatus for inserting tabs in a print job
Granted: August 29, 2006
Patent Number:
7097369
Method and apparatus for inserting tabs in a print job. A method for inserting tab sheets in a print job is disclosed. First, a position is selected within a document to insert a tab sheet, which document includes a plurality of sheets each with a document defined image space associated therewith. A tab sheet is then created as a rasterized tab sheet image that has a rasterized tab specific image disposed in a predetermined location on the rasterized image. The created tab image is then…
Method and apparatus for distributing print jobs
Granted: August 29, 2006
Patent Number:
7099027
Method and apparatus for distributing print jobs. A print job is generated at an application node of a network, and has associated therewith print parameters. The print job is routed to a distribution node on the network. The parameters are then parsed from the generated print job and the print job parameterized with predetermined metrics that are a function of at least one of the parsed parameters. The parameterized print job is then routed to a destination device on a destination node…
Spooling server apparatus and methods for receiving, storing, and forwarding a print job over a network
Granted: August 22, 2006
Patent Number:
7095518
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for receiving, storing, and forwarding print jobs over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the client device,…
Apparatus and methods for duplex printing in multiple print engine systems
Granted: August 22, 2006
Patent Number:
7095528
A multiple print engine configuration allows a plurality of workstations to create individual print jobs and then transfer them to a distributing processor. The distributing processor spools the jobs in a print spooler and then performs a software RIP on the print jobs. The RIP process divides the jobs into multiple individual jobs which are stored in a page buffer. An image task manager in conjunction with an engine manager selectively distribute the RIPed pages to multiple print…
Water-based ink jet printer
Granted: August 15, 2006
Patent Number:
7090327
A printer that includes at least one printhead mounted to a carriage of a printing system, and a secondary ink container mounted to the carriage and which holds an ink and is in fluid communication with the at least one printhead. A pressure source in fluid communication with the secondary ink container provides a pressure to the secondary ink container during a purging operation to cause the ink to flow from the at least one printhead. The secondary ink container has a large enough…
Methods and apparatus for securely requesting and receiving a print job via a printer polling device associated with a printer
Granted: August 15, 2006
Patent Number:
7093046
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for requesting and receiving print jobs over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A spooling server is used to store a print job received via the network from a print job source. A printer polling device, which may be used at a location remote from the client device, is…
Automatic print load balancing
Granted: July 25, 2006
Patent Number:
7081969
Methods and apparatus are provided for print load balancing, cluster printing and color and black-and-white page splitting. Print load balancing methods and apparatus route print jobs to the most available printer or split printing over more than one printer. Cluster printing methods and apparatus specify a group of printers from which a print job can be performed. Color and black-and-white page splitting methods and apparatus split a print job, and send non-color pages to…
Radiation treatment for ink jet fluids
Granted: July 11, 2006
Patent Number:
7073901
A printing system that includes a source which emits UV radiation to polymerize a fluid that is deposited onto a substrate by one or more print heads. The source emits low energy UV radiation sufficient to set the fluid to a quasi-fluid, non-hardened state.
Methods and apparatus for data compression with a hybrid context
Granted: June 6, 2006
Patent Number:
7058231
A plurality of compression schemes are provided that achieve improved compression ratios. A first embodiment provides for compression of each pixel by one of a plurality of different entropy-based compression schemes based upon a probability cost analysis. A second embodiment provides for compression of each pixel based on a hybrid context formed using a plurality of compression schemes for improved probability determination, and thus improved entropy encoding. In embodiments of the…
Printer description file format generator
Granted: May 30, 2006
Patent Number:
7054015
The conventional generation of original and design-change PPD files for printer drivers is tedious and prone to error as each version for a language-platform combination is constructed. The invention generates all the necessary PPD files for any needed platform/language combination from one or more base PPDs and one or more build files. A PPD generator draws on the information contained in the base PPD and build files to construct all the combinational varieties needed to support…
Method and apparatus for providing a color-balanced multiple print engine
Granted: May 16, 2006
Patent Number:
7046391
A method and apparatus is disclosed for color balancing page data, from a variety of input sources having non-consistent device color profiles, among a plurality of individually accessible print engines arranged in a system for color printing multiple copies of multiple page documents. Input page data is converted to a common color space, rasterized and routed to a selected print engine. Page data routed to each marking engine is color balanced to the selected marking engine where at…
Variable data print job system
Granted: April 18, 2006
Patent Number:
7031015
This invention relates to variable data print job systems. In particular, this invention relates to variable data print job systems that reduce the master and variable jobs to a single job that does not require indefinite disk storage on a printer. A first part of the job contains the master data pages and a second part of the job contains the variable data. The print job is assembled and sent to the printer, which detects that the job is a two part job. The printer places the master…
Real time calibration of a marking engine in a print system
Granted: April 11, 2006
Patent Number:
7027187
A method for modifying the rendered output of a marking engine for a print job in progress is disclosed, comprising the steps of comparing a sample rendered input image having included therewith a print target scale corresponding to a specified image parameter having a range of possible renderings set forth in a table, with a rendering included in the table and modifying, to match a desired rendering, numerical correction data in one or more look-up tables of a print adapter, which print…
Digital image compression with spatially varying quality levels determined by identifying areas of interest
Granted: April 11, 2006
Patent Number:
7027655
Methods and systems for compression of digital images (still or motion sequences) are provided wherein predetermined criteria may be used to identify a plurality of areas of interest in the image, and each area of interest is encoded with a corresponding quality level (Q-factor). In particular, the predetermined criteria may be derived from measurements of where a viewing audience is focusing their gaze (area of interest). In addition, the predetermined criteria may be used to create…
Methods and apparatus for colorant reduction
Granted: April 4, 2006
Patent Number:
7023570
Methods and apparatus for performing colorant limitation are provided that receive input data and desired and measured or specified output response data for a print output device, and determine converted input data that accounts for differences between the measured or specified and the desired output responses of the printer. Converted input data may then be provided to a conventional colorant limitation algorithm for performing colorant limitation. Colorant-limited input data are then…
Method and system for merging scan files into a color workflow
Granted: February 21, 2006
Patent Number:
7002700
A method and system for scanning documents in a network environment and merging the resulting scan files with other documents into a printing workflow provides a user interface in which the user merges a scan file and a document file on a page basis by selecting thumbnail images of the desired pages and dragging and dropping the thumbnails so that a new merged document results. An alternative embodiment allows the user to apply predefined merge templates to the selected pages. The…
Digital pulse width modulator for use in electrostatic printing mechanisms
Granted: January 31, 2006
Patent Number:
6992792
A fully digital pulse width modulator substantially doubles resolution in a laser printer by outputting data to the laser on both the rising and falling edges of the clock cycle. A counter and the clock itself are used to select input to a multiplexer, and consequently, the data output to the laser from the multiplexer. A data selector code, generated by concatenating the binary value of the counter and the inverted clock bitwise, selects which of the 16 bits representing a pixel to…
Method and apparatus for determining toner level in electrophotographic print engines
Granted: December 20, 2005
Patent Number:
6977752
The toner in the toner cartridge is determined by taking each of the rasterized images output by the RIP and evaluating the pixel levels over the surface thereof. The average value is determined as a percentage of the maximum toner that can be applied to the page. This is then subtracted from a toner value and a remaining toner level determined. Further, all pages of the rasterized document can be evaluated to predetermine the toner level after printing. If this falls below a…
Print driver apparatus and methods for forwarding a print job over a network
Granted: December 20, 2005
Patent Number:
6978299
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for forwarding a print job over a communications network. In particular, the present invention enables a user to obtain print jobs at a location which may be unspecified, and which may be remote from the source of the print job. A print driver is provided which is capable of forwarding one or more print jobs over a network. The print driver may be interfaced with any suitable print job source (e.g., a client device capable of…
