Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6688786
-
Patent Number
6,688,786
-
Date Filed
Monday, June 24, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, February 10, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Hirshfeld; Andrew H.
- Nguyen; Hoai-An D.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 400 76
- 400 61
- 400 62
- 400 63
- 400 582
- 400 578
- 400 605
- 400 629
- 271 291
- 271 301
- 358 11
- 358 113
- 358 116
- 358 118
- 358 112
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A system includes an operating mode in which the system detects requests to print nearly-blank pages and suppresses their printing. The detection and suppression may occur in a computer or other host device, in a printer, or in an intermediate device. A nearly-blank page may be identified in any of multiple ways. The mode may optionally be switched off so that nearly-blank pages are printed. The mode may optionally apply to only the last page in a print job.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to printing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many modern computer systems and other data processing systems include printers for making substantially permanent records of information. Typically, a printer responds to commands from a computer or other device and prints the requested information without regard to the efficiency of what is requested. For example, the computer or other device may occasionally request that a blank or nearly-blank page be “printed,” and a blank or nearly-blank page results. Blank pages are pages with no printed content, and often result, for example, when a document file has unnecessary blank lines at its end.
Nearly-blank pages are pages that contain so little printed matter as to be of marginal utility. Such pages are a common result, for example, of printing from web browser software. Material placed on the World Wide Web is often formatted for viewing on a display screen rather than formatted for efficient printing. Printing a web page often results in pages that may contain a header or footer or both but no other content.
The printing of nearly-blank pages has several disadvantages. Time and resources are wasted in processing the pages. The pages are often not recycled, resulting in waste or added requirements for storage space. Even if the pages are reused for further printing, the wasted trip through the printer mechanism may introduce a degree of curl to the paper, increasing the likelihood that the paper will jam in the printer when it is reused.
Some systems may suppress the processing of blank pages, for example by discarding the second of two consecutive form feed commands. However, these systems do not address the waste and inefficiency caused by the processing of nearly-blank pages.
There is a need for an improvement in printing to reduce the waste and difficulties caused by the printing of nearly-blank pages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system includes an operating mode in which the system detects requests to print nearly-blank pages and suppresses their printing. The detection and suppression may occur in a computer or other host device, in a printer, or in an intermediate device. A nearly-blank page may be identified in any of multiple ways. The mode may optionally be switched off so that nearly-blank pages are printed. The mode may optionally apply to only the last page in a print job.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
depicts a typical example of a data processing system.
FIG. 2
depicts example steps that a typical print job may comprise.
FIG. 3
depicts a simplified schematic diagram of an example formatter.
FIG. 4
depicts a simplified representation of an example printed page.
FIG. 5
depicts an example nearly-blank page.
FIG. 6
depicts an example system using an intermediate device between a host device and a printer.
FIG. 7
depicts a flow chart of the steps that an example method embodying the invention may comprise.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1
depicts a typical example data processing system
100
, comprising a host device
101
communicating with a printer
102
. In this example embodiment, the host device
101
is a computer, although the present invention may be embodied in systems with other host devices. For example a system may comprise a set-top box connected to a printer. A set-top box typically is placed on top of a television, and provides game-playing ability, internet access, interactive television functions, enhanced television viewing, or some combination of these capabilities. The communication link
103
to the printer may use a cable, or may be a wireless connection.
FIG. 2
depicts example steps that a typical print job may comprise. In the example embodiment, application software
201
on the host device
101
is used to compose a page to be printed. The application software
201
may be a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, or another kind of application software. The page to be printed may be represented by data generated by the application software
201
. For example, the application software
201
may describe the page using a page description language (PDL) such as Printer Command Language (PCL), developed by the Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, Calif., or PostScript, developed by Adobe Systems of San Jose, Calif. The application software
201
may use other data formats to describe the page as well, including characters from the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) character set, or another format.
The application software
201
typically communicates its output data to a device driver
202
, which is another software program resident on the host device
101
. The device driver
202
may be a standard part of an operating system, or may be installed specifically for the operation of printer
102
. A device driver
202
typically adds control information and the like to the data generated by the application software
201
.
The device driver
202
may send the data to a basic input/output system (BIOS)
203
resident on the host device. The BIOS
203
is another program, and may reside in volatile or nonvolatile memory. The BIOS
203
provides low-level functions for communicating with hardware interfaces built into host device
101
.
The BIOS
203
may send the data through an interface
204
. Interface
204
may be a parallel connection or serial connection, and may be a Centronics, RS-232, USB, or IEEE 1394 “Firewire” interface, or another kind of interface.
Interface
204
may transmit the data outside the host device via a communication link
103
, which may be a cable or wireless connection.
Printer
102
may comprise a second interface
205
similar to interface
204
on host device
101
. The second interface
205
accepts data from communication link
103
into printer
102
. Printer
102
may be a laser printer, inkjet printer, daisy wheel printer, dot matrix printer, line printer, page printer, or another kind of printer.
Printer
102
may also typically comprise a formatter
206
. A formatter is a combination of hardware and software or firmware that converts the data sent to printer
102
from host device
101
into the electrical control signals necessary to cause printer
102
to print a page in accordance with the description created by application software
201
.
Formatter
206
may send signals to a marking engine
207
. A marking engine is the electromechanical mechanism that creates the required image on paper in response to signals from formatter
206
. The marking engine
207
may place ink, toner, wax, dye, or another medium on selected parts the paper, or may modify parts of the paper with heat, light, or by some other means in order to create an image.
FIG. 3
depicts a simplified schematic diagram of an example formatter
206
. The formatter may comprise one or more processors
301
that communicate with the host device, manage data flow in the formatter, and control the marking engine. The formatter may further comprise memory
302
, for storing programs and data used by the processor
301
, for holding the data received from the host device
101
, and for holding intermediate representations of pages as necessary. Memory
302
may comprise both volatile and nonvolatile types of memory.
The formatter may optionally further comprise a raster image processor (RIP)
303
. A raster image processor may be a combination of hardware and software or firmware that constructs a bitmapped representation of the requested page using the data from host device
101
. A bitmapped representation assigns locations in memory
302
to locations on the page, and stores in each memory location an indication of whether or not that particular location on the page is to receive any marking.
Raster image processor
303
is shown as residing in printer
102
for purposes of illustration, and this is a common configuration. Alternatively, the raster image processor may reside in the host device
101
, and may be implemented in device driver
202
or even in application software
201
. Still other configurations are possible within the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 4
depicts a simplified representation of an example printed page
401
. In this highly simplified example, page
401
comprises 88 locations called “pixels”, or “dots.” An actual printed page may contain thousands or millions of dot locations, depending on the resolution of the particular printer. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the principles described will apply to pages of higher resolution than example page
401
.
On example page
401
, three main groups of marked dots are shown. A cluster of eight dots
402
near the center of the page may represent some desired printed content. Dot cluster
403
, comprising three dots near the top of the page, may represent header information placed on the page, and dot cluster
404
, comprising two dots near the bottom of the page, may represent footer information. Dashed boundary
405
represents a window boundary, selected by the printer when the printer is configured to suppress the printing of nearly-blank pages. The boundary may optionally be adjusted by the user through a software interface, front panel controls on the printer, or by other means. Window boundary
405
may be used to discriminate between pages that are nearly-blank and pages that are not nearly-blank. For example, pages with marked dots within window boundary
405
may be designated as not nearly-blank, and pages with no marking within boundary
405
may be designated as nearly-blank.
The dot locations represented on example page
401
may also be thought of as locations in a corresponding array of locations in memory
302
. Each dot may correspond to a bit or group of bits in memory
302
. A particular bit pattern may be stored in each memory location to represent a marked dot, and a different pattern may be stored to represent an unmarked dot. For example, marked dots may be represented by storing a digital “1” in each corresponding memory location, and unmarked dots may be represented by storing a digital “0,” although many other systems are possible.
In a simple example embodiment, firmware or software running on processor
301
may examine the memory locations before a page is printed to see if any dots within boundary
405
are to be marked. An example pseudo-code implementation of this technique may be as follows:
|
Listing 1.
|
|
|
suppress_page_flag = NO
|
if suppression_mode = ON then
|
y_top_boundary=1
|
y_bottom_boundary=9
|
x_left_boundary=0
|
x_right_boundary=7
|
near_blank_flag = YES
|
for y=y_top_boundary to y_bottom_boundary
|
for x=x_left_boundary to x_right_boundary
|
if dot(x,y)=MARKED then near_blank_flag=NO
|
next x
|
next y
|
if near_blank_flag=YES then suppress_page_flag=YES
|
end if
|
|
Example page
401
has markings inside window boundary
405
, and thus would not be designated a nearly-blank page. After execution of the algorithm described in Listing 1 using data describing example page
401
, suppress_page_flag will be NO, and page
401
will be printed.
If after execution of this algorithm suppress_page_flag=YES, then processor
301
may control the printer so as to skip or suppress the printing of the page. For example,
FIG. 5
depicts an example nearly-blank page
501
. Nearly-blank page
501
has marked dots only outside window boundary
502
. Thus after execution of the algorithm in Listing 1, suppress_page_flag will be YES, and the printing of the page will be suppressed, assuming that the variable suppression_mode has been set to ON. The suppression may be accomplished by discarding the request to print the page.
The variable suppression_mode may be set by the user of data processing system
100
, using a software interface, a front panel control, or by other means. In this way, the system may be configured to suppress the printing of nearly-blank pages, or to print them. Turning off nearly-blank page suppression may be desirable for providing proper pagination for formal documents or the like.
The algorithm in Listing 1 has been described as executing on processor
301
inside printer
102
for purposes of explanation. Other implementation methods are possible. For example, hardware in formatter
206
in printer
102
could perform a similar test as raster image processor
303
is forming a bitmapped representation of the page.
Alternatively, the algorithm of Listing 1 could be implemented in driver
202
in host device
101
, or in application software
201
.
Other algorithms and definitions of a nearly-blank page are possible as well. For example, in addition to having marked dots outside a window boundary, a page with a small number of dots to be marked within the window boundary could also be designated a nearly-blank page. With modern high-resolution printers, isolated marked dots on a page are very small and carry little information, so a page with only a few marked dots might safely be designated as nearly-blank. The number of marked dots to allow within the window boundary may be configurable.
It is not necessary within the scope of the invention that a bitmap image of the page be constructed. For example, a system that communicates simple ASCII character codes to the printer could buffer the codes and withhold printing of a page until examination of the codes indicates that one of the printed characters will fall within a window boundary. If a character inside a window boundary is detected, printing would be resumed. If an entire page is received without codes calling for a character to be printed within the window boundary, the page would be discarded without printing. The buffering and examination may happen in a host device or in the printer.
Any of these algorithms may also be implemented in an intermediate device between the host device and the printer.
FIG. 6
depicts a data processing system using an intermediate device
603
between a host device
601
and a printer
602
. Intermediate device
603
may intercept and relay data from host device
601
to printer
602
, and may provide print job buffering, protocol translation, or other capabilities, including the configurable suppression of nearly-blank pages. Intermediate device
603
may modify the data.
FIG. 7
depicts a flow chart of the steps that an example method
700
embodying the invention may comprise. Initiator
701
indicates the beginning of the method. In step
702
, a print request is examined to see if it requests a nearly-blank page. Decision block
703
branches the flow of the method depending on whether a nearly-blank page request was recognized. If it was not recognized that a nearly-blank page was requested, then the page is printed in step
704
. If a request for a nearly-blank page was recognized, then the method is routed around step
704
, thereby skipping or suppressing the printing of a nearly-blank page. The processor, circuitry, or software implementing the method may then proceed to other tasks.
In some cases it may be desirable, for example to preserve proper pagination throughout a document, to suppress nearly-blank pages only at the end of a print job. This modification may be easily incorporated into the example embodiments described above. For example, listing 1 may be modified to add an additional test. An example modification is shown in listing 2 below.
|
Listing 2.
|
|
|
suppress_page_flag = NO
|
if suppression_mode = ON then
|
y_top_boundary=1
|
y_bottom_boundary=9
|
x_left_boundary=0
|
x_right_boundary=7
|
near_blank_flag = YES
|
for y=y_top_boundary to y_bottom_boundary
|
for x=x_left_boundary to x_right_boundary
|
if dot(x,y)=MARKED then near_blank_flag=NO
|
next x
|
next y
|
if near_blank_flag=YES and last_page=YES then
|
suppress_page_flag=YES
|
end if
|
|
In listing 2, suppress_page_flag is set to YES only if near_blank_flag is YES and last_page is YES, indicating that the last page of a print job is being processed. Optionally, this additional test may be enabled by a user of a system, using a software interface, a front panel control, or by other means.
The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the data processing system need not comprise separate enclosures for the host device and printer. The data processing system may be a self-contained unit containing an internal printer. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.
Claims
- 1. A printer, comprising:a) means for detecting a request to print a nearly-blank page; and b) means for suppressing the printing of the nearly-blank page; and wherein the means for detecting the request to print the nearly-blank page further comprises: i) means for identifying a region of interest on the page; and ii) means for detecting the absence of intended markings inside the region of interest and detecting the presence of intended markings outside the region of interest.
- 2. The printer of claim 1 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a header would be printed.
- 3. The printer of claim 1 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a footer would be printed.
- 4. The printer of claim 1 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a header would be printed, and excludes the area of the page where a footer would be printed.
- 5. A method of suppressing the printing of a nearly-blank page, comprising the steps of:a) recognizing that a print request requests the printing of the nearly-blank page by i) identifying a region of interest on a page; and ii) designating the page as nearly-blank when all requested markings in the print request are outside the region of interest; and b) suppressing the printing of the nearly-blank page.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a header would be printed.
- 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a footer would be printed.
- 8. The method of claim 5 wherein the region of interest on the page excludes the area of the page where a header would be printed, and excludes the area of the page where a footer would be printed.
- 9. A data processing system, comprising:a) a host device that generates data describing a page to be printed; b) a printer; c) an interface that carries the data from the host device to the printer; d) a processor; and e) a program, executing in the processor, that examines the data and recognizes that the page to be printed is nearly-blank, and suppresses the printing of the page; and wherein recognizing that the page to be printed is nearly-blank comprises the steps of i) identifying a region of interest on the page; and ii) designating the page as nearly-blank when all requested markings on the page are outside the region of interest.
- 10. The data processing system of claim 9 wherein the processor is in the printer.
- 11. The data processing system of claim 9 wherein the processor is in the host device.
- 12. The data processing system of claim 9 wherein the host device is a computer.
- 13. The data processing system of claim 9 wherein the host device is a set-top box.
US Referenced Citations (10)