Abstract: A client transmits only job information of print data to a server, the server manages a print order in accordance with the job information, and if printable, the client transmits the print data directly to a printer. After the print is completed, the printer notifies the server of a print completion, and upon reception of this print completion notice, the server instructs the client to delete the print data. In a print system on a network configured as above, the network traffic is not increased, a large memory capacity is not necessary for the server so that the server load is reduced, the job management of the server can be performed by the client, the completion of a print operation can be monitored, and a print operation is possible even if the server is in an error state.

Abstract: In order to print an image sensed by a digital camera using a printing apparatus for forming an image on a print medium, image data corresponding to the sensed image is converted into print data, and the converted data is transmitted to the printing apparatus, thereby providing an image processing system which can print an image sensed by the digital camera using the printing apparatus without the intervention of any computer, and a digital camera and printing apparatus suitable for the image processing system.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for converting Non-Zero Winding to Even-Odd rule polygons, regardless of their shapes. Convex, concave, self-intersecting, and polygons with holes can all be converted from Non-Zero Winding to Even-Odd fill rule polygons. The invention accepts Non-Zero Winding fill polygons and computes all intersection points between the polygons. An initial intersection point between a first polygon and a second polygon is selected. The perimeter of either the first or second polygon is traced beginning from the selected intersection point. The trace switches between the perimeters of the first and second polygons as additional intersection points are reached during the tracing. The tracing is terminated when the selected intersection point is encountered by the tracing step. These steps are then repeated until all intersection points between the first and second polygons have been encountered.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of image generation that makes efficient use of reprojective techniques to reduce the cost of image generation. The method employs a technique of primitive reprojection in which convex graphics primitives are the reprojected elements. The visibility of elements known to be visible in a previous frame is first determined by transformation and depth-comparison rasterization of these elements. Regions of the image that may contain newly visible elements are located by occlusion-exposure transitions in the depth buffer and from incremental view volume motion. In these regions a depth-prioritized, data-access method of visible surface determination, spatial-subdivision ray casting, is employed to identify newly visible primitives which are added to the list of previously visible primitives for rasterization. The method employs a system of classifying objects based on their dynamic occlusive properties to increase the accuracy, efficiency and versatility of the reprojective approach.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process and to a device for determining the contour of valleys of a specified geographical area. According to the invention, said device comprises:means for determining the hydrographic net of the geographical area which is presented in a first matrix which includes, at each point liable to form part of a watercourse, a characteristic code designating said watercourse;means for forming a second matrix which includes at each point the altitude of the corresponding part of said geographical area; andmeans for determining, from said first and second matrices, the contours of the valleys.

Abstract: An image information print system has a reception task for receiving data containing print information input from a host computer, a job language interpretation task for interpreting the data, a print data analysis task for converting the format of the print information to prepare intermediate print information, memory means for storing the data and the intermediate print information, and a print management task for issuing a print execution instruction based on print specifications of print information contained in the data according to interpretation of the job language interpretation task and converting the intermediate print information into bit image data and executing print based on the print execution instruction.

Abstract: An image-forming system is constituted by connecting a plurality of digital copying machines to a communication apparatus so that the digital copying machines can transmit and receive image information with each other. As an instruction for image processing is inputted at any of the digital copying machines, a control section of the digital copying machine outputs the image information to a digital copying machine that is capable of carrying out the image processing. The digital copying machine that is assigned the image processing carries out a predetermined image processing on the image information and returns the processed image information via the communication apparatus. The image information is then visualized by a digital copying machine that receives the image information.

Abstract: A method for visualizing time-varying data from one or more data streams at a different interval than the interval between acquisition of the individual data items in the data stream. Data received is combined, or aggregated, between updates of a display to retain some information from each element. The aggregated data is then displayed at the next update of the display in a number of display elements. The characteristics of the display elements, and the organization of the elements represent changes in the data streams.

Abstract: A computer graphics system includes a lighting system that performs lighting efficiently by selecting dynamically the lighting space in which lighting calculations are to be performed to thereby minimize resources required to be expended to perform lighting. A particular preferred lighting coordinate system is then selected, based upon particular criteria, and the light source information is transformed to the selected coordinate system (if necessary) where lighting is performed. The dynamic selection can take many objective indicia into account, such as whether functions other than lighting must be performed in either of the coordinate systems, whether transformation of the lighting information is possible and the relative efficiencies of performing lighting in one coordinate system verses the other coordinate system.

Abstract: In an image transformation system, an image formed by the inputted video signal is stored in a memory to be read out by the read address of a predetermined read address generating circuit, so that a predetermined image transformation is performed to the image, by merging the mirror processing upon the orthogonal coordinates and the mirror processing upon the polar coordinates. As a result, a transformation image that looks as if it is seen through a kaleidoscope can be obtained.

Abstract: A processing unit (11) for a printer system. The processing unit (11) is comprised of a master processor (21) and multiple parallel processors (22). The master processor (21) builds a display list and partitions it into sublists, which it distributes to the parallel processors (22). The parallel processors (22) interpret the sublists, thereby rendering the image as bitmapped data. Interpretation of a sublist is performed by reading its operation codes and calling rasterizing primitives represented by the operation codes. (FIG. 3). During execution of a rasterizing primitive, a parallel processor (22) determines whether the next operation code in the sublist will call the same primitive. If so, execution of the current primitive is repeated.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for determining the allocation of a trap width to the spread of a pair of inks in printing. Allocation of the spread is based on both a solidity value that may be between zero and one and a lightness value. The technique may be applied to an arbitrary number of inks by considering each pair of inks separately.

Abstract: A computer system modifies digital images of the human form as well as other objects. The computer system provides intuitive means for accessing warp, smooth, stretch, copy, and paste tools for image modification; undo, toggle and restore tools for change management; and zoom, fit, and full tools for image display sizing.The computer system is controlled by a program that uses a combination of novel approaches to make image manipulation fast and easy. Buttons are displayed only when they are actually available for use, based on the current system operating mode. The image sizing tools enable an image size change to accomodate the tool size without a required change to the cursor state or to the edit mode state.

Abstract: A multifunction information processing system includes a host device and a multifunction peripheral device. Data is transmitted from the host device to the multifunction peripheral device in units of data packets whose header includes an identification flag of a driver of the host device. In the same way, data is also transmitted from the multifunction peripheral device to the host device in units of data packets whose header includes the identification flag of the driver program that corresponds to the unit of the multifunction peripheral device that is sending the data. The data packets to be transmitted or received are arranged as a temporal sequence. The host device and the multifunction peripheral device perform the data transmission and data reception operations in parallel through time-sharing.

Abstract: Using a mobile display having ordinary degree of resolution which is directly held by a user's hand or supported by a supporter, a three-dimensional virtual world is projected on a two-dimensional plane while varying the positional relations between the viewpoint and the image plane according to the position and orientation of the mobile display, and the resulting two-dimensional image is displayed on the mobile display and presented to the user.

Abstract: An optimal frame rate selection user interface is disclosed. In one aspect of the invention, a method has two steps. First, a video clip is displayed within at least one window, to permit dividing the clip into a plurality of shots (where each shot has a plurality of frames). Second, each shot is displayed in at least two windows, to permit selecting a desired frame rate for each shot. Desirably, each of these windows displays a given shot at a different frame rate. Therefore, a user is able to view each shot at a number of different frame rates to determine an optimal frame rate for each shot.

Abstract: A mesh data model efficiently represents the appearance of the modeled object by storing scalar appearance attributes, such as may be used as parameters of a shading function applied to faces of a mesh, in association with wedges. The wedges are sets of contiguous vertex-adjacent corners having identical scalar appearance attributes. The mesh data model thus stores the scalar appearance attributes once for each wedge, rather than per corner of the mesh. The mesh data model can be structured as arrays of face, wedge and vertex records, where each face record contains references to the wedge records of the wedges in which the face's corners belong. The mesh data model can be used in a progressive mesh representation.

Abstract: An improved printer is provided which includes a print engine control program that minimizes the power consumption of the paper-handling devices to allow for a smaller DC power supply. Some of the paper-handling devices are input paper trays, output paper stackers, and a duplexer, which all preferably contain a microcontroller and an individual electric motor drive. The base printer also contains a microcontroller in the print engine that controls the printer's mechanisms and various subassemblies that are used in the laser electrophotographic printing process. To maintain control of the entire paper path, the print engine sends commands to the paper-handling devices, and these devices send responses to these commands. Most of the printer's paper-handling devices receive their electrical power entirely from the base printer, which is supplied as a DC voltage. The print engine avoids the concurrent running of subsystems in cases where the functionality of the printer is not compromised.

Abstract: A method of scheduling a sequence of pages to be printed with a printer and a printer/photocopier incorporating this method are disclosed. The printer has a printing station and a duplex loop for returning duplex sheets, of which a first page has been printed on one side, to the printing station for printing the second page on the second side, the duplex loop accommodating a predetermined number N of sheets at a time, such that skips in the stream of pages are filled with first pages of duplex sheets or with simplex sheets, without changing the desired order in which the sheets are completed. When a new print command for printing a new job occurs, the pages of the new job are appended to the remainder of the previously scheduled sequence that has not yet been printed, with re-scheduling of the thus assembled sequence.

Abstract: A method of computer operation and a software system for operating a computer to generate realistic collisions between animated bodies. The system operates the computer to iteratively calculate of body positions from previous positions using a simulated contact force between colliding bodies which has a nonlinear relationship with respect to the closest-points vector defined between the bodies such that the force increases sufficiently rapidly as the closest-points vector goes to zero to overcome the motions causing the collision between the bodies. The present invention also uses a similar relationship between a limiting torque for body part joints and a maximum allowed rotation for a joint for realistic motions of articulated body parts connected by joints.