1. A method of color trapping page objects in an image forming apparatus comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a page object in a page description at an image forming controller, the page description defining the page object as either edge lists or a bitmap;
b) performing a first trapping technique when the page description defines the page object as the edge lists; and
c) performing a second trapping technique when the page description defines the page object as the bitmap.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the page object is selected from the group consisting of a rectangle, character, and non-rectangular shape.
3. A method of color trapping within an image forming apparatus comprising:
a) receiving a request comprising a page object that is executable by a image forming controller;
b) identifying a category of the page object as being one of a character, rectangle, and non-rectangular shape;
c) determining that trapping is necessary for the page object; and
d) performing trapping according to the category of the page object,
wherein the step of identifying the category of the page object comprises identifying the character by a bitmap.
4. A method of color trapping page objects during a rasterization process comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a page object at an image forming controller;
b) categorizing the page object into one of a first category or a second category;
c) when the page object is categorized into the first category, performing color trapping using edge lists of the page object; and
d) when the page object is categorized into the second category, performing color trapping using a bitmap of the page object.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second category comprises characters selected from the group consisting of alphanumeric figures, symbols, and punctuation marks.
6. A method of performing color trapping of a character comprising:
a) obtaining a bitmap of a character;
b) producing a modified bitmap of the character;
c) selecting either the bitmap or the modified bitmap as the foreground representation; and
d) selecting the other of the bitmap or the modified bitmap as the background representation.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of producing the modified bitmap of the character comprises the step of eroding the bitmap by removing at least one pixel from the bitmap.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of eroding the bitmap comprises shifting the bitmap by at least one pixel, and performing a bitwise AND operation between the bitmap and a shifted bitmap to remove at least one pixel not contained in an overlap between the bitmap and the shifted bitmap.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein an eroded bitmap is selected as the background representation of the character.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of producing a modified bitmap of the character comprises spreading the bitmap to add at least one pixel to the bitmap.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of spreading the bitmap comprises shifting the bitmap by at least one pixel and performing a bitwise OR operation between the bitmap and the shifted bitmap to add the at least one pixel not contained in an overlap between the bitmap and the shifted bitmap.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein a spread bitmap is selected as a foreground representation of the character.
13. A method of performing color trapping of a character comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining a bitmap representation of a character;
b) producing a first modified bitmap representation of the character;
c) producing a second modified bitmap representation of the character;
d) selecting one of the first and second modified bitmap representations of the character as a foreground representation; and
e) selecting the other of the first and second modified bitmap representations of the character as a background representation.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein producing either the first or second modified bitmap representations of the character comprises eroding the bitmap representation to remove at least one pixel from the bitmap representation.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein producing either the first or second modified bitmap representations of the character comprises spreading the bitmap representation to add at least one pixel to the bitmap representation.
16. A method of performing color trapping of a rectangle comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining a height and a width of a rectangle;
b) producing a modified height and a modified width of the rectangle;
c) selecting one of the height and the width or the modified height and the modified width as a foreground representation; and
d) selecting the other of the height and the width or the modified height and modified width as a background representation.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of producing the modified height and modified width of the rectangle comprises decreasing at least one of the height and the width resulting in rectangular dimensions that are smaller than the rectangle.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the modified height and the modified width are selected as the background representation.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of producing the modified height and the modified width comprises increasing at least one of the height and the width resulting in increased rectangular dimensions that are larger than the rectangle.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the increased rectangular dimensions are selected as the foreground representation of the character.
21. A method of performing color trapping of a rectangle comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining a height and a width of a rectangle;
b) producing a first dimension of the rectangle comprising a first modified height and a first modified width;
c) producing a second dimension of the rectangle comprising a second modified height and a second modified width of the rectangle;
d) selecting one of the first dimension and the second dimension as a foreground representation of the rectangle; and
e) selecting the other of the first dimension and the second dimensions as a background representation of the rectangle.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein producing either the first dimension or the second dimension of the rectangle comprises choking an overall size of the rectangle by shrinking at least one of the height and the width.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein producing either the first dimension or the second dimension of the rectangle comprises spreading an overall size of the rectangle by expanding at least one of the height and the width.
24. A method of performing color trapping of a non-rectangular shape comprising:
a) obtaining edge lists representing a non-rectangular shape;
b) producing modified edge lists representing the non-rectangular shape;
c) selecting either the edge lists or the modified edge lists as the foreground representation; and
d) selecting the other of the edge lists or the modified edge lists as the background representation.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the edge lists comprises an array of first coordinates and an array of second coordinates, the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises altering at least one of the array of first coordinates or the array of second coordinates.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein the edge lists define a region and the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises reducing the region.
27. The method of claim 24 wherein the edge lists comprises an array of first coordinates and an array of corresponding second coordinates spaced apart by a given distance, the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises decreasing the given distance between the array of first coordinates and the array of second coordinates.
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising removing a predetermined number of corresponding members from each of the first array and the second array.
29. The method of claim 24, wherein the modified edge lists are selected as the background representation of the character.
30. The method of claim 24, wherein the edge lists comprises an array of first coordinates and an array of corresponding second coordinates spaced apart by a given distance, the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises increasing the given distance between the array of first coordinates and the array of second coordinates.
31. The method of claim 30, further comprising adding a predetermined number of the first and second coordinates to each of the first array and the second array.
32. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises dividing the non-rectangular shape into a plurality of subsections and obtaining subsection edge lists for each of the plurality of subsections.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the edge lists for each of the plurality of subsections are increased in an area and accumulated to form a foreground representation of the character.
34. The method of claim 32, wherein the edge lists for each of the plurality of subsections are decreased in an area and accumulated to form a background representation of the character.
35. The method of claim 32, wherein the non-rectangular shape is divided into at least one rectangle and a remaining number of non-rectangular subsections.
36. The method of claim 24, wherein the edge lists define a region and the step of producing the modified edge lists comprises expanding the region.
37. The method of claim 24, wherein the modified edge lists are selected as the background representation of the character.
38. A method of performing color trapping of a non-rectangular shape comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining edge lists representing a non-rectangular shape;
b) producing first modified edge lists representing the non-rectangular shape;
c) producing second modified edge lists representing the non-rectangular shape;
d) selecting one of the first and second modified edge lists of the non-rectangular shape as a foreground representation; and
e) selecting the other of the first and second modified edge lists of the non-rectangular shape as a background representation.
39. The method of claim 38, wherein producing either the first or second modified edge lists of the non-rectangular shape comprises decreasing the non-rectangular shape.
40. The method of claim 38, wherein producing either the first or second modified edge lists of the non-rectangular shape comprises increasing the non-rectangular shape.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A computer-implemented method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search for locating intellectual property information, wherein the intellectual property information includes at least one information field containing accessible information, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting a source grouping containing documents having intellectual property information;
(b) determining, responsive to the selecting, elements in the documents in the source grouping, including analyzing at least one intellectual property information field of the documents to identify the elements in the information field; and providing the elements as search information corresponding to the source grouping; and
(c) providing, responsive to determining step (b), at least a portion of the elements in the search information as a field-of-search for automatic use as search criteria.
2. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the source grouping includes documents logically grouped together in a folder for storage in a memory unit.
3. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the source grouping includes select documents identified by input signals received from a user.
4. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the source grouping includes selected documents commonly classified in a system maintained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
5. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 4, wherein the source grouping containing selected documents identified by a search specification in the form of at least one class and subclass in a system maintained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the classification of U.S. patents.
6. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining step (b) further comprises the step of retrieving information representative of the documents in the source grouping for storage in a local memory.
7. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining step (b) further comprises the step of:
accessing the documents in the source grouping to be analyzed.
8. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining step (b) further comprises the step of determining a frequency of appearance of the elements contained in the at least one information field of the documents.
9. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 8, wherein said providing step (c) further comprises the step of automatically adding to the field-of-search elements having at least a predetermined frequency of appearance in the source grouping.
10. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the grouping selected in said selecting step (a) is a collection of intellectual property information associated with a common classification category.
11. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 10, wherein the documents include patent publications stored in accordance with a classification system that utilizes a plurality of classes, subclasses, and enumerated digests to categorize relevancy of the patent publications.
12. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 11, wherein the patent publications contain fields, including publication number, publication date, title of publication, field of search, and classification number fields.
13. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 12, wherein the search information provided in said step (b) includes identification of classes and subclasses appearing in the field-of-search field in the patent publications.
14. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 12, wherein the search information provided in said step (b) includes identification of classes and subclasses appearing in the classification number field.
15. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the source grouping selected in said step (a) is a collection of documents resulting from an intellectual property search.
16. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 1, wherein the intellectual property grouping selected in said step (a) is a collection of documents stored on a remote database system accessible over at least one communication network.
17. In a search system for use in searching for intellectual property information, the improvement comprising at least one computer readable medium having stored thereon an executable program operative to effectuate searching for intellectual property information in connection with the search system, wherein the executable program is executed to perform the steps of:
(a) selecting a source grouping containing documents having intellectual property information;
(b) determining, responsive to the selecting, elements in the documents in the source grouping, including analyzing at least one intellectual property information field of the documents to identify the elements in the information field; and providing the elements as search information corresponding to the source grouping; and
(c) providing, responsive to said determining step (b), at least a portion of the elements in the search information as a field-of-search for automatic use as search criteria.
18. The search system of claim 17, wherein the source grouping includes documents grouped together in a portfolio.
19. The search system of claim 17, wherein the source grouping includes documents identified by input signals received from a user.
20. The search system of claim 17, wherein said selecting step comprises the step of receiving selection information from a remote user identifying select intellectual property information for inclusion in the source grouping, wherein the selection information identifies at least one classification in a classification system maintained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
21. The search system of claim 17, wherein said determining step further comprises the steps of:
accessing from a remote database over a network the documents in the source grouping to be analyzed.
22. The search system of claim 17, wherein said determining step further comprises the step of determining a frequency of appearance of the elements contained in the at least one information field of the documents.
23. The search system of claim 22, wherein said providing step further comprises the step of automatically adding elements, having at least a predetermined frequency of appearance in the source grouping, to the field-of-search.
24. A search system for use with an intellectual property classification system, the search system comprising:
an intellectual property database, wherein said intellectual property database stores documents having information related to intellectual property classified in accordance with the classification system; and
a search server comprising:
a search engine module, wherein said search engine module accesses said database and retrieves information representative of documents corresponding to input classification selections; and
a field-of-search module, wherein said field-of-search module processes the retrieved information to determine elements responsive to the retrieved information, wherein the elements are contained in the at least one information field of the retrieved information, including analyzing at least one intellectual property information field of the documents to identify the elements in the information field, and said-field-of search module provides, responsive to said analyzing, at least a portion of the elements as a field-of-search for automatic use as search criteria.
25. The search system as recited in claim 24, wherein the documents include patent publications stored in said database in accordance with a patent classification system that utilizes a plurality of classes, subclasses, and enumerated digests to categorize relevancy of the patent publications.
26. The search system as recited in claim 25, wherein the patent publications contain information fields, including a plurality of publication number, publication date, title of publication, field of search, international classification number, U.S. classification number, and references cited, background, summary, detailed description, and claims fields.
27. The search system as recited in claim 26, wherein the elements determined by said field-of-search module include identification of classes and subclasses appearing in the field-of-search information field.
28. The search system as recited in claim 26, wherein the elements determined by said field-of-search module include identification of classes and subclasses appearing in the U.S. classification information field.
29. The search system as recited in claim 26, wherein the elements determined by said field-of-search module include identification of classes and subclasses appearing in the references cited field.
30. The search system as recited in claim 26, wherein the elements determined by said field-of-search module include words, phrases, and concepts appearing in the detailed description information field; and
wherein said field-of-search module accesses a classification database containing a classification index, a classification, manual, and classification definitions, determines classes and subclasses related to the elements, and includes the related classes and subclasses in the field-of-search.
31. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a list of the elements.
32. The method of claim 1, wherein the elements include at least one of: words, textual phrases, concepts, representations, numbers, identifications, pictures, graphics, and features.
33. A computer-implemented method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search for locating intellectual property information, wherein the intellectual property information includes at least one information field containing accessible information, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) selecting a source grouping containing documents having intellectual property information;
(b) determining elements in the documents in the source grouping, including analyzing at least one intellectual property information field of the documents to identify the elements in the information field; and providing the elements as search information corresponding to the source grouping; and
(c) providing, responsive to determining step (b), at least a portion of the elements in the search information as a field-of-search for later use as search criteria,
wherein said determining step (b) further comprises the step of determining a frequency of appearance of the elements contained in the at least one information field of the documents.
34. The method of determining an intellectual property field-of-search as recited in claim 33, wherein said providing step (c) further comprises the step of automatically adding to the field-of-search elements having at least a predetermined frequency of appearance in the source grouping.
35. In a search system for use in searching for intellectual property information, the improvement comprising at least one computer readable medium having stored thereon an executable program operative to effectuate searching for intellectual property information in connection with the search system, wherein the executable program is executed to perform the steps of:
(a) selecting a source grouping containing documents having intellectual property information;
(b) determining elements in the documents in the source grouping, including analyzing at least one intellectual property information field of the documents to identify the elements in the information field; and providing the elements as search information corresponding to the source grouping; and
(c) providing, responsive to said determining step (b), at least a portion of the elements in the search information as a field-of-search for later use as search criteria,
wherein said determining step further comprises the step of determining a frequency of appearance of the elements contained in the at least one information field of the documents.
36. The search system of claim 35, wherein said providing step further comprises the step of automatically adding elements, having at least a predetermined frequency of appearance in the source grouping, to the field-of-search.