Printed body, element provided on printed body, printer, and computer system

• US 20040239744A1
• Filed: 05/05/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Otsuki, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,540,603 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/105
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/009 Detecting type of paper, e.g. by automatic reading of a code that is printed on a paper package or on a paper roll or by sensing the grade of translucency of the paper
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/44 Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions

Abstract

A printing medium with which various kinds of information relating to the printing medium can be held on the printing medium itself, an element provided in or on that printing medium, a printing apparatus for printing on that printing medium, and a computer system having such a printing apparatus and a computer main unit connected to that printing apparatus are realized. The printing medium has an element on which information can be written by the printing apparatus.

Claims

1. A printing medium comprising an element into which information can be written by a printing apparatus.

2. A printing medium according to claim 1, wherein information for specifying a printing apparatus that has printed onto said printing medium is written into said element.

3. A printing medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein information for specifying a digital camera that has been used when recording image data that are printed onto said printing medium is written into said element.

4. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein information for specifying a date on which printing was performed on said printing medium is written into said element.

5. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein information for specifying image data that are printed onto said printing medium is written into said element.

6. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein image data that are printed onto said printing medium are written into said element.

7. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein image data that are printed onto said printing medium are written into said element, and the written image data are read by a printing apparatus provided with image data reading means and into that printing apparatus.

8. A printing medium according to claim 7, wherein the image data reading means is reading means of a noncontact type.

9. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a thickness of the printing medium is at least 0.5 mm.

10. A printing medium according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said printing medium is printed on without being cut by said printing apparatus.

12. A printing medium according to claim 1, wherein said element can store information about said printing medium.

13. A printing medium according to claim 12, wherein said element is provided in or on a section of said printing medium that is at the front of the printing medium when the printing medium is being inserted into said printing apparatus.

14. A printing medium according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a thickness of said printing medium is at least 0.5 mm.

15. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein information for specifying a type of said printing medium is stored in said element.

16. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein information for specifying a thickness of said printing medium is stored in said element.

17. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein information for specifying a width of said printing medium is stored in said element.

18. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein information for specifying a date of manufacture of said printing medium is stored in said element.

19. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein information that is referred to when performing a color conversion in accordance with said printing medium is stored in said element.

20. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 19, wherein the information stored in said element is read into said printing apparatus with reading means provided on that printing apparatus.

21. A printing medium according to claim 20, wherein:

said printing apparatus has a print head that can be moved to print on said printing medium; and

carrying and positioning means for carrying said printing medium in a direction that intersects with a movement direction of said print head and for positioning the printing medium; and

the information stored in said element is read into said printing apparatus with reading means that are provided upstream from said carrying and positioning means with respect to a direction in which said printing medium is carried by said carrying and positioning means.

22. A printing medium according to claim 20, wherein:

said printing apparatus has a print head that can be moved to print on said printing medium; and

the information stored in said element is read into said printing apparatus with reading means that move together with said print head.

23. A printing medium according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein said reading means is reading means of a noncontact type.

24. A printing medium according to any one of claims 12 to 23, wherein said printing medium is printed on without being cut by said printing apparatus.

11. A printing medium that is printed on without being cut by a printing apparatus, wherein:

a thickness of said printing medium is at least 0.5 mm;

an element for storing information about said printing medium is provided;

information for specifying a printing apparatus that has printed onto said printing medium, information for specifying a digital camera that has been used when recording image data that are printed onto said printing medium, information for specifying a date on which printing was performed on said printing medium, and image data that are printed onto said printing medium are written into said element; and

the written image data are read by a printing apparatus provided with image data reading means of a noncontact type and into that printing apparatus.

25. A printing medium that is printed on without being cut by a printing apparatus, wherein:

an element for storing information about said printing medium is provided;

said element is provided in or on a section of said printing medium that is at the front of the printing medium when the printing medium is being inserted into said printing apparatus;

a thickness of said printing medium is at least 0.5 mm;

information for specifying a type of said printing medium, information for specifying a thickness of said printing medium, information for specifying a width of said printing medium, information for specifying a date of manufacture of said printing medium, and information that is referred to when performing a color conversion in accordance with said printing medium are stored in said element; and

the information stored in said element is read into said printing apparatus with reading means of a noncontact type provided on that printing apparatus.

26. A printing medium comprising an element into which information can be written and that is printed on by a printing apparatus based on image data generated with an image-capturing device,

wherein an image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated by said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element.

27. A printing medium according to claim 26, wherein said image-capturing device is a digital camera.

28. A printing medium according to claim 26 or 27, wherein information for specifying a date when the image data have been generated by said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

29. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein information for specifying a model of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

30. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein information for specifying a shutter speed during picture taking of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

31. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 30, wherein information for specifying an aperture value during picture taking of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

32. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 31, wherein information for specifying an ISO sensitivity equivalent of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

33. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 32, wherein information for specifying whether a flash has been used or not when taking a picture with a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element as said image-capturing condition.

34. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 33, wherein the image data printed on said printing medium are written into said element.

35. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 34, wherein said image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated with said image-capturing device is written by said printing apparatus into said element in a noncontact state.

36. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 35, wherein a thickness of the printing medium is at least 0.5 mm.

37. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 36, wherein said printing medium is printed on without being cut by said printing apparatus.

38. A printing medium according to any one of claims 26 to 37, wherein printing is performed on the entire surface of the printing medium by said printing apparatus based on the image data that have been generated with said image-capturing device.

39. A printing medium comprising an element into which information can be written and that is printed on by a printing apparatus based on image data generated with a digital camera, wherein:

information for specifying a date when the image data have been generated by said digital camera as well as the image data are written by said printing apparatus into said element in a noncontact state;

a thickness of the printing medium is at least 0.5 mm; and

the entire surface of the printing medium is printed on by said printing apparatus based on the image data that have been generated by said image-capturing device, without the printing medium being cut by said printing apparatus.

40. A printing medium comprising an element into which information can be written and that is printed on by a printing apparatus,

wherein output control information for controlling an output state of an image data in said printing apparatus is written by said printing apparatus into said element.

41. A printing medium according to claim 40, wherein said printing apparatus reads said output control information from an image file in which the image data are stored, and writes the read output control information into said element.

42. A printing medium according to claim 40 or 41, wherein said output control information is data for controlling image processing with said printing apparatus by specifying gamma value, color space, contrast, color balance, sharpness, color correction, and accent color.

43. A printing medium according any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein said output control information is data for controlling image output processing with said printing apparatus by specifying print media, resolution, and operative direction of a print head.

44. A printing medium according to claim 41, wherein said image file is an image file that has been generated with a digital camera.

45. An element capable of being provided in or on a printing medium,

wherein information can be written in the element with a printing apparatus.

46. An element capable of being provided in or on a printing medium,

wherein information about said printing medium can be stored in the element.

47. An element capable of being provided in or on a printing medium,

wherein, after the element has been provided in or on said printing medium, an image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated with said image-capturing device can be written in the element with said printing apparatus.

48. A printing apparatus for printing onto a printing medium,

comprising writing means for writing information into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

49. A printing apparatus according to claim 48,

comprising an ink ejection head for ejecting ink onto said printing medium;

wherein said writing means is provided upstream from said ink ejection head with respect to a direction in which said printing medium is carried.

50. A printing apparatus according to claim 48 or 49, wherein, when said printing medium is positioned in a predetermined position with respect to said printing apparatus, said writing means writes information into said element, and, in that position, information stored in that element can be read.

51. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 48 to 50, comprising carrying means for carrying a printing medium that has been set in a horizontal orientation while maintaining it in that horizontal orientation.

52. A printing apparatus for printing onto a printing medium, comprising:

writing means for writing image data into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium, and reading means for reading the image data that has been written into said element.

53. A printing apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the image data reading means is reading means of a noncontact type.

54. A printing apparatus for printing onto a printing medium,

comprising reading means for reading information about said printing medium that has been stored in an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

55. A printing apparatus according to claim 54,

comprising a print head that can be moved to print onto said printing medium, and carrying and positioning means for carrying said printing means in a direction that intersects with a movement direction of said print head and for positioning the printing medium;

wherein reading means are provided upstream from said carrying and positioning means with respect to a direction in which said printing medium is carried by said carrying and positioning means.

56. A printing apparatus according to claim 54, comprising a print head that can be moved to print on said printing medium;

wherein said reading means moves together with said print head.

57. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 56, wherein said reading means is reading means of a noncontact type.

58. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 54 to 57, comprising carrying means for carrying a printing medium that has been set in a horizontal orientation while maintaining it in that horizontal orientation.

59. A printing apparatus for printing onto a printing medium based on image data generated with an image-capturing device, wherein

the printing apparatus is capable of writing an image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated by said image-capturing device into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

60. A printing apparatus according to claim 59, wherein said image-capturing device is a digital camera.

61. A printing apparatus according to claim 59 or 60, wherein information for specifying a date when the image data were generated by said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

62. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 61, wherein information for specifying a model of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

63. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 62, wherein information for specifying a shutter speed during picture taking of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

64. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 63, wherein information for specifying an aperture value during picture taking of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

65. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 64, wherein information for specifying an ISO sensitivity equivalent of a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

66. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 65, wherein information for specifying whether a flash has been used or not when taking a picture with a digital camera serving as said image-capturing device is written into said element as said image-capturing condition.

67. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 66, wherein image data printed on said printing medium are written into said element.

68. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 67, wherein the image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated with said image-capturing device is written in a noncontact state into said element.

69. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 68, wherein printing is performed without cutting said printing medium.

70. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 69, wherein printing is performed on the entire surface of said printing medium based on the image data that have been generated with said image-capturing device.

71. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 70,

comprising an ink ejection head for ejecting ink onto said printing medium;

wherein writing means for writing said image-capturing condition into said element is provided upstream from said ink ejection head with respect to a direction in which said printing medium is carried.

72. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 59 to 71, comprising carrying means for carrying a printing medium that has been set in a horizontal orientation while maintaining it in that horizontal orientation.

73. A printing apparatus for printing on a printing medium based on image data,

wherein the printing apparatus writes output control information for controlling an output state of an image data in said printing apparatus into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

74. A printing apparatus according to claim 73, wherein the printing apparatus reads said output control information from an image file in which the image data are stored, and writes the read output control information into said element.

75. A printing apparatus according to claim 73.or 74, wherein said output control information is data for controlling image processing with said printing apparatus by specifying gamma value, color space, contrast, color balance, sharpness, color correction, and accent color.

76. A printing apparatus according to any one of claims 73 to 75, wherein said output control information is data for controlling image output processing with said printing apparatus by specifying print media, resolution, and operative direction of a print head.

77. A printing apparatus according to claim 74, wherein said image file is an image file that has been generated with a digital camera.

78. A computer system comprising a computer main unit and a printing apparatus that is capable of being connected to this computer main unit and printing on a printing medium,

wherein said printing apparatus comprises writing means for writing information into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

79. A computer system comprising a computer main unit and a printing apparatus that is capable of being connected to this computer main unit and printing on a printing medium,

wherein said printing apparatus comprises reading means for reading information about said printing medium that is stored in an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.

80. A computer system comprising a computer main unit and a printing apparatus that is capable of being connected to this computer main unit and printing on a printing medium based on image data that have been generated with an image-capturing device,

wherein said printing apparatus is capable of writing an image-capturing condition used when the image data were generated with said image-capturing device into an element which is provided in or on said printing medium.