Printed material having location identification function, two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus, image-forming apparatus and the method thereof

• US 20060193522A1
• Filed: 08/19/2005
• Published: 08/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Onishi, Takeshi, Sonoda, Takashi, Taguchi, Kohji
• Granted Patent: US 7,694,889 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0032 Apparatus for automatic testing and analysing marked record carriers, used for examinations of the multiple choice answer type teaching apparatus working with questions and answers G09B7/00

Abstract

A printed material having a location identification function includes multiple encode units provided on an area to be encoded. Each of the multiple encode units records first code information of coordinate values identifying a location on the printed material and second code information of an identification number identifying the printed material, and the first code information and the second code information are invisibly recorded on the printed material.

Claims

1. A printed material having a location identification function comprising multiple encode units provided on an area to be encoded, wherein:

each of the multiple encode units records first code information of coordinate values identifying a location on the printed material and second code information of an identification number identifying the printed material; and

the first code information and the second code information are invisibly recorded on the printed material.

2. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein the first code information is encoded by an M-sequences code.

3. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein the multiple encode units are segmented by synchronous codes.

4. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second code information is represented by symbols each capable of expressing multiple bits.

5. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 3, wherein:

the first and second code information and the synchronous codes are represented by symbols; and

directions of the first and second code information can be indicated by the symbols representing the synchronous codes.

6. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein the second code information is recorded repeatedly in each of the multiple encode units.

7. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein a size of the second code information is varied depending on a number of pages to be encoded.

8. The printed material having the location identification function according to claim 1, wherein a code length of the first code information is varied depending on a size of the area to be encoded.

9. A two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus comprising:

an image reading potion that reads an image provided in a given area on a printed material on which first code information of coordinate values identifying a location on the printed material and second code information of an identification number identifying the printed material are recorded in each of multiple encode units provided on an area to be encoded;

a detecting portion that detects the first code information and the second code information, with the image provided in the given area that has been read; and

a decoding portion that decodes the first and second code information and invisibly outputs the identification number and the coordinate values.

10. The two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the detecting portion reads the first and second code information from the multiple encode units and detects the second code information.

11. The two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

the first code information and the second code information are represented by symbols;

symbols capable of identifying directions of the first and second code information are arranged among the multiple encode units; and

the detecting portion identifies the directions of the symbols and the first and second code information.

12. The two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an error detecting portion that detects an error in the first code information by adding a given number of bits to the first code information or by shifting the given number of bits forward or backward by 1 bit.

13. The two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

the first code information of the coordinate values is composed of an M-sequences code; and

the two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus further comprises an error-detecting portion that determines whether a partial sequences of the M-sequences code corresponds to another partial sequences and detects an error in the first code information.

14. The two-dimensional coordinate identification apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising an error correcting portion that corrects the error that has been detected when a correct bit string can be estimated with the error that has been detected.

15. An image-forming apparatus comprising:

an identification number encoding portion encoding an identification number that identifies a printed material;

a coordinate encoding portion encoding coordinate values that identifies a location on the printed material;

a symbol creating portion creating symbols of the identification number and the coordinate values according to codes of the identification number and the coordinate values;

a combining portion combining an image to be printed and the symbols of the identification number and the coordinate values; and

an image creating portion invisibly recording the symbols of the identification number and the coordinate values in each of multiple encode units provided on an area to be encoded and creating the printed material having the image to be printed on the symbols of the identification number and the coordinate values.

16. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the coordinate values are encoded by an M-sequences code.

17. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the identification number encoding portion changes a size of the second code information according to a number of pages to be encoded.

18. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the coordinate encoding portion changes a size of the first code information according to an area to be encoded.

19. A two-dimensional coordinate identification method comprising:

reading an image provided in a given area on a printed material on which first code information of coordinate values identifying a location on the printed material and second code information of an identification number identifying the printed material are recorded in each of multiple encode units provided on an area to be encoded;

detecting the first code information and the second code information with the image provided in the given area that has been read; and

decoding the first and second code information and invisibly outputting the identification number and the coordinate values.

20. The two-dimensional coordinate identification method according to claim 19, further comprising detecting an error in the first code information by adding a given number of bits to the first code information or by shifting the given number of bits forward or backward by 1 bit.

21. The two-dimensional coordinate identification method according to claim 19, wherein:

the first code information is composed of an M-sequences code; and

the two-dimensional coordinate identification method further comprises an error-detecting portion that determines whether a partial sequences of the M-sequences code corresponds to another partial sequences and detects an error in the first code information.