Printing system

• US 7,273,165 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2006
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toray Engineering Company Limited (Toray Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Toray Engineering Company Limited (Toray Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mizuno, Yasuhisa, Sugio, Hideaki, Shimazu, Ryoji, Inagaki, Jun, Satake, Masato
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US11/345,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20060124723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/472.02, 235/487, 340/572.1, 340/10, 347/14, 400/76, 399/1
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0025 the arrangement consisting of a wireless interrogation device in combination with a device for optically marking the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier

Abstract

A printing system capable of writing RFID data consistent with print information printed on a print-information recoding medium into an RFID chip carried on the print-information recording medium. The printing system includes a printer engine for printing print information, including at least either one of contactlessly readable information and image information visible to human being, onto at least the print-information recording medium, and an RFID reader/writer for writing RFID data consistent with the print information into the RFID chip carried on the print-information recording medium.

Claims

1. A printing system, comprising:

a printer engine for printing print information on at least a print-information recording medium, said print information including at least one of contactlessly readable code information and image information visible to human being;

an RFID reader/writer for writing RFID data consistent with the print information into an RFID chip carried on the print-information recording medium; and

a printer controller for supplying print data,

wherein said printer engine prints the print information on at least the print-information recording medium based on the print data received from said printer controller,

said RFID reader/writer writes the RFID data consistent with the print data into the RFID chip, and

the printing of the print information on at least the print-information recording medium based on the print data and the writing of the RFID data consistent with the print data into said RFID chip are controlled based on a common time basis by using information indicative of a time when the printer engine transmits a signal, to the printer controller, each time when a final raster for each page is output by the printer engine.

2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein said printer engine performs page-based printing, and the common time basis is based on a cycle of the page-based printing of said printer engine.

3. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a form layout application program capable of editing both the data and the RFID data.

4. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein at least part of the RFID data is transmitted in the form of PDL data from the form layout application program to said printer controller.

5. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein said printer controller or the form layout application program is capable of recording or displaying information that indicates whether or not said RFID reader/writer can write the RFID data into the RFID chip, and

the form layout application program is capable of specifying error processing in said printer controller.

6. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein said printer controller or said form layout application program is capable of displaying an edit screen for the print data, and

the RFID data can be displayed on the edit screen.

7. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein the form layout application program can specify position information on a location of the RFID data in one page of the print-information recording medium.

8. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein said printer system is capable of referring to a database, and

an address of the database serving as at least either one of the print data and the RFID data can be edited in the form layout application program.

9. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein said RFID reader/writer is plurality in number, these RFID readers/writers being provided so as to be juxtaposed in a width direction of the print-information recording medium,

said RFID chip is plurality in number, these RFID chips being carried on the print-information recording medium so as to be juxtaposed in a width direction of the print-information recording medium,

each of the RFID readers/writers writes the RFID data into a corresponding one of the RFID chips, and

the RFID readers/writers perform writings substantially at the same time.

10. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein said RFID chip is plurality in number, these RFID chips being carried on one page of the print-information recording medium as viewed in a direction of transfer of the recording medium, and

said RFID reader/writer sequentially writes the RFID data into each of the RFID chips.

11. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein a printing speed of said printer engine can be changed in accordance with an amount of information of the RFID data.

12. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print-information recording medium has a print face adapted to be printed with the print information, and the print face has a level difference, and

the print information is printed on a substantially flat portion of the print face, avoiding the level difference.

13. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the information indicative of a time when the printer engine transmits a signal is a final raster signal transmitted from the printer controller.