Printer with embedded retrieval and publishing interface

• US 7,573,604 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2007
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Piersol, Kurt Wesley, Graham, Jamey, Hart, Peter E., Hull, Jonathan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles; Edward L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Singh; Satwant K
• Application Number:
  US11/832,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20080037043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.18, 345/173, 709/218, 707/10, 235/462.01, 715/513, 715/234
• US Class Current: 358/1.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1201 Dedicated interfaces to print systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for a printer that receives a data containing multimedia information or a pointer to multimedia content and performs various actions in accordance with the received document. The printer may retrieve the multimedia content based on pointers within the document or the document itself may include multimedia content.

Claims

1. A method performed by a printer, comprising:

gathering, by the printer, information about multimedia data that is accessible to the printer; and

creating, by the printer, a summary of the accessible multimedia data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising printing the created summary.

3. The method of claim 1, where the printer is connected to a network and can access multimedia data via the network.

4. The method of claim 1, where the printer stores multimedia data and the stored data is the data accessible by the printer.

5. The method of claim 1, where the printer has access to a database containing multimedia data.

6. The method of claim 1, where the summary includes a representation of audio data.

7. The method of claim 1, where the summary includes a representation of video data.

8. The method of claim 1, where the summary includes a representation of graphical data.

9. A method of improving print quality of a printer, comprising:

receiving, by the printer, a first document containing a first image;

searching, by the printer, a network in order to locate a similar image;

determining, by the printer, which of the first image and similar image has better print quality;

responsive to the similar image having better print quality, creating, by the printer, a printable document equivalent to the first document, except that the similar image replaces the first image.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a printer, a file comprising URLs;

retrieving, by the printer, content for at least one URL in the file; and

creating, by the printer, a printable document comprising a summary of the retrieved content.