JP2003283969A - Automatic print system, automatic printing method, server, and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic printing system and automatic printing method, a server and printer which can easily print an image taken by an electronic camera even when the user fails to have a personal computer, can print automatically even at a remote location. <P>SOLUTION: An automatic printing system includes a portable telephone 12 for transmitting image information taken by a digital camera 13, a server 11 for receiving the transmitted image information and saving it in a specified area, and a printer 14 corresponding to the specified area of the server. The server automatically transmits the image information from the specified area to the printer. When receiving the information, the printer automatically performs its printing operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic printing system, an automatic printing method, a server, and a printer, which can easily print an image taken by an electronic camera even in a remote place.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to print an image taken by an electronic camera such as a digital camera at home, in most cases, a personal computer (personal computer) and a printer are prepared, and the digital camera is connected to the personal computer. , I am using a computer to capture image information from a digital camera and print it on a printer. A computer is also an essential item when sending and receiving images on the Internet.

However, when a person who does not have a personal computer wants to print a digital image at home, it cannot be printed easily. Moreover, since a personal computer is required when sending and printing images on the Internet, a person who does not have a personal computer at home cannot print images sent and received on the Internet. Also, even if you have a personal computer,
There is a problem that the operation is complicated and not everyone can easily print.

[0004]

In view of the above problems of the prior art, the present invention can easily print an image taken by an electronic camera even without a personal computer, and can automatically print even in a remote place. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic printing system, an automatic printing method, a server, and a printer as described above.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic printing system according to the present invention includes a communication means for transmitting image information photographed by an electronic camera, and a receiving means for receiving and designating the transmitted image information. A server for storing in the area and a printer corresponding to the designated area of the server, the server automatically sends the image information from the designated area to the printer, and the printer receives and automatically Characterized by printing.

According to this automatic printing system, when the image taken by the electronic camera is sent to the server, the server automatically sends the image to the printer and the image can be printed automatically. Moreover, even at a remote place, you can automatically print at home or office.

In this case, the server is configured to perform transmission and reception with the communication means and the printer via the Internet, so that the above-mentioned automatic printing system is easy to use.

Further, the server can be configured so as to previously form the designated area based on printer information from a user. For example, when a user buys a printer,
When the identification information of the printer is sent to the server via the Internet or the like, the server can form an area for the printer.

Further, when the image information includes shooting information, the printer may print the shooting information together. It should be noted that this photographing information includes the photographer, the photographing date and time, the photographing place, the photographing condition, the model information of the electronic camera, and the like.

Further, when the image information includes model information of the electronic camera, the printer can be configured to perform image correction based on the model information. This allows
This is preferable because it can be applied to various types of electronic cameras and the range of electronic cameras that can be used is expanded.

Further, it is preferable that the communication means is a portable electronic device connectable to the electronic camera. Further, the communication means may be a portable electronic device configured integrally with the electronic camera. Further, since the communication unit has a display unit capable of displaying the image information and an input unit capable of inputting text information, the photographed image can be confirmed before transmission, and the photographing information and the like can be confirmed. Can be input as additional information.

Further, the automatic printing method according to the present invention is
Transmitting the image information taken by the electronic camera,
The server receives the transmitted image information and saves it in a designated area, the server automatically transmits the image information from the designated area, and receives the image information transmitted from the server. And a step of automatically printing the received image information on a printer.

According to this automatic printing method, when the image taken by the electronic camera is sent to the server, the server automatically sends the image to the printer and the image can be printed automatically. Moreover, even at a remote place, you can automatically print at home or office.

Further, it is preferable that the automatic printing method includes a step of forming the designated area in advance in the server based on printer information from a user before executing the above-mentioned automatic printing method. Further, since the server receives and transmits via the Internet, the automatic printing method described above can be easily used. It is preferable to include a step of setting the printer in a printable state at the receiving step.

Further, when the image information includes photographing information, the photographing information can be printed together at the printing step. Further, when the image information includes model information of the electronic camera, it is possible to perform image correction based on the model information at the printing step.

By including the step of displaying the image information photographed by the electronic camera for confirmation before the step of transmitting the image information, the photographed image can be confirmed before the transmission.
Further, by including the step of inputting the shooting information regarding the image information shot by the electronic camera as the additional information of the image information before the step of transmitting the image information, the shooting information and the like can be input as the additional information of the image information.

Further, the server according to the present invention receives the image information photographed by the electronic camera, stores the image information in a designated area, and automatically transmits the image information to the printer for printing. It is characterized by being configured in.

According to this server, the image information received from the user can be automatically transmitted to the printer and automatically printed, so that it can be printed easily even without a personal computer, and even at a remote place, at home or office. It can be printed automatically. It can be used as a server in the above-described automatic printing system or automatic printing method.

It is preferable that the server is configured to preliminarily form the designated area based on printer information from the user, and it is preferable to perform reception and transmission via the Internet.

Further, the printer according to the present invention is configured such that an area corresponding to the identification information is formed in the server by being registered in the server based on the identification information given to each printer. The image information sent from the designated area can be automatically printed.

According to this printer, the image information sent from the server can be printed automatically, so that it can be printed easily even without a personal computer, and even at a remote place, it can be printed automatically at home or in the office. it can. It can be used as a printer in the above-described automatic printing system or automatic printing method.

In this case, it is preferable to provide a communication device capable of communicating with the server. In addition, it is preferable to include an image correction unit that performs image correction according to the model of the electronic camera when printing the image information captured by the electronic camera. Further, it is preferable that when the image information is received from the server, a printable state is set.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing an automatic printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printer of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the automatic print system, the mobile phone 12 connectable to the digital camera 13 can communicate with the server 11 through the Internet 10 via the wireless relay station 10a. It is possible to communicate with the printer 14 through the Internet 10.

The digital camera 13 takes a picture of the subject and C
An electric signal photoelectrically converted by an image pickup device such as a CD (charge coupled device) is converted into a digital signal and recorded on a recording medium as image information. The mobile phone 12 is connected to the digital camera 13 with a cable 13a and can wirelessly transmit image information captured by the digital camera 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 14 is connected to a net line 14a connectable to the Internet 10 and is capable of communicating information with the server 11; An image correction unit 22 that corrects the image quality and the like of the image information received by the communication device 21, a buffer memory unit 23 that can temporarily store the corrected image information, and the corrected image information is printed on a recording medium S to form an image. A control unit (CPU) for controlling the entire printer by controlling the printer device 24 for forming, the communication device 21, the image correction unit 22, the buffer memory unit 23, the printer device 24, etc., as shown by the bold arrows in FIG. 25, and.

The printer 14 further includes an input detection unit 26 for detecting an input signal received by the communication device 21 from the server 11 via the net line 14a.
Receives the image information signal from the server 11, and when the input detection unit 26 detects this input signal, the printer device 24 and the like are powered on by the control of the CPU 25 to be able to automatically print, and then the received image information is displayed. It is possible to print automatically. As a result, the printer device 24 and the like can be turned off when not in use, which contributes to power saving and enables automatic printing.

The printer device 24 of the printer 14 is a YM
It is a known device of an inkjet system capable of forming a color image by ejecting a plurality of inks such as CK from an ink head onto a recording medium S. The ink head may be an on-demand type or a continuous type. Also,
As the ejection method in the ink head, an electro-mechanical conversion method (for example, a single cavity type, a double cavity type, a bender type, a piston type, a shear mode type, a shared wall type, etc.), an electric-heat conversion method (for example, Thermal inkjet type, bubble jet (registered trademark) type, etc., electrostatic suction type (for example, electric field control type,
A slit jet type or the like) and a discharge method (for example, a spark jet type or the like) can be used, but any discharge method may be used.

In the printer 14, the image information received from the server 11 indicates the photographer, photographing date and time of the image,
When including shooting information such as shooting location, shooting conditions, and electronic camera model information, these shooting information can be printed together with the image. In addition, the digital camera 1
When the model information of 3 is included, the image quality of the image taken by the digital camera 13 is corrected by the image correction unit 22, so that the image quality that is different for each model of the digital camera can be corrected, and the digital camera of different models can be supported. Becomes This expands the range of digital cameras that can be used,
The number of digital cameras applicable to the automatic printing system in FIG. 1 increases, which is preferable.

The printer 14 is provided with an identification number for each printer, and when the user sends the identification number to the server 11 when purchasing a new printer, the server 11 prints an image based on the identification number. The user area (Uniform Resource Locator) is provided to automatically create and secure the area for use. Server 11
Each area for this print image can be identified by the user URL, and when the image information is uploaded from the mobile phone 12 to the URL, the image information is saved in the corresponding designated area and the image is sent to the printer 14. The information is automatically downloaded.

Next, the operation of the automatic printing system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the automatic print system of FIG. First, the user purchases a new printer 14 (S01) in order to prepare for the automatic printing system.
When the identification number of the printer is sent to the server 11, the server 11
Secures an area that can be identified by the user URL corresponding to the identification number (S11). The printer 14 is connected to the net line 14a (S02) so that it can be connected to the Internet 10. The printer 14 is installed at home, office, or the like.

Next, when actually printing, an image is taken by the digital camera 13 (S03), and the image information is sent from the mobile phone 12 to the server 1 via the Internet 10.
Specify the user URL in 1 and upload (S0
4). The server 11 saves the image information in the designated area (S12) and automatically downloads it to the printer 14 (S13). Then, the printer 14 is the server 1
When the communication device 21 receives the image information from the Internet 1 through the Internet 10 and the network line 14a (S05), the image correction unit 22 corrects the image quality and the like, and the corrected image information is stored in the buffer memory unit 23 and read out at any time. The printer device 24 automatically prints on the recording medium S (S06). In this case, when the image information includes shooting information such as a photographer, shooting date, shooting location, shooting condition, and electronic camera model information regarding the image, these shooting information may be printed together with the image. it can.

According to the automatic printing system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the server 11 sends the image information captured by the digital camera 13 to the printer 14 from the mobile phone 12 by designating the user URL. It can be sent automatically and the image can be printed automatically. Therefore, even if the user does not have a personal computer or finds it troublesome to use, it is easy to print, and the digital image taken at a remote location can be printed from the location by the printer 14 installed at home or office. You can print automatically. For this reason,
When the user returns to their home or office, the printed image can be obtained immediately, which is convenient.

Since the automatic printing system of FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured as described above, not only when the user sends image information from a remote place to print, but also at the home or office where the printer 14 is installed. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to the case where an image is printed at a place or the like, and the connection between the digital camera 13 and the printer 14 by a cable is unnecessary, and the digital image can be printed easily.

In step S05 described above, the printer 14 is normally turned off in the printer 14, and when the communication device 21 receives the image information from the server 11, the input detection unit 26 detects it and the printer 24 is turned on. By enabling printing by turning on the power, it is possible to save power during standby and save power.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 12 includes a display unit 12a made of liquid crystal or the like for displaying an image, an input unit 12b made of a plurality of keys for inputting character information, and the like.
The operation of the automatic printing system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when the display unit 12a is used for confirming a captured image and the input unit 12b is used for inputting additional information will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the automatic print system of FIGS. 1 and 2 when the display section and the input section of the mobile phone 12 of FIG. 1 are used for image confirmation and additional information input, respectively. Is. In FIG. 4, steps S01, S02, and S11 for preparing the automatic print system of FIG. 3 are similarly executed, but the description thereof will be omitted below.

First, an image is taken by the digital camera 13 (S21), the digital camera 13 and the mobile phone 12 are connected by a cable 13a (S22), and the taken image is displayed on the display section 12a of the mobile phone 12 to display the image. Confirm (S2
3). The user looks at this image on the display unit 12a and determines whether or not to print (S24), and when printing, decides whether or not to input information regarding the photographed image (S24).
25) When inputting, the character information is input and added from the input unit 12b of the mobile phone 12 (S26). As the additional information, the photographer, the shooting date and time, the shooting location,
Although there are shooting conditions, user comments, etc., the user can input any information.

When the photographing by the digital camera 13 is completed (S27), the image information determined to be printed is
Along with the added character information, the user URL is specified and uploaded from the mobile phone 12 to the server 11 via the Internet 10 (S28). The server 11 saves the image information and the like in the designated area (S29) and automatically downloads it to the printer 14 (S30). When the printer 14 receives the image information and the additional information from the server 11 through the Internet 10 and the net line 14a by the communication device 21 (S31), the printer device 24 automatically prints the image information on the recording medium S. The additional information is printed next to the print screen, inside the print screen, or the like (S32).

As described above, according to the operation shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to confirm the image photographed on the display unit 12a of the mobile phone 12 and to use the input unit 12b to photograph information such as a comment and a photographing time regarding the photographed image. It can be input as additional information, and when the image information and the additional information are sent to the server 11, the server 11 automatically adds the printer 14 to the printer 14 as in FIG.
And can be automatically printed by the printer 14.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto.
Various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the mobile electronic device that sends image information is not limited to a mobile phone, and may be a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like. In the case of a personal digital assistant (PDA), the display unit and the input unit thereof can be used for confirming a captured image and inputting additional information as in FIG.

Further, the electronic camera and the communication means may be integrally formed, and the connection cable 13a as shown in FIG. 1 becomes unnecessary. That is, the electronic camera may have a communication function like a mobile phone or a mobile information terminal, or the mobile phone or mobile information terminal may have a shooting function of the electronic camera.

Further, it is needless to say that the same user URL can be designated for one printer from a plurality of portable electronic devices to transmit image information and print. Further, in FIG. 1, for convenience of description, a single portable electronic device such as a mobile phone and a printer are shown, but the same automatic printing can be performed by identifying a large number of printers with different user URLs. Of course there is.

The printer device 24 is not limited to the ink jet type, and it goes without saying that it may be of the thermal transfer sheet type or the electrophotographic type. Also,
The electronic camera may be a video camera that obtains a moving image or a camera that can obtain both a still image and a moving image, other than a still camera that obtains a still image.

[0045]

According to the present invention, an image taken by an electronic camera can be easily printed even without a personal computer.
Moreover, it is possible to provide an automatic printing system, an automatic printing method, a server and a printer which can automatically print even in a remote place.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing an automatic printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the automatic print system in FIG.

4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the automatic print system of FIGS. 1 and 2 when the display unit and the input unit of the mobile phone 12 of FIG. 1 are used for image confirmation and additional information input, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Internet 11 servers 12 Mobile phones (communication means) 12a display section 12b Input section 13 digital camera 14 Printer 21 Communication device 22 Image correction unit 24 Printer 26 Input detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/91 H04N 5/91 H (72) Inventor Hiroshi Kibayashi 1 Sakura-cho, Hino-shi, Tokyo Konica Stock In-house F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP06 HH03 HJ06 HJ08 HK11 HN05 HN15 HQ17 5B021 AA30 BB00 BB02 CC05 5C022 AA13 5C052 AA12 DD02 FA02 FA03 FA06 FA08 FB05 FC06 FD01 5C053 FA04 FA08 LA02 LA11 LA11

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A communication unit for transmitting image information captured by an electronic camera, a server for receiving the transmitted image information and storing the image information in a designated area, and a printer corresponding to the designated area of the server. An automatic printing system, comprising: the server automatically transmitting the image information from the designated area to the printer, and the printer receiving and automatically printing. 2. The automatic print system according to claim 1, wherein the server performs transmission and reception with the communication unit and the printer via the Internet. 3. The automatic printing system according to claim 1, wherein the server previously forms the designated area based on printer information from a user. 4. When the image information includes shooting information,
The automatic printing system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the printer prints the photographing information together. 5. The automatic printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printer performs image correction based on the model information when the image information includes model information of the electronic camera. 6. The automatic printing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit is a portable electronic device connectable to the electronic camera. 7. The automatic printing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit is a portable electronic device integrally formed with the electronic camera. 8. The automatic print system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit includes a display unit capable of displaying the image information and an input unit capable of inputting character information. 9. A step of transmitting image information captured by an electronic camera, a step of receiving the transmitted image information by a server and storing the image information in a designated area, the server automatically outputting the image information from the designated area. And a step of receiving the image information transmitted from the server, and a step of automatically printing the received image information by a printer. 10. An automatic printing method, comprising the step of pre-forming the designated area in the server based on printer information from a user before execution of the automatic printing method according to claim 9. 11. The automatic printing method according to claim 9, wherein the server performs reception and transmission via the Internet. 12. The automatic printing method according to claim 9, wherein when the image information includes shooting information, the shooting information is also printed in the printing step. 13. The automatic printing method according to claim 9, wherein when the image information includes model information of the electronic camera, image correction is performed based on the model information in the printing step. . 14. The automatic printing method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of displaying image information captured by the electronic camera for confirmation before the step of transmitting the image information. 15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of inputting, as additional information of the image information, shooting information related to the image information taken by the electronic camera before the step of transmitting the image information. Automatic printing method. 16. Receiving image information captured by an electronic camera, storing the image information in a designated area,
A server configured to automatically send the image information to a printer for printing. 17. The server according to claim 16, wherein the designated area is formed in advance based on printer information from a user. 18. The server according to claim 16 or 17, which performs reception and transmission via the Internet. 19. An area corresponding to the identification information is formed in the server by being registered in the server based on the identification information given to each printer, and is sent from the formed area. A printer characterized in that image information can be printed automatically. 20. The printer according to claim 19, further comprising a communication device capable of communicating with the server. 21. An image correction unit for correcting an image according to a model of the electronic camera when printing image information photographed by the electronic camera is provided.
The printer described in. 22. The printer according to claim 19, which is configured to be in a printable state when receiving image information from the server.