JP2005234654A - Print system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print sufficient information on the surface of a disk-shaped storage medium. <P>SOLUTION: This print system includes a writing unit 20W that writes an image file onto a disk-shaped storage medium, and a print unit 20P that prints information on the surface of the storage medium. The name of the file written by the writing unit 20W is converted by a two-dimensional barcoding part 39 into an image of two-dimensional barcodes, which is then printed on the surface of the storage medium together with a thumbnail image and an advertising logo. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a print head for printing information on the surface of a disk-shaped storage medium or a label attached to the surface.

  As a technique related to the printing apparatus configured as described above, there is one described in Patent Document 1. In other words, Patent Document 1 includes a scanner printing unit as a CD-R writing apparatus, and the scanner printing unit includes a head unit in which a print head and a scanner head are integrated. When printing on the label surface of -R, printing is performed for each line or every predetermined line by reciprocating the head unit in a state where the CD-R is placed on the tray. An ink jet method or a thermal transfer method is assumed as the print head. In this printing apparatus, the image data read by the scanner apparatus is stored in an image memory, the image data is written to a CD-R in a file format, and an index image created from the image data is stored in the CD-R. It is possible to print on the label surface of R, and it is also possible to print a lab store's own image (original image) on this label surface, and to print additional images on the already printed label surface. It is also configured as follows.

JP 2003-1873 A (paragraph numbers [0018] to [0031], FIG. 2 and FIG. 3)

  Considering information printed on the label surface of a CD-R as in Patent Document 1, this information is the content of information stored in the CD-R as described in Patent Document 1. An image to be shown and characters or sentences arbitrarily input as an index are common. However, when a DVD-R is assumed as a disk-shaped storage medium, although the storage capacity is large, the area of the label surface is a limited size, so all the information stored in the DVD-R is shown. When the index is printed on the label surface, it is not possible to print a sufficiently large image. For the same reason, it can be assumed that information cannot be printed with large characters.

  Such inconvenience is not limited to the DVD-R, and is a phenomenon that appears when a large number of files are stored even in the case of a CD-R, and improvement is desired.

  An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a printing apparatus capable of printing sufficient information on a label surface of a disk-shaped storage medium.

  A feature of the present invention is that, in a printing apparatus having a print head that prints information on the surface of a disk-shaped storage medium or a label affixed to the surface, the documented information is converted into a two-dimensional barcode. And a print processing unit for outputting an image converted into a two-dimensional barcode by the encoding unit to the print head.

  With this configuration, the information input from the information input unit is converted into a two-dimensional barcode by the encoding unit, and the image of the two-dimensional barcode is printed on the surface of the disk-shaped storage medium, or the surface Print on the label attached to the label. As a result, it is possible to print a sufficient amount of information in a limited area. For example, the information can be printed on the surface of the storage medium M with a mobile phone that can read information of a two-dimensional barcode or a barcode reader. By reading the information of the two-dimensional bar code, it becomes possible to obtain necessary information related to the storage medium.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Overall Configuration] As shown in FIG. 1, an operation is performed to perform digital signal processing of image information of a developed photographic film F, to process digital image information, and to perform basic control of the entire system. A print which is provided with a portion A and which is subjected to exposure processing and development processing on a silver salt type color photographic paper P (hereinafter abbreviated as photographic paper P) as a print medium, and which is sent out after being dried. A printing apparatus referred to as a digital minilab is provided with a printing unit B as a mechanism.

  [Operating Section] The operating section A includes a film scanner 2 that photoelectrically converts a frame image of the photographic film F into the desk section 1 and captures it as digital signal image information, a display 3 that displays various information, A processing device 4 composed of a general-purpose computer is arranged so as to realize image processing and various types of processing, and includes a keyboard 5 and a mouse 6 for inputting information on the upper surface of the desk unit 1, and further, a CD-R, A disk processing apparatus D that stores information on a disk-shaped storage medium M such as a DVD-R and prints information on the surface of the storage medium M is provided. The disk processing device D and the processing device 4 constitute a printing system for printing information on the surface of the disk-shaped storage medium M.

  The processing device 4 has a media drive corresponding to the structure of the storage medium so as to acquire information from a disk-type storage medium such as a CD, MO, FD or the like, or to acquire information from a semiconductor-type storage medium. 7 and a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc. (see FIG. 4) for storing information therein.

  The film scanner 2 has a light source section having a light emitting diode, a halogen lamp, etc. in the lower part, a zoom lens in the middle part, and image information from the zoom lens in the upper part as R (red) and G (green). , B (blue) line CCD type photoelectric conversion unit for color separation and capturing. When scanning is performed, a film carrier 8 suitable for the size of the photographic film F is mounted on the upper surface of the light source unit, and the photoelectric film is synchronized with the operation of transporting the photographic film F in the sub-scanning direction (longitudinal direction). In the conversion unit, the image information of the photographic film F is converted into a digital signal along the main scanning direction and taken in.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the disk processing apparatus D includes a print unit 20P disposed at the upper part of the main body 20, a writing unit 20W disposed at an intermediate part of the main body 20, and an integrated unit 20C disposed at the lower part. The integrated unit 20C includes a picker 21 for supplying and discharging a disk-type storage medium M such as a CD-R or a DVD-R.

  The print unit 20P is an ink jet print that can be reciprocated along a guide rod 26 so as to print information on a tray 25 that can be moved back and forth, and a surface (label surface) of a storage medium M placed on the tray 25. A head 27 is provided. The writing unit 20W includes a tray 28 that can be freely moved in and out, and a writing head (not shown) that writes information to the storage medium M placed on the tray 28. The unit 20C includes an unprocessed disk stacking unit 29 and a processed disk stacking unit 30. The picker 21 is configured to be switchable between a state in which the storage medium M is sandwiched and a state in which the sandwiching is released, and can be moved up and down along the guide portion 22 in a vertical posture, and around a longitudinally oriented axis. The tip portion of the picker 21 can be swung.

  Since the disk processing apparatus D is configured in this way, when processing the storage medium M, the picker 21 uses the unprocessed storage medium M set in the unprocessed disk stacking unit 29 of the stacking unit 20C. As shown in FIG. 3, the surface of the storage medium M is moved while the print head 27 is reciprocated in the print unit 20P (this operation direction is the main scanning direction). By spraying ink onto the (label surface) and moving the tray 25 inward (or outward) each time the print head 27 reaches the operating end (this operating direction is the sub-scanning direction), the entire surface of the storage medium M The necessary information is printed and dried. Thereafter, the printed storage medium M is sandwiched by the picker 21 and supplied to the tray 28 of the writing unit 20W to write information. The storage medium M that has been printed and written in this manner is sandwiched again by the picker 21, and the picker 21 is swung around the axial center in the vertical orientation to thereby process the processed disk stacking unit 30 of the stacking unit 20C. Are collected in the processed disk stacking unit 30 in a form of being sent from above to below. In the above processing order, writing is performed after printing, but this processing order may be reversed.

  [Print Unit] The print unit B dries the exposure block Ex for exposing the photographic paper P, the development block De for developing the exposed photographic paper P, and the photographic paper P after the development processing. The drying block Dr is housed in the housing 10, and provided outside the housing 10 is a transport belt 11 that transports the photographic paper P sent out from the top of the housing 10 in the horizontal direction after processing. A sorter 13 having a plurality of trays 12 is provided so that the photographic paper P sent from the conveyor belt 11 is sorted and collected in units of orders, and a rack 14 that receives a large sized photographic paper P at a position below the conveyor belt 11. It has.

  The exposure block Ex is a polygon mirror that rotates around the vertical axis after adjusting the light amount of the light from the laser light sources of the three primary colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) by an acousto-optic modulator. A laser scanning type is used which is sent to the photographic paper P at the exposure position in a form of scanning in the main scanning direction by reflecting on the mirror surface of the lens, but the PLZT method fluorescent beam method, liquid crystal shutter method, DMD method is used. Alternatively, FOCRT or the like can be used.

  [Control System] As shown in FIG. 4, a control system of the processing apparatus 4 is constructed. That is, the semiconductor memory RAM / ROM, the hard disk HD, and the media drive 7 are connected to the data bus of the microprocessor CPU, and the film scanner 2 is connected to the data bus via the input / output interface I / O. In addition, the display 3, the keyboard 5, the mouse 6, and the communication interface 31 are connected to the data bus. Further, in this processing device 4, an operating system 32 made of software, an order execution means 33, and a correction means so as to realize various processes by operating the keyboard 5 and mouse 6 according to the information displayed on the display 3. 34 and the disk processing means DS are connected so that information can be accessed to the CPU via the data bus.

  The operating system 32 secures a work area in the semiconductor memory RAM by software and realizes the necessary processing. In addition, the operating state is displayed on the display 3 by an operation from the keyboard 5 or the mouse 6. It functions as an interface for realizing various processes, the order execution means 33 realizes printing of image information set as a print target based on the order information, and the correction means 34 displays an image on the display 3. In this state, correction processing such as color tone and contrast is realized with the image displayed.

  The disk processing means DS includes a compression processing unit 35, a file processing unit 36, a writing processing unit 37, a file name extraction unit 38, a two-dimensional bar coding unit 39 (an example of a coding unit), a thumbnail. The processing unit 40 includes an image processing unit 41 and a print processing unit 42 (the processing mode by these will be described later).

  The operating system 32, the order execution means 33, the correction means 34, and the disk processing means DS are not constituted only by software, but are constituted by hardware or a combination with hardware. Is also possible.

  In the present invention, the image information acquired via the film scanner 2 or the media drive 7 is processed by the printing unit B in addition to the image information acquired via the film scanner 2 or the media drive 7. It is characterized in that the processing for writing to the storage medium M via the disk processing device D and the necessary information on the surface of the storage medium M are printed as a two-dimensional barcode. The processing mode will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image information acquired via the film scanner 2 or the media drive 7 is stored in the semiconductor memory RAM or the hard disk HD as the information storage unit 50, and is then converted into data of the print size and the number of prints. Based on this, the order execution means 33 transmits the data to the printing unit B and executes the printing process. Note that the image information stored in the information storage unit 50 is in the bitmap format set to the optimum number of pixels for the print size.

  Next, the image information stored in the information storage unit 50 is converted into the required number of pixels in the compression processing unit 35 and then converted into a JPEG format (a format established by the Joint Photographic Experts Group) or TIFF (Tag Image File Format). ) Compressed into a file, filed and given a name, and temporarily stored in the semiconductor memory RAM or the hard disk HD. Also, the file processing unit 36 realizes editing processing such as deleting the compressed file and changing the file name of the file based on the editing information, and then the writing processing unit 37 Processing for writing a file to the storage medium M is realized via the writing unit 20W of the disk processing device D.

  When the compression processing unit 35 compresses the image information into a file, a number or code according to the order in which the image data is stored is added as a file name. The editing information is generated based on the operation of the keyboard 5 or the mouse 6 such as designating a file by operating the mouse 6 and changing the file name by operating the key of the keyboard 5.

  Next, the file name extraction unit 38 extracts the file name of the image file, and inserts a space or a period between the file names so that the file names can be identified. After the conversion to (text format), the two-dimensional barcode generation unit 39 generates a two-dimensional barcode image. In parallel with this processing, the thumbnail processing unit 40 generates an image file from the file processing unit 36 as a thumbnail. Generate an image. After the two-dimensional barcode image and the thumbnail image are generated in this manner, the two-dimensional barcode image, the thumbnail image, and the default image stored in the image archive 51 of the hard disk HD are subjected to image processing. The unit 41 arranges in a preset layout. This layout can be confirmed on the display 3, and if necessary, the print processing unit 42 performs the editing process such as changing the layout or adding an arbitrarily set image, and then the disc processing unit 42 Printing is performed on the surface of the storage medium M via the print unit 20P of the processing apparatus D.

  As a result of printing, as shown in FIG. 7, a two-dimensional barcode BC, a plurality of thumbnail images TN, and a logo L indicating the DP store as a default image are printed. In the present invention, it is assumed that a QR code is used as the two-dimensional barcode BC. However, a two-dimensional barcode having a structure in which code data is two-dimensionally arranged as in the data matrix format or PDF417 format. You may comprise so that it may utilize.

  The above description is mainly about information processing, and is described together with the printing process for the photographic paper P. However, the processing for the storage medium M is not necessarily performed together with the printing process for the photographic paper P. It is. That is, the semiconductor medium used in the digital camera is set in a dedicated terminal, and the image information acquired from the semiconductor medium is stored in the storage medium M in a file format. Together with the storage process, the storage medium M The system may be configured to perform a process of printing on the storage medium M as an information two-dimensional barcode corresponding to an index of image information stored on the surface of the image.

  In addition, when the operator operates, necessary information is displayed on the display 3, a process of writing a file to the storage medium M by operating the keyboard 5 and the mouse 6 according to this display, and the surface of the storage medium M The printing process is realized, and the operation mode when these processes are performed can be expressed as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In other words, a list of image file information (thumbnail format images and file names) to be written to the storage medium M is displayed on the display 3, and based on this display, the operator can delete unnecessary files or specify file names. Editing to be changed is allowed (steps # 01 to # 03).

  Next, after the file to be written is determined, all file names of the file to be written are listed as barcode objects and displayed on the display 3, and unnecessary files are deleted based on this display, Editing to change the name is allowed (steps # 04 to # 06).

  Next, after the target of barcode conversion is determined, a two-dimensional barcode image, a thumbnail image, and a default image are displayed on the display 3 in a preset layout, and unnecessary images are displayed based on this display. Editing such as modifying the image or adding an image is allowed (steps # 07 to # 09).

  Thereafter, when an image to be printed is determined, an operator performs necessary operations to execute writing of an image file on the storage medium M and print processing on the surface of the storage medium M ( Step # 10).

  As described above, according to the present invention, when image information is stored in a disk-type storage medium M such as a CD-R or DVD-R, the contents of the image information stored in the storage medium M are grasped. Since possible file names are printed as a two-dimensional barcode, even if there are many files to be saved, the information can be read with a mobile phone that can read the information of the two-dimensional barcode and displayed on the liquid crystal display surface of the mobile phone. Or by reading the information of the two-dimensional barcode printed on the surface of the storage medium M with a barcode reader and displaying it on a display or the like, the image information stored in the storage medium M can be stored in the same manner as when reading the index. Almost all contents can be grasped. In particular, since the two-dimensional barcode can print a large amount of information on a relatively small area on the surface of the storage medium M, in addition to the two-dimensional barcode, information such as DP stores can be widely used for advertisements. Since it can be printed on the area, the effect of the advertisement is enhanced.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) A system is configured to print information that is two-dimensionally barcoded on a label that is used in a form that is affixed to the surface of the storage medium M.

(B) When writing the image file to the storage medium M in the form of additional recording, the image sensor is configured to print the two-dimensional barcode BC at a position separated from the print position of the two-dimensional barcode BC that has already been printed. A print processing system for printing the two-dimensional barcode at a position avoiding the already printed two-dimensional barcode after grasping the position of the two-dimensional barcode already printed by, for example.

(C) A thermal transfer type can be used as the print head 27, and a sublimation type is used as the print head 27 for printing a two-dimensional barcode on a label attached to the storage medium M. It is also possible.

(D) When shooting is performed with a digital camera, information such as the shooting date and shooting conditions is stored in an Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) format. When the acquired image is written in a storage medium, the processing mode may be set so that Exif information is extracted from the medium, a two-dimensional barcode is generated from the Exif information, and printed on the storage medium. When the two-dimensional barcode is printed in this way, it is possible to acquire detailed information such as the image information shooting date, the shutter speed at the time of shooting, and the presence / absence of the strobe, from the two-dimensional barcode.

Perspective view showing the entire printing device Perspective view of disk processing device Sectional view showing the operation mode at the time of printing in the disk processing apparatus Block circuit diagram showing the control system of the processing apparatus Block diagram showing how information is processed Disk processing routine flowchart Plan view of storage medium after print processing

Explanation of symbols

27 Print Head 39 Encoding Unit 42 Print Processing Unit M Storage Medium

Claims (1)

A printing system comprising a print head for printing information on a surface of a disk-shaped storage medium or a label attached to the surface,
A printing system comprising: a coding unit that converts documented information into a two-dimensional barcode; and a print processing unit that outputs an image converted into a two-dimensional barcode by the coding unit to the print head.

Images