JPH079645Y2 - Printer having voice magnetic recording / reproducing means - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a printer that uses a print sheet provided with a magnetically recordable area and is capable of magnetic recording / reproduction in the area in addition to printing on the print sheet. , Particularly to a printer suitable for printing image information.

[Outline of device]

A printer suitable for image information, which is capable of recording and reproducing a voice signal in the area using a print paper provided with a magnetically recordable area. The printer having an image pickup device for image reading.

[Conventional technology]

Printers for making a hard copy of image information displayed on the screen of a television (TV) receiver or computer graphics, a document file device or other image display device onto paper are known. A facsimile receiving device is also known as a printer that prints image information on paper.

However, in order to record / reproduce audio information together with an image, a recording / reproducing apparatus other than a printer, such as an audio / video tape recorder, must be used. In particular, an electronic still camera cannot record audio information in a hard copy of an image, even though it has a recording format capable of recording a signal (audio signal) based on audio information. Therefore, there is a problem that a handwritten memo is required in addition to the electronic photograph.

On the other hand, in the field of office machines and the like, a magnetic stripe is provided on a part of the print paper and used together with printing by a printer to record, for example, printer control information and personal identification (ID) information by magnetic recording, Various types of devices are known, such as a device that facilitates positioning of a printing paper, a search for a printing paper after printing, a device that provides convenience to an ID collating device, and the like.

An example of such a printer is disclosed in JP-A-61-44675. In addition to these, as a device that uses printed paper and magnetic recording technology in combination, a prepaid card such as a telephone card (registered trademark),
Devices such as a Talking Card (registered trademark) are known.

However, conventionally, there is no printer capable of arbitrarily printing an image or characters and also recording / reproducing audio information, and in particular, no printer suitable for recording / reproducing both an image and a sound.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

An object of the present invention is to obtain a printer that can print image information such as a television image, a computer graphics image, and a document image, and can also record / reproduce audio information. Furthermore, it is also possible to read the printed image information and obtain an image signal to be displayed on the image display device.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In the present invention, a printer paper having a magnetically recordable area can be mounted, a magnetic head for recording / reproducing an audio signal in the area, and a recording / reproducing for inputting / outputting an audio signal to / from the magnetic head. A printer having an amplifier, the printer having an image signal input terminal capable of inputting an image signal, and further having an image sensor for reading printed image information, To do.

[Action]

In the printer of the present invention, for example, image information can be printed on a print sheet, and a voice signal can be recorded in a magnetically recordable area (for example, a magnetic stripe) provided on the print sheet. In particular, when a standard or non-standard interlaced scanning or non-interlaced scanning television signal or an image signal input terminal for directly inputting an image signal such as a video signal suitable for display on a display device such as a computer is provided, general video equipment is provided. (Especially image display device) Easy connection with a still image printer with voice recording.

Also, the recorded audio signal can be reproduced while viewing the printed image information to obtain audio information such as a comment from the image creator (a videographer in the case of a photograph).

Furthermore, since the printer of the present invention can be equipped with an image pickup device for reading out the printed image information,
When the image pickup device is provided, it is possible to display printed image information on an image display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. In such a case, the printer of the present invention can function as a recording / playback device for still images and sounds.

〔Example〕

Description will be given based on the block diagram of the present invention shown in FIG. First, the whole is made up of a mechanical portion indicated by numerals 1 to 12 and an electric circuit portion indicated by letters a to h. Then, the print paper 1 having the magnetically recordable area (for example, the magnetic stripe 3) as illustrated in FIG. 2 is mounted on the mechanism portion as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the print head 5 and the print ribbon 4 are attached. Information such as an image can be printed (also referred to as printing) on the print paper by a thermal transfer method, and an audio signal can be recorded on the magnetic stripe 3 by the magnetic recording / reproducing head 7. Of course, other printing methods such as an inkjet method may be used.

The printed image can be read by the image pickup device (for example, a line sensor having a CCD imager) 8 and the audio signal recorded on the magnetic stripe 3 can be read by the magnetic recording / reproducing head 7.

The feed speed of the print paper 1, that is, the rotation speed of the platen 6 is controlled by detecting the rotation speed of the encoder 10 with the optical sensor 11. As a result, the relative speed between the magnetic recording / reproducing head 7 and the magnetic stripe 3 is also controlled. Therefore, rather than when the platen 6 is driven stepwise,
The smooth driving is more suitable for the smooth analog recording of the audio signal to the magnetic stripe 3, and the present embodiment is more preferable than the printing by the step driven code data like the line printer. It is easier to apply the method to an image (image data) printer which is sequentially driven according to scanning lines like a video signal.

Next, returning to FIG. 1 again, the configuration of the electric circuit section will be described. The present embodiment is particularly characterized in that it has an image signal input terminal a and an audio signal recording / reproducing amplifier f. First, the audio signal recording / reproducing amplifier f will be described. For simplification, this embodiment uses a technique known as a conventional analog tape recorder to provide an audio signal recording / reproducing amplifier f having an equalizer, a recording amplifier, a reproducing amplifier, and the like for magnetic recording / reproducing. In addition to being connected to the reproducing head 7, it is connected to a microphone, an external audio signal input terminal (line in), a speaker, an audio signal output terminal (line out), and the like.

In addition, analog / digital (A / D) is used to adjust the timing of the printed still image and the recording of the audio signal.
It also has a digital / analog (D / A) converter f1 and a voice signal memory f2, which can be controlled by the system controller d.

Next, the image signal input terminal a will be described. The image signal input terminal a is a generic name for the video signal input terminal a1 and the television signal input terminal a2, which are actually two or more separate input terminals.

The video signal input terminal a1 outputs a video signal output from a computer or the like for display on a display device using an image display element such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) via a multi-pin connector or the like like the display device. The input video signal is converted by the decoder a5 into an image signal having a synchronizing signal suitable for the printer of this embodiment and a scanning line, and stored in the image memory a6.

On the other hand, the television signal input terminal a2 is a terminal to which a standard or non-standard interlaced or non-interlaced scanning type television signal can be directly input, for example, a terminal to which a television signal sent by a coaxial cable can be input.

Nowadays, there are those equipped with an output terminal for television signals so that the display of computer graphics and the like can be recorded with a video tape recorder (VTR).

Further, even in an electronic still camera, a reproduced image is often output as a television signal by being stored in, for example, an image memory and repeatedly read so that the image can be viewed as a still image on a television receiver. Further, in order to make a hard copy of one screen being monitored by a television receiver or a video monitor device, it is convenient if the television signal output terminal of the television receiver or the like can be directly connected to the video printer. In this embodiment, a television signal input terminal is provided for this purpose.
A2 is provided so that the input television signal can be extracted in field units or frame units, A / D converted, and then sent to the decoder a5. At the same time, the audio signal in the input television signal can be extracted for 10 seconds and sent to the audio signal recording / reproducing amplifier f.

Further, in this embodiment, the image pickup device 8 is provided, and the image pickup device driver and controller g for driving the image pickup device 8 and outputting the read image information as an image signal (image data) are provided. Image memory 2 with D conversion
It has a structure that can be stored in 6. The signals stored in the image memory 26 are controlled by the system controller d and read out to be sent to the head print controller e, or displayed on the video monitor device or the television receiver via the D / A converter h1 and the encoder h. In order to read it, it is possible to read it.

Further, in the present embodiment, like the conventional printer, a printer control signal input terminal b for controlling the printer with a personal computer or the like, and a code transmitted via an interface such as GP-IB, RS-232C, or Centronics. The case where a versatility is provided by providing a code data input terminal c for inputting and printing data is illustrated. Of course, there is no problem in allowing ID information (personal identification information) and the like to be recorded in the magnetically recordable area.

By the way, in FIG. 1, in order to avoid complication, for example, a power supply, a clock generator, a synchronizing circuit,
Although detailed circuits such as the preamplifier and the buffer amplifier are not shown, it goes without saying that these are included in FIG. 1 as a matter of course.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the appearance of the embodiment described above.

[Effect of device]

By implementing the present invention, it is possible to obtain a printer capable of printing image information such as a television image, a computer graphics image, and a character image, and recording / reproducing audio information. Further, it is possible to obtain the image signal for reading out the printed image information and displaying it on the image display device, and the recorded audio signal.

As a result, voice information is integrally added to the hard copy of the image, and, for example, if voice recording is performed at the time of shooting with an electronic still camera, a handwritten memo becomes unnecessary.

Also, for example, video images (eg, television programs)
When editing, audio information is integrally recorded on the hard copy of the video at the required points, which facilitates editing. Especially when shooting a business trip for a long time, all videos are played back in real time while editing. It is difficult to do so, and the effect of implementing the present invention is extremely large. In such a case, it is more effective that the printed image information can be displayed on the display device.

Further, by carrying out the present invention, it is possible to integrally record the image and the sound on one sheet of printing paper, so that a new information medium which has never existed can be created. For example, photo albums with sound, message cards with pictures and sounds, and hand-made chat cards.

As described above, the effect of implementing the present invention is extremely large.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an example of a print paper used in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the mechanism portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is FIG. It is a perspective view of an example of the appearance of the example. 1 ... Print paper 2 ... Image 3 ... Magnetic recordable area (magnetic stripe) 5 ... Print head 7 ... Magnetic recording / playback head 8 ... Image sensor a ... Image signal input terminal a1 ... Video signal Input terminal a2: Television signal input terminal f: Audio signal recording / reproducing amplifier

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A print sheet having a magnetically recordable area can be mounted, a magnetic head for recording / reproducing an audio signal in the area, and a recording / inputting / outputting an audio signal to / from the magnetic head.
A printer having a regenerative amplifier. 2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising an image signal input terminal capable of inputting an image signal. 3. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising an image pickup device for reading the printed image information.