Electronic blackboard device

Details Electronic blackboard device Electronic blackboard device

1998-04-10

2001-02-13

Lee, Cheukfan (Department: 2722)

Facsimile and static presentation processing

Natural color facsimile

Scanning

C358S501000, C358S001900

Reexamination Certificate

active

06188493

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic blackboard devices capable of reading information written on a writing surface and printing the information on recording paper, and more particularly to an electronic blackboard device capable of reading and printing a plurality of colors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electronic blackboard such as disclosed in JP-B-62-56000 is widely used in a meeting room of a private enterprise. In this case, the data recorded on the writing surface in a meeting can be printed as it is on general or heat-sensitive paper and it is unnecessary to take the trouble to write the data on a notebook. Data is written erasably with an aqueous marker on the writing surface of the blackboard, so that the data recorded on the writing surface is erasable with an eraser after use and the same writing surface is usable as a new writing surface. Not only the information written with the marker but also a chart pasted on the writing surface is readable.
However, the conventional electronic blackboard can read/print only in a monochromatic manner, so that information written with a red or blue marker other than a black one would be printed in black. Even when a chart using a plurality of different colors may be read, the chart would be printed only in a monochromatic manner. Thus, there is a strong demand for an electronic blackboard device capable of handling color printing.
The conventional color printing is usually performed in gradations and all toners of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K or Bk) are mixed to form any particular color. Thus, even when data is written, for example, with a red monochromatic marker on the writing surface, there is a waste that all the C, M, Y and K toners are used to print the data.
Conventionally, data is written with a monochromatic marker on the writing surface of the blackboard or a photograph or a printed chart is pasted on the writing surface. In the latter case, the read chart is often printed in a high gradation/multi-color manner whereas in the former case, although data written with the marker can frequently and sufficiently be printed in a non-gradation/ monochromatic manner as mentioned above, there is a waste that all the C, M, Y and K toners are always used to print the data without discriminating the chart printing from the marker description/printing or vice versa.
Conventionally, there can be two areas concurrently on the same writing surface of the electronic blackboard, one in which data is written with a monochromatic marker and the other on which a photograph or a printed chart is pasted. In this case, the chart is read and printed often in a high gradation/multi-color manner whereas although the data written with the marker is printed often and sufficiently in a non-gradation and monochromatic manner, there is the waste that the C, M, Y and K toners are always used without discriminating the marker writing/ printing from the chart printing or vice versa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, an electronic blackboard device comprises a writing surface on which information is to be written erasably with writing materials, a reader for reading the information written on the writing surface for each of color components of the information, and printing means for outputting the information read by the reader in predetermined colors onto a recording paper.
In the above arrangement, an image written with a marker or another writing means is printed in a reduced number of different color forming materials (coloring agents) such as toners or inks (hereinafter, represented by toners), so that wasteful use of the toners is avoided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an electronic blackboard device comprises a writing surface on which information is to be written erasably with writing materials, a reader for reading the information written on the writing surface for each of color components of the information, and printing means for outputting the information read by the reader onto a recording paper, the printing means selecting one of a first mode in which the information is output by using less than three coloring agents for one pixel and a second mode in which the information is output in multi-gradations.
By the above arrangement, the printing mode is changed depending on a type of an image on the writing surface to thereby reduce wasteful use of the toners.
According to a further another aspect of the present invention, an electronic blackboard device comprises a writing surface on which information is to be written erasably with writing materials, a reader for reading the information written on the writing surface for each of color components of the information, and printing means for outputting the information read by the reader onto a recording paper, and print control means for performing first processing on the information read by the reader in a first area of the writing surface and providing the resulting information to the printing means, and for performing second processing on the information read by the reader in a second area of the writing surface and providing the resulting signal to said printing means.
By such arrangement, the printing processing is changed depending on the type of an image area on the writing surface to reduce wasteful use of the toners.


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patent: 5959740 (1999-09-01), Takeda et al.
patent: 62-56000 (1987-11-01), None

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