Typewriting machines – Including control of format and selection of type-face by...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-28
2004-04-13
Nolan, Jr., Charles H. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Including control of format and selection of type-face by...
C400S062000, C400S076000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06719466
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing images based on image data.
Recently, so-called “stand-alone printers” capable of producing photographic images by itself without being connected to personal computer (personal computer will be referred to as “PC” hereinafter) have become commonplace. The stand-alone printers are constituted by reading apparatus and operation panels. The reading apparatus is employed so as to read auxiliary media adapted to communicate with such information processing systems as memory cards on which photographic image data are recorded. The operation panels are employed in order to set such printing conditions as print paper sizes for these photographic image data.
Since such stand-alone printers can print out without being connected to PC, users who have no such PC can print out photographic images on printing media, while these photographic images are photographed by digital cameras.
In accordance with general-purpose file systems for digital cameras, character data such as photographing data/time are stored as attribute information of image data into storage media. Such character data may be read out from the recording media in combination with the image data when the printing operation is carried out, and then, can be printed out in combination with these image data. For instance, in the case that image data are outputted in an album form, and in such a case that an index of images which are recorded on a recording medium is formed, such character data as photographing date/time which are printed out in combination with the images may constitute useful information for users.
However, image data, acquired in a file formed by executing an image edit application program is data acquired by a PC when the file is formed. Accordingly, the image data to be printed out cannot be acquired by the stand-alone printer when a printing operation is carried out without specifying the image data to be printed out when the file is formed. In other words, in accordance with the related image edit application program unless the image data to be printed out is specified, an output condition in a printing apparatus cannot be determined with respect to such unspecified image data. Namely, a printing position, either an enlarging ratio or a reduction ratio, or a filtering process operation cannot be designated with respect to image data acquired without specifying the image data to be printed out in the stand-alone printer. Unless the image data to be printed out is specified, the stand-alone printer cannot determine as to whether or not attribute information such as photographing date/time is printed out when the image data is outputted.
In a related printing apparatus, in a printing subject file in which an output condition such as a layout is determined with respect to image data, such image data to be printed out cannot be designated on the side of this related printing apparatus, or cannot be changed on the side of the related printing apparatus.
Generally, when a stand-alone printer has such a function capable of causing an operator to select as to whether or not character data such as photographing date/time is printed out, there is such a problem that an operation panel of this stand-alone printer owns a complex construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method, capable of previously setting an output condition such as a layout of image data designated when a printing operation is carried out before the printing operation is performed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method, capable of designating, or changing image data to be printed out in a printing subject file in which an output condition such as a layout is determined with respect to image data.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method, capable of previously setting an output condition of character data belonging to image data which is designated during a printing operation, before image data to be outputted is designated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method, capable of designating, or changing image data to be printed out in a printing subject file in which an output condition of character data belonging to image data is determined.
In the beginning, implication of terminology used in this specification will now be explained.
A term “output subject identifier” is a data for linking both image data acquired by a printing apparatus and such data used to define character data to an output setting value.
A term “image output setting value” is a value for determining a content of a process operation executed by the printing apparatus with respect to image data every such image data to be outputted. This process operation includes a process operation for determining a position of an image on a printing medium, a dimension of this image, and a shape of this image which is printed on the printing medium; a trimming process operation; a filtering process operation; a rotating process operation, and the like.
A term “drawing data region” is a region which is secured in an address space of the printing apparatus, for instance, a region of such an address space in which a data set of a list and a table, which are constituted by drawing data, is arranged.
A term “work area” is a region secured in an address space of the printing apparatus, namely such a region which temporarily stores data processed by executing a predetermined process by a processing apparatus.
A term “printing image data” is data which is produced by the processing apparatus based upon image data, namely the printing apparatus directly refers to data when the printing apparatus is mechanically operated so as to print out an image.
A term “image retrieve region” is a region which is secured in an address space of the printing apparatus, for instance, a region of such an address space in which a data set of a table, which are constituted by image data and an output subject identifier, is arranged.
A term “reference printing frame” is a frame which constitutes a reference used to determine as an output condition, a shape of an image printed out based on image data, a dimension of the image, and a position of the image on a printing medium. The reference printing frame may be made of any sorts of frames from which images are not projected on a printing medium. This reference printing frame need not owns the following condition. That is, a region on a printing medium, which is surrounded by this reference printing frame, is not completely made coincident with another region where a printed image occupies on the printing medium.
A term “trimming process operation” corresponds to such a process operation capable of obtaining an image having a specific shape by deleting pixels which are distributed in a peripheral region of an image.
A term “filtering process operation” corresponds to such an image processing operation as a density conversion, a sharpening process, and a smoothening process, which are executed with respect to image data.
A term “character output setting value” corresponds to such a value used to determine a sort of information which constitutes a printing subject contained in character data, or a value used to determine a font, a font size, a printing position of character data. For instance, the character output setting value corresponds to a value used to determine the following item based upon such character data indicative of a photographing year, a photographing month, photographing time, a shutter speed, an exposure value, which are recorded by a file system designed by a predetermined specification: “a field value indicative of a shutter speed is read, and the field value is printed on a lower right portion of paper by the courier new font of 12 points.”
A first printing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a drawi
Edatsune Isao
Kitazawa Tatsuya
Chau Minh
Nolan, Jr. Charles H.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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