Printing apparatus and printing method Number:7,154,630 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent A photographic print vending apparatus is provided which comprises a media accepting unit which accepts a recording medium having photographic image information stored thereon. An image information reader reads the image information from the recording medium, and a plurality of printers print images based on image data from a processor connected to the image information reader and an advertisement information storage unit. When an advertisement printing mode is set, the processor reads the advertisement information from the advertisement information storage unit, synthesizes the read advertisement information and the image information read by the image information reader, and supplies the synthesized information to the printers as image data.<H apparatus, printing, Printing, appara, 7154630.html, Patent, pto, 7154630

Title: Printing apparatus and printing method

Abstract: A photographic print vending apparatus is provided which comprises a media accepting unit which accepts a recording medium having photographic image information stored thereon. An image information reader reads the image information from the recording medium, and a plurality of printers print images based on image data from a processor connected to the image information reader and an advertisement information storage unit. When an advertisement printing mode is set, the processor reads the advertisement information from the advertisement information storage unit, synthesizes the read advertisement information and the image information read by the image information reader, and supplies the synthesized information to the printers as image data.

Patent Number: 7,154,630 Issued on 12/26/2006 to Nimura, et al.

Inventors: Nimura; Wataru (Tokyo, JP), Mizushina; Takahiro (Saitama, JP), Takahashi; Hiroki (Tokyo, JP), Kasahara; Takeshi (Tokyo, JP), Mizuno; Kimiyasu (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, JP)

Appl. No.: 09/762,560

Filed: June 29, 2000

PCT Filed: June 29, 2000

PCT No.: PCT/JP00/04281

371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: February 09, 2001

PCT Pub. No.: WO01/01669

PCT Pub. Date: January 04, 2001

Foreign Application Priority Data


Jun 29, 1999 [JP]			11-182936
Dec 14, 1999 [JP]			11-353865

Current U.S. Class: 358/1.18 ; 358/296; 358/400; 400/61

Current International Class: G06F 15/00 (20060101)

Field of Search: 358/1.18,296,400,407,468 379/100.17 101/484 400/61,70

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


5034806	July 1991	Ikeda et al.
5181162	January 1993	Smith et al.
5513254	April 1996	Markowitz
5707158	January 1998	Hansel et al.
5724521	March 1998	Dedrick
5740549	April 1998	Reilly et al.
5765142	June 1998	Allred et al.
5845262	December 1998	Nozue et al.
5859711	January 1999	Barry et al.
5979757	November 1999	Tracy et al.
6014137	January 2000	Burns
6018774	January 2000	Mayle et al.
6073241	June 2000	Rosenberg et al.
6295482	September 2001	Tognazzini
6320672	November 2001	Itoh
6334109	December 2001	Kanevsky et al.
6367653	April 2002	Ruskin et al.
6655284	December 2003	Hoshii et al.
2001/0014868	August 2001	Herz et al.
2001/0016829	August 2001	Toshikage et al.
2001/0030773	October 2001	Matsuura et al.

Foreign Patent Documents


0 326 515	Aug., 1989	EP
633686	Jan., 1995	EP
0 649 109	Apr., 1995	EP
0 854 458	Jul., 1998	EP
2 665 812	Feb., 1992	FR
0 682 502	Apr., 1993	FR
2 741 987	Jun., 1997	FR
2 305 259	Apr., 1997	GB
52-042196	Apr., 1977	JP
53-070438	Jun., 1978	JP
57-105380	Jun., 1982	JP
61-83374	Jun., 1986	JP
03-092367	Apr., 1991	JP
03-221482	Sep., 1991	JP
04-112057	Apr., 1992	JP
04-287113	Oct., 1992	JP
05-06935	Mar., 1993	JP
06-008537	Jan., 1994	JP
06-040182	Feb., 1994	JP
07-107424	Apr., 1995	JP
08-217289	Aug., 1996	JP
08-337011	Dec., 1996	JP
09-070001	Mar., 1997	JP
10-181163	Jul., 1998	JP
10-210208	Aug., 1998	JP
10-215376	Aug., 1998	JP
10-233984	Sep., 1998	JP
10-320145	Dec., 1998	JP
11-015617	Jan., 1999	JP
11-024860	Jan., 1999	JP
11-039107	Feb., 1999	JP
11-084523	Mar., 1999	JP
11-320987	Nov., 1999	JP
11-355549	Dec., 1999	JP
2000188741	Jul., 2000	JP
2001010149	Jan., 2001	JP
2002133141	May., 2002	JP
2001035449	May., 2001	KR
2001068106	Jul., 2001	KR
WO 93/16443	Aug., 1993	WO
WO 98/40826	Sep., 1998	WO

Other References

Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 1998, No. 13, Nov. 30, 1998; & JP 10 215376 A (Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.) Aug. 11, 1998. cited by other .
U.S. Appl. No. 09/958,062, abandoned, application as filed. cited by other .
U.S. Appl. No. 09/958,081, abandoned, application as filed. cited by other.

Primary Examiner: Lamb; Twyler M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Frishauf, Holtz, Goodman & Chick, P.C.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A photographic print vending apparatus comprising: media accepting means for accepting a removable recording medium having photographic image information stored thereon; image information reading means for reading the image information from the recording medium; advertisement information storing means for storing advertisement information; printing means for printing the image information onto a sheet; a housing which houses the media accepting means, the image information reading means, the printing means and the advertisement information storing means; and an outlet in the housing from which the printed sheet is output; wherein the printing means prints the advertisement information onto the sheet with the image information, when an advertisement information printing mode is set; wherein the printing means comprises a plurality of printers, each of which is adapted to print the image information on the sheet; and wherein the print vending apparatus further comprises image information distribution means for distributing the image information read by the image information reading means to at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the image information comprises image information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising price option selecting means for selecting a price option for printing the image information; wherein the advertisement mode is set based on the price option selected by a user.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information includes a plurality of sets of unit image information; wherein the print vending apparatus further comprises unit image selecting means for selecting a set of unit image information desired by the user from the plurality of sets of the unit image information; and wherein the printing means prints the selected set of the unit image information on the sheet together with the advertisement image stored in the advertisement image storing means, when the advertisement information printing mode is set.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising advertisement information receiving means for receiving advertisement information supplied from a remote site via a communication network; wherein the advertisement information storing means stores the advertisement information received by the advertisement information receiving means.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: status detection means for detecting status of the printing means; and notification means for notifying a remote site of the status detected by the status detection means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information includes a plurality of sets of unit image information; wherein the print vending apparatus further comprises unit image selecting means for selecting a plurality of sets of unit image information desired by the user from the plurality of sets of the unit image information; and wherein the image information distribution means distributes the selected unit image information sets to at least one of the plural printers in accordance with a selecting order of the sets of unit image information.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising ejecting means for conveying a sheet on which the image information is printed by any of the plurality of printers to eject the sheet through the outlet of the case.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the media accepting means comprises an attachment for accepting the recording medium, wherein the attachment is slanted such that an opening of the attachment is directed downward.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of printers comprise a plurality of sublimation thermal printers.

10. A photographic print vending apparatus comprising: a case having an outlet; media accepting means for accepting a removable recording medium having photographic print information stored thereon; print information reading means for reading the print information from the recording medium; a plurality of printers, each of which is adapted to print at least one image on at least one sheet in accordance with the print information read from the recording medium; and print information distribution means for distributing the print information read from the recording medium to at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the print information comprises print information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; wherein each of the plurality of printers comprises image data generating means for generating image data to be printed based on the print information distributed by the print information distribution means, and printing means for printing the generated image data onto a sheet; and wherein each sheet with the image data printed thereon is output through the outlet of the case.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising status detection means for detecting a status of each of the plurality of printers; wherein the print information distribution means distributes the print information in accordance with detection results of the status detection means.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the status detection means detects a remaining amount of an expendable supply in each of the printers; and wherein the print information distribution means distributes the print information to printers having a detected remaining amount of the expendable supply have enough remainders for printing.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein order information is applied to each of the plural printers; wherein the status detection means detects a remaining amount of an expendable supply in each of the printers; and wherein the print information distribution means distributes the print information to the plurality of printers in accordance with the order information and a detection result of the status detection means in order of the remaining amount of the expendable supply in each printer such that the print information is distributed first to one of the printers which has the lowest remaining amount the expendable supply.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the status detection means detects a remaining amount of an expendable supply in each of the printers, and the print vending apparatus further comprises: print quantity designation means for designating a print quantity desired by a user; remaining amount comparing means for comparing a required amount of the expendable supply necessary for the designated print quantity with the detected remaining amount of the expendable supply in each of the printers; and warning means for warning of a print capacity shortage when the remaining amount comparing means determines that the remaining amount of the expendable supply is less than the required amount.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the print quantity designation means designates print quantity by unit amount; and wherein the print vending apparatus further comprises designation canceling means for canceling the print quantity designation based on an output result of the remaining amount comparing means.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the plural printers are grouped into a plurality of groups of at least one of the printers; and wherein the print information distribution means distributes the print information to the at least one of the printers by group.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of printers print the image data on different types of sheets; wherein the print vending apparatus comprise sheet selecting means for selecting one of the sheet types desired by a user; and the print information distribution means distributes the print information to the at least one of the printers based on the sheet type selected by the sheet selecting means.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: status detection means for detecting a status of each of the plurality of printers; and notification means for notifying a remote site of the detected status.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of printers has respective identification information; and wherein the notification means notifies the remote site of the detected status together with the identification information of the corresponding printer.

20. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising ejecting means for conveying a sheet on which the image data is printed by any of the plurality of printers to eject the sheet through the outlet of the case.

21. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of printers comprise a plurality of sublimation thermal printers.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of printers comprises property storage means for storing property information relating to a thermal print head property, and the print vending apparatus comprises: property reading means for reading the property information stored in the property storage means of each printer; and power supply means for controlling a supply of power to the plurality of printers in accordance with the property information of each printer read by the property reading means.

23. A print vending apparatus comprising: a case having an outlet; a processor; and a plurality of printers connected to the processor, wherein each of the printers comprises: (i) an image former which generates image data to be printed based on print information, and (ii) a printing unit for printing the generated image data on a sheet; wherein the print information is input to the processor, and the processor distributes the received print information to at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the print information comprises print information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; wherein each printed sheet is outputted through outlet of the case.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the processor detects status in each of the printers, and distributes the print information to the at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with the detected status.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the plurality of printers are grouped into a plurality of groups of at least one printer; and wherein the processor distributes the print information to the at least one printer by group.

26. A method of operating a print vending machine for printing image information on a sheet with at least one of a plurality of printers, said method comprising: distributing input print information to at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the print information comprises print information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; generating image data to be printed in the at least one printer to which the print information is distributed; printing the generated image data on the sheet with a printing mechanism in the printer which generates the image data; and outputting each sheet printed by the plurality of printers through an outlet of the print vending machine.

27. A photographic print vending apparatus comprising: a case having an outlet; accepting means for accepting a memory storing photographic print information; photographic information reading means for reading the photographic information from the memory; a plurality of printers, each of which is adapted to print at least one image on at least one sheet in accordance with the photographic information read from the memory; and print information distribution means for distributing the print information read from the memory to at least one of the plurality of printers in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the print information comprises print information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; wherein each of the plurality of printers comprises image data generating means for generating image data to be printed based on the photographic image information distributed by the print information distribution means, and printing means for printing generated image data onto a sheet; and wherein each sheet with the image data printed thereon is output through the outlet of the case.

28. A print vending apparatus comprising: a case having an outlet; an accepting unit which accepts a memory storing image information; an image information reader which reads the image information from the memory; an information storage unit which stores second image information; a processor connected to the image information reader and the information storage unit; and a plurality of printers which print images on a sheet based on image data supplied from the processor; wherein, when an information printing mode is set, the processor reads the second image information from the information storage unit, synthesizes the read second image information and the image information read by the image information reader, and distributes the synthesized information to the printers as image data in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the image information comprises image information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; and wherein each printed sheet is output through the outlet of the case.

29. A print vending apparatus comprising: a case having an outlet; an accepting unit which accepts a memory storing image information; an image information reader which reads the image information from the memory; an advertisement information storage unit which stores advertisement information; a processor connected to the image information reader and the advertisement information storage unit; and a plurality of printers which print images on a sheet based on image data supplied from the processor; wherein the processor reads the advertisement information from the advertisement information storage unit, synthesizes the read advertisement information and the image information read by the image information reader, and distributes the synthesized information to the printers as image data in accordance with a predetermined sequence, wherein if the image information comprises image information to be printed on a plurality of sheets, a plurality of the printers are assigned to print respective ones of the sheets in accordance with the predetermined sequence; and wherein each printed sheet is output through the outlet of the case.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 USC 371 of International Application PCT/JP00/04281 (published in English) filed Jun. 29, 2000.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates an apparatus and method for printing digital images, more particularly to an apparatus and method for printing a digital image with synthesizing an advertisement image.

The present invention also relates to a printing apparatus having a plurality of printers each comprising an image forming unit and a printing mechanism, and a method of printing with using the printing apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

To develop filmed photo, a user usually brings a film to a photo processing shop.

Digital devices such as a digital camera and a scanner have been spread to personal use. Images captured or scanned by such the digital device are printed by, for example, a printer connected to a personal computer. Since digital images can be recorded on a recording medium, a photo processing shop which can handle digital images also processes the digital data to print the images.

The above described conventional methods for developing images have the following problems.

Since filmed photo must be developed at a photo processing shop, it takes a long time to develop photos.

Although digital images can be printed by a personal printer, such the personal printer is usually a low-end one. Therefore, it is difficult to realize high quality and high speed printing in home.

A photo processing shop which can handle digital images can print the images with high quality, however, it also takes a long time to image developing as well as the case of film photo developing.

Regardless of filmed image or digital image, image processing for printing costs a user. For example, a photo processing shop requires fees for developing and printing services, and a personal printer costs for expendable supplies such as paper and inks.

For high speed printing, various printing apparatuses have been developed. One of them is a printing apparatus equipped with a plurality of printing mechanisms.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the system structure of a conventional printing apparatus having a plurality of printing mechanisms. As shown in FIG. 29, a printing apparatus 190 comprises an interface (I/F) 191, a storage unit 192, a main controller 193, and a plurality of printing mechanisms 194. The I/F 191 receives print information and outputs it to the main controller 193. The main controller 193 stores the print information in the storage unit 192 once. The main controller 193 reads the print information from the storage unit 192 at predetermined timing, prepares image data based on the read print information, and transfers the image data to any of the plurality of printing mechanisms 194. The printing mechanism 194 performs printing on a sheet in accordance with the received image data. Thus, the printing mechanisms 194 of the printing apparatus 190 perform printing in parallel.

Since the image data preparation depends only on the main controller 193 and the prepared image data set is transferred to any of the plural printing mechanisms 194, it is not able to prepare and transfer further image data relating to next print information during image data preparation for the currently processed print information.

If several sets of the print data are supplied to the printing apparatus 190, it takes a long time to process them, therefore, it is difficult to realize high speed printing even if the apparatus is equipped with a plurality of printing mechanisms.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for printing which realize high resolution digital image printing within a short time while reducing costs.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus which is equipped with a plurality of printers each having an image forming unit and a printing mechanism to realize high speed printing, and a printing method.

To accomplish the above objects, a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus (1, 101) which comprises image information read means (3, 104) for reading image information, and print means (14, 123) for printing the image information read by the image information read means (3, 104) on a sheet (18, 153), wherein

the printing apparatus (1, 101) comprises advertisement information storing means (8, 131) for storing advertisement information, and

the print means (14, 123) prints the image information read by the image information read means (3, 104) on the sheet (18, 153) together with the advertisement information stored in the advertisement information storing means (8, 131).

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect further comprises price option selecting means (2, 102, 103) for allowing a user to select price options for printing the image information, wherein

the print means (14, 123) prints the image information read by the image information read means (3, 104) on the sheet (18, 153) together with the advertisement information stored in the advertisement information storing means (8, 131) in accordance with the selection of the price option selecting means (2, 102, 103).

According to the above structure, the printing apparatus prints the advertisement information on the sheet together with the image information, therefore, the advertiser bears full or part of print cost. Therefore, a user obtains printed images, especially digital images at a low cost. The payment selecting means allows the user to optionally pay full cost to obtain resultant prints which are occupied by the image information.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the image information includes plural sets of unit images information,

the printing apparatus (1, 101) further comprises unit image selecting means (2, 102, 103) for selecting a set of unit image information desired by the user from the plural sets of the unit images information,

the print means (14, 123) prints the set of the unit image information selected by the unit image selecting means (2, 102, 103) on the sheet (18, 153) together with the advertisement image stored in the advertisement image storing means (8, 131).

In this case, the user can select desired ones from images captured by, for example, a digital camera to print them.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect further comprises advertisement information receiving means (13, 138) for receiving advertisement information supplied from a remote site (6c, 139c) via a communication network (6b, 139b), wherein

the advertisement information storing means (8, 131) stores the advertisement information received by the advertisement information receiving means (13, 138).

This structure is helpful for the advertiser to establish effective advertising strategy, because the advertisement information is alterable in accordance with the circumstances.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect further comprises:

inside status detection means (7, 130) for detecting status inside the print means (14, 123); and

notification means (13, 138) for notifying the remote site (6c, 139c) of the inside status detected by the inside status detection means (7, 130).

According to this structure, an administrator is immediately informed of status of the printing apparatus such as malfunction or expendable supply exhaustion, even if the printing apparatus is settled as an unmanned automatic vending machine. This effect is helpful for the administrator's prompt action, as a result, business hours of the printing apparatus will be substantially elongated.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the print means (14, 123) comprises a plurality of printers (14-1 to 14-8, 123-1 to 123-8) each able to print the image information read by the image information read means (3, 104) on the sheet (18, 153), and

the printing apparatus (1, 101) further comprises image information distribution means (7, 130) for distributing image information read by the image information read means (3, 104) to any of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with a predetermined standard.

Such the multiple printer structure allows the printing apparatus to perform parallel printing, thus, a user can obtain resultant prints within less waiting time.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the image information includes plural sets of unit images information,

the printing apparatus (1, 101) further comprises unit image selecting means (2, 102, 103) for selecting a set of unit image information desired by the user from the plural sets of the unit images information, and

the image information distribution means (7, 130) distributes the unit image information sets selected by the unit image selecting means (2, 102, 103) to any of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with selecting order.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect further comprises eject means (121) for conveying the sheet (18, 153) on which the image information is printed by each of the plural printers (14-1 to 14-8, 123-1 to 123-8) so as to be ejected through an outlet (112).

The eject means gathers the plural resultant prints output by the plural printers, at an outlet. Thus, it is easy for the user to pick up the plural prints on each of which image information is printed at once. The eject means also can sort the plural resultant prints in order of selection by the unit image selecting means.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the image information read means (3, 104) accept a detachably applied recording medium, and read the image information from the applied recording medium.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the image information read means (3, 104) has an attachment for accepting the recording medium, which is slanted so that an opening of the attachment directs downward.

According to this structure where image information sets are read from a recording medium to print them on sheets, images captured by, for example, a digital still camera may be stored on a flash memory or the like, and a user can print the stored images with using the printing apparatus. The user does not need to own a printer for printing the image information. Since the media slot of the printing apparatus is slanted so that an opening thereof directs downward, it prevents dust from sticking on connection between the recording medium and the image information read means. This structure is helpful for the printing apparatus to have dust resistant structure which is effective in outdoor use.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the first aspect, wherein the print means (14, 123) comprises sublimation thermal printers.

Since the sublimation thermal printers are used, a user can obtain high quality prints as well as film prints.

To accomplish the above objects, a printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus (101) which comprises a plurality of printers (123-1 to 123-8) each of which is able to print images on sheets (158) in accordance with input print information representing guidance for printing images, wherein the printing apparatus (101) comprises print information distribution means (130) for distributing input print information to any of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with a predetermined standard,

each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) comprises:

image data generating means (140) for generating image data to be printed, based on the print information distributed by the print information distribution means (130); and

print means (143) for printing the image data generated by the image data generating means (140) on the sheet (153).

According to the printing apparatus, the plural printers executes printing in parallel, thus, the printing apparatus realizes high speed printing.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect further comprises inside status detection means (130) for detecting inside status of each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8), wherein

the print information distribution means (130) distributes the print information to any of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with the detection results of the inside status detection means.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the inside status detection means (130) detects remainders of an expendable supply (153) in each of the printers (123-1 to 123-8), and

the print information distribution means (130) distributes the print information prior to the printers whose expendable supplies have enough remainders for printing.

In this case, exhaustions of the expendable supplies in the printers are equalized. This effect is helpful for an administrator in case of exchanging the exhausted supplies in the printing apparatus which is settled as an unmanned automatic vending machine, because it allows the administrator to exchange all supplies at once.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein order information is applied to each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8),

the inside status detection means (130) detects remainders of an expendable supply (153) in each of the printers (123-1 to 123-8), and

the print information distribution means (130) distributes the print information to the printers in accordance with the order information and the detection result of the inside status detection means (130) in order of remainders quantity so that the print information is distributed first to one of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) which has the least remainders of the expendable supply.

In this case, specific ones of the plural printers are frequently used, thus, expendable supplies therein will be exhausted earlier. Accordingly, timings for exchanging the supplies are offset printer by printer, therefore, a time period occupied for exchanging the supplies will be reduced each time. As a result, users' waiting time for the supply exchange will be reduced, thus, the printing apparatus will be operated efficiently.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the inside status detection means (130) detects remainders of an expendable supply (153) in each of the printers (123-1 to 123-8),

the printing apparatus (101) further comprises:

print quantity designation means (102, 103) for designating print quantity instructed by a user;

remainders comparing means (130) for comparing required remainders necessary for the print quantity designated by the print quantity designation means (102, 103) with the remainders of the expendable supplies (153) detected by the inside status detection means (130); and

warning means (102) for warning print capacity shortage in a case where the comparison by the remainders comparing means (130) results that the remainders of the expendable supplies (153) is less than the required remainders.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the print quantity designation means (102, 103) designates print quantity by unit amount, and

the printing apparatus (101) further comprises designation cancel means (130) for canceling the print quantity designation by the unit amount to be carried out by the print quantity designation means (102, 103) based on the result of the remainders comparing means (130).

This structure allows a user to avoid unnecessary extra operations that indicating unable printing operations.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) are grouped into a plurality of groups each including at least one of the printers, and

the print information distribution means (130) distributes the print information to any of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) group by group.

According to the above structure where the printers are grouped, for example, a plurality of users can share the printers group by group, thus, they can indicate printing simultaneously. Providing each printer group with a print outlet directs the resultant prints to target users.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) have different types of the sheets for printing the image,

the printing apparatus (101) comprise sheet selecting means (102, 103) for selecting sheet type corresponding to the user's demand, and

the print information distribution means (130) distributes the print information to any of the printers corresponding to the sheet type selected by the sheet selecting means.

Such the printing apparatus is compatible with multiple sheet types, therefore, a user can select desired sheet type.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect further comprises:

inside status detection means (130) for detecting the status in each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8); and

notification means (138) for notifying a remote site (139c) of the inside status detected by the inside status detection means.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) has its own ID information, and

the notification means (138) informs the remote site (139c) of the inside status of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) detected by the inside status detection means (130) together with the ID information of the printers (123-1 to 123-8).

Since the printing apparatus comprises the notification means, an administrator is immediately notified of status of the printing apparatus such as malfunction or supply exhaustion in the printing apparatus which is settled as an unmanned automatic vending machine. This effect is helpful for the administrator's prompt action. As a result, the operation time of the printing apparatus will be substantially extended.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect further comprises eject means (121) for conveying the sheet (153) on which the image information is printed by each of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) so as to be ejected through an outlet (112).

The eject means gathers the plural resultant prints output by the plural printers, at an outlet. Thus, it is easy for the user to pick up the plural prints on each of which image information is printed at once. The eject means also can sort the plural resultant prints in order of selection by the unit image selecting means.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) are sublimation thermal printers.

The apparatus (101) according to the second aspect, wherein each of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) has property storage means (140) for storing information (180) relating to thermal print head property, and

the printing apparatus (101) comprises:

property read means (130) for reading the information (180) relating to the thermal print head property stored in the property storage means (140) of each printer; and

power supply means (181) for controlling power to be supplied to the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with the information (180) relating to the thermal print head property of each printer read by the property read means (130).

The power supply in accordance with properties of the thermal print head substantially equalizes quality of images printed by the printers, because the properties of the thermal print heads are not equivalent even if they are the same model.

To accomplish the above objects, a printing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus (1, 101) comprises:

an image information reader (3, 104) which reads image information;

an advertisement information storage unit (8, 131) which stores advertisement information;

a processor (7, 130), being connected to the image information reader (3, 104) and the advertisement information storage unit (8, 131), which operates in accordance with a program; and

printers (14, 123) which print images on a sheet (18, 153) based on the image data supplied from the processor (7, 130),

wherein the processor (7, 130) reads the advertisement information from the advertisement information storage unit (8, 131),

synthesizes the read advertisement information on the image information read by the image information reader (3, 104), and

supplies the synthesized information to the printers (14, 123) as image data.

The apparatus (1, 101) according to the third aspect further comprises payment option selector (2, 102, 103) which allows a user to select pay printing or free printing, and

the processor (7, 130) discriminates which of pay printing and free printing is selected by the payment option selector (2, 102, 103), and

synthesizes the read advertisement information with the image information read by the image information reader (3, 104) in a case where the free printing is selected.

To accomplish the above objects, a printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus (101) comprises:

a processor (130) which operates in accordance with a program; and

a plurality of printers (123-1 to 123-8) being connected to the processor (130), each of which comprises an image former (140) for generating image data to be printed based on print information representing print guidance, and a printing unit (143) for printing the generated image data on a sheet (153),

wherein the processor (130)

receives externally supplied print information, and

distributes received print information to any of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with a predetermined standard.

The apparatus (101) according to the fourth aspect, wherein the processor (130) detects status in each of the printers (123-1 to 123-8), and

distributes the print information to any of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with the detected inside status.

The apparatus (101) according to the fourth aspect, wherein the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) are grouped into a plurality of groups each having at least one of the printers, and

the processor (130) distributes the print information to any of the printers (123-1 to 123-8) group by group.

To accomplish the above objects, a method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a method of printing image information on a sheet (18, 153) comprises the steps of:

reading image information;

reading previously stored advertisement information; and

printing the read image information on the sheet (18, 153) together with the read advertisement information.

To accomplish the above objects, a method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a method of printing images corresponding to input print information on a sheet (153) with using any of plural printers (123-1 to 123-8), comprising the steps of:

distributing the input print information to any of the plural printers (123-1 to 123-8) in accordance with a predetermined standard;

generating image data to be printed, in the printer to which the print information is distributed; and

printing the generated image data on the sheet (153) with using a printing mechanism (143) in the printer which generates the image data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing exterior structure of a print vending machine having ad affix function according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the print vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a printer;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining process flow according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining process flow according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the processing according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing image data processing and image distribution processing in detail;

FIG. 8 is a diagram data configuration stored in a storage unit, representing target images and their print quantities;

FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplifying image data developed in a frame memory;

FIG. 10 is a timing chart of print processing by the printers;

FIG. 11A is a diagram exemplifying arrangement of the ad image and the target image, and FIGS. 11B to 11E are diagrams showing other examples of the image arrangements;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram exemplifying a modified embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram exemplifying a modified embodiment relating to sheet feeding;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the exterior structure of an automatic print vending machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15A is an exploded perspective view of the automatic print vending machine according to the second embodiment, FIG. 15B is a front view of a rear unit section of the vending machine, and FIG. 15C is a cross sectional view along a line A A' shown in FIG. 15B;

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the system structure in the automatic print vending machine according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a unit printer;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining an example of distribution processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically showing the processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 21A is a diagram showing a result of free service mode, and FIG. 21B is a diagram showing a result of pay service mode;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of another example of the distribution processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of still another example of the distribution processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for explaining paper empty warning processing;

FIG. 25 is a simplified diagram for explaining mechanisms of a plurality of print outlets;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of an example of the distribution processing according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing user information printed on a receipt;

FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining power supply to each printer; and

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the system structure in a conventional printing apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIRST EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a print vending machine 1 according to this embodiment. The print vending machine 1 is designed to be placed, for example, on the streets or in buildings such as office buildings. As shown in FIG. 1, the print vending machine 1 comprises a display/operation panel 2, a media slot 3, a payment/return slot 4, and a sheet outlet 5.

The display/operation panel 2 comprises a display such as a liquid crystal display, and a touch panel (tablet) formed on the display. The display displays keys, buttons, icons, and the like, and a user touches them. The display/operation panel 2 senses where the user touches, and input a signal representing the touch position.

The display/operation panel 2 also displays thumbnail images, and mode select icons which provide the user with options free service or pay service. The user selects the service mode and inputs print quantity through the display/operation panel 2.

The media slot 3 accepts a recording medium (such as a flash memory card, a CompactFlash (TM) card, a PCMCIA card, a floppy disk (FD), a magneto-optical disk (MO), and a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM)) for storing digital data representing images.

The recording medium stores digital data representing a plurality of images captured by a digital camera or the like. The image capturer may be an image scanner, and the like.

Various readers are installed in the media slot 3 so that the print vending machine 1 accepts various kinds of the recording medium.

The payment/return slot 4 is prepared for the payment service mode. The payment/return slot 4 comprises a coin bucket 4'. The user inserts bills into the payment/return slot 4 and coins in the coin bucket 4' for the payment service. The print vending machine 1 gives the user change through the payment/return slot 4 and/or the coin bucket 4'.

The print outlet 5 is a box-like outlet portion for serving sheets on which ordered images are printed. The print vending machine 1 provides the user with the image sheets which are enveloped. The print vending machine 1 serves extra goods such as a plain mini album or the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the system structure of the print vending machine 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print vending machine 1 comprises a main controller 7, and peripherals. The peripherals are a storage unit 8, a display controller 9, a touch panel controller 10, a card interface (hereinafter, referred to as card I/F) 11, an account manager 12, a transceiver 13, and a printing unit 14, which are connected to the main controller 7.

The main controller 7 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which runs in accordance with a program stored in the storage unit 8, so as to control operations of the print vending machine 1.

The storage unit 8 stores the program which determines the operations of the print vending machine 1, and advertisement information (described later) supplied from a center station (described later). The advertisement information is updated constantly at predetermined intervals.

The display controller 9 controls the display/operation panel 3 (display and touch panel; shown in FIG. 1) to display thereon output information supplied from the main controller 7.

The touch panel controller 10 provides the main controller 7 with a touch position signal supplied from the touch panel.

The card I/F 11 reads digital image data from the recording media such as the flash memory card, the PC card, and the floppy disk (FD) being inserted in the media slot 3 shown in FIG. 1, and supplies the read data to the main controller 7.

The account manager 12 counts money inserted in the payment/return slot 4, and determines whether it is suitable for the input print quantity or not. The account manager 12 performs appropriate operations in accordance with the free service or the payment service which is instructed by the main controller 7. The account manager also manages the charge.

The transceiver 13 communicates with a branch station 6a via a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) network (mobile cellular phone network also available). The branch station 6a is connected to a center station 6c via a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) 6b and the like. The center station 6c comprises a storage unit 6d and a server 6e. A service provider contracts with various companies and enterprises, and gathers their advertisement information. The storage unit 6d stores the gathered advertisement information. The server 6e provides users with the advertisement information stored in the storage unit 6d via the PSTN 6b, and receives printer maintenance information from the print vending machine 1 via the PSTN 6b. The printer maintenance information represents orders for unit exchange, large size ink ribbon exchange, print sheet exchange, or the like (details will be described later). The printing unit 14 requests the main controller 7 to prepare the printer maintenance information and send it through the transceiver 13. The printer maintenance information is relayed by the PHS network, the branch station 6a, and the PSTN network 6b, and thus reaches the center station 6c.

The printing unit