Patent ID: 7326920
Filing Date: 2008-02-05
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A copying machine comprising: an optical reading unit which optically scans a surface of a recording medium, and converts an image on the surface of the recording medium into image data; a first radio communication unit which reads image data from an IC chip embedded in the recording medium; an image forming unit which prints an image on a surface of an image forming medium; a control panel which allows a user to select an image to be printed on the surface of the image forming medium from one of the image on the surface of the recording medium and the image data recorded in the IC chip which is embedded in the recording medium; a second radio communication unit which writes data on an IC chip embedded in the image forming medium and having a radio communication function; an operational mode setting unit which sets one of the image data of the recording medium acquired by the optical reading unit and the data read from the IC chip of the recording medium by the first radio communication unit, as the data to be printed as the image on the image forming medium by the image forming unit, in accordance with the user's selection input to the control panel; and a control unit which is configured to: when the operational mode setting unit sets the image to be printed on the surface of the image forming medium as the image that is recorded in the IC chip of the recording medium, control the first radio communication unit to read the image from the IC chip of the recording medium, and the image forming unit to print the image read by the first radio communication unit on the image forming medium; when the operational mode setting unit sets the image to be printed on the surface of the image forming medium as the image that is on the surface of the recording medium, control the optical reading unit to read the image on the surface of the recording medium, and the image forming unit to print the image read by the optical reading unit on the surface of the image forming medium; when the operational mode setting unit sets the image data to be recorded in the IC chip of the image forming medium as the image data that is recorded in the IC chip of the recording medium, control the first radio communication unit to read the image from the IC chip of the recording medium, and the second radio communication unit to record the image that is read by the first radio communication unit in the IC chip of the image forming medium; and when the operational mode setting unit sets the image data to be recorded in the IC chip of the image forming medium as the image data that is read from the surface of the recording medium, control the optical reading unit to read the image data on the surface of the recording medium, and the second radio communication unit to record the image data that is read by the optical reading unit in the IC chip of the image forming medium, wherein: the control panel allows a user to select image data to be recorded in the IC chip embedded in the image forming medium from one of the image data which is read from the surface of the recording medium and the image data recorded in the IC chip which is embedded in the recording medium; the operational mode setting unit sets one of the image data of the recording medium acquired by the optical reading unit and the data read from the IC chip of the original by the first radio communication unit, as the data to be written on the IC chip embedded in the image forming medium by the first radio communication unit, in accordance with the user's selection input to the control panel.