JP2015160414A - Image formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation system that can perform printing on a desired printing range without preparing display means.SOLUTION: An image formation system comprises: a handy mobile printer 1 that can be freely moved by a user by freehand; sensors 2 and 3 that recognize a relative position of the handy mobile printer 1 to a recording medium 5; head control means that discharges ink to a discharge position; setting means that sets a printing-desired range by freehand; correcting means that corrects the set printing range; notifying means that notifies the corrected printing range to a user; and editing means that edits image data so that the image data is in the corrected printing range.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system having a handy mobile printer capable of printing an image on various surfaces by manual moving scanning.

  In recent years, due to the downsizing of notebook PCs and the rapid spread of smart devices, “downsizing and portability” has been cited as one of the major demands for printers. A handy mobile printer has already been commercialized as a portable printer, and its form can be printed while scanning the paper surface freehand with a human hand.

  Examples of handy mobile printers include (1) a portable pen type that can print on a recording medium in a non-contact manner, and (2) a type that can be printed by contacting the recording medium while holding a rectangular parallelepiped device by hand.

  In order to print in a desired range, in the case of (1), since the user adjusts the print range at the speed of the hand moving the handy mobile printer in the print direction, it is difficult to obtain an expected image. That is, it is not assumed that the print range is narrow. In the case of (2), it is necessary to prepare an image on the PC / smartphone side in advance in accordance with the print range.

  As mentioned in the above example, in order to print in a desired range with a mouse-sized handy mobile printer, a preview screen such as a PC / smartphone is generally required. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a preview screen of a conventional printer.

  In order to use them, it takes time to install a printer driver. A printer driver used in a conventional printer is associated with a paper size / shape and a font size, and can be previewed for each page.

  Conventional handy mobile printers are free of paper size / shape due to their characteristics, and in order to obtain a preview linked to the font size, it takes more time to shoot the paper with a camera than with a normal printer. To do.

  In order to print in a desired range, confirmation by a preview operation is always required. That is, it is already known that the handy mobile printer has a premise that a display means is prepared.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 1, for the purpose of printing on a print medium that cannot be conveyed by a conventional printer such as a notebook, the position of the handy mobile printer is determined by reading and comparing the fiber pattern of the print medium with a sensor, and a print image is generated. However, a mechanism for printing is disclosed.

  However, since conventional handy mobile printers are configured on the premise that display means are provided, there is a problem in that it takes time and cost to prepare display means and to install and set a printer driver in the display means. was there.

  Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the print preview is displayed on the display unit and printing is performed, the problem that the printing cannot be performed without the display unit and the cost and labor are not solved cannot be solved.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming system capable of printing in a desired printing range without preparing a display unit.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following features.

  An image forming system according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus that a user can freely move freehand, a sensor that recognizes a relative position of the image forming apparatus itself with respect to a recording medium, and a head that ejects ink to an ejection position. A control unit; a setting unit that sets a desired print range freehand; a correction unit that corrects the set print range; a notification unit that notifies the user of the corrected print range; and an image in the corrected print range. And editing means for editing the image data so that data can be entered.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to print in a desired print range without preparing display means.

1 is a diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a handy mobile printer according to an embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the handy mobile printer according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows that the font of the image data was reduced. 6 is a flowchart for generating image data corresponding to a print range. It is a figure which shows the method of the printing range setting by the handy mobile printer which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the method of the printing range setting by the handy mobile printer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the method of the printing range setting by the handy mobile printer which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the list of the means to notify a user of the designated printing range. It is a figure which shows the preview screen of the conventional printer. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the conventional serial inkjet recording device.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a conventional serial ink jet recording apparatus. It is a figure which is not directly related to this embodiment, and is described for the purpose of comparison with the configuration of this embodiment of FIG.

  The carriage 101 is held by a guide lot 102 and scans in the main scanning direction via a pulley 104 passed between the carriage 101 and the main scanning motor 103. For example, a recording head 109 that discharges ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) is mounted on the carriage, and ink discharge arranged in the recording head is performed. Ink can be ejected from the nozzle 110. An image is formed on the recording medium by ejecting ink droplets at necessary positions while moving the carriage in the main scanning direction.

  The carriage position information can be obtained by reading a pattern recorded on the encoder sheet 105 fixed to the housing at equal intervals while moving the encoder sensor 106 fixed to the carriage, and adding / subtracting the count. .

  By performing the carriage movement in the main scanning direction and the ink ejection operation once, an image can be formed on a band having the same width as the length of the nozzle row. If the scanning motor 107 is driven to move the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction and repeat the image forming operation for one band, an image can be formed at an arbitrary place on the recording medium.

  In addition, the recording medium that can be used in the serial ink jet recording apparatus has a specified paper type such as size and shape from the viewpoint of the transport mechanism (for example, A3 and A4 sizes of plain paper). Cannot print.

  On the other hand, since paper types such as size and shape are specified, print data can be easily generated in a predetermined format by a printer driver installed on a PC or an LSI mounted on a serial inkjet recording device. Can do.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a handy mobile printer 1 according to the present embodiment. The handy mobile printer 1 has a coordinate detection sensor 2 and a distance detection sensor 3. The handy mobile printer 1 generally detects the X-axis and Y-axis coordinates (positions) by two or more coordinate detection sensors 2 and detects the rotation angle thereof.

  In addition, the handy mobile printer 1 detects an accurate position by measuring the distance of movement of the X axis and the Y axis by the distance detection sensor 3. This is a mechanism for ejecting ink when it is moved by the user's own hand and detected that the handy mobile printer 1 has moved to a printing position.

  Since the movement in the main scanning and sub-scanning directions is not constant as in the serial ink jet printer, there is a possibility that the direction of movement from the position of the handy mobile printer 1 in FIG. 1 is 360 degrees. The operation direction 4 of the handy mobile printer 1 is a round dotted line.

  Since the handy mobile printer 1 is moved by the user's own hand, the paper type such as the size and shape of the recording medium is not stipulated. can do.

  On the other hand, since there are an infinite number of recording media, it is difficult to generate print data. In particular, in order to print within the intended range, the print data is input after the information of the recording medium 5 (numerical information such as ○ mm × ○ mm or the shape of the camera / scanner) is input to the PC or handy mobile printer 1. The time and labor of generating and confirming the print preview on the display screen and the cost of the display unit such as a PC and a smartphone are generated. The present embodiment solves this problem.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the handy mobile printer 1 according to the present embodiment. Firmware for controlling the hardware of the printer and drive waveform data of the recording head are stored in the ROM 12.

  A print job (image data) is received from a PC, a smartphone, and a memory card via the Host I / F 14 and the Card I / F 15. The CPU 11 stores the image data in the RAM 13 and simultaneously notifies the enlarged / reduced image generation unit 18 of size information of the image data. The print range I / F 16 receives print range information set by the user using the handy mobile printer 1 and notifies the enlarged / reduced image generation unit 18 of the print range information.

  The enlarged / reduced image generation unit 18 compares the size information of the image data with the print range information, and calculates a ratio of what percentage the image data size is with respect to the print range. According to the calculated ratio, reduced and enlarged image data is generated and stored in the RAM 13.

  The font unit 17 reduces or enlarges the font in the case of image data having font information such as characters. Image data is generated by obtaining a reduced or enlarged font. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing that the font of the image data has been reduced. The font size has been reduced from 36 to 8. The reduced image data is printed in the print range 32 set on the recording medium 31.

  Further, the CPU 11 determines whether the image data is text data or image data. In the case of text data, the enlarged / reduced image generation unit 18 reduces / enlarges the font size, and in the case of image data, the enlarged / reduced image generation unit 18 reduces / enlarges the entire image data. In the case of text data, changing the font size improves image quality over simple scaling. In the case of image data, changing the entire image data improves image quality.

  The position information I / F 20 notifies the head I / F 19 of the position information. The head I / F 19 transfers the image data stored at the RAM address corresponding to the position information, the recording head drive waveform stored in the ROM 12, and the control signal to the head of the handy mobile printer 1.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for generating image data corresponding to the print range. In the initial setting, the user selects whether to regenerate (enlarge / reduce) the image data by designating the print range (step S1). It is also possible to select only enlargement or only reduction. In addition, visibility is ensured by restriction on enlargement / reduction (eg, 8 <font size <20).

  The image data is input by inputting image data to be printed from a PC, a smartphone, a memory card, or the like (step S2). In the print range setting, the user sets a print range (step S3). The print range is defined by two axes in the X and Y directions. Example: X (100mm), Y (57mm) → Millimeter-inch conversion → X (3.93inch), Y (2.24inch)

  It is determined whether the print range is the same as the image data size (step S4). The set print range is compared with the input image data size. Example: In the case of print range (above) and image data size X (150 mm), Y (85.5 mm), print range <image data size.

If the print range is not the same size as the image data size (No in step S4), an enlargement / reduction ratio is generated (step S5). For example, image data size = 150% × printing range. An enlarged / reduced image is generated according to the ratio (step S6). For example, a new image data size = image data size / 150% image is generated. The generated image is stored in the RAM (step S7).
When the print range is the same as the image data size (step S4, Yes), the generated image is stored in the RAM (step S7).

  The generation of the enlargement / reduction ratio and the enlargement / reduction process of the image data are the same as the copy scaling process of a general image forming apparatus. The main point in this flow is that the user himself / herself sets a range to be printed by operating the handy mobile printer 1.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a printing range setting method by the handy mobile printer 1 according to the first embodiment. The user designates a desired print range 41. The designation of the print range 41 assumes a method of pressing a print range setting button installed in the handy mobile printer 1.

  In order to designate the print range 41 by freehand, the user set print range 42 is set within a range indicated by the shaded portion in the figure. That is, the print range of 90 degrees is not obtained. The coordinates of the white circles at the vertices are (12, 4), (20, 5), (6, 12), and (22, 10), respectively.

The handy mobile printer 1 uses the coordinate detection sensor 2 and the distance detection sensor 3 in FIG. 1 to specify an actual print range 41 represented by a halftone dot portion in the figure within the user set print range 42. Can do. The coordinates of the black circles at the vertices are (10,5), (20,5), (10,5), and (20,5) respectively for X and Y. In the example of FIG. 5, the upper right vertex is the reference point. Become.
Therefore, by setting the minimum range of the apex of the setting range, it is possible to provide image data in which the X and Y axes are arranged within the user setting print range 42 set freehand.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a printing range setting method by the handy mobile printer 1 according to the second embodiment. The user setting designation range 51 is shown as a white frame, and for convenience, the four points on the X and Y axes are not misaligned. The outside of the user setting designation range 51 is designated as the print range 53 for the recording medium 52.

  In the second embodiment, an effect can be obtained with a pattern or the like that is arranged at regular intervals as used for the background. In the case of a pattern, the continuity of images printed within the printing range-outside the printing range-within the printing range is not questioned. Processing that simply stops printing when the printing range is exceeded and restarts printing when entering the printing range may be used. This is because there is not.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a printing range setting method by the handy mobile printer 1 according to the third embodiment. Two user setting designation ranges, an inner frame 61 and an outer frame 62, are set. The respective setting ranges are illustrated on the assumption that there is no deviation between the four points on the X and Y axes for convenience. The print range 63 is set between the set outer frame 62 and the inner frame 61.
The third embodiment is effective when printing data that is continuous within the printing range-outside the printing range-within the printing range, such as printing on a CD or the like, is skipped only outside the printing range.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a list of means for notifying the user of the designated print range. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, setting the print range by freehand requires correction to the actual print range, and if there is a mechanism that allows the user to check the print range later, usability is improved.

  The notification means of the first and second embodiments are color variations. Example 1 shows the printing range in yellow. The effect is a color that is generally invisible to the human eye and does not affect the printed image. In the second embodiment, the print range is indicated by the same color as that of the recording medium. The effect does not depend on the color of the recording medium, and the print range can be set in a color that is invisible to human eyes.

The notification means of Examples 3 to 5 are line and point variations. In Example 3, the printing range is indicated by a solid line. The effect shows the detailed printing range. In Example 4, the printing range is indicated by a dotted line. The effect is not easily noticeable by humans and does not affect the printed image.
In the fifth embodiment, the printing range is indicated by only the vertices (see FIG. 5 for explanation of the vertices). The effect is least noticeable except in Example 7, and does not affect the printed image.

  The notification means of Examples 6 and 7 are variations of ink types. Example 6 shows the printing range with printing ink. The effect is that the print range can be easily set without using dedicated ink. Example 7 shows the printing range with dedicated ink. The effect is that transparent ink can be used and does not affect the printed image. In this case, a reading unit for confirming the dedicated ink is required.

  Example 8 combines Examples 1-7. As an effect, the image and usability intended by the user can be realized. The ninth embodiment does not notify the print range. The effect is that if a large print range can be set, useless setting for the user can be omitted.

  According to this embodiment, a desired print range is designated by a handy mobile printer (the designation method is a method that does not interfere with the user, such as yellow ink), and an image that falls within the print range is generated by enlargement or reduction. It is possible to print in a desired printing range without preparing a means.

  The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Handy mobile printer 2 Coordinate detection sensor 3 Distance detection sensor 4 Operation direction 5 Recording medium 11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
16 Print range I / F
17 Font part 18 Enlarged / reduced image generation part 20 Position information I / F
31 Recording medium 32 Print range 42 User set print range 61 Inner frame 62 Outer frame

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-058844

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus that a user can freely move freely,
A sensor for recognizing the relative position of the image forming apparatus itself with respect to a recording medium;
Head control means for discharging ink to the discharge position;
A setting means for setting the range to be printed freehand,
Correction means for correcting the set printing range;
Notification means for notifying the user of the corrected printing range;
Editing means for editing the image data so that the image data falls within the corrected print range;
An image forming system comprising: Determining means for determining whether the image data is text data or image data;
2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the editing means performs editing for reducing / enlarging the font size in the case of text data, and editing for reducing / enlarging the entire image data in the case of image data. .   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit performs printing inside a set range.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit prints outside a set range.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit has two large and small setting ranges and performs printing between the outside and the inside.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the correcting unit corrects to a minimum range of apexes of the set printing range.   7. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit indicates a printing range with yellow ink or a color of the same color as that of the recording medium.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit indicates a print range by only a line or a vertex.   The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the notification unit indicates a printing range with printing ink or dedicated ink.   The image forming system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the notifying unit indicates a print range by combining any two or more variations.

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