JP2879757B2 - Printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing data to be printed in accordance with an optimum print format under the restriction of the size of a print medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Label printers for producing fixed labels such as video tapes, cassette tapes, floppy desks, name tags, and fixtures are known. When creating an arbitrary label using a conventional label printer, after inputting characters to be printed, a format such as a label width and a character size is set, and then printing is performed.

[0003]

As described above, in a conventional label printer, when an arbitrary label is created, an operator individually sets formats such as a label width and a character size before transmitting data. It was necessary to print, and the format setting was complicated.

In a label printer, the number of printable lines of data, the size of characters in each line, and the like change according to the width of the attached label tape. Printing may not be possible depending on the number of lines. For this reason, the user has to perform data input, format setting, and the like while considering whether or not printing is possible on the attached tape, which is troublesome.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, the width size of the tape as the print medium, the mark and select the best format corresponding to the number of lines to be printed data
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of printing print data on a tape .

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object, printing apparatus of the present invention, input the printing data of a plurality of rows
Input means to press and multiple tapes with different widths
Device to which one of the tape cartridge types
Unit and a plurality of printable tapes with different widths
For multiple lines of print data, multiple lines of the print data
Format data that determines the character size for each line
A format storage unit that stores plural types increments in advance for each number, and row number detecting means for detecting the number of rows of the print data inputted from said input means, said apparatus before attached to the main body
By detecting the type of tape cartridge,
Detects the width of the tape stored in the tape cartridge.
Tape width detecting means and the tape width detecting means.
Detected by the width of the output tape and the line number detecting means.
Multiple types of formats corresponding to the number of lines of
Data is stored in the format storage means.
Select and display from multiple types of format data
First format selecting means, and the first format selecting means.
Multiple types of fonts selected and displayed by the
One format is selected from the format data by the operation of the operator.
Second format selection method for selecting format data
Selected by the second format selecting means.
Input from the input means according to the format data
The data to be printed is copied to a tape
And printing means for printing on a tape stored in the cartridge .

[0007]

[0008]

In the printing apparatus having the above-described structure, first , the first printer is used.
The format selection means determines the width of the tape as the printing medium and
Multiple types of formats corresponding to the number of lines of data to be printed
Data can be stored in multiple formats stored in the format storage
Select from the format data and display it. Next
The second format selection means operated by the operator
Selected by the first format selection means and displayed.
One format from multiple types of format data
Format data is selected, and
Print data is printed on the print medium by the printing means.
You. Therefore, an optimal format can be set regardless of the width of the tape or the number of lines of data to be printed.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) A configuration of a label printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown, the label printer includes a control unit 11, a key input unit 1
3, display unit 15, printing unit 17, tape width detection unit 19, format storage unit 21, character generator 23,
A RAM 25 and a frame memory 27 (used only in the second embodiment) are provided.

The control section 11 comprises a microprocessor, a program ROM, its peripheral circuits, and the like, and controls the operation of the entire label printer according to a control program. The key input unit 13 includes a keyboard, a keyboard interface, an input buffer, and the like, and supplies input data to the control unit 11. The keyboard includes a character key, a kana-kanji conversion key, a cursor key, an execution key, a format key for instructing a format (format), a print key for instructing printing, a frame key for instructing frame selection, and the like. The display unit 15 includes a display control unit and a display device, and displays input data, a menu for selection, and the like. The display device includes, for example, a dot matrix type liquid crystal display device.

The printing unit 17 prints data to be printed on a label tape under the control of the control unit 11. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the tape width detecting unit 19 detects the type of the tape cartridge 143 mounted on the label printer main body 145, detects the width LB of the label tape 141 stored therein, and controls the control unit. Notify 11 The format storage unit 21 stores a format that can be selected according to the width LB of the label tape 141 and the number of lines of data to be printed. The data stored in the format storage unit 21 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The character generator 23 is a dot pattern memory for developing input data from the key input unit 13 into a display pattern and a print pattern. RAM2
Reference numeral 5 functions as a work memory of the control unit 11, and stores input data, print pattern data, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the format storage unit 21 prints data of the number of lines on the label tape 141 having the width in accordance with the width LB of the label tape 141 and the number of lines of data to be printed. Remember the set of formats that can be used. In other words, the width LB of the label tape 141
A set of printable formats is stored in accordance with the number of print data lines.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that label tapes 141 having five types of widths of 24 mm, 18 mm, 12 mm, 9 mm, and 6 mm can be used. Width LB is 2
In the case of 4 mm or 18 mm and the print data is 1 to 3 lines, the width LB of the label tape 141 is 12 mm and the print data is 1
In the case of a line, a format that can be selected and set is stored when the width LB of the label tape 141 is 9 mm and the data to be printed is one line. Regarding the width LB and the number of lines of the label tape 141 other than these, the format that can be set is 1
Since only the type is available and there is no room for selection, it is not stored in the format storage unit 21. Each format has a print magnification of each line, and A × A means that characters are printed at A and A times the basic print size.

For example, when the data to be printed is one line and the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24 or 18 mm, (1)
(1) format for printing characters in 1 × 1, (2) format for printing in 2 × 2, (3) format for printing in 3 × 3, (4) format for printing in 4 × 4, (5)
A format for printing at 5 × 5 can be selected (FIG. 17).
(See (A)). These five formats are stored in the format storage unit 21.

Next, the operation of the label printer having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the main operation of this label printer is roughly divided into three stages: data input (step T1), format selection (step T2), and data printing (step T3). First, the user operates the key input unit 13 to input a character to be printed. When printing is performed over a plurality of lines, a line break mark is input between lines by operating a line feed key.
For example, if you want to print “Fire is prohibited!” On the first line of the label and “Please smoke at the smoking area” on the second line, the user can use the character key of the key input unit 13, the kana-kanji conversion key,
By operating a line feed key or the like, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), input "Fire is strictly prohibited! (Line feed) Please smoke in a smoking area." During this time, the control unit 11 stores the input data in the RAM 25
And converted into a display font using the character generator 23 and displayed on the display unit 15. In addition, processing such as converting kana into kanji according to the operation of the kana-kanji conversion key is performed.

When the data input is completed, the user operates the format key of the key input unit 13 to set the format at the time of printing. In response to the operation of the format key, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 15 to display a format setting screen shown in FIG. In this embodiment,
As in the conventional case, the user can individually set a format for each block or for each whole text and perform printing. However, the following description focuses on printing using a format stored in the format storage unit 21 in advance, which is a feature of the present embodiment.

When printing is performed using the format stored in the format storage unit 21, the user operates the cursor keys and the execution key of the key input unit 13 to select the "format selection" item.

In response to the selection of the "format selection" item, the control unit 11 starts the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the control unit 11 detects the number of lines of data to be printed (input data) stored in the RAM 25, that is, the number of lines to be printed (step S1). The number of lines can be easily obtained, for example, by adding 1 to the number of line feed codes included in the input data.

Next, the controller 11 controls the tape width detector 19
(Step S2)
The width LB of the label tape 141 stored in the tape cartridge 143 mounted on the label printer main body 145 is detected (step S3). Label tape 14
When the width LB of 1 is 0, that is, when the tape cartridge 143 is not mounted on the label printer main body 145, the control unit 11 displays a warning that the tape cartridge 143 having the width LB of the label tape 141 of 9 mm or more should be mounted. Part 1
5 is displayed (step S4). Label tape 141
If the width LB is 6 mm, the control unit 11
A warning that the format cannot be selected because the type is limited is displayed on the display unit 15 (step S5).

On the other hand, when the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24
If the size is any of mm, 18 mm, 12 mm, and 9 mm, the control unit 11 determines whether the combination of the width LB of the label tape 141 and the number of line feeds is any of the combinations set in the format storage unit 21. (Step S
6). When the combination of the width LB and the number of line feeds of the label tape 141 is not the combination set in the format storage unit 21, the format is limited to one type. For this reason, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 15 to display a warning that the format cannot be selected (step S5). When the combination of the width LB of the label tape 141 and the number of line feeds is the combination set in the format storage unit 21,
The control unit 11 causes the display unit 15 to display a format selection screen for selecting a format corresponding to the combination (step S7).

FIGS. 7A to 7E show examples of the format selection screen on the display unit 15. FIG. Each format selection screen visually represents the print size of each line when data is printed according to the format. FIG. 7A shows that the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24 mm.
Or a screen for selecting a format when the print data is one line in 18 mm, and FIG.
A screen for selecting a format when the width LB of 1 is 24 mm or 18 mm and the data to be printed is 2 lines, FIG. 7 (C)
7D is a screen for selecting a format when the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24 mm or 18 mm and the data to be printed is 3 lines, and FIG.
A screen for selecting a format when the print data is 2 mm long and one line, and FIG. 7E is a screen for selecting a format when the width LB of the label tape 141 is 9 mm and the print data is one line. It is.

In each selection screen, the displayed black band M1
Corresponds to the print size of the characters in the line to be printed. The mark that overlaps the cursor is highlighted. For example, when it is determined in step S6 in FIG. 6 that the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24 mm or 18 mm and the data to be printed is two lines, according to the storage contents of the format storage unit 21 shown in FIG. One of the following six formats can be selected. (1) A format for printing the characters on the first and second lines in 1 × 1,
(2) The characters in the first line are printed in 1 × 1, and the characters in the second line are printed in 2 × 2.
(3) The characters on the first line are 2 × 2
Format to print the second line in 1 × 1,
(4) a format in which both the first and second lines of characters are printed in 2 × 2, (5) a format in which the first line of characters is printed in 1 × 1, and the second line is printed in 3 × 3; (6) A format in which the characters in the first line are printed in 3 × 3, and the characters in the second line are printed in 1 × 1.

Therefore, the format selection screen shown in FIG. 7B displays images printed in these six formats. That is, in FIG. 7B, (1) two black bands M1 at the upper left represent a print image when the characters on the first and second lines are printed at a magnification of 1 × 1, and (2) menu A black belt M2 in the upper middle represents a print image when the characters on the first line are printed at 1 × 1 magnification and the characters on the second line are printed at 2 × 2 magnification. The band M3 prints the characters on the first line at a magnification of 2 × 2, and prints the characters on the second line at 1 × 1.
(4) The lower left two white bands M4 (inverted display by the cursor) are used to print the characters on the first and second lines at a 2 × 2 magnification. (5) The two black bands M5 in the lower part of the menu (5) print the characters on the first line at 1 × 1 magnification and print the characters on the second line at 3 ×
(6) Two black bands M6 at the lower right of the menu are for printing the characters on the first line at a magnification of 3 × 3 and printing the characters on the second line at 1 × 1. Represents a print image when printing at a magnification of.

The user can display the print image (black band M).
One is selected from 1 to M3, M5, M6, and white band M4) (step S8). If not selected, operate the "Cancel" key. The selection result is stored in the RAM 25 (step S9). With the above, the format storage unit 21
, The setting of the format according to the width LB of the label tape 141 and the number of lines of the data to be printed is completed.

Next, the user operates the print key of the key input unit 13. In response to this key operation, the control unit 11
The format corresponding to the selection result stored in the RAM 25 is read from the format storage unit 21. And R
The print data stored in the AM 25 is converted into dot pattern data using the character generator 23,
Further, the print pattern (dot pattern) is expanded on the RAM 25 by enlarging to a magnification determined by the format.

When the development is completed, the control unit 11 cuts out the developed data into heating element lines of the printing unit 17 and supplies it to the printing unit 17. The printing unit 17 prints on the label tape 141 according to the supplied print data. Through the above processing, the data to be printed (input data) is printed according to the selected format.

For example, when the data to be printed has two lines as shown in FIG. 4A and the width LB of the label tape 141 is 24 mm as shown in FIG. Is possible. Therefore, a selection screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed. Here, assuming that the user selects the black band M1 at the upper left of the screen, as shown in FIG. 4B, according to the setting of the format storage unit 21 (both the first and second lines are “1 × 1”). First and second rows R1 and R2 of the label
In step 2, a label tape 141 is printed with a print size that is one time longer and wider than the basic print size and printed with "Fire is prohibited!" And "Please smoke in cigarettes." If the black belt M6 at the lower right of the screen is selected, the setting in the format storage unit 21 (the first line is “3 × 3”, the second line is “1 × 1”) is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, "Fire is prohibited" is printed on the first line R1 of the label at a size three times longer and wider than the basic print size, and "Cigarette" is printed on the second line R2 of the label at a size one time longer and wider than the basic print size. Please in a smoking area. "
Is printed on the label tape 141.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Label tape 1 attached to label printer main body 145
According to the combination of the width LB of the label data 141 and the number of lines of the data to be printed, candidates for a printable format are selectively displayed within the width LB of the label tape 141, and one of the displayed format candidates is selected from among the displayed format candidates. By choosing one,
The user can set the format without setting a complicated format. In addition, the label tape 1 has a size (magnification) according to the user's desire for each line of the data to be printed.
Printing can be performed within the width LB of 41.

(Second Embodiment) The label printer has a function of decorating and printing input data with a frame or the like. In the second embodiment, the size of the frame is changed in accordance with the selection of the format, thereby enabling appropriate printing. The label printer of this embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the frame memory 27 stores, for example, a plurality of types of frames as shown in FIG.

For example, when combining input data and an arbitrary frame for printing, the user instructs frame selection by operating, for example, a frame key on the key input unit 13 before designating printing. In response to this instruction, the control unit 11
Displays the frame stored in the frame memory on the display unit 15
To be displayed. Since all the frames cannot be displayed at one time due to the limitation of the display capacity of the display unit 15, the frames are sequentially displayed according to the operation of the cursor key or the like. The user operates the cursor key and the execution key to select an arbitrary frame. Data indicating the selected frame is held in the internal memory of the control unit 11.

Thereafter, when the print key is operated, the input data is developed into a dot pattern on the RAM 25 in accordance with the selected format. At this time, the dot pattern of the selected frame is expanded in the vertical direction and expanded on the RAM 25 so as to match the format. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, each frame has a fixed length portion and a variable length portion, and the control section 11 changes the pattern of the variable length portion according to the length of each line when printing. Repeat and expand to adjust the length of the frame so that the character strings on each line fit into the frame.

When the development of the dot pattern is completed, the control section 11 cuts out the developed data for each line of the heating element of the printing section 17 and supplies it to the printing section 17. The printing unit 17 prints the label tape 14 according to the supplied print data.
1 is printed. Thereby, for example, FIG.
As shown in comparison with (B) and (C), the label tape 1
In the first row R1 of 41, "Fire strict prohibition!" Is printed in a frame of an appropriate size with a size of 3 times the height and width of the basic print size, and in the second row R2 of the label, a size of 1 times the height and width of the basic print size. "I'd like a cigarette at a smoking area" is printed in an appropriately sized frame.

Next, the configuration of the tape width detecting section 19 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the label tape 141 is set in the tape cartridge 143 together with the ink tape 142. FIG. 11 is a view in which the top cover of the tape cartridge 143 is removed. 1 is attached to the label printer mounting surface 144 of the tape cartridge 143.
As shown in FIG. 2, three protrusions 111, 112, 113
Are formed. On the other hand, on the tape cartridge mounting surface 146 of the label printer main body 145, the protrusion 11
Three recesses (small holes) 121, 1 corresponding to 1 to 113
22 and 123 are formed. Recesses 121, 122,
Micro switches 131, 132, 133
Are arranged, and the micro switches 131, 132,
The 133 ON / OFF signal is supplied to the tape width detecting unit 19 (FIG. 1).
Supplied to

The protrusions 111 to 113 of the tape cartridge 143 for accommodating the label tape 141 having a width of 6 mm are formed long, and the protrusion 111 of the tape cartridge 143 for accommodating the label tape 141 having a width of 9 mm is long.
12 and 113 are formed short, and the protrusions 1 of the tape cartridge 143 for accommodating the label tape 141 having a width of 12 mm.
12 is long and the protruding portions 111 and 113 are formed short.
The protrusions 111 and 112 of the tape cartridge 143 that stores the label tape 141 having a width of 8 mm are long,
3 is short, the protrusion 113 of the tape cartridge 143 on which the label tape 141 of 24 mm width is mounted is long, and the protrusions 111 and 112 are short. When the tape cartridge 143 is mounted on the label printer main body 145, the long protrusion turns on the corresponding microswitches 131 to 133, and the short protrusion keeps off.

Therefore, when the tape cartridge 143 is not mounted, the micro switches 131 to 1
Reference numeral 33 denotes an off state. For example, when a tape cartridge 143 containing a label tape 141 having a width of 9 mm is mounted, the micro switch 131 is turned on, and the micro switches 132 and 133 are kept off. Also,
When a tape cartridge 143 containing a label tape 141 of 18 mm width is mounted,
And 132 are turned on, and the microswitch 133 is kept off. The tape width detection unit 19 decodes on / off signals of the micro switches 131 to 133 and determines the width LB of the label tape 141 stored in the mounted tape cartridge 143. The projections 111 to 1
The combination of the lengths of 13 is arbitrary and is not limited to this example. In this embodiment, the type of the mounted tape cartridge 143 is
3, the width LB of the label tape 141 stored therein is indirectly detected based on the detection, and the width LB of the label tape 141 itself is directly detected. May be detected.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, setting is possible according to the width LB of the label tape 141 attached to the label printer main body 145 and the number of lines of data to be printed. At least one format candidate is displayed, and a format can be set only by selecting a desired format from among them.
Therefore, the label tape 14 to which the input data is attached is attached.
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the inability to print on the first sheet. Also, when input data is framed, the frame can be automatically set to an appropriate size.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the format of the format selection screen is shown in FIG.
7E is not limited to the one shown in FIG. For example, the character magnification of each line may be directly displayed, and the user may select a magnification (or a combination of magnifications). The format selection screen may be prepared by, for example, creating five types of screen patterns shown in FIGS. 7A to 7E in advance and storing them in a memory or the like, and reading and displaying the patterns. Alternatively, a selection screen may be created and displayed in accordance with the format set in the format storage unit 21 based on the width of the label tape and the number of lines of input data.

In the above embodiment, the width of the label tape and the number of lines of data are automatically detected, but these may be input from the key input unit 13. further,
The invention is not limited to label printers,
The present invention is also applicable to ordinary word processors, personal computers, and the like. Further, the data to be printed may be symbol, numeral, or image data in addition to the character data. Further, the size of the printing medium includes its width or height.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Multiple lines of data to be printed stored in the device in advance
Multiple types of format data that determine character size for each line
Based on the width of the tape and the number of lines of data to be printed
Multiple types of format data are selected, and then the operator
Operation selects one format data,
Printing is performed on the tape according to the format data
It is. Therefore, it does not affect the width of the tape or the number of lines of data to be printed.
The most suitable format can be set without
Printing data protrudes out of the tape and printing becomes impossible
No problem such as
-There is room to select the mat,
You can set the optimal format.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a label printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of format data stored in a format storage unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the label printer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of data input.
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a print example of the input data illustrated in FIG. (C) is a diagram showing a print example of the input data shown in (A).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen for selecting a format setting process using a format storage unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a format setting operation of the label printer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A shows a label tape having a width of 24 mm or 18 m.
m is a diagram showing an example of a format selection screen when input data is one line. (B) shows that the width of the label tape is 24.
It is a figure showing an example of a format selection screen when mm or 18 mm and input data are two lines. (C) is a diagram showing an example of a format selection screen when the label tape width is 24 mm or 18 mm and the input data is three lines. (D) is a diagram showing an example of a format selection screen when the label tape width is 12 mm and the input data is one line. (E) is a diagram showing an example of a format selection screen when the label tape width is 9 mm and input data is one line.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame stored in a frame memory.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a frame.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a print example in which input data and a frame are combined.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a tape cartridge.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a mounting portion of a tape cartridge and a label printer main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... control unit, 13 ... key input unit, 15 ... display unit,
17 ... printing unit, 19 ... tape width detection unit, 21 ... format storage unit, 23 ... character generator, 2
5 ... RAM, 27 ... Frame memory, 111, 11
2, 113: Projection, 121, 122, 123: Depression, 131, 132, 133: Micro switch, 1
41: label tape, 143: tape cartridge,
145: label printer body

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 3/36 B41J 21/00 G06F 3/12 G06F 17/21

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An input means for inputting a plurality of lines of data to be printed.
Multiple types of tape carts containing tapes of different width and width
An apparatus body on which one of the ridges is mounted, and a plurality of lines to be printed which can be printed on the tapes having different widths, respectively.
For each piece of data, print a statement for each
Format data to determine character size
And format storing means for storing types increments in advance, and the line number detecting means for detecting the number of rows of the print data inputted from said input means, said tape mounted on the apparatus main body
By detecting the type of tape cartridge,
Tape to detect the width of the tape stored in the tape cartridge.
And-loop width detecting means, before the width of the tape detected by the tape width detecting means
The number of lines of print data detected by the line number detection means
A plurality of types of format data corresponding to the format
Types of formats stored in the packet storage means
First format selection to select and display from data
And-option unit, the display is selected by the first format selection means
Of the operator from among multiple types of formatted data
The second operation of selecting one format data by the operation
A format selection unit, and a format selected by the second format selection unit.
Format input from the input means in accordance with the format data.
The print data is transferred to a tape cartridge attached to the main body of the apparatus.
A printing unit for printing on a tape stored in a cartridge . 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first selecting unit is configured to output the print data.
Marks that visually represent the number of lines and the character size of each line
Display multiple types of format data selected from
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: