EP0497352B1 - Tape printer - Google Patents
Tape printer Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0497352B1 EP0497352B1 EP92101562A EP92101562A EP0497352B1 EP 0497352 B1 EP0497352 B1 EP 0497352B1 EP 92101562 A EP92101562 A EP 92101562A EP 92101562 A EP92101562 A EP 92101562A EP 0497352 B1 EP0497352 B1 EP 0497352B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- printing
- tape
- width
- data
- size
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J33/00—Apparatus or arrangements for feeding ink ribbons or like character-size impression-transfer material
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
- B41J3/407—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for marking on special material
- B41J3/4075—Tape printers; Label printers
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J35/00—Other apparatus or arrangements associated with, or incorporated in, ink-ribbon mechanisms
- B41J35/28—Detachable carriers or holders for ink-ribbon mechanisms
Description
- The present invention relates to a tape printer for printing data on an adhesive tape attached therein and for feeding out the printed adhesive tape to the outside thereof.
- Tape printers capable of printing data on an adhesive tape have been practically put to use. In general, such a tape printer prints data on an adhesive tape which is provided in a cassette loaded into the tape printer and feeds out the printed adhesive tape to the outside thereof.
- EP-
A-0 322 918 discloses a tape printer having a tape cassette. The printing is done in a mirror image transfer mode on the printing surface of a transparent receiving tape. After printing, the transparent receiving tape is fed out together with a double-sided adhesive tape applied to the printing surface of the transparent receiving tape. Thus, the print on the transparent receiving tape is protected from being rubbed off by objects in contact with the receiving tape. - The tape printer is preferably constituted so that adhesive tapes having different widths may be used for printing data, in order to comply with various user's demands.
- However, it is probable that a tape printer having such a constitution may produce printing errors where the data is printed out of the boundaries of the adhesive tape when the printing size of data to be printed is wider than the width of the adhesive tape. That is, it is possible for the user to designate a printing size wider than the width of the adhesive tape, since the printing size is capable of being designated up to a size corresponding to the widest adhesive tape.
- If such a printing error occurs, a printing head is negatively influenced, since the printing head performs the printing operation on not only the adhesive tape, but also out of the adhesive tape. That is, the printing head is damaged, since the printing head carries out the printing operation on no object to be printed. Therefore, in the prior art, highly cumbersome operations are required for designating a proper printing size every time the adhesive tape is changed. Moreover, it is usually difficult to determine whether or not a printing error will occur until after the printing operation is carried out.
- The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described drawbacks inherent to the conventional tape printer, and has as an object to provide a tape printer wherein printing errors of the type where data is printed outside the boundaries of the tape, are prevented regardless of the width of the tapes being used. This is achieved by the features of
claim 1. - Since the tape printer with an arrangement as defined in
claim 1 can inhibit the printing of data outside the side boundaries of the adhesive tape, there is a particular advantage that the printing head is not damaged or negatively influenced by printing off of the adhesive tape without requiring highly cumbersome operations for the user. - FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape printer according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tape printer illustrated in FIG. 1, with the top cover opened;
- FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a printer section of the tape printer illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;
- FIGS. 4A and 4B are front views of the printer section shown in FIG. 3 and loading a tape cassette;
- FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram showing the components of the tape printer illustrated in FIG. 1;
- FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining a state of storing data in a document memory unit shown in FIG. 5;
- FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining a state of storing data in an arithmetic data memory unit shown in FIG. 5;
- FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating a part of a circuit for a thermal head, a printing control unit and a printing voltage generating unit shown in FIG. 5;
- FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining processing operations when a printing mode is designated;
- FIGS. 10A-10E show a display of data obtained by the processing operations explained with reference to FIG. 9;
- FIGS. 11A-11E show printed data on an adhesive tape when a display unit displays data shown in FIGS. 10A-10E, respectively;
- FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining processing operations when an automatic character-size setting mode is designated; and
- FIGS. 13A-13C show printed data on respective adhesive tapes of different width, obtained by the processing operations explained in FIG. 12.
- An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the drawings attached hereto.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tape printer has a
case 11 which is in the form of a rectangular box and which is small enough to be held by hand, e.g. thecase 11 may be 120 mm deep, 190 mm wide and 60 mm high. Atop cover 14 is pivotally connected to the upper portion of thecase 11 by ahinge assembly 15. Akeyboard 12 and adisplay unit 13 are mounted on the upper surface of thetop cover 14. - The
keyboard 12 comprises a plurality of alphanumeric keys and function keys and is employed so as to input desired data and to set the printer in several different printing modes, or the like. Thedisplay unit 13 comprises a liquid-crystal display panel and displays data inputted from thekeyboard 12 or the like. - The
case 11 has apower switch 16 on the front surface thereof and anoutlet 17 for an adhesive tape 101 (121) (described in more detail below), and aslider member 19 for manually moving acutter 18 to cut the adhesive tape 101 (121) on the left side surface thereof. - As shown in FIG. 2, a
printer section 21 is provided in the upper portion of thecase 11. Theprinter section 21 is usually covered by thetop cover 14 and is exposed by opening the top cover 14 (as in FIG. 2). Theprinter section 21 comprises aprinter unit 22. Theprinter unit 22 is mounted in anopening 20 provided at the top of thecase 11. Theprinter unit 22 is capable of loading a tape cassette 100 (120) and prints data on the adhesive tape 101 (121) provided in the cassette 100 (120). - As shown in FIG. 3, the
printer unit 22 comprises achassis 23 mounted on the lower portion of theopening 20 of thecase 11. Thechassis 23 has aplaten roller 24 and athermal head 25 mounted thereon, which are disposed adjacent to the outlet 17 (see FIG. 2) of thecase 11. - The
platen roller 24 is rotably mounted onchassis 23 and is rotated by a motor 58 (shown in FIG. 5 and described in more detail below) mounted in thecase 11. Theplaten roller 24 transfers the adhesive tape 101 (121) and an ink ribbon 102 (122) provided in the tape cassette 100 (120) which is loaded in theprinter unit 22 and makes the adhesive tape 101 (121) feed out from theoutlet 17 to the outside of thecase 11. - The
thermal head 25 can print data up to 128 mm wide and comprises 128 heating elements (shown in FIG. 8) regularly spaced apart (8 ele- ments/mm) along the axis of theplaten roller 24. Thethermal head 25 is movably mounted to thechassis 23, so as to be movable between a position in which thethermal head 25 keeps in contact with the platen roller 24 (FIG. 3) and a position in which thethermal head 25 is spaced from the platen roller 24 (FIG. 2). - The
chassis 23 also has areel guide 26 and a ribbon take-up shaft 27 mounted thereon. Thereel guide 26 is inserted into a tape feed reel 103 (123) provided in the tape cassette 100 (120) when the tape cassette 100 (120) is loaded in theprinter unit 22. - The ribbon take-
up shaft 27 is rotatably mounted on thechassis 23 and is rotated by the motor 58 (FIG. 5) with a predetermined torque. The ribbon take-up shaft 27 is inserted in a ribbon take-up spool 104 (124) provided in the tape cassette 100 (120) when the cassette 100 (120) is loaded in theprinter unit 22, and rotates the takes-up spool 104 (124) for taking up the ink ribbon 102 (122) around the take-up spool 104 (124). - A
cassette fixing piece 28, acassette guide plate 29 and height adjustpins 30 are mounted on thechassis 23, so as to fix the cassette 100 (120) on thechassis 23. - The cassette fixing piece or
guide member 28 snaps into a fixing hollow 105 (125) formed on the cassette 100 (120) when the cassette 100 (120) is loaded in theprinter unit 22. Thecassette guide plate 29 keeps in contact with the surface of the side which opposes the fixing hollow 105 (125) of the cassette 100 (120) when the cassette 100 (120) is loaded into theprinter unit 22. The height adjustpins 30 are mounted at positions corresponding to the corner of the cassette 100 (120), on thechassis 23. The height adjustpins 30 are inserted in height adjust holes 106 (FIG. 3) or keep in contact with the lower surface of thecassette 120, for adjusting the upper position of the cassette 100 (120) at a predetermined level even though the cassettes 100 (120) having different thicknesses may be loaded. - As shown in FIG. 2, a tape-
width detecting unit 31 and an ink-material detecting unit 32 are also attached to thechassis 23. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the tape-width detecting unit 31 comprises amovable plate 35 and aresistor plate 36. Themovable plate 35 is rotatably supported to supportingplates 34 extending upwardly from ahorizontal projection 33 of thechassis 23, at substantially the center ofprojection 33. Themovable plate 35 is made of electrically conductive material, e.g., metal, and is electrically connected to alead 37 for detecting a voltage. Acoil spring 38 is provided between one end of themovable plate 35 and theprojection 33 for biasing the one end of themovable plate 35 downwardly. Theresistor plate 36 is connected to a predetermined voltage source at one end thereof, and is connected to ground at another end thereof. Theresistor plate 36 abuts the side adjacent to one end of themovable plate 35. When the cassette 100 (120) is loaded in theprinter unit 22, themovable plate 35 is rotated against the force of thecoil spring 38 by movement of a lower surface of the cassette 100 (120) keeping in contact with another end of themovable plate 35, and has its position changed along theresistor plate 36 abutting the side of themovable plate 35. Thelead 37, connected to plate 35, outputs a voltage according to the position of theresistor plate 36 abutting the side of themovable plate 35. Hence the tape-width detecting unit 31 outputs a voltage according to the thickness of the cassette 100 (120); that is, according to the width of the adhesive tape 101 (121) provided in the cassette 100 (120) which is loaded in theprinter unit 22. - The ink-
material detecting unit 32 comprises amovable plate 41 and amicroswitch 42 as seen in FIG. 3. Themovable plate 41 is rotatably supported to supportingplates 40 extending upwardly from aprojection 39 of thechassis 23, at center thereof. Themicroswitch 42 is turned on or off by movement of one end of themovable plate 41. Acoil spring 43 is provided between said one end of themovable plate 41 and theprojection 39 and biases said one end of themovable plate 41 downwardly for keeping themicroswitch 42 turned off. When the cassette is loaded in theprinter unit 22, themovable plate 41 is inserted into a groove 107 (127) cut from lower surface of the cassette 100 (120) to the upper portion of the cassette 100 (120). The upper portion of the groove 107 (127) is determined according to each ink material of the ink ribbon 102 (122). When the cassette 100 (120) provides an ink ribbon 102 (122) having high melting point, themovable plate 41 is kept in contact with the upper portion of the groove 107 (127) and is rotated. Therefore, themovable plate 41 causes themicroswitch 42 to turn on. On the other hand, when the cassette 100 (120) provides an ink ribbon 102 (122) having low melting point, themovable plate 41 does not contact with upper portion of the groove 107 (127) and is not rotated. Therefore, themicroswitch 42 is kept turned off. Hence the ink-material detecting unit 32 detects the ink material of the ink ribbon 102 (122) provided in the cassette 100 (120) by detecting the position of the upper portion of the groove 107 (127). - The
tape cassettes tape cassettes adhesive tapes ink ribbons cassette 100 accommodates an adhesive tape which is 10 mm or 16 mm wide, and theink ribbon 102 having a high melting point ink. However, acassette 100 having a 16 mm wide adhesive tape therein is thicker than a cassette having a 10 mm wide adhesive tape therein. Thecassette 120 accommodates an 8 mm wideadhesive tape 121, and theink ribbon 122 having a low melting point ink. Theadhesive tapes ink ribbons thermal head 25. Thecassettes cassette cases tape feed reels spools tape feed reels spools cassette cases cassette cases grooves head insert portions 109 and 119 andtape outlets head insert portions 109 and 119 are located at the portion corresponding to portion of thethermal head 25 when thecassettes printer unit 22. Thetape outlets outlet 17 of thecase 11 when thecassettes printer unit 22. - The
adhesive tapes supply reels tape feed reels tape outlets head insert portions ink ribbons supply spools spools head insert portions ink ribbons printing head 25 and theadhesive tapes head insert portions printer unit 22. - The height adjust holes 106 (FIG. 3) are opened at the corners of the
cassette case 108 and have predetermined depth according to thickness of thecassette case 108. Thecase 128 ofcassette 120 does not have opened height adjust holes, because thecassette case 128 is the thinnest case among the cassette cases which can be used with the tape printer. Therefore, in the case of thecassette case 128, the height adjustpins 30 mounted onchassis 23 contact with the lower surface of thecase 128 of thecassette 120. - The grooves or cut-
outs cassette cases movable plate 41 of the ink-material detecting unit 32 when thecassettes grooves respective cassette cases cassettes cassette 100 is longer than that of thecassette 120. That is, in the case of the high melting point ink provided in thecassette 100, such distance is determined to be longer so that themovable plate 41 of the ink-material detecting unit 32 is kept in contact with the upper portion or end of thegroove 107 and is rotated. On the other hand, in the case of a low melting point ink provided in thecassette 120, such distance is determined to be shorter so that themovable plate 41 is not kept in contact with upper portion of thegroove 127. - The electronic circuit of the device of the present invention will now be described, with reference to FIG. 5.
- A
control unit 50 basically controls and manages the other elements within the block diagram. Akeyboard 12 is connected to thecontrol unit 50. Thecontrol unit 50 stores alphanumeric data, a line-feed code (LF), a print-stop code (STOP), a character-size code and the like input from thekeyboard 12, in adocument memory unit 51. As shown in FIG. 6, thedocument memory unit 51 stores a character code as alphanumeric data, the line-feed code (LF) and the print-stop code (STOP) which are stored as a pair with print-control data including the character-size code. - An
arithmetic unit 52 and arithmeticdata memory unit 53 are connected to thecontrol unit 50. Thearithmetic unit 52 is supplied with data stored in thedocument memory unit 51 under the control of thecontrol unit 50 and calculates printing length, printing width, the number of line feeds, the largest character-size or the like based on the print-stop code (STOP), the line-feed code (LF) and character-size code supplied from thedocument memory unit 51. Also, thearithmetic unit 52 is supplied with tape-width data from the tape-width detecting unit 31 under the control of thecontrol unit 50, and judges whether or not the tape width is wider than the printing width. The arithmeticdata memory unit 53 stores printing-length data, the largest character-size data, printing-width data, the data of the number of line feeds, the longest printing-length data, line character-size data representing the largest character-size with respect to each line, and the like, calculated by thearithmetic unit 52, as shown FIG. 7. - On the other hand, the
lead 37 of the tape-width detecting unit 31 is connected to an analog-digital convertingunit 54. The analog-digital convertingunit 54 outputs digital data which has a value corresponding to the value of the voltage supplied from thelead 37, to thecontrol unit 50. Then, thecontrol unit 50 outputs control data to aprint control unit 55, a character-size modification unit 56, adisplay control unit 57 and thearithmetic unit 52 in response to the digital data output from the analog-digital convertingunit 54. - The
print control unit 55 controls the printing operation of thethermal head 25 based on print data and the control data output from thecontrol unit 50 and controls the drive of themotor 58 for making theplaten roller 24 and the ribbon take-upshaft 27 rotate corresponding to the printing operation of thethermal head 25. - FIG. 8 shows a part of a detailed circuit of the
print control unit 55 and thethermal head 25. In thethermal head 25, which comprises a large number ofheating elements heating elements 200 are arranged and regularly spaced over a length of 16 mm. Eachheating element 200 is connected to a print-voltage generating unit 59 at one end thereof, and to aNAND gate 201 provided in theprint control unit 55 at other end thereof, respectively. TheNAND gates 201 are supplied with print data from thecontrol unit 50 via a print data buffer (not shown) provided in theprint control unit 55. TheNAND gates 201 respectively connected to the first to64th heating elements 200, which are arranged over an 8 mm length, are connected to an output terminal of an ANDgate 202 provided in theprint control unit 55. TheNAND gates 201 connected to each of the 65th to80th heating elements 200, which are arranged between 8 mm and 10 mm distances, are connected to an output terminal of an ANDgate 203 provided in theprint control unit 55. Furthermore, theNAND gates 201 connected to each of the 81th to128th heating elements 200, which are arranged between 10 mm and 16 mm distance, are connected to an output terminal of an ANDgate 204 provided in theprint control unit 55. Each of ANDgates printer unit 22, from thecontrol unit 50, respectively. The ANDgates cassette 100 accommodating a 16 mm wideadhesive tape 101 has been loaded in theprinter unit 22, from thecontrol unit 50, respectively. The ANDgate 204 is supplied with a "10 mm" signal indicating that thecassette 100 accommodating a 10 mm wideadhesive tape 101 has been loaded in theprinter unit 22, from thecontrol unit 50. Also, the print command signal and the cassette-loading signal are supplied to themotor 58 via theprint control unit 55, as motor control signals. - The character-
size modification unit 56 modifies a character-pattern generated by a characterpattern generating unit 60 based on the character code stored in thedocument memory unit 51, to a character size corresponding to the control data supplied from thecontrol unit 50 thereto (i.e., to a character size corresponding to the width of the loaded tape). - The
display control unit 57 controls the display operation of thedisplay unit 13 based on display data and the control data output from thecontrol unit 50 and layout display data output from a layoutdisplay control unit 61. The layoutdisplay control unit 61 produces the layout display data based on the data of the number of line-feeds and the line character-size data obtained by thearithmetic unit 51. - Various operations of the tape printer with the above-described arrangement will now be described.
- First, the tape printer of this embodiment is capable of being loaded with the
cassette adhesive tapes cassette printer unit 22, the height adjustpins 30 mounted on thechassis 23 of theprinter unit 22 are inserted into the height adjustholes 106 or are kept in contact with the lower surface of the cassette case 126. Then, when thecassette printer unit 22, the lower surface of thecassette case adhesive tape cassette case movable plate 35 of the tape-width detecting unit 31 is rotated in response to the position of the lower surface of thecassette case resistor plate 36 with which themovable plate 35 is kept in contact, to analog-digital convertingunit 54 via thelead 37. - The
movable plate 41 of the ink-material detecting unit 32 is inserted into thegroove cassette case ink ribbon 102 being made of a high melting point ink provided in the loadedcassette case 108, themovable plate 41 is rotated with the upper portion of thegroove 107 and turns themicroswitch 42 on. Conversely, in the case of anink ribbon 122 being made of a low melting point ink, being provided in thecassette case 128 loaded in theprinter unit 22, themovable plate 41 is not kept in contact with the upper portion of thegroove 127 and keeps themicroswitch 42 in the turned off state. Then, themicroswitch 42 outputs an on/off signal to thecontrol unit 50. - The alphanumeric data input from the
keyboard 12 is stored in thedocument memory unit 51 and is displayed on thedisplay unit 13 under the control of thecontrol unit 50. The print control data, such as a character-size code input from thekeyboard 12 is also stored in thedocument memory unit 51. Furthermore, the line-feed code (LF) and print-stop code (STOP) input from thekeyboard 12 are also stored in thedocument memory unit 51. - The print mode processes will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 9.
- First, when the print mode is designated by the
keyboard unit 12, thecontrol unit 50 outputs the document data which includes data indicated by a cursor on thedisplay unit 13 and is stored between two print-stop codes (STOP) in thedocument memory unit 51, from thedocument memory unit 51 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A1). Thearithmetic unit 52 judges that the document data output from thedocument memory unit 51 is the character data or either the line-feed code (LF) or the print-stop code (STOP) (STEP A2). When the document data is the character data, thearithmetic unit 52 calculates the printing length based on the character-size data made as a pair with the character data (STEP A3). Furthermore, thearithmetic unit 52 adds the calculated printing length to printing-length data output from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEPS A4 and A5). Then, the printing-length data updated by thearithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEP A6). - Also, the
arithmetic unit 52 compares the character-size data output from thedocument memory unit 51 with the largest character-size data output from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 with respect to direction of the printing width, i.e. printing character height (STEPS A7 and A8). The larger one of character-size data and the largest character-size data which is judged by the comparison operation, is stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53, as the largest character-size data, under the control of the control unit 50 (STEP A9). In the above-described process, the printing length data and the largest character-size data stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 have been cleared before the first character data for being judged in STEP A1, outputs from thedocument memory unit 51. - Hence, the printing-length data and the largest character-size data with respect to one line are obtained by repeating the processes from STEP A3 to STEP A9 for character data continuously output from the
document memory unit 51 until the line-feed code (LF) or the print-stop code (STOP) is judged in STEP A2. - On the other hand, when the document data output from the
document memory unit 51 is either the line-feed code (LF) or the print-stop code (STOP), thecontrol unit 50 transfers the largest character-size data from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A10). Then, thearithmetic unit 52 calculates the printing width based on the largest character-size data (STEP A11). Thearithmetic unit 52 adds the calculated printing width to the printing-width data output from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEPS A12 and A13). Then, the printing-width data updated by thearithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 (STEP A14). The largest character-size data which has been stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 is stored, as the line character-size data representing the largest character-size with respect to one line, in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 and is cleared (STEP A15). The data of the number of the line-feeds is output from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A16). Thearithmetic unit 52 adds the data of the number of the line-feed data with "1" " (STEP A17). The data of the number of the line-feed data updated by thearithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 (STEP A 18). Thereafter, thecontrol unit 50 supplies the printing-length data and the longest printing-length data stored in thearithmetic memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A19). Thearithmetic unit 52 compares the printing-length data with the longest printing-length data and judges (i.e., determines) the larger one (STEP A20). The larger data judged by thearithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53, as the longest printing-length data (STEP A22), and the printing-length data which has been stored in the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 is cleared. In the above-described process, the printing-width data, the data of the number of line-feeds and the longest printing-length data stored in thearithmetic memory unit 53 have been cleared before the first judgment of either the line-feed code (LF) or the print-stop code (STOP) is performed in STEP A2. - The processes based on STEPS A10 to A21, obtain the printing-width and the number of the line-feeds with respect to all document data to be printed, the largest character-size with respect to each line of all document data to be printed, and the longest printing-length among the printing- lengths of each line of all document data to be printed.
- Thereafter, the
arithmetic unit 52 judges whether or not the document data which has been subjected to the above- described processes is the print-stop code (STOP) (STEP A22). If the judgment is "No", i.e. the data is the line-feed code (LF), thecontrol unit 50 reads-out the document data from thedocument memory unit 51, again (STEP A1). Conversely, if the judgment is "Yes", i.e. the data is the print-stop code (STOP), thecontrol unit 50 supplies the tape-width data from the analog-digital convertingunit 54 and the printing-width data from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53, to thearithmetic unit 52. Thearithmetic unit 52 compares the tape-width data with the printing-width data and judges which is the larger one (STEP A23). If the tape-width data is larger than the printing-width, thecontrol unit 50 supplies the data of the number of line-feeds and the line character-size data from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 to the layout display control unit 61 (STEP A24), and the longest printing-length data from the arithmeticdata memory unit 53 to display control unit 57 (STEP A25). The layoutdisplay control unit 61 produces the layout display data having lines which are corresponding in number to the number of line-feed data and thickness corresponding to the line character-size data. - Conversely, if the printing-width data is larger than the tape-width data, the
control unit 50 supplies error data to the display control unit 57 (STEP A26). - FIGS. 10A-10E show the display conditions of the
display unit 13 when the above-described process is being carried out. In this situation, character size [1 x 1] is the actual printing area [4 mm x 4 mm] including the space between two printing characters. - The display condition shown in FIG. 10A is obtained when the document data "ABC CO., LTD. Japan (STOP)" which is composed of the document data "ABC CO., LTD." designated with the character size [1 x 1] and the document data "Japan" designated with the character-size [2 x 2], is designated as the data to be printed, In this example, a
cassette 100 having a 16 mm wideadhesive tape 101 is loaded in theprinter unit 22. First, thecontrol unit 50 produces display data [16 mm] based on the tape-width data obtained from the analog-digital convertingunit 54 and outputs the display data [16 mm] to thedisplay control unit 57. Thereafter, thecontrol unit 50 outputs display data [1 x 1] corresponding to the character-size data with respect to the character data designated by the cursor, to thedisplay control unit 57. Furthermore, thecontrol unit 50 outputs display data [9.6 cm] corresponding to the longest printing-length data obtained by a process based on the flow chart shown in FIG. 9, to thedisplay control unit 57, and the data of the number of line-feed data [1] and the line character-size data [2 X 2] obtained in the same way, to the layoutdisplay control unit 61. The layoutdisplay control unit 61 produces and outputs layout display data having one line having a character thickness corresponding to the line character-size data [2 x 2] to thedisplay control unit 57. Thedisplay unit 13 displays the character size [1 x 1], the longest printing length [9.6 cm], tape width [16 mm] and the layout data from left side to right side on the upper portion thereof under the control of thedisplay control unit 57. - The display condition shown in FIG. 10B is obtained when the document data "ABC (LF) CO., LTD. Japan (STOP)" is designated as data to be printed, and other conditions are the same as those of FIG. 10A. The designation "(LF)" denotes "line-feed". In this case, the longest printing length is 8.0 cm.
- The display condition shown in FIG. 10C is obtained when the document data "ABC (LF) CO., LTD. (LF) Japan (STOP)" is designated as data to be printed, and other conditions are the same as those of FIG. 10A. In this case, the longest printing length is 3.6 cm.
- The display condition shown in FIG. 10D is obtained when the document data "ABC (LF) CO., LTD. Ja (LF) pan (STOP)" is designated as data to be printed, and other conditions are the same as those of FIG. 10A. In this case, the printing width is 24 mm, which is wider than the tape width of 16 mm. Therefore, the
control unit 50 outputs the error data to displaycontrol unit 57. Then, thedisplay unit 13 displays [Err] instead of the layout display data under the control of thedisplay control unit 57. - The display condition shown in FIG. 10E is obtained when the document data "ABC (LF) CO., LTD. (LF) Japan (STOP)" which is composed of the document data "ABC CO., LTD." designated with the character size [1 x 1] and the document data "Japan" designated with the character-size [2 x 2], is designated as the data to be printed, and a
cassette 120 having an 8 mm wideadhesive tape 121 is loaded in theprinter unit 22. In this case, the printing width is 16 mm which is wider than the tape width of 8 mm. Therefore, thecontrol unit 50 outputs the error data to displaycontrol unit 57. Then, thedisplay unit 13 displays [Err] instead of the layout display data under the control of thedisplay control unit 57. - The printing operation will now be described.
- When the print-start command is input from the
keyboard 12, thecontrol unit 50 outputs the cassette-loading signal and the 16 mm signal, 10 mm signal or no signal corresponding to the tape-width data obtained by analog-digital convertingunit 54, to theprint control unit 55. Also, thecontrol unit 50 outputs the control data in response to the on/off signal output from themicroswitch 42, to the printing-voltage generating unit 59. Thereafter, thecontrol unit 50 supplies the character code from thedocument memory unit 51 to the character-pattern generating unit 60 , so as to obtain the character-pattern data. The character-pattern data is provided to the character-size modification unit 56 and is modified to a desired character-size based on the character- size data under the control of thecontrol unit 50. Then, the modified character-pattern data is supplied to theprint control unit 55. Theprint control unit 55 controls the heating operating of thethermal head 25 and the rotation of themotor 58, based on the data output from thecontrol unit 50. Thethermal head 25 prints the character pattern on theadhesive tape ink ribbon adhesive tape motor 58 makes theplaten roller 24 and the ribbon take-upshaft 27 rotate, so as to transfer theadhesive tape ink ribbon cassette case adhesive tape outlet 17 to the outside of thecase 11. - FIGS. 11A-11E show the printed
adhesive tapes - In the case of FIGS 11A-11D, since the
cassette 100 having theadhesive tape 101 of 16 mm width is loaded in theprinter unit 22, thecontrol unit 50 provides the 16 mm signal and the cassette-loading signal to theprint control unit 55. In the case of FIG. 11 E, since thecassette 120 having theadhesive tape 121 of 8 mm width is loaded in theprinter unit 22, thecontrol unit 50 provides only the cassette-loading signal to theprint control unit 55. - In the case of FIGS. 11 D and 11 E, the
control unit 50 supplies the character-pattern data with respect to the line out of the printing area of theadhesive tape print control unit 55 after the character-pattern data of the lines within the printing area of theadhesive tape - The automatic character-size setting mode process will now be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 12.
- First, the
control unit 50 supplies the document data from thedocument memory unit 51 to thearithmetic unit 52 when the automatic character-size setting mode is designated by the keyboard 12 (STEP B1). Thearithmetic unit 52 judges the largest character-size from the character-size data output from the document memory unit 51 (STEP B2). Thecontrol unit 50 also supplies the tape-width data from analog-digital convertingunit 54 to thearithmetic unit 52. Then, thearithmetic unit 52 judges the width of theadhesive tape control unit 50 controls the character-size modification unit 56, so as to modify the largest character-size pattern to be the character pattern having 64 dots x 64 dots (STEP B4). If the adhesive tape is 10 mm width, thecontrol unit 50 controls the character-size modification unit 56, so as to modify the largest character-size pattern to be the character pattern having 96 dots x 96 dots (STEP B5). If the adhesive tape is 16 mm width, thecontrol unit 50 controls the character-size modification unit 56, so as to modify the largest character-size pattern to be the character pattern having 128 dots x 128 dots (STEP B6). - FIGS. 13A-13C show the printed
adhesive tape - The document data "TOKYO JAPAN (STOP)" to be printed is composed of the document data "TOKYO" designated with the character-size [2 x 2] and the document data "JAPAN" designated with the character-size [1 x 1]. In the case of FIG. 13A, since the adhesive tape is 8 mm wide, the document data "TOKYO" is modified to be the character pattern having 64 dots x 64 dots. Accordingly, the document data "JAPAN" is modified to be the character pattern having 32 dots x 32 dots. In the case of FIG. 13B, since the adhesive tape is 10 mm wide, the document data "TOKYO" is modified to be the character pattern having 80 dots x 80 dots and the document data "JAPAN" is modified to be that of 40 dots x 40 dots. In the case of FIG. 13A, since the adhesive tape is 16 mm wide, the document data "TOKYO" is modified to be the character pattern having 128 dots x 128 dots and the document data "JAPAN" is modified to be that of 64 dots x 64 dots.
- As described above, since the character pattern data is automatically modified based on the width of the adhesive tape provided in the cassette which is loading into the printer unit, the character-size data does not have to be manually modified every time the cassette is changed.
Claims (10)
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2908091A JP2969156B2 (en) | 1991-01-31 | 1991-01-31 | Printing device |
JP29080/91 | 1991-01-31 | ||
JP220189/91 | 1991-08-30 | ||
JP22018991A JP2536344B2 (en) | 1991-08-30 | 1991-08-30 | Printer |
JP1991069501U JP2583625Y2 (en) | 1991-08-30 | 1991-08-30 | Printer |
JP69501/91U | 1991-08-30 |
Publications (4)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0497352A2 EP0497352A2 (en) | 1992-08-05 |
EP0497352A3 EP0497352A3 (en) | 1993-01-07 |
EP0497352B1 true EP0497352B1 (en) | 1995-07-05 |
EP0497352B2 EP0497352B2 (en) | 1997-11-19 |
Family
ID=27286420
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP92101562A Expired - Lifetime EP0497352B2 (en) | 1991-01-31 | 1992-01-30 | Tape printer |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0497352B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR960010415B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN1049864C (en) |
DE (1) | DE69203247T3 (en) |
HK (1) | HK58496A (en) |
MY (1) | MY124305A (en) |
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JP2556224B2 (en) † | 1991-09-25 | 1996-11-20 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape printer |
GB9212004D0 (en) * | 1992-06-05 | 1992-07-15 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Printing apparatus |
JP3353788B2 (en) * | 1992-06-05 | 2002-12-03 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Printing equipment |
US5595450A (en) * | 1992-06-11 | 1997-01-21 | Esselte N.V. | Label printing apparatus with display |
GB9212439D0 (en) * | 1992-06-11 | 1992-07-22 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Label printing apparatus |
US5435659A (en) * | 1992-09-01 | 1995-07-25 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Scale printing apparatus |
CA2107759A1 (en) * | 1992-10-06 | 1994-04-07 | Masahiko Nunokawa | Tape printing device |
CA2107746A1 (en) * | 1992-10-06 | 1994-04-07 | Masahiko Nunokawa | Tape printing device and tape cartridge used therein |
US5836061A (en) * | 1997-07-12 | 1998-11-17 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Cable end anchoring nipple and methods of constructing and utilizing same |
US5934812A (en) * | 1992-10-06 | 1999-08-10 | Seiko Epson Corp. | Tape printing device and tape cartridge used therein |
US5595447A (en) | 1992-10-13 | 1997-01-21 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Tape cartridge and printing device having print medium cartridge |
JP2995314B2 (en) * | 1992-10-15 | 1999-12-27 | カシオ計算機株式会社 | Tape cassette and printing device |
JPH06155809A (en) * | 1992-11-16 | 1994-06-03 | Brother Ind Ltd | Dot printer |
JP2768192B2 (en) * | 1993-01-07 | 1998-06-25 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape printer |
JP3335433B2 (en) * | 1993-07-07 | 2002-10-15 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape cassette |
GB9314387D0 (en) * | 1993-07-12 | 1993-08-25 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Printing apparatus |
JP3370740B2 (en) * | 1993-07-23 | 2003-01-27 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape unit, tape cassette and tape printer |
US5562353A (en) * | 1993-11-02 | 1996-10-08 | Casio Computer Co., Ltd. | Tape printing apparatus that calculates character sizes and line lengths |
DE69431095T2 (en) * | 1993-11-02 | 2002-11-21 | Casio Computer Co Ltd | printing device |
JPH07125338A (en) * | 1993-11-04 | 1995-05-16 | Brother Ind Ltd | Tape printing apparatus |
JP3130194B2 (en) * | 1993-11-09 | 2001-01-31 | 株式会社キングジム | Tape printing apparatus and method |
JP2910817B2 (en) * | 1993-12-01 | 1999-06-23 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape printer |
JP3111442B2 (en) * | 1993-12-14 | 2000-11-20 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Document processing device |
EP0660248B1 (en) * | 1993-12-27 | 2000-03-01 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Word processor |
DE69420941T2 (en) * | 1993-12-29 | 2000-02-03 | Brother Ind Ltd | Strip printer |
US5503482A (en) * | 1993-12-29 | 1996-04-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape printing apparatus |
JP3258878B2 (en) * | 1994-12-02 | 2002-02-18 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Drive control method and apparatus for thermal head |
DE69535836D1 (en) * | 1994-11-29 | 2008-10-23 | Seiko Epson Corp | Tape printing device |
US5727888A (en) * | 1995-03-29 | 1998-03-17 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer and a composite cassette including a tape cassette and a ribbon cassette used in the printer |
US5620268A (en) * | 1995-03-29 | 1997-04-15 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Composite cassette including a tape cassette and a ribbon cassette |
GB9513532D0 (en) * | 1995-07-04 | 1995-09-06 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Printing device construction |
JP3045054B2 (en) † | 1995-10-17 | 2000-05-22 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape-shaped label making device |
US5685656A (en) † | 1995-10-19 | 1997-11-11 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape-shaped label printing device having color range setting means |
GB9601124D0 (en) * | 1996-01-19 | 1996-03-20 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Drive system for a printing apparatus |
JP3629823B2 (en) * | 1996-06-25 | 2005-03-16 | カシオ計算機株式会社 | Printing device |
GB2314808A (en) * | 1996-07-05 | 1998-01-14 | Esselte Nv | Cassette location in a printing device |
JP3397995B2 (en) * | 1996-11-07 | 2003-04-21 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Tape printer |
EP0958927B1 (en) * | 1998-04-23 | 2003-10-29 | Esselte N.V. | Tape printing apparatus and tape cassette |
KR20050010472A (en) * | 2003-07-16 | 2005-01-27 | 세이코 엡슨 가부시키가이샤 | Tape printing apparatus, label producing method, data processing method of tape printing apparatus, printing system, label producing method of printing system and storage medium |
JP4604952B2 (en) | 2005-10-12 | 2011-01-05 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Label data creation device, program, and recording medium |
EP3878657A1 (en) | 2008-12-25 | 2021-09-15 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape cassette and tape printer |
DE202009018839U1 (en) | 2008-12-25 | 2013-10-24 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape cassette and tape printer |
CN104691113B (en) | 2009-03-31 | 2016-09-07 | 兄弟工业株式会社 | Tape drum |
WO2010113440A1 (en) | 2009-03-31 | 2010-10-07 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape cassette and tape printer |
WO2010125114A1 (en) | 2009-04-28 | 2010-11-04 | Dymo | Cassette for use in a label printer |
EP2448762B1 (en) | 2009-06-30 | 2013-09-18 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape cassette and tape printer |
JP5212550B2 (en) | 2009-12-16 | 2013-06-19 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape cassette |
WO2011080840A1 (en) | 2009-12-28 | 2011-07-07 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Tape cassette |
JP5560810B2 (en) * | 2010-03-23 | 2014-07-30 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Tape printer, method for determining paragraph arrangement of tape printer, and program thereof |
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US4927278A (en) * | 1987-12-29 | 1990-05-22 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape cassette and tape printer for use therewith |
US5174670A (en) * | 1990-03-29 | 1992-12-29 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Tape printer with end trimming cutter |
EP0451830B1 (en) * | 1990-04-11 | 1995-07-19 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Printing apparatus |
JPH1173381A (en) * | 1997-06-26 | 1999-03-16 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | Image transmitter, image receiver, image processing system, and document/image format |
-
1992
- 1992-01-14 MY MYPI92000059A patent/MY124305A/en unknown
- 1992-01-22 KR KR1019920000846A patent/KR960010415B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1992-01-30 EP EP92101562A patent/EP0497352B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-01-30 DE DE69203247T patent/DE69203247T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-01-31 CN CN92100606A patent/CN1049864C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1996
- 1996-04-03 HK HK58496A patent/HK58496A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
KR960010415B1 (en) | 1996-07-31 |
HK58496A (en) | 1996-04-12 |
EP0497352B2 (en) | 1997-11-19 |
CN1063641A (en) | 1992-08-19 |
KR920014638A (en) | 1992-08-25 |
DE69203247D1 (en) | 1995-08-10 |
CN1049864C (en) | 2000-03-01 |
DE69203247T2 (en) | 1995-11-02 |
MY124305A (en) | 2006-06-30 |
EP0497352A2 (en) | 1992-08-05 |
DE69203247T3 (en) | 1998-03-05 |
EP0497352A3 (en) | 1993-01-07 |
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