EP0497352B2 - Tape printer - Google Patents

Tape printer Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0497352B2
EP0497352B2 EP92101562A EP92101562A EP0497352B2 EP 0497352 B2 EP0497352 B2 EP 0497352B2 EP 92101562 A EP92101562 A EP 92101562A EP 92101562 A EP92101562 A EP 92101562A EP 0497352 B2 EP0497352 B2 EP 0497352B2
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
Application number
EP92101562A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0497352A2 (en
EP0497352A3 (en
EP0497352B1 (en
Inventor
Satoshi C/O Casio Comp. Patent Dep. Kimura
Nobuyuki C/O Casio Comp. Patent Dep. Mochinaga
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Casio Computer Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Casio Computer Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=27286420&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0497352(B2) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Priority claimed from JP2908091A external-priority patent/JP2969156B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP1991069501U external-priority patent/JP2583625Y2/ja
Priority claimed from JP22018991A external-priority patent/JP2536344B2/ja
Application filed by Casio Computer Co Ltd filed Critical Casio Computer Co Ltd
Publication of EP0497352A2 publication Critical patent/EP0497352A2/en
Publication of EP0497352A3 publication Critical patent/EP0497352A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0497352B1 publication Critical patent/EP0497352B1/en
Publication of EP0497352B2 publication Critical patent/EP0497352B2/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • 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
    • 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
    • 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

Definitions

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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. the case 11 may be 120 mm deep, 190 mm wide and 60 mm high.
  • a top cover 14 is pivotally connected to the upper portion of the case 11 by a hinge assembly 15.
  • a keyboard 12 and a display unit 13 are mounted on the upper surface of the top 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.
  • the display unit 13 comprises a liquid-crystal display panel and displays data inputted from the keyboard 12 or the like.
  • the case 11 has a power switch 16 on the front surface thereof and an outlet 17 for an adhesive tape 101 (121) (described in more detail below), and a slider member 19 for manually moving a cutter 18 to cut the adhesive tape 101 (121) on the left side surface thereof.
  • a printer section 21 is provided in the upper portion of the case 11.
  • the printer section 21 is usually covered by the top cover 14 and is exposed by opening the top cover 14 (as in FIG. 2).
  • the printer section 21 comprises a printer unit 22.
  • the printer unit 22 is mounted in an opening 20 provided at the top of the case 11.
  • the printer 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).
  • the printer unit 22 comprises a chassis 23 mounted on the lower portion of the opening 20 of the case 11.
  • the chassis 23 has a platen roller 24 and a thermal head 25 mounted thereon, which are disposed adjacent to the outlet 17 (see FIG. 2) of the case 11.
  • the platen roller 24 is rotably mounted on chassis 23 and is rotated by a motor 58 (shown in FIG. 5 and described in more detail below) mounted in the case 11.
  • the platen 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 the printer unit 22 and makes the adhesive tape 101 (121) feed out from the outlet 17 to the outside of the case 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 elements/mm) along the axis of the platen roller 24.
  • the thermal head 25 is movably mounted to the chassis 23, so as to be movable between a position in which the thermal head 25 keeps in contact with the platen roller 24 (FIG. 3) and a position in which the thermal head 25 is spaced from the platen roller 24 (FIG. 2).
  • the chassis 23 also has a reel guide 26 and a ribbon take-up shaft 27 mounted thereon.
  • the reel 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 the printer unit 22.
  • the ribbon take-up shaft 27 is rotatably mounted on the chassis 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 the printer 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, a cassette guide plate 29 and height adjust pins 30 are mounted on the chassis 23, so as to fix the cassette 100 (120) on the chassis 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 the printer unit 22.
  • the cassette 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 the printer unit 22.
  • the height adjust pins 30 are mounted at positions corresponding to the corner of the cassette 100 (120), on the chassis 23. The height adjust pins 30 are inserted in height adjust holes 106 (FIG. 3) or keep in contact with the lower surface of the cassette 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.
  • the tape-width detecting unit 31 comprises a movable plate 35 and a resistor plate 36.
  • the movable plate 35 is rotatably supported to supporting plates 34 extending upwardly from a horizontal projection 33 of the chassis 23, at substantially the center of projection 33.
  • the movable plate 35 is made of electrically conductive material, e.g., metal, and is electrically connected to a lead 37 for detecting a voltage.
  • a coil spring 38 is provided between one end of the movable plate 35 and the projection 33 for biasing the one end of the movable plate 35 downwardly.
  • the resistor plate 36 is connected to a predetermined voltage source at one end thereof, and is connected to ground at another end thereof.
  • the resistor plate 36 abuts the side adjacent to one end of the movable plate 35.
  • the movable plate 35 is rotated against the force of the coil spring 38 by movement of a lower surface of the cassette 100 (120) keeping in contact with another end of the movable plate 35, and has its position changed along the resistor plate 36 abutting the side of the movable plate 35.
  • the lead 37 connected to plate 35, outputs a voltage according to the position of the resistor plate 36 abutting the side of the movable plate 35.
  • 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 the printer unit 22.
  • the ink-material detecting unit 32 comprises a movable plate 41 and a microswitch 42 as seen in FIG. 3.
  • the movable plate 41 is rotatably supported to supporting plates 40 extending upwardly from a projection 39 of the chassis 23, at center thereof.
  • the microswitch 42 is turned on or off by movement of one end of the movable plate 41.
  • a coil spring 43 is provided between said one end of the movable plate 41 and the projection 39 and biases said one end of the movable plate 41 downwardly for keeping the microswitch 42 turned off.
  • the upper portion of the groove 107 (127) is determined according to each ink material of the ink ribbon 102 (122).
  • the movable plate 41 is kept in contact with the upper portion of the groove 107 (127) and is rotated. Therefore, the movable plate 41 causes the microswitch 42 to turn on.
  • the cassette 100 (120) provides an ink ribbon 102 (122) having low melting point
  • the movable plate 41 does not contact with upper portion of the groove 107 (127) and is not rotated. Therefore, the microswitch 42 is kept turned off.
  • 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 100 and 120 accommodate the adhesive tapes 101 and 121 and the ink ribbons 102 and 122, respectively.
  • the cassette 100 accommodates an adhesive tape which is 10 mm or 16 mm wide, and the ink ribbon 102 having a high melting point ink.
  • a cassette 100 having a 16 mm wide adhesive tape therein is thicker than a cassette having a 10 mm wide adhesive tape therein.
  • the cassette 120 accommodates an 8 mm wide adhesive tape 121, and the ink ribbon 122 having a low melting point ink.
  • the adhesive tapes 101 and 121 comprise a tape made of paper or plastic sheet, an adhesive coated on one side of the tape and a separable release sheet adhered on the side of the tape which is coated with the adhesive.
  • the ink ribbons 102 and 122 comprises a base sheet and an ink made of heat melting ink coated on one side of the base sheet. The ink is transferred from the base sheet to object which is printed by means of the thermal head 25.
  • the cassettes 100 and 120 respectively comprise cassette cases 108 and 128, tape feed reels 103 and 123, ribbon take-up spools 104 and 124 and ribbon feed spools 111 and 131.
  • the tape feed reels 103 and 123, the ribbon take-up spools 104 and 124 and the ribbon feed spools 111 and 131 are rotatably mounted in the cassette cases 108 and 128, respectively.
  • the cassette cases 108 and 128 comprise the aforementioned fixing hollows 105 and 125 on the rear surfaces thereof, the grooves 107 and 127 on the one side surface thereof, head insert portions 109 and 119 and tape outlets 110 and 130, respectively.
  • the head insert portions 109 and 119 are located at the portion corresponding to portion of the thermal head 25 when the cassettes 100 and 120 are respectively loaded into the printer unit 22.
  • the tape outlets 110 and 120 are located at the portion corresponding to the position of the outlet 17 of the case 11 when the cassettes 100 and 120 are respectively loaded into the printer unit 22.
  • the adhesive tapes 101 and 121 are wound around the tape feed or supply reels 103 and 123 and are extended from the tape feed reels 103 and 123 to the tape outlets 110 and 130 via the head insert portions 109 and 129, respectively.
  • the ink ribbons 102 and 122 are wound around the ribbon feed or supply spools 111 and 131 and are taken up by the ribbon take-up spools 104 and 124 via the head insert portions 109 and 129.
  • the ink ribbons 102 and 122 are located between the printing head 25 and the adhesive tapes 101 and 121 at the head insert portions 109 and 129, after the cassette 100 (120) is loaded into the printer unit 22.
  • the height adjust holes 106 are opened at the corners of the cassette case 108 and have predetermined depth according to thickness of the cassette case 108.
  • the case 128 of cassette 120 does not have opened height adjust holes, because the cassette case 128 is the thinnest case among the cassette cases which can be used with the tape printer. Therefore, in the case of the cassette case 128, the height adjust pins 30 mounted on chassis 23 contact with the lower surface of the case 128 of the cassette 120.
  • the grooves or cut-outs 107 and 127 extend upwardly from lower surfaces of the cassette cases 108 and 128, and are located at portions corresponding to portion of the movable plate 41 of the ink-material detecting unit 32 when the cassettes 100 and 120 are loaded.
  • the distances between the upper ends of the grooves 107 and 127 and the upper surfaces of the respective cassette cases 108 and 128, are determined based on the type of ink material accommodated in the cassettes 100 and 120. Such distance of the cassette 100 is longer than that of the cassette 120.
  • a control unit 50 basically controls and manages the other elements within the block diagram.
  • a keyboard 12 is connected to the control unit 50.
  • the control unit 50 stores alphanumeric data, a line-feed code (LF), a print-stop code (STOP), a character-size code and the like input from the keyboard 12, in a document memory unit 51.
  • the document 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 arithmetic data memory unit 53 are connected to the control unit 50.
  • the arithmetic unit 52 is supplied with data stored in the document memory unit 51 under the control of the control 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 the document memory unit 51.
  • the arithmetic unit 52 is supplied with tape-width data from the tape-width detecting unit 31 under the control of the control unit 50, and judges whether or not the tape width is wider than the printing width.
  • the arithmetic data 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 the arithmetic unit 52, as shown FIG. 7.
  • the lead 37 of the tape-width detecting unit 31 is connected to an analog-digital converting unit 54.
  • the analog-digital converting unit 54 outputs digital data which has a value corresponding to the value of the voltage supplied from the lead 37, to the control unit 50.
  • the control unit 50 outputs control data to a print control unit 55, a character-size modification unit 56, a display control unit 57 and the arithmetic unit 52 in response to the digital data output from the analog-digital converting unit 54.
  • the print control unit 55 controls the printing operation of the thermal head 25 based on print data and the control data output from the control unit 50 and controls the drive of the motor 58 for making the platen roller 24 and the ribbon take-up shaft 27 rotate corresponding to the printing operation of the thermal head 25.
  • FIG. 8 shows a part of a detailed circuit of the print control unit 55 and the thermal head 25.
  • the thermal head 25 which comprises a large number of heating elements 200, 128 of the heating elements 200 are arranged and regularly spaced over a length of 16 mm.
  • Each heating element 200 is connected to a print-voltage generating unit 59 at one end thereof, and to a NAND gate 201 provided in the print control unit 55 at other end thereof, respectively.
  • the NAND gates 201 are supplied with print data from the control unit 50 via a print data buffer (not shown) provided in the print control unit 55.
  • the NAND gates 201 respectively connected to the first to 64th heating elements 200, which are arranged over an 8 mm length, are connected to an output terminal of an AND gate 202 provided in the print control unit 55.
  • Each of AND gates 202, 203 and 204 is supplied with a print command signal for instructing the printing operation and a cassette-loading signal indicating that the cassette 100 (120) has been loaded in the printer unit 22, from the control unit 50, respectively.
  • the AND gates 203 and 204 are supplied with a "16 mm” signal indicating that the cassette 100 accommodating a 16 mm wide adhesive tape 101 has been loaded in the printer unit 22, from the control unit 50, respectively.
  • the AND gate 204 is supplied with a "10 mm” signal indicating that the cassette 100 accommodating a 10 mm wide adhesive tape 101 has been loaded in the printer unit 22, from the control unit 50.
  • the print command signal and the cassette-loading signal are supplied to the motor 58 via the print control unit 55, as motor control signals.
  • the character-size modification unit 56 modifies a character-pattern generated by a character pattern generating unit 60 based on the character code stored in the document memory unit 51, to a character size corresponding to the control data supplied from the control 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 the display unit 13 based on display data and the control data output from the control unit 50 and layout display data output from a layout display control unit 61.
  • the layout display 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 the arithmetic unit 51.
  • the tape printer of this embodiment is capable of being loaded with the cassette 100 or 120 providing adhesive tapes 101 or 121 which are 16 mm, 10 mm or 8 mm wide.
  • the height adjust pins 30 mounted on the chassis 23 of the printer unit 22 are inserted into the height adjust holes 106 or are kept in contact with the lower surface of the cassette case 126.
  • the lower surface of the cassette case 108 or 128 is at a predetermined position according to the width of the adhesive tape 101 or 121 provided in the cassette case 108 or 128.
  • the movable plate 35 of the tape-width detecting unit 31 is rotated in response to the position of the lower surface of the cassette case 108 or 128 and outputs a voltage having a value corresponding to the position of the resistor plate 36 with which the movable plate 35 is kept in contact, to analog-digital converting unit 54 via the lead 37.
  • the movable plate 41 of the ink-material detecting unit 32 is inserted into the groove 107 or 127 formed on the cassette case 108 or 128.
  • the movable plate 41 is rotated with the upper portion of the groove 107 and turns the microswitch 42 on.
  • the movable plate 41 is not kept in contact with the upper portion of the groove 127 and keeps the microswitch 42 in the turned off state. Then, the microswitch 42 outputs an on/off signal to the control unit 50.
  • the alphanumeric data input from the keyboard 12 is stored in the document memory unit 51 and is displayed on the display unit 13 under the control of the control unit 50.
  • the print control data such as a character-size code input from the keyboard 12 is also stored in the document memory unit 51.
  • the line-feed code (LF) and print-stop code (STOP) input from the keyboard 12 are also stored in the document memory unit 51.
  • the control unit 50 outputs the document data which includes data indicated by a cursor on the display unit 13 and is stored between two print-stop codes (STOP) in the document memory unit 51, from the document memory unit 51 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A1).
  • the arithmetic unit 52 judges that the document data output from the document memory unit 51 is the character data or either the line-feed code (LF) or the print-stop code (STOP) (STEP A2).
  • the arithmetic unit 52 calculates the printing length based on the character-size data made as a pair with the character data (STEP A3).
  • the arithmetic unit 52 adds the calculated printing length to printing-length data output from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEPS A4 and A5). Then, the printing-length data updated by the arithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEP A6).
  • the arithmetic unit 52 compares the character-size data output from the document memory unit 51 with the largest character-size data output from the arithmetic data 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 arithmetic data memory unit 53, as the largest character-size data, under the control of the control unit 50 (STEP A9).
  • the printing length data and the largest character-size data stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 have been cleared before the first character data for being judged in STEP A1, outputs from the document memory unit 51.
  • 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.
  • LF line-feed code
  • STOP print-stop code
  • the control unit 50 transfers the largest character-size data from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A10). Then, the arithmetic unit 52 calculates the printing width based on the largest character-size data (STEP A11). The arithmetic unit 52 adds the calculated printing width to the printing-width data output from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 under the control of the control unit 50 (STEPS A12 and A13). Then, the printing-width data updated by the arithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 (STEP A14).
  • LF line-feed code
  • STOP print-stop code
  • the largest character-size data which has been stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 is stored, as the line character-size data representing the largest character-size with respect to one line, in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 and is cleared (STEP A15).
  • the data of the number of the line-feeds is output from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A16).
  • the arithmetic 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 the arithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 (STEP A 18).
  • control unit 50 supplies the printing-length data and the longest printing-length data stored in the arithmetic memory unit 53 to the arithmetic unit 52 (STEP A19).
  • the arithmetic 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 the arithmetic unit 52 is stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53, as the longest printing-length data (STEP A22), and the printing-length data which has been stored in the arithmetic data memory unit 53 is cleared.
  • the printing-width data, the data of the number of line-feeds and the longest printing-length data stored in the arithmetic 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.
  • 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), the control unit 50 reads-out the document data from the document memory unit 51, again (STEP A1). Conversely, if the judgment is "Yes”, i.e. the data is the print-stop code (STOP), the control unit 50 supplies the tape-width data from the analog-digital converting unit 54 and the printing-width data from the arithmetic data memory unit 53, to the arithmetic unit 52.
  • STOP print-stop code
  • the arithmetic 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, the control unit 50 supplies the data of the number of line-feeds and the line character-size data from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 to the layout display control unit 61 (STEP A24), and the longest printing-length data from the arithmetic data memory unit 53 to display control unit 57 (STEP A25).
  • the layout display 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.
  • 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.
  • 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,
  • a cassette 100 having a 16 mm wide adhesive tape 101 is loaded in the printer unit 22.
  • the control unit 50 produces display data [16 mm] based on the tape-width data obtained from the analog-digital converting unit 54 and outputs the display data [16 mm] to the display control unit 57.
  • the control 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 the display control unit 57. Furthermore, the control 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 the display 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 layout display control unit 61.
  • the layout display 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 the display control unit 57.
  • the display 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 the display 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 display control unit 57. Then, the display unit 13 displays [Err] instead of the layout display data under the control of the display 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 wide adhesive tape 121 is loaded in the printer unit 22. In this case, the printing width is 16 mm which is wider than the tape width of 8 mm. Therefore, the control unit 50 outputs the error data to display control unit 57. Then, the display unit 13 displays [Err] instead of the layout display data under the control of the display control unit 57.
  • the control unit 50 When the print-start command is input from the keyboard 12, the control 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 converting unit 54, to the print control unit 55. Also, the control unit 50 outputs the control data in response to the on/off signal output from the microswitch 42, to the printing-voltage generating unit 59. Thereafter, the control unit 50 supplies the character code from the document 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 the control unit 50.
  • the modified character-pattern data is supplied to the print control unit 55.
  • the print control unit 55 controls the heating operating of the thermal head 25 and the rotation of the motor 58, based on the data output from the control unit 50.
  • the thermal head 25 prints the character pattern on the adhesive tape 101 or 121 by transferring the heat melt ink from the ink ribbon 102 or 122 to the surface of the adhesive tape 101 or 121.
  • the motor 58 makes the platen roller 24 and the ribbon take-up shaft 27 rotate, so as to transfer the adhesive tape 101 or 121 and the ink ribbon 102 or 122 to the head insert portion provided to the cassette case 108 or 128. Thereafter, the printed adhesive tape 101 or 121 is fed out from the outlet 17 to the outside of the case 11.
  • FIGS. 11A-11E show the printed adhesive tapes 101 and 121 printed under conditions which are the same as those of each of FIGS 10A-10E, respectively.
  • the control unit 50 since the cassette 100 having the adhesive tape 101 of 16 mm width is loaded in the printer unit 22, the control unit 50 provides the 16 mm signal and the cassette-loading signal to the print control unit 55. In the case of FIG. 11E, since the cassette 120 having the adhesive tape 121 of 8 mm width is loaded in the printer unit 22, the control unit 50 provides only the cassette-loading signal to the print control unit 55.
  • control unit 50 supplies the character-pattern data with respect to the line out of the printing area of the adhesive tape 101 or 121, to the print control unit 55 after the character-pattern data of the lines within the printing area of the adhesive tape 101 or 121 has been printed.
  • the control unit 50 supplies the document data from the document memory unit 51 to the arithmetic unit 52 when the automatic character-size setting mode is designated by the keyboard 12 (STEP B1).
  • the arithmetic unit 52 judges the largest character-size from the character-size data output from the document memory unit 51 (STEP B2).
  • the control unit 50 also supplies the tape-width data from analog-digital converting unit 54 to the arithmetic unit 52.
  • the arithmetic unit 52 judges the width of the adhesive tape 101 or 121 is (STEP B3). If the adhesive tape is 8 mm wide, the 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).
  • the 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 96 dots x 96 dots (STEP B5). If the adhesive tape is 16 mm width, the 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 128 dots x 128 dots (STEP B6).
  • FIGS. 13A-13C show the printed adhesive tape 101 or 121 printed based on above-described process.
  • 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].
  • the document data "TOKYO” is modified to be the character pattern having 64 dots x 64 dots.
  • the document data "JAPAN” is modified to be the character pattern having 32 dots x 32 dots.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Landscapes

  • Printers Characterized By Their Purpose (AREA)
  • Record Information Processing For Printing (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
  • Impression-Transfer Materials And Handling Thereof (AREA)
EP92101562A 1991-01-31 1992-01-30 Tape printer Expired - Lifetime EP0497352B2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2908091A JP2969156B2 (ja) 1991-01-31 1991-01-31 印字装置
JP29080/91 1991-01-31
JP69501/91U 1991-08-30
JP1991069501U JP2583625Y2 (ja) 1991-08-30 1991-08-30 プリンタ
JP220189/91 1991-08-30
JP22018991A JP2536344B2 (ja) 1991-08-30 1991-08-30 印字装置

Publications (4)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0497352A2 EP0497352A2 (en) 1992-08-05
EP0497352A3 EP0497352A3 (en) 1993-01-07
EP0497352B1 EP0497352B1 (en) 1995-07-05
EP0497352B2 true 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 (ko)
KR (1) KR960010415B1 (ko)
CN (1) CN1049864C (ko)
DE (1) DE69203247T3 (ko)
HK (1) HK58496A (ko)
MY (1) MY124305A (ko)

Families Citing this family (49)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2556224B2 (ja) † 1991-09-25 1996-11-20 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ印字装置
GB9212004D0 (en) * 1992-06-05 1992-07-15 Esselte Dymo Nv Printing apparatus
JP3353788B2 (ja) * 1992-06-05 2002-12-03 ブラザー工業株式会社 印刷装置
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
US5836061A (en) * 1997-07-12 1998-11-17 Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Cable end anchoring nipple and methods of constructing and utilizing same
CA2107759A1 (en) * 1992-10-06 1994-04-07 Masahiko Nunokawa Tape printing device
US5934812A (en) * 1992-10-06 1999-08-10 Seiko Epson Corp. Tape printing device and tape cartridge used therein
CA2107746A1 (en) * 1992-10-06 1994-04-07 Masahiko Nunokawa 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 (ja) * 1992-10-15 1999-12-27 カシオ計算機株式会社 テープカセットおよび印字装置
JPH06155809A (ja) * 1992-11-16 1994-06-03 Brother Ind Ltd ドットプリンタ
JP2768192B2 (ja) * 1993-01-07 1998-06-25 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ印字装置
JP3335433B2 (ja) * 1993-07-07 2002-10-15 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープカセット
GB9314387D0 (en) * 1993-07-12 1993-08-25 Esselte Dymo Nv Printing apparatus
JP3370740B2 (ja) * 1993-07-23 2003-01-27 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープユニット、テープカセット並びにテープ印字装置
US5562353A (en) * 1993-11-02 1996-10-08 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Tape printing apparatus that calculates character sizes and line lengths
EP0650841B1 (en) * 1993-11-02 2002-07-31 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Printing apparatus
JPH07125338A (ja) * 1993-11-04 1995-05-16 Brother Ind Ltd テープ印刷装置
JP3130194B2 (ja) * 1993-11-09 2001-01-31 株式会社キングジム テープ印刷装置及び方法
JP2910817B2 (ja) * 1993-12-01 1999-06-23 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ印刷装置
JP3111442B2 (ja) * 1993-12-14 2000-11-20 ブラザー工業株式会社 文書処理装置
DE69423194T2 (de) * 1993-12-27 2000-06-29 Brother Kogyo K.K., Nagoya Textverarbeitungsgerät
US5503482A (en) * 1993-12-29 1996-04-02 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape printing apparatus
EP0661656B1 (en) * 1993-12-29 1999-09-29 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape printer
JP3258878B2 (ja) * 1994-12-02 2002-02-18 セイコーエプソン株式会社 サーマルヘッドの駆動制御方法およびその装置
DE69535836D1 (de) * 1994-11-29 2008-10-23 Seiko Epson Corp Banddruckvorrichtung
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 (ja) † 1995-10-17 2000-05-22 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ状ラベル作成装置
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 (ja) * 1996-06-25 2005-03-16 カシオ計算機株式会社 印刷装置
GB2314808A (en) * 1996-07-05 1998-01-14 Esselte Nv Cassette location in a printing device
JP3397995B2 (ja) * 1996-11-07 2003-04-21 セイコーエプソン株式会社 テープ印刷装置
DE59810024D1 (de) * 1998-04-23 2003-12-04 Esselte Nv Banddruckgerät und Bandkassette
KR20050010472A (ko) * 2003-07-16 2005-01-27 세이코 엡슨 가부시키가이샤 테이프 인쇄장치, 라벨 작성방법, 테이프 인쇄장치의데이터 처리방법, 인쇄 시스템, 인쇄 시스템의 라벨작성방법 및 기억매체
JP4604952B2 (ja) 2005-10-12 2011-01-05 ブラザー工業株式会社 ラベルデータ作成装置、プログラム及び記録媒体
US8382389B2 (en) 2008-12-25 2013-02-26 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape cassette
ATE545513T1 (de) 2008-12-25 2012-03-15 Brother Ind Ltd Banddrucker
EP3106314B1 (en) 2009-03-31 2022-04-27 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape cassette and tape printer
CN104691118B (zh) 2009-03-31 2017-10-13 兄弟工业株式会社 带盒
WO2010125122A1 (en) 2009-04-28 2010-11-04 Dymo Cassette for use in a label printer
WO2011001487A1 (en) 2009-06-30 2011-01-06 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape cassette and tape printer
EP2514600B1 (en) 2009-12-16 2015-01-21 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape cassette
EP2520437B1 (en) 2009-12-28 2015-05-20 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape cassette
JP5560810B2 (ja) * 2010-03-23 2014-07-30 セイコーエプソン株式会社 テープ印刷装置、テープ印刷装置の段落配置決定方法およびそのプログラム

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4966476A (en) * 1987-12-29 1990-10-30 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape printer
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 (ja) * 1997-06-26 1999-03-16 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd 画像送信装置、画像受信装置および画像処理システム、並びに文書・画像フォーマット

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0497352A2 (en) 1992-08-05
DE69203247T2 (de) 1995-11-02
CN1049864C (zh) 2000-03-01
EP0497352A3 (en) 1993-01-07
HK58496A (en) 1996-04-12
KR920014638A (ko) 1992-08-25
MY124305A (en) 2006-06-30
DE69203247T3 (de) 1998-03-05
EP0497352B1 (en) 1995-07-05
DE69203247D1 (de) 1995-08-10
CN1063641A (zh) 1992-08-19
KR960010415B1 (ko) 1996-07-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP0497352B2 (en) Tape printer
US5253334A (en) Tape printer
US5374132A (en) Tape printer apparatus
EP1900535B1 (en) Tape printing apparatus
JP3158750B2 (ja) 印字装置
US5277503A (en) Tape cassette built into a tape writer
US5024541A (en) Manually operable sweeping-type printing apparatus
JP3335433B2 (ja) テープカセット
AU673080B2 (en) Printing apparatus
EP0557137A2 (en) Method and device for printing on a tape-like medium
WO2004000564A1 (ja) テープ印字装置及びテープカセット
US5105210A (en) Ink jet recording apparatus expandable to accommodate variable sheet widths
US5235353A (en) Compact ink jet recording apparatus with particular design for recording medium conveyance and support
US6129467A (en) Print image-forming method and device and printing apparatus incorporating the device
JP2583625Y2 (ja) プリンタ
EP0473132B1 (en) Thermal printer and expendable cartridge employed therein
US6264386B1 (en) Printing apparatus with rotatably attached paper feed cassette
US5245354A (en) Thermal transfer recording apparatus and method with improved ink sheet transport
JP2969156B2 (ja) 印字装置
GB2356375A (en) Method of controlling a thermal print head
US6092946A (en) Tape printing apparatus and tape holding case with a sliding switch
JP3392460B2 (ja) テープ印字装置
JP3420544B2 (ja) テープカートリッジ
US6609775B1 (en) Recording apparatus
JP2536344B2 (ja) 印字装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19920130

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

PUAL Search report despatched

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 19930909

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

REF Corresponds to:

Ref document number: 69203247

Country of ref document: DE

Date of ref document: 19950810

ET Fr: translation filed
PLBQ Unpublished change to opponent data

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS OPPO

PLBI Opposition filed

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009260

PLBF Reply of patent proprietor to notice(s) of opposition

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS OBSO

26 Opposition filed

Opponent name: ESSELTE N.V.

Effective date: 19960404

PLBF Reply of patent proprietor to notice(s) of opposition

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS OBSO

PLBF Reply of patent proprietor to notice(s) of opposition

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS OBSO

PLAW Interlocutory decision in opposition

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS IDOP

PLAW Interlocutory decision in opposition

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS IDOP

PUAH Patent maintained in amended form

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009272

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: PATENT MAINTAINED AS AMENDED

27A Patent maintained in amended form

Effective date: 19971119

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B2

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

ET3 Fr: translation filed ** decision concerning opposition
REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: IF02

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20110126

Year of fee payment: 20

Ref country code: FR

Payment date: 20110128

Year of fee payment: 20

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20110126

Year of fee payment: 20

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R071

Ref document number: 69203247

Country of ref document: DE

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R071

Ref document number: 69203247

Country of ref document: DE

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: PE20

Expiry date: 20120129

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF EXPIRATION OF PROTECTION

Effective date: 20120131

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF EXPIRATION OF PROTECTION

Effective date: 20120129