JP2000185435A - Tape printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape printer which can print on a tape wider than the heating element array in a print head. SOLUTION: A tape printer has a cassette loading section 15 large enough to load a cassette C3 containing a tape T3 having width W3 wider than the width L of the heating element array 20a in a thermal head. When a cassette receiving part 19 provided at the loading section 15 engages with a flange part 31 provided on the cassette C3 which is thereby loaded at the loading section 15, the heating element array 20a in the thermal head is located in correspondence with one side in breadthwise direction of the tape T3 contained in the cassette C3. When the thermal head is driven, a print data inputted to one side in breadthwise direction of the tape T3 is printed. The other side of the tape T3 is preprinted and thereby the print data can be printed on a tape wider than the heating element array 20a in the thermal head with good appearance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a tape printer for printing characters and the like on a tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tape printer (tape printer) for printing a character, a symbol, or the like on a tape to create a name label or the like has been put to practical use. This tape printer includes a cassette mounting section in which a plurality of types of cassettes containing tapes having different widths are exchangeably mounted, and a print head is driven to input data such as characters input to the cassette mounting section. The label is printed on a tape in a cassette, and the printed tape is cut to an arbitrary length to produce a label. The tape printer is provided with a heating element array of the print head corresponding to the width direction of the tape,
The maximum width of the printable tape corresponds to the width of the heating element array of the print head. The cassette mounting portion of the tape printer is configured so that a cassette containing a printable maximum width tape can be mounted thereon, and a cassette containing a tape exceeding the printable maximum width cannot be mounted. .

[0003]

The width of a tape that can be printed by a conventional tape printer is at most about the same as the width of the heating element array of the print head, and in particular, the width of the heating element array is small and small. In an inexpensive tape printer equipped with a print head, the printable tape is limited to a relatively narrow one corresponding to the small print head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the width of a printable tape is not limited to the width of a heating element array of a print head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape printer capable of printing on a wider tape.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tape printing apparatus comprising: a cassette mounting section for mounting a cassette containing a tape; and a cassette mounting section mounted on the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting section. A print head in which heating element rows are arranged in a width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the tape, and printing means for driving the print head and printing on the tape while transporting the tape in the longitudinal direction. Wherein the cassette mounting section is configured such that a cassette containing a wide tape wider than the heating element row of the print head can be mounted, and the cassette containing the wide tape and the cassette mounting section are A cassette accommodating the wide tape so that the heating element array of the print head is arranged to be offset to one side in the width direction of the wide tape. Characterized in that a latching device for latching to the mounting portion.

According to the tape printer of the first aspect of the present invention, a cassette accommodating a tape wider than the width of the heating element array of the print head can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion. Then, when the cassette containing the wide tape is mounted in the cassette mounting portion, the cassette is locked in the cassette mounting portion with one side in the width direction of the tape corresponding to the print head, and the cassette is positioned in the print head. Is printed on one side in the width direction of the wide tape corresponding to.

The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input means for inputting a character to be printed on the tape, and an enlargement for instructing printing of an enlarged character whose character height is larger than a heating element array of the print head. Print instruction means, when a cassette containing the wide tape is mounted in the cassette mounting portion, when there is an instruction to print an enlarged character by the enlarged print instruction means,
The wide tape is obtained by dividing the enlarged character pattern corresponding to the character input from the input means into two in the height direction, and inverting the upper half and the lower half of the enlarged character pattern up, down, left, and right with respect to each other. And print control means for dividing and printing in the longitudinal direction.

According to such a tape printer, the print control means divides the data of the character input from the input means into upper and lower parts, and separates the upper half data and the lower half data from each other. And the print head divides the wide tape in the longitudinal direction and prints. The enlarged printed character is printed up to one end in the width direction of the tape. Therefore, the printed character is divided and the printed portion is cut into two labels, and these two labels are used as one label. By combining them, a print label of an enlarged character having a size exceeding the width of the heating element row of the print head can be obtained. Therefore, by using a tape wider than the width of the heating element array of the print head, desired characters input to the wide tape can be printed in a magnificent manner and enlarged.

In order to decorate a character or the like printed on one side of the wide tape by the print head in the width direction, the width of the wide tape at a position deviated from the heating element row of the print head is changed. A printing area on which printing is performed in advance can be provided on the other side of the printer.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the printing apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a keyboard 12 and a liquid crystal display unit 13 are provided on an upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and a cassette mounting unit 15 covered with a lid 14 that can be opened and closed is provided.
The cassette mounting portion 15 has an ink ribbon R and a tape T on which heat transfer printing is performed by using the ink of the ink ribbon R.
Are removably mounted.

The keyboard 12 includes a power key, a character / symbol input key for inputting data of characters and symbols, a print key operated when executing a printing process of the input character string, and a tape T. , And a divided enlarged print key for performing enlarged print by dividing in the longitudinal direction. Reference numeral 16 denotes a tape discharge port through which the printed tape T is discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body 11,
Reference numeral 17 denotes a cutter operation lever for operating a cutter 18 for cutting and separating a printed portion of the tape T discharged from the tape discharge port 16. The cassette mounting portion 15 is formed in a concave shape capable of accommodating a plurality of different types of cassettes C, and has a depth and a size capable of mounting a cassette C3 accommodating a tape T3 having a maximum width size described later. In the cassette mounting portion 15, a locking mechanism for positioning the tape T at a predetermined position with respect to the thermal head 20 and locking the cassette C, a printing mechanism for printing on the tape T, a tape T and an ink ribbon R are provided. A transport mechanism for transporting is provided.

That is, reference numeral 19 denotes a cassette receiving portion provided at a plurality of corner positions in the cassette mounting portion 15 at the same height, and the cassette receiving portions 19 are provided at a plurality of positions on the side of the cassette C. The cassette C is locked in the cassette mounting portion 15 by engaging with the flange portion 31.
As described later, when the cassette C is locked in the cassette mounting portion 15 by the cassette receiving portion 19, the tape T accommodated in the cassette C corresponds to the thermal head 20 in a predetermined positional relationship. Reference numeral 20 denotes a thermal head in which heating element rows are arranged in a width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the tape T and prints along the longitudinal direction of the tape T. Reference numeral 21 denotes a tape T and a thermal head 20 between the thermal head 20 during printing. A platen roller 22 for transporting the tape T and the ink ribbon R while sandwiching the ink ribbon R, and a ribbon winding shaft 22 for winding the used ink ribbon R after printing. 23, 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes a positioning projection for inserting into a corresponding hole of the cassette C for positioning. A cassette sensor 25 for detecting the type of the cassette C according to the shape of the identification unit 32 provided on the cassette C is provided at one position of the cassette receiving unit 19.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cassette C has a cassette case 26 in which a tape supply reel 27 around which a tape T is wound is rotatably built in, and an unused ink ribbon R And a ribbon take-up reel 29 for taking up the used ink ribbon R are rotatably built therein. The positioning protrusion 23 is inserted into the center hole of the tape supply reel 27, and the ribbon winding shaft 22 is fitted to the ribbon winding reel 29. In addition, cassette case 2
A head accommodating recess 30 for accommodating the thermal head 20 is formed in a part of the cassette case 6, and a plurality of flange portions 31 engaging with the cassette receiving portion 19 are provided at a corner portion of the cassette case 26. Further, one of the flange portions 31 is provided with an identification portion 32 corresponding to the cassette sensor 25. The identification section 32 is formed in a different shape in accordance with the width of the tape T accommodated in the cassette C, and a plurality of switches of the cassette sensor 25 are selectively turned on / off according to the shape, thereby making the cassette C The type of (width of the tape T) is detected.

The cassette C has a thermal head 20
And a tape T having a width equal to the width of the heating element row 20a.
, And a plurality of types containing tapes having different widths, such as a tape T having a width larger than the width of the heating element row 20a. Note that the ink ribbon R is also accommodated in a manner corresponding to the width of the tape T. The width (thickness) size of the cassette case 26 corresponds to the width size of the tape T stored inside. 3 and 4
FIGS. 5A and 5B are views for explaining a state in which the plurality of types of cassettes are mounted on the cassette mounting section 15. FIG. 3 shows the case where the cassette C1 containing the tape T1 having a width W1 smaller than the width L of the heating element row 20a of the thermal head 20 is mounted on the cassette mounting section 15, and FIG. C containing a tape T2 of width W2
5 shows a case where the cassette C3 containing a tape T3 having a width W3 larger than the width L of the heating element array 20a is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 15, and FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tape T
1, the heating element array 20a of the thermal head 20 has a width of T2.
Is equal to or smaller than the width L of the cassette C,
1, the center in the width direction of the tapes T1 and T2 stored in C2 corresponds to the center of the heating element row 20a of the thermal head 20 erected from the bottom of the cassette mounting portion 15.
The cassettes C1 and C2 are supported by the cassette mounting portion 15, and the cassette receiving portions 19 provided upright from the bottom of the cassette mounting portion 15 so as to have such a positional relationship.
And the positions of the flange portions 31 provided on the side portions of the cassettes C1 and C2 are adjusted. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the size of the cassette mounting portion 15 is set to a size and a volume capable of mounting a cassette C3 containing a tape T3 having a width W3 larger than the width L of the heating element row 20a of the thermal head 20. When the cassette C3 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 15, the cassette receiving portion 19 is arranged so that the heating element rows 20a of the thermal head 20 are arranged in a positional relationship with one side in the width direction of the tape T3. And the position of the flange portion 31 provided on the side of the cassette C3 are adjusted.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the recording surface of the wide tape T3 shown in FIG. E1 indicates the thermal head 20 when the tape T3 is mounted on the tape printer.
Area where the heating element row 20a of FIG.
Indicates an area where the heating element array 20a of the thermal head 20 is located at a corresponding position. The area E1 has a suitable picture, pattern,
This is a pre-print area where patterns, color patterns, character symbols, and the like are printed. Then, the area E1 where the pre-print has not been performed is
This is an area in which any input character is subjected to thermal transfer printing by heating the ink ribbon R by the thermal head 20. The width of the ink ribbon R accommodated in the cassette C3 is not equal to the width of the tape T3, but is smaller than the width of the heating element row 20a of the thermal head 20, and corresponds to the position of the area E2 of the tape T3. May be. Note that due to the structure of the tape printer, the tape T3 is loaded into the tape printer upside down as shown in FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the tape printer. As shown, the tape printer includes a control unit 33, a keyboard 12, a ROM 34,
AM 35, character generator 36, liquid crystal display 1
3 and a printer unit 37. Control unit 33
Is constituted by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and includes a keyboard 12, a ROM 34, a RAM 35, a character generator 36, a liquid crystal display unit 13, a thermal head driving circuit 38 for driving the thermal head 20, a platen roller 2
And a motor drive circuit 40 for driving a step motor 39 for driving the ribbon take-up shaft 22 and an identification section 32 provided on the cassette C having a different shape according to the type of the tape T stored in the cassette C. The cassette sensor 41 is connected. The control unit 33 executes a program stored in the ROM 34 in response to a control signal input from the keyboard 12.

The ROM 34 stores in advance various processing programs including a printing process executed by the CPU 33, and also stores necessary data in advance. RAM 35 is a CPU
33 is used as a work area of the processing program executed. Further, storage areas for various data are secured in the RAM 35. That is, 35a is an input buffer for storing each character code data of character string data to be printed, which is inputted in response to the operation of the character / symbol input key of the keyboard 12, and 35b is a character string to be displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 13. Is a display buffer for storing bitmap data (print data) corresponding to character string data to be printed by the printer unit 37. Character generator 36
Stores in advance a bitmap pattern corresponding to a character, number or symbol code input from the character / symbol input key. The display unit 13 includes a liquid crystal display device, and displays characters input from the keyboard 12, images of character strings to be printed, and other information necessary for printing.

The printer section 37 prints characters such as characters and symbols, images, and the like along the longitudinal direction of the tape T by a thermal transfer method. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the printer unit 37 includes a thermal head 20, a step motor 39, a thermal head drive circuit 38, a motor drive circuit 40, a platen roller 21, a ribbon winding shaft 22,
It comprises a cassette sensor 41 and the like. The thermal head 20 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The thermal head drive circuit 38 has a heating element array 20a arranged in rows, and the thermal head driving circuit 38
By driving 0, heat is generated, and the ink on the ink ribbon R is thermally transferred to the tape T. Thermal head 20
When the lid 14 of the cassette mounting portion 15 is closed, the heating element is rotated around the shaft 20b by a head moving mechanism (not shown), and the heating element is pressed against the platen roller 21 with the ink ribbon R and the tape T interposed therebetween. Also, cassette C
When the lid 14 is opened due to replacement of the
Moves in a direction to separate from the platen roller 21. The step motor 39 is driven by a motor drive circuit 40, and is driven by a platen roller 2 via a drive mechanism (not shown).
1. The ribbon winding shaft 22 is driven.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show examples of printing using a wide tape T3. When a character such as an arbitrary character such as "ABC" or "$ 9,800" is input from the keyboard 12, data of the input character is stored in the input buffer 35a, and display data of the input character is displayed in the display buffer. 35b and the liquid crystal display unit 13
Will be displayed. When the print key of the keyboard 12 is operated, the input character pattern is read from the character generator 36 and stored as print data in the print buffer 35c, and the print data is transferred to the printer unit 37 and printed on the tape. Done. When the wide tape T3 is loaded, the thermal head 20 (the heating element array 20a) is arranged to be offset to one side in the width direction of the tape T3, and therefore, one area in the width direction on the tape T3. Printing is performed on E2.

The contents of the pre-printing in the area E1 are such that pictures and the like are continuously provided at predetermined intervals, or as shown in FIG. 10, predetermined character strings are provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the tape.
In the case where characters input to the character string in FIG. 10 are aligned and printed, for example, an alignment mark is provided on the tape T3 in correspondence with the character string pre-printed, while a tape printer is used. What is necessary is just to perform the alignment of the printing start of the input character on the basis that the provided sensor (not shown) detects the mark of the tape T3 being conveyed. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG.
3 makes it possible to print a good-looking label.
In particular, the provision of the pre-printing area E1 makes it possible to decorate characters to be printed, or combine characters to be printed with characters that have been printed in advance, thereby making it possible to perform label printing with a better appearance. Note that, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, by providing the pre-printing area E1, there is no margin in this area, but such a pre-printing area E1 does not have to be provided.

Next, FIGS. 11 and 12 show an example of divided enlarged printing in which an enlarged character is divided into two labels and printed, and two labels are used in combination after printing. Character "F" to be printed from keyboard 12
Is input and the divided enlarged print key of the keyboard 12 is operated, and when the cassette sensor 41 detects that the cassette C3 is mounted, the divided enlarged print processing is performed. That is, the input character “F”
Is read out from the character generator 36, and the height of the pattern is
Is enlarged to a predetermined size corresponding to the width of the heating element array 20a, and a print pattern is created in the RAM 35. The lower half of the input pattern of the character "F" is read out from the character generator 36, and the height thereof is determined by the heating element array 20a of the thermal head 20.
The print pattern is enlarged in the RAM 35 up to a predetermined size corresponding to the width of the upper half pattern, and is inverted upside down, left and right with respect to the upper half pattern. These print patterns are transferred line by line to the thermal head 20, and the tape T is printed in the order of the upper half print pattern and the lower half print pattern.
3 is printed in the area E2. In the print example of FIG. 11, reference numeral 50 denotes a cut portion of the tape T3. As shown in FIG. 5, since the thermal head 20 is offset to one side in the width direction of the tape T3 and the lower end of the heating element row 20a corresponds to one end in the width direction of the tape T3, the enlarged character Is printed up to one end in the width direction of the tape T3,
There is no gap in that part. Accordingly, the tape T3 can be used as a label for an enlarged character simply by abutting the widthwise ends of the two labels without cutting the tape T3 in the longitudinal direction.

FIG. 13 shows another example of printing. FIG.
As described above, the tape printer of the present invention is effective when print data is offset to one side in the width direction of the tape. The scale pattern is stored in the ROM 34 in advance, and a measure can be created by retrieving this data and printing it on the wide tape T3.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a cassette containing a tape wider than the width of the heating element array of the print head can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion, and printing can be performed on the wide tape. And prints that look good on wide tapes. In particular, if pre-printing is performed in a region on the tape where the heating element array of the print head does not correspond, further effects can be obtained. Also, it is possible to use a tape wider than the width of the heating element row of the print head to perform divided printing of an enlarged character without cutting the tape in the longitudinal direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a tape printer according to an embodiment of a printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cassette used in the tape printer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a cassette accommodating a tape having a width smaller than the width of a heating element array of a thermal head is attached to a cassette attachment portion.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a state in which a cassette accommodating a tape having a width equal to the width of a row of heating elements of a thermal head is mounted on a cassette mounting portion.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a state in which a cassette accommodating a tape having a width larger than the width of the heating element row of the thermal head is mounted on the cassette mounting portion.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a tape.

FIG. 7 is another explanatory view of the tape.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic circuit of the tape printer.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of tape printing.

FIG. 10 is another explanatory diagram of tape printing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating divided enlarged printing.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a label obtained by divided enlarged printing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Main body 12 Keyboard 13 Liquid crystal display part 14 Printer part cover 15 Cassette mounting part 16 Tape discharge port 17 Cutter operation lever 18 Cutter 19 Cassette receiving part 20 Thermal head 20a Heating element row 21 Platen roller 22 Ribbon winding shaft 31 Flange part 32 identification unit 33 control unit (CPU) 34 ROM 35 RAM 35a input buffer 35b display buffer 35c print buffer 36 character generator 37 printer unit 38 thermal head drive circuit 39 step motor 40 motor drive circuit 41 cassette sensor C, C1, C2, C3 Cassette T, T1, T2, T3 Tape R Ink ribbon

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cassette mounting portion on which a cassette containing a tape is mounted, and a heating element array arranged in a width direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the tape stored in the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting portion. What is claimed is: 1. A tape printing apparatus comprising: a print head; and a printing unit configured to drive the print head and print on the tape while transporting the tape in a longitudinal direction, wherein the cassette mounting unit includes a heating element of the print head. A cassette accommodating a wide tape wider than a row is configured to be mountable, and the cassette accommodating the wide tape and the cassette mounting portion are biased to one side in the width direction of the wide tape to generate heat of the print head. A tape comprising locking means for locking a cassette accommodating the wide tape to the cassette mounting portion so that an element row is arranged. Shaped apparatus. 2. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wide tape is provided with a pre-printed area in which predetermined printing is performed in advance on the other side in the width direction. 3. An input means for inputting a character to be printed on the tape; an enlarged print instructing means for instructing printing of an enlarged character whose character height is larger than a heating element array of the print head; When a cassette accommodating the wide tape is mounted on the section, and an instruction to print an enlarged character is issued by the enlarged print instruction means, the pattern of the enlarged character corresponding to the character input from the input means is set to the height. Print control means for splitting the upper half and lower half of the pattern of the enlarged character upside down, left and right, and splitting the upper half and lower half in the longitudinal direction of the wide tape for printing. The tape printer according to claim 1, wherein