JP2005103809A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device which can output by a sheet size conformed to an aspect ratio by adjusting the size of a printing sheet in accordance with the aspect ratio of image data. <P>SOLUTION: The printing device rotates the image data to be the landscape orientation if it is not the landscape orientation, and enlarges or reduces the image data to match with a transverse width of the printing sheet. Moreover, the printing device carries out printing with the use of a rolled sheet which is cut to be a variable length in a longitudinal width (height direction). A printing unit of a predetermined length is set, and printing is carried out by cutting the sheet, for example, by three or four units in the height direction. Alternatively, printing is carried out with the use of ink ribbons of a plurality of colors in units of the printing units by cutting the sheet at a boundary of printing parts (cutting also margin parts). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints images of various sizes with appropriate paper sizes, for example, a printing apparatus that performs a printing process while cutting continuous paper.

  Today, a printing process by a printing apparatus is mainly performed by printing on a standard sheet. However, some recently printed images may require printing a new size image. For example, an image shot with a digital still camera has a normal size of 640 dots × 480 dots, 1280 dots × 960 dots, or 2400 dots × 1800 dots, and a horizontal / vertical size ratio is often 4: 3. . However, many so-called camera-equipped mobile phones have many photographic images having a size ratio other than the above. For example, 120 dots × 120 dots, 288 dots × 352 dots, 176 dots × 144 dots, etc.

Further, it is considered that an imaging means capable of taking various photographic images other than the size ratio of 4: 3 will be proposed in the future. Therefore, a printing apparatus corresponding to such an imaging unit is required.
Here, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 exist in relation to the above technique. Patent Document 1 is a printing system that arranges and prints a plurality of images on a recording sheet. A mode in which a plurality of images can be arranged at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary size in the recording sheet, and an image size and position in the recording sheet. The printing system has a plurality of fixed modes.

Patent Document 2 is an invention that discloses a printing system that prints printed materials of various sizes from roll paper of the same width. The image forming unit forms a plurality of images side by side in the width direction of the roll paper, and the cutting unit A plurality of printed materials are obtained by separating each image.
JP 2002-86833 A JP 2002-137383 A

  However, the mainstream output size of the printing apparatus is still an aspect ratio of 4: 3. For this reason, when images of other ratios are printed on a standard sheet, there are many cases where margins are formed or the image is trimmed in the top and bottom and the left and right, that is, a cropped image. Therefore, in order to cope with various size ratios, it is necessary to prepare sheets of various sizes, which causes an increase in cost.

  In addition, by using roll paper, it is possible to cope with printing processes with various size ratios using a fixed paper width and a variable paper length. However, it is necessary to prepare the longest ink ribbon pattern for continuous printing, and it is difficult to manage and grasp the remaining number of sheets.

  According to the present invention, in the printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image according to the present invention, the identification unit that identifies the portrait and landscape of the image, and when the portrait of the image is longer than the landscape from the identification result, This can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus having a rotation means for rotating the image by 90 degrees and a print processing means for printing the image after the rotation.

With this configuration, even if the image has a longer vertical width than the horizontal width, the image can be printed using, for example, a fixed-width sheet by rotating the image by 90 degrees.
In addition, according to the present invention, in the printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image, the identification unit that identifies the portrait and landscape orientation of the image, and the portrait length of the image is greater than the width of the sheet based on the identification result. When long, this can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus having a reduction means for reducing the image and a print processing means for printing the reduced image.

By configuring in this way, even with a fixed width paper such as roll paper, for example, the vertical width of the image is reduced so as to match the width of the paper, and image printing is performed using the same paper. Can do.
In addition, according to the present invention, in the printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image, the identification unit that identifies the portrait and landscape orientation of the image, and the portrait length of the image is greater than the width of the sheet based on the identification result. When the time is short, this can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus having enlargement means for enlarging the image and print processing means for printing the enlarged image.

By configuring in this way, even with a constant width paper such as roll paper, the image is enlarged using the same paper, and the image is printed with the same vertical width. Can do.
Further, the paper is roll paper, and a unit length is set for every ¼ length with respect to the width of the roll paper, and the image is printed on the basis of the three unit length. The roll paper is cut.

The paper is roll paper, and a unit length is set for each quarter length of the width of the roll paper, and the image is printed on the basis of the four unit length. The margin part which is not satisfied is cut.
Repeat and print several times.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the printing apparatus that performs color printing by repeatedly overprinting printing for each basic color on a roll paper with an ink ribbon in which a plurality of different basic colors are sequentially connected, The ink ribbon has a width substantially equal to one side of the unit screen to be printed, and the unit ink surface for each basic color having a length of about 1 / N of the other side of the unit screen is sequentially in a predetermined order. This can be achieved by providing a printing apparatus configured to be connected repeatedly.

  With this configuration, it is possible to flexibly handle an image with an irregular aspect ratio, and to waste the ink ribbon even if such an image is printed. It is possible to provide a printing apparatus that does not occur. Here, “N” is preferably an integer, and in the case of an integer, the ink ribbon can be consumed without causing waste.

  According to the present invention, the unit to be printed is set to one third of one sheet in the roll paper feeding direction in relation to the aspect ratio, and the standard size or a certain size ratio can be adjusted at a portion where the print size can be adjusted. One type of roll paper can be used for both standard sizes. Further, since the remaining number can be managed by the number and unit, it can be managed by a digital amount.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 10 includes a display unit 11, operation buttons 12, a bill insertion slot 13, and a coin insertion slot 14. Further, as the recording medium insertion slot 18, a compact flash (registered trademark) insertion slot 18a, a smart media (registered trademark) insertion slot 18b, a memory stick (registered trademark) insertion slot 18c, a PC card insertion slot 18d, and a floppy (registered trademark). Disc insertion openings 18e are arranged in sequence in the vertical direction. In addition, 16 is a change mouth, and 17 is a takeout port for printed matter.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the printing apparatus 10 having the above-described external configuration, and in particular, a cross-sectional view showing a printing mechanism. The print cartridge 24 is mainly configured. The print cartridge 24 is of a (sublimation type) thermal transfer type. Roll paper 27 and ink ribbon 28, which are continuous printing paper, are loaded in rolls. The roll paper 27 a that is guided and drawn by the rotation guide 31 is fed between the print cartridge 24 and the platen roller 30 together with the drawn ink ribbon 28 a.

  Then, the ink on the ink ribbon 28 is printed on the roll paper 27 a by the thermal transfer of the print cartridge 24. The roll paper 27a passes between the rotation guide 33 and the rotation guide 34, and is further fed between the parallel guides 44a and 44b. Thereafter, the roll paper 27a is cut by the cutting tools 45a and 45b.

On the other hand, the ink ribbon a <b> 28 is guided by the rotation guide 35 after printing, is sent to the winding roll 29, and is wound on the winding roll 29.
FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus 10. The printing unit 50, the control unit 51, and the input unit 52 are included. The printing unit 50 performs printing processing using the roll paper 27 and the ink ribbon 28 described above, and also performs processing such as cutting the roll paper 27.

  The control unit 51 processes the image data and controls printing processing by the printing unit 50. The control unit 51 includes a calculation unit 53 and a storage unit 54. The input unit 52 performs an input process of image data and the like, and an input device 52a that performs an input process of the image data fetched from the various storage medium insertion openings 18a to 18e, and a user interface based on an operation performed by a user The input device 52b performs the data fetching process.

  Next, an example of unit division of the roll paper 27 will be described with reference to FIG. A dotted line is drawn for each unit length, that is, for each unit in the feeding direction of the roll paper 27. The width divided by the dotted line is one unit width when printing and one unit width. The print screen width: Wp is four times the width of one unit. This figure is an example, and the actual paper does not have a dotted line in the dotted line portion.

  Further, an ink ribbon pattern is shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, and Y, M, C, and B shown in the same figure represent yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors. (Yellow, magenta, and cyan are basic colors for printing.) The unit width, that is, the width of one unit is printed with the four colors as one set. Black (K) may be composed of an overcoat material (OC).

  FIG. 5 is a print example of the roll paper 27a. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the upper part of FIG. 4 and shows an example of a sheet in the case of a standard size, particularly a vertical width. The standard size is standard size with aspect ratio = 4/3: L size. That is, the horizontal dimension is 127 mm and the vertical dimension is 89 mm.

In this case, the portion printed by the ink ribbon 28 is colored (however, the colored portion is indicated by a halftone dot in the figure), and the vertical length is a sheet having a width of 3 units. The printing apparatus cuts and outputs at the long dotted line.
FIG. 6 shows another example of printing on the roll paper 27a. This figure is also an enlarged view of the upper part of FIG. In the case of non-standard-size paper, this particularly indicates the vertical width. The non-standard size at this time is aspect ratio = 1 or more and less than 4/3. In this case, the print portion is divided in the middle of the unit. In this example, it is divided in the middle of the fourth unit.

  The portion printed with the ink ribbon is colored (shaded portion). Vertical is a printed portion having a width of 3 units or more and less than 4 units. The checkered part is a blank part. The printing apparatus cuts and outputs the printed part at the long dotted line. Further, the margin part is cut at the long dotted line between the units and output.

  Next, an example of an image and a modification are shown in FIG. This is an example of a printing resolution of 330 dots / inch. In each example, the dot configuration of the image, the size of the printed image, the aspect ratio, and the size after deformation corresponding to the paper width are shown. In the case of “a”, the image data is enlarged by about 1.72 times in length and width and printed. In the case of b, the image data is enlarged and printed approximately 3.44 times vertically and horizontally.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the roll paper 27a and its printed part. FIG. 7e is after the enlargement of 288 dots × 352 dots at a printing resolution of 330 dots / inch of the printing apparatus. A print image having a size of 22.2 mm × 27.1 mm and an aspect ratio of 9:11 is enlarged according to the paper width to be 127 mm × 155.2 mm after deformation. The image data is enlarged by about 5.72 times in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Next, the processing operation of this example will be described using the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing from reading image data to outputting when printing one sheet of image data. It is assumed that the width of one unit in the vertical or height direction of printing, the width of one unit, and the number of units used are U = 1. The unit of width and unit are indicated by u. Note that the processing shown in the figure is processing executed by the control unit 51 described above.

First, image data reading processing is performed (step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1). This process is a process of reading print data from the recording medium loaded in the above-described recording medium insertion slot 18 and taking it into the control unit 51.
Next, calculation processing is performed on the fetched print data in the control unit 51 (S2). This process is executed by the calculation unit 53, and information on the width or width Wd of the image and the height or height Hd of the image data is acquired from the data read as described above. Information such as the horizontal and vertical dot configurations or resolutions of the image is generated on the camera side and attached as additional information to individual image data, and the controller 51 recognizes and uses this information. Can do.

  Next, the calculation unit 53 compares the acquired data with the horizontal width Wd and the vertical width Hd (S3). Then, when the horizontal width Wd of the image data is longer than the vertical width Hd (S3 is NO), the process proceeds to the next process, but when the vertical width Hd of the image data is longer than the horizontal width Wd (S3 is YES), the vertical and horizontal directions of the image data Is changed (S4). That is, in order to set the aspect ratio of the image data to 4: 3, the orientation of the image data is rotated by 90 degrees.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining this processing. For example, image data indicated by dotted lines (horizontal width Wd, vertical width Hd) is rotated by 90 degrees, and converted into an image having vertical width Wp and horizontal width Hp indicated by solid lines.
Next, it is determined whether the horizontal width Wd of the image data is equal to the print screen width Wp (S5). Here, if the horizontal width Wd of the image data and the print screen width Wp are the same (Yes in S5), the process proceeds to the next process, but if they are not the same (No in S5), the image data fits on the print surface. Size adjustment is performed (S6).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the size adjustment of this example. In the figure, the print screen width is Wp indicated by a solid line and the print screen height is Hp indicated by a solid line. The image data width before reduction is indicated by Wd2, and the image data height is indicated by Hd2. The image data width before enlargement is indicated by Wd3, and the image data height is indicated by Hd3.

Here, enlargement processing or reduction processing is performed in accordance with the print screen. For example, in the case of the reduction process, the width Wd2 of the image data is reduced to the print screen width Wp. The height of the image data is also changed at that rate. That is, Hd2 is set to Hp.
Next, Rd, which is the aspect ratio of the adjusted image data, is calculated (S7). That is, the aspect ratio Rd = Wd ′ / Hd ′ is calculated. Then, it is determined whether the aspect ratio Rd of the image data is 4/3 (S8). When the aspect ratio Rd is 4/3 (S8 is YES), the image data is printed (S9). ). In this case, Rd = 4/3, and printing processing is performed with the height of the roll paper 27 being 3 units, that is, U = 3. FIG. 5 described above shows this example, and three units of roll paper 27 are used.

  On the other hand, when the aspect ratio Rd is not 4/3 (S8 is NO), it is determined whether the aspect ratio Rd of the image data is 1 ≦ Rd <4/3 (S10). Here, when the aspect ratio Rd is 1 ≦ Rd <4/3 (S10 is YES), a printing process using four units (U = 4) of the roll paper 27 is performed (S11). In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, since a margin is formed on the roll paper 27a, the roll paper 27a is cut at the boundary position between the printed portion and the margin (S12). Note that the vertical position for cutting is pe (5) of image data to be described later.

  If the aspect ratio Rd is Rd> 4/3 (S10 is NO), a printing process is performed in which the height of the roll paper 27a is 3 units (U = 3) (S13). In this case, the horizontal width is adjusted to the print screen width Wp, and the height is reduced to be smaller than 3 because 4/3 <Rd. Therefore, a horizontal image with a margin is printed by printing three units of U = 3 in the vertical or height direction.

  Next, when the printing process is completed, the roll paper 27a is cut at a position corresponding to the boundary line of one unit (S14). If the printing part boundary is not one unit boundary line, cutting is performed at the nearest boundary line position. Thereafter, the number of units of the roll paper 27a used for printing is measured, and the usage amount and the remaining amount are managed (S15).

  Next, details of the printing process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the number u of used printing units, which is the number of units determined by the above aspect ratio Rd, is read (steps (hereinafter referred to as ST) 1 and 2). Then, it is determined whether the read unit number u is 3 (ST3). If u = 3, the process proceeds to processing (ST4). If u = 3, the process proceeds to processing (ST5), and it is determined whether the unit number u is four.

  Here, when u = 3, the above process (ST4) is executed, and the values of the print start position and print end position of the unit unit in the height direction are calculated and set as shown in FIG. In the figure, ps (1), ps (2), and ps (3) indicate print start positions, pe (1), pe (2), and pe (3) indicate print end positions, and pe ( In 3), data of the print screen height Hp is input.

  On the other hand, if u = 4, the above process (ST6) is executed, and the values of the print start position and print end position in units of height are calculated and set as shown in FIG. The print screen width Wp divided into four equals one unit width, and ps (1), ps (2), ps (3), and ps (4) indicate the print start position, and pe (1) , Pe (2), pe (3), and Pe (5) indicate print end positions.

  Next, the process (ST7) is executed, and for example, the unit i-th process is performed up to u of the number of units. During this time, it is first determined whether the color of the ink ribbon is yellow (Y) (ST8). If it is not yellow (Y) (NO in ST8), the color to be printed on the ink ribbon is moved to the next Y: yellow ( ST9). In this case, in the case of other colors, they are skipped and moved to the next yellow (Y) position to adjust the position of the ink ribbon.

  On the other hand, if it is yellow (Y), j is used as a color variable, and the processing after ST11 described later is performed for each color (ST8 is YES, ST10). The color is changed in the order in which the ink ribbons are arranged. For example, in the process (ST11), the print start position of the printer header is set. For example, the position is set to ps (i). In the process (ST12), the width of the unit unit is printed.

Next, it is determined whether j = B (ST13). It is determined whether the color is B: black. If the color is black, the unit (U) number is determined. For example, if the number of units is the last, the printing process is terminated (YES in ST14).
The above is the description of the detailed flowchart of the printing process. In the printing process of FIG. 10, an area for one unit is printed by the number of colors of the ink ribbon pattern in the loop of j, and this is repeated by the loop of i for the number of units (u) of the printing unit. Printing of 1u * 3 or 1u * 4 sheets is performed. Note that the number of repetitions of the unit is appropriately changed according to the shape of the image to be printed. That is, for an image having a long side, it is possible to print the unit by repeating 5 units or more.

  The unit of the subdivided width portion may be the sub-scanning length. Printing is performed with the unit width of the ink ribbon 28 set based on the sub-scanning length required for printing a small-size image. For an image larger than the width of the sub-scanning length, unit length recording is repeated a plurality of times to print the entire image. That is, a printing apparatus that subdivides a printing material such as the ink ribbon 28, repeats printing a plurality of times, and performs addition printing may be used. Various large sizes can be printed, and the waste portion of the ink ribbon 28 can be minimized.

1 is an external view of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inside of the printing apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a printing apparatus of the present invention. It is an example of unit division of the roll paper of the present invention. It is an example of the printing part of the roll paper of this invention. It is another example of a printing part of the roll paper of this invention. It is the example and modification of an image of the present invention. It is an example of the printing part of the roll paper of this invention. It is a flowchart when printing one sheet. 6 is a flowchart illustrating details of print processing. It is an example which shows the change of the direction of the image of this invention. It is an example which supplements description of reduction / enlargement of the size of an image of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing apparatus 11 Display apparatus 12 Operation button 13 Bill insertion slot 14 Coin insertion slot 16 Change slot 17 Merchandise outlet 18a Compact flash (registered trademark) insertion slot 18b Smart media insertion slot 18c Memory stick insertion slot 18d PC card insertion slot 18e Floppy (Registered Trademark) Disc Insertion Port 24 Print Cartridge 27, 27a Roll Paper 28 Ink Ribbon 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 Rotating Guide 45a, 45b Cutting Tool 50 Printing Unit 51 Control Unit 52 Input Unit 52a, 52b Input Device 54 Memory

Claims (6)

In a printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image,
Identifying means for identifying the portrait and landscape of the image;
Rotating means for rotating the image by 90 degrees when the image is longer than landscape from the identification result;
Print processing means for printing the rotated image;
A printing apparatus comprising: In a printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image,
Identifying means for identifying the portrait and landscape of the image;
Reduction means for reducing the image when the vertical length of the image is longer than the width of the sheet from the identification result;
Print processing means for printing the reduced image;
A printing apparatus comprising: In a printing apparatus that inserts a storage medium and prints an image,
Identifying means for identifying the portrait and landscape of the image;
An enlarging means for enlarging the image when the longitudinal length of the image is shorter than the width of the sheet from the identification result;
Print processing means for printing the enlarged image;
A printing apparatus comprising:   The paper is roll paper, a unit length is set for each ¼ length with respect to the width of the roll paper, the image is printed on the basis of three unit lengths, and the roll is printed every three unit lengths. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper is cut.   The paper is roll paper, and a unit length is set for each ¼ length of the width of the roll paper, and the image is printed on the basis of the four unit length, which is less than the four unit length. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blank portion is cut. In a printing apparatus that performs color printing by repeatedly overprinting printing for each basic color on roll paper with an ink ribbon in which a plurality of different basic colors are sequentially connected,
The ink ribbon has a width substantially equal to one side of the unit screen to be printed and the unit ink surface for each basic color having a length of about 1 / N of the other side of the unit screen is sequentially in a predetermined order. A printing apparatus characterized by being repeatedly connected to each other.

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