JP2010224703A - Information processing apparatus, tape printer, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus for easily editing a print image displayed on a screen by an intuitive operation. <P>SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus includes: a print image display means for displaying, on a screen, a print image 22 based on optional information; a region setting means for setting one or more regions 24 including at least a part of the print image 22 and associating one or more edit items for editing the print image 22 respectively in displaying the print image 22; a point specifying means for specifying an optional point on the screen; an edit item display means for displaying one or more edit items associated with the regions 24 when the specified point is included in the region 24; an edit item selecting means for selecting one of the one or more edit items; and an editing means for editing the print image 22 based on the selected edit item. The print image display means displays the print image 22 reflecting the edit result of the editing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a tape printing apparatus, and a program capable of displaying a preview of a print image based on created print data.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a print image display device capable of so-called preview display, in which a print image of created print data such as document data or image data is displayed on a display screen, is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the content of print data (print data) created by a user is previewed in the same format (normal preview function), and the print data is upside down (or left and right). A print image display device having a function of previewing a mirror image is also described.

JP-A-6-242766

  However, in the above-described apparatus, both the normal preview display function and the mirror image preview display function merely display the print result based on the print data. For this reason, when the print result is displayed as a preview, if a result different from the result actually assumed by the user is displayed, the print data is temporarily switched from the preview display mode to the document creation mode. There is a problem that it is necessary and time-consuming. In addition, since preview display and editing are performed on different screens, editing cannot be performed with an intuitive operation, which is inconvenient for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus, a tape printing apparatus, and a program that can easily edit a print image displayed on a screen by an intuitive operation. To do.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a print image display unit that displays a print image based on arbitrary information on a screen, and at least a part of the print image when displaying the print image. An area setting means for setting one or more areas each associated with the above edit items, a point designating means for designating an arbitrary point on the screen, and if the designated point is included in the area, associate it with the area Edit item display means for displaying one or more selected edit items, edit item selection means for selecting one of the one or more edit items, and editing of a print image based on the selected edit item The print image display means displays a print image reflecting the editing result of the edit means.

According to this configuration, on the screen that displays the print image (on the preview display screen), the user simply edits the print image by specifying the point that the user wants to edit, and the print image reflecting the edit result is displayed. Can be displayed. That is, it is not necessary to switch to the editing screen for editing as in the prior art, and editing can be performed easily and intuitively, which is convenient.
As editing items, margin settings, outer frame settings, font settings, cut settings, and the like can be considered.

  In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the edit item display means displays all the edit items associated with the plurality of areas when the designated point is included in the plurality of areas.

  According to this configuration, when there are a plurality of types of editing methods for the print image portion of the designated point, all the editing items can be displayed. Thereby, for example, the existence of an edit item that the user does not know (or does not assume) can be recognized, and the range of editing work by the user can be widened.

  In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the screen is preferably formed by a display with a touch panel.

  According to this configuration, since the print image can be edited by simply touching the screen, the editing can be performed with a more intuitive operation. In particular, even a person who is not familiar with using a keyboard, mouse, etc. can easily operate it, which is convenient.

  A tape printer according to the present invention is characterized by including each unit in the information processing apparatus described above and a printing unit that performs printing on a tape based on a print image.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a tape printing apparatus that can edit a print image only by designating a point to be edited on the screen that displays the print image (on the preview display screen). As a means for designating a point, for example, an area may be switched by operating a cursor key of the keyboard, or if the display has a touch panel, the screen is touched. Points may be specified.

  The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute each means in the information processing apparatus described above.

  By using this, it is possible to provide a program capable of editing a print image only by designating a point to be edited on the screen displaying the print image (on the preview display screen).

1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram of an information processor. It is a figure explaining a preview display screen. It is an external appearance perspective view in the open lid state of a tape printer. It is a block diagram of a tape printer. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flow of editing a print image on the preview display screen based on screen transition. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a series of print image editing procedures.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing system including an information processing apparatus and a tape printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 includes an information processing device 2 and a tape printing device 3, which are connected via a cable 4. As the information processing apparatus 2, a general personal computer having a keyboard 11, a mouse 12, a display 13, and the like can be used. That is, by installing the PC application 19b and the printer driver 19c (both see FIG. 2) stored in the CD-ROM 5 in a personal computer, the information processing apparatus 2 of this embodiment can be functioned.

  The tape printing apparatus 3 is connected to the information processing apparatus 2 by a connector 46 provided on the right side of the main body, and is based on print data acquired from the information processing apparatus 2 and has a long tape T (print medium, see FIG. 4). ) Is printed and cut to create a label.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the information processing apparatus 2 and the tape printing apparatus 3 are directly connected via the cable 4 is illustrated, but may be connected via a network (Internet or local area network). However, they may be connected via wireless communication.

  Next, the control configuration of the information processing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition to the keyboard 11, mouse 12 and display 13 shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 2 includes a CD drive 14, a connection interface 15, a CPU 16 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 17 (Read Only Memory), and a RAM 18 (Random Access Memory). HDD 19 (Hard Disk Drive) and a connection bus 20 for connecting these components.

  The CD drive 14 is for reading data stored in the CD-ROM 5, and is used for installing the PC application 19b and the printer driver 19c in this embodiment. The connection interface 15 is connected to the connector 46 of the tape printer 3 via the cable 4 to transmit / receive various data. In this embodiment, a USB interface is employed.

  The CPU 16 controls the information processing apparatus 2 as a whole by performing arithmetic processing of various data. The ROM 17 stores a control program and control data for the CPU 16 to perform various controls. The RAM 18 is used as a work area for the CPU 16 to execute various processes.

  In addition to the operating system (OS) 19a, the HDD 19 stores a PC application 19b and a printer driver 19c read from the CD-ROM 5. The printer driver 19c serves as a bridge between the operating system 19a and the tape printer 3.

  The PC application 19b is application software that is incorporated into the operating system 19a and used. The PC application 19b is used to input / edit a print image (print data) to be printed on the tape T and a print image 22 (FIG. 3) and a processing program for executing various processes such as a print instruction. In the information processing apparatus 2, after the PC application 19 b is activated, the user inputs and edits data while referring to an editing screen (not shown) displayed on the display 13, thereby generating print data. Although details will be described later, the print image 22 when the user actually prints can be confirmed while referring to the preview display screen 21 (see FIG. 3) displayed on the display 13, and the preview display is performed. The print image 22 can be edited on the screen 21.

  Here, the preview display screen 21 will be described with reference to FIG. The preview display screen 21 can be displayed by the operation of the menu bar 23 and the tool bar (not shown) of the PC application 19b, and is a screen for displaying and editing the print image 22.

  In the preview display screen 21, when the print image 22 is displayed, one or more areas 24 (here, the area 24a to the area 24g) including at least a part of the print image 22 are set. Each area 24 is automatically assigned in accordance with a predetermined part (character part, decoration part, margin part, etc.) of the print image 22 targeted by the information processing apparatus 2. Can also be set overlappingly (for example, the region 24a and the region 24b). Each area 24 may include an area 25 (shaded area in the drawing) outside the print image 22 as long as it includes at least a part of the print image 22.

  Each area 24 is associated with an edit item corresponding to the print image 22 included in the area 24. In this embodiment, “margin setting” for editing the margin of the print image 22 is associated with the region 24b and the region 24f as editing items. Further, “outer frame setting” for editing the outer frame (decoration) of the print image 22 is set in the region 24c and the region 24d, and “cut setting” for setting the cutting method of the tape T is set in the region 24a and the region 24g. ”Is associated with“ font setting ”for editing the size, typeface, and the like of characters (characters, alphanumeric characters, symbols, etc.) of the print image 22.

  When the user designates an arbitrary point on the preview display screen 21 (by clicking with a mouse or the like), the information processing apparatus 2 is associated with the area 24 including the point on the preview display screen 21. Displays the edited item. Then, the user edits the print image 22 by selecting a desired edit item from the edit items (details will be described later).

  In FIG. 3, each region 24 is indicated by a dotted line, a one-dot chain line, and a two-dot chain line, but is not displayed on the actual preview display screen 21 (the same applies to FIG. 6). The size (range) and shape of each region 24 and the edit items associated with each region 24 are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  Next, the apparatus configuration of the tape printer 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the tape printer 3 with the open / close lid 34 opened. As shown in FIG. 4, the tape printing apparatus 3 has an outer case formed by an apparatus case 32, and a keyboard 33 having various input keys is disposed on the front upper surface of the apparatus case 32, and the rear upper surface thereof An opening / closing lid 34 is attached to the left part, and a display screen 35 is disposed on the right part thereof.

  A cartridge mounting portion 36 for mounting the tape cartridge C is recessed in the opening / closing lid 34, and the tape cartridge C is detachably mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36 with the opening / closing lid 34 opened. The In addition, the open / close lid 34 is formed with a viewing window 37 for visually confirming whether the tape cartridge C is mounted or not mounted in the closed state.

  On the keyboard 33, a character key group 33a and a function key group 33b for designating various operation modes are arranged. The character key group 33a has a full key configuration based on the JIS layout, and is similar to a general word processor or the like including a shift key for suppressing an increase in the number of keys to be operated. The function key group 33b includes a [PRINT] key 41, a cursor key 42, a [SELECT] key 43, and the like. These key inputs may be individually provided for each key input as in a general keyboard, or may be input using a smaller number of keys in combination with a shift key or the like. .

  [Print] key 41 is a key for instructing execution of printing. The cursor key 42 is composed of up / down / left / right keys ([↑], [↓], [←], [→]), and is a key for moving the cursor and scrolling. [Selection] key 43 is a key for selecting and confirming selection candidates (options).

  The display screen 35 is formed by a liquid crystal display. The display screen 35 allows the user to input desired information (text, images, etc.) using the keyboard 33 to create and edit print data such as text data and image data, and to visually check (confirm) the results. Used when

  A tape discharge port 51 is formed on the left side of the device case 32 to communicate the cartridge mounting portion 36 with the outside, and a tape cutter 52 for cutting the tape T fed out faces the tape discharge port 51. Yes. Then, the printed tape T is sent out from the tape discharge port 51 by a predetermined length, and after the feeding is temporarily stopped, the printed tape T is cut by the tape cutter 52 to create a strip-shaped label. . Regarding the cutting process, the driving of the cutter motor 53 (see FIG. 5) can be set by selecting “Yes” or “No” for automatic cutting. Although not shown, a power supply port for supplying power is formed on the right side of the device case 32.

  On the other hand, the cartridge mounting portion 36 has a head unit 54 in which a thermal type print head 56 is built in a head cover 55, a platen drive shaft 57 facing the print head 56, and a take-up for winding an ink ribbon R described later. A drive shaft 58 and a positioning projection 59 of a tape reel 62 described later are provided. In addition, a tape feed motor 60 (see FIG. 5) for rotating the platen drive shaft 57 and the take-up drive shaft 58 is incorporated below the cartridge mounting portion 36.

  The tape cartridge C includes a tape reel 62 in which a tape T having a certain width (about 4 mm to 48 mm) is wound at an upper central portion inside the cartridge case 61, and a ribbon reel 63 in which an ink ribbon R is wound on the lower right. The tape T and the ink ribbon R have the same width. A through hole 64 for inserting the head unit 54 is formed in the lower left portion of the tape reel 62. Further, in a state where the head unit 54 is inserted into the through hole 64, the platen is located at a position facing the print head 56 built in the head unit 54 with a portion where the tape T and the ink ribbon R overlap with each other. A platen roller 65 that is fitted to the drive shaft 57 and rotationally driven is disposed. On the other hand, a ribbon take-up reel 66 is arranged in the vicinity of the ribbon reel 63, and the ink ribbon R fed out from the ribbon reel 63 is arranged so as to go around the head cover 55 and is taken up by the ribbon take-up reel 66. It is like that.

  When the tape cartridge C is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 36, the through hole 64 is formed in the head cover 55, the center hole of the tape reel 62 is formed in the positioning projection 59, and the center hole of the ribbon take-up reel 66 is formed in the take-up drive shaft 58. Then, the print head 56 comes into contact with the platen roller 65 with the tape T and the ink ribbon R interposed therebetween, and printing becomes possible. Thereafter, when the user inputs desired text (characters such as letters, numbers, symbols, and simple figures) and an image with the keyboard 33 while confirming the editing result of the display screen 35 and instructs printing, the tape printer 3 The tape T is fed from the tape cartridge C by the tape feed motor 60, and the heating elements of the print head 56 are selectively heated to perform desired printing on the tape T. The printed part of the tape T is sent to the outside from the tape discharge port 51 at any time. When the printing is completed, the tape feed motor 60 feeds the tape T to the position of the tape length including the margin and then feeds the tape T. (After that, the process proceeds to the cutting process).

  On the other hand, the tape T includes a recording tape Ta having a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed on the back surface and a release tape Tb attached to the recording tape Ta by the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. The tape T is wound in a roll shape with the recording tape Ta on the outside and the release tape Tb on the inside, and is accommodated in the cartridge case 61. In addition, a plurality of tapes T having different tape types (tape width, tape color, ground pattern, material (texture), etc.) are prepared, and each cartridge case 61 has one type of tape T. A tape T and an ink ribbon R are accommodated.

  A plurality of holes (not shown) for specifying the type of the tape cartridge C are provided on the back surface of the cartridge case 61. A plurality of tape identification sensors (such as microswitches) 67 (see FIG. 5) for detecting these are provided in the cartridge mounting portion 36 corresponding to the plurality of holes. By detecting the state of the hole, the tape type can be determined.

  Next, the control configuration of the tape printer 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The tape printer 3 is connected to the data input / output unit 71, the operation unit 72, the print processing unit 73 (printing unit), the cutting unit 74, the detection unit 75, the drive unit 76, and each of these units. It is comprised by the control part 77 which controls.

  The data input / output unit 71 has a data supply interface (DS-IF) 80 and receives print data from the information processing apparatus 2 via the connector 46. The operation unit 72 includes a keyboard 33 and a display screen 35 (liquid crystal display), and controls a user interface such as input of character information by a user and display of various information.

  The print processing unit 73 includes a tape cartridge C, a print head 56, and a tape feed motor 60, and prints character information and image data input or received on the tape T while feeding the tape T and the ink ribbon R. The cutting unit 74 includes a tape cutter 52 and a cutter motor 53 that drives them, and cuts the printed tape T.

  In addition to the tape identification sensor 67, the detection unit 75 includes a sensor such as a rotation speed sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation speed of the tape feed motor 60, and performs various types of detection. The drive unit 76 includes a display driver 81, a head driver 82, a tape feed motor driver 83, and a cutter motor driver 84, and drives each unit.

  The control unit 77 includes a CPU 91, a ROM 92, a RAM 93, and an input control device 94 (IOC: Input Output Controller), which are connected to each other via an internal bus 95. The ROM 92 stores a control program and control data for the CPU 91 to perform various controls. The RAM 93 is used as a work area for the CPU 91 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 91 inputs various signals and data from each part of the tape printer 3 via the IOC 94 according to the control program in the ROM 92. In addition, various data in the RAM 93 is processed based on the various signals and data that are input, and various signal data is output to each unit in the tape printer 3 via the IOC 94, thereby controlling printing processing and the like. For example, when print data is acquired from the information processing apparatus 2 via the data supply interface 80, the CPU 91 sends a command for driving the print head 56 and the tape feed motor 60 to the drive unit 76 to perform print processing. The tape T which has been printed is created by sending the command to drive the cutter motor 53 to the drive unit 76 and causing the cutting process to be executed.

  Next, the flow of editing the print image 22 on the preview display screen 21 will be described based on screen transitions with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, as an example, a procedure for editing margins at both ends of the print image 22 will be described. It is assumed that the margin length on the screen D01 is set to “normal (third from the top of the margin edit menu 102 on the screen D03)”. Here, the print image 22 before editing is referred to as “print image 22a”, and the print image 22 after edit is referred to as “print image 22b”.

  First, the screen D01 is a diagram in which the user designates (clicks with the mouse) the upper left point P (arrow portion in the figure) of the print image 22a displayed on the preview display screen 21. When the user designates a desired point P as in this screen D01, if the point P is included in the preset area 24 on the preview display screen 21, the edit item corresponding to the area 24 is displayed. Is displayed. That is, here, since the point P is included in the region 24a and the region 24b, the screen shifts to a screen D02 on which an editing menu 101 in which “margin setting” and “cut setting” can be selected as editing items is displayed.

  In this screen D02, when “margin setting” of the editing menu 101 is selected by the user, the screen shifts to the screen D03, and the margin editing menu 102 displaying the selection candidates indicating the editable contents in “margin setting” is displayed. . In this margin editing menu 102, a plurality of selection candidates for editing the margin length of the print image 22a such as “minimum”, “less”,..., “Same as tape width” are displayed. . The “tape width” described here indicates the vertical length of the print image 22 in the drawing.

  Subsequently, when “minimum” is selected by the user on the screen D03, a print image 22b in which the length of the margins at both ends of the print image 22a is changed from “normal” to “minimum” is displayed as in the screen D04. Is done. That is, the print image 22b in which the margins at both ends of the print image 22a are shortened by the length indicated by the reference number 103 is displayed as a preview.

  Next, a series of editing procedures for the print image 22 on the preview display screen 21 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the information processing apparatus 2 (CPU 16) displays the print image 22 on the preview display screen 21 by a predetermined operation by the user (S01, print image display means). At this time, the information processing apparatus 2 sets one or more areas 24 including at least a part of the print image 22 for the print image 22 displayed on the preview display screen 21 (S02, area setting means).

  Subsequently, when a desired point P on the preview display screen 21 is designated by the user's operation (S03, point designation means), the information processing apparatus 2 includes the designated point P in the set area 24. It is determined whether or not (S04). When the designated point P is not included in the region 24 (S05; No), the information processing apparatus 2 repeats the processes after S03.

  On the other hand, when the designated point P is included in the area 24 (S05; Yes), the information processing apparatus 2 displays the edit item associated with the area 24 on the preview display screen 21 in the menu format (edit menu 101). (S06, edit item display means). At this time, when the designated point P is included in the plurality of areas 24, all the edit items associated with the plurality of areas 24 are displayed. For example, in FIG. 3, when the user designates the vicinity of the character “machine”, the editing items associated with the region 24c, the region 24d, and the region 24e are displayed. However, since the same editing items are associated with the region 24c and the region 24d, “outer frame setting” and “font setting” are displayed as the editing items in this case.

  Subsequently, when a desired edit item is selected by the user's operation (S07, edit item selection means), the information processing apparatus 2 selects one or more selection candidates indicating contents editable with the selected edit item. It is displayed (S08). When a desired selection candidate is selected by the user's operation (S09), the information processing apparatus 2 executes editing based on the selection candidate (S10, editing unit), and prints that reflect the editing result The image 22 is displayed on the preview display screen 21 (S11).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, on the preview display screen 21 that displays the print image 22, the user simply edits the print image 22 and reflects the editing result only by designating the point P that the user wants to edit. The printed image 22 can be displayed. That is, it is not necessary to switch to the editing screen for editing as in the prior art, and editing can be performed easily and intuitively, which is convenient.

  Further, when there are a plurality of types of editing methods for the print image 22 of the specified point P (specified portion of the print image 22), all the edit items can be displayed. Thereby, for example, the existence of an edit item that the user does not know (or does not assume) can be recognized, and the range of editing work by the user can be widened.

  In the present embodiment, the display 13 of the information processing apparatus 2 is a liquid crystal display, but may be a display with a touch panel. Thereby, since the print image 22 can be edited only by touching the screen, the editing can be performed with a more intuitive operation. In particular, even a person who is not familiar with the keyboard 11 or the mouse 12 can easily operate it, which is convenient.

  Further, the function of editing the print image 22 on the preview display screen 21 in the information processing apparatus 2 described in the present embodiment may be realized by the tape printing apparatus 3. In this case, instead of means for designating an arbitrary point P on the preview display screen 21 in the information processing apparatus 2, the area 24 may be designated by switching the cursor key 42. Alternatively, the display screen 35 of the tape printer 3 may be a display screen with a touch panel, and the point P may be designated by touching the screen.

  Moreover, it is also possible to provide the function of the information processing apparatus 2 shown in the above-described embodiment as a program. It is also possible to provide the program stored in a storage medium (not shown). As the recording medium, a CD-ROM, a flash ROM, a memory card (compact flash (registered trademark), smart media, memory stick, etc.), a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a flexible disk, and the like can be used.

  In addition, the configuration and processing steps of the printing system 1 (the information processing apparatus 2 and the tape printing apparatus 3) can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention, regardless of the above-described embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing system 2 ... Information processing apparatus 3 ... Tape printing apparatus 12 ... Mouse 13 ... Display 21 ... Preview display screen 22 ... Print image 24 ... Area 73 ... Print processing part 101 ... Edit menu 102 ... Margin edit menu P ... Point T …tape

Claims (5)

Print image display means for displaying a print image based on arbitrary information on the screen;
An area setting unit that sets at least one area that includes at least a part of the print image and associates one or more edit items for editing the print image when displaying the print image;
Point designating means for designating an arbitrary point on the screen;
An edit item display means for displaying the one or more edit items associated with the area when the designated point is included in the area;
Editing item selection means for selecting one of the one or more editing items;
Editing means for editing the print image based on the selected editing item,
The print image display means includes
An information processing apparatus for displaying the print image reflecting the editing result of the editing means. The edit item display means includes
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the specified point is included in a plurality of the areas, all the edit items associated with the plurality of areas are displayed.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen is formed by a display with a touch panel.   4. A tape printing apparatus comprising: each unit in the information processing apparatus according to claim 1; and a printing unit that performs printing on a tape based on the print image.   The program for making a computer perform each means in the information processing apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3.

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