JP2013049283A - Tape printer and label making method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape printer and a label making method capable of always making an easy-to-see label by printing a character row in a well-balanced state by setting the reduction ratio of a character based on the black character ratio of the character.SOLUTION: The tape printer has the label making function of making the label to be stuck on a sticking object by cutting a printed part of a printing tape by performing printing such as the character on the printing tape formed by laminating a printing layer and a separation layer. The tape printer includes an input means, a block designating means for setting a dimension of a printing area, an approaching means for shortening the length of the character row by approaching mutual adjacent characters when the length of the character row of the initial setting size inputted by the input means becomes longer than the length of the printing area, a black character ratio calculating means for calculating the black character ratio of an input character when the length of the character row determined by the approaching means is longer than the length of the printing area, and a reduction ratio setting means for setting the reduction ratio higher than the character of being high in the black character ratio as it becomes the character of being low in the black character ratio of the character.

Description

The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus and a label producing method for producing a label by printing characters and patterns on a tape.

  Conventionally, in order to print characters (including symbols and pictograms), patterns, designs, etc. in a well-defined printing area in a well-balanced manner, the user can select the character size (vertical width and horizontal width). Or, the interval between adjacent characters was manually set as appropriate before printing. However, in order to print characters and the like in a print area with a predetermined length in a well-balanced manner, setting the character size and character spacing is troublesome and very troublesome.

  Therefore, without the user manually setting the character size and character spacing, the tape printer automatically sets the input character size and character spacing, for example, on the back label of a video cassette or compact cassette. As described above, a tape printer capable of printing a character string in a printing area having a predetermined length has been proposed.

JP-A-5-57985

  The proposal of the above-mentioned patent document 1 can compare the number of input characters and the size of the print area, determine the character size and the character spacing, and print the character string in the print area. Characters with a large surplus (for example, characters with a large number of strokes) will be printed at the same reduction rate as characters with a small surplus, so characters with a large surplus are more difficult to read than characters with a small surplus In other words, the balance may be deteriorated when viewed as a whole character string.

  The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the prior art, and by setting the reduction rate based on the character surplus rate, the character string is printed in a well-balanced manner and a label that is always easy to see is created. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape printer capable of performing the above.

  The tape printer of the present invention prints characters and the like on a printing tape formed by laminating a printing layer and a release layer, cuts the printed portion of the printing tape, and creates a label to be attached to an object to be pasted In the tape printing apparatus having a label creating function, the length of the character string of the initial setting size input by the input means, the block specifying means for setting the dimensions of the print area, and the length of the print area The length of the character string determined by the proximity means is longer than the length of the print area. A character surplus ratio calculating means for calculating the surplus ratio of the input character, and a character reduction ratio setting means for setting a character reduction ratio of the character lower than that of a character having a higher character surplus ratio. Become

  Further, the label producing method of the present invention is a label that prints characters or the like on a printing tape formed by laminating a printing layer and a release layer, cuts the printed portion of the printing tape, and affixes it to an object to be pasted Is a label creation method for inputting a character string of an initial setting size and setting a size of a print area, and the length of the input character string of the initial setting size is the length of the set print area. If the length of the character string is longer than the length of the print area, it is determined to reduce the length of the character string by bringing adjacent characters close to each other. Calculate the surplus rate of each character of the input character string, and create a label by setting the reduction rate higher for characters with a lower surplus rate for each character calculated than for characters with a higher surplus rate It is characterized by that.

  In the tape printer and the label producing method, the reduction rate setting means is configured to reduce the characters in order from a character with a low black character rate.

  The tape printer of the present invention includes a dictionary database, a idiom conversion means for converting a character string input by the input means into a combination of idioms, and a idiom for each idiom converted by the idiom conversion means. A reduction rate resetting unit that extracts a maximum value and a minimum value of a character reduction rate, and resets the reduction rate of each character set by the reduction rate setting unit according to a difference value between the maximum value and the minimum value. Is provided.

  Furthermore, the tape printing apparatus of the present invention further includes a reduction rate resetting unit that resets the reduction rate of the character when the characters reset by the reduction rate resetting unit are adjacent to each other.

  The tape printer of the present invention further comprises an initial reduction ratio setting means for reducing characters other than the idioms converted by the idiom conversion means at a predetermined reduction ratio, and the surplus rate calculation means is the idiom conversion means. And the reduction rate setting means sets a reduction rate corresponding to the surplus rate of the idiom for each idiom and corresponds to the reduction rate set by the initial reduction rate setting means. A non-idiom word reduction rate resetting unit for resetting a minimum reduction rate to a character other than the idiom when a reduction rate of each idiom is small; The length of the character string reduced by the setting means is compared with the length of the character string reduced by the initial reduction rate setting means and the reduction rate setting means, and the difference is corrected by the phrase reduction rate. Update idiom reduction rate correction means Even if with some.

  The tape printer according to the present invention includes an allocating unit that compares the length of the print area with the length of a character string to be printed and equally assigns the difference to the interval between adjacent characters.

  According to the present invention, the character surplus rate is calculated by the surplus rate calculating means, and the character string is printed in a well-balanced manner by setting the reduction ratio corresponding to the surplus ratio calculated by the reduction rate calculating means to the character. Thus, it is possible to provide a tape printer and a label producing method capable of producing a label that is always easy to see.

1 is a perspective view of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The internal enlarged view of the tape printer concerning the Example of this invention, and the perspective view of a tape cartridge. 1 is a functional block diagram of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the main flow of a process of the control part of the tape printer which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement flow of the printing process of the tape printer which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure explaining the flow which changes the length of a character string by the main control part which concerns on the Example of this invention. The table | surface which shows the reduction rate corresponding to the surplus rate in the reduction process by the main control part which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure explaining the flow which changes the length of a character string by the main control part which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement flow of the printing process of the tape printer which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure explaining the flow which changes the length of a character string by the main control part which concerns on the Example of this invention.

  The tape printer 1 in the form for carrying out the present invention performs printing of characters and the like on a printing tape 31 formed by laminating a printing layer and a release layer, and cuts a printed portion of the printing tape 31. In the tape printing apparatus 1 having a label creating function for creating a label to be pasted on an object to be pasted, main control including the input unit 3 and the input / output interface 44 serving as input means, and the CPU 41, ROM 42, and RAM 43 of the control unit The main control unit includes a block designating unit for setting the size of the print area, and the length of the character string of the initial setting size input by the input unit is longer than the length of the print area. A proximity means for shortening the length of the character string by bringing adjacent characters close to each other, and when the length of the character string determined by the proximity means is longer than the length of the print area, the black character of the input character And a function as a reduction ratio setting means for setting a reduction ratio higher than a character with a higher black ratio, the character having a lower black ratio of the character, This is a configuration in which the operation is executed.

  The tape printer 1 includes a dictionary database, and the main controller has a function as a phrase conversion unit that converts a character string input by the input unit into a combination of phrases, and further includes a function of the phrase conversion unit. For each converted idiom, the maximum value and minimum value of the character reduction rate in the idiom are extracted, and the reduction of each character set by the reduction rate setting means according to the difference value between the maximum value and the minimum value It also has a function as a reduction rate resetting means for resetting the rate.

  Further, the main control unit of the tape printer 1 further resets the reduction rate of the character when the characters reset by the main control unit serving as the reduction rate resetting unit are adjacent to each other. A function as a reduction rate resetting means is provided.

  Further, the main control unit of the tape printer 1 functions as an allocating unit that compares the length of the print area with the length of the character string to be printed and equally assigns the difference to the interval between adjacent characters. Is also responsible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a tape cartridge used in the tape printer and a part of an internal structure of the tape printer. It is. The tape printing apparatus 1 prints characters, patterns, and the like on a printing tape 31 formed by laminating a printing layer having a printing surface on the front surface and an adhesive surface on the back surface and a release layer. It has a label creation function for creating a label to be pasted on an object to be pasted by cutting the printed part.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1 includes a hollow casing 2 formed of a rectangular upper surface, an inclined surface inclined forward from the upper surface, both side surfaces, a lower surface, and a back surface. The input portion 3 is formed on the inclined surface of the housing 2, the display portion 4 and the opening / closing lid 5 are formed on the upper surface, and the tape feeding portion 7 from which the printing tape 31 is fed is formed on a predetermined side surface. Has been. Although not shown, the housing 2 is also formed with an input terminal for connection to an external device such as a personal computer, a power supply terminal to which a power cord is connected, a memory card insertion slot, and the like.

  Further, the input unit 3 performs a character input key for inputting character data, a print key for instructing start of printing, a cursor key for moving a cursor on the display screen of the display unit 4, setting of a print mode and various setting processes. Consists of various control keys, the display unit 4 is a liquid crystal display device that displays input data, selection menu screens for various settings, messages related to processing, etc., and a label to be created Various types of information such as the length of the image and the state of the print mode are displayed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a cartridge loading portion 8 for loading a tape cartridge 21 containing a printing tape 31 and an ink ribbon 35 is formed inside the opening / closing lid 5. Also, in the cartridge loading section 8, printing elements are arranged in the vertical direction, and between the thermal head 11 and the thermal head 11 as printing means for printing on the printing tape 31 which is a long print medium. A platen roller 12 and a stepping motor that drives the platen roller 12 as conveying means for conveying the printing tape 31 and the ink ribbon 35 between them, and a ribbon winding for winding the ink ribbon 35 used for printing into the tape cartridge 21 A tape printing mechanism 45 having a shaft 13 is formed, and a cartridge receiving portion 15 for supporting the tape cartridge 21 at a predetermined position is further provided.

  In addition, the above-described tape feeding unit 7 communicating with the outside of the housing 2 is formed at one end of the cartridge loading unit 8, and the tape feeding unit 7 includes a full-cut device 17 for full-cutting the printing tape 31 and printing. A half-cut device 18 for cutting only the print layer or the release layer of the tape 31 is incorporated.

  Further, the tape cartridge 21 includes a cartridge case 22. Inside the cartridge case 22, a tape core 23 around which a printing tape 31 is wound, a ribbon supply core 24 around which an unused ink ribbon 35 is wound, used. Ribbon take-up cores 25 for taking up the used ink ribbon 35 are accommodated. Further, the cartridge case 22 of the tape cartridge 21 is formed with a head placement portion 27 where the thermal head 11 is located when the tape cartridge 21 is loaded in the cartridge loading portion 8.

  Further, an engaged portion 29 that is engaged with and supported by the cartridge receiving portion 15 of the cartridge loading portion 8 is formed at the corner of the cartridge case 22. In addition, the engagement portion 29 of the cartridge case 22 has a predetermined unevenness corresponding to the type of the tape cartridge 21 (not shown), and the cartridge receiving portion 15 of the cartridge loading portion 8 is loaded with the tape cartridge 21. In this case, a predetermined movable protrusion 16 is formed for determining the unevenness formed on the engaged portion 29 of the cartridge case 22, and when the cartridge case 22 is loaded into the cartridge loading portion 8, the engaged portion 29 of the cartridge case 22 is The concave and convex portions formed on the cartridge loading portion 8 and the movable protrusion 16 formed on the cartridge receiving portion 15 of the cartridge loading portion 8 are engaged with each other so that the type of the tape cartridge 21 can be determined. There are various types of printing tapes 31 such as those with a wide width and back-splitting types with slits in the length direction of the release layer. Various types of printing tapes can be obtained by replacing the tape cartridge 21. 31 can be used.

  The tape printer 1 then pulls out the print tape 31 and the ink ribbon 35 from the tape cartridge 21 when printing is instructed for the print information input from the input unit 3 or the print information output from the external device. In the overlapped state, the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11 are sandwiched and conveyed together, and the thermal head 11 is driven to generate heat based on the printing information, and the ink on the ink ribbon 35 is thermally transferred to the printing tape 31. Then, printing is performed on the printing tape 31, and when the printing is completed, the full-cut device 17 is operated to cut the printing tape 31 and produce one label.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the tape printer 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the tape printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 40 serving as a control unit, a thermal head 11 serving as a printing unit, a platen roller 12 serving as a transport unit, a stepping motor 46, and the like. A tape printing mechanism 45, a full cut device 17, and a half cut device 18 are provided.

  The control unit 40 is connected to the CPU 41, the input unit 3 and the display unit 4 connected to the CPU 41, the ROM 42 storing various system programs and fonts, the RAM 43 serving as a work memory, and an external device. An input / output interface 44 is provided. Then, the CPU 41 controls the system program stored in advance in the ROM 42 according to the key operation signal from the input unit 3, the control program stored in the memory card, and the control read from the external device connected to the input / output interface 44. A program or the like is started and the operation of each part of the circuit is controlled by using the RAM 43 as a work memory, and all of the tape printer 1 in this embodiment is controlled.

  The ROM 42 stores a program for printing characters input from the input unit 3, kana, kanji, symbols, patterns, print fonts, a dictionary database, and the like.

  Further, the RAM 43 has an input data memory for storing print information such as a key input character, a selected pattern, a size and a character interval, and print data in which print pattern data in which the input print information is expanded is stored. Each area of the display data memory for storing pattern data to be displayed on the memory and the display unit 4 is secured, and a register, a counter, and the like for temporarily storing data necessary for print processing and the like are provided.

  The tape printing mechanism 45 includes a thermal head 11 that is a printing unit, a platen roller 12 that is a conveyance unit of the printing tape 31, and a stepping motor 46 that drives the platen roller 12. Then, the tape printing mechanism 45 is controlled by the CPU 41 by the stepping motor 46 to drive the platen roller 12, and transports the printing tape 31 located between the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11, and is output from the CPU 41. Based on the print information, the thermal head 11 thermally transfers characters, patterns, etc. to the printing tape 31 to print characters, patterns, etc., as needed, on the printing tape 31.

  The full-cut device 17 further includes a fixed blade 17a, a movable blade 17b, a stepping motor 48 that drives the movable blade 17b, and a position sensor 49 that detects the position of the printing tape 31 in the length direction. Then, the full cut device 17 detects the position where the printing tape 31 is cut by the position sensor 49, outputs a position signal to the CPU 41 when the printing tape 31 hits the cutting position, and receives the position signal from the position sensor 49. Outputs a drive signal to the stepping motor 48 to drive the movable blade 17b, and fully cuts the printing tape 31 between the fixed blade 17a and the movable blade 17b in the manner of scissors.

  The half-cut device 18 includes a fixed blade 18a, a movable blade 18b, and a DC motor 50 that drives the movable blade 18b. The half-cut device 18 cuts only the print layer or the release layer of the printing tape 31 by driving the movable blade 18b under the control of the CPU 41 by the DC motor 50 and pressing the movable blade 18b against the fixed blade 18a.

  Next, an outline of the processing of the control unit of the tape printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main flow of processing of the control unit of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows an operation flow of printing processing of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 8 are diagrams for explaining the flow of changing the length of the character string, and FIG. 7 is a table showing the reduction ratio corresponding to the surplus ratio.

  Regarding the processing of the control unit 40 of the tape printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the user first turns on the power by turning on the power switch of the tape printing apparatus 1 in step S10. The process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, initialization is performed in which the control unit 40 erases predetermined information stored in the RAM 43 and sets print information as an initial state. For example, as described above, the control unit 40 can determine the type of the tape cartridge 21 by engaging the movable protrusion 16 of the cartridge receiving unit 15 with the unevenness formed on the engaged portion 29 of the cartridge case 22. Therefore, the block width, which is the width of the print area, is automatically determined as one of the initial print information. In addition, the control unit 40 determines the block width, and determines the adjacent character size and the interval between characters as an initial setting size suitable for the block width.

  Then, when the process proceeds to the next step S30, the user directly operates the input keys and various control keys of the input unit 3 as input means to print information such as characters, fonts, and lengths of blocks that are print areas. Is input to the CPU 41 of the control unit 40, or the print information is input to the CPU 41 of the control unit 40 by operating an external device such as a computer and the input / output interface 44 serving as an input means. The input process which CPU41 of the control part 40 memorize | stores in RAM43 is performed.

  Here, when the block length is not set by the user, the control unit 40 automatically sets the block length so that the input character string has a predetermined printable length. Will be created. When the block length is set, a reduction process is executed by a reduction rate calculation means (to be described later) to create a label on which the reduced character string is printed in the designated block. .

  The block width may be manually input by the user in step S30 without being automatically determined by the control unit 40 in step S20. Also, the initial set size determined in step S20 can be freely changed by the user in this step, and when changed, the changed size is stored in the RAM 43 as the initial set size. .

  Therefore, the main control unit comprising the CPU 41, ROM 42, and RAM 43 as a block designating means for setting the size of the block that is the printing area stores the input block length in the RAM 43 and changes the shape of the tape cartridge 21 to be loaded. The block width is automatically determined based on this and stored in the RAM 43, or is input via the input unit 3 or the input / output interface 44 as input means in the same manner as the block length setting method for setting the block length. A process of storing the block width in the RAM 43 is executed.

  In addition, the main control unit as the block specifying means is a pattern data of the length of the block which is a printing area with a size suitable for each of various pasting objects such as a commercially available video cassette and a back label of a compact cassette. As a result, the size of the print area designated by the RAM 43 can be stored by selecting the object to be pasted by the user. The size of the print area can be set.

  Then, in step S40, the main control unit as the idiom conversion means converts the character string composed of hiragana and the like input in step S30 into a combination of kanji and idioms in step S40. Then, the converted character is stored in the RAM 43, and the process proceeds to step S50 in which a display process for displaying on the display unit 4 is performed.

  The input, conversion, and display processes are repeatedly performed as a series of operations. For example, the main control unit previously stores alphabet combination data input to the CPU 41 via the input unit in the ROM 42. Refer to the dictionary database and convert it to the corresponding kana character, and display the converted data. Then, when the user performs an operation of converting the displayed kana characters, the main control unit extracts and displays the corresponding kanji and idiom candidates from the dictionary database, and sequentially applies them based on the user's selection operation. The idiom is displayed and the idiom to be displayed is determined by the user's decision operation. Then, when a new character input operation is performed by the user, the main control unit displays a new character after the already displayed character.

  Then, by repeating the input, conversion, and display processing, a print operation command sent by operating the print key of the input unit 3 while the character string desired to be printed is displayed on the display unit 4 is input to the CPU 42 As a result, the process proceeds to a print process in step S60 described later, and the print process is executed.

  In addition, after the printing process in step S60 is completed, as another process, a plurality of labels are further printed based on the print information printed in step S60, or additional characters are added or the size is arbitrarily changed. If the process proceeds to step S70 where processing can be performed and it is desired to input characters again from the beginning, the print information is initialized (step S20) by the user performing an initialization command operation in this step, and the main control unit Can perform the input process (step S30) again.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the printing process in step S60 starts the printing process based on the user's printing operation command in step S600, and first determines whether or not the block length is fixed in step S601. If the control unit determines that the block length is not fixed, the process proceeds to step S690 where processing is performed to print the input character string with the default size. If the user has designated the block length in the input process of step S30, the main control unit determines that the block length is set to be fixed, and proceeds to step S602.

  In step S602, the main control unit determines whether or not the entire length of the character string of the default size input by the user using the input unit is shorter than the specified block length and can be printed in the block as it is.

  If it is determined that printing can be performed in the block with the initial setting size, the process proceeds to step S690 in which the printing process is performed through the allocation process (step S680) for adjusting the character spacing so that the character strings are evenly arranged. .

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6A, when it is determined that the total length of the character string of the initial setting size is longer than the block length, it is impossible to print the character string in the block. The process proceeds to step S603 shown in FIG.

  In step S680, the main control unit executes a process of comparing the length of the character string to be printed with the length of the block that is the printing area and equally assigning the difference to the interval between adjacent characters. As a result, since the characters are evenly allocated and printed on the printing tape, it is possible to create a visually attractive label. The tape printer 1 can also perform printing by arranging character strings at the left and right ends or the center without performing the assignment process.

  In step S603, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), adjacent characters to which the main control unit as the proximity unit is input are arranged so that adjacent characters are brought close to each other when printing and the length of the character string is shortened. Proximity processing is performed in which the space between characters is narrowed and information on new character spacing is stored in the RAM 43.

  Next, in step S604 shown in FIG. 5, the main control unit determines whether or not the character string subjected to the proximity process by the main control unit serving as the proximity unit can be printed in the designated block. When the main control unit determines that the total length of the proximity-processed character string is shorter than the block length and can be printed in the block that is the print area, the proximity-processed character string is blocked. Proceed to step S680 to print the images evenly arranged therein.

  If it is determined in step S604 that the proximity-processed character string is longer than the block length and cannot be printed in the block, the process proceeds to the next step, and the black character according to the present invention. The operation proceeds to the operation by the rate calculation means and the reduction rate setting means.

  In step S610, the main control unit as the surplus rate calculating means calculates the ratio of the surplus portion within the predetermined range of the character input by the input means (the rectangular range surrounding the character shown in FIG. 6) as the surplus rate. As the surplus rate calculation means, the surplus rate for each character in each font is stored in the ROM 42 in advance, and the surplus rate corresponding to the character input by the input means is called from the ROM 42 to the RAM 43 as print information. Various modes may be employed, for example, the calculation may be performed based on the ratio of the number of dots displayed in the predetermined range of the display unit 4.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the print character string is “first tape printer” and a print font as shown is adopted, the black character ratio of each character in a predetermined rectangular range is 64th. %, "I" is 15%, "Te" is 31%, "-" is 12%, "Pu" is 28%, "Indicator" is 55%, "Print" is 68%, "Appearance" is 63% , “Position” is calculated as 68% by the main control unit which is a surplus rate calculation means.

  In step S611, the main control unit as the reduction ratio setting means reduces each character according to a reduction ratio (minimum value) corresponding to a predetermined surplus ratio as shown in FIG. Update the print information. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6C, the reduction ratio of each character for shortening the character string is 90% for “first” and 40% for “one” when the equal magnification is 100%. “Te” is 55%, “-” is 40%, “Po” is 50%, “Mark” is 80%, “Print” is 90%, “Appearance” is 90%, and “Place” is 90%. . In this embodiment, only the width of the character is reduced.

  Then, the main control unit as the reduction rate setting means reduces the characters in ascending order of the black character rate, and in step S612, the length of the character string is shorter than the length of the block length and can be printed in the block. If the main control unit determines that it is possible, the process proceeds to step S620, but the length of the character string reduced by the reduction ratio setting unit is longer than the block length and cannot be printed in the block. If the main control unit determines, the process returns to step S611, the reduction ratio is set again from a character with a low black ratio, and the operation of determining whether a character string can be printed in the block is repeated.

  That is, in this reduction process, “-” is first reduced at a reduction rate of 40%, and the process proceeds to step S612. If printing is not possible due to the determination in this step, then “1” having the lower black character rate is reduced to 40%. The process proceeds to step S612, and the operation of determining whether printing is possible is repeated.

  Note that this reduction process is not limited to reducing characters one by one in ascending order of the black character rate, and all characters may be reduced little by little using the black character rate or the minimum reduction rate of each character as a weight. Specifically, all characters are reduced step by step. For example, if all characters are reduced so as to reach the minimum reduction ratio in 10 steps, the first step is “first”, “print”, “device”. ”“ Place ”is 99%,“ I ”and“-”are 94%,“ Te ”is 95.5%,“ P ”is 95%, and“ Mark ”is 98%. The process proceeds to step S612.

  In this way, in steps S611 and S612, by executing the reduction process from the lowest surplus ratio or gradually reducing all the characters, it is possible to print as large a character as possible in the block. Become. In this way, without performing the reduction process, the reduction process based on the minimum reduction rate shown in FIG. 7 is first executed to minimize the length of the character string as shown in FIG. It is also possible to proceed to step S620.

  In the present embodiment, a margin area is secured in advance so that a predetermined margin is formed at both ends of the block length at the time of printing, and a print label including the block length and margins at both ends is created. Will be.

  The minimum reduction ratio shown in FIG. 7 is not limited to the one shown in the figure, but the font type (Gothic, Mincho, etc.) and character type (kana, kanji, alphabet, numbers, symbols, etc.) ) May be changed every time.

  Even when all the characters are reduced based on the minimum reduction ratio shown in FIG. 7 and the length of the character string becomes the minimum, if the character string cannot be printed in the block in step S612, the main control unit Is determined, the main control unit notifies that printing is impossible. Further, the print information may be updated so that printing is possible in the print area by notifying that the printing is impossible or notifying, and performing processing such as further reducing the entire character string. .

  In this way, the character surplus rate is calculated by the character surplus rate calculating means, and the character string is printed in a well-balanced manner by setting the character reduction ratio corresponding to the character surplus ratio calculated by the reduction rate calculating means. It is possible to provide a tape printer 1 that can create a label that is easy to see.

  Further, in step S620, each idiom referenced by the main control unit as the phrase conversion unit from the dictionary database is extracted by the main control unit as the reduction rate resetting unit as shown in FIG. 6 (d). In the next step S621, as shown in FIG. 8A, the maximum value and the minimum value of the character reduction ratio in the idiom are extracted for each idiom. That is, in the reduction process of step S611, when all characters are reduced at the minimum reduction rate shown in FIG. 7, the maximum value of the “first” reduction rate is 90% of the “first”, and the minimum value Is extracted as 40% of “one”.

  In step S622, the main control unit as the reduction ratio resetting unit determines whether the difference value between the maximum value and the minimum value of the reduction ratio reaches a predetermined value (for example, 50%), and is less than the predetermined value. If it is, the process proceeds to steps S680 and S690 for allocating and printing the character string. In step S622, if the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the reduction ratio is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S623, where the main control unit as the reduction ratio resetting means sets the maximum / minimum reduction ratio. Set the set character reduction ratio again.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, the main control unit as the reduction rate resetting means enlarges the character with the minimum reduction rate by a predetermined rate (for example, 10%) and maximizes it. The reduction ratios of both characters are reset so that characters with a reduction ratio are reduced by a predetermined ratio (10%). Further, it is desirable that the ratio of enlargement and the ratio of reduction be equal so that the entire length of the character string does not change.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, when the character string is composed of three or more characters and there are a plurality of characters having the maximum value or the minimum value of the reduction rate, the reduction rate of the plurality of characters is determined. Correction is performed so that the increase / decrease values are equal. For example, two characters set to a reduction rate of 50% (minimum value) are reset so that each of the two characters has a reduction rate of 60%, and one character set to a reduction rate of 100% (maximum value) is changed. Reset the reduction rate to 80%. As described above, since the increase / decrease in the correction value is offset, the total length of the character string does not change as described above, which is preferable.

  In this way, the maximum value and the minimum value of the character reduction rate in the idiom are extracted for each idiom, and the reduction rate is reset so that the difference is reduced according to the difference value between the maximum value and the minimum value. By doing so, it is possible to correct the imbalance in the idiom and print a well-balanced idiom on the printing tape to create a label that is easier to see.

  Next, in step S630, the main control unit as the reduction rate resetting unit determines whether the characters in the idiom for which the reduction rate has been reset by the reduction rate resetting unit are adjacent continuous character strings. . If the character string is not a continuous character string, the process proceeds to steps S680 and S690 in which the character string is assigned and printed as it is, and as shown in FIG. If so, the character is further reset in step S631, and the character string is assigned (step S680) and printed (step S690). Here, in this embodiment, the character is further reduced or enlarged by 10% so that the difference in reduction rate between consecutive characters is reduced.

  Thus, when the characters reset by the reduction rate resetting means are adjacent to each other, the reduction rate is reset by the reduction rate resetting means, thereby further improving the balance of the idiom and making it easier to see. Labels can be created.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be freely changed and improved without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, various methods can be adopted as a method for setting the reduction ratio based on the surplus ratio, and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10A and 10B, the printing process ( When the proximity processing in step S60) is performed (step S603) and it is determined that printing is impossible with the size after the proximity processing (step S604), the main control unit as the initial reduction ratio setting means extracts the idiom. (Step S640), characters other than idioms are reduced at a predetermined reduction rate (eg, 70%) (Step S641), and the length of the character string when reduced in Step S642 is shorter than the block length. If the character string length is longer than the block length, the process proceeds to step S650, and the main control unit as the surplus rate calculation means the surplus in blackword units. Calculate the rate.

  In step S651, the main control unit as the reduction rate setting means assigns a reduction rate corresponding to the surplus rate shown in FIG. 7 for each idiom, and the process proceeds to step S652, where the character string length and block length are set. Are compared to determine whether printing is possible. These Steps S651 and S652 may be reduced from the low surplus rate in the same manner as Steps S611 and S612 described above, or may be gradually reduced as a whole, and the minimum reduction rate shown in FIG. All idioms may be reduced.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the print character string is regarded as “means for calculating the surplus rate”, and in step S652, each idiom is reduced at the reduction rate shown in FIG. In the case of shortening, as shown in FIG. 10C, the main control unit reduces the characters other than “idioms” “to” and “do” at a reduction rate of 70%, and the characters of the idioms “surplus rate”. "(Surplus ratio 26%)" calculation "(surplus ratio 30%)" means "(surplus ratio 27%) characters are reduced by 50%, 55%, 50% reduction ratio in idiom units, respectively, and printed information Update.

  Next, in step S660, the main control unit as the non-idiom word reduction rate resetting unit determines whether or not the idiom reduction rate minimum value is less than the reduction rate (70%) of characters other than idioms by the initial reduction rate setting unit. To do. If the minimum phrase reduction rate is 70% or more, the process proceeds to step S680, and if it is less than 70%, the process proceeds to step S661.

  In step S661, the main control unit as the non-idiom word reduction rate resetting unit performs processing for resetting the reduction rate of characters other than idioms to be the same as the idiom reduction rate minimum value. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), the characters other than idioms “O” and “do” have the same reduction rate as the reduction rate 50% of “surplus rate” and “means” which are the minimum reduction rate of idioms. Reset to rate.

  In the next step S670, the main control unit as the idiom reduction rate correcting means is reduced by the length of the character string reduced by the non-idiom word reduction rate resetting means and the initial reduction rate setting means and the reduction rate setting means. And the difference is corrected by increasing the reduction rate of each idiom. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10E, characters other than idioms become smaller than the reduction ratio of idioms, and a label that is always easy to see can be created.

  As shown in FIG. 10E, the character length is not corrected so that the block length and the character string length are equal, but are corrected so that the character string is slightly shortened, and the character spacing is determined by the assignment process in step S680. It is good also as forming.

1 ... tape printer 2 ... housing 3 ... input unit 4 ... display unit 5 ... opening / closing lid 7 ... tape feeding unit 8 ... cartridge loading unit 11 ... thermal head 12 ... platen roller 13 ... ribbon take-up shaft 15 ... cartridge receiving unit 16 ... Moveable protrusion 17 ... Full cut device 17a ... Fixed blade 17b ... Movable blade 18 ... Half cut device 18a ... Fixed blade 18b ... Movable blade 21 ... Tape cartridge 22 ... Cartridge case 23 ... Tape core 24 ... Ribbon supply core 25 ... Ribbon winding Core 27 ... Head placement part 29 ... Engaged part 31 ... Print tape 35 ... Ink ribbon 40 ... Control part 41 ... CPU 42 ... ROM 43 ... RAM 44 ... Input / output interface 45 ... Tape printing mechanism 46 ... Stepping motor 48 ... Stepping motor 49 ... Position sensor 50 ... Motor

Claims (8)

Tape printing with a label creation function that prints characters, etc. on a printing tape consisting of a printed layer and a release layer, cuts the printed portion of the printed tape, and creates a label to be attached to the object to be pasted In the device
Input means;
A block specifying means for setting the dimensions of the print area;
Proximity means for shortening the length of the character string by bringing adjacent characters close to each other when the length of the character string of the initial setting size input by the input means is longer than the length of the print area; ,
A surplus rate calculating means for calculating a surplus rate of the input character when the length of the character string determined by the proximity means is longer than the length of the print area;
A tape printing apparatus, comprising: a reduction rate setting unit that sets a reduction rate higher for a character with a lower black character rate than a character with a higher black character rate.   2. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduction rate setting unit reduces the characters in order from a character with a low black character rate. A dictionary database,
Idiom conversion means for converting a character string input by the input means into a combination of idioms;
For each idiom converted by the idiom conversion means, a maximum value and a minimum value of the character reduction rate in the idiom are extracted, and set by the reduction ratio setting means according to a difference value between the maximum value and the minimum value. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reduction ratio resetting unit that resets the reduction ratio of each character.   4. The tape printing according to claim 3, further comprising a reduction rate resetting unit that further resets the reduction rate of the character when the characters reset by the reduction rate resetting unit are adjacent to each other. apparatus. A dictionary database,
Idiom conversion means for converting a character string input by the input means into a combination of idioms;
Initial reduction rate setting means for reducing characters other than idioms converted by the idiom conversion means at a predetermined reduction rate,
The surplus rate calculating means calculates the surplus rate of the idiom converted by the idiom conversion means,
The reduction rate setting means sets a reduction rate corresponding to the surplus rate of the idiom for each idiom,
When any of the idiom reduction ratios is smaller than the reduction ratio set by the initial reduction ratio setting means, the minimum reduction ratio among the set idiom reduction ratios is reset to characters other than idioms. Means for resetting the non-idiom reduction rate;
The length of the character string reduced by the non-idiom reduction rate resetting means is compared with the length of the character string reduced by the initial reduction rate setting means and the reduction rate setting means, and the difference is compared with the idiom. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a idiom reduction rate correction unit that corrects with a reduction rate.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an assigning unit that compares the length of the print area with the length of a character string to be printed and assigns the difference evenly to an interval between adjacent characters. A tape printer according to claim 1. In a label production method for printing a character or the like on a printing tape formed by laminating a printing layer and a release layer, cutting a printed portion of the printing tape, and creating a label to be attached to an object to be pasted,
When the character string of the initial setting size is input and the size of the print area is set, and the length of the input character string of the initial setting size is longer than the length of the set print area, Decide to shorten the length of the string by bringing the matching characters closer together,
If the determined length of the character string is longer than the length of the print area, calculate the surplus rate of each character of the input character string,
Characters with a lower surplus rate for each of the calculated characters create labels so that the reduction rate is set higher than characters with a higher surplus rate,
A method for producing a label characterized by that.   The label creation method according to claim 7, wherein the reduction rate is set by reducing characters in ascending order of the black character rate.

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