JP2017185790A - Printer, printing method and printing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer that can print with high quality by making heating elements arranged in a thermal head generate heat in a suitable manner.SOLUTION: The printer includes a printing head that includes a plurality of heating elements arranged in a first direction, and a controller. Printing data representing an image to be printed on a printing medium are divided into a plurality of line data, each line data extending in the first direction and consisting of conduction dots and non-conduction dots. The controller, for each of the line data, selectively activates the plurality of heating elements that correspond to the conduction dots in the line data so as to make the selected heating elements generate heat and print the corresponding plurality of conduction dots in the line data on the printing medium. Further, the controller, for each of the line data, obtains distribution information of the plurality of conduction dots in the line data, and sets an energizing time, during which the selected heating elements are energized, in accordance with the distribution information of the plurality of conduction dots in the line data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program.

  Conventionally, by driving a heat generating element provided in a thermal head to generate heat, print data including arbitrary characters, designs, etc. is printed on a long tape wound in a roll shape, and the tape is cut. Thus, a printing apparatus capable of easily creating a label is used. In the printing device, a long tape is transported with an ink ribbon between a thermal head and a platen roller, and a portion of the ink ribbon heated by the thermal head is long as a drawing pattern including characters, patterns, etc. Printing is performed by thermal transfer onto the surface of the tape. In such a printing apparatus, the thermal head is driven to generate heat in accordance with each line data of the print data, and at the same time, the ink ribbon and the tape are conveyed line by line to print out the print data sequentially line by line. Yes.

  In such a thermal transfer type printing apparatus, printing is performed by generating heat from the heat generating element of the thermal head. Therefore, when a certain heat generating element generates heat, the heat is transmitted to the adjacent heat generating element. That is, the adjacent heat generating element becomes higher than the target temperature, and the excess ink is melted and the printed characters are crushed. That is, there is a problem that the print quality is deteriorated due to the influence of heat generated from a nearby heating element.

  In order to solve such a problem, there is a technique for performing printing by changing the energization time by feeding back the temperature around the thermal head obtained by a thermistor attached to the thermal head.

  In addition, there is a technique in which control is performed to divide print data or change the print speed using the ratio of print data to the number of effective print dots of the thermal head (black dot ratio). For example, a thermal transfer recording apparatus that detects the number of applied heat generating elements and controls the number of pulses applied to the heat generating elements based on the detection result is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-6-143648

  However, there is a lime lag between the fluctuation of the thermal head ambient temperature and the temperature fluctuation of the thermal head itself, so printing cannot be performed in an appropriate energization time, and good print quality cannot be maintained. There is.

  Further, even when the printing speed is changed based on the black dot rate, there is a problem that the printing quality varies due to the difference in the distribution of black dot data.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing apparatus capable of performing high-quality printing and a printing program executed in the printing apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention provides:
A printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction, and a control unit,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The controller is
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data An energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element is set.
In addition, in order to solve the above problems, the printing method of the present invention includes:
A printing method using a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The printing method includes:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data And setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element.
Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the program of the present invention
A program for causing the control unit to execute processing when read by a control unit of a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The process to be executed by the control unit is as follows:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data And setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that high-quality printing can be performed by appropriately driving the heating elements disposed in the thermal head to generate heat.

It is a top view which shows the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of print data. It is a figure for demonstrating line data. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of printing processing according to the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of line data. It is a figure which shows the structural example of division line data. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a variable and a count. It is a figure for demonstrating the reason which divides | segments line data.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes an apparatus housing 2, an input unit 3, a display unit 4, an opening / closing lid 17, and a cassette storage unit 18. Note that the printing apparatus 1 includes an input unit 3 and a display unit 4 provided in an external device (not shown) such as a computer, and receives a print data of a desired drawing pattern to be printed from the external device. It may be.

  An input unit 3, a display unit 4, and an opening / closing lid 17 are disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus housing 2. A discharge port 2 a for the printing medium M is formed on the right side surface of the apparatus housing 2. The printing medium M is, for example, a long tape wound in advance in a roll shape.

  The input unit 3 includes an input key for inputting a desired drawing design including characters, designs, etc., a print key for instructing start of printing, a cursor key for moving the cursor on the display screen of the display unit 4, setting of a print mode, Any or all of various control keys for performing various setting processes are provided. The above-described input keys include character input keys for inputting character data.

  The display unit 4 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays an image including characters corresponding to the input from the input unit 3, selection menus for various settings, messages regarding various processes, and the like.

The opening / closing lid 17 is disposed above the cassette housing portion 18 so that the cassette housing portion 18 can be opened and closed. The open / close lid 17 is opened, for example, when the button 17a is pressed. Further, the opening / closing lid 17 is formed with a window portion 17b so that the presence / absence of the cassette 20 (see FIG. 2) stored in the cassette storage portion 18 can be visually confirmed even when the opening / closing lid 17 is closed.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.
FIG. 2 shows the structure near the cassette housing 18. A cassette 20 in which the printing medium M and the ink ribbon R are accommodated is detachably accommodated in the cassette accommodating portion 18. The printing medium M is wound around a tape core 23 inside the cassette 20 in a roll shape, and is conveyed by a conveying roller 13 to a thermal head portion (printing head) 30 provided in the printing apparatus 1 together with an ink ribbon R for thermal transfer. The The ink ribbon R is wound around a ribbon supply core 24 inside the cassette 20 in a roll shape. The used ink ribbon R in which the ink is transferred to the printing medium M by the thermal head unit 30 is taken up by the ribbon take-up core 25. The print medium M that has passed through the thermal head unit 30 is cut by the cutting mechanism 16 and discharged from the discharge port 2a when the printing process is completed.

FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3, the printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 5, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 6, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7, a display unit drive circuit 8, in addition to the input unit 3 and the display unit 4 described above. The head drive circuit 9 includes a thermal head unit 30 which is an example of a print head, a transport motor drive circuit 11, a transport motor 12, a transport roller 13, a cutter motor drive circuit 14, a cutter motor 15, and a cutting mechanism 16.

  The printing apparatus 1 prints a desired drawing design by, for example, cutting the printing medium M after printing the desired drawing design on the printing medium M shown in FIG. 1 based on the print data. Create printed materials. For example, a long tape is cut out as a tape piece (label) after a desired drawing design including arbitrary characters, designs and the like is printed. The long tape has, for example, a base having an adhesive layer and a release paper affixed to the base so as to cover the adhesive layer, and a thermal head together with an ink ribbon R for thermal transfer. It is conveyed to the unit 30. However, the printing apparatus 1 may be an apparatus that performs printing on other printing media such as sheets that are accommodated in a stacked state without being wound into a roll.

  The control unit 5 (processor) is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and corresponds to a key operation signal from the input unit 3 or a system program stored in advance in the ROM 6 or a control stored in a memory card. A program, a control program read from an external device, and the like are automatically started, and the operation of each part of the circuit is controlled using the RAM 7 as a work memory.

  The control unit 5 includes an input unit 3, a ROM 6, a RAM 7, a display unit drive circuit 8 that drives the display unit 4, a head drive circuit 9 that drives the thermal head unit 30, and a transport motor drive circuit that drives the transport motor 12. 11 and a cutter motor drive circuit 14 for driving the cutter motor 15 are connected. The transport motor 12 drives the transport roller 13. The cutter motor 15 operates the cutting mechanism 16.

  The ROM 6 is a program for causing the head drive circuit 9 to print a desired drawing design on the print medium M by the thermal head unit 30, original data and size information such as characters, symbols, and pictograms included in the drawing design to be printed. The print font is stored. The ROM 6 also functions as a storage medium in which a program that can be read by the control unit 5 is stored.

  The RAM 7 is an input data memory for storing printing information such as characters, symbols, pictograms and their sizes, character spacing, etc. included in a desired drawing pattern to be printed, and the size of the printed matter to be created. Function. The RAM 7 is generated based on the input print information and functions as a print data memory for storing print data representing a desired drawing design, and is displayed on the display unit 4 to represent the desired drawing design. It also functions as a display data memory or the like for storing display pattern data. The RAM 7 includes a register, a counter, and the like that temporarily store data necessary for print processing and the like.

  The head drive circuit 9 controls the thermal head unit 30 based on the print data stored in the RAM 7. In accordance with this control, the thermal head unit 30 prints a desired drawing design on the printing medium M by thermal transfer.

  The conveyance motor drive circuit 11 controls the conveyance roller 13 by controlling the step motor based on the print data stored in the RAM 7, and a desired speed during printing on the printing medium M by the thermal head unit 30. Then, the printing medium M is conveyed.

  The cutter motor drive circuit 14 controls the operation of the cutting mechanism 16. The cutting mechanism 16 separates the produced printed matter from the printing medium M by cutting the printing medium M in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The cut mechanism 16 cuts only a part of the layers (for example, the substrate) in the width direction when the print medium M has a plurality of layers (for example, a substrate, release paper, etc.). Also good.

  The above-described configuration of the printing apparatus 1 is merely an example, and includes a thermal head unit 30 that is an example of a print head held by a platen roller and a holding member, and a head moving mechanism that moves the thermal head unit 30. If necessary, the configuration may be changed as appropriate.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the printing apparatus 1 includes a print data input unit 41, an energization unit 42, an energization time setting unit 43, and a printing unit 47. The energization time setting unit 43 includes a first counting unit 44, a second counting unit 45, and an energization time correcting unit 46. The functions described below are executed by the control unit 5.

  The print data input means 41 inputs print data for printing on the printing medium M using the input unit 3 described above.

  The energization means 42 is based on the line data for one line constituting the print data input by the print data input means 41 in the first direction of the print medium M (see FIG. 5), for example, a long print target. A selected heating element is caused to generate heat by selectively energizing a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line on the thermal head unit 30 along a width direction of the medium M in a predetermined energization time.

  The energization time setting means 43 is a time during which the energization means 42 energizes a heating element selected from a plurality of heating elements based on the ratio (number) of energization dot data of line data and the distribution (distribution density) of energization dot data. Set.

  The first counting unit 44 included in the energization time setting unit 43 divides the line data into a plurality of dot units to generate a plurality of partial line data (second line segments; reference numerals 81 and 82 in FIG. 8). Each of the generated partial line data is further divided in half to generate upper partial line data (upper segment; reference numerals 81a and 82a in FIG. 8) and lower partial line data (lower segment; reference numerals 81b and 82b in FIG. 8). To do. In each of the plurality of partial line data, the dot data in the lowest dot (lower end) of the upper partial line data and the uppermost dot (upper end) of the lower partial line data that are adjacent to each other is the energized dot data. Count the number.

  For example, “white / black / white / black / black / black / black / black / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white / white In the case of 16-bit (2-byte) line data of “white and white”, it is divided into two “white black and white black black black and white black” and “black black white white white white white white” of 8 bits each. These are divided into “white black and white black”, “black black and white black”, “black black white white” and “white white white white”. Then, the adjacent number “1” between “white black and white” and “black black and white black” and the adjacent number “0” between “black black white and white” and “white white white and white” are counted. The number is not limited to 8 bits, but may be 4 bits or 2 bits.

  The second counting unit 45 provided in the energization time setting unit 43 divides the line data into a plurality of divided line data in units of a plurality of adjacent dots, and counts the number of energized dot data of each divided line data. For example, in the case of line data of “black / white / black / black / black / white / white”, the line data is divided into two divided line data of “black / black / white / black” and “black / black / white / white”. 2 "is counted.

  Then, the energizing time setting unit 43 is operated by the energizing unit 42 based on the number of boundaries counted by the first counting unit 44 and the number of energized dot data of each divided line data counted by the second counting unit 45. Set the energization time. For example, the energization time setting unit 43 sets a shorter energization time by the energization unit 42 as the number of boundaries counted by the first counting unit 44 increases. The energization time setting means 43 sets the energization time by the energization means 42 longer as the number of divided line data counted as 0 by the second counting means 45 is 0, As the number of divided line data counted by the second counting means 45 as the number of energized dot data is other than 0, the energization time by the energizing means 42 is set shorter. For example, in the case of the line data of “black black black white white white white white”, “black black black white” and “white white white white” and the number of adjacency is “0”. To increase. Further, since the number of black dot data of each divided line data is “3” “0”, the energization time is increased by the number of black dot data “0” of the divided line data, and the number of black dot data “ 3 ”to reduce energization time. The ratio of decreasing the energization time by the number of black dot data “3” of the divided line data is set larger than the ratio of decreasing the energization time by the number of black dot data “2” of the divided line data. Further, if the number of black dot data “2” in the divided line data is two, the ratio of reducing the energization time by the number of black dot data “2” in the divided line data is made larger than in the case of one.

  The energization time correction means 46 is energized by the energization means 42 based on the number of boundaries counted by the first counting means 44 and the number of energized dot data of each divided line data counted by the second counting means 45. The predetermined time is corrected.

  By setting the energization time in this manner, the heat generating elements provided in the thermal head unit 30 can be appropriately driven to generate heat. High-quality printing can be performed by appropriate heat generation driving.

  The printing unit 47 causes the energization unit 42 to execute the energization time corrected by the energization time correction unit 46 and transfers the dye applied to the ink ribbon R onto the printing medium M superimposed on the ink ribbon R.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the line data. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of line data. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of divided line data. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between variables and counts. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the reason for dividing the line data. With reference to FIGS. 5 to 11, print processing executed by the printing apparatus 1 described above will be described using print data composed of i-line line data as an example. The printing process described below is executed by the control unit 5.

  The printing process executed by the printing apparatus 1 prints print data 50 as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the character string “black character counter” is the print data 50 and is printed on a long tape (print medium M) having a tape width 51 of about 18 mm. The print data 50 is printed in an area of the effective print width 52 of the tape. For example, the effective print width 52 is about 16 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the print data 50 includes a plurality of line data 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,. If the printing resolution of the printing apparatus 1 is 200 dpi, each line data 61 or the like printed in an effective printing width 52 of about 16 mm is 128 dots. That is, each line data 61 or the like can correspond to a 128-bit address. For example, it is possible to correspond to a continuous address of 16 bytes with 1 byte every 8 bits. The printing process executed by the printing apparatus 1 will be described using such an example.

  First, in step S701 in FIG. 7, the control unit 5 included in the printing apparatus 1 substitutes 1 for a variable j and substitutes the number of line data constituting the print data 50 for a variable i. For example, if the print data 50 is composed of 724 lines, 724 is substituted for the variable i. In step S702, the control unit 5 prints the j-th line. First, the first line is printed. In step S703, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the value assigned to the variable j is larger than the value assigned to the variable i (j> i), thereby printing all the print data. It is determined whether or not it has been completed. If “No” is determined in this determination step, steps S704 to S713 are repeated for all line data constituting the print data 50.

  If it is determined that printing of all print data has been completed (step S703: Yes), the printing process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that printing of all print data has not been completed (step S703: No), the control unit 5 substitutes 1 for the variable p and configures line data for the variable n in step S704. Substitute the number of bytes. In the above example, 16 is substituted for the variable n. In step S705, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the value assigned to the variable p is larger than the value assigned to the variable n (p> n), thereby determining each byte constituting the line data. It is determined whether or not the processing of steps S706 to S710 described later has been executed for all the unit data.

  When it is determined that the value assigned to the variable p is not larger than the value assigned to the variable n (step S704: No), the control unit 5 performs steps S706 to S709 for all bytes constituting the line data. Execute the process. That is, the processing of steps S706 to S709 is executed from the 1st byte to the nth byte, for example, the 16th byte constituting the line data.

  First, in step S706, the control unit 5 executes the first counting unit 44, counts the number of adjacent black dot data for the p-th line data, and counts up the variable “near” whose initial value is 0. To do. For example, in the line data 80 as shown in FIG. 8, if the pth byte is the first partial line data 81, the first partial line data 81 is converted into the upper partial line data (first to fourth dots). ) 81a and lower partial line data (5th to 8th dots) 81b, the lowermost dot of the upper partial line data is “black” (energized dot), and the uppermost dot of the lower partial line data is “ Since it is “black” (energized dots), “1” is counted as the number of adjacent black dot data. Then, the variable “near” is counted up. Further, in the line data 80 as shown in FIG. 8, if the p-th byte is the second partial line data 82, the second partial line data 82 is converted into the upper partial line data (the ninth to twelfth dots). ) 82a and lower partial line data (13th to 16th dots) 82b, the lowest dot of the upper partial line data is “white” (non-energized dot), and the highest dot of the lower partial line data is Since it is “white” (non-energized dots), “0” is counted as the number of adjacent black dot data. In this case, the variable “near” does not count up (in other words, counts up by 0).

  In step S707, the control unit 5 divides the p-th line data into upper bits and lower bits. In the above example, since the line data is 128 bits / 16 bytes, and 8 bits per byte, the control unit 5 has the first divided line data (first 1st bit) of the upper 4 bits as shown in FIG. Line segment) 91 and lower 4-bit second divided line data (first line segment) 92.

  In step S708, the control unit 5 executes the second counting unit 45 to count the number of black dot data of the first divided line data 91 of the upper bits and the second divided line data 92 of the lower bits. In the example shown in FIG. 9, “2” is counted as the number of black dot data of the first divided line data 91, and “3” is counted as the number of black dot data of the second divided line data 92. In step S707, the line data is divided, and the number of black dot data for each divided line data is counted as line data that originally constitutes print data that is one data block. This is because the state of the print data can be grasped. For example, in the line data 111 illustrated in FIG. 11A, the black dot data constituting the line data 112 is close, but the black dot data constituting the line data 112 is close. When the number of black dot data is counted for these line data 111 and 112, both count “2”. However, as shown in FIG. 11B, when divided into upper 4 bits and lower 4 bits, the numbers of black dot data to be counted for the line data 111 are “0” and “2”, and the numbers for the line data 112 are counted. The numbers of black dot data to be performed are “1” and “1”. In this example, the line data 111 and 112 have the same number of energized dot data, but the distribution of energized dot data is different.

  As described above, the state of the print data can be grasped more finely by subdividing the line data that constitutes the print data that is essentially one data block.

  In step S709, the control unit 5 increments (adds 1) each variable whose initial value is 0 in accordance with the value counted in step S708. For example, if the value counted in step S708 is “0”, the variable “zero” is incremented. If the counted value is “1”, the variable “one” is incremented. Similarly, the variable [two] is incremented if “2”, the variable “three” is incremented if “3”, and the variable “four” is incremented if “4”. The initial values of the variables “zero”, “one”, “two”, “three”, and “four” are all zero.

  In step S710, the control unit 5 increments the variable p, returns to step S705, and executes the processing from step S706 onward for the next byte constituting the line data.

  When it is determined in step S704 that the processing in steps S706 to S710 has been executed for all bytes constituting the line data (step S705: Yes), the control unit 5 in step S711, the variable “ “near” and the variables “zero”, “one”, “two”, “three”, and “four” incremented in step S709 are multiplied by a predetermined coefficient and added to the variable “kuroji”. Specifically, the variable “near” is multiplied by an arbitrary value between coefficients “135 to 165” as shown in FIG. 10, for example, “150”, and added to the variable “kuroji”. In addition, the variables “zero”, “one”, “two”, “three”, and “four” have “−83 to −67”, “68 to 84”, “94 to 116”, “355 to 435”, and “418” as the respective coefficients. Multiply any value between “512”, for example, “−75” “76” “105” “395” “465”, and add to the variable “kuroji” whose initial value is 0. The arbitrary value as each count selected here is a unique value obtained in advance by a combination of conditions such as the tape width to be printed, the printing speed, and the width of the thermal head unit 30, and is stored in the ROM 6. Has been.

  In step S712, the control unit 5 sets the energization time. For example, the energization time is corrected by subtracting the value of the variable “kuroji” from the energization time for which a predetermined value is set in advance.

  In step S713, the control unit 5 increments the variable j, returns to step S702, and executes the processing from step S702 on for the next line data.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, the printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is limited to the above-described embodiments as long as the functions thereof are executed. Absent. For example, the first counting unit 44 counts the number of boundaries sandwiched between energized dot data, but may count the number of adjacent energized dot data constituting the line data. In this case, if the line data is “white / black / white / black / black / white / white”, the third and fourth, fourth and fifth, fifth and sixth “black” dot data (energized dot data) are adjacent to each other. Therefore, the adjacent number “3” is counted. In addition, when the line data is large, the first counting unit 44 counts the number of adjacent line data for each of the plurality of partial line data as appropriate, and also determines the number of adjacent energized dot data in the adjacent partial line data. It can also be counted. For example, in the case of line data of “white black and white black black black and white black black black white white white white white white”, the number of adjacency “3” for each partial line data of “white black and white black black black and white black” and “black black white white white white white white” Count “1” and add “1” because the last (8th) of the first partial line data and the first (first) “black” dot data of the second partial line data are adjacent. Then, the number of neighbors “5 (= 3 + 1 + 1)” may be counted.

  Furthermore, the energization time setting unit 43 of the printing apparatus 1 does not necessarily include both the first counting unit 44 and the second counting unit 45. For example, the first counting unit 44 and the second counting unit 45 are not necessarily included. Any of the above may be provided. When the energization time setting unit 43 of the printing apparatus 1 includes only the first counting unit 44, in step S711, the variable “near” is multiplied by a predetermined count and added to the variable “kuroji”. In this case, only the count number of “near” affects the variable “kuroji” and consequently the correction of the energization time. Further, in this case, the variables “zero”, “one”, “two”, “three”, and “four” remain at the initial value of 0 or are not necessary and do not exist. When the energization time setting unit 43 of the printing apparatus 1 includes only the second counting unit 45, in step S711, the variables “zero” “one” “two” “three” “four” are counted. Multiply and add to variable “kuroji”. In this case, only the counts of the variables “zero”, “one”, “two”, “three”, and “four” affect the variable “kuroji”, and thus affect the correction of the energization time. In this case, the variable “near” does not exist because the initial value is 0 or it is unnecessary in the first place.

  The above-described embodiment of the present invention can be realized by hardware or firmware or software on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) board or CPU board as one function of the printing apparatus.

  The printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is a system in which processing is performed via a network such as a LAN or WAN, whether it is a single apparatus, a system composed of a plurality of apparatuses, or an integrated apparatus. Needless to say.

  It can also be realized by a system including a CPU, a ROM or RAM memory connected to a bus, an input device, an output device, an external recording device, a medium driving device, and a network connection device. That is, the ROM, RAM memory, external recording device, and portable recording medium in which the software program for realizing the system of the embodiment described above is recorded are supplied to the printing device, and the computer of the printing device reads the program. Needless to say, it can also be achieved through implementation.

  In this case, the program itself read from the portable recording medium or the like realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the portable recording medium or the like on which the program is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  Examples of portable recording media for supplying the program include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, magnetic tapes, and nonvolatile memory cards. Various recording media recorded via a network connection device (in other words, a communication line) such as a ROM card, electronic mail or personal computer communication can be used.

  The computer (information processing apparatus) executes the program read out on the memory, thereby realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment, and an OS running on the computer based on the instructions of the program. Performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

  Furthermore, a program read from a portable recording medium or a program (data) provided by a program (data) provider is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After being written, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing. obtain.

  That is, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can take various configurations or shapes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on specific embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the specific embodiments described above, and such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. It is clear from the description of the scope of claims.
Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.

(Appendix 1)
A printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction, and a control unit,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The controller is
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data An energizing time for supplying a current to the heat generating element is set.
(Appendix 2)
In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
By dividing each line data into a plurality of first line segments and counting the number of first dots in each divided first line segment, the first line segments included in each first line segment are counted. Obtaining a distribution of the first line segment that is the number of dots;
Further, the energization time is set for each line data in accordance with the acquired distribution of each first line segment.
(Appendix 3)
In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
Counting the frequency of occurrence of two consecutive first dots in the line data;
Furthermore, the energization time for each line data according to the counted occurrence frequency of the two consecutive first dots in the line data and the acquired distribution of the first line segments. The printing apparatus as set forth in appendix 2, wherein: is set.
(Appendix 4)
In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
Dividing the line data into a plurality of second line segments that are the same as or different from the plurality of first line segments, and further dividing each of the plurality of second line segments into an upper segment and a lower segment; And by counting the number of first dot boundaries, which is the number of boundaries between the upper segment and the lower segment and sandwiched between two first dots, Counting the frequency of occurrence of the two consecutive first dots of
Furthermore, the distribution of the first line segment that is the counted number of the boundaries of the first dots in the line data and the acquired number of the first dots included in the first line segment. The printing apparatus according to appendix 3, wherein the energization time is set for each line data.
(Appendix 5)
The controller is configured such that the energization time for the selected heating element is shorter when the number of the boundaries of the first dots in the line data is large than when the number of the boundaries is small. The printing apparatus according to appendix 4, wherein the energization time is set.
(Appendix 6)
When the energization time for the selected heat generating element is large in the number of the first line segments such that the number of the first dots included in the first line segment is 0, the control unit In addition, the energization time is set so as to be longer than when the number of the first line segments is small. The printing apparatus according to any one of appendix 2 to appendix 5, wherein
(Appendix 7)
The control unit has a large number of first line segments such that the energization time of the selected heating element is such that the number of the first dots included in the first line segment is other than zero. In such a case, the energization time is set so as to be shorter than when the number of the first line segments is small. The printing apparatus according to any one of appendix 2 to appendix 6.
(Appendix 8)
The controller counts the frequency of occurrence of two adjacent first dots in the line data in obtaining the distribution information of the plurality of first dots for each of the plurality of line data,
Further, the energization time is set for each of the plurality of line data according to the counted occurrence frequency of the two adjacent first dots in the line data. Printing device.
(Appendix 9)
A printing method using a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The printing method includes:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data A printing method comprising: setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element.
(Appendix 10)
A program for causing the control unit to execute processing when read by a control unit of a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The process to be executed by the control unit is as follows:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data A program comprising setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Apparatus housing 2a Outlet 3 Input part 4 Display part 5 Control part 6 ROM (Read Only Memory)
7 RAM (Random Access Memory)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Display part drive circuit 9 Head drive circuit 11 Conveyance motor drive circuit 12 Conveyance motor 13 Conveyance roller 14 Cutter motor drive circuit 15 Cutter motor 16 Cutting mechanism 17 Opening / closing lid 17a Button 17b Window part 18 Cassette accommodating part 20 Cassette 23 Tape core 24 Ribbon supply core 25 Ribbon take-up core 30 Thermal head part 41 Print data input means 42 Energizing means 43 Energizing time setting means 44 First counting means 45 Second counting means 46 Energizing time correcting means 47 Printing means 50 Printing data 51 Tape Width 52 Effective print width 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 80, 111, 112 Line data 81 First partial line data (second line segment)
82 Second partial line data (second line segment)
81a, 82a Upper partial line data (upper segment)
81b, 82b Lower part line data (lower segment)
91 First division line data (first line segment)
92 Second division line data (first line segment)
M Print medium R Ink ribbon

Claims (10)

A printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction, and a control unit,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The controller is
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data An energizing time for supplying a current to the heat generating element is set. In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
By dividing each line data into a plurality of first line segments and counting the number of first dots in each divided first line segment, the first line segments included in each first line segment are counted. Obtaining a distribution of the first line segment that is the number of dots;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: setting the energization time for each line data according to the acquired distribution of each first line segment. In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
Counting the frequency of occurrence of two consecutive first dots in the line data;
Furthermore, the energization time for each line data according to the counted occurrence frequency of the two consecutive first dots in the line data and the acquired distribution of the first line segments. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: is set. In the acquisition of the first dot distribution information of each line data, the control unit,
Dividing the line data into a plurality of second line segments that are the same as or different from the plurality of first line segments, and further dividing each of the plurality of second line segments into an upper segment and a lower segment; And by counting the number of first dot boundaries, which is the number of boundaries between the upper segment and the lower segment and sandwiched between two first dots, Counting the frequency of occurrence of the two consecutive first dots of
Furthermore, the distribution of the first line segment that is the counted number of the boundaries of the first dots in the line data and the acquired number of the first dots included in the first line segment. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the energization time is set for each of the line data. The controller is configured such that the energization time for the selected heating element is shorter when the number of the boundaries of the first dots in the line data is large than when the number of the boundaries is small. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the energization time is set. When the energization time for the selected heat generating element is large in the number of the first line segments such that the number of the first dots included in the first line segment is 0, the control unit The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the energization time is set to be longer than when the number of the first line segments is small. . The control unit has a large number of first line segments such that the energization time of the selected heating element is such that the number of the first dots included in the first line segment is other than zero. 7. The printing according to claim 2, wherein the energization time is set to be shorter than the case where the number of the first line segments is small. apparatus. The control unit counts the frequency of occurrence of two consecutive first dots in the line data in obtaining the distribution information of the plurality of first dots for each of the plurality of line data,
The energization time is set for each of the plurality of line data according to the counted occurrence frequency of the two consecutive first dots in the line data. Printing device. A printing method using a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The printing method includes:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data A printing method comprising: setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element. A program for causing the control unit to execute processing when read by a control unit of a printing apparatus including a print head including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a certain direction,
Print data representing an image to be printed on a print medium is divided into a plurality of line data, and each line data extends in the certain direction and is printed on the print medium. And a plurality of second dots that are dots other than the plurality of first dots among the plurality of dots constituting the image,
The process to be executed by the control unit is as follows:
For each of the line data, by causing current to selectively flow through the plurality of heating elements corresponding to the plurality of first dots of each line data, heat is generated in the selected heating elements, and , Causing a plurality of corresponding first dots in each line data to be printed on the printing medium,
Further, for each of the line data, the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data is acquired and selected according to the distribution information of the plurality of first dots of the line data A program comprising setting an energization time for supplying a current to the generated heating element.

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